The crux of the matter now rested entirely with Orion himself. If he refused, no one would force him.
He shut himself in a quiet chamber to think it over.
Thea was in no rush. She took Diana on a stroll through the Underworld.
When Daniel returned with Batman, Orion had just made up his mind.
"If there is no other choice, I accept this burden." He declared it with the fervor of a man marching to war.
Steppenwolf barely contained a sneer. Whatever he'd been about to say died in his throat under Thea's gaze.
To mark the historic occasion, the leaders of New Genesis and Apokolips signed an indefinite ceasefire agreement, with the Underworld as witness.
Whether Orion would eventually be corrupted by the forces of darkness remained an open question. Even Destiny himself didn't operate on certainties—any small misstep could send anything spiraling into the abyss. But in the near term, with both Highfather and Darkseid having exited the stage, genuine peace had arrived at last.
Thea had just seen the Apokolips delegation off when Batman's group walked in.
Diana greeted him warmly. Since becoming God-Queen of New Genesis, she hadn't seen her Earth allies in some time.
Her first look at the Batman Who Laughs confirmed it—appearance alone was enough to radiate pure evil, pure darkness.
"Bruce, are you ready?" Thea asked.
"...I'll need the power—to keep myself from falling into that same abyss. But do you really think I'm a good candidate? You saw it yourself. He is me." He pointed at the Batman Who Laughs on the floor.
"Remember that other world we visited? They have a famous saying there: with great power comes great responsibility. I don't think anyone is better suited for the Godhood of Darkness than you. You are Gotham's Dark Knight, after all." She said it with a smile.
Batman gave a wry half-laugh. "That's just media hype. I haven't heard that title in ages."
"I... there's someone I need to see first. Send me to her. I owe her too much..." He murmured an address.
Thea glanced down at Earth, observed for a moment, and made a show of sudden realization. She leaned over and whispered something to Diana.
The warrior goddess' eyes lit up.
Thea assured him that the Batman Who Laughs was in perfectly safe hands here. Go take care of your personal business.
She locked onto the target, opened a portal, and sent Batman back to Gotham—clothes in tatters, abdomen still bleeding, flatly refusing any healing.
The portal was precise. The rooftop of a high-rise. Nearby stood the Gotham Museum of Art, though that wasn't the point. The point was the woman currently standing on the roof with binoculars, casing the museum's security.
A full-grown man appearing out of thin air nearly gave Catwoman, out on her nightly rounds, a heart attack.
When she recognized Batman, she relaxed—but those sharp eyes of hers immediately catalogued every wound on his body.
"You?... Are you all right? You've been gone for days. Just got back?" She'd been there when Batman and Daniel had departed, though with the breakup still fresh, she hadn't made a show of it in front of the younger heroes.
She couldn't fathom why Batman, battered half to death, had come to find her. Was this another lecture?
She cleared her throat. "You're not here to scold me again, are you? Maybe I should just take you home to patch up those wounds?"
Watching from the Underworld, Thea rolled her eyes. All those psychology textbooks Bruce had devoured weren't going to waste—his sympathy play was absolutely masterful.
Batman's next words stopped Catwoman cold. He used the name reserved for when they were alone.
"Kitten."
"Bat?" She answered on instinct.
"The first time I met you, on that boat..."
Catwoman frowned slightly. "We met on the street."
Batman was stubborn. "It was on the boat. You stole that diamond ring. But after I took it back, I bought it myself... I've kept it. For years."
Her confusion deepened. "What are you trying to say?"
"I knew. Even at the very beginning, I knew that someday I would need it."
He removed his mask. "I've always needed that ring. The same way I've always needed you." He reached up and gently touched her cheek.
Rain began to fall, soft and timely. Catwoman seemed to realize what was happening. She dropped her gaze, unwilling to let Bruce see her expression.
Bruce removed her mask. They stood in the rain, water soaking through their hair.
"Selina, I'm terrified..."
"Bruce..." Her voice broke.
"Selina, I love you." Bruce dropped to one knee. From his utility belt he produced a diamond ring—kept for years, never once leaving his person.
"Marry me." For all his ability to predict and plan, Bruce felt a flicker of genuine uncertainty. He had no idea what came next.
"Heh..." Selina's composure shattered. The tension melted from her face, replaced entirely by joy. She swiped hard at the tears in her eyes, but they wouldn't stop.
"Yes. I've been waiting for this day. Yes!" She threw herself into his arms, and they kissed fiercely in the pouring rain.
Back in the Underworld, Thea nodded to Diana. "He's not coming back tonight. The godhood can wait until tomorrow."
And so it was. Batman didn't return to the Batcave. He spent the night at Catwoman's apartment, where she extracted the bullet, cleaned the wounds, and wrapped the bandages. He could have had Thea heal him with a breath, but he chose Selina's gentle hands instead.
The next morning, at his request, Thea pulled them both into the Underworld.
The Underworld's opulence made Selina's eyes go wide. Her professional instincts kicked in on the spot—fingers twitching toward something to pocket—until Thea coughed pointedly.
"Just looking! We're friends, aren't we? I'm only curious. You have quite the setup here..." She scrambled to explain herself.
Thea waved it off and exchanged a few pleasantries before turning to Bruce, waiting for his final decision.
"If you believe I can handle it, then let's do this. If I lose control afterward, kill me. Tell Damian I fell in that dark world..."
Selina was stunned. She'd had no idea the stakes were this high. She looked to Thea, anxious for reassurance.
Thea suppressed the urge to sigh. Every single one of these hero types had the same flair for drama. Orion had been like this. Batman was like this. Even Diana, back in the day, had gone through endless rounds of mental preparation. It wasn't that big a deal. Why all the life-and-death theatrics?
Fusing a godhood was straightforward. Simultaneously integrating the Omega Effect, however, was another matter entirely.
Handing the Omega Effect directly to Batman would instantly blast him through the timeline. Nightwing and the others would have to start planning Battle for the Cowl, round two.