Tel-Rol's sarcastic remark broke the tense atmosphere in the conference room.
Bruce, wearing his latest battle armor, his goggles flashing with ill intent.
"Tel-Rol, do you think you're blameless?"
"Those Kryptonians, and Ronan of the Kree, you killed them all!"
Tel-Rol looked at Bruce's accusatory expression and laughed in exasperation.
"Then you tell me, what should I have done?"
"Invite those people to a meeting? Discuss the division of Earth?"
"Bang!"
Bruce slammed his fist on the conference table, which let out a dull thud.
"Please be serious! We are discussing the issue of overstepping boundaries!"
Tel-Rol shrugged and spread his hands.
"See, I bring up the problem, and you try to pull it back."
"You want to have your cake and eat it too?"
He took a step forward, looking around at everyone present.
"This invasion, without us capable people at the forefront, would Earth have fared well?"
"You both want us metahumans to act, and yet you fear us metahumans?"
"Batman, are you schizophrenic?"
"You!"
Bruce's voice became low with anger.
Tel-Rol completely ignored him, looking around at the other Justice League members, and finally glancing at Deadpool, who was watching the show behind Kara.
"Let me guess."
"Everyone here probably has a corresponding 'contingency plan,' right?"
As soon as he said this.
Barry Allen's awkward smile froze.
Hal Jordan subconsciously touched his Green Lantern ring.
Arthur Curry's brows furrowed tightly.
Diana's gaze also changed; she looked incredulously at the black figure at the head of the conference table.
Everyone's expressions changed, and they all looked at Bruce simultaneously.
The conference room was eerily quiet.
"Bruce... is what he said... true?" Barry asked, his voice dry.
Bruce stood there, silent.
His silence was the best answer.
"Bastard!"
Arthur Curry suddenly stood up, his trident pointing at Bruce.
"I knew you were an untrustworthy paranoid!"
"We're fighting for our lives here, and you're plotting behind our backs how to kill us?"
Diana's face was also filled with disappointment.
"Bruce, we are your partners, your family."
Bruce finally spoke, his tone flat.
"I need insurance."
"For Earth, for humanity, I must have insurance."
He turned to Clark, who was still looking down.
"If one day, he is no longer the Clark we know, who will stop him?"
He then looked at Barry.
"If one day, to save your mother, you once again recklessly disrupt the timeline, who will stop you?"
His gaze swept over everyone.
"Power needs to be balanced. Uncontrolled power is the greatest disaster."
"That sounds really good."
Tel-Rol clapped his hands softly.
"Applauding your grand and righteous reasons."
He walked up to Bruce, the two almost face to face.
"Then you tell me, when Zod wanted to kill Clark's whole family, where was your insurance?"
"When Ronan wanted to conquer Earth, where was your insurance then?"
"Oh, I get it." Tel-Rol suddenly looked enlightened, clapping his hands.
"Your insurance is to wait for us to beat the enemy half to death, and then you jump out and use your ridiculous toys to lock us and the enemy up together?"
"That's not insurance, that's cowardice."
"You are completely incapable of solving real threats, so you can only point the finger at those you can control, your 'partners'."
"Because only then can your pathetic need for control be satisfied just a little."
"Shut up! None of what you're saying has happened! It's all your imagination!" Bruce growled.
"Imagination? Hasn't happened yet? Oh my god, I guess I hit a nerve, didn't I? Embarrassed and angry, aren't you?" Tel-Rol smiled even more widely.
"You fear us, you fear all power you cannot understand. You lock yourself in that dark hole, wrapping yourself in a pile of iron, and you think you can control everything?"
"You are not a hero, Bruce."
"You are just a pathetic wretch hiding behind a mask."
"Wow!"
Deadpool had, at some point, sat on the conference table, holding popcorn he'd conjured from who knows where.
"Rip him apart! Louder!"
"Holy cow, this plot is so much better than 'Batman v Superman'! That movie's fighting was so random!"
"Go, big shot! Strip off his armor! I want to see if he's wearing black tights under his mask too!"
Kara clapped a hand over Deadpool's mouth, trying to drag him away, but Deadpool clung to the table and wouldn't get down.
Bruce's body trembled slightly with anger.
His proud logic, the belief he had upheld his entire life, was today torn to shreds by a barbarian.
And in front of everyone.
Diana looked at Bruce, who was almost losing control, and sighed softly, then spoke.
"Tel-Rol, that's enough."
"He..."
"He what? Is he a giant baby? Can't be spoken to?" Tel-Rol turned his head and looked at Diana, "Don't tell me you've also been brainwashed by his theories."
Diana opened her mouth, speechless.
Tel-Rol didn't bother with them anymore.
He walked over to Clark, who was still kneeling on the ground, and pulled him up.
"Alright, stop crying."
"A grown man, whimpering like that, isn't it shameful?"
Clark stumbled as he was pulled, his eyes still hollow.
"See?" Tel-Rol pointed at Bruce and said to Clark.
"You're here agonizing over killing a scumbag, while your best friend is plotting how to lock you up."
"Tell me, isn't it ridiculous?"
Clark's pupils finally regained some focus.
He looked up at Bruce, his eyes filled with deep confusion and incomprehension.
Bruce looked at him, and at the suspicious and alienated gazes of everyone present, and a flicker of madness crossed his eyes beneath the white goggles.
Was he wrong? No.
He wasn't wrong, the world was wrong.
These gods, who possessed divine power but didn't know how to restrain themselves, were wrong!
Today, he would make them understand who was right!
"Since you cannot understand."
Bruce's tone was as cold as the Arctic ice.
"Then I will let you experience it firsthand."
He gave an instruction to the air.
"Watchtower, activate protocol."
"Red Alert."
As soon as the words fell.
The lights in the entire conference room instantly turned a dazzling red.
From the ceiling, several hidden emitters descended, aiming at the three Kryptonians present.
"Buzz—"
A special radiation energy enveloped the entire space.
It was simulated red sun radiation!
"Ugh!"
Kara groaned in pain, her body went limp, and she knelt on one knee.
Clark, bathed in the red light, was in so much agony he almost collapsed to the ground.
Diana quickly supported him.
"Bruce! Things aren't that serious yet!"
"Turn off the equipment!"
"Bruce!!"
Only Tel-Rol remained standing perfectly straight.
The purple gem in the palm of his right hand emitted an eerie glow.
Tel-Rol slowly turned his head to look.
He looked at the black figure standing in the center of the red light, and the playfulness and mockery on his face completely vanished.
In his emerald green eyes, only overwhelming killing intent remained.
"You..."
He bared his teeth, revealing a chilling white smile.
"Do you want to die?"