"It's done."
Black Adam and Shazam had finally settled all the injured, but that didn't bring either of them any relief.
Their battle had caused more than just injuries—it had brought death.
The blessings of the wizards allowed Black Adam to hear clearly the grief and suffering of every single person. He no longer had the face to stand before the people he had sworn to protect thousands of years ago.
Joey arrived at the scene at that very moment, having just finished stabilizing the situation with the Martians.
Even though Black Adam still had the strength to fight, he had no intention of continuing a meaningless struggle.
"Lock me up. I admit this generation's Shazam is better than me."
Lock Black Adam up?
Joey thought about the two Kryptonians—one dead, one alive—currently being held in the Justice League Watchtower, and immediately felt a headache coming on.
If Black Adam wanted to reflect on his sins, Africa was vast—he could reflect anywhere he liked.
Joey had no intention of putting such a dangerous individual into the Watchtower. If one day Black Adam finished reflecting and wanted to leave, what was he supposed to do—let him go or not?
"The people across Africa are still starving and homeless, and you're thinking about finding a cell to lock yourself in?"
Ever since Doctor Fate showed up and Kara left, crises had been piling up one after another. Joey was overwhelmed and desperately needed someone to fill the gap in Africa.
"Fuck off. We don't have a room prepared for you!"
And just like that, Joey and Shazam watched as Black Adam cleaned up the mess he had caused and then departed.
Floating beside Joey, Billy scratched his head as he watched Black Adam's fading figure.
"We're really not going to arrest him?"
"He's your enemy, not mine."
No matter the universe, the relationship between Shazam and Black Adam was always complicated. Joey had come to realize that.
"If you really insist, we can go ambush him right now."
"No, no, no…!"
Billy clearly took that seriously, shaking his head like a rattle drum.
"We can't just ambush someone? Besides, I don't think he's as evil as the Wizard said."
"Billy, I almost feel like apologizing for how I judged you before."
This world's Shazam was still largely the one Joey was familiar with, and realizing that gave him a bit of comfort.
For the first time, he felt something like stepping into a comfort zone.
Being reborn into a comic world he knew should have meant familiarity everywhere—but so far, aside from briefly encountering a still-arrogant Tony Stark in another world, he hadn't met anyone truly familiar.
Joey patted Shazam on the shoulder. He felt that Shazam would definitely shine in this world's Justice League.
"Keep it up, Billy. You're different from the other heroes in this world. Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman—strictly speaking, none of them are true heroes. But you, Billy—you are a real hero."
"Am I really that amazing?"
Billy was instantly flattered, his flight path becoming wobbly with excitement.
"Superman, I've got an idea!"
Billy suddenly recalled that night when they fought another Superman, and a brilliant idea instantly formed in his mind.
"We could form a superhero team—just like what Cyborg did before!"
While talking to Billy, Joey's vision periodically swept across Gotham, especially keeping an eye on Batman—just in case that dangerous old man pulled something insane again.
Batman was still at the top floor of his damaged Wayne Casino building, drinking heavily. The fact that the old guy hadn't already dropped dead from a heart attack was pure luck.
Half-distracted, Joey simply nodded.
"Yeah, sure..."
Seeing that Superman didn't object, Billy became even more excited.
"I've even thought of the name! You, Batman, Cyborg, Starfire, Aquaman, that annoying Wonder Woman, and me—that's seven people total. We could call it the 'Seven'… no, how about the 'Super Seven'?!"
Joey's gaze shifted downward again. The Justice League Watchtower was buried deep beneath Gotham—much safer than being in space.
He spotted another Batman, currently in a bio-lab cloning a new body for Hawkgirl…
Still distracted, Joey responded absentmindedly—until Billy said that name.
"Yeah, em… em?!"
Joey's reaction startled Billy.
"Is Super Seven a bad name?"
Of course it was bad!
That one phrase Billy casually blurted out instantly dragged up all of Joey's unpleasant memories from his previous world.
Billy, as a thirteen-year-old kid, just wanted naming rights for the new team. Joey would've let him have his fun as long as the name wasn't too ridiculous.
But Super Seven… that was way too ridiculous.
Joey barely needed to think to come up with a reasonable way to reject Billy:
"No, Billy. Think about it—what happens when more members join us in the future? Are we supposed to rename the team every single time?"
Based on Joey's current assessment, the little group around him wasn't exactly united—and definitely not all that 'just.'
Still, better to go with something already established. Compared to Super Seven, Justice League sounded a whole lot better.
One of Cyborg's drones flew over from a distance and handed both Joey and Shazam a small communication device.
"The communication network is online. Teleportation is ready as well—your cousin wants to see you."
Ignoring Shazam, who was dry-heaving from teleportation sickness nearby, Joey stepped out of the portal. Once on the other side, he lifted off the ground and quickly flew toward Kara's holding area.
The outer door of the cell had been redesigned by Cyborg—replacing the laser bars with a transparent energy barrier. Unless it overloaded or lost power, no one was getting a hand through it.
When Joey saw Kara inside, his irritation only grew.
"Someone seems to be living a little too comfortably, huh?"
Apparently, the Watchtower's storage held quite a few Kryptonian artifacts. Starfire had changed Kara into a pure white Kryptonian casual outfit.
She sat cross-legged on the floor, with a cup of mocha coffee and two chocolate brownies beside her.
If not for the bruise on the left side of her face—courtesy of Joey's punch—this didn't look like a prison cell at all.
Kara looked at Joey's displeased expression, took a bite out of both pieces of cake, and greeted him without a shred of sincerity:
"Hey, Kal-El. Want a piece of cake?"
To Joey, she looked like she was guarding her food more than offering it. And even if she were serious, he wouldn't take it.
"Cyborg said you wanted to see me. What now? Planning to walk me through your Earth invasion strategy?"
"For invasion plans, you can just talk to those Martians. Conquering an ununified primitive planet like this doesn't require any elaborate strate—cough—cough! I'm choking! Hurry up and save me!"
Joey just stood there, watching her clutch her throat and put on an exaggerated act.
For a brief moment—before using his x-ray vision—he even thought if she actually choked to death, that brownie would deserve a medal.
"...You do remember we have x-ray vision, right?"
Seeing her trick fail, Kara swallowed the cake, took a sip of mocha, and continued without restraint:
"You're disgusting. Using x-ray vision to look at your own cousin—ugh."
"Can we have a slightly healthier conversation for once?"
Even a pig wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. No matter what nonsense Kara said now, Joey wasn't taking the bait again.
"Just spit it out. I'm busy."
"Busy gathering your little freak squad to protect Earth and fight your own father? What a devoted son you are."
Kara looked at Joey like he was an idiot. Clearly, her cousin still hadn't figured out the real purpose behind the Kryptonian army's arrival.
Krypton was in Sector 2813. Earth was in the neighboring Sector 2814. A primitive planet this close to home had once been strategically important to Krypton.
But after Jor-El stabilized Krypton's core and seized power, survival was no longer an urgent issue for their people.
Kryptonian leadership had already removed Earth from their list of high-priority targets.
Kara's original mission here had indeed been conquest—but under the current circumstances, it felt more like a vacation.
Even being locked up by her cousin? Just another part of that vacation.
In four days, she'd be heading back to Krypton anyway.
"Don't be stupid, Kal. All military action is based on benefit. Even if Krypton takes this primitive planet, it would take at least twenty years to make it truly valuable."
She took another sip of mocha.
"To Krypton, even the 391 Martians hiding on Earth right now are more valuable than the planet itself."
"Your father mobilized such a massive force, retreating from distant sectors to come back here… do you really think it's just for this planet?"
Hearing that, Joey suddenly realized he might have been stuck in a mental blind spot.
"...Wait. Don't tell me he's coming for me?"
Kara rolled her eyes.
"Oh wow, you finally figured it out. What else would it be? You're his only son."
That explained why Kara had been so terrified when she accidentally killed Joey earlier.
If Kal-El had just been some random Kryptonian rebel, his death wouldn't have mattered much—just another report to file.
But killing her own cousin—the only son of Krypton's supreme leader, Jor-El?
That wasn't something a report could fix.
No Kryptonian wanted to face Jor-El's wrath.
For Joey—who carried the soul of an Earth human—Jor-El was just a stranger. Someone he had never met.
But for Jor-El, it was completely different.
Unlike certain individuals who had fathered dozens of children and took zero responsibility…
Jor-El had only one son.
Kal-El.