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Chapter 174: Where Is Darkseid? I
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It all started after the defeat of Steppenwolf. Superman supposedly lost his mind, bringing chaos upon the world, or he would've if not for the Justice League, or specifically Diana and Batman, the only other members present for the incident.
His target seemed to be mostly Batman, giving him quite the beating, and even trying to kill him, but he was stopped by Diana.
It didn't take the Justice League long to come to a conclusion, basically finding out the source of the problem.
He was mind controlled. It wasn't a hard conclusion to come to, but the required information to resolve the issue was hard to get.
Who mind controlled him? It's quite the hard thing to figure out, especially in the heat of the battle. They had to find out before Superman causes too much destruction.
Justice League did what they do best, and figured out the perpetrator, Maxwell Lord. Now, solving him where things took an unexpected turn.
Maxwell Lord was a powerful business magnate and manager of the Justice League International.
After a certain incident gave him mind control powers, he became more and more power hungry, eventually usurping the spy organization Checkmate as its Black King.
While doing all of that in secret, he was among them, the Justice League, moving around like a snake, seeking to satiate his hunger for power.
Lord used his powers to mind control Superman to brutally beat up Batman and attack Wonder Woman, making him believe he was fighting his old enemies.
Lord had never had the ability to control someone to such an extent, but he revealed that he had been subtly increasing his psychic hold over Superman over the course of his time among them.
After barely escaping from Superman, Wonder Woman confronted Lord and bound him in her Lasso of Truth.
She demanded he tell her how to free Superman from his control, but Lord told her the only way would be his own death. For the good of humanity, Wonder Woman grabbed Lord's head and snapped his neck.
Even through death, Lord shattered the superhero community by predicting his own murder and having an advanced technology called Brother Eye cast the footage of his execution across the world.
Lord became a martyr of sorts, ruining Wonder Woman's reputation for murdering him so grotesquely. Superman, though he was saved by Wonder Woman's actions, rebuked her decision and distanced himself from her.
You know, the no killing rule and his moral compass making him very much against murder, even if it's for his sake.
Batman surprisingly didn't say anything, he accepted what she did and continued to work with her as usual. Working with Ian can do that to you.
That brings us to this very moment. Diana was laying on the surface of the moon, breathing heavily. She was also very sweaty, and her clothes were a mess, creating quite the alluring scenery.
Even Ian would have to say that she's one of the most gorgeous women he had the pleasure of meeting if not the most, sporting a slender and athletic frame with a well-toned yet muscular build, made even more attractive by her current state.
"What a monster," Diana mumbled under her breath, eyeing Ian who was also looking at her, albeit for a different reason.
"Thanks, you're also monstrously gorgeous." Ian returned the compliment.
"Quite the pervert huh," Diana laughed, seeming comfortable around him. Perhaps a world that distanced itself from her for saving made her more at ease with someone who saw no problem with her actions.
"Not at all actually." Ian shook his head, earning an odd look from Diana.
"Right..." She nodded, seemingly believing him, or not.
"But you're right, you're a lot stronger than your other self, way too strong actually. What happened?" Ian wondered.
The state of the moon was proof enough of their ridiculous power, or at least hers because Ian mimicked her so as not to destroy the moon by accident.
The devastation was even seen by the people of earth. The changes in the moon and the newly created craters were detected by earth's technology.
"I'm not sure. Not long ago, many gods started to bless me with their powers. Nearly all of Pantheon gods." Diana answered honestly.
"Oh," Ian nodded, contemplating things for a bit. This definitely would've happened if he didn't exist, so what exactly did he do that brought this sequence of events?
"You know something?" Diana asked, and further explained, "I tried to contact the gods, but they didn't respond."
"Yeah, I visited Olympus a while ago to retrieve what was pledged to me and a compensation, but I didn't really do anything bad per se." Ian honestly explained. Lying is a sin, and he doesn't sin minus the times he does.
"Per se? What have you done?" Diana frowned and asked as she stood up.
"Well..." Ian considered whether he should say it or not, but most important of all, he contemplated how he should say it.
The way something is said can change the results entirely despite meaning basically the same thing.
That's pretty much how cults are made. You can either say I find human meat delicious, or god granted me a second bible, the real bible that preaches about the benefits of cannibalism.
Next thing you know, you have a tribe of human meat eaters willing to provide what you want without needing to do much.
"I had to do it. It was for the greater good as not only did I limit the gods' mostly negative influence over earth, but I also helped you, a hero, become more powerful. Granted, your new powers weren't something intended, but hey, a good thing is a good thing."
Without waiting for her to speak, Ian grabbed her waist, pulling her towards him before teleporting back to earth, to the same place he took her from.
And then he left her alone, vanishing before she can respond. It was a fun fight, but it was time to go back to business.
"They gave me their blessing because of him?" Diana frowned, "They want to use me against him? Did they think I'm an enemy of his?"
She turned her attention to the statue before her, that of herself. A heroic individual who has done her best to protect the earth for a long while, "Come to think of it, why are we not enemies?"
One would assume Ian to be an arch-Nemesis of the Justice League with all that he has done, but that was far from the truth.
Even Diana was unsure of why she was so comfortable around him when everything about him tells her that he was a bad person.
But somehow everyone is very kind to him. Hell, even the Pantheons were very kind to him, granting Diana their blessings so as to deepen her friendship with Ian.
After all, who could in their wildest dreams assume one of Earth's most valiant heroes to be a friend with a villain?
That same villain however doesn't consider himself to be as such. Whoever thinks that is straight-up delusional in his mind.
He was after all on the verge of clashing against the personification of evil, the hole in all things. One of the most feared beings in all of time.