After a while.
Justice League, Watchtower Satellite Headquarters.
"...That's the situation in its entirety. Despite some difficulties, the Teen Titans have successfully completed their mission."
Inside the central conference room, Steve Trevor, the head of the investigation unit, just ended the communication.
Superman, Batman, Cyborg, and Green Lantern fell into contemplation at the table.
"Hey! Don't be so grim, you should be happy. I always said that young people shouldn't be underestimated."
Finally, Hal sparked up the conversation, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
"Wait, shouldn't you show a little gratitude to that new Titan who came from the city to save Conner? What was his name, Yui?"
"…Hal." Batman suddenly called out Green Lantern's name.
"What?" Hal asked in confusion.
"When's the next time Stewart is on Earth? Also, the kid is called Yuri."
In Batman's words, Stewart referred to John Stewart, who like Hal, was also a Green Lantern.
As cosmic police officers, the Green Lantern Corps oversaw an extensive territory; Earth was merely a minute planet within Hal's sector.
Within Earth's sector, there were two Green Lanterns: Hal and John Stewart. Coincidentally, they were both Earthlings.
According to the Green Lantern Corps' regulations, Lanterns were meant to patrol all civilizations in their sectors; they weren't supposed to be stationed on a single planet. However, because both Hal and John had a special attachment to Earth, coupled with the inexplicable frequency of catastrophes on Earth, they struck an agreement. One of them would regularly stay on Earth while the other patrolled the sector. Once the patrolling Lantern completed one cycle, they would switch places.
"What are you implying?" Hal raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying I don't measure up to John in your eyes?"
Batman fell silent immediately, seemingly confirming Hal's interpretation.
Hal let out a frustrated chuckle. Just as he was about to speak up, Batman shot him a certain look that made Hal's spine tingle.
'This emo guy...'
"Hal's right. I've been curious about that promising kid Wally mentioned. Maybe I should meet him sometime." Superman agreed with Hal's statement.
"He does have potential, but he lacks the necessary sense of responsibility and duty. This implies a great deal of instability. I don't believe we should trust him just yet."
Batman's expression remained impassive, "We discussed this last time. Until we figure out where he's sourcing his alien technology, we should remain cautious."
"You don't need to be so hard on him. He's still a kid, and who knows how much leftover alien tech there is on Earth, just like the Scarab."
Superman's tone softened, "Besides, he's already a member of the Teen Titans. I believe he and Conner, will become good friends. They just need a bit of time to get along."
"Suit yourself, but I'll be keeping an eye on him..."
At this point, Batman turned to Cyborg and asked, "Vic, do we have any results?"
"I've checked the databases of the Watchtower, A.R.G.U.S., and the DEO. There are no records related to this Church of Blood."
Cyborg shook his head, revealing that he had been searching for information about the Blood Cult.
"The only thing that might be related to the Blood Cult is this."
Cyborg's mechanized shoulder suddenly projected a holographic device, and a holographic image appeared on the Justice League's round table. The projection played a video that resembled surveillance footage.
The video showed a group of individuals dressed in blood-red robes darting through a shadowy street corner.
"Where is this?"
As soon as Batman saw the dark alley, his pupils constricted. He was intimately familiar with this location.
Cyborg nodded.
"Exactly, this place is Gotham. The footage is from about three months ago, and it aligns with the information sent by Titan Tower."
"In other words, the girl named Raven that the Titans rescued didn't lie. Our Earth has once again attracted a terrifying enemy, much like Darkseid from back then."
Superman's expression turned serious, "We all know how brutal that war was. I won't allow the same thing to happen again. So, from now on, investigating and eradicating the Blood Cult is the Justice League's top priority!"
Meanwhile, at Titans Tower.
Yuri entered the basement alone and headed to his car in the parking lot, which led to his makeshift laboratory.
After learning about Trigon and Azarath, he felt immense pressure.
A powerful demon that could traverse the multiverse was on the verge of invading Earth, putting the entire world in peril.
While Yuri was aware that the DC Universe's Earth was plagued with various disasters, his understanding of what "disasters" entailed was limited. He only knew the term in a vague sense.
"Why is it that after causing trouble in Central City, I'm suddenly facing Trigon, an out-of-this-world level threat?"
In Central City, the villains are just too weak. They're easy to beat using any method. Yuri thought that a major crisis event would probably need to wait three to five years to arrive. So, even though Yuri knew he had to enhance his abilities, he didn't feel a sense of urgency. The motivation to unlock new DNA also dwindled.
But reality slapped Yuri hard. Not only did the major crisis arrive, it did so without any warning, and it wouldn't care if he was ready or not.
He had to unlock the new samples quickly!
"If I'm not mistaken, the watch activated the capture mode when I was entangled by the tentacles." Yuri approached the lab table, extending his left hand and activating the watch to search for new DNA samples in the database.
"Nothing?"
After a while, Yuri noticed that the database didn't have any newly unlocked extraterrestrial samples, nor were there any hints for the old samples.
"What's going on? Is the watch malfunctioning?" Yuri furrowed his brow in confusion.
"I remember Jericho mentioning that I should experience the greatness of Trigon's power... Raven also said that Trigon's power can corrupt all things, even the pure Azarath was corrupted into a land of death..."
Could it be?
Yuri was taken aback, immediately clicking on the icon for Gray Matter.
Gray Matter's holographic projection appeared on the watch face, showing no apparent changes compared to before.
Yuri breathed a sigh of relief. The holographic projection was actually a preview mode, showing what the transformed state would look like.
Continuing, Yuri clicked on icon after icon, finding nothing amiss.
It wasn't until he brought up "Four-Arms" that he noticed something unusual.
"Hmm?"
The bulky Four-Arms had grown in size, its spiked arms slightly elongated, its skin's color deepened, and its muscles became more developed.
Apart from that, there were no other changes; no appearance of a genetically altered form, no completely new transformation.
If anything could be said about the change, it was... the Four-Arms had grown?
Yuri couldn't help but sink into contemplation.
"Perhaps it's related to Trigon's power. Should I ask Raven?"
°°°
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