No matter where on the planet, whether in plain view or long forgotten, every screen displayed the same image.
On the giant screens in Times Square, the global supreme ruler, dressed in a high-collared white combat suit, gazed sharply into the camera.
In a small household in the Czech Republic, the television flickered to life, showing the face of the ruler who had crushed all human resistance with overwhelming force.
He sat behind a desk, his fingers interlaced before him, and addressed the world: "Citizens of Earth, we have been betrayed."
Children playing in a park gathered in confusion, their attention drawn to the screen of a handheld game console.
The image of Superman, cold and composed, glanced downward slightly, his brows furrowed as he spoke: "One of the world's so-called heroes, Batman, has betrayed our regime and stolen a critical piece of equipment."
"Batman has lived among us for three years. During that time, he has consistently worked in secret, aiding terrorists and even assisting them in attacks on our military forces."
On the world's largest video streaming platform, Superman's live address dominated the entire page.
His voice echoed throughout the underground base's hospital room.
Soren's eyes widened, his gaze locked onto the screen, staring intently at the familiar yet unfamiliar of Clark.
"Through lies and deception, Batman achieved his goals. He has stolen one of our allies," Clark's voice declared in unison across a dozen screens.
His piercing gaze seemed to cut through the camera, directly meeting the eyes of those watching, including Soren.
"This cannot continue. I must reveal his true identity—"
Before he could finish his next sentence, the video feed was abruptly disrupted by a powerful surge of static.
The screen began to distort, breaking into fragmented, colorful lines.
The broadcast signal deteriorated, turning Superman's voice into an unintelligible murmur.
...Bruce watched the screen coldly, his fingers moving swiftly across the keyboard.
Lines of code appeared rapidly, stacking like dominoes, triggering a deeply embedded shortcut command.
The command traveled from the base, a thousand meters underground, up to the Watchtower stationed in near-Earth orbit.
From there, a satellite signal capable of covering the entire globe was broadcast, interrupting Superman's global address.
In the Justice League headquarters, Superman frowned as he detected the signal interference.
He turned to Cyborg and asked, "Victor?"
Victor's cybernetic eye projected a flurry of holographic screens, codes, and data streams into the air around him.
His brow furrowed as his mechanical fist clenched tightly. "It's Batman—he's using the Watchtower to interfere with all global signals. Our transmission has been cut off."
For a brief moment, a dark storm flickered in Superman's eyes.
"You're a technopath. I trust your abilities—find a way to bypass Batman's interference," Superman commanded, his voice low and steeped in shadow as he sat back in his high-backed chair, almost swallowed by the darkness.
Victor's mechanical arm whirred and clicked as he processed the incoming data.
Holographic projections flashed before his cybernetic eye, expanding and vanishing as quickly as they appeared. "The Watchtower's interference is incredibly strong, Superman. It's also the largest satellite in near-Earth orbit. It's nearly impossible to connect to any other signal while it's active."
"I see." Superman's expression hardened as he stood, his brow lifting incrementally with determination.
His feet lifted off the ground, and he slowly began to float into the air.
"In that case," he said, his voice cold and resolute, "we simply need to make sure the Watchtower no longer exists."
A flash of white rocketed out of the Justice League headquarters, shooting towards the outer atmosphere!
Meanwhile, deep beneath the northwestern Alaskan wilderness, inside the underground base, the dozen screens went black.
The dark, silent screens reflected Soren's pale face.
He hadn't anticipated that Clark would go this far.
He was actually about to reveal Batman's secret identity to the entire world!
Soren clenched his fists, feeling a hollow ache in his chest, like a vital part of him had just been ripped away.
"He won't just let this go," Soren whispered, almost as if talking to himself, "When Clark sets his mind on something, he becomes incredibly persistent…"
Suddenly, his expression stiffened, and he spun around, "He's going to destroy the Watchtower! Bruce!"
At that moment, the signal from the Watchtower, displayed on Bruce's screens, abruptly cut off.
"—It's already done," Bruce growled, his voice low and menacing like a caged beast, "I'm activating the Icarus Protocol."
Without hesitation, Bruce pressed the final command key, his face unnervingly calm, without even a blink.
The Icarus Protocol, a self-destruct program he had secretly embedded in the Watchtower since its inception, was now triggered.
Once activated, the Watchtower would begin to disassemble itself in space, breaking apart into major components that would eventually fall towards Earth.
…This meant that the last base of the once-mighty Justice League would be obliterated today, destroyed by both Superman and Batman together.
The final command raced across the skies, reaching the core of the Watchtower's systems.
The grand, colossal space station, the Watchtower, like the Titanic meeting its iceberg, began to silently break apart in the cold expanse of the cosmos.
All its components slowly separated, and in a few hours, under Earth's gravity, they would become flaming debris plummeting into the oceans below.
The white cape floated silently above the disintegrating Watchtower.
In the boundless darkness of space, Superman stood, watching as the Watchtower fell apart.
His Kryptonian blue eyes blazed with fury.
So this is your response, Bruce?
Superman's wrath ignited like a wildfire sweeping across a dry prairie, consuming the last remnants of his past friendship with Batman.
He remained there, the solitary witness to the collapse of the Watchtower, as if watching a private tragedy unfold on a grand stage.
As fragments of the tower drifted past him, Superman finally turned his head, glancing back at the blazing sun behind him.
His eyes lowered slightly, before he suddenly snapped them open and shot back towards Earth!
Returning to the Justice League headquarters, he resumed the global broadcast that had been interrupted.