Sinestro opened a wormhole and entered the cave, with some of his top enforcers and a couple manhunters following him. The leader of his own Corps looked around at their surroundings before turning to the couple.
"Impressive dwellings you have here." Sinestro remarked sarcastically fashion.
"Are you going to help me or not?" Homelander angrily asked.
"Which Earth Lanterns did you face off against?" Sinestro questioned.
"Guy Gardner and John Stewart." Homelander told him.
"I noticed the understandable contempt in your voice at mentioning Gardner. You have been facing difficulty with Guy Gardner the most?" Sinestro asked.
"No." Homelander said.
"He almost made him cry." Stormfront spoke up, angering Homelander.
"He got lucky." Homelander angrily told Sinestro.
"How many times did he get lucky?" Stormfront asked.
"I see you have powers from the Rock of Eternity." Sinestro told her.
"How do you know about the rock?" Stormfront asked.
"One of my Earthly allies is also powered by it. I doubt he would appreciate a rival." Sinestro stated.
Stormfront realized he was referring to Black Adam and could tell he knew she had encountered him somehow.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Stormfront lied.
Sinestro let out a sigh, all while pinching his temples.
"Arkillo, despite his defeat, was one of my best men. Widely respected amongst the lower and higher ranks. He was my answer to Kilowog and his superior at that. A valued member of my cause of bringing order to the Universe that its incompetent Guardians and feckless enforcers have failed to do for eons. Now I face his successor: an incompetent man-child who has little to no idea of the true potential of the weapon he carries and someone who cannot even control his own lover. As for you, I've been told about you through Arkillo. Still pining over the dreams of the blusterous xenophobic orator who led your home to defeat. You both represent the many foibles of the human race: arrogant, short-sighted, and delusional. You are hardly what many would call a master race." Sinestro told both of them.
Homelander and Stormfront turned to Sinestro.
"I don't appreciate your tone." Homelander said.
"Likely because you were supposed to. However, even as a Green Lantern, I have learned that even the faintest bit of potential is still potential. So I suppose you should prove to me your worth." Sinestro told Homelander.
Batman and Green Arrow entered Mr. Terrific's lab. He was setting his new invention on the table, tiny discs small enough to fit in one's palm.
"Waller's models were amateur stuff." Mr. Terrific said. "Big, clunky, lost most of the radiation during the explosion."
"I suppose yours don't." Batman said.
"Correct. Soldier Boy's radiation wasn't different from the one we find in a reactor. Still, the Compound-V he had in his body made it different. It literally burns the V out of their system but usually kills them. That's why I had to be careful with the anti-V bombs."
Mr. Terrific grabbed one of the discs and threw it on the corner of his lab once it hit the ground, creating a small light yellow explosion.
"Are you sure these things work?" Green Arrow asked.
Mr. Terrific tossed a blood tube at Green Arrow. He read the name on it.
"Reginald Franklin? That's A-Train's blood." Ollie said.
"It's also completely clean of Compound-V. We got it after the Seven faced the Legion of Doom; I burned the V from it using the same technique Waller's goons used to replicate Soldier Boy's powers."
"So, are we supposed to just throw these tiny things at the supes?" Green Arrow asked.
"It's activated by kinetic force." Batman observed.
"So if I just have to put it on the tip of an arrow, it will work the moment I shoot them."
"Way ahead of you." Mr. Terrific said.
A compartment opened on the wall, revealing a quiver full of anti-V exploding arrows and batarangs with the anti-V bombs in the middle.
"Just use them. It explodes. They're powerless." Mr. Terrific said.
Oliver picked one of the arrows and smiled, looking at it.
"Tonight's dinner: fried pork."
Crimson Countess hid in an old lake house. Big mistake: that was the same lake house Soldier Boy bought her and the first place he looked for her after she disappeared.
"How much did the Russians pay you?" Soldier Boy asked Crimson Countess.
"They didn't." Crimson Countess told him.
Ben's heart cracked upon hearing that.
"What? They didn't pay you anything?" Soldier Boy questioned trying to make sense of what she had just told him.
Crimson Countess' look of fear was starting to change into resentment, the kind hidden deep inside for decades.
"I loved you. All those years that they burned me and that they pumped me full of poison. I held on to the hope you would come and save me because I still loved you." Soldier Boy said.
Crimson Countess glared at him defiantly.
"I never loved you. I hated you. We all did." She declared.
Soldier Boy fought back the tears as he charged his weapon when, suddenly, the phone went off. Soldier Boy stopped and sighed, knowing who he was talking to. He went over to the phone and answered it.
"We need you back, immediately." Waller told him.
"Alright, I'll be quick." He said.
Soldier Boy hung up the phone. He grabbed Crimson Countess on both sides of her head and snapped her neck. Her face still bore the determined look of hatred, much to Soldier Boy's chagrin.
Homelander's followers entered where Homelander, Stormfront, and Sinestro were waiting for them.
"Who's the alien?" Blue Hawk asked.
"He's here to give us the edge we need." Homelander told them.
He was about to speak when Sinestro cut him off, much to his irritation.
"I am Thaal Sinestro, leader of the Sinestro Corps. You have all been tasked with a mission to bring about a new order for both of our home universes by killing the Justice League." Sinestro said.
Blue Hawk scoffed at that.
"How are you going to do that?" Blue Hawk asked.
"By bringing in my own Lantern Corps. You all stand no chance as an army, let alone as any form of military unit. A good number of you are woefully weak." He said, looking at the group of supes before turning to Stormfront.
"Inexperienced." He told her.
"And inept." He told Homelander.
"You want to say that again you pink fuck?" One of the students said, trying to intimidate him.
"Yes actually, try your best. I can assure you that it will not go as well as you think." Sinestro said.
Homelander pointed the ring at Sinestro and prepared to fire at him. Only for the beam to curve and blast Stormfront much to his confusion.
"What the fuck?!" Stormfront yelled at him.
"It wasn't me!" Homelander defended himself.
He tried to fire his ring only this time a strange alien-looking drill came out and immediately attacked Stormfront who tried to pull it away from him. Homelander tried to get it to stop only for him to return back to normal, much to his horror.
"There is a reason why the official name of my corps is the Sinestro Corps." Sinestro said not even looking at Homelander.
Sinestro turned to Homelander, his breath hitched as Sinestro towered above him. The yellow light adding only to his aura of intimidation.
"Have I made myself clear?" Sinestro said.
"Yes!" Blue Hawk said.
"Good." Sinestro said. The drill construct stopped as Stormfront fell to her knees.
"Your task is simple." Sinestro said.
Using his ring he formed three pieces of equipment.
"Your job is to install these three pieces of equipment. It will create a portal that will allow more of my men to enter your universe in large numbers, one by one is simple, but this portal will allow a massive attack." He said.
"Got it!" Blue Hawk said.
"I'm afraid you're mistaken. They are going to install the equipment. You will provide a distraction for the League." Sinestro said pointing to Homelander and Stormfront.
"What?" One of the students asked.
"You can't be fucking serious!" Blue Hawk questioned.
"I am extraordinarily serious. If we triumph, I will make sure you are reimbursed in any way possible." Sinestro told them. "Unless of course you would like to challenge me once more?" He asked.
Everyone was silent, the supes all unwilling to challenge Sinestro. Homelander spoke up.
"Where do you want us to put it?" Homelander asked.
Without their leader, Homelanders' followers were going on a rampage. Attacking anything on site. Batman watched as two God-U students held a crowd hostage in a restaurant. One threw a table at the cops stationed outside while the other manipulated the earth to throw rocks at them. The police were pinned down.
"I say we just kill them and get it over with." One student said, he was more portly built than his comrade.
"What about Homelander?" Another asked.
"Fuck him. We all saw how he and Stormfront did against them." The student said.
The other thought it over for a moment before saying.
"You're right." He said.
Upon hearing this, Batman shut down the lights inside of the building. He threw two of the batarangs at the blind and confused students. They exploded and fell down onto the ground. Batman landed in front of them.
"It's Batman!" One yelled.
He tried to punch Batman's face, only for the Dark Knight to catch the fist. Batman clenched on the fist, slowly exerting more force into his grip as the student fell down to their knees. Their face winced in pain as Batman started to crush their fist before letting go. The student walked back, clutching their hand in pain. The other student grabbed a chair and prepared to smash it against Batman while his back was turned, only for his target to turn around and respond with a punch to the ribs. The student fell down onto his knees, clutching his broken ribs. Batman heard footsteps and saw the first student lunge at him with a knife in an attempt to stab him. Batman caught him by the wrist and disarmed the student. The other one attacked Batman from behind and grabbed him. The student squeezed Batman, likely hoping it would kill him, but found that it was not working much, to both his horror. Batman used the back of his own head to headbutt the student, causing him to let go. The other student threw a series of punches at the Caped Crusader. Only for Batman to effortlessly dodge and counter them. The other one soon attempted to join in, only for Batman to grab both of them by the head and slam their heads into one another.
"They're gone." Batman told them.
"The fuck did you say?" The student who suggested killing the hostages said.
"Your powers, they're gone." Batman told them.
The students looked at one another in disbelief.
"You're lying!" The portly one said.
"Do you really want to try me?" Batman threatened.
"Yeah!" The student yelled.
"Matt, stand down." His compatriot warned him.
"No fucking way!" Matt yelled, running at Batman.
Batman punched him in the nose, completely breaking it and knocking out a few teeth. He was stunned. Batman flipped the man onto the ground and broke his leg, eliciting a pained yell from the student. Batman glared at the student, who was already on his knees, and appeared to have soiled himself judging by the stain on his pants. Batman cuffed the would-be murderers. The one who was still conscious sobbed as the reality of their situation was made clear. Batman watched on, feeling very little pity for the man's plight. As pitiful as it all was, the fact they were willing to kill innocents just to spite the League said it all. Vought may have helped make them this way, but ultimately, it was their choice.
One month away from Earth, Green Lantern Kyle Rayner was used to flying in space for long periods by this point. He wasn't lonely. He had Kilowog with him. The Bolovaxian Green Lantern watched through his ring footage the Justice League sent of Arkillo beat up in the hospital. Kilowog laughed seeing Arkillo in that state.
"Don't you get tired of watching this?" Kyle asked.
"There are not a lot of ways to get entertainment in here, kid." Kilowog argued.
"I just don't think it's that funny. His ring went to that Homelander psycho. John and Guy actually struggled to deal with him and his girlfriend. I should be on Earth-Seven helping." Kyle explained.
"You're helping out here. Think about it: why was Arkillo in the Secret Society instead of Sinestro?"
"Because Sinestro is busy with something important and sent Arkillo in his space."
"You're learning." Kilowog teased and flew upwards as Kyle tried to keep pace with him.
"I already learned I was Green Lantern for a while before you came back from the dead."
"No need to get defensive, poozer. We're here to crush Yellow Lanterns. Hal fought Sinestro just before this multiversal mess on Earth, here, in this Sector, if the Sinestro Corps have business here, we'll find them." Kilowog stated.
Kyle flew faster and surpassed Kilowog; he cast green light over a cloud of cosmic dust, revealing blurred patterns in a specific direction.
"Look at this. It's like something came through here several times, too big for meteorites, too small for ships, bodies."
"Yellow Lanterns. Coming to this planet… It's supposed to be uninhabited. Something's not right."
"You're learning." Kyle teased.
The two Green Lanterns landed on this planet.
To their surprise, the planet was very habited by many different alien species. So much so that Kyle and Kilowog could blend in the crowds simply by hiding their Green Lantern uniforms. They walked around a fair, surrounded by aliens selling and buying food in the center of a city made of freshly built buildings. On the biggest building, a familiar face, Sinestro's likeness, was displayed in graffiti above the words 'YOUR LEADER'. Kyle and Kilowog heard people talking about their time on that planet, which they called 'Sinestria'. Kilowog secretly scanned the crowds with his ring.
"Look at this." He told Kyle. "Half of these powers have a history of committing crimes across the galaxy. I guess they fit just right in Sinestro's private planet."
"No wonder he didn't have time for Luthor's games." Kyle said. "Something like this probably took a lot of work."
"Yeah, I'm already notifying the Guardians. His party's over." Kilowog said.
"How long do you think until more lanterns get here?" Kyle asked.
"Probably a while."
"You really wanna wait?"
Martian Manhunter and Queen Mera stood before the teleporter.
"Mera, I want to say that Arthur…" J'onn was about to say until the Queen of Atlantis cut him off.
"J'onn, save it. I know Arthur is alive. I can feel it." Mera said.
Soon enough, Arthur appeared before them, carrying the skeletal remains of The Deep. He was still burned but appeared to be mostly unharmed.
"Arthur, who was that?" J'onn asked.
"The Deep, see to it that his remains are properly taken care of. Pervert or not, he might have a family who will want to bury or cremate him." Aquaman said.
"What happened?" Mera asked.
"Stormfront and Homelander told him to try and tip over a cruise ship. I confronted him, and Stormfront threw a lightning bolt into the ocean. I survived. He didn't." Aquaman told them.
"I see we should probably provide an update to Annie. She's not far." J'onn told him.
"I'll do it." Arthur said.
"Do you expect her to react the same as Campbell?" J'onn asked.
"No." Aquaman bluntly told his friend.
"You are certain?" J'onn asked.
"Yes." Arthur bluntly replied.
Yellow Lanterns Scivor and Braach watched over Sinestro's palace. Scivor was a faceless alien covered with spikes, and Braach was a red shark-humanoid. To their surprise, three children covered in old cloth threw rocks at them. They flew towards them in rage.
"What's wrong with you children?!" Braach yelled.
"Don't you respect your protectors?" Scivor asked.
Suddenly, they were hit in the back so powerfully they were both knocked out. Kilowog stood behind them carrying a large construct of a hammer.
"No, they don't." Kilowog said.
The 'children' fell on the ground as pieces of cloth. They were only constructs created by Kyle to distract them.
The Green Lanterns easily entered Sinestro's palace with their only security down. They saw the palace was only halfway done, and the construction was still happening, all the security system was a bunch of pieces yet to be built. They followed the path of what was already constructed.
Sinestro's private room had holographic screens presenting footage of Homelander and Stormfront both before and after upgrading their powers. Sinestro watched it and shook his head in disapproval. He communicated to someone through his ring.
"They're untrained and sloppy, but at least they're eager." Sinestro said. "Most importantly, they got the full attention of the Justice League, including Gardner and Stewart… Yes, it's worth the risk. Earth Green Lanterns have been a particular headache for years, and the Justice League as well. We'll strike when their guard is down and fully concentrated on the two. They won't have a chance. An attack from the entire Sinestro Corp? At least half of the Justice League will be dead."
Kyle and Kilowog heard it all, hidden behind the walls beside the door. Kyle lit up his ring like a blow torch and showed it to Kilowog.
"Wanna end this now?" He asked.
"Thought you'd never ask." Kilowog replied, showing his own ring.
They were ready to attack Sinestro, when Braach and Scivor joined him, along with Amon Sur, Lyssa Drak, Moose, Enfakus, Maash, and Feena Sik. Too many Yellow Lanterns for only two Green Lanterns to fight. Enfakus had his ring pointed to his mouth. He was the one talking to Sinestro.
"Very well." Enfakus said. "These two said we may have invaders."
"Scivor and I were attacked from behind."
"Check the palace." Sinestro ordered.
Kyle created a barrel construct, an emulation of Donkey Kong's weapon. He hurled it far away, causing the Yellow Lanterns to hear a loud noise.
"That came from the east area." Feena Sik said.
As the Yellow Lanterns went to check the noise, Kyle and Kilowog escaped from the opposite direction and flew off the planet.
Hughie and Annie sat in the courtyard of the Watchtower, her head leaning into his neck.
"I'm worried about Butcher." Hughie told her.
"You don't think he'll comply?" Annie said.
"I don't. He doesn't trust the League to stop Homelander. You know Butcher." Hughie said.
"They'll stop him before he does something too rash." Annie said.
"I hope you're right, but I am not sure. I mean, this is the guy who rammed through a whale just to spite a supe. I really hope he won't get himself killed just to get Homelander and spite the League." Hughie said.
"I don't think he'd ever let himself get killed, not with Becca around. I mean she's like his reason for living, right?" Annie asked.
Although the couple knew about the elephant in the room muddled Annie's logic. Hughie still felt uneasy about all of this talk about Butcher potentially dying. So he decided to veer the conversation towards somewhere else.
"I've heard recently that some people are moving to different Earths." Hughie said.
"Really?" Annie asked, sounding genuinely curious.
"Yeah, I read about it online." Hughie said.
"Do you want to?" She asked.
"I don't know." Hughie said.
Annie could tell that Hughie was seriously considering it.
"How's your father?" Annie asked.
"He's doing well. Kent and Lane managed to get him a place to stay." Hughie told her.
"Annie." Aquaman said.
Hughie and Annie turned to Aquaman, with Mera not far from him. Annie seemed hesitant to talk to her rapist's counterpart and clutched Hughie's hand. Arthur sighed upon seeing this.
"He's dead." He bluntly told her.
"Homelander?" Annie asked, looking hopeful.
Arthur and Mera grimaced.
"No, The Deep. Stormfront killed him." The King of Atlantis told her.
Annie was silent for a moment, processing the information.
"Was it painful?" Annie asked.
"No." Mera told her, appearing to sympathize with her response.
"How did he die?" She asked.
"They told him to knock down a cruise liner. I stopped him, but it was only a distraction. Stormfront electrocuted the water, frying him and the sea creatures he brought to help him." Aquaman said.
"He died as he lived." Mera told her.
"I also wanted to apologize for what he did to you. I just never had the chance." Aquaman said.
Annie registered his words.
"Thank you, but you don't need to apologize. You're not The Deep." Annie told him.
Aquaman smiled and nodded.
"I know. I just wanted to tell you." Aquaman said. "The man was an idiotic, disgusting pervert. My only regret was that he did not see real justice." He added.
Soldier Boy walked up to Waller.
"She's dead, but you still owe me Noir. What's so important?" Soldier Boy said.
"He can wait. Right now, we have a problem with your successor and ex." Waller told him.
"That pussy?" Soldier Boy asked.
Waller showed images of the newly empowered Homelander and Stormfront. Soldier Boy scoffed at seeing this.
"So he had to take a shortcut, big deal." Soldier Boy said.
Waller seemed intrigued by this.
"Funny Strange told me your father said the same thing about you. Tell me something, you wouldn't happen to be hiding anything regarding any relation Homelander." Waller added.
Soldier Boy simply rolled his eyes.
"Alright, because your ties to Stormfront are quite troubling, to say the least. Some of the other inmates might not be comfortable following you, considering your past with her." Waller said.
This caught Soldier Boy's attention.
"What about her?" He asked.
"Her history as Klara Vought has been leaked. Specifically her past with the Nazi Party." Waller said.
Soldier Boys' eyes widened upon hearing that.
"She was a Nazi?" He asked, sounding genuinely horrified and disgusted.
"Yes, it was all over the news. In my opinion, Operation Paperclip has run its course, so it might be in our best interest to cut you out effective immediately unless you tell us what you know." Waller explained.
Soldier Boy winced upon hearing that.
"Fine, Homelander's my son. I only recently learned about it. That said, I made it clear to that pussy, that he is not my son. My son would never be drinking titty milk from a baby bottle as a grown man. As for Stormfront or Liberty, I had no idea she was a Nazi all those times we fucked. Hell, I never even knew she was Klara Vought in the first place. Still cucking a Nazi has to be worth something, right?" Soldier Boy told her.
Waller pinched her temples upon hearing that.
"You're good, thank you." She added.
The Justice League proceeded to combat Homelanders' followers. Blue Hawk tried to land a hit on Black Canary, but she caught his arm and, using his own momentum against him, tossed him away. Blue Hawk crashed into a car.
"Having problems, tough guy?" Canary sarcastically asked.
"I'll bash your fucking face in you, stupid bitch!" Blue Hawk shouted at her.
Canary unleashed a canary cry, deafening the Supe and knocking him back further.
"Hey, porky, heads up." Green Arrow said from afar.
He fired an arrow at the supe that detonated on impact, knocking him off his feet and hitting his body against the wall. Blue Hawk got up from the ground with his helmet, having flown off his head and feeling disoriented as Canary and Arrow approached him. Blue Hawk wasn't in that much pain and was ready to return to the fight.
"I'll fucking tear you apart." He said.
Blue Hawk punched the Green Arrow, but to his surprise, Green Arrow easily caught his fist and held it too tightly for him to let go. Green Arrow punched Blue Hawk's face with such strength that it broke his jaw like Green Lantern did. Blue Hawk lay on the ground with his mouth leaking blood, jaw out of place, and teeth falling off.
"That arrow wiped out all of the Compound V in your bloodstream. Your superpowers are gone, pork rind. Compliments of Mister Terrific, you remember him, right? He was the guy who helped you get fired." Green Arrow said.
Blue Hawks' eyes widened in horror.
As Black Canary approached, Blue Hawk fearfully looked Dinah in the eye.
"P…p…please d…d…don't!" He pleaded, struggling to speak.
"You've probably heard that a lot from other people, haven't you?" Canary said, glaring at him.
With all of her might, she kicked the former supe in the crotch, eliciting a high-pitched squeal from Blue Hawk. Blue Hawk collapsed onto the ground, clutching his crotch with his remaining arm.
Green Arrow chuckled.
"What?" Dinah asked him.
"He actually squealed like a pig." Green Arrow told her, a sly grin on his face.
Homelander and Stormfront flew above Times Square. Wonder Woman captured Stormfront's neck with her lasso and used her to hit Homelander. John Stewart created a giant construct of a megaphone and addressed the crowds.
"Attention, this is going to get dangerous." He warned them. "Leave these premises immediately. And if you realize you already did, be calm. It's just the Flash."
John announced as The Flash removed the citizens from the battle at super speed. Homelander created two wall constructs to crush Wonder Woman. Diana held them but let go of her lasso, releasing Stormfront. She flew to punch Diana, but Superman raced at her before she could and punched Stormfront away. Homelander shot a blast of energy at Superman, only for Wonder Woman jumped in front of him and defended from the blast with her bracelets as Superman flew towards Homelander and pushed him down to the ground.
As they cracked the pavement, Homelander tried to point his ring at Superman, but John Stewart created a shackle and pulled his arm with a chain. Guy Gardner arrived, and he created the same construct for Homelander's other arm.
"Stormfront!" Homelander shouted.
Stormfront was on the ground, Wonder Woman on top of her, holding her arm behind her back.
"She can't help you now." Wonder Woman said.
"You got her?" Flash asked.
"Yes, she can't move from here."
Homelander's entire body started shining yellow as his eyes glowed red. John and Guy's constructs began to crack.
"Take his ring!" John Stewart shouted.
Superman attempted to remove Homelander's yellow ring. Still, he pushed Superman away with a light explosion from his body that shattered the green constructs. Homelander created a sword construct. Superman's punch broke through the construct and hit Homelander's jaw, knocking him to the ground.
"Homelander, it's over." Superman said sternly. "Surrender yourself, you have nothing to gain."
"No, it's not over." Homelander affirmed with a wicked smile as blood dripped from his mouth. "It has just begun."
The portal tech finally worked. Two beams of light were sent to the sky from the middle of Times Square. The beans of light united into one, forming a portal behind Homelander, a red flaring portal slowly becoming thinner and clearer until the Justice League could see what was behind it: Earth One Times Square. The portal covered half of both universes' Time Square, divided like it was sewed right in the middle. On one side Vought advertisement, images of the Seven, the other side was a Times Square with images of Big Belly Burger, Sundollar Coffee, and Cale Pharmaceuticals.
And descending from Earth One's sky into Earth Seven Times Square was Sinestro and his entire Corps waiting for the Justice League.