| Warworld - December 25
"Oh yeah—that's what I'm talking about!" Conner yelled as he smashed his way through a swarm of red, octahedral battle drones. His fists blurred in a flurry of blows, each impact triggering explosions as he pushed forward. His biker jacket remained completely unharmed.
Like Match's suit, it was partially made using Martian bio-suit technology, allowing Superboy to channel his tactile telekinesis to make his clothing practically invulnerable. It also incorporated Kryptonian fabric tech, enabling it to absorb more sunlight.
Being acknowledged by Superman and his family had mellowed the initially angry clone, but it seemed he still retained his natural propensity for violence.
Though, really—what red-blooded male didn't enjoy explosions and domination?
They moved through a massive tunnel that led straight to Warworld's helm. Periodically, enormous gates blocked their path, but Nova handled them with ease—bypassing firewalls and opening doors as they advanced.
Mongul, who controlled Warworld, had already tried multiple methods to eliminate them.
He fired massive internal lasers without regard for collateral damage, but the Kryptonian brothers destroyed them before they could even activate.
He vented the air from entire sections, but Kryptonians could hold their breath for days—and thanks to the magical aspects of the Nova Force, Jason could breathe in space.
After somehow identifying Match and Superboy as Kryptonians, Mongul deployed red sun generators. Nova hacked them almost instantly, converting them into yellow sun generators that only enhanced the brothers instead.
Now Mongul had resorted to overwhelming them—deploying tens of thousands of battle drones, pulling forces from all across the ship. They poured out of ceiling-mounted transit systems designed for rapid deployment.
While Conner tore through drones with brute force, Match advanced calmly, picking them off with precise blasts of heat vision and controlled bursts of super breath. The once-feral and unstable clone had become a quiet, composed powerhouse. It seemed meditation with Raven was paying off.
"Damn, I'm good at this!" Jason shouted as he struck down another dozen drones using the Nova Force.
After begging repeatedly, Joseph had allowed him to wear the Nova helmet. Since Joseph planned to retire the Nova persona, he figured letting Jason try the suit once wouldn't hurt.
The helmet and nanite suit had automatically adjusted to Jason's size.
Strangely enough, Jason was performing absurdly well for a first-timer—tracking fast-moving targets while flying at high speeds. Joseph hadn't even activated the helmet's aim assist.
Sixteen drones identified Jason as the weakest target and swarmed him, detonating in a massive coordinated suicide attack.
The explosion cleared—
Revealing Jason completely unharmed, still encased in a glowing blue Nova Force aura.
He laughed with pure excitement before launching forward and throwing punches of his own.
Meanwhile, Joseph floated lazily at the rear, observing.
Some drones fired at him, but their shots passed harmlessly through his intangible form as he remained phased within the Mirror Dimension. He was content to let his brothers enjoy themselves.
Opportunities like this to let loose didn't come often on Earth.
Ten minutes after boarding Warworld, they finally reached the final door.
//Breaching successful,// Nova intoned as the massive door slid open.
Warworld's origins were mysterious, and it was exponentially more advanced than the Gordanian warships Nova could normally hack with ease.
Nova could manage peripheral systems, but for full control, Joseph needed direct access to the core command interface.
Beyond the door lay a vast chamber lined with glowing orange, high-tech runes etched into black walls.
At its center sat a single figure.
Eight feet tall. Yellow skin. Red eyes.
Mongul.
"Who sent you?" Mongul demanded as he rose, a vein throbbing along his thick neck. He spoke in Mal'tsunakal—the primary language of the planetoid, according to Nova—but his universal translator ensured everyone understood him. "Why are you interfering in my conquest?"
Jason flew forward, positioning himself in front of Conner and Match.
"Our solar system isn't yours to conquer. Back off—or face the consequences," Jason declared.
Joseph chuckled quietly.
The kid was fully committed to the hero act.
"A foolish child and two remnants of an extinct race think they can challenge me?" Mongul sneered. "I've already conquered the Phaelosians—distant cousins of Kryptonians. Now they beg to fight in my arenas for the privilege of wearing chains and serving me. Adding a few more slaves will require no effort at all."
"You enslaved people…? You enslaved our cousins?" Match asked softly.
The gentleness vanished from his expression, replaced with something cold and focused.
Beside him, Conner silently pulled a pair of Nth metal knuckle dusters from his jacket and slipped them on.
Believing themselves to be the last of their kind was already a heavy burden.
Joseph hadn't yet told them that Superman could be revived.
So learning that remnants of their people still existed—but as slaves—ignited something far deeper than anger.
The orange glow of the chamber abruptly shifted to red.
Conner and Match dropped to their knees instantly, caught off guard by the sudden loss of strength.
"You may have bypassed my systems," Mongul said, "but within my command chamber, you will find that impossible. Now, you Kryptonians will join my Phaelosian slaves—and all that remains is to deal with the two insects fo—"
He stopped.
The red lighting flickered—then returned to orange.
Mongul's expression twisted in confusion.
He reached up instinctively—
The control device on his head was gone.
Now it rested in Joseph's hand.
A burst of Speed Force later, Nova confirmed:
//Full control of Warworld Prime has been assumed.//
Mongul turned sharply, realizing Joseph was no longer behind the others. He lunged—
His hands passed straight through Joseph's intangible form.
"Have at him, boys," Joseph said casually, already turning his focus inward as he sifted through the massive stream of data Nova was feeding into the Dream State's archive.
The response was immediate.
All three attacked at once.
Conner opened with a heavy punch that staggered Mongul backward.
Jason followed with a gravimetric pulse that slammed him to the ground.
Then Match brought both fists down in a crushing overhead strike, sending Mongul crashing through the floor before he could recover. The three jumped through the whole giving the tyrant no respite.
Joseph smirked faintly.
It reminded him of when Red Arrow and Robin had jumped him back when he was still operating as Flux.
The good old days.
Then he returned his full attention to the newly acquired Warworld data within the Dream State's archive.
Warworld Prime was a massive and mysterious construct, forged by the Old Gods in the age before the fall of Urgrund—also known as the GodWorld—as a means of hiding the Fire of Olgrun, one of the seven shattered god-aspects of Olgrun.
First among the Old Gods was Olgrun. He created worlds filled with wonders, but he fell to madness and, in his rage, murdered his own daughter. The other Old Gods waged war against him for an age and eventually defeated him, though they were unable to kill him.
Instead, they split his essence into seven "aspects," scattering them across the Multiverse. Each aspect was hidden within a world built around it, protected by intricate traps and puzzles to guard it from the unworthy. One of these aspects—the Fire of Olgrun—was concealed at the center of a constantly shifting city known as the Necropolis, which later became the core of Warworld.
Olgrun's crystallized blood on Warworld became the mineral known as Genesis—a powerful, unstable, and dangerous energy source.
Before their fall, the Old Gods carved a warning into the deepest levels of the construct:
"If the god-aspects of Olgrun are found and joined by one who is worthy, he will be reborn as the hero he was meant to be. But if they are found by one who is unworthy… mighty Olgrun will return in all his wrath and fury, and will return creation to the darkness from which it was born."
Ominous.
But now that Joseph possessed Warworld, no one was assembling seven of anything anytime soon.
Genesis itself was… interesting.
It was a potent energy source, but it also carried dangerous mutagenic properties.
Mongul had discovered that Genesis could be used as an alternative to yellow sunlight to fuel—and even enhance—the powers of Phaelosians. However, their cells could only safely absorb the energy if the mutative radiation was filtered out.
All pieces of Genesis were interconnected, reacting to changes in one another. Because of this, they could be used for instantaneous communication across interstellar distances.
New Genesis, Apokolips, and even a New God named Metron were regular buyers of the material.
It was likely because Genesis fragments could imitate Mother Boxes and Father Boxes when properly carved, channeling the energy of the Source to produce a variety of effects.
Well… more power for him.
He would look into crafting suits for his Kryptonian brothers using Genesis—ones that would prevent them from ever being weakened by red sun radiation or the absence of yellow sunlight.
After removing the radiation side effects, of course.
Joseph opened a Boom Tube to one of the Genesis mines within Warworld after retrieving the coordinates. He planned to acquire a fragment and see if Nova could integrate it into his nanites, allowing direct control over Warworld instead of relying on a separate artificial intelligence.
It would make monitoring the situation far easier—and avoid the cliché of an AI turning evil.
He stepped through the blue portal and emerged into the mine.
A wary group stood before him, gripping pickaxes and makeshift weapons. They wore rags and shackles, positioning themselves protectively in front of others behind them.
Joseph raised an eyebrow in surprise.
He could tell that most of those in front were from the Vega system, shielding a group of Phaelosians and other Warworlders behind them.
There was a male and female Euphorian, a Karnan, a one-armed Tamaranean, a Changralynian, a genetically altered Aellan with wings, and a Zambaii. Their eyes were filled with caution—but also resolve. They looked ready to fight to the death if necessary.
Seeing them stirred something unpleasant in Joseph.
Memories.
Takron's arena. Chains. Experiments.
His mind drifted to Grycity—a Karnan he had killed. Jyrinna-Klynn—a genetically altered Aellan he had killed. In fact, he had killed several Aellans there… and Euphorians too.
His DNA had been fused with Changralynian and Tamaranean tissue. He had been forced to fight Kori at the end—fully prepared to die—before Nova hacked them out.
Joseph blinked, forcing the memories down.
"Uh… hello," he said awkwardly after a moment, clearing his thoughts. His words were magically translated so all could understand.
"Your days of slavery are over. Mongul is defeated, and Warworld is now under my control," Joseph announced. "It might take some time, but I'll compensate everyone and eventually return you to your home worlds—if that's what you want. For now, I'm just here to collect some Genesis."
At the mention of Mongul's defeat, a murmur rippled through the cave.
The people, long deprived of hope under his tyranny, didn't know how to react. Some looked confused. Others skeptical. A few simply stared, unsure whether to believe him.
The group in front slowly lowered their weapons as Joseph walked past them.
He reached into the cavern wall and effortlessly ripped out a glowing blue-white chunk of Genesis.
That display of strength seemed to break something.
The Phaelosians began celebrating.
Some cried. Others dropped to their knees in prayer, thanking Rao for answering them.
Joseph absorbed the Genesis fragment, letting Nova begin its analysis, and started moving through the cave, breaking chains and shackles as he went.
Gratitude followed him with every step.
"Thank you, Son of the Sun," a dark-skinned, curly-haired Phaelosian girl with goggles said.
Joseph blinked.
That… again?
It was the exact same thing the Thanagarians had called him after he liberated their planet from Despero and the Citadel.
If he had a nickel for every time someone thought he was connected to their sun god, he'd have two—which wasn't a lot, but it was weird that it had happened twice.
Then again… with Thanagar and the Hawkgod, maybe there had been something there considering he'd been blessed by Horus.
But Rao?
…Yeah, no.
Right?
Joseph frowned slightly.
"Thanks, man," the male Thanagarian said after Joseph freed him from his chains.
"No problem," Joseph replied. Then, after a brief pause, he added, "By the way… would you mind if I introduce you to my girlfriend?"
"Girlfriend?" the man asked, confused.
"My romantic partner. My lover," Joseph clarified. "She's Tamaranean too—and she hasn't seen one of her people in almost a decade."
Discounting Komand'r's occasional visits, which Joseph didn't count. At this point, he didn't even consider Kori's sister a person after everything she had done to her own sister.
"And it's crazy," Joseph added, looking at him more closely.
"You look just like her."