Like a man walking to the gallows, Batman stood beside Darkseid's corpse. One minute. Three minutes. Ten minutes passed. Nothing happened.
"Ha. Guess I really am cut out to be an ordinary man..." He cracked a self-deprecating smile.
Thea found it hard to believe. She examined the situation carefully, tracing the threads of cosmic law one by one with her spiritual perception. By all accounts, this shouldn't be wrong. In her assessment, Batman was an excellent match for the Divine Position of Darkness—a better fit than the Divine Position of Knowledge from the original timeline. So why was the position showing no response at all?
If she'd gone through all that trouble talking him into it only to discover there was nothing to it, the embarrassment would be monumental.
The rule-lines were intact. The Divine Position wasn't damaged. Batman's qualifications checked every box. Thea herself stood at the very top—a minor succession like the Divine Position of Darkness couldn't possibly attract interference from anyone above her.
She was genuinely baffled. It had been a very long time since she'd felt this awkward.
Batman was staring at her without blinking.
"Got it—found the problem!" Fortunately, her level was high enough that she identified the issue quickly.
The Omega Effect was suppressing the Divine Position of Darkness. From the look of it, the Effect wanted Batman more urgently than Darkness did.
Was it because a fragment of the Omega Effect still lingered in Batman's soul? With Darkseid dead and not yet revived, were kindred energies simply attracting each other? Thea couldn't say for certain.
A mental image popped into her head: two chibi figures of Superman and Batman blasting beams at each other. That would make for one hell of a picture...
But this unexpected variable had disrupted her plans.
Originally, all she needed was for Batman to bond with the Divine Position. In that single instant of connection to Darkness, she'd sever a different dark tether—a well-crafted misdirection, simple and clean. Now she'd have to adjust the steps.
"Remember Darkseid's Omega Beams? Oh, right—you actually researched them... What you studied back then was only a fraction of the whole. This thing I'm calling the Omega Effect has an even higher opinion of you."
"So here's the situation: on top of the Divine Position, you'd also gain a new ability. Next time you catch a bad guy but don't want to kill him, you could toss him into the time stream..." Thea trailed off mid-sentence, realizing that, fundamentally, this was worse than killing someone.
"Uh, forget that last part. What do you think?"
Batman glanced around. "This place makes me uncomfortable. Can we go somewhere else to discuss this? Or do I have to bring his corpse along?" He pointed at Darkseid's body.
Thea let out an oh. Location didn't matter to her at this point. If Batman felt uneasy here, she had no objection.
Her fingers traced three faint lines through the air. The Anti-Life Equation was isolated first—no one in this world was suited for it. She flicked it with her middle finger, launching it straight back into the Source Wall to await whoever might be worthy someday.
Leaving behind a declaration of "I'll be back!" that sent Steppenwolf into a cold sweat, Thea took Batman to his cave.
"Miss Thea, it's been too long." Alfred greeted her with his customary warmth. When no one was looking, Thea channeled the White Lantern and quietly infused Alfred with a thread of life force. Five hundred more years would be a stretch, but reaching a hundred was easy.
Alfred felt something shift in his body—though he couldn't pinpoint what. Thea offered him a friendly smile, and the old man, sharp as ever, understood at once and gave a subtle nod of gratitude.
Seeing they had things to discuss, Alfred poured each of them a cup of coffee, smiled, and withdrew.
"What exactly is the Omega Effect?" Batman waited until Alfred had been gone for some time before speaking.
"'Omega Effect' is just what we call it. I know its true name, but it can't be expressed in any existing language. The meaning, though, is what the Greek letter suggests—omega. The symbol of termination. The end of all things."
Thea's tone turned pointed. "Think about it. If you became a god, your family would benefit too. You'd have far more power to protect the world—and not just Gotham."
"...What exactly do I have to do?"
"The Divine Position of Darkness is straightforward, but the Omega Effect wants you more. The problem is you're not Clark—you're an ordinary man. If you came into direct contact with that kind of power, you'd get thrown into the turbulent time stream all over again. I've got a plan. To earn the Omega Effect's recognition, you need a power of termination. In plain terms, that means offering yourself as a sacrifice." The words landed like a bombshell.
Batman wasn't particularly shocked, though. He knew Thea didn't mean for him to kill himself. He waited patiently for the rest.
"I don't know exactly how Darkseid originally obtained the Omega Effect, but if you want its recognition, something has to be sacrificed—and that something can only be you. It began with you. It ends with you."
Batman started wondering whether he'd need to cut off a finger, or maybe donate a kidney. He'd studied divine beings for years through his association with Thea and Diana. Every form of damage could eventually be restored.
Fortunately, Thea wasn't asking for self-mutilation.
"I need you to face a nightmare. A nightmare that belongs to you alone. Only you can resolve it, and he'll make the perfect sacrifice."
"Fine. When do we go?" When it came to fighting evil, Batman never hesitated.
"Get yourself ready. I need to set up the transport corridor. See you tomorrow!" With that, she took off to find her bargain-bin kid brother Daniel.
The following day, as evening approached, the Batcave saw an unusually large gathering.
The Batman Family had turned out in force. Four Robins. Two Batgirls. The retired Batwoman. Batwing. Catwoman—broken up but still friends. Every one of them suited up for battle, standing ready as though facing an existential threat.
Batman hadn't intended to involve so many people in his personal business. But Alfred had notified them, and regardless of whatever grievances they'd held against Bruce before, every last one showed up, prepared to help—even if it cost them their lives.
Thea's arrival gave her a start. Why were there so many people?
Daniel, who'd come with her, was even more alarmed. After an all-night overtime session dragged along by his "unscrupulous big sister," he'd finally managed to carve a small section out of the tangled mess of nightmares as today's arena.
He hadn't anticipated this crowd. Terrified it might be part of his Sandman trials, he hurried to explain to Thea, "Are all these people going in? I don't think I prepared a corridor this big."
Thea was still maintaining her "big sister" composure. She gave him a relax, it's fine look.
Meanwhile, Batman was also watching her. His expression asked the obvious question: Who's the decent-looking guy beside you?
"This is Daniel. My future younger brother..." The Endless were a family of absolute secrecy. They were never supposed to be in the spotlight, especially not in front of ordinary people. How to explain the relationship gave her an instant headache, and she settled for vague.