Arthur's nonchalant attitude made the tense air in the conference room flow.
His wild smile was out of place with the gloomy atmosphere.
"Hey, I'm talking to you guys."
Arthur unceremoniously poked the floor with the end of his trident.
"Why do you all look like frost-bitten eggplants?"
"It's just a fight, isn't it?"
"If he comes, we'll fight him!"
"It's no big deal."
Mera, next to him, had long fiery red hair that shimmered under the lights.
Her emerald green tight-fitting battle suit accentuated every curve of her body, making her figure incredibly alluring, especially the curve where her waist met her hips—it was truly a masterpiece of creation.
Barry Allen's eyes involuntarily glanced over, then quickly darted back.
"Ahem."
He cleared his throat, trying to hide his lapse.
"Uh... hello, sister-in-law."
Mera only gave him a polite nod, her attention fully on Arthur.
Hal Jordan used his green lantern ring to conjure a small pair of sunglasses and put them on, muttering softly,
"See no evil, see no evil..."
"Arthur."
A deep voice emerged from the shadows at the head of the table, interrupting this brief digression.
Bruce Wayne spoke.
He was completely sunken into the large chair, with only the lower half of his face, resolute in its lines, visible in the light.
"This isn't as simple as just a fight."
"All of us witnessed Steppenwolf's strength firsthand."
Bruce's voice was devoid of emotion, merely stating a fact.
"Before Tel transformed, even he and Diana together could only barely hold him back. Kara was critically wounded by a single move from him."
"We, all of us combined, wouldn't last long against him."
As soon as he said this, the atmosphere, which Arthur had just ignited, cooled down again.
Barry fell silent; just the thought of the Parademons, let alone fighting Steppenwolf, made his skin crawl.
The wrench in Hal's hand also stopped moving; he remembered how his Green Lantern shield had nearly shattered within a minute under the endless attacks of the Parademons.
Victor Stone's red electronic eye flickered; he hadn't directly encountered Steppenwolf yet, but the sheer number of Parademons alone had made them struggle immensely.
"Darkseid, as Steppenwolf's master, will only be stronger, not weaker."
Bruce continued.
"His Parademons army is an absolute overwhelming force in terms of numbers."
"We might win today. But what about next time, when Darkseid himself shows up? We can't afford to gamble."
Arthur looked around at his dejected companions and scoffed.
"So what?"
He took a step forward, leaned over the table with his hands braced on it, and stared directly into Bruce's shadow.
"Just because we're scared, we don't save her?"
"Are we just going to watch our own people lie in the medical pod, waiting for their bodies to rot away?"
"Batman, I thought you were a tough guy, but I didn't realize you were such a coward."
"You!"
Before Bruce could speak, Barry became agitated.
"How can you say that! Bruce didn't mean it that way!"
Arthur ignored him, his eyes still fixed on Bruce.
"That Darkseid guy, he's going to come eventually, right? It's only a matter of time."
"Victor said it; the signal has already been sent out. We're like a giant lightbulb in the universe now, and we can't turn it off."
"Since he's coming anyway, why don't we prepare all our combat strength before he arrives?"
Arthur pointed to the mother box on the table.
"Kara is a powerful warrior, you've seen it with your own eyes."
"The more comrades we save now, the more chances of winning we'll have later."
"Instead of sitting here, analyzing how strong the enemy is and how weak we are, and then waiting to be wiped out!"
"Isn't that the truth?!"
Arthur's voice echoed in the conference room.
What he said was crude, but the reasoning was sound.
Clark Kent, who had been silent, subtly shifted his shoulder when he heard, "Kara is a powerful warrior."
His head was bowed, and no one could see his expression.
Hal Jordan crushed the wrench in his hand into powder.
"Let's do it!"
"Arthur is right!"
"What's there to be afraid of! We are the Green Lantern Corps, we never fear!"
Barry also stood up.
"Right! Save her! We must save her!"
Victor Stone's electronic eye turned to Bruce.
"Bruce, from a probabilistic standpoint, adding a Kryptonian-level variable can indeed significantly increase our survival rate."
Everyone had stated their position, and their gazes finally fell on Bruce.
The man in the shadows remained silent for a long time.
"Alright."
Bruce finally uttered a single word.
"Save her."
With the decision made, the atmosphere finally lightened a bit.
But the relief lasted only a few seconds before Victor poured cold water on everyone again.
"One more thing."
He pointed to the two mother boxes on the table.
"To activate these two mother boxes simultaneously and focus their power on repairing Kara's body, it requires an extremely massive amount of energy."
"How massive?"
Barry asked curiously.
"I've calculated it."
Victor's electronic eye projected a series of complex data streams.
"It would probably require... a large nuclear power plant to instantly output a full year's worth of its electricity generation."
"Furthermore, this energy must be supplied stably and continuously, without any fluctuations."
"Otherwise, we might not be able to revive Kara."
"Hiss..."
Barry gasped.
"This... sounds a bit troublesome."
But he immediately puffed out his chest again, patting it with a loud thud.
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
He raised his hand directly, with an expression that said, "Praise me quickly."
"It's just electricity! I can generate electricity just by running!"
"Speed Force, let alone a nuclear power plant, if you give me a big enough treadmill, I can light up the entire solar system!"
He grew more excited as he spoke.
"Just watch my performance then; I guarantee enough energy, DC if you need DC, AC if you need AC!"
Bruce's voice came again, low and distant.
"No."
"Huh?"
Barry's smile froze on his face.
"Why? Is my electricity not pure?"
"Your energy output is explosive and unstable."
Bruce explained.
"We need a sustainable yet stable source of electrical power."
Barry smacked his lips, a bit unconvinced, but unable to refute.
"Then what do we do? Where do we find such a... super power bank?"
Bruce stood up from the shadows and walked to the conference table.
"For the energy problem, I can find someone else."
He paused.
"Someone who can provide stable and massive energy."
Barry was confused.
"Who? Do you have an antimatter reactor hidden in the basement of Wayne Enterprises?"
"Or did Lucius build you a Dyson sphere?"
Before Bruce could answer, Victor's electronic eye suddenly flashed red.
He was rapidly retrieving and matching the information in Bruce's words.
A few seconds later, he reached a conclusion.
"Thor."
Victor spoke the name for Bruce.
"Thor."
"Oh!"
Barry suddenly understood.
"That muscleman with the hammer!!"
He clapped his hands.
"Right! He controls thunder and lightning!"
"That's a perfect match."
He had nothing more to say now; comparing electricity generation with a true god yielded different results.
"So, it's settled."
Bruce turned and walked towards the exit of the conference room, his black cape sweeping an arc behind him.
"I'll contact the Avengers."
Watching Bruce's retreating back, Clark, who had been silent, also stood up.
He said nothing, simply followed him out silently.
From the beginning to the end of the meeting, he had not exchanged a single word with Bruce.
Superman's heart was in turmoil.
He remembered the murderous intent that surged within him when Lois was kidnapped by the Joker, and even when he personally ended Lois and their unborn baby's lives.
He remembered how he had, in an instant, ended that madman's life.
The principles he had always upheld had fractured at that moment.
It was also because of that period of self-imposed isolation and struggle that he missed the best time to aid Kara and Tel-Rol.
This self-reproach and confusion made him unsure how to face Bruce, the man who valued "rules" more than life itself.
The two left one after another, leaving a room full of people looking at each other.
Finally, Arthur broke the silence; he hoisted his trident and casually put his arm around Mera's waist.
"Alright, meeting's over."
"Come on, wife, I'll take you to try Earth beer!"