The ruins of Kahndaq's palace lay under a dying sun.
Broken pillars—massive as ancient giants—jutted toward an empty sky. Rusted rebar and temporary steel braces held up what time and conquest had not yet finished devouring. Faded murals, half-buried in sand, still clung to the stone like ghosts that refused to shut up about the past.
Ben stepped out of the Boom Tube with Cyborg and Shazam, boots crunching over scattered gravel near the shattered throne.
In the distance, someone was fighting.
Two figures, circling a third like hawks around a storm.
Ben squinted, then clicked his tongue.
"Hawkman and Doctor Fate," he said. "The Justice Society got here before us."
Ever since Ben had casually name-dropped a list of "future heroes" in a League meeting, Batman had confirmed what should've been obvious: the Justice League wasn't the only game in town.
Back in the war era, the Justice Society had been public legends—household names. But as decades passed and the world changed, most of those old heroes faded into the background.
Batman had tried to make contact.
Apparently, Batman being Batman… didn't help.
A sonic boom cracked the air.
Ben watched Hawkman get punched out of the sky and slammed through half a building like a thrown statue.
Shazam grimaced.
"Do we stop them?" Billy asked. "Fighting in the city's going to cause massive damage."
"We stop this," Cyborg said immediately—mechanics shifting under his skin, thrusters warming with a high whine. "Now."
Ben glanced down at the Omnitrix.
Still glowing red.
Cooldown.
"Go in first," Ben said. "I can't transform yet. I'll try to locate whoever's holding the Crown of Sabbac."
Billy and Vic hesitated, but the situation didn't allow debate. They launched toward the battle—two streaks of motion cutting over the ruins.
Ben turned and started down the palace steps toward the market district.
If his memory held, the Crown was with a kid—someone about his age. After Black Adam's first clash with the JSA, the kid would stash it at home.
And then Intergang would snatch him as a hostage.
Ben's pace accelerated.
"I need to find him before he gets home."
The Battle Line
At the center of the fight, Doctor Fate had Black Adam pinned in an illusion—memory turned into a cage.
Black Adam hovered in place, eyes distant.
Hawkman rose again, wings snapping open, mace lifted high. He dived—aiming to end it with a single brutal strike.
But Shazam flashed in.
He caught the mace with his right hand, grip locking like iron.
"Hey," Billy said, voice strained but sincere. "Can we… sit down and talk this out?"
Hawkman's eyes narrowed.
Cyborg hovered off to the side, jetting into position.
Hawkman recognized them instantly.
"Shazam. Cyborg." His tone sharpened. "Why are you here?"
When he'd responded to Amanda Waller's call, he'd asked where the Justice League was. League assets were supposed to be in South America dealing with an enormous alien starfish.
Not here.
"We're here to stop this conflict," Cyborg said, stepping forward. "You can't fight like this in the middle of a populated city."
The damage was already real—collapsed walls, shattered storefronts, people screaming and scattering.
Hawkman's jaw tightened.
He didn't deny the destruction.
He just didn't accept the lecture.
"Our damage," Hawkman said, "is nothing compared to what Batman did in Gotham recently."
He ripped the mace free with a violent twist, wings beating hard as he reoriented toward Black Adam—still trapped in Fate's illusion.
"You only need to watch us put this brute down."
Shazam slid in front again—blocking him, refusing to move.
Below them, the crowd grew.
Kahndaq's people—drawn by the noise, the power, the spectacle.
But their voices weren't screaming for Hawkman.
They were calling Black Adam's name.
Not as a warning.
As a plea.
As faith.
Cyborg glanced at the faces, the hands raised, the raw desperation.
Then he turned back to Hawkman—hard.
"Brute?" Cyborg challenged. "Says who? Listen to them. They need someone who can save them from Intergang."
Hawkman's eyes flashed.
"He's not a hero."
He pointed at Black Adam like he was pointing at a disease.
"He destroyed Kahndaq once. I won't let that disaster happen again."
Hawkman spoke like someone who knew.
Not rumor. Not propaganda.
As the reincarnated Prince Khufu, he carried memories that tasted like ash.
And in those memories, Black Adam wasn't a savior.
He was vengeance—so hot it burned the entire nation with it.
The Wrath Breaks Free
The illusion cracked.
Black Adam's eyes snapped into focus—no haze, no softness.
Just rage.
He saw through Fate's trick.
Saw his family used as bait.
Saw his past turned into a weapon.
And something inside him detonated.
"RAAAAH—!!"
He moved.
A single punch—an iron comet—
smashed into Doctor Fate.
Fate dropped like a meteor and carved a crater into the street.
Kent Nelson's body was old. Even with the helm, even with the magic, there were limits. Flesh and age didn't negotiate.
Black Adam descended after him, ready to finish it—
and Hawkman surged in, exploding upward to intercept, taking the blow meant for Fate.
Metal screamed.
Wings snapped back.
The fight reignited at full intensity.
Shazam hovered between them, expression tightening. Talking was collapsing into a dead idea.
Billy swallowed.
"Now what?"
Cyborg's voice went flat with urgency.
"We get them out of the city. We pull the battlefield away from civilians. Once Black Adam cools down, we try talking again."
"It might be the only play," Shazam muttered.
He dove.
One hand grabbed Hawkman's arm.
The other caught Black Adam's fist mid-swing—barely.
Billy braced, muscles screaming, trying to haul both gods of violence away from the heart of the city—
and the air around them began to tear with the force of what came next.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 138)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter160)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter175)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 163
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 150
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 170
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 145
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 125
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 100
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 90
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 55
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 55
Still playing traditional Honk 35
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 35
What Should I Do After Switchi 24
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 35
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 27
Transmigrated as Sukuna 27
Checking In in Demon Slayer 32
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