"Listen!"
Ben's voice rang out—meant not only for Black Adam, but for every member of the Justice Society present.
"Earth is facing a crisis unlike anything before. The god of Apokolips—Darkseid—could invade again at any time. And those Intergang mercenaries? They're his claws."
He wasn't naïve enough to believe everyone would suddenly unite in perfect solidarity. But if they kept tearing into each other like this, they'd bleed themselves dry long before Apokolips ever arrived.
"The Justice League may be newly formed," Ben continued, "but believe us. Join us. We'll use everything we have to protect every nation on this world."
Beside his mother, Amon waved both arms furiously at Black Adam like a kid cheering at a stadium.
"Teth-Adam! Say yes!"
Even in a poor, battered country like Kahndaq, Amon knew what it meant when a hero joined a global team. Atlantis had stepped onto the world stage after Aquaman joined the League. If Black Adam did the same, Kahndaq wouldn't be an afterthought anymore. It might finally shake off Intergang's chokehold.
And, in Amon's very practical mind, there was another benefit:
Superhero merchandise sold like crazy.
"I have never been a hero."
Black Adam's gaze moved from Ben to the boy who had latched onto him the moment he woke—like a stubborn shadow.
He could see what they wanted from him.
But he wasn't that person.
If his child hadn't sacrificed everything to pass that divine power to him…
Maybe his child would still be alive.
Maybe his child would have become the hero Kahndaq deserved—the one who led it into prosperity.
Ben took a breath, then reached for a principle he didn't even pretend was originally his.
"I once heard an old friend's uncle say: With great power comes great responsibility. Now that you have this power—are you willing to shoulder the responsibility that comes with it?"
Ben didn't claim he could live like a saint. He wasn't that kind of hero.
But he also knew this: even the worst criminal in the world still preferred a world with more good people and fewer bad ones.
He studied Black Adam's silence for a moment, then didn't press.
"You think it through. We'll take Intergang—and we'll take the Justice Society—out of here."
He wasn't forcing an answer tonight. Black Adam needed space—time to decide what he actually wanted, without anyone trying to chain him or provoke him.
Then Ben added, half-serious, half-unfairly confident:
"If you figure it out, just shout 'Superman.' He'll hear you."
As he spoke, Ben casually helped himself to the crown hidden in Amon's bag.
The Crown of Sabbac.
He didn't know the perfect way to dispose of something that dangerous—but he knew one thing with absolute certainty:
It could not stay in a civilian's hands.
Ben returned to Cyborg and Shazam, turning the crown over in his fingers. The metal felt old—dense, heavy, wrong.
"Shazam. Are you taking this back to the Rock of Eternity?"
"Of course," Shazam said immediately.
The Rock already held the Seven Deadly Sins and other imprisoned evils; adding one more cursed artifact wouldn't shock the wizard—if anything, it belonged there.
What worried Shazam more was something else entirely:
What the wizard and the other elders would decide about Black Adam.
Shazam didn't think Adam was pure evil—but Adam had been the reason the council of wizards was nearly wiped out long ago.
"I can talk to the wizard about Black Adam," Shazam said quietly.
Ben nodded, then turned to Hawkman, Doctor Fate, and Cyclone—who stood near the unconscious Atom Smasher.
Ben didn't want to waste time trading blows with them. If anything, he wanted to use the remaining minutes of his transformation to wipe out Intergang's forces across Kahndaq.
"Are you really going to keep fighting?" Ben asked. "Or can you work with us—just this once—and deal with Intergang while they're still here destroying this country?"
Hawkman's brow furrowed.
He didn't know much about Intergang, but he could tell those men were human—soldiers, not metahumans. And the boy wearing Superman's power felt… dangerously unconcerned with consequences.
"As a hero," Hawkman said sharply, "you shouldn't interfere in another nation's internal conflict."
Ben stared at him like he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.
They were the ones who had flown across half the planet to seize Black Adam because he was a "potential threat."
And now, when it came time to crush the mercenaries bleeding Kahndaq dry, suddenly it was politics?
Ben didn't indulge that hypocrisy for even a second.
"I already told you: Intergang is Darkseid's claw. This stopped being an 'internal matter' the moment Apokoliptian influence entered the equation. This is global security."
In one smooth motion, Ben lifted the bound Intergang agent—Ishmael—by the restraints and floated him in front of Hawkman and Doctor Fate.
"Here's Intergang's local proxy. Want me to borrow Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth so we can skip the 'refusing to answer' part?"
Doctor Fate's hands glowed with sorcery. But behind the helmet, Kent Nelson resisted the cold directive rising in him—the urge to imprison the boy and place him under the Tower of Fate's control.
Still, he answered with calm authority.
"I can read minds."
Light flared.
In moments, Fate pierced Ishmael's thoughts and grasped the shape of the plan.
The "host of six demons" was Ishmael's personal ambition—but Intergang's extraction of Eternium in Kahndaq went deeper than one man's greed. There were hands above him. Many hands.
Intergang's leadership was fractured and sprawling; a regional proxy like Ishmael was barely a speck in the machine.
But two facts were now undeniable:
Intergang was a vast international criminal network.
And they possessed Apokoliptian technology.
"He's right," Doctor Fate said at last. "We cannot allow Intergang to continue operating here."
He descended slowly, as if each inch of movement carried a weight only he could feel.
Then—against the will pressing behind his eyes—Kent Nelson raised both hands and removed Nabu's helmet.
It wasn't a theatrical gesture.
It was a statement.
A human choice.
"Our conflict," Kent said, voice tired but firm, "should end here."
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
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 44
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