Joey's life had already passed through three completely different worlds, yet in every single one of them, there were always rumors—wild, baseless conspiracy theories.
For example, claims that vaccines contained 5G chips or magnets; or that Armstrong had actually landed on the Moon in a Hollywood studio...
Among them, an even more ridiculous theory was the idea that all global events were secretly manipulated by some mysterious hidden force.
Roughly speaking, it claimed that somewhere in this world, there existed a secret society—a deeper, shadowy organization—that ruled the entire world with North America at its core.
In his spare time, Joey had occasionally wondered where these seemingly absurd conspiracy theories came from.
Take the simpler ones, for instance. These claims led certain groups in North America to instinctively reject vaccines.
A long time ago, Joey thought those people were just idiots. Later, he realized that maybe he had been too quick to judge, simply because he didn't understand America well enough.
A corporation as evil as Vought would at worst come up with something like mixing Compound V into children's vaccines to create more superhumans.
But what this world's institutions had done with vaccines—even Vought, a company practically built on crime, would be impressed.
Under such circumstances, it was only natural that some people would question free vaccines first and foremost.
For a group like that to exist, the core premise had to be this: many 'birds' had already been shot down before—so the rest had learned to fear the bow.
Then there was the so-called secret society conspiracy. It sounded ridiculous, and in reality, it wasn't reliable at all—but its deeper origin clearly pointed toward certain real, unspeakable groups.
The more 'reasonable' versions of this theory claimed that these secret societies were made up of celebrities, billionaires, and other highly influential figures constantly seen in public.
The less reasonable ones went even further, claiming that these organizations were actually composed of alien invaders in disguise—lizard people from Mars.
Anyone with a functioning brain knew how absurd those claims were—especially the second one.
But Joey had never imagined he would end up in a world where that second, seemingly ridiculous claim was actually true.
There really was a secret society and deep government in North America, led by the alien world of Krypton—and most of its members were indeed reptilian-like beings from Mars.
"Holy shit."
Cyborg might never have been this shocked in his life. One of his mechanical bodies lowered its weapon and turned to look at Joey.
As an American who grew up in Detroit—and someone constantly exposed to the internet—Cyborg was very familiar with all kinds of conspiracy theories.
"I'm pretty sure you're thinking the same thing I am right now—the lizard people conspiracy those idiots keep talking about is actually real!"
The difference was that those people believed in lizard men because they were mostly idiots, while Cyborg believed it now because he was staring at a real one.
"Please do not use such offensive terms to refer to my people. The vast majority of them are gentle and kind."
J'onn J'onzz's form shifted again, transforming from a terrifying reptilian figure into something far more acceptable.
"You may call me Martian Manhunter. On my homeworld, that was once the title of a law enforcer. Our duty was to protect the people."
This was the form Joey was most familiar with. In most universes, Martian Manhunter appeared like this.
Joey let out a breath, extinguishing the flames on the ground.
"Alright, Martian—explain what you mean by agreement."
He didn't know what Kara had promised them to earn the loyalty of these Martians, but since they had said as much, he was definitely going to ask.
Martians were an extremely dangerous species.
They possessed abilities far beyond humans—and even beyond Kryptonians.
Enhanced physical strength, flight, heat vision, x-ray vision—and beyond that, teleportation, invisibility, intangibility, shapeshifting, and even telepathy.
As for what Martian Manhunter said about most of his kind being 'gentle and kind'—
Joey took that as complete nonsense.
In a normal universe, Martians might indeed mostly be as kind and just as the typical Martian Manhunter—but in this universe?
What kind of 'gentle and benevolent' race disguises itself as key military and political figures, secretly manipulating most of the world from the shadows?
Although the North American military's operation seemed absurd to Joey, once you factor in a group of shapeshifting Martians mixed in among them, it's not so surprising that they could make such ridiculous, low-intelligence decisions.
That president in name—was probably grinning in the White House after signing the operation order, completely unaware that when these people retreated into their fortified bunkers, they didn't even bother to bring him along.
"This is a mutually beneficial agreement. Our ability to shapeshift and disguise ourselves can help your Kryptonian forces take control of any planet without bloodshed."
The Martian Manhunter's words pulled Joey's attention away from the mental image of the president. Then he began stating the terms he had already negotiated with Kara:
"And in return, your Kryptonians must help us Martians—"
Whoosh—
Starfire, now glowing with green light, came flying in from the distance after transferring Kara into a more secure containment cell.
The moment the Martian Manhunter saw the green light approaching, he immediately fell silent.
Starfire landed beside Joey, curiously glancing at the Martian before nodding to Joey.
"I healed your cousin's injuries and moved her into a more secure cell. Next time you visit her, you won't have to worry about her reaching out and dragging you in again."
Joey felt a bit speechless—there was really no need to mention that out loud.
The Martian Manhunter also studied Starfire, quickly noticing the ring on her finger.
"A Green Lantern."
Unlike Starfire's earlier curiosity toward unfamiliar things, J'onn J'onzz—and the other Martians present—were now filled with vigilance and hostility toward this member of the Green Lantern Corps.
Joey could tell that if he weren't standing there, they might have already attacked.
"Forgive my rudeness."
The Martian Manhunter's crimson eyes remained fixed on the ring. After taking a few deep breaths, he finally suppressed his anger, though not enough to stop him from effectively asking Starfire to leave.
"But if a Green Lantern is present, we cannot continue this conversation."
"It's fine, she's one of—"
Joey started to say that Starfire was 'one of us,' but the words caught in his throat.
Anyone chosen by a Green Lantern ring couldn't be a bad person. Joey knew Starfire was a good person.
But the question was—whose side was her 'goodness' on?
Good people don't always stand together. Joey had seen that too many times.
Sometimes, because of differing positions, good people fight each other even more fiercely than villains do.
A trace of disappointment flickered through Starfire's eyes. She waved her hand casually and chose to leave.
"I just came to check on Joey. This clearly isn't a good time."
Joey watched her leave. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he couldn't.
Right now, compared to comforting Starfire, communicating with these Martians was clearly more important.