The fight was done. The alien was dead.
But the questions lingered.
Superman regarded me intently, his face a mask. Green Lantern grumbled something under his breath, but I ignored him.
It was Batman who broke the silence.
"We'll talk about this later," his voice crackled over the comms. "For now, we secure the city."
The League broke up, moving as one slick machine. Superman hesitated, then followed them, casting me one final long glance before disappearing.
Only one person remained behind.
Wonder Woman.
---
She looked at me, arms folded, sword still clutched in her hand. "That wasn't merely strength. You absorbed the attack."
I held her eye. "I did."
She leaned to one side of her head slightly. "And yet, you kept your power hidden until today."
I released a breath. "I had my reasons."
She didn't question me. Instead, she holstered her sword. "And now?"
I surveyed the devastated battlefield. The rent in the ground. The carnage.
I had attempted to remain in hiding. To come and go undetected.
But now the universe knew.
And that meant things were going to change.
"For now," I said cautiously, "I require answers. That alien wasn't here to invade. He was looking for something."
"Someone," she corrected. "You."
I nodded. "Which means more are on their way."
Her lips formed a thin line. "Then we should be prepared."
I scowled. "We?"
She took a step forward, her gaze keen, assessing. "Superman will observe you. Batman will strategize against you. The rest will consider whether or not they should fear you."
I already understood that.
"But I follow my gut," she went on, "and it says that you don't want to be their enemy."
I nodded slowly. "I don't."
She extended her hand. "Then let's discover who is."
I stared at her for a moment then I took it.
Her grip was firm, unwavering. A warrior's grip.
This wasn't an alliance of trust. Not yet.
But it was an alliance of necessity.
And that was enough.
For now.
---
We moved through the ruined city together, unnoticed, speaking in hushed tones.
"The power that alien used," she told me, "wasn't completely unfamiliar. I've experienced something like it before."
That surprised me. "Where?"
Her face clouded. "The Underworld."
That wasn't what I had anticipated. "Hades?"
She shook her head. "Not Hades alone. Something older."
I scowled. "Older than the gods?"
She didn't reply immediately. She just gazed up at the sky. "Superman and the rest are concerned with alien dangers. With what's out there."
I tracked her eyes. The stars felt. nearer now. More vital.
"They forget," she whispered, "that sometimes the biggest dangers are not of the cosmos."
I knew what she said.
Because I felt it as well.
Something else was stirring.
Not just in space.
But beneath us.
---
**End of Chapter 11**