Trigon.
The name alone carried weight—ancient, oppressive, absolute. If that demon ever set foot on Earth, there would be little anyone could do to stop him.
Nabu's voice hardened. "And yet you expect my trust, when I cannot perceive the outside world and I sense Klarion's taint within you? Who are you? And how do you speak my tongue with such precision—down to the dialect?"
Joseph met his gaze evenly. "The day I sealed Klarion—who was said to be unsealable—was the same day I located and killed your father, Vandal Savage, who was said to be unkillable. I took his memories as well."
For the first time in centuries, Nabu was shaken.
Klarion… sealed?
That explained Child's rampage. Two Lords of Chaos could not coexist on the same world.
But his father… dead?
Nabu searched the boy's face for deception and found none. Only certainty.
Why lie, in a moment like this?
"My name is Joseph Bell… Luthor," the boy said, the last name spoken with clear reluctance. "After sealing Klarion, I captured his essence and forged an artifact to channel Chaos magic and augment my abilities. You can already sense the Nth metal in my body—I cannot be possessed by magic unless I allow it, so I'm not influenced by Chaos."
He stepped forward slightly, his tone sharpening.
"Trigon has set his sights on Earth. I entered his realm to retrieve a crystal capable of sealing him, but he's blocked my escape. He intends to destroy me—and the crystal with me. I need Order magic to stop him."
Nabu remained silent, still processing what he had heard.
His father was gone.
For all his faults, Vandal Savage had loved Earth in his own twisted way. Nabu had opposed him, yes—but part of him had always hoped he would change. That he would abandon Chaos.
Now that possibility was gone.
Perhaps… it was for the best. This boy had done what Nabu never could.
Joseph spoke again, breaking the silence.
"Before he died, your father entrusted me with protecting Earth. I intend to do it—with or without your help. It might take years, but I can eventually repurpose your damaged Helmet of Fate into something that lets me channel Order magic on my own."
He met Nabu's gaze, unwavering.
"So what do you say?"
Nabu studied him.
There was something familiar in the boy's resolve. A reflection of his father—not in cruelty, but in will. In certainty.
"The culmination of his life…" Nabu thought.
Still, one question remained.
"Why did you kill him?"
Joseph didn't hesitate.
"Because he killed my mom."
Nabu considered that for a moment.
Then gave a small, internal nod.
Fair.
His personal feelings could wait. He had eternity for reflection.
Earth did not.
Nabu manifested before Joseph—not as the helmet, but in human form. The boy was worthy of that much respect, and besides, he already knew Nabu's appearance from Vandal's memories.
Tall. Dark-skinned. Long black hair. Blue eyes hidden behind the golden Helmet of Fate. A white cloak draped over his shoulders, fastened by a black harness. A teal and yellow kilt. Sandal-boots.
A god of Order, given form.
"Allow me to possess your body," Nabu said. "And cease using that Chaos artifact. One vessel cannot safely channel both Order and Chaos. If those forces collide, they will—"
"Explode," Joseph cut in. "Old Man Kent already filled me in."
Nabu paused.
So he had known Kent.
That, at least, spoke in his favor.
Kent had been flawed, stubborn… but ultimately a good man. One who had lived—and died—protecting Earth.
Joseph continued, extending his hand.
"But I'm built different. I can handle it. I've got the physiology and the tools to make it work. So lend me your power."
Nabu looked at him—at the one who had killed his father…
…and now stood as his successor.
After a moment, he reached out and took Joseph's hand.
Power surged.
Nabu felt himself flow into the Nth metal band on Joseph's right arm, opposite the Chaos-infused band that housed Klarion's essence on the left.
The boy winced as the energy settled—
then steadied.
"Thank you," Joseph said. "I'll allow partial possession."
Nabu's perception expanded.
The outside world snapped into focus.
Two colossal figures clashed in a hellish landscape, while another presence piloted Joseph's body.
A dream entity? Was he connected to Sandman?
Interesting.
Joseph's voice echoed within.
"I'm connected to the Source. Draw as much energy as you need and convert it into Order magic."
A brief pause.
"Just don't let Trigon escape."
**
| Underrealm of the Six Kingdoms of Trigon - ???
Pain.
A sensation Joseph hadn't experienced in a long time.
It hit all at once as he tried to stabilize the new influx of power. The Order Nth Band on his right arm and the Chaos Nth Band on his left activated together for the first time, channeling opposing forces through his body. Even with Nth metal woven into his physiology, the clash tore through him, sending violent shocks of pain along every nerve.
Nova reacted immediately, reinforcing his body with the Strength Force to increase durability—but it didn't lessen the pain.
So Joseph adapted.
He pushed the Strength Force further, beyond physical enhancement, and directed it inward—toward his... soul.
For a brief moment, he wasn't sure it would work.
Then the pain dulled.
Not gone, but reduced to something manageable.
He exhaled slowly.
If the Speed Force could accelerate his thoughts, then there was no reason the Strength Force couldn't reinforce something more abstract. It was uncharted territory, but it held.
Now came the harder part.
Balancing it all.
Order and Chaos. Speed and Strength. Four forces, each pulling in different directions. He had to regulate the flow, maintain equilibrium, or risk tearing himself apart from the inside.
It would take a bit more time.
But the fight wouldn't wait.
Joseph refocused on the battlefield.
The magma golem was losing ground. Nova was piloting it as efficiently as possible, but there was only so much raw matter could do against Trigon.
//Trigon has increased attempts to invade your mind. Psychic defenses remain intact.//
'Good work, Nova,' Joseph replied. 'Now let's begin. Get the Ambre Jeune Perdu.'
//On it.//
Nova unshrunk the gem, its surface etched with microscopic runes, and secured it in place with an Nth metal chain.
At that moment, Trigon's fist tore straight through the golem's chest.
Nova answered with a sonic scream, countering the shockwave that followed from the punch, but the damage was done. As Trigon pulled his arm free, the construct collapsed, its form breaking apart into molten ruin.
It had served its purpose.
"I do not think you understand who you are dealing with, little New God," Trigon said, his voice reverberating across the realm. "I have gone by many names—the Devil, the Merciless, the Invincible. My hunger for evil is endless. I have conquered countless worlds and claimed this Dark Dimension by my own power."
The realm responded to his will.
Gravity collapsed inward. Space folded. Hellfire flooded everything. Reality itself began to warp.
Joseph remained suspended in the chaos, untouched.
"I will not be denied," Trigon continued. "Hand over the crystal—or perish."
Nabu's voice echoed within. [Allow me.]
Joseph focused on maintaining balance and gave a slight mental nod. 'Go ahead.'
"Lord Trigon," Nabu spoke through Joseph's body.
A pulse of golden Order magic spread outward, stabilizing the immediate space around them.
"I have now bound you to this realm with us."
Trigon narrowed his eyes. "Who are you? This is the second time the presence within that body changed."
"Who we are is irrelevant," Nabu replied.
At that moment, Joseph completed the balance.
Order and Chaos aligned—barely. Speed and Strength stabilized.
His Nova Force flared—
shifting from gold to a radiant, electric blue as energy erupted outward.
The pain remained, but he endured it.
'Nova.'
//Already in motion.//
Joseph focused entirely on maintaining equilibrium while Nova controlled his body. His hands moved in precise, practiced motions, shaping the spell through the Ambre Jeune Perdu. The gem shifted from amber to green as it absorbed Strength Force energy.
At the same time, Nabu sustained the larger working—binding every entity in the dimension to its current state. No reinforcements. No escape. Even if Earth fell, Trigon and his demons would be trapped here.
"Understand this," Nabu continued. "It is Fate that you encountered us. Release us, and you will be freed."
Trigon answered with fury.
His hands came together in a thunderous clap.
This time, Joseph didn't evade.
The impact crushed his body instantly. Bone, metal, energy—compressed and obliterated under overwhelming force. Trigon reinforced the destruction with magic before letting what remained fall.
"A shame," Trigon said coldly. "I would have enjoyed prolonging your suffering."
Then—
Joseph stood there again.
Unharmed.
Exactly where he had been.
The loop had begun.
Joseph's contingency plan had been built on a gamble—that time might not exist in Trigon's dimension at all as it didn't in many Hell dimensions for the purpose of prolonging suffering.
He had carved intricate runes into the Ambre Jeune Perdu, designed to store Speed Force energy and trigger a localized time loop that would reset the moment he died, forcing Trigon into an endless cycle until he agreed to let him go.
But time did exist here.
And worse—Trigon could control it.
Under normal circumstances, that would have made the plan impossible.
However, here, Joseph had something he didn't back on Earth.
Full access to the Speed Force.
Without Barry, Wally, or Zoom drawing from it, there was nothing limiting him. He could tap into it completely—and that made all the difference.
The Speed Force anchored the loop outside linear time.
Order and Chaos magic stabilized it against interference and reality manipulation.
The artifact itself provided structure and continuity.
Even Trigon, within his own dimension, couldn't casually overwrite all three at once.
The Speed Force really was broken—and terrifying.
Joseph's body, under normal conditions, was durable enough to survive even Trigon's attacks for a time. But that wouldn't work here. The loop needed a clean trigger.
So he made a calculated decision.
He lowered his own durability, allowing death to occur instantly, while Nova funneled massive amounts of Strength Force into the Ambre Jeune Perdu, reinforcing it beyond the point of failure.
As long as the artifact held, the loop would hold.
And with that level of reinforcement, it wasn't ever breaking.
The real strain was elsewhere.
Joseph's mind had never been pushed this far—balancing four forces simultaneously while maintaining focus across multiple systems. Without Nova constantly reinforcing his cognition with stored psychic energy whenever it began to slip, he would have collapsed already.
Fortunately, the drain wasn't overwhelming.
At this rate, he could last for centuries.
Long enough.
And with Nabu and the Helmet of Fate bolstering his psychic defenses, Nova didn't need to expend additional energy maintaining mental barriers.
Everything was aligned.
Nabu spoke again, calm and absolute.
"Trigon… I've come to bargain."