"Wait," Thena said. "How did you get the Tailed Beasts to revive it?"
"I used demons as substitutes," Max said. "It's why I went to Hell back then."
"Oh." Thena was quiet for a moment as the pieces clicked into place. "I see. So what are you planning to do with it?"
"Honestly, at the stage I'm at in terms of power, making myself its Jinchuriki would be a little redundant," Max said. "The boost it would grant me,despite how significant it i,would be relatively minor compared to where I already am. Even though I want to keep growing stronger." He paused. "So I've decided that you should take it."
Thena's eyes went wide.
"But you said only someone with strong enough ocular prowess like the Rinnegan can suppress it," she said. "I don't have that. If you seal it inside me it would tear me apart."
"You're right, I did say that," Max confirmed. "But it's not just about ocular prowess. It's also about mental resistance and sheer force of will. If yours is weaker than the Ten Tails" He held her gaze. "It will destroy your mind first. Then take over your body entirely."
"As for the ocular prowess issue, I plan to give you one of my Rinnegan."
Thena opened her mouth.
"Before you oppose the idea," Max continued, "I don't need them as much as I used to. If you were older I'd give you both without hesitation. And my healing factor would regenerate a new pair regardless, regular eyes, but eyes nonetheless." He paused, his expression settling into seriousness. "So the question is ,can you handle it?"
He placed both hands on her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes, searching for any trace of doubt or deception beneath the surface.
Thena held his gaze then took a slow, measured breath.
"I can do it," she said with conviction.
Max studied her for a moment longer. Then he smiled.
"I know you can." He gave her shoulders a light squeeze before releasing them. "We'll do the transplant this evening so you have the night to rest and recover. For now" he glanced over at Terra "take a break."
He turned toward where Terra sat a short distance away, eyes closed, still deep in concentration.
"Terra!"
Terra's eyes opened slowly. She rose to her feet.
"Yes, dad?"
"That's enough for today. Come on,let's get something to eat."
Terra walked over and fell into step beside Thena, placing a hand on her shoulder as the two of them vanished together.
Max placed two fingers to his forehead.Then he vanished as well.
Meanwhile in The Hall of Justice
Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman stood beside a bed where Kara lay unconscious. Reinforced cuffs bound her wrists and ankles, and the bed beneath her emitted a steady red glow,imitating the effects of the red sun to keep Kara's strength suppressed.
The fight had lasted minutes but damage had been devastating.
Cyborg had nearly been killed and is currentlyout of commission,Flash had intervened just in time, pulling him out of the way at the last second, but not before Kara had broken both of his legs in multiple places. Wonder Woman's right shoulder had been dislocated. Batman's wounds, never having properly healed since the war, had been torn back open again.
And Superman, if Batman hadn't stabed kara with a kryptonite blade at the critical moment, Kara might have actually killed him.
The three of them stood in silence, looking down at her as Wonder Woman spoke.
"Any thoughts on the situation, Batman?" Wonder Woman asked.
He had been quiet since the fight ended, which meant he had been thinking. And when Batman had been thinking, what followed was never simple.
"From what I've gathered since she first arrived,and from this confrontation,I've reached a conclusion," he said. "She's a soldier. Her fighting discipline and skill set make that clear. She was most likely sent here with a primary objective,retrieve Superman and bring him back. Failing that, eliminate him and dismantle as much resistance on Earth as possible in the process."
"But with us around and given the kind of person Clark is," Wonder Woman said slowly, the pieces falling into place as she spoke, "taking him either way became a monumental task. So the most viable path became taking him down,along with the rest of us."
"Exactly," Batman said. "Fighting us here wasn't about winning. It was about doing as much damage as possible,Clark especially,and then fleeing with the intel." He paused. "She knew she couldn't win against Max. This was never meant to be a final confrontation. It was a calculated strike."
"So in conclusion," Superman said quietly, "we may be looking at a possible invasion."
As much as he didn't want to believe it, he wasn't naive enough to pretend otherwise.
"Possibly, yes," Batman said. "A group of Kryptonian survivors. Organized. With a leader pulling the strings."
A heavy silence followed.
"Do we tell Max?" Wonder Woman asked.
"Yes," Batman said without hesitation. "He may be the only variable they could never have accounted for."
Wonder Woman turned to Superman. Her voice was gentle but direct.
"Clark. What are you going to do?"
Superman was quiet for a moment, his eyes drifting to Kara's unconscious form on the bed. When he finally spoke, his voice was resolute.
"I really don't know," he began. "But I won't let them take over Earth. Even if they are my people." He paused, jaw tightening. "If there's a way to resolve this without conflict then I'll pursue it with everything I have. But if there isn't" His expression hardened. "I chose a side a long time ago."
Hours Later,Gotham, League of Shadows Underground Base
Thena lay on the bed, the steady beeping of monitors filling the quiet of the room around her.
Dr. Kirk Langstrom worked with careful, practiced hands. He began the procedure by removing her left eye, lifting it gently and holding it over a tray before running a slow, clean stream of water over it to wash away the blood. He placed it carefully into a jar filled with nutrient solution, sealed the lid, and set it aside. Then he turned back to Thena. Her empty socket was already beginning to heal. He worked quickly, draining the blood before it could interfere with the transplant.
Then he turned to Max.
Without hesitation, Max reached up and gouged out his left eye.
Blood ran immediately from the socket, dripping steadily onto the floor. He ignored the pain entirely, holding the eye out toward Langstrom who received it carefully with surgical tools, lifting it with steady precision before beginning the delicate process of placing it into Thena's empty socket.
Max reached up and pressed his bloody hand over his own wound. A green glow emanated from beneath his palm, accelerating the already rapid healing process. When he lowered his hand, the socket was closed,a new eye in its place.
Not a Rinnegan or a Sharingan,just a plain, healthy black eye.
He now had the Rinnegan in his right eye and an ordinary eye on his left. The balance of the extraordinary and completely normal, sitting side by side.
Max walked to the tray and picked up the jar containing Thena's Sharingan. He held it up and stared at it for a long, quiet moment.
Then he placed it carefully into his system storage and turned back toward the bed to now accelarate Thena's healing process as well.
End of Chapter
Chapter 37:The Anti-Monitor crisis.
Chapter 38:The Juubi awakens.
Chapter 39:The juubi jichuriki arises once again.
You can read advanced chapters at patreon.com/darkerknight