The bridge is bustling with activity now.
Even though there was no need for a meeting, once everyone had entered the bridge, they exchanged a little information with each other.
When Mera described what she saw in the tomb, Arthur fell into deep contemplation.
Almost exactly as Deathstroke had guessed, Poseidon indeed betrayed those Alien Sea Gods, and now they are here seeking revenge against Earth.
"I mean, if the historical records are true, then we're the ones who are wrong."
Arthur, feeling uneasy, hugged his shoulders as if trying to suppress the goosebumps on his arms. False legends, deceitful gods, it all made his skin crawl.
"In fact, it's not you who were wrong, but your ancestors." Su Ming, seated and without his helmet, smoked a cigarette. This was no time to argue about right and wrong.
Bo Bo immediately took a stand, with Detective Gorilla perched on the nearby metal table: "One of the ancestors of the Atlanteans and a god from Olympus infringed upon the interests of the Alien Sea Gods... it's unreasonable to make humanity and all living beings pay for this almost ten thousand years later; this logic makes no sense anywhere in the cosmos."
"Moreover, humanity has already paid too high a price. Just today alone, the economic loss globally is so tremendous that the long string of zeros would crash my armor's computer."
Steel Armor also removed his helmet to take a sip of water and rest as the spaceship slowly moved towards their destination under Deathstroke's orders.
Harley, still playing with Ivy as she sat cross-legged on the floor of the spaceship, said without looking up: "Isn't it natural to fight back if someone hits me? Even if I can't win, I have to try, right?"
The detective representing Shadow Contract, Harley, and Ivy had no organizational ties, and Steel Armor's opinion was consistent with the Titan's perspective.
The current state of Earth demanded that the aliens pay a price.
Su Ming tapped the armrest of his chair to signal the others to listen: "In short, as innocents caught in the middle, this isn't over for humanity. If someone was wrong before, it shouldn't implicate me. The Alien Sea Gods think they can dominate the Multiverse with their power; let them come and try then."
"Sigh, everything could have been settled peacefully, even helping them repair their three lost planets isn't difficult..." Arthur stroked his beard.
Knowing that Aryan and Poseidon were initially at fault, the simple-hearted Arthur always carried a sense of guilt.
However, his teammates supported Deathstroke's plan to defeat the aliens and make them compensate humanity.
Diana, as the Amazon Queen, found it inconvenient to voice her opinion at this moment, but seeing her sharpening a blade, it was clear where she stood.
"Arthur, your pursuit of peace is correct and noble." Su Ming quickly offered some encouragement when he saw Arthur waver: "But even if we achieve peace now, would it only be for these less than twenty people here to enjoy?"
Bo Bo's support arrived immediately: "Yes, Arthur, with 7 billion people on Earth turning into fish, peace has come too late for them."
Mera recalled the tragedy in Atlantis, where she and Arthur's subjects had become monsters.
Indeed, the actions of heroes were mainly to bring peace to others, allowing everyone to live calmly.
But now, with no others left, peace seemed meaningless.
"They are right, Arthur. We defeat the Sea Gods, and we gain peace."
Barry was a bit confused, wondering why the topic had shifted from reality to war and peace. Shouldn't the focus be more practical?
Although the seas on Earth were in dynamic equilibrium and the sea levels wouldn't rise further, with an increasing number of humans turning into fish-like beings due to ongoing attacks, reversing this transformation with magic was practically impossible, and nobody knew what would become of those affected in the future.
This situation was no different from when Darkseid turned the Earthlings into Demonoids intending to conquer Earth.
During this discussion, Batman walked into the bridge dressed in green.
Luthor's armor was highly recognizable, so Diana quickly raised her weapon.
Yet, atop the armor, Batman's pointed ears were clearly visible on the mask.
"Batman?" Diana looked confused.
"It's me." Batman didn't hold back and walked stiffly to a chair before sitting down.
All right, with a full-body fracture, it was indeed Batman, so Diana put her weapon down.
"How did you find us?"
Batman maintained a stoic expression: "I set up an emergency escape coordinate on this set of armor to teleport me beside the leader of the Justice League. With Ron not on Earth, that leader is you, Diana."
"Ahem, let me just ask, if both Ron and Diana aren't around, where would you teleport to?"
Bo Bo, gifted with a Wilson Cigarette by Su Ming, was happily smoking away.
"I would teleport to Green Arrow Hero's side," Batman replied calmly.
Bo Bo nodded, giving Su Ming a knowing look: "This is indeed the real Batman; his plans are always unexpected."
Teleporting to Green Arrow made perfect sense.
If both Ron and Diana were off Earth, that would mean the Justice League had collapsed, and since Superman is always the first to be targeted, Batman hadn't planned to teleport to his side in the first place.
Green Arrow might lack presence, but he is akin to a scaled-down Batman: intelligent, cautious, wealthy.
Even if the Justice League really falls apart and Wayne Enterprises is targeted for destruction, Batman can still stage a comeback relying on the financial power of Queen Industries.
Speaking of which, during the big brawl earlier, there was no sign of Green Arrow or any of his sidekicks. Is this what they call making a killing silently? His strength is preserved too perfectly?
...........
At this moment, Green Arrow is leading his team on an underwater adventure.
He waited in vain in Star City as if the Justice League had forgotten about him, so he had to start his own plan directly.
The people were mostly evacuated, so he took his sister and sidekicks aboard the submarine he had prepared long ago, using the ocean's cover to start underwater operations.
He first went to Gotham, intending to talk to Batman, but it was too late; Gotham was completely flooded, and he only managed to save two members of the Birds of Prey.
Barbara, and his ex-wife, Black Canary.
The Female Hunter and others have already turned into fish.
Green Arrow doesn't head-on clash with the Fish-Man army. He saves people and then retreats. Using the same method, he rescued a few people from almost every city.
Now, besides having more than ten people with Deathstroke, Green Arrow also has about the same number.
It's just that one side is flying invisibly in the sky, and the other is stealthily underwater, unable to contact each other.
The submarine is very quiet. Green Arrow doesn't know what connections he used to buy a military-standard submarine modification. At this moment, only the faint sound of the engine can be heard inside the submarine.
He sits quietly in the command room, plucking the petals of a small flower in his hand like a poet, which was the last flower he could find on land.
"Remember me, forget me, remember me..."
"What are you doing?"
Barbara stared at him with a strange expression. She had seen too many crazy people like this in Gotham. This petal-picking for a result is too much like flipping a coin for a decision.
Is the psychological pressure that big? Even a Justice League elder can't hold it together?
"I'm fine, just wondering why no one is contacting me."
Green Arrow made a helpless gesture, throwing the petals on the ground.
Barbara squinted her eyes; she didn't believe it one bit. It's not like the Justice League selectively forgetting Green Arrow is a recent thing, is it worth this much?
She turned and called out, "Dina, come check on your ex-husband. He seems like he's about to have a mental breakdown!"
Black Canary wasn't far and came over when she heard. She and Oliver had been divorced for some years because they didn't want to hold each other back.
But they were still good friends now.
"Did you take your medicine before heading out this morning?" Dina knelt in front of Oliver. He showed signs of depression, always wallowing in self-pity, and taking all blame onto himself.
Like when Black Arrow kills someone randomly in Star City, and fights the arriving Green Arrow, saying, "It's all because of you, the innocent died, it's all your fault!"
"It's all because of me... it's all because of me..."
Oliver would get tangled up in this, really considering it, and the more he thought, the more he believed it was his fault; it was because of his existence that Black Arrow killed in Star City.
But it's actually not like this. Black Arrow Merlin just happens to be from Star City; he's an assassin from the Assassin Alliance, and he would kill people regardless of whether there are heroes to stop him or not.
But Oliver often tends to believe it, which is the main reason he's marginalized by the Justice League.
It's not about his combat strength, nor whether his role overlaps with Batman, but rather Green Arrow has somewhat wavered in his beliefs.
This situation many heroes have encountered; if they manage to pull through, they can continue being superheroes.
If they can't overcome it, the best result is retirement, worse still is the possibility of turning into a villain.
But given the current situation, because of Batman's selective amnesia, the strength of the Star City team remained very intact.
"I took my medicine this morning." Oliver dropped the small flower and removed his hood. He just didn't know what he could do.
The last time during the Metal event, he took the Titan Squad into the sewers of Gotham to play hide and seek with the Dark Knight Order, hiding from start to finish.
They could only eat sewer rats to stave off hunger, preparing for a prolonged battle, only to find out when scouting the ground again that Barbatos had been dealt with a week ago.
Because Green Arrow's covert operations were too good, even Batman couldn't reach him and the few Titans, leaving them to scavenge back and forth in Gotham's underground for a week.
Oliver will never forget Beast Boy Garfield's look at him when he found out they ate rats for a whole week in vain.
Desperation, sorrow, disbelief.
And Donna, after hearing about the ordeal of her teammates, feeling lucky that she was the only one strapped to the Cosmic Tuning Fork....
And the last time, when Brainiac kidnapped the Justice League to solve his home planet's crisis, only to leave Green Arrow alone on Earth.
Now, again, Oliver is questioning whether there is still any point in being a hero?