| Dream State - October 3
Joseph lingered in the silence after Savage vanished, staring down at Earth.
He was almost disappointed by how easy it had been. The man responsible for so much suffering — the one who had tormented his family across three generations, who had killed his mother, and who had slaughtered countless others across millennia — died quietly, almost peacefully.
Part of him wondered if he should've tortured Savage, made him feel even a fraction of the pain he'd inflicted on the world. But what was the point? Hurting a man seconds from death wouldn't change anything.
So Joseph killed Vandal Savage, and with that, avenged his mother.
//Completed analysis of Vandal Savage's memories. Shall I begin transfer of the most vital knowledge?// Nova asked.
"Go ahead," Joseph replied.
And then he knew.
Savage, once a Homo sapiens born around 50,000 years ago near what is now Western Mongolia, had lived many lives. At forty-four, he witnessed a meteor crash — the "Sky Fire" — and felt irresistibly drawn to it. On his way, he was attacked by a cave bear. Driven by an instinct to survive, he killed the beast but was left with three deep scars across his face. As he reached the meteorite, he was ambushed and impaled by Neanderthals also drawn to the glow. Dying and bathed in its radiation, Savage was transformed — healed — becoming Earth's first metahuman.
For thousands of years, he lived by his philosophy of "survival of the fittest." Sometimes he had been a hero — as Marduk, he wielded the Tablet of Destiny, an artifact of Order, to seal Tiamat, an alien weapon capable of planetary destruction. As Genghis Khan, his alliance with Darkseid prevented Earth from being invaded by Apokolips or any other alien civilization. He had even fought alongside Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt's tyranny.
But more often, he was a villain. As Varl'jat, he concluded that he could not claim to have dominated Earth while three-fourths of it was ocean. So, he convinced Klarion to sink Atlantis — the mighty techno-sorcerous city — to activate the latent metagenes of his Homo magi descendants, transforming them into Homo mermanus, adapted to the depths.
Savage's history touched nearly every major event on Earth. Through him, Joseph gained vast knowledge of tech-sorcery, ancient cultures, and languages. His already-mastered martial arts evolved further with Savage's creation, Dhritishastra — an Indian martial discipline so complex that learning it fully was said to take a lifetime.
He also inherited mastery of diverse weaponry — swords, battle axes, staves, and more — along with occult knowledge, theology, and the other insights of a former Templar Knight.
Joseph exhaled slowly. So much wasted potential. But now Vandal was truly history. And as Joseph had told him — he would take it from here.
To usher in the new, the old had to be erased — starting with the remaining members of the Light.
He planned to call an in-person meeting, then take control of Ra's al Ghul, Black Manta, the Outsider, Ultra-Humanite, and Maxwell Lord, who he'd had suspicions on before. He would use nanotech to mind-control them, forcing them to dismantle their own organizations and round up their most dangerous followers before killing them all in one calculated sweep.
As for Queen Bee, she was too high-profile to remove immediately. Joseph would allow her to continue her pursuit of a "Greater Bialya" — for now. He already had a plan to bring lasting peace to a large section of the Middle East, and she would play a role in it.
He exited the Dream State and appeared back in reality, disposing of most of the bodies by dropping them into the Pacific Ocean of the Mirror World, leaving only Count Vertigo's men alive.
It was time to set that plan in motion.
Of course, meeting with Doctor Fate about Child was important… but surely that could wait a few more hours.
With a thought, Joseph grabbed Savage's still alive body, opened a boom tube — and stepped through.
**
| Egypt - October 3
Joseph walked through the desert, still wearing the suit Klarion had given him. The scorching sun bore down, but it didn't affect him in the slightest.
Then, a massive shadow loomed overhead.
"Greetings," Joseph said in ancient Egyptian — another gift from Savage's memories.
"You speak my language? Who are you, and how did you find me?" Black Adam demanded as he descended before him.
Savage had lived during Adam's original reign and knew his resting place. Joseph had boom-tubed several miles from the ruins of Adam's ancient sanctuary to avoid appearing hostile.
Teth-Adam's story was etched in tragedy. Born along the Nile in the 26th century BC, he was enslaved by Ibac after his father's death. Tortured and brutalized, Adam lost nearly all his family except his nephew, Aman, whom he helped escape — sacrificing himself in the process. But Aman refused to abandon him. The two were transported to the Rock of Eternity, where Shazam chose Aman as his champion. Aman demanded Adam be healed, and when granted that wish, shared his power with him.
Upon returning home, the two debated how best to use their gifts — Aman seeking peace, Adam seeking vengeance. Fearing Aman's mercy would fail their people, Adam killed him and took his power, believing it a necessary sacrifice for the greater good.
Empowered beyond measure, he became known as The Mighty Adam—a champion who destroyed tyrants and the Seven Deadly Sins, freeing the Kahndaqi tribe. Despite his grim beginnings, Adam was once joyful and benevolent, teaching his descendants to "love justice, show mercy, and live humbly."
But his righteousness faded with time. The Mighty Adam eventually turned against the Council of Eternity, murdering all its members save for Mamaragan. Though he wanted to slay the Wizard himself, he knew their magic was intertwined. Instead, he used arcane potions to keep the Wizard in a stasis-like sleep, becoming known as He-Who-Sleeps, while Adam continued serving as champion to Egypt's pharaohs.
Over centuries, Adam served twenty-two pharaohs before entering the service of Pharaoh Teti who, like many before him, was unfit to rule. Manipulated by his vizier Mereruka, Teth-Adam killed Teti and seized the throne, ruling briefly under the name Userkare. His reign faced constant assaults from both human and mystical forces. In eastern Egypt, he built a secret sanctuary where he could revert to his mortal form and rest.
While resting one day, Ibac—resurrected by the enemies of the Council, including Mereruka—attacked. The ambush disrupted the vizier's plan, allowing Adam to survive and reclaim his immortal form. He searched for Ibac for twelve days and nights, but never found him.
In 2325 BC, the Wizard finally awoke and cast Teth-Adam beyond the farthest star, cursing him with a new name: Black Adam.
Centuries passed. The Kahndaqi tribe—Adam's descendants—fled Egypt during the Sasanian conquest in 618 AD, settling in what would become the kingdom of Kahndaq. By the modern era, it had dwindled to a small nation on the Sinai Peninsula, ruled by the dictator Asim Muhunnad, caught between the powers of Bialya and Egypt.
Eventually, Adam was freed from his tomb. He attempted to reconquer Kahndaq and overthrow Muhunnad—just as he had once overthrown Pharaoh Teti—but was stopped by Captain Marvel and Superman.
The reason Black Adam had joined the Injustice League was simple: they promised to depose Muhunnad and ensure Queen Bee would cease her aggression toward Kahndaq. Despite his violent past, Adam still loved his people deeply and was willing to remain passive if it meant fewer of them would suffer.
That made him the perfect candidate for Joseph's plan.
"My name is Joseph Bell," Joseph said evenly. "You may not have heard of me, but maybe you've heard of my father Lex Luthor. Just know that I plan to destroy the influence of the Light. Tell me, Teth-Adam… are you interested in ruling a greater Kahndaq?"
**
| Apokolips - October 3
Darkseid shifted on his throne as his Fatherbox alerted him to something peculiar: the loss of connection with Vandal Savage's Fatherbox. It wasn't merely a communication failure — it was as though the device's very spirit had been extinguished.
Most curious indeed.
Darkseid had fought Savage before and knew of his metahuman ability to revive, which had impressed him enough to form their alliance. Savage had long guided Earth's development from the shadows, and Granny Goodness had reported how he and his organization, the Light, had recently been exposed by the Justice League — who, in turn, had allied themselves with New Genesis, likely as retaliation for the Light–Apokolips partnership becoming public.
But what the Fatherbox conveyed now raised serious concerns. If Savage had been permanently killed and his Fatherbox compromised, the implications were vast. The deal Darkseid had made with Earth through Savage was now void — and that meant he no longer had to restrain himself.
Earth had already insulted him by killing Desaad and siding with his ancient enemies. Perhaps it was time to do what he should've done all those years ago.
And yet, Darkseid paused. He had worked with Vandal Savage for millennia. It wasn't unusual for the man to vanish for years without contact.
So, he would wait — a few years at most — to see if his suspicions proved true. Then, he would act.
It had been far too long since he'd stretched his legs… or found a worthy fight.