DC : The Template System

Mercy looked at Luthor with a blank stare until he relented.

"Fine, maybe I am. But my plan is to let Waller and her government buddies attempt to clone him—or at least succeed in cloning him—before alerting him, as a favour of course," Luthor said.

"You despise Waller so much that you would have her killed for a favour,And besides, he'll do the same to you if he finds out you also attempted to clone him," Mercy replied.

"Well, I just have to make sure he doesn't find out," Luthor answered.

"And all that for a favour?" Mercy asked.

"After all these years you still underestimate the importance of a favour. As a businessman, I understand the value of a favour, and I'm sure he does too. After all, he said it himself that he doesn't mind conducting business with me if I play my cards right. So I don't doubt that he'll repay the favour—and that is just setting up for the future when the dust settles," Luthor said, clasping his hands together.

"What exactly are you planning?" Mercy asked, clearly intrigued.

"Well, I'm planning to pit him against the do-gooders. You see, Tobi will definitely kill Waller when he finds out they've been cloning him—and maybe some government officials too. I plan to let the whole world witness every bloody detail, and the heroes will come flocking to him in the name of 'justice'."

"What if they turn a blind eye, after all? Tobi's actions would be a little bit justified," Mercy pointed out.

"I highly doubt that. But in the event that they do, I'll have motivate them to pursue him. As for how… I haven't thought of anything yet. And from what we know about Tobi, he won't be taken willingly—and if forced, he might just kill someone," Luthor said, smiling.

"Seems like a good plan… but it could backfire badly," Mercy said.

"Well, the risks will be worth it. I am willing to do anything to get rid of the man in red and blue tights," Luthor said, clenching his fist

Washington DC – S.T.A.R. Labs

Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, Superman, Shazam, Batman, and Cyborg sat around a massive table in silence, waiting for Max so they could begin the discussion. Finally, Hal broke the silence.

"Where is this guy? Did you even tell him we had a meeting, Batman?" Green Lantern asked.

"Yes. He said he was coming," Batman replied.

"It's been 30 minutes already," Flash complained.

"We just have to be patient. He's coming," Superman reassured.

Just then, the door opened. Max walked in and sat down.

"Sorry I'm late."

"Where have you been, dude? We've been waiting half an hour," Shazam said.

"I got held up on something," Max answered simply.

"Alright, since Tobi is here, let's get this started," Wonder Woman said.

"The reason for calling you all here," Superman began, "is to establish a super-team and for Tobi to tell us everything he knows about Darkseid so we can be better prepared for him."

"Well, I'm cool with being on a team with you guys," Shazam said.

"New threats emerge every day. Forming a team seems like the most logical thing to do," Batman added.

"You mean… you actually support the idea?" Green Lantern asked.

Batman just stared at him for a while before replying, "Yes."

"You can count me in too. How about you, Hal?" Flash asked.

"Yeah, why not? Wouldn't want to miss whatever crap-hole mess comes next," Green Lantern replied.

"Count me in as well," Diana said firmly.

"I apologize," Max finally spoke, "but I won't be part of your group."

"Huh? Why?" Shazam asked.

"What—you think you're too cool to form a team with us or something?" Green Lantern challenged.

"The hero stuff doesn't suit me. I'll leave that to you," Max replied.

"Come on, dude, we need you," Flash tried to convince him.

"Imagine all the good you can do with your power. You can save lives," Diana added.

"No means no, and there's nothing you can do to convince me," Max said flatly.

"Then can you at least share with us what exactly Darkseid is?" Superman asked.

Max sighed. "Do you believe in the existence of abstract entities?"

"You mean… abstract concepts exist as entities?" Batman asked.

"Yes," Max said. "Some of them aren't just ideas. They have form, thought, will, and power. They are beings responsible for governing the part of the universe they represent."

"Uh… what are abstract concepts?" Shazam asked.

"Embodiments of death, life, time, space, creation, entropy, and so on," Cyborg explained.

"Ohh, I see," Shazam said.

Green Lantern folded his arms. "You see that right there? That's bullshit. You can't expect us to believe abstract entities exist."

"When gods and magic exist, I don't know how you find it so hard to believe," Cyborg shot back.

"Come on, Vic. You can't blame us. Gods are one thing—but abstract entities? That's something else."

"I believe you. Continue," Batman said.

"Ohh come on, not you too, Spooky," Green Lantern groaned, throwing his hands in the air.

"My mother always told me there were beings above the gods, though she never specifically mentioned them. I think it might have been them," Diana said thoughtfully.

"Well, believe it or not, they exist," Max replied. "And Darkseid is one of them—a being who exists outside of the physical multiverse. He is the very embodiment of evil and tyranny in its purest form, driven by the desire of depriving all life in the multiverse it's freedom.

There was silence in the room.

"All right, that's enough bullshit for one day. I'm outta here," Green Lantern said, standing up.

"Let's just give him a chance, Hal. As absurd as it is, it seems important," Barry said.

"You too, Barry?" Green Lantern shouted in disbelief. He looked around the room, then finally relented. "Fine. Please continue with the fairytale," he said as he sat down.

"Please continue," Superman added.

"As an abstract entity, he cannot descend to the physical multiverse because it would mean the end of it, given how powerful and vast he is," Max said.

"Huh, then who was the guy we fought?" Shazam asked.

"That was his avatar, which was not even close to his true self," Max replied, letting everyone digest that information before continuing. "He maintains his influence on the physical multiverse by sending avatars to act in his stead, like puppets."

"Why are you telling us all this?" Diana asked.

"Because you need to know it so that you don't hold back when he returns. Though killing him is inadvisable," Max said.

"I'd be impressed by that guy's tenacity if he returns after the beating we gave him," Shazam said.

"Believe me when I say he will," Max replied.

"And why shouldn't we kill him?" Diana asked.

"Because he is a fixed point in time. In all timelines," Max said. "I think Barry understands this part better than anyone."

They all turned to Barry, who explained, "When something is a fixed point in time, it means that it must always happen to keep the timeline intact. If it's an event, it must always occur. If it's an individual or object, it must always exist."

"I think you're forgetting something, Barry, so I'll add it for you. If this… thing is removed from the timeline, the timeline collapses and resets. That means all of you would be rewritten and exist again—but it wouldn't be the same you. Well, that's the best-case scenario."

End of chapter

Hey guys!

Sorry for the info dump earlier, but I just had to get that out of the way. Quick question: should I move on to the plot of the next movie, or keep exploring the current story a bit longer?

Let me know what you think!