The trio, consisting of Wonder Woman, Green Lantern Hal Jordan, and Kara from the Teen Titans, had traveled back in time from the future.
With Batman and Flash's help, they used a particle accelerator to journey back to the period when the Justice League was just founded.
However, they found that something seemed a little off with the timing.
Looking at the building that was supposed to be the Justice League Hall, now a ruined structure, the trio was at a loss for words.
"I often heard my mother say that time is not something to be trifled with. Now I understand," Hal sighed. "I'd better find out what year we're in. Maybe we've landed in the 19th century colonial era—or worse, the Great Depression. I know how hopeless people were back then. When there's no hope, there's no need for superheroes."
Hal grumbled as he started walking away.
Diana ignored his complaints, frowned as she examined the surroundings, and walked directly toward what used to be the Justice Society's headquarters.
She pushed open the iron gate, intending to enter the hall, but they were stopped by a keypad lock.
"This is why it's handy to have x-ray vision," Kara said, using her super-vision to analyze the distribution of fingerprints on the keypad and identify the code.
"Okay, the first number is six. My instincts are always spot-on—I once used them to catch a purple raven. It would've been hard to do with my abilities alone, but I trusted my intuition."
Kara kept chatting as she pressed the second number on the keypad.
"Step aside!" Diana, visibly irritated by Kara's chattering, reached out, grabbed the lock, and crushed it with a loud snap.
Kara looked at the now-sparking keypad, speechless.
"Did it cross your mind that breaking the lock might trigger an alarm?"
Snapping out of her daze, Kara asked Diana helplessly.
"If it triggers an alarm and someone comes by, even better. It saves me the trouble of finding them myself," Diana replied calmly.
"…"
Kara was at a loss. She had always considered herself a tough girl, but next to Wonder Woman, she felt almost well-behaved.
With the lock destroyed, Diana entered the unfamiliar building.
No alarm sounded, and no one rushed out.
"Well then," Kara blinked. "Guess we lucked out with a pointless lock."
The two entered the main hall, moving through the dark corridor. Inside, they found a large round table in the center, covered by a white cloth, with several chairs arranged around it.
A few pillars surrounded the area, adorned with portraits.
Diana walked over to the table, looked it over, and lifted the cloth covering it.
The lights in the hall switched on, illuminating the previously dark space.
Kara focused on one of the portraits on a pillar. "Who's this—male Catwoman?"
"Ted Grant, also known as Wildcat," Diana murmured, touching the dusty table. "Now I know where—and when—we are."
"What's the truth, then?" Kara asked, curious.
"We've arrived in the early 21st century, before the Justice League was formed. And this…" Diana tilted her head at an owl statue on a metal stand, "this is the headquarters of the Justice Society of America, an organization that's faded away."
"I always thought the Justice League headquarters was in the Watchtower, orbiting Earth. Turns out there's another base on Earth, and its predecessor is an organization I've never even heard of," Kara commented, examining the portraits on the pillars.
"Not only that—guess what I discovered?"
Hal walked down the corridor toward them. "Homelander and Superman should still be in high school, and Batman's just taken his first steps, though he's having a rough time."
"Eric and Clark?!" Kara said in delight. "Right, they should be in high school now, enjoying their youth. Honestly, I've never seen teenage Eric and Clark. I bet they're adorably awkward, and as their older cousin, I want to mess with them!"
Hal gave her a skeptical look. "Can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Sometimes you're Superman's cousin; other times, his older cousin. So, which is it—older or younger?"
"Older!" Kara replied without hesitation.
"Okay, got it, though I'm not entirely convinced," Hal shrugged, turning his attention to a piece of equipment nearby. "What's this?"
He reached out to touch the lantern in front of him. "Is this… a Green Lantern?"
"No, it's broken. The core is damaged, so it can't power a Green Lantern ring, though I can sense some lingering energy," Hal said, touching the lantern delicately. "This belonged to Alan Scott!"
(Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern.)
"Maybe if you repair it, it can power your ring. If—and I'm saying if—you do, you'll have two chargers. That's pretty exciting, don't you think?"
"…Thanks," Hal replied dryly.
Then he looked at Diana, who had been quiet. "What should we do now? I doubt the particle accelerator can get us back to our time."
"Kara," Diana said, ignoring his question. "You know where Clark and Eric are living at this time, don't you?"
"Of course, in Smallville, Kansas," Kara replied enthusiastically. "Is our next stop Smallville?"
But her enthusiasm quickly faded, knowing that while Clark eventually joined the Justice League, he didn't seem particularly interested in his Justice League duties.
Compared to the League, Clark was more interested in spending time with Eric.
As someone outside the Justice League, Eric commanded Clark's unconditional trust, even to the point of disobeying Justice League orders at times.
Diana had a deep dislike for Eric. Though Kara didn't know the details, she'd heard that Diana had suffered some serious setbacks because of him, leading to her resentment.
"Yes, Smallville. Since we're in this time period, it means we can alter some events of the past," Diana said.
In Smallville, at the scene of an incident, "Mr. Luthor, I'm aware of your influence. However, I trust you'll keep your actions within legal limits."
Officer Kendra, who had previously detained Clark, looked sternly at Lex Luthor, who had shown up at the scene of the Andy Hawkins case.
"Moreover, I've noticed you frequently show up at incident locations. If you try to interfere with our investigations, believe me, even with your father's influence, there will be consequences."
"I understand, Officer Kendra. In fact, I recently purchased the deed to this land, which grants me both usage rights and… the right to know what's going on here." Lex showed her a document.
"So, you want me to tell you what happened here?"
"No, I just want to look around. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
Maintaining his smile despite Kendra's unwelcoming attitude, Lex stepped toward the accident site.
As he entered the restricted area, the scent of blood filled the air.
Lex knew Andy Hawkins had once demanded a million dollars in damages from Clark after being thrown onto a car.
Just a day later, this accident had occurred.
Andy had gotten into a fight with his friends while drinking, and the group, driven by anger and recklessness, had erupted into a brawl.
During the chaos, with his injured neck, Andy had died from further injury.
Looking at the bloodstains and wreckage, and smelling the nauseating scent, Lex furrowed his brows in deep thought.
Was it Eric? Or Clark? Or was this just an accident?
After leaving the scene, Lex parked his Ferrari at a street corner, checked his phone book, and found a number labeled "W."
Within half an hour, a car sped over and stopped opposite him. A man in sunglasses rolled down the window and handed Lex a file.
"This is the case file on Andy Hawkins. Don't contact me for this again," he said.
Lex took off his sunglasses, smiling. "Of course. I know you've done plenty of business deals for my father. And I know that sometimes your principles can be… flexible."
The man known as "W" gave Lex a long look before driving away.
Lex sat back in his car and opened the file.
Meanwhile, Eric and Clark were entirely unaware that two groups were now targeting them.
Eric, however, had encountered a little problem.
Dinah, a girl from the baseball team, approached him as he was about to leave school.
"I saw you catch that baseball from seventy yards away. Could you teach me how you did that, Eric?"
Annoyed, Eric replied, "If I were you, I'd keep my distance. I'd be afraid of getting hurt."
If they weren't at school, he'd have tossed her aside already.
But Dinah didn't seem to take his words seriously and just shrugged. "I'm not one to get hurt easily. I enjoy a challenge, even if it's why I'm stuck on the bench."
"Is that so? Then it seems you haven't been punished enough!"
A flash of red crossed Eric's eyes.
In the next second, Dinah's skirt suddenly caught fire.
With a scream, Dinah frantically patted out the flames.
Though startled, none of the nearby students came to her aid; instead, they gathered around to watch.
The fire was minor and quickly extinguished, but her skirt was now half-charred, leaving her looking a bit of a mess.
Eric, having caused the scene, felt no remorse and turned to leave.
But two figures blocked his way.
One was a muscular man with blonde hair.
The other, a stern-looking woman with vaguely Asian features.
Standing in front of him, they glared.
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