Darkseid fell silent for a moment.
"Ha."
he said.
Before him, Barbatos swayed his tail. His scarlet eyes, hidden beneath his hood, shifted slightly. He retracted his claws and crouched there like a stone statue.
Darkseid had just broken free of the iron chains binding him, but everything that came next was over.
So I failed. But Darkseid was not particularly flustered. It was only one failure.
Even if this body were destroyed, so what? He had countless avatars, and every parallel universe had one of his avatars.
He was Darkseid, the "different face of evil" in Highfather's words. Ever since the Final Crisis, when Batman killed Darkseid's true body, he had possessed only avatars.
During the New 52 era, even his strongest avatar had died. Was he really afraid of losing another avatar formed through two Green Lanterns?
As long as Mother of the Multiverse, Pepatua, had not climbed down from the Wall, Darkseid still had time and room to maneuver. Besides...
Darkseid had vaguely realized that Batman Dragon had actually known beforehand that he had planted pieces on the two Green Lanterns, yet he had not acted to stop him.
Earlier, Darkseid had assumed that Batman Dragon was too stretched thin to stop him. When he saw Barbatos just now, he thought Batman Dragon intended to use Barbatos to stop him. But now...
"Batman Dragon wants something from me."
Darkseid spoke in a low voice.
This was an answer that was easy to deduce. It was obvious, practically spelled out.
He asked, "So, what does he need me to do for him?"
Barbatos: "..."
Darkseid stared fixedly at him.
He was waiting for Barbatos to name a suitable price.
Then he heard Barbatos clear his throat and speak in a dark, deep voice:
"I..."
Darkseid narrowed his eyes.