Kara's Descent

It's rare for the Justice League to have a period of leisure lasting more than half a month, but when the Watchtower was officially put into use, and after the incident on Olympus, the Level 4 alarm of the Watchtower sounded again after a full month of peace.

Cyborg, who happened to be on duty, stood before the main console, his cybernetic body extending several metallic data transmission lines that seamlessly connected with the pre-reserved interfaces of the console.

Pale blue data streams flowed between his body and the screen as he stared intently at the chaotic ripples pulsing on the central display.

"Half an hour ago, we detected a Negative Space Anomaly Frequency Band. It flashed again a minute ago. It's suspected to be an alien spacecraft, and the signal source appears to be continuously approaching, but less than one-tenth of the frequency is transmitted to Earth."

Cyborg immediately contacted Batman.

"The signal is too weak. We don't know when we'll be able to capture the third frequency band, and each band is very fragmented, making it impossible to analyze the origin or any further information."

Batman listened quietly, and after a moment, spoke slowly.

"Notify all members who are not currently on assignment to gather at the Watchtower."

Since the Batcave was equipped with a teleportation device, Batman arrived at the Watchtower in just five seconds.

At this time, Cyborg had just finished sending notifications to the screened available League members.

As if accustomed to Batman always being the first to arrive, Cyborg immediately provided all current information.

"Preliminary estimates place the distance from Earth at about three billion kilometers. The Negative Space Signal transmission speed is practically zero. At the current speed, it will take at least seven days to enter the inner Solar System."

Cyborg shook his head, his mechanical eyes flashing with a faint light.

"We can't determine hostility. There are no attack commands or warning bands detected, but we can't rule out the possibility of a trap."

Batman knew this well. The Sinestro Corps hadn't appeared for a month, so Oa had begun to lower the danger assessment, and even those Green Lantern had withdrawn yesterday.

However, on Earth, besides him, at least Cyborg had never let down his guard.

Batman didn't look at the signal ripples on the screen. Such calculations involving astronomical numbers were a waste of his human brain's time.

"Notify all available League members to gather at the Watchtower bridge in ten minutes for an emergency meeting."

Cyborg nodded, then remembered something.

"Should we notify Hal to return? The Green Lantern Corps is more sensitive to cosmic signals than we are."

Yes, although Shane had not accepted the invitation to join the Justice League, Hal was still on a cosmic assignment.

"Sinestro of the Sinestro Corps wouldn't be this timid. No need to notify Hal for now. Send him a copy of the two Negative Space Signals we've captured so far."

Cyborg complied with the order, and responses came in one after another through the communicator.

Flash was dealing with a series of robberies in Central City. Aquaman needed to remain in Atlantis to deal with abnormal undersea geological shifts.

Superman was suppressing a volcanic eruption in the Hawaiian Islands. Besides Wonder Woman responding, only Shazam and Green Arrow, who happened to be on vacation in New York and ditched a date with a beautiful woman, could make it.

There was also a transporter to the Watchtower in the Hall of Justice in New York.

Ten minutes later, the bridge doors slowly opened, and Shazam, who could fly, arrived first.

Next was Green Arrow, who was wiping a lipstick mark from his neck with a white handkerchief. It was clear he had rushed, as his mask was slightly askew.

However, he seemed oblivious, his expression completely natural, as if he were used to it.

But when Wonder Woman entered the Watchtower, Batman's eyes narrowed.

Because behind Diana was someone he didn't want to see.

Shane followed behind Wonder Woman, his expression calm. When he met Batman's gaze, he deliberately offered a polite yet slightly playful smile, not speaking first.

Batman's fingertips curled slightly. He clearly hadn't expected Shane to shamelessly tag along with Diana.

Before Batman could react, Wonder Woman stepped forward to explain.

"When I received the communication, Shane was training right beside me. Considering he's encountered more alien civilizations in his lifetime than all of us combined, I thought bringing him might be useful."

Diana paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone.

"Whether the visitor entering the Solar System is friend or foe, his experience in this area should allow him to make a more accurate judgment than most of us."

Batman remained silent.

His psychological modeling of Shane was nearing seventy percent completion.

This kid was clearly still holding a grudge from the previous mockery about the pink pearl and had deliberately followed under Wonder Woman's name, likely to annoy him.

Cyborg broke the silence at the opportune moment.

"We only have these five people present. Superman and Flash are tied up, and Green Lantern is temporarily unreachable in space."

"The source of the mysterious signal is still at the edge of the Solar System. We need someone to go ahead and investigate to gather firsthand information, so we can determine our subsequent response plan."

Just as Shazam was about to raise his hand, he noticed everyone's gaze bypass him and fall on Shane.

Even Green Arrow, who should have been seeing Shane for the first time, looked at him that way.

And this guy was standing right next to him.

This was too disrespectful to the Six Godly Powers he bore.

Shazam couldn't hold back anymore. Gritting his teeth, he lightly patted Green Arrow's shoulder.

"You, you know him too?"

"I've seen his file."

Green Arrow replied calmly.

Shane shrugged, smiling and stating he had no problem.

"Scouting the edge of the Solar System isn't difficult for me."

He changed the subject, his tone frankly admitting, "However, my life on Earth is a bit tight right now. I came here hoping to strike a deal with the League – help you with this task that you can't spare anyone for, in exchange for appropriate compensation."

Green Arrow's eyes flashed with interest. He didn't hold any rigid impressions of alien morality. He neither pitied them like Superman, nor was he constantly wary like Batman; he maintained a neutral, observational stance.

Besides, ever since this kid arrived, Batman's expression seemed to have soured even more? He hadn't even responded to his words. This was truly rare.

As if discovering something amusing, Green Arrow directly agreed. "Our technology is much more mature than typical national agencies. The cost for the League to dispatch a spaceship to the edge of the Solar System and back is about four million dollars. Since you're not a League member and are willing to help, I can pay you three million dollars from my own pocket."

"Deal."

Batman frowned, wanting to object, but knew there was no one more suitable than Shane at the moment. He finally tossed over a palm-sized device coldly. "The Signal Reflection Radar. It can amplify weak signals and help you narrow down your search range."

A moment later, the hatch opened, and the cold vacuum of space rushed in. Shane leaped lightly, his body instantly vanishing into the distance. Activating the initial stage of Intra-Galactic Jump speed within his body, he crossed billions of kilometers in just three minutes, arriving near Neptune's orbit.

As if a frame was skipped, Shane materialized in the dark vacuum, switching to normal space flight speed and activating the Signal Reflection Radar on his waist. The radar emitted a faint hum, scanning the surrounding area in the pitch-black space. It was desolate, with only distant stars emitting faint light and countless asteroids slowly rotating in orbit. It was so silent that he could only hear the sound of his own blood flowing.

Shane patiently searched the vast expanse of approximately 3.93×10¹⁷ cubic miles. The radar screen only showed chaotic interference waves. Three hours passed quietly, Shane's expression remained calm, without any hint of anxiety. He had prior experience lurking on desolate planets for days; this search time was nothing to him.

Another half hour later, the radar on his waist suddenly vibrated slightly, and a clear signal peak appeared on the screen. After searching for another ten minutes, he finally spotted a faint, shimmering silver dot in an asteroid belt.

Shane became alert and slowly approached. As the distance shortened, the outline of the silver dot gradually became clearer. It was a simple escape pod-like spacecraft. Its size, no larger than an average Earth person's room, indicated the advanced technological level of the civilization behind it. Its exterior was covered in scratches, clearly having endured a long drift.

Shane slowly floated to the ship's viewport and looked inside through the transparent wall. A blonde girl lay quietly inside, her skin as white as snow, with tear stains still visible at the corners of her eyes. Even in her sleep, her expression was one of fragility and fear.

"This... couldn't be Superman's cousin, could it?"