"Hiss—" Marcus's awareness returned to the moment of his "birth." "Who am I?"
"Exactly. Who are you? That's an important question," the Stone Ape said.
"I came from the Phantom Zone, where you were trapped! I'm your son! I know I am!"
"Impossible."
"But Pig said—"
"Old Pig's a teacher now? Where is that fat-headed glutton?" the Stone Ape asked.
"Oh no!" Zhu Bajie shrank behind Roland. "That damned monkey remembered me at a time like this."
"Hmph." The Stone Ape glanced at Zhu Bajie. "What else did he tell you?"
"Master Pig also said you were trapped there because of some alien tyrant—Darkseid, right?"
"That stupid pig never gets his facts straight. Darkseid and I did fight—nothing more. I entered the Phantom Zone of my own free will afterward," the Stone Ape said.
"Then—why?"
"That's a secret," the Stone Ape said.
"Then why bring it up?" Marcus's face twitched. Why are both my real dad and my adoptive father so cryptic?
"My true son would understand." The Stone Ape smiled, then grabbed Zhu Bajie and entered the Phantom Zone.
"You damned monkey! Protector of the Stables!" Zhu Bajie cursed, but he couldn't resist as Sun Wukong dragged him into the Phantom Zone. "What are you doing? I've helped you so much, and now you're throwing me aside?"
"Forgive me, brother. Walls have ears. There are things we shouldn't discuss outside," the Stone Ape said with an apologetic smile.
"What do you mean?" Zhu Bajie froze.
"You know this is the age of the New Gods now. We should be thinking about how to bow out," the Stone Ape said. "The Heavenly Court being breached by Darkseid, my exile to the Phantom Zone, and Diana's conquest of Mount Olympus in Greece—each was a step in that plan."
"I know." Zhu