The meeting room was crowded; dull brown forms of the tall, lean Jernal. The larger, ornately bejeweled Forstagers, and the two varieties of Shoork, all gathered together around the table; with a field holding water up surrounding a chair for the squid-like Shoork.

  Jason settled into his chair, and nodded at the gathering. “Well, folks. Welcome to the Milky Way; and to my home system, Sol. Its a bit different from my universe, but mostly the same. We’ve looked at the worlds here, and come up with a few suggestions. The locals are advanced enough to have space travel… but oddly enough its barely used. Its a blend of what my world would consider fifty-year-old tech and more modern stuff; for some reason the most advanced tech is only used by a handful of wealthy idiots and government agencies.”

  He tapped a few buttons. “There’s colonies on the moon, but most of the solar system is untapped and unclaimed. Our Shoork friends can colonize the moon Europa of the planet Jupiter with minimal assistance. Radiation shielding would be needed for surface survival, but we could be building sub-surface settlements within the month; the whole planet is one enormous ocean, with temperatures you’d consider uncomfortably cold in some parts and deadly at the surface.”

  Qacori was wearing a sleek grey bodysuit over her blue skin, and leaned forward to reveal a row of sharp teeth in an almost feral grin. “The plan is simple. We deploy three pre-fabricated domes on the surface of the ice to serve as starports; and start setting up an array of heaters down below. There are no living things…. Not even micro-organisms… so we can setup a survivable colony… next week, though it will be months before it grows enough food. As efficient as Ascension’s manufacturing is, we would also like to setup our own orbital station around it; Ascension’s craft lack a certain…. Elegance we prefer, and we’d like to start making our own vessels.”

  Jason thought for a moment. The Shoork navy had always built sleek, aerodynamic craft that resembled beautiful seashells and other such constructs. “Obviously thats fine. I’d prefer we maintain an integrated fleet in all Solar activities; having shared crew spaces and technology, even the occasional one-off settler; like perhaps some humans or Forstagers living in the dome; would help reduce future friction.”

  The woman nodded. “Of course. We prefer both aquatic and air-based environments, so all of our cities will have at least some space for air-breathers.”

  “Well then. We come to our Forstager friends.” He glanced at Midnight; the familiar shiny red form practically vibrating in excitement.

  “...As you know, during what we called the ‘Doom’, our homeworld’s gravity would increase and decrease over the course of the day, depending on what part of the surface faced Foreshadowing of Doom. Alongside this variation would come enormous tidal pressures, dramatic increases and drops in pressure and temperature…. And as a result, our people developed the form you see before you. Optimized to survive in absolutely terrible conditions. Which…. Means that with breathing equipment, we can survive on most worlds in this system. With your permission, I would like to take two approaches.”

  Jason nodded, curious about how the giant bejeweled insect planned to approach this. “Your people, your decision.”

  “The world of your people has a single large island with less than two hundred inhabitants. The temperature is too low for your people…. But we can survive it with ease. Would you be willing to help us bargain for part of it? In addition, we would like to begin terraforming the planet you call ‘Venus’. Even one of our people could only survive a few hours on the surface…. But with the technology Ascension has available, we can create viable long-term settlements, and even eventually terraform the world into a usable state.”

  In his own world, there’d been a treaty to only use Antarctica for research purposes; but not all nations had signed it, and some built military bases there anyway. Then the Jotun had landed. “...We can talk to the locals about Antarctica. But when it comes to Venus, they have no claim to it, nor ability to settle there. Go for it.”

  He nodded at Midnight, and turned to Dobrey. “And finally. What do our Jernal wish to do here?”

  “We have a new generation of children who have grown since you saved us. Dozens of them. But… there will be careful breeding and genetic assistance required for us to eventually develop a stable population. Only seven wish to settle down; the rest wish to continue to serve in Ascension’s military, so long as it should be needed.They would be perfectly fine assisting the Shoork or the Forstagers in their colonization program, and are not picky; they merely wish to establish a domed settlement where we can grow Jernal-native life on a farm.”

  “Understood. Europa would be the best bet; your people are much more resistant to radiation than the Shoork, and possibly humans as well. You would be great at establishing surface settlements atop the ice, and we’ve already got what we need for said dome ready to go.”

  Jason inhaled deeply. “Just to be clear. We have a handful of potentially hostile aliens that may or may not be able to wipe us all out. One of which is more dangerous than anything except the Emperor from my own universe. I would recommend we make prep-work for our colonies… but stay at a state of readiness until we get a solid answer one way or another.”

  He looked around at them. “Should these aliens prove hostile, I’ll deal with them. But we don’t know for sure yet. We won’t let them dictate what happens off-earth, but we should also arrange a meeting between a representative of each of you and the UN. Each of you good with setting something in the next few days?”

  After a series of nods and affirmative gestures, he rose. “Well then. I’m going to be meeting someone to help determine whether these aliens need killing or not. Hopefully I’ve got a solid answer within the week.”

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  ***

  The massive building had an enormous ‘LexCorp’ logo on one side, and a massive helipad on the roof; big enough for several helicopters. Which, fortunately, meant it had enough space for the Ascension shuttle; still the same soviet red, but repainted with the old Eyetech logo on the side.

  Compared to the helicopter, it looked like a wedge-shaped box on stilts when it deployed its landing gear and ramp; with odd protrusions that the locals likely already knew were concealed weapons.

  When the shuttle opened, Eyeball stepped out; black armor, silver helmet, flanked by a pair of Ascension’s cyborgs in dull-red heavy armor.

  As they approached the elevator, one gave Eyeball a salute; and stopped, watching from a few meters outside the shuttle… as the second followed him to the waiting security guard.

  The woman was tall, built like an amazon, powerful, wearing a classic black suit; her short-cut blond hair clearly recently cut. She crossed her arms, looking first at Eyeball, then at the guard. “...Jason Bennet, I presume?”

  “And bodyguard. I doubt I’ll need her… but who goes anywhere without backup, just in case, yes?”

  She studied the heavy armor. “...Can I see the faces beneath the masks? Ensure you two are human?”

  “We both know full well any of that can be faked. Its a large part of why I’m here. But still….” He lifted off his own helmet; his third eye currently closed, he just looked like a normal, tanned, brown-haired soldier with hair as short as the bodyguard’s.

  While of course, when Ascension’s helmet was removed, a cute freckled redhead grinned at the woman; before snapping her own helmet back in place.

  When his helmet was snapped back on, a line of text appeared. ~Warning. Two bugs were launched at you the moment the helmet was off. Both neutralized. Same for Abby. Not harmful, but able to transmit audio, video, and location.~

  So thats how it was going to be. “Well then. Shall we meet your boss?”

  “....He’s been interested in meeting you, space-man.” As she led Eyeball into the elevator, she glanced at the armor each of them wore. “He’s been developing his own versions of powered armor. Bespoke. Extremely sophisticated, but not really good for mass-production. We saw the other two, similar, sets when you met the military. Mass-produced?”

  “I’ve got hundreds of them, the ability to make thousands more at will. They won’t handle some of those aliens up in orbit, but they’re more than a match for most varieties of metahuman.”

  “...” She gave a short nod… and the elevator opened… into a lobby decorated in a beautiful, ornate, style. Paintings hung on the walls, protected behind clear panels; armored, from what he could tell.

  As they stepped through into the office, Eyeball blinked… there was the man he’d been expecting; a bald, tanned figure wearing an expensive white suit, setting a glass of something down… and a man behind him, arms crossed, with swords mounted to his back; wearing an odd, half-orange, half-black, suit, all the way to his helmet… which only had one eye-hole.

  If he shot Luthor, the man would try, and fail, to intervene…. But not by much. Super-reflexes, but not extreme like a speedster. Tough, but not able to survive the railgun or the Titanslayer. So…. non-threat. But it meant Luthor took him seriously.

  The CEO smiled, and stepped forward, extending a hand. “Hello there, mister Bennet. I’ve heard from my contacts you were talking some sort of technology exchange with the government. I’m not sure what you were asking…. But I assure you that if you work with me, I can help make you the richest man on earth.”

  Eyeball took the hand, and gave it a firm shake. “And hello to you, mister Luthor. You can call me Jason. And I’m here about something more important than money. I’m here about the alien.”

  Luthor gave a slow nod…. And if anything, his smile became more expansive as he gestured to a chair in front of his desk. “Well now. This certainly sounds productive. Why don’t you have a seat, and we can talk about it. You just got here, from some other universe? Tell me what you think of him… and you can call me Lex..”

  Eyeball settled into his chair; ‘Abby’ standing at his shoulder, gaze focused on the orange and black man, while he looked to Luthor. “Well, Lex, I’ve encountered quite a few aliens out there in the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. A surprisingly large number were humanoid; though most of the dominant species out there were closer to crabs.”

  He tossed a small orb onto Lex’s desk; and a hologram appeared over it; showing images first of the Jotun; then the Rusties, the Imperials, the Emperor; and various aliens he’d encountered; most of them bearing a vague resemblance to some form of crustacean or cephalapod.

  “Not a single one of them could be confused for human unless it was wearing a full-body suit and helmet. The only ones I found with only two eyes and a humanoid form were the Shoork….” An image appeared of the blue humanoid with massive, dark, eyes; this one almost looked like a human female in makeup, though the proportions were just slightly wrong.

  “So. When I say that the alien is lying, I mean it. It would be more likely for him to show up on earth speaking english and carrying a winning lottery ticket with tomorrow’s date on it than to evolve separately and show up as a perfectly human-looking… and apparently genetically compatible… alien, if the report that there’s a younger half-alien around is true. He seems to have many governments and most media eating out of his hand. You… distrust him. Have fought him in the past. Do you know the truth behind him?”

  Lex looked at the display… and slowly nodded. “I believe so. I know how his powers work. His strengths, his vulnerabilities. If he were alone, I’d likely have killed him by now. But…. he has allies. And my own allies…” He glanced behind him at the black and orange man. “Some are reliable. Others…. Less so.”

  “I already know how to kill him. I could’ve launched that whole watchtower of theirs into another dimension. What I need to know… is should I. Is he a shapeshifter looking human to fit in, but otherwise decent enough? Or is he a threat?”

  Lex rose from his seat. “Personally, I believe the latter. But obviously I have a grudge. If you’d like, I can show you just why I think he’s a threat… I have extensive evidence gathered of exactly that… not that the media will listen.”

  “When its about a man who can appear in every newsroom on earth in the next five minutes, I can understand why. Show me. If you can convince me…. We can handle this ‘Justice League’ immediately.”

  He didn’t mention, of course, that Ascension would likely want Lex dead as soon as it was over. Let the man have his moment.