"No man is free who is not master of himself."

-Epictetus

********

"You know that thing?"

"What thing?"

"That thing that's happened a few times now? That thing where I haven't told you all something, either because it hasn't come up, I haven't thought of it, didn't think it would be important, or I wanted to look cool and deal with it by myself?"

"Yes," Melina deadpaned at me. "We know that thing."

"This is not that thing."

Man, the way my wives were eyeing me did not inspire me with confidence.

Most, like Melina, simply looked unimpressed but unsurprised.

Others, like Diana or Artoria, looked reproachful but not angry, as if they had come home to find the dog had destroyed the furniture.

Priscilla was the worst. She looked so innocently supportive as if she would side with me even though I was to blame.

"This is definitely that thing," Yoruichi just enjoyed watching me squirm.

"This is not that thing," I denied again. "I have no idea why there are thousands of spaceships surrounding Earth."

"Really," Diana said. It wasn't a question, despite being framed as one. She clearly didn't believe in my obvious innocence. "No idea? You have no clue why half the known universe has some form of weapon pointed at us?"

"I really, really don't."

"You didn't inadvertently seduce another sapient force of nature?" Melina asked blankly.

"That only happened once!"

"Maybe he seduced their princesses? Or queens?" Robin asked, clearly hopping on the bandwagon.

"That only happened-" I paused, looking around the room to do a quick count. "Melina, do you count as a princess?" I winced in sympathy at the strength of Melina's facepalm. "Ok, that only happened a dozen times. Fifteen max."

"How did you get to a dozen?" Scathach asked curiously.

"Most of you come from a distinguished lineage of some sort, so I count them even if not royalty. Glynda and Robin are the exceptions, and I also don't count Emma 'cause she was just rich, not actual nobility, even if the difference is minute."

"That's only ten."

"Eleven. Medea is Queen of Floofs. Isn't that right, you big tub of lard? You are the leader of all floofs, aren't you? Who's the Queen of Chonky Cats? You are. Yes, you are."

"Mrow."

"Then whose the twelfth?"

"I think Hippolyta has a thing for me, but I could just be reading into it."

"WHAT!"

"Nothing happened," I rolled my eyes at Diana's surprise. "It was just a feeling I got—a bit of tension between us. For all I know, she could just be pent up. It could be something else. Besides, I have no intention of cheating on my wives with an alternate-dimensional version of her mom... There's a sentence I never thought I'd have to say."

I pretended not to know the idea probably turned the Amazon on slightly due to her corruption fetish. As I said, I had no plans to pursue that train of thought. Fetishes were great for the bedroom, but living your life being led around by your dick was a great way to get it chopped off.

"And the fifteen?" Robin asked with an amused smile.

"Margin of error," I shrugged. "Maybe some princess I don't know about fell in love with me at first sight. Princesses are silly creatures, and I am a devilishly handsome dragon. Our kinds are famous for going together well."

"...So he didn't seduce anyone." "HEY!" "Did you kill someone you shouldn't have?"

I ignored my desire to needle Yoruichi back for that comment and seriously considered the question.

"I honestly don't think so," I admitted after a moment. "I've barely killed anything since leaving my prison. A few ships tried to attack me while we flew toward Earth, but Ranni dealt with those, and they were random scrubs that just happened to get in the way."

"T'were no one of import," Ranni concurred.

"What about while you were floating in space, like with the Phoenix Force," Glynda suggested.

"I was practically a saint while I Dreamed," I snorted. "If any ships or individual got close, I just nudged them away and used the Dream to scramble their memories and records of finding us. If I went around killing people, I was bound to attract attention I didn't want from all sorts of people I couldn't deal with before I had the Defences. A Celestial passed by once, and I nearly shit myself. I was barely twenty thousand years old at that point, not even a kilometre long. I was so baby."

"There's an image I don't need," Tsunade wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Hey," I shrugged. "We'll be dealing with diapers soon enough. Best get used to the idea."

"Could it be because of Gladiator," Artoria suggested. "He was the leader of the Shi'ar, was he not? And he disappeared here."

"I don't think so," Diana denied, finally recovering from the idea of me possibly boinking a version of her mom. "While a few of those warships are Shi'ar, there are also Thanagarian ships, and they just finished settling a war."

"I think I recognize a Kree design and one from the Skrull Empire from comics," I pointed out. "Those two famously hate each other. I can't imagine them putting aside their differences for Gladiator, though I could be wrong. Emma or Valeria would know more."

"Speaking of the Ice Queen," Yoruichi said, looking at Raven. "Where is she?"

"Dealing with Frost," the Demon Lord said blankly.

There was another reason I wasn't so set on 'expanding the Family' as it were. Already, Emma's plans with Frost were spiralling out of control.

I had let this whole 'romance experiment' go on long enough, reluctant to cut off the woman because of how much it meant to Emma and how helpful Frost was with Priscilla's dreams.

But she had recently crossed my bottom line.

With Darkseid waiting in the wings, half the world governments calling me Dragon Satan, the ongoing Bloodplague, and now whatever this space invader bullshit was, I really couldn't have one of my most useful wives babysitting her pet project.

"So what did you do to have the entire universe decide to ally with historic enemies to kill you?" Medea asked, bringing us back full circle.

I sighed.

"I am innocent," I repeated. "It's probably a plan by Darkseid, though I have no idea what he wants with this. All those battleships aren't doing anything but hovering there ominously with lasers pointed at us. And this isn't like the nations of Earth declaring war. Since these guys are outside the atmosphere, I can just use my true body to blow them all up without issue."

"It is probably the enemy's plan," Diana nodded. "Maybe another test to gain the Anti-Life Equation? Pitting humanity against the universe?"

"Even if it is, you definitely did something to provoke them," Yoruichi said with a sly smile. I was about to protest my innocence again when she continued. "Let's be honest here. What are the odds that you are completely uninvolved in a large incident? How many times has that happened since the Dream ended?"

I shut my mouth with a click.

I absolutely hated being accused of things I didn't do. It was a pet peeve of mine. Usually, if someone continued to insist something was my fault that wasn't, I'd start tearing them a new one, like I had with the X-men and the whole 'kidnapped baby' thing.

The only reason I hadn't gotten mad at my wives for their accusations was because I was also unsure if I had done something that led to this spatial blockade.

I didn't think I did. I honestly can't think of anything that would offend this many intergalactic factions.

But at the same time, I couldn't say it was impossible.

What was that old Ian Flemming quote?

'Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action. Five times is your own damn fault.'

...Or something like that.

"I genuinely cannot say with a hundred percent certainty that I am not involved," I sighed with a grimace. "But I really have no clue what it could be."

"We won't find out just by standing here talking," Artoria decided. "Even if this is a trap by our enemy since we cannot dismantle it, we must break it."

"Should I just blow them all up?" I asked, rubbing my chin. "They're warships, so I won't feel bad by killing everyone on board. However, it might lead to reprisals against Earth by the other factions. And if they weren't here for me before, they definitely will be after me after I destroy a few million warships in ten minutes."

"Let me talk to Bruce," Diana said with a grimace at the idea of slaughtering tens of millions of sapient beings, even if they were pointing lasers at our heads. "He might know why they are here."

"I shall start spreading eyes and ears," Robin nodded in agreement. "It will be a while as I still need a visual. Raven, can I borrow one of your clones for transport?"

"Take Happyness," the demoness said as a miniature pink version of her appeared on the former pirate's shoulder.

"I'll talk with Valeria," Melina suggested. "Reed Richards is held in high regard by the large factions. She might know something because of her disguise."

"I'll grab Emma then," I nodded. "Two seals should give her enough power to reach most of the ships, and so long as they have a biological brain or the equivalent, she can start parsing through minds. Raven, how many Command Seals would it take for you to fully cover the world in your Shadows if we need to protect it."

"...Only one or two," she answered after a moment of thought. "I am still practicing with Trigon's power in my shadow world. I believe I have enough power already, but the control for something like that for more than a second is still beyond me. If you use the seal to increase my control, I should be able to keep it enshrouded for a few hours. Twice that if you use one seal for me and another for Pride."

"Mine Order is already encompassing this planet," Ranni added. "Should thee need to further protect this world, Lord Husband need only Command a use of mine Semblance, and it shall be encompassed in mine Diorama."

"Or you can use a few on the rest of us to help with the attack," Scathach offered with a bloodthirsty smirk.

"We have options," I nodded, a rough battle plan already sketching in my mind.

Base defence was much more complicated and difficult than a straight fight, but my Command Seals regenerated daily, so expending a few was good sense, even if they were a limited resource.

"For now, let's see if we can try the diplomatic approach before we make more enemies," I shook my head. "I'll keep watching with my real body, so be prepared, but we can act like usual until the situation changes. They look like they are waiting for something, too."

A rough plan was established, and we separated into our individual tasks.

I was off to tell a twin of my hot wife that I wouldn't sleep with her because she simultaneously was too crazy, not crazy enough, and the wrong kind of crazy.

...Man, I was a terrible Harem Protagonist.

Life would be so much easier if I just thought with my dick.

********

"I warned you. Over and over again, I warned you. So why did you do it?"

"You don't understand," Emma Frost scowled at the 'White Queen' from behind her desk. "You can't understand."

"You're right," the Bitch nodded, her smirk taking on a mocking tone. "I can't understand why you'd be so dumb. We had a plan."

"A plan that isn't working," Emma snarled, unwilling to be talked down to in her office. "Months of work. Tens of millions of dollars. A complete destruction of my public image. And for what? A thank you and a handshake."

The Bitch dared to scoff.

"We both know you will make ten times the cost in tours and album sales. And your image? Everyone on the planet knows Emma Frost now. As far as most are concerned, you're the closest woman to gaining immortality and infinite power. Even if we were to fail, your political power has never been greater. But we weren't failing."

"We were-"

"We were taking it slow," the Bitch interrupted with a sneer. "Laying a foundation. I told you it would take years since we first started. Mikael does not fall in love easily. It takes time. We had a plan. You had everything to gain. Everything! And you threw it away!"

"I did not!" Emma slammed her hand on her desk and rose to her feet to meet the other Emma Frost's eyes at eye level. "I have done everything asked of me." "And benefited from it all." "I have spared no expense on your Family's every whim. And when I wanted something in return? Something given out for free to millions of people every day? Something that would let me feel Him again? I get this response!"

"Oh, poor Emma Frost," the Bitch sneered mockingly. "Poor little princess didn't get instant gratification. She couldn't seduce a man with a flash of her fake breasts. She had to put in work and time to get immortality and power. And when it took too long, her shiny little brain decided it was a good idea to act like a drugged-up little slut getting her fix."

Emma felt so much rage, so much hate, staring at this woman, this twisted mockery of herself.

All she wanted to do was rip this bitch's mind to pieces, to tear every fibre of her being to shreds.

Three things stayed her hand.

The first was the fact that she would unequivocally lose. They both had psychic abilities roughly on par, but the White Queen was entirely immune to mental attacks. While Emma had confidence in her mental defences to hold off the fake for a time, she had no such confidence in the physical confrontation.

The second reason was that victory would not gain Emma any satisfaction beyond the feeling of carving the Bitch's skull in. She would just be resurrected by Him, and all Emma's hopes for the future would come crashing down.

The final reason was the look in the White Queen's eyes.

Emma knew herself. She knew who she was, what she wanted, and what she looked like in every expression she ever made.

Never, not once, had she looked at anything like this version of Emma Frost was looking at her.

So much hatred. So much disgust.

The Blood gave her another flash of Insight.

This wasn't just anger at Emma infecting herself and using the cure as an excuse to feel His power. It was more profound, more primal.

Emma Frost, the Bitch, was looking at her as if her very existence was an affront she couldn't tolerate.

Emma wasn't just a bug to this woman. She was her anti-thesis, everything she stood against.

The moment Emma gave this dragon of diamond an excuse, she wouldn't just kill Emma.

She'd erase Emma from existence.

Every memory of her would be wiped from reality. Every digital file would be deleted. Every written record would be cursed by a witch to burn. She'd have someone destroy her very soul.

Emma Frost would be wiped from every fabric of this universe.

As soon as Emma gave her the excuse.

And the moment was over, leaving Emma very much aware of how delicate her situation was.

She was standing against someone with her every ability, but better, who could call upon allies that Emma had no hope of matching.

Was this really a version of herself?

Or was that a lie used to string her along for her Family's benefit?

Emma's actions did not deserve this kind of hatred, not when all she wanted to do was feel a fraction of a fraction of the Love this woman experienced every day.

She had hurt no one. The only one at risk was herself. Only her resources had been spent.

It was not fair.

It just wasn't fair.

She wasn't any worse than this woman.

Didn't Emma deserve to be Loved?

"Nothing to say?" The Bitch continued to sneer. "No other excuses?"

"What do I have to do," Emma eventually sighed, collapsing back to her chair.

The rage, the indignity, and the humiliation still shone in her chest, but Emma Frost would put up with it for now. Once she had His Love, the Bitch would be put in her place. For now, she'd keep her tongue.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Do?" The White Queen's sneer disappeared behind an icy glare. "There's nothing you can do. I kept it a secret the first few times because I really do understand wanting to feel him. I do. But I warned you to stop. I warned you that the momentary satisfaction is not worth the cost. And you kept going. It's too late. I already told Mikael."

"You what!?"

"You didn't even consider the fact that others in the Family all work on clearing out the plague did you? If it weren't for the fact I asked to settle this personally, he would have known from the first time you took one of your little trips."

"You didn't have to tell him then!?"

"Of course I told him. Did you think I'd betray the man I loved for you? That you were worth hurting him?" The Bitch asked incredulously.

"I'd never hurt Him!"

"You would," The Bitch denied. "Because you don't understand him. You don't even try. All Emma Frost can think about is herself."

Emma took a deep breath, stopping herself from reacting to the insult and focusing on the problem at hand.

"This should not be such a problem," Emma rationalized, trying to do some damage control. "It looks bad, but it will blow over pretty quickly, right? It's just a plague released by some no-name villain that He can cure with a touch of His hand. I'll stop taking the Blood, destroy my stash, and keep my head down for a few months while focusing on Priscilla's career. We'll restart the plan from the ground up once this plague is dealt with."

"Even now," The Bitch sighed. "You still don't get it. I told you this was important to him. I told you to stop. Even if he can cure it now, it doesn't mean he always could. You have no idea how much he has suffered because of the Old Blood. And you don't want to know. You don't care about him or anyone else, only yourself. Because everything is about Emma Frost. You'd truly become a shackle around his neck."

All the hate, disgust, and rage had left The Bitch.

All that remained in her voice, in the eyes that looked at Emma, was despondence and despair.

That, more than anything else, terrified Emma.

"I'll prove you wrong," she said. "I'll prove I can be useful. I'll prove I Love Him."

"You don't love me."

Emma's heart seized in simultaneous surges of jubilation and fear as He appeared a shower of starlight.

"Mikael? Why're you here?" The Bitch asked, looking just as surprised as Emma felt.

"I have a job for you," He said, pointing towards the sky.

Ah, he was probably talking about the alien ships covering the sky for the last few hours. The news stations were going nuts, and people were panicking, but Emma wasn't that concerned.

It wasn't like alien invasions were that rare. There had been two last year alone. Not only would she ride it out in her bunker while the Justice League, PRT, or some other heroes dealt with it, but Emma could defend herself fine if push came to shove.

If anything, the attack would lead to a good quarter for Frost Pharmaceuticals, even on top of their bump from fear of the Blood plague.

Of course, that was Emma's usual response, but she smelled an opportunity here.

"I'll help," she said, standing from her desk once more to step closer to Him.

"No," He denied instantly. "You won't."

Her heart seized once more at the tone of His voice.

"Mikael?" The Bitch asked once more, her voice hesitant.

He looked at her, and Emma knew they were talking psychically.

Jealousy surged within her at the sight, but she kept it down.

It was just another aspect she'd one day gain as well.

"Alright," The Bitch eventually sighed and, with one last look at Emma, walked out of the office.

Leaving Emma alone with Him.

Uncharacteristic shyness and hesitancy filled Emma at that moment. Normally, she'd at least put on a show to get Him riled up, but the last time He had been here, that hadn't ended well for her.

... Well, it had. Emma had gotten off to that memory dozens of times.

But the tension in the room, the look in His draconic eyes, stopped her.

Eventually, He broke the silence.

"Tell me, do you think someone who is mind-controlled should be held responsible for their actions while under that control?"

What did that have to do with anything? Still, the answer was easy for Emma.

"No," she denied. "The mind behind the action is responsible, not the person controlled."

"What about if it is not absolute control, just influence? What if all that happened was a nudge in a certain direction? Who's at fault then?"

"That's," Emma paused, giving the questions some thought. "It would depend on the strength and skill of the influence. However, both parties bear responsibility because the influencer didn't force the action. Whether it happens by psychic, monetary, or other forms of influence, they are all the same in that case. What is this all about?"

"I'm still trying to decide what to do with you," He admitted with a shrug, stepping closer to Emma.

Once more, He placed a finger on her forehead. But this time, He didn't press forward, just leaving it touching her skin gently.

Emma looked up into His draconic eyes.

She swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Do with me?"

Her voice was equal parts nervous and excited. His touch inflamed her, but she knew she was on thin ice.

"I should kill you."

It was so blase. So casual.

"I've killed everyone else I found messing with the Old Blood. I should kill you as well."

He'd do it, she realized. He would kill her.

Emma was shaking. In fear. In desire.

She wanted to live. She wanted to live with Him forever. To have His Love.

But if she couldn't have His Love, she'd die anyway. If not soon, then in a century or a millennia.

So wouldn't it be better to die by His hand?

To forever have her blood dye His finger red so some part of her would remain with Him.

Never before had she wanted something more.

Never before had she wanted to both live and die.

Ah, to live like this for eternity. Wouldn't that be perfect?

For the first time, Emma Frost actually regretted her repeated injections and curing of the Old Blood instead of just the consequences of getting caught.

In a red geyser erupting from every pore of her body, Blood fountained out.

For one last time, Emma Frost was cured of the Blood plague.

Usually, this occurred in the air over the ocean atop a platform of shadows. The Blood would pass through people, clothes, and everything else as it fell to the water below, where His power would clean the ocean of its taint.

This time?

He didn't bother.

Blood covered her clothes, her hair, and every inch of her office.

Keeping a finger pressed gently against Emma's forehead, He waived his hand.

The entire room, Emma included, was bathed in flames, destroying every drop of Blood and her office.

If Emma Frost had died at that moment in His fire, she might have been happy.

But she did not.

There was no pain.

He waved His hand again, and the fire extinguished.

He hadn't tried to kill her. He was making a point.

Emma was left naked as the day she was born in the charred remains of her office. He looked at her nude form and felt nothing.

She was identical to His wife, yet he did not Love her.

She was not His.

Perhaps death would have been kinder.

"I get it. I really do. I know how hard it is to fight fake feelings of love. So I am not going to kill you," He sighed. "The next time you knowingly get infected, I will Hunt you like the Beast you become."

"What about-"

"Your little plan to seduce me ends here," He cut her off. "It will never happen. I am not blind to all the help you've given, though. We will still work together, you will still make most of the money from Priscilla's career, and you can continue to use our 'relationship' for your reputation. But it will only be for business."

A small part of Emma's mind recognized this deal for what it was—a way to 'reward' her for her work while also ensuring it was in her best interest to continue supporting Priscilla.

From an objective standpoint, the proposition only had benefits for Emma.

That part of her brain was ignored in favour of the terror that filled Emma's heart.

She was being abandoned. Cast aside.

What did benefits matter when the one thing she really wanted had no hope of ever coming true?

"Please, don't do this," Emma begged, uncaring for her nudity.

This was supposed to be a punishment, a warning that He could and would kill her.

But what did she care for death?

"There might have been a chance once, a one-in-a-million type of thing," He shook his head with a wry smile. "But I won't lead you on when there isn't any chance. And, believe it or not, I do have a soft spot for 'Emma Frosts.' For all my wives, really. So, let's make this a clean-cut and move on with our lives. While I might be stronger than most, I have full confidence you can find someone else."

"I won't," Emma denied vehemently. "There's only you. I love you!"

"You really don't," He denied with a sigh. "I am not one to talk about artificial starts to relationships. That's not the problem. What you love is not me. It's the idea of me. Emma's idea of me."

"...What?"

"Heartbreak wasn't me," He said with a shrug. "It was Emma. Her idealization of me made manifest. Everyone felt Heartbreak, but you went from using our 'relationship' as a tool for benefit to being wholly consumed by me—by the idea of me. You have not once actually connected to me. This has been our longest time alone together. Face the truth. You don't love me."

Emma didn't have Old Blood in her, but she had infected herself almost a dozen times over the last month.

Her Insight was high.

And the Truth didn't care for feelings.

Everyone had reacted to Heartbreak, but only she had been wholly consumed by it after it was gone. She had seen the memories of hundreds of peoples' experiences, but only hers had been so all-consuming.

Those thirty seconds had affected the whole world, but only Emma Frost had her entire world rewritten after it ended.

For thirty seconds, Mikael had been everything to the whole world.

For Emma Frost, Mikael was everything ever.

It was only her high Insight that saved Emma from Frenzy.

Mikael watched her with eyes filled, not with the Love she wanted and needed, but with pity.

That was the last straw.

"...out. GET OUT!"

Mikael didn't even flinch at her shout or when she tried to push him away. He simply kept her in place with the finger against her forehead as she glared at him.

Eventually, he sighed and dropped his hand.

Emma continued to glare as he left her office, closing the door behind him.

Only when she was alone in her destroyed office did she allow herself to collapse in despair.

********

I let out a sigh as I looked at my wife.

"Anything?"

"No," Emma said, her voice subdued. "Her mind did not shift before and after Freeing her, after she wanted to be Free of the Blood, after you told her of my Semblance, or after you left."

So she had been doing everything of her own free will?

I sighed again.

Knowing that Darkseid, possibly with parts of the Anti-Life Equation, was behind everything had me second-guessing myself so much. What were people acting on their own and what was them being controlled by a literal embodiment of tyranny?

The only people I could trust were those who had the Defences or that I was actively Freeing. That, plus allowing Emma to bypass her mental defences, was why I had kept touching Frost the entire time.

Even Valeria wasn't as trusted as before because I never knew when Darkseid would gain the complete Equation. Once he did, he wouldn't need the emotional aspect of his current form of control to subjugate people.

That was one of the reasons I was cutting things off with Frost right now.

The other was her actions.

Anyone who fucked with the Old Blood was not someone I wanted to invite into my Family.

"Is she doing anything now?"

"Crying," Emma said simply. There was no pity in her voice.

I, on the other hand, felt a bit of it.

Not that I had left a naked woman in the burnt remains of her office. That was mainly to remove any listening devices before I told her of Heartbreak.

No, I felt pity because I could understand being confronted with fake feelings of absolute love. Only I had tried to fight those feelings, even if they turned out to be real, while Frost was ready to embrace the feeling and make it real.

Still, pity did not change that she had crossed my bottom line.

"...I don't blame you."

"It was my Semblance," Emma shook her head. "I should have cut things off after I realized how affected she was by it."

"Maybe," I shrugged.

"Even before that, I should have just killed her and replaced her," Emma said, looking away. "So much less trouble."

"I won't lie and say I didn't have a slight hope things would work out somehow," I admitted with a smile, trying to cheer her up. "'Twins, Basil. Twins!' The idea is increadibly appealing on a base level. A few years of getting to know each other, and who knows?" I waggled my eyebrows suggestively, but Emma didn't react. "Sorry. I know how much this means to you."

Emma remained silent, and I sighed again.

I think Emma had been trying to prove something to herself more than trying to prove something to me.

It was probably something like, 'Even if I started loving you because you accidentally Mastered me, we would have fallen in love anyway.'

I would always feel awkward about the start of our relationship. I had accidentally killed the Emma Frost I summoned and replaced her with one utterly devoted to me—the exact thing I had tried to avoid with Catalogue.

I wouldn't be Me if I ever stopped feeling awkward about that.

But that was just the start of our relationship. I hadn't lied to Frost when I told her I wasn't one to speak about unnatural starts to relationships.

My wives' love for me had been sped up artificially by being exposed to the lures and Dragon Aura for thousands of years while I was trapped and before I gained my Freedom.

My own love for most of them, while having a basis in our interactions while I was imprisoned, was primarily based on my time watching them while I Dreamed for millions of years.

Ours was a Mad Love, but that didn't make everything that came about after it any less real or meaningful.

But Frosts didn't love me.

She loved Emma's perfected vision of me.

She had never touched my mind; she was not someone I had Mastered, taken responsibility for, and fallen in love with. She was just a woman who happened to look like a woman I loved, who was close enough in mind to get some bleed-over, and who decided to force the attention she wanted.

Maybe if our relationship had time to develop, it could have become something real, even if the start was artificially induced.

But her actions prevented that.

I did bear some of the blame, not being able to give her the attention she thought she deserved for all she did, but the sad reality of my relationships was that was true for every one of my wives. I never felt like I had enough time to spend with all of them, and I know that sometimes a few of them felt lonely.

The only reason our relationship worked was because we were a Family. We could turn to each other when others were busy.

Emma didn't want the Family. She wanted me.

She couldn't realize we were a package deal.

Even Ranni and Melina, the two who had the slightest connection to the others, still spent most of their time these days with Raven and Medea, respectively, as they worked together.

"I'll start scanning the aliens," Emma eventually said.

"How many seals?"

"Just one should do. For the range. I'll fly with Medea to get close invisibly, but I want to be able to reach you in a moment if needed."

"Take my power," I 'Commanded,' and Emma nodded before returning to the Island.

Alone, I sighed again, feeling so very tired.

But there was no rest for the weary.

Once we had some free time, I'd spend a day lavishing Emma with attention.

For now, I needed to think of a plan to turn whatever sort of trap this was to my own benefit.

For that, I needed to know why millions of spaceships were surrounding the planet and not doing anything.

That wasn't an exaggeration. Literally, millions of ships were clogging the sky. They weren't visible in the parts of the world where it was daytime since they were maintaining distance from beyond the moon, but anyone who looked up could notice something odd when they couldn't see the stars. Even an amateur astronomer could find them.

More arrived every minute like the whole universe decided Earth was the place to park their army, but nobody did anything over.

It was just so weird.

It was definitely something hostile. They were all warships of some sort. Enough lasers were pointed at my head to make any sci-fi nerd hard.

But there had been no threats, no invasions, nothing. They were just floating there.

Ominously.

It was a blockade of some sort, clearly. But why? What was the goal? What was the end game?

I genuinely had no idea if I was the target or not or if I was what they were hoping to accomplish.

Were they all mindless slaves to the Lord of Apocalypse?

Was this an invasion? An intervention after the disappearance of Gladiator?

I really wished I had a phone number I could dial and be like, 'Hey, you can't park in my SPACE. That's mine! That's where I keep all my stuff.'

Unfortunately, I didn't have anything like that, but I had something better.

A creepy little girl.

I was just about to teleport to Valeria's secret compound when a mini Raven dressed in a purple cloak appeared from my shadow, glommed onto the side of my head, and started rubbing my hair affectionately.

"Yes, Love?"

"Diana says you should come to see her," the emoticlones said, peppering my cheeks with tiny kisses. "She's with the League, and they know what's happening."

Forget a creepy little girl, I had a Batman.

"Sure," I agreed, rubbing Love's head with a fingertip like I used to do with Tini-Ranni. "Where are they at?"

"I'll take you."

"Thanks," I nodded. Before disappearing into the shadows, I needed to point out something. "We don't have time for a quicky this time, I'm afraid, so just the teleport, please."

Love pouted, which was very cute, but reluctantly nodded.

I reappeared in a place any DC fan would recognize instantly.

The Watchtower.

The vista of Earth below and the fleets of ships above didn't leave any doubt that we were in a space station just outside Earth's atmosphere.

Thanks to Emma's snooping, I had known that Batman was building a space station now that the Simurgh was dealt with, but I hadn't expected it to be ready so soon.

The view was honestly incredible, but I still preferred flying with my own wings.

Still, I wasn't here for the view.

The part of the Watchtower I had appeared in was a meeting room of sorts, with a long oval table, a dozen or so chairs surrounding it, and a 3D projection of the Earth and the millions of ships surrounding it.

The Justice League was running on fumes, with so many missing, so I was unsurprised to see the meeting room practically deserted.

Batman was there, of course, as was my wife. So were Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, the strongest League members still active.

The look on Diana's face did not inspire confidence.

"I've been told we know what our little green friends want?" I said to break the ice of my sudden arrival. "Besides probes, of course."

Nobody laughed or even cracked a smile.

Tough space station.

"They have not contacted us," Batman explained, diving right in. "All electromagnetic or magical signals are blocked from coming in or going out. We are completely isolated. In a few hours, I will be able to bypass this block, but we might not have that long to wait."

"Why not?" I asked, grabbing a seat opposite the Dark Knight and beside my wife. "What do they want? Why are they here?"

"You," Captain Marvel said with a glare.

"I'm afraid I am innocent this time, toots." I don't know why the space cop looked that pissed at the nickname, but I really didn't care.

My wives might get a free pass because they had been half-joking about the accusations, but I really didn't like being accused of things I didn't do.

"I came because I expected you to have some info we can work with," I said plainly, looking at Batman and ignoring the murderous heroine trying to spontaneously develop laser eyes. "If you just called me here to throw baseless accusations, I will go and try and make actual progress."

"They... might not be baseless," Diana said gently with a wry smile.

"Why not?" I asked with a frown.

"Because the only thing that would warrant this level of intergalactic cooperation between rivals that hate each other is a threat to the whole universe," Batman said plainly. "Combined with the blockade and the lack of any transmission, in all likelihood, they are here for the Sleeper."

"The Sleeper," I asked.

I recognized the name, as I was occasionally called as such by a few of the spaceships that found me. If I remember correctly, it was also the name of an S-class threat in the original Worm.

But again, I hadn't done anything while Dreaming. I was trying to avoid everyone.

"The largest and most dangerous cognito hazard in the known universe."

My brow rose at Wonder Woman's words, and it stayed up there as the heroes explained the situation.

A bogeyman of the universe who, by doing nothing but sleeping, would inevitably grow large enough to occupy all space.

Whose very presence drove people mad, and that madness spread to entire planets as anyone infected descended into a wild Frenzy.

Whose rule of engagement was something like 'do not wake the evil while it sleeps.'

Or, in English terms, 'Don't poke the sleeping dragon.'

Only I wasn't sleeping.

I, for the first time in the universe's history, was awake.

And I had moved to Earth, a tiny planet with a history of being filled with absolute powerhouses and madmen. A planet that had, in the last few decades, been involved with more intergalactic incidents than most solar systems experienced in their entire lifespans.

Hearing about 'The Sleeper' from an outside perspective, I also would be shitting bricks if I thought a mind plague like that would gain hosts from the heroes and villains of Earth.

"Huh."

That was all I could say after hearing all that.

I guess it was my fault, after all.

Yoruichi would never let me live this down.

A mix of emotions filled me, but I didn't let them show on my face.

"'Huh?'" Captain Marvel snorted. "That's all you can say for yourself? 'Huh.' Billions are dead because of you! Maybe trillions!"

"Because idiots didn't take my warnings seriously," I scowled. "I never forced anyone to do anything. They chose to keep coming back. I had no idea they'd go insane or that it would spread."

Sure, Great One spread madness and Insight and Frenzy could be infectious if not handled. Once the Truth comes out, it is hard to put it back in the box.

But I had not forced anyone to stay near me.

I had even saved lives, sending a few lost ships home that got lost in the darkness between stars. If anything, that was the time I was most heroic, seeing as I didn't want to kill anyone. (Or couldn't, in a few cases. Space was scary. Comic Space was Comic Scary.)

I had done nothing.

But even doing nothing has consequences that I needed to deal with.

Such was Life.

"I assume you have some sort of plan," I asked, looking at Batman.

"You need to leave Earth."

"I don't think seeing me flying at them will stop them from using all that Dakka," I shrugged helplessly.

"Teleport back to where you were sleeping," Batman continued without reacting to my joke. Did they have Warhammer here? "Or teleport far enough away that you can fly there. Once I can communicate with them, we will have a few people on Earth with good standing in the universe. They will convince them that you never actually left. A villain from Earth teleported you here to use your abilities to destroy the world. We stopped it. You went back."

That sounded like a comic book storyline that could happen all right.

"And how will you explain everything that's happened in the last few months?" I asked curiously.

"It was all part of the Dream," Wonder Woman said. "A collective madness that was part of the villain's scheme."

"Freed from this terrible Dream, huh," I murmured to myself.

"You'll do it?" Wonder Woman asked. "If so, please release my mother and sisters."

"It's a good plan," I nodded. "I'll think about it."

None of the heroes looked pleased at my words.

"We don't have much time," Batman said after a pause. "More than likely, they are setting up something that will either isolate or destroy the Earth permanently and hope it takes you with it."

"It shouldn't be long before I have an answer," I said agreeably. "I am gathering information on my end as well, and I need to talk to my wives before making such a decision."

"They can remain if they wish," Wonder Woman offered. "Realistically, only you need to leave Earth."

"...Right," I said, looking at the heroine for a long moment. "Like I said, I'd think about it. Diana, let's go."

My wife just nodded and stood with me.

"Ladies. Bat. Always a pleasure."

I teleported back to my Island with my wife, feeling slightly lonelier and more tired than before.

But I couldn't rest just yet.

There was no way I was going along with a plan to keep me off-world long enough to convince these aliens I was gone for good.

Still, Batman was right. I had little time.

For some reason, Darkseid was forcing a confrontation. Not between me and him but between me and either the people of Earth or the aliens.

I didn't know the goal, but I knew I couldn't afford to fall into another trap like with the Skyfathers.

We got lucky last time. This time, I wouldn't count on luck.

Of course, that was when the sky opened in a cacophonous chorus of 'BOOMS!'