Shayera was in her office at the museum, looking through some documents she really didn't want to read but had to. The light in her room darkened. The sky should have been clear, but something seemed to have shifted. She set down her documents and looked out the window. The entire block seemed to be under a sort of shadow.
Then she looked up.
A shape started to emerge in the sky. A point of distortion in the sky, high in the atmosphere. Something big enough to cast a long and distant shadow.
"Watchtower. This is Hawkgirl. Are you guys seeing this?" she said to her comm, trying to keep her voice steady even though ice crawled up her spine.
...
J'onn was in his apartment helping Kira with her homework when a strange signal went through his mind, like a harmless jolt of electricity. He didn't need to look outside to know something was wrong. Something very big was looking down on the Earth, way high up.
"Dad?" Kira asked, feeling it too.
"Stay here and lock the doors. I'll call you when it's safe," he told her.
"Dad..."
"Please."
Kira nodded and rushed to her room. J'onn shifted forms and flew through his building, floor by floor, until he reached outside. He looked up before using his bracelet to transport him to the watchtower.
...
The command deck was full of everyone by the time J'onn had made his entrance.
Batman stood at the central console with three screens in front of him, all showing different feeds from different satellites owned by different agencies. Superman was looking out of the nearby observation window with his arms crossed and his jaw tight.
Hal Jordon and John Stewart stood together, their rings pulsing faintly. Flash sat down in a chair, his foot rapidly tapping the metal floor, his hands held together, resting on his arms.
Wonder Woman stood beside Aquaman, both watching the largest screen in the room, like people ready for war. Green Arrow leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
Hawkgirl arrived seconds after J'onn, her wings folded tight when he stepped off the teleporter.
"Report," asked Superman.
"Whatever it is, it's enormous. It seems to be stationary, and it doesn't seem to be communicating in any way. It was picked up on six separate satellite networks within the same time window. That could mean it just arrived or just revolved itself about four minutes ago," Batman answered, still looking down.
"How big exactly?" Shayera questioned.
"Big enough that NASA thought another moon appeared... It's not," Stewart said grimly.
The teleportation pad glowed once more.
A tall winged figure stepped off, a mace in his hand. His eyes found Hawkgirl immediately, like the rest of the crowded deck was empty.
"...Chay-Ara," he said.
"... It's Shayera," she replied.
"Sorry. I just turned twenty a few days ago. Still figuring out the whole memory of a thousand lives thing, but you... You're in all of them," he replied.
"Not now," Batman interjected without turning.
The main screen resolved into a live feed, grainy at first before it showed a much clearer image. a giant starfish. textured between coral and cartilage with a deep crimson shading shading to near black at its edges, while the main body and center of its tendrils were a light blue, with a large eye at its heart.
"It's not attacking," Wonder Woman said.
"It's not doing anything, which doesn't mean it's harmless," Aquaman replied.
"We don't know anything about it besides its appearance and that it seems to be watching," said Superman.
"We assume it's watching," replied Green Arrow.
"Attacking it first would make us the aggressors. If it's hostile, we need to know before we engage," added Wonder Woman.
"J'onn, can you reach it?" asked Batman.
"I already tried. Nothing, but I can tell you one thing. I've never encountered a mind this large before," answered J'onn.
"What if it's ignoring us on purpose? Or sleeping?" questioned Flash.
"Neither option is comforting," replied Aquaman.
Hal Jordon was quiet. He had been studying the image. He thought he recognized what it was but couldn't quite know why or where it came from. Then his expression changed.
"I think I know what it is," he said.
Every head in the room turned to him.
"Go on," Batman said.
"Corps archives. A case file from way back on a being flagged as a universal potential threat. The entry almost matches this exactly," he replied.
"And?" Superman prompted.
"From what it reads, it's not a single organism, not exactly. It's more of a central intelligence. It doesn't say how, but it seems to unite every living thing and forces it to become part of its hivemind. It's labeled as a planet conqueror," Hal continued.
"How many worlds?" asked Stewart.
"The Corps records list six confirmed planets. There were others suspected but never verified," Hal replied and ran a hand across his jaw. "It's said if it were ever to surface in a populated system, the first priority should be containment," Hal continued.
"And you didn't mention this before?" asked Batman.
"I wasn't sure. The records are old, and I've never actually seen it before. If I'm right and it is this Conqueror, we can assume it's definitely hostile," answered Hal.
...
Mike was sitting at his desk, throwing a scrunched-up paper in the bin. He was planning scenarios while also having a full-time job. His room started to go dark.
"What the..." he said. He got up from his seat and went to the window and looked into the sky. "Oh, shit."
The Curator appeared next to him.
"Is this your doing?" Mike asked.
"Not entirely. I just gave things a little push."
"Why!?" Mike yelled.
"To put you to the test. If you're going to accomplish what I want, I need results. Proof that I'm not wasting my time," it replied.
"Great. It would've been nice if you at least gave me a heads-up that there are 'exams.' That way I would be prepared better," replied Mike. He put on his outfit and breathed in and out slowly.
...
The air in the room folded.
Batman's hand moved to his utility belt immediately. Everyone in the room went on guard.
"If any of you even lay a finger on me, this man dies," he said, a screen playing a video appearing large behind him. The video of Marcus that he used to make She-Hulk lose control. He didn't think he'd ever use it again, but life can be surprising.
Green Arrow kept his bow pointed at Sophist's chest. John's and Hal's rings were glowing green. Wonder Woman was holding her lasso, tight in her hand. Superman was centimeters away from having Sophist by the throat. Superman lowered his hand and backed away.
Sophist raised both of his hands, his palms open. "Relax. I'm not here to put anyone here through one of my scenarios," he told them.
"Is that supposed to reassure us?" said Green Arrow.
"It's the truth, and it makes things quicker. It seems you all have a bigger priority than me at the moment, and you all don't have a lot of time. The subject of my curiosity this time is..." Sophist replied and then pointed his finger at the alien in space. "...That is."
"Explain," Batman asked.
"Hal's right, but he's missing a few details. That Conqueror has a name. They call it Starro, and yes, it is hostile. However, it isn't dormant. It's reproducing. What Hal's files don't mention is how it's able to conquer planets. I'll tell you how. You see those marks in the middle of each tendril. Through there thousands of small Starro's will emerge and fall into Earth's atmosphere. From there each little Starro will occupy its own host by attaching itself to the host's face. It then creates a psychic link and shuts the host's brain off. Within twenty-four hours the host's brain dies, and it's fully linked to the central intelligence and fully joins the hivemind," Sophist explained.
"How do we stop it?" Superman interjected.
"It's too late to attack the main body. The main priority now is stopping the swarm it's about to unleash. If you don't, it'll have the whole planet hostage and wouldn't care if it had to use every nuclear bomb to destroy everything and everyone if it meant preserving itself," Sophist answered.
"How do you know all this?" asked Hal.
"You could say it was my old job," Sophist answered. "I'm not your enemy today. I want to help you the best I can. How can I toy around with superheroes if there are no superheroes?" he added.
Starro pulsed. It started off slow and then quickened each time. The pertrusions on its tendrils opened.
"It's happening!" yelled Hal.
Thousands of small starfish, the same appearance as their creator, tumbled their way out in a spray. They started to fall and glide down towards Earth. Scattering far and wide.
"What now?" asked Aquaman.
"There's only one thing we can do. We can't stop the fall from up here, not all of it. We need to get to Earth and intercept as many as we can," Batman answered.
"What about him?" asked Green Arrow.
"I'm not your concern. I have my own part to play," replied Sophist.
Batman held Sophist's gaze for a few seconds and then turned to the teleporter. The team paused and then followed Batman, ignoring Sophist.
"Let's save as many people as we can," said Superman.
The teleporter shined brightly, and then they were all gone. It was them versus Starro—The Conqueror.