As powerful as the six of them were it seemed that they were not strong enough to go against Darkseid's conqueror. Though they had succeeded in saving all of the hostage that the alien creature held, that being called Steppenwolf was still out there.

But Irene couldn't help but feel relieved to see the six of them together. That in the end they had succeeded in bringing together people who although vastly different were all outcasts.

Jimmy and Irene watched silently as they entered the warehouse, all of them still in their suits. They all radiated power and Irene was sure that with more time they would be a force to be reckoned with.

Unfortunately time was something that they didn't have.

But Victor Stone and Arthur Curry had changed their minds and were here now. That had to mean something. That had to give them hope that maybe they had a chance.

Seeing Victor was admittedly shocking. Irene he seen what had happened to him in the security footage of StarLab that Lex Luthor had given her. But seeing how much of him now consisted it mechanical parts, it just didn't seem possible.

It hurt to see someone that she once knew closely like this. Not because of the way he looked, but because this change couldn't be easy for him.

"And who are you?" Arthur Curry questioned as he stepped in her path, his large frame effectively blocking her view of Victor.

"Irene." She said slowly as she took his extended hand.

"Arthur." He introduced himself with a wink as he
pulled her a little closer and Irene couldn't help but feel stunned by him.

He was clearly a man that was very confident in himself. Arthur Curry looked intimidating, with a small scar above his eye and tattoos going up his neck.

"I'm Jimmy." Jimmy introduced beside her, only earning an annoyed glance from Arthur.

He finally released her hand before walking in the direction that the others were headed.

"Victor, it's been a long time." Irene said not sure what the right words could ever be. They never kept in touch after he transferred to Gotham University, something that Irene just now regretted.

Especially because she had remained in contact with his father, he must have thought that she only used his friendship to get close to one of the most powerful men in Metropolis.

"A lot has changed." Victor said still refusing to meet her eyes. And Irene realized then that it was coming from a place of shame. Shame at who he had become since the last time they had seen each other.

He was so different from the person she knew in her youth. The Victor Stone she had know was the type of person who was able to make anyone in the room laugh. Now he felt so cold and guarded.

"I'm sorry about your mother." Irene said not able to imagine how he must be feeling. The survivors guilt of having survived the car accident while his both did not.

Irene would have been devastated if she lost her mother. If losing Clark felt this crushing she didn't even want to imagine what it would be like to lose her mother or Angel.

"Everyone." Bruce called out before Victor could a say anything else.

Everyone quickly gathered at a table in the center of the warehouse. They were all silent as Victor set a large metal box at the center.

Irene almost felt her heart stop in her chest as she realized that what they were looking at was a Mother Box. It almost felt surreal to have it in front of her, knowing the long history that Diana had told them. Knowing how dangerous it was considering that it was what Darkseid's conqueror was after.

"It called to him. The Mother Box. The one he already has." Diana continued to inform as they went over what had happened at Gotham Harbor.

"He has two." Arthur's stated and although he attempted to seem casually and unaffected by the fact, he couldn't entirely hide the anger underneath his words. "He took the Mother Box from Atlantis."

Knowing the Darkseid's conqueror was already in possession of two of the three boxes was terrifying. If Amazonian and Atlantean warriors were not able to protect their own boxes what were their chances in being successful.

It was becoming more difficult to remain positive, then the odds were not in their favor.

"There's a dark spot in my data stream. I could feel the other two boxes." Victor said and Irene couldn't help but wonder what the Mother Box had changed him into. Victor had never been a man of science or technology before, that had been a reason why he and his father had always been at odds. All Victor wanted before was to play football, now that dream wasn't possible. "I know they're awake, but I can't see where they are."

"Well, we can't attack unless we know where the base is." Arthur stated dismissively, though frustration was clear on his face.

As dismissive and unbothered as he wanted them to believe he was there was no hiding the truth. If he came all this way it meant that he did care.

"Even if we knew, I've never seen a being as strong as Steppenwolf." Diana said thoughtfully before looking across the table to meet Irene's eyes. "Maybe one."

"Hmm, Superman." Barry muttered, but he didn't understand that weight of the words.

He didn't know who Superman was to Irene, didn't know how painful it was to her to hear him say it. To know that they all needed him but he was gone. And she didn't want the rest of them to know.

She didn't want their pity or their view on her to change. Irene had enough of other people feeling sorry for her.

"As long as the third box is asleep, they can't see it, only sense it." Victor informed seeing as they didn't have many options on what they could do. "We need to keep moving so they can't catch up."

"No." Bruce said immediately clearly trying to come up with any solution that didn't involve running. "That's just a strategy to lose more slowly, not to win."

Irene knew nothing of tactical strategies, but she could recognize the fact that they seemed to be on the losing side. From what the saw on the security camera although the team had fought hard they still weren't strong enough.

"Remind me, are flamethrowers not a thing?" Barry questioned as he looked at the box like some kind of puzzle that needed to be solved. From what Irene had gathered on Barry Allen, she knew that he was incredibly smart. Probably one of the smartest people in the room, but he was also still the youngest. "Why don't we just destroy it?"

"Fire doesn't destroy the boxes. They're an unknown form of matter." Victor replied thoughtfully, having an answer for all of their questions on the box. "Oh, they love heat. They absorb it, hold it in their cores."

"Well, you know a lot about these boxes." Arthur stated skeptically, and it was clear then that he didn't trust Victor. And possibly didn't trust any of them. "Makes you think. Where'd you find the box, Victor?"

"Are you trying to say something?"

"Oh, I'm saying it. How do we know you're not working for them?"

Victor sighed, clearly annoyed with Arthur but not wanting to start a fight. "It's a long story."

"You got somewhere else to be?"

Although Irene didn't like the way Arthur approached the subject, she also knew that they needed to know more about the Mother Boxes. Victor seemed to have a clear understanding of the box, and clearly some kind of connection to it.

"Unknown object 61982. It collected dust in the Pentagon archives for 70 years till DoD began to study the Superman ship."

Victor explained as he projected a holographic video of Silas Stone studying to Mother Box in his lab. From what Diane had told Irene and Bruce the lost Box of Man had been on Earth for hundreds of years, Irene couldn't even begin to imagine the long history surrounding the box long before Silas Stone got his hands in it.

"A researcher at StarLabs made a connection between the ship... and 61982. He understood they were both alien technologies. Different civilizations, similar properties. And though the box had slept for thousands of years, the researcher formulated a theory on how to awaken it. Then... I had an accident that should've killed me. But in an act of desperation or madness, the researcher harnessed the power of the Mother Box."

The holographic image that Victor was projecting changed into that same security footage that Lex Luthor had given Irene.

They all remained silent as they watched into horror as Silas Stone was able to activate the Mother Box and use to save Victor's life. The only sound in the warehouse was the sound of his screams as he turned into who he was now.

"He unleashed an alien technology he didn't fully understand. He used that power to keep me alive. Alive... but turned into this." Victor continued and there was unmistakable hatred in his voice. Whether it was directed at himself or his father Irene wasn't sure. "The box went back to sleep and he never returned it. That researcher was Silas Stone. My father."

"Wait, your father saved your life with one of these things?" Barry questioned in disbelief, although Silas did what he had to do to keep his son alive it was difficult not to question his judgment. The risk he had to take using unknown technology. It was a risk the could have gone terribly wrong. "Aren't they psycho murder machines?"

"They're change machines. The boxes don't think in terms of healing or killing, alive or dead. They rearrange matter at the will of their masters, regenerate, reinstate."

"Reinstate?" Irene questioned not entirely understanding what he was saying. Or if she was understanding him correctly.

Victor nodded patiently as he met her eyes. "A box has the power to reinstate anterior particle relationships."

Barry nodded in understanding, like everything was beginning to make sense to him. "So, you mean in the way that particles of matter can't be created or destroyed, their relations just transform."

"Burn down a house, the particles still exist." Victor continued. "Particles of house become particles of smoke."

Diana looked up from the box, nodding in understanding. "Anybody with a match can turn a house to smoke."

"But a Mother Box..."

"...turns smoke back into a house." Bruce concluded.

For the first time they looked like an actual team working together to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit. They were trying to work towards a solution together, but Irene didn't know what to feel or think.

It all felt like too much to process.

Because in that moment something had clicked for her to as the entire room went silent.

"I know we're all thinking the same thing right now." Barry said as he looked around at everyone. "Who's gonna say it? I'm not gonna say it."

No one could say it. They all had to know how insane it all sounded.

Suddenly Victor displayed a holographic image of Superman at the center of the table. Irene wished that she could say that seeing the image didn't completely tear her apart, but the truth was that it took ever bit of strength she had left to not break into tears in front of all of them.

All she could do was tightly grip the edge of the table and pretend that she didn't feel Bruce's eyes on her. That he wasn't studying her reaction to all of this.

"The dead are dead." Arthur suddenly declared breaking the long silence that they all were too afraid to break.

"The box brought Victor back." Kara said and the hope shinning in her eyes was clear. Of course she wanted her cousin back. She was sent here to protect him, and she saw this as a way to redeem herself.

But Kara wasn't thinking about the consequences, all she wanted was to have him back. A sentiment that Irene shared, but not in the same way.

"Victor wasn't dead." Arthur stated and Irene never thought there would be a time that she would agree with someone like Arthur Curry. "Life is either one or zero. It's to be or not to be. Not both."

"Can you operate this box, Victor?" Bruce questioned, none of the worries that Arthur was voicing swaying his thoughts.

"Of course. But we don't know enough about Kryptonian biology." Victor said and his words were Irene needed to hear to know what she thought about the insane idea. It was all too much of a risk. "There's no telling what's gonna happen."

Barry sighed but shook his head defiantly. "Okay, but...I mean, we have to try. Don't we? We have to try. What do we have to lose?"

"We cannot try unless we activate the box." Diana reminded them, thinking strategically. It only made sense, she was a warrior after all and she had to be trying to plan the best path forward. "As soon as it wakes up..."

"The enemy will see it." Kara said in realization.

"They come, activate The Unity. The end." Bruce confirmed as he continued looking down at the Mother Box.

"So, what we have to lose is the entire planet to a bunch of genocidal aliens. That's good to know." Barry added quickly, there was a hint of panic in his voice but it only felt natural considering the situation.

"Not all alien are genocidal." Kara quickly defended.

Barry tensed as he looked at Kara with wide eyes, a light blush settling on his cheeks. "I'm sorry that's not what I meant."

"Even if Superman could return, who's to say that he could defeat them?" Arthur questioned, returning the focus of the conversation back to the idea of brining Superman back. He clearly intended on attempting to turn everyone against the idea.

"The Mother Box did. Victor's father activated a Mother Box more than a year ago when Superman was still alive." Bruce stated firmly, and Irene could already see that his mind was already made up. That he wanted to take the risk. "Didn't call out to Steppenwolf. None of the boxes did. Not until..."

"Not until Superman died." Diana said in realization, and Irene could see the hope fickle in her face too.

"Not until Superman died." Bruce confirmed a hint of a smile on his lips. This is what he had wanted all along, a way to ease his own guilt over what had happened to Clark.

"It's like they were afraid of him?" Jimmy finally said, and Irene had to admit that she had forgotten the Jimmy was in the room with them.

He had been unusually quiet the entire time, and from the camera in his hand she realized why. He had been taking photos the entire time.

"Yes, they were afraid of him. This is the only way." Bruce confirmed as he met Irene's eyes knowing that it was her approval that he needed to move forward with this. "There are eight, not seven. There is no us without him."

Irene's attempts to hide the way she felt in front of the others snapped in an instant.

She should be pushing for them to do the impossible to bring Clark back, she knew that his return was all she wanted. But none of this felt right, the risk of something going on felt too great. It was overwhelming in the worst way possible.

Overwhelming to the point where being in the room felt suffocating and made her feel nauseous.

Irene always attempted to remain hopeful. But for the first time it was like she had lost all hope. Even when it felt so close to her reach.

A/N: A really long chapter, but we finally get to see the whole team together. The next chapter is actually a favorite of mine and I wrote even before writing this chapter. So expect it soon.