Dark Knights of Steel#11(2023)

John Constantine, Lois and Harley Quinn meet to compare notes and come up with a plan to destroy the invaders. Meanwhile, Kal-El speaks with Bruce, who confirms that they are brothers. Bruce tells Kal-El he understands this must be difficult to learn, but Kal-El embraces him and tells him he has always thought of Bruce as a brother, and could not be happier to know that it is true. Kal-El asks Bruce how the Martian impersonating him was able to pierce his skin and Bruce explains that he and "Alfred" found a shard of a green crystal that robs them of their powers at the crash site from the falling star. He tells Kal-El that he believes the Martians have the rest of the meteor, and he is shown to be right. The White Martians carve Kryptonite weapons from the meteor, and the Martian who was impersonating Lara tells Protex that they saw a Green Martian on the battlefield. Protex realises that J'onn J'onzz is on Earth and will tell the humans how to defeat them. He flies to the Castle of El to kill J'onn before he can. He phases into J'onn's cell and finds him bound in the magic rope, which prevents him using his powers. Protex is about to use the ring to kill the helpless J'onn, but J'onn telepathically calls Kal-El for help and he and Bruce burst in. They set Protex alight with their heat vision and he flees. Following J'onn's advice the queens set up defences to keep the Martians at bay. Lara orders everyone to carry a torch in public and keep candles burning in every room; a vast quantity of wood is secured from the Lady of the Forest; huge bonfires are built to protect the armies and a moat of burning pitch is dug around the castle. J'onn tells Bruce that the cowardly Whites would not dare to face such defences, but they cannot keep the fires burning forever and eventually must stand and fight. Bruce unties him from the rope, as the queens have decided to trust him. J'onn apologises to Bruce for deceiving him and says he does not expect forgiveness, but Bruce allows J'onn to read his mind and see that, while he is hurt, he still loves J'onn. Bruce tells J'onn he is sorry that he felt that he needed to hide who he was, knowing that Bruce would see him as a monster. He says that he realises now that he was wrong and he will no longer judge people for their appearance or unusual abilities. He and Kal-El go down into the dungeon and release the people that he imprisoned, including Oliver. Waller rushes to the throne room and complains that Bruce is freeing the prisoners, but Lara tells her that Bruce did so with her blessing, as she always saw imprisoning those people as immoral. Waller says they cannot release dangerous people while there are enemy armies camped inside the walls but Lara replies they are not enemies, despite Waller's assertions that many of their soldiers died at those people's hands that very morning. Harley asks her if she wants to continue the war until they are all destroyed and Lara says she will not allow that to happen, and they must unite to fight the invaders. Waller tells Lara she believes she is making a mistake, but Lara insists an alliance is their best chance and, after a moment, Waller begrudgingly withdraws. Lara takes Kal-El and Zala out to where the ship that brought them to Earth is hidden. She takes a crystal from the console and they use the plans stored on it to build a Phantom Zone Projector which they can use to banish the Martians to another plane. Meanwhile, Waller and her best archer Deadshot ride out to the Martian's hideout. It's revealed that Waller has been aware of the Martian for some time and had made an agreement with them to ensure the safety of the Kingdom of El. She tells Protex she will create another opportunity for him and they will succeed, but only if he follows her instructions from here on.