To the American public, Luthor perfectly embodies their vision of a hero, just like seeing the flag of their forefathers, like those warriors who planted the Star-Spangled Banner on Sulfur Island during WWII.
At this moment, regardless if they are watching through TV or online, people are silently praying in their hearts, hoping that Luthor, representing humanity, can defeat the enemy.
Even those who are normally kind-hearted are moved to tears, and even the usual villains sincerely wish for Luthor's victory.
Luthor calculated the time and felt it was enough; he had garnered enough recognition from his acting, and if the Justice League returned to Metropolis, things would be difficult.
However, based on satellite monitoring, Batman and his crew are still chatting on Gotham's streets, seemingly debating something, and they won't notice this situation for a while.
Luthor played a trick; all broadcasts and networks were indeed restored, but as soon as the bat spirit finished restoring them, Luthor hacked into all layers of Gotham's network.
Now, when Gotham citizens turn on their TVs and computers, they still can't see this live broadcast—the broadcast time is ten minutes delayed. Other places are watching live, while they are seeing a recording.
By the time Batman notices, Luthor will have already withdrawn.
Thus, the Destruction Legion, receiving undercover instructions once again, won after a "grueling and extraordinary" battle.
The Troublemaker was countered by psychic abilities, and to outsiders, he looked dazed for a moment, with the bat spirit seizing the opportunity to fiercely strike his head, knocking him unconscious on the ground.
On the shattered street ruins, the Destruction Legion stood on the remnants, each one looking exhausted and scarred.
And the bat spirit raised his hand to restore everything in the city; he emotionally said to Luthor, "Even though Batman is not here, the Troublemaker truly intends to do harm—I misunderstood you earlier, you truly are a good person."
Luthor displayed a weary smile, firmly planting the national flag in the pavement beside him, waving his hand: "This is my planet, I'm just doing what a human should do. Can you take the Troublemaker back to the Fifth Dimension and keep a close watch? I need to conduct an interview now."
Luthor pointed at the Troublemaker under his foot and then at the drone flying in front of him.
When the bat spirit knocked down the Troublemaker, Luthor hurried forward a few steps, stepping on the unconscious Little Demon, and Brainiac controlled the drone to give Luthor a close-up.
In the noon sunlight, Luthor held the Star-Spangled Banner, as if glowing and radiating heat.
On a battlefield filled with smoke, what's more majestic than standing over the enemy's corpse? He thwarted a crisis that could have led to Earth's destruction, now he's the hero saving the world.
The Destruction Legion members, like all heroes, faced the incoming camera drones with satisfied smiles on their faces.
The bat spirit nodded, finding nothing wrong: "I'll take him away and imprison him; I've built my own Arkham like Batman, though there's no patient inside—he'll be the first."
Saying this, the bat spirit grabbed the Troublemaker from the ground, and the two vanished silently.
Luthor turned to the camera, signaling his team to gather, as they represented the Destruction Legion to begin the most crucial speech.
"Hello everyone! People of Earth, I am Lex Luthor. Perhaps some of you don't know me, so I'll give a brief introduction."
Luthor displayed a perfect smile akin to a superstar; as a businessman, a globally renowned one, he's very adept at establishing an image in people's hearts.
"I am the owner of the American Lex Group. Every year, my group pays hundreds of billions in taxes to the United States, and the same amount is allocated by me for charitable aid. Not only providing the homeless with basic living guarantees, even stray cats and dogs can receive help from the group."
He didn't exaggerate or boast; these are facts, and anyone who goes online can find this all over various sites.
So he maintained the perfect smile, continuing to speak to the camera drone:
"I am also this era's greatest inventor and scientist. Perhaps your car's GPS, or your phone's chip, or even your fully intelligent microwave, could be my creations."
At this point, Luthor sighed; visibly his expression became somber, and the hand gripping the national flag gradually tightened.
"But the key point today is not these. As you all know, previously, I joined the Justice League, but recently I uncovered a terrifying truth they intend to hide from everyone—from all humanity, forcing me to break away from them. Because they are leading our world to its doom, humanity to extinction..."
"...Maybe you think I am just creating a sensation, sounding alarmist, but if you know the Justice League has been hunting me down, you wouldn't think so. They are trying to kill me, their former colleague, humanity's hope, to cover up the truth."
"Words alone don't prove anything, so now I invite everyone to watch the footage I risked my life to film, then I'll explain to everyone what's really going on."
Saying this, Luthor nodded to Brainiac, and the ready alien AI immediately broadcasted meticulously 'edited' videos globally.
Anyone who watches can understand many things; every detail has been carefully annotated by Brainiac.
The onlookers realized that Barbatos invaded Earth just because of Batman, Omega Four Gods invaded because the Justice League took their things, the alien sea god invaded because the Sea King offended them, and now the Origin Wall explosion is all Justice League's doing!
Too many 'truths' left everyone dumbfounded, and Brainiac uploaded billions of more 'detailed' independent files onto the internet, preventing the Justice League from blocking people's search engines.
Now, as long as you're a human, if you open your phone in a place with signal, you can see all sorts of pop-up ads telling you how despicable and dark the Justice League is.
Many of Batman's backup plans got exposed, like bombing the Moon, bombing the White House, bombing Earth, bombing patients, and so on.
Ordinary people might find it hard to understand what these plans are for, but as long as they frequently see the word nuclear bomb, it's enough; Luthor doesn't need to explain.
"Okay, there's a lot of data, you can research it at home slowly; these are intelligence I acquired at great risk. You know what kind of people the Justice League comprises—there are aliens like Superman and Mars Hunter; just a stare from them can burn my head."
Luthor made a joke, though this not-so-funny joke made him appear even more heroic and fearless.
It sounds like someone exposing the world's grim truth, a martyr's determined last words.
Not everyone worldwide believed Luthor 100%, but as these evidences spread, more and more would believe.
Because the cosmos is burning, everyone will feel its changes, sooner or later.