Steve and the Main Universe Thor exchanged a glance, both slightly surprised, but they did not defy orders and instead turned to walk out of the meeting room.
"Not unexpected," Steve said. "The Command Center has always been very conservative. If we pull people out to attack outside now, it might make the base defense weak."
"But if we don't attack, we'll definitely be compressed inward. The tactical space will get smaller and smaller. If they find a chance to land, it'll be troublesome."
"We'll just have to find opportunities," Steve said. "Our command system is indeed not as good as Batman's, so we'll have to rely on our own play."
At a fork in the road ahead, the two parted ways and returned to their respective teams. Steve put on his gear and headed to the designated patrol point to meet with the other two Captain Americas.
"They've arrived, right? I just received an emergency notice to tighten patrols and increase vigilance. They're set on attacking us?"
"It must be Batman's decision," Steve said. "The Nine Major Kingdoms front is tense, and Batman will certainly seize this opportunity."
"Are we just going to keep defending here?" another Captain America asked.
"There's no other way, the Command Center's intention must be to stall. Asgard cannot come back to defend, but mages and mutants can come. As long as the threat to Earth is resolved and they return to defend the frontline base, this hurdle will be overcome."
"Hopefully it will go smoothly. We also... is that the Green Lantern Fleet?"
The cosmos was pitch black, with only the base displaying specks of light. Therefore, the emergence of certain colors stood out distinctly. Green Lantern energy always appeared exceptionally vivid. When they formed a fleet and gradually approached, it was like a green tendril reaching out from the abyss, with an eerie vitality that seemed to have no foothold.
"... Something doesn't seem right," Steve said.
"Hello? Hello?" Natasha's voice came through Steve's earpiece. "Steve, are you there? Eyewitness reports suggest that Batman has deployed more than just the Green Lantern Fleet."
"I think I already see it," Steve said. "Is the ship behind a warship from Apocalypse Star?"
"It's a transport ship," Natasha said. "We recovered surveillance equipment previously placed on a nearby asteroid of Apocalypse Star. Technicians analyzed the structure of the patrol ships sent from Apocalypse Star and inferred that their unusually large cabins are probably used to store type demons."
"Type demons?"
"One of Darkseid's trump cards. In the Apocalypse Star domain, there are countless alien creatures modified by him. They are semi-carbon-based, semi-mechanical beings, not strong individually but incredibly numerous. You must be careful."
Steve knew that the Black Widows were likely collecting information. Of course, this cosmos offered little information to collect, but they could dig for more clues in Battleworld.
Returning to Battleworld was considered being out, but the communications system was still usable. There were always universes not participating in the conflict willing to sell intelligence, and the Black Widows could acquire enough information about the opposition from them.
"Prepare for battle!" Steve raised his shield and shouted. He knew what they might face next wasn't just the Green Lanterns but a massive army of type demons.
As they came into visible range, others naturally realized that it wasn't just the Green Lanterns approaching; the transport ships behind them were the key. Since no one had seen Darkseid release type demons before, no one knew how many such transport ships could carry, leading to an uneasy feeling.
But at that moment, some more familiar devices entered the scene. The mechanical defense lines previously deployed at the human outpost were mostly withdrawn and redeployed in front of the Asgard Base.
The Central Universe's Stark was no longer pretending; besides the stock initially stored in the Andromeda Galaxy, he began pulling out new things.
"What is this?" the Main Universe Iron Man inquired, circling a massive battle armor.
"Anti-Green Lantern Armor," Stark replied without looking up. He was debugging another battle armor, slightly smaller, with a feminine shape. He knocked on its hull and said, "This is the Anti-Wonder Woman Armor."
"You were prepared early on?"
"You call this early?" Stark retorted irritably. "Shouldn't these preparations have been made before the Battleworld officially opened?"
The Main Universe Iron Man was speechless. He said, "Do you think I didn't want to prepare? Where do you get so much free time?"
"I'm free every day," Stark said. "Obadiah and Pepper run the company, Nick organizes The Avengers, and the Luminous Alliance only works three days a year. If it weren't for that damn psychological assessment report, I'd have even more free time."
"The Congress and military don't manage you?"
"Ha, they've got plenty to deal with," Stark sneeringly said. "The Holy Sanctuary evading taxes, the former Soviet Union reemerging from the grave, the magical school's environmental issues, Omega Babies destroying the world... Just before the fight started, the funerals for two overworked congressmen had just ended."
The Main Universe Iron Man was at a loss for words. Even if Iron Man going unchecked was a good thing, if holding so many dangerous mechas didn't make Iron Man the greatest threat to Earth, and there were more pressing issues for Congress and the military, then it seemed like things weren't that much better after all.
But thinking about it, during the time when Ultron went wrong in that universe of his, he actually had a rare period of peace. So should he be hoping for more chaos on Earth, so he could have more room to develop?
Main Universe Iron Man shook his head to cast away these ridiculous thoughts. He eyed the massive mecha in front of him and said, "How is this thing supposed to counter Green Lantern?"
"I got some Yellow Lantern energy, traded a super cool mechanical transforming slide with a kid for it," Stark said while debugging the mecha. "Though this mecha can't produce Yellow Lantern energy, with my tweaking, it can reuse the energy it has without any leakage, enough to give Green Lantern a good beating."
"Green Lantern is afraid of Yellow Lantern energy?"
"Most of them are," Stark explained. "I stumbled upon this before; once they encounter Yellow Lantern energy, at best they lose all their strength, and at worst, they're so overcome by fear they can't move."
"And what about this Anti-Wonder Woman Armor?"
"It doesn't need any special powers; robots naturally counter Wonder Woman because they make her lasso ineffective. This set is Symbiote Battle Armor; once bound, it can use the symbiote's traits to transform and escape."
Main Universe Iron Man nodded and said, "Sounds effective, definitely enough to give them a hard time. When do you plan to release them?"
"No rush, they probably won't be expecting this, so it's best to catch them off guard."
Main Universe Iron Man opened his mouth, seeming a bit anxious, waved his arm in the air, and said, "You know about Steven acting on his own, right?"
"That's your universe's Doctor Strange; it has nothing to do with the Steven I know, who's busy fighting the Demon God," Stark, though often at odds with Strange, still defended him at crucial times.
"Alright, it had a big impact on our universe's reputation."
"So, what do you want to say?"
"If possible, I can deploy these armors. After all, penetrating enemy lines is dangerous. If successful, I might salvage our universe's reputation."
"Not a chance," Stark replied.
"Alright," Main Universe Iron Man sighed, "It was your invention, you should deploy it. Just pretend I didn't say anything."
"I'm not doing this for showing off," Stark said. "To catch them off guard, they must not recognize these as my creations. We need to disguise these as other mechanical organisms, infiltrate their ranks, and launch a surprise attack."
"A surprise attack?!" Main Universe Iron Man questioned, confused, "With clear combat capability, why a surprise attack?"
"This is war, and if I can achieve significant results, I don't care about fairness," Stark set the wrench on the table, then added, "Weapons are weapons, and their purpose is maximum enemy damage. Have you been a superhero for so long; you've forgotten how to be an arms dealer?"
Main Universe Iron Man was speechless, glaring at Stark, "You've clearly not forgotten, and you're not ashamed of it either."
"Of course, if someday, I can sell Earth's weapons across the cosmos, start wars in the Interstellar Society, have Supreme Wisdom lay out the red carpet, the Scrool Emperor polish my shoes, and the Queen of Xiea greet me as 'Mr. Wealthy,' who would dare say selling arms is wrong?"
Main Universe Iron Man sighed deeply, realizing that this universe's Iron Man has wealth, power, a happy family, but no moral boundaries.
"Are you sure Iron Man will come out?" Main Universe Green Lantern asked Hal, "They should know their physiological limits as mere humans, maybe not so eager for battle?"
"I'm not sure about others; their Main Universe one should be anxious," Hal responded. "After all, that Main Universe's Doctor Strange was so outrageous, if they don't achieve military success, they'll be overshadowed by other universes."
"Fear not their arrogance, only their hesitation. If they dare come, we'll capture them for sure," affirmed Main Universe Green Lantern.
"Remember our previous tactical study?" Main Universe Wonder Woman asked, "Many Iron Men love flaunting their tech, and now eager for achievements, with our guidance, they might just charge ahead. Capturing one or two would be good."
"Capturing them won't have them work for us, like the Guardians of the Galaxy, just freeloading in prison - what's the point?"
"It's different; these are members of The Avengers. Capturing them forces the other side to battle, boost morale, or risk letting soldiers dwindle if slow to rescue or choosing not to."
"Let's give it another go," Hal remarked, "They've released the robots; should we send a wave of Demon-like Army for reconnaissance?"
"I'll steer the ship," replied Main Universe Green Lantern, "First, let's try sending one ship over. Iron Man surely hoards more goodies; best to reveal their cards first."
The massive transport ship slowly approached the mechanical defense line, not slowing when nearing the turrets, directly crashing into them. Innumerable mechanical turrets retaliated without hesitation, lasers flying, explosions following. The fragile transport ship was promptly destroyed, yet countless safety pods carrying Demon-like beings burst out.
With a "swish," the release command for the safety pods activated, countless pairs of cold, cruel eyes gradually lit up. The light from the mechanical defense lines illuminated the front, spreading like a cloud of darkness - the innumerable Demon-like army.