Chapter 176: Retrieving the Mother Boxes
Superman's arrival turned the tide completely. Steppenwolf found himself overwhelmed, his earlier dominance crumbling like dust.
Bang, bang, bang!
The New God warrior couldn't even mount a proper counterattack. Superman's precise heat vision severed one of the distinctive horns on Steppenwolf's head cleanly.
"Barry, I've successfully linked with the Mother Box!" Cyborg shouted urgently. "I need that electrical current to get inside the system!"
His voice carried growing desperation. "Hurry! The Mother Box is dangerously close to completing its fusion process!"
Familiar spatial fluctuations rippled through the air behind Superman. A figure materialised on the other side of the dimensional passage, and Diana and the others immediately assumed defensive combat stances.
The being stepping through the portal commanded absolute terror—Steppenwolf's master, the dreaded Dark Lord Darkseid himself.
"He comes at last!" Steppenwolf gasped from where he lay broken on the ground, sensing his master's overwhelming dark presence.
"I'm here!" Barry announced, arriving in an instant with massive electrical energy crackling around him. He touched Cyborg's shoulder directly.
Cyborg forcefully channeled his cybernetic power, rushing his consciousness toward the Mother Box. The three devices, moments away from complete fusion, immediately showed promising signs of separation.
Cyborg transformed two additional mechanical arms and began physically pulling the Mother Boxes apart with brute force.
George had already gained complete control over their fusion process the moment he imprinted his mystical mark on the Mother Box's consciousness.
However, he obviously couldn't reveal that he possessed such control over the ancient artifacts.
"Superman!" Cyborg shouted immediately. For a task requiring pure physical strength, calling on the Man of Steel was absolutely the right choice.
Finally, Cyborg's technological interface, combined with Superman's incredible strength, completely separated the three Mother Boxes. They scattered across the ground like defeated opponents.
Steppenwolf struggled to his feet and roared defiantly at Superman. One horn lay severed entirely, and his living armor only covered his lower body now.
He looked utterly miserable and defeated.
Aquaman positioned himself strategically behind Steppenwolf, seized the perfect opportunity, and drove his trident directly through the New God's torso. Superman flew over and delivered a devastating punch, sending Steppenwolf flying toward the dimensional passage.
As the wounded warrior passed Diana's position, she used the momentum to leap high into the air. With perfect timing, she struck Steppenwolf's neck with her legendary sword.
Steppenwolf, now severed into two pieces, tumbled helplessly through the spatial passage to the other side. His rolling head came to rest directly at Darkseid's massive feet.
The Dark Lord crushed the head with a single, contemptuous stomp. Steppenwolf, once Darkseid's trusted lieutenant and one of the New Gods, had lost his life in failure.
Darkseid glanced down at the crushed remains at his feet with rage burning in his eyes. Then he looked up menacingly at the heroes gathered on the other side of the spatial passage.
A tense, threatening atmosphere spread through both dimensions. Darkseid's eyes began glowing an ominous orange color.
The spatial passage, having lost the Mother Boxes' sustaining power, snapped shut instantly.
The dimensional portal closed completely, and the Justice League members instantly relaxed their defensive postures. George knew that Darkseid had already discovered the Anti-Life Equation's presence on Earth. The cosmic tyrant would certainly not abandon his conquest plans.
Another major battle would come in the near future.
Everyone agreed to return the Mother Boxes to their respective guardian races for safekeeping. Bruce took the one belonging to humanity for secure storage.
He refused to reveal its exact location to anyone. George chose not to participate in their security arrangements. Instead, under the pretense of taking a well-deserved vacation, he left the group directly.
Half a month later
George stood looking at the empty ground before him. He mentally connected with all three Mother Boxes, located their precise positions, and utilised his spatial abilities to transport them directly in front of him.
To prevent any possible tracking attempts, George mentally controlled the three Mother Boxes and entered his Chaos Space together with them.
After entering the dimensional space, George first commanded the three Mother Boxes to begin their fusion process. Once they merged into a single unified device, ripples of energy emanated from deep within the space itself.
George released his physical hold, allowing the Mother Box to float freely into the sky. A swirling mass of pure energy enveloped it.
Electric sparks scattered wildly within the energy field. The accumulated Chaos Energy in the sky continuously converged toward the Mother Box like a supernatural magnet.
George's consciousness followed the energy flow and began entering the Mother Box's interior realm. The consciousness within the device materialized in Cyborg's form, pleading desperately with George.
"Please spare me, Master," the digital consciousness begged.
Using the Mother Box as a mere tool for control simply meant utilizing advanced technology. However, once the Chaos Space absorbed it, George himself would possess those abilities permanently.
These two outcomes differed fundamentally. George would naturally make the choice most beneficial to his long-term power.
"Give up your resistance and merge completely with me!" George commanded the consciousness before him.
After delivering this ultimatum, George exited the Mother Box's interior. He allowed the Chaos Space to plunder and absorb the rule-based powers it contained.
George exited the dimensional space and returned to physical reality. His phone began ringing insistently at that moment.
He picked it up and saw Bruce's name on the display. After connecting the call, George asked casually, "Is something wrong, Bruce?"
"The Mother Box is gone!" Bruce announced with obvious concern.
"When did this happen?" George asked, perfectly feigning ignorance.
"About half an hour ago," Bruce replied grimly.
"Wait for me. I'll be right there," George promised.
George sensed that Bruce was still located in the Batcave and teleported there directly.
Upon seeing Bruce's worried expression, George asked, "You said the Mother Box has disappeared. Is it just the one you were guarding, or have all the Mother Boxes gone missing?"
"All of them are lost," Bruce confirmed. "When we were preparing to return the Mother Boxes to their guardians, we established a communication network between all three locations."
"This was specifically to prevent the previous crisis from happening again. But just thirty minutes ago, all three Mother Boxes disappeared simultaneously," he explained.
"Indeed, this time the spatial disturbance was incredibly weak," Diana observed, having rushed over from Paradise Island. "I didn't sense anything at all."
Before long, all the Justice League members had gathered once again in the Batcave to discuss the mysterious disappearance of the Mother Boxes.
However, their extensive discussion yielded absolutely no useful results. Their technological monitoring systems couldn't track the Mother Boxes' movements or energy signatures.
In the end, they had no choice but to wait for something significant to happen before taking action.
As everyone prepared to disperse and return to their normal lives, George called out to Aquaman with casual friendliness.
"Arthur, wait a moment."
"What's up, George?" Aquaman stopped and turned to ask.
"Nothing urgent. I'm just quite curious about Atlantis and its civilization," George said with an enthusiastic smile. "I wonder if I might be fortunate enough to visit your underwater kingdom?"
"Ordinary surface dwellers certainly can't visit," Arthur replied with a hearty laugh. "But for you, the Atlanteans will definitely welcome you with open arms!"
"If anyone dares to object to your presence, I'll personally knock out their teeth! Come on, buddy," he declared loudly.
"Alright then, let's go," George agreed with genuine excitement.
The Underwater World - Atlantis
George arrived in the magnificent underwater realm and truly understood the vast disparity between different civilisations. The undersea kingdom once ruled by Namor, compared to this majestic place, resembled a small mountain village beside a nation's grand capital.
Even after George had established his own new city in another timeline, it still lacked the natural grandeur and ancient majesty of Atlantis.
During his comprehensive tour of the underwater kingdom, George continuously collected genetic samples from various bioluminescent plants. He planned to cultivate and develop them in his own domain back home.
After spending a full day exploring the wonders of the underwater world, George departed Atlantis. He carried several tons of valuable Atlantean metal with him, despite the openly hostile glare from Arthur's jealous cousin.
Aquaman himself had collected the precious metals directly from the royal warehouse. Arthur had personally escorted George there after noticing his genuine interest in their advanced armor technology.
Actually, this remarkable material carried another, more widely known name throughout the cosmos: Amazonian metal. Wonder Woman's iconic bracelets were forged from this exact same material.
When pieces of this metal clash together, the resulting sonic impact can make even Superman's ears bleed. It causes unbearable auditory discomfort to beings with enhanced hearing.
The metal was also used historically to forge Apollo's legendary Sun Sword.
Various deities primarily use this extraordinary material to create divine artefacts and weapons. Currently, the unique characteristics of Amazonian metal make it exceptionally suitable for magical enchantment processes.
Its power limitations depend entirely on the strength of the enchantments placed upon it.
To the outside world, this metal is considered extremely precious and rare.
However, in both Atlantis and Paradise Island, it's relatively common since neither civilisation lacks access to substantial quantities of the material.
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