Meanwhile - Secret Facility, Location Unknown
In a sterile laboratory hidden beneath layers of concrete and steel, multiple screens displayed the LexCorp conference room.
A figure identical to the dead Lex Luthor watched his clone's final moments.
But this one was smiling.
"HAHAHA! EVERYTHING ACCORDING TO MY CALCULATION!" he laughed, clapping his hands together.
"My clone Lex, sorry for your death."
"But your sacrifice will make their children walk into their graves!"
The real Lex Luthor turned away from the screens.
Behind him stood another figure in an identical business suit.
Clone #4.
"Sir," the clone said with mechanical precision. "Shall I initiate public appearance protocols?"
"Not yet," the real Lex replied. "Let them think they won. Let them rescue their precious families."
"The trap isn't ready to spring."
He walked to a massive security door.
Retinal scanner activated, reading his eyes.
"Identity confirmed: Alexander Luthor, Prime."
Voice analysis systems activated next.
"Confirm authorization phrase."
"Humanity's greatest mind serves humanity's greatest good," Lex said clearly.
"Voice confirmed. Access granted."
The door opened to reveal a chamber that dwarfed the LexCorp facility.
Hundreds of advanced computers lined the walls.
Alien technology from dozens of worlds filled research stations.
And at the center, floating in an energy field, was something that made the Mother Boxes look primitive.
The Father Box.
Twice the size of a Mother Box.
Dark metal covered in red circuits that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Where Mother Boxes were tools of freedom and life, this was a weapon of control and domination.
"My beautiful discovery," Lex whispered, approaching the containment field.
"Found in the ruins of Earth-3. A universe where evil won."
He activated holographic displays around the chamber.
Images of various worlds appeared—dozens of alternate Earths he had visited.
"What's the weakness of Saiyans?" he muttered, scrolling through files.
"I have visited as incognito in various worlds, but didn't find any information about this species."
Research data from Universe-7, Universe-6, even timelines where Saiyans had conquered galaxies.
But no consistent weaknesses.
"I wish I could contact myself from other dimensions," Lex continued. "But if I did, the Justice League would find me."
"One time, I was almost captured by them when I tried."
He pulled up security footage of his narrow escape from that Earth's Batman.
"No weakness found - Saiyans," he said, updating his files. "Conclusion: they must be destroyed through overwhelming force."
Lex placed his hand on the Father Box's containment field.
The device pulsed with malevolent energy.
"But you, my dear Father Box, you don't care about individual strength."
"You control minds. You corrupt souls. You turn heroes into slaves."
"Even a Super Saiyan can't fight what they can't see coming."
Back in the Pocket Dimension
Victor opened a boom tube into swirling energy.
The heroes stepped through into what looked like a pristine medical facility.
White walls, clean floors, the hum of advanced technology.
But something felt wrong.
"It's too quiet," Diana observed, sword ready.
They moved through corridors lined with observation windows.
Behind each window, a different environment.
One room contained a miniature city. Another had a forest ecosystem.
"Habitat simulations," Bruce realized, his enhanced wisdom piecing it together.
"He's been studying how different species react to captivity."
Clark's reduced hearing still picked up familiar voices.
"This way," he said, leading them down a branching hallway.
They found their families in what looked like a comfortable apartment.
Thomas and Martha Wayne sat on a couch, reading books.
Jonathan and Martha Kent were in a kitchen, preparing food.
Barry's father worked on a crossword puzzle.
All perfectly calm. Too calm.
"Mom! Dad!" Bruce called out.
But they didn't react.
Not even a glance in his direction.
J'onn's telepathy reached out, scanning their minds.
"They're under some form of mental control," he reported. "Conscious but... compliant."
"Like they're being kept in a dream state."
Ojaga pounded on the transparent barrier separating them.
"Can we break through?"
Victor's systems analyzed the material.
"It's not just physical. There's an energy field maintaining their mental state."
"If we force our way through, the shock could damage their minds."
Diana examined the control panels beside each habitat.
"There has to be a release mechanism."
Barry found it first—a central console at the end of the hallway.
But when he tried to access it, alarms began blaring throughout the facility.
"UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED," an AI voice announced.
"INITIATING LOCKDOWN PROTOCOLS."
Meanwhile - Real Lex's Facility
"Sir," Clone #4 reported, "the pocket dimension has been breached."
The real Lex smiled at his monitors showing the heroes in his facility.
"Perfect. Phase Two begins now."
He activated the Father Box's systems.
Dark energy began building within the containment field.
Back in Pocket Dimension
Victor suddenly stiffened, his cybernetic eye flashing red.
"I'm detecting... something," he said, voice strained.
"A signal. Powerful. Coming from... everywhere at once."
The signal was unlike anything in his Mother Box databases.
Where Mother Box energy felt warm, alive, this was cold. Hungry.
"It's not a Mother Box," he realized with growing alarm. "It's something else."
The facility around them began to change.
White walls shifted to red.
The lighting grew dimmer, more ominous.
Their families' habitats remained unchanged, but everything else transformed.
"It's a trap," Clark said, his weakened senses still picking up the wrongness.
"Luthor wanted us here."
J'onn's telepathy suddenly screamed with pain.
He dropped to his knees, clutching his head.
"There's something in my mind," he gasped. "Trying to get in."
"Fighting my thoughts. Rewriting my memories."
Diana helped him stand. "What kind of psychic attack?"
Victor's systems began glitching.
Sparks flew from his cybernetic components.
"Father Box," he said through gritted teeth. "It's a Father Box."
"The Apokolips version of Mother Box technology."
"Built to control and corrupt instead of heal and protect."
Bruce's divine wisdom kicked in, Solomon's knowledge flooding his mind.
"Father Boxes don't just control technology," he said urgently. "They control minds."
"And if there's one nearby, it's trying to turn us into Darkseid's servants."
Ojaga's ki flared as he resisted the mental intrusion.
"Then we find it and destroy it."
But as he spoke, his golden aura flickered.
For just a moment, it turned dark red.
The others noticed, but Ojaga didn't.
The corruption was subtle, working below conscious awareness.
"Victor," Diana said, "can you trace the signal?"
Victor's cybernetic eye glowed, fighting against the Father Box interference.
"Signal traced," he said with difficulty. "Multiple dimensional barriers."
"The source is... in our reality. Not this pocket dimension."
"Someone's using Father Box technology to influence us from outside."
Clark's face went pale. "If we're being controlled, how do we know our thoughts are our own?"
Barry checked his weapons, then looked at his hands suspiciously.
"How do we know we're even still the good guys?"
J'onn struggled against the psychic assault.
"The control is gradual," he managed to say. "Designed to make us think we're choosing freely."
Ojaga looked at his family behind the barriers.
His parents, so close but unreachable.
The rage building in his chest felt natural, justified.
But was it really his emotion?
Or was something else feeding it, nurturing it, directing it?
"We need to get out of here," Bruce said, divine lightning crackling. "Now."
But as Victor began opening a return boom tube, the real Lex's voice echoed through hidden speakers.
"Welcome to my laboratory, heroes."
"I hope you've enjoyed meeting my clone. He served his purpose admirably."
"Now, let's see how long your famous willpower lasts against a Father Box."
The mental assault intensified.
J'onn collapsed completely.
Victor's systems began rebooting with altered programming.
Diana's memories of Themyscira grew confused, conflicted.
Clark's moral certainties started to waver.
Barry's protective instincts twisted toward vengeance.
Bruce's divine wisdom clouded with doubt and anger.
Only Ojaga seemed unaffected.
His Saiyan physiology was resisting the corruption.
But that might have been exactly what the real Lex was counting on.
"Interesting," Lex's voice continued. "The Saiyan mind is more resilient than expected."
"But that just makes the experiment more valuable.