Daniel appeared on Themyscira inside the temple where the Amazons had guarded their Mother Box for thousands of years. The battle had already ended.
The temple was in ruins — broken columns scattered across the ground while deep cracks split the ancient stone floor.
Daniel looked at the shattered pedestal and sighed. "Shit. I'm late."
"You came."
Daniel turned around. Queen Hippolyta walked toward him, her armor bearing fresh marks from battle.
"I sensed a massive energy signature and went to check Atlantis first," Daniel said. Hippolyta immediately understood what he meant.
"Does that mean the Mother Box entrusted to Atlantis has also been stolen?"
"Yes."
A brief silence followed. Hippolyta closed her eyes for a moment before taking a slow breath.
"Then we have very little time. Steppenwolf cannot be allowed to obtain the third Mother Box." Her voice remained steady despite everything.
"If the three Mother Boxes unite, the Unity will begin and Earth itself will be transformed."
Daniel folded his arms. "I know."
Thousands of years ago, when Darkseid first invaded Earth in search of the Anti-Life Equation, it had taken every major power on the planet to stop him.
The Old Gods had fought on the front lines. The Amazons stood beside them. Atlantis joined with its full military strength, the tribes of mankind fought alongside them, and even a Green Lantern answered the call.
Only through that alliance had Darkseid been defeated and forced to retreat.
That world no longer existed. The Old Gods were long dead, Atlantis had withdrawn beneath the ocean, and the Amazons remained isolated on Themyscira.
The alliance that had once defeated Darkseid had disappeared thousands of years ago.
Daniel looked across the ruined temple. "If Steppenwolf gets the third Mother Box, stopping the Unity won't be nearly as simple as it was last time."
"Which is why we cannot allow him to find it," Hippolyta said.
***
Bruce's private jet landed at Gotham Airport before slowly taxiing to a stop. He stepped out wearing a dark overcoat, and a familiar black Rolls-Royce was already waiting near the runway with Alfred standing beside it.
Bruce walked toward the car and stopped. Daniel was casually leaning against the Rolls-Royce as though he had been there the entire time.
Alfred remained perfectly composed, far too professional to let anything show.
Bruce looked at him for a long moment. "I just left you yesterday. Don't tell me there's another problem."
He wasn't being sarcastic. Based on recent experience, Daniel only appeared like this when something serious had happened.
Daniel nodded toward the car. "We'll talk inside."
Bruce studied his expression, then opened the rear door and got in. Daniel followed. Alfred closed the door before taking his seat behind the wheel.
"Wayne Manor, Master Bruce?"
"Yes, Alfred."
The Rolls-Royce pulled away and merged onto the road. Once the airport was behind them, Bruce looked back at Daniel.
"All right. What happened? Don't tell me Arthur's fight for the throne didn't go the way we planned."
"No, that part went well," Daniel said.
"I need your help. Wayne Enterprises' technology, specifically. There's an object I need to locate before it falls into alien hands."
Bruce's eyes narrowed slightly. "Another alien?"
"Yes."
"Hostile?"
"One hundred percent."
Bruce didn't ask whether Daniel was exaggerating. Experience had taught him that Daniel tended to understate threats rather than overstate them.
"What exactly am I looking for?"
Daniel leaned back in his seat.
"A Mother Box. Roughly the size of a football, metallic, covered in constantly shifting geometric patterns. It emits a unique form of energy that doesn't exist in any human technology."
Bruce immediately began organizing possibilities.
"If it's producing an energy signature, Wayne Enterprises can search for anomalies through satellite networks and research databases. Do you know whether it's currently active?"
"It shouldn't be fully active, but it won't be completely dormant either."
Bruce tapped his finger against the armrest.
"If it's hidden inside a government facility, private laboratory, or defense contractor, finding it becomes significantly harder."
"I know."
"But not impossible," Bruce said. "That's why I came to you," Daniel replied, and Bruce gave a small nod.
"I'll have the Batcomputer cross-reference unexplained energy readings, classified research projects, and unusual archaeological recoveries. If the object has produced even a brief energy pulse anywhere on Earth, there's a chance we'll find it before they do."
Daniel's expression relaxed for the first time since entering the car. "Good."
Bruce looked out the window for a moment. "So explain something. What happens if we don't find this object before it falls into hostile hands?"
Daniel's expression turned serious. "Then this won't be another invasion. This time even I'll be in trouble."
Darkseid wasn't an opponent Daniel could defeat with his current strength — as a New God of Apokolips, his body had been enhanced by advanced Apokoliptian science and strengthened over countless wars across the universe. Killing him wouldn't be easy.
---
Inside S.T.A.R. Labs, Dr. Silas Stone sat in front of several computer monitors reviewing data from the Mother Box. The laboratory doors slid open, and heavy metallic footsteps echoed through the room.
Silas turned around. Victor Stone stood there, nearly half his body replaced by alien machinery. One eye glowed red while metallic plates shifted beneath the surface of his skin with every movement.
"So, Dad." Victor looked directly at him, his voice hardening. "Was saving my life really worth turning me into this?"
He raised his cybernetic arm, letting the metal fold and reshape itself before returning to its original form. "I'm not human anymore."
Silas slowly stood from his chair. "I wasn't trying to turn you into a monster."
Victor laughed bitterly. "But that's exactly what happened." He looked down at his metallic body.
"Every time I look in a mirror, I don't recognize the person staring back."
Silas lowered his head. "I made the only choice I had."
"You made your choice," Victor said, his mechanical fist clenching. "You never gave me one."
*****
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