[Midway City]
The army had already stopped its offensive, because the battle ahead was no longer something they could interfere with.
Those "fallen warriors" transformed by the witch also stopped attacking. They scattered, surrounding Wonder Woman and the male warlock.
Wonder Woman pressed the attack aggressively. The male warlock, it seemed, hadn't recovered his former strength after just reviving.
The magic he used was the same few tricks over and over.
After figuring out the warlock's limits, Diana launched a fierce assault, driving him back step by step.
"Sister, are you ready yet?"
"I need help."
The warlock struggled to hold on and could only call for his sister's aid.
The witch glanced back, then said, "I still need a bit more 'stuff.' Hold on a little longer."
Then black energy rose from her body, and she reverted to that earlier "dirty girl" appearance.
It seemed only in that form could she use certain magic.
Just like now. After turning back into the "dirty girl," the witch vanished from where she stood.
———
[Inside the Pentagon]
The Secretary of Defense shouted, "What's the situation in Midway City now?"
"And where's Amanda and her X Task Force?"
An aide stood up and replied, "We've temporarily lost contact. Also, sir, you need to see this."
He handed over a tablet. The Secretary looked at it and saw footage from inside the federal building in Midway City.
Inside, Amanda suddenly pulled out a gun, about to shoot a staff member.
Then, suddenly, a figure appeared beside her and stopped the bullet with a hand.
"This—"
The Secretary looked up and said decisively, "Have the Information Department block the spread of this video immediately."
"And if any media ask, say Amanda isn't one of ours."
The aide nodded, then suddenly went stiff.
He saw black energy pouring out behind the Secretary. A filthy-looking yet voluptuous, scantily dressed woman stepped out from it.
Then she hugged the Secretary and dragged him into the black energy, disappearing.
The Secretary only felt his vision blur, and he had already gone from the Pentagon to a strange place.
He then saw a pillar of light rising into the sky behind him. Around that beam stood a machine full of fantastical elements.
"Where is this?"
The witch, now back in her clean form, smiled, "This is the 'altar.'"
"Here, you will witness the entire process of humanity's destruction."
The witch raised her hand. From the blue flames erupting behind her, tendrils shot out one by one.
They drilled into the Secretary's brain, stealing the classified information in his mind.
At once, countless pieces of information flashed through the witch's eyes.
For example, the locations of artificial satellites, the positions of aircraft carriers.
At that moment, she heard a scream.
The witch quickly turned around, just in time to see Diana use the Godkiller sword to cut off her brother's head.
Originally, as an ancient warlock, even decapitation wouldn't necessarily kill him.
But Diana was using the Godkiller sword, a weapon blessed by Zeus.
It had special effects against gods and ancient warlocks, these non-human entities.
The witch immediately felt that her brother had died, and she cried out, "NOO!"
Diana watched as the warlock's head fell to the ground, breaking apart into ashes. Then she looked forward, her gaze landing on the "world-destroying machine" behind the witch.
"Shut it down!", Diana pointed at the machine and shouted.
The witch's chest rose and fell with anger. If Alex had been here, he'd probably have whistled.
"I won't shut it down."
"It's already complete!"
"It's about to destroy this world!"
"All humanity will be buried with my brother!"
The witch shouted. Green light appeared across her body, forming a magic array.
At once, the "world-destroying machine" began to operate.
From the sky, enormous lightning bolts as thick as tree trunks crashed down, sweeping across the land and striking toward Diana.
Wonder Woman flashed away, dodging the attack.
Then she saw the lightning sweep into a building. The building exploded instantly, countless fragments raining down from the sky like a sudden storm.
Where the lightning passed, the ground split open, and from the "wounds" in the earth, rows of flames burst out.
Diana shook her head, shouted, and leaped high into the air, diving toward the machine.
Wonder Woman intended to destroy it.
But at that moment, a cloud of black smoke suddenly rose in the space before her.
The witch, in her "dirty girl" form, lunged out amid a sky full of sparks. At some point, she had already taken a longsword in each hand.
With a shout, she slashed both blades toward Diana.
Wonder Woman raised her shield to block.
Clang!
Although the witch couldn't break the shield, she knocked Diana back down to the ground.
The moment Wonder Woman landed, the "fallen warriors" attacked from all directions.
They rushed at Diana like mad. Some of the "fallen warriors" transformed from soldiers even raised rifles and opened fire directly.
Diana moved quickly, weaving through the "fallen warriors."
She swung her shield, striking one of them and smashing it into powder like a stone statue.
The Godkiller sword slashed out twisting arcs of light, cutting down several "fallen warriors."
After moving around for a while, Diana reached the outer edge of the group.
She raised both hands high and shouted, bringing her bracers together.
Clang!
A shockwave spread out in a fan shape, shattering every "fallen warrior" it touched.
At that moment, Diana's expression shifted. She raised her round shield.
In front of it, the witch appeared, her twin swords striking the shield.
Then, when the Godkiller sword swept across, she instantly flashed away, causing Diana's strike to miss.
Diana immediately raised her hands to release another shockwave, but black tendrils wrapped toward her. She had to change her plan, retreating while swinging the Godkiller sword repeatedly to cut them apart.
While Wonder Woman and the witch fought fiercely, the "world-destroying machine" had already begun its work.
———
[Inside the Pentagon]
People watched the screens. First, a satellite in space was destroyed by a bolt of lightning shot up from inside the planet. Then a signal transmission base in a state's outskirts was wiped out by a sweeping bolt.
Next, at an Air Force base, the fighter jets parked there vanished in descending lightning.
Then an aircraft carrier on a mission in the Pacific Ocean was cut in half by a sweeping bolt.
One after another, apocalyptic lightning strikes were attacking countless military zones.
Even cities and towns were being destroyed.
———
[Kansas]
Clark stood outside the house, looking at the lightning flashing in the distant sky, his brow furrowing.
At that moment, light burst above his head, and a torrent of lightning poured down.
It first struck the wheat field ahead, then swept toward the house.
Where it passed, earth and stone flew.
Clark immediately flashed into the house. When he burst out again, he was already holding his mother as he flew out.
They rose into the air, hearing thunder roar and explosions continue.
Looking down again, the lightning had vanished, but an ugly scar was left on the land.
Inside that "scar," sparks flickered, and the smell of burning filled the air.
Looking farther away, in the distant town, flames surged upward, turning the night sky red.
Clark's gaze grew deep, as if lost in thought.
Martha lightly patted his shoulder, "You've rested long enough."
"Go. Stop the disaster."
Clark looked at her, then nodded, "I will."
But in his heart, he thought, 'What I'm going to do is probably a bit different from what you're imagining.'
———
A bolt of lightning swept across a nearby street, destroying several buildings and causing the natural gas pipeline to explode violently.
The explosion and flames caught Alex's attention.
He glanced at the receding lightning, a smile forming at the corner of his mouth.
"Looks like the witch's 'world-destroying machine' is finished."
Then he looked ahead.
Startled by Alex's sudden arrival, Silas Stone was sitting on the ground.
Beside him, on a white lab table, lay a black metal cube.
Alex could feel something extraordinary from it.
Without a doubt, this was one of the three Mother Boxes.
As Alex walked toward it, a beam of laser struck him, only to be deflected by his biofield.
He glanced back. Victor, the man who would later be known as "Cyborg," had rushed in.
"Stay away from there!"
"Or I won't go easy on you!"
Victor shouted, then anxiously looked at his father, "Dad, get out of here!"
At this moment, he had no time to resent his father for turning him into a monster.
And it proved that deep down, he still loved his parents.
But while he was distracted, out of the corner of his eye, a fist rapidly grew larger.
Then "Cyborg" Victor was blasted out like a cannonball, crashing into a building, crossing into another street, and embedding into a parked car.
At the starting point of that flight path, Alex lowered his hand. With another flicker, he was already in front of the Mother Box.
"Come on, let me see what you can do."
As he spoke, his eyes lit up. Golden beams shot out and struck the Mother Box.
As Alex increased the solar radiation output, the temperature in the lab rose rapidly. The ground became scorching, and equipment sparked violently.
The fire suppression system above activated, spraying water, but it evaporated before it could fall, turning into steam.
Silas cried out, jumping from the heat, then was suddenly picked up and carried out of the lab.
Victor set his father down. His metal body shifted, forming several thrusters that allowed him to hover in midair.
Silas shouted, "That thing, that cube, you have to get it out of there!"
Victor nodded. A red glow flared in his chest as he flew back in.
He saw that under Alex's stimulation, the Mother Box had already floated into the air. Its surface split apart, releasing some kind of energy from within.
Victor immediately raised his transformed arm-cannon and fired continuously at Alex.
Alex ignored the attack. He could feel that under his stimulation, the Mother Box was approaching some critical point.
But at that moment, with a loud crash, the ceiling above the lab was broken open.
Someone landed between Alex and the Mother Box, raising a hand to block the heat vision.
The golden beams flickered twice, then vanished.
Alex looked at the strong figure, slightly blurred in the steam, and at the red cape covered in water droplets.
He smiled, "Vacation's over?"
Victor also saw the figure standing before the Mother Box and heard a magnetic voice sound through the steam.
"Yeah, I was planning to rest a bit longer."
"But it looks like the situation won't allow that."
At that moment, Alex's clothes began to burn.
At the same time, the vibranium bracelet on his wrist broke apart into countless particles, rapidly spreading over his body and forming a vibranium battle suit.
With a red cape fastened, fully suited, Alex floated slightly off the ground and said with a smile, "You're in my way. Mind stepping aside?"
"This thing… my instincts tell me that if you keep pushing it, it might trigger an even bigger disaster."
"So I probably can't move."
The figure in the steam said.
Then Victor saw a blur. The man had already rushed forward, striking Alex and sending him flying.
BOOM!
Both the high-speed movement and the force that sent Alex flying created shockwaves, dispersing the steam in the lab.
Revealing a fluttering red cape. And in front of it, a figure with an "S" emblem on his chest. Superman, Clark Kent.
BANG!
Alex felt a violent impact behind him. He stopped, realizing he had crashed into a building.
He had been sent flying over a thousand meters by Superman's strike.
"Seriously, weren't you supposed to retire? Couldn't you rest a little longer?"
Alex stepped out from the wall, brushing off dust and debris. Then his figure blurred and vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already behind Clark.
Mind Transfer!
Clark was about to turn, but suddenly his body stiffened, as if controlled.
Mind Invasion!
But Alex knew Clark's mind was extremely strong. There was no way he could make him kill himself like an ordinary person.
So he only used the ability as a momentary control. Clark paused briefly, and Alex took the chance to deliver a powerful kick.
Like a soccer ball, Superman was sent flying.
"Returning the favor," Alex smiled.
Clark shot out of the lab, flying uncontrollably into the night sky. By the time he stopped, he saw Alex had already grabbed the Mother Box and burst out of the lab.
Alex knew Superman wouldn't be easy to deal with, so he had no intention of getting entangled.
He grabbed the Mother Box and ran.
At that moment, his back shook violently. From midair, Superman fired red beams, striking Alex's back.
Alex was distracted for a split second. A grappling hook with a pulling effect latched onto the Mother Box and yanked it away from him.
Alex looked up and saw Batman, already suited up, using his grappling gun to snatch the Mother Box.
Alex smiled. Using "mind teleportation" again, he instantly appeared beside Batman.
With a push, Batman was sent flying, crashing through several cars and into a shop.
The grappling gun fell into Alex's hand. Just as the Mother Box was about to fly back to him, a blue laser cut the alloy cable.
Then Victor flew down, lunging toward the Mother Box.
Alex shifted slightly back, about to rush forward, when his vision blurred. Superman charged in again.
Clark grabbed Alex's shoulders with both hands and shouted, pushing him forward.
The two smashed through building after building, crossing street after street.
Finally, Clark slammed Alex into a tanker truck, which then exploded violently.
Flames burst outward in all directions, sending nearby pedestrians fleeing in panic.
Clark didn't think that would be enough to kill Alex. Soon, he saw a figure rise from the flames, completely unharmed.
Rising into the air.
Then firing down two golden beams.
Alex stared at Superman, unleashing heat vision. Superman responded in kind.
Dark red and gold beams collided midair, clashing and holding against each other.
Alex laughed, "After resting a while, you seem stronger than before."
Clark didn't respond. He only shouted, red light glowing around his eyes as his beams grew thicker.
Alex immediately increased his solar radiation, merging his beams into a torrent that crashed into Clark.
With overwhelming force, it broke through Clark's heat vision and blasted Superman away.
The moment he sent Superman flying, Alex's figure blurred and vanished again.
When he reappeared, using "mind teleportation," he was near Victor.
Cyborg was holding the Mother Box, trying to leave Metropolis. He didn't expect Alex to appear so suddenly and immediately raised his arm-cannon.
But Alex grabbed the Mother Box with one hand and slammed a fist into Victor's face with the other.
Cyborg cried out as he was sent flying, crashing down into a rooftop.
Before Alex could leave with the Mother Box, Clark crashed into him again, knocking the cube out of his hands. It fell downward.
At that moment, a Batjet passed below. The cockpit opened, and Batman caught the Mother Box and sped away.
But not long after taking off, Batman heard a soft sound. Alex had teleported directly into the cockpit.
"What happens when a bat loses its wings?"
Alex smiled, then fired lasers to slice through the Batjet. Grabbing the Mother Box, he smashed out of the aircraft and hovered in midair.
From the burning, disintegrating jet, Batman used his grappling gun to latch onto a building wall and swung away.
He curled up and crashed through a window, barely escaping being smashed to pieces.
At that moment, Superman flashed in, reaching for the Mother Box.
Alex did the same. The two struggled over it in midair.
"Tell me, coming back is a good thing, but don't you think Midway City needs you more?"
Alex had come to Metropolis, leaving the "world-destroying machine" and the witch behind. The main reason was the Mother Box, but also to keep a counter in case Superman interfered.
Now it was coming into play.
Clark's expression didn't change, "Compared to that side, I think you're the bigger threat."
"Don't say that. I'm actually a pacifist."
"So how about this, we stop fighting and study this thing together?", Alex said with a smile.
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