"Barry! What's the evacuation status?!"
"People from the Third and Fourth Districts have all been evacuated!"
"Alfred, prepare to activate the energy shield. I'm going to pin Steppenwolf down in these two districts!"
At this moment, Bruce Wayne had already donned the uniform of Gotham's protector. The Bat, who usually operates in the shadows, was now forced into the sunlight.
"Bruce, be careful. His strength is much greater than last time."
Wonder Woman Diana, the primary damage dealer, was steadily retreating under Steppenwolf's attacks. Her surging divine power could only barely prevent her from being knocked down by Steppenwolf.
"I see," Bruce Wayne's face was grim, his shadowed eyes fixed on Steppenwolf's intact arms.
"You're no match for me, Amazon."
"Hand over the Mother Box, and I might grant you a swift end."
Steppenwolf loomed over the shattered district below.
Gotham, America's most infamous crime city, was crumbling under his absolute power. And Batman, Gotham's protector, was powerless to stop it.
"Hey, look here, big guy!"
Barry Allen, who had successfully evacuated everyone from the dangerous zone, hurled a lightning bolt at Steppenwolf. It was a skill he'd mastered these past few days under Bruce Wayne's tutelage. And it was currently his only offensive move.
"Zzzzt..."
The blue lightning boomerang struck Steppenwolf's armor, serving no purpose other than drawing Steppenwolf's attention to Barry Allen.
"You're too weak."
"In fact, you still can't match my speed."
Bang!
The giant axe cleaved the ground, and like a ferocious beast baring its fangs, instantly tore through the skyscraper behind Barry Allen!
Boom!
One of Gotham's iconic landmarks crumbled!
"Barry!" The belated Diana searched for her teammate.
"Cough, cough, I'm here."
Barry Allen, in his red suit, fiddled with the lightning emblem on his chest, waving at Diana.
"Alfred!"
"Still undergoing energy conversion, Master Bruce, it'll be another three minutes."
Inside the Batcave, Alfred the butler looked at the progress bar on the computer screen, his tone slightly helpless.
Steppenwolf's arrival was truly too sudden. If Bruce Wayne hadn't been prepared, the entire city of Gotham might have been annihilated.
"Three minutes? I understand."
Bruce Wayne raised the firearm in his hand, its dark barrel aimed at Steppenwolf. The moment he pulled the trigger, a hundred bullets fired simultaneously!
"Diana! Barry! Hold him! Three minutes!"
"Just three minutes!"
Bang bang bang bang!!!!
Dense energy bullets wove a net in mid-air, completely engulfing Steppenwolf, who wielded the giant axe.
The special energy bullets, designed specifically for Apokoliptian armor and Steppenwolf's physiology, caused Steppenwolf's body to stagger backward uncontrollably!
"What?!"
"Impossible!"
"How could mere human weapons...?!"
Steppenwolf, who had completely underestimated Bruce Wayne, took a huge hit. The opening created by his stumbling retreat was seized by the agile Diana, who immediately lashed a golden lasso around his ankle. With a forceful pull, Steppenwolf instantly fell to the ground.
"Barry! Now!" Bruce Wayne got into his Batmobile, unleashing all the weapons representing Earth's highest level of black technology.
Rumble!!!!
Specialized vehicular missiles blasted Steppenwolf, making his eyes see stars!
"Understood!"
Barry Allen, moving at a speed Steppenwolf couldn't hope to match, grabbed the ropes fired from the Batmobile, directly binding them to Steppenwolf's limbs.
Clang!
The Batmobile's chassis suddenly lit up with four alloy tentacles, plunging directly into the ground to anchor the vehicle.
"Diana!"
Bruce Wayne, dismounting from the Batmobile, fired a shot at Steppenwolf's forehead. Diana followed close behind, thrusting her sword into Steppenwolf's chest!
"Graahaaaaah!!!!!"
A furious roar shook the heavens and the earth.
Steppenwolf, attempting to struggle, was horrified to find he couldn't break free from the ropes' restraint for a moment???
"How! Is this possible!"
Buzz!
A Bat drone soared through the sky, dropping canisters that instantly transformed into road spikes, emitting beams of energy.
Three minutes were up.
Crimson energy beams wove into a net, which, under Alfred's control, enveloped the roaring Steppenwolf.
His Apokoliptian armor was instantly torn apart!
The might of Earth's black technology was truly terrifying!
Steppenwolf couldn't fathom how he, fully recovered, had been defeated by a mere human?
What kind of chaotic technological methods were these?
A chain of continuous attacks kept Steppenwolf completely suppressed. Bruce Wayne, in his uniform now, was a completely different person from the powerless Bruce Wayne on the beach earlier.
"Incredible!"
"Bruce, how did you do that?"
An incredibly relaxed Barry Allen dispelled the Speed Force surrounding him and came to Bruce Wayne's side. Looking at Steppenwolf, immobilized by the energy net, his eyes were full of wonder.
"With my superpowers," Bruce Wayne opened his comms device. "Alfred, what are the parameters?"
"Everything is as you predicted, Master Bruce." Inside the Batcave, Alfred smiled, looking at Steppenwolf's arm, withered to what could almost be called a "branch" due to various experiments it had undergone.
To prevent Steppenwolf's reappearance, this arm, broken by Lothar, the descendant of the Titans, had suffered immensely.
"So, in just a few days, you found ways and means to deal with Steppenwolf from that severed arm?" Diana glanced at Bruce in surprise.
"How much did it cost?"
"Not much, just about 1.7 to 1.8 billion U.S. dollars," Bruce Wayne opened the electronic device connected to the Batmobile.
"What?" Barry Allen's hand trembled in shock, almost accidentally firing his gun. It made him drop his gun on the ground, neither picking it up nor leaving it.
"Alfred, adjust the parameters, I need—alright, I guess I don't need it now..."
Bruce Wayne, who had planned to inject Steppenwolf with a special sedative, witnessed a scene he was destined never to forget.
Suddenly, a brown portal opened in the sky above Gotham City. A dazzling brown light beam tilted down from the heavens, stretching between the sky and the earth!
Within the light beam, a colossal, indistinct silhouette sat enthroned, and two terrifying energy beams burst forth from its pupils!
RUMBLE!!!
Starting from Steppenwolf's location and ending at Arkham Asylum, another of Gotham's landmarks, more than half of Gotham instantly turned into ruins!
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