"Alfred?!"
"Don't worry, he's not dead yet."
"But, if you don't cooperate with me, I can't say the same."
The sharp axe blade sliced Alfred's aged skin, and trickles of blood oozed out, making Barry Allen instinctively want to intervene.
"Don't make any sudden moves, Rabbit."
"Unless you want him dead."
"I know you're fast, but do you think you can defeat a massive army of Parademons in an instant?"
Scattered Parademons fluttered their wings, gathering from all directions as Steppenwolf raised his right hand. Their overwhelming numbers made Barry Allen's face contort. "What do you want?"
"I don't think there's anything on me you'd be interested in."
"Of course, so I want you to activate this Mother Box again, now."
Steppenwolf sneered, dropping the human Mother Box at his feet.
"Me? No, no, I think you've got the wrong idea, I don't have—"
Steppenwolf's axe blade pressed forward another inch. Alfred's eyelid twitched, and more blood seeped out.
"No! Wait! Hold on! I get it, I get it!"
"I'll activate it, I'll activate it."
Barry Allen quickly reached out to stop him, indicating he understood.
"Put her aside, now."
"I understand, I understand." Barry Allen's mind raced, desperate to buy time. Slowly laying Diana, who was unconscious from her severe injuries, flat on the ground, Barry Allen raised his hands and, under Steppenwolf's watchful eye, approached the Mother Box.
"Um, if I may ask, how do you know I can activate the Mother Box? Have you been monitoring our movements?"
Steppenwolf squinted, offering no reply, merely pressing his axe blade forward another inch.
"Wait! I'll activate it! Don't do anything!"
Before he finished speaking, Barry Allen, who had been slowly approaching Steppenwolf, suddenly moved. With lightning speed, he snatched both Alfred and the Mother Box from Steppenwolf's grasp.
"Whew... I did—what?"
Barry Allen's smile instantly froze. The Mother Box in his arms slowly vanished, and the Alfred he'd rescued suddenly transformed into Steppenwolf.
Pfft!
The white blade went in, the red blade came out.
Barry Allen's pupils dilated violently. As he fell, his gasps grew louder. The illusion before his eyes shattered like glass, and Steppenwolf, axe and Mother Box in hand, appeared before him, looking down with disdain.
If he hadn't been wary of Barry Allen's speed, he wouldn't have gone to such trouble to create an illusion.
"Am I... am I going to die?"
Barry Allen's lips gradually turned white, trembling as he struggled to move his body.
"Don't worry, soon, all humans on this world will die with you."
"Because the supreme lord of Apokolips, Darkseid, is about to descend!"
Steppenwolf's face grew increasingly fanatical. Holding the human Mother Box in his arms, he suddenly flew towards Gotham, towards the bronze Apokoliptian portal hovering above Gotham!
Meanwhile, in the thirteenth city ravaged by the residual power, Mera, who had been driving westward, chasing Lothar, slammed on the brakes. She poked her head out of the car window, staring blankly at the two figures locked in a melee ahead.
One was a Kryptonian who should have been dead, and the other was the blonde-haired, green-eyed Lothar.
"Huff..."
"Huff..."
Lothar's chest heaved. His black battle suit was tattered from the intense fighting.
Rip!
Lothar simply ripped off the already half-destroyed upper part of his clothing, revealing his muscular physique. His face stern, he extended a hand towards Clark, beckoning with his fingers.
It was a blatant provocation.
Thud!
Clark, growing more ferocious with time, stomped his feet hard. His eyes blazed red, and the explosive sonic waves instantly pulverized any obstacles within three meters!
Intersecting fists landed on each other's cheeks.
The immense power, which neither could fully resist, sent both flying backward almost simultaneously, dragging long trails across the fractured asphalt before crashing into skyscrapers and luxurious shopping malls.
Rumble!!!
Load-bearing walls were effortlessly demolished, and towering buildings collapsed instantly!
Lothar, emerging from the ruins once more, didn't hesitate. He spread his arms, and a dense barrage of energy blasts immediately assaulted the ruins where Clark was "buried"!
Explosion after explosion thundered across the sky, and rolling smoke and dust obscured Mera's view.
Suddenly, the shadow of a colossal entity pierced through the mist and entered Lothar's pupils.
Clark had picked up an entire towering office building and hurled it at Lothar!!!
"Look out!!"
A silver energy wave shot skyward, piercing through the office building and heading straight for Clark's head!
His adoptive father, Thanos, had once said that to kill, one must always aim for the head.
Whoosh!
Scarlet rays blocked Lothar's attack. Clark instinctively used a counter-technique from the Black Quadrant!
"?!"
Lothar's muscles tensed. His astonishing combat instincts allowed him to narrowly avoid the lock-on in a way Clark often used.
"??"
The two figures passed each other again. Clark's steel body was no longer impenetrable, and Lothar's protective energy was also broken. Blood flowed again, dripping to the ground and spreading captivating colors under the sunlight.
"Lothar! Why are you fighting a Kryptonian???"
Mera, finally finding an opportunity to interject, quickly got out of the car, cupped her hands around her mouth, and loudly called Lothar's name.
"Mera? Why is she here?" Lothar, his attention entirely on Clark, frowned.
"Your friend?"
Clark raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, tilted his head, and his eyes flashed with rainbow light.
"I have no friends, nor do I need them," Lothar curled his fingers into claws, about to launch another attack.
Suddenly, an oppressive aura, truly terrifying, washed over his mind!
"Who?!"
Lothar and Clark turned simultaneously, their gazes fixed on the source of this pressure.
Above Gotham City, Steppenwolf, hovering high in the sky, fully embedded the three Mother Boxes into the bronze portal adorned with mysterious symbols.
Rumble!!!!
The Mother Boxes merged into one, releasing energy that rapidly spread outwards from Gotham!
"Earthquake! Earthquake! It's an earthquake!!!!"
"Run! Run!!!"
Crimson magma churned, and the fractured ground gradually took on a hue of doomsday red!
Winds howled, dark clouds gathered; thunder and lightning flashed, and seawater surged inland. A scene of impending apocalypse...
Under the gaze of all Earthlings, and Steppenwolf's fanatical stare, the mysterious symbols on the bronze portal suddenly glowed with a brilliance comparable to the blazing sun!
Rumble!!!
Accompanied by the earth-shattering sound of the portal opening, countless monstrous legions descended upon Earth through the passage opened by the Mother Boxes. They arranged themselves in rows, bowing respectfully, as if awaiting the emperor who would command them.
"That's..."
Thousands of miles away, Lothar watched the figure seated on a throne behind the bronze portal. Without being able to see its face clearly, that figure somehow gave him a strange sense of familiarity. For some unknown reason, it felt like his adoptive father, Thanos...?
Had Thanos come to take him home???
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