Mera never imagined that the man who had always been so domineering, the man who could rip apart the giant sea creature Karathen with his bare hands, would one day be beaten to a pulp in front of her.
The overwhelming energy blasts, covering the sky, seemed like a farewell fireworks display Lothar had ignited for himself, their exploding brilliance painting Darkseid's expression with cold indifference.
"No..."
"Lothar, Lothar, Lothar!"
Mera, enduring the searing pain, rushed to Lothar's side and pulled the bloodied man from the rubble. At his chest, the hole left by the Omega Beam made Mera's pupils contract sharply. She could even see the patch of yellow dirt beneath him through the wound. His charred skin had even stopped the bleeding.
Lothar's eyes were tightly shut, his faint breaths intermittent, leaving Mera in a panic. She wanted to save him but didn't know how to begin.
A silent stream of water, controlled by Mera, had just touched Lothar's wound when his tightly shut eyes snapped open. A veined right arm, with lightning speed, locked onto Mera's throat, flipping her over and pinning her beneath him!
Bang!
His eyes, filled with malevolence, made Mera's heart ache, so much so that she barely registered the pain in her own body.
"Tch..."
Lothar released his grip, stumbled to his feet, and, without a word, pulled three test tubes filled with nutrient fluid from his bracelet. He drank two himself, and the third he tossed into Mera's arms.
Thanos's specially formulated nutrient fluid rapidly repaired every nerve in Lothar's body. The tingling, aching sensation made Lothar's breathing heavier. His dehydrated cells seemed to transform into gluttons, greedily absorbing every milliliter of nutrients that flowed into his body. His shriveled muscles gradually regained their former luster, and Lothar's body began to float.
Snap!
A pale arm rested on his shoulder just before Lothar ascended.
"Don't go back, Lothar!"
"You're no match for him, you'll die!"
Turning around, Mera, holding the nutrient fluid, pleaded earnestly. The previous engagement had already proven that Lothar was no match for Darkseid. Mera couldn't imagine any outcome other than death if he went back now.
Click!
Lothar took off the silver bracelet from his right wrist and tossed it into Mera's hand.
"Lothar, you—"
Thinking Lothar had actually listened to her advice, Mera's lips curved into a faint smile. The next second, the man's figure vanished before her, leaving only a single sentence echoing in her ears:
"I won't die. Not until I've returned home. Not until I've killed Frieza. I won't die."
Freed from concerns about Woz's safety, Lothar completely unleashed himself. The constantly repairing, constantly devouring nutrient fluid Saiyan within Lothar moved relentlessly, providing him the motivation to fight again and again.
This time, Lothar's goal was clear: the Mother Boxes.
Clang!
A rampaging Lothar slammed headfirst into an invisible wall!
The Mother Boxes, so close, yet so impossibly far for Lothar.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Heavy, powerful iron fists landed on Lothar's back, one after another!
Despite Darkseid's incredibly slow punch speed, Lothar found himself unable to dodge, forced to endure the Lord of Apokolips's iron fists with his flesh and blood.
"Which universe do you hail from, outsider?"
A healing agent powerful enough to alleviate Omega Beam damage, and a heavily injured body still able to withstand three of his punches.
Darkseid grew intensely curious about this man's origins.
"Who knows?"
Lothar gasped, hovering not far from Darkseid, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Your objective is also the Mother Boxes."
"You want to use the Mother Boxes' energy to return."
"Which means, you know the coordinates of your original universe."
Darkseid's gaze fell on Lothar's wrist, where an artificial intelligence had previously resided, now empty.
Lothar grinned, his blood-stained teeth revealing a chilling gleam. "You really want to know?"
Bang!
A piercing sonic boom erupted. Golden-haired Lothar, with crossed arms, blocked Darkseid's incoming punch. His scarlet tail unexpectedly wrapped around Darkseid's right arm, and he spun, ramming his head directly into Darkseid's face!
Clang!
Lothar remembered his adoptive father Thanos's teaching: no matter who it was, their head was always their most vulnerable external point.
And in fact, it was true.
The shattered head armor fully demonstrated the power of Lothar's iron head technique.
On Darkseid's face, a rare trace of blood appeared. It was very small, very short, perhaps less than a centimeter. But it brought a wide smile to Lothar's face.
"See? You bleed too."
"That means you can die too."
Boom!
Roaring air currents enveloped Lothar's body, like a giant ruler stirring the immensely dark sky, unleashing monstrous waves!
The golden flash above Gotham tirelessly attacked Darkseid again and again.
Fists, palms, elbows, knees, legs, even teeth, and tail.
Any part that could be a weapon became Lothar's means of attack. Residual energy scattered, and the entire city of Gotham devolved into a blood-soaked slaughterhouse. Collapsed reinforced concrete, gushing crimson magma. And that extremely active golden flash in the sky.
"Lord Steppenwolf, we—"
The leader of Apokolips's Second Legion, standing by, made a decapitation gesture but was waved off by Steppenwolf.
"Let him vent."
The ancient invasion of Earth, which was repelled by the combined forces of the Amazons, Atlanteans, and humans along with the gods, was a thorn firmly embedded in Darkseid's heart. Like... now.
"Is that all you've got?"
Crack!
Darkseid landed, stepping on Lothar's right arm, the sound of bone cracking incredibly clear...
"Tch..."
An energy wave from Lothar's single arm struck Darkseid's chest. The latter stumbled back several steps, then sharply extended his large hand, firmly grabbing Lothar's left arm and yanking him down!
Bang!
Lothar crashed to the ground!
'No!!!!!'
Mera, tears welling in her eyes from afar, several times suppressed the urge to go out and help. She knew that going out now would only hinder. She wanted to save Lothar, but she only had one chance. Only this current opportunity, where Darkseid wouldn't pay her any mind. She couldn't waste it.
Hum!
Suddenly, the symphony of an engine and exhaust pipes echoed across this battlefield personally forged by Darkseid.
A dilapidated Subaru Impreza, after spinning wildly out of control for six or seven rotations, finally braked on the battlefield. Getting out of the driver's seat was a woman. A bewildered and terrified woman.
Daily Planet reporter—Lois Lane.
'Danger!'
Mera, who had been lurking in the shadows, her pupils constricted. She saw the monsters in the sky flapping their wings, intending to deal with this woman who had mistakenly stumbled into the battlefield due to car trouble.
"Ah!!!!"
A scream of instinct. Lois Lane shrieked, unable to avoid it.
Zzzt!!!
The next second, a figure who should have long departed descended from the sky. Sweeping heat vision instantly annihilated all the monsters charging towards Lois Lane...
The water Mera had gathered in her hands instantly dissipated...
"Cl... Clark?"
Lois Lane, who had waited for death for what seemed like an eternity, opened her eyes to see her boyfriend, who should have long been buried.
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