(~˘▾˘)~~(˘▾˘~)
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Hal Jordan's body jolted, and he turned to look. Above the city, two figures, often seen on television, were flying in mid-air.
The Beyonder, with a rich purple glow emanating from his body, crossed his arms and looked down. Superman followed closely behind, his cape fluttering, accompanied by a beautiful and imposing woman with a golden rope hanging from her waist, standing suspended in the air behind the Beyonder.
"Haha..."
Seeing David behind him, Hal Jordan chuckled, "I... I was just joking."
The dazzling light from the ring on his hand dimmed for a moment.
"Why did the ring dim?"
Batman, who had been annoyed by Hal Jordan's flashy ring throughout, asked.
"Energy-saving," Hal Jordan's voice also lowered a bit, his face showing embarrassment.
The power of the ring depended entirely on the user's will. Those who possessed a lantern ring outside the Corps formation must know this, and Hal Jordan's face was red with embarrassment thinking of this.
'Has Hal Jordan become the Green Lantern?'
David recognized Hal Jordan from the shape and outline of his face under the green mask at a glance.
As one of the best pilots in the United States, Hal Jordan had a whole page of biographical information online, complete with photos.
After unexpectedly obtaining the power ring, David had once casually checked Hal Jordan online.
Swoosh!
'Something big must have happened.'
Batman looked up at David.
This was well-known online; the Beyonder was powerful and mysterious, never participating in ordinary crime-fighting activities. He only appeared in crises that could threaten the entire world.
'It seems that the owner of those biological weapons possesses extraordinary power.'
Even though those biological weapons numbered in the millions, they posed no threat to the two individuals before them. There must be something else.
"We are a step late."
Clark clenched his fist, using his supervision to see parademons hovering in the distant sky, resembling vultures searching for prey.
The appearance of a horde of monsters not native to this planet indicated that the ancient device David mentioned, capable of summoning an extraterrestrial army, had been activated.
"These parademons have been on this planet for a while," David shook his head.
They had converged on the scene fast enough, but the parademons had already arrived on Earth.
Perhaps on his way to Atlantis, the Mother Box in the human world had already been activated.
Using gravitational field perception, David looked in the direction of the Gotham branch of the Star Labs.
The research building had been destroyed from the inside, and the scene had been secretly sealed off for some time. The entire block was under military lockdown, guarded by heavily armed soldiers, prohibiting anyone from approaching.
'Because it's related to aliens, they've sealed off the information?'
Although the Mother Box should have been taken away by the higher-ups from the Apocalypse by now, David decided to go to the scene to see if there were any survivors who witnessed the arrival of the higher-level officials from the Apocalypse and gather intelligence.
'But we can speculate that Darkseid probably hasn't arrived.'
If the dark overlord had come, he would not have immediately hidden, dispatching parademons worldwide to harass and create chaos.
Just then, an explosion echoed from another part of the block, accompanied by the cries of the crowd.
"Somebody is fighting those parademons. It's..."
Clark immediately shifted his gaze, penetrating layers of steel and concrete, his expression freezing.
"It's a half-human, half-mechanical person?"
'Cyborg?'
David's expression shifted.
As expected, there seemed to be a witness.
"Let's go take a look."
"Where do you monsters come from? Where did your leaders go?"
A sonic cannon swept through a dozen parademons, turning them into ashes. A black man, with over 80% of his body covered in metal, looked sad and angry. He resembled an out-of-control beast, tightly gripping one of the parademons, interrogating it.
However, the unintelligent parademon continued to roar, attempting to claw and bite the creature in front of it but was firmly held by an iron hand, unable to break free.
"I can guarantee that even dogs are smarter than it. Interrogating it is useless."
Accompanied by green light, Hal Jordan descended to the scene.
After killing the demon-like creature in his hand, Victor Stone, with a startle, turned his head to look, and the sonic cannon formed by his transformed arm almost fired.
"Hehe, be careful."
Hal Jordan raised his hands to put him at ease.
Cyborg, who had just lost his father in a sudden attack, his eyes bloodshot, scanned the newcomers with caution, each of them arriving in their own way.
"Batman, Superman, and the Beyonder?"
Apart from two strangers, he saw the superheroes who were frequently reported in the news for fighting crime and saving the world, so he relaxed his guard slightly.
Hal Jordan frowned in dissatisfaction.
Even though he had only been fighting crime in Coast City for a few days, was he really that unknown?
"You seem to have encountered something?"
Batman spoke after a moment of silence.
The black man in front of them exhibited extreme emotional instability, with bloodshot eyes as if he had suffered a massive blow, as if he had lost a loved one in a sudden disaster.
Batman was familiar with this feeling and emotion.
"My father was killed by a group of strange monsters!"
Victor Stone covered his eyes, roaring bitterly.
"What exactly happened?"
David inquired.
"Perhaps you can help us find them. They are plotting a war to destroy the world."
"I... I..."
Facing the Beyonder who had once saved the world, Cyborg hesitated, his voice trembling as he recounted the bizarre events.
On the way home after a football game, there was a car accident, his mother died, and he should have died too.
"My father used a strange box to revive me and modify me into what I am now. Just this morning, when the modification was just completed, the box emitted a loud roar, opened a portal, and several large, brutal creatures descended, along with countless of those monsters, breaking through the building!"
His father was casually crushed to death by a man with a beast-like appearance and a powerful, evil aura.
A monster with a tall figure, two horns on its head, and silver-scaled armor all over its body, like an emotionless creature, ruthlessly killed the remaining personnel in the laboratory with a giant axe.
Cyborg angrily rushed forward, but a man in green armor with an insect-shaped gold helmet easily blocked his attacks, and just waved his hand to knock him unconscious.
When he woke up, he found himself amidst ruins.
David frowned, organizing the information he had received.
"Kalibak, Steppenwolf, and Mantis..."
The people who arrived with the Apocalypse had indeed changed.
"It's not just Steppenwolf leading the demon-like army anymore."
The monster in silver-scaled armor, carrying an axe, was undoubtedly Steppenwolf.
In Cyborg's account, he held the lowest position among the three leaders. The man with a large, brutish physique like a minotaur was obviously the highest-ranking among the three.
Steel's description of the man reminded him of someone—Kalibak, the eldest son of Darkseid.
'Kalibak, son of the Dark Lord, one of the most powerful New Gods, possessing strength comparable to a Kryptonian, with a cruel and brutal personality, and the second strongest warrior under Darkseid's command.'
However, David paid attention to the last person among the three—the New God known as Mantis.
One of Darkseid's most loyal followers and a member of the New Gods, Mantis was cold-hearted and merciless, lacking any compassion. He was the most powerful warrior under Darkseid, perhaps not as high in status as the Dark Lord's biological son, but stronger than Kalibak. Mantis had nearly immune defenses against physical attacks and the ability to absorb and manipulate energy.
Clark looked at Cyborg with sympathy.
Both had almost their entire bodies transformed into machinery. This reminded him of his unfortunate uncle, Zor-El. After being repelled from Brainiac, he was brought back to the Fortress of Solitude. However, upon examination, Jor-El discovered that his hippocampus had been removed, and part of his brain had been removed. Unable to recover his memories, they had to destroy his mechanical body and confine him to the Red Sun Prison.
The young man before him wasn't much better off. In a car accident, he lost his mother, survived the crash, and became half-human, half-machine, only to witness his father die before his eyes.
"So, you say your father used a strange box to bring you back to life?"
Batman frowned.
"And then that box brought a group of monsters?"
In the chaotic narration of events from Cyborg, Batman keenly caught two crucial points.
No one understood the pain of losing parents better than someone who had experienced it. But how did it seem like this guy's father had attracted these aliens?
"It sounds like Pandora's box."
Hal Jordan said with a serious expression, stroking his chin.
"Someone opened a box they shouldn't have, and disaster came pouring out."
Hiss, hiss!
A strange howl echoed.
Cyborg had just killed dozens of parademons, but more were drawn in, swarming like a murder of crows.
Clark furrowed his brow, ascending into the air. His heat vision swept through, slaughtering the Apocalypse creatures without any hesitation.
"We must quickly find those alien enemies trying to destroy the world. But these monsters that can harm ordinary people also need to be urgently dealt with!"
He gazed into the distance, scanning the skies above every city until the limit of his vision. He found these monstrous and ferocious figures hovering over each city, numbering at least in the millions, attacking people worldwide.
"That's exactly their goal. Release a portion to cause destruction and slaughter around the world, hamper the resistance of this planet, and then summon more."
David pointed out the intentions of Kalibak and others.
"But you're right."
He knew Clark wouldn't stand idly by, and letting these creatures fly around attacking people posed a danger to Smallville.
"I alone might not be enough."
Clearing the existing parademon army and finding the location where the enemy summoned the army both needed attention. Among those present, Clark was the fastest, and he chose to clear the monsters surrounding the cities.
However, even with his speed, it was a bit slow for him alone.
"I have an acquaintance who can help. His speed is also very fast, like lightning."
Hal Jordan raised his hand, then used his power ring to dial a number, turning away and lowering his voice to have a discreet conversation with the person on the other end.
"Flash, it's me, Green Lantern."
"Hal? I told you not to call me that." At the same time, an intern in the CSI of the Central City Police Department was flipping through crime data.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Hal Jordan quickly coughed to drown out the voice of his friend whom he had unexpectedly met, nervously looking back to see if anyone had heard. (he seemed to have forgotten everyone here had more than normal human hearing)
"Someone needs you now, Flash. I'm at the intersection of Gotham Main Street and Seventh Street. Just between us, I'm with the Beyonder, Superman, and Batman."
"The world is facing a crisis."
"A world crisis? What kind of crisis?" A series of yellow lightning bolts flashed, adding a new figure to the street where they were. Clad mainly in red tight-fitting combat gear, he held a phone and looked a bit nervous, seemingly uncomfortable with the current situation.
"You seem to know more than we do?" Batman asked David.
Having heard David refer to these creatures as parademons and hearing Cyborg's account, Batman wasn't particularly surprised.
David explained what he had learned. The enemy had already arrived, and the world was in crisis. There was no need to conceal anything.
As for the information about Apocalypse, he didn't need to explain the source of his intelligence.
"Are you saying there are two more of these boxes?" Hearing that there were three boxes summoning dark forces from the universe, Hal Jordan felt a bit panicked. Should they split up and act separately?
He hasn't faced an alien monster yet.
"Those two boxes are already in my possession.
That's their ultimate goal," David explained.
In fact, he didn't need to actively seek out Kalibak and others; they would eventually come to him.
However, they might bring an endless army of parademons, causing significant casualties on Earth.
"That's great. How did you find them?" Hal Jordan, curious, patted his chest.
After all, finding a couple of boxes with dimensions of a few dozen centimeters on Earth wasn't an easy task.
"We need more power to resist the invasion," Batman added, frowning in thought when he heard that the box came from one of the most powerful sources of evil in the universe.
Upon discovering the Beyonder and Superman, Batman had shifted much of his focus to supernatural phenomena, leading to some discoveries.
"I know the whereabouts of a man who moves through the seas like a fish, capable of supersonic speeds and lifting nuclear submarines effortlessly. Every bit of power is precious in the current moment."
'Aquaman?'
David looked around. With Aquaman, the original members of the Justice League were almost assembled.
"Let's go. Hopefully, you can keep up," Clark said to the Flash.
"I will never be left behind." Barry Allen made a hand gesture near his head, excited to collaborate with Superman.
With one in the air and the other on the ground, they shot off like lightning to eliminate the parademons causing chaos worldwide.
The remaining members prepared to find a location and figure out how to locate the remaining Mother Box.
"I should be able to help." Cyborg clenched his fist.
His mechanical body was connected to the Mother Box, giving him a special sensitivity. He wanted revenge for his deceased father.
...
Chernobyl, a forbidden zone on Earth since the nuclear disaster.
Inside the abandoned nuclear reactor power plant, Kalibak and his companions manipulated the Mother Box, releasing energy and altering the terrain to turn the entire place into a fortified base.
Standing nearly three meters tall, with limbs as massive as pillars, a broad lion-like nose adorned with fangs, and a beastly, rugged, and fierce face, Kalibak held a tough metal rod, commanding his uncle, Steppenwolf, to place the Mother Box into the steel.
The Mother Box released energy, melting the steel and connecting with Apokolips on the other side of the universe.
The ominous figure of Desaad, Darkseid's assistant, emerged from the rolling molten iron.
"Kalibak, the great progeny of Darkseid, why didn't you report to His Majesty that you and Mantis led an army of parademons away from Apokolips?
You even allied with Steppenwolf, who once betrayed your father."
He looked towards Steppenwolf, who stood by with an axe in hand.
"That's precisely what I want you to convey to my father," Kalibak spoke, his deep voice resonating with the power to shatter steel, his gaze intense.
"You have no idea what treasures this backward primitive planet possesses!"
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(~˘▾˘)~Don't forget to send your power-stones!~(˘▾˘~)