As for the other Mother Boxes on Earth, their locations had been uncovered through much effort.
One was in HYDRA's possession, while the other two were securely kept on Themyscira and in the underwater kingdom of Atlantis.
As for the other Mother Boxes on Earth, their locations had been uncovered through much effort.
One was in HYDRA's possession, while the other two were securely kept on Themyscira and in the underwater kingdom of Atlantis.
Over the past few years, S.H.I.E.L.D. had been relentlessly tracking the whereabouts of the Mother Box in HYDRA's hands, to prevent them from using its power to cause chaos.
But as HYDRA's slogan goes, "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place."
Their bases of operation were scattered globally, in ways that defied expectation.
Completely eliminating HYDRA seemed almost impossible.
Even with the vast resources S.H.I.E.L.D. had poured into the effort over the years, they had yet to locate the Mother Box held by HYDRA.
Standing up from his chair, Steve turned around to Sharon and said, "I'm going to see that Arquillian alien. He might really know something about the Mother Box."
As the two of them left, the red light on the security camera in the room flickered briefly.
The signal that was being transmitted to outer space was abruptly cut off by someone.
— 22,300 kilometers above Earth, in low Earth orbit, the Watchtower's monitoring room was receiving the feed from a S.H.I.E.L.D. internal security camera.
Suddenly, the screen filled with static as the signal was interrupted for a few seconds.
When the image returned, it displayed a tangled electronic symbol.
"Dear Mr. Batman, according to records from my creator, Mr. Tony Stark, this is the thirteenth time this year you've intercepted S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal camera feed. Mr. Stark asked me to inform you that if you continue this illegal behavior, he won't hesitate to take additional measures beyond the anti-hacking Watchtower signal..."
Batman promptly turned off the screen.
Behind him, the electronic door slid open silently, and Superman's red cape gently swayed as he entered.
"B." Superman walked toward Batman.
Batman turned in his chair and looked at him, "Should I be grateful you haven't forgotten you're the chairman of the Justice League?"
Clark gave a helpless smile, "Soren needs to organize all the merchandise he bought in Philadelphia. Helping him sort through things is faster than letting him do it alone. You have no idea—when it comes to tidying up, he's completely scatterbrained..."
Batman's throat bobbed slightly as he swallowed.
He glanced at Superman, whose face was lit up with a goofy smile.
For a brief moment, something flickered in his steel-blue eyes—an emotion difficult to decipher.
…I know.
A voice echoed in his chest.
But that voice was sealed away, like a stone thrown into an abyss, its rumble reverberating in a place unseen, never to be spoken aloud.
"I'm not interested in your personal life as Clark Kent," Batman said, ignoring Superman's smile and keeping his expression cold.
"Uh, alright," Clark scratched his chin awkwardly, "You've been in the Watchtower for days, B. What have you been up to lately?"
Batman turned his chair back around, his voice low, "The Mad Hatter and Joker escaped from Arkham days ago. I'm tracking where they might be hiding in Gotham."
…
Midnight.
Gotham City.
There had been a heavy rain earlier in the evening, and now a light drizzle still fell.
In a quiet alleyway, a white leather shoe gently pressed against the wet ground.
The white shoe was delicately crafted, with a floral buckle and a real leather sole.
Above the pale foot wearing the shoe was a slender, fair leg with a hint of rosy blush.
As the pleats of a knee-length dress swayed, the other equally slender and delicate leg stepped forward from the darkness.
Just seeing this pair of legs was enough to make one imagine what kind of cute, delicate face the girl with such legs must have.
This "girl" was now walking slowly through the deserted, dim alley alone.
"She" held a small silk handbag in one hand and a map in the other.
"She" was studying the map intently, as if lost in the maze of Gotham's complex streets and alleys.
Anyone with an eye for beauty wouldn't let such a fragile, elegant little beauty wander the streets of Gotham alone.
"She" looked like a pure white light in the muddy darkness, attracting the attention of all the evil creatures lurking in the shadows of this dark jungle.
Where the daylight couldn't reach, beasts of the dark let out low growls, their claws ready to strike.
But in places those creatures couldn't see, the "girl" was tapping a tiny communicator hidden beneath the map, furiously typing a message to the recipient who was already perched high above, ready for an ambush—
"Target has appeared."
"Got it."
The reply came quickly.
"She" had her head down, hidden beneath thick golden curls.
However, the expression on her face wasn't the serene and peaceful one you might expect.
Instead, she was biting her lip, looking somewhat conflicted and annoyed.
The "girl's" fingers flew over the screen, her clean, pale fingertips almost poking holes in the communicator, "You really owe me big this time, Jason Todd."
This time, it took half a minute for the reply to arrive, slowly.
"Stop whining."
"..."
"She" took a deep breath, calming herself down.
She slid the communicator into her sleeve.
When she looked up again, her flawless face, with baby-blue eyes, seemed like innocent glass marbles glimmering in the darkness.
—Soren was starting to wonder if he had been drunk when he so readily agreed to Jason's request the other day.
That day, Jason had messaged him, explaining his plan in detail—he wanted Soren to dress up like the kind of blonde girl the Mad Hatter preferred to target, using him as bait to lure the Hatter out of hiding.