Although in the movie, Steppenwolf behaved very much like an honest man, and in the director's cut, he also showed the courage and conviction of a warrior.
But this doesn't mean that Steppenwolf was truly completely loyal to Darkseid.
Otherwise, when Darkseid was weak, he wouldn't have been able to conspire with others to seize his throne.
Now that he knew the anti-life equation was on Earth, and he also had a group of Doomsday, let alone an ambitious person like Steppenwolf who had once tried to usurp the throne, anyone else would probably choose to take a gamble.
Moreover... Steppenwolf was still thinking that the remnants of the Old Gods still existed in this World. If they were modified with Apokolips technology and then controlled with the anti-life equation, he might even be able to lead his Army to counterattack Apokolips and personally sit on that throne!
At this thought, Steppenwolf had already made his choice, but before that, he needed to activate the mother box's power to complete the "Trinity" protocol.
Although the mother box's ability is very powerful, it also needs external energy stimulation to unleash its internal power.
In the movie, Steppenwolf placing them in a nuclear-contaminated area was also for this reason; that place could charge the mother box.
Similarly, when the Justice League revived Superman, Barry also needed to apply enough current to the mother box, all to awaken the mother box with external energy before its abilities could be used.
Steppenwolf heard that this was a safety measure implemented by Apokolips scientists when they first created them.
mother boxes have their own self-awareness. If the consciousness within them could freely control energy, they might not obey their Master's commands.
Therefore, it needs external commands to activate its internal functions, just as a nuclear bomb needs an external explosion to initiate a chain reaction.
To avoid further complications, Steppenwolf needed to accumulate enough energy more quickly to activate the mother box's unifying power.
But in this North Pole region, he couldn't do it; he needed to change his Base.
Once he changed his Base, his whereabouts would very likely be discovered by the Justice League.
So Steppenwolf thought carefully. He needed a new partner who could provide him with ample energy and also help him conceal his activities from the Justice League.
He actually had a helper, but he didn't quite trust that guy, so he wanted to find a new one.
He understood the principle of "not putting all your eggs in one basket."
He searched Earth's network, looked carefully, and finally settled on a candidate.
"Lex Luthor!"
LexCorp has laboratories all over All America, and even has some cooperative relationships with the famous S.T.A.R. Labs.
And the Kryptonian spaceship transported from the Canada mountains was currently placed in an underground laboratory in Gotham City.
Gotham is not far from Metropolis, so Luthor had time to come here often.
And because it was Batman's territory, Superman's gaze generally wouldn't be fixed here, making it a perfect location.
One day, Luthor personally came to the laboratory to supervise an experiment. This time it was the deconstruction of the Kryptonian spaceship, and he still hadn't given up on his research.
Just then, a huge noise sounded behind him. Luthor immediately looked back, his hand already on his hip.
From the blue Boom Tube, Steppenwolf emerged.
"Lex Luthor, you've been conscripted."
Luthor saw that the newcomer was not an Earthling and calmly took a few steps back.
Hearing the commotion, a group of mercenaries suddenly rushed in from outside the laboratory.
The leader was Officer Anatoli Knyazev, who had led troops to Canada to clear the scene and bring back the spaceship.
He was not panicked after seeing Steppenwolf. He led his subordinates to shield Luthor behind him, while aiming his gun at Steppenwolf.
Luthor looked very calm, he smiled and looked at Steppenwolf opposite him: "Sir, perhaps you should introduce yourself first?"
Steppenwolf saw the heavily armed mercenaries around him and couldn't help but sneer.
"Your men are not even warriors."
After saying that, a group of Parademons suddenly flew out from the Boom Tube behind him. They charged towards the mercenary squad.
"Fire!"
Anatoli immediately gave the order, and the surrounding mercenaries' gunshots instantly rang out in a volley.
The bullets hitting Steppenwolf had no effect whatsoever. After a dozen clangs, they fell to the ground, forming a pile of copper slugs.
Although the Parademons' defense was no match for Steppenwolf's, their armor was not so easily breached. Unless hit in a vital spot, it wouldn't cause any fundamental damage.
So, one mercenary after another was grabbed by a Parademon, lifted into the air, and then torn into several pieces.
This bloody scene instantly intimidated the other mercenaries, causing their firing rate to drop.
At this moment, Steppenwolf strode over and grabbed the head of one of the mercenaries blocking his way.
His large hand gripped the man's head as if it were an apple, and with a gentle squeeze, the head exploded.
"Shit! I'm out!"
Some mercenaries couldn't stand it anymore and decisively fled.
But he hadn't run more than a few steps before he was brutally dismembered by the ubiquitous Parademons.
The remaining mercenaries, seeing this, felt caught between a rock and a hard place, regretting why they had taken on such a task.
Only Anatoli quietly approached Luthor: "Boss, what do we do?"
Luthor's eyes had been fixed on Steppenwolf. He found that the other party didn't seem to want to kill him; if he had wanted to, he should have been dead long ago.
So, the purpose of his visit was very intriguing.
So he suddenly raised his hands and shouted to Steppenwolf: "Sir, I surrender. Could I ask you to stop?"
Steppenwolf shouted "Stop," and the Parademons obeyed, ceasing their actions, but still hovering menacingly around the mercenaries, like a pack of hungry hyenas.
Seeing that the other party seemed capable of normal communication, Luthor seized the opportunity to try and elicit more information.
"Excuse me, sir, what do you call yourself?"
"You may call me Steppenwolf, Lex Luthor. I know who you are, so let's skip the pointless probing and get straight to the point. I need your abilities to help me accomplish some things, and of course, in return, I can help you decipher Kryptonian technology."
Although Kryptonian technology is very advanced, Apokolips's technology is no less so, and because it has not experienced generational gaps or censorship, it is stronger in terms of application.
Especially the technology used for destruction, which is extremely sophisticated.
A glint flashed in Luthor's eyes; he was indeed tempted.
"That sounds good, but I'd like to know, specifically, what do you want me to help you with?"
What could an alien who claimed to be able to decipher Kryptonian technology need a mere Earthling like him to help accomplish?
Luthor smelled a conspiracy. He felt some nervousness, some apprehension, but more than that, excitement.
In the current World order, although many people were unwilling to admit it, metahumans were gradually becoming an increasingly powerful political force.
And the foundation of this power lay with the Justice League.
It wasn't that no one had tried to move against the Justice League in the past, but every time they did, they failed for various reasons.
Luthor had reason to suspect that the Justice League's economic and technological strength might already far surpass that of other nations in this World.
So, if he wanted to break the current situation, someone needed to stir up the current situation again, and only then could Luthor fish in troubled waters from the chaos.
Therefore, no matter what Steppenwolf's ultimate goal was, Luthor knew that he would definitely come into conflict with the Justice League, and he could then hide behind the scenes, observe the situation, and wait for his moment.
Steppenwolf heard Luthor's question and took out the three mother boxes.
"I need energy, a lot of energy, to activate the mother boxes."
Luthor looked at the three floating hexagonal "boxes" before him, greatly interested: "What form of energy do you need?"
"Light energy, heat energy, electrical energy, anything will do. They're not picky."
"However, I have 2.8 requests."
"Please speak."
"This matter must absolutely not be discovered by the Justice League! To that end, the mother box can help you upgrade your systems; your firewalls are as fragile as paper."
"You must not realize that everything about you has already been exposed under the very eyes of the Justice League. In the digital realm, they have a member whose identity has never been publicly revealed, and she is currently monitoring your World!"
...Hall of Justice, Kahndaq.
A trace of doubt suddenly appeared in Cortana's eyes.
"Dane, I've noticed something unusual."
"What is it?"
"A force is interfering with my access to other servers."
Dane took the issue seriously: "Which servers?"
"That's the problem," Cortana said. "It's all of them."
"That force has enveloped the entire digital World in a fog, like an iron curtain covering everyone within it."
"Not just me, everyone has become blind in the night, unable to see anything."
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