The sensational Los Angeles fire finally came to an acceptable conclusion.
After fully awakening and unlocking most of his potential, Clark dealt with the disaster the same way he had handled countless others.
He simply put it out.
As for the process...
Well, there really wasn't much of one. It was a typical Superman story.
A disaster occurred, Superman appeared, the disaster ended, and Superman left.
The ice Clark had transported reacted almost immediately upon entering the intense heat above Los Angeles. It took only a few massive chunks of ice before the flames engulfing the city were transformed into a torrential downpour.
As for the surviving residents of Los Angeles, their concerns quickly shifted from whether they could escape the fire in time to whether they could find a way to keep warm after being drenched by freezing rain, and whether they would catch colds as a result.
At the same time, a fully powered Clark had officially shown the Marvel world, which originally should never have had a Superman, just how formidable the Man of Steel could be.
For a time, Superman comics were selling out everywhere. The various publishers and editors responsible for creating Superman comics were even arrested, while Superman's fanbase exploded in popularity, surpassing the individual fanbases of both the Avengers and Iron Man.
At this point, Superman's popularity could probably rival Captain America's.
The current members of the Avengers had certainly gained considerable public support after the Battle of New York, but their victory had ultimately been against an invading army.
Superman, however, had appeared and personally stopped a natural disaster that had nearly destroyed Los Angeles.
In short, Superman's name quickly became famous across America.
Clark, meanwhile, did not enjoy any of the benefits that came with becoming a global celebrity. He simply continued his campaign against Hydra.
While Clark, Bruce, and Lex continued their relentless assault on Hydra, Axel was also putting enormous pressure on the Osborn Group in New York.
Under Axel's urging, the Osborn Group's efficiency was extraordinary.
That morning, Gwen had only just been bitten by a spider.
By noon, Axel, a bewildered Aunt May, Peter, Gwen Stacy, and Mrs. Stacy had already moved into their new villa.
The villa stood within one of New York's most prestigious communities, and its conditions were so luxurious that Aunt May and Mrs. Stacy nearly wanted to cry.
The reason was simple.
They didn't believe they could afford the property taxes on a house like this.
It wasn't until they learned that the Osborn Group had already taken responsibility for every expense, including the property taxes for years to come, as well as the villa's cleaners and other staff, that the two women finally accepted their sudden overnight wealth with reddened eyes.
Axel, who had originally intended to flirt with Aunt May by himself, was also forced to attend the housewarming party jointly organized by Aunt May and Mrs. Stacy.
In short, the atmosphere was excellent.
Even Director Stacy's arrival halfway through the celebration failed to dampen the mood.
After all, this was a proper housewarming party.
And while Axel was enjoying himself in the Marvel Universe, events in the DC Universe were beginning to unfold.
That morning, on Themyscira, Diana had barely gotten out of bed when a warning reached her from her mother.
"Diana!"
Antiope, one of Themyscira's greatest warriors, rushed into Diana's palace. She grabbed the still-groggy princess by the shoulders and shook her awake.
Seeing Diana's confused, sleepy expression, Antiope spoke urgently.
"Wake up, Diana. Something is wrong with the sanctuary! The Mother Box just vibrated, and the Queen has already gone there!"
"What?!"
Diana's remaining sleepiness vanished instantly.
As the princess of Themyscira and the daughter of Zeus, Diana had gained access to the deepest secrets of her people after awakening her full power and defeating Ares during World War I.
She knew exactly how dangerous the Mother Box was.
Behind that seemingly ordinary device stood a cosmic power capable of threatening even the gods.
In the distant past, when Earth's forces had faced enemies wielding the Mother Boxes, even the Greek gods at the height of their power had been forced to fight alongside Atlantis and humanity to defeat them.
Diana knew a great deal about that ancient war. Her mother, Hippolyta, had personally participated in it.
The conflict had been far more devastating than the legends suggested.
The gods had fought with everything they possessed, while Atlantis and humanity had possessed forces that rivaled the divine armies of that era.
Atlantis had not yet sunk beneath the ocean. It had once been a vast and magnificent kingdom, before eventually being divided into the seven kingdoms known today.
Humanity had also possessed extraordinary champions.
King Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table had commanded a force powerful enough to stand alongside the gods, while Merlin's magic was connected to the legacy of Shazam.
Humanity had also possessed powerful allies such as the Green Lantern Corps.
Yet even with the combined strength of the gods, Atlantis, and humanity, the allied forces had achieved only a costly victory.
The enemy's army had not been completely destroyed.
Its leader had survived.
The Earth's forces had merely managed to severely injure that leader while taking one of the enemy's Mother Boxes for themselves.
Afterward, the three Mother Boxes recovered by Earth's forces were divided among the three civilizations that had fought together.
The gods' Mother Box was brought to Themyscira, where Hippolyta and the Amazons guarded it without interruption.
Atlantis's Mother Box was sealed within an ancient temple beneath the ocean, where it remained under the protection of the Atlantean royal family.
As for humanity's Mother Box...
Well, humanity had always been remarkably talented at losing things it was supposed to protect.
The Mother Box once guarded by King Arthur, sealed away by Merlin, and entrusted to the Knights of the Round Table had long since disappeared.
Diana had no time to worry about the fate of the other two Mother Boxes.
The anomaly involving Themyscira's own Mother Box was already enough to make her deeply uneasy.
In an instant, Diana donned her divine armor and weapons before rushing toward the sacred sanctuary where the Mother Box was kept.
She crossed the island at incredible speed, sparks and lightning trailing behind her.
Following the direction of the wind, Diana descended before the temple housing the Mother Box and immediately rushed inside.
When she arrived, the Amazon warrior guarding the entrance gave her a respectful nod.
Diana returned the gesture before quickly joining her mother.
Standing beside Hippolyta, Diana stared intently at the motionless Mother Box.
"Mother, how long has it been active?"
"About twenty minutes ago. It activated once, and only once so far."
Hippolyta's gaze remained fixed on the device.
"But you should understand, Diana. There can be no mistake in something like this."
As long-lived beings, the Amazons had never lacked patience.
Until they understood what the Mother Box's activation meant, Hippolyta was prepared to remain there and watch it indefinitely.
Years.
Even decades.
She would not leave.
Diana frowned uneasily.
A deep sense of exhaustion suddenly welled up within her.
"Damn it."
She cursed under her breath.
"What is wrong with this world? Ever since the beginning of this millennium, humanity's world has never seemed to have a moment of peace."
"Especially recently. First..."
Diana's expression darkened, and a faint flush appeared on her cheeks.
Axel's rough treatment suddenly surfaced in her mind.
She gritted her teeth before continuing.
"First, that damn Gotham Axel, cursed ten thousand times over. Then those wizard siblings returned from ancient times. I haven't even dealt with those two problems, and now the Mother Box is acting up."
"What is wrong with this era? Is this another age that's about to descend into chaos?"
Hum...
Hum...
Hum...
Hum...
Diana's eyes widened.
Ripples suddenly spread across the hard, metallic surface of the Mother Box, resembling waves traveling across water.
As the device changed, an extremely dangerous aura began radiating from it.
Every hair on Diana's body stood on end.
"Damn it. It's happening again. Record the time!"
Hippolyta's sudden command sent the Amazon warrior behind her into action.
The time was immediately recorded.
The Mother Box continued vibrating for nearly twenty seconds before suddenly becoming still again.
Its surface returned to its ordinary metallic appearance.
When inactive, the Mother Box looked no different from an ordinary metal cube.
Only someone with sufficient power and knowledge could perceive the strange nature of its seemingly perfect surface.
But that was irrelevant.
What mattered was that the Mother Box had awakened.
What had it done?
Had it contacted the enemies who had nearly brought the gods to defeat in the ancient past?
And after tens of thousands of years, would those enemies answer?
Diana had no answers.
All she could do was remain there and guard the Mother Box with a heavy heart.
After a moment, Diana gritted her teeth and spoke firmly.
"Mother, there's no doubt about it. The Mother Box has become active."
"I think I'll have to stay here in the temple for the time being."
"Me too, Diana."
Hippolyta's expression was solemn.
"As one of the warriors who fought in that ancient alliance, I won't retreat at a time like this."
"But before we begin guarding the Mother Box indefinitely, I believe I should also fire the sacred arrow toward the altar of Athena."
"It was an emergency signal prepared by the gods in case the Mother Boxes ever became active again after the ancient alliance disbanded."
"When the sacred fire is ignited, the surviving forces of the three allied civilizations will know that the ancient threat has returned. They will once again take up arms against the evil beyond our world under the guidance of the gods."
Hippolyta's expression became helpless.
Diana could only curl her lips.
"Yes, yes..."
She gave a wry smile.
"So once the sacred fire is lit, the three civilizations are supposed to gather again?"
"But how are they supposed to gather now?"
"Atlantis has sunk beneath the sea and fractured into seven kingdoms. Some of those kingdoms have even lost much of the knowledge and civilization their ancestors possessed."
"Among the remaining kingdoms, only Atlantis and Xebel still retain much of their ancient heritage and strength."
"And even Atlantis itself has declined."
"As for humanity..."
Diana sighed.
"Humanity can't even locate its own Mother Box. I certainly can't expect them to suddenly find it now."
"And besides, even we have our own problems."
"The gods barely appear on Earth anymore. Where exactly are we supposed to find them?"
Diana gently took her mother's hand.
"Mother, don't rely on them. The only people we can count on are ourselves."
"Perhaps you're right."
Hippolyta squeezed Diana's hand.
"But even so, I won't abandon our traditions so easily."
"Now that the Mother Box has begun stirring, the sacred fire of Greece must be lit."
Hippolyta turned toward the exit.
"I'll leave the Mother Box to you for now. Be extremely careful. I'm going to fire the arrow."
"Don't worry, Mother. I'm ready."
Diana nodded firmly.
She then sat down inside the temple, prepared to remain there and guard the Mother Box.
Hippolyta returned to her palace, retrieved the sacred arrow, and drew her bow.
She released the string.
The arrow soared into the sky, crossing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of kilometers.
Finally...
Ding!
The arrow struck the sacred altar before Athena's temple.
The portion embedded within the altar immediately ignited, erupting into an unquenchable flame.
The sight attracted the attention of countless tourists.
For a time, Athens once again became a major tourist attraction.
But after witnessing the burning arrow, ordinary humans could do little more than treat it as an unusual spectacle.
If Doctor Fate were still alive, if Hawkman and Hawkgirl had not fallen, and if Shazam and the other ancient champions had not withdrawn from the world, perhaps humanity would still have people capable of answering the ancient call.
But now...
Who could possibly know what a flaming arrow was supposed to mean?
Most people simply assumed it was another attraction arranged by the Athens tourism authorities.
While humans and Amazons reacted completely differently to the Mother Box's awakening, another reaction was already taking place thousands of meters beneath the Pacific Ocean.
In the deep, dark waters, hidden beneath the waves, stood a magnificent city.
Atlantis.
One of its current rulers, Orm, had just been appointed to a senior military position within the Kingdom of Atlantis when he received an order from his father, the King.
When Orm saw the royal guard approaching, he contemptuously curled his lips.
He had always looked down on his father.
Although the man sat upon the throne of Atlantis, Orm considered him a foolish king who had been unable to keep his own wife.
As far as Orm knew, the Queen of Atlantis had betrayed her husband with an ordinary human fisherman.
That woman was his mother.
That fisherman was his biological father.
Yet Orm despised them both equally.
Seeing Orm's undisguised contempt, the arriving guard pretended not to notice.
He saluted respectfully.
"General."
The guard spoke solemnly.
"His Majesty commands you to lead a team to the Ancient Temple."
"According to the guards stationed there, the Mother Box that the Kingdom of Atlantis has protected for tens of thousands of years suddenly became active."
"Oh?"
The contempt vanished from Orm's face.
He immediately seized the guard by the armor.
"You're certain that old relic in the Ancient Temple moved?"
"But that thing has never shown any abnormality before."
"Damn it. That relic is almost older than Atlantis's lost Trident of Poseidon. How could it suddenly become active in this era?"
Orm's expression grew increasingly serious.
"But most of the ancient texts and records concerning it were lost during that ancient disaster."
"I don't even know what that thing was originally meant to do."
=≠=
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