Steppenwolf looked at Arthur with contempt, "I remember you. Atlantis' defeated loser. Has the stray dog reached the point where it can only tuck its tail and serve surface dwellers now?"
Arthur's expression darkened, "I promise I'll knock out your teeth and make you swallow them."
Steppenwolf answered with a cold laugh.
"Conqueror."
Bruce looked at Alex.
"A great enemy is right in front of us. This isn't the time for us to be fighting each other. We should work together and face the threat from another universe."
"You don't want to see this world destroyed either, do you?"
Alex smiled slightly, "You're right, Mr. Batman."
"I don't want this world destroyed either, so why don't you hand the Mother Box to me? Then you can keep this guy busy. I can guarantee the Mother Box stays safe."
Bruce immediately understood that getting Alex to join them was impossible.
Victor could no longer hold back and pointed his White Noise Cannon at Steppenwolf.
"Was it you who killed Silas?"
"Silas? That man with a strong Mother Box scent on him?"
Steppenwolf said coldly, "He refused to cooperate. Death was the lightest punishment for him. He should be grateful for my mercy. If I hadn't been in a hurry, I would have let him experience what hell feels like."
Victor immediately shouted, "So it really was you who killed my father!"
The White Noise Cannon fired a sonic wave that exploded against Steppenwolf.
The powerful attack was like a cool breeze to him.
Blue electric sparks burst from Steppenwolf's eyes. With a roar, he threw a punch at Cyborg Victor.
Although Victor quickly assembled a shield to block it, he was still blasted away.
A visible shockwave spread outward, stripping a layer off the surrounding roads.
At the same time, Batman decisively turned and ran.
Holding the Mother Box in one hand, he fired his grappling gun with the other.
The hook caught the outer wall of a building. As the cable retracted, Bruce was pulled upward.
At the same time, Bruce called out, "Alfred, I need air transport."
["It's almost there, sir,"] the butler's voice came through the earpiece.
On the ground, Alex saw Bruce trying to escape and moved to pursue him.
His vision blurred.
Vera was already standing in front of him.
The woman smiled and said, "Handsome, let's chat a little longer."
Alex spread his hands and laughed, "If you want a date with me, you'll have to get in line."
"Narcissist."
Without another word, Vera swung Mjolnir, crackling with lightning, and smashed it at Alex.
Alex caught it with one hand.
Ignoring the electricity running across his body, he drove an uppercut into Vera's chin and sent her flying.
Vera shot upward through the air and reached the building where Batman was.
She scraped across the side of the structure, tearing a crack into it, and finally stopped above the rooftop.
When Alex shot into the sky, Vera dived down.
The two collided and crashed into the ground together, grabbing onto each other and rolling continuously.
At this time, Bruce reached the rooftop.
Below, Steppenwolf pushed off with both legs and leaped toward the building.
Seeing this, Arthur shouted to the returning Victor.
"Metal kid, get me up there."
Victor was furious, but he knew he was not Steppenwolf's match.
Two mechanical arms extended from behind him. They grabbed Arthur, and the two flew toward the building.
In moments, they reached the rooftop.
Arthur shouted and jumped down.
His trident thrust forward like a silver meteor, slamming into Steppenwolf and knocking him away from Bruce.
Then Arthur reversed the trident and stabbed it into the rooftop.
A silver wave of light surged out like an ocean tide.
Victor flew over and coordinated with Arthur, repeatedly firing at Steppenwolf.
Steppenwolf was blasted backward.
His feet dug into the rooftop, carving two trenches before he finally stopped at the edge.
Then he turned, ripped off a section of railing, and charged forward.
Swinging the railing, Steppenwolf knocked Arthur and Victor away one after another.
Then he reached toward Bruce.
At that moment, Bruce decisively turned around and jumped off the rooftop.
Just then, a Batfighter flew beneath him.
Bruce dropped directly into the cockpit.
By the time Steppenwolf reached the edge, the Batfighter was already far away.
Inside the Batfighter, the control stick was moving on its own.
Clearly, Alfred was piloting it remotely, "The timing was perfect, wasn't it, sir?"
Bruce fastened his seatbelt, set down the Mother Box, and laughed, "Actually, next time you can be a little earlier."
"I'll try. Oh, watch out."
Behind them, Steppenwolf had jumped over and looked ready to crash directly onto the aircraft.
The control stick shifted.
The Batfighter immediately changed direction, causing Steppenwolf to miss.
But at that moment, two golden beams shot up from the ground and swept across the aircraft's wing.
The Batfighter exploded and spun out of control toward the ground.
On the ground, the light faded from Alex's eyes.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vera making a kicking motion.
He instantly dodged to the side.
BOOM!
A huge invisible ripple passed through the spot where Alex had been standing.
It swept across the highway and entered a building on the other side.
The building immediately broke apart and collapsed.
Vacuum Slash Wave.
Alex stopped and glanced at the collapsing building.
People inside were screaming and jumping out, but some were still struck by falling chunks of stone.
Then he looked at the Batfighter trailing black smoke as it slid toward the ground.
He was about to fly over when Vera rushed at him and slammed into him, driving him into a shopping mall across the road.
The next second, Alex flew back out of the mall.
For some reason, the red cape on his body was gone.
Vera paid no attention to it.
She met Alex head-on, and the two became entangled again.
On a distant street, the Batfighter completed a forced landing.
It plowed up large amounts of rubble and came to a stop in the middle of the road.
Bruce quickly grabbed the Mother Box and prepared to get out.
Then he saw a figure land in front of him.
The impact shook the ground like a meteor strike.
Steppenwolf.
The powerful lifeform from Apokolips turned around.
His figure blurred, and he appeared on top of the aircraft.
Steppenwolf thrust his arm into the cockpit and grabbed the Mother Box.
At that moment, Arthur dropped from the sky.
His trident slammed into Steppenwolf's head and sent out a ring-shaped shockwave.
Victor landed on the aircraft as well.
He grabbed the Mother Box with both hands.
At the same time, two mechanical arms extended from his back and seized the Mother Box too, trying to take the alien machine away.
The corners of Steppenwolf's mouth lifted.
First, he whipped his head and knocked Arthur away.
Then he grabbed Victor by the head with his other hand and smashed him into the aircraft.
Finally, he kicked the charging Bruce, sending him flying down the street.
Steppenwolf burst into laughter.
He raised his head and summoned a Boom Tube.
Buzz!
A silver pillar of light descended from the sky and landed on Steppenwolf.
His body began to rise.
Just as he was about to enter the passage, a golden beam shot toward him from behind.
It sliced across the arm holding the Mother Box and cut off part of it.