"You guys can take your time flying over there. I won't be joining you."
After getting the coordinates, Vera headed for the exit.
Bruce called out to her, "Where are you going?"
"Do I really need to say it? Of course I'm going to raid their base," She looked back at him, "You just need to bring the champagne."
She walked outside. Her figure blurred, and she shot into the sky.
"Arrogant woman," Arthur grumbled, "What does she take us for, clowns? Are we only here to bring champagne for the celebration?"
Bruce shook his head, "Let's get moving too."
"Fortunately, the Conqueror doesn't know this location. In that case, there's a good chance Ms. Vera can seize the two Mother Boxes."
Barry Allen raised his hand, "I want to know what we're supposed to do after we get all three Mother Boxes."
"Hide them?"
Victor cracked his fingers loudly, "I think we can worry about that after we get all three Mother Boxes. Don't you?"
Barry Allen looked at Bruce, then at the others, and finally nodded.
———
[High in the Sky]
Vera was flying toward her destination at high speed.
"That guy has already taken one Mother Box."
"If he takes the one from Greed Wolf as well, then I won't have any chance at all in this event."
She recalled the battle from earlier that day, "Still, that fight exposed a bit more of his strength."
"The clone that kept me occupied didn't seem like an illusion. It had real power."
"Even though I wasn't fighting seriously, dealing with useless people like Batman's group shouldn't be a problem."
"If one clone has that kind of combat ability, what if there are several?"
"No. Even though the multiverse has many amazing abilities and items, and the rewards offered by Them are also extraordinary, they wouldn't give out something that broken."
"Unless it's the Supreme Sorcerer's 'Images of Ikonn.' But that spell has serious restrictions."
"You can't learn it by buying a spellbook or directly embedding a rune stone."
"It has prerequisites. One is becoming the Supreme Sorcerer. The other is staying in the Marvel universe permanently."
"Only then can you learn that powerful spell."
"A spell that creates countless copies, each with all of your own strength!"
Vera looked regretful, "If it weren't for those two restrictions, I would have learned it last time."
"For the Ancient One or Stephen, that spell isn't unbeatable. The physical abilities of those Supreme Sorcerers can't compare with mine."
"But if I learned it, or if that bastard learned it, it would practically be unbeatable."
"Having an extremely strong body and extremely strong attack methods, plus countless copies. Unless you run into an opponent with a huge power gap, there's basically no answer to it."
"But staying in the Marvel universe forever means never being able to travel to other universes again."
"And to become the Supreme Sorcerer, you have to give up all the powers and abilities you already have, then start learning magic as an apprentice. That's really a scam."
Vera shook her head and continued thinking.
"Besides that powerful clone, that guy also has mental abilities."
"I need to be careful about that during a fight. Fortunately, I have items that specifically deal with that."
"So it's not something I need to worry about too much. But up to now, that guy has only used the Bracers of Hercules. Does he have no other divine artifacts, or has he simply not used them yet?"
"What other trump cards does he have?"
Vera smashed through a thick cloud. The moon shone quietly behind her.
"Even though I've learned more about his trump cards, I've revealed quite a few of my own."
"By now, he already knows the two abilities of the Boots of Hermes."
"High-speed movement on the ground, and air-cutting waves that can slice through most materials."
"But the Boots of Hermes have other abilities too."
"The biggest one is 'Divine Descent.' It can summon a time projection of Hermes from the endless river of time and space and assist me in battle."
"I've used it once before. Hermes is the god of commerce, travelers, thieves, and livestock."
"It can provide me with a huge amount of money, instantly take me anywhere I want to go, help me steal an opponent's equipment or even abilities, and let me tame large numbers of legendary creatures in a short time to fight for me."
"But every use of 'Divine Descent' consumes a lot."
"And my favorability with Hermes is only at the 'First Acquaintance' level. That means whatever ability he uses is completely random."
"I can only adapt to him. He can't actively cooperate with me."
"I hope I won't need to use 'Divine Descent' this time. Every use consumes one Multiverse Crystal, and after that it consumes another crystal every thirty minutes. Once there are no crystals left, the effect ends."
"I only have eleven crystals on hand right now. Even at maximum, I can only use it for five hours."
With a sigh, Vera quickly disappeared into the distance.
———
The wind lifted Diana's hair. Thick clouds swept away beneath her. They were moving so fast that everything had become blurred streaks.
When they stopped, Diana saw a stretch of desolate ruins. Deep within the ruins stood a nuclear power plant.
Now the surface of the plant was covered in a layer of black-red material. The substance extended outward as well, transforming the surrounding environment.
"So this is Apokolips' temporary base on Earth?", Diana looked at the man holding her.
Ever since losing her boyfriend, Steve Trevor, she had rarely been in such close contact with a man.
But without the help of the man before her, she would not have been able to travel from Themyscira to northern Russia in such a short time.
Alex nodded, "That's right. Steppenwolf is inside. The alien matter covering those buildings comes from the Mother Box's environmental transformation."
"The Mother Box has turned this place into a battlefield favorable to Apokolips' army."
Diana felt the hand resting on her waist. Heat from his palm made her uncomfortable.
"You can let go now," she said softly.
Alex knew she could fly. She wasn't fast, but she could still stay suspended in the air by using air currents.
So he released her and deliberately said, "You seem worried."
Diana gave him a questioning look.
Alex smiled, "You're worried that getting too close to me will make you fall in love with me?"
Diana chuckled, "You're really funny."
Alex shrugged and moved closer, "Your loyalty to love is moving. But how much longer are you planning to keep your heart closed?"
"Steve probably wouldn't want to see you like this."
Alex's strong masculine presence pressed into Diana's senses. But what surprised her was that he actually knew Steve's name.
"How do you know his name?"
For a moment, Diana became deeply curious about Alex.