HISD Chapter 96 Mother Box Signal, On Mars
"An outside channel from Apokolips? Don't tell me it's that item!"
Steppenwolf's entire body jolted, and he instinctively leapt up from his chair. The massive metal axe resting across his knees slipped and clattered heavily against the floor of the ship's cabin.
Immediately, one of the parademon soldiers flew forward to the control panel, working the instruments to confirm the source and content of the transmission.
"It really is a Mother Box!"
Steppenwolf's eyes widened in shock, followed by a deep frown of confusion.
The Mother Box was an incredibly important strategic weapon of Apokolips. There was no reason one should be abandoned beyond their world…
Wait.
Steppenwolf's massive bull-like eyes went even wider as he recalled something he had once heard—an ancient tale, tens of thousands of years old.
Back then, three Mother Boxes had indeed been left behind on a certain world. Because the coordinates had been lost, Apokolips had never managed to return.
"Could it really be that planet…?"
Steppenwolf's entire armored body trembled with excitement, silver plates of his armor rattling with anticipation.
Even if there was only the faintest chance, it outweighed everything else. Its priority was unquestionable! That single civilization alone could be worth more than ten million conquered worlds, maybe even more!
But there was something odd.
If the Mother Box had awakened and sent out a signal for aid, why hadn't it opened a Boom Tube to directly pull him there?
Maybe it lacked the energy?
Steppenwolf clenched his axe in one hand, golden sparks crackling across his armor as he gave his booming command.
"Change course immediately! Full speed to the coordinates where the Mother Box signal originated!"
The warship buzzed like a shaken hive, the entire legion of parademons surging into action at once.
…
Earth. Themyscira.
Inside the ancient temple.
Ancient Doomsday Yi Meng cut off the Mother Box's external broadcast, still turning it in his enormous claws. His knees bent slightly, then in the next instant, he launched like a rocket, soaring upward!
BOOM!
The entire temple shook violently. Stone shattered, dust billowed outward in waves.
By the time Queen Hippolyta and General Antiope rushed to the cliffside with the Amazon army, they saw the spiked monster tear through the temple's ceiling, break the sound barrier, rip past Zeus's protective wards, and vanish into the blue skies above Themyscira.
In the blink of an eye, he was gone, leaving only a ruined, crumbling temple as proof of his presence.
"Our Mother Box, guarded for millennia, has been taken…" Antiope sighed.
"He was too strong. Stronger than any of the Old Gods I have ever faced. It is no surprise we could not stop him."
Though Hippolyta's face was heavy with loss, her voice quickly steadied. "Send warnings beyond Themyscira."
Her gaze drifted across the endless sea. "Notify my daughter."
…
Whoosh!
In an instant, Ancient Doomsday Yi Meng had left Themyscira, bursting through the atmosphere and into the silent void of space.
As Doomsday, he required no oxygen, no breath. His earlier breathing had only been the habit of his human self.
Turning the Mother Box in his hands, he looked down at the blue Earth below. His crimson eyes burned brighter, the gemstone phantom at his brow fading dim.
If he didn't find a worthy opponent to vent his destructive urges upon, his time left in this DC dreamscape would be short.
Yi Meng still wanted to endure a little longer. He realized that the longer he maintained rationality in this Doomsday form, the stronger the positive feedback his real body would receive.
Dream and reality were always intertwined.
Of course, if he lost control again, he would simply switch to his Marvel dreamscape through an anchor point.
Jumping between DC and Marvel, as long as he never woke up, balance could always be maintained.
…
Yet what disappointed Yi Meng was that there were far too few beings left on DC's Earth who could even serve as opponents—let alone punching bags.
Most of the Old Gods, including Zeus, were dead. Those who remained had hidden away. Poseidon had barely shown himself before dying.
Future heroes and villains who would make the DC Universe famous hadn't yet grown into their power.
Boredom. Frustration.
Destroy it, then. If he destroyed Earth, perhaps some hidden wizards or Old Gods would be forced out.
Agitated, Ancient Doomsday Yi Meng turned his burning eyes to the infinite starfield.
Wait. At this point in time, wasn't there still that alien race unique to DC?
A thought sparked. Yi Meng clutched the Mother Box tighter, and then shot off into the depths of space.
He didn't leave the solar system.
His spiked Kryptonian battle-form blazed across the void, eyes glowing red as he arrowed toward a red planet.
Mars. One of the eight planets of the solar system.
He plunged into its atmosphere, gliding over red dunes and endless stone deserts. Cold storms whipped dust across the sky.
Yi Meng remembered. In the future Justice League, one great alien hero hailed from Mars.
So here, an entire civilization of his kind should still exist!
In DC's lore, that race had been wiped out by a terrible plague, just as Krypton had been destroyed. Only one survivor had lived on Earth.
That survivor became one of the Justice League's greatest powers, his strength rivaling Superman himself, once praised by Batman as a fusion of Superman and Batman's abilities.
But in this version of the DC dreamscape, Yi Meng wasn't sure if the Martian race had perished yet.
With a sudden burst of speed, he cut through the storms and streaked toward Mars's far side.
…
On Mars's hidden side.
A brilliant alien city stretched across the surface. Flying ships hovered above, while streets bustled with beings of many forms—white-skinned, golden-skinned, green-skinned.
Some looked like amorphous slimes, others like slug-like masses, still others were built like hulking bears. Some walked, some flew.
There were no phones, no internet. This vast civilization relied on its unique collective telepathy to remain connected.
Of them all, the green Martians were strongest, their telepathy and abilities far surpassing the rest.
…
Mars. City of Gorr, outskirts of Greg.
Whhh—
Dust rose as a small floating craft landed in front of a pyramid-shaped residence.
From the craft's sealed cabin, a tall, two-meter green Martian phased through the wall, solidifying again once outside.
At that moment, a child's sweet, innocent thought entered his mind.
"Daddy, is that you? I sensed you coming."
"Yes, it's me. I'm home."
J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, smiled, sending his reply through thought as he phased into the triangular dwelling.
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