Superman from the comics: Starting with the Black Robe

Chapter 57 Doomsday Weapon Activated

Lex Luthor is drifting aimlessly across the Atlantic aboard what was once the most notorious pirate ship in the Atlantic.

The world has really changed. I, a legitimate, trustworthy, patriotic businessman and scientist, have ended up working alongside a pirate captain.

"Stop complaining, you're not the one paying me to do this." Slade Wilson stood behind Lex Luthor, using his only remaining eye to stare at the screens of the various detectors hidden on the ship alongside Lex.

"By the way, how did your government know that Aquaman was going to build a 'doomsday weapon'?"

"Although scientists have their own national borders, some scientists, like me, have their own morals and conscience, Captain Deathstroke."

Lex Luthor absentmindedly fiddled with the unchanging data on the instruments; their adventurous voyage had so far yielded nothing.

"It seems that although the other party has a conscience, it is useless. The magic of Atlantis is obviously beyond the scope of the science I have learned. I cannot detect any large-scale energy fluctuations in the surrounding waters."

Slade Wilson and Lex Luthor in this universe haven't deviated too much from their original world.

Deathstroke continued to work for money, living a life of danger, only his main occupation changed from mercenary to pirate; while Luthor remained the arrogant genius, but without Superman as his imaginary enemy and rival, his talents were limited to the mundane.

"Didn't you say you possess extraordinary wisdom beyond ordinary people? Why don't you show it off?"

Seeing that Lex Luthor was also unreliable, Deathstroke decided to temporarily send his ship back to Gibraltar for a short rest, as they had been at sea for too long and were at risk of being discovered by the Atlanteans at any moment.

"Even the most advanced intelligence cannot allow me to detect non-existent energy reactions out of thin air using these conventional detection instruments in such a short time. At this point, you might as well hope for a super power to cleanly and efficiently wipe out the Atlanteans."

Lex Luthor recalled the red-cloaked figure he had seen on the satellite monitor a few days earlier, who could easily lift an entire continental shelf beneath the Paradise Island ruins and move it from the North Sea all the way to the Arctic.

Although that person rarely appears on camera, he brought back the Amazons' homeland and defeated Wonder Woman, which led to the Amazons' sudden withdrawal from the British Isles. At the same time, he also repelled Aquaman's attack on the British Isles.

The other woman, however, never hesitated to appear in public. She resolved more than a dozen humanitarian crises on the African continent, quelled conflicts in South America, and even communicated with armed groups in advance to nip the beginnings of a civil war between a new generation of royalists and parliamentarians on the British Isles.

From the current perspective, everything the other side is doing is beneficial to humanity. The Reuters and B*C reporters, who were just allowed to return to their companies after the Amazons withdrew, have even begun to call the other side "the guardian of humanity".

But who knows how things will develop from here?

Lex had secretly read the military's classified files and knew the origins of the two red cloaks, especially that one of them had been imprisoned and studied by the military for more than a decade.

A powerful alien race descends from the sky, bringing peace and hope to the world without holding grudges.

Lex Luther skipped school when he was seven and visited the Native American National Museum in Washington, D.C., and never believed such nonsense again.

Come to think of it, those two in red capes never seemed to have said what to call them. Considering the huge letter 'S' on their chests, perhaps I could call them 'Superman'?

Just as Lex Luthor was still struggling with the other party's name, the instruments in front of him simultaneously emitted a sharp beeping sound, instantly pulling his wandering thoughts back to reality.

Upon seeing the instrument's energy reading, a stunned Lex Luthor took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from his brilliantly bald head:

"Captain Deathstroke, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

The good news is that they have just confirmed that Aquaman is indeed building a "doomsday weapon," and they also know the weapon's exact location.

The bad news is that Aquaman has already activated this super weapon, and their ship happens to be in the path of the seismic waves emitted by the weapon.

~~~~~~

Joey is tidying up the new homes, or rather, old homes, of these Amazons on Paradise Island in the Arctic.

On the crater that had cooled down after the eruption, on a platform made of Kryptonian crystals—Joey prefers to call them Sunstones—Joey placed the Arc Reactor that he had taken from Tony Stark, Iron Man.

These sunstones demonstrated remarkable adaptability, instantly adapting to the energy radiation of the arc reactor through self-programming and integrating it into their own energy system.

Immediately, a beam of light shot into the sky, and a circular, semi-transparent protective shield covered the entire Paradise Island, keeping out the fierce Arctic winds and blizzards.

Wonder Woman, suspended in mid-air, surveyed the protective shield. She then tested its strength, using Vulcan's Sword to examine what appeared to be glass-like material, and couldn't help but let out a soft gasp.

"This thing is incredibly strong; using it only to block wind and snow is a complete waste."

Joey still can't figure out how the Kryptonians managed to blow themselves up:

"This is technology that the Kryptonians reversed from unknown invaders after the disaster in the capital city of Kandor; it is just the tip of the iceberg in their technology library."

But Joey quickly forgot about it, because the next second he felt the hairs on his body stand on end, and the world seemed to freeze in front of him.

The movement of matter did not slow down; rather, Joey himself unconsciously sped up the movement.

Kryptonians can think very quickly, but Joey has never tried to think that fast before. Nobody wants to spend three hundred years of sensory time experiencing a single second of the material world.

But he had no choice but to do so at that moment, because a huge shockwave was generated deep within the earth's crust, originating from the seabed and heading straight for the British Isles.

According to Joy's calculations, when the seismic waves reach their destination, in addition to shaking the entire island of Britain, they will also tear apart most of the plains of Western Europe from Brittany to Rome, and sink them into the sea.

The estimated death toll is 5.47 million.

In the short time it took to think, Joey had already traveled from the Arctic to the Atlantic Ocean, and now he obviously no longer needed to worry about how to find Aquaman's doomsday weapon.

Although the doomsday weapon is still shrouded in magic and invisible, the massive energy fluctuations it generates when fired and the direction of the seismic waves cannot be faked.

"Arthur Curry, you're a complete madman!"

Joey clearly did not expect Aquaman to be so foolish and crazy as to sink the entire Western Europe into the sea in order to eliminate the Amazons who had not yet completely evacuated from the British Isles.

Atlantis is a technologically advanced nation with a total population of 1.73 million, which, in Joey's eyes, is clearly too urbanized.

No, I can't get distracted. We can deal with the revenge against the Atlanteans later. Right now, I should think about what to do.

Things weren't beyond repair yet. The speed of the seismic waves was very slow relative to Joey, and he still had plenty of time to come up with a solution.

But before he could come up with a solution, Joey discovered someone on Earth whom he should have discovered much earlier—

A speedster whose entire body is enveloped in red lightning.