Marvel 1919 : Rise of an Empire

Gotham City, inside the Batcave.

Click, click...

High heels echoed throughout the vast space, a sound that had never before interrupted the usual clanging of tools and machinery in Batman's domain.

"I spent millions of dollars installing that security system," Bruce mentioned without turning his head. He remained focused on his current work.

"The money was well spent. It took me almost a full minute to disarm it," Diana replied with an amused smile.

As a demigoddess blessed with a long lifespan, she had acquired knowledge and skills across countless disciplines over the centuries.

Bruce finally set down his tools, stepped onto a raised platform, and turned to smile genuinely at Diana. "Hello there!"

"New toy?" Diana asked, her gaze shifting to examine the impressive aircraft suspended in the air above them.

"Prototype military transport plane," Bruce explained with casual understatement.

Someone with Bruce Wayne's vast financial resources could purchase and modify such aircraft as easily as an ordinary person buying a simple toy.

"Someone I once knew would have loved to pilot something like this," Diana said wistfully. Her voice carried melancholy as she recalled Steve Trevor, the brave man who had sacrificed his life during the Great War.

"Even Wayne Aerospace's most talented engineers and test pilots couldn't get this particular model airborne," Bruce admitted.

He expressed doubt that anyone could successfully operate his heavily modified vehicle, given the experimental technology he had integrated into its systems.

"But you can fly it!" Diana stated with absolute confidence in her comrade's abilities.

"I have no other choice in the matter. I need longer operational range and larger cargo capacity, and I believe a major attack approaches," Bruce confided in his trusted ally.

This represented a rare moment of vulnerability from the usually guarded Dark Knight.

Following their shared battle against Doomsday, Diana and Bruce had developed deep mutual respect and recognition as true comrades.

Therefore, when Diana discovered that the ancient enemy had finally returned, she immediately sought out her most reliable ally.

"You're mistaken, Bruce. The enemy has already arrived on our doorstep," Diana corrected him, then proceeded to explain her urgent purpose for this visit.

"From everything I know about them, they originate from another universe entirely. They serve with absolute loyalty to a dark and malevolent power, an ancient force that predates human civilization."

Bruce led Diana on a tour of his modified aircraft while they continued discussing crucial intelligence about their approaching enemy.

As a native of Earth with purely human origins, Bruce naturally possessed far less knowledge about such cosmic secrets compared to the Amazonians. They had preserved thousands of years of accumulated wisdom and historical records.

Therefore, Bruce directly asked the most pressing question weighing on his mind: "What exactly do they want from our world?"

"To invade Earth completely and conquer our entire world! They attempted this conquest once before, long ago," Diana answered gravely.

Diana then quickly provided Bruce with information about their current enemy and the historical context surrounding the threat.

Around 30,000 BCE, the tyrant Darkseid had led his massive Apokolips demon army in a full-scale invasion of Earth. He systematically eliminated all forces that dared to resist his conquest.

Facing this existential threat, the Old Gods set aside their ancient differences and summoned representatives from other races. These included humanity, the Amazonians, and the advanced civilization of Atlantis.

Even the Green Lantern Corps from beyond our universe dispatched members to assist. All these diverse forces united their strength to confront the overwhelming threat from Apokolips jointly.

After Ares, the God of War, managed to gravely wound Darkseid with his divine battle axe, the Apokolips invasion force found themselves compelled to retreat temporarily from Earth.

Three Mother Boxes were abandoned on our planet during their hasty withdrawal. Zeus himself entrusted these powerful artifacts to the three races who had distinguished themselves most heroically during the war: humanity, the Atlanteans, and the warrior women of Paradise Island.

However, that initial encounter had also revealed a critically important secret to Darkseid about Earth: the existence of the Anti-Life Equation. This source of ultimate power hidden somewhere within the boundless cosmos was located on our planet.

"And now, something has awakened the Mother Box that my people have guarded for millennia. It has transmitted a call across the darkness of space, drawing one of Darkseid's most powerful lieutenants to our world.

The enemy has already arrived and begun his mission," Diana explained to Bruce with barely concealed anxiety.

"If that assessment proves accurate, then where does this invader currently hide?" Bruce inquired with tactical precision.

"He will systematically search everywhere for the locations of the other two Mother Boxes. He remains hidden in the shadows until he successfully obtains all three artifacts and completes his preparations," Diana replied.

Her warrior instincts analyzed the enemy's likely strategy.

"Then we must prepare immediately to face this enemy. You, me, and whatever other allies we can gather," Bruce began formulating plans for assembling a team.

"They say the age of heroes will never return to our world," Diana observed, though she felt pleased that her trusted comrade had chosen to believe her warnings without hesitation.

"It will return. It absolutely must return!" Bruce declared with unwavering certainty and determination.

Although the two seasoned heroes didn't engage in lengthy discussion, those few simple but meaningful exchanges were sufficient for them to establish complete trust in one another.

They had no doubt regarding the truth and severity of the situation they faced.

Perhaps this represented the profound connection that existed between kindred spirits who had both dedicated their lives to protecting others.

Meanwhile, George, in his own attempts to join their cause, had even demonstrated his abilities directly for Diana. Yet he had failed completely to gain her trust or acceptance.

Such was the crucial difference between earning respect through proven partnership versus attempting to insert oneself into established relationships.

"These other potential allies you mentioned, where might we find them?" Diana inquired, wondering if Bruce already had specific candidates in mind for recruitment.

As for Steppenwolf, after successfully obtaining the first Mother Box from Paradise Island, he had already begun dispatching swarms of Parademons throughout the world.

They captured any individuals who had previously made contact with a Mother Box and still carried traces of its distinctive energy signature.

These Parademons, also known as Apokolips Demons, were nightmarish beast-like monsters. They featured two powerful wings extending from their backs, encased in intimidating armor plating.

They possessed eyes that glowed like mechanical sensors and mouths filled with razor-sharp fangs.

They represented sophisticated biological weapons created through advanced Apokolips technology. Darkseid specifically engineered this demonic army to facilitate the conquest of various worlds throughout the universe.

Once the transformation process was completed, they became Darkseid's most loyal servants. They obeyed without question any commands issued by the God of Apokolips.

Besides Darkseid himself, other high-ranking Apokolips officials such as Kalibak, Steppenwolf, and DeSaad also possessed the authority to command Parademon forces.

The individual combat strength of each Parademon was not particularly exceptional.

While they certainly possessed fighting capabilities that would prove difficult for ordinary humans to resist, even non-superpowered heroes like Batman and Green Arrow could single-handedly engage and defeat large groups of Parademons in direct combat.

However, their true terror derived from their virtually unlimited numbers. Their seemingly infinite quantity completely compensated for any lack of individual strength.

If you managed to defeat one, ten more would immediately swarm your position. If you defeated ten, hundreds more would surge forward to take their place.

Completely lacking free will or self-preservation instincts, they experienced no fear whatsoever and would advance relentlessly in service to Darkseid. This made them biological weapons every bit as terrifying as Doomsday itself.

Moreover, these relentless Parademons had already successfully captured an entire Atlantean patrol unit that had recently come into contact with their civilization's Mother Box.

This meant Steppenwolf was now dangerously close to seizing the second Mother Box preserved by the underwater kingdom of Atlantis.

Upon recognizing the truly terrifying nature of the enemy they would soon face, Diana and Bruce made the decisive choice to begin immediately gathering other heroes. These allies could assist them in resisting this existential external threat.

They carefully selected the most suitable heroes from countless hours of surveillance footage that had accidentally captured various heroes during their normal daily activities and crime-fighting operations.

Arthur Curry, the Aquaman of Atlantis, Barry Allen, the Flash of Central City, and Victor Stone, also known as Cyborg, with his unique combination of organic and biomechanical electronic body parts, all fell within their established selection criteria for potential team members.

Once they had finalized their decisions regarding recruitment candidates, Diana suddenly remembered the mysterious mage who had appeared to warn her about the approaching danger.

After a brief moment of contemplation, she quickly accessed a surveillance video on Bruce's computer system and said, "Take a careful look at this particular individual."

As Bruce attentively watched the recorded footage of George assisting Diana in neutralizing the terrorist threat in London, Diana provided additional context.

"This person identifies himself as George, and he claims to be some form of mage or mystical practitioner. Before Paradise Island sent me their warning signal, he somehow found me and explicitly told me that grave danger was approaching our world. However, I remain uncertain whether he can truly be trusted with our mission."

"Can you locate any additional information about him in our databases?" Bruce asked while simultaneously operating the computer to run background searches.

"Unfortunately, no. I used the Lasso of Truth on him during our encounter. Under its compulsion, he claimed that he originated from an alternate timeline and had come to our reality specifically to help resist this external enemy threat," Diana explained.

She provided Bruce with her complete assessment of George's claims and behavior.

"Then let's locate him first and determine whether he can provide us with additional intelligence that might prove valuable. Actually, I think I've found him," Bruce announced, pointing to a current surveillance feed showing George casually enjoying a meal at a restaurant.

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