northernbook Chapter 342 Could there be a second Justice League?
Chapter 342 Could there be a second Justice League?
Chapter 342 Could there be a second Justice League?
"...You each have your own goals, and you have the right to leave and pursue them, but...I suggest we work together so that we can help each other."
The Alps.
Inside an ancient castle.
Look... my name is Maxwell Lord.
I was born into a wealthy family. My father, Albert Lauder, was a good man, a good husband, and even more so, a good father to his son. He was in charge of the business operations of a large pharmaceutical company, and he invented a powerful weight-loss drug.
This diet pill made him rich, but when I was a teenager, my father discovered that it could cause cancer.
He was so stupid as to reveal that the drug caused cancer, then apologized, then lost all his money, and finally cowardly committed suicide.
At my father's funeral, my mother told me that my father was too weak and too compassionate. If it were her, she would have covered it up instead of admitting it or even committing suicide because of it.
She told me that I must do everything in my power to strip those I believe do not deserve everything... until they have nothing left.
This sentence became my life motto.
After graduating from university, I joined a global peacekeeping organization, the government-affiliated Shogi Association. Due to my outstanding performance, I quickly became the number two person in the organization.
But that's not enough. My goal in joining the shogi club is not to become the number two player.
So when the shogi club's headquarters was attacked by cultists, they surrounded the club's actual leaders and me.
That was a desperate situation, wasn't it? Isolated and helpless, surrounded by enemies...
But for me, this is a ladder to climb.
I have always consciously hidden my superpowers. As I get older, my mind control abilities have continued to increase, but I have almost never revealed the fact that I have superpowers to anyone.
Therefore, at that moment, I manipulated my superior to grab a grenade and die together with the cultists.
I naturally became one of the co-leaders of the shogi club, but I didn't want to be part of the "co-leadership." So the other leaders were either expelled or died on the spot due to various incidents, and in the end, I became the sole leader.
Everything was perfect, right? Shortly after I had completely mastered the Shogi Club, Brainiac invaded Earth. I was immediately drafted by the government.
I was originally given the authority to form a global organization comprised of superhumans and humans to deal with such crises. However, this promise ultimately proved unrealistic, as Batman stepped forward and single-handedly resolved the crisis. The government subsequently established the Sky Eye, led by Amanda Waller and Colonel Steve Trevor, and made contact with Batman.
As for my shogi club? I was abandoned. Batman cut off my path to advancement. He formed the Justice League afterward, and this global superhero alliance should have been at my beck and call. I should have been the one to command global superpowers and save the world!
But I soon realized two important reasons why I was abandoned:
First, I am not strong enough.
Second, I don't have the ability to control the entire Justice League like Batman does. I can't control them, while Batman can arrange them like chess pieces.
This is a problem that must be solved.
Once I control the Justice League, I can completely control them to transform Earth into whatever I want, and I can use the power of the entire League to practice thorough justice across the entire planet.
No one can commit a crime, and no one will commit a crime. All wars will come to an end without a trace, because all weapons will be destroyed by me. There will be no more famine, no more suffering.
I will usher in... a brand new era.
"You might be able to save the world, Maxwell Lord, but why should we do it?"
Johnny Solo's head was a mask, his eyes flickering with a struggle: "Ever since the Lord of Tears granted me new life, I have connected with the energies of the multidimensional world, and this place was once multidimensional..."
“Johnny Solo is right, Ekron’s Emerald Eye can sense a time gap… I must find the Legion,” the Emerald Queen said.
She stroked the enormous eye that was suspended in mid-air, her eyes filled with worry.
(Note: The Emerald Queen here refers to the 30th-century superhero army, but due to Doctor Manhattan stealing ten years of DC and causing the Flashpoint event, the timeline was reset, resulting in this army and a large number of its heroes, such as Saturn Girl and Brainiac Five, being erased from history. However, the Emerald Queen retained some memories from before the time reset.)
Maxwell Lauder said:
"Oh, Emerald Queen, I assure you I can help you with the search; I know some information."
He looked sincere, and the Emerald Queen met his eyes.
After a while, she nodded somewhat dazedly: "That's right, you're right."
"Then you should answer me, Little Horse..." Wolf asked, "How can we know you haven't used that stupid mind control trick on us?"
"I wouldn't dare do that to you, Berserker." Maxwelllaud looked at Berserker, then activated his mind control ability, unleashing a barrage of attacks on Berserker.
As he started the attack, he said, "Everyone knows you're going to kill anyone who tries to mess with your brain."
As he spoke, Lauder secretly wiped away the blood that was about to flow from his nose. This was the price he paid for activating his power.
Wolf was momentarily stunned, then quickly cheered: "You fucking right! If you dared to do that to the only real man, I'd kill you, you bastard bitch!"
"We've walked this same path before, Lord. Do you have anything different from the past?" asked Rostam, the assassin wielding a flaming blade.
“We have one thing in common, Rostam: hatred,” Maxwell Lord said. “If you help me achieve my goal, you’ll receive additional benefits when you take revenge on Amanda Wore, the one I hate most.”
"Maxwell is right." Dr. Polaris was momentarily stunned, then erupted in a somewhat erratic rage, "Amanda Waller needs to pay the price for everything we've done!"
"I'm glad you share my views, Dr. Polaris," Lord said. "Your control over metals is of great help to our cause."
"Okay," said Johnny Solo, whose head was a mask.
"Let's assume we've agreed to your conditions, but what are your plans for us?"
"There is one more thing to be done before we take action against Amanda Waller."
Maxwell Lord turned his head and looked at everyone he controlled.
He said:
"The place we're going to is extremely dangerous, but I know you have a lot of experience with this kind of thing."
"What about the heroes? Batman?" Dr. Polaris asked. "You're not stupid enough to think that a runaway Cheetah can keep Batman from coming back, are you?"
"Of course not."
Maxwell Lord said, "I have other plans."
He paced slowly: "Over the years, Batman has had different Robins by his side, but you know, I've received information. This time, Batman's new Robin is probably different from the past. That Robin is his son, his biological son. To be honest, I was quite surprised when I found out. Batman used to have no weaknesses or vulnerabilities, but now he does."
"His love for his children can cloud his judgment, causing him to make wrong decisions or reach wrong conclusions. I can use this to trap Batman, at least preventing him from interfering with us for the time being."
Maxwell Lord said, "And for the other members of the Justice League, I've prepared a gift for each of them. By the time they have a chance to stop us, it will all be over."
"Even if Batman himself wasn't trapped, he couldn't possibly hold off all of you at the same time—I've studied Batman's abilities in detail. He needs the help of other Justice League members when he uses some obviously extraordinary powers. I believe it's some kind of energy extraction method."
Maxwell Lord said, "It's worth noting that this method of energy extraction isn't something that can be done out of thin air; it requires various kinds of equipment. I could destroy these devices beforehand and then shut down the Justice League."
"Severing the Justice League is tantamount to cutting off half of Batman's power."
"Even if he solves the problem that's trapping him by himself, he won't have time to solve the problems facing the entire Justice League."
"Even if we take a step back, it wouldn't be a big deal if a couple of Justice League members showed up occasionally. The device that allows the Justice League to transmit power to Batman has also been destroyed, so Batman simply doesn't have the ability to perform his signature hat tricks."
Maxwell Lord said, "Unless he can conjure up a new Justice League."
……
……
……
"I have a feeling that something is not quite right."
Chen Tao said.
He was on the phone with Superpower at that moment.
"My dearest ally, you'd help me if something happens, right?"
"What are you up to now?"
The sound of crunching came from the other end of the phone; it was Superb chewing on his kryptonite.
The voice sounded exactly like a groundhog.
"Our agreement didn't include me fighting for you," Superpower said. "Besides, things are complicated on my end. You haven't even kept your promises. Johnny Quick and Deathstorm are just sitting there doing nothing. What happened to your promised enhancements?"
"Lex Luthor is still preparing. Come on, man, you have to admit, enhancement schemes aren't easy to create. But I guarantee their enhancement schemes will rapidly increase their power, unlike you who have to slowly consume kryptonite to strengthen yourself."
Chen Tao's words were reasonable and well-founded, and Chao Ba's attitude softened somewhat: "But that's not enough. Our agreement doesn't..."
"I'm willing to provide you with more kryptonite."
He heard Batman say, "More raw materials for making Kryptonite, as payment for your service this time."
Superpower narrowed his eyes. Batman's offer was already very generous, but he still wanted to extract more.
"Still not enough."
Superba said, "Even without you, I can gather the raw materials myself. You can't use something I could have obtained in exchange for a chance to act."
Then he sensed that Batman on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment.
"Plus, you'll get a chance to use the Speed Force," Chen Tao said. "You know about the Speed Force, right?"
"Johnny Quick's power—he used that power to transform himself from a weakling into a speedster. And you?"
"Haven't you ever considered that you might also possess the Speed Force?"
"Think about it, you were already fast enough, and you could resist magic and were invulnerable to weapons. Now you're even faster, and your enemies can't even grab the hem of your clothes."
Chen Tao patiently persuaded, "This is definitely a good choice."
……
……
……
In the corridor, Maxwell Lord slipped past his newly recruited former suicide squad members and quietly appeared in a room within the fortress.
As a silver-white portal opened, a beautiful woman stepped out—none other than the Super Queen of Crime Syndicate.
"What's wrong, darling—" Maxwell Lord sat on the sofa without saying a word. Seeing this, the Super Queen swayed her hips and walked towards him.
As she walked, she lowered her head slightly: "Why are you looking so gloomy? Our deal is done."
She pulled a small vial of deep red blood from between her breasts: "Here, take this. Wonder Woman's blood. Was Cheetah's blood any good? You should give me what I want now."
Blood was gushing from Maxwell Lord's nose, which made the Queen of Supergirl's expression change.
"Don't even think about using mind control on me. I am a demigod, and your mind control abilities are ineffective against me."
When his scandal was exposed, Maxwell Lord showed no remorse whatsoever.
"You Amazons are such a nuisance," he said. "You and your princess are no different."
Supergirl did not correct Maxwell Lord's misunderstanding; she certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to tell him that she wasn't a member of Wonder Woman's family.
Their relationship was a transaction, and nothing more.
Then the Super Queen's voice turned colder: "For the sake of the deal, I won't hold your behavior against you, which is like a scorpion's instinctive sting."
She said, "But you'd better get that done for me quickly, before Superb finds out."
Lord saw that the other man had already begun to reach for the noose around his waist. He immediately changed his tune:
"Of course, of course."
"I will definitely keep my promise."
(End of this chapter)