Superman from the comics: Starting with the Black Robe

Chapter 452 Recurring Setbacks

Chapter 452 Recurring Setbacks

According to the development of part of the universe in Joey's previous life, the best starting point for finding the Mother Box would naturally be Paradise Island and the seabed.

But Joey encountered setbacks from the very beginning. First, on Paradise Island, Wonder Woman's radiation injury from the day before was not recovering as quickly as expected, and she was still in a coma.

Joey could only go to Paradise Island in the Arctic to ask other Amazons, but the answers he received were not satisfactory.

"Yes, in ancient times, the forces of the Dark Lord attempted to seize control of the Earth."

Menalipe, the current military commander of Paradise Island, nodded, then shook his head: "But you also know what has happened on Paradise Island in the past year. I'm afraid we don't know too many details."

Wonder Woman's mother, Hippolyta, the former queen of Themyscira, was murdered by the war faction within the Amazons.

The mastermind behind the pro-war faction, Hippolyta's sister Penthesilea, turned out to be a traitor and fled after Joy forced a peace between Paradise Island and Atlantis.

Perhaps the ancient battle between the Old Gods and Darkseid did leave behind some secrets passed down through generations, but with the sudden deaths and escapes of the two oldest Amazons, the lineage completely ended by Wonder Woman's generation.

After meeting Aquaman Arthur Curry in the city of Atlantis on the Mediterranean coast, Joey received almost the same bad news.

"Huh? Me?"

Superman's arrival made Arthur, who was sitting on the throne, stand up quickly, scratching his stiff back with his trident: "Don't forget I'm a half-breed who came to the fold half-land people. With half-land people in my blood, I will naturally respect the sovereignty of land nations and the way of life of their people, I guarantee—"

"————"

Listening to Aquaman spout a bunch of official jargon, Joey had no idea whether moving Atlantis from the deep sea to land was a good thing or a bad thing.

Anyway, Arthur, who has now been connected to the global diplomatic system, is thriving. This Aquaman has only been ashore for a few days, and he has already been infected by the bureaucracy of the United Nations like this.

"Get lost, and stop talking nonsense in front of me!"

The problem faced by Atlantis and the Amazons was the same: generational gaps.

Aquaman Arthur is a half-blood who ascended to the throne halfway through his life. He was manipulated by his half-brother Orm and launched a war against the Amazons and the land people.

Now that Orm has defected to Apokolips with Pentessilia, the secrets of the Atlantean royal family may never be known again.

All Aquaman Arthur could do was command all the Atlanteans and marine life of the seven seas, mobilizing them all to search for what Superman described.

Now we can only rely on the human side.

In a sense, returning to the Flashpoint universe really feels like coming home, since the Amazons, Atlantis, and humanity are all Joey's people.

The "shadow government" of the deep state in North America is a real entity.

And they just happened to be one of Joey's allies.

These Martians, disguised as high-ranking political figures, are practically controlling one of the world's most powerful nations in the shadows. It shouldn't be too difficult for Joey to get them to use the administrative power of a national government to find the Mother Box, right?

"What?"

Joey stared at the Martian manhunter disguised as the Secretary of State and was immediately speechless: "What do you mean by a government shutdown?"

"A shutdown, in this context, means—"

Ron Jungs is preparing to explain to Superman what it means for the federal government to suspend non-essential services because Congress has failed to pass a budget bill or a continuing resolution.

"I know what a shutdown means!"

How come North America can shut down in the real world, but other parts of the world can also shut down?

Do these Martians not govern at all?

After being repeatedly rejected, Joey was finally breaking down: "Damn it, how did the country become like this?!"

"So what do we do now?"

Faced with Ron Jungs's question, Joey, unable to hold back any longer, retorted, "What do we do? Just let it be!"

The immediate priority is to get through this crisis, so Joey can't worry about anything else right now.

"Just don't kill anyone, but we must be quick. Finding the Mother Box is a matter of life and death; we don't have much time left."

""

Whether the Martian manhunter transforms into that old man at the Federal Reserve and starts printing money, or he gets those bigwigs in Congress to immediately change their faces, the necessary institutions must first get operational!

"Alright, guys from the world's smartest team, where should we begin?"

The moment Superman set off, Tony clapped his hands and quickly got to work: "Cyborg, can you get that time machine from Watchtower Station over here?"

"no problem."

With a snap of his fingers, Steel Bone, who was lying on the chair, sent a massive machine, ten meters square, piercing through two floors of Stark Tower with a whoosh.

Seeing this, Tony gritted his teeth: "Remember this, you'll have to pay for this too!"

~~~~~

The three people who had set up the experimental platform were busy when they heard a few loud bangs as the Iron Man suits landed. It was Captain America and the others who had returned.

Along with this came a barrage of insults directed at a certain high-ranking official in the White House—

"Who goes there?!"

Luke Cage's already dark face turned even more purple with rage: "We saved the lives of all Americans, including his, from Hydra's guns, and he still wants to put us on the wanted list?"

Captain America, who walked in with him, also looked rather grim. He knew that politicians these days weren't very humane, but this was just too inhumane.

The president's change of heart is faster than turning the pages of a book. One second he was fleeing in panic, and the next he was standing in front of the camera, looking very smug, saying he was going to issue a warrant for the arrest of the serious criminal who bombed important defense facilities in Washington.

Black Widow and Hawkeye, on the other hand, remained quite calm after actually firing their weapons and blowing things up. Being wanted by the police was just part of their daily routine.

Black Widow even had the nerve to make fun of Luke Cage: "The footage of you punching the President has spread all over the internet. Everyone knows the President is petty. If you offend him, you're in for a world of hurt."

"Here's your armor back, Tony."

Unlike James Rhodes, who borrowed and never returned, Captain America had no attachment to the Iron Man suit and returned it to him without a word after using it.

Then Captain America looked up and saw Cyborg's new face: "Is this T-800 your new robot?"

It seems this old popsicle has watched quite a few movies since waking up.

"Ha!" Tony laughed at Cyborg. "See, I'm not the only one who says you look like the Terminator, are I?"

"Please, what exactly makes me resemble a T-800?"

Cyborg probably thinks his mechanical body design is quite different from Cameron's, right?

"Cameron didn't need to make those Terminator movies!"

"You're right, at least Terminator 1 and the ones after that shouldn't have been made."

Hawkeye nodded, agreeing with Cyborg.

The first two Terminator movies have already told a logically consistent time travel story. Any subsequent works are merely superfluous additions to this great IP.

"Ahem!"

Reed, who hadn't spoken for a while, coughed loudly.

Can't these people be a little more reliable? This is a critical moment when the world is on the brink of destruction. They can hold a film review tea party later, after they've survived.

"Oh right." Tony and Cyborg quickly got back to what they were doing. "Sorry, Captain, you can find somewhere to rest."

"What happened?"

Captain America then remembered that the atmosphere inside the room had been terrifyingly oppressive before his group entered: "Tony?"

Tony pointed overhead: "Didn't you look up at the sky on your way back?"

Everyone craned their necks to look out the window, but all they could see were thick clouds that obscured everything.

From an astronomical perspective, the distance between the two Earths is practically face to face, but from the perspective of human senses, it is still quite far.

Without the sensory enhancement components that come with the Iron Man suits, these people really wouldn't know what kind of annihilation they were about to face.

Speak up, speak up—the truth will out eventually, and this kind of thing can't be kept secret forever.

While Tony was still distracted explaining, they heard a deafening roar from the sky.

Looking up again, everyone saw a green light streaking across the sky.