Chapter 425: Allen Reunites with a Former Comrade
Uxas slumped on the throne, despair overtaking him as he watched the smug expression on Steppenwolf's face.
Since taking over Apokolips, he had been trying to ease tensions with Genesis.
The two planets had developed such deep-seated hostility that they now saw each other as mortal enemies.
That was why Uxas spared no effort in trying to defuse the hatred.
But reality proved otherwise—it had all been wishful thinking on his part.
"You're too weak," Steppenwolf said bluntly. "Apokolips needs a tyrant, not a hypocritical benevolent ruler. And besides, your actions don't serve Genesis's interests."
Hearing this, Uxas suddenly understood everything.
So-called peace meant nothing when weighed against interests. It was a pathetic verbal agreement, utterly meaningless in practice.
"You think killing me will make the people obey you?" Uxas seemed to be seeking some form of psychological comfort, already suspecting his time was up.
Otherwise, how could Steppenwolf dare to stride into the palace so brazenly?
"Hahaha…"
Steppenwolf burst into laughter. "Apokolips needs war. The people have been starved for it."
Indeed, Apokolips had always thrived in chaos and collapse. They were never a docile race.
Now, the planet was already overflowing with discontent, and its people's ambition to conquer other worlds was rapidly growing.
The twisted values forged during the planet's internal chaos had merely been suppressed when Uxas rose to power. But the desire for peace had never truly taken root.
It was in their nature—people from Apokolips were born to revel in destruction.
To them, Uxas was an anomaly.
Though things seemed calm on the surface, the crime rate remained high. It just wasn't as bloody and violent as it used to be.
"Even if I die, I won't let you have your way."
As soon as he finished speaking—
A space portal suddenly enveloped Uxas.
"Stop!" Steppenwolf's face changed drastically. At some point, a battle axe had appeared in his hand, and he swung it frantically at the portal.
Clearly, Uxas was using a Mother Box to escape.
As long as he took the Mother Box with him, Apokolips wouldn't be able to wage war on other planets.
Boom!
The battle axe shattered the throne, but Uxas was gone.
Just one step too late.
"Track the Mother Box's signal. Spare no effort to recover the sacred relic!"
Steppenwolf roared at his subordinates, who immediately launched into action.
At the same time, Steppenwolf cleaved through a wall with his axe and walked straight into a secret chamber.
There, suspended in the air, was a mass of crimson energy.
The Omega Ray.
Apokolips's exclusive divine power.
Gripping the source of the power in one hand, Steppenwolf's expression twisted with madness.
"Uxas was a fool. Chasing after some naïve dream of peace and refusing to inherit the divine power—now it's fallen into my lap."
That was why he dared to overthrow Uxas's rule.
Had the latter accepted the power, he would have become a new god. Even if given a hundred chances, Steppenwolf wouldn't have dared rebel.
"He's as good as dead. Once we locate the Mother Box, I'll personally retrieve it. And if he's fled to a life-bearing planet, it'll become the first world I conquer as ruler."
Of course, Steppenwolf would need some time to adapt to the Omega Ray.
…
Boom!
A beam of energy shot down.
Uxas stumbled into a lush forest filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.
Realizing he was safe, he finally succumbed to exhaustion and collapsed.
Deadly poison coursed through his veins, creeping toward his heart.
Moments later, a portal appeared beside him.
"Hyah! Hyah! Faora, I'm picking up a signal from the Tenth Metal!"
It was Allen and Faora.
Having just tamed a new mount, Allen had been thrilled to discover an unusual signal from his X-Lantern Ring.
Using the detection, he locked onto the general location and cast a teleportation spell.
By now, Allen's mastery of space magic had reached near-perfection. He no longer relied on visual cues alone.
He instantly spotted the unconscious man lying nearby, with a floating Mother Box beside him.
The cube-like metal object had constantly shifting surface patterns, as if it were permanently in an active state.
A Mother Box in its default form was just one unit. It hadn't yet been split apart by an invasion of Earth.
"Uxas!"
"Ruler of Apokolips!"
Allen recognized him instantly—it hadn't been long since his own multiversal journey, and his memories were still fresh.
Faora looked visibly stunned.
According to the timeline, Krypton had been destroyed around the end of Apokolips's reform.
In fact, before General Zod attempted his coup, he had considered conquering Apokolips to resettle their people.
Unfortunately, that had remained a mere plan—Krypton's explosion made any such move irrelevant.
After all, Apokolips was known as the Hell of the Universe—sending people there would've been suicide.
Allen raised a hand, casting a cleansing light, followed by a healing spell.
The black veins on Uxas's face gradually faded back to normal.
"Ugh…"
A low groan escaped him.
Uxas slowly regained consciousness, his mind still foggy.
"Hey... no sleeping allowed here."
A familiar yet distant voice rang in his ears.
He looked up and froze.
"Captain!"
"Captain?"
Faora turned her head, baffled, and looked at the lunatic on her back.
The mighty ruler of Apokolips, calling a human native "Captain"? Unbelievable.
"Who dared mess with one of my Guardians of the Galaxy?"
Allen jumped down and helped the weakened Uxas up. "Relax, I'll make sure you get justice."
"..."
Somehow, the Captain was still just as domineering.
Taking advantage of the moment, Faora's eyes narrowed. She seemed to come to a decision—bending her knees slightly, readying to flee by flight.
As one of Krypton's elite warriors, her pride wouldn't allow her to remain as someone's mount.
And in her eyes, Allen was an undeveloped native unworthy of her submission.
But the next second, a silver light wrapped around her, forming visible shackles.
Her body convulsed involuntarily.
Her eyes rolled back to whites, her pink tongue lolled out, and crystal-clear drool dripped from the corners of her mouth.
Uxas asked in confusion, "And she is…?"
"My new mount," Allen replied casually.
A new mount?
So there's an old one?
The Captain really knows how to enjoy himself.
"Captain, I've been overthrown in a coup."
"By who?"
Allen looked curious.
Uxas gritted his teeth. "My uncle—Steppenwolf."
"Well, isn't that just perfect."
Allen grinned. "Last time I traveled the multiverse, I beat that Desolation Mutt into the ground and took over Apokolips."
"..."
Well, true or not, with someone by his side who had once soloed the multiverse, Uxas didn't feel the situation was quite so dire.
"How could Steppenwolf beat you?"
"..."
After a bit of conversation, Allen finally realized the Darkseid in front of him was the weaker original form—not the noble being empowered by the Omega Ray.
Which meant Steppenwolf had now ascended to godhood.
Allen still remembered vividly how devastating the Omega Ray's power was.
But it didn't worry him too much—if the guy dared to show up on Earth, he'd hit him with ultra-scale attacks.
"Earth sure has terrible luck," Allen muttered.
Eternals, Celestials, and now Apokolips—it was one disaster after another.
"Follow me. First, we deal with the Mother Box."
Guardian Silverlight.
Faora collapsed to the ground, trembling slightly, her eyes full of hatred... and a trace of dazed confusion.
Allen didn't hesitate to climb on her back again.
"Hyah! Let's go, Pipikr!"
"Don't give me some dumb name!"
That was Faora's last shred of defiance—at least she would keep her name.
The trio passed through the portal.
First destination: the abandoned Arkham Asylum.
"Mimi, I brought you something good," Allen called out.
That's right. The safest place to store the Mother Box—was in Mimi's belly.
The cat's stomach was an extradimensional space, capable of blocking outside signals.
But clearly, Mimi wasn't at the asylum.
They continued to Arkham Fortress.
"Welcome back, Commander," greeted Unita immediately.
"Sun Sun, no time to explain. Seen Mimi?" Allen asked.
"Mimi's at the Jokers' base."
"Base?"
"..."
These days, the Jokers weren't just Gotham's aristocrats anymore.
With the trio running for mayor—and eyeing the U.S. presidency—the group had expanded to include state legislators.
Silently, they were infiltrating the nation's upper echelons.
"Damn, they're really playing the long game."
On the way to find Mimi, Allen made time to feed his red bat pet he hadn't seen in ages.
Meanwhile, across the ocean in Europa—
The new bloodline sanctuary.
"I'm going to burst!"
Lilith, Queen of the Bloodline, writhed in bed, her cheeks flushed.
Her attendant stood helplessly beside her.
It reminded them of when they were human—only new mothers felt this full before.
…
"Holy Flame, shine bright! Sacred Light, burn high! All my disciples—meow meow meow meow…"
At the Jokers' headquarters.
Members clad in black robes gathered in circles, chanting loudly.
At the center lay a fat tricolor cat, casually licking its butt—clearly used to all this.
With the Jokers busy campaigning, Mimi had been left in the care of outer members.
Then one day, the cat coughed up alien tech, delighting the group.
They quickly studied it, developed new products, and made a fortune.
Naturally, they now saw Mimi as a divine beast and kept trying to harvest alien tech from it.
Even a random object became a flagship product.
"Oh great Meow God, please bless your believers…"
But Mimi just finished licking and grabbed its own tail.
Everyone knows—a cat's tail is like a separate entity, a toy with its own mind.
"Too bad, Meow God didn't respond again."
Originally devout to the Bat God, the Jokers had now shifted to worshipping this generous cat.
Even if Mimi dropped a turd, if it made them rich, they'd praise it as chocolate with a sweet aroma.
"Mimi!"
"Meow…"
The portal opened, and Allen and the others arrived at the absurd scene.
Three more figures appeared beside them—Arthur, Cobblepot, and Edward had come too.
Frustrated by Bruce's interference in their campaigns, they jumped at the chance to ride the wave of another crisis.
Good PR, after all.
"Boss is here! Show some respect!" Joker Arthur cackled.
He didn't exactly have a flattering appearance—unlike Harris, he had no political edge.
"That's the Joker Bat!?"
"He's wearing a patient's gown. Is he a lunatic?"
"Yep. He's totally insane."
"..."
For a moment, the crowd of believers murmured among themselves, hesitant to bow.
"Our boss hasn't shown up in a long time. Has his prestige faded?" Cobblepot raised his umbrella high and said darkly, "Anyone who doesn't know their place—I'll turn them into a roast turkey."
"We're supposed to be the good guys. What kind of example is all this violence?"
Allen stopped the Penguin's show of force and lowered his head to look at Mimi, who was rubbing up against his pant leg.
"Stupid cat. Swallow the Mother Box."
"Meow…"
Mimi remained unmoved, even flopping on her back with all four paws up in the air, wearing a smug expression that seemed to say, "What are you gonna do about it?"
"How could Meow God behave like this?!"
"We've taken care of it all this time, and never once received any favor."
"Meow God really is that Joker Bat's pet. I suddenly feel like something precious has been taken from me… it's heartbreaking."
"..."
Mimi's shameless behavior left the devoted followers deeply disheartened.
Pah! Useless cat.
Still hung up on an old flame.
"You really are impossible."
With obvious reluctance, Allen began rubbing Mimi's chubby belly.
Mimi was in absolute bliss.
Pff!
As soon as Allen's hand lifted, Mimi rolled over and opened her mouth, spewing out octopus-like tendrils that wrapped around the Mother Box and swallowed it whole.
...
At that same moment, the Avengers used their deployed satellite network.
They successfully locked onto the location of one Eternal.
Immediately, the whole team sprang into action.
After several exchanges, the Eternal warrior Thena solemnly explained, "There's definitely been a misunderstanding between us."
"There can't be any misunderstanding—unless the Eternals withdraw from Earth." Tony stared down from above.
"Humans, the Eternals' arrival on Earth carries no malice."
Thena spoke sincerely, "We came to track the Deviants."
"Deviants?"
The heroes exchanged skeptical glances. Without hard proof, they weren't about to take her word for it.
After all, the Eternals came from beyond Earth—who knew how much of what they said was true?
"I'm telling the truth. The Deviants have terrifying reproductive capabilities. If we don't eliminate them in time, Earth will be overrun before long."
Thena's expression was serious—she didn't seem like she was lying.
The others couldn't help but waver slightly. Still, it didn't feel right to blindly trust someone who might just be insane.
"Show us proof. If it's real, the Avengers are willing to cooperate with your efforts to wipe out the Deviants," Tony said.
"Very well."
Thena lifted her wrist and lightly tapped her bracelet. Instantly, strands of golden thread wove into a simple image, which then shifted continuously—like a cosmic shadow puppet show.
"We follow Arishem's will, hunting Deviants across the universe to prevent mass extinction," Thena added.
"How much do you know about the Celestials and the Divine Manifest?" Tony asked.
"Celestials? Divine Manifest?"
Thena looked confused. "I don't know what you're talking about."