There was no helping it.
To keep Queen Hippolyta from interfering again, Alex had simply knocked her out cold with a single punch. He hadn't wanted to, but she'd left him no choice. The woman was as stubborn as she was regal—if she stayed on her feet, she would have kept coming at him without pause, her blade flashing again and again until one of them fell.
And honestly, that would've been seriously annoying.
> "Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
A chorus of horrified cries erupted around him.
The surrounding Amazons, their golden armor gleaming faintly under the vault's torchlight, rushed forward in a panic. Sandals clattered against marble. Spears lowered. They dropped to their knees beside their fallen queen, forming a protective ring around her body. The air was thick with the scent of fear and sweat and the faint iron tang of blood.
Only after checking her pulse—steady, strong—did they exhale in visible relief. She was alive. Just unconscious.
Whoosh!
Alex raised a hand lazily, a faint smirk curling his lips.
Invisible force rippled outward like a tidal wave.
The ring of Amazons was hurled away as if struck by a hurricane, crashing into pillars and walls with dull thuds. Golden shields clattered across the floor. Armor dented. Groans filled the chamber, but no one dared stand again.
And then—silence.
No one was left to interrupt him.
With the vault cleared, Alex finally turned his full attention to what he'd come for.
He moved through the chamber slowly, almost methodically, like a god at work. Rows of ancient relics glimmered under the torchlight—spears, crowns, grimoires, talismans pulsing with faint divine energy. He touched each one only briefly, but every contact triggered a surge of invisible power.
[Extraction successful!]
[Extraction successful!]
[Extraction successful!]
The mechanical tone of the system echoed through the chamber again and again, overlapping with the crackle of energy.
Soon, the radiant artifacts dulled to gray dust and crumbled away, leaving nothing behind but empty pedestals.
By the time the final echo faded, not a single treasure remained.
Every relic, every weapon, every last divine fragment of history had been consumed by his system.
Alex opened his panel. His gaze swept across the rising numbers, and his lips curved.
Another 210,000 Origin Points added—just like that.
The sight made him pause for a brief, satisfied breath. It was the largest sum he had ever accumulated. For the first time since gaining this power, his reserves were overflowing, a fortune vast enough to make any god envious.
And he didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat.
> "Let's see what this baby can do."
SHOOSH!
Energy roared through his veins like molten lightning. His entire body trembled under the sudden, euphoric rush.
It was like being reforged from the inside out—bones, muscles, nerves, even thought itself, all elevated and sharpened.
His strength and speed spiked immediately, doubling in a blink.
Before, he'd been able to lift around nine thousand tons and move at four thousand meters per second. Now?
Over twenty thousand tons of force at his fingertips, and velocity beyond ten thousand meters per second—an invisible storm made flesh.
Every other attribute rose alongside it: his indestructible body gleamed like forged steel beneath the skin, his regeneration grew near instantaneous, and his psychic field swelled in range and density.
He clenched his hand experimentally, feeling the faint vibration of sheer power humming under his skin. A small laugh escaped him.
> "Hah. Worth every second."
His voice was low, satisfied, reverberating faintly through the now-ruined vault.
If he had stayed in the Marvel Universe, he mused, it might have taken him years to gather this much energy—years of battles, quests, and endless grinding. But here, in the DC world, he'd achieved it all in just a few months.
Alex's grin widened.
> "Crossing into another universe," he thought, "was definitely the right call."
His eyes hardened. The faint amusement vanished, replaced by a cold gleam of purpose.
Now that his business was done, there was still one thing left to settle.
> "Time to collect some debts."
He turned and strode out of the vault, each step echoing against the hollow stone.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Outside, the island trembled.
Explosions rolled across the horizon, flashes of flame illuminating the night sky. The once-pristine Themyscira was now a war zone—columns of smoke twisting upward, the air thick with the acrid smell of burning oil and scorched metal.
Despite their unmatched skill on land, the Amazons were clearly unprepared for full-scale aerial warfare.
Several fighter planes had been brought down—their wreckage smoking along the cliffs—but the enemy's fleet was vast. Doctor Poison's aircraft still circled above like steel vultures, raining destruction from the skies.
Amid the chaos, Alex's super hearing caught fragments of terrified screams echoing from the battlefield below:
> "M–Medusa! How's that possible?!"
"She was dead—she was supposed to be dead!"
"It's Medusa! Don't look into her eyes!"
"She's controlling their minds—run!"
Alex blinked, momentarily stunned.
> "Medusa?" he murmured.
A myth come alive.
The name alone carried weight even among gods—a being of such monstrous power that even Olympus feared her wrath.
Though she wasn't divine, her petrifying curse was infamous.
He'd never seen her in person before.
Curiosity flickered through him. Narrowing his eyes, he activated his super vision, piercing the smoke and distance with ease.
What he saw made even him pause.
A beautiful woman stood amidst the chaos, her skin pale as moonlight, her eyes gleaming an eerie emerald. Her hair—if one could call it that—was a writhing nest of serpents, each one hissing softly, dripping venom that smoked where it touched the ground.
Everywhere she moved, stone statues littered the battlefield—the frozen remains of Amazon warriors, locked forever in poses of terror and defiance.
Facing her was another figure, battered but unbowed—Diana, Princess of Themyscira.
Her armor was cracked, her breath ragged, but she fought on, her golden lasso flashing with divine light as she met the monster's gaze again and again.
Yet it was clear she was losing ground.
Medusa's power was overwhelming.
Every exchange ended the same: another Amazon down, another gap in the line.
Even those who dared not look directly at her fell victim to her speed and ferocity.
BOOM! BANG!
More warriors were flung aside like rag dolls, their weapons clattering across the stone.
Diana's chest heaved; sweat and blood streaked her face.
And then—
> "Diana," a mocking voice called out, smooth and cruel, "do you like the little surprise I prepared for you?"
Doctor Poison stood atop a ridge overlooking the battle, her face illuminated by the infernal glow of explosions. Her grin was pure madness.
> "You—you revived Medusa?!" Diana shouted, disbelief and fury mixing in her voice. "You lunatic! Do you have any idea what you've unleashed?"
Doctor Poison's laughter echoed like broken glass.
> "Oh, I know exactly what I've done. And it's beautiful."
Diana's eyes narrowed, jaw tightening.
There was no more room for words.
Medusa was already moving.
BOOM! BOOM! SHH! SHH!
One by one, Diana's soldiers fell until she stood alone amidst the wreckage.
> "Medusa—kill her!"
Doctor Poison's voice sliced through the air like a whip.
RUMBLE.
Medusa advanced, her every step cracking the stone beneath her.
In an instant, she struck. Diana's shield splintered, and the Amazon princess hit the ground hard.
> "Look into my eyes," Medusa hissed, her voice coiling around Diana's mind like smoke.
Green light flared.
Diana's muscles locked. She gritted her teeth, fighting the pull with every ounce of will she had left.
> "No… I can't… if I do, I'll turn to stone…"
Her voice trembled. Her limbs quivered. Her consciousness wavered.
Doctor Poison watched from afar, smiling as if admiring a masterpiece.
And then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The heavens erupted.
A chain of explosions tore across the sky as one aircraft after another burst into flaming debris.
Doctor Poison froze, eyes wide.
Her entire air fleet—every last plane—was disintegrating before her eyes.
BANG!
A shockwave ripped through the ridge. For a single heartbeat, everything went white.
And then, standing before her, the air still rippling with residual force, was a man.
A blur of red, white, and blue—eyes glowing faintly gold.
Doctor Poison's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
> "Homelander!"
Alex smiled.
Slow, deliberate. Cold as judgment day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 60 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~