Marvel 1919 : Rise of an Empire

Hours later, the group had returned to their civilian clothes. They stepped out of Bruce's vehicles at their destination.

"This place is incredible!" Barry exclaimed, taking in their surroundings.

"From the outside, this just looks like another abandoned warehouse," Aquaman observed, his experienced eye noting the deliberate deception.

Cyborg emerged from the vehicle. He was immediately drawn to the Flying Fox, Bruce's advanced aircraft suspended in mid-air within the hangar. He tilted his head slightly, processing incoming data streams.

"She wants to fly," he announced with certainty.

Aquaman removed his restrictive jacket. Hearing Cyborg's unusual statement, he looked at him with obvious curiosity. "You actually talk to machines?"

"I interface with artificial intelligence systems," Cyborg explained matter-of-factly. "She's indicating that she cannot achieve flight due to a critical software malfunction."

Cyborg carefully placed the Mother Box container on the central table. Everyone gathered around the artifact, studying what had become the focal point of their current crisis.

"There's a black void in my data stream," Cyborg began, his cybernetic eye glowing as he processed information. "I can sense the other two Mother Boxes. I know they've been awakened, but I cannot determine their precise locations."

"We can only mount an effective offensive if we know where the enemy has established their base of operations," Aquaman stated with military pragmatism.

"Even if we discovered their location, there's no creature on this world more powerful than Steppenwolf," Diana replied grimly.

"Perhaps there is one," George interjected meaningfully.

"Yeah, Superman!" Barry added with obvious enthusiasm.

"As long as the third Mother Box remains dormant, Steppenwolf and his forces cannot see it directly," Cyborg warned. "They can only sense its general presence. We must keep moving constantly to avoid detection."

"No, that's merely a strategy to delay our inevitable failure," Bruce countered firmly. "It's not a winning strategy."

"This might sound crazy, but are flamethrowers not popular anymore?" Barry suggested with typical enthusiasm. "Why don't we just destroy the thing?"

"Even the most intense fire cannot destroy Mother Boxes," Cyborg explained patiently. "They're composed of an unknown substance that actually feeds on thermal energy, absorbing it and storing that power within their core systems."

"You seem remarkably knowledgeable about these artifacts," Aquaman said, his voice carrying obvious suspicion. "That's highly unusual."

It was perfectly reasonable for Aquaman to harbor suspicions about Cyborg. As ancient creations of Apokolips, contemporary humans should possess no knowledge whatsoever about Mother Box technology.

Even Atlantis and Paradise Island, with their inherited wisdom from ages past, lacked the specific technical information Cyborg had just shared. For a human to possess such classified knowledge was clearly abnormal.

"Where exactly did you encounter this Mother Box?" Bruce asked directly.

"Are you questioning my loyalty?" Cyborg responded defensively.

"I'm absolutely questioning you," Aquaman stated bluntly. "How do we know you're not working as their spy?"

At this moment, everyone turned their attention to Cyborg, waiting expectantly for him to provide satisfactory answers.

"It's a long and complicated story," Cyborg replied reluctantly.

"Are you in some kind of hurry to be somewhere else?" Aquaman pressed, maintaining his challenging tone.

Cyborg glanced at each team member. Then he activated his holographic projection system. A detailed historical timeline appeared in the air above his head as he began his explanation.

"The Nazi regime discovered this Mother Box shortly before the end of World War II. It had been buried beneath an Italian monastery for centuries."

The hologram showed archival footage and historical documentation as Cyborg continued.

"While being transported to Hitler's personal collection, it was intercepted by Allied forces and brought back to the United States in 1944. Classified as Unknown Object Number 61982, it remained in Department of Defense archives for seventy years."

The projection shifted to show government facilities and research laboratories.

"Everything changed when the Department of Defense began studying Superman's crashed spacecraft. A researcher at S.T.A.R. Labs discovered a connection between Superman's ship and Object 61982."

"He understood that both were alien technologies, from different civilizations, but sharing similar fundamental properties. Although the Mother Box had remained dormant for millennia, this researcher developed a theoretical framework that could potentially awaken it."

Cyborg's voice grew more personal as he continued.

"And he succeeded in awakening it. Later... I was involved in a catastrophic car accident and should have died from my injuries."

"But driven by desperation, or perhaps madness, that researcher harnessed the Mother Box's power. He unleashed alien technology he didn't fully understand and used that incredible force to keep me alive."

His voice became quieter. "Alive, but transformed into this. The Mother Box returned to its dormant state afterward, and he chose not to return it to government custody."

"That researcher was Dr. Silas Stone. My father."

"Wait," Barry interrupted, trying to process this revelation. "Your father saved your life using a Mother Box? Aren't these things supposed to be twisted killing machines?"

"They're transformation machines," Cyborg corrected.

"Mother Boxes have no concept of saving or destroying life, no understanding of death as we perceive it. They simply rearrange matter according to their operator's will, regenerating it or returning it to previous states."

"Returning matter to previous states?" Diana asked, her strategic mind already working.

"Mother Boxes possess the ability to restore fundamental particle interactions," Cyborg explained.

"Are you saying that the basic particles of any matter cannot be created or destroyed?" Barry asked, his scientific curiosity engaged. "That their interactions only transform from one state to another?"

"Precisely. Burn down a house, and the particles still exist," Cyborg confirmed. "The particles that formed the house simply become the particles that form ash."

"Anyone with a match can turn a house into ash," Diana pointed out.

"But a Mother Box can reverse that process, turning ash back into a house," Bruce said with growing understanding.

"Okay, I know we're all thinking the same thing," Barry said nervously. "Who wants to be the one to say it out loud? Because I'm definitely not saying it!"

"Resurrecting Superman is indeed a theoretical possibility," George stated calmly.

At that moment, Cyborg activated another holographic projection.

A perfect three-dimensional image of Superman materialised in the centre of their group, from his iconic landing pose to his classic flying stance, complete with his red cape flowing dramatically in an artificial breeze.

Of course, the prospect of resurrecting Superman was extraordinarily complex and would require careful consideration of countless variables and potential consequences.

The next day, while Bruce and the others continued their intense discussions about whether attempting to resurrect Superman was advisable, George quietly deployed a magical clone to maintain his presence at the meeting.

His true form teleported directly to Metropolis to pursue a different lead.

Lois Lane, Superman's girlfriend and a renowned investigative reporter, had a publicly available address that was remarkably easy to research.

George positioned himself at a corner coffee shop. He ordered a simple beverage and settled in to observe the surrounding area with practiced patience.

At precisely ten o'clock in the morning, George spotted General Swanwick stepping out of an unmarked black government vehicle. The military officer was dressed in his formal uniform and proceeded directly into the apartment building where Lois maintained her residence.

To avoid attracting unwanted attention from potentially sensitive individuals, George deliberately refrained from using his enhanced vision to observe the building's interior.

He understood that truly powerful beings possessed extraordinarily acute perception; even casual observation could draw their immediate attention. Of course, with Swanwick wearing his military uniform, a few extra glances would appear perfectly normal.

Instead, George activated his superhuman hearing. He carefully filtered out irrelevant background noise until the conversation he sought reached his enhanced senses.

The discussion involved Superman's two closest relationships: his girlfriend Lois and his adoptive mother Martha. George wasn't particularly interested in the content of their conversation itself.

His real interest lay in Superman's mother, because George knew with absolute certainty that it wasn't Martha Kent at all.

It was General Swanwick, who had just entered the building, using his shapeshifting abilities to assume her appearance.

This General Swanwick was far from an ordinary military officer. His true identity was J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter.

Martian Manhunter had been accidentally teleported to Earth by Dr. Erdel during a scientific experiment gone wrong. When Dr. Erdel died of a sudden heart attack immediately afterward, J'onn found himself permanently stranded on this world.

He had lived among humans under the assumed identity of Detective John Jones, dedicating himself to bringing criminals to justice. However, it appeared that this Martian survivor had since adopted new cover identities to better serve his protective mission.

Martian Manhunter's abilities were remarkably similar to Superman's impressive power set.

His capabilities included advanced Martian physiology, unlimited shapeshifting, selective invisibility, intangible phasing, superhuman strength, incredible durability, enhanced stamina, accelerated regeneration, natural flight, superhuman speed, heightened senses, extended longevity, super-hearing, powerful breath control, and numerous other formidable abilities.

The timing of Martian Manhunter's visit to Lois was extraordinarily significant. One could argue that it was precisely because of his intervention that future events would move toward a more favorable outcome.

George glanced once more in the direction of Lois's apartment building. He allowed a slight smile to curve his lips.

"It's not quite time yet, Martian Manhunter," he murmured quietly to himself. "But I look forward to the day when we finally meet face to face."

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