Marvel 1919 : Rise of an Empire

"George, where's the Mother Box?" Diana asked urgently.

"Too late, Steppenwolf took it," George replied, glancing toward the fallen Victor.

"Let's go. We'll discuss this later," Bruce said, surveying the disheartened group with grim determination.

"Dr. Stone should come with us. He tagged the Mother Box," George added.

Two hours later, Batcave

"This is so cool!" Barry exclaimed in amazement as he rode the elevator down into the legendary Batcave.

"I brought a few friends over," Bruce informed Alfred with understated casualness.

"Oh my god, this is incredible!" Barry marveled, his eyes darting between the advanced equipment surrounding them on all sides.

"Everyone, this is Alfred. I work for him," Bruce introduced with subtle humor.

"This place is really impressive, Alfred," Aquaman said, nodding approvingly at the sophisticated setup.

Among the assembled heroes, only Diana was truly familiar with Alfred and his importance to Bruce's operation.

"I'll go prepare some tea. I wonder where I put all those extra cups," Alfred muttered, genuinely surprised that the typically reclusive Bruce had managed to bring home so many friends at once.

"That's the Mother Box, it's right there. Display visible spectrum," Bruce commanded, his fingers flying across the computer interface as he tracked the Mother Box's current location.

"Pozharnov, a ghost town not far from Moscow. They abandoned it thirty years ago after a nuclear leak accident," Diana explained, clearly familiar with the location's tragic history.

"Even the army can't get close to that place," Aquaman observed grimly.

"Yeah, the radiation there is probably strong enough to grow another foot out of your neck," Barry exaggerated with dark humor.

"Not anymore. Steppenwolf collected all that radiation to power his base," Victor said, analyzing the energy readings displayed on the screen.

"Zoom in on this section," Diana instructed, pointing to a specific area on the monitor.

"What exactly is he building there?" Aquaman asked, studying the enlarged structural image with growing concern.

"The Unity is forming inside that complex," Victor announced ominously.

"We'll need to attack from above," Bruce declared, examining the entire fortress layout strategically.

"Explosives won't separate the Mother Boxes! They'll only strengthen their connection to each other," Dr. Stone warned urgently.

"What? We can't just blow the whole thing up?" Barry asked, confused by this limitation.

"Not from the outside, no. I need to insert myself directly into the unified Mother Box system and merge with it completely. By weakening the connection from within, I can force them to separate back into three individual units," Victor proposed.

"No! You don't understand what you'll face in there," Diana protested with genuine fear.

"You'll have to merge with the Unity alone. Those three Mother Boxes combined possess enough power to destroy entire worlds! They've existed for billions of years; they will definitely penetrate your mind, find your deepest weaknesses and fears, then use them to completely destroy you."

"Just get me inside and buy me some time. That's all I need," Victor insisted with quiet determination.

"You might die in there, Victor," Bruce warned soberly.

"If I don't do this, we'll all die anyway. Didn't you want me to embrace these powers? Well, I'm going to use them," Victor said, addressing Diana directly.

"Alright! If Victor wants to merge with that doomsday device to save the world, then let's help him do it," Barry agreed with renewed energy.

"You're all thinking too pessimistically. Don't forget, I'm here too," George interjected confidently. "When the time comes, I can enter the Mother Box alongside Victor's consciousness. I believe I have effective ways to deal with mental attacks."

"Exactly! We still have our mage on the team. This plan is completely feasible," Aquaman said with growing optimism.

"Good point," Bruce agreed thoughtfully.

"But executing this plan means launching a full assault on that base," Barry pointed out.

"We'll dive straight into hell itself, formally declaring war on the devil and all his legions," Aquaman said with grim satisfaction.

"This guy has probably fought thousands of superheroes across all the planets he's destroyed, right? We have to assume he won every single battle," Barry worried aloud.

"I don't care how many hells he's conquered or how many demons he's slaughtered. He's never fought us, not when we're united as one," Bruce declared with fierce conviction.

Inside the Batcave's quieter section, Victor had a deeply personal conversation with Dr. Stone. Victor had nearly lost his father earlier that day, and all their past grievances had evaporated entirely in that terrifying instant.

"What's troubling you?" George asked, noticing Bruce sitting alone in a chair, lost in troubled contemplation.

"It's nothing serious. I had a dream, or rather, it wasn't exactly a dream. It felt more like a premonition," Bruce said, looking up at George and Diana as they approached.

"I saw the end of the world unfolding. Barry Allen was there, and he told me something crucial: 'Lois Lane is the key.'"

"For Superman, she certainly is. Everyone has someone they love deeply," Diana observed gently.

"I think it's something more than that, something much darker," Bruce said, his worry deepening.

"I thought this was something serious," George said with an amused smile. "You all know I'm from an alternate timeline, right?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with your point?" Bruce asked curiously.

"Of course! Many significant events can accidentally create entirely new timelines," George explained.

He gestured with his hands, and a shimmering line of energy materialized between them. "You see this? This represents our current timeline. Now, let's examine what happens when we go back in time."

A detailed simulation of a world without George's presence appeared before the assembled group. Aquaman and Barry moved closer to observe the energy projection floating in the void as George continued his explanation.

"If I hadn't restrained Clark with magic, if Lois hadn't reached him in time, maybe Clark wouldn't have awakened properly. Perhaps he wouldn't have participated in the crucial final battle, and the outcome might have been completely different. The Mother Box Unity would have succeeded, Darkseid would have descended upon Earth, and the apocalypse that Steppenwolf promised would have arrived."

"So what exactly did I witness in that vision?" Bruce asked intently.

"That was probably Barry from an alternate timeline, traveling through time via the Speed Force to deliver a warning to you," George explained matter-of-factly.

"You mean everything we're doing right now is actually pointless? In that other timeline, we still failed?" Diana asked with growing concern.

"Of course it's not pointless! At the very least, we've saved everyone in this timeline. That other timeline probably didn't fail completely either, otherwise Barry wouldn't have had the opportunity to come back and warn you," George chuckled warmly.

"The entire multiverse consists of countless parallel timelines. You might be heroes in some realities, but supervillains in others. In certain worlds, you could just be ordinary people living normal lives. So don't worry about those alternate possibilities, they have no bearing on our current mission."

"You're saying the future can actually be changed? Then if I travelled back in time to prevent certain tragedies..." Barry said with growing excitement.

"Barry, don't do anything reckless! Didn't I just explain this? When you alter certain crucial events, you're actually creating entirely new timelines rather than fixing the original one," George warned seriously. In one particular timeline, Barry had attempted exactly that, but the final outcome had been far from positive.

George's detailed explanation attracted Victor and Dr. Stone's attention. After George finished speaking, Dr. Stone immediately approached to express his gratitude.

"Thank you, Mr. George. You saved my life back there."

"Yes, George. I truly owe you my life," Victor added with sincere appreciation.

"Don't worry about it. We're a team now, and Dr. Stone's spirit of sacrifice greatly impressed me as well," George replied warmly.

Just as Victor was about to add something more, Alfred's voice rang out from across the cave with urgent excitement.

"Master Wayne! Master Wayne! You absolutely must come see this!"

Everyone followed the elevator up to the surface level of the lake. There, they witnessed Bruce's Flying Fox aircraft, fully repaired and hovering gracefully above the water.

"You actually fixed it?" Bruce asked Victor with amazement.

"It wants to fly! Flying is its natural instinct," Victor explained with quiet pride.

"And so is yours," Bruce said encouragingly, recognizing the deeper meaning behind Victor's words.

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