Chapter 248: Two Mother Boxes (Second Update)

If this were the old Atreus, freshly traversing worlds, he’d probably be incredibly frustrated.

Both events were major ones, and choosing between them would be a headache.

Now, as the God of War, Atreus had only one thought: “Soulless things are not worth my time.”

In Sokovia, Eastern Europe, at the Hydra research base…

Just hearing the name, Atreus knew the villain of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ultron, was about to emerge.

Ever since Atreus acquired the God-Slayer System, the boss he most hated fighting was robots. The system clearly told him that robots had no red souls.

Ultron?

What a weak boss.

A brat he didn’t even care to recognize!

The most frustrating thing for Atreus was that this super AI had the potential to become the Marvel universe’s version of Skynet. It could hide in the internet and wreak havoc worldwide, but instead, Ultron gave up its biggest advantage to build a body, just to be destroyed.

Such an "intelligent" AI left Atreus unsure where to even start with the complaints.

If there was anything worth mentioning about Age of Ultron, it would be the Scarlet Witch, who would later wreak havoc across alternate universes.

After a quick consideration, Atreus realized that while Steppenwolf wasn’t incredibly strong, he still carried more weight than Ultron. So, Atreus decided to prioritize Justice League over Avengers.

Atreus casually notified Tony, "Tony, I’ve got a big thing going on over here. I won’t be able to help on your side."

"No worries, Thor just came back."

"Good. I’m hanging up then."

"Alright! I’m busy here too." Before Tony hung up, Atreus heard the sound of pulse lasers firing. Clearly, Tony was multitasking, using dive-bomb attacks to deal with Hydra's grunts.

Atreus smiled knowingly.

He wasn’t too worried about the Avengers side: even if Thor was still just the “God of Hammers” and hadn’t fully transformed into the God of Thunder, Ultron wasn’t strong enough to handle him.

Compared to the team of Ultron, Quicksilver, and a young Scarlet Witch, Atreus was more concerned about his own side.

As for Atlantis? Even with Poseidon’s blessings, Atreus didn’t want to go.

Despite being the God of War, once he entered the ocean, his divine powers would be halved. Even though Poseidon’s divine jurisdiction no longer included Earth, the ocean still wasn’t a place Atreus could enter freely.

To avoid losing his powers underwater, he would need to acquire a divine title related to the ocean. But even if the title was currently unclaimed, taking it would be seen as a direct challenge to Poseidon.

Just the nominal association with the Olympian gods was enough of a headache.

His reluctance to go underwater essentially meant the Mother Box there was a lost cause.

Still, Atreus, ever the persistent one, retrieved the Amazon Mother Box and made a trip to Kamar-Taj, hoping for a solution. Unfortunately, he didn’t find Stephen Strange, only Wong.

"Sorry, the Sorcerer Supreme is out on a very important mission."

Wong emphasized the word "important," testing Atreus and making a point.

Atreus shrugged helplessly.

As the God of War, Atreus could choose whether to intervene when enemies appeared since Superman was also around. But Kamar-Taj’s sorcerers didn’t have that luxury—they had to respond whenever duty called.

Though Atreus was proficient in space magic, he wasn’t skilled enough to detect dimensional shifts worldwide like the Kamar-Taj sorcerers.

Once outside of New York or Gotham City, he couldn’t sense if anyone was teleporting in.

Sure enough, Atlantis suffered for it.

Steppenwolf beat down an Atlantean general like a child and used a psychic scan to locate the Mother Box.

This timeline’s Aquaman events were happening much earlier than usual, and Arthur was already the king of the Seven Seas.

However, as a ruler who had only recently taken the throne, Arthur was unaware of many of his kingdom’s ancient taboos.

It wasn’t until the sanctuary holding the Mother Box was attacked that he and Queen Mera rushed to the scene.

In the dim, vast temple, a hulking, dark figure stood within a swirling vortex.

Corpses of Atlantean soldiers floated eerily in the surrounding waters, their once-brave faces frozen in expressions of terror.

As Arthur and Mera arrived, the last surviving guard captain charged at the giant in a brilliant water cyclone. But the overwhelming attack was nullified in an instant.

All of the Atlantean captain’s attacks were effortlessly dispelled by sheer force.

Before Arthur’s eyes, the captain, clad in golden armor, was torn apart.

"Dammit!" Enraged, Arthur’s muscles rippled with explosive strength as he charged like a 300-kilometer-per-hour torpedo, slamming into the giant.

The entire sanctuary shook from the massive water shockwaves caused by their clash.

Arthur’s trident couldn’t easily pierce Steppenwolf’s armor, but Steppenwolf’s massive axe wasn’t wielded efficiently underwater, either.

With their weapons ineffective, they resorted to fighting like deep-sea beasts, brawling with primal brutality.

The sounds of their punches echoed like underwater volcanic eruptions, and each collision created new tidal waves. Not even Atlantean soldiers could approach the surrounding waters.

The fierce battle stirred up so much dust and debris that even the light from the ocean’s surface dimmed.

After a short, intense skirmish, it became clear—Arthur had lost.

Steppenwolf stole the Mother Box and left triumphantly.

Seeing Arthur’s bruised and battered body sinking to the ocean floor, Mera’s heart broke. "Arthur..."

"Damn it! That stupid bat was right!"

"What are you going to do?" Mera asked as Arthur staggered to his feet.

"Head to the surface and find that bat. See if that so-called Justice League can help us."

If Arthur at least fought valiantly and lost, the third Mother Box was stolen in a much simpler fashion.

While Bruce Wayne was sipping coffee and searching for info on Cyborg, his computer suddenly glitched, and a message popped up.

"I know what you’re looking for, but it’s already been taken. For more details, meet me at this address."

Bruce quickly donned his Batsuit and flew the Batplane to the location, only to find half of Cyborg.

(End of chapter)