**Chapter 244: [Mother Box] (First Update)**

Recently, Bruce Wayne (Batman) has been keeping a low profile.  
His silence doesn't mean he hasn't been busy.  

Compared to facing his rebellious son every day, he'd rather stay out of sight.  

As a true hero, he has never given up on the justice he believes in.  

Bruce is well aware that it's going to be hard for him alone to redefine what "justice" truly is.  

If he handed the power to carry out justice to his rebellious and overly powerful son, there would likely be no real justice left in the world.  

Of course, Bruce also doesn’t plan to directly oppose Atreus (his son). He's come to terms with the fact that—if he had to classify them by the nine alignments—he himself is absolutely Lawful Good, while his son might be Chaotic Good.  

He has a sense of justice, but just not much of it.  

As an alternative, a grand plan has arisen in Bruce's mind: the formation of the **Justice League**.  

The first person he wanted to recruit for this new alliance was Wonder Woman.  

Unfortunately, the famous Wonder Woman had already been taken.  

As Gotham's former number-one playboy, Bruce only needed to see Wonder Woman interacting with his rebellious son to know that he had no chance.  

Batman's sense of justice wouldn’t allow him to undermine his son's position, even for professional reasons.  

So, he decided to seek out **Aquaman** Arthur Curry instead.  

He cast a spell on the people in Arthur's hometown called "the power of money," but Arthur didn't care about money at all. He was even less interested in the Justice League.  

This was a case of misinformation.  

Arthur had long been the King of Atlantis. Why would he want to be Batman's sidekick?  

Arthur didn't punch Bruce in the face only because of the respect he had for Bruce’s good reputation.  

"Strong people are always alone." That was the parting wisdom Arthur left Bruce with.  

Bruce's attempt to recruit Superman wasn’t smooth either.  

"I have my own sense of justice. Besides, our combat styles don’t align." Superman was being very polite, but the subtext was: "I don’t think you can really help me."  

Superman had a small problem at the time—his adoptive mother had taken out a loan that she couldn't repay, and the bank was about to foreclose on her house.  

After finding out about this, during a conversation with Kratos (which someone had deliberately steered toward that topic), Atreus used his financial power to purchase the bank and arranged for a loan restructuring. This allowed Superman to become a co-signer on the loan, erased the bad credit record, and lowered the interest rate to an astounding 1% annual rate.  

Atreus could have just gifted the house back to Superman, but this approach respected Superman’s dignity—he could easily afford to pay the loan with his salary from the Daily Planet.  

In doing so, Atreus had taken the "money route" from under Batman's nose, leaving Bruce with no leverage.  

This left Bruce quite frustrated.  

"No worries, Mr. Kent. I believe we'll have a chance to work together in the future," Bruce said, politely and resignedly, before leaving.  

Out of options, Bruce shifted his focus to a certain expired boy scout—no, wait—**The Flash**, as well as **Cyborg**.  

Top-tier powerhouses were truly rare resources.  

Not being able to recruit Superman or Wonder Woman was a significant blow.  

Moreover, because this world was a mixed one, Atreus hadn't anticipated that Batman would extend his reach to **Spider-Man**.  

Unbeknownst to Atreus, while he was busy visiting Wonder Woman’s homeland, Themyscira, his wild father was doing all these things behind his back.  

In this life, Diana had a much better relationship with her mother than in the historical timeline.  

Even though, to Hippolyta, her wild daughter had a habit of disappearing, thanks to Atreus’s ability to travel through time and space, Diana and Penthesilea would return home every "ten years" according to Hippolyta's timeline.  

This time was their first homecoming after syncing up time.  

Indeed, Atreus had deliberately chosen this moment.  

He had no idea about Batman reaching out to Spider-Man, but as soon as Bruce went to Aquaman, Atreus knew which major event was being triggered.  

The unfortunate Amazons had long carried many responsibilities, one of which was guarding the **Mother Box**.  

This was a grudge that had persisted since the era of Greek mythology.  

Back in the golden age of the Olympian gods, Darkseid, the ruler of Apokolips, launched an invasion of Earth.  

According to the Amazons, a coalition of humans, Amazons, and Atlanteans, with the help of various powerful beings, repelled Darkseid's army led by Steppenwolf and the Parademons.  

However, this version isn't entirely accurate.  

To be precise, it was a coalition led by the Olympian gods, with humans playing a supporting role.  

The commander of the coalition was Zeus himself.  

At the time, Ares, the god of war (who had not yet rebelled), represented the gods, while Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, and Hippolyta represented the Amazons. The Atlanteans were led by the old Aquaman, a descendant of Poseidon.  

The elite forces of the Olympian gods and their descendants made up the majority of the coalition's high-ranking power.  

As for humans, the only true powerhouse among them was the **Green Lantern** of that era. Sadly, this guy joined the fight just to lose his hand in a battle with Steppenwolf.  

Apart from the Olympian forces, humans were mostly just cannon fodder.  

In any case, the coalition managed to fend off Darkseid's invading forces.  

But even though the invaders were driven back, they left behind three **Mother Boxes** that the coalition couldn't deal with.  

Unable to destroy them or determine their full purpose, the coalition leaders decided to seal the boxes and entrust them to the care of humans, Atlanteans, and Amazons.  

Since Batman was heading for Aquaman, Atreus, as a time traveler, immediately knew what was coming and chose this moment to accompany Diana back to her homeland.  

"Welcome, mighty God of War, Atreus!" Hippolyta gave Atreus a grand reception, with the Amazons on the island putting on a lavish display to welcome his arrival.  

"It's been a long time, Queen Hippolyta. Here's a little gift from me," Atreus responded, matching her courtesy with equal respect.  

With a wave of his hand, three crates of standard Amazonian swords and shields appeared.  

Forged from titanium alloy, these weapons were not only lighter but far stronger than their bronze counterparts. Most importantly, each of them was imbued with the **Blessing of the God of War**.  

Until the divine power embedded in them was exhausted, they were truly **indestructible** and **unbreakable**.  

As for which was stronger—the sword or the shield—it naturally depended on which carried more divine power.  

The queen and the Amazon warriors beamed with joy, their faces lighting up like blooming flowers.  

"Your generosity shines brighter than the Aegean Sea!"  

(End of Chapter)