Chapter 437 - 436: The Story of Collapse

When Fenric arrived at Wayne Manor and saw Batman, he immediately noticed that Bruce seemed injured.

Bruce Wayne’s right hand was wrapped in a thick plaster cast, suspended in a sling.

The moment he saw Fenric, Bruce complained, "Man, where have you been all this time?"

Fenric didn’t answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Bruce, what happened to you?"

"Steppenwolf," Wonder Woman said as she stepped forward, her tone heavy. "He injured Bruce... and he took the Mother Box."

Fenric was hardly surprised by the news.

When he handed the Mother Box to Batman, he already knew Bruce wouldn’t be able to protect it.

He placed a reassuring hand on Bruce’s shoulder and said, "Don’t worry. I’m here now. We’ll get it back."

But Diana’s voice cut in again, grim and urgent. "The problem is... Steppenwolf has already collected all three Mother Boxes. We don’t have much time left."

"There’s something worse," Bruce added, his face darkening. His gaze locked on Fenric. "Steppenwolf has resurrected Clark Kent—to use against you."

Fenric froze, stunned. "Clark Kent? Superman?"

Bruce nodded solemnly. "Yes. I don’t know what Steppenwolf did, but Clark is no longer himself. He fights for Steppenwolf now."

"..."

The words hit Fenric like a thunderbolt.

Superman... resurrected? And turned into an enemy?

This was too damned unfair!

If there was anyone in the Justice League world who could truly threaten Fenric, it was Superman.

According to Aurora Morwyn’s assessment, Superman’s strength had undoubtedly reached the S-rank.

Fenric, on the other hand, was still at the peak of A-rank, close to S but not quite there yet.

Going head-to-head with Superman was going to be messy.

Even if he activated the Indestructible Demon Body, which might give him the edge, it only lasted twenty minutes. If he couldn’t defeat Superman within that time... Fenric would die.

He rubbed his temple, frustration gnawing at him.

He hadn’t expected his interference to twist the story this far off course. The plot had completely collapsed.

Still, at least the hidden quest wasn’t mandatory. Even if he failed, the system wouldn’t punish him.

Fenric recalled the original events. The Mother Box did indeed have the power to resurrect life.

In the original plot, Superman was briefly corrupted after his resurrection. He singlehandedly crushed the Justice League, five against one, until Lois Lane appeared and pulled him back from the brink.

But if Steppenwolf had twisted the resurrection process, then it made sense Superman could be fully controlled.

"Bruce," Fenric said thoughtfully, "Clark has someone important—Lois Lane. Maybe she can reach him."

"We tried," Bruce replied, his tone grim. "It didn’t work. Steppenwolf turned him into a mindless monster. If Diana hadn’t held him back, countless people would have died—including Lois."

Fenric groaned and rubbed his forehead. His absence had allowed too many things to spiral out of control.

But if he was being honest... the responsibility lay with him.

By interfering with the Mother Box, he had forced Steppenwolf’s hand. He had revealed his own strength, prompting Steppenwolf to resurrect Superman as a countermeasure.

In other words, Steppenwolf had done all of this... because of him.

Fenric exhaled slowly, then said, "If Lois can’t reach him, then for the sake of Earth... we’ll have to kill Clark."

For the planet’s safety? That sounded noble.

But Fenric knew the truth—this was about his hidden mission.

"Ronan, are you certain?" Bruce asked sharply.

As someone who had fought Superman before, Bruce understood exactly how terrifying he was. In his corrupted state, stripped of reason and driven only by battle instinct, Clark was even more dangerous.

Fenric countered, "Don’t you have kryptonite weapons? Kryptonite is his weakness. With it, you can kill him."

Bruce gave Fenric a long, searching look. "I didn’t expect you to know about that... But this Clark is different. He’s surrounded by demons. Getting close enough to use kryptonite won’t be easy."

"Leave that to me," Fenric said firmly. "I’ll hold him off."

His voice carried unshakable confidence.

Bruce studied him for a moment, then finally nodded.

Just then, Diana’s voice cut in: "They’ve discovered something!"

Everyone hurried to Bruce’s underground base.

From a distance, Fenric noticed a young man in red tights—The Flash—and another figure, a cybernetic man fused with metal—Cyborg.

"Ronan, meet our new partners," Bruce introduced. "This is Barry Allen—he’s very fast."

Fenric smiled, extending his hand. "Hello, Barry. I look forward to fighting alongside you."

Barry eagerly shook his hand, his eyes wide with curiosity. "You’re Ronan? Bruce says you’re strong. What’s your superpower?"

This kid talks too much.

"I’ve got plenty," Fenric replied with a smirk. "You’ll see them soon enough."

Bruce then gestured to the half-metal figure working at a computer. "And this is Victor Stone—Cyborg. His body is linked to the Mother Box. He’s the key to locating it."

"Hello, Victor," Fenric greeted.

Without pausing his work, Cyborg replied, "Good to meet you, Ronan. Sorry, I can’t shake hands right now."

A second later, his voice rose with excitement. "Found it!"

Everyone immediately crowded around.

Cyborg pointed to a location on the map. "Here—Pozharnov, in northern Russia."

Bruce’s expression hardened. "A nuclear power plant. There was an accident there thirty years ago. It’s been abandoned since."

Diana said firmly, "Then that’s where we’re going. We must stop Steppenwolf."

The team nodded in unison.

Fenric glanced at Bruce’s injured arm. "Bruce, are you sure you’re fit to fight?"

"It’s nothing," Bruce replied dismissively. "I won’t hold you back."

Since becoming Batman, he’d been injured more times than he could count. A broken arm was just another scar.

Fenric let it go.

The team geared up, donned their battle suits, and boarded Bruce’s fighter jet, heading north—toward the abandoned nuclear plant, and the confrontation that would decide Earth’s fate.