Inside the abandoned nuclear power plant, towering red energy formed a barrier.
Three Mother Boxes floated before Steppenwolf, with a red-eyed Clark standing beside him.
"The moment has finally arrived. I have waited so long for this," Steppenwolf said, as if performing a sacred ritual.
"Prepare for his arrival!"
"I will be redeemed!" Steppenwolf could barely contain his excitement; he had waited for this moment for an eternity.
"Merge! Become one!"
The three Mother Boxes emitted brilliant light and collided. Under Steppenwolf's expectant gaze, the fusion process began!
The fusion unleashed a sonic wave that quickly spread across the globe, as if heralding something.
Concurrently, Atlanteans and the Daughters of Amazons all looked, somewhat dazed, in the direction of the Mother Boxes.
A sense of dread, accompanied by an aura of despair, washed over them.
Inside the nuclear power plant, Parademons descended and knelt respectfully before the Mother Boxes, awaiting Darkseid's arrival.
Boom!
The roar of an artillery shell echoed, followed by a second and a third.
The red barrier overhead shook violently.
Steppenwolf looked up. A gaping hole had been blasted through the barrier, and a massive black war machine, Batman and his allies, had breached it.
"The annoying insects have arrived!" Steppenwolf grabbed his axe. The audacity of disturbing Darkseid's arrival at this moment ignited his fury.
"Clark!" Steppenwolf roared.
"Leave none alive!"
With a command, Clark's eyes blazed with red light, and he unleashed a heat vision beam at the war machine.
However, another heat vision beam struck from the side, deflecting Clark before the war machine could be hit.
It was Lin Feng, who had disembarked from the war machine earlier.
The war machine landed smoothly, and Batman, Diana, and others leaped out.
Lin Feng rushed straight towards Clark, while Barry hid behind a building, retrieving a Kryptonite handcuff and psyching himself up.
Batman, Diana, and Victor advanced towards Steppenwolf, but countless Parademons obstructed their path.
Steppenwolf bellowed, "Clark! Finish this quickly!"
"Roar!"
Upon receiving the order, Clark let out a furious roar, his muscles bulging once more. In an instant, the berserk Clark from days past reappeared.
With a ferocious expression directed at Lin Feng, Clark pushed off the ground and surged towards Lin Feng with a thud.
*Come on then!*
Lin Feng shouted inwardly, and the Superman gauntlet on his wrist glowed with dazzling red light.
Immense energy flowed into Lin Feng's Superman body, and he felt an unprecedented surge of power.
The special red Kryptonite had more than doubled Lin Feng's abilities.
Meeting Clark head-on, Lin Feng threw a punch.
Clark, who had easily dominated Lin Feng just that morning, was sent flying by this punch, crashing into a nearby building.
Immediately after, a thick, almost tangible heat vision beam struck Clark.
Lin Feng's heat vision pushed Clark through the building, creating a hole and sending him flying out of the nuclear power plant!
*Strike while the iron is hot!*
Lin Feng leaped through the hole and pursued Clark.
Barry watched, dumbfounded, at the massive hole. "Oh my God, Lin Feng got stronger too?!"
Snapping back to reality, Barry instantly vanished from his spot and raced after Lin Feng.
He hadn't forgotten his mission: to assist Lin Feng and get the Kryptonite handcuffs on Clark.
"Roar!" Clark, having been sent flying, roared again and stabilized himself in mid-air.
While Lin Feng's heat vision hadn't inflicted fatal damage, it had caused intense pain.
Clark was enraged, and black-red heat vision beams shot out.
Lin Feng did not retreat; a red heat vision beam met his own.
The two beams met in mid-air, a scene mirroring that of the morning.
But this time, Lin Feng's heat vision did not falter.
The immense energy from the red Kryptonite seemed inexhaustible, pouring into Lin Feng's body.
Bang!!!!
The collision of the heat vision beams resulted in a violent explosion, creating a powerful hurricane.
Seeing that his heat vision was ineffective, Clark charged at Lin Feng again and threw a punch.
Dodging to the side, Lin Feng retaliated with a charged punch.
With a thud, Clark was sent flying again, crashing to the ground.
Lacking self-awareness, Clark seemed to have lost his combat experience as well.
Lin Feng seized the opportunity, followed closely, got behind Clark, and clasped his arms around Clark's armpits from behind, controlling him.
At the same time, he shouted, "Barry! Now!"
Clark's strength was immense, and Lin Feng could not hold him for long.
The opportunity was fleeting. Hearing Lin Feng's call, Barry was calmer and more focused than ever before.
Lightning crackled around him, and everything around slowed down, as if frozen.
Barry ran, retrieving the Kryptonite handcuffs from the lead box and quickly closing in on Clark.
However, a terrifying sight unfolded: Clark slowly turned his head, black-red light flaring in his eyes once more, aimed at Barry.
As Barry looked on in horror, Lin Feng intervened, headbutting Clark on the back of the head.
Clark's head immediately dropped, and his heat vision beam was cut off.
Barry reached Clark and, lacking the courage to look at Clark's ferocious face, snapped the Kryptonite handcuffs onto Clark's wrists.
Without pausing his momentum, Barry, along with Clark and Lin Feng, crashed through the wall. Only then did Barry withdraw from the Speed Force.
"Roar!" Clark roared again, then fell to his knees.
The veins in his arms began to show a green hue, and his entire body trembled uncontrollably.
The Kryptonite handcuffs were effective!
Clark lost his combat ability, kneeling on the ground, roaring in pain.
Lin Feng let out a sigh of relief and looked at Barry, "Well done, Barry!"
The process had gone remarkably smoothly, without any unexpected complications.
Having learned from the day's failure, Lin Feng was on high alert, anticipating any sudden shifts that might catch him off guard.
"Wait here for Victor's signal. I'm going to face Steppenwolf!" Lin Feng instructed.
Victor needed immense power to enter the Mother Box, requiring Barry's near-light-speed running to assist him.
Seeing Barry nod in agreement, Lin Feng immediately ascended and flew back into the nuclear power plant.
Victor was standing before the Mother Box, attempting to enter its interior.
Bruce was fending off Parademons, helping to shield the others from minor threats.
Diana and Aquaman were engaging Steppenwolf, but the situation was not looking good.
Steppenwolf was too powerful for the two of them. With a single axe swing, Aquaman was sent flying, lying on the ground and unable to get up for a long time.
Just as Steppenwolf raised his axe to strike Diana, Lin Feng charged forward and kicked him. His speed surpassed the speed of sound, and with one kick, he embedded Steppenwolf into the wall.
Helping Diana up, Lin Feng looked up and shouted, "Victor! Barry is ready! How are you doing?"
"Almost there!" Victor's spirits lifted upon hearing the news, and he quickened his movements.
Diana, breathing heavily, looked at Lin Feng, "How is Clark?"
Lin Feng replied with a smile, "Very smoothly, he's lost his fighting ability!"
"Really?"
Upon hearing that Clark was incapacitated, Diana couldn't help but show a hint of joy.
Now, with Steppenwolf having lost his greatest combatant, the scales of victory were tipping in favor of humanity.