The space flickered as Shin brought Superman and Wonder Woman into a room that looked highly futuristic.
The unfortunate Flash lay on a medical bed, his entire thigh broken. Several bullet wounds marred his body, and his clothes were completely soaked in blood.
"How tragic… What a miserable fate," Shin muttered, taking a deep breath. It was a miracle the Flash was still alive despite such severe injuries.
"Thanks to the Devil Fruit you gave him. A normal person would have died from such wounds long ago." Batman silently emerged from behind the crowd, his voice steady as ever.
'Oh, so it was because of my Devil Fruit that he only lost half his life this time,' Shin thought.
Batman had brought the Flash to Cadmus, and they had quickly reached an agreement on handling the situation.
The U.S. government in the DC world was, at the very least, more reasonable than its Marvel counterpart. Apart from dealing with super-criminals and forming a Suicide Squad, it barely interfered in superhero affairs. Unlike the Marvel universe, there had never been any superhero registration act.
At least, the government here didn't make superheroes' lives more difficult. On top of that, Batman was one of the richest men in America.
In the movie universe, after Superman's death, Batman had personally collected his body and frozen it beneath the Batcave.
Given Lex Luthor's precedent, the U.S. government had actually allowed Batman to privately possess the corpse of a Kryptonian. That alone spoke volumes about Batman's status—a man whose wealth could move mountains.
The top officials of the Cadmus had no objections, but when they brought Cyborg into the mix, everything went south.
Cyborg, who had been behaving normally, suddenly sounded an alarm and activated some kind of damn "purge mode" upon seeing the Flash. During what should have been a simple handshake, he outright gunned down the Flash, who hadn't even activated his Speed Force in time.
Fortunately, the Flash's reaction speed was quick enough to avoid fatal wounds. His tenacious vitality—enhanced by the Devil Fruit—kept him from dying on the spot.
Cyborg had not only launched a surprise attack but had also taken control of many of the base systems. However, Batman was no fool. Long before they arrived, he had prepared electromagnetic pulse weapons specifically designed to deal with robotic threats.
As a cyborg, Cyborg had some resistance due to the highly advanced technology of the Mother Box. However, most of his onboard weapons were disrupted. Combined with the efforts of the super-powered criminals detained in the Cadmus and a contingent of high-tech soldiers, Cyborg was ultimately forced to retreat.
"You said he escaped, meaning you can't capture him?" Shin asked, rubbing his temple in frustration.
"It was already a miracle that we managed to force him to retreat," Batman said in a low voice. "Cyborg controlled nearly all of the base technological defense systems. If not for the initial electromagnetic pulse weapon, the entire organization could have been wiped out."
"Well, I suppose it's fine if he got away," Shin sighed. "The real problem is the Mother Box in his possession."
With the Mother Box, he could summon forces from Apokolips at any time. If he only called Steppenwolf, it would still be manageable. But if Darkseid himself arrived… well, they could all start saying their goodbyes.
Whether in the movies or the comics, even a normal-state Superman was likely no match for Darkseid. And aside from Superman, the other Justice League members—who hadn't even fully assembled yet—stood no chance.
Especially when it came to Darkseid's Omega Beams. Other than Superman, the Flash (being chosen by the Speed Force), and Batman (with his sheer willpower and luck), few could hope to survive an encounter with them.
In reality, even Batman, the Flash, and Wonder Woman would be at a severe disadvantage against the Omega Beams. This wasn't the comics, after all. While Darkseid had been somewhat weakened, so had the heroes.
With that in mind, Shin turned to Superman. "Clark, with your super vision and super hearing, can you locate Cyborg?"
Superman frowned. "Sorry, I didn't pick up anything."
"Cadmus has been gathering intelligence on superheroes, and naturally, Clark's data is their top priority," Batman explained. "As their hidden ace, Cyborg was well aware of everyone's abilities. He must have prepared countermeasures to block Clark's detection."
Shin clicked his tongue in irritation. Almost every supervillain and strategic hero had plans for dealing with Superman.
There was no helping it. Superman was too well-known. If a villain had to prepare for someone, it would obviously be him.
"Forget it. Let's focus on what we can do right now—treating Barry," Shin said with a sigh.
Hearing this, Wonder Woman stepped forward. "Should we give him my Devil Fruit?"
"No need. A Devil Fruit user cannot consume a second one; doing so would result in immediate death," Shin said, shaking his head.
Extracting the Devil Fruit from the Flash and replacing it with the Phoenix Fruit wasn't an option either.
The Flash was already hanging by a thread. If not for the advanced medical facilities of Cadmus, he would have died. He was still unconscious. If they attempted to remove his Devil Fruit now, he would likely die instantly.
Fortunately, given the Flash's somewhat average physique, Shin could use the abilities of the Munch-Munch Fruit to restore his body completely.
However, using pure Hashirama Cells was out of the question. The Flash's body was too frail. Even with the Munch-Munch Fruit's power, he wouldn't be able to suppress their effects—he'd end up turning into a tree instead.
A black mist soon filled the air, surrounding the Flash's body. After a moment, the mist dissipated, revealing a fully healed Flash. His previously mangled legs had been restored.
"Whoa…"
"You were just a step away from dying," Shin said with a smirk. "If Cyborg had hit you a few more times, we'd be holding a moment of silence for you right now."
Touching his newly healed body, the Flash looked excited. "Did I eat the Mythical Phoenix Fruit? But why can't I transform and fly?"
"No, I just restored your body. Your physical energy is still depleted, so you'll need to replenish it using food," Shin said, rolling his eyes.
'The Phoenix Fruit… Do you really think that thing is common? It's a top-tier Devil Fruit, easily worth hundreds of Human-Human Fruits.'
Even Wonder Woman hadn't been given the Mythical Phoenix Fruit. Shin had to give it back to Marco.
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