Unlike the supervillains he'd faced before, Captain Atom was also a superhero in the comics. He wasn't a bad person, just rigidly obedient to the U.S. government, fully embodying a soldier's primary duty: to follow orders to the end.
Of course, whether his nature was good or bad, since he stood on David's opposite side, he wouldn't hold back.
Bang!
"This is the will of the nation!"
The divine power lightning gathered and shot out, only to be dispersed by Captain Atom's palm strike. His silver body seemed forged from the hardest material in the universe; the lightning, which could evaporate steel, didn't cause him the slightest damage.
Like a silver streak of lightning, he pierced through the sky, letting out a low growl as he punched towards David.
"You're not fighting me; you're fighting the country beneath your feet!"
"Even if some gods are as weak as mortals before you, you're willing to be a loyal dog."
David sneered.
The two fists, like two planets, collided with a roar of overwhelming force.
Boom boom boom!
The atmosphere thundered, and milky-white waves of air exploded outwards, violently sweeping hundreds of miles.
Raging like a Category 12 typhoon, the island's topsoil was brutally ripped away, exposing the earthy brown soil. Batman and the others were sent flying like pieces of paper.
As the violent airwaves hit, Green Lantern Hal Jordan used his Lantern Ring's power to manifest a barrier several meters thick, attempting to resist the force. But in the next second, it shattered like it was made of foam, blasted apart by the airwaves.
At the critical moment, amidst the storm, Flash, along with Hal Jordan, whose body was just as fragile, took cover behind a rising hillside on the island. Only then did they survive, their faces pale as they looked at the shocking battle unfolding in the sky.
The Fenrir Mech was pushed back hundreds of meters by the tangible air currents. Batman lowered the Mech's arms and looked. The alliance headquarters he had painstakingly built was now a ruin, with only traces of its foundation remaining on the ground.
Anger flashed across his face. The Mech instantly broke through the air and shot towards Captain Atom.
Every clash of fists between David and Captain Atom was earth-shattering, accompanied by deafening sonic booms that scattered the clouds in the sky.
Batman had just charged forward but was sent flying backward by a backhand punch from Captain Atom.
"Major Force, don't just stand there watching!"
His face was grim as he cast a dismissive glance towards Major Force, who stood at a distance, cowering and hesitant to advance against David.
"I'll hold off the Transcendent; you capture Batman and the others!"
But as soon as he finished speaking, he took a punch to the face from David, flying back hundreds of meters. Before he could steady himself, David, like a bolt of lightning, instantly appeared before him.
"You should worry about yourself first!"
Creak.
Another punch landed heavily, and Captain Atom faintly heard a sound like metal deforming coming from his jawbone.
"After that accident, I thought nothing could hurt me anymore. It seems I was wrong."
Raising his hand, he unleashed a torrent of wild energy that sent David flying. He rubbed his chin in surprise.
After that nuclear explosion test, he had gained an indestructible silver body that could withstand all physical attacks, including nuclear blasts.
"To think I'd feel my teeth loosen from someone's punch today."
In the comics, when facing Superman's fierce attacks, Captain Atom had commented it felt like someone was pushing him.
He could feel it, but there was no real damage; it didn't feel like a hit.
But now, facing David's attacks, Captain Atom was struggling to endure it, feeling a rare, unprecedented pain.
Chii!
Two beams of interweaving red and purple energy shot from David's eyes, striking Captain Atom's chest. The attack, powerful enough to cleave an island, was absorbed by Captain Atom as if striking into a bottomless silver abyss.
"Ever since I was broken down into atoms by a chaotic ability, fused with alien metal, and then reassembled, even the furious energy of a supervolcano is like a docile kitten before me."
Captain Atom possessed the ability to absorb energy. David, who could drain the energy output of a nuclear reactor, seemed weak in comparison.
Realizing David's body was stronger than his, he stopped engaging in close combat. With a raise of his hand, he unleashed an almost infinite barrage of energy beams, bombarding continuously.
"Divine power is useless, cosmic energy, and atomic rays are also useless."
Seeing his attacks had no effect, David dodged Captain Atom's terrifying energy onslaught, frowning.
Captain Atom's energy absorption ability was more powerful than he had anticipated; he had absorbed it with surprising ease.
"It seems I can only break through his defenses with my fists."
The cosmic energy within him burned fiercely, and David began to amplify his body's speed and strength. He charged forward like a meteor wreathed in lightning, exuding an imposing aura.
After the attack on Themyscira last time, where the Amazon tribe was nearly wiped out, Diana had returned to her home, which she hadn't visited in a long time. After resolving the crisis with Hades, she intended to rest in her homeland for a while and spend time with her family.
"If Diana were here, perhaps I could try her Sword of Vulcan to see if it could pierce this guy's skin."
Amidst the fierce battle, David's eyes flickered.
"But I remember Captain Atom seems to have an ability similar to Firestorm, capable of manipulating inorganic matter at an atomic level, changing substances at will. I wonder if Diana's Sword of Vulcan could withstand his abilities."
With the amplification from the consumption of cosmic energy, David's physical advantage further expanded.
It made Captain Atom feel like he was back to being a normal human, being pummeled with brass knuckles, with each blow easily injuring his body.
As if facing a fierce beast with sharp claws, he dared not get too close.
Similarly, Captain Atom was connected to the quantum field, his energy seemingly inexhaustible. In this regard, David was far inferior. Both had their strengths, and neither could gain an advantage.
On the other side, Major Force was ordered by Captain Atom to immediately attack Batman and the others.
"I can't deal with Transcendent, but I can deal with you!"
On the ground, he easily tore through Hal Jordan's Green Lantern barrier, punched the Fenrir Mech that lunged at him, sending it flying, and then Flash, with his impossibly fast speed, rushed forward, unleashing tens of thousands of punches on his metallic body in an instant.
"Are you tickling me?"
Major Force, suppressing several League members with his immense strength, grinned menacingly. He reached out with a large hand towards Flash, who had stopped because his hands were numb from the recoil, and grabbed for him.
He intended to crush the red cricket's legs, to stop him from running around.
Bang!
A punch landed on Major Force's back, sending him flying like a meteor towards a distant hillside, crashing headfirst into the dirt. Clark, his cape billowing, slowly retracted his fist.
"Extreme Pain, what are you doing!"
With a mouthful of dirt and grass, Major Force pulled his head out of the hillside, his anger surging as he turned to question Extreme Pain, who was supposed to be restraining Clark.
Extreme Pain maintained a condescending posture, idly playing with her hair.
"He's too fast, I can't stop him."
"You...!"
Major Force glared at her, but he was helpless against this woman who was clearly acting intentionally. While she wasn't stronger than him, her ability was incredibly troublesome.
Facing her, he couldn't even touch her.
"You'd better be putting in some effort, Extreme Pain. Don't forget you're still a wanted criminal, a major offender of the Federation."
Major Force reminded her with a grim expression.
"Only by taking down the Justice League will the President sign your pardon."
"You don't need to remind me, damn it."
Extreme Pain irritably ran a hand through her hair.
"I'm sorry, Superman, I have to do this!" She threw a punch at Clark, a powerful blow like a ten-ton hammer being swung, the wind whistling fiercely.
"What's going on, Extreme Pain? How did you join the government's task force?"
Clark dodged while asking in a familiar tone.
In fact, he knew the only female member of the White House task force. They had fought just a while ago in downtown Metropolis.
"You should remember what happened not long ago."
Extreme Pain said as she attacked.
"Of course. A superpowered individual robbing a bank in broad daylight? Honestly, in this era, especially since I appeared, fewer and fewer people rob banks."
Clark's expression was stern. He had been dodging the entire time, not fighting back, because he knew it would be useless.
Not long ago, a girl with immense superpowers had robbed the Metropolis Bank, knocked out heavy security personnel, and punched through the bank vault door, which was designed to withstand missiles, all to steal a worthless brass necklace.
Clark hadn't known the details at first. He wanted to quickly subdue Extreme Pain, who was causing chaos in the bustling, crowded downtown avenue. However, to his surprise, none of his attacks, whether punches or heat vision, could hit the phantom-like Extreme Pain.
This scene, so familiar, reminded him of Whitney from before.
But Extreme Pain was more powerful than Whitney. She could control her own density, and her strength increased accordingly. She was powerful enough to even take him down.
During their fight, Clark unexpectedly learned the girl's story. The necklace was her mother's memento. After her mother died, it was taken by her father, who was an alcoholic, abusive, and disliked her, yet had to take care of her.
Then, her father kept the memento necklace, which contained her mother's photo, in the bank, not wanting her to have it. This forced her, who had only recently awakened her powers, to rob the bank.
Out of sympathy for the girl, Clark gave up apprehending her. Of course, it was also because his attempts to touch her, like a phantom, had failed.
"After that day, you let me go, but someone noticed me because of it."
Extreme Pain attacked ferociously, her anger evident.
"The White House?"
Clark understood what was happening.
Extreme Pain's abilities had caught the government's attention. With her already immense power and her intangible phantom state, she was the perfect soldier. Any dangerous mission could be assigned to her.
The subsequent developments, combined with Major Force's words, were not hard to imagine. Extreme Pain had to eat and rest. The White House had a large number of soldiers and armed forces on standby 24/7.
"If I still want to live normally in this country, to shop freely at supermarkets, eat at restaurants I like, and contact my friends like everyone else, I have no choice."
Extreme Pain could also escape, but then she would have to live as a fugitive, constantly hiding.
Before awakening her powers, she was just a college graduate. She couldn't accept that kind of life.
"Alright, Extreme Pain, I understand. It's not your fault."
Clark nodded. Even he couldn't ignore Extreme Pain's power.
However, in other aspects, she was far inferior to a serious Clark.
"But your speed is indeed much slower than mine; you couldn't restrain me."
Dodging Extreme Pain's attack, Clark didn't engage in pointless counterattacks. He joined the others in assailing Major Force. He lured Extreme Pain into chasing him, but it only meant one more enemy to evade.
With Clark's addition, Major Force, who had been suppressing everyone, quickly faltered and was put on the defensive.
Boom boom!
In the sky, the fierce battle continued.
Energy surged like a river, striking David, who didn't bother to dodge. David felt as if he were engulfed in flames, his skin quickly scorching. He grunted, his expression ferocious, and pushed through the energy, seizing an opening to close in on Captain Atom.
His fist, like a falling meteorite, broke Captain Atom's nose and sent him flying backward, his head ringing.
"Finally hit!"
For some reason, David had charged forward, enduring his energy attack. Captain Atom shook his head in mid-air, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He clutched his nose, which felt like it had been sawn off, and looked on with anticipation.
His energy attack was something even Transcendent, with its powerful physique, couldn't withstand.
The scene that met his eyes made his eyelids twitch.
David was indeed injured, just as Captain Atom had predicted, and not lightly. It was as if he'd been thrown into the sun and crawled back out. But...
"What, disappointed? Can't take me down with this."
Standing still, David's burnt and torn body healed at a visible rate, searing pain coursing through him. He grinned coldly.
[Template Fusion: 94%]
In just a few days, Hyperion's template fusion had progressed further. Just as David had anticipated, he had gained the ability of immortal regeneration, and his strength had increased even more.
Combined with the healing ability of his innate divine power lightning, even if someone could suppress David for a while, they might not necessarily be able to defeat him in the end.
However, David didn't let his guard down against Captain Atom.
"It seems this will be a difficult fight."
Captain Atom's expression turned grim as he lowered his hands. The injury to his nose was also rapidly healing, and he raised his fist, firing a shockwave at David.
"Difficult? I don't think this fight will be that difficult!"
David knew that Captain Atom possessed a certain degree of regenerative ability, and could even control the atoms that made up his own body.
Captain Atom was often described as a walking nuclear bomb.
"This isn't just about his strength, but also his danger."
But that danger wasn't just to others, it was also to himself!
Bang!
In the sky, Captain Atom was like a silver sun, emitting energy with terrifying heat capable of vaporizing all matter on Earth. Moreover, his energy was inexhaustible and unending, as he unleashed thousands of energy beams.
David weaved and dodged, his gaze focused, showing no panic.
"Captain Atom can be said to have died in a physiological sense after the nuclear explosion. His current body is like Doctor Manhattan's, a body he constructed and reassembled with quantum energy, connected to the quantum field, which grants him infinite energy."
But for every advantage, there was a disadvantage. Infinite energy also brought a burden; he was constantly maintaining his body, connected to infinite energy, to prevent it from collapsing.
If his injuries became too severe and he couldn't maintain his body, he would explode uncontrollably like a giant nuclear bomb!
"Not even excessively severe injuries are needed."
Summoning divine power lightning to accelerate his healing, David, like an exploding supernova, pushed through Captain Atom's energy beams and charged at him again, raising his fist to smash down.
"Even if he's repeatedly reorganized his atoms to recover from injuries, if the mental strain becomes too great, his body will collapse!"
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