One month later, in a valley outside Metropolis.
The trial run of what Queen Consolidated hailed as humanity's ultimate weapon for the new era finally began.
After rigorous selection, the chosen pilots turned out to be sisters Laurel Lance and Sara Lance. Thea wasn't too surprised by this result. Compared to ordinary people, superheroes who'd undergone harsh training—even those without powers—had willpower and neural response speeds far exceeding those of normal humans.
Laurel had started training years earlier than most, and Sara had trained brutally with the League of Assassins for years. These sisters, who both opposed and loved each other, were about to display their own unique brilliance.
Under the Lance sisters' control, the massive eighty-meter-tall, fifteen-hundred-ton mech began its highly anticipated trial run.
The mech's arms pushed off the ground as it slowly stood. Its massive weight triggered atmospheric changes, violent winds sweeping through the entire valley. Many nearby trees were blown down, and politicians watching remotely from Metropolis began whispering to each other.
One minute passed. Having completed some ground simulation training beforehand, the highly trained Lance sisters' synchronization rate began climbing. As they gradually familiarized themselves with the mech's controls, today's other guest—Superman—arrived right on schedule.
Most superheroes supported humanity having greater self-protection capabilities. Aside from Batman worrying this might encourage a might-makes-right international climate, everyone else was basically optimistic. With enemies like Zod and Doomsday appearing consecutively, and future foes potentially growing even stronger, humanity possessing some resistance wasn't a bad thing.
Superman's task today was simple: test the mech's offense and defense. To prevent politicians from getting any unnecessary ideas while not diminishing her achievement, Thea ran simulations for two straight days to calculate the mech's maximum power output—roughly equivalent to twenty to thirty percent of Superman's strength.
Despite Superman's imposing physique, his acting skills weren't bad. After all, he switched between reporter and superhero identities daily—his acting had to be decent.
The mech stretched its arms and bent its legs in place. The Lance sisters quickly mastered the controls. Receiving Thea's command from the control station, they threw a punch at Superman with tremendous kinetic energy.
Facing a massive steel mech where each muscle was composed of fifty power engines and driven by nuclear power, Superman carefully restrained his strength and threw a punch of his own.
Their disproportionately sized fists collided. The massive boom echoed throughout Metropolis, and the live broadcast let many people witness it in real-time.
Queen Consolidated's systems rapidly provided feedback.
"Theoretical impact value reached thirty thousand tons."
"Mech power system affected by impact—nine engines offline."
"Mech lower body stable. Combat capability maintained."
"Armor plating shock absorption achieved only ninety percent of projected calculations."
Department heads reported their observational data in turn.
Thea nodded. The data didn't exceed her expectations by much. Overall, she was satisfied. She connected to the cockpit. "Lance sisters, are you experiencing any discomfort?"
The Lance sisters were serving as pilots in their civilian identities—she couldn't call them by codenames like Black Canary or White Canary.
"We're just getting warmed up!" Unlike the hysterical pampered girl from Lian Yu back then, Sara Lance had developed some of her future Legends captain demeanor through years of training. Between the sisters, she now took the lead.
The giant mech drew two "short" batons from its arms. These batons were custom-built for the Lance sisters' fighting style—fifty meters long each, weighing six hundred tons, forged entirely from titanium alloy. The materials alone cost Thea three hundred fifty million dollars.
The giant mech wielded the dual batons skillfully, caught an opening, and swatted Superman away like a fly.
Cheers erupted from the crowd. Lois Lane, watching the scene, didn't know whether to laugh or cry. *He isn't even using his full strength—can't they tell?*
The politicians stared unblinkingly at the screen, alternating between secret delight that Superman might be defeated and worry that such weapons might be too expensive—these laymen didn't understand anything.
Unfortunately, their thoughts were all delusions. Though Superman got smacked into a mountain, he was completely unharmed.
He hadn't dealt with the Lance sisters before, but he knew they weren't ordinary citizens. He let a sliver of his power show, and the two sides began trading blows.
"Is the situation really this dire?" Everyone in the conference room was focused intently on the screen. Bruce Wayne quietly asked Thea.
With Thea practically dragging humanity up the tech tree at a breakneck pace, his intelligence told him there had to be a reason.
"Remember that Omega symbol you mentioned? A few days ago, I met with Luthor. From what he said, I concluded that we're being targeted by a terrifying race. Much of the critical knowledge behind Doomsday came from this race. Our world is in serious danger." Thea lowered her voice.
With so many people around, they only exchanged a few words before separating.
The battle in the valley continued. Relying on their skilled martial arts, the Lance sisters fully demonstrated the mech's capabilities. This valley, where outdoor enthusiasts often came for rock climbing on weekends, was completely destroyed by their combat.
"Alright, Lance sisters, that's enough." Seeing the mech's damage rate exceed twenty percent, Thea quickly called a halt. All that damage was money!
The sisters stopped the mech smoothly. Superman didn't press the attack either—this was an experiment to boost human morale and reduce personal hostility toward him. Destroying the mech would only deepen ordinary people's fear of him and serve no practical purpose.
Superman flew off with a whoosh. Less than two minutes later, Clark Kent returned to the scene wearing his dorky glasses, acting like nothing had happened.
Thea glanced at Superman, now cozying up to Lois again, and said nothing. This guy's destructive power was too much.
The mech's energy consumption and wear and tear would cost at least seven to eight hundred million to repair. Though acquiring half of LuthorCorp's premium departments had sent the corporation's stock soaring, Thea still felt the sting of these unplanned expenses.
She immediately began transferring the financial pressure to the end buyers.
Countries like the United States constantly pleaded budget constraints, but it was all an act. Thea's target was selling to them.
"Gentlemen, what are your impressions?" Thea asked several uniformed generals with a half-smile, her intent crystal clear.
If they didn't buy, other countries certainly would—at minimum, this weapon could hold its own against Superman in a controlled test.
The giant mech's advantages were undeniable: ordinary people could operate it, and its weapon systems were all within comprehension.
Though the construction costs were heart-attack-inducing, problems that could be solved with money weren't really problems for them.