Family System: Chapter 60

An alluring mermaid!

But…

Vex’s first encounter with her wasn’t through the movie "Aquaman."

Instead, it was the real-life divorce case with her ex-husband Depp. In it, not only had she reportedly been abusive, but she had also allegedly left some “surprises” on their bed, blaming it on their dog.

The problem?

Her dog was a teacup Yorkie.

The size of the dog was smaller than the… surprise.

It was… absurd!

Although Mera herself had nothing to do with any of this in reality, it’s like that feeling when a restaurant gets accused of using questionable ingredients—after that, even eating somewhere else makes you a bit uneasy.

So now, for Vex, Mera was like a “chocolate with a nasty surprise”—looked good, but you really wouldn’t want to try it.

He took a quiet step back, motioning Diana to handle the conversation.

Diana shot Vex a curious look but didn’t say anything, stepping forward to explain their purpose.

Three minutes later, Mera was frowning, unmoved.

“If the Amazons have already lost their Mother Box, then you’re simply losers.” Mera said coldly. “Atlantis will protect the last Mother Box, just as we did thousands of years ago!”

Was that… a refusal to let them intervene?

Diana frowned, bewildered by Mera’s prideful, isolationist stance.

If the Amazons were defeated, what made Atlantis so sure they could defend it?

Was this outright disrespect for the Amazons?

She was about to argue back…

…but Vex put a hand on her shoulder.

“Let me handle this.”

Vex wasted no words.

He activated his Time Stop Field to freeze Mera in place, letting his Phoenix Force slip into her mind.

A few seconds later, Vex released the time stop, and Mera shot them both a warning glare before diving headlong into the sea.

“What did you do?” Diana asked in concern. “You’re just going to let her leave?”

“I hypnotized her,” Vex said. “Now she’ll head straight back to where they’re keeping the Mother Box. Let’s follow her.”

The two dove in, only to realize Mera had already swum quite a distance.

“Sorry about this, Diana.”

Vex grabbed her hand, leading her swiftly forward, following right behind Mera.

They dove deeper, descending into the darkness of the deep sea, until they passed through some kind of barrier, and the view opened up in front of them.

It was like returning to the surface, with the world glowing brightly around them—only they were floating above it, surrounded by seawater.

It was a surreal beauty.

But they had no time to enjoy it; they pressed forward, following Mera.

After about half an hour of swift travel, they reached a building and stopped.

Guards surrounded the structure, patrolling tightly with no visible gaps.

No wonder Mera had been so confident.

But…

A soldier relayed something to her, and Mera’s face turned sour.

“The other underwater factions are refusing to send reinforcements; they're too busy fighting over territory,” Vex commented with a grin. “And yet, they think they can protect the Mother Box?”

Diana didn’t answer.

Vex looked over and noticed her face turning slightly blue—she seemed to be struggling.

Wait…

Diana couldn’t breathe underwater?

Looking around quickly, Vex’s eyes brightened.

Surrounded by water, Diana had no way to breathe!

So…

“Forgive me.”

Vex moved closer, and in a moment that left Diana stunned, he pressed his lips to hers, sharing some much-needed oxygen.

Having held her breath for nearly an hour, Diana thought the oxygen tasted unusually sweet.

Vex pulled away just as quickly, not lingering.

Diana held her breath again, attempting to stay composed as she looked back into the distance.

The moment hung between them for a few seconds.

Then—

“Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!”

An energy beam shattered the building’s roof, shooting up toward the ocean’s surface.

The Mother Box had been activated again!

Meanwhile, the soldiers guarding the building were entangled with Parademons, leaving only a small group fighting Steppenwolf with Mera.

But…

The once-defiant Mera was quickly overpowered, pinned against a wall by Steppenwolf.

She managed to push back the surrounding water, attempting to draw out the fluids from Steppenwolf’s body.

But she was too slow.

With a powerful swing, Steppenwolf hurled her to the ground, knocking her unconscious.

He barely spared her a glance, heading straight toward a central pillar.

The third Mother Box was sealed inside it!

Seeing this, Diana couldn't stand by any longer.

With a swift kick off the ground, she rocketed through a group of Parademons, crashing into Steppenwolf’s back.

Caught off guard, Steppenwolf was thrown forward, losing his grip on his divine metal battle axe.

Diana, having arrived in haste, hadn’t brought her weapon either.

The two clashed with bare fists, trading blow for blow in a brutal, primal fight!

But after just a few rounds, Diana began to struggle. With each powerful movement, her oxygen dwindled faster, making her feel dizzy and weak.

Realizing her situation was worsening, she crossed her arms to activate her powers…

Only to have Steppenwolf grab her, a powerful punch aimed straight at her face!

“Smack!”

A hand blocked Steppenwolf’s deadly blow, absorbing the force without budging an inch.

“Bam!”

Steppenwolf was kicked away.

Vex caught Diana as she staggered, quickly sharing another breath of oxygen.

Diana finally felt herself reviving.

“Sorry,” Vex apologized. “Took a bit too long dealing with the Parademons.”

Diana instinctively looked behind her…

The sky once full of Parademons was now empty, not a single one in sight.

That was fast?

Suddenly, Diana’s eyes widened!

“Watch out!”

Without turning, Vex used his fingers like a blade, effortlessly catching Steppenwolf’s swinging axe mid-air, stopping it cold.

Steppenwolf was visibly shaken.

What the…?

This human wasn’t normal.

He tried to yank the axe back, but it was locked in place, refusing to move.

The Phoenix Force poured out from Vex, just about to engulf Steppenwolf…

In a flash, Steppenwolf released the axe and shouted—

“Now!”

“Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!”

An energy beam came down, instantly transporting Steppenwolf away.

He moved so quickly that Vex didn’t even have time to activate his Time Stop Field.

“That guy’s pretty decisive—waited a second longer, and he’d have been done for.” Vex smirked.

Lesson learned: next time, activate Time Stop as soon as he encounters a major foe!

Just then, a white streak shot toward them from afar, heading straight for Mera.

As it got closer, the figure took shape, large and wild-looking: the future Aquaman, Arthur Curry.

“Are you planning to keep holding me forever?” Diana asked in Vex’s arms.

Vex shrugged, releasing her with his hands up in mock surrender.