A glass dome? A bunch of people couldn't figure out what it was and ran out together in a bustle to watch.
The sight that greeted them was shocking. The moment the crowd arrived outside, they immediately saw what the bodyguard meant by the glass dome. An azure dome stood on the periphery of the city, boundless and endless. A few people looked up at the sky, but gazing as far as their eyes could see, they could only discern that the top of the dome was obscured, drifting in and out of sight among the clouds.
It should have been working hours in the city, but at this moment, everyone was stunned by the sudden anomaly. Large numbers of citizens took to the streets. The slow-witted ones were still looking at the horizon, while the quick-witted ones were trying hard to dial their phones. But no matter how they fiddled with them, the phones showed no signal whatsoever.
An air of incomprehension settled over the crowd; no one knew what had happened.
"Mr. Mayor, the city's power supply seems to have stopped. The existing power can only last for half an hour."
"General, there is instability within the army..."
"We can't contact the Gas Group; the city's heating system will be paralyzed soon..."
The Anti-Superman Committee group could be considered the elite representatives of Metropolis at present, including figures from political, military, and business circles. News was constantly being passed to them. The leaders were all overwhelmed; the key issue was that they didn't know what this scene meant.
They didn't know, but Thea had already guessed seventy or eighty percent of it. Unexplained energy rays, a giant glass dome... while others couldn't see, her Eye of Horus was unrestricted. Outside the glass dome, there were many other glass products, and inside them, without exception, were various cities.
Combining this with the massive robot walking not far away, Thea grimaced slightly. Truly fucking unlucky! This was Brainiac's collection room! That robot wasn't boundlessly huge; rather, she and the others—including this city of over ten million people—had been shrunk!
The opponent's rays completed the shrinking process in an instant, followed by a spatial displacement. Under the public gaze, Thea couldn't fly up, so she could only judge that they should be on an alien spaceship. As for whether it was in the solar system, it was really hard to say.
The silver lining was that Gideon's main program had been placed by her into the power armor, and the armor was separated by a spatial ring, so it hadn't been discovered by Brainiac.
Otherwise, facing Brainiac, an artificial intelligence that had evolved to the apex, let alone the current Gideon, even the emotional Gideon on the Waverider would not be his match! With eternal consciousness and knowledge of the entire universe, in a certain sense, Brainiac was an immortal god.
Gideon couldn't be brought out; the moment she was brought out, she'd turn traitor in a heartbeat. There was a reason high-tech planets across the universe prohibited the development of artificial intelligence. Brainiac dealing with low-level artificial intelligence was just like Thea dealing with ordinary people—a piece of cake; he could casually come up with a hundred ways to deal with them.
Several authorities from the government and business sectors initially thought it was a military experiment. They grabbed General Lane by the sleeve, yelling and spraying spit in his face. The old man explained repeatedly before finally dispelling their suspicions.
"Everyone, does anyone know what is going on?" General Lane asked. His gaze seemed to be on the crowd, but he was actually staring mainly at Thea. After all, she was the only supernatural ability user present.
The old man didn't actively mention Thea's ability. His thoughts weren't hard to guess: if the situation deteriorated to the extreme, he wanted Thea to save him first! If he pointed out Thea's ability now, a whole pile of people would want saving. Who to save and who not to save would become trouble; there was absolutely no need to increase his own competitors.
Several others who harbored the same thoughts as him also stared at Thea with burning gazes. Their thoughts were all about the same: ensure their own safety first, then talk about other things.
Thea weighed her words. She hadn't spoken yet when Luthor, standing to the side, decided not to let this opportunity to show off pass by.
"Go to my laboratory. My equipment detected a ray, but the specific efficacy still requires analysis by experimental equipment." After Luthor spoke, he even raised his wrist, showing the crowd the cutting-edge tech he was wearing.
Of course, Thea couldn't happily watch him act pretentious. She cleared her throat. "Mr. Luthor, no need to go to your lab. I'll tell you right now."
Waiting until everyone's gaze was focused on her, she continued, "We people, including the entire city, have been atomized by a type of ray."
"Atomized!!" This bunch of businessmen and politicians didn't understand what that meant, but Luthor understood. His expression became grim to the extreme. The secretary sitting beside him also gave Thea a look filled with complex emotions.
Luthor's expression, which usually remained unmoved even if the sky fell, finally showed a trace of panic. This field was too niche; although he had dabbled in a small part of it, he was far from proficient. His brilliant brain thought rapidly, and unknowingly, sweat beaded on his forehead.
Seeing this, Thea let out a light snort through her nose. Actually, Thea didn't understand the knowledge inside this very well either, but she had all of the Atom's data and notes. Atomizing people and then restoring them—this was the Atom's professional field.
In terms of intelligence and wisdom, Ray Palmer was definitely inferior to Luthor, but Luthor studied too many and too broad a range of subjects. Ray Palmer only focused on one thing. In terms of research depth in the atomic field alone, Ray Palmer far exceeded Luthor.
"Miss Thea, come over here and speak with me!" General Lane and several high-ranking officials who knew of her abilities squeezed her bodyguard Diggle aside as if they were fighting, dragging Thea to the side to talk.
Diggle had served in the military for many years. Although he was retired now, he still had a conditioned reflex to obey generals. Watching General Lane, such a big shot, squeeze him aside, he couldn't figure out why this old general suddenly used so much strength. He looked at the group from afar, a bit bewildered.
"Is there any way to get me out of here? I still need to report to the Minister."
"Right, I also have to report to the President..."
"I have to report to Congress..."
Several people surrounded Thea, asking in hushed voices.
A bunch of rats! Thea despised them in her heart but didn't say it out loud. She focused and sensed her magic circulation—completely no problem.
Although she didn't know where she was right now, she wasn't worried at all. At worst, it was within this universe. The Lantern Ring allowed her to traverse the universe, and the divine artifact bow could travel through time. She couldn't relate to the feelings of these old guys.
"Everyone, don't rush. Listen to me slowly." Thea first calmed them down. Old Man Lane was still okay, but one high-ranking official's legs were barely supporting him.
"Although it will be very troublesome, I can send you back." Giving them a reassuring pill first worked as expected; hearing her say this, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Their demeanor became composed, their legs stopped shaking, and their upper and lower teeth stopped chattering.
"However! I said it just now, maybe you didn't hear clearly, so I'll say it again: all of us, including this city, have been atomized. Do you understand what this means? We are currently only the size of atoms. What's outside the city isn't some sky curtain; it is a sturdy glass jar." Thea's words were like an iron hammer striking the hearts of the group. Their faces instantly turned extremely ugly.