The mountain wind swept through the treetops, carrying the chill of early autumn and swirling up a few yellow leaves.
The forest at dawn should have been silent.
However, the distant, frantic roars and the world-shrouding fel energy storm reflected a bright green in the sky, making everything seem to be bathed in a terrifying filter.
After Superman brought his family to this safe hilltop, he had immediately returned. Lois and Ian were left in the mountains, but their current states looked slightly different.
Ian was the son who was directly tossed onto the ground.
Lois, on the other hand, was the wife who was gently placed on a tree stump.
"I strongly protest this differential treatment." Ian lay splayed out on the ground, his face in intimate contact with the damp moss, his nose inhaling the unique scent of dirt mixed with humus.
"Why do I always have to be grabbed by the scruff of my neck, while Mom is gently cradled in his arms?" Ian spat out the grass bits in his mouth and turned his head to look at the tree stump ten feet away.
His mother, Lois Lane, was sitting quietly on that oak stump.
In her arms was the orange cat that always loved to steal his sandwiches.
"Maybe because we are married?" Lois scratched the orange cat's chin and blinked. Mom's hairstyle wasn't even mussed, she looked incredibly dignified.
"I can also… fine, I can't." Ian stopped his instinctive grumbling and switched to the version-meta answer. "This is blatant discrimination!"
"What era are we in! Why does discrimination still exist in America! When can children have the same treatment as adults?" Ian immediately escalated the severity of the issue to the height of children needing their own anti-discrimination law. Lois was actually already accustomed to his style of grandstanding.
After all, Clark and she were both journalists.
Ian wasn't the only one in the family who could grandstand.
"If you prefer Jordan's treatment, I can ask your father to grab your ankles next time and dangle you in his hand as he flies." Lois offered a mother's suggestion.
"Like grabbing a little chick?"
Ian's eyebrows shot up.
They were nearly lost in his hairline.
"More precisely, a little chick about to be plucked in the kitchen." Lois showcased her descriptive prowess as an excellent journalist. Her words made Ian involuntarily swallow.
"In that case, forget it. I suddenly feel that being a kitten is also pretty good. Sure enough, I am still Dad's favorite son!" Ian didn't know what Jordan had done to anger their father to such an extent.
Indeed.
The second brother was still the second brother.
Always more fond of causing trouble than the third brother. To show that he was the best-behaved child, Ian even scooted over to Lois and gave her a light shoulder rub.
"You should have time now to tell me what exactly is going on, right?" Lois looked at the anomaly in the distance. Her mood was actually not very good.
The chilling roars from the sewage plant could still be heard on this side, and the continuous rapid events had left Lois, who had been working overtime, still somewhat confused.
"What's going on with that mutating Clark? And those two legs you have stuffed under your armpit…" She hadn't figured out what was happening since she left the newspaper office.
"Uncle Barry is still alive. These are not Uncle Barry's legs; they are gifts from the Speed Force—the Speed Force is secretly in love with me." Ian gave a rough account of how he found a wild Flash and brought him home.
There were some flowery words.
Not many.
Only about thirty to fifty thousand of them.
"You mean, you and Jordan, as brothers, united to stop a big villain named Reverse-Flash from killing the Flash? And this Reverse-Flash is a big villain from another universe?"
Lois roughly understood what had happened at home while she was working overtime. She had long developed an ear that could automatically filter out Ian's exaggerated embellishments.
"Yes, that's right."
Ian chose to share the credit with Jordan.
Magnificent.
No need to elaborate.
He had always been such a gentle person.
"That Clark is also from a parallel universe, right? Unlike the two clones you had in your hands before? Is that Clark the prototype for the clones?"
Lois was also gradually sorting out the sequence of events.
"Yes, all of this is Lex Luthor's conspiracy, but it belongs to a Lex Luthor from another parallel universe… and he might be working with the vampire fake-boob woman we encountered."
Ian did not yet have a truly clear grasp of the full picture.
Even though he could use the brains of the Asgardian and the Sorcerer Supreme, the amount of information he possessed was still very limited. The clues he could piece together only allowed him to perceive that a conspiracy was brewing.
"Luthor, Luthor, Luthor again… I'm not surprised at all." Lois sighed. She was long used to the existence of this person, who was more like a third party than a third party, after being married to Clark for so many years.
"That's how arch-enemies are. Luthor is Dad's arch-enemy." Thanks to the guidance of the benefactor Lucifer, Ian had a deeper understanding of the destined relationships in the DC world.
"I know."
Lois didn't seem surprised by this statement. She was just very worried. "This time the situation looks different than before. I can tell there is a very serious problem."
It must be said.
A woman's intuition was indeed accurate.
"The problem is quite serious. If my Super-Eyes aren't mistaken and my Super-Brain hasn't analyzed incorrectly, that fake Dad is probably turning into Doomsday."
Ian looked up into the distance.
In the dark night sky, two streaks of scarlet-green energy tore through the clouds, accompanied by a deafening roar. The entire sky began to twist and burn, casting a bizarre, fel-energy hue.
It was as if a nightmare had descended upon the world.
"What? Doomsday?!" Lois shot up abruptly, her voice filled with a delayed shock and a slight tremble. Even the orange cat in her arms fell directly to the ground.
She certainly knew that name.
It was a past event that remained startling, even years later. There had been times when the Justice League nearly met its end, and the most unforgettable for Lois was the invasion of Doomsday.
"Wait, Doomsday, I remember it was very large, over ten meters tall, just like the image you have of yourself in your fantasies." Lois was a mother who liked to sneak a look at her little boy's diary.
But it was fine.
Ian wrote his diary precisely so others would read it. People who didn't want their diary read wouldn't write one. In this round, his mom had merely fallen into Ian's trap.
Ian continued to win.
He believed that if his mom kept reading, one day she would definitely not be able to tell the difference between him and Ultraman Tiga. Perhaps future archaeologists who found his diary would feel the same way.
Faced with his mother's exposed line of thought.
Ian pretended not to notice anything.
"Actually, it's like adults and little ones. Doomsday also has Big Doomsday and Little Doomsday, and Ultra Big Doomsday." Ian used his peculiar analogy to give Lois a scientific explanation.
Doomsday was a nightmare etched into the Kryptonian genome.
It would awaken under certain specific circumstances.
Some speculated this was an inevitable consequence of developing bio-technology. Others believed that part of the genetic code behind the Kryptonians' immense power belonged to the ancient Doomsday.
Since Krypton was destroyed.
No one could say what the true answer was.
The only thing certain was that Doomsday was truly powerful.
Although the individual that became Doomsday would be defeated and killed in battle, it could still resurrect and evolve, constantly overcoming weaknesses to become a more perfect being.
"No wonder the entire Justice League almost failed last time…" This was Lois's first detailed account of Doomsday, and the more she listened, the more frightened she became.
"But that fake Clark doesn't look that huge, does he? He shouldn't be that strong?" Lois spoke with a hopeful tone, which was what she was praying for in her heart.
After all, the last time she saw Doomsday.
Lois had almost completely lost Clark.
The Earth, too.
No one wanted to see history repeat itself.
"Can't say for sure. Doomsday does have variations in strength, but the situation with this Doomsday is wrong, it has fel energy." Ian could sense the fel energy in the air.
And they were already this far away.
Heaven knew how much fel energy had been stuffed into that zombie Superman's body.
"Fel energy?"
Lois didn't know what that was.
But that didn't stop her heart from leaping into her throat again.
Her expression grew even more anxious.
"Relax. If there's fel energy, there has to be me. After all, this is my story." Ian believed in the foresight of the high-dimensional big shots. He remembered that Miss Death had said he also had his own exclusive story.
Of course.
The story wasn't actually that important. What Ian cared about most was the energy aura radiating from Doomsday. His Lord of Entropy exclusive organ had already allowed him to smell the fragrance of an upgrade.
In such a situation.
How could he be absent from this event?
"I won't let Doomsday smash my Dad. If Doomsday wants to smash someone, it has to smash me first—I am the indispensable Paladin of the Justice League."
"I am willing to take all the damage for every member!" Ian declared his greed with a sense of righteous dignity. He even suddenly realized that although he didn't have the Paladin class, it didn't seem to stop him from creating the Paladin-esque ability Sacrifice within his own magic system, did it?
He could even have a sudden brainstorm.
Reverse Sacrifice
Ian dared not imagine how wonderful his life would be and how fast his leveling speed would become if his believers learned this spell and transferred all the damage they usually took to him!
"A double-digit Intelligence attribute is so useful!" Ian knew that this attribute merely represented the speed of thought and reaction, and he was praising precisely this feature that allowed him to better utilize his Super-Brain.
Since it was already a Super-Brain.
It must already be the strongest.
No need for an upgrade.
It was just a matter of whether he could use it better.
"Your father told you to stay here, and besides, didn't you say you were the Flash earlier?" Lois's tone was helpless. She looked around but couldn't find her exclusive beverage.
She didn't need to watch Ian wiggle his butt to know what he was trying to do.
"Flash is pure version-meta sewer-tier. Now I've evolved. I am the wild Paladin Ian."
Ian stripped off his tattered suit. The artificial Speed Force lightning arcs on it had actually already been shut off when he carried Lois away earlier.
He certainly remembered things like that.
After all, he liked a mother with sufficiently mature thoughts.
He didn't like a well-cooked mother.
"You won't be able to help anything if you go. I don't want to lose both my husband and my son on the same day." Lois attempted to stop Ian. She was even prepared for the worst.
However.
"If Dad dies, he'll definitely die from being mad after hearing that sentence from you. He's not dead yet… and he won't die in the end, because his favorite son is about to become his solid front shield."
"To defend justice, to protect my family, even if the road ahead leads to hell, I will charge at the very front! This is my Hero-Way as a new-age superhero!"
"It's the same thing as the Ninja-Way! Paladin! Activate!"
Ian knew he needed to be dramatic before a major battle.
He was being dramatic now.
The kind that makes your blood boil.
He seemed to completely ignore Lois's attempts to stop him.
"I don't see any Paladin. I only see a pure savage." Lois rubbed her forehead. She watched Ian strip off his tattered uniform and begin weaving something from the surrounding vines and leaves.
If she wasn't mistaken.
It was a savage grass skirt.
"In any case, my knightly spirit will definitely move Heaven, move Earth, and move every member of the Justice League." Ian put the grass skirt on himself to cover his boxer shorts.
No choice.
The Flash uniform was truly so torn that it was comparable to an 18+ fetish uniform.
At least now.
He looked like at most a 16+ uniform.
"Your father is going to spank you." Lois didn't know how to persuade Ian. She only knew that ever since Ian got involved with the Goddess in charge of Death, he seemed to have become fearless of death.
As a mere mortal.
It was difficult for Lois to imagine what that was like.
"No matter."
Ian's eyes were unusually firm.
"What is family? Family is that even if Dad pulls out his Gucci belt, I must stand firmly by his side. He will eventually realize that I am his most excellent son."
He was still being dramatic.
He started stacking buffs on himself.
He even brought out Family.
He wanted to ensure that he would attract enough of Doomsday's firepower later. Of course, this was also a subtle way to pressure Jonathan and Jordan, who were not present, into being better sons.
Another double-win.
"…"
Lois's expression was one of helplessness.
She picked up the cat from the ground again and knew that as an ordinary person, she couldn't offer Clark any help—perhaps Ian really could create a miracle?
With a complicated mood.
Mom chose to trust her youngest son.
She pretended that she had drunk a lot of wine.
She was clearly evolving into a conceptual-level Reasonable Woman.
"Meow~"
The orange cat tilted its head.
It looked like it didn't understand the mental state of this family.
But.
As a cat.
Did it need to care so much? Thinking this, the orange cat lay down in Lois's arms and started to doze off. Its body was clearly also continuously evolving.
"What are you trying to do now?"
Lois saw that her attempts to stop him were being met with Ian feigning ignorance and invoking the bonds of family. She hadn't intended to continue the meaningless attempts to dissuade him.
However.
Ian's next move truly left her utterly confused—she saw the boy retrieve the Speed Force shins from under his armpit, and then begin to strap the two legs onto his arms, respectively.
Left leg on the right arm.
Right leg on the left arm.
Propelled by the randomly moving Speed Force shins, Ian began to spin like a top—his authority in the use of biological external equipment had reached a new height.
"I'm going to tell the Flash that the correct use of the Speed Force is not to increase movement speed, but to increase attack speed." Before he finished speaking, Ian's body instantly turned into a spinning Speed Force vortex.
He rushed back the way he came, carrying a gust of wind and fallen leaves. Shrubs were uprooted in his path, squirrels shrieked and scampered up trees, and a flock of startled crows flew everywhere.
It was absolute chaos.
"The Animal Protection Association must not see this."
Lois muttered to herself.
She casually picked up a few wild berries that had fallen in front of her and took a bite.
She chewed.
She looked like she was trying to brew fruit wine in her mouth right there?
"Meow~"
The orange cat looked up.
Curiously rubbed against Lois's chin.
"You want to eat too?"
Lois broke off a small piece and offered it. The orange cat bit down, and its face instantly twisted. Its eyes widened, its mouth formed an 'O' shape, and its throat let out a sound similar to "oogoo-googoo."
It had clearly eaten something genuinely sour.
"It doesn't taste good."
Lois's expression changed at this moment, and she threw away the fruit in her hand with disgust. A wild rabbit fell in front of her, but Lois, preoccupied with worry, had no intention of eating roast rabbit.
"After this fight, I'm retiring and going home for dinner." Ian's voice came from afar. He had just stacked another buff on himself that was sure to get him beaten up.
"But there's no one at home to cook for you right now, and by the way, do we even have a home?" Lois had a rough idea of what she would see when she returned, based on Ian's previous description.
She sighed helplessly.
"I hope everything goes smoothly."
Lois sat on the tree stump, the orange cat curled at her feet. The night wind gently brushed her hair. She looked in the direction Ian had left, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
Unease?
Pride?
Perhaps more than anything, it was the powerlessness of a mortal.
"At a time like this, I can't offer any help to my son and husband. I can only wait here for the outcome." Lois's mood was inevitably a little sad.
She was not a warrior, but she had never backed down.
She used her pen to record the truth and her words to convey belief. However, in the face of such a supernatural event, as an ordinary person, her pen could not offer any assistance.
The wind continued to blow.
Under the bright green night sky.
Lois held the cat in her arms and could only continue to pray.
And just at this moment.
"Shh-shh-shh~"
A rustling sound came from the woods.
It sounded like something was slowly approaching, treading on fallen leaves and broken branches.
Lois immediately tensed up.
Her hands instinctively picked up the cat, who was still sticking its tongue out.
"Something's there."
Lois spoke softly.
Perhaps truly understanding human speech, the orange cat lifted its head from her raised hands, its ears swiveling alertly, its golden pupils contracting into slits in the dim light.
Then.
A low, hoarse panting sound came from the nearby bushes.
"It's a wolf! What is the Animal Protection Association protecting!" Lois looked up alertly, her gaze sweeping toward the source of the sound. She saw a coyote, which was rampant in the central United States.
A wild coyote slowly emerged from the bushes.
It had clearly been startled by Ian and fled its habitat.
Due to the fright, the coyote appeared extremely angry and quite aggressive. Its yellow eyes stared intently at Lois, and a low growl rumbled in its throat.
"I'll buy you a hundred bottles of catnip this time."
Lois repeated the move she used earlier when facing the vampire Amazonian.
Before the coyote could leap.
"Meow~"
The orange cat, which had once been a stray, could not resist such temptation. Its pupils suddenly lit up with a scorching red light, aimed directly at the poised coyote.
Whoosh!
A slender yet deadly heat vision beam precisely penetrated the coyote's skull. The beast didn't even have time to utter a howl before it crashed heavily to the ground, instantly dead.
The smell of char filled the air.
Lois blinked, then looked down at the cat in her arms.
"Wow."
She gasped softly.
"Maybe we can form a duo, call ourselves 'The Cat and the Reporter'?"
Lois was trying to find humor in her distress.
"Meow~"
The orange cat smugly rubbed against her wrist, as if seeking praise.
"Don't worry, I'll remember your good deed… I don't have anything to reward you with right now. I don't know how long we have to stay in this godforsaken place. I hope Ian and Clark solve the problem and come back for me together." Lois gently let out a breath, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly.
She looked around, confirming there were no other threats, before sitting back down on the tree stump.
However, the next moment, the orange cat she had just put back in her arms suddenly bristled. Its fur instantly stood on end, its ears flattened back, and a low warning sound rumbled in its throat.
The night wind howled.
The branches and leaves in the forest suddenly began to shake violently.
As if foreshadowing some impending crisis.
"More wild beasts?"
Lois was a little confused.
She looked up.
Following the cat's gaze—under the green sky, a dark figure quietly hovered high in the air. It had its back to the moonlight, looking down upon the Earth from above.
More accurately.
It was looking down at Lois sitting on the tree stump.
The figure's silhouette was slender.
The cape fluttered slightly in the night.
It was a figure Lois was extremely familiar with. However, what was unfamiliar was the look in that figure's eyes as it gazed at her—it was filled with scrutiny, utterly strange.
"This is…"
Lois shone her flashlight up.
Then.
She saw a reflective S symbol on the chest of the figure in the air.
"Oh, damn it."
Lois didn't raise the cat this time.
She wasn't stupid.
She was actually very smart.
The dark figure slowly descended.
Indeed.
It was—Superman.
A Superman with a cold face and indifferent eyes.
***
The night was very green.
Dark clouds rolled.
It was as if the entire sky was trembling for the disaster about to unfold. Over the sewage treatment plant, which would likely have to be abandoned in the suburbs of Metropolis, two figures hovered beneath the dark green clouds.
Clark was ready for a fight.
His cape fluttered slightly in the damp night wind.
His gaze was fixed on the monster below that was violently mutating in the sewage pool.
Zombie Superman.
At this point, it was completely unrecognizable as Superman. Its skin had turned an unnatural bluish-purple, and muscle fibers swelled and twisted like writhing snakes.
The roars emanating from its throat sounded like the wails of some ancient creature. As it roared at the sky, the creature's sonic waves could even shatter buildings and plants over a large area around it.
"It's Doomsday after all." Superman said solemnly, his brow furrowed.
Wonder Woman stood by his side, the golden Lasso of Truth faintly glowing on her wrist. Her expression was equally grim. "I've already notified the others to come and deal with the crisis."
To this.
Superman nodded.
"Where is Bruce?"
He turned his head to ask.
"Can't reach him." Wonder Woman frowned slightly. She paused, then quickly added, "I can't even reach Arthur, who said he was coming to Metropolis."
This situation.
Made Wonder Woman have to worry about the safety of her comrades. Perhaps her parallel universe self and the parallel universe Aquaman were attempting to kill other counterparts?
"Arthur is fine. Although he seems to have been attacked, he appears to be out of danger now." Clark noticed Wonder Woman's concern. He somewhat didn't want to speak, but finally sighed and said, "He's in my home fish tank, blowing bubbles with his 'wife.'"
Upon hearing this.
Wonder Woman immediately fell silent, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly. As a demigod with consistently good learning abilities, she was already able to discern whose handiwork was behind this incident.
All she could say was.
It was hard to rate.
It was best not to comment.
"We need Kryptonite." Superman didn't want to dwell on the topic and cut straight back to the main point. He had experience once before and knew that what could defeat him was what could defeat Doomsday.
Doomsday grew stronger the more you fought it.
Ordinary means simply couldn't kill it.
This was why he and Wonder Woman hadn't dared to launch an attack for so long.
The psychological shadow was truly intense.
"Bruce has some." Diana's tone was certain. Although she had never been to the Batcave, this didn't prevent her from knowing that Batman had contingency plans against every hero.
"I'll go find him."
Just as Superman was about to leave for Gotham, a flash of green light crossed the sky, and a figure in a green energy suit streaked through the air—it was Green Lantern Hal Jordan.
"I'm here! Sorry, I ran into a small problem on the way. A few alien smugglers thought they could cause trouble in my sector." Green Lantern wore his iconic green uniform.
The Green Lantern Corps emblem flashed on his chest.
Behind him were huge green bat wings materialized from Green Lantern energy.
One had to wonder who he was mocking for their absence.
"Long time no see. You must have missed me." Green Lantern Hal Jordan was the first Earth member to join the Green Lantern Corps and one of the founding members of the Justice League.
At times, he was often hailed as "the greatest Green Lantern ever," possessing a willpower capable of fighting the entire universe. The power he possessed originated from Ian's coveted Seven Lantern Corps.
Each Corps possessed energies representing their respective attributes.
And their own embodiments.
They contained their own different Emotional Spectrums.
And the Emotional Spectrum consisted of ten hidden cosmic forces.
For example, Green Lantern Hal Jordan possessed the Green Lantern, which held the green light representing Willpower in the Emotional Spectrum. The green light of Willpower was in the center of the Emotional Spectrum. It was the most balanced and least extreme of the various emotions. It had the smallest side effects on the user and had no tendency toward or guidance over the user's behavior.
As for the Red Lantern that Ian wanted, its power was fueled by Rage. As long as rage instantly reached a certain level, the ring would recruit the user, who would then be perpetually stuck in a state of extreme rage.
Despite the side effects, Ian didn't care. He had always regarded the Red Lantern as a berserker-exclusive accessory that he hadn't obtained yet but would eventually own.
"Hal, you've come at a good time. We need Kryptonite." Wonder Woman was immediately delighted to see Green Lantern. She requested his help.
"No problem!"
Green Lantern immediately utilized his Green Lantern energy.
He materialized a Gatling gun with Kryptonite ammunition out of thin air.
Through Green Lantern's willpower.
Their thoughts could be converted into energy or materialized into weapons. These constructs were made of bright green energy symbolizing pure willpower. Any special item or object imaginable could be realized with enough willpower, covering everything from the microscopic to the macroscopic. Naturally, this included Kryptonite and Kryptonite radiation.
"Hold on. I keep feeling that this Doomsday… is very strange." Clark quickly flew away a bit, as Kryptonite, just through its radiation, could weaken his abilities.
"Actually, I feel that way too. There's something wrong with this monster."
Green Lantern was not one to act rashly. Hal would show a humorous and engaging side when interacting with teammates or friends, but this didn't mean he wasn't a sufficiently cautious person.
In fact.
Even the least cautious person would become much more cautious at their age.
"Stop! Do not shoot! Your Kryptonite will only enhance this monster's abilities!" Suddenly, a warning sounded, and another figure flew in from the distant sky.
He had a strong cyberpunk style all over him, and his mechanical body shone with a cold metallic luster under the moonlight. It was Cyborg, the Cybernetic Man of the Justice League.
"What do you mean?"
The three people in the sky were stunned by the words.
"I'm not entirely sure what the specific situation is, but his bio-data shows he has a genetic sequence diametrically opposed to Kryptonians. What is a curse to Clark has an 89.56% probability of turning into a blessing for him." Cyborg Victor Stone stopped beside them.
Cyborg.
Now an elder-level hero in the Justice League.
He was originally an excellent American football star athlete, who was critically wounded and near death in an accident caused by an Apokoliptian Mother Box explosion. To prolong his life, his father, Silas Stone, took him to the "Red Room Laboratory," where the US government collected various alien technologies, for emergency treatment.
As is the case in most superhero origin stories involving the wealthy—during the rescue process, influenced by the Mother Box molecules, Victor absorbed all the high technology in the Red Room.
He eventually became a half-human, half-machine Cyborg. Although Cyborg might seem like a small-time crook when facing Superman, he was actually one of the top-ranked superheroes in terms of strength on Earth.
After all, he genuinely possessed "Celestial Technology."
"A parallel universe completely opposite to ours… the Anti-Universe?" Superman had a little more information. He frowned, looking at the monster in the sewage plant below.
"So, to deal with this guy, we need the kind of Kryptonite that enhances Kryptonian abilities, right?" Wonder Woman's mind worked, and she quickly made a judgment.
"What kind of Kryptonite is that? You haven't even told me the color, Diana. It's been so long, you must have almost forgotten that the pawns of our Green Lantern Corps are not gods."
"Even I, the strongest Green Lantern, have limits." Green Lantern Hal Jordan spread his hands, his tone extremely helpless. He truly didn't know what to materialize.
"Don't panic."
Wonder Woman remained calm.
"No matter what kind of Kryptonite it is, or if it's something else, I think Bruce definitely has it." She truly possessed the wisdom of a demigod, and her words were incredibly reasonable.
In fact, it wasn't just Wonder Woman.
Upon hearing this, Clark, Cyborg, and Green Lantern all nodded silently.
What was reputation?
This was reputation!
The core members of the Justice League had been discussing here for a long time, and they had a unified thought on how to deal with Doomsday—they still had to go find Batman.
"But isn't Batman's phone unreachable?"
Cyborg sighed.
He felt that this team might fall apart without Batman.
"Are you eavesdropping on my calls?"
Wonder Woman looked at Cyborg with some displeasure.
"First of all, your calls don't need to be eavesdropped on. I can hear them whenever I want. Secondly… perhaps you should go online and check how high the technological content of this half of my ear is?"
Who said that hearing enhanced by technology couldn't be called super-hearing?
Cyborg quickly defended his reputation.
He was actually mostly a quiet and serious person.
Only occasionally would he be a bit goofy.
Just occasionally.
"If you're going to find Bruce, I think you should hurry. The energy readings are still rising. This guy's mutation speed will reach that terrifying endpoint in just a few minutes." Cyborg was not changing the subject, he had genuinely detected the information. His voice held the characteristic calm of a Cybernetic Man.
"I'm going now."
Superman nodded.
Just as he was flicking his cape and once again preparing to move.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!~"
The sound of the wind howling.
A peculiar "swoosh" sound suddenly came from a distance. Something was approaching the sewage plant area. Along the way, trees fell wildly, the kind that would make a lumberjack exclaim that they had seen the God of Lumberjacks.
Everyone turned to look.
A high-speed spinning red top was rushing from the direction of the forest at an astonishing speed.
It plowed a deep trench into the ground wherever it went.
The forest was being violently massacred.
"This is the real Doomsday… the Forest Doomsday." Wonder Woman couldn't help but exclaim. She looked at Superman beside her. Sure enough, Clark and she had both realized the key reason for this problem.
Only the two newcomers knew nothing.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
Green Lantern's eyes widened, and his tone was full of shock.
Cyborg's mechanical eye quickly focused and analyzed.
"That seems to be a person… hiss. A person spinning at high speed? And with the Speed Force? Oh my God, at that rotation speed, isn't he afraid of his head flying off?"
Cyborg's voice was filled with incredulous amazement.
Upon hearing this.
Superman slapped his own face.
The sound on his steel face was loud.
It sounded like he was opening a door.
To this.
The two elder members of the Justice League, whose attention was focused on the abnormal object, didn't notice anything amiss.
Their eyes were about to pop out.
"Oh my goodness, that human top is turning toward that monster… he hit it! This reminds me of a cartoon, but I can't remember what the cartoon was called!"
"Anyway, the tops in it were just that powerful!" Green Lantern sounded like a soccer commentator. He and Cyborg stared at the scene below with dropped jaws.
They completely failed to notice that Superman's face was sinking deeper and deeper.
He was practically retracting into his cape.
The spinning figure directly slammed into the monster's body.
Hard-smashing it away.
Causing an entire office building to collapse with a boom.
Although seemingly comical.
The attack power was indeed explosive. The mutated Doomsday let out a painful roar, and countless wounds appeared on its body, but these wounds were rapidly healing.
"Look! That top is hitting the monster again… and he picked up two clones from the ground! What is this? I hear someone shouting 'Fake Dad Storm'!"
"I didn't hear wrong! That person is indeed shouting that… he collided with the monster, and the monster was smashed away again. Oh, no, the angry monster grabbed the mad top!"
Then.
In the sewage pool.
Doomsday's massive claws firmly clamped onto the wildly spinning red figure.
Superman was startled at first.
Then.
His heart became still water.
The Justice League commentator was still commentating on information he didn't want to hear.
"Oh my god, the mad top is really a person, and a little boy at that, a little boy who hasn't passed the dangerous period in front of a priest! His body can actually withstand the monster's grip?"
"That makes sense… a normal person spinning like that would have their head fly off long ago…" Green Lantern was like a commentator at a soccer match. He and Cyborg stared below, utterly dumbfounded.
They completely failed to notice Superman's face was burying itself deeper and deeper.
He was almost shrinking into his cape.
"What is that little boy doing? Why is he aggressively inhaling at the monster? Is he trying to kiss the monster? Attempting to move the monster with the power of love?"
Green Lantern couldn't help but look at Superman.
This was, after all, happening in Metropolis.
Locals would definitely know more than he did.
"My analysis tells me this person might be from Gotham… a 99% high probability." Cyborg was also looking at Superman while analyzing the data.
"Bruce's kid?"
He was quite Cyber-Smart.
"I don't know. Don't ask me."
Superman responded in a low voice, almost a whisper. "Metropolis has had new superheroes active lately. Very mysterious. Yes, very mysterious. Very, very mysterious."
He knew he was lying.
This made Clark feel very ashamed in his heart. But compared to admitting that this was his child, he preferred the shame. At least it was more comfortable than dying of embarrassment right there.
"Don't look at me. If he doesn't know, I certainly don't know." Wonder Woman, seeing her two colleagues looking at her, quickly spread her hands, trying very hard to suppress some emotion.
Cyborg's cyber processor was close to overloading at this point.
"According to my calculations, that boy should have been crushed… his physical quality is truly strong. Of course, the most amazing thing is that mouth of his that is aggressively inhaling."
"The surrounding cold air is almost entirely sucked up by him!"
Cyborg's voice was filled with unbelievable shock. He was not lying, he had truly detected that the boy had inhaled the volume of cold air equivalent to several football fields.
Drinking the northwest wind until he bursts out laughing?
Damn it!
Cyborg suspected his brain had a virus.
"Should we save him?"
Cyborg looked at the indifferent Clark, who was attempting to hide his face in a strange posture.
"Clark, do you know this person?"
He felt Superman's reaction was strange, not like the usual embodiment of justice.
"I don't know. There are many superheroes in Metropolis. Yes, many. A whole bunch." Clark probably wasn't lying this time. He knew very well that the number of superheroes in Metropolis depended on how many hero uniforms Ian had managed to acquire.
The old father was actually nervous at first, but after Ian started aggressively inhaling, the old father was only nervous about himself now. He could observe Ian's body rapidly oscillating between being crushed and recovering.
And.
His physical quality was wildly increasing every now and then.
For a moment.
The old father truly had difficulty discerning who the violently evolving Doomsday really was. He knew that all of this must be related to the strange operation Ian was performing right now.
"Regardless, we have to save him. This little boy is brave enough, clearly trying to step forward when crisis strikes." Green Lantern did not have Superman's powerful eyes.
He merely sensed that a brave soul needed saving.
Thus.
This top-tier member of the Green Lantern Corps immediately materialized a gigantic warhammer and dove down, intending to rescue the boy who remained absolutely brave under the monster's relentless assault.
This level of willpower.
What a great prospect for the Green Lantern Corps!
"Bang~"
The Green Lantern, persistent with the hope of rescue, flew down rapidly.
And then.
There was certainly no "and then."
Accompanied by a loud crash, the next second, Green Lantern was sent flying back, with many forehead-shaped marks on his body. Those were clearly not Doomsday's forehead marks.
"Why did that boy punch me! Doesn't he know I was helping him?!" Hal tumbled in the air to regain his balance, floating back to his original position looking very dishevelled.
He was genuinely perplexed now.
"I don't know."
Clark's response was as usual. He let the high-altitude wind billow his cape, helping him shield his old face. He looked exceptionally disheveled in the wind.
"No! That boy is wrong! His body's energy density is increasing!" Cyborg's scanner operated frantically, allowing him to capture some information he hadn't fully understood before.
"Is this a warrior from the Savage Tribe? He's wearing a grass skirt and has two big black legs tied to his arms… and he can't bear to throw away the two Clark clones he's holding?" Cyborg stared blankly below. He found that none of the information databases he had previously established seemed able to perform a concrete behavioral logic analysis of this.
"That guy used Clark's clones to smash me!" Green Lantern was still a bit resentful now. He touched his chest, glad the other party hadn't smashed his face.
"Clark definitely doesn't know, but I do!" Diana, who had been struggling to hold it in, suddenly raised her hand. "It's an exoskeleton armor and a Kryptonian warhammer—oh, it's been upgraded to a dual-wielding mode now."
"I've seen similar records in the ancient texts of Themyscira." She spoke with such seriousness that, compared to Superman, a beautiful woman truly felt no guilt in lying.
To be fair.
Diana knew this was a very serious moment.
However.
She truly couldn't help herself.
"So that's it. Is this boy really a savage?"
Cyborg was clearly very gullible.
Since he had an answer.
He would genuinely record it in his system.
"Are you indirectly calling the people of Themyscira savages?"
Diana frowned.
"Aren't you?"
Cyborg was an honest man.
Upon hearing this.
Wonder Woman pouted.
"Okay, we are indeed savages."
She thought for a moment and decided to be reasonable after all. Without dwelling on the issue, Wonder Woman looked down again.
Then.
The sewage plant already looked like a ruin.
The ground cracked and collapsed under Doomsday's stomping. The boy hung in the air, tightly grasped at the chest by Doomsday's thick arm, his bones emitting a crackling sound of unbearable strain.
His body had begun to shatter, and a dazzling white light shone through his skin.
As if an imminent supernova was hidden inside.
"Let go!"
This was not the boy shouting.
It was Doomsday's low growl—or rather, it was the entity that was reviving inside Doomsday's body, but hadn't fully done so, roaring at the boy through Doomsday's throat.
How to put it.
Doomsday had indeed grabbed the boy.
But the boy had the power of relativity. He tightly hugged Doomsday's neck with both arms, and several mimicked spider legs extended from his body, wrapping around Doomsday like an octopus.
Doomsday had grabbed the boy.
The boy also tightly embraced Doomsday.
As for which of the two would have a bright future, that depended on who was the more unreasonable—Doomsday attempted to crush the boy, but the boy's body was radiating divine light.
Pure and violent energy surged under his cracked skin.
It burned Doomsday's palm.
Preventing Doomsday from exerting much force.
"Aargh!!!!" Doomsday was in pain, evolving, but at the same time, the boy's mouth was aggressively inhaling. Large streams of energy surged from Doomsday's body into the boy's mouth.
The energy was torn from Doomsday's body with the wailing of a thousand souls. Every invisible ray dragged an afterimage in the air, plunging deep into the boy's throat with a roar and an unwilling cry fit for a deity.
This scene.
Could naturally be clearly seen by Wonder Woman, a demigod.
The subtle changes that Apokoliptian technology could not detect in a short time.
Her eyes could.
"Clark, where did this little guy come from? He's immortal, and he has the power of the God-King in him." Wonder Woman's tone was incredibly surprised.
If she hadn't matured past her stubborn teenage self, she would definitely suspect that Zeus had once turned into a woman and had a relationship with Clark or some other Kryptonian.
"I don't know."
Superman looked up at the sky.
As if there was something extremely attractive up there.
"This is something you can know."
Wonder Woman spoke earnestly.
"It's time to go find Bruce."
Clark seemed to have also learned the high school technique of pretending not to hear. He flicked his red cape and soared into the sky, his speed so fast it was as if he was fleeing from some terrifying social catastrophe.
High in the sky.
Only a thoughtful Wonder Woman remained.
And two men who still looked completely confused.
***
Gotham City.
Underneath Wayne Manor.
Bruce had already returned here.
However, he was not tinkering with the dream-invasion machine he mentioned. Instead, he sat in front of his computer equipment, staring blankly at three test tubes labeled Jonathan, Jordan, and Ian.
He seemed to be staring blankly there.
Behind him.
A figure hiding in the invisible spectrum had been tightly watching him.
It was because of the figure's long presence.
All technological equipment had been blocked.
This was why Bruce failed to detect the situation in time and didn't answer Wonder Woman's call—in his world, an angel had appeared, and time had stopped.
"You won't get any answers from this bio-information."
Finally.
The angel couldn't help but speak.
"I know."
Bruce did not turn around.
He had naturally already detected the anomaly he couldn't see. What was happening now was just as Bruce had guessed. The angel Amenadiel stepped out from the invisible spectrum.
It was majestic and imposing.
It looked like it was trying to intimidate.
Its pure white boots made no sound on the metal floor of the Batcave. Holy wings stretched out behind it, and a sacred halo made the Batcave's shadows retreat.
In response to Bruce.
The angel Amenadiel scoffed. "So, you're using these to lure an angel, are you? Bruce Wayne, do you think an angel like me can't see through your trick?"
The angel's voice echoed in the cave, carrying a certain otherworldly majesty. No one knew if he saw through it or not, but no sign of rage could be discerned on his dark face.
"I must correct you."
Bruce finally turned around. His cowl was removed, revealing his pair of sharp blue eyes. The cold light of the Batcave cast stark shadows on his defined face.
"This is not a trick."
Bruce looked directly into the angel's gold-glowing eyes.
"It's an open scheme."
He was not wrong, and he had indeed achieved victory again. This was a true win.
"Targeting an angel? You have great audacity." Amenadiel leaned forward, his wings fully spread behind him. The sacred pressure made the Batcave's instruments flash erratically.
His face was inches from Bruce's, until their noses were almost touching.
"So, you don't understand surrender?"
The angel's voice was low as thunder, demanding an answer. He was slightly taller than Bruce, so he looked like he was towering over him.
However.
Facing such a powerful being.
Bruce didn't even blink.
"Until I find the answer. No, I will not surrender." Bruce showed no fear of the divine, expressing his utterly resolute attitude.
The Batcave fell into a strange silence.
Golden light flickered in the angel's eyes.
He threatened fiercely.
"You know I can report you to your Mother anytime, right?"
The angel's threat was potent.
"…"
Batman finally fell silent.
"Good that you're afraid. I told you not to mess with an angel. You didn't believe me?" Amenadiel stood up triumphantly, his wings elegantly folding behind him.
Upon hearing this.
Bruce took a deep breath.
"You are the angel accompanying Ian Kent?"
His tone carried a strange hint of testing. It wasn't surprising that Batman would have such a thought, as he had already verified that the other party would appear whenever something involving Ian happened.
Faced with this question.
The angel Amenadiel was silent for a moment.
Then.
"I am not just the angel accompanying him. I am the one who delivered him into the Kent family." Clearly, the angel knew that if he didn't give Batman an answer, Batman wouldn't give up.
This low-toned sentence exploded in Bruce's ear like thunder.
Batman's pupils contracted sharply.
"Is he also an angel?"
This speculation made his eyes flicker slightly. If that were true, Ian's almost "wish-fulfillment" abilities would be explained—but could an angel have such a devilish personality? Batman might need to re-evaluate his perception of Heaven.
The angel Amenadiel did not answer directly, merely speaking in a low voice: "Listen, Bruce, this is the only thing you need to know—fourteen years ago, the Lord told me to deliver a baby to Superman, saying that He had made a transaction."
Bruce's pupils suddenly contracted.
"That boy is named Ian Kent."
Batman's breathing hitched for a barely perceptible instant.
The angel ignored his reaction and continued, "If this is the Lord's choice, then neither you nor I have the right to question it. Stop trying to challenge my bottom line and my patience."
His voice carried an irresistible majesty, his golden eyes staring directly at Bruce: "You might be important to the universe, but in the face of the mission the Lord has entrusted to me, you are also an acceptable cost to be discarded."
"Bury your curiosity in your heart."
As his voice faded, the angel's figure vanished like a phantom, leaving only a few pure white feathers slowly floating down, which then turned into starlight, leaving no trace for Batman to capture.
The Batcave returned to silence.
Bruce stood still for a moment, then walked to the lab bench, casually tossing the three test tubes into the trash—they contained no blood samples at all.
They were rainwater collected from the eaves of the Kent house. The angel truly seemed to not understand Batman. Did Batman really need to wait for Superman's son to grow up to collect his bio-information?
That would truly be an international joke.
"Being near Ian can block the angel's omniscience." Batman had collected a new piece of information. Perhaps he was the man who truly mastered the art of multiple wins.
"The embodiment of God… or the new Jesus?"
With this question.
Bruce prepared to make a detailed record in his mental mind palace—however, just as he was about to begin, an alarm suddenly blared throughout the Batcave.
Red lights flashed.
All warning systems fully activated.
All monitoring screens lit up simultaneously.
Bruce, who rushed to the instruments, finally received the late signal from Metropolis.
***
***
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