"Axel's comic?"
Clark frowned and flipped through the comic in his hands.
After a few pages, he suddenly froze and looked at Lex.
"Wait, what did you just say? How many children do I have? Only two?"
Lex laughed.
"How many were you hoping for? Besides, it's just a comic."
He shrugged.
"The private lives of you so called superheroes are unbelievable. I originally wanted to see what kind of trouble Bruce and Selina got into in the comics. I was even more curious about what Axel would be doing."
He smirked.
"But forget it. These comic writers take romantic pairings to ridiculous extremes. Is there any famous female character who hasn't been paired with one of you?"
Lex curled his lip in disbelief.
Without even looking up from his own comic, Bruce replied,
"So you're jealous?"
"Jealous of what?"
"That we've apparently dated people we've never even met."
Bruce slowly turned another page, his expression becoming increasingly troubled.
"I originally believed our world was some kind of publication centered around Axel. Considering everything that's happened since he took over Gotham, I assumed we were already halfway through the story."
He shook his head.
"But after reading these comics, I realized I couldn't have been more wrong."
Closing the comic, Bruce sighed.
"Forget whether Axel even has his own series. Based on what we've seen, every story begins with my return to Gotham and Clark deciding to become Superman."
He looked at Clark.
"Those are the starting points."
"Our story has barely begun."
"I've only just returned to Gotham and chosen to become Batman. You haven't even publicly become Superman yet. You told us you were simply stronger than an ordinary person and couldn't even fly."
Bruce pointed at the comic.
"Yet according to this, flight, heat vision, and an indestructible body are your signature abilities."
"My story has only just begun."
"Yours hasn't even started."
His eyes narrowed.
"So... what kind of enemies are we supposed to face with where we are now?"
Bruce genuinely worried about Gotham's future.
The stronger the heroes became, the stronger the villains they faced.
Although they still hadn't found any comic featuring Axel, Axel's strength already stood far above everyone else.
If that was the level of the protagonist, then just how terrifying would the enemies be?
As Bruce fell silent, Clark quickly scanned the shelves.
A moment later, he grabbed another comic and held up the cover.
"There are countless DC comics. They're even more complicated than Marvel."
He shrugged.
"Maybe only God knows which series Axel belongs to."
"Maybe his comic hasn't even been published yet. What we're seeing here are simply DC comics that exist inside the Marvel universe."
He smiled helplessly.
"But if we're talking about enemies... I don't think we'll ever run out of them."
As he spoke, Clark opened a comic featuring Lucifer and skimmed through it.
After reading several pages, he blinked before closing the book with an awkward smile.
"Never mind. I was wrong."
"It turns out Lucifer is the protagonist."
"I thought he was the main villain."
He clicked his tongue.
"Even Lucifer has enemies and problems of his own."
He sighed.
"Our world is incredibly dangerous."
"It is," Lex agreed immediately.
"But the more dangerous it is, the more convinced I become that humanity needs to evolve."
He set his comic down.
"We should head back."
"We've already spent enough time here."
"When we return tomorrow, we'll bring back another batch of comics."
"And while we're at it, we'll acquire DC Comics."
Bruce nodded.
"Comics are useful as references."
"But reality is far more valuable than any story."
He turned toward the blushing girl standing in the corner.
"Miss Ciri, if it's convenient, could you send us back now?"
Bruce waited.
Surprisingly, Ciri didn't respond.
She remained curled up in the corner, completely absorbed in the comic she was reading.
Bruce cleared his throat.
"Miss Ciri?"
"Ah? Huh?"
Startled, Ciri snapped the comic shut and hurriedly shoved it back onto the shelf.
Unfortunately, Bruce caught a glimpse of the cover.
It was an unmistakably pink comic.
On it, Batman and Superman were locked in an outrageously dramatic embrace.
"..."
"Ahem."
"What did you need?"
"We're leaving?"
"No problem."
"I'll get everyone back safely."
She hurried over, her cheeks burning red, and grabbed everyone's sleeves.
A second later, the Conjunction of the Spheres activated.
After another burst of spatial distortion, the four of them reappeared inside Gotham Manor.
The instant they landed, Ciri released them and hurriedly stepped back.
"Well... it's late."
"I'm going to bed."
"You definitely won't need me to teleport anyone tonight."
"I sleep very deeply."
"And I definitely can't be woken up."
"So... good night, buddies."
Without waiting for a response, she hurried into the manor.
Buzz!
Only moments later, blue light from the Conjunction of the Spheres flashed inside the castle again.
After it disappeared, Lex swallowed.
"My eyesight isn't nearly as good as yours."
He looked at Bruce and Clark.
"But... did I really see what I think I saw on that comic?"
"You two..."
"Cough! Cough!"
Bruce immediately interrupted him.
"Enough, Lex."
His expression was perfectly serious.
"Tony is still wasting time inside a comic shop in Gotham."
"We need to return to the lab immediately and finish building the intelligent combat armor production platform."
"I've already prepared the improved Type C nutrient solution."
"We only need two hours of sleep to recover."
"Even though this isn't our world, its people shouldn't suffer because of wars, conspiracies, or the bizarre ideas of comic writers."
He turned toward the laboratory.
"Our goal is to complete more than thirty intelligent combat armors before ten tomorrow morning."
"We don't have to become heroes."
"But if we've decided to do something worthwhile, then we should make sure it truly remains a good thing."
With that, Bruce and Lex returned to the laboratory and immediately buried themselves in work.
Clark, meanwhile, awkwardly returned home.
After greeting Martha, he lay down, hoping to get some sleep.
Unfortunately...
Every time he closed his eyes, that comic cover flashed through his mind again.
"Ugh..."
That night, Martha, who had stayed up late watching television, became convinced her son had eaten something spoiled.
He spent hours dry heaving before finally falling asleep sometime after one in the morning.
Night never truly ends in Gotham.
If anything, Gotham only comes alive after dark.
After Axel and Selina finished their intimate evening together, the two fell asleep wrapped around each other.
Boom!
A powerful explosion shattered the silence at a medium sized bank.
When the smoke cleared, dozens of bodies lay scattered across the building.
Blood soaked the floor while dollar bills drifted through the streets on the cold Gotham wind.
The scent of blood attracted stray cats and wild dogs.
The scattered cash drew in every homeless person nearby.
The animals fought viciously over fresh flesh.
The homeless fought just as fiercely over the money.
Gunfire.
Shouting.
Screams.
Begging.
The sounds merged together beneath Gotham's endless night.
The news spread rapidly across the city's underworld.
By around six in the morning, it had reached Carmine Falcone.
Falcone had always been an early riser.
As he carefully tended the rows of flowers decorating his club, Victor Zsasz approached with his familiar bloodstained grin.
"Carmine."
Victor smirked.
"So, how's retirement?"
"Or should I say retirement followed by rehiring?"
"You look better than ever."
Carmine continued trimming his flowers.
"My mood is good because once someone like me has possessed something..."
"I never want to lose it again."
"I already lost Gotham once."
"I nearly lost myself as well."
"So after climbing back out of hell and returning to this true city of hell..."
"I intend to cherish every moment."
He picked up a watering can and carefully watered several thirsty plants.
Victor shrugged.
"I have to admit, it's nice not calling you Boss anymore."
"But it's even better working with you again."
"Oswald is clever, especially when it comes to business."
"But no one understands Gotham's nights better than you."
"No one understands the criminal empire you built over the last thirty years better than its creator."
Victor chuckled.
"Oswald struggles with problems that you solve while watering flowers."
"Without the Court of Owls and the city's elites holding you back, you're finally able to show what you're capable of."
"For thirty years, you ruled Gotham like its only king."
"I've always admired the way you controlled the city's underworld."
"If I could, I'd spend a lifetime learning from you."
His smile slowly faded.
"But unfortunately..."
"The peace you wanted ended last night."
Victor handed him a tablet.
Carmine glanced at the screen.
An alley packed with nearly eighty corpses.
Almost one million dollars scattered across the ground.
His expression remained unchanged.
"This wasn't an ordinary bank robbery."
He spoke slowly.
"Ordinary criminals wouldn't dare target Gotham right now."
"Before I returned, Axel ruled through overwhelming force."
"Oswald ruled with caution and precision."
"Together, they kept Gotham under extremely tight control."
"Although Oswald shifted his attention toward becoming mayor, the Dead Souls Gang still maintained an almost nonexistent crime rate compared to the old days."
"The deaths of Gotham's elite and the slaughter at Arkham reminded everyone that this city now belongs to a new king."
"Until criminals understood Axel's methods, perhaps a few fools would still take reckless risks."
"But fools couldn't have accomplished what's shown here."
Carmine studied the photographs for another moment.
Then he quietly asked,
"If I'm right..."
"You've already found the robbers, haven't you?"
Victor nodded immediately.
"I knew you'd understand."
"There were six robbers."
"At around four this morning, my men surrounded them inside an apartment on Sherwood Street."
"But when we got there..."
"They were all dead."
"They'd apparently killed one another."
"It looked like they fought over the money."
"The cash recovered matched exactly what had been stolen from the bank."
He folded his arms.
"From a police perspective, the case should already be closed."
"The robbers are dead."
"The money was recovered."
"Everyone wins."
"But something doesn't feel right."
"The six suspects had never worked together before."
"Two of them had never even fired a gun."
"And yet, during the robbery, they operated with the discipline and efficiency of special forces."
Victor narrowed his eyes.
"Then that same professional team suddenly slaughtered each other over the money, leaving no survivors."
"Doesn't that strike you as strange?"
===
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