Getting through the shield was very simple. They crouched off to the side until an alien ship flew out, followed it all the way, seized it somewhere deserted, then flew it to another gate and passed through smoothly.
This had not been their idea either; they had copied Batman's homework outright. Bruce guessed that Batman had only used this method once or twice, and the other side's security system could not have updated that quickly, so it should be fine for them to use it again.
The shield flashed, and the lower portion of the gate vanished. A spindle-shaped surface craft carrying two mechanical soldiers flew out. They were workers responsible for inspecting and maintaining the shield generators.
Because they needed to check the shield's condition, the ship moved slowly. Superman carefully controlled his bioelectric field and followed behind it. Once it reached the middle of the shield, far from either gate, he fired a beam. The two mechanical soldiers turned to ash as though they had been skewered like candied hawthorns.
The ship floated motionlessly in place. Bruce immediately boarded it and used the miniature computer Batman had given him to crack the ship's system in no time.
Bruce piloted the ship, Peter sat in the passenger seat, and Clark sat in the back with the Joker so he could keep an eye on him.
"You said you'd run into some trouble lately?" Bruce asked, turning his head as he flew the ship. "I think you can talk about it. Maybe we can offer you some advice."
"It used to be trouble, but after Gotham turned into such a complete mess, it no longer seemed like much." Clark sighed. "After the aliens arrived, it became even less worth mentioning."
"You can't think that way," Bruce countered. "The state of