American Comics: Godhood Unlocked, I Chose Sci-Magic Dual Cultivation

"I-I ran into some trouble..."

"That dump called Gotham has trouble every day. Be specific."

Clark briefly explained what had just happened, and Dane quickly responded.

"Don't hang up. Wait for me."

Clark had no idea what he meant, but he obediently did as told.

Less than two minutes later, just as Clark was about to say something, a massive spacecraft suddenly descended from the sky. Clark saw it clearly—it was the one they had found in Canada.

The ship hovered in midair, and the hatch at its rear opened.

Dane's voice came through the phone again. "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and bring them to the Medical Pod!"

"Oh!"

Clark immediately snapped out of it and flew into the cabin with the two laughing people.

The hatch closed, and the spacecraft shot upward at incredible speed, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Not long after, a strangely designed sports car arrived at the scene. A burly man clad head to toe in a black combat suit stepped out.

When he saw the blazing ruins before him, he threw back his head and cried out in grief:

"No—! Jason!"

Joke. Is. On. You, Batman

Aboard the spacecraft, inside the Medical Pod.

Dane had Clark place Jason and his mother on separate operating tables.

He held his palm over Jason's body. A beam of light radiated downward from his hand, and wherever it shone, Jason's internal organs became visible as if through an X-ray.

"Multiple fractures in the collarbone, ribs, and shoulder blade. One bone even punctured his lung."

"And he's still alive somehow. That's a miracle."

After thinking for a moment, he formed a hand seal and cast a spell onto Jason. At last, Jason stopped laughing.

The Curse of Removing Abnormal Status could apparently eliminate neurotoxic gases like Laughing Gas. That made things much easier.

Thanks to Wisdom of Solomon again. It was incredibly useful.

He used the same spell to remove the Laughing Gas from Jason's mother, then called out into the air:

"Cortana, get ready. Perform bone-setting surgery on them."

"Understood, Dane."

Clark stared blankly at him. "Cortana?"

"I named her. What do you think?"

"You can name an AI?"

"What's so surprising about that...?"

Clark asked suspiciously, "When did you two get so close?"

"Today, while Cortana was teaching me things."

"Wow, she really is smart. Kryptonian AI technology is on another level!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Dane."

"You're welcome."

Watching Dane move around his own spacecraft as if he belonged there, Clark felt like a mere lackey...

Fortunately, he still had a dad!

"By the way, who are these people?"

Dane asked casually. Clark had only briefly described what happened, and Dane had not gotten the chance to ask for names.

"This boy is named Jason, and this woman is his mother. That's all I know."

"Oh, his name is Ja... uh, Jason?"

Dane suddenly realized something. He stared at the man on the operating table. This was Jason?

Was he the Jason Dane was thinking of? Second Bucket?

For those unfamiliar with DC, Jason Todd was the second generation Robin.

After dying and coming back to life, he became Red Hood. Fans affectionately called him "Second Bucket" and "Brother Bucket."

He was one of the main characters in Batman: Arkham Knight. That ridiculously cool Arkham Knight was him.

Dane calculated the timeline. In the DCEU, the second generation Robin seemed to have died around these years.

In BVS, Batman had a glass case in the Batcave specifically displaying a suit with yellow paint scrawled across it: "HAHAHA, JOKE'S ON YOU BATMAN." That was the second generation Robin's keepsake.

Then there was no doubt about it. Anyone the Joker went to such lengths to kill had to be connected to Batman. This guy was definitely Second Bucket.

Not bad!

Dane happily patted Clark on the shoulder, leaving him completely baffled.

See? Hadn't he just made contact with Batman?

Once Second Bucket recovered, they could bring him, alive and well, to meet Bruce Wayne.

Mother Surprise, am I right?

Gotham.

Batman drove the Batmobile in a mad pursuit of the sports car ahead. He did not care how many facilities or buildings were smashed along the way.

Inside the Batmobile, Batman's grim jaw was clenched tight. His hands gripped the steering wheel so hard that it seemed he wanted to snap it in half.

A fire burned within him, a blazing fire of vengeance. It could never be extinguished without being fed with his enemy's blood.

Just then, the phone inside the car rang. The caller ID showed Commissioner Gordon.

He answered.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Batman remained unmoved. "I'm pursuing the Joker."

"No, you're destroying this city!"

Watching the helicopter's live broadcast and seeing the countless public facilities and private properties destroyed by the Batmobile, Gordon felt his temples throbbing.

"Can't you be more careful? Just a little?"

"He's getting away!"

Batman threw out those words and suddenly pressed a red button. The Batmobile's front split apart to either side, revealing a cannon barrel in the middle.

Gordon froze in shock, then cursed, "Holy shit..."

With a boom, a flash of fire erupted. The blast wave lifted the rear of the sports car ahead, sending the entire vehicle tumbling forward.

It rolled several times before finally coming to a stop upside down.

Inside the car, the Joker felt as if his whole body was falling apart, but he was not in pain.

Seeing Batman emerge from the flames, he cried out happily.

"That's it, that's it, baby! Come on over! Come on!"

Batman did as he wished. He grabbed the Joker by his purple suit with both hands and lifted him into the air.

Then he growled in his deep voice, "You killed him!"

"More accurately, I killed him and his mother. A family reunion..."

Batman drove a fist into the Joker's stomach, making him vomit everything he had eaten that night.

The Joker laughed as he threw up. "Didn't eat dinner, Little Bat? Or was little Robin just not worth mentioning?"

Batman violently slammed him down, smashing his upper body against Earth Mother. The Joker's head buzzed, and his vision blurred.

Yet he still wore a smile, even encouraging his opponent:

"Yes, that's it. Hatred? Regret?"

"You should hate your own helplessness and regret your arrogance. Yes, if it weren't for you, little Robin wouldn't have died..."

"Ah—!"

Batman straddled the Joker and punched him again and again, beating him black and blue, beating his face beyond recognition.

But the Joker's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he looked at Batman as though admiring a work of art.

And that work was only one step away from completion.

"Kill me! Hurry, kill me! Kill me with your hatred!"

But he did not get his wish. Gordon arrived, and he and his officers rushed in together. Five or six men held Batman down tightly, stopping him from continuing to beat the Joker.

"No! Let him go! Let him go! Let him come at me! Let him kill me! It's only one step away, only one step away!"

The Joker roared furiously. He struggled too, but his strength had long been drained by Batman's beating and the earlier chase.

He could only watch helplessly as he was carried into the police car, losing his final chance.

After the Joker was taken away, Batman sat on the ground in a daze, staring silently at the dim sky.

First Barbara, then Jason. How many more people would he hurt?

Seeing him like this, Gordon knew he was in a bad mood. He had his men keep their distance and sealed off the area.

He patted Batman on the shoulder and left without saying a single word of comfort.

They had worked together for many years. Gordon knew what a strong man Batman was. He would not be brought down, and he did not need comfort.

A few minutes later, Batman stood up again. Calm returned to the grim half of his face as he climbed into his vehicle.

Amid the roar of the engine, the Batmobile left the scene.

At the same time, Jason Todd opened his eyes inside the Medical Pod.

He suddenly pushed himself upright and felt intense pain radiating from every part of his body.

"Please lie down. You have just undergone surgery and need rest."

Cortana's voice suddenly rang out inside the pod, startling him.

He turned to look around. When he saw his mother lying safely on the operating table, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did he have time to inspect himself properly. Raising his hand, he discovered tubes inserted all over his body, with some unidentified green liquid flowing through them and into him.

Jason frowned deeply. "What is this stuff?"

"These are Macromolecule Concentrate, used to repair the wound in your lung and heal your shattered bones and muscle tissue."

Cortana answered in a mechanical tone.

"Who are you?"

"I am the intelligent AI aboard this ship. My name is Cortana."

"Ship? What ship?"

Jason keenly caught the important point, but Cortana did not answer. At that moment, the pod door opened, and a burly man in red walked in.

"Looks like you're recovering well."

Jason did not know him, but there was no disputing that this man had saved both him and his mother. He hesitated before saying:

"Thank you..."

"You don't need to thank me. I wasn't the one who really saved you."

Dane stepped aside, revealing Clark, who was still wearing that suit.

Jason recognized him immediately. This was the man who had faced a hail of bullets without flinching.

"Let's make a simple introduction. He's Superman, and I'm Shazam."