Rejuvenation

Residual warmth still lingered on the metal hatch of the Batcave, and the cold glow of the console reflected across Batman's profile.

Data streams scrolled rapidly across the screen.

"Compared to Bruce Wayne's last recorded results, his overall abilities have increased by about 3.7 times."

Hal Jordan leaned against the stone wall, turning his head to look at the computer screen in front of Batman, a hint of shock in his eyes.

"To think a race like this actually exists. I have to send this data comparison report back to Oa, otherwise they might not take the threat of Viltrum seriously enough."

Batman nodded, stepping aside slightly to give him room. Hal immediately raised his Power Ring and briefly scanned the information on the Batcomputer.

The Green Lantern ring began transmitting the signal, glowing with a faint, imperceptible light.

After finishing the transmission, Hal seemed to remember something even more serious, and a flash of worry crossed his brow.

"And that kid's matching signal has probably already been recorded by a Yellow Lantern ring. Sinestro definitely won't let go of such good talent."

"The Sinestro Corps is currently all hiding in the Antimatter Universe, making it hard for us to even do preventive work."

His voice carried a hint of gloom, a far cry from his usual breezy style.

Glancing down at the Green Lantern ring, which was flashing at an increased frequency, Hal Jordan's expression relaxed just a fraction.

"Oa headquarters will send a few more Green Lanterns, arriving in this sector by tomorrow morning at the latest. They'll lurk near the Solar System, and the moment they detect another Yellow Lantern signal, they can provide immediate backup."

Batman didn't raise his head, his fingertips tapping lightly on the console's touch panel to pull up a holographic star map of the surrounding Solar System, where red warning lines wove into a grid across the stars.

"The Justice League will handle the internal defense of Earth."

His voice remained low, devoid of a single trace of excess emotion.

"Shane's dangerous manifestations have decreased. I just gave him a communicator, so the moment there's any sign of a Yellow Lantern raid on his end, we can link up instantly."

"Don't worry, the moment they dare tear a hole in the Antimatter Universe, I'll intercept and kill them."

Hal raised his hand, the light of the Green Lantern ring surging to wrap his form in a beam of green light. He pierced through the hidden exit at the top of the Batcave, vanishing into the night sky in the blink of an eye.

Silence returned to the cave, and Batman continued to stare at the console until Nightwing's voice reached his ears.

Nightwing carried an empty tray, looking left and right before sweeping the clutter off a desk with one hand and setting the tray down properly.

He glanced toward the direction of the empty corridor, a helpless tone in his voice.

"I tried talking to that girl, but her guard is higher than I imagined."

Nightwing reached up to massage his brow, adding,

"Aside from eating steak and staying silent the whole time, when I asked about her background and plans, she didn't answer a single thing."

Batman listened quietly. He understood Nightwing's personality.

If Nightwing truly hadn't managed to ask anything, he usually wouldn't have so much nonsense to say.

Normally, he would just slink away in defeat, reporting it through an encrypted channel at most afterward.

Watching the man who had raised him act as stubborn and unyielding as a rock, Nightwing pulled a few hideous faces behind Batman's back.

Only then did he report in a much lighter tone.

"Just when I mentioned Shane to her, the girl said she helped Shane accept everything he did on Viltrum."

Nightwing shrugged, pulled over a stool at random, and sat down.

"That's it. Nothing else."

Batman finally looked up, switching the monitoring feed of the Batcave main hall. A wisp of lingering pale-purple magical energy still remained in the corner.

"Activate 24-hour global surveillance. Keep a close eye on all her movements, and don't allow a single oversight."

He raised a hand to dismiss the surveillance and the star map projection, then opened an anomalous energy warning program, his tone solemn.

"Shane hinted to me before he left that that girl's situation is similar to his, and she hides a threat behind her far more troublesome than Viltrum."

Nightwing's expression turned serious in an instant. He sprang to his feet, leaned over the console, and fixed his gaze on the blurry energy trajectory Batman had pulled up.

"More troublesome than Viltrum? What on earth is her background?"

"Shane said she came to Earth to seek help, but she refuses to reveal the core secrets to us."

Batman's gaze remained sharp, as if this man would never grow tired. Even when cosmic-level problems came one after another, they still couldn't affect his judgment.

Yet this time, Batman finally opened that encrypted channel once more.

He contacted someone else.

"Oracle, closely track the interactions between those two, record all abnormal actions, and report back in a timely manner."

Meanwhile, in the deep alleys of Gotham, Shane and Rachel walked side by side.

The streetlamp at the alley entrance was long past its repair, its light flickering and dim, stretching their figures into irregular outlines on the ground.

"Did you get enough to eat?"

Shane turned his head, recalling the trays Nightwing kept carrying back and forth, and couldn't help laughing.

Relying on the endurance bonus of his superpowers during his days in Gotham, he hadn't been eating on schedule either, and now he felt somewhat unaccustomed to it mentally.

Rachel rolled her eyes without the slightest concealment.

"Frozen steak, and the heating time wasn't even enough. It's still not as soft as the bread I conjure up myself."

She paused, a hint of sarcasm creeping into her tone.

"Is this what you call 'mooching off a rich guy'?"

Shane was stunned for a few seconds, laughed out loud after figuring it out, and felt a bit awkward.

"You can't really blame him, either."

He pointed behind them; the former Batcave was roughly in that direction.

"Just think, a hidden stronghold tucked away in a cliff sewer is definitely going to prioritize canned food. For frozen goods that need to be preserved and can withstand consumption, you can't expect much from the texture."

The two walked to the mouth of the alley. Shane stopped, the casual air around him fading as his expression grew somewhat solemn.

"Rachel, if you don't want to keep drifting, why don't you team up with me?"

His tone was earnest, without a shred of probing.

"At least you won't have to rely on theft to fill your stomach, nor will you have to make do with spending the night in abandoned corners."

Rachel's gaze turned abruptly cold, her steps instinctively retreating half a step as a faint purple magical aura bloomed around her, watching Shane vigilantly.

"You've seen my memories, too. You should know just how terrifying 'He' is."

"That demon could break through the dimensional barrier and come looking for me at any moment. Anyone who gets close to me will be dragged into endless darkness. Why court death of your own accord?"

Shane was silent for a moment, raising a finger to shake it.

"The one you mentioned wants to devour Earth, but Viltrum's fleet might also descend one day. To this planet, both threats are catastrophes."

Rachel froze, recalling the planetary civilizations in Shane's memories that had been crowned with the glory of conquest only to be miserably and genocidally wiped out.

To be honest, the individual combat power of a Viltrumite might fall short of Superman's, but those warriors could easily dispatch several individuals to stall Superman and tie down the Justice League.

The remaining Viltrumites would be enough to plow through the rest of ordinary humanity on Earth in an extremely short span of time.

That kind of crushing destructive force was more direct and violent than Trigon's dark erosion.

Neither could she determine which of these two disasters would arrive first.

In other words, her current situation and Shane's could be said to be identical.

Burdened by a fatal hazard, the moment it became known to ordinary people, what awaited them was bound to be apprehension and rejection.

That loneliness of having no one to rely on and nowhere to belong—she knew it better than anyone.

Rachel's tensed shoulders relaxed slightly, her gaze carrying a hint of complexity as she no longer resisted Shane's approach.

"Then what are your plans for next?"

She spoke, having already agreed to the outcome of them traveling together.

Shane raised his eyes to the night sky.

"Before I got your help, I only wanted to escape to Earth and scrape by, because I kept being haunted by the nightmare of Viltrum and couldn't catch my breath."

He was no person of burning ambition and high ideals; thirty years of ordinary lower-class life had branded an ideological anchor onto a middle-aged soul.

The outstanding achievements he once attained on Viltrum could not in the least shake the fact that his bones had already surrendered and bowed to life countless times.

Until Raven sewed the other half of that blood-stained soul into his brain.

Only then did Shane recover a certain mindset that his subconscious had once sneered at.

"...I'm going to become stronger than Superman."

He turned to look at Rachel, a trace of fatigue from the past finally vanishing entirely from his expression.

"To prepare for the day Viltrum might arrive."

Rachel's deadpan eyes still gave little feedback, though she instinctively asked a question.

"What if they never come?"

"Then I'll scour the universe to find them. If not in this universe, I'll go to others. I'll beat down everyone who opposes me until Viltrum exists in a different way."

As his words fell, Shane didn't forget to add,

"Of course, at the very least, after I've become strong enough, or after I've made full preparations."

Shane was just about to excitedly ask for Rachel's thoughts when he saw her staring at him with a look that bordered on regarding a fool, a trace of speechless disgust hanging at the corner of her mouth.

"Who's asking you about these illusory things?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, her tone unsparingly blunt.

"I'm asking where you're going to live next. When I was by myself, living in a warehouse or hiding in a sewer didn't matter, but you said we can't keep living like that..."

She paused, throwing out a more practical question.

"And food. We can't always rely on me stealing, or mooching frozen steaks off Batman every few days, right?"

The determination on Shane's face instantly stiffened. He gave an awkward, dry cough.

"Well... I have an escape pod. Although the volume inside isn't large, once we clean it up, it's enough for two people to settle down."

"As for food, don't worry, I know how to catch fish. I won't let you starve."

Rachel sighed and didn't speak again, seemingly defaulting to this arrangement that sounded entirely devoid of a future or any appeal.

The two walked another distance before Rachel suddenly added,

"I really regret helping you out. Your soul doesn't smell good at all anymore; it's so youthful it makes me want to vomit."