Time had indeed been limited, and so, on the momentous first day the Earth Bench Press Machine officially entered service, things had turned out like this.
Batman had failed to determine the true limits of either of the two people he most wanted to measure.
Superman had lifted a weight equivalent to Earth six thousand times and still had strength to spare.
That meant Superman's maximum output far exceeded the mass of an entire Earth.
The same was even truer of Shane. He had barely broken a sweat. After seven straight hours of lifting, he had only gotten off the machine because they had run out of time, and all he had said was:
"My hands are a little numb."
His powerful physique nourished his mental power, his mental power fueled his divine power and magic, and his divine power and magic, in turn, energized his body.
Several different powers circulated through him, reinforcing one another. Compared to before he had obtained Jewel Kryptonite, Shane's actual capabilities had now improved to a degree that was extraordinarily difficult to measure or estimate scientifically.
Batman had, however, managed to measure everyone else's limits.
It had taken two full days.
Black Adam, Captain Atom, and Shazam in his first transformation had all reached the level of being able to move Earth. But just like Wonder Woman, who could not sustain her maximum output once it had been measured, they could not maintain it either.
They could barely move under a load comparable to Earth's weight. Doing actual workout sets like Superman and Shane was nothing but a pipe dream. Martian Manhunter fared worse, probably only a little stronger than Wonder Woman.
As for the remaining seven or eight metahumans, all previously renowned for their superstrength, the praise that they were "on par with