Viltrumite, Is Your Mightiest Chat Group Fake?

What kind of person did someone have to be to face all this day after day as Batman?

He shook his head and looked at Tim.

"Kid, my friend and I came looking for Batman, but it seems you could use some help right now?"

"Uh..."

Tim recalled Bruce's assessment of Superman.

"My wariness stems from how powerful he is, the possibility that he may not be human, and my own nature and responsibilities.

I might do this to anyone.

But I don't deny that he is very likely someone who simply wants to do good."

He had never doubted Bruce's judgment, so he promptly explained.

"Tonight is probably the liveliest night of the year..."

Joker's bomb-and-kidnapping game, Two-Face's coin-flip gamble, Deathstroke's assassination, Professor Pyg's new experiment, Penguin's robbery, Scarecrow's toxic gas release...

Oh, and Riddler's riddles.

Leon's brow furrowed even deeper as he listened. What kind of Batman was this, taking on so many enemies at once?

Even Superman found it a little absurd. He hurriedly rose into the air.

"Let's split up, Leon."

Leon nodded and looked down at Tim.

"Remember to help us contact Batman afterward. Oh, right, can I kill people?"

"Preferably not!"

Robin and Superman spoke at the same time. Leon could only shrug and fly off.

They only said he couldn't kill people, right?

Whoosh!

Trailing umbrella-shaped shock rings behind him, Leon turned into a streak of white and vanished into the night sky.

Then he saw green dots scattered across the city like stars.

"Hiss, memories from my past life are stirring."

He rolled to shed momentum, then the instant he broke through the clouds, he plunged downward in an explosive dive.

Shattering the entire cloud bank!

The tiny green dots rapidly grew larger. They were markers made up of question marks.

Without hesitation, he smashed to pieces someone's painstaking designs, crafted over countless days and nights.

After clearing away the debris, he immediately headed for the next location.

At that moment, inside a safe house even Batman could not easily locate.

Riddler had his feet propped on the table, legs crossed, as he drunkenly admired the screens before him.

"Hehehe, the riddles I designed are sure to bring Batman endless surprises!"

Then one of the screens went black.

"Huh?"

He sat upright, rapidly hammered at the keyboard, and pulled up surveillance feeds from every location.

What greeted his eyes was a field of ruins.

Before he had time to figure out what was happening, two more screens went black in succession.

He stood and began operating the system, trying to fight back against the bizarre phenomenon.

When the sixth site was destroyed, he caught a glimpse of a hem. By the fifteenth, he saw a flash of white.

Cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Until the final site, he saw the culprit finally stop.

The young man in white simply stared quietly into the camera.

"Shall I begin?"

"Stop! Don't!"

Like a helpless husband, Riddler watched his little clever creations get violently dismantled.

But he soon had no time to care about that.

After the other man vanished, he vaguely felt a tremor, followed by the anguished shriek of steel plates being torn apart and the roar of concrete before it shattered.

Riddler did not turn around. His question-mark shirt was already soaked with sweat.

He could not understand it. Everyone had been having such a good time playing the Gotham game, so why had some god suddenly descended to blast the small fry?

Gradually, he felt fingers pressing against his cervical spine.

Then came his favorite kind of riddle.

"Guess what white thing is harmful to your health when smoked?"

"I won't guess! I won't guess! I'll never play riddles again for the rest of my life!"

Riddler cried out repeatedly, but he could not stop Leon from applying more force.

"Don't! Don't touch it!"

On his way to deal with Riddler, Leon had also taken care of quite a few criminal gangs.

He flew back into the sky. This night view, this drifting rain...

For some reason, it did not merely feel familiar. He had even flown through this place before.

At this moment, thanks to the combined efforts of many parties, Gotham's demonic aura had more or less been suppressed.

The voices in his ears grew fewer and fewer. With a twist of his body, he dropped between the skyscrapers and headed toward the final location.

It was a factory. Before he even entered, he heard a commotion.

Something was fighting inside, continuously smashing through walls as it approached from within.

Soon, a large hand stretched out from the smoke and dust of shattered bricks, and Bane ran out from inside.

He looked extremely battered. Several tubes had been ripped from his back, and the green-filled veins across his body were fading.

"Get out of my way!"

He swung his fist straight at Leon.

Leon ignored him and quietly waited for the other person in the smoke to emerge.

The instant that fist struck Leon, the ripples spreading through his skin began to surge back.

As they passed through it ring by ring, every bone in Bane's hand shattered and burst out through his flesh.

Green and red sprayed into the sky, and Bane could not help screaming.

Leon looked at the man who had finally revealed himself.

Aside from those headache-inducing riddles, there were things from his past life that he could never forget.

The cool articulated exoskeleton armor, the perfect physique difficult to find in reality, clearing Gotham in one night, a tough man with a heart of steel.

Wow, it was Arkham Knight Batman!

Who Wouldn't Want to Ride the Batmobile?

"Ahh... urrgh..."

Bane's screams gradually turned into whimpers.

As the drug's effects faded, agonizing pain began to sweep through his body. Clutching his shattered right hand, he no longer had the strength to scream.

Batman glanced at Leon, then threw a Batarang at Bane's head.

At the moment of impact, the precisely calculated explosive charge robbed Bane of consciousness.

After restraining him with ease, Batman once again stood before Leon.

"I saw the photos Robin sent. You came with Superman."

"Yes, we came to seek help."

"A war between top-tier superhumans—why would you think I could involve myself in it? I need an explanation."

Behind the mask, those slightly bloodshot blue eyes stared at Leon.

In Batman's assessment of Superman's personality, Superman did not have any inclination to seek outside assistance.

Or rather, most beings classified as superheroes, including Batman himself, had a territorial side.

With Metropolis's current troubles still within Superman's capabilities, Batman did not think Superman would consider this option so quickly.

The only variable was the young man before him.

Leon shrugged.

"Because this battle won't remain a simple contest of strength. We need someone skilled at planning to cover for the variables outside the battlefield."

Actually, he could not really explain it himself.

It was simply that Viltrum wisdom far surpassing Solomon's told him

that Superman, who liked to charge in with super strength, needed an external brain. That way, he could be as wise as Leon.

"Don't say 'we.' It is only you. I know this is not something Superman would consider at this stage.

"And the reason you gave is weak. I believe you have an understanding of me beyond the information available to you, which is why you decided to seek me out first."

Batman asked in return.

"I am willing to help, but first, you need to tell me who you are."

"Leon. For now, you can think of me as another Superman."

"But you are completely different from Superman."

Batman brought up several interfaces on the screen, all records of Leon and Clark's activities in Gotham tonight.

Clearly, even on such a busy night of crime, his mind still had room to focus elsewhere.

He looked at Leon with an intensely scrutinizing gaze.

"In my view, your methods differ greatly from Superman's.

"Your help seems less like kindness and more like a choice based on rationality. If no one reminded you, I doubt you would mind killing them all in a single night.

"And judging from your methods, perhaps you have done it many times before."

Batman concluded his analysis.

"No offense, but compared to Superman, you may be closer to Arkham. So discussion of Robin is off the table."

A very impressive analysis, with a touch of Batman-style dark humor.

But it was not enough to make Leon feel uncomfortable at being seen through. He knew himself well enough.

"So, is there any more shocking truth I need to know?"

"Of course. I believe you and Superman may possess similar abilities, but you are not the same species."

Several sets of data that Leon could not understand popped up on Batman's screen.

"The principles behind your flight are completely different."

Well damn, he had even discovered the bio-electric aura. There was every reason to suspect that Clark had already been exposed.

It was likely Batman had even gotten his hands on Kryptonite by now.

As expected of Batman, Leon inwardly marveled.

"So what is your answer? Will you cooperate or not?"