Worthy of Batman

In the howling wind, Batman, clad in heavy armor, landed precisely beside the wreckage of a car that had been overturned by the gale.

The Grapnel Gun in his hand fired sharply, anchoring itself firmly into a concrete pillar beneath a distant bridge. With his other hand, he grabbed Jonathan Kent, who had been trapped!

"Hold on to me!" Bruce growled. The winch in his armor strained, dragging the old father back from the brink of death by sheer force.

But the tornado's terrifying suction was simply too powerful! Even Batman's heavy armor was being yanked off the ground by the raging winds. The two of them were about to be swept into the depths of that pitch-black storm together!

"The ultrasonic engine is overloaded! Master Bruce, the wind force has exceeded the armor's tolerance limit!" Alfred's anxious voice came through the communicator.

"No need for the armor."

At that moment, an exceedingly calm voice suddenly rang out from the center of the deafening storm.

Bruce abruptly turned his head and saw the group leader in a Japanese school uniform. At some point, he had already crossed the storm's barrier and was standing in midair as casually as if taking a stroll.

Amid a hurricane powerful enough to tear steel apart, not even a single strand of his hair had been disturbed.

A Crimson Energy Field radiating holy light enveloped him. The violent winds around him instantly dispersed the moment they came within three meters of him!

"Disperse."

Lin Xiao did not even transform. Still in human form, he casually threw a punch through the air at the tornado!

"BOOM—!!!!!"

Accompanied by a thunderous explosion like a bolt from a clear sky, an energy shockwave condensed from Gaia's Earth Light roared from Lin Xiao's fist and slammed directly into the tornado's eye!

The next second, a miracle that everyone would remember for the rest of their lives appeared!

The superstorm, powerful enough to destroy an entire city, let out a cry of unbearable strain from within under that punch.

Then, with a muffled bang, the black pillar stretching from earth to sky was forcibly blasted into scattered currents of air!

The dark clouds were torn apart, and sunlight once again spilled over the land of Kansas.

Jonathan Kent, having narrowly escaped death, collapsed onto the ground and gasped for breath.

"Dad!" Clark Kent rushed over at superhuman speed and tightly embraced his father. Martha rushed over as well, and the family of three wept with joy after surviving the disaster.

A moment later, Clark slowly raised his head.

His Kryptonian eyes, capable of seeing through all things and possessing super vision, stared in shock at the young man slowly descending from the air and the man in black armor.

In Clark's vision, the man in black armor was an ordinary human, while the young man in the school uniform... in his eyes, he was practically a star radiating endless light and heat!

"You..." Clark swallowed, his voice trembling slightly.

Ever since he was young, he had felt lonely and afraid because of his terrifying power. He thought he was an outsider, a monster that did not belong in this world. But now, looking at these two extraordinary beings before him—

An unprecedented sense of relief and excitement suddenly surged in Clark's heart.

"I... I'm not alone?" Clark murmured as he looked at Lin Xiao and Batman.

Yet as he watched the three "superhumans" gathered together, Jonathan, the meticulous adoptive father, looked deeply worried. He shielded his wife and son behind him and warily eyed Batman. "Who are you? Government agents? Or secret military experiments?"

"Mr. Kent, we aren't with the government. We came here to prevent a tragedy that should never have happened." Batman surveyed the surroundings.

"This isn't a place to talk. My aircraft is parked nearby. If you don't mind, please come with me to a secure base."

Half an hour later, inside a hidden Wayne Enterprises defense base beneath Kansas.

After hearing Bruce's brief account of future threats such as Darkseid and the Kryptonian general Zod—

Jonathan and Martha clasped their hands anxiously. "But... Clark is still a child. He's just a farm boy. He isn't ready to face all this..."

"I'm ready."

Clark abruptly raised his head. An unprecedentedly resolute light shone in his azure eyes as he looked at Batman and Lin Xiao. "If this world really needs me, if my power can protect everyone... then I'm willing to join you!"

At those words, a glint of satisfaction flashed through Bruce Wayne's eyes.

Bringing the future "God Among Men" into the fold early and preserving his anchor to humanity—this was undoubtedly the most successful strategic investment he had ever made.

"Good. I'm building an alliance. An alliance of extraordinary people like you, specifically meant to handle global, even cosmic-level disasters."

As he spoke, Bruce opened the base's metal storage cabinet, took out a finely crafted black wristwatch device, and handed it to Clark.

"Take this. It's an encrypted communications and environmental detection device I developed. It can detect disaster alerts worldwide and let you contact me at any time." Bruce spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne!" Clark put the wristwatch on as if it were a priceless treasure, his eyes filled with admiration for this senior figure.

Watching this scene, Lin Xiao, who stood nearby drinking the base's coffee, smiled in relief. Superman and Batman had formed an alliance ahead of schedule. The prototype of the Justice League had been established just like that. He had witnessed history, in a way.

However, just as Lin Xiao was about to bid them farewell—

Bruce suddenly turned around, took another black wristwatch from the storage cabinet—one that looked very similar but appeared to have undergone even more encryption—and held it out to Lin Xiao.

"This one is for you." Bruce's tone was calm. "Since you're also part of our defense plan, wear it. It'll make cross-world communication easier."

"Oh? You actually made one for me too? Thanks, old Bat." Lin Xiao did not suspect a thing and reached out to take it.

But the instant Lin Xiao's fingers touched the wristwatch, the exceptionally sensitive particles of light within his body instantly scanned through its internal structure.

One second later, the smile on Lin Xiao's face completely froze.

He lowered his head stiffly and looked at the inconspicuous wristwatch in his hand. Inside this device, only a few centimeters wide...

It was crammed full of nano-scale heart rate monitors, miniature GPS tracking devices, subcutaneous bioelectric-wave collection needles, and microscopic neurotoxin release ports?!

Lin Xiao slowly raised his head, the corner of his eye twitching wildly as he stared at the Dark Knight before him, whose face practically said, "I'm doing this for world peace."

"You little..."

Gritting his teeth, Lin Xiao pointed at the wristwatch in utter disbelief. "You stuffed twenty-four whole trackers into this walnut-sized watch face?! There are even poison needles?!"

Hearing Lin Xiao roar, Clark Kent, who had been fiddling with his own wristwatch, suddenly froze and stared blankly at Batman.

Having been caught red-handed by Lin Xiao, Bruce Wayne showed no trace of guilt. Instead, he calmly adjusted his tie.

"This is the alliance members' 'standard operating procedure.'" Bruce's tone was utterly forthright. "To prevent you from being mentally controlled or turning evil, it's also a form of protection for your safety. Of course, for the sake of fairness, you can do the same to me."

Clark swallowed and silently glanced at the watch on his wrist. It suddenly felt a little too hot to handle.

Lin Xiao laughed in fury. "Standard operating procedure my ass! What decent person treats bugs and poison needles as protection devices?! Who taught you this ridiculous persecution complex?!"

With a casual squeeze, Lin Xiao crushed the Countermeasure Wristwatch, which had cost millions of dollars to make, into a pile of powder in his hand.

"Try pulling this kind of stunt on me again, and believe it or not, I'll transform next second and stomp your Batcave into a basin?" Lin Xiao threatened with extreme "kindness."

Bruce looked at the powder on the ground. Not only was he not angry, he calmly updated the file in his mind: [Record: Target can detect miniature machinery through energy perception.]

"Ahem." Bruce gave a cover-up cough. "Since you don't need it, then forget it. But Lin Xiao, no matter what, thank you for tonight."

[Ding! Detected a major deviation in the fate trajectory of group member "Dark Knight of Gotham"!]

[The Justice League prototype has been established ahead of schedule! Points gained: 5000!]

Listening to the pleasant notification in his mind, Lin Xiao could not be bothered to argue further with this old Bat full of underhanded tactics. He patted Clark on the shoulder and left him with an exceptionally sincere piece of advice.

"Clark, take some advice from your big brother. From now on, in this alliance, watch out for fire, thieves, and Batman. Any glass of water this old bastard hands you, you'd better scan it three times with Heat Vision before drinking it. Understand?"

Clark nodded in horror. "I understand."