Regarding Superman

Regarding Superman

Just a few days ago, at Harvey Dent's funeral, he had seen with his own eyes that plastic toy, no bigger than a pinky finger, being placed inside the coffin.

The earth was filled in, and the Stars and Stripes covered it.

It had been a strange funeral, solemn yet absurd. But no one had been able to laugh.

At that moment, the palm pressed against Penguin's bald forehead was hot, and through it, he could feel the other man's heartbeat racing far beyond that of an ordinary person.

"I think there must be some misunderstanding between us~" Penguin said with an awkward laugh.

He did not want to become a plastic toy, standing in a glass display case every day for people to play with. Worse still, some child might throw him out to amuse a dog.

As for whether it really was a misunderstanding, or whether he regretted not finishing Li Zu off with a single bullet—

Li Zu clearly did not care.

"You villainous scum have broken your promises too many times. I wouldn't dare trust you," Li Zu said righteously.

"What do you mean, villainous scum like me? Are you telling a joke? I'm the hero maintaining order in this city and keeping it from being ravaged by people like you!" Penguin muttered quietly.

"What did you say?" Li Zu bent down, draping an arm around Penguin's shoulders as he asked.

"I can guarantee it! And I absolutely won't call anyone! If you don't believe me, you can turn me into a toy whenever you want!" Penguin immediately raised both hands obediently. He looked like a bloated aquarium penguin, swaying from side to side in a comical manner.

"What do you need?"

"Do you have any free pastries here?"

Li Zu rubbed his stomach, frowning. "I had cereal this morning, and it didn't agree with my stomach. I still prefer a saltier breakfast."

Penguin cursed inwardly, but kept a cheerful smile on his face. "Of course, of course. I'll have someone prepare lunch right away."

After confirming that Li Zu's hand remained on his shoulder, Penguin chose to cooperate amicably.

A steak set meal, plus two bottles of champagne.

After Li Zu had eaten and drunk his fill, he made another request, one that surprised Penguin even more.

Because it had absolutely nothing to do with him. It was as though Li Zu had truly forgotten about that bullet.

Wayne Manor.

Today was a rare sunny day.

A man wearing Batman's cape crouched before a gravestone.

He was deep in thought, remembering.

The grave had been covered with fresh soil, and the budding grass around it had been cleared away.

The gravestone bore the name "Martha Wayne."

The flowers before the gravestone had not yet withered.

A red figure appeared behind him like a bolt of lightning.

When the lightning stopped, a man in a red bodysuit appeared.

The yellow lightning emblem on his chest seemed to proclaim to everyone that he was as fast as lightning.

To this world, he was a new superhero. If Li Zu saw him, he would surely call out his name at once—

Flash!

"Thomas, it's time for us to act!" Flash removed his mask, revealing blond hair and a handsome face.

It seemed their method of using lightning strikes to gain the Speed Force had succeeded.

"Barry, we have to succeed!" Batman stood up. His voice was like a hammer driving nails, every word forceful and resolute.

After the death of the wife he had fought with for half his life, Batman now had only one thought in his heart: change history and bring his son back to life.

"My speed is fast, but not enough to travel through time. We have to find Reverse-Flash," Barry said gravely. "He's siphoning away part of the power."

"You know where he is?" Batman asked.

"No."

"We can go to the battlefield first and stop the war between Diana and Arthur," Barry added. Former comrades had now turned against one another, even triggering World War III.

He wanted to stop all of it.

"Mm-hm." Batman's response remained brief.

Considering Wonder Woman and Aquaman's combat strength, Barry said, "Before that, we should find some help."

"Who needs help?"

A voice came from the sky.

With a thunderous boom, a humanoid hunk of metal dropped from above, shaking the ground with a deafening crash.

"Cyborg, I didn't invite you!"

Cyborg left two deep footprints beside the cemetery. Judging from Batman's tone, he was not pleased.

"I was planning to persuade you to join us at the battlefield." Cyborg shrugged as if he were innocent. "Looks like there's no need... Oh, right, your phone is ringing. It's Penguin!"

As he spoke, Cyborg lightly tossed over an earpiece.

Batman caught it.

"Thomas?" a voice came from the other end.

"Mm-hm."

"Do you remember what Jim said about that sewer monster?" Penguin said. "Without you, we can't deal with it."

"Wait until I return," Batman replied.

Once the operation was over, all the history of this world over the past few decades would cease to exist. Naturally, the sewer monster would cease to exist as well.

"Return? Where are you going?"

"Cobblepot, you don't need to know any more than that!"

He took off the earpiece and casually tossed it to Steel Bone.

"Steel Bone... Cyborg." Flash was delighted to see Cyborg. "Can you help check whether there is a pair called the Kents in Smallville, Kansas, and whether they adopted a child several decades ago?"

Cyborg placed the earpiece into the storage compartment in his arm, cutting off the signal as well.

"And this is?"

"Barry. I'm very fast!" Barry jogged a couple of steps as he introduced himself to his "old friend."

"Barry, did they adopt your brother?" Cyborg asked with a grin. Cyborg in this world seemed to enjoy making jokes.

"An alien. Maybe he hasn't become that righteous Superman yet, but I believe he must exist in this world, waiting for us to find him," Flash said seriously.

"How come I've never heard of a 'Superman' like that?" Cyborg paused for a moment. He linked to the satellites above and investigated data from around the world.

A few minutes later, he stopped.

"The Kents in Kansas don't have any children."

"What!" Flash understood that this was another change brought about by his alteration of time.

"Guess what I found. Thirty years ago, the military recovered a spacecraft in Kansas, then immediately built an arms factory that isn't open to the public. I can't find any information on it either."

Gotham nightclub.

Penguin ended the call. The speakerphone's voice had echoed throughout the room just now, and both of them had heard everything clearly. He did not need to explain laboriously.

"He obviously doesn't want to go into the sewers and find that disgusting monster~"

He could not figure out the Toyman's intentions. He wanted Batman to go to the sewers outside the city and deal with that man-eating monster.

Still, the Toyman's plan falling through put Penguin in a much better mood.

Before the call ended, Flash's question had also reached both their ears.

Several key words: Kansas, the Kents.

"Superman."

Li Zu's lips could not help curving upward, accompanied by a quickening heartbeat.

"Yeah, how could this world possibly not have Superman? Maybe Superman is a supervillain too?" he guessed wickedly.

A bloodthirsty god among men.

"He can definitely help me explore this world faster!"

"What?" Penguin did not quite understand what Li Zu meant.

"You must have a way to obtain classified information, right? Help me find someone. A spacecraft should have landed in Kansas."

His right hand pressed against Penguin's head. This request was not open to refusal!

Penguin obediently called someone.

They had a powerful information gatherer. Though that woman had limited mobility and could not compare to Cyborg's ability to connect to satellites and monitor the world, breaking into classified systems and finding a few files was a trivial matter for her.

"Oracle, I want to find a spacecraft."

Thanks to "Mysterious Youth" for the 1,000 Qidian Coins reward.

(End of Chapter)