Chapter Summaries

Batman and Zuo Ci escaped Hush’s exploding base, only to discover a giant monster rampaging in downtown Gotham. Doctor Hugo revealed that the creature came from his experiments and was not yet fully under control.

• Zuo Ci mocked Thomas Elliot’s obsession with replacing Bruce Wayne, and Batman confronted Thomas about the innocent people he had harmed.
• Thomas activated something by breaking a wisdom tooth, so Batman knocked him out, incapacitated Mr. Zsasz, and fled the base with several people while Zuo Ci carried Mr. Freeze.
• The base exploded shortly after Batman and Zuo Ci escaped.
• A giant in heavy armor emerged from a fissure in downtown Gotham, and Batman demanded to know what Hush had done.
• Zuo Ci threatened Doctor Hugo until he explained that the giant was a genetically engineered monster strengthened with Bane’s Venom formula.
• Hugo warned that the monster was extraordinarily powerful, could not fully obey commands, and might survive even a direct nuclear strike.

Zuo Ci summoned a customized Titan to fight the Giant after Batman paid him $300 million, while Poison Ivy remained trapped in the Flower Pot beneath the rising store. The two colossal opponents charged toward each other, and Gotham residents watched in disbelief as the battle began.

• Batman asked Zuo Ci to hold off the Giant while he worked on a solution, and Zuo Ci attacked but failed to hurt it.
• Batman transferred Zuo Ci $300 million, and Zuo Ci bought a customized Warlord-class Titan.
• Poison Ivy tried and failed to break the Flower Pot, then fell as Zuo Ci’s general store rose on top of the Titan.
• Zuo Ci entered the Titan, donned a Commissar skin, and charged the Giant as it advanced with its sword and shield.
• Two robbers watched the approaching battle from a downtown shop and decided to leave Gotham for Metropolis.

Zuo Ci piloted the Titan to defeat Hugo’s giant, then helped Batman handle the aftermath and confronted Hush for compensation. Hush claimed he had no money, leaving Zuo Ci to decide what to do next.

• Zuo Ci connected to the Titan and used it to pulverize Hugo’s giant after its first attack left the machine unharmed.
• Zuo Ci told Batman that he had made a deal with a stubborn god, while Batman collected samples from the giant’s remains.
• Zuo Ci used Bathing in Spring on Hush, restoring his face from Bruce Wayne’s likeness to his original appearance.
• Hush said he had spent or pledged all his money on his plan to replace Bruce Wayne, and Zuo Ci reacted ominously.

Penguin expanded his control of Gotham’s storefronts before Zuo Ci arranged a humiliating punishment for Hush and explained it to Batman. Zuo Ci also revealed that he came from another universe and had known Batman’s identity from the start.

• Penguin told his assistant to renovate and stock the shops he had acquired across Gotham.
• Zuo Ci asked Penguin to put Hush in his busiest adult entertainment venue and ensure he always had customers.
• Zuo Ci explained to Batman that he had altered Hush so everyone appeared and felt like Bruce Wayne, and that Hush would suffer painful, degrading performances at the club.
• Batman asked when Zuo Ci had learned his identity, and Zuo Ci said he had known since arriving because he came from another universe.
• Zuo Ci told Batman that making money was his goal and asked him to pour boiling water on the Welcoming Pine for rummaging through his belongings.

Zuo Ci welcomed Victor and Nora back after curing them, then checked on Penguin’s work and rewarded him with pills that could restore his mother’s youth. Penguin pledged his loyalty to Zuo Ci after learning what the gift could do for her.

• Zuo Ci told Victor and Nora to stop their tearful reunion and get to work, after curing Nora and improving Victor’s condition.
• Penguin reported that the shops were ready to open and confirmed he had carried out Zuo Ci’s punishments of Firefly, Scarecrow, and Mr. Zsasz.
• Zuo Ci gave Penguin a box of Shrinking Pills and explained that each pill could make his elderly mother about ten years younger.
• Penguin fell to his knees in gratitude, and Zuo Ci lifted him back up.
• Penguin declared that his life belonged to Zuo Ci and promised to be his most loyal subordinate.

After his mother recovered her youth, Penguin learned that Maroni Family thugs had attacked his shops and hired Jack Hanma for backup. As the thugs began another assault, Jack arrived at their location.

• Cobblepot helped his rejuvenated mother practice walking until his assistant interrupted to report that every Penguin-controlled shop had been attacked.
• Penguin learned that masked attackers had destroyed nearly half his shops and that Batman had stopped them from wrecking the rest.
• Penguin suspected the Maroni Family was behind the attacks and decided he needed outside help because his own forces were too small.
• Penguin called Jack Hanma and hired him to help defend his interests.
• Maroni Family thugs began attacking Penguin's remaining shops, and Jack arrived as their leader gloated.

Jack violently defeated Penguin’s men, but an unexpected newcomer accidentally struck him with enough force to leave him critically injured. Zuo Ci rushed to the scene and attacked the newcomer with an Ice Dragon Wave.

• Jack finished beating Penguin’s men and prepared to leave, but he caught a thug hiding nearby and began attacking him.
• A newcomer rushed in to stop Jack, and Jack’s counterpunch destroyed the man’s arm and caved in half his torso.
• Penguin called Zuo Ci for help while Poison Ivy ate at Old Dad’s General Store after agreeing to serve Zuo Ci for three hundred years.
• Zuo Ci hurried to Jack’s location and found Penguin confronting the newcomer, who pleaded for someone to call an ambulance for Jack.
• Zuo Ci arrived and engulfed the newcomer in an Ice Dragon Wave.

Zuo Ci visited Mr. Ma, who tried to rein in his violent antics, and gave him a pair of shoes with a dangerous surprise. Mr. Ma and Zuo Ci both ended up injured, leaving Mr. Ma on three months of sick leave.

• Zuo Ci barged into Mr. Ma's office after knocking Zhao Shu aside, and Mr. Ma scolded him for tormenting Zhao Xiaoliu.
• Zuo Ci claimed he had only whipped Zhao Xiaoliu like a spinning top and said he had acted because Zhao Xiaoliu and his father had threatened his family.
• Mr. Ma revealed that he had discovered Zhao Xiaoliu and Zhao Laoliu buried in cement after going to look for them.
• Zuo Ci presented Mr. Ma with handmade leather shoes, then used a remote to spray lubricating oil from their soles.
• Mr. Ma slipped and fell down the stairs, and Zuo Ci broke three of Mr. Ma's ribs while trying to catch him.

Zuo Ci used browser-game spells to defeat Mark Grayson, then discovered Mark was Invincible and learned he had been sent there during his fight with Angstrom. After Mark apologized, Zuo Ci revealed he knew the rough timeline of Mark’s world, alarming both Mark and Batman.

• Zuo Ci hit Mark with Ice Dragon Wave, knocking him into a shop, but Mark emerged unharmed and charged at him.
• Zuo Ci cast Sleep on Mark, sending him crashing face-first into the ground, then recognized him as Invincible from a comic.
• Mark apologized to Zuo Ci and Jack, and both accepted his apology.
• Zuo Ci learned that Angstrom had sent Mark there and inferred that the timeline was before the Invincible War, during Mark’s fight with Angstrom.
• Batman emerged from hiding, and Zuo Ci said he knew the rough original timeline of Mark’s world, raising Batman’s suspicions.

After learning about the grim future awaiting his world, Mark doubted anyone could help him fight the Viltrumites. Zuo Ci summoned Superman to reassure him, and the chapter ended with Zuo Ci urging the two heroes to spar while he filmed.

• Mark struggled to process Zuo Ci's outline of the Invincible War, the Viltrumite invasion, and the losses he would suffer.
• Zuo Ci told Mark he could prepare for the future, but admitted he could not personally handle the Viltrumites.
• Zuo Ci suggested that Superman could help, and Mark and Batman wondered whether Superman was strong enough.
• Zuo Ci called for Superman, who arrived at the doorway and offered to help Mark.
• Batman questioned whether Superman had overheard them, and Superman explained that his super-hearing covered the entire Earth.
• Zuo Ci urged Superman and Mark to spar while he recorded them, despite claiming he only wanted to help them communicate.

Superman, Mark, and Zuo Ci prepared to travel between worlds after Superman easily defeated Mark in an arm-wrestling match. Batman agreed to fund time synchronization but refused to leave Gotham, and Zuo Ci explained why the city needed him.

• Zuo Ci watched as Superman beat Mark in an arm-wrestling match, and Mark admitted Superman was stronger than his father.
• Zuo Ci warned that time passed at different rates between worlds, and Batman offered to pay for synchronization.
• Superman said his friends could watch over Metropolis while he traveled to another world.
• Batman refused to join the mission, saying he needed to watch Gotham.
• Zuo Ci described Gotham as a cursed, polluted city filled with dangerous organizations, leaving Superman and Mark stunned.

Zuo Ci and Superman returned with Mark just as Angstrom attacked Mark’s family, and they quickly subdued him. Cecil and the Global Guardians arrived at the house, where Mark tried to convince them that the newcomers were allies.

• Mark, Zuo Ci, and Superman waited on the rooftop until Angstrom’s portal opened, while Batman stayed behind to monitor his equipment.
• Angstrom threatened Oliver at Mark’s home, but Zuo Ci put him to sleep and Superman caught Oliver before he hit the ground.
• Superman froze Angstrom at Zuo Ci’s request, and Mark was stunned to learn Superman could use freezing breath.
• Cecil and the Global Guardians arrived after losing contact with their communicator, took fighting stances, and Mark rushed to explain that everyone was on the same side.

Superman tested the Global Defense Agency’s training machine and broke it, while Zuo Ci revealed Cecil had tampered with Mark’s body. As Superman and Zuo Ci waited for a way to reach Viltrum, Donald reported that Angstrom Levy had escaped.

• Superman trained at the highest setting, broke the machine, and offered to pay for the damage, but Cecil refused.
• Zuo Ci told Mark that Cecil was trying to figure out how to deal with Superman and pointed out the device in Mark’s ear.
• Mark confronted Cecil about tampering with his body, while Superman asked Zuo Ci what they should do next.
• Zuo Ci explained they needed to wait for Allen and his spaceship because Superman could not use Viltrum’s coordinates yet.
• Donald arrived and told Cecil that Angstrom Levy had escaped.

Zuo Ci and the Global Defense Agency prepared for the coming Invincible War, while Zuo Ci sold them sleep wands at an enormous markup. Angstrom recovered in his lair and vowed to try again, unaware that he had caught a cold.

• Zuo Ci criticized Cecil for failing to keep Angstrom contained, and Immortal shifted the discussion to preparing for the Invincible War.
• Rex worried about fighting Mark, while Zuo Ci and Superman discussed the risks of the alternate Marks scattering across the city.
• Zuo Ci offered the Global Guardians single-use sleep wands, and Cecil paid fifteen billion for the lot.
• Zuo Ci tried to sell Cecil more equipment, making Superman wary of his greedy laugh.
• Angstrom shivered and sneezed in his lair as he planned to try his revenge again.

Angstrom gathered sixteen Mark variants and urged them to destroy the world, but Zuo Ci and the defenders killed fourteen with a Catachan Barking Toad toxin trap. Two variants escaped, and Superman set off to confront one while Zuo Ci prepared to handle the other.

• Angstrom welcomed the sixteen Mark variants and told them to terrorize the world in exchange for getting what they wanted.
• A missile carrying a frightened Catachan Barking Toad exploded, releasing toxin that dissolved fourteen variants.
• Superman used a vacuum cleaner from Zuo Ci to collect the toxin, while two Mark variants escaped the blast.
• Zuo Ci explained the toad’s deadly properties to the stunned Cecil, Rex Splode, and others.
• Superman flew after one escaped variant, and Zuo Ci urged Cecil to activate the teleporter so the group could pursue the other.

Zuo Ci used bizarre weapons and tricks to defeat Evil Mark in the desert, then dosed him with a potion that magnified his sensitivity. The chapter ended with Evil Mark screaming in agony as the potion took effect.

• Evil Mark fled the missile explosion and demanded that Angstrom send him home, but Zuo Ci appeared behind him and struck him into the desert with a wooden mallet.
• Zuo Ci bombarded Evil Mark with over a thousand Doom-shrooms, leaving him badly injured but still determined to fight.
• Zuo Ci used a reversal technique to twist Evil Mark's balls, causing him to pass out.
• Evil Mark grabbed Zuo Ci's ankle while pretending to be unconscious, but Zuo Ci revealed that he was controlling a robot remotely.
• Zuo Ci poured a sensitivity potion over Evil Mark, and Evil Mark began screaming before he could finish surrendering.

Zuo Ci and the Global Guardians defeated two Marks from the Invincible War, but Zuo Ci’s brutal interrogation of the captured mohawk Mark revealed that he could not help them reach Viltrum. Zuo Ci planned to prepare further before confronting the Viltrumites, while Superman waited and longed to visit home.

• Zuo Ci defeated Evil Mark while Superman knocked out mohawk Mark, and Cecil teleported the group back to base.
• Zuo Ci tortured bald Mark during questioning, then admitted he knew Mark was telling the truth about not knowing how to navigate to Viltrum.
• Superman urged Zuo Ci to prepare for their next mission, but Zuo Ci decided to wait and make further preparations.
• Clark agreed to wait and said he missed his parents and Lois.

The Global Guardians trained against Evil Mark while Zuo Ci prepared for Conquest’s arrival. Mark then challenged Conquest at a remote nuclear test site, where he struggled against the Viltrumite’s superior combat experience as Superman watched nearby.

• The Global Guardians restrained Evil Mark and defeated him with a coordinated attack, completing their training run faster than before.
• Zuo Ci warned the team not to underestimate real Viltrumites, and Superman reported that Conquest was approaching Earth.
• Zuo Ci went to the city with Superman and Mark, and Superman intercepted Conquest and hurled him to a nuclear test site.
• Mark confronted Conquest and began fighting him while Zuo Ci filmed and Superman judged Mark’s chances of winning at about thirty percent.
• Superman saw that Conquest’s combat experience gave him a clear advantage, and Zuo Ci asked Superman to be ready to take Mark’s place.

Mark was overwhelmed by Conquest, so Zuo Ci took his place and used potions, magic, hot sauce, and a sonic weapon to defeat him. Zuo Ci celebrated his victory while Superman watched with the healed Mark.

• Conquest beat Mark badly, and Zuo Ci decided to intervene while Superman prepared to catch him.
• Zuo Ci switched places with Mark, and Superman healed Mark with four bottles of potion.
• Conquest tried to crush Zuo Ci, but a Buffer Potion blocked the damage as Zuo Ci struck Conquest’s heart with Grasp Heart.
• Zuo Ci smashed Carolina Reaper Death Sauce into Conquest’s face, leaving him in agony and unable to see or smell properly.
• Zuo Ci played a Slaanesh guitar, rupturing Conquest’s eardrums and damaging his brain, then celebrated as explosions erupted behind him.

Conquest adjusted to life in an Earth nursing home after Zuo Ci removed his powers, while Mark learned why Earth’s kindness could soften Viltrumites. Zuo Ci revealed he had taken Conquest’s strength and asked Mark to help him train to control it.

• Conquest ate breakfast at the nursing home and began to enjoy its peaceful, caring life, though he wondered whether he could still call himself a proud Viltrumite.
• Mark watched Conquest on a screen and asked Zuo Ci what magic had made him so friendly.
• Zuo Ci explained that the nursing home’s warmth and support had overwhelmed Conquest, and contrasted his change with Nolan’s decades of loyalty to the Viltrumite Empire.
• Mark felt upset that Nolan had not given up sooner, so Zuo Ci invited him to train together.
• Zuo Ci revealed that he had used the Power Transfer Gloves to absorb Conquest’s strength and now needed help controlling it.