Superman and Batman—this legendary friendship started right here, in a hydrochloric acid plant.
Inside a massive boiler, hot water steamed thickly. To produce industrial hydrochloric acid, the process usually involved electrolyzing saltwater to generate chlorine gas, which was then dissolved in water.
Everything in this plant was dangerous. Chlorine gas was toxic and could explode when exposed to light. Hydrochloric acid was a volatile, corrosive liquid. You didn't even need to take off your mask to smell the harsh sting in the air.
Batman pulled on a mask and stopped Superman, who was about to charge in. "Penguin has a piece of kryptonite the size of a fist."
"I know, but I can't let the hostage get hurt." Superman flew up, leaving Batman to sigh helplessly. This guy really didn't listen.
Boom!
Superman blasted through the factory's roof. "Penguin, your games end now."
Penguin had just tied Lois up and was hanging her above the boiler. When he saw Superman, he wasn't scared at all. In fact, he seemed thrilled.
"Look, Superman." Penguin held his signature umbrella, barely reaching Superman's waist. "The hero saving the damsel—classic, timeless scene, huh?"
Superman didn't bother talking. He flew straight toward Lois.
"Wait a sec, I've got a little gift for you."
A mechanical whir sounded from the adjacent room—it was Penguin's rubber duck car.
The moment it arrived, Superman felt a wave of weakness. He saw the kryptonite clenched in the duck's beak.
"Hahaha!" Penguin laughed gleefully. It worked. He scrambled onto his duck car and activated its weapons. A six-barrel machine gun sprouted from the duck's neck. "Superman, this is your last day alive."
Vrrrrr—ratatatata—
Flames licked at Superman. It was like being pelted with thousands of cigarette butts. The kryptonite weakened him so much he could only take the hits. Luckily, Superman's durability was insane. If one bullet shaved off a drop of blood, and he had tens of millions of drops, then it would take tens of millions of bullets to bring him down. Penguin's ammo clearly wasn't enough. Watching bullet after bullet land without killing Superman, Penguin grit his teeth and switched to missiles—specially designed by Luthor to target Superman.
He couldn't believe Superman was this hard to kill. No wonder the guy had such a reputation. Penguin switched to heavy firepower.
Fire!
Whoosh—
Boom! Superman got blasted. The cement floor blew open a hole. But all Superman got was a face covered in ash.
Batman, hiding in the corner, figured Superman had learned his lesson. Time to act. The key was removing the kryptonite—completely, not even a fragment could be left behind. He didn't want to use the explosives on him. Scanning his surroundings, his eyes landed on a glass container labeled "High-Concentration Hydrochloric Acid." That would do.
Penguin was frustrated. Superman just wouldn't die. Fine, then poison. He still had some toxic chemicals in his umbrella. "You're tough, Superman. But it's okay. I've got plenty of tricks left."
Penguin really was delusional. So many villains had failed—especially those who'd used kryptonite—and even Metal Man hadn't managed to win. Where did he get this confidence?
"Penguin, over here!" Batman burst through the side door and called out. The moment Penguin turned, Batman hurled the acid.
Splat!
The acid hit the duck's beak dead-on. It melted instantly, and the kryptonite began to dissolve too.
"Batman?!" Penguin's eyes widened as he watched the kryptonite shrink in the acid. He knew then—his chance to kill Superman was gone. "Why… why?! I already left Gotham City! Why are you still following me?!"
"Because you're a criminal," Batman said flatly.
"Damn it…" Penguin looked around—he was completely alone now. How was he supposed to fight Batman like this? He activated all the weapons on the rubber duck car. "Die already!"
He was trying to run, but Batman couldn't give chase. Missiles, bullets, and high-voltage nets all came flying toward him.
Batman was about to leap away when suddenly, a wall appeared in front of him—it was Superman. With the kryptonite gone, Superman was back in action and blocked the attack for Batman.
Flames, electricity, and flying debris slammed into him, but they did nothing. Superman's steel body didn't flinch.
The air from the blast whipped up a gust, rustling both of their capes.
But it wasn't over yet. When the explosion cleared, Superman spotted a bunch of wind-up toys wobbling on the floor. He blinked. 'What the hell? Toys? Now?'
Batman recognized them instantly. "Rescue her! Those are bombs!"
Superman didn't hesitate. Batman never joked about this stuff. He scooped Lois into his arms, spun around, grabbed Batman, and blasted through the ceiling.
Behind them, the factory erupted in flames. A wave of heat blew through the air, engulfing the entire building in orange fire.
The hot gust snapped Lois awake. She opened her eyes to see Superman. "You saved me again, Superman."
"Always happy to help, ma'am," Superman replied with a smile.
Batman watched them silently. 'Clark Kent's got a crush on Lois, and Lois clearly has a thing for Superman. This love triangle is ridiculous.'
"Ah! Batman?!" Lois finally noticed Superman's other hand wrapped around Batman's arm. She gasped. This was big. How had she missed that?! "Batman, would you be willing to do an interview?"
Batman didn't answer. He was scanning the ground for any place Penguin might be hiding.
Found him. "Superman, down there."
Superman looked and saw it too.
Penguin was unconscious, already tied up. A card was clipped to the rope.
"Batman, Superman—Penguin's mine now. —Kaitou Kid."
"…?" Lois stared at the card, eyes narrowing. Superman, Batman, and a phantom thief—how were they connected? It really felt like they all knew each other.
Batman and the thief both came from Gotham City, so that made sense. But how was Superman involved? And what kind of connection could Superman have with a criminal? It just didn't add up.
Lois's reporter instincts flared up. There was a story here—a big one. These three weren't working together by coincidence. Something was going on. "Batman, could I do an exclusive with you?"
"No." Batman's jet had already flown in.
"Batman, I hope we get to work together again." Superman would never forget that Batman had saved his life.
Batman grabbed Penguin, fired a grapple hook that latched onto the jet, and turned back. "Likewise."
The Batjet flew off, pulling the two of them into the sky.
Superman watched him go, then turned to see Lois still staring at him. "Lois, is something wrong?"
"Superman… I have a lot of questions," she said, eyes shining. She knew Superman would never lie to her. But for now, he wasn't about to reveal anything about the Justice League. Things needed to stay quiet for a while.
Penguin had lost—just as expected. If there had been any real chance of success, Luthor would've taken the spotlight himself. No way he'd send a deranged little penguin to do the job.
"Superman… I'll find a better way to beat you." Luthor muttered to himself as he looked down on Metropolis from the top of his company tower.