Gotham, early morning.
Bruce Wayne looked at the mist outside the window, reached out, and gently drew a symbol on the glass.
The mist spread on the glass, and the cold outside collided with the warmth inside, quickly dissolving the symbol he had drawn on the glass.
"Young Master, you are up very early today."
Alfred came up with a cup of hot tea and said to Bruce, who was standing in front of the glass wall.
Bruce, dressed in casual clothes, looked at the faint scenery of the manor and said, "It's just ten minutes earlier than usual."
"You know, once a person's biological clock is formed, it won't easily change. Batman always hunts after dusk. Although there's no timer, their daily hunting time in summer is delayed by about 30 seconds compared to the previous day. This is their almost unchangeable biological clock."
Alfred said to Bruce, "So, Young Master, you must be in a bit of a bad mood."
Alfred fully utilized his detective and reasoning abilities, stating that Bruce's biological clock deviation was due to his bad mood.
"Since my parents passed away, my mood has always been a grayscale state, neither good nor bad."
Bruce turned around and said to his butler, "A few of my friends have left."
"Are they your friends who claimed to have come back from the future?"
Alfred easily guessed it.
"Yes, they have left."
Bruce showed a complex expression, "It's like sailing in the ocean, and in a storm, you suddenly lose some of your most important crew members, even though you know someone will eventually leave the ship."
"We all live in a reality woven from the past. As for the future, that is woven by us now."
Alfred expressed his feelings.
"I know, and I've never thought of just following my future as if by a map."
Bruce sighed slightly, "I'm just lamenting the loss of my friends."
Bruce stated that he had always considered the three of them his friends.
Although he was very wary of the three at first, they had formed a deep relationship through their time together.
After a moment of silence, Bruce walked towards the underground base.
"I can't enjoy the hot tea for now, Alfred!"
After greeting the butler, Bruce entered his secret base as Batman.
He took out a piece of green kryptonite from a special safe.
Supergirl Kara had once told him that Kryptonians were most afraid of this kind of meteor from Krypton.
Once exposed to it, they would become weak all over, and in severe cases, even fall into a coma and die.
In the future, more powerful Kryptonians might invade Earth, and this green kryptonite might be used against them.
Eric Kent and Clark Kent are also Kryptonians, so...
Examining the kryptonite in his hand, Bruce fell into deep thought.
This green kryptonite would also affect both of them!
Thinking of this, he put down the green kryptonite, walked to the supercomputer, and retrieved the information about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake that he had found yesterday.
Looking at the shocking images on the supercomputer, Bruce's heart grew heavier.
He had personally witnessed Eric transform into a monster covered in bone spurs, a chilling sensation, a feeling of being invaded by a desire for slaughter and destruction at a single glance, which left an indelible impression on him.
Compared to the Kryptonians who would invade Earth in the future, Bruce was now more concerned about the two Supermen.
After witnessing the destructive power of a berserk Eric with his own eyes, he began to ponder.
If Eric or Clark were to encounter this situation again, due to their own reasons or being manipulated, what consequences would it have for the world if they lost their sanity?
"Superman and destruction?!"
After muttering this, Bruce stood up and looked at the monitor in front of him, his brows furrowed even tighter.
Metropolis University.
Night, girls' dormitory.
Betty suddenly woke up from her sleep.
Sweat beads trickled down her forehead as she gasped for air.
Still shaken, she touched her back and found it drenched in sweat.
Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes showed intense lingering fear.
She dreamt again of the tragic night at the sorority dormitory.
She and her friends jumped out of the second-floor window, escaping the masked killer's pursuit.
Blood and screams covered the entire auditorium, and everyone frantically fled for their lives.
But some girls were still caught by the Batman-masked killer.
Through behavioral analysis, she judged that the Batman-masked killer was Eric, but there was no clear evidence.
So she didn't mention anything about Eric to the police investigating the sorority dormitory.
But then, events unfolded far beyond her expectations.
Eric was wanted for suspected murder; the police suspected he was the masked killer!
But soon after, the warrant for Eric was canceled, and it was stated that Eric had cleared his name as a suspect.
The police's confusing actions made her even more bewildered.
Now she and her roommates lived off-campus, primarily to avoid Eric's retaliation.
If he really thought she had provided clues to the police and came for revenge, her fate would likely be miserable.
Although she suspected that what Eric killed might not be human, she had no concrete evidence.
Exhaling a weary breath, Betty stood up, took off her clothes, revealing her shapely figure.
After admiring her figure, which even she envied, in the mirror, she walked into the bathroom.
She was constantly on edge and very tired, so she wanted to take a shower.
After entering the bathroom, she turned on the showerhead, and the sound of water gushing began.
Outside, it started to rain, accompanied by faint thunder and lightning.
She tilted her head back, letting the water from the showerhead pour over her.
Crystal clear water droplets flowed down her fair neck, making her perfect, sculpture-like body appear even more flawless.
Boom!
A muffled thunderclap came from the sky, and all the lights in the room suddenly went out.
The showerhead, which had been spraying hot water, also stopped working.
Betty, halfway through her shower, had no choice but to wrap herself in a towel and come out of the bathroom.
"Great, all my bad luck for today has gathered together."
Betty let out a frustrated sigh and walked towards the living room.
"Trini, are you there? The power's out. Are there any candles left in the dorm?"
She groped her way forward in the dark, calling out to her roommate.
Perhaps her roommate was sleeping too soundly, as she didn't answer her.
"Okay, I remember there should be candles in the small cabinet, in the bottom drawer."
Betty muttered to herself as she walked towards the drawer.
She now somewhat regretted sharing an apartment with her roommate.
As the daughter of a wealthy family, she had refused her parents' offer of a residence because she wanted to experience life, but now it seemed that this old community was unreliable.
The power and water went out constantly; she couldn't stand staying in such a place for long.
Finding a candle in the drawer and lighting it, Betty breathed a long sigh of relief.
Suddenly!
A figure flashed past her side.
Betty, sensing something amiss, immediately turned her head but found nothing.
Thinking she had imagined it, Betty took a deep breath and walked towards the dressing table.
She reached out and wiped the mirror on the dressing table, then opened the mirror and took out her cosmetics from inside.
As she closed the mirror cabinet, her gaze fell upon the mirror's reflection, where a blurry figure appeared.
With disheveled hair, emanating a terrifying aura.
"Ah!"
Seeing such a terrifying scene, Betty let out a horrified scream.
Betty's roommate, awakened by the scream, immediately pushed open her room door and ran out.
"Betty! Betty!"
Calling out Betty's name, her roommate ran towards her.
Pushing open Betty's room door, she was startled to see Betty lying on the floor, blood flowing from her mouth.
The panicked roommate immediately called the police.
"Crash!"
A clap of thunder struck!
On the other side, Kent Farm.
Loli Kara, who had been visiting, had already left the farm, and Martha and Clark were at the hospital caring for the unconscious Jonathan.
Eric, meanwhile, was looking at the heavy rain outside in the dark night and was on the phone.
"Jenna, are you at the hospital taking care of your brother now?"
Eric was on the phone with Jenna of the Wonder Twins.
"Yes, my brother is recovering very quickly. He'll have to thank you especially once he's fully recovered."
Jenna's voice was full of excitement.
"Oh, and thank you for the phone you bought me."
Jenna, who was always fond of money, was very happy to receive the phone from Eric.
"So I can grant you one wish, Eric. Do you like cats? Or dogs? Raccoons are fine too? I can transform into a part of any animal you like, so you can experience my transformation ability. Do you know how soft a cat's paws are? They feel very comfortable to touch. In comparison, a dog's paws are sharper and not as comfortable to touch, but they're very useful in a fight."
"No! No need!"
Eric directly interrupted her.
"There's one thing I need to confirm with you."
Eric said, opening a newspaper.
The front page of the Daily Planet was about the temporary suspension of the Kansas State Councilor election, and the back page was about the so-called "Avenging Angel."
"Avenging Angel" was the media's name for a masked, spandex-clad individual who had recently appeared in Metropolis, fighting criminals.
Eric only learned today that a vigilante superhero had appeared in the Metropolis area.
"Jenna, are you the Avenging Angel?"
"Avenging Angel? I've heard that name."
Jenna's excited voice came from the other end of the phone, "She's the superhero who's recently appeared on the streets! If I could, I'd hope to be a hero like her too. Just imagine, seeing those gang members bullying homeless children on the street and directly punching them, without worrying about being punished by the police for injuring someone, without worrying about being discovered for your special abilities. That must be a very meaningful profession."
"You just want to cause trouble without being punished, don't you?"
After learning that the other party was not the Avenging Angel, Eric hung up the phone.
Not Green Lantern Jenna, not Jenna...
Who is it, exactly?
And why had he never heard of such a superhero in the DC world?
If the other party continued to play the role of a superhero in Metropolis, how would it affect him?
Eric put down the newspaper in his hand, a cautious look in his eyes.
Since his battle with Trigon, realizing the inherent limitations of individual power, Eric decided to accelerate his efforts to cultivate his own forces.
Bart, Jenna, and the Wonder Twins were the tools he held in his hand.
And Metropolis was the foundation of his power.
Since they were tools, they could not deviate from his will.
Since it was the foundation, he would not allow any existence beyond his control.
A masked superhero, if such an existence kept appearing before him, it would only annoy him and make him feel there was something he couldn't control.
After calling Jenna to confirm that she was not the Avenging Angel, Eric's brow relaxed slightly.
"Crash!"
A clap of thunder suddenly struck from the sky, illuminating the entire night.
Perhaps startled by the thunder, Rachel on the second floor began to cry loudly.
Eric immediately shifted his attention to his sister on the second floor, using his super speed to move upstairs.
Moving to the side of the crib, he picked up the loudly crying Rachel.
First, he checked her diaper to see if she had urinated.
After finding no urination, he held her and soothed her.
Rachel was more precocious than typical infants and rarely soiled her diaper.
Nor would she cry and fuss like a typical infant.
She would only cry loudly when she was very scared, or felt pain, or was sad.
"Are you afraid of thunder?"
Holding Rachel, Eric looked at her, gradually calming down in his arms, and said thoughtfully.
Carrying Rachel to his room, Eric placed her on his bed, planning to let her sleep there tonight.
After settling his sister, he turned off the light, preparing to sleep.
Sleeping beside Eric, Rachel stopped crying and quietly fell asleep.
As the night deepened, the rain outside also intensified.
The "pitter-patter" of the rain formed a strong contrast with the quietness inside the room.
Midnight.
Eric suddenly opened his eyes and reached out to his side.
Rachel, who had been sleeping next to him, had suddenly disappeared.
Eric, with a serious look in his eyes, immediately got up.
Following her scent, he looked towards a corner of the room.
He found Rachel sitting in the corner of the room, reaching out, seemingly trying to reach a book on the bookshelf.
Even on the lowest shelf, this height was clearly beyond her height as an infant.
Although she wanted to reach the book, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't touch it.
Eric walked to the bookshelf, squatted down, and picked up his sister.
He looked at the book on the bookshelf that Rachel was trying to reach.
Two books were on the bottom shelf: one was Eric's illustration of cthulhu works.
The other was something that somewhat astonished him—the Black Magic book he had obtained earlier from the Metropolis Owl Council!
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