Lex Luthor was not punished.
Although he was largely responsible for what Doomsday did in St. Roch and Canada, those were things that could be resolved with money.
Moreover, LexCorp bore the responsibility for this matter, so what did it have to do with Alexander Luthor?
To be fair, this "enthusiastic citizen" had contributed a lot during the Steppenwolf incident, though he himself might have completely forgotten about it.
Luthor also discovered that his secret arrangements had been exploited. His first reaction was disbelief, then shock, then anger, and finally calm.
He didn't pursue who was behind this; he only needed to see who needed his contingency plans the most at the time to make a rough guess.
Given the United States' "zero-sum thinking," it was unlikely to be them.
And please excuse his rudeness, but he didn't believe the United States had the ability to crack the encryption he had set up.
So the only person or organization he could think of that could do such a thing without anyone knowing was the Justice League.
In this World, perhaps only this organization could break through his technology and take over everything he had originally prepared for himself.
After realizing this, Luthor's desire to destroy these metahumans became even more active.
And his first chosen opponent was not those without superpowers in the Justice League.
Luthor doesn't like to pick on the weak first; if he's going to fight, he'll go for the strongest first! It's you, Superman!
When Doomsday attacked Metropolis, Luthor saw from the live broadcast that there might be some unknown secrets between Superman and Lois Lane.
So he began to investigate Lois Lane's relationships.
He found that for the past two years, this female reporter had been dating a small-town man named Clark Kent.
To his surprise, this man appeared to be a small-time reporter on the surface, but secretly he was a major shareholder of Vanguard Technology, enough to live a life of ease and comfort without working.
He clearly joined the Daily Planet for Lois Lane.
But what interested Luthor was whether Clark Kent knew about the unclear relationship between his girlfriend and Superman.
He was really too curious.
"Mr. Kent, have you and Lois known each other for a long time?" Luthor asked.
Clark didn't want to answer him, but he also didn't want to appear overly rude, so he just reluctantly replied, "Lois and I have known each other for almost two years..."
"Two years? That's a long time." Luthor's expression was inscrutable. "Are you sure Miss Lois's feelings for you are loyal?"
Clark thought Luthor was provoking him, so he said with a hint of annoyance, "Of course! The bond between Lois and me is unbreakable!"
"Rex!"
Clark's voice suddenly faltered as he watched Lois, dressed in an evening gown, emerge from his apartment. She looked so beautiful.
But Lois pretended not to see Clark and gently placed her hand on Luthor's outstretched arm.
"We haven't missed the dinner party, have we?"
Luthor gave a gentlemanly smile, "Of course not, Miss Lois. By the way, you look beautiful tonight."
Lois covered her mouth and chuckled softly, "You flatter me."
Clark felt a bit superfluous, and a surge of anger rose within him—an inexplicable and uncontrollable anger.
But Clark still had his rationality. Although he didn't like Luthor, nor did he like Lois being with him, it was her freedom to choose who she was with, and he had no right to stop her.
So he could only stammer, "Uh, you... you two, are you going out..."
Lois seemed to notice him just then, and said indifferently, "We have a charity gala to attend. You don't mind, do you? After all, you also have some little secrets I don't know about."
Clark and Lois both knew she was referring to Superman's identity, but Luthor thought she was talking about Clark Kent hiding his wealth.
He was rather dismissive, believing that for a young, wealthy, and talented man, such discretion was nothing, and he actually felt Lois was making a mountain out of a molehill.
He was certain that Clark Kent had misunderstood their relationship, but his relationship with Lois was not like that, completely unrelated to romance, yet he didn't clarify this.
Could Clark say he minded? He couldn't.
Aside from a crush on a girl named Lana Lang in high school, Clark had no other romantic experience.
Of course, Clark would never know about the girls who had crushes on him.
Just as he never knew that Lana Lang had, in fact, never forgotten him.
All in all, due to his lack of experience in handling this situation, Clark remained very restrained throughout, stepping aside to let the two of them pass.
Clark's eyes remained fixed on the car until Lois and Luthor got in together.
Inside the car, Luthor looked at Clark in the rearview mirror and suddenly chuckled, "
Why didn't you just tell him you only agreed to go to the charity dinner with me for an interview?"
Lois glanced at the man beside her. No matter how well-dressed and presentable he was, in Lois's eyes, he was no different from a scumbag.
So her tone was very blunt: "That's none of your business, Lex Luthor."
Luthor made a zipping motion to close his mouth and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
As a capitalist with style, he wouldn't bicker with a woman.
After their car drove away, Clark's mood suddenly brightened, as he had evidently overheard their conversation in the car.
He even felt ashamed for having doubted Lois, for having questioned their relationship.
However, Lois going to interview Luthor alone still made him feel uneasy.
From the Steppenwolf incident and the recent Doomsday event, Lex Luthor was definitely not someone to be trifled with. He had to go and look after Lois.
So Clark put on his blue uniform and broke the sound barrier, flying into the sky.
Dream World.
In the Dream World managed by Cortana, Dane welcomed a rare visitor.
She had brown skin, as smooth as silk, a delicate face, and a graceful, slender figure, comparable even to the Spirit of Kandake or the Goddesses of the God Realm.
Looking at Madame Xanadu's face, one could easily associate it with the warmth and cheerfulness of the Gypsy people; in fact, she truly was a Gypsy.
"Madame Xanadu, welcome."
That's right, this beautiful woman was Madame Xanadu, a descendant of the ageless ancient people and a master of prophecy.
Given Madame Xanadu's aptitude, she should have been able to enter the Dream World much earlier.
But whether it was her own deliberate refusal or some other reason, she only appeared here today.
Madame Xanadu seemed a bit disoriented upon entering the Dream World, but when she turned and saw Dane, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Dane!"
"Hmm?"
This confused Dane. It wasn't strange that Madame Xanadu recognized his true identity, but were they that familiar with each other?
It was the first time he had been called by his name immediately upon meeting someone, except for the wizards, of course.
Madame Xanadu seemed to realize she had let something slip and quickly shut her mouth.
Contrary to Dane's expectations, he had thought that Madame Xanadu, having lived for such a long time, would be a very composed person.
But as it seemed now, her personality was as vibrant as her appearance.
"Madame Xanadu, or rather Nimue Inwudu, you should know why I've sought you out."
Madame Xanadu quickly regained her composure. Of course, due to his recent impression, Dane now only considered her mature and steady demeanor to be an act.
"You can call me Nimue; that's what my friends call me.
Yes, I think I know why you've sought me out, but please forgive me, I am powerless to help. Due to the disruption of fate, the future is no longer immutable, and I cannot see its full scope."
Not even Madame Xanadu?
Dane frowned. He continued to ask, "Then why did you send The Question to find me? Although I know the Wizard Council judged him back then, I don't know his true identity."
"No, I sent The Question to find you not because you can answer The Question's questions, but quite the opposite. I hope The Question can answer your questions."
Another Riddler?
Fortunately, Dane was already used to it. Prophecies about the future could never be truly clear, as if he remembered every detail like watching a movie. More often, the key still relied on guesswork or inference.
Although Dane had an omniscient perspective, the development of many things was still different from the details he remembered. After all, he was just making things up, not a true prophet.
Since Madame Xanadu said so, it meant that The Question was key to some future event, and what Dane needed to do was keep him in the Justice League.
No matter what that future event was, as long as The Question was in hand, it would never escape Dane's control.
"Let's leave The Question's matter for now. I wonder if I have the honor of inviting you, Nimue, to discuss some magic-related questions with me?"
As an ancient Gypsy, Madame Xanadu should be proficient in many lost ancient magic, and Dane was open to learning all of them.
But Madame Xanadu chuckled softly, as if she had expected it:
"I've seen people invite others for coffee on a first meeting, but it's rare for someone to invite me to discuss magic, Mr. Shazam. Is this how you treat women on a first meeting?"
Dane's expression was a bit subtle. This attitude gave the impression... "If you're willing, we can start there first. So, Nimue, would you like to have a cup of coffee with me?"
"Of course, I know a very nice coffee shop in New York. Perhaps we could go there and sit for a while..."
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