"What's your proudest skill?" Lee asked casually. "Speed?"
Before anyone could react, he vanished from sight.
A blur streaked across the room, and the next instant Lee's fist slammed straight into Atomic Skull's stomach with crushing force.
"Or power?" Lee added calmly.
Atomic Skull never even saw the attack coming. In both speed and strength, Lee completely overwhelmed him. The punch folded Atomic Skull over like paper and sent him crashing to the floor in agony.
Everyone in the room froze.
For several seconds, Atomic Skull couldn't even speak. The pain had stolen the air from his lungs, leaving him clutching his stomach while gasping for breath.
Finally, he raised both hands in surrender.
"I… I take back… what I said earlier," he wheezed. "Excuse me… is there anything I can do for you?"
Lee looked down at him casually.
"I want to see Superman," he said. "Use whatever method you want."
"Superman?" Atomic Skull blinked in surprise.
Then he asked cautiously, "You mean… you want to become Superman?"
Lee tilted his head.
"What's wrong? Is that a problem?"
"No, no! Absolutely no problem!" Atomic Skull replied quickly.
The moment Superman was mentioned, his entire attitude changed. He jumped to his feet like someone injected with adrenaline.
"Sir, I may not know where Superman is," he said excitedly, "but I do know someone he cares about very much."
Lee paused.
"Lois Lane?"
"Exactly!"
Atomic Skull immediately turned and shouted toward the hallway.
"Bring that woman here! Now!"
Moments later angry shouts and struggles echoed down the corridor.
"Let me go!"
"You disgusting animals! Stay away from me!"
"You trash! Superman won't let you get away with this!"
Lee recognized the voice instantly.
Lois Lane.
Ever since Superman had turned into a zombie, the woman who once had the world's greatest protector had been left completely exposed.
Compared to the last time Lee saw her, Lois looked thinner and far more exhausted. Her clothes were dirty and worn, and her face carried obvious signs of stress and hardship.
The moment she saw Lee, her expression changed.
"You?!"
Her eyes filled with anger.
"I always thought you were different," she snapped. "But I never expected you to be working with these scumbags."
Lee smiled faintly.
"Lois, that was an impressive speech," he said lightly.
"Honestly, I was still thinking about how to deal with you. But now I don't have to hesitate anymore."
He pointed toward the shattered window.
"I'll just throw you off the building."
Lee had used this method once before.
Last time he threw Lois from a building, Superman appeared instantly to save her.
Apparently being Superman's girlfriend came with a certain occupational hazard.
But this time, fear flashed across Lois's face.
The Superman of today was not the same Superman she remembered.
She wasn't sure he would come.
"Wait! You can't do this!" Lois shouted hurriedly.
"Listen, there must be some misunderstanding between us. We should sit down and talk about this!"
Lee ignored her.
Instead, he looked toward Atomic Skull.
"Throw her."
Atomic Skull blinked.
"Yes, sir."
He waved his men forward.
They dragged Lois toward the shattered French window. Half her body was already hanging outside the building.
Her scream echoed through the room.
Atomic Skull leaned closer to Lee and whispered nervously.
"Are we really doing this?"
Lee rolled his eyes.
"Either you throw her… or you jump."
Atomic Skull didn't hesitate any longer.
"Throw her!"
"AHHH!"
Lois's scream tore through the air as she fell from the building.
Everyone inside stared at the sky, waiting for Superman to appear.
Seconds passed.
A few crows flew across the skyline.
But Superman never came.
Lois's body plummeted closer and closer to the ground.
Just before she hit the pavement, a figure suddenly shot through the air and caught her.
She was lifted upward at incredible speed.
Relief flooded her face for a moment—until she realized who was holding her.
"Let me go!" Lois shouted.
Lee hovered in the air beside her.
"Ma'am," he asked calmly, "are you sure you want that?"
Lois glanced down.
The ground below looked terrifyingly distant.
Without thinking, she wrapped her arms tightly around Lee's neck.
Being thrown off a skyscraper was far more intense than any amusement park ride. She had no desire to experience it twice in one day.
Back inside the room, Lee dropped her onto the floor.
"It looks like that method doesn't work anymore," he said.
"We need something more exciting to lure Superman out."
Atomic Skull stared at Lois thoughtfully.
"Well… she's actually pretty attractive," he said slowly. "My guys would probably enjoy some adult entertainment."
Lee widened his eyes.
What kind of pure-hearted person would suggest such a thing?
"Atomic Skull, you shameless bastard," Lee said with mock anger.
Then he waved his hand impatiently.
"Go ahead."
"I refuse to believe Superman would just sit back and watch his woman get humiliated by a group of lowlifes."
Lois panicked instantly.
"No! Please don't!"
She clutched her clothes desperately.
"I'll do anything you want! Just please—don't!"
Atomic Skull grinned wickedly.
"What are you waiting for?" he shouted to his men.
"That's Superman's woman!"
"Sleeping with Superman's girlfriend is something you can brag about for the rest of your life!"
The men looked at each other briefly.
Then they stepped forward.
"No! Let me go!"
"Help!"
"Clark—!"
Lee's hearing was far beyond that of ordinary humans.
From far away, he could already hear the unmistakable sound of a sonic boom.
"He's here," Lee said calmly.
The next moment a hurricane of wind blasted through the room.
A figure crashed inside like a missile.
In less than a second, every man surrounding Lois was thrown violently across the room.
"Superman!" Atomic Skull shouted in shock.
He had always dreamed of defeating Superman.
But now that the real thing stood in front of him, fear filled his chest.
Villains like Lex Luthor and Atomic Skull had always dared to provoke Superman because they knew one thing.
Superman didn't kill.
Just like Batman.
But the Superman standing here now…
He wasn't the same man anymore.
Before Atomic Skull could react, Superman appeared directly in front of him.
"THUD!"
One brutal punch smashed into Atomic Skull's neck, sending him collapsing to the ground in agony.
Atomic Skull almost cried.
What did he do to deserve this?
He pointed weakly toward Lee.
"That guy's the one who called you here!"
"Hi," Lee said cheerfully.
Superman turned toward him slowly, staring at him with empty eyes. It seemed like he was trying to remember who Lee was.
But the memory never came.
"BOOM!"
Lee's fist struck Superman's face like a cannonball, sending him flying across the room.
Then Lee chased after him.
Atomic Skull stared at the scene from the floor.
"…Wow."
Superman recovered instantly and shot toward Lee at terrifying speed.
Lee raised his hand and formed a magical seal.
A silent spell left his lips.
The next moment, the world twisted.
Superman was dragged into the Mirror Dimension.
Inside the distorted space, the two clashed violently.
Explosions echoed like thunder.
After several exchanges, Lee stopped fighting directly. Instead he manipulated the spatial structure of the dimension, temporarily trapping Superman.
"Clark," Lee said calmly, "I know this place can't hold you forever."
"So let's finish this quickly."
Superman didn't understand a single word.
Then a series of explosions erupted.
Lee had just deployed every antitoxin bomb he had been saving.
"I don't know if this will work," Lee muttered.
"But it worked on the Hulk."
He altered the Mirror Dimension again, trapping Superman inside the blast radius.
A deafening explosion shook the space.
Seconds later Superman shattered the spatial prison and appeared directly in front of Lee.
Instinctively Lee threw a punch.
But halfway through the motion, Superman suddenly collapsed.
His body went limp.
Foam bubbled out from his mouth as he fell to the ground.
Lee froze.
"…It worked?"
A huge grin spread across his face.
"I actually beat Superman."
Golden energy began flowing into his body as the system absorbed Superman's abilities.
After finishing the process, Lee carried Superman's body out of the Mirror Dimension.
A portal opened.
Moments later he returned to the underground laboratory containing the Kryptonian spaceship.
He placed Superman's body inside the ship's regeneration fluid.
Then he took out the Mother Box and dropped it into the liquid.
All that remained was to trigger it with a massive electrical current.
Lee took a deep breath.
Then he began running.
Faster.
Faster.
Lightning-like electricity crackled around his body as he accelerated through the laboratory.
Soon visible currents began flashing across the room, trailing behind him like glowing ribbons.
Lee continued accelerating.
At this speed, he suspected he might eventually break through the boundaries of time itself.
When the electrical energy reached its peak, he redirected it toward the Mother Box.
The current slammed into it.
The Mother Box activated.
But…
Nothing happened.
Superman's body remained completely still inside the regeneration fluid.
At the same moment, far away in Metropolis…
Atomic Skull crawled out from the wreckage of the destroyed office.
He spotted Lois Lane trying to escape.
With a furious grin, he grabbed her again and dragged her toward the window.
"You little bitch," he sneered.
"Let's see who saves you now."
"AHHH!"
Lois was thrown out of the building once again.
…
Inside the laboratory, Superman's body suddenly twitched.
Then his eyes snapped open.
In the next instant he vanished.
The system panel in front of Lee flickered.
"Congratulations, Host. Superman has been revived."
"Reward: 200,000 gold coins."
Lee smiled.
Just as he expected.
The reward for resurrecting Superman was far greater than the one for Batman.
Meanwhile in Metropolis…
Just before Lois struck the ground, a figure appeared instantly and caught her.
Her heart was still pounding wildly when she looked up.
"Clark…?"
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Oh my God… what happened to you?"
"Why are you… normal again?"
"Lois," Superman said softly.
Then he leaned forward and kissed her.
All the words he wanted to say were contained in that single kiss.
Up in the ruined office above them, Atomic Skull watched the scene with his jaw hanging open.
After a moment he turned and ran for his life.
Superman gently carried Lois back upstairs and set her down.
"Wait here," he said softly. "I need to handle something."
Lois smiled warmly.
"I'll wait."
Superman vanished.
A second later he reappeared beside the fleeing Atomic Skull.
"No! You can't do this to me!" Atomic Skull screamed.
"I didn't do anything! I was forced into it!"
"You don't kill people! That's your rule!"
Superman dragged him to the window.
"You're right," he said calmly.
"I don't kill."
"But that doesn't mean I can't punish you."
He released his grip.
"AHHH!"
Atomic Skull plummeted.
Just before hitting the ground, Superman caught him and flew upward again.
"I think you enjoy bungee jumping," Superman said.
"So let's do it again."
He dropped him.
"AHHH!"
Superman caught him again.
And dropped him again.
The process repeated more than a dozen times.
Atomic Skull's voice became hoarse from screaming.
Inside his mind he cursed endlessly.
I hate bungee jumping.
"If anyone ever says the words 'bungee jumping' near me again, I'll kill them!"
Meanwhile Lee had already completed one of his biggest goals.
He had killed Superman.
Then resurrected him.
And now he possessed Superman's power.
His strength had reached an entirely new level.
Meanwhile Bruce Wayne spent an entire day in Central City searching for the Flash.
In the end he returned to Gotham disappointed.
He had seen the Flash.
But catching him?
Impossible.
The red blur would streak past him in an instant before Bruce could even see his face.
Local survivors confirmed the worst news.
The Flash had already been infected and turned into a zombie.
Since capturing him was impossible, Bruce had no reason to remain in Central City.
The only thing left to do was return to Gotham.
....
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