Bruce Wayne had only just returned to the Batcave when Catwoman's voice echoed through the cavernous space, followed by the sharp flash of a camera. The sound bounced off the stone walls from every direction. It was impossible to miss.
"Alfred, take another picture of me. Yes, this angle looks perfect," she said playfully, striking another pose. "And let's try one over here too."
The alluring Catwoman stood in front of a tall and broad-shouldered man while Alfred dutifully operated an old antique film camera. Each flash briefly lit up the cave. Bruce Wayne froze the instant he recognized the man standing beside her.
"Superman!"
The word slipped out before Bruce could stop himself. For a moment he simply stared, unsure if what he was seeing was real or some kind of hallucination.
"Wayne, you're finally back," Superman said with visible relief. He immediately turned toward Catwoman and added, "Selina, that's enough photos for today. I need to discuss something important with Wayne."
"Alright," Catwoman replied lazily, though she didn't seem particularly eager to stop.
Before leaving, she deliberately ran her fingers across Superman's chest, tracing the hard lines of muscle through his suit. Her playful gesture was slow and deliberate, as if she wanted Bruce to notice.
"Superman, why don't you stay for dinner tonight?" she suggested sweetly. "I'll cook it myself."
Bruce finally snapped out of his stunned silence, though the sight in front of him instantly triggered a surge of jealousy.
"Selina, I think we should forget that idea," Bruce said sharply. "Clark has important business to handle and clearly doesn't have time for dinner."
Catwoman rolled her eyes at him dramatically. She crossed her arms and gave Bruce a dismissive look.
"Wayne, ever since you came back to life you haven't been taking your workouts seriously," she teased. "Your chest muscles are a lot smaller than Superman's now."
"Who said I don't work out?" Bruce shot back immediately. "And who said I'm small?"
He stepped forward and stood directly beside Superman. Bruce inhaled deeply and puffed out his chest in a silent challenge.
When Bruce wore the Batsuit, his enhanced armor made him appear taller and broader than he really was. The sculpted plating made his chest and arms look just as imposing as Superman's. But standing there without the suit, Bruce's natural build looked noticeably leaner.
"So what if you're younger?" Catwoman said with a shrug. "Don't be stubborn and pretend otherwise."
She waved casually and picked up the camera from Alfred.
"You two boys can chat. I'm going to develop the photos."
After saying that, she walked away with her usual confident sway. The clicking of her heels gradually faded into the distance.
Alfred cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Young master, earlier I…"
Bruce glanced again at Superman's clearly defined chest muscles before instinctively looking down at his own. A helpless sigh escaped him.
"Alfred, I know it's not your fault," Bruce said tiredly. "Selina can be a little… willful sometimes."
Relieved, Alfred nodded politely.
"In that case, young master, I'll prepare some coffee for you."
Once Alfred left, Superman immediately stepped forward.
"Wayne, it's not what you think," he said quickly. "There's nothing between Selina and me."
Bruce rolled his eyes.
"If you actually dared to get involved with her," he said flatly, "do you think you'd still be standing here?"
Then his expression suddenly shifted. Bruce's eyes widened as something finally clicked in his mind.
"Wait a second."
He stepped forward and grabbed Superman by the shoulders. Without hesitation, Bruce even squeezed Superman's chest muscles twice like someone checking whether a statue was real.
"Clark… what's going on here?"
His voice rose in disbelief.
"My God. You came back to life?"
Superman paused briefly before answering.
"Wayne, I thought you already knew," he said. "I actually came to Gotham this time to thank you."
"Thank me?"
Bruce frowned deeply.
"What does that have to do with me?"
A second later he froze again.
"Wait. Clark, you'd better explain this clearly."
Superman nodded.
"Didn't you and Jack resurrect me together?"
"Jack?" Bruce repeated in confusion. "You mean Li?"
Realization suddenly dawned on him.
"So that's it. Li resurrected you." Bruce shook his head in disbelief. "My God… how did he even manage that?"
He leaned closer with intense curiosity.
"Clark, tell me exactly what happened."
Superman explained the parts he knew, briefly describing the process.
When Bruce finished listening, his shoulders slumped slightly.
"Clark… you're right," he admitted quietly. "I did help a little. I was the one who helped him find the Kryptonian ship and the Mother Box."
He paused before continuing.
"But Li handled almost everything else himself. My contribution was… extremely limited."
Bruce sighed again.
"If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have gone to Midtown. I should've gone to Metropolis with him to find you."
Another thought suddenly crossed his mind.
"Wait. Without the Flash, how did Li activate the Mother Box's energy?"
Superman assumed the question was directed at him, but he could only shake his head.
Bruce muttered to himself thoughtfully.
"Then it must be Li. That guy always finds a way to solve problems… and clearly he succeeded."
He glanced at Superman again.
"Clark, you haven't known him very long, so you probably don't fully understand him yet."
Bruce folded his arms.
"But over time you'll realize something. Li is… extraordinary."
He hesitated slightly before finishing the sentence.
"He didn't just resurrect you. He resurrected me too."
A faint bitterness appeared on Bruce's face.
"Compared to him, I sometimes feel like I'm nothing."
Superman placed a reassuring hand on Bruce's shoulder.
"Wayne, you don't need to feel that way," he said calmly. "Sometimes we simply have to admit that certain people are stronger than us."
Bruce rolled his eyes again.
"Clark, that doesn't sound very comforting."
Then he asked another question.
"By the way, where's Li now?"
"He should still be in the lab," Superman replied. "He's conducting another experiment to see if he can revive other people."
"An experiment?"
Bruce's eyes lit up instantly.
"Clark, I think I understand what he's planning."
He started pacing excitedly.
"If the combination of the Mother Box's energy and the repair fluid could revive you, then theoretically it might work on others too. If that's true, we could potentially resurrect more heroes."
His excitement quickly grew.
"My God. We can't miss something like that. We need to go there immediately."
Bruce hurried toward the Batplane.
Superman watched him for a moment before speaking.
"Wayne, that plane is too slow. Let me take you."
Before Bruce could react, Superman casually lifted him into his arms.
Bruce's eyes widened in horror.
"Clark! Put me down right now!"
A loud crash suddenly echoed through the cave.
Alfred had dropped the coffee cup he was carrying. The porcelain shattered across the floor as he stared in shock at the sight of Bruce Wayne being carried in a princess-style hold.
"Young master… I'm terribly sorry," Alfred said quickly, turning around. "I didn't see anything."
Bruce panicked instantly. He struggled free and jumped down.
"Listen," he said fiercely to Superman, "if you ever tell anyone about this, I will kill you."
Superman scratched his head awkwardly.
"I just wanted to save time."
"Shut up!" Bruce snapped. "Never mention this again!"
Superman muttered quietly, "Lois actually likes it when I carry her like that."
"I said shut up!" Bruce roared. "I'm not Lois!"
"That wasn't very gentlemanly," Superman commented calmly.
"To hell with being a gentleman!"
Bruce stormed over to Alfred immediately.
"Listen, things are not what they looked like," he insisted. "And Selina absolutely cannot find out about this. If she hears about it, she'll laugh at me for the rest of my life."
Alfred said nothing. Instead, he made a simple zipper gesture across his lips.
"Alfred, I trust you completely," Bruce said, patting his shoulder.
Then he turned and boarded the Batplane.
"Clark, you fly there yourself."
"Okay."
Superman shot out of the Batcave like a blue blur.
Compared to him, the Batplane felt painfully slow.
When Bruce finally arrived at the Kryptonian spaceship laboratory, he immediately noticed a zombie tied to a chair in the center of the room. It struggled violently while letting out low growls.
"Wayne, why didn't you come with Superman?" Li asked casually.
Bruce reacted like he had been shocked by electricity.
He marched forward immediately and pointed accusingly at Superman.
"Clark, what did you tell Li?"
Superman blinked innocently.
"I didn't say anything."
"Then why did Li say that just now?" Bruce pressed.
He turned toward Li and noticed the confused look on his face. Bruce instantly realized he had almost exposed himself.
Li blinked slowly.
"Are you two hiding something from me?"
"That's—"
"Shut up!" Bruce interrupted Superman instantly.
Then he turned to Li.
"Nothing happened between us. Anyway… how exactly did you kill Clark and bring him back to life?"
Superman frowned slightly.
"Wayne, you're getting less and less gentlemanly."
Bruce snorted.
"The only misunderstanding here is in your head."
Li briefly explained the process, deliberately skipping certain details.
Bruce listened carefully before asking another question.
"Where's the Mother Box now? How did you activate its energy without the Flash?"
Li cleared his throat.
"Wayne, I can tell you the answer," he said calmly. "But in exchange, you have to explain exactly what happened between you and Superman."
"Li, I already said nothing happened!"
Li shrugged casually.
"Well, I'm not that curious anyway. Let's focus on the experiment."
He pointed toward the restrained zombie.
"Recognize him?"
Bruce looked closely.
"Kite Man?"
"I prefer calling him a zombie," Li replied lightly. "Does that make you feel better?"
Bruce coughed slightly. He had previously felt that experimenting on a person was somewhat inhumane.
But if he thought of the creature as nothing more than a zombie, the guilt faded quickly.
"Wayne," Li continued, "if you don't have any other questions, I'm starting the experiment."
Bruce nodded.
"Go ahead."
Li pulled out an antitoxin syringe and injected it into Kite Man's body.
Soon the struggling zombie gradually calmed down.
After waiting long enough for the antitoxin to fully take effect, Li removed the restraints and placed the body into the repair fluid.
Then he looked toward Superman.
"Your turn."
Superman nodded and began flying around the laboratory at increasing speed. Electricity started forming in the air as his movements generated powerful currents.
Those currents were directed into the Mother Box to activate its energy.
All three men stared intently at the body floating in the repair fluid.
Seconds slowly turned into minutes.
Nothing happened.
Bruce finally frowned.
"Did the experiment fail?"
"Wait a little longer," Li replied calmly.
Superman had also experienced a delay when he was revived. The trigger had only occurred when he heard Lois calling for help.
Bruce rubbed his chin.
"So we need someone important to Kite Man to stimulate him?"
"I didn't say that," Li replied. "I only said to wait."
Suddenly Superman spoke.
"Jack… something feels wrong."
At that moment, the energy in the repair fluid began fluctuating violently. The zombie's body started swelling rapidly like an overinflated balloon.
Li's expression changed instantly.
He used his telekinesis to yank the body out of the fluid.
A loud pop echoed through the room.
The corpse exploded in midair, turning into a spray of minced flesh. Not even a fragment of bone remained.
Bruce sighed heavily.
"Li, I think we can safely say your experiment failed."
Li frowned deeply.
"This method clearly worked on Superman," he said slowly. "Why didn't it work on Kite Man?"
Superman rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Jack… are you certain the steps were identical?"
"I'm absolutely certain," Li replied.
"Then the result shouldn't look like this."
Bruce cleared his throat.
"Have you considered one key factor?"
Both Li and Superman turned toward him.
"Wayne, stop being mysterious," Li said. "Just say it."
Bruce spoke one word.
"Constitution."
Li's eyes lit up immediately.
"I understand now," he said excitedly.
"That's right. The problem is physical structure. Superman's body is incredibly durable, while Kite Man is just an ordinary human."
He continued explaining.
"Even in death, their bodies remain fundamentally different. The same level of Mother Box energy that revived Superman would be overwhelming for a normal human."
Li gestured toward the remains.
"Kite Man's body simply couldn't handle that amount of power. The excess energy caused him to inflate and explode."
Superman's expression brightened.
"So if we want to revive others using this method, we need to adjust the energy output of the Mother Box."
"That's right," Bruce added excitedly. "If we can control the energy levels, we could potentially resurrect many others."
Li frowned again.
"That might be extremely difficult."
He continued thoughtfully.
"The Mother Boxes are advanced devices created by the scientist Himon on the planet New Genesis using a mysterious element. Their powers are beyond normal comprehension."
"Even the New Gods who use them don't fully understand how they work."
Li sighed slightly.
"Trying to control their energy with Earth's technology might be unrealistic."
Bruce's expression remained firm.
"Li, maybe we can't control it yet," he said seriously.
"But give us time. I believe we'll eventually find a way to solve this problem."
After all, they had finally discovered a method that could bring people back from the dead.
....
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