aircannonsinc Chapter 355 Batman: Taming the Superman
Chapter 355 Batman: Taming the Superman
Chapter 355 Batman: Taming the Superman
"Mr. Thomas, the eclipse is the end."
An outsider is holding a tray with owl sandwiches that have already been prepared.
Meanwhile, Night Owl sat in front of the Owl computer, quietly watching the information displayed on the screen.
The screen was split in two. One side was clearly the view from the communicator on the Superb Arm, the image was so blurry it was shaky. The other side looked like a camera fixed at a high place, looking down at the entire battlefield, and luckily it was not affected by the aftershocks of the battle.
Frankly, this is incredible. With Superpower and Eclipse locked in such a fierce battle, it's a miracle that Night Owl still managed to obtain firsthand information. However, from another perspective, it's also perfectly reasonable, something everyone should know.
Because just as "because he is Batman"... "because he is Nite Owl."
"It's only natural that the eclipse will lead to disaster."
"Night Owl said."
He sat in the Night Owl Chair, resting his power-armored gauntlet on the table, his sharp fingertips tapping lightly on the edge of the keyboard.
"No matter what era it is from, it is obviously outdated and no longer in its prime."
The Super Queen gained nothing from cooperating with him; she insisted on pinning her hopes of freeing Alexander Luthor on a sorcerer, and even swore to me that this sorcerer was different from those who had been torn apart by Superpower in the past.
Night Owl said, "It seems it really is different. She held on a little longer and acted as a punching bag a little longer. I knew this stupid woman wouldn't amount to anything; in the end, I'd have to do it myself."
(Note: Alexander Luthor, a DC supervillain and Lex Luthor's counterpart on Earth-3, is a thick-haired, golden-maned lion king. Unlike the boiled-egg Luthor, he possesses the ability to transform into a magical guardian by shouting "Zanza," similar to Shazam. He can also acquire superpowers by killing others—meaning all superpowered individuals are his fodder for enhancing his own strength. The Crime Syndicate members, fearing his abilities, defeated and imprisoned him.)
"What do you plan to do, Mr. Thomas? And, I'm afraid I have to remind you, it was you who told me that the Queen's motives are not simple."
An outsider's voice rang out behind him:
"Didn't you say she was deliberately trying to get you to help her rescue Alexander Luther, and then pretend to be under your command? Even though she and we have the same goal, that alone is enough to make me doubt who the father of the child in her belly really is."
An outsider said:
"If that child isn't yours, Mr. Thomas, then..."
"It doesn't matter whose child it is," Night Owl interrupted him, "and it's meaningless what the Queen of Susan is thinking. All that matters is that I've confirmed she's planning to rescue Alexander Luther just like me."
But the outsider, unusually, didn't back down: "Mr. Thomas, even if there's only a 1 in 10000 chance that the child is yours..."
"Don't get your hopes up, Alfred," Night Owl interrupted him. "A woman like the Super Queen would never allow herself to not conceive the offspring of the one she considers the strongest. And..."
(Note: The Outsider in Earth-3 is an alternate version of the old butler Alfred, hence also named Alfred.)
Then his voice dropped slightly as he continued, "And when the Anti-Monitor arrives in this universe, Alexander Luthor, Superman, Batman, and his Justice League, which is like a ridiculous stage actor, will all have to fight tooth and nail against the Anti-Monitor for their lives."
He said, "As long as Super Queen doesn't harm the overall fighting power of this universe, whatever she does is none of my business."
The outsider wanted to say something more, but opened his mouth and didn't continue.
While Night Owl was still deep in thought: "And more importantly, no matter how illogical this is, I suspect Batman has already guessed that Super Queen's goal is to use Eclipse to help release Alexander Luthor."
"What? But... Batman doesn't even know Alexander Luthor exists," the outsider said.
"So he at least guessed that Supergirl wanted to release someone to fight Superman, or he already knew that Supergirl had something to rely on. I don't know how he guessed it, maybe just based on Supergirl's attitude towards Superman when he met him."
"...How did you deduce all this, Mr. Thomas?"
"Because of this." Night Owl pointed to the camera on the owl-shaped computer screen, which was clearly looking down at the battlefield from a high vantage point.
"Do you think this thing could have survived the battle between Eclipse and Superpower without Batman's deliberate protection? Batman is deliberately conveying to me the message that 'whatever deal you and Superpower made with Eclipse, it has already failed.'"
Night Owl turned to the outsider: "But this also exposes a truth: Batman doesn't know what my purpose is, nor does he understand the subtle differences between my purpose and that of the Super Queen."
He held up one finger and then shook it slightly: "Simply put, Queen Super wants to release Alexander Luthor right now, so Alexander can kill Superpower and become the king of this new world, with her and her son becoming queen and prince. Hmph... idiot woman. It's best if she fails, so I don't have to deal with her later and prevent her from releasing Alexander Luthor immediately."
"But I'm different. I don't want Alexander to clash with Superpower right now. I just want to control when to release him, and then give him his freedom at the right time, so that he can become one of the many fighting forces against the Anti-Monitors for his own life."
Whatever kind of irreconcilable conflict he and Superpower might have, enough to make a dog's brain explode, they were forced to join forces in the face of a life-threatening enemy. Even the deepest hatred would have to wait until after the Anti-Monitor was dealt with... if there was even a "later."
"And Batman doesn't understand that," Night Owl said. "For some unknown reason, he even thought that my goals and Supergirl's goals were completely different."
He then pointed to the camera angle overlooking the battlefield, and through the lens, he stared at Superman, who was almost completely subservient to Batman:
"I investigated the Superpower and examined the artificial Kryptonite closely... Batman never thought he could control the Superpower, but he actually succeeded in making it stupid through some means."
This is an opportunity for me, and Batman deliberately wants to give me this opportunity. He intentionally uses this camera to tell me that Superpower's intelligence has declined, and then tries to induce me to do something so that he can figure out what my purpose is.
"But he's got one thing wrong," Night Owl said.
"He probably thought I had some complicated plan that I needed to slowly develop before launching it, enough for him to figure out my purpose and stop me at the same time, but my approach was very simple."
"Superpower's decreased intelligence gave Batman the ability to manipulate him, but it also meant that I could more easily deceive Superpower as well."
"And now with Superpower... all I need to do is trick him into giving me control of Alexander Luthor. In short, the decision of whether to release Alexander will be handed over to me by Superpower. It doesn't need to be complicated at all."
"By the time Batman realized I had achieved my goal, I had already moved Alexander Luther away."
The owl paused, then continued:
"Ultimately, permanently damaging Superpower's intelligence is a good way to manipulate him, but it also means that Superpower can be manipulated by others."
"Many methods that were previously unusable can now be easily used to deal with low-IQ super-powerful individuals."
Night Owl stood up, and with his movement, it was as if the invisible darkness and the whispers of countless worshippers rose with the hem of his robes:
"I won't be like Superman and his gang of scum, abandoning my countless subjects and running off to a new world to rule like stray dogs. For the sake of my Earth, which hasn't been completely destroyed yet, I'm willing to do anything, including unleashing a monster like Alexander Luthor."
He said:
"After this new Earth replaces my Earth and is destroyed, I will rebuild my world from the ruins."
"Even though our Earth has been reduced to ruins by the anti-monitors... as long as it hasn't been completely destroyed, there is still hope."
……
……
……
Yay! Superpower has fulfilled his duty as a henchman; it's time to restore his intelligence.
Chen Tao touched his chin.
From the very beginning of the battle, he sensed a gaze constantly observing the battlefield through the camera.
He knew it was a night owl.
To be honest, he didn't quite understand what was going on with Night Owl's recent actions.
Previously, when he was negotiating with Superpower, he deliberately facilitated his payment of artificial kryptonite and the method of producing artificial kryptonite in exchange for the alliance. This alone was enough to make Chen Tao unable to understand.
Because it's completely different from the comics.
In the comics, Earth-3 has already been destroyed by the Anti-Monitor, and the Crime Syndicate's motives are very simple:
I'll crush the Justice League, and then this world will be mine to rule!
As the mastermind of the crime syndicate, Night Owl worked diligently from beginning to end to prepare for the organization's conquest of the new universe, without having any other ambitions.
But the Super Queen in the comics is different. She tells Superbear that the son she's carrying is Superbear's, and tells Nite Owl that the son she's carrying is Nite Owl's, but in reality, neither of them are the child of hers. She is carrying Alexander Luthor's, who is currently being held captive by the Crime Syndicate.
So from the very beginning, Super Queen's goal was to release Alexander Luther, then kill his fellow members of the criminal syndicate, leaving only the three of them to lord it over others.
Based on this, it was not surprising that Chen Tao realized that the Super Queen would get involved with Eclipse and hoped that she could help Alexander Luther, who was also a being on the magical side, escape his predicament.
But what about the night owl?
He's clearly involved with Supergirl, how could he not know her purpose? If he did know, then it's even stranger—helping Supergirl rescue her real lover? What kind of tactic is this? Is he planning to kill him after rescuing him?
He recalled that in the comics, Nite Owl expressed his intention to kill Alexander Luther more than once to eliminate any future threats. It was Superpower who stopped him with two reasons: "If the Anti-Monitor needs Alexander Luther" and "I am the leader of the Crime Syndicate, and only I have the right to make decisions." This shows that Nite Owl had murderous intent towards Alexander Luther.
But it doesn't make sense for Night Owl to kill Superpower at the cost of defying it.
So no matter how Chen Tao tried to figure out what Night Owl was up to, he couldn't understand it. Night Owl's behavior was as unpredictable as if he were having an epileptic seizure.
Chen Tao couldn't guess, of course. He subconsciously thought that Earth 3 would also be destroyed by the Anti-Monitor, just like in the comics he had read in his previous life. Therefore, Night Owl would also give up and concentrate on plotting a new universe, just like in the comics he had read.
Now, Night Owl, carrying the entire criminal syndicate, has reached an alliance with the Anti-Monitors, offering "a new Earth for my Earth," and his behavior patterns will naturally undergo a significant change.
When Chen Tao tried to deduce the other party's behavior using the information he had obtained from the comics, his attempts were completely illogical and riddled with errors.
This made Chen Tao very anxious. He needed to figure out what Night Owl was thinking, which was why he had to conduct this test.
He turned to look at the Superb not far away.
By now, Night Owl must have realized that Superpower's intelligence has been affected by him, but what he doesn't know is that this influence...
It is not permanent.
With Chen Tao's covert manipulation, the heavy metal particles that had been attaching to Super Power's nerve cells immediately began to leave the damaged cells and exit Super Power's central nervous system through blood circulation.
For ordinary people, the nerve cell damage caused by heavy metal poisoning is almost irreversible; even if the heavy metal is removed, it will not change the already damaged cells.
However, for Superba, the Kryptonian physique and the excessive input of Kryptonite granted him self-healing abilities. As long as Chen Tao actively manipulated these heavy metals to leave him, it was only a matter of time before he repaired his nerves and gradually regained his intelligence.
Night Owl had no idea what the Metal Spirit was. He was too arrogant, perhaps because Superpower had once utterly annihilated the magicians of their universe. Night Owl had seriously neglected magic and knew too little about this power.
Unaware that Chen Tao could not only poison Superba with heavy metals but also detoxify him, Night Owl would be bound by preconceived notions and believe that Superba's brain was permanently damaged, turning him into a complete idiot forever.
When he uses the same methods he uses on idiots to deal with Superba, whose IQ has returned to normal, that'll be hilarious.
And Chen Tao... can also take this opportunity to glimpse what the true purpose of Night Owl is behind his enigmatic mask.
(End of this chapter)