What Bad Thoughts Can Batman Have 134

## Chapter 132: The Mechanical Superman Appears: The Approaching Crisis

Warm sunlight bathed the blue Earth, casting its glow onto the white exterior of the international space station, “Divine Sword.”

Four astronauts, secured by tethers, were performing maintenance on the outside of the station.

A wrench flew from the hand of Hank Henshaw, who was wearing a spacesuit and working on the satellite, and floated in the weightless space environment. His wife, Terry Henshaw, another crew member also wearing a spacesuit, reached out and caught it.

She handed the wrench back to Hank, the Earth’s azure glow illuminating the beautiful face of her beloved, the most beautiful sight Hank could see in the universe.

“Lost something? As your deeply concerned and tormented wife, I’m used to your clumsy ways at home. But Hank, you’re setting a bad example for others.”

“Yeah, Commander,” Hank heard his older colleague, Stephen, joke, “I’m starting to wonder if you’re still the one in the command seat.”

Hank laughed, “Guys, I’d love to have Terry be your commander, but I have to warn you, I’m thinking of finding a few troublemakers to cut open.”

“As if, haha.”

The astronauts joked with each other, the atmosphere harmonious and congenial.

Another younger astronaut, Jim, said, “Terry, call Houston headquarters. It seems they weren’t entirely wrong about their hypothesis about hydrolytic pressure. I think a few screws loosened during the satellite launch.”

” ‘A few screws loosened’ is quite a professional term,” Terry said.

“Well, whatever, you can polish up that explanation, Chief Engineer, lady.”

Terry snorted, she connected the communicator on her arm, “Houston headquarters, this is Divine Sword… Houston, respond…”

Hank turned to look at the blue Earth.

“Come on, astronauts. One last check, then we’re going back to the cabin.”

Stephen held a debugging instrument, “This is your ninth time looking back at Earth, boss. You’re still captivated by it.”

Hank smiled, “I’m just hoping to catch a glimpse of the red cape. You can see him, sometimes he appears above the atmosphere. He’s been up twice, you know, once he even saved my life.”

Stephen replied, “Yeah, brother. You can always count on Superman.”

“That’s right.” Hank said, “Superman will always come to save us, he is the god of mankind, our savior.”

He gazed at the blue planet, his face strangely devout.

But the cozy time was soon broken by the anxious tone of Hank’s wife, Terry.

“Hank, they need you back online, they say it’s urgent.”

Hank pressed a button on the communicator on his arm, “This is Hank, what’s up?”

Then he paused.

“Oh, this is bad.”

He turned to his three colleagues, “There’s a meteorite approaching our direction, everyone, now, get back to the ship!”

Stephen and Jim immediately activated the jetpacks on their backs. Terry was about to squat down to reassemble the disassembled deck, but Hank pulled her away, “Don’t worry about that!”

“Where did the meteorite come from?”

The youngest, Jim, said in panic, “Are they the two from last time? But didn’t Houston headquarters say those two meteorites would bypass Earth and wouldn’t arrive for another two days?”

“Solar flares erupted,” Hank’s face was grim, “This unexpected event caused the two meteorites to change course like a pool ball being hit.”

“Headquarters said the impact zone would be Sydney and Seoul.”

“But before that, it’ll knock us off first!”

The four had all returned to their seats, Hank operating the space station ship.

Stephen said,

“The satellite is still docked with us, the hatch is still open, at a 12-degree angle.”

“I don’t care.” Hank said, “Activate the main thruster!”

The engine began to fire, soon they would be able to escape—

Boom!

“Impact incoming.”

The ship shook violently, Hank looked up, seeing two large holes on the outside of the space station.

“Those are just some meteorite fragments!”

Jim yelled, “That meteorite—he’s coming!!!”

“My God Hank, we’re not going to make it this time.”

Hank heard his wife say.

His gaze lingered on her beautiful face for a second.

Years had left their mark on his beauty.

Their marriage had lasted for 10 years, and Hank knew he still loved her.

“Nonsense,” he pulled the control stick in vain, the ship had completely lost control, “Superman will come to save us, like before.”

The ship shattered under countless small meteorite fragments, like chocolate dissolving in milk.

Hank heard his good friend Stephen scream hysterically, “The hull is damaged!”

“We’re done for!” Jim cried out in despair, “The main thruster is damaged!”

“Stay calm, everyone.” Hank gave up operating the useless control panel.

He took his wife’s hand.

“Superman must be on his way. I’m sure of it.”

“Hank…”

He saw tears in Terry’s eyes, the wife he loved, tearful.

He had sworn never to make those he loved cry.

“It’s okay, Terry,” he didn’t notice his voice trembling, “You can always believe in Superman.”

Stephen and Jim were screaming.

“Everything will be okay,” Hank stared into Terry’s eyes, “Everything will be okay!”

Boom!!!

The ship was torn open, Stephen and Jim were swept away screaming.

“Hank!”

Time seemed to slow down.

The shockwave, the gravity, the love in her eyes.

And…

Destruction.

Then oblivion.

“Terry! No!!!”

Hank struggled to turn his head, seeing his Terry tumbling in zero gravity, also being swept away.

The love of his life hung suspended over the surface of the blue planet, and then was swept away with his two best friends.

Hank desperately tried to unbuckle his seatbelt, then his pupils reflected the front of the ship, that huge meteorite, larger than an island, pressed down on him.

Hank’s eyes widened.

“Superman! I know you’ll come!”

“Superman!!!”

“Superman！！！！！”

Boom!

…

…

…

A ding.

The elevator door opened.

Lex Luthor walked out backwards, followed by his Asian female secretary, Jasmine.

This was LexCorp’s underground base, 50 meters below ground… where all of Lex Luthor’s experiments were conducted.

“Dr. Dabney Donovan, where is my blood money going?”

The hall was filled with rows of vats, each tightly enclosed in a metal casing.

Dr. Donovan was sitting at the control console, eating. He wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“What’s up? Lex. It’s all right here in front of you. Every penny, every dime.”

Dr. Donovan stood up, he was a messy-haired middle-aged man wearing thick glasses, which magnified his eyes to the size of copper bells.

His unkempt brown beard made him look like a beaver, the whole man looked like the kind of crazy scientist who cackles maniacally while generating electricity in a children’s cartoon.

Well, he was indeed a crazy scientist.

Dr. Donovan tossed the rest of his food into the trash, a smile curving his lips.

He pulled a lever on the control panel beside him, and as the metal casings of the vats were opened with a mechanical sound, the lights inside the vats turned on, revealing one grotesque and terrifying monster after another under the illumination.

“I’ll stay here.” Jasmine took a breath. She said tactfully, “I don’t get along well with crazy scientists.”

Luthor walked up to Dr. Donovan, “Still working on the ultimate weapon?”

“Oh, yes.”

Dr. Donovan said.

He touched the glass, feeling the grotesquely shaped monsters that were still slumbering.

Some of them barely retained their human form, but they had green skin and bumps all over their bodies; some were simply blue mosaics, with only a single large eye barely attached to the top of their head; and some had tentacles all over their bodies…

“Actually, I’m thinking, if my darlings escape, they might be… a bit confused.”

Dr. Donovan touched his adorable monsters through the tempered glass with a touch of affection, his expression fanatical.

Luthor remained expressionless.

“Any progress?”

They walked past the failed products, side by side, hands behind their backs.

“Regardless of success or failure, I want him to be more obedient to my orders.”

“Do it quickly.”

Luthor said, “I don’t want test subjects, I want an army.”

“Replicating DNA is incredibly difficult.” Dr. Donovan said, “I have to say, Superman’s body is a mystery, any method of in-depth analysis on him fails. We need a more stable code.”

“Did our previous idea work?”

“Of course, Lex.” Dr. Donovan nodded, leading Luthor to a cultivation vat.

A tiny baby was sleeping in the nutrient solution, wired with tubes.

“Our prototype has been successful, although not a pure Kryptonian – so I assume he’ll be very weak. But compared to humans, he’s still strong enough.”

Dr. Donovan pushed up his glasses:

“He has half of your DNA, Lex, and they combined well with Superman’s DNA. In a way, this test subject is your son with Superman, he’s growing up.”

“Cut it out.” Luthor said, “Take me to see that purebred clone.”

They walked to another vat.

“I’m not sure if this test subject is a success yet. Although the speculation is quite unscientific, I assume that even if this test subject succeeds in the end, it will not be exactly the same as Superman.”

Dr. Donovan said, “This test subject has been exceeding our expectations with every test, its actual performance has always been inconsistent with the predicted data.”

“Sometimes I wonder if this little guy is so stubborn, maybe he’ll be completely opposite to Superman when he grows up? Superman has heat vision, he has ice vision or something, haha.”

Then he met Luthor’s gaze.

“Uh… I was just joking.”

Dr. Donovan continued, “But anyway, this test subject is at least 5 years away from being fully developed. Taking it out early will definitely cause some side effects.”

“Do whatever it takes to speed things up, Dr. Dabney Donovan.”

Luthor turned and walked up the stairs towards the elevator.

“This underground base has been completely lead-coated, and the new experimental staff has been delivered by the military. Don’t cherish these materials, even if it’s trial and error, I only want results.”

He said, “You are an expert in genetic synthesis, if you have any questions, we can discuss them together.”

He and his female secretary, Jasmine, took the elevator to the upper levels of LexCorp.

Luthor said,

“Jasmine, how is Black doing?”

“Our purple-haired mercenary has fully recovered, but he doesn’t seem to want to work with us anymore.”

Jasmine, the female secretary, said, “He now calls himself a superhero, doing good deeds like Superman. I find it hard to judge his actions.”

“Don’t be silly, Black is never the same kind of person as Superman.”

Luthor chuckled:

“Believe me, they’ll face each other sooner or later. It’s going to be very interesting.”

“Do we need to do anything?”

“Of course.” Luthor said, “Support Black heavily, give him whatever he wants.”

The bald head rubbed his head:

“Isn’t he going to found the Extreme Justice League? Lex Luthor always likes friends, we’ll cover all the expenses—of course the debt still needs to be paid.”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Isn’t that right?”

“But as it stands now, Black’s actions are no different from Superman’s, they should be on the same side.” Jasmine said.

The bald head shook his finger in front of her.

“Just contact him.”

He said.

With a ding, the elevator door opened, and Lex Luthor and his female secretary walked into the ground-level lobby, where countless scientists in white coats were operating complex machinery.

Luthor passed by a man looking at a specimen:

“Don’t look at this specimen, it’s clearly limestone, read a book, you idiot.”

He passed another female researcher analyzing data:

“Finally, someone can figure out Euclid’s 5th formula, but clearly, it’s not you. If you dare to daydream at work again, I’ll fire you.”

Finally, he reached the center: “I will not tolerate fools, everyone. I’ve been nearly driven mad by idiots lately.”

He said,

“Listen, there are already too many fools in the world, those pathetic clowns worshiping aliens, thinking he’s the champion of justice, but I’ve seen the true face of the alien, I understand he’s a threat.”

“Work extra hard on this alien arms race! And smash it, while it’s still in its infancy!”

…

…

…

Chen Tao sat at his desk writing a plan.

1: Superman death emergency plan.

2: Lex Luthor betrayal plan.

3…

Superman is now able to fully replace Batman’s job. Gotham’s criminals will soon realize what it means to have Superman… Batman show up right after you write a single word on your crime plan.

With Superman working overtime, even supervising you while you wipe your ass, Gotham’s crime rate has fallen to an all-time low, just as Chen Tao predicted.

“Bruce, are you sure it’s okay to leave Bane alone?”

Alfred walked over with a tray, “Before Superman completely cleansed Gotham, he attacked Arkham with Shiva, releasing a number of Arkham inmates we had locked up there.”

The old butler asked, “Are you sure this is okay?”

“And now Bane and those Arkham inmates he took with him have all escaped Gotham, and as soon as they show up Superman will beat the crap out of them, Alfred. Times have changed, it’s now the age of superpowers.”

“—Bane is no longer the biggest threat.”

Chen Tao said without looking back, “Even if Bane shows up now, his knees will only shatter on the spine of the Steel Batman. I’m too lazy to even watch such a simple plot.”

“Now, someone else is more important.”

Chen Tao continued writing in his notebook:

3: Plan to prevent telepathic Manchester Black from driving Superman insane.

(End of chapter)

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