Chapter Seventy-Three: The Mystery of the Clown

In the multiverse, the Brainiac spaceship that captured Cowen and his party is sailing in the multiverse, originally in the universe numbered -10, as the supervillain who was the last reversal in the story of the Red Child, Brainiac did not appear on Earth. Of course, in the -10 Earth universe, there is no powerful interstellar force such as the Apocalypse Star.

At this time, Brainiac was communicating in his control room, and it was another Brainiac who was communicating with him.

"Have you succeeded in capturing the people who are disrupting the universe?" On the other side of the screen, another Brainiac asked.

"Don't ask such obvious questions, it's not difficult to capture him, but you're right, he is indeed disturbing the existence of the universe, thanks to him, I don't even have the meaning of existence in this universe."

Brainiac of the -10 Earth Universe with a mechanical brain was also there to report the situation, and on the other screen, the captured Cowen and his party were still bound by the green light. It can also be seen through the picture that around them there is a display case that is too large to be captured by the camera, and on the cabinet are placed glass bottles, which also have a miniature of the outline of the city.

It's a hobby that belongs to Brainiac, and for an artificial intelligence, the term hobby seems a bit inappropriate. But Brainiac, this is an artificial intelligence with absolute top intelligence in the DC universe, he is even more emotional than humans, in his opinion, every civilization in the universe will perish, no matter how brilliant it once was, then as an artificial intelligence with the highest intelligence in the universe, what he can do is to preserve the essence of those civilizations that are worth preserving, and those that are not worth keeping, he will even accelerate the demise of his civilization.

To this end, he attacked every civilization in the universe, and used his inexplicable technology to take away a city from each civilization, including the life that lives in the city.

"The meaning of your existence is given by me, and now, leaving your universe and coming to my universe, I need to study this person who disturbs the universe well, as for the others, you can do it yourself."

"Why do you give orders to me?" -10 Cosmos Brainiac is also there questioning his alter self.

"As an interconnected parallel universe, my cosmic personality is higher than you, my rank is higher than you, and what you have to do is obey."

At the other end of the screen, Brainiac from another universe is saying this, and at the same time, he is also using his ability to control the Brainiac spaceship belonging to the -10 universe, and the mechanical tentacles are uncontrollably connected to the Brainiac of the -10 universe, covering his commands, and taking the control of the ship into his own hands.

"Yes, start the cosmic leap."

The reprogrammed -10 universe Brainiac is also repeating the instructions of Brainiac in another universe, and the Brainiac spaceship that captured Cowen and his party also opened a big hole in the universe and left this universe with Cowen and his party. While traveling through the universe, Ke Wen and his party were also separated in a coma when they were captured and placed in the collection room.

Countless mechanical tentacles wound the unconscious Cowen, separating him from Dick and his party. As a side gain from the capture of Kewen, an invisible passage appeared, absorbing Dick and his party and placing them in an unknown area.

And when Kewen and his party were imprisoned by Brainiac, an artificial intelligence who can contact the multiverse, the bright multiverse, the main universe of Earth 0, belonged to Kewen's original universe. Superman, who has become a presidential candidate and reveals his identity, is also escorted to Gotham by a special car.

"Phew, no matter how many times you come, Gotham with the sun is not used to it, Jack, you just wait for me outside, I'm familiar here."

No longer wearing a battle uniform, but a superman in a suit and leather shoes, after saying a word to his full-time driver, he tidied up the folds on his clothes and walked towards the gate of Wayne Manor not far away.

"Don't you really need me to go in with you, Superman, no, I mean Mr. Kent, you know, I'm pretty good at fighting, especially in places like this where there seems to be a lot of furniture."

Behind Superman, the driver with a Chinese face also played a few tricks at random, and it can be seen that this Chinese American has no rejection of becoming a full-time driver who reveals his identity as Superman, and he also respects this superhero who has saved the world several times.

"Ah, forget it, if the furniture here is broken, the two of us may not be able to afford it even if we work for nothing for a year, don't worry, Jack, if it's not safe here, there will be no safe place."

Scratching his head, Superman also said with some embarrassment about this driver who is more of a friend than a subordinate. With that, Superman also rang the doorbell in front of the gate of Wayne Manor, and a familiar voice came from the microphone next to the gate.

"Long time no see, Master Clark, are you looking for Lord Bruce?"

"yes, it's been too busy Alfred, I'm coming to Bruce."

"Please wait a minute, I'll pick you up, by the way, your driver, can you pick you up together?"

"Is that okay, Alfred?"

"As you said, there's no safer place than this."

"Thank you, Alfred."

Turning around, Superman walked into the car, leaving Jack, the driver sitting in front, stunned for a moment.

"Won't you go in, Mr. Kent?"

"No, just drive ahead, isn't the road quite wide."

The gate of Wayne Manor opened, and the special car carrying Superman slowly drove into Wayne Manor, parked the car, and Alfred, who was in charge of the living of the entire Wayne family, also came out with several servants to receive Superman. Seeing the servants beside Alfred, Superman who got out of the car was also stunned, he hadn't seen anyone other than Alfred every time he came here before.

"Times are different, Master Clark, in the past, I only had to take care of Lord Bruce, plus a troubled teenager, but now, there are too many people, and I am too old to do anything. But they only work during the day and aren't here at night, don't worry. โ€

"yes, yes, I can't beat up the alienated clown and the guy called Silence." Walking beside the old butler, Superman was also complaining about the old butler's feelings.

"Hahaha, that's with the help of props, thanks to the help of that little guy, but then again, it seems that Young Master Dick and Young Master Kewen have been gone for almost ten months."

"yes, I don't know how they're doing in other universes, but you don't have to worry too much, they are very strong."

"I'm not worried, Master Bruce is in the study, so I won't disturb the conversation between the two of you."

"Understood, take care of my friend, Alfred."

"It should."

Talking to the old housekeeper while walking, Superman who walked to the study said a word, and then opened the door of the study and walked in. There is no one in the study, Superman, who has been to Wayne Manor many times, is familiar with finding the mechanism leading to the bat cave on the bookshelf, after entering the password, the secret door opens, looking at the secret door opened by this hole, Superman can't help laughing at himself.

"Alas, even I have to go through the main gate now, I didn't need it before."

Through the secret door, Superman who went all the way down also saw Batman working at the desk on the Batman-dedicated brother's eye computer, looking at Batman who was still wearing a battle uniform at this time, Superman couldn't help but sigh.

"It's said that bats are nocturnal creatures, and you've violated this habit now."

"You're talking about bats, and I'm human, so, who gave you the illusion that Batman can only hang out at night?"

Batman, who didn't turn around because of Superman's arrival, still looked at the report in front of the computer and answered Superman's complaints seriously. Sighing helplessly, Superman also jumped directly down the stairs, although there was a kryptonite toxin in his body and the apocalypse star earth core power to maintain a balance between each other, so that he could not become stronger by absorbing sunlight as before, but Superman himself absorbed the Kryptonian Life Codex, the last born born naturally.

Even without the various bonuses given by the Yellow Sun, the Kryptonian physique itself is enough for him to cope with most difficulties, and jumping up stairs is not a big deal.

Patting the dirt on his clothes, Superman also walked towards Batman, looked at the data displayed by the computer in front of Batman, frowned, and looked around.

"It's a lot quieter, I thought it would be more lively."

"Talia takes Damian and Raven back to Nandarbat, Selena goes to Helena and your son's parent-teacher conference, Jason and Tim, they're already adults, do you need to report to me where you want to go? As for Diana, she is responsible for the settlement of the remnants of Paradise Island, and she is busier than me. โ€

"Huh? How can you live like an empty nester, no matter how you look at it, you are a winner in life who is more comfortable than me! For Batman's explanation, Superman couldn't understand it at all, and complained directly.

"So what the hell are you doing here?" And Batman, who was focused on the data analysis in front of him, didn't bother to continue to talk to Superman, and went straight to the question.

Shaking his head helplessly, Superman also stepped forward and tapped a few times past Batman on his computer. The computer screen in front of Batman changes to reveal a research institute located in the Bermuda Delta. Due to a volcanic eruption caused by an earthquake, the research institute located in the mountains has been destroyed, but from the picture, you can vaguely see the logo of Wayne Enterprises, which is a research institute invested by Wayne Enterprises, that is, Batman. When he saw Superman click on this research institute, Batman, who was sitting there, stared at him and understood Superman's intention.

"Arthur told me that this is the institute you asked him to help rescue a few days ago, and this is fine. But Arthur also told me that he was strange only because the location of this institute was not recorded in the watchtower, and Atlantis, as the manager of the sea, did not find out.

Through Cyborg's investigation, I also know that this institute only appeared ten months ago, that is, after the Joker committed suicide in Naxino City, and not long after Cowen and the others left the main universe, you hid the Alliance, what the world was studying, Bruce. โ€

As he said this, Superman also turned Batman's chair at an angle and aimed it in his eyes. Looking up into Superman's eyes, it took a long time for Batman to laugh.

"Looks like Arthur isn't stupid."

"Anyway, it's also a leader of civilization, no, it's time to discuss whether Arthur is stupid or not, answer me, Bruce, what are you hiding from everyone you're studying. After committing suicide as a clown, you've been weird. โ€

Superman, who was almost taken away by Batman, quickly broke it back, and at the same time emphasized it. And Batman was also sitting there, launching his own torture on Superman, from Batman's gaze jpg, but this time, Superman was not defeated by this move, perhaps because he was no longer Superman, this gaze made him less difficult to resist as a human at this time, and after ten seconds of silent staring, Batman stood up.

"Let's go."

"Where are you going?"

"Don't you want to know what I'm studying, how can I tell you if I don't go inside, there are some things that you need to see to feel."

Saying words that puzzled Superman, Batman also walked ahead and walked deeper into the Batcave. Superman, who shook his head and sighed helplessly, could only keep up quickly. The two walked side by side, guided by Batman, to a deeper part of the Batcave, where Superman also saw a lot of things from his old rivals.

The Owl Court, which had only been disintegrated before, had a mask called the Claw Killer and teeth with the owl logo on it, and Superman noticed that inside the Claw Killer tooth, there was a liquid substance flowing, which looked like metal. Through the device in which the tooth is placed, Superman also understands that the tooth contains extraordinary powers.

Masks, pentadents, huge double-sided coins, three different ghost cards, and all kinds of props are placed here, so that Superman is a little overwhelmed, and finally, he sees a corpse. The pale face and blood-like smile all tell the identity of this corpse, and seeing this, Superman is not good.

"Something is wrong with you, Bruce! You have all the clown's corpse hidden, I handed over my son to you to be his godfather, not for you to teach him how to be perverted! โ€

"So there are some things that you have to see to feel with your own eyes, I brought you here to prove that I didn't intend to hide anything from you, and you should calm me down."

"Concealment? You can't really hide your perverted attributes, do you?! โ€

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The air suddenly fell silent, and the silent Batman once again cast Batman's gaze on Superman, who had released himself, and this time, Superman did not succeed in immunity, and was quiet under Batman's gaze. Seeing Superman quiet down, Batman lifted his gaze and walked over to the Joker's corpse, looking at his old rival.

"Remember what I told you before, about the Joker?"

"You mean the three clowns?"

"Well, one fell into the pool of the chemical plant and there were no bones left, one committed suicide in front of us, and there was only one left."

"Does this have anything to do with your collection of clown corpses?"

"Listen to me."

Superman is silent, and Batman begins to tell about what he has done during this time in front of the Joker's corpse.

"Three clowns, I've been wondering why the Morbius chair tells me three clowns, I've been thinking why there are three clowns, it's not reasonable. We all know about the birth of the Joker, an accident caused him to fall into a pool of chemicals, and the pool water destroyed his face and everything that could identify him, fingerprints, teeth, which is why I couldn't find his true identity.

And the memory storm caused by another Wally before the universe reboot also made me speculate that Wally could survive the universe reboot, why can't the Joker? Assuming that before the previous universe restart, there was another universe restart, then, the three clowns make sense, the clowns who survived the two universe reboots, plus the clowns of the current universe, that is three. โ€

Well-founded speculation, at least in Superman's opinion, there is nothing wrong with Batman's speculation, after all, there is already an example of the old 52 Wally in front of him, and the three Jokers are not unreasonable.

"There's nothing wrong with that, but I'm curious, I don't doubt that the water in the chemical plant destroyed everything that could confirm the Joker's identity, but it doesn't mean that it can give the Joker that extraordinary regeneration ability."

"What you say doesn't make sense, according to you, when the lightning strikes Barry, it should have turned him into charcoal, how can it be possible to give him the speed of God faster than me?"

couldn't help complaining, and backhanded Superman who raised the bar directly cited the example of Flash, but Batman didn't give him another stare because of Superman's lifting of the bar, but was silent for a while and said again.

"I thought the same thing as you before, you and I both understand that the reason why Barry didn't die was because the speed force selected him through lightning, so Barry survived and became the Flash. So on the other hand, if the accident that gave birth to the clown also made some kind of power, some kind of existence choose him, can it explain why the clown has an extraordinary rebirth? โ€

Hearing Batman finish telling his guess about the Joker's regeneration ability, Superman's expression became serious at this time, he has learned the madness of the Joker, if the Joker's extraordinary regeneration power is given by a certain existence, then this existence is definitely a hundred times worse than the Joker, a thousand times more disgusting things, then he and Batman and the Justice League have fought wits and courage with the Joker so many times, does it mean that that existence has been eyeing himself and others?!

"Looks like you've thought of it, and that's why I'm dissecting the clown's body, and I've found the answer."

Batman, who understood Superman's thoughts at this time, was also there to continue.

"The answer? What is it? At this time, Superman's expression also became serious, waiting for Batman to give him an answer.

And Batman, who was standing in front of the Joker's corpse, turned sideways, and a pool of green flowing liquid metal was displayed in front of Superman, and when he saw this pool of metal, Superman also felt a disgusting feeling in his heart. As if thinking of something, he turned his head and looked at the teeth removed from the claw killer of the owl court not far away, and inside the teeth, there was also a pool of liquid metal of different colors flowing.

"It always feels a little bit the same," Superman said as he looked at the two puddles of liquid metal.

"Yes, these two pools of metal seem to be the same substance."

"Looks?"

"Because I'm not entirely sure right now, that's why I'm hiding from everyone and setting up a secret research institute to study metals. Whatever this thing is, it's dangerous, and I even suspect that these things don't exist in our universe, so I have to study it and also prevent more people from knowing about it, I don't want to see a fourth clown appear, and likewise, I don't want to see anyone around me hurt again. โ€

Batman stood in front of the Joker's corpse and said so seriously, and the stone in Superman's heart on the side was also put down. walked behind Batman, put his hand directly on Batman's shoulder, and comforted Batman with his sunny smile.

"Don't always take the responsibility on yourself, you are now the father of six children, and you still play the lone hero, don't forget that we have partners, okay, that's the end of the Q&A, you should go out and bask in the sun."

"You guy, I always feel that you have become a little different now."

"After all, I let go of my baggage."

In the living room, Jack, a Chinese driver who came to a big family for the first time, was jumping up and down in the living room, and behind him, there was little Jonathan, a bear child, and Jason and Tim, two generations of Robin. It's just surprising that the two generations of Robins and a son of Superman who were taught by Batman did not gain the upper hand in this sports war of chasing and intercepting.

On the contrary, Jack took advantage of the terrain and the clothes on his body to make a counterattack from time to time, which made the three pursuing people a little embarrassed. As for why this happened, to put it simply, it was the idle and bored Jack who was practicing his hands outside the garden to warm up, and little Jonathan, who had just returned from the parent-teacher conference, saw a stranger boxing in his garden, and he went up to do it with Jack when he was itching.

Immediately afterward, Tim and Jason, who came back from outside, saw that little Jonathan didn't even take down an ordinary ordinary person, and they also joined the warband, and then they became what they are now. Superman who came out of the secret door of the study and Batman who took off his suit also happened to see such a scene.

Rao is Batman, who has experienced a hundred battles, was also shocked when he came out to see such a scene. In his opinion, although this Chinese who chased and intercepted under his godson and two adopted sons was good, he had not yet reached the point of being superhuman, but every time he counterattacked with furniture, it was extremely ingenious, and it happened to hit the three of them when the old force was gone and the new force was not born, which made the three of them distressed.

"You're not an ordinary driver, are you?"

"Ah, you said Jack, his full name is Jack Chen, and he is also a superpower, able to defeat his opponents with the help of all kinds of things that he recognizes as props. However, his superpowers require special conditions, such as in places where similar furniture is placed, or in areas with more complex terrain conditions, if it is in Furniture City, even I can't beat him now, I think in that kind of place, he can fight with you. โ€

"It's really a very high evaluation, it looks like you've been doing well during this time."

"That's it, I'm more interested in when those four little ones will be back than this. I don't know if they will be shocked when they come back and see the world now. โ€

"Don't worry, they will, I can think of that kid's expression."