socalfunplaces Chapter 136 Joe El
Chapter 136 Joe El
Chapter 136 Joe El
The Kryptonian army arrived on Earth more than a day ahead of schedule.
Batman wanted to say that these Kryptonians who suddenly appeared caught his side off guard, but in reality, no matter when they came, they would always be caught off guard.
Whether the Kryptonians arrive a day earlier or a day later makes little difference.
The problem is that these Kryptonians unfortunately appeared at a crucial juncture, just as Superman was lost somewhere in outer space.
Moreover, Cyborg, the only one who could help find Superman, is now in danger.
Like a lone lion on a not-so-vast savanna, Cyborg is an invincible entity within the Earth's internet, completely unsuspecting and lacking experience in combat.
To the AI from Krypton, Cyborg's behavior of surfing the internet so freely is like running naked on a battlefield amidst a hail of bullets; it would be a disservice to his unbridled nature not to give him a good whack.
Cyborg was truly caught off guard by the sneak attack in cyberspace, especially since a large portion of his computing power was allocated to calculating the coordinates of a large-scale teleportation at the moment the attack was launched.
He had no choice but to temporarily relinquish control of the global network.
All network-connected devices worldwide received the same message, and within minutes, AI used a steel frame to integrate the information flow across the entire internet.
The obscure Kryptonian script on the screen began to distort and deform, displaying different characters depending on the region, all expressing the same message:
"Where is Karl El?"
Netizens around the world were in an uproar, frantically searching online for information about who Karl El was.
People on this earth only know "Superman"; they don't know any of Joey's real name.
Batman couldn't help but recall something that was very inappropriate to think about at this moment:
Speaking of which, Karl El doesn't only have Joey; there's another body currently inside the watchtower.
If any misunderstanding were to occur at this moment, it would be a huge misunderstanding.
Hey~
After activating his carbon-based brain, Cyborg, who was battling against AI, finally regained control of his body and the entire Watchtower.
"The two pieces of news are, respectively, bad news and worse news."
Even at this point, Steel Bone still has the leisure to gossip:
"The first piece of bad news is that Joey's signal has disappeared again, making it unlikely that we can transmit accurately to him now."
The second piece of bad news is that an AI just managed to infiltrate the entire global network while I wasn't paying attention. I regained control of the watchtower, but...
Before Steelbone could finish speaking, the teleportation facility beside him began to hum and glow with an unusual light.
"But they've already noticed we're here."
Batman reached for his waist, intending to take out the Kryptonian-specific ring he had crafted a few days ago, only to find it empty—he then remembered that he had lent it to Superman a dozen minutes earlier.
Now Batman has the same feeling: for him, there are too many variables in this universe, and he is always too unprepared.
Monday: Superman Crisis; Tuesday: Gotham Battle; Wednesday: Encounter with the Evil Kara; Thursday: Funeral; Friday: Dealing with the Helm of Fate; Saturday: Taking Down Doomsday; Sunday: Kara's Prison Break, Superman's Disappearance, Kryptonians' Arrival...
This universe is truly fucking bizarre.
As the light from the teleportation matrix faded, several uninvited guests appeared on the previously empty platform.
Jor-El, dressed in a retro-style armor very similar in material to Kara's metal battle armor, slowly stepped down from the teleportation platform, his metal boots making a dull thud on the steps of the Hall of Justice.
"I never imagined that technology from Apokolips would still exist on this primitive planet."
Behind him, several fully armed Kryptonians quickly lined up in a row, guarding him from all sides.
Long ago, Batman's own "Superman" described his never-seen biological father more than once as warm, kind, and compassionate, and in Clark's own words, "had a heart of gold."
Now that Batman has seen another version of Jor-El, he is quite certain that the other man doesn't have a heart of gold, but rather a heart of steel.
Although he appeared to have white hair and beard, his powerful demeanor and the authority of a leader were undeniable.
Batman has only experienced this dangerous aura from a few people, such as his father-in-law Rashomon and Darkseid, the god-king of Apokolips.
"The equipment is good, but the usage needs improvement."
After easily decompiling the teleportation system and infiltrating the watchtower, Jor-El, fully armored, squinted and slowly examined the teleportation platform for a long time before offering his comments as a scientist:
"You should build a final physical confirmation terminal similar to the Apokolips Mother Box, otherwise you'll end up in this situation where anyone who has cracked the transmission frequency can come and go as they please."
"However, by the standards of an uncivilized planet, you natives have already reached an extraordinary level of excellence. No wonder my son chose to defend this planet."
"Thank you for the compliment"."
The Watchtower's teleportation technology was indeed modeled after Apokolips' Mother Box teleportation function, a fact that Batman himself was well aware of.
But if I had the production capacity to easily create Mother Boxes, why would I not dare to breathe loudly in front of the Kryptonians present?
However, just because Batman was able to refrain from escalating the conflict doesn't mean that everyone else present could.
"You butcher!"
Upon seeing Jor El again, and his armor stained with the blood of her people, Corian finally could no longer suppress the hidden scars in her heart.
Emotion once again overwhelmed reason, and the green light ring projected a dazzling beam of kryptonite that illuminated the entire hall.
The fragmented remains of the planet Tamaran resurfaced in my mind, igniting the flames of hatred within my heart and body.
It made her radiate dazzling light and heat like a supernova.
Before anyone in the hall could react, the materialized blade in Starfire's hand had already reached in front of Jor-El, aiming straight for his throat.
She thought she could be more rational, but when she faced this nightmare from the past alone without Joey's presence, she simply couldn't remain calm and could only scream hysterically:
"Die, you demon!"
Faced with Starfire's madness, Jor El seemed stunned and remained motionless, allowing a sword made of kryptonite radiation to pierce his vitals.
赠！
Suddenly, Starfire lunged forward, wielding the Blade of Will, but just as she was about to succeed, she didn't feel a piercing sensation. She only felt a sudden lightness on the side of her body where she wore the lamp ring.
A guard had appeared beside Joe El at some point, with short, neat black hair and a fierce look in her eyes. The blade she held was now stained with orange-red blood.
This color is Xinghuo's blood—only after seeing this did Xinghuo realize that a numb, stinging pain was coming from her right arm.
Her right arm was severed from the elbow up, and she raised it up, defiantly gesturing at Xinghuo.
"Oh—thank you, Fiora."
At this moment, Joe El finally snapped out of his dazed state. He calmly thanked the female guard beside him, and at the same time, he remembered the origin of Starfire:
"There's still a Tamaran on Earth? Interesting, I thought you were all extinct."
Upon hearing these casual words, Xinghuo, whose right arm was bleeding profusely from its severed wound, felt a wave of dizziness and collapsed to the ground, unsure whether to feel fear or humiliation.
The protective green light layer that had covered her body and the unique energy radiation of the Tamaran people vanished in an instant, no longer able to provide her with any protection whatsoever.
Facing these legitimate Kryptonian agents, Xinghuo felt as if he had returned to that helpless night.
The mother squeezed herself into the only escape pod that could be used for warp jumps, and was exiled alone into the endless darkness of deep space.
The increasingly intense pain made her breathing rapid and her consciousness gradually blurred. Xinghuo groaned, gritted her teeth, and tried her best to control herself from screaming in front of her enemy.
"If you feel pain, then scream out loud; there's nothing shameful about it."
A faint arc of bluish-purple electricity flashed across Fiora Earl's blade as she raised it high toward Starfire's neck, ready to decapitate him in the next second.
"There's no need to endure it any longer, because you'll be free soon."
"Let her go!"
Just tens of meters away, a cannon barrel extended from the body of the steel skeleton, its Kryptonite missiles already loaded and locked onto the Kryptonians present.
"Don't try to interrupt me. Even if this Kryptonite missile fails to launch, it can still self-destruct."
Hawkgirl, who had been hiding in the medical room tending to patients and was sulking, rushed into the hall wielding her N-metal warhammer. "Wait!"
Batman, who had just used his cape to protect himself from the intense heat radiation from the leaking sparks, finally had a free hand to stop the deadly conflict.
How the situation escalated from initial "friendly exchanges" to the current standoff was not entirely unexpected for Batman.
Just as he had learned before, there were too many unexpected events and too little preparation, so there was no other way but to try to adapt.
The two sides can still have a talk at this point, especially regarding Xinghuo's identity, there's still a lot to be done.
"Joe Al, you can't kill that Tamaran! Because..."
"Stop, Fiora, I will pardon this Tamaran."
Jor-El reached out to interrupt Batman's words and Fiora's next move:
"Also, like the others, you only need to watch my back. I don't need any of you in front of me. Remember that next time."
"yes!"
Fiora bowed her head in a flustered manner to Jor-El, then obediently returned to Jor-El's back.
Joe El looked down at Xinghuo, who was kneeling before him, struggling to stay upright. With a flick of his finger, purple arcs of electricity flashed, relieving the pain inflicted on her.
The Pain Matrix, also a technology from Apokolips, was experimentally applied by Jor-El to some of the Kryptonians' conventional weapons after nearly a decade of exploration.
For example, Fiora's blade just now; the pain felt by someone struck by that blade would be amplified tens of thousands of times in a short period of time.
For the Tamaran people, whose physical energy is driven by emotions, such a negative state can be fatal.
Looking at Starfire, who was merely unconscious, Joe El's eyes were thoughtful, but he quickly suppressed his emotions.
The Tamaran before him was not the reason he came here. He had risked his life to travel from the illusionary space to this primitive planet in order to retrieve the most important thing he had ever lost:
"Okay, now we can finally have a proper conversation. I have questions, and you have the answers, so it's all good."
"Where is my son?"