Gotham.
Hunger, exhaustion, and pain filled Bruce Wayne's body and mind.
He should have rested, should have rested before last night, eaten a few bites of food and drunk a couple sips of water, allowing his weary body to rest.
But the frequent incidents in the city didn't allow him to rest; he dragged his bruised, leaden body, constantly rushing through Gotham City.
Until now.
Now, Batman, his face etched with fatigue and his lips cracked, hung upside down from a rooftop like a large black bat.
To be precise, he was suspended upside down from the roof.
In the dilapidated, dim factory, dozens of armed thugs watched the captured Batman with malicious and mocking gazes.
Drip, drip.
A sleek black luxury car drove into the factory.
The car door opened, and first, an umbrella-shaped cane touched the ground.
The King of Gotham's underworld, Penguin, wearing a tuxedo and a monocle, slowly and elegantly stepped out of the car.
His pot-bellied figure looked a bit comical in this deliberate posture, but no one dared to laugh.
With pale skin, a sharp hooked nose, and cold, menacing eyes, Penguin looked like a monstrous Penguin that could cruelly swallow anyone like a sea fish at any moment, bringing only oppression and fear.
"Look, what have we caught?"
He walked slowly, a playful sneer on his face, and poked the chest of the inverted Batman with his umbrella.
"A little bat.
A bat worth hundreds of billions, yet who fancies himself Gotham's hero."
Bruce Wayne, who had been silent with his eyes closed, opened them, his cold, steady gaze examining him.
"Cobblepot, you are more cunning than the previous two underworld kings. If something hadn't happened, you should be the one hanging here right now."
Penguin Cobblepot sneered.
"Batman, or rather, Bruce Wayne."
He pulled off Batman's mask, looking at Bruce Wayne's revealed face, which was full of fatigue and scars.
"As expected, it really is you."
"Put this away; I want to keep it as a souvenir."
Penguin casually glanced at the Batman cowl, then, with a feigned air of elegance, handed it to a subordinate nearby.
After speaking, he continued, pressing his black umbrella cane against Bruce's chest.
"I admire you, Bruce Wayne.
Two days and two nights of sleeplessness, without food or drink, constantly rushing through Gotham City to save people, running dozens of rounds across the city.
You knocked down hundreds of thugs and sent them to prison, suffering countless injuries all over your body.
And you still made my men expend a lot of effort to catch you."
Penguin smiled triumphantly, then his tone shifted, becoming sinister.
"But now you're finished. You should realize that before you talk to me, Batman."
"Is that so?"
The rope holding him was suddenly cut, and Batman flipped to the ground, using a Batarang to injure the hands of two thugs who tried to shoot.
Sharp arm blades popped out from his gauntlet, encircling Penguin's neck.
"If you don't want to die, tell your men to behave."
He forced his body, which was nearing its limit, to endure, his gaze sweeping over the armed thugs pointing their guns at him, threatening in a low voice.
"Your body, even in this state, can still perform such swift and powerful movements.
Bruce Wayne, I truly doubt if you are human."
In a flash of lightning, Penguin, raising his hands, was taken aback and surprised by the sudden turn of events.
"The human body is a marvelous thing.
Its limits are actually far beyond what people imagine."
Batman struggled to keep his eyes open, his voice filled with exhaustion.
"Sometimes, to solve the root of a problem, you don't necessarily have to search painstakingly; you can also find a way to make it come to you."
"Congratulations on finding me, Cobblepot."
His identity being exposed was no longer something he cared about; Bruce Wayne now only wanted to end the endless incidents in Gotham and let the city, which had become noisy and dangerous because of him, return to peace.
"Do you know?
Bruce Wayne, I actually prepared a surprise for you."
After his initial shock, Penguin's face once again showed a mocking smile.
He clapped his hands.
An old man, tightly bound and with a bloodied face, was dragged out of the luxury car's trunk.
"Alfred."
Seeing that person, Bruce Wayne exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, that's the name.
Your old butler, in his sixties or seventies, still managed to take down twenty of my men.
Truly remarkable."
Penguin chuckled.
"While you were transforming into Batman to save Gotham, your loyal and reliable old butler held down the fort at Wayne Group, helping you deal with the troubles the government departments were causing your company."
Although there was a skilled team of bodyguards protecting him, he still easily had his men deal with those bodyguards.
The only surprise was that the old butler of the Wayne Family was unexpectedly good at fighting, almost allowing him to escape.
"Master."
Alfred, his face covered in blood, struggled to lift his head and called out.
After his parents passed away, the old butler was almost his only family. Batman roared in a low voice: "Release him, let him go immediately."
"Release him? What leverage do you have to make me release him?"
As he spoke, Penguin suddenly moved, his corpulent body displaying unusual agility and strength. He drew the umbrella-sword hidden in his black umbrella, precisely parried the arm blade, and then used an elbow strike to send Batman flying.
If Bruce Wayne had been in his normal state, he might have been able to deflect the sudden attack, preventing Penguin from escaping.
But unfortunately, Batman, who had been without a second of rest for two days and two nights and was utterly exhausted, was at his wit's end.
"Don't move."
The ferocious thugs nearby immediately swarmed him, pressing down on Bruce Wayne's head as he tried to get up from the ground again.
"Many people who judge by appearance think I can't even bend over.
It seems Batman, you are no exception."
He moved his corpulent body, slowly approaching.
Buzz, buzz.
In a blink of an eye, Bruce Wayne, stripped of his suit and subjected to a vicious beating, was once again strung up, alongside his old butler, Alfred.
And
"Take a photo of me with the famous Batman, the Son of Wayne, and his old butler too."
Penguin, wearing a monocle like a high-society gentleman, leaning on his black umbrella cane, displayed a cold and cruel smile on his face.
"This should be their last photo."
Once the photos were taken, Penguin waved his hand, and the ropes holding the semi-conscious Bruce Wayne and Alfred began to slowly descend.
The roaring maw of the mixer, like a dark gate leading to hell.
Above Coast City.
"Insect, you will fear me."
Parallax suddenly flew over, exuding surging malice, and roared at Ron, swinging its massive tentacles that could sweep away buildings like toys.
"Your Planet, the people you care about, everything you know, will all be destroyed by me."
"Weak and powerless threats."
Ron, disdainfully erupting with thunder, instantly vanished, a conical sonic boom cloud exploding in his place. He rapidly punched the massive tentacles that Parallax swung, seemingly capable of sweeping across the heavens and Earth.
As if millions of tons of TNT were detonated, the air exploded with a roar, and a circular white shockwave swept through, shattering all the city's glass and shaking the buildings.
The deafening roar filled the heavens and Earth, and the expressions of the astonished crowd who witnessed this scene were horrified.
Under Ron's full-power strike, the tentacles shattered inch by inch, and Parallax's massive body was sent flying backward into the sky.
"And you are the embodiment of fear for the Universe's beings?"
Such a threat was simply a joke; he wanted him to be flustered, in danger, or even afraid?
"Even a street thug knows how to threaten people better than you, Parallax."
"You're asking for death, insect."
Humiliated, Parallax unleashed the power of fear again, shooting a beam of light from its mouth, which Ron dodged by turning. A Thunder Spear materialized in his hand, and he threw it.
Rip!
It struck its face, exploding into ten thousand rays of lightning, causing Parallax's head to snap back, its face scorched black. Although it recovered in an instant, it became even more enraged.
"Insect, your ability to resist fear with your will is the strongest I've ever seen, but those around you are not as fearless as you."
Parallax opened its mouth, creating a massive suction force.
Selina frantically noticed a yellow light, representing fear, appearing on her body. Her life force, accompanied by the yellow light, was being rapidly drawn away and flowing into Parallax's mouth from a distance, and as her fear increased, the rate of loss accelerated.
"You want to turn me into a mummy too?"
Ron was about to act to save her. Under the threat of life and death, she angrily raised her head, lightning glowing in her eyes. She raised her Green Lantern Ring and condensed a massive missile, with external lightning coiling around it, and shot it directly into Parallax's mouth.
"You want to absorb? Then try this."
Boom!
Parallax's stomach exploded with a roar, and it shrieked in pain.
"Fear can breed anger, and sometimes it can make people unleash potential they normally don't have."
Seeing that Selina had also resolved the crisis by unleashing Thor's power, he turned and chuckled.
"Parallax, you don't seem to understand the power of fear."
Of course, it was also mainly due to Selina's Thor's body; if it were any other Lantern, being absorbed by fear would directly paralyze them, and their life would be drained in two or three seconds.
"You all must die!"
Parallax's body was almost entirely composed of energy; Selina's attack had not caused it any substantial damage. It reassembled its body, seething with rage, and the light of fear on its body intensified, preparing to unleash even greater power.
Bang, bang!
Just then, a figure flew rapidly from the horizon. Superman, who had only recently learned to fly, looked at the tragic scene in the city and angrily raised his fist.
"Get out of Earth, monster!"
Bang!
With enough force to crack mountains, he struck Parallax fiercely. Parallax's massive body was sent flying, crashing through several buildings, the roar echoing throughout the entire city.
Flying debris and shattered walls, like a meteor shower, fell heavily from the sky, affecting half a city block.
Bang!
Parallax was sent flying towards the horizon, and Clark swiftly pursued, landing another punch.
"Such immense power, are all Kryptonians this strong?"
Selina's expression was slightly surprised.
She felt that Clark's power seemed to be on par with Ron's.
Ron watched Superman continuously punch Parallax farther away from the city.
"Although young, he acts without recklessness."
He understood how to move Parallax away and keep the battle far from the city.
However, the current Superman was still a bit too weak; he might not be enough to face Parallax.
Hum!
"Kryptonian insect."
In the sky several miles away, the physically weak Parallax spat out a yellow energy cannon from its mouth.
Parasitizing the body of a Guardian of the Universe, it knew all the knowledge the Guardian possessed, and from the biological force field enveloping Superman, it instantly recognized his identity.
Whoosh!
Superman, who was flying at extreme speed, intending to land another punch on Parallax's head, was struck head-on.
Under the impact of the light beam, which contained terrifying power, he cried out in pain, feeling as if a hundred mountains had fallen from the sky and crashed down on him. Even his steel body found it somewhat difficult to bear.
Bang!
He crashed heavily to the ground from several thousand meters high, smashing through a building from top to bottom. He lay at the bottom of a crater dozens of meters in diameter, clutching his bruised chest in pain, looking up at the monster in the sky.
"That hurt enough."
His ribs were almost broken; it was a pain he hadn't felt since growing up, and Superman tasted it clearly again, grimacing as he spoke.
"What does 'Kryptonian insect' mean? Is Kryptonian a unique name for Earth by aliens?"
Whoosh, whoosh!
Parallax swooped down, intending to attack again.
Ron raised his palm, emitting a thick golden-yellow lightning bolt, an attack powerful enough to obliterate a city, striking Parallax's body, which weighed thousands of tons, sending it flying towards outer space.
"I'm going to kill you all, kill all of you!"
Part of its power was annihilated, and it was truly injured for the first time. Parallax retaliated in pain, and a beam of light condensed from fear energy struck back.
"Selina, go to outer space and open a wormhole."
"A wormhole? To where?"
Selina asked.
"Oa."
Flying into the sky, Ron answered while firing lightning and engaging Parallax.
"Monster, you've killed so many people, you must pay the price."
Taking this chance to catch his breath, with surrounding debris floating and swirling, Superman gritted his teeth and soared into the sky again, punching at Parallax.
The force of his punches was overwhelming, growing stronger and stronger.
Facing an unprecedented enemy, a part of Superman's power, which he had possessed since birth but deliberately suppressed, gradually began to manifest, and he rapidly grew stronger.
He quickly asked, after being punched away for trying to attack Parallax again.
"Where is Oa?"
Although Earth was dangerous, he didn't want to just throw a terrifying monster onto another living Planet: "Is it a desolate Planet?"
"The Green Lantern Corps Headquarters." Enveloped in an emerald-like glow, Selina flew in mid-air, replied, and then turned her head: "Are we sending him there?"
"It was meant to go there anyway.
Coming to Earth was just a detour."
He dodged the incoming fear energy rays with ease and chuckled.
"We'll give it a ride."
Parallax was heading towards Oa; Earth, strictly speaking, just suffered an unprovoked disaster.
Although killing Parallax would grant him a considerable amount of power points, he had no interest in shielding Oa and Earth from disaster.
"Let Oa, which bears the heavy responsibility of protecting the Universe, deal with Parallax, which threatens the Universe."
He just needed to make sure Parallax ultimately died by his hand.
"Green Lantern Corps Headquarters?
Does that place called Oa have the ability to deal with it?"
Clark gritted his teeth and asked, barely managing to withstand a massive tentacle strike infused with immense fear energy.
Even when facing the Green Lantern Corps, who were supposed to be fearless of danger and maintain safety, Superman was still a little worried for them.
Parallax contained terrifying power within its body, but its body was somewhat clumsy.
Another lightning strike sent Parallax flying several miles, and Ron chuckled.
"The Green Lantern Corps of Oa has protected the safety and order of the entire Universe for at least billions of years."
Protected the entire Universe for billions of years?
That Green Lantern Corps from Oa sounded very strong. In that case, dealing with this monster should be easy. Superman felt relieved, nodded seriously, and felt reverence for the unseen Green Lantern Corps.
"Such a powerful corps will surely be able to deal with this monster with ease!"
Selina used the power of her Green Lantern Ring to quickly fly into outer space, then used her Green Lantern Ring to open a massive wormhole.
A deep gray wormhole, leading directly to Oa, was opened.
"What is that? Who opened the wormhole?"
On Oa.
Sinestro, now clad in a yellow energy suit and wearing a new Fear Green Lantern Ring, was familiarizing himself and his Fear Corps with the use of fear energy when he suddenly turned and saw a gray wormhole appear in space.
The wormhole remained open for a long time, but no Lantern appeared.
From the other side of the wormhole, accompanied by what sounded like monstrous roars and intense fighting, an unsettling aura of fear emanated.
Sinestro and the others flew into the sky and approached the wormhole. Just as they were about to enter to investigate, they saw a terrifying, grotesque tentacled monster, blasted through from the other end of the wormhole by dazzling lightning.
"It's Parallax."
Sinestro's eyes widened as he recognized Parallax, and then he and his team were sent flying by the impact.
"Damn it, who opened this wormhole?!"