Batman's fingertips lightly tapped the console, breaking the silence in the Batcave. His brow furrowed slightly, and his gaze was filled with scrutiny and confusion.
"It has never appeared in any of the known extraterrestrial civilization databases."
As soon as he finished speaking, Batman pressed a button on the console. The screen changed to show a massive database.
They were sorted from threat at the top… all the way down to none at the bottom, and each civilization had detailed information, including race characteristics, technology advancements, structure, whether they were aggressive, and more.
He entered the keyword "Viltrum Empire" into the search bar, even including all possible similar or similar-sounding words. However, the screen continued to show "no matching results."
Batman didn't give up.
No records didn't mean it didn't exist. It might actually mean this civilization was extremely mysterious or from an unknown part of the universe. He then brought up information on known dangerous civilizations and began to compare them one by one.
From a bloodthirsty alien race on a distant planet to an interstellar pirate organization that lived off plundering resources, he carefully reviewed the information on every dangerous civilization.
"There's not even anything similar."
Batman frowned.
Viktor's descriptions of being "bloodthirsty and warlike" and "priding itself on conquest," combined with the details of the individual who delivered Viktor to him three days ago, made Batman immediately categorize this as a potential high-threat target.
A race that has conquest and bloodshed ingrained into its genetic code would pose a massive potential disaster for Earth if any individual from that species came near.
Moreover, the fact that even a "rebellious teenager" could possess such a strong body made Batman worry that the regular Viltrumite would be even more terrifying.
Batman's expression grew even more serious. He began mentally constructing a combat power model for the Viltrumite, analyzing the potential threats they could pose to Earth.
But unfortunately, the person who brought Viktor to him three days ago had been keeping a close eye on him the entire time.
Unlike the current naive, cheerful Superman in Metropolis, the man in the black armor didn't give Batman any chance to get more biological samples from the boy.
He only managed to get a drop of blood. At this moment, that drop of blood was in the deeper underground of the Batcave, inside a rumbling analyzer.
However, because the sample was so small, many tests couldn't be done, and it would likely take a long time to understand the boy's true nature.
"A rebel who fled from his home planet?"
Batman's eyes were filled with scrutiny.
"The tone of his voice shows signs of nervousness and fear. His heart rate is normal, and his breathing is steady, but it could be that he's been specially trained to hide his emotions."
His gaze fell on the window on the display screen showing Viktor's physiological data, carefully analyzing every change in the numbers.
When Viktor described the cruelty of the Viltrum Empire, his heart rate did indeed rise slightly, and his breathing became a bit faster. These are the normal reactions someone might have when recalling a traumatic experience.
However, Batman wasn't taking any chances. He has seen too many enemies skilled in disguise. There are some agents who could perfectly control their physiological reactions after special training, making it impossible to detect any flaws on the surface.
"This boy grew up in a harsh environment, and he had undoubtedly undergone strict training. These reactions are genuine emotional expressions or carefully crafted disguises?"
Batman couldn't be sure and didn't dare to draw conclusions hastily.
In his view, any individual from an unknown extraterrestrial civilization deserved the highest level of scrutiny, even if they appeared to be nothing more than a heavily injured teenager.
He didn't trust Viktor's words. He already prepared for the worst-case scenario.
What if this boy were an undercover agent sent by the Viltrum Empire to prepare for a future invasion?
What if all his statements were lies, and his so-called "escape" was just a cover, with his true goal being to infiltrate Earth?
These possibilities all needed to be checked out one by one.
Batman never trusted anyone's word alone. He only trusted evidence.
"Activate secondary monitoring protocol. Closely track the target's movements."
Batman issued the command to the console.
"Also, contact Green Lantern and ask him to check the Oa database and see if there's any planet or civilization called 'Viltrum Empire' anywhere in the universe."
The console emitted a faint buzzing sound, signaling that the command had been successfully executed. The surveillance program was activated, and countless tiny devices hidden around the attic began to operate in all directions.
The communication signal to the Green Lantern Corps had also been sent, and they were now waiting for a response.
A few moments later, a fun, kinda cocky voice came through Batman's earpiece, asking to talk.
"Knock knock, is the bat home?"
Batman leaned slightly back, quietly listening to the faint rumble coming through his earpiece, and asked with an emotionless tone.
"It sounds pretty lively over there?"
"Yeah, buddy, yeah..."
Green Lantern's voice was a bit out of breath.
"You know, just the usual, intergalactic police catching cosmic criminals. This guy's a bit slippery, though. Runs pretty fast!"
Batman frowned deeply and waited until he stopped talking before asking.
"Did you find the information I asked for?"
"Ah, you're always so impatient. Do you rush things like this when you're on dates with a lady...?"
Batman let out a cold, sharp grunt, and Green Lantern quickly fell silent, pulling himself together.
"No, Bats, nothing."
"What?"
Batman's expression grew even more serious.
"I said there's no such thing as the 'Viltrum Empire' at all. The Oa database has zero record of it, nothing from a thousand years ago, and who knows from a thousand years ahead."
He couldn't help but sit up straighter, his finger pressing a button to switch the screen back to the surveillance of Viktor, who was sipping his soup.
He stared at the boy intently and couldn't help but double-check with Green Lantern once again.
"You're positive you actually looked carefully?"
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!
There was another series of intense explosions, followed by Green Lantern's screams, then the heavy sound of him being thrown into the ground.
After a long pause, Green Lantern's exhausted voice finally came through again.
"Buddy, do you think Oa's supercomputer is made of junk?"
"Boom!"
It sounded like Green Lantern punched something and then yelled at it to behave.
"As soon as I received your communication signal, I sent the Viltrum Empire search request back to Oa. Oa's integrated intelligence can search all the data from the past to the present in just three seconds. The conclusion? There's no such place as the Viltrum Empire. It doesn't exist."
Batman fell silent.
Green Lantern fed a few more words into the comm, but when he didn't get a response, he sighed helplessly and continued.
"Come on, think about it. Even if Oa might not have all the knowledge of our universe, a warlike, bloodthirsty civilization like that would have had interactions with others through war!"
"However, we still can't find a trace of Viltrum's past existence. It's either that your source is fake, or I'll have to request a psychological evaluation from the League. Did the Joker fool you or something?"