Oliver returned earlier than expected. He said it would be the next morning, but he actually arrived at tropolis Airport in the early hours before dawn. A few hours before his arrival, the Justice League had just finished their shift and headed ho to sleep.
Batman was stunned. He couldn't imagine a universe where the Justice League logged off work at 11 p.m.
But what shocked him even more was when this universe's Wonder Woman told him that this was considered overti. Normally, they wouldn't work past 6:30 p.m.
Even Lex, who was in the middle of negotiations with the Injustice Batman, started packing up his things around 10 o'clock.
This action caught the Injustice Batman a bit off-guard, throwing off his negotiation rhythm to so extent, as he wasn't sure what Lex might do next.
It wasn't until the ritual of turning off lights and locking doors began that the Injustice Batman realized that Lex's series of motions seed to be preparations for leaving work.
And then, just like typical employees at Luther Group, they all really filed out of the building, chatting with one another, heading to the parking lot to drive ho.
Batman—the one who had been watching TV with them earlier and we'll just refer to as Batman—followed the flow of people out of the Luthor Building with a confused expression, unsure where he was supposed to go.
anwhile, the Injustice Batman, left alone at the safehouse, was also at a loss for what to do.
However, the two Batn ca to the sa conclusion—that Lex Luthor seed to have a great deal of confidence in the Luthor Building's security and wasn't the least bit concerned that they might take advantage of the cover of night to investigate.
But how could Batman not do exactly that?
When all the employees had left, and the building went dark, both Batn simultaneously approached the Luthor Building from different directions.
Initially, they intended to scout for infiltration routes, but they suddenly noticed that another group of employees showed up for work after the day employees left.
Still chatting in small groups, they erged from the parking lot, entered the building, turned on the lights, opened offices, and got to work.
What kind of place is the Luther Group that it operates on shifts like this? It's not like they're a factory rushing deadlines. Day staff, night staff—where do they even get this much work to do?
It wasn't until the Injustice Batman approached the parking lot and overheard them speaking that he realized they weren't speaking English.
That's when things started to feel a lot more eerie.
Of course, they weren't speaking so alien language—in fact, that's exactly why it was unsettling—they were speaking Russian.
The Injustice Batman deliberately stayed longer to confirm he wasn't hearing things, but after listening carefully for a while, it was undeniably Russian.
He began feeling much less confident about his infiltration plan. If Lex caught him, there might still be room for negotiation. If this group caught him, he might open his eyes only to find himself face-to-face with Stalin.
Elsewhere, Batman was trying to contact Superman. He really wanted to know: What was Superman doing? Did rescuing Bruce really take this long?
A few hours earlier, three figures had streaked across the tropolis skyline. The foremost, swift as a falcon; the other two, similar in appearance but clearly at odds with each other.
It seed like all three were trying to force the others to stop, weaving through the sky in a dazzling sequence of aerial maneuvers.
This, naturally, wasn't enough to last for hours. The real turning point ca when Bruce, mid-flight, was suddenly t with a glowing light. He flew straight into it and disappeared instantly.
The two Supern following him thought about stopping but were moving too fast and couldn't brake in ti. They were pulled into the light as well.
When they regained consciousness, they found themselves in a pool of water, faint music playing in the background, shadows of figures moving around them.
The Injustice Superman sat up in the pool just in ti to see a winged "birdman" walk past him.
He thought he was hallucinating, so he shook his head—but instead, the scene beca sharper. It wasn't just one birdman. Every figure walking around had a pair of wings.
The journey to Heaven had been so abrupt that the Injustice Superman couldn't bring himself to consider the possibility that he had actually arrived there.
But reality was reality. When he flew out of the Sanctuary, it beca clear—this was, without question, the Heaven described in the Bible. The strangest part was that none of the angels seed remotely startled by his presence.
Co on, he wasn't even a regular Superman anymore. He'd killed so many people while ruling the world that he'd lost count. How could he possibly end up in Heaven?
Wait, if he could make it to Heaven, then Lois...
With that thought, the Injustice Superman imdiately took off in search. But while he had read the Bible and knew so descriptions of Heaven, it still felt too foreign. He had no idea where to find the souls that ascended here.
Out of options, he stopped one of the angels to ask, "Do you know where Lois is?"
"Lois? She should be on that street over there," the angel responded, confused, and pointed in a direction.
The Injustice Superman flew toward the indicated area and found many angels gathered there. He began calling out at the top of his lungs, "Lois! Lois!"
One of the unfamiliar angels looked back at him in confusion. Upon recognizing him, the angel froze, then panicked and frantically flipped through a scroll of parchnt.
"Wait a minute, how is Superman here? And why's he looking for ? I'm not even assigned to this universe!"
Another angel beside him patted his shoulder with a wing and said, "Relax, this has got to be one of Bruce's stunts. No need to freak out. Uriel's boss will deal with him shortly."
"Bruce!!!!!!!!"
A furious roar echoed from the horizon. The Injustice Superman instinctively turned around and saw one multi-winged figure chasing another multi-winged figure, swinging a long spear.
The figure being pursued was scrambling for its life. It was too far away for the Injustice Superman to identify either of them clearly.
Suddenly, another burst of white light enveloped the Injustice Superman. When he regained awareness, he found himself hovering over tropolis, his counterpart Superman looking equally bewildered beside him.
The Injustice Superman backed off cautiously, hesitated as if to leave, but then seed to recall sothing, and asked uncertainly, "Just now... did you... see anything?"
"I don't know. When I woke up, I was in a pool, surrounded by so people with wings. Was that so kind of Illusion Magic?"
The Injustice Superman imdiately realized that it wasn't an illusion. They had really been to a place that seed like Heaven.
"Amazing. Heaven exists!" The Injustice Superman clenched his fists tightly. "There's still ti. There's still ti. Everything is still possible!"
Unable to contain his excitent any longer, the Injustice Superman rocketed away. A sonic boom echoed across the tropolis skyline, leaving the other Superman only just beginning to process what had happened.
"Oh, is it nightti already?!" He looked around in surprise and spotted a high-rise electronic billboard showing it was already past 11 p.m. He quickly flew toward the Luthor Building and, after circling the periter, spotted Batman.
He landed behind Batman. Batman turned to look at him and, upon recognition, sighed with relief. "What took you so long?"
"Sorry, I have no idea what just happened. I think I got lost." Superman shook his head. "What are you doing hanging around here?"
"Nothing." Batman glanced toward the Luthor Group with so puzzlent, then grabbed Superman's arm. "tropolis in this universe is a bit weird. The people here aren't easy to deal with. I think we should head back to Gotham first."
"You're thinking of heading to the Batcave to grab so gear?"
"Not exactly," Batman replied, shaking his head. "I might not even be able to crack open this universe's Batcave. But at least I know the lay of the land there. It's better than staying here."
Superman thought of his recent ordeal and realized Batman had a point. This city and its Justice League, once familiar to him, now seed too alien. He had no edge in navigating it, so it might indeed be better to follow Batman to Gotham.
"I'll find us a car," Batman said. "If we leave now, we should reach Gotham by dawn."
After the two left, the Injustice Batman remained where he was. He had given up on finding his Superman—better to act solo than try dealing with an already unhinged Injustice Superman. Yet, the Injustice Superman ca looking for him on his own.
"Bruce..."
The mont he heard the na, the Injustice Batman knew the Injustice Superman was having one of his unstable episodes again.
"Bruce, you have no idea what I just saw. I went to Heaven just now, and it was filled with angels. I asked if they'd seen Lois, and they gave a direction—Lois must be there..."
Previously, the Injustice Batman thought he'd seen every possible manifestation of the Injustice Superman's madness. But at this mont, he realized he was still woefully inexperienced—what kind of breakdown was this?
The Injustice Superman ignored him, rambling incessantly as if so stimulus had reduced him to pure instinct.
And in his instinctive subconscious, the only person who could solve his problems was Batman. So he clung to the Injustice Batman, talking non-stop.
The Injustice Batman initially planned to placate him with empty reassurances and then slip away, as he had done in the past. That was until one particular sentence from the Injustice Superman caused him to stiffen completely.
"If Heaven exists, then Hell must exist too. If Lois can be resurrected, then so can the Joker. That would an I didn't really kill him..."
The Injustice Batman choked on the breath he'd just inhaled. He coughed violently and looked at the Injustice Superman's face, but saw no trace of cold detachnt or mockery.
The Injustice Superman's eyes were utterly vacant, his nearly colorless irises as blank as white paper, the faintest black speck at their center rendered insignificant by the endless depths of night behind him. His gaze was weightless, as if his soul had already flown away.
The Injustice Batman's fingers twitched slightly, and he braced himself against the wall with his other hand, trying to summon the words to rebuke the Injustice Superman. But the barely perceptible hint of grievance in the Superman's voice, buried deep in his rising intonation, rendered the Injustice Batman speechless.
As Batman turned to leave, a blazing flashlight beam swept over him. He heard soone shouting in Russian.
"Who's there?! Hands up!!"
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