American comics: You're asked to fish, but you catch a Superman template?

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Batman frowned, ignoring Talia, and pressed a button on his headset: "Penny-1, point the S-band at me, I want to talk to him."

"Yes, sir, I thought you wouldn't ask."

An electromagnetic signal of a certain frequency traveled at the speed of light from the ruins into the blue sky, accurately reaching the sensitive ears of three Kryptonians on the hellish, burning battlefield. The instant Batman's voice rang out, Superman found himself being thrown far off the ground by the force of the apocalypse, tumbling dozens of times at near-sonic speeds, then suddenly rising upwards before plummeting back down into the air.

“Clark, listen, I know you can hear me.”

Chapter 1696 Explosion

The League of Assassins' base on the outskirts of Gotham City was completely destroyed, but fortunately, the spacetime energy source they called the "Eternal Stone" remained intact. After a massive energy explosion shattered the wreckage, several high-energy pillars surrounded by rings remained in the original location, and the complex wiring connected to them was not severely damaged; the control consoles were still functioning normally.

This time, Talia wasn't lying. Batman quickly figured out how the control panel worked from Talia's instructions. Now, as long as these three Kryptonians could find a way to bring "Doomsday" to the center of the open space surrounded by the Stone of Eternity, everything would be solved.

The steps of the plan are very simple, but execution seems to be not so simple.

Superman plummeted from the height like a bird with broken wings, crashing heavily to the ground as if struck by a nail. He struggled to his feet and looked back to see that he was still four or five hundred meters away from where Batman had pointed out.

Three Kryptonians desperately tried to restrain Doom's body, attempting to fly back to the Stone of Eternity, but the behemoth was simply too powerful, and seemed to grow stronger with time, until the three could no longer restrain him. Superman was knocked down by Doom in the battle, and Xu Fu and Kara grabbed Doom's arms and the bone spurs on his left and right backs respectively, simultaneously bringing him to the ground at a 45-degree angle.

Xu Fu was flung far off Doom's back, and Kara found herself being tightly gripped by Doom's throat. Superman leaped into the air, lunging at Doom at full speed, his arms gripping Doom's neck tightly, trying to pull him away from Kara. Doom only let out a low growl, one hand tightly gripping Superman's head on the back, throwing him far away, while the other hand gripped Kara's neck tightly, making her face flush red and almost suffocating.

Many people believe that Superman doesn't need to breathe, but this is not the case: even the powerful Kryptonians are creatures that need oxygen to survive. It's just that their physical abilities are enhanced by being bathed in yellow solar radiation, allowing them to keep their mouths closed for extended periods to travel in outer space, which is practically equivalent to not needing to breathe at all. However, this doesn't mean that an attack on the airway won't be fatal.

If this continues, Kara might die.

Looking back on the incident, Xu Fu couldn't recall exactly what he had done; he only remembered seeing Kara climb onto Doomsday's neck, her red boots dangling helplessly in the air, and he almost instinctively rushed forward. He didn't know what he was thinking at the time, and probably wasn't thinking anything at all. The horrific image of the cloned Superman being brutally murdered by Doomsday flashed through his mind involuntarily, and the thought that he couldn't let Kara be in that state was the only driving force propelling him forward.

The blow struck Doom's ugly, twisted face with astonishing force, stronger than any of the previous attacks. Doom involuntarily released Kara's arm, his massive body staggering back several steps. Looking at the Kryptonian who had struck him so hard, he let out a tremendous roar of rage and unleashed a powerful gust of cold wind.

Xu Fu instinctively dodged the palm strike, slipping past Mo Ri's thick arm, and delivered a powerful uppercut that landed on Mo Ri's chin. Mo Ri let out a pitiful howl as he soared into the air, but he had only risen three or five meters before Xu Fu charged towards him at incredible speed. The blow struck straight down, visibly shattering the ring in mid-air. Mo Ri instantly veered off course, hurtling towards the ground. An exaggerated wave of dust surged up, like a tsunami of sandstorms.

The movements were astonishingly fast, so fast that even Xu Fu himself couldn't react. This series of actions seemed more like his body's instinct, commanding him to do things without thinking. The scorching red light covered his entire retina, and his eyes were like burning pearls, seemingly even more intense than normal heat vision. The burning sensation constantly stimulated the nerve endings related to his eyes, a feeling that was extremely eerie and terrifying.

"Xu Fu?" Kara asked in a slightly hoarse voice, rubbing her reddened neck. "What are you doing..."

The apocalypse rose again, roaring as it lunged at Xu Fu, who was floating in the air, interrupting her halfway through her sentence. Xu Fu remained expressionless, all his attention focused on the battle, as if everything else had been set aside. As the apocalypse pounced on him, he leaned back slightly, his knee striking the apocalypse's chin. The fleeing monster suppressed a groan, its mouth involuntarily closing, its legs unsteady as it nearly fell. Xu Fu grabbed its head with both hands, lifting it up and down, slamming the massive creature off his shoulders to the ground.

With a roar, Doomsday launched a counterattack with incredible speed, wielding a bone spike. Xu Fu dodged the attack, but his shoulder was inevitably pierced by the sharp bone spike.

Xu Fu somersaulted over him, slamming his head to the ground and propelling him at full speed toward the spot Batman indicated. Half of the bone spur from Doomsday's severed arm was still embedded in his shoulder blade, but he didn't notice.

Like a rage.

It was less than 500 meters from its target, a distance that could be covered in the blink of an eye. But in that brief instant, Doomsday finally broke free of its control. It twisted its head out of its eyes, mouth, and nose, releasing a terrifying beam of energy directly at Xu Fu's face. Xu Fu's face was transformed into its body by the explosion. Then, its remaining five fingers angrily clawed long five-finger prints into the ground, rolled several times, and finally stopped the car less than 100 meters from its target.

Doomsday stood up, and the half of his arm that Xu Fu had cut off began to regrow. However, before he could even stand upright, the other two Kryptonians were already in a bloodthirsty frenzy.

Superman and Supergirl simultaneously delivered four heavy blows to his chest, sending his body flying in the same direction once again.

The two Kryptonians broke through layers of trees and rubble, working together to bring the enormous monster to the center of the Eternal Stone circle, where Batman had been waiting for some time in front of the control panel.

"Whatever you're going to do, Batman," Superman said, pulling the rebellious beast beneath him tightly, "be quick!"

“It’s already in progress.” Batman quickly manipulated the panel for a moment before pressing the start button.

The simulated signals of spacetime power were transmitted across the land via the lines, reaching these energy pillars, instantly activating several of them. Dark red energy emanated from the Eternal Stone, converging at the center to form a dazzling light, as if the world itself had lost its color.

Finally, Doomsday successfully swatted Superman and Supergirl off his back. Enraged, he stood up, leaped into the air, and lunged at Batman in front of the control panel, baring his teeth and claws. Batman remained expressionless and motionless, watching helplessly as the enormous five fingers, accompanied by a choking gust of wind, brushed past his nose a few centimeters before being sucked into a massive wave of spacetime energy, vanishing without a trace.

Chapter 1697 Superman Returns

One day later, in the Arctic, at the Lonely Fortress.

Clark took off his shirt and lay down on a crystal tray, where a series of sophisticated instruments scanned him from head to toe. Xu Fu, Kara, and Batman crowded around the bed, watching the scan results intently.

After what seemed like an eternity, the instrument's light finally dimmed, and a "beep" signaled the end of the scan. Batman stood before the reading panel for a moment, studying it, then said softly, "One hundred percent match. Statistically speaking, there shouldn't be any problem."

Clark sat down with a smile, smoothing his shirt with his hand: "See? I told you this time it was for real."

“Wait, Clark,” Batman interrupted him, “I need you to do it again to verify the result.”

Clark paused, then said painfully, "Repeat? You know the fortress's technology never goes wrong, so there's no need for this, is there?"

Batman didn't speak, but his gaze behind his glasses revealed his stance. Clark mumbled incomprehensible words but obediently lay down on the ground. Batman restarted the program, watching as sophisticated high-tech equipment scanned Clark from head to toe. In fact, if he could, he could even extract Clark's soul and study it inside and out.

“The reading is still normal,” Batman said, looking at the second reading.

Clark muttered as he put on his shirt.

Kara asked uncertainly, "And what about your mental state? Do you still have that urge to kill?"

Why would I think that way?

Kara sighed deeply, then hugged him tightly. "Welcome back, Clark. You have no idea how much I missed you."

Clark patted her back gently. "Me too."

He stood up and turned his gaze to Xu Fu. Xu Fu suddenly realized that this should be his first official meeting with Superman, excluding the collective meeting with "Doomsday". Rationally, he also believed that this should be the real Superman. He had both Wei Ran's temperament and a faint sunshine in him, almost exactly matching the Superman he had imagined in the past.

“I think I have to thank you,” Clark laughed. “Those last few blows you landed on Doom were really impressive. Does your shoulder still hurt?”

"Thank you, it's not important anymore." Xu Fu moved his shoulder joint; the spot where the apocalypse had struck him yesterday had almost healed. "This was the hardest punch I've ever taken in my life. I've never been hit so hard before, and I don't know why."

“Perhaps you have potential, you just don’t know it yourself,” Clark said, glancing at Carla with a half-joking smile. “Love is always the perfect catalyst for potential, isn’t it?”

Kara understood what he meant, her pretty face flushed slightly, and she unconsciously lowered her head, but she still couldn't help but smile sweetly.

“I’ve seen everything you’ve done lately, and you’ve done a great job, new Superman.” Clark said, “You’ve shown the world and people light when they needed it most.”

“But I didn’t do it as well as you, and I don’t think I ever will.” Xu Fu shook his head. “I was just a substitute for you when you weren’t here, like a temporary agent. Now that you’re back, the world will be happy to have a real Superman again.”

Clark chuckled and patted Xu Fu on the shoulder: "Hey, kid. It was you who led people out of their darkest hour, not me, right? You see, in that situation, I couldn't have done any better than you. Just like you said, a new era has arrived, and you created it. I believe you also have a place in this new era—a place that doesn't belong to you, but you just have to find it."

Xu Fu nodded, seemingly understanding. Clark smiled and said, "Alright, I won't disturb you two any longer. Perhaps I should go upstairs and see if Batman's in-depth analysis has yielded any new results."

He flew up to the second floor along the crystal well in the center of the fortress, where Batman was sitting in front of Krypton's central computer analyzing his full-body examination results. He landed gently behind Batman and asked, "What's wrong? Did you find anything?"

"First, I roughly understand why you lost your superpowers and memories."

"O? Why?"

Batman gave him a meaningful look.

"Hypnotic Clark's answer is hypnosis."

Clark frowned. "Hypnosis? Who did it?"

"self"

Clark was stunned: "Are you kidding me?"

Do you think I'm joking?

"I don't know, you look exactly the same as when you're joking around."

Batman ignored his roar and continued, "I personally believe this is a case of (BBFI) gaining new abilities as you age. In the great battle six years ago, you released all the energy in your cells and lost your memory. Your instincts led you to a comfortable, mediocre life, which is exactly what you've always wanted, so subconsciously, you resist remembering who you are. In order not to lose the life you want, you unconsciously put yourself in a continuous state of superhypnosis, preventing you from regaining your superpowers."

“Wow, wow, wow, are you telling me,” Clark said somewhat incredulously, “that the reason I haven’t remembered who I am all these years is because I don’t want to think about getting out of bed?”

“Yes,” Batman muttered to himself, “that’s it.”

"This is absurd, I never thought of it."

“Did you ever think about running away? No, I know you’re not the kind of person who would let yourself run away from problems,” Batman said. “But remember, Clark? You said you were tormented by a conflict that could never be resolved, and you felt guilty about everything you’d done. You said you wanted to get rid of these unusual abilities and be a normal, ordinary person.”

Clark opened his mouth, paused for a while, and then said, "I was just complaining. I just need some fresh air."

"But this is exactly what you've longed for," "deeply imprinted in your mind," "just press a button."

Clark was at a loss, unsure of what to object to. He began to think Bruce was right; he was basically always right. He started to feel frustrated: "So this is my personal responsibility. For six whole years, the world has lost Superman and fallen into darkness, all because of my personal selfishness." He paused, then lowered his head: "It's my fault, Bruce."

The Dark Knight stared at the Kryptonian central computer screen for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Have you gone back to her?"

Clark was stunned: "Who?"

"Lina," Batman said, "is the mountain girl."

Clark hesitated before nodding. "Yes, but she looked at me like I was a complete stranger, as if she didn't recognize me."

“You’re a stranger,” Bruce said. “She doesn’t love Superman, and she doesn’t love Clark. The person she loves no longer exists. Even for her own good, you should keep your distance from her in the future. That way, she’ll have far less trouble.”

“I know, of course I know.” Clark sighed silently. “But this sounds like advice from an old friend of mine, so at least I know you’re not a fake.”

"I was just saying it was a necessary measure."

“I understand,” Clark said, half-jokingly and half-seriously. “To be honest, I also miss your stubborn advice. It’s been so long since I’ve heard your quirky voice, and I feel like something is missing.”

Bruce sighed softly: "You shouldn't have come back, Clark. These lives are what you've always wanted, and what you deserve."

“But the world needs me,” Clark patted him on the shoulder, adding before turning away, “Face it, you need me too, Bruce.”

Chapter 1698 Robbery

Three months later, in the metropolis, around nine o'clock in the morning.

Sirens wailed as robbers stormed into the Metropolitan Bank. The day seemed to start peacefully. Six men in high-tech combat suits brazenly stormed into the lobby, knocking out armed guards with some kind of weapon that could fire special pulses. Then, they unleashed a long burst of bullets from machine guns hidden in their wrists, sending panic through the lobby. Everyone else fell to the ground.

They split into three groups of two: one group guarded the door, one group watched over the hostages in the lobby, and the last group had to open the vault door and stuff as much money as possible into bags. Normally, opening the vault door would require the help of a bank manager, but these robbers didn't. They simply fired a powerful laser gun nearly two meters long. They blasted the vault door with the blue-glowing laser, then used something resembling a tractor beam on their armor to tear open the entire slit in the metal, manually blasting open the charred entrance.

Nowadays, it's impossible to rob someone without advanced technology or psychic abilities.

"Hurry up." The robber in front of the vault slung his laser pistol over his shoulder, grabbed his bag, and went inside. "Big Blue is currently towing an icebreaker in Antarctica. It won't be long."