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Chapter 243: Apollo's Allegiance
When Diana stepped up the stairs into the HISHE Coffee Shop the next day, she had officially taken on the title of Olympian God-King.
Her friends in the coffee shop all congratulated her on the final decision she made—though for the time being, it was hard to say whether it was a blessing or a curse. Greater Power, greater Strength, and naturally, greater Responsibility. But no matter what, it was a promotion, so everyone unanimously decided to throw her a celebratory party at the coffee shop.
Wizard Shazam clicked his tongue in amazement. From his era, Zeus had always been the Olympian God-King, and they had even interacted a few times. Nine thousand years had passed, and this was the first time he'd ever heard of the God-King changing. What's more, the new one was even an acquaintance of his.
The old wizard was in high spirits and had been bustling about in the kitchen the night before. He declared that as the sole designated head chef of the coffee shop (in truth, he was the only one), he would astonish everyone at the next day's party.
No one was particularly looking forward to any pleasant surprises; they'd be happy enough if there were no frights. In any case, if the old wizard was determined to bring out all the strange recipes he had developed himself, it would definitely not end well.
"Apollo? That purple-faced eccentric?" Kara recalled her one and only encounter with the sun god.
"He's actually a nice guy. That sunbath last time was so warm and comfortable. Can we ask him to come again when we have time?" Kara's eyes were sparkling.
Thinking back on it now, it was even more comfortable than a massage, so Kara remembered it clearly.
"I remember him too," Clark chimed in. "I met him in the Fallen Realm. He's a pretty nice person, just a bit odd. He gets sullen for no reason."
Diana smiled. "I think that shouldn't be a problem."
After all, she was now the God of Gods, so Apollo would hardly dare to defy her wishes. It's just that he was the mighty Sun God, and summoning him from afar just because two Kryptonians wanted him to give them a shower... she wondered if his composure would shatter.
"By the way, what are you busy with?"
Diana looked at Kara, who had been tapping and swiping on a projection screen ever since she walked in.
"More science?"
"Oh, I'm designing a pot."
Diana: "?"
"Grandpa Wizard said his pots get used up too quickly, and the quality of Earth's pots is no good. He asked me to use Kryptonian technology, Brainiac technology, and the like to build him an indestructible high-tech pot."
"You're using Brainiac's technology to build him a pot?" Diana's expression was a bit strange.
"Yeah. I discovered that Brainiac designed a self-repairing robot with a built-in repair module that can even fix nano-level damage. I'm trying to transplant this technology onto a Kryptonian crystal construct to design a pot that can regenerate infinitely."
Diana: "..."
She didn't understand a word, but it sounded very impressive.
She just wondered if Brainiac would explode with rage if he learned his cutting-edge technology was being used to make a pot.
"Wow, your coffee is really good."
Nearby, Clark sat with his legs crossed on the sofa by the coffee shop window. He took a sip of coffee, leaned back against the sofa, and basked in the rare Gotham sun with a look of pure bliss.
"This spot is great too. I like this spot, but I feel like something is missing."
He glanced at the empty sofa across the table, feeling as if someone else was destined to be sitting there.
If only he had an unparalleled, lifelong best friend who could often sit in that spot, sunbathe, drink coffee, and shoot the breeze with him...
"That Apollo, did he really do that?" Kara was still chatting with Diana.
"Do what?"
"The allegiance thing you just mentioned."
"Oh, yes." Diana nodded.
Even she hadn't expected it. Yesterday, after she had taken her seat on the throne, while the other gods were still standing there, somewhat hesitant, it was Apollo—who had repeatedly caused her trouble before—who was the first to declare his stance.
At that moment, Apollo strode forward from among the silent gods, breaking the silence.
"In that case, there is only one answer!"
With a flick of his hand, the solar flames in his palm transformed, elongating into the shape of a spear.
Then, he brought his knee up and slammed it down. *Crack.* The spear snapped in two.
It was as if to demonstrate his resolve.
Then, he knelt on one knee before the throne and declared loudly, "I will pledge my allegiance to you!"
"..."
Kara raised her eyebrows. "Was it really necessary to be that dramatic?"
"I don't know... But Apollo has seemed to be acting strangely these past few days." Diana tilted her head in thought. "Maybe something rattled him?"
Kara nodded. "Probably."
Clark sighed. "Poor guy. He seems nice enough. I don't know why he's so down, but I hope he can step out of the shadow soon..."
Apollo: *You all really have no damn clue what it was that set me off, huh?*
"Mr. Orin isn't here yet?" Diana looked around, puzzled.
"Oh, he went out on an errand, but he said he'd definitely be back before the party." Kara thought for a moment. "He seemed to mention something about... Parademons?"
The Kryptonians, the Amazon, and the Martian looked at each other, bewildered.
"Parademons?"
Nobody had heard this name.
"Yeah. He said he was going to check something out first, and that there was nothing for us to do for now. But he told all of us to keep communications open at all times these next few days, not to go to hard-to-reach places like the Divine Realm Universe, and to be mentally prepared to go to war at any moment."
"A war?"
Clark leaned in.
"What war? With whom?"
"He said he'll explain in detail when he comes back for dinner. I don't really know either." Kara shook her head. "But he seems to be busy with some... Ultraman Batman business these days."
The superheroes looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Huh?"
***
"So, the witnesses basically all agree. They say the culprit is about six to seven feet tall, can fly, looks like a big bat, and was seen scaling walls and leaping between rooftops in Gotham at night..."
On the Gotham City Police Department rooftop, Detective Harvey Bullock flipped through statements and documents, then lifted his head to look at the six-foot-plus big bat in front of him.
"So, you're sure you know nothing?"
Orin Vale kept his face taut, trying to look as expressionless as the real Batman.
"Alright, if it were really him, he wouldn't be here, Harvey," Gordon stepped forward.
"Maybe so, but you can't just... I mean, insisting on meeting with him at a time like this? This will get you in trouble, Jim," Harvey frowned.
"I don't care, as long as the case gets solved quickly."
Gordon handed the documents to Orin Vale.
"It's all in here. Information on all the victims of the attack, and the locations where they claimed to have encountered that bat creature," Gordon said. "We can't rule out the possibility of false reports in there. You know, the culprit is dressed a bit like you. So it's not impossible that some of your operations were included in these documents..."
"Don't worry, Commissioner. I've got it under control," Orin Vale said in a deep voice.
However, he knew in his heart that this was unlikely. After all, he had only borrowed Batman's identity when necessary and hadn't gone out on routine patrols to fight crime at night like the real Batman. Therefore, it was highly improbable that any passersby would have witnessed Batman's movements during this time.
In other words, the locations recorded in the documents should all be where the Parademons have appeared.
"So, any thoughts? Where are you planning to start?" Gordon asked.
Orin Vale thought for a moment.
"Haven't decided yet. But first... I'll go ask the Penguin again, maybe."
(end of chapter)
When Diana stepped up the stairs into the HISHE Coffee Shop the next day, she had officially taken on the title of Olympian God-King.
Her friends in the coffee shop all congratulated her on the final decision she made—though for the time being, it was hard to say whether it was a blessing or a curse. Greater Power, greater Strength, and naturally, greater Responsibility. But no matter what, it was a promotion, so everyone unanimously decided to throw her a celebratory party at the coffee shop.
Wizard Shazam clicked his tongue in amazement. From his era, Zeus had always been the Olympian God-King, and they had even interacted a few times. Nine thousand years had passed, and this was the first time he'd ever heard of the God-King changing. What's more, the new one was even an acquaintance of his.
The old wizard was in high spirits and had been bustling about in the kitchen the night before. He declared that as the sole designated head chef of the coffee shop (in truth, he was the only one), he would astonish everyone at the next day's party.
No one was particularly looking forward to any pleasant surprises; they'd be happy enough if there were no frights. In any case, if the old wizard was determined to bring out all the strange recipes he had developed himself, it would definitely not end well.
"Apollo? That purple-faced eccentric?" Kara recalled her one and only encounter with the sun god.
"He's actually a nice guy. That sunbath last time was so warm and comfortable. Can we ask him to come again when we have time?" Kara's eyes were sparkling.
Thinking back on it now, it was even more comfortable than a massage, so Kara remembered it clearly.
"I remember him too," Clark chimed in. "I met him in the Fallen Realm. He's a pretty nice person, just a bit odd. He gets sullen for no reason."
Diana smiled. "I think that shouldn't be a problem."
After all, she was now the God of Gods, so Apollo would hardly dare to defy her wishes. It's just that he was the mighty Sun God, and summoning him from afar just because two Kryptonians wanted him to give them a shower... she wondered if his composure would shatter.
"By the way, what are you busy with?"
Diana looked at Kara, who had been tapping and swiping on a projection screen ever since she walked in.
"More science?"
"Oh, I'm designing a pot."
Diana: "?"
"Grandpa Wizard said his pots get used up too quickly, and the quality of Earth's pots is no good. He asked me to use Kryptonian technology, Brainiac technology, and the like to build him an indestructible high-tech pot."
"You're using Brainiac's technology to build him a pot?" Diana's expression was a bit strange.
"Yeah. I discovered that Brainiac designed a self-repairing robot with a built-in repair module that can even fix nano-level damage. I'm trying to transplant this technology onto a Kryptonian crystal construct to design a pot that can regenerate infinitely."
Diana: "..."
She didn't understand a word, but it sounded very impressive.
She just wondered if Brainiac would explode with rage if he learned his cutting-edge technology was being used to make a pot.
"Wow, your coffee is really good."
Nearby, Clark sat with his legs crossed on the sofa by the coffee shop window. He took a sip of coffee, leaned back against the sofa, and basked in the rare Gotham sun with a look of pure bliss.
"This spot is great too. I like this spot, but I feel like something is missing."
He glanced at the empty sofa across the table, feeling as if someone else was destined to be sitting there.
If only he had an unparalleled, lifelong best friend who could often sit in that spot, sunbathe, drink coffee, and shoot the breeze with him...
"That Apollo, did he really do that?" Kara was still chatting with Diana.
"Do what?"
"The allegiance thing you just mentioned."
"Oh, yes." Diana nodded.
Even she hadn't expected it. Yesterday, after she had taken her seat on the throne, while the other gods were still standing there, somewhat hesitant, it was Apollo—who had repeatedly caused her trouble before—who was the first to declare his stance.
At that moment, Apollo strode forward from among the silent gods, breaking the silence.
"In that case, there is only one answer!"
With a flick of his hand, the solar flames in his palm transformed, elongating into the shape of a spear.
Then, he brought his knee up and slammed it down. *Crack.* The spear snapped in two.
It was as if to demonstrate his resolve.
Then, he knelt on one knee before the throne and declared loudly, "I will pledge my allegiance to you!"
"..."
Kara raised her eyebrows. "Was it really necessary to be that dramatic?"
"I don't know... But Apollo has seemed to be acting strangely these past few days." Diana tilted her head in thought. "Maybe something rattled him?"
Kara nodded. "Probably."
Clark sighed. "Poor guy. He seems nice enough. I don't know why he's so down, but I hope he can step out of the shadow soon..."
Apollo: *You all really have no damn clue what it was that set me off, huh?*
"Mr. Orin isn't here yet?" Diana looked around, puzzled.
"Oh, he went out on an errand, but he said he'd definitely be back before the party." Kara thought for a moment. "He seemed to mention something about... Parademons?"
The Kryptonians, the Amazon, and the Martian looked at each other, bewildered.
"Parademons?"
Nobody had heard this name.
"Yeah. He said he was going to check something out first, and that there was nothing for us to do for now. But he told all of us to keep communications open at all times these next few days, not to go to hard-to-reach places like the Divine Realm Universe, and to be mentally prepared to go to war at any moment."
"A war?"
Clark leaned in.
"What war? With whom?"
"He said he'll explain in detail when he comes back for dinner. I don't really know either." Kara shook her head. "But he seems to be busy with some... Ultraman Batman business these days."
The superheroes looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Huh?"
***
"So, the witnesses basically all agree. They say the culprit is about six to seven feet tall, can fly, looks like a big bat, and was seen scaling walls and leaping between rooftops in Gotham at night..."
On the Gotham City Police Department rooftop, Detective Harvey Bullock flipped through statements and documents, then lifted his head to look at the six-foot-plus big bat in front of him.
"So, you're sure you know nothing?"
Orin Vale kept his face taut, trying to look as expressionless as the real Batman.
"Alright, if it were really him, he wouldn't be here, Harvey," Gordon stepped forward.
"Maybe so, but you can't just... I mean, insisting on meeting with him at a time like this? This will get you in trouble, Jim," Harvey frowned.
"I don't care, as long as the case gets solved quickly."
Gordon handed the documents to Orin Vale.
"It's all in here. Information on all the victims of the attack, and the locations where they claimed to have encountered that bat creature," Gordon said. "We can't rule out the possibility of false reports in there. You know, the culprit is dressed a bit like you. So it's not impossible that some of your operations were included in these documents..."
"Don't worry, Commissioner. I've got it under control," Orin Vale said in a deep voice.
However, he knew in his heart that this was unlikely. After all, he had only borrowed Batman's identity when necessary and hadn't gone out on routine patrols to fight crime at night like the real Batman. Therefore, it was highly improbable that any passersby would have witnessed Batman's movements during this time.
In other words, the locations recorded in the documents should all be where the Parademons have appeared.
"So, any thoughts? Where are you planning to start?" Gordon asked.
Orin Vale thought for a moment.
"Haven't decided yet. But first... I'll go ask the Penguin again, maybe."
(end of chapter)
