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Chapter 378: Bat Ghost?
Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
Chapter 378: Bat Ghost?
The moment the man spoke, Karen's warm smile instantly stiffened, and her entire face darkened.
She said nothing, only standing up straight and looking at Helena with a blank expression. "I was right. Why don't we just throw this guy back where he came from?"
Hearing this, the youth shuddered as if he had suddenly sobered up. He widened his eyes and, with great difficulty, shifted his gaze from the hatch to Karen's face. He couldn't help but gasp when he saw her clearly.
"Wait, you're the one... I remember, I've seen you on the TV news... Supergirl!" He had a stunned expression on his face.
Power Girl was the new codename Karen used on the neighboring Earth, specifically to avoid clashing with her original self from the other world. On Earth-2, her identity was the same as the Kara from the other world, and her codename was also Supergirl.
"But aren't you... didn't you sacrifice yourself?" the youth blinked, saying dazedly, "Even the textbooks say so now. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, as well as Supergirl and Robin, were all sacrificed in the counter-offensive on Apokolips..."
Robin was Helena back then. When she was by Batman's side, her identity was the Robin of Earth-2. Huntress was also her new identity after she went to the neighboring Earth and struck out on her own.
Just as he said this, the youth's expression changed as he suddenly realized something. "Wait, now that you mention it, it seems Superman is alive now too... Don't tell me you've defected to the enemy like him?"
A red glow flashed in Karen's eyes. "See? I told you we should just throw him back..."
"Wait, wait, wait! I get it, you're one of the good guys!" The man waved his hands in alarm. "I was just confused. You're definitely a good person. I can tell by looking at your chest... Ahem, I mean, by looking at your eyes!"
Then, he sat up abruptly.
"Please, help me... No, help my father!"
"Your father?" Karen was puzzled.
"I recognize him," Helena said in a low voice. "He is Kri Stein. His father is Luke Stein, an excellent engineer. He used to work for Wayne Enterprises, but that was a long time ago."
After a pause, she narrowed her eyes at Kri.
"But if I remember correctly, their father-son relationship is terrible. They haven't had much contact for years."
Kri lowered his head and mumbled, "It's not great, but he could be in danger now... But he's still my dad, right?"
The two of them: "..."
"So, what kind of trouble are you in?" Helena coughed and asked.
"Someone is targeting him... and me. Maybe they want to use me as a bargaining chip... I don't know." Kri shook his head. "But I've felt like someone's been following me these past few days, even just now."
"Who?"
Kri hesitated, cautiously looking around as if afraid that someone would pop out and silence him the moment he spoke.
"It's safe here, don't worry," Karen said. "Now tell me, who is targeting you?"
"...Batman."
Karen looked surprised, instinctively glancing at her companion.
"Impossible!" Helena said decisively, grabbing him and lifting him up.
"I-I know it sounds absurd, we all know he's supposed to be dead." Kri gestured frantically. "But I swear it's true! I saw him once... right in the study!
He was interrogating my father, making him confess some things, about a World Army base or something..."
"A base?" Karen frowned.
"Yeah, my father once participated in the design of a World Army base, so he might know some things," he said. "I only heard that he seemed to be looking for a certain facility that the World Army had hidden away. It seemed to have something he was looking for inside...
Then I pushed the door open and found my father being held up by Batman and interrogated. I was so scared I froze, but he just glanced at me, and... and left."
The two girls glanced at each other.
"When did that happen?" Helena asked.
Kri thought for a moment. "About a week ago, I think."
"So Batman came to you a week ago. He should have gotten the intelligence he wanted by now, so why is he still hounding you?" Helena asked.
"Well..." Kri thought for a moment. "Maybe Father refused to talk, so he didn't get what he wanted."
Helena shook her head.
"If it was something Batman truly wanted, you wouldn't have been able to keep silent."
"So what now?" Karen looked at her.
"We need to find out what that facility in the base is, because that 'Batman' is most likely looking for that place too," Helena said in a deep voice. "I'm going to drag that guy out."
Somewhere.
A cold wind blew through the dark space. Bizarre torture tools covered the walls, and the thick smell of rust permeated the darkness. The flame burning in a tall furnace illuminated the hall, while also casting darkness and shadows into every corner.
In the flickering firelight, a distorted human figure was projected onto the wall.
"A new variable has appeared," the person said. "From the Otherworld, an unknown creature, wielding unexpectedly powerful light..."
"Are there still no results from the investigation?" another person asked.
"No," said another. "I heard that the higher-ups have already tried to match it against all known races from the worlds we have on record, with no results so far. A request for further investigation has been sent to headquarters, but it will take some time..."
"We must do something. If we let this drag on, the great Darkseid will be displeased."
"The humans' resistance is greater than expected. Though weak, they are unexpectedly tenacious."
They all fell silent for a moment.
"Slaughter is responsible for commanding the overall war. The credit or blame is his responsibility," a gloomy voice said. "For us, the priority is to investigate the matter of that unknown giant."
"But didn't you just say that there's no match even in the data of Apokolips...?"
"That's why it's even more necessary for us to investigate," the gloomy voice said. "My informant reported a new development this morning. The World Army is putting together a new department, and rumor has it that it's being established precisely for that newly appeared giant.
And the provisional head of that department—personally appointed by the commander of the World Army—is a commander named Chaka."
"Hmm... the one from the Battle of Gotham?"
"Correct. And as far as I know, only one human soldier retreated from the front lines of the battle to defend Gotham."
The firelight flickered, and the image of a man appeared out of thin air as if by magic.
General Chaka of the World Army.
"I see... So you mean, as the only survivor who personally experienced it on the front lines, if we can get our hands on his memories, we might be able to obtain more first-hand intelligence... In other words, we just need to capture this human, right?"
"But be discreet about it," the gloomy voice continued. "We don't want to cause a big commotion. If our objective is discovered, it could be somewhat troublesome."
Everyone pondered for a moment, then someone said, "Well, that sounds like a job for Jillian."
A woman sighed softly.
Then she walked out into the firelight. As she stepped, she instinctively swayed her slender waist, and her gait caused her ample, snow-white bust to jiggle violently.
"Alright, it's my job again."
She flicked her hair back, one of her eyes hidden behind the bangs of her long hair.
"You have no problem with this, Jillian?" the gloomy voice asked.
"Of course not."
Jillian glanced at the suspended image and chuckled softly.
"After all... we already know his weakness."
(end of chapter)
Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
Chapter 378: Bat Ghost?
The moment the man spoke, Karen's warm smile instantly stiffened, and her entire face darkened.
She said nothing, only standing up straight and looking at Helena with a blank expression. "I was right. Why don't we just throw this guy back where he came from?"
Hearing this, the youth shuddered as if he had suddenly sobered up. He widened his eyes and, with great difficulty, shifted his gaze from the hatch to Karen's face. He couldn't help but gasp when he saw her clearly.
"Wait, you're the one... I remember, I've seen you on the TV news... Supergirl!" He had a stunned expression on his face.
Power Girl was the new codename Karen used on the neighboring Earth, specifically to avoid clashing with her original self from the other world. On Earth-2, her identity was the same as the Kara from the other world, and her codename was also Supergirl.
"But aren't you... didn't you sacrifice yourself?" the youth blinked, saying dazedly, "Even the textbooks say so now. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, as well as Supergirl and Robin, were all sacrificed in the counter-offensive on Apokolips..."
Robin was Helena back then. When she was by Batman's side, her identity was the Robin of Earth-2. Huntress was also her new identity after she went to the neighboring Earth and struck out on her own.
Just as he said this, the youth's expression changed as he suddenly realized something. "Wait, now that you mention it, it seems Superman is alive now too... Don't tell me you've defected to the enemy like him?"
A red glow flashed in Karen's eyes. "See? I told you we should just throw him back..."
"Wait, wait, wait! I get it, you're one of the good guys!" The man waved his hands in alarm. "I was just confused. You're definitely a good person. I can tell by looking at your chest... Ahem, I mean, by looking at your eyes!"
Then, he sat up abruptly.
"Please, help me... No, help my father!"
"Your father?" Karen was puzzled.
"I recognize him," Helena said in a low voice. "He is Kri Stein. His father is Luke Stein, an excellent engineer. He used to work for Wayne Enterprises, but that was a long time ago."
After a pause, she narrowed her eyes at Kri.
"But if I remember correctly, their father-son relationship is terrible. They haven't had much contact for years."
Kri lowered his head and mumbled, "It's not great, but he could be in danger now... But he's still my dad, right?"
The two of them: "..."
"So, what kind of trouble are you in?" Helena coughed and asked.
"Someone is targeting him... and me. Maybe they want to use me as a bargaining chip... I don't know." Kri shook his head. "But I've felt like someone's been following me these past few days, even just now."
"Who?"
Kri hesitated, cautiously looking around as if afraid that someone would pop out and silence him the moment he spoke.
"It's safe here, don't worry," Karen said. "Now tell me, who is targeting you?"
"...Batman."
Karen looked surprised, instinctively glancing at her companion.
"Impossible!" Helena said decisively, grabbing him and lifting him up.
"I-I know it sounds absurd, we all know he's supposed to be dead." Kri gestured frantically. "But I swear it's true! I saw him once... right in the study!
He was interrogating my father, making him confess some things, about a World Army base or something..."
"A base?" Karen frowned.
"Yeah, my father once participated in the design of a World Army base, so he might know some things," he said. "I only heard that he seemed to be looking for a certain facility that the World Army had hidden away. It seemed to have something he was looking for inside...
Then I pushed the door open and found my father being held up by Batman and interrogated. I was so scared I froze, but he just glanced at me, and... and left."
The two girls glanced at each other.
"When did that happen?" Helena asked.
Kri thought for a moment. "About a week ago, I think."
"So Batman came to you a week ago. He should have gotten the intelligence he wanted by now, so why is he still hounding you?" Helena asked.
"Well..." Kri thought for a moment. "Maybe Father refused to talk, so he didn't get what he wanted."
Helena shook her head.
"If it was something Batman truly wanted, you wouldn't have been able to keep silent."
"So what now?" Karen looked at her.
"We need to find out what that facility in the base is, because that 'Batman' is most likely looking for that place too," Helena said in a deep voice. "I'm going to drag that guy out."
Somewhere.
A cold wind blew through the dark space. Bizarre torture tools covered the walls, and the thick smell of rust permeated the darkness. The flame burning in a tall furnace illuminated the hall, while also casting darkness and shadows into every corner.
In the flickering firelight, a distorted human figure was projected onto the wall.
"A new variable has appeared," the person said. "From the Otherworld, an unknown creature, wielding unexpectedly powerful light..."
"Are there still no results from the investigation?" another person asked.
"No," said another. "I heard that the higher-ups have already tried to match it against all known races from the worlds we have on record, with no results so far. A request for further investigation has been sent to headquarters, but it will take some time..."
"We must do something. If we let this drag on, the great Darkseid will be displeased."
"The humans' resistance is greater than expected. Though weak, they are unexpectedly tenacious."
They all fell silent for a moment.
"Slaughter is responsible for commanding the overall war. The credit or blame is his responsibility," a gloomy voice said. "For us, the priority is to investigate the matter of that unknown giant."
"But didn't you just say that there's no match even in the data of Apokolips...?"
"That's why it's even more necessary for us to investigate," the gloomy voice said. "My informant reported a new development this morning. The World Army is putting together a new department, and rumor has it that it's being established precisely for that newly appeared giant.
And the provisional head of that department—personally appointed by the commander of the World Army—is a commander named Chaka."
"Hmm... the one from the Battle of Gotham?"
"Correct. And as far as I know, only one human soldier retreated from the front lines of the battle to defend Gotham."
The firelight flickered, and the image of a man appeared out of thin air as if by magic.
General Chaka of the World Army.
"I see... So you mean, as the only survivor who personally experienced it on the front lines, if we can get our hands on his memories, we might be able to obtain more first-hand intelligence... In other words, we just need to capture this human, right?"
"But be discreet about it," the gloomy voice continued. "We don't want to cause a big commotion. If our objective is discovered, it could be somewhat troublesome."
Everyone pondered for a moment, then someone said, "Well, that sounds like a job for Jillian."
A woman sighed softly.
Then she walked out into the firelight. As she stepped, she instinctively swayed her slender waist, and her gait caused her ample, snow-white bust to jiggle violently.
"Alright, it's my job again."
She flicked her hair back, one of her eyes hidden behind the bangs of her long hair.
"You have no problem with this, Jillian?" the gloomy voice asked.
"Of course not."
Jillian glanced at the suspended image and chuckled softly.
"After all... we already know his weakness."
(end of chapter)
