Chapter 140: Joker! Angel! Ian!
The Gate of Heaven floated slowly in the clouds.
It was becoming clearer and clearer.
As if it were about to fall into the human world at any moment. Viscous black mist seeped from the edges of the defiled gate frame, and Superman could clearly see his young son breathing heavily into the black mist.
Then he spat it all out as if he were nauseated—as for Batman, he was crashing the door in the Batmobile, whose peculiar design resembled angelic wings.
He seemed even crazier than Ian, who was trying to pry open the Gate of Heaven with his bare hands. Superman didn’t know how to comment on this; he turned his gaze to the “stars” surrounding the Gate of Heaven.
In his eyes.
The “stars” orbiting the gate were also becoming clearer—each one was a curled-up angel, their rotten wings wrapped around their bodies.
Like some kind of terrifying cocoon. They almost all hovered at the boundary between reality and heaven, like stars infected by some unknown virus, flickering with a sickly glow in the darkness.
“I don’t think this is just some dirty disease.”
Clark’s brow furrowed, his eyes filled with unease and confusion.
Those angels, weak, chaotic, as if they had shed all their defenses, he could even hear their thoughts, which were filled with pain and despair.
Superman dared not listen any further.
He was afraid of being affected by these emotions.
While Superman was still pondering how to deal with these fallen angels.
“Clark! What’s going on with your hearing?”
Wonder Woman’s voice came from behind.
She strode forward, dragging the Lasso of Truth, at the other end of which were bound seven or eight criminals flailing their arms and singing a strange holy song, “Praise the Emperor of All Laws,” in unison.
These were the criminals Wonder Woman had captured after arriving in Gotham.
They were far more evil than the criminals in New York. The ordinary criminals in New York just wanted to hoard their neighbors’ food, while these revelers in Gotham were clearly more practical.
They wanted to hoard their neighbors to use as food.
Truly shocking.
“Diana, you’re here.”
The Flash, Barry Allen, nodded in agreement, “Yeah, I told you he was acting strange, didn’t I? It’s one thing to not be scientific, but we should still talk about reason, right? How can your ears perform mind reading?”
His tone was filled with the same incredulity as Wonder Woman’s. It wasn’t that he felt his privacy had been violated, but rather that such an ability had surpassed the realm of cheating.
Everyone understood that Kryptonians cheat.
But to cheat to the point of being unreasonable was truly disheartening.
“Perhaps thoughts are also sounds?” Aquaman Arthur’s voice suddenly rang out. Wonder Woman and Diana immediately looked into the distance. Aquaman Arthur had arrived in a water truck.
The water truck was full of water. It was clear that since his last outing, Aquaman Arthur had developed some sort of pyrophobia.
Of course.
It was also possible that he was worried about getting hurt again and being submerged in a fish tank, so he had brought his own saltwater fish tank, just in case someone tried to submerge him and then dump lethal amounts of salt into it.
“Thoughts are also sounds?”
This statement left Wonder Woman and the Flash speechless.
In response.
Superman offered no explanation.
His gaze pierced through the clouds, locking onto Batman’s Batmobile. He could hear the deafening crash as Batman rammed the Gate of Heaven, yet he still couldn’t figure out how Batman had managed to approach it.
“How did Bruce do it? Is it because I don’t have the right to enter heaven after death, while he does?” Clark’s muttering was filled with suspicion. He was clearly somewhat lacking in confidence after his own experience of spinning in the sky, unable to approach the Gate of Heaven or the angels.
Even if he flew into space, Clark couldn’t approach that area. They seemed to exist in some sort of interstitial layer. After flying into space, he would have to look down to see the gate and the angels.
“What a joke, if you don’t qualify for heaven, who does?” The Flash had blind trust in Superman and firmly refuted Clark’s whisper.
Wonder Woman nodded in agreement.
“Superman thinking Batman can go to heaven is the funniest joke of the year.” Wonder Woman had many criticisms of Batman, but her focus here wasn’t personal.
As a foreigner with a deep understanding of American history and culture, Wonder Woman knew well that as long as the world wasn’t in chaos, people would never see American capitalists in heaven.
And Batman was one of America’s biggest capitalists.
“I think Bruce used some special means.” The Flash, Barry Allen, was the most educated person present and made the most practical guess.
Cyborg, flying from a distance, had the same thought.
“Yes, that’s it.” A silver streak flashed across the sky, and Cyborg landed, carrying two criminals frothing at the mouth. His mechanical arm extended, and he tossed the unconscious villains into the trunk of a police car by the roadside.
“Perhaps Batman captured the special presence frequency of the angels and simulated a mimicry signal, making the Gate of Heaven mistake his Batmobile for an angel.” Cyborg’s eyes constantly scanned the sky, needing to extract useful information from countless erroneous data and signals.
“That works too?”
Aquaman was dumbfounded.
“He’s Batman, after all.”
Cyborg responded concisely.
Makes sense.
Wonder Woman chuckled and covered her forehead, “We have the amazing Batman, the unreasonable Superman, and Superman’s devious son.”
“Are we destined to win?”
Her tone carried an indescribable emotion. The Amazonian couldn’t help but look at her Lasso of Truth again, wondering if its ‘god-striking’ mode could fight angels.
“Those are angels…”
Aquaman gave a dry laugh.
Insufficient information.
The Flash felt the same.
The Justice League didn’t know the combat power of angels.
So.
They were very uncertain.
“Can you also perform that signal simulation for us? I think we should try to block the crisis outside of Earth.” Clark was also deeply wary of angels.
However, he was the type to fight no matter what, win or lose.
“The technology I have comes from Apokolips, not Angel Star, and I don’t have Bruce’s amazing brain.” Cyborg shook his head with some helplessness in his voice.
“Actually, even with the technology I have, Bruce uses it better than I do, the original owner.” His voice was a bit wistful, with a hint of the frustration of seeing one’s wife more attractive in someone else’s hands.
Upon hearing this.
They all wore a wry smile that Ian could never learn.
A series of explosions echoed from afar.
A mushroom cloud rose from the oil tank area of Gotham Port.
“Kukukukukuku~”
Green fireworks used by book-loving criminals bloomed in the thick smoke.
Several rioters with pale makeup, riding modified motorcycles, roared onto the main street, with twenty-four silicone fake abs taped to their bellies, and fluorescent banners with Joker’s insignia and large speakers trailing behind their vehicles.
They were Joker’s followers.
“Is Bruce abandoning his city?” Aquaman frowned, and with a sweep of his trident, a fire hydrant on the roadside burst, sending a geyser of water that sent the motorcycle convoy tumbling.
He looked into the distance.
The familiar cackling came from the direction of Arkham Asylum. A mental patient had escaped, and Poison Ivy’s red hair could be seen intermittently between buildings, tearing through reinforced concrete with her rampant plant growth.
“Classic Gotham-style madness.” Cyborg sighed, his shoulder cannon automatically targeting a group of people reveling in a bank vault, using real US dollars to try and create the most brilliant bonfire.
The Flash turned into a red whirlwind, weaving through the streets.
Wherever he went, the rioters’ belt buckles were all tied into dead knots. But that wasn’t nearly enough—fugitives from Blackgate Prison, gunmen from the Maroni family, and even remnants of the Roman legions poured out in the chaos.
“Bruce wants to go to heaven.”
Superman hovered in the Gotham night sky, his red cape billowing. His super hearing captured the chaos of the entire city—explosions, screams, maniacal laughter, and… a strange, almost religious collective chant. It was demons seizing the opportunity, attempting to use the believers to descend upon the human world amidst this chaos.
Clark frowned, his gaze sweeping across the streets.
The Penguin stood on the rooftop of the Iceberg Lounge, directing his subordinates to fire fireworks into the sky. Each exploding firework formed the words “Welcome the Apocalypse.”
Heaven knows how he managed to produce such “guide” fireworks so quickly.
“It’s too chaotic.”
Superman knew that one must first secure internal stability before dealing with external threats.
He had already calculated the trajectory of the falling angels, and this city would be the ultimate victim. Therefore, he had to ensure that no internal factors would interfere with the Justice League before then.
In the next moment, Superman vanished from his spot. His speed far surpassed that of the considerably weakened Flash. The criminals didn’t even see the blue afterimage before their limbs were bound tightly and they were thrown into prison like sandbags. Superman even had time to reinforce these prisons.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!——”
Crime was brought to justice in a very short period.
Gotham’s criminals experienced what the criminals of Metropolis felt.
“Superman get out of Gotham! Gotham doesn’t welcome Superman! Have you ever played a game! Level 100s aren’t allowed in the newbie village!” A gangster tied up like a mummy struggled and roared.
“Exactly! If you have the guts, let Batman come!” another criminal chimed in, his tone also full of dissatisfaction, “We only accept beatings from Gotham’s local superheroes!”
Wasn’t this also a form of regional discrimination?
Superman: “…”
He took a deep breath, too lazy to explain, and directly grabbed these people, throwing them into the gates of Blackgate Prison like bowling balls. Other superheroes were doing the same.
Cyborg, Victor Stone, used his technological abilities to remotely control drones, blockading several main streets, and simultaneously spraying potent sleeping powder over the rioting districts.
“Oh, I dreamed my mother and I ate my father together.” The riot lasted less than an hour, but in Gotham’s history, it would undoubtedly be recorded as a highly symbolic event. The main reason was the unprecedented number of riots, but they were quelled very quickly.
Many criminals were not accustomed to such intensity.
“I want Batman! I want Batman!”
“Hey girl! You’re going to rip my head off!”
“Flash, get lost too! Flash is overpowered too!”
…
Perhaps until their old age.
These criminals would never want to see any superhero other than Batman again. Of course, for the superheroes, they were also deeply impressed by Gotham’s criminals.
“Damn it! I understand why Batman is so cautious and careful. The madmen here don’t just bite, they try to grab my crotch!” Aquaman patted his crotch, still shaken.
“…”
Wonder Woman looked at Aquaman, whose crotch had bite marks, and knew she should feign ignorance. Seeing that the city’s criminals had been cleared, Superman still seemed to be busy with other operations.
“What is he doing?”
Aquaman watched Superman zoom past repeatedly.
He was a bit bewildered.
“He’s transferring all of Gotham’s residents to other cities.” Wonder Woman’s dynamic vision was much better than Aquaman’s, but she could only see Superman’s blurry figure.
“Phew, phew, phew~”
The Flash was working alongside Superman, but ultimately, he didn’t have Superman’s invincible stamina. After thousands of round trips, he was already panting and sweating on his forehead.
“Can you not be so intense? Does anyone remember I’m a dying man?” The Flash complained, but after a short rest, he resumed his work.
“Confirming again, the East End of Gotham has been cleared…” The Flash’s voice sounded over the Justice League’s communication channel, a red afterimage passing over the last few apartment buildings.
Even using a dump truck.
His efficiency couldn’t compare to Superman’s.
While the Flash was clearing one area, Superman had already cleared all the residents from the other areas—dump trucks indeed couldn’t compare to the method of transferring entire houses.
“Yes, I’ve also moved all the residents on my end.” Superman hovered above the city, his gaze sweeping over the empty streets, his X-ray vision penetrating underground in every area.
This was to ensure that not a single citizen was missed. The main reason was that Ian’s warning was too unsettling. To prevent Gotham’s residents from being contaminated by the angels’ dirty disease, he had no choice but to resort to this method.
Moving them along with their houses would also reduce the disaster relief pressure for the authorities—upon returning to Gotham, Superman had already seen many official personnel reacting immediately.
I must say.
America’s efficiency was sometimes quite fast. Many banks had already collaborated with officials to launch “Emergency Relief” services for the public.
Even if they didn’t have money to buy food after being relocated, the disaster victims could receive a $950 disaster relief… loan. Regarding this, Superman had no comment and no other solution.
When the last batch of citizens was safely transferred, the empty city was eerily quiet, with only the low hum from the Gate of Heaven and the sinister ruins under the chaotic sky.
“I hope everyone is prepared for the worst.” Superman landed in front of his companions, his red cape fluttering in the wind. “This will be a tough fight. We need to settle our families in advance.”
Hearing this.
Everyone nodded.
Wonder Woman wiped the black mucus from her Lasso of Truth.
“Where is your wife right now? She’s a reporter who can’t stay still.” She was clearly reminding Clark that merely placing Lois in a bomb shelter or similar place wouldn’t be safe.
“Perhaps you could take Lois to Themyscira.”
Wonder Woman felt her homeland was still a relatively safe place. Since its destruction before, Themyscira had become much more hidden than before.
“Yes, I know, which is why I sent her to the safest place.” Clark, of course, understood Lois better than Wonder Woman, so he had taken extremely rigorous precautions.
“The safest place?”
Cyborg was a bit confused.
“Is it deep underground?”
He made a guess.
“It’s the North Pole.”
Clark stated the reason he wasn’t worried about his wife succumbing to her reporter’s daredevil tendencies and running off.
He turned and looked far into the distance. Lois should be in the Fortress of Solitude’s monitoring room at that moment, giving him the middle finger through the satellite feed.
“What about your two sons? I was wondering if there were any empty rooms left in the Fortress of Solitude.” Aquaman flicked his wet blonde hair, also wanting to find the safest place for his family.
At this remark.
Not only him.
Everyone noticed that Superman suddenly froze.
Then.
The man calmly turned his head in another direction. His pupils reflected an image that others couldn’t see: the ruins of his new home.
The wind there was mixed with the smell of scorched earth and burnt metal.
Amidst the scorched ruins.
Jonathan and Jordan sat side-by-side on the burnt-through stones.
“Dad forgot about us, didn’t he?” Jordan took a bite of the cold roasted meat in his hand, looking up at the increasingly clear, foul giant gate in the sky.
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!” Jonathan replied decisively, taking a large bite of meat at the same time. After a night of hard work, both brothers were starving.
“He must be dealing with the anomaly in the sky. Mom’s company said Dad picked her up, so it should just be that Mom needs to get firsthand news material.”
Jonathan provided a reasonable explanation. After all, it was normal for their mother to use such events to get news material. In a superhero family, being a reporter had its advantages.
Jordan pouted, not arguing further, and just stared blankly at the sky.
That gate.
If it was truly the Gate of Heaven, it now looked more like a rotting wound, with black mucus seeping from its edges, and the surrounding clouds twisted into unnatural vortices.
“It must be that God had a really bad case of the runs.”
Jordan made a whimsical guess.
“That thing is definitely not real Heaven.”
Jonathan shook his head, his tone firm.
“How do you know?” Jordan glanced at him.
“Because Heaven wouldn’t be this disgusting!” Jonathan pointed to the sky. “This is definitely an alien conspiracy! They want to fake the fall of Heaven to shake our faith!”
That was a more plausible conspiracy theory.
At least it was more acceptable than the idea of God having the runs and clogging the toilet. However, Jordan scoffed at this, remaining steadfast in his own opinion.
“You don’t understand, Ian said God has Alzheimer’s.” Jordan still believed the smartest person in the family and remembered some conversations with Ian when they fought over the remote control as a child.
Jonathan looked at his stubborn younger brother, who had no faith, and said earnestly, “You know, Alzheimer’s is also something God invented.”
“He is the Almighty Supreme Being. Even if this is truly the fall of Heaven, it must be because the angels committed some grave error, and therefore God is punishing them.” Saying this, he put down his roasted meat and solemnly took out a wooden box from his embrace. The box was opened, revealing over a dozen statues neatly arranged inside.
Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Buddha, Shiva… and even a ball of ramen.
【Supreme God, I beg you to protect this land and keep evil from befalling the innocent. 】
【Merciful Buddha Shakyamuni, may compassion and wisdom illuminate all beings, driving away suffering and quieting fear. 】
【Great Sun God Ra, please hear my prayer. May your radiance dispel these false shadows and save Earth from disaster. 】
【Lord Shiva, who eats two bowls of my curry every day, God of Destruction and Rebirth, please descend your power of purification and prevent those celestial things from invading the human world. 】
……
【Whichever deity you are, wherever you come from – please hear the plea of this mortal. If this is truly a sign of the apocalypse, grant us the strength to face it. 】
【If this is merely a trial, grant us the wisdom to pass it. 】Eldest Brother’s faith is truly as mixed as it can get, but his pious attitude is incredibly sincere.
He wasn’t just praying for his family.
He was praying for everyone.
“Ugh, this is useless,” Jordan said, rolling his eyes and covering his ears. “Can you stop chanting? These statues are all cheap junk you found at a flea market!”
He was a non-believer who only believed in two people.
One, Father God.
Two, Ian.
“Faith is priceless!”
Jonathan glared at Jordan and continued to press his palms together piously.
His prayer continued.
Jordan, too lazy to deal with his infatuated elder brother, turned his gaze to the street. Outside, chaos reigned as people evacuated to bomb shelters with their families, car horns, screams, and police sirens blending into one.
And amidst this reverse flow of people, a blonde girl stood out – she carried a streetlight pole on her shoulder like a greatsword, swaggering down the middle of the road.
“Isn’t that the girl who crawled out of Ian’s room? I remember she’s Ian’s shadow, her name is Madison.” Jordan looked at Madison, who had gone to rescue their parents last night, with some surprise.
“She seems to be looking for us?”
Jonathan opened one eye and glanced over. Eldest Brother’s judgment was correct; Madison, the little witch who would leave an unforgettable impression on everyone, was walking towards him and Jordan.
The girl had a lollipop in her mouth, humming a song.
“Hi, Ian’s Eldest Brother, Ian’s second brother, Lois.” Madison’s figure blocked the murky sunlight in the sky, casting a shadow directly over the two Kent brothers.
She only liked using her brain for memorizing movie lines and could never quite remember the names of these two brothers.
“Why do you have a prefix before my appellation?” Second Brother Jordan widened his eyes, his gaze drawn to the streetlight Madison was carrying.
The top of the streetlight was still emitting light.
However, there was no light bulb inside.
There was only a large eyeball blinking continuously.
“That’s not important. What’s important is that you don’t stare at my staff. Ian gave me this staff, pulled directly from his manor. You guys definitely don’t know how useful it is.”
Madison proudly patted the lamppost.
The large eyeball at the top of the streetlight blinked twice in response.
It emitted a faint crackling whisper.
“……”
“……”
Both Jordan and the praying Jonathan were speechless. Before Jordan could ask where Ian got a manor, he saw Madison suddenly pull out two crumpled burlap sacks from the bottom of the streetlight. The fabric was stained with suspicious dark red smudges and gave off a sulfurous smell.
They looked like they had once contained something very bloody.
“Um, what are you doing?”
Jordan cautiously recoiled.
Madison didn’t answer, but with lightning speed, she put the praying Jonathan into a burlap sack. The wooden box containing various statues was also put in.
“Hey! Let go of me!”
Jonathan thrashed wildly inside the sack.
“I haven’t finished praying to the Flying Spaghetti Monster yet!”
He seemed more concerned about his interrupted prayer than being put in a sack.
“No, have you turned into a villain, planning to kidnap us and blackmail Ian?” Jordan backed away several more steps. “I knew he shouldn’t have shown off his money outside!”
His tone was full of regret.
“What villain? Why do you think Ian gave me a staff?” Madison gave Jordan her signature eye-roll, skillfully tying the mouth of the sack shut.
“His exact words were…”
Madison imitated Ian’s serious tone.
“Please pack my two older brothers into a sufficiently safe place. I don’t want to come home and find Eldest Brother with three heads and six arms, and Second Brother with over a hundred and eighty…”
While displaying her acting talent, she impeccably mimicked Ian’s words, and from her fingertips, she rubbed a small cluster of fire, burning a ventilation hole in the sack.
“I don’t think Ian meant this kind of packing when he said ‘pack’.” Jonathan’s nose immediately pressed against the hole, speaking like a trapped hamster.
“I don’t have money to buy you cardboard boxes. Do you know how expensive cardboard boxes are now? All the money I found from some Englishman was taken by Ian for a taxi.”
Madison, ignoring him, turned to Jordan. As she unfolded the second burlap sack, a shipping label that read “Hell Express, Mission Guaranteed” fell out.
This was indeed a sack casually found in a corner of the manor.
It was being reused.
“Wait, what taxi? Don’t come near me… We can talk.” Jordan’s scalp tingled, but he didn’t dare let his eyes glow red; he still vividly remembered her Super AIDS Outbreak spell.
“He said he wanted to solve the problem at the source, to find the origin of the pollution of the angels.” Madison pulled open the second burlap sack and aimed it at Jordan, who was standing not far away.
“What taxi… no taxi can drive to Heaven… He’s training his lying ability!” Jordan was utterly speechless. He understood Ian better than most.
“Hm?”
Madison tilted her head.
She gave Jordan a look that clearly signaled him to get into the burlap sack quickly. Jordan gave a dry chuckle. Seeing Madison’s dangerous gaze, he voluntarily bowed his head and crawled into the sack.
Despite having super strength.
Jordan’s super brain made him make the correct choice.
“Did you eat your Superman eyes? I can see a car that looks very much like it belongs in Heaven next to Ian, besides him. Don’t you see that’s the taxi Ian took?”
Madison scornfully tightened the knot on Jordan’s sack a little more.
“Give me a hole to breathe!”
Jordan yelled from inside.
Madison pretended not to hear and tied both sacks to the streetlight. Then, humming a tune again, she carried the streetlight and lightly headed towards the place where she had settled her parents.
Even in the apocalypse.
Because she could be a big star, the little punk girl still seemed to be in a good mood. Her receding figure gradually shrunk in Superman’s super vision and finally disappeared around the street corner. Superman did not follow.
“Clark? What are you looking at?”
“Yeah, he’s been spacing out for a long time.”
“Could he have been mind-controlled again? Oh no, my arm is still broken.”
……
The shouts of his teammates echoed in his ears.
Clark slowly withdrew his gaze.
“Nothing, Jonathan and Jordan are both fine now.” He answered with a straight face, though no one had asked about Jonathan and Jordan’s situation.
He was actually feeling a little guilty.
“Aren’t they with Lois?” Cyborg’s voice chimed in, data streams flickering in his mechanical eyes as he clearly accessed surveillance footage of Metropolis.
“They’re safe, anyway.” Superman’s tone was calm, and he quickly changed the subject. “We need to find one of Batman’s hidden bases. There must be a contingency plan for the chaos in Heaven.”
This suggestion immediately shifted the attention of the Justice League members.
“Bruce does like to have backup plans.” Wonder Woman nodded and asked a classic question, “The problem is, where exactly is his ‘hidden base’ hidden?”
Regarding the answer to this question.
It was unlikely many people in this world knew.
The group quickly took action.
They flew over the ruins of Gotham, navigating through most of the cratered urban areas, which were now flat expanses devoid of buildings, searching for locations that might conceal Batman’s secret facilities.
Cyborg used his high-tech scanning system to continuously analyze changes in the ground structure; Wonder Woman, meanwhile, used magic to survey several suspicious locations.
Aquaman dived into the underground waterways.
To check for hidden passages.
However—including Superman Clark—they found several so-called “Batcaves,” but without exception, they were merely small shelters or training facilities.
The truly important facilities were not found at all. Even the apparently regularly used Batcaves lacked any information on Justice League members, let alone angels.
“That gate looks like it’s about to fully enter our world. Time is running out, we can’t keep wasting time here. Everyone knows how good Bruce is at hiding things.”
“The reason a secret base is secret is that Bruce can ensure we don’t find it. Yes, if we could find it, Batman wouldn’t use it as a hidden base.”
Clark was also a bit weary.
He looked up at the sky.
Batman’s figure was already standing beside Ian, watching him as Ian attempted to smash the Gate of Heaven with the ruined, deformed Batmobile.
“Then let’s find a way to lure him down!”
Aquaman suddenly spoke, his tone laced with urgency.
Everyone looked at him in unison.
“What do you mean?” The Flash frowned.
“I mean… use your brain.” Aquaman hesitated for a moment before voicing his idea, “We could threaten him with Damian to get him down.”
The air instantly grew quiet.
Superman looked at him several times.
His eyes conveyed a complex emotion of “How could you say something like that?”
“Uh, I mean… pretend to threaten him? Trick him into coming down?” Aquaman felt a bit embarrassed and began to explain in detail that his action was not intended as a genuine crime.
“Yes, tricking him is fine, trick him into coming down. Don’t look at me like that, I’m just saying we capture Damian, and pretend…” He made a gesture of twisting Damian’s neck.
Seeing this situation.
“Hiss~”
Superman covered his mouth.
He didn’t want others to see his expression of agreement. Superman was struggling, the look of “How could you say that?” on his face had transformed into “How could you say something that I should be saying?”
“You can’t possibly lure him down.”
The Flash suddenly spoke, as if he had realized something.
“Why?”
Wonder Woman turned to look at The Flash.
“Bruce wants to go in early to nip the crisis in the bud?”
Superman recalled Bruce’s accusation after the Kryptonian remnants invaded Earth. Perhaps Bruce truly didn’t want to see that kind of chaos affecting the populace again.
However.
Although this guess was reasonable.
The Flash shook his head directly.
“No, it’s not like that.”
He looked up at the Gate of Heaven in the sky, his voice low, “Bruce isn’t concerned with what crisis is happening inside, but rather with *who* is experiencing the crisis happening inside.”
The Flash’s eyes shimmered with the light of the Speed Force.
He had seen the situation in the sky clearly.
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.
This statement was full of meaning.
Just as Wonder Woman frowned, looking confused and about to ask a question—suddenly, without any wind or waves, she saw Superman beside her disappear.
Superman shot towards the sky.
He flew very fast.
And very urgently.
An unprecedented power erupted from within him.
It was not the power given to him by the sun, but something deeper, more primal.
No one had expected this. Superman Clark Kent, without any warning, suddenly shot into the sky, his speed so great that even Wonder Woman couldn’t track him.
Yes.
Before she could react, she saw that Superman, for some reason, had broken through the barrier he could never approach before and had directly reached the interspace before the Gate of Heaven.
That place.
Was exactly where Batman and Ian were located.
“Knock, knock, knock~”
Muffled groans could be heard from the sky.
“No… Clark has also gone mad?” Wonder Woman looked up at the sky. She watched Superman smashing at the door in the sky, blinked, and then also wore a look of shock.
Perhaps only this Amazonian warrior, with both parents, was still unable to think clearly.
Even Aquaman Arthur had reacted.
He was jumping around wildly, trying to leap into the sky, but marine mammals truly had no ability to fly. He flailed on the ground like a beached fish in vain.
Utterly useless.
Like a mudskipper.
“Ahhhhh!”
Finally.
Out of desperation.
Aquaman Arthur aimed at the sky and threw his Golden Trident. Under his burst of power, the Golden Trident flew and flew and flew to an unknown destination.
It wasn’t a matter of accuracy.
Rather, it pierced through the “illusory” door and the person in front of the door.
It encountered no resistance.
It was obvious that even with his power burst, Aquaman Arthur couldn’t engage in idealism.
“What’s going on… have you all been corrupted?”
Wonder Woman felt as if facing a great enemy, her finger already on the Lasso of Truth, ready to deal with any potential threat. Beside her, Cyborg, hovering in mid-air, was also looking up at the sky.
“Oh… no, this…” Although Cyborg felt he didn’t need to worry about his old man, he felt a prickle of fear when he realized why Superman and Batman had gone mad.
If the angels were defiled.
Then.
What about the souls within?
“Superman can’t break it either!”
The Flash looked visibly anxious.
At this moment, the originally twisted crack had completely opened up.
It slowly, irreversibly, began to descend.
“Knock, knock, knock~ Knock, knock, knock~”
At this moment, the three people in front of the door were still trying to break it down. Just as everyone was focused on how Superman was trying to push open the door, the stars in the sky suddenly trembled violently.
The “stars,” which were already flickering unnaturally, suddenly zoomed closer, revealing their true forms – they were angels. Countless tiny silver lights poured down like starlight.
Thousands upon thousands of angels.
Like silver leaves swept down by a storm. Their wings were scorched and broken, burning as they fell, their light trailing long, luminous wakes like a reverse meteor shower.
That fire.
Was the self-annihilation of divinity after being corrupted.
Some angels still maintained a divine posture, their arms crossed over their chests, their faces serene, as if still in prayer.
Others struggled wildly, their faces contorted and distorted, their eyes empty and vacant. They were no longer messengers of light, becoming part of the mortal realm amidst wails that ordinary people could not comprehend or even bear to hear.
This was a fall in status.
No matter what.
The divinity of all the angels.
Was peeling away piece by piece during their fall from heaven.
They fell into the human world.
On the ground.
The onlookers fell into a strange silence.
No one screamed, no one fled. They simply looked up, the holy catastrophe reflected in their pupils. A child reached out and caught a falling feather. The moment it touched his skin, it turned into fine light spots and vanished without a trace. At this time, the church bells rang without anyone striking them.
Each ring more urgent than the last.
As if playing a mournful accompaniment for the falling angels.
On the ground.
The superheroes and countless others witnessed the angels, but this was not a miracle, nor perhaps a war or disaster – it would be a funeral for faith.
As the angels collectively fell, the Gate of Heaven itself could no longer hold. The Gate of Heaven tilted and vibrated, and the entire colossal gate began to fall madly from the sky towards the ground.
“Dad! Cheer up! Think of our bond! Think of the braised Batman we’re having tonight!” Ian knew he couldn’t push the door open, so he placed his hope on his true savior, his stellar eyes already initiating power-up and mana replenishment.
“?????”
Batman looked at Ian several times.
He ultimately didn’t speak.
“Open the door!”
Superman roared, his arm muscles bulging. He was using all his strength, his knuckles turning white. Finally, at this moment, he forcefully pried open a gap between the door panels.
“Quick! Go in!”
Superman’s eyes turned red, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
He was almost at the verge of collapse. The next second, Batman decisively grabbed Ian by the collar and unhesitatingly shoved him into the gap that had just been opened!
The moment Ian disappeared behind the door.
Superman, utterly exhausted, let go.
The corrupted door slammed shut again. The door, having lost its last trace of divine light, plummeted, crashing towards the earth like a meteor with Superman and Batman.
“No! Clark! Wake up! Wake up!” Batman could strategize many things, but he still couldn’t avoid the crisis brought about by this sudden, unexpected disaster.
He deployed all his equipment.
But it couldn’t block the falling door.
The wind howled past his ears.
Air currents tore at his body.
The ground rapidly enlarged.
It was as if the entire world was rushing towards him.
“Catch them!”
The Flash instantly accelerated, rushing downwards.
“I’ll help!”
Wonder Woman soared into the sky.
Preparing to use the Lasso of Truth to slow their descent.
The superheroes began their busy work, while the angels also fell to the ground. Their divine bodies were eroded by some black substance, and after crashing into the earth, they splashed up countless gravel and dust.
Unspeakable black mist surged and spread.
Among the buildings that were not carried away, the spire of the East District Church was pierced by a fallen angel. The cross collapsed with a roar in the dust, and the corruption brought by the angels began to spread rapidly.
They were once the guardians of Heaven.
Their divine radiance illuminated all realms. Now, black substances flowed out from their bodies, spreading like living things, like a writhing shadow constantly searching for something on the ground.
“Unacceptable!”
Amanadiel crashed heavily into an East District alley.
Half of his wings were intact, and the other half was corrupted, allowing him to still have the strength to lie on the ground, struggling immensely to control the corruption emanating from his body.
The corruption on the ground, which had penetrated deep into the material plane, began to boil.
Amanadiel, once an archangel, was now covered in scorch marks, his wings tattered, only a faint light remaining in his eyes. He fought with all his might against some unspeakable force.
However.
He gasped, his consciousness blurred. As his vision wavered, he saw a figure slowly approaching. The man was wearing a well-tailored suit, his tie impeccably knotted, and a disturbing smile played on his lips. His face was painted with pale makeup, and his eyes were outlined with exaggerated red lips, as if he were a madman escaped from a circus.
This city, which should have been empty.
Surprisingly, a person appeared.
“Good afternoon, angel.”
The man in the suit bowed solemnly. Before Amanadiel could react, he pulled out a mace from behind him and hit Amanadiel squarely on the head.
Perhaps two blows.
Or maybe thirty blows.
Before Amanadiel could react.
His vision went black.
He fainted.
“Welcome to Gotham.” The man in the suit put on his gloves, dragged Amanadiel by his uncorrupted leg, and slowly walked towards a shadowy area.
Behind him.
More angels were still falling.
The last divine remnants of the angels.
The flames of divinity burned out.
Intertwined.
Illuminating the entire mad city.
On the other side.
The Justice League members rescued the unconscious Superman and a panting Batman.
“He’s alive!” Barry knelt on the shallow water, his finger on Superman’s neck. The Kryptonian’s skin was frighteningly hot, and the edges of the “S” insignia on his chest were scorched and curled.
As if burned by some power.
Cyborg landed beside them, his mechanical arm extending a scanner.
“Vital signs are stable, but there’s residual unknown energy in his body.” His electronic eyes flickered, his tone filled with some uncertainty, “It looks like radiation from Heaven?”
If it was really Heaven’s radiation.
He felt that Heaven must be far more terrifying than the center of a nuclear explosion.
“That was the light from Heaven burning his chest. It’s nothing serious.” Batman’s figure emerged from the smoke. His cape had several large holes burned through it, the left side of his cowl was completely shattered, revealing a bruised eye socket. He walked slowly, leaving bloody footprints on the sand with every step.
“The corruption from the Gate of Heaven thankfully didn’t spread to you.”
Bruce’s voice was terrifyingly hoarse.
He pointed to the Gate of Heaven, half-buried in the mud not far away.
The once glorious gate was now covered in black veins. The foul substances flowed on its surface but strangely did not spread outwards, as if confined by some boundary.
Regarding this.
Batman pondered.
The Flash suddenly looked up: “Wait, where’s Ian? You actually threw him into Heaven?”
“Yes, this was what I considered the most suitable plan.” Batman nodded, this simple movement making him cough up blood. “Only he can withstand the light within Heaven.”
Hearing this.
Wonder Woman was stunned.
“Putting aside whether he’s inherently good or not, just the fact that he has a demon head attached to his backside, can something like that be taken into Heaven with him?”
Wonder Woman was incredulous.
Regarding this question.
Batman did not reply.
He drew a short knife from under his gauntlet and walked towards the burning city. In the distance, the corrupted angels were stirring in the ruins, their wings matted together like oil-soaked crow feathers.
“I bet Heaven doesn’t have security checks, maybe you can sneak in.” Aquaman lifted the unconscious Superman, twirling the summoned Trident in his other hand.
Cyborg activated his shoulder cannon, and Wonder Woman drew the Sword of Vulcan.
The team silently followed the staggering black figure. Behind them, within the murky gate, Ian, who had been thrown into Heaven, slowly opened his eyes.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp~”
This was the sound of birds chirping on branches.
When Ian opened his eyes, he expected to see Hell.
But what greeted him was a fresh breeze carrying the scent of flowers. He lay on a meadow full of small white flowers, and the sound of a babbling brook could be heard in the distance. Sunlight filtered through the clouds, refracting into colorful halos on the blades of grass. The scene was so beautiful that the demon head hanging from his backside seemed out of place.
The Minotaur Head was playing dead.
Ian, on the other hand, was astonished.
“This doesn’t feel right…”
Ian frowned and sat up. He looked around and saw that the Holy City in the distance was wrapped in a layer of black, mycelium-like substance. The viscous darkness writhed continuously but could not cross the invisible boundary.
Corrupting this paradise.
Just then.
A strange sensation came from his pocket.
“No way, have my mimicry pants started automatically searching for valuables under my influence?”
Ian pulled out a Pearl Necklace.
He was certain it wasn’t his. The milky white pearls shimmered softly in the sunlight, and one of them was slightly warm, drawing his gaze to the right.
Thirty paces away, beneath a giant tree full of golden flowers, a tea table was set.
A woman in a long dress was pouring tea.
Her hair was entwined with starlight-like fragments of light. The man sitting opposite her had his back to Ian, but the familiar brown leather jacket and gray-white hair made Ian recognize him immediately.
“Oh, God, you pimp, you, you, you, you are you… my grandfather whom I’ve never met! My goodness, what are you doing in this place!”
He was greatly alarmed.
The sound boomed like thunder.
The youth’s blushing surpassed all profanity; perhaps no one in this world had ever seen such a flustered and terrified Ian.
It’s the last day, brothers. Do you have any remaining monthly tickets you can spare? I still owe less than twenty thousand characters, and I’ve started counting the monthly ticket bonus chapters.
