Chapter 1949: U: Beyond the Great Event (75)

Batman stood up with a "thump."

Both Clark and Diana, who had been sitting, were startled by his sudden movement, and the Bat-Cat, which had been crouching quietly on Clark's shoulder, arched its back, clearly quite frightened.

"We're back," Pamela said, stepping out from behind Lex and waving at Diana. "We ran into a bit of trouble, which delayed us."

Diana immediately frowned, looking seriously at Pamela. "A bit of trouble, even for you two? I told you long ago that you shouldn't risk challenging the Courage Game; you should have waited for Clark and me to come back and take you."

"The trouble wasn't the courage; the trouble was that this game didn't test courage at all," Pamela sighed deeply. "Is there anything to eat? I'm starving."

The two of them walked down from the treehouse platform together. Only when they reached the bottom did Lex clearly see Batman.

He was startled and took a few steps back before sizing Batman up again. Clark hurried to stand up. "I haven't introduced you yet. This is the new Batman. He's from another universe and has swapped places with the Bruce from our universe."

"Don't mention Batman," Pamela said, clutching her forehead in frustration. "You have no idea how unlucky we were. We ran into another version of you, and he spent the whole time rambling about Batman. Lex and I were about to go crazy."

Batman had regained his composure by now. He realized that this Lex Luthor was surprisingly young, and when he looked at Pamela's face, he realized this seemed to be the Poison Ivy of their universe.

Only "seemed," because the Poison Ivy he had known before was always covered in leaves and wore heavy makeup, while this Pamela was not only younger but also bare-faced and sleepy-eyed, looking exactly like a college student suffering from sleep deprivation.

He then understood that this universe was younger as a whole. Many of the famous villains he knew from his own universe had yet to debut, and some were even still in school.

Not every villain was born with a grand evil plan; most decided their path during their growth. If someone intervened before they made those evil choices, they naturally wouldn't become villains.

It seemed this universe was like that. Lex and Clark seemed familiar with each other, and Pamela was part of their little group, though Batman hadn't yet figured out what connected them.

Even though he knew this Lex Luthor wasn't the same person as the one in his universe—and might be completely different—Batman still felt he had nothing to say to him.

The problem now was that Clark was introducing the two of them. If Batman didn't respond, Clark would surely stare at him until he said something.

Just as Batman was about to speak, Clark sat down.

Then Pamela and Lex acted as if they hadn't seen him at all, walking straight past him and sitting on either side of Diana, beginning to describe what they had seen in the previous game.

Batman stood frozen in place for a long time.

He knew his reaction was strange, but even with his awkwardness being so prominent, they just continued doing what they were doing.

Just as Batman stood there, Pamela was already complaining by the pot.

"You have no idea how much like a moron the Clark Kent in the last game was. He was even more like a mental patient than Batman. He rambled the whole time: 'If Batman were here,' 'If Batman arranged this,' 'If Batman...' I really wanted to crack his skull open to see if there was a tape recorder with a bat logo inside!"

"I told you that you should have done it," Lex sneered. "He was like a grieving widow who had lost her husband. I only spared him because I felt sorry for him."

"Please, don't say that," Clark chuckled, then looked puzzled. "So why was he rambling about Batman? Did they have a fight?"

"Who knows?" Pamela sighed deeply. "Lex and I both felt that Clark was distracted and out of his mind. The four-person team felt like it was missing someone, and the final stage was exceptionally difficult."

At this point, they began taking turns serving the soup. Everyone got their own bowl. Just as Batman was about to take a bowl from Clark's hand, Clark didn't hand it to him.

Clark took a ladle from Diana, filled a bowl to the brim, and handed it to Batman, followed by Pamela and Diana, and finally Lex and himself. The Bat-Cat received a large piece of venison and a pile of fresh berries, crouching on a tree stump Clark had brought over, eating happily.

Batman's hand paused as he took the bowl. It wasn't that he hadn't received care from others in his team, but that was usually in terms of combat.

For a long time, Superman and Wonder Woman had believed Batman wasn't suited for any direct combat because his physical fitness was that of an ordinary human, vastly different from their own superpowers.

So whenever Batman proposed a plan that required his personal participation in battle, both would oppose it. Sometimes it took Oliver and Hal to speak up for Batman before they could resolve the dispute and proceed.

As for daily life, no one felt Batman needed it. If he really were the turtle in a wishing well, perhaps he was made of silver or stone, but certainly not flesh and blood.

Of course, Superman was more concerned with Bruce Wei En appearing in the dining room, bedroom, or even the bathroom of Wei En Manor, partly to confirm that Batman truly needed to eat and use the restroom.

Other than that, Batman was at most "cared for," but it was hard to call it "being looked after."

Yet here, no one had any objection to him being served before the ladies or even the cat. It all seemed natural, as if it were a convention.

Everyone also made no comment on this behavior, continuing to eat and chat as if nothing had happened, never shifting the topic to Batman, even when they discussed matters directly related to him and Superman.

Batman felt completely invisible.

Batman was clearly not the type to initiate topics to liven up the atmosphere. His dialogue pattern with almost anyone was either answering questions or asking them, rather than inserting witty remarks into casual chatter to assert his presence.

Thus, Batman finished the meal in silence.

Although he couldn't participate in any of the topics, Batman managed to figure out how Pamela, Lex, and Clark knew each other.

Simply put, Pamela, Lex, and Bruce were college classmates, and Bruce knew Clark, so they all got to know each other.

It wasn't strange for Pamela and Bruce to attend Cat Getan University, but why would Lex Luthor come to Cat Getan for college? Shouldn't he have gone to Metropolis University?

And judging by their conversation, Lex even did his graduate studies in Cat Getan. Setting aside the location issue, Metropolis University's academic level and research conditions were far better than Cat Getan University's. Why would Luthor settle for second best?

Batman wanted to know, but he really didn't want to talk to Luthor, nor did he think Luthor would tell him. So, he decided to talk to Clark again to see if he could find out where things had gone wrong.

After the meal, everyone began tidying up the base. Although they had been here for a few days and participated in several rounds of games, they had been focused on figuring out the rules, leaving many areas of the camp unorganized.

Batman was just a step behind, only to find that everyone had vanished. Everyone was busy with their own tasks, and even the pots and pans used for the meal had been cleared away and washed. Batman suddenly didn't know what to do.

In the end, Batman went to find Clark. Clark was in a smaller treehouse organizing tools, seemingly planning to process the game they had caught earlier that day.

Clark was squatting on the ground, pulling small knives and ropes out of a tool bag. Seeing Batman walk to the door, he didn't put down what he was holding but asked while coiling a rope, "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Batman's lips moved, but he still couldn't bring himself to ask the question.

His communication style was indeed unique, but that didn't mean he lacked a brain. Others were working, and he was just standing there. If he wasn't going to help, he should at least stay quiet, rather than standing there pestering them with questions—that was just annoying.

Even from the perspective of intelligence-gathering techniques, one had to blend into the environment as much as possible, pretending to be doing something, before casually asking questions to get accurate information.

Batman walked into the room wanting to do something, but he found it was just a simple tool shed, and the bag containing the tools was in Superman's hands. So, he had to stare at the felt board where tools were hung and ask casually, "It seems you have a good relationship with the people of Cat Getan."

"It's not bad, though Bruce has a better relationship with them since they're closer," Clark replied with a smile, continuing to rummage through the bag.

"Are they classmates?" Batman asked.

Clark nodded and was about to continue when he suddenly let out an "Ah!" of surprise.

Batman froze. He shouldn't have been surprised by Superman's fuss, but every move this Superman made was beyond his expectations.

There was nothing in this tool shed, and no sign of any accident, yet he just shouted out of nowhere. Batman didn't know whose mental state he should be worried about.

Clark suddenly stood up and rushed out of the tool shed. Batman followed closely behind.

He followed Clark to the largest treehouse. After rummaging through a pile of clothes and personal items, Clark pulled several small medicine bottles out of a jacket that was clearly a size too small for him.

"My god, Bruce didn't bring his medicine! Quick, find a way to call him and tell him to come back and get it, or I'll send it to him!"

Batman was stunned.

He didn't know whether to be surprised that the Batman of this universe would take medicine voluntarily, that Batman would dare let Superman know he was taking medicine, or that Superman would know Batman was taking medicine and still dare to let him out of his sight.

Wait, a Batman who took medicine voluntarily was now in his house?!

And this Superman, who knew Batman was taking medicine, was planning to go to his house?!

Batman felt his head spinning.