Chapter 3476: Research on Cats and Dogs (Part 35)

"Here it comes, here it comes." Bruce said with quite a bit of excitement.

"I'll say it again, I have no interest in the twisted relationships between these people." Hal threw a potato chip into his mouth and then said, "Besides, aliens are about to invade Earth, yet we're sitting here watching Batman's drama; is this really okay?"

"This is great." Harley said, "Let the aliens go to hell; Batman's fun is better to watch."

Although Hal said that, he didn't close his eyes. On the contrary, Oliver was obviously uninterested; after drinking a cup of hot chocolate, he slumped on the sofa to catch up on sleep.

"So what exactly happened in their universe?" Clark looked at Lex and asked.

Lex was distracted, and after about a dozen seconds, he came back to his senses and said, "Professor Xavier read Superman's memories, and he told me things are roughly like this..."

Lex roughly explained the situation of Injustice Superman's universe, and everyone sighed endlessly.

"Do you think Professor Xavier can talk him around?" Diana couldn't help but be a bit worried, and she said, "Batman is really hard to deal with. And if I were to say... of course, I'm not being a hindsight expert, but if I were Wonder Woman in that universe, I probably would have said the same thing."

"What?" Clark turned his head to look at her and asked.

"It's Batman's fault." Diana said, "This matter was handled poorly by Batman; I feel he should bear at least 70% of the responsibility."

Clark was just about to speak when Diana interrupted him: "I'm referring to the aftermath. The culprit is of course the Joker, but Batman's poor handling of the aftermath is the main reason the situation developed like this."

"Do you think Batman should have been tolerant of Superman at that time?" Bruce asked.

"I don't like the word 'tolerant'." Diana shook her head gently and said, "Batman is just a vigilante; he's not a judge in a court, let alone a jury. He doesn't have the qualifications to tolerate anyone."

"He is just Superman's friend, so he should do what a friend should do. For example, when his friend loses the most important person in his life, spend some time comforting him."

Diana crossed her arms and tilted her head, saying: "Killing is against the law, and killing the Joker is the same. Before a legal trial is conducted, there is no need to conduct any moral trial. I have always followed this point."

"Superman lives in human society and enjoys the emotional feedback brought to him by human society, so following the rules of human society is his obligation. Then he should also obey the law; there is no doubt about this."

"If Superman is willing to accept a legal trial, in the human way, and pay the price for his illegal behavior, then we should treat him the way humans treat criminals. Let him stand in court, accept trial, and then go to jail."

"If that were the case, then although we couldn't call him morally noble, there would be no need to conduct an additional moral trial, because he had already paid the price within the scope of universal values."

"And Batman's problem is that he didn't ask Superman if he was willing to accept a legal trial, but directly conducted a moral trial. Because the procedure was wrong, even if the result was right, he was still wrong."

Clark nodded frequently as he listened, and he said: "Batman focused too much on the moral question of 'is killing right or wrong' and ignored the prerequisite for moral trial, which is that one must first try the other party with the law. If the other party firmly refuses to submit to a legal trial, then a moral trial is meaningful."

"But Superman doesn't seem to have any obligation to submit to a legal trial, right?" Hal said, "He is simply too strong; would he really be willing to be caught and put in jail obediently?"

"He can be unwilling; that's when Batman should take action." Diana said, "But before he explicitly states his position, no one can assume he is unwilling."

"Then what if he performs some actions that prove he has no intention of obeying the law at all?" Hal said again, "The version we heard is too brief and lacks many details. Maybe Batman determined through Superman's various actions that he wouldn't be willing to accept legal sanctions, which is why he directly initiated a moral trial?"

"That makes sense." Bruce said, "I think Superman was already crazy at that time, and the irrational things he did weren't just killing, and Batman had to stop him first, which was taken by Superman as an accusation."

"This has to be asked of Superman himself." Diana looked at Clark and said, "When you feel pain, do you feel angry or depressed?"

"I think it's the former." Clark said, "If a tragedy happens, I can't guarantee that I can definitely control myself. Perhaps I would also do many irrational things."

"If I went to stop you, would you take your anger out on me?" Diana asked.

Clark was silent for a long time before saying: "Instead of stopping my actions in a physical sense, it would be better to find a way to calm me down on an emotional level. I think Batman chose wrong."

"But if you don't stop your actions in a physical sense, how can you be calmed down?" Harley asked.

"If you were Professor X, it should be possible." Clark could only say, "But if it were Batman, maybe it wasn't that he chose wrong, but that he had no choice."

"Then it seems this is a dead end." Diana concluded, "Batman will definitely go to stop Superman's actions, and the sad and angry Superman will feel that he has betrayed himself, so he will take more extreme actions to confront Batman, which makes Batman even more exhausted..."

"They never had time to calm down and talk." Lex said, "Actually, there were a few opportunities, but clearly the Justice League of that universe... I don't know how to put it."

"It seems my counterpart did something stupid." Diana had already anticipated it, she said.

"Then now that they have a chance to talk, do you think they will make concessions to each other? Or..."

"The one talking to Batman now isn't Superman." Lex interrupted Diana and said, "What's in the laboratory isn't a cat and a dog, but two shrewd cats. They are both superiors who are good at manipulation; it won't be that easy for them to make concessions."

"This is really interesting." Bruce said, "In the relationship between two people, if one side is compared to a cat that looks harmless but is good at manipulation, then the other side is a strong but simple-minded dog. The cooperation between the cat and the dog is seamless."

"However, now the cat that is Batman doesn't know that his dog has changed its core, and still wants to manipulate him; while Professor Xavier, as an equally shrewd cat, in order not to be exposed, also has to disguise himself as a dog with the dog's thinking he understands, and wants to gain the initiative as a dog. Who do you think will win?"

"I bet on Professor Xavier." Pamela said, "He can read minds; the advantage is simply too great. And Superman can also be considered a victim; he occupies the moral high ground."

"I think it's Batman." Harley took a sip of soda and said, "It's simply too hard to see through Batman's true thoughts; I bet the twists and turns in his mental world are more complex than the internal structure of the Earth. He might have built an entire universe in his own brain, yet buried the truth inside some asteroid; Professor Xavier won't be able to figure it out that easily."

"Why do I feel like Batman will discover that Superman isn't Superman?" Hal said, "He will definitely be able to discover it."

"But he won't expose it." Diana shook her head and said, "An unknown creature controlling Superman is equivalent to kidnapping Superman; Batman won't rashly provoke a kidnapper."

"My head is spinning." Barry said, "So now no one enjoys a simple and pure relationship? Does it have to be like this?"

"Of course not." Clark patted him on the shoulder and said, "As long as we firmly support healthy relationships, no amount of perverts and lunatics can shake us."

"That's you." Barry shrank his neck and said, "If some lunatic like that were to pester me one day, I really don't know if I could outrun him."

"Physically, of course you can." Harley laughed and said, "But mentally... I suggest you hide behind Professor Schiller; he will protect you."

"You really gave him a good idea." Pamela said to Harley, "This reminds me of a joke—a man hid in a bear cave so he wouldn't be struck by lightning."

Harley laughed, and Barry scratched his head, seemingly understanding what Pamela was talking about. Only Clark and Diana looked at each other helplessly.

"If you must join a pathological relationship, then I hope you choose your target well." Diana said, "If you are a dog, then go find a cat, but definitely not a lion or a tiger."

"Otherwise..."

The two looked at Bruce in unison.

"I am definitely not saying that your doctorate hasn't been completed yet." Receiving Bruce's death stare, Diana hurriedly raised her hands and said.

"I'm also not saying that you are overestimating your capabilities; you're just a bit unlucky." When Bruce's gaze turned to Clark, Clark hurriedly said.

"Yes, you have always been unlucky." Diana echoed.

Fortunately, at this moment, Injustice Batman and Injustice Superman on the screen finally ended their long staring contest. Injustice Batman opened his mouth and said: "We do lack an opportunity to talk, but I don't think it's now; I need to adjust my equipment as soon as possible."

Injustice Superman had originally been standing there with his hands hanging down, but just as Batman turned around to continue his experiment, the saw blade on the table began to tremble, and then flew up.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

The saw blade, spinning like a meat grinder, cleanly cut the rope. Injustice Batman turned his head to look at Injustice Superman.

"You shouldn't be the first to manufacture equipment to prevent high-altitude falls when fighting alongside me. I can catch you."

"That's true." Injustice Batman turned back to look at him, "It's just a thing of the past. Should I tell you that every time I fight alongside you, I bring this."

"Do you think I wouldn't see it?"

Injustice Batman seemed a bit speechless. Injustice Superman took two steps forward and said: "Batman, do you know? You are a very strange person; no one can see through you."

"Everyone has a set of standards for measuring others; those who meet the standards are categorized as friends, and those who don't are kicked out. We can all easily observe what most people's standards of measurement are, such as like-mindedness, or shared interests."

"But you are different; you hide this set of standards too deeply. No one can say with certainty what their status is in your heart. If they are very certain, it's just an illusion you gave them. In reality, how you judge others, no one knows."

"No, Clark." Injustice Batman said, "You know I have a standard: I don't kill, and I hope my friends don't kill either."

"I violated this standard, so you kicked me out of the category of friends. I fully understand. Outside the scope of friends are enemies; you treated me as your enemy."

"You require your friends not to kill, but you don't seem to have such requirements for your enemies. In this way, being your enemy is much better and much freer than being your friend. Is this the purpose of you setting this standard?"

"No, of course not." Batman said, "I have expectations for my friends, but none for my enemies."

"Is being expected by you a good thing?" Injustice Superman tilted his head and looked at him, "If I were still your friend, perhaps I would feel honored. You think I can be like you, insisting on a certain principle without wavering, which proves you recognize my integrity. Being recognized by Batman is always an honor."

"But now I am your enemy; you can't expect your enemy to still insist on the same principles as you, otherwise we would have returned to good terms long ago."

"I just want to ask you." Injustice Superman took another step forward, "Even if I follow your standards again now, will you include me in the category of friends again?"

"Those things can't be treated as if they never happened, Clark; don't be so naive."

"Yes, so even if I bow my head to you now, we can't go back to the past. We can never go back."

Injustice Batman sensed that Injustice Superman's tone was a bit strange; he didn't sound angry at all, calm beyond reason, which was very wrong.

He turned his head to look at Injustice Superman, and sure enough, he didn't see a trace of anger or disappointment. When those eyes cooled down completely, they looked like a real glacier; what was exposed above the water was always just the tip of the iceberg, and the true soul had become a behemoth submerged beneath the water.

This made Injustice Batman feel terrible, because he understood what Injustice Superman meant by "standard of measurement"—Superman's elusive attitude made him also not know what Superman's standard of measurement was.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3477 =====