2184 Side Story: Fantasy Journey 25
He hadnât obtained a list of Doomsdayâs abilities, so Supermanâs âout-of-printâ list of abilities was most likely the only one Luke would be able to get.
For this reason, Luke had to protect Earth.
He just didnât know how strong that Steppenwolf was. If he was on the same level as Doomsday, that would be a little troublesome.
Steppenwolf wasnât a Kryptonian creature and wasnât weak in the face of a kryptonite weapon. Killing him was going to be a pain.
!!
The three of them took Master Wayneâs private jet to Central City.
Compared with Gotham, Central City was a little better â at least, it wasnât as âillustriousâ in that the number and quality of supervillains that appeared every year werenât as prominent as what Gotham had.
But that was all.
Thanks to brain drain and a high unemployment rate, âspecialâ services and drug trafficking had increasingly become the means of making a living at the bottom.
Apart from neighborhoods where the middle- and upper-class communities gathered, old factories and warehouses could be seen everywhere in the city.
Nobody cared about these, since there were no jobs to go around anyway.
In an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts close to some rail tracks, Diana sat on a small bar stool and tapped the ground with her foot. âAre you sure that the young man wonât be angry if we barge into his house like this?â
Master Wayne relaxed in his chair. âBeing angry and being tempted are two different things.â
A little further away, Luke sat in a gaming chair in front of a row of black monitor screens. âBruce is right. Itâs like calling a beautiful woman your friend. The most polite way is the safest, but itâs also the easiest way for the other party to dismiss you as a passer-by. Itâs necessary to make a lasting first impression.â
Diana smiled and looked at the two âBruces.â âIt seems that both of you have a lot in common?â
Luke chuckled. âDonât say that. Master Wayne often makes the headlines in Gothamâs tabloids. Iâm just good at discovering patterns.â
Master Wayne: âŠThese two b*stards. When did they start getting along so well?
Fortunately, his watch chimed with a notification. âOkay, heâs back.â
The warehouse fell silent.
Less than a minute later, there was the rattle of the lock on the door, followed by the faint creak of the door opening, and finally, the crackle of electricity.
The lights in the warehouse came on, and the other monitors and appliances started to boot up.
A thin and short figure with a knapsack walked around the corner into the âlounge,â only to see two men and a woman sitting in his âhome.â
âBarry Allen.â Master Wayne was using that deep, magnetic voice. âIâm Bruce Wayne.â
Barry glared at him with his hands on his waist. âYou say that like you think you can break into my place and sit in my second favorite chair in the dark?â
Saying that, he couldnât help but look at Diana, who was looking at him with great interest. âThatâs my third favorite.â
He then looked at Luke, who was the only one who wasnât looking at him, but was looking at the performance on the monitor screens. âThatâs my number one favorite.â
Hearing that, Luke turned around with a smile. âYour favorite K-pop girl group? They were queens for 12 years, but have fallen from the top now.â
Barry was stunned. âYou know them?â
Luke glanced at the screen again. âA screen full of long legs is easy on the eyes.â
Everybody: ââŠâ
Feeling that things were going a little off-track, Master Wayne could only cough and take out prints of surveillance images. âMoving on. Perhaps you might be able to explain this.â
Barry looked at the expensive suit, coat, leather shoes, and diamond tie clip on the other man, and felt the intense aura of the ruling class.
He couldnât help but take the prints for a look. âThis⊠person looks a little like me, but is definitely not me. Let me guess; itâs unlikely he stole anything from youâŠâ
With a faint smile on his face, Master Wayne turned around and walked over to a life-sized dummy. âI know you have an ability, but Iâm not sure what it is.â
Barry said, âI have a lot of abilities, like viola, web design, sign language, gorilla sign languageâŠâ
Master Wayne inspected the red suit on the dummy. âIs this silica-base quartz fabric? Abrasion resistant? Heat resistant?â
Barry: âHm, I like figure skatingâŠâ
Master Wayne said, âThis is usually used on space shuttles so that they donât burn up on re-entry.â
Barry: âI⊠skate very intensely?â
Luke and Diana didnât say anything. They simply watched with smiles as Master Wayne pressed forward step by step and Barry spouted nonsense in all earnestness.
Old Master Wayne was enlightened. âOh, is that so?â
Barry nodded quickly. âYes; whoever youâre looking for, it definitely isnât me. I guaranteeâŠâ
Master Wayne turned around and took a few steps, his hand already in his coat. He suddenly turned around and flung out his hand.
A dark gray shadow flew out of his hand and headed straight for Barryâs shoulder.
The next moment, even Diana felt her vision blur. Barry, who had been chattering non-stop, stopped talking and just looked down at the Bat dart in his hand.
Master Wayne calmly drew back his hand and returned to his elegant appearance.
Barry raised his head. âYouâre⊠Batman?â
Master Wayne said, âSo, youâre very fast.â
Barry smiled proudly. âThatâs a little of an oversimplification.â
Master Wayne also smiled. âIâm putting together a team. I need people with abilities, because a powerful enemy is comingâŠâ
Realization dawned on Barry, and he raised his hand to cut Master Wayne off. âStop right there. Iâm in.â
Master Wayne: âŠ
Luke: âŠ
Diana: Didnât you say that it wouldnât be easy to get them to join? Didnât you say that you would have to rely on me in battle? Sure enough, men are all pigs!
She couldnât help but get up from the bar stool that was Barryâs third favorite chair. âReally?â
...
âI need people like me.â Barry looked a little uncomfortable. âYou get it â itâs hard to get along with ordinary people, and I donât have the patience. I canât understand them.â
Diana nodded in agreement.
As someone with a demi-god body, she didnât lack anything, but it did make her out of place.
In the end, she found a job as a museum curator and started to come into contact with some of the most unreasonable people in the world. Only then did she feel a little more settled.
It seemed that Barry had been holding back for too long. He couldnât help but complain, âFor example⊠For example⊠What the heck is brunch? By the time you eat something after lining up for an hour, itâs clearly lunch timeâŠâ
âHehe~ hehe~â Luke couldnât help but laugh.
He had been calm all this time, and the other three looked at him in surprise.
Luke suddenly felt good about Barry.
He was clearly a genius with a different mindset, which was why he felt out of place.
It was like the tycoon explaining his research to ordinary researchers â What reasoning? Just think about it. Why canât you understand?
Everyone else, sincerely nodding their heads: Yes, we really donât understand.
...
WTF! It was enough to make the tycoon want to flip a table.