Chapter 17: Before Returning

When the weak voice of the World Consciousness echoed in Bruce’s mind, for a brief moment, he thought he was hallucinating.

"Go to an alternate world to pick up a new colleague?" He reached up to rub his temples, which were throbbing from the strain of pulling an all-nighter. "Have I gone insane, or have you?"

Whatever happened to the promise that the space-time barrier had been fully repaired? How could it be so broken that it misdirected a new colleague into the wrong world?

[Actually, the new colleague isn't the urgent part; once the World Consciousness over there reacts, it will naturally send her back...]

The entity’s voice was weaker than ever, whether due to the series of mishaps or the sheer scale of the chaos caused this time, it was hard to tell.

[The most important thing is that you and Clark must hurry and recover the Doomsday prop she brought with her!]

"..."

A prop.
Doomsday.

There were so many things to comment on that Bruce found himself focusing on the strange details instead.

"Clark and I are going together? Is that prop that difficult to recover?"

Having spent enough time here, Bruce understood that every person crossing the space-time barrier caused the tear to widen, requiring the World Consciousness to expend more energy to repair it. If one person could solve the problem, the entity would never suggest sending two.

In other words, according to the implication, only by combining the efforts of Superman and Batman could this recovery mission be completed. What exactly was this "Doomsday"?

With just one sentence, the entity successfully grabbed Bruce's full attention.

[Doomsday is a critical prop for the plot point: The Death of Superman.]

*Who died?*

Bruce truly suspected he was hallucinating now.

"Superman? Did I remember that wrong? Aren't he and Batman the flagship icons of DC? He can die?"

No, this was the face of the franchise! Who would kill off their own pillar? What would DC even be without him? It was like killing off Iron Man in *Avengers: Endgame*—wouldn't the audience's anticipation just plummet?

The entity stuttered, clearly reluctant to discuss how DC often put its popular characters through "sit-ups in the coffin," fearing that if Bruce learned such tricks, he might orchestrate even more devilish scripts.

[Never mind that for now. Just hurry up and set off with Clark to recover Doomsday! The colleague over there will tell you what to do; if nothing goes wrong, she should have a method to safely recover the prop.]

Bruce knew the urgency of the situation. To them, Doomsday was just a plot prop, but to another world, it was a massive beast that could cause real casualties.

Filled with apprehension, he immediately notified Clark, and the two of them stepped into the portal opened by the World Consciousness.

On the other side, after a brief moment of panic, Kara quickly regained her composure. After all, Doomsday was just her prop, and every prop had a way to be operated and controlled.

She took a deep breath and scrambled back into the cabin, rummaging through her things until she found a small control device. Unfortunately, although she was a veteran DC fan, this was her first mission in a DC world. Unaccustomed to the strength of her Kryptonian shell, she accidentally crushed the device into fragments in a moment of overexertion.

Kara: ?!

No, no, don't panic! There’s still another chance!

If she remembered correctly, there was a patch of simulated skin on the top of Doomsday’s head, deliberately crafted to look like a bumpy lunar crater.

Actually, that was a control switch installed for actors who weren't good at fighting. As long as it was pressed, Doomsday would cease all movement!

Kara hugged herself tightly, feeling nervous. Damn it! She wasn't exactly great at fighting either. The moment Doomsday burst out, would she be able to successfully press that switch and stop it?

She had to make it work! If the prop she was responsible for caused any loss of life or property in a non-mission world, the judgment of the Dimensional Court would surely be waiting for her!

*I'm sorry,* she thought. *If I had another chance, I would never act like a chaos-loving troll again! Isn't it better to just be like the LEGO Supergirl and take photos with fans? Why did I have to raise the difficulty level for myself?*

Kara was mentally spiraling, but her body was on high alert, focused with every ounce of her being, waiting for the moment the Phantom Zone—which was holding Doomsday—could no longer sustain its collapse.

Just then, a hand in a black glove patted her on the shoulder.

A low, gravelly voice like a nightmare whispered in her ear:

"So, you're the one who went off-script and caused all this trouble?"

Kara’s nerves were already stretched to the breaking point. She instinctively turned to strike whoever had approached her silently, but another hand, wrapped in red, intercepted her move.

Superman held her away from Batman, flashing a "friendly" smile at her.

*So you're the one who made us work overtime and tried to hit my Bruce, are you?*

Kara felt a subtle wave of malice and shivered. She looked up, bewildered, only to realize that the dark-clad figure and the primary-colored hero who had just left were now surrounding her.

Wait. These two weren't the Superman and Batman who had just walked away.

Even though she couldn't use the mental channel in an alternate world, Kara felt something both familiar and anomalous about them, and her intuition hit the mark.

"Hey... is the organization here to pick me up?" she asked tentatively, testing the secret code.

Bruce sighed silently, feeling a bit weary. Confirmed: the new colleague was definitely a chaos-loving troll. She was, after all, the tough character who dared to run toward Earth while carrying such an important prop as the *Death of Superman*.

Bruce nodded reservedly. Before he could exchange pleasantries, he felt a terrifying aura emanating from nearby. He spun around, and there was nothing—no, wait!

Blue light tore through the night, accompanied by a force powerful enough to warp space. A pair of monstrous claws were forcefully squeezing through the rift!

At almost the same moment, Kara screamed: "Hit its head! There’s a bumpy crater there—if you hit the groove in the center, it won't be able to move!"

Bruce didn't doubt the word of the prop's owner for a second. But he had to admit, even knowing this monster called Doomsday was just a created prop, he still felt an indescribable tremor.

It was the uncontrollable fear humans feel when facing a monster stronger than themselves.

However, Batman was most adept at facing—and even utilizing—his own fear.

The moment Doomsday’s hideous head emerged, Batman immediately threw his Batarang. Superman, seizing the moment the beast was distracted, pounced on it, pinning its claws down with a death grip.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the Batman who had hooked his grapple onto the monster descended from above, striking the crater button hidden on the creature's head with pinpoint accuracy.

"Wow," Kara, who had been ready to jump in and help, watched as the red light in Doomsday’s eyes extinguished. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"World's Finest, huh?"

If not for the lack of a mental channel, she would have unleashed a stream of praise for the seamless cooperation between her two colleagues. If she hadn't known these two were actors, she would have suspected they were the real Batman and Superman.

Because it was resolved so quickly, by the time the Phantom Zone completely lost its effect and the full body of Doomsday appeared, it had caused no damage at all. Like a sculpture that had lost its power, it landed flat on the ground, creating a shallow crater.

Assured that this level of destruction wouldn't land her in prison, Kara finally relaxed and walked over to her two colleagues.

"How are we supposed to take this big guy back?"

Bruce pondered for a moment before signaling the two Kryptonians to lift it, seeing if they could shove it into the ship's cabin. This way, when the World Consciousness opened the portal, they wouldn't need to open five different ones; they could take the cabin and Doomsday back in one trip.

Just like that, the trouble caused by force majeure was easily handled. Bruce’s mood lightened significantly as he stood there, waiting for the transfer.

However, surprises always arrive unexpectedly.

"Wait!"

Following a low, serious voice, a red-and-blue Superman descended from the sky holding Batman, with Wonder Woman following closely behind.

Bruce felt a headache coming on.

According to his preferred plan, he wouldn't have to deal with the natives of this world at all—grab the person, grab the prop, and leave. But now that he had to interact, he didn't panic.

He was just about to fabricate a simple script—"Accidentally crossed space-time while fighting a monster, leaving now"—when he noticed the three people opposite him were staring with guarded expressions at... the Kara behind him?

Kara couldn't help but shrink further behind his back.

Bruce and Clark exchanged glances, a bad premonition forming in their hearts. Seeing the Batman across from them about to speak, he immediately stepped forward to cut him off.

"We have no intention of affecting this world. We arrived here by accident, and we are leaving immediately."

He hoped the other side would understand his hint: *Don't be nosy, let's just part ways and move on.*

Then he noticed the expression on the other Batman's face, which was shifting into one of exasperation. With a tone that was both pained and furious—a "you poor fool, you've been played" kind of vibe—he pointed a sharp finger directly at Kara.

"Don't you realize it yet? The monster you and Superman just subdued was released by the Kryptonian behind you!"

Bruce: "..."

Clark: "?!"

The two turned simultaneously to look at Kara. Not to question her, because they knew that in a sense, Batman was right.

But the problem was—

How did *he* know?

And also, what kind of cringeworthy situation was this? Why hadn't the World Consciousness sent them back yet?!