"May I ask, that window behind you isn't deliberately designed for sightseeing, is it?" Helen asked with a slight tone of surprise.
"So what if it is?" Weiman failed to understand her question. Thinking it was just a diversion, he quickly asked, "The guard told me you've figured something out and have information on Batman to provide. But I must warn you upfront, General Steppenwolf serves under His Majesty Darkseid. He may be a brazen risk-taker at times, but he isn't someone an Earthling can take on."
"The scenario you're suggesting, of Steppenwolf being defeated by Batman due to a lack of intelligence, is absolutely impossible. But it'd be best if you just reveal the information. It's for Batman's own good."
"If we can convince him to surrender before Steppenwolf kills him, he might spare his life to see His Majesty Darkseid. But if he is resolved to fight till the end... hmpf..."
Weiman sneered and didn't continue. The group quickly discussed their plan through telepathy, then Helen relayed it to Spider Man on a different wavelength. After comprehending, Spider Man passed on the information to Aisha.
Except for Spider Man, who looked shocked after learning the plan, no one slipped up. Fortunately, Spider Man wore a mask, and the aliens couldn't understand the emotions conveyed through the spider eyes on it. The telepathic exchange went seamlessly.
"You better not play tricks on us. We know far more about Batman than you think. If you dare lie..."
Weiman trailed off ominously, his face cold. Little Bruce stepped forward first, saying, "We have information on Batman. But she'll have to speak. She's Batman's own daughter."
Little Bruce looked at Aisha, who blinked her large eyes furiously at Weiman and said, "My dad is Batman!"
A researcher nearby brought over a piece of equipment. After Weiman received it and glanced at it, he peered at the group and said, "Don't think our advanced civilization doesn't have lie detectors, do you? Well... her statement is true, but it's of no value. We already knew that."
"I can tell you what my dad fears, but I'll only tell you!" Aisha struggled to say this long sentence, but Weiman understood it. He narrowed his eyes, apparently deep in thought.
"Currently, we are your prisoners. To survive, we'll offer intelligence to you. But who holds the intelligence is the only thing in our control." Little Bruce adopted an honest stance, saying, "Even if Batman does surrender, and later works with you, whose side he'll stand should be suggested by us first."
"Weiman, think about this. If Steppenwolf defeats Batman and brings him back to your planet, perhaps the great His Majesty Darkseid will assign Batman directly under Steppenwolf. I don't mean to boast, but seeing as His Majesty Darkseid took notice of Batman, he must have some exceptional qualities."
Weiman's finger involuntarily tightened at this point, which hit his sensitive spot. When he went to see Lord Desaad previously, he overheard Desaad saying that His Majesty Darkseid highly appreciated Batman's intellect, saying his wisdom was very useful in deciphering the secrets of the universe.
Imitation isn't the problem; it's who looks foolish doing it. The reason Weiman could hold a place among Darkseid's officials was that he was one of the few intelligent strategists working under Darkseid. But if a more intelligent person like him came along, where would he stand then?
Unless that smarter person worked under him, following his commands and using their intelligence for his benefit. For this reason alone, Weiman should hear what these kids have to say, try to appease them as much as possible. With the information they provide, he can recruit Batman and keep Steppenwolf out of it.
Weiman cleared his throat and with a godly benevolence, said, "Alright, little girl, step forward. The rest of you, step back."
Helen and the others retreated a few steps. Aisha toddled over to Weiman. Lowering his head, he looked at the young girl, and she stared back at him.
Aisha spread her cuffed hands towards Weiman, gesturing him to lean in. Weiman glanced at the guards and noticed several Savage Wolf personnel. He didn't want to appear as if he was scared of a little girl, so he kneeled and brought his ear closer to Aisha.
Aisha leaned in, and gently whispered into his ear, "My dad's worst fear is... writing papers!"
"What?! Damn it, are you messing with..."
The moment Weiman turned around to glare at Aisha, her eyes glowed a brilliant yellow. The mysterious pattern in her vertical pupils was dizzying.
However, suddenly, a flash of cold light reflected off the single lens of Weiman's glasses. A blue light barrier appeared in front of his eyes. Weiman laughed coldly, saying, "You think you can control me with a psychic attack? In your dreams. You guys... "
Before Weiman could finish, a dark figure taking advantage of his distraction rushed towards him. The maneuver and speed were extremely agile and fast.
A dark power-engulfed knife from Harley's hand left her grip, drawing a smooth arc and swiftly striking the glass behind Weiman, over hundreds of strikes in a second.
Weiman was startled by the sudden turn of events. Before he could call for guards, Helen's head hammer was striking him, the sharp horns emerging from her head rammed into Weiman's chest. The tremendous force sent him slamming into the glass which just had a slight crack from the dagger strike.
"Bang! Crash!"
Weiman and Helen together shattered the gleaming glass, reflecting a dazzling hue under the shining sun. As it projected in Weiman's pupils, he felt like he was seeing his life flashing before his eyes.
In the middle of the space, Helen rapidly charged forward, inhaling deeply to exert her maximum force in the form of a devastating roundhouse kick. Weiman, consequently, was kicked out of the escort ship's range instantly.
At the moment, the situation within the ship hadn't gotten any better. It's well known that space is a vacuum environment. In order to have normal gravity within the spaceship cabin, a gravity stabilizer is essential. The ship's gravity stabilizer needs a closed space to operate. A massive hole ruptured the ship, reducing the effectiveness of gravity stabilization by eighty percent.
Loss of gravity merely caused people to float, but the major issue was that the fleet was currently in motion. Weiman's reason for coming to the control room was to operate the spaceship in pursuit of Savage Wolf. Right now, they're rapidly advancing towards the Solar System.
During the high-speed journey, the gravity balance was disrupted. In the instant the imbalance occurred, the inertia based on the ship's forward momentum was also affected. In short, except for Aisha and others who had been adhered to the ground by Spider-Man's silk, all the guards in the room were thrown onto the walls.
The guards, armored in highly defensive armor, didn't die, but they had been severely shaken. Aisha took a deep breath and let out a silent scream. Unseen and unknown fear spread out; within moments, all the guards on the main battleship, like startled flies, began to scramble and flee.
Little Bruce gestured to Spider-Man, and the two freed themselves from the spider silk and rushed in front of the control panel. As Little Bruce scanned the buttons, he said, "Hurry! We don't have much time. Weiman just positioned and accelerated the fleet. The control panel isn't locked; we can directly manipulate it!"
"Now, all the guards on the main battleship are affected by Aisha's fear. They shouldn't report the commotion on the main battleship to other escort ships. We can seize this opportunity to impersonate Weiman and directly steer the fleet to our destination."
"Where are we going?"
"Earth!"
In the sky above Earth, Robin and others in the airborne fortress continued to bury their heads in material experiments. But the main reason they could maintain enthusiasm for this long was that they were determined not to lose to the villains in Gotham City.
As Gotham City, now airborne, was undergoing a more intense technological revolution since the technologies a city flying in outer space would require are fundamentally different from those of a city on the ground. Energy supply alone was a big problem; the villains had already started researching high-efficiency utilization of solar energy.
Don't misunderstand—due to the existence of a dark energy magic shield, Gotham still couldn't see the sun. Yet, as long as they extended the device beyond the protective shield, they could absorb solar energy. Hence, the villains were actively developing miniature solar energy satellite technologies intending to power the entire city with high-efficiency solar energy.
It sounds incredible—the astronomical amount of electricity required for such a large city. But now, Gotham has been ruined - there was hardly any place left that required electricity. Everyone was in a wilderness survival state, skipping slow updates and replacements, accepting new technologies directly.
When the Robins saw this, without Batman around and the villains saving Gotham, they decided they also had to participate and make a difference. Otherwise, if they succeed in saving the city, where does Batman fit in?
So, both sides started a technology race. Although Robin's overall technology was not as advanced as the villains', they had plenty of information provided by the Marvel Universe. Stark and Nick didn't just let them experiment and provide technology without reason. Stark's solar energy utilization technology and Otto's artificial sun technology alone was enough to keep them busy for a while.
Early one morning, Tim came out of his bedroom, yawning. His shift was next; he needed to hurry to the lab to analyze data.
Just as he was about to enter the lab, he heard a piercing ring. He glanced over to see Jason in the communication room, sleeping like a log, completely oblivious to the phone.
Tim sighed, walked into the communication room, answered the phone and asked, "Hello? Who's this?"
"Tim, it's Harley. Listen, our side needs your team's assistance! Repeating, our side needs your team's assistance! Here's what's happening…"
About three minutes later, Tim bolted down the hallway into the lab, yelling at Robins engrossed in their experiment.
"Quick! Grab your gear! Something big is coming!!!"