On the dazzling stage, Molecule Man Owen finally had a chance to shine. He swung his microphone with zealous cheers, and instantly, several beams of light illuminated the seats above, indicating that enough spectators had gathered to fill the spectator hall this time.
Below the beams of light, each spectator wore a unique expression.
Standing on the far end was a very robust figure. He wore a silver tight-fitting suit, with a vibrant red "S" emblazoned on his chest. His face bore a somewhat gloomy and indifferent expression, yet his face was familiar none other - Clark Kent.
Lord Superman, a tyrant who ruled Earth through despotism and hegemony. Coming from Earth 50, he had established a complete authoritarian system led by Superman Lord in his world.
In the second beam of light, a figure, dressed in a red suit, a green tie, and casually crossing his legs, sat impatiently staring at Owen on stage. His eyes, concealed in blue-painted sockets, carried a vague, dull gaze.
Joker Arthur, from "Joker", was a beleaguered comedian - frail, aged, and neurotic. He was a distinctive Joker.
The third beam of light housed a young Bruce Wayne, who, like every other Batman, sported blue eyes. However, upon seeing Shiller's image on the gigantic screen in front of him, he paused slightly.
Batman, from a universe where Batman's primary function was to stand guard atop rooftops as a tourist attraction. It was during one of these guard duties that he ended up here - a unique Batman.
The fourth beam of light revealed a figure in a red and blue uniform. The spider pattern on his chest was more distinct under the illumination.
Spider Man, from an unknown universe (but all universes were pretty much the same). At the moment, he looked bewildered, as though he were grabbed unexpectedly rather than volunteering as a spectator. He was also unclear about the origin of the intense atmosphere while the others glanced at each other.
The fifth beam housed a figure in a trench coat, smoking a cigarette and producing wafts of smoke. He coughed incessantly, as if he was about to cough up his scarce internal organs.
Constantine, again from an unknown universe (but all universes were pretty much the same). He knew how to gauge the atmosphere, but he was too lazy to wonder what these crazy Americans were thinking. Lost in his own world, he was occupied with his cigarette.
This puff of smoke drew the attention of two men. Lord Superman looked at him with cold eyes, while Joker Arthur seemed intrigued by the cigarette in his hand. His tongue moved in his mouth, swallowing what scarce saliva was left.
"Ahem! Ahem!" Host Owen coughed twice, waving his arms and shouting: "Pay attention, everyone, listen to me. Um, first of all, congratulations to you all for triggering the hidden spectator mechanism!"
"Once the number of simultaneous spectators reaches five, you can enter the special spectators hall and interact with other spectators. You are the first batch of spectators to arrive here."
"Wow, that's awesome!" Spider Man enthusiastically shouted.
The other four were silent as if they were dead.
Spider Man also quieted down, and Owen coughed twice awkwardly before saying, "You're pretty lucky. Don't you want to give yourselves a round of applause?"
Still, no response.
Just as Owen was about to continue, Lord Superman interjected firmly, "Get to the point or in three seconds, your brain will turn to ashes."
"No, no, no, no, no!" Owen let out a string of "no's", slightly recoiling as he said: "I know you've torched many people's brains, but I need mine to host."
"Turn off the heat ray in your eyes!" Owen screamed.
"Clark." Bruce spoke up.
Lord Superman turned abruptly to look at Bruce. On seeing his youthful visage, he paused momentarily.
Owen seized this opportunity to announce the rules: "You must all be aware that you need some points to spectate, right? The aim is to give you sufficient betting stakes."
"In spectator mode, when I propose that you can place bets, you can use the points in hand to bet on the duelists' performances or the outcome of certain events."
"To be fair, the viewing angle for spectators will have 360-degree unobstructed views. There would be no concealment whatsoever. Spectators could interact with each other but could not interfere physically with other's bets. By physical, I mean lasers, hitting, and other similar behaviors are strictly forbidden."
Lord Superman remained silent as if he hadn't heard anything, but his face clearly read "Even though you said that, I will still fry someone lucky's brain depending on the situation."
Resigned, Owen dropped his arm and said, "There's no fighting here. Try it if you want. You can't hurt anyone here."
"Go on." Bruce spoke.
"Alright, since you guys are the first to arrive, I can give you a privilege." Owen snapped his fingers, "Your first bet won't lose any points even if you lose. How about that? Isn't it spectacular? So, place your bets without fear."
"Wait." Spider Man suddenly raised his arm and asked, "How are the odds calculated? How will it be settled?"
"The odds will be announced during betting time. Of course, payment will be immediate. However, be careful, your score can go into negatives. If you don't compensate within three days, you're in bad luck."
"Another rigged house." Constantine, cigarette in mouth, said in his raspy, unclear voice: "When we find out we are in debt, you'll kindly offer us a high-interest loan, huh…"
"As you wish." Owen shrugged and said: "As long as you refrain from violence."
"Let's look at the competition site." Owen stepped aside, but even without doing so, he looked incredibly tiny in front of the massive screen.
Whatever technology was used, the screen gave a somewhat three-dimensional feel. The camera was focused on the billboard. The first runner, Beihan, seemed to walk into the projection room for real.
"Batman..." Superman Lord squinted slightly.
Then the second Batman appeared.
Superman Lord's eyes widened slightly.
Then came Natasha and Shiller.
Bruce noticed that Shiller wasn't wearing glasses. He sighed, not sure who he should mourn for.
Spider-Man made a slightly puzzled sound but was soon silent again.
When the first question about human nature was presented to them, Joker Arthur chuckled ambiguously upon seeing the two options.
However, when he saw the four tread further and further down the path of pessimism, his expression darkened, his eyes grew serious, and he mumbled a few words, though no one heard clearly.
"This is not pessimism." Superman Lord crossed his arms and said, "Human nature is so fragile that they're even weaker than animals, yet more complicated. What they need is restraint, not freedom."
Spider-Man slightly widened his compound eyes, looked at Superman Lord unbelievably. Constantine took a hit from his cigarette and said, "What they need is to be left alone, and then self-destruct. Only fools would think of saving everyone."
Seemingly oblivious to the threatening gaze Superman Lord shot him with, hinting at heat vision, Constantine pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and idly tossed the lighter and cigarettes to Arthur.
With his dry, trembling fingers, Arthur shakily pulled out a cigarette, hunched his shoulder to shield the flame from the wind, lit up the cigarette, took a big drag, then exhaled a puff of smoke.
"Thanks, I thought I'd have to stand here in silence until the end."
Arthur balanced the cigarette and lighter on the table in front of him with two fingers, then began to fumble around himself, suddenly letting out a surprised scream. He pulled out a tattered little flower from the pocket of his red suit.
He held the little flower with his slim fingers and tucked it into the cigarette packaging, then tossed the pack back to Constantine, grinning at him.
Arthur sniffed and looked back up at the screen where the four individuals had already made their second choice, essentially accelerating down the path of tragic heroism.
"They are realists." Arthur waved the hand holding his cigarette. "Usually, wealthy or influential people like them, and like you all, you are very naive."
"You all think, oh, humanity is beautiful. Because you sit in your luxury cars, pass by well-groomed roadside bushes, see a flower, and think that's your entire world for the day, so beautiful and vibrant."
"Big talk!" Arthur sniffed again, his neck muscles twitched as he huddled and smoked. "That's all the media talk about. But I know, destroying those flowers won't work, I've tried, but it's no use."
"What did you do?" Bruce asked curiously.
Arthur turned his head, tucked in his chin, peeking out from under his eyelids at Bruce. "I'd blow up their cars, to let them understand what people in those worlds they don't care about will spend their energy doing."
"Where'd you get a bomb?" Bruce asked again.
Arthur hunched his head back around and said, "That's not something you should be asking."
Superman Lord silently watched all this, his gaze lingering on Bruce's face for a long time, as if he wished he could see what was going on in his mind with his heat vision.
A Batman with no hatred for the Joker?
Superman Lord didn't know what he was thinking about at this moment, but he knew it didn't matter anymore. So, he turned his head back to the screen.
"...If you refuse to answer my questions, I would raise the cage by a meter. The question and answer session ends, the cage falls."
Just after the rules were read out, Spider-Man gasped, "God, did you hear what he just said? They kidnapped innocent bystanders from our universe and use them for these cruel experiments. Oh my God!"
Other than Constantine who slightly furrowed his brows, no one else reacted. Yet Superman Lord immediately turned to look at Bruce, carefully examining his face, almost noticing every muscle wrinkle, but saw no sign of anger.
Just as everyone was lost in thought, the arena suddenly erupted with screams one after another.
"Let me out, let me out, where am I? Am I dreaming?"
"Damn it, you kidnappers, I'm calling the police, I'll make sure you pay!"
"Help, help, help!"