Chapter 29: proper introduction

Batman took advantage of Dane's momentary distraction, quietly sticking a patch-like device onto a countertop.

Cortana quickly notified Dane of the action, and he looked at the alert, rolling his eyes in response.

"I knew you were going to do something," he muttered.

After all, this was Batman—the same guy who once shook hands with Cyborg and transmitted a virus to him. It wasn't surprising that Batman would pull a stunt like this.

Dane knew Batman well enough to expect that, once they were a bit more familiar, he'd probably have kryptonite—or even a chunk of Eternal Metal—in his tactical belt.

But Dane didn't mind. If he had cared, he wouldn't have invited Batman in the first place.

Despite being only human, Batman was a master of tactical combat, rarely losing in a planned fight. The upcoming battles with Doomsday and Darkseid would be tough, and the Justice League would need his expertise. If it came down to it, they'd have to sacrifice the Flash.

"Now that I've joined you, can you tell me about your so-called confidential information?" Batman asked, now recovered and walking up to Dane's side.

With no choice but to let the non-members wait for Barbara's surgery to finish, Dane led his teammates to the Hall of Justice's conference room. He turned on the projector to play a video.

"I'm sure you're all curious about where we came from..." Dane began. "Even in your mind, you're probably already planning how to deal with us, if necessary."

Diana and Clark both turned to look at Batman, but he gave no reaction.

"I understand your thoughts and the need to plan ahead. Let's make things clear from the start."

The image of the Eternal Rock appeared on the big screen.

"This place is called the Rock of Eternity," Dane continued. "It was once the seat of the Wizarding Council and is considered the holy place of magic.

I'm sure by now you're willing to accept that magic exists in this world,"

Batman nodded, though it was clear he was still processing what he had seen.

"The Wizards' Council originally had seven members, but after many battles, there was only one left until I inherited Shazam's power.

The last wizard found me and gave me the power of Shazam, and I became a god."

"What is Shazam's power?" Batman asked.

"It's a combination of the power of six gods," Dane explained. "Don't think it's too overpowered. I didn't fully inherit the complete power of all six gods. I only borrowed a small part from each of them."

"Borrowed?" Batman echoed, emphasizing the word.

Dane smirked. "That's right. Shazam's power is borrowed from the gods. And theoretically, there's always a chance it could be taken back."

Batman couldn't quite tell if Dane was being truthful or not, but he filed the information away.

Then Batman seemed to remember something and asked, "When did you gain the power of Shazam?"

Dane held up one finger.

Batman raised an eyebrow. "A hundred years ago?"

Dane sighed, realizing the misunderstanding. Seeing Batman's reaction, his expression shifted slightly. "Could it have been a year ago?" Batman asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

Dane nodded, surprising everyone in the room.

It was clear that Dane had been planning all this for much longer than anyone had realized. What shocked them all was that he had achieved it all in just one year.

Batman's mind raced, the stakes growing higher. He was worried both about how competent their enemies were—and how skilled his own teammates had become.

"Alright," Dane continued. "Now that I've introduced myself, let me introduce Diana properly."

"As her name suggests, she is a princess—from the Amazons. She is the daughter of the Queen of the Amazons and Zeus, and unlike me, she's a true demigod," Dane explained.

He gave a brief summary of Wonder Woman's deeds, painting her as a figure who perfectly matched the legendary image people had of her. With nearly a thousand years of life experience, she must have seen and learned countless things, right?

Diana, however, felt a twinge of discomfort when she noticed the looks from her teammates.

She thought of herself as young at heart. Why did everyone insist on treating her like an ancient relic?

"The last person I'm introducing is the most important—Clark Kent, Superman," Dane said, shifting the room's focus.

"Formerly known as Kal-El, he's a Kryptonian," Dane added.

"Who?" Batman asked, momentarily caught off guard.

"A Kryptonian. He's from an alien planet," Dane clarified.

Batman's mind reeled. Among the three people Dane had introduced, there were two gods and one alien. Was anyone in this group even remotely normal?

Jason merely shrugged silently.

"I'm sure you've already witnessed the strength of Kryptonians," Dane continued.

Batman recalled their encounter at the Northern Ice Factory. The memory of Superman's imperviousness was fresh in his mind. Conventional human weapons were utterly useless against him.

When Batman had asked Clark about it later, the Kryptonian had nonchalantly admitted that bullets didn't just fail to pierce him—they didn't even register as pain.

Diana, for all her strength and invulnerability, at least felt the impact of bullets on her skin. Clark, however, seemed completely impervious.

How do you deal with someone like that if they have no weaknesses? Batman thought, feeling a headache coming on.

But Dane was just getting started.

"Although there's only one Kryptonian on Earth at the moment, in a few years, more of them will arrive."

Batman's temples pulsed. "What are they coming here for?"

"To conquer, enslave, and rebuild," Dane replied bluntly.

"How do you know this?" Batman asked, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

"Prophecy," Dane said, summoning a small golden spark at his fingertips. The sparks coalesced into a human face—one Batman had never seen before.

"This is General Zod, the leader of the incoming Kryptonians and a hawk of Krypton," Dane explained.

"Negotiation won't work," Dane continued. "He's not the type to compromise."

Seeing the projection of Zod's face in vivid detail, Batman could only accept the information with grim resolve.

"How many of them will there be?" Batman asked, already calculating possible strategies.

"Don't worry too much," Dane said. "Krypton has been destroyed for over twenty years. Zod's group is a small band of survivors—around a dozen in total."

He added with a faint smirk, "And in case I forgot to mention, Kryptonians derive their powers from the Yellow Sun of our solar system. The longer they're exposed, the stronger they get."

Dane gestured toward Clark. "At that point, Clark will have accumulated roughly thirty years of solar energy. Theoretically, he should be able to take on the other ten without a problem."

Batman frowned. It sounded optimistic, but he knew things were rarely that simple. Even if Clark had the raw power, holding off a dozen Kryptonians simultaneously would be a monumental task.

He turned to Clark and, without hesitation, asked, "Do Kryptonians have weaknesses? If so, what are they?"

Clark looked at him in disbelief. "I'm still here, you know."

Dane, unfazed by Clark's reaction, nodded. "Yes, Kryptonians have weaknesses—several, actually."

Clark's incredulous expression deepened. "I'm still here!"

Ignoring the pointed look from Clark, Dane continued, "First, there's magic. Kryptonians are somewhat resistant to magic, but it's nowhere near the level of their physical resistance. Magic can definitely harm them."

Batman nodded, filing away the information. He'd need to study this further.

"Second, certain nerve gases can affect their perception," Dane added.

"But be cautious," Dane added. "General Zod's group consists of professional soldiers. Tricks like these won't work for long."

Batman nodded thoughtfully, but inwardly sighed. Looks like the Scarecrow's fear gas I recently collected might not be as useful as I hoped.

Dane continued, "Third, Kryptonite is an effective way to restrain Kryptonians. It weakens them to the point where they can become even weaker than ordinary humans."

Batman's eyes lit up with interest. This is it—the ace in the card.

Still, he maintained a calm demeanor as he asked, "And where can Kryptonite be found?"

Clark, sitting nearby, finally had enough and looked up to the sky in exasperation. "I'm still here!"

Unfortunately for him, the two "strategists" completely ignored his indignant protests.

Dane shook his head regretfully. "At the moment, Kryptonite can't be found. It's only produced in Kryptonian environments, which are... well, nonexistent here."

Batman mirrored the regretful look but silently committed the information to memory. His instincts told him that, sooner or later, this knowledge would prove invaluable.

Dane decided not to elaborate further, though he knew there was another weakness.

Red sunlight.

Unlike Kryptonite, red sunlight doesn't directly harm Kryptonians, but it prevents them from absorbing the yellow sun's energy. Under prolonged exposure to red sunlight, Kryptonians lose their superhuman abilities as their "energy reserves" are depleted.

In essence, they'd revert to being ordinary mortals. Red sunlight would be ideal for containment or creating a Kryptonian-proof prison.

Dane had deliberately omitted this detail, though. Unlike Kryptonite, which required specific conditions to create or find, red sunlight was far easier to replicate. Batman's Wayne Enterprises research division, with its penchant for creating advanced technology, could undoubtedly develop red sun-based weapons on a large scale.

But if Dane handed that knowledge over now, wouldn't he essentially be arming Batman against his "good brother" Clark?

Dane thought with a sly grin, How could I be that kind of person?

No, such a valuable ace should remain in his hands. Let Batman keep searching for Kryptonite—Dane would keep red sunlight as his own trump card.

-----------

please support with power stone for more chapter, thanks you

continue read on patreon: patreon.com/StylishSlayer