Bruce Wayne was in a terrible mood.
Absolutely terrible.
If anything happened to Diana, he would be entirely to blame. It was he who contacted Diana and asked her to recruit Lothar; it was he who mistakenly identified Lothar as a Norse descendant.
"Wait, Bruce... Bruce Wayne? What's going on?" Barry Allen, quickly fumbling to buckle his seatbelt, spoke with a trembling voice.
Bruce Wayne had floored the accelerator so terrifyingly hard. The supercar's performance was pushed to its limit on Central City's main roads, the roaring engine mirroring Bruce Wayne's utterly miserable mood.
He wanted to roar too, but he couldn't.
He was Bruce Wayne, he was Batman.
Controlling his emotions was the key to Batman never falling, always soaring above Gotham.
Not every superhero could guarantee they wouldn't erupt in rage when facing Gotham's madmen, yet Bruce Wayne did.
Although many in Gotham scoffed at his methods. After all, while he instilled fear in Gotham's criminals, the number of eloquent individuals in Arkham Asylum only seemed to increase.
"Barry, let me ask you, are you familiar with Greek mythology?" Unconsciously, Bruce Wayne used his characteristic Batman voice.
"Greek mythology? Of course! Don't let this fool you, I actually loved reading extracurricular books when I was in school, like Captain Jack or Robinson Crusoe." After a machine-gun burst of words, Barry Allen realized he hadn't directly answered Bruce Wayne's question. He paused for half a second, forcibly steering the conversation back: "What I mean is, I actually read quite widely."
"Good." Leaving Barry Allen utterly bewildered, Bruce Wayne said nothing more. The expressionless, low pressure emanating from him forced Barry Allen, who had tried to speak several times, to swallow his words.
Son of Titan, why would he be looking at books about Norse mythology?
Do Titans and Norse gods have any common ground?
Without consulting his data, even Bruce Wayne couldn't immediately think of any connection between a Son of Titan and Norse gods.
"We're here. Get out." He slammed on the brakes. With the screeching of tires against the pavement, the supercar's gleaming body finally quieted its roar under the sunlight.
"Oh, right." Barry Allen, still in a daze, nodded and got out, following Bruce Wayne into the private jet that had been waiting for them.
"Cool~"
"So, where are we going now? Kansas?"
For the first time in his life boarding the private jet of one of the world's top billionaires, Barry Allen's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Although he didn't know why Bruce Wayne asked him if he knew Greek mythology, he was certain this private jet wasn't flying to Gotham.
"That's right, to Kansas to meet another member of our team." Bruce Wayne gazed out at the white clouds, taking a sip of the wine in his glass.
"Who is it?"
"Diana, a Greek demigod."
While he finished one glass of wine, Alfred, the butler back at the base, had already sent all the collected books and information on Greek and Norse mythology to Bruce's laptop.
The sheer volume and diverse names gave Bruce Wayne a headache. Even with his far-above-average memory and reading ability, digesting this much information in a short time wouldn't be easy.
The more he delved into this world's dark side and experienced more battles, Bruce Wayne ultimately had to admit what that madman had told him.
The more cunning a person was, the more they would fail in unpredictable situations.
Humans, after all, have their limits.
Not to mention recent events, just take the Doomsday incident.
Superman and Diana could exchange blows with that monster Doomsday, but he felt utterly powerless. So powerless that he was just a bystander, his only role perhaps being to provide the Kryptonite spear for Superman to kill Doomsday.
Although no one told him this, Bruce knew it himself. As he aged, his agility and reactions had begun to decline. Or rather, all aspects of his physical capabilities had declined to varying degrees compared to his peak in youth.
"Do you need my help?" Barry Allen's voice interrupted Bruce Wayne's thoughts.
"I mean, we're a team now, so it's normal for team members to help each other, right?" Bruce Wayne's gaze was imposing, and Barry Allen hastily spread his hands, clarifying his point to avoid any misunderstanding.
"Honestly, I'm quite good at handling this sort of thing."
"Of course." Bruce Wayne pushed the laptop in front of Barry Allen.
SWISH!
A fierce gust of wind whistled past, stirring Bruce Wayne's hair. The moment ice cubes dropped into a glass, accompanied by rising bubbles, Barry Allen's confident face appeared: "Done."
"I looked at the parts you marked. You're probably trying to find possible commonalities between them, right?" Barry Allen spread his hands, pushing the laptop back to Bruce Wayne.
"You know, my superpower is speed. This speed isn't just running speed; it also includes my reading speed, my thinking speed, my action speed." Under Bruce Wayne's gaze, Barry Allen spoke articulately.
"Oh, right, I should actually clarify something. In certain matters, I'm actually not fast at all. On the contrary, I can actually be quite... quite long-lasting. You know, that kind of thing, I can... I can control it independently." Perhaps Bruce Wayne's gaze made the sensitive Barry Allen feel uncomfortable. To maintain his dignity as a man, he explained himself again. His explanation was easy to understand.
"Wow, that's truly... a very convenient superpower." The smooth vintage wine went down, Bruce Wayne raised an eyebrow, and his gaze immediately shifted from Barry Allen to the computer screen. He suddenly felt that the wine didn't taste as good as it used to.
"Thanks." Barry Allen took a small sip of the Lafite in his glass, accepting Bruce Wayne's praise. It was his first time drinking such an old vintage of red wine, and the taste... it was just okay, he thought.
Barry Allen pursed his lips, strongly wanting to pour half a bottle of Sprite into it.
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