"What did you say?"
"You can control the Kryptonian spaceship?"
Alfred frowned. This entirely blue robot cat in front of him seemed oddly familiar, as if he'd seen a similar face somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it at the moment.
"No, I said I can try to control the Kryptonian spaceship." As a meticulous artificial intelligence, Woz wouldn't make a definitive guarantee without 100% success rate. This was its strict principle as a robot cat.
"Then what's your success rate?" Mera asked.
"Based on the data regarding the Kryptonian spaceship in the database, Woz has a 77% success rate of control." A blue light screen appeared before Mera and the two others. The clear number on the screen filled Mera and Lois with unexpected surprise.
77% probability was already quite high.
"Wait, you're the one who infiltrated the Batcave database?"
Compared to the two women's joy, Alfred, as Batman's butler, focused on something else. The large-faced cat logo in the bottom right corner of the blue screen finally made him remember why Woz seemed so familiar.
"Infiltrated the database?"
"If you're referring to Bruce Wayne's personal secret database, then yes." Woz's admission was straightforward. With a wave of its hand, several confidential folders replaced the 77% figure, reflected in the eyes of the three present.
"Research Data and Weakness Analysis of Diana Prince"
"Analysis of Superman Clark's Power Composition"
"Analysis of Kryptonite Weapon Applications"
"Feasibility of Defeating Superman"
"Superman's Death Plan"
"......"
The clear list made Alfred look down, feigning disinterest, while Lois Lane, seeing these folders for the first time, was visibly incredulous.
"Alfred, is this real?" Lois Lane asked, pointing at the files on the screen. She couldn't imagine Batman, who always presented a composed and brooding image, secretly conducting so much research on her boyfriend.
"Wait, "Detailed Analysis of Bruce Wayne's Weaknesses"?"
"Don't tell me he even wrote down ways to kill himself."
Mera curiously clicked to the next page and was aghast to discover that the deranged Bruce Wayne had not only thoroughly researched Clark but hadn't even spared himself.
"Ahem, that's all in the past now. Right now, the most important thing is what we do after controlling the Kryptonian spaceship?"
"If I recall correctly, we no longer have the Mother Boxes."
Alfred coughed, decisively changing the subject. If they continued discussing this, trouble would surely brew.
"Attract Darkseid's attention to buy time for His Highness Lothar's resurrection."
Woz straightforwardly gave the answer.
"???"
"???"
Alfred and Lois Lane exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in the other's eyes. Weren't they talking about resurrecting Clark? Why had the subject changed again?
"Resurrect Lothar?"
"Are you serious?"
"Woz, do you really have a way to resurrect Lothar?"
Mera's eyes widened instantly at the words, looking as if she feared Woz would blurt out: I was just kidding.
"In fact, His Highness Lothar isn't dead."
"Or rather, His Highness Lothar is only dead in the conventional sense, nothing more."
Facing Mera, the only one it could currently trust, the reactivated Woz revealed the contingency Lothar had left.
After his initial encounter with Darkseid, Lothar realized that his current power was insufficient to defeat Darkseid and reclaim the Mother Boxes. Thus, during that brief moment after landing and drinking the nutrient fluid, Lothar conceived an extremely high-risk plan.
A way to get him closest to the Mother Boxes as quickly as possible—death.
"No matter who it is, they'll lower their guard around a corpse they personally created, and Darkseid is no exception."
"This is the confidence of the strong."
"And His Highness Lothar was killed by Darkseid's own hand."
Woz solemnly changed the content on its panel, using a simulated combat model to reenact the scene of Lothar's and Clark's deaths. Of course, because a Darkseid model couldn't be constructed, Woz opted to represent him with a red dot.
"Wait, Lothar's hair."
After reviewing the simulation with Woz, a now calmer Mera immediately noticed the blind spot. Lothar's hair was still golden even after he had lost all signs of life; it hadn't reverted to its normal black color.
This didn't make sense.
When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out, but Lothar's current state was like a lamp that surprisingly remained lit after its oil ran out.
"Precisely."
"There is still a power within His Highness Lothar that preserved his last sliver of life."
"The Reality Stone of the Infinity Stones. Of course, you probably don't know what that is."
Woz extended its plump little hand and pressed the screen, rewinding the footage. On the screen, just before Lothar actively shut down Woz's program, a faint dark silver stream of light had suddenly appeared on his body.
"That is one of the supreme treasures of our universe, existing in both solid and liquid forms."
"And currently, it exists in liquid form within His Highness Lothar's body, preserving His Highness Lothar's last trace of life through its virtual reality ability."
The Reality Stone, virtual reality. This was something Lothar had carried with him ever since Odin sent him away with the Space Stone. Because it was separated from its native universe, the Reality Stone had always quietly rested in his bracelet's space, causing no trouble. It understood that once separated from its birthplace, it would truly vanish if its energy ran out and wasn't replenished.
That is, until Lothar actively used it. He used it to distort his own body, preserving his last trace of "life."
This final "life" was like a tiny flame. As long as someone "ignited" the Mother Box and guided its power to Lothar, the flame, given fuel, would rapidly flare up and burn. Lothar would naturally be resurrected as well. At the same time, the resurrected Lothar would also receive a power boost from the Mother Box.
"But..."
"Why was Lothar so sure that Darkseid would leave his corpse?"
"If he had just destroyed his body, wouldn't Lothar's plan have failed?"
Alfred, influenced by Bruce Wayne, frowned, looking at the problem from another angle.
"Because His Highness Lothar believed Darkseid would be interested in his corpse."
"He gambled?" Lois Lane's eyes held a hint of disbelief. Could someone really be willing to gamble their life?
"Yes," Woz affirmed.
For Lothar, his goal in this world was singular: find the Mother Boxes, then go home.
The obsession to return home was enough for Lothar to stake his life on this fifty-fifty chance.
The reason he actively shut down Woz's system was because he trusted Woz. He trusted that Woz, who had been with him since childhood, would definitely be able to guide the Mother Box's power into him.
Success meant he would use the Mother Boxes to break his power through to another level; as for failure, Lothar never considered it.
Since death was the only outcome either way, what was the point of worrying? Life and death were trivial; if you weren't satisfied, you fought!
"Lothar, he..."
"Where did he get that confidence? It's just..." Mera was at a loss for words.
"Because His Highness Lothar trusts you, Lady Mera." Woz raised its head, the innocent, large-faced cat beginning its performance.
"Remember the nutrient fluid His Highness Lothar gave you?"
"That was the last one."
"With it, Barry Allen can recover quickly."
"And you, Lady Mera, you are the key to His Highness Lothar's resurrection."
Woz pointed to the Golden Trident in Mera's hand.
"Trusts... me?"
Mera's eyes widened, and she involuntarily tightened her grip on the trident. The cold metallic sensation surged through her heart.
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