mtl008 Chapter 4365 The Justice League Assembles (3)
Chapter 4365 The Justice League Assembles (3)
Chapter 4365 Justice League: Assemble (Thirteen)
In the dimly lit laboratory, the Black man sitting at the lab bench adjusted his glasses and looked up at another figure busy at the same bench. The other man looked young and had a refined air, but he had a shaved head. A hint of weariness appeared on his face, but his hands moved with undiminished speed.
"Doctor, could you please export that Kryptonian air composition analysis report for me again?" the bald young man said without looking up. "I need to do one last comparison. If all goes well, the synthesis was successful."
The Black man stood up, walked to the printer next to him, printed out the report again, handed it to the young man, and said, "You should take a break, Mr. Luther."
“I’m fine, Dr. Stone. By the way, has Superman contacted you again? Has his desensitization training stopped?”
The Black man, referred to as Dr. Stone, shook his head and said, "No, he no longer needs desensitization."
Lex looked up at him.
"That became a part of him."
"I don't know."
“He absorbed kryptonite,” Dr. Stone said, spreading his hands. “I know it sounds incredible, but he did it, which proves that this race is more powerful than we thought and truly has limitless potential.”
"Hmph." Lex snorted coldly, then said, "So strong, and you still managed to wipe yourself out?"
“Human civilization is still very young.” Dr. Stone’s voice remained calm as he said, “Modern Homo sapiens have only been around for a short time, and we don’t seem to be facing an extinction crisis yet because we are still toddlers. The real test of our physical strength will come when civilization reaches middle or old age.”
“I don’t think we’ll make it to middle age or old age,” Lex said coldly. “Those damn politicians and officers, if they were to rule the world, they’d be doomed before they even learned to walk.”
After he finished speaking, he paused for a moment, then said with some indignation, "I really don't understand why you, as an expert in the field of extraterrestrial research, would obey them..."
“I’m no longer under their command,” Dr. Stone said. “I have Superman and Colonel Jones to thank for that. They helped me break free from the military’s control and allowed me to conduct my research freely.”
“I mean, in the past.” Lex took a deep breath.
Dr. Stone sat back down in his seat, placed his hands on the table, and said, “You are a very wealthy man, born with the Luther Corporation, so you can let your intelligence serve only yourself. But I can’t. I am just an ordinary person, and my knowledge and skills will inevitably be used by others.”
“But the military is the worst option!” Lex said, clearly still shaken. He raised his voice. “They’re so evil and stupid that Superman doesn’t even seem like an eyesore to me anymore!”
“I have no choice,” Dr. Stone said, shaking his head slightly. “Whom I work for depends on who comes to me first.”
“But in my opinion, with your academic level, you don’t need to rely on Superman’s power to get rid of them, really.” Lex nodded and said, “I’m not good at flattering people, but you are absolutely a beacon of light in the human scientific community when it comes to research on extraterrestrials and aliens. There should be many people willing to take you in outside of this damn country we’re in, and you can shine just as brightly there.”
"You mean the Soviet Union, or China?" Stone lowered his eyes and said, "I certainly considered it, but... something unexpected happened."
"Accident?"
Dr. Stone nodded and said, "Yes, it was an accident. That accident left me here and unable to leave."
"What accident?"
Dr. Stone shook his head and said nothing more.
Suddenly, his phone rang. He picked it up, and a cold voice came from the other end: "Hello, Dr. Stone. You don't need to know who we are or how we contacted you. You just need to know one thing—the election results are very unfavorable to us, and we are trying to get a revote. And a few days ago, a madman broke into the Capitol Building; he has a series of photos of the horrific events that happened in Blue State. We need it, and you only have three days."
"Why do you think I would be threatened by you?" Dr. Stone frowned slightly.
"Of course it's because you still have a weakness. You have a son, right? I heard he had an accident before, and the military rescued you and your son. Although the military can stop us from finding you, they can't stop us from finding your son. You'd better think it over carefully."
Dr. Stone hung up the phone. He let out a long sigh and rubbed his forehead wearily.
“See, I told you, they’re just that despicable, shameless, and persistent.” Lex hadn’t heard the specifics of the call, but he could roughly guess what it was about. He said, “If you back down, they’ll push you to the edge of a cliff and then kick you off.”
Lex put down his work, walked up to Dr. Stone, and said, "Are they threatening you with someone important to you? Don't you know those superhumans? Why don't you ask them to rescue them?"
“It’s not that simple,” Dr. Stone said. He opened his mouth, seemingly hesitant to speak, but after a long pause, he shook his head and said nothing. He then picked up his phone and dialed a number.
“Hello? Victor? You…is that you? I need a little more time. I…I’m sorry, I can’t guarantee I won’t be able to make it on the anniversary of your mother’s death…I really have my reasons, I’m so sorry…”
In the living room, various household items were scattered haphazardly, clothes were draped carelessly over the backs of chairs, and the coffee table was piled high with all sorts of energy drinks. The television, which had been left on all the time, had raised the room temperature by several degrees. A young man wearing a hoodie, sitting on the sofa, slammed down the phone, threw it aside, and slumped back onto the sofa.
He covered his face, but still couldn't get used to the cold, mechanical touch in his palms. He lowered his hands, and as he sat up again, the hood fell down. The face of the young Black man appeared, but only half of it; the other half was metal with red eyes.
He stood up and was walking towards the door when he suddenly stopped and picked up a group photo from the cabinet next to him: his dad, wearing a plaid shirt and smiling, his mom, excitedly hugging him, and himself, wearing a rugby uniform and holding a trophy.
He pursed his lips tightly, put the photo back in its place, pulled up his hood, put his hands in his sweatshirt pockets, and went out the door.
He came to the main street, walking forward with his head down, glancing left and right every now and then, until he crossed the main street, walked two more streets, and came into a dark alley. He squatted down next to a wall, and after a short while, another black man in a jacket came over.
He stood up, took out two stacks of US dollars from his hoodie pocket, looked around, and was about to hand the money to the other person when two policemen suddenly rushed out from the alley entrance.
"Put your hands where we can see them! Take your hands out!"
The two men immediately stretched out their hands. The policeman, gun at the ready, approached, shouting, "Get down on the ground! Put your hands where we can see you, then get down on the ground!"
Both men lay face down with their hands up. Two officers walked over and handcuffed them. One of the officers went over and felt around the black man in the jacket, then said, "Now we're going to conduct a body search according to the law. Which pocket is the drug in?"
“I don’t have drugs,” he said. “I’m not a drug dealer.”
“We’ve seen you make the deal,” another officer said, picking up the stack of dollars. “This is the stolen money, right? Names.”
"Delhi Frankfurt".
"Victor Stone".
The policeman walked over and took off Victor's hood, but the moment he saw Victor's face, he took two steps back in shock: "What the hell!"
Victor sighed and said, "We're not in a drug deal. I owe him money, and I'm here to pay him back."
"Shut up, you two damn drug addicts! Do you think we'd believe your lies? Hand over the drugs now!"
“Go ahead and search,” Derry said nonchalantly. “I’ll have my dad sue you into bankruptcy; he’s the state attorney general!”
The two policemen paused. Victor, leaning against the wall, said, "My father is the research director of STAR Labs, which is a U.S. military lab. You'd better not do anything stupid."
The two policemen exchanged a glance. They had waited so long just to catch two big fish, they weren't going to let them go so easily. So he said, "Let's talk at the police station."
“We’re not going with you,” Victor said. “You have two choices: either get out of here and pretend this never happened, or I’m going to use force in self-defense.”
"How could you..."
With a sizzle, Victor's eyes shot out a beam of red light that struck the wall beside him. The two policemen were so frightened that they ran away in terror. Victor tore off the handcuffs, then unlocked Derek's handcuffs as well.
“These two have definitely been watching us for a long time,” Delhi said.
“If you hadn’t arranged to meet us here, we wouldn’t have been mistaken for drug dealers,” Victor said, somewhat disgruntled. “I didn’t even dare to bring my bag, or they would have thought I was robbing a bank.”
Delhi picked up the stack of dollars from the side, counted them, and said, "That's about enough. It's getting cold, so we can buy the children a few more clothes."
"Don't be stingy with it, I have more here if you don't have enough. But we really need to think of a better way, otherwise, even if I can get more money from the banking system, I won't be able to give it to you safely."
“You’re really something.” Derry punched him and said, “Others get superpowers and then kill, plunder, and loot, but you’re going to take money from bankers’ pockets to help the poor.”
"Who said that? Didn't Superman do a great thing the other day?" Victor said with a smirk. "Those old men on Capitol Hill almost froze to death on the streets of Metropolis."
"Hahahaha! I was just about to tell you about this! He did an absolutely brilliant job. You have no idea, since the heating subsidy was canceled, more than a dozen families haven't been able to pay. If it weren't for you, they probably would have frozen to death..."
"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Let's go see them. How's Madeline? She just gave birth, she needs to eat more meat. And Finch, he should be starting middle school soon, right?"
"They're all nice. Let's go, they've been missing you too."
The two walked side by side through two more streets and arrived at a street that was noticeably dilapidated. The buildings lining the street were all tall and looked quite impressive, but as night approached, only the lower floors were lit. When they entered the building's lobby, the area around the elevators was covered in a layer of dust. They didn't go that way, but instead took the stairs directly upstairs.
Victor surveyed the building and sighed inwardly. The property management had left about 12 years ago, and security had long since ceased. It was known as one of the worst neighborhoods in terms of crime, rife with gangs and drug dealers. But just over a decade ago, property prices here rivaled those in wealthy areas, and it was hailed as the "future city center." Now, only ruins remained.