Injustice Batman and Injustice Superman wanted to ask Oliver for a contact method, but Oliver shook his head and said, "When you arrive, the Professor will naturally reach out to you. Go."
The two had no choice but to hurry to Gotham as quickly as possible.
After arriving in Gotham, no one contacted them. But Batman being Batman, this was no obstacle for him.
They found a hotel. Batman used Bruce Wayne's identity to check in, handed the room card to Injustice Superman, and said, "Go to sleep."
Injustice Superman sneered and said, "I never thought that one day Batman's first mission would be to sleep."
"I also didn't expect you to be so persuasive when explaining your tardiness at the Justice League meeting by saying the alarm clock malfunctioned."
Hearing him expose his past, Injustice Superman just snorted. He didn't expect that as they entered the elevator, Injustice Batman would smile and say, "I once suggested to Lois to throw away that broken alarm clock and buy a new one. Guess what she said?"
As Injustice Batman finished speaking, the elevator doors closed. Injustice Superman stood dumbfounded at the door.
He didn't expect Batman to mention Lois.
No one dared to bring up that name in front of him.
He knew very well the story behind the alarm clock. Each time he and Lois overslept and were late for a meeting, he would deceitfully claim that his home's alarm clock was broken.
Superman wasn't good at lying and always used the same excuse. Everyone could see through it, but they tacitly said nothing, sometimes just smiling at him.
He hadn't expected Batman to actually verify with Lois. He could already imagine how angry and embarrassed Lois must have been at the time.
Injustice Superman closed his eyes, his mind full of mornings spent with Lois. Sunlight spilled onto the soft blanket, filling every half-dreaming, half-awake moment with the scent of her favorite camellia shampoo. Until today, until now.
When Injustice Superman reached the room, he realized Injustice Batman had only booked one room.
"Considering our safety, we should stay together," Injustice Batman said. "I refused any room service, and they promised to ensure security."
Injustice Superman now understood why the hotel receptionist looked at him strangely.
"You do have quite a reputation," Injustice Superman commented with a hint of sarcasm.
The hotel bed was huge, more than enough for two adult men. They each lay on one side; Injustice Batman folded his hands over his abdomen, while Injustice Superman crossed his arms, adopting a vigilant posture.
Injustice Batman closed his eyes, and soon his breathing became even and his brainwaves stabilized.
Injustice Superman, however, couldn't fall asleep, his mind filled with scenes from the past. First Lois, then Batman, and finally the Joker's wicked and insane face.
"Wake up... wake up..."
Injustice Superman was suddenly startled awake, and as he opened his eyes, a pale face appeared before him.
"Bang!"
"Ow!"
A figure staggered back a few steps, clutching the eye punched by Injustice Superman, grimacing at him.
Injustice Superman came to his senses, realizing he wasn't in the hotel room but at the side of the road below the hotel.
Strangely, the bustling road was devoid of cars, except for a large truck parked before him.
It seemed he realized what he had seen and suddenly looked towards the figure.
"Joker!!!!"
The figure rubbed its eyes and rolled its eyes at Injustice Superman, saying, "Why are you shouting so loud? Yes, I'm the Joker, what do you want?!"
"You damn bastard! Why do you keep appearing in my dreams again and again?! I've told you, no matter how many times you come, I will tear you to pieces!!"
Injustice Superman roared at him, his tone full of anger but with a hint of concealed fear and sadness.
"What more do you want? Do you want to kill Lois in front of me again?! I've told you, I won't be afraid of you! I'll kill you once more, whether Batman or anyone else tries to stop me, I'll do it! No one can stop me!!"
Injustice Superman charged at the figure madly, but this time, unlike reality, his punch didn't go through the chest. The figure flickered and then disappeared.
"You bastard! Despicable, shameless, filthy rat! Are you afraid? Turns out you can be afraid too?!"
"Can you calm down..."
Injustice Superman charged again like a madman, but the figure dodged onto the truck, stepped on the gas, and with a "bang," Injustice Superman was hit and sent flying.
He fell to the ground, the pain clear, as if every bone in his body had been shattered. His head ached intensely, and his vision began to blur.
The figure got off the truck again, came to his side, and waved a hand in front of his eyes, saying, "Can you snap out of it? I'm not the Joker from your universe, and I didn't kill your little girlfriend..."
"Lois..." Injustice Superman looked to the side as if he saw something, but there was nothing there.
"Whatever you saw, it's just your illusion," the figure said. "Get up quickly; I have to pick up someone else."
Saying that, without waiting for Injustice Superman's permission, they picked him up from the ground and threw him into the truck's compartment.
Injustice Superman felt as though he had lost consciousness; one moment was the scene of Joker killing Lois, the next was the hotel room, and then Batman speaking into his ear.
After a while, he vaguely heard two people conversing.
"It's not like I wanted to find you, but this guy has gone mad. As soon as I picked him up, he punched me. If you don't cure him, what about the plan later?"
Then Injustice Superman heard a sigh. Another figure appeared before him, waving a hand in front of his eyes.
"Wake up, Clark. Wake up."
He heard the call but couldn't respond. It seemed he was unable to move at all.
"This won't work," he heard the other person say. "Let him go to the next layer of the dream."
"Dingling!"
A crisp bell rang from the room. A strong arm stretched out from under the blanket and swung fiercely, causing the alarm clock to fall to the ground, silencing it.
Clark drowsily opened his eyes and saw Lois sitting at the bedside, her long hair loose, applying cream.
"What time is it?"
"It's 9 o'clock, dear."
"Damn, I'm going to be late!" He hurriedly emerged from the blanket and rushed to the bathroom, then heard Lois's voice coming from the bedroom:
"It's Sunday today, you don't have a Justice League meeting. But you have an appointment with your psychiatrist at 10, so you better hurry."
"Psychiatrist?"
"Yes, didn't you say you've been feeling anxious lately because of the deadline? I made an appointment for you with the psychiatrist my classmate introduced me to, he's really hard to book, so don't be late."
"...Oh, okay." Clark replied drowsily.
Standing up from the toilet, he turned on the faucet at the washbasin. The surface of the water reflected a pair of light blue eyes. Suddenly, some gruesome images appeared before him.
"Uh..."
Clark held one side of his head, propping his elbow on the sink, and leaned painfully to one side. He barely managed to steady himself before nearly falling.
Lois pushed open the door and asked him, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Clark suddenly looked up at her, grabbed her arm, and then embraced her. Feeling the real touch in his arms, Clark let out a long sigh.
"It's nothing, I probably just... had a nightmare."
"A nightmare? What did you dream about?"
"Dreamed someone killed you, a madman."
"You're just under too much pressure," Lois said. "When you see the psychiatrist today, you can talk to him about it, you'll feel better soon."
Clark nodded, not saying anything further. He finished his grooming, put on a jacket, and went out. After getting in the car, he found a business card next to the steering wheel, on which was embossed in elegant English letters—"Schiller Rodriguez."
The car stopped in front of a two-story building. Clark knocked on the door, and some sounds came from inside the house. Soon, a man walked over and opened the door.
He was dressed in a neat suit, wore glasses, and indeed looked very much like a psychiatrist. Clark followed him inside.
"Dr. Rodriguez?" Clark asked.
Schiller nodded, picked up a nearby appointment list, glanced at Clark, and said, "Clark Kent, reporter for The Daily Planet?"
Clark nodded. Schiller led him to sit on the sofa nearby and said, "First time seeing a psychiatrist?"
Clark nodded again, reached up to touch his lips, and sat on the sofa with his legs together, appearing somewhat restrained.
"Don't be nervous, this is much easier than surgery." Schiller sat opposite him, looking into his eyes, "Your condition indeed doesn't look good. I see the reason for your appointment states excessive work pressure; can you tell me about your work?"
"Just... interviews and writing reports, nothing special." Clark said dryly.
"It seems the problem isn't here." Schiller took the water cup nearby, poured a glass of water for Clark, then said, "Before you came, Ms. Lois called me saying you had a nightmare related to her, would you like to talk about it?"
"I don't know..."
"Don't know what?"
"I dreamed she died, but somehow she didn't. I don't know if I'm still dreaming."
"Can you tell me more details?"
"She was killed by a criminal."
"Where? Where was she killed?"
"Seems like... seems like Gotham."
"Gotham? Are you sure?"
"Yes, it was Gotham."
"There's no city like Gotham, where did you come across this term?"
"What?" Clark opened his mouth in surprise. He looked at Schiller and said, "No Gotham? Then... what about the city next to Metropolis?"
"You mean next to New York? Boston or Philadelphia?"
"Not New York, Metropolis, the one we're in now..."
"We're currently in New York."
Clark sat there in bewilderment. Suddenly, he stood up, feeling everything around him spinning.
"I must be dreaming," Clark said, "I'm still in a dream, it must be another damned Joker's conspiracy! He sent me into a new dream..."
"Calm down, Clark. Who is Joker? Is it the criminal who killed Lois?"
"Yes, it's him! You're his accomplice too!" Clark shouted at Schiller, "What are you trying to do? I won't let you succeed!"
"It seems your situation is indeed very bad, you're already showing very typical symptoms of mental confusion and delirium. I think I need to refer you to a more specialized hospital, medication may help you."
"No, this is a dream." Clark gritted his teeth and said, "This is my dream, so I can do whatever I want. I want you to disappear, I want all of this to disappear!"
Schiller stood opposite him and said, "Alright, as you wish."
Everything suddenly shattered, leaving nothing but endless darkness.