7. Saving Superman (Part 1)
◎Ludwig: I have to go save him◎
Cyborg stood on top of the building. Heavy rain poured down like a waterfall, water gathering on his metal shell and flowing down.
He looked at the brightly lit city, his heart filled with sorrow.
The war between Atlantis and the Amazons was escalating. Neither Aquaman nor Wonder Woman wanted to give in, but the ones suffering the most were ordinary people.
They didn’t understand what fate awaited them. Would they resent him? After all, he had promised to protect everyone…
Batman refused to join them. Without a single commander, most people were unwilling to step into this war. Right now, only a handful answered Cyborg’s call.
A cold breeze brushed Cyborg’s cheek, making him shiver. The next moment, a hoarse voice came from behind.
“Cyborg.”
Batman suddenly appeared behind Cyborg. Rain fell on his cape but didn’t wet it at all.
Standing beside him was the red-clad young man whom Cyborg also recognized.
“Batman and… forensic expert Barry Allen,” Cyborg’s gaze swept over Barry. He didn’t understand why the young man was wearing a tight suit, nor why he was following Batman, but now was not the time to ask.
“Is there anything I can help with?” Cyborg turned to Batman. Even though his plan was forced to end because Batman refused, he was still willing to help this lone hero.
“I agree to join you,” Batman’s hoarse voice sounded in Cyborg’s ear. Cyborg turned back in surprise—just a day ago, Batman called them a rabble, and now he was willing to join them?
“May I ask what changed your mind?” Cyborg’s confused gaze shifted between Batman and Barry. “Did you change Batman’s mind?”
“Not entirely,” Batman blocked Barry’s side. “Now is not the time to discuss this. As a condition of my joining, I want to choose my own team members.”
“Who do you want?” Cyborg didn’t oppose, to him, Batman’s willingness to join was already the best outcome.
“Besides you and the Flash Barry, I also need the alien who landed in Metropolis back then.”
“…” Cyborg fell silent. He wasn’t born yet when that meteor fell, and the government’s official report called it a terrorist attack. Cyborg hadn’t investigated it himself, but since Batman said so, there must be a reason. So he asked,
“What should I do?”
“I need you to hack into the government’s network and retrieve all information about that incident,” Batman said.
Meanwhile, in the Batcave in Gotham, Alfred—called back by Thomas Wayne—was helping Ludwig assemble a supercomputer.
“Master Ludwig, it’s ready now.” Alfred had been called in temporarily to look after the boy. He wasn’t originally there, but as soon as Thomas asked, he came right over.
He arrived in such a hurry that he hadn’t even changed into his usual butler’s tailcoat before Ludwig hurriedly pulled him into the Batcave to start assembling the computer.
“Thank you, Alfred! Did my grandfather ever tell you that you’re the best family we have? If not, I have to say it now—look at what the manor would have become without you…” Ludwig wiped the grease off his face and hugged Alfred happily.
“I’m very glad to hear that, Master Ludwig,” the ever-elegant butler smiled warmly. He liked Ludwig very much—after all, no one liked the old, lifeless Wayne Manor. Mrs. Martha had gone mad, and Thomas had become a dark legend in Gotham. Perhaps Ludwig’s arrival could bring new hope to the Wayne family.
Ludwig turned on the computer and was about to say more words of thanks, but a rumbling noise interrupted him.
His face flushed. He hadn’t eaten much since waking up in the morning and had been busy with the computer assembly until now, when he suddenly realized he was hungry.
“It’s still a bit early for lunch. Perhaps you’d like some cookies first?” Alfred glanced at the time. Fortunately, before coming, he had prepared some cookies, just right for Ludwig to have a little something.
Ludwig nodded eagerly, staring at Alfred with hopeful eyes. Those were cookies—the favorite snack of the entire Wayne family. The first thing he did after learning spatial teleportation was to sneak home to steal cookies to eat.
Alfred took some cookies out of his suitcase and also prepared some milk for Ludwig, reminding him not to run around after drinking it, before going upstairs to prepare Ludwig’s lunch with peace of mind.
Meanwhile, Ludwig was tinkering with his supercomputer in the Batcave. Over the years, Bruce had learned everything, and Ludwig had learned everything from Bruce as well. Fortunately, he had a super brain rivaling Superman’s, otherwise, he’d be completely lost by now.
Ludwig was now connecting the Batcave’s computer to satellites. Thanks to some Wayne Group manager with sharp insight into world development, there were at least one or two satellites in the sky bearing the Wayne name.
“All right, let me see what I can do to help.” Ludwig bit on a cookie, his hands flying swiftly over the keyboard. The screen was split into countless windows, and places around the world flashed quickly across the computer display.
“This isn’t it, this isn’t right either…” Ludwig swallowed the cookie, then by chance, on one of the small monitoring screens, he saw a scene he didn’t want to see.
“Wait… is that… Clark?”
In Ludwig’s eyes, Clark was almost omnipotent. Bruce liked to jokingly call Ludwig the all-powerful little god, but in reality, Clark was the one who truly deserved the title of god.
He had super hearing, freezing breath, and many other powers. Many of Ludwig’s skills were learned from Clark as ways to suppress his own abilities.
You could say Clark was another teacher in Ludwig’s life.
Not to mention his abilities, his appearance perfectly fit human ideals of beauty—strong body, sculpted features—no matter how you looked at him, he shouldn’t look as skeletal as he did.
Yes, this person in front of him, although dressed like Superman, was emaciated. It was as if he was seeing the sun for the first time, staring in astonishment at the red sun.
“What exactly happened to this world…” Ludwig couldn’t imagine what Clark had gone through. He felt he should do something, at least not just sit here watching the monitors.
Ludwig stood up, then absentmindedly sat back down.
He forgot—he no longer had superpowers, he couldn’t just instantly appear beside Clark.
“Master Ludwig, it’s time for lunch.” Since the manor upstairs was still in ruins and couldn’t be restored to its original state for now, Alfred had no choice but to bring the meal down to the Batcave to eat.
At least the table here was intact.
Ludwig didn’t move, he was thinking about how to get to Clark. At this moment, he deeply regretted relying on his ability to teleport and not learning how to drive. He should have obediently learned when Damian was teaching him.
Alfred noticed Ludwig hadn’t moved and, somewhat curious, walked over to him.
“Master Ludwig?”
“Alfred…” Ludwig bit his lip and asked sheepishly, “Do you know how to fly a plane?”
Right after he said it, Ludwig regretted it. How could Alfred, a World War II veteran from the British Army Special Forces, not know how to fly a plane?
“What I mean is… um… does Grandpa Thomas have a plane I can use? I feel like there are some things I can help with.”
Alfred was momentarily taken aback. According to Thomas’s instructions, he only needed to temporarily take care of Master Ludwig, which included making sure Ludwig didn’t wander off.
But looking at Ludwig’s shy face, Alfred suddenly relaxed.
“Of course, Master Ludwig. I remember there’s a private plane on the tarmac. I think we can borrow it.”
Hearing this, Ludwig finally relaxed. He looked at Alfred, his eyes curved with a smile. “Thank you, thank you, Alfred.”
“No need to thank me, Master Ludwig. It’s my honor to be of help.”
A private plane was nothing rare for the Wayne family, but a private plane that could be immediately mobilized was a true display of the Wayne family’s power.
Ludwig didn’t have time to wait for Thomas to return. He quickly ate something and then went to the tarmac with Alfred.
The plane was already prepared, just waiting for Ludwig’s orders.
Alfred put on his goggles and carried Ludwig onto the plane with one arm.
“Pardon my frankness, Master Ludwig, you’ve gotten a bit light,” Alfred joked.
“I’m eating, I’m eating,” Ludwig covered his face. He had clearly eaten a lot, so how was Alfred still able to pick him up?
Once on the plane, after Alfred finished adjusting all the equipment, Ludwig instinctively connected his phone to the plane’s navigation system.
“May I ask one more question?” Alfred asked as he piloted the plane into the air, glancing at Ludwig beside him. “What exactly are you looking for?”
Ludwig nodded. “We’re going to find the strongest god in this world. With him, I think it will be easier to achieve Thomas and the others’ goal.”
Alfred nodded, curious about the kind of person who could earn such praise.
“Besides that…” Ludwig hesitated, feeling a bit embarrassed. “He’s also my teacher. He’s helped me a lot on my life path… I guess.”
“That must be a kind-hearted gentleman,” Alfred said with a quiet smile. Being with Ludwig was very relaxing. That robbery back then trapped not only the Waynes but also Alfred.
So, Ludwig’s arrival was probably one of the few hopes this world offered the Wayne family.