"That's enough. If you want the Lazarus Pool, I'll give it to you."
Ra's al Ghul, who had just declared that the Demon's Head could never be threatened, finally gave in. His voice carried a restrained fury as fear forced him to compromise.
"Do not threaten me with Talia."
The man standing before him possessed terrifying power beyond anything Ra's al Ghul had encountered in centuries. His samurai and ninja warriors were helpless against him, unable to resist even for a moment.
This was an enemy unlike any other.
Ra's al Ghul had long believed he was beyond fear. He had witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations and orchestrated the destruction of cities without hesitation. But now a rare sense of unease crept into his heart like an incoming tide.
He was not certain he could protect his daughter from this man.
"There is a Lazarus Pool deep within the Rocky Mountains," Ra's al Ghul said through clenched teeth. "You will find what you want there."
He reluctantly provided a set of coordinates.
In truth, more than one Lazarus Pool existed across the world. Over centuries of searching, he had discovered several and established hidden bases near them.
There was no way he would reveal the location of the League of Assassins' main headquarters.
If he did, the organization he had spent centuries building might be destroyed casually by the man in front of him.
"Clark, take him. We're leaving."
Victor showed no intention of trusting Ra's al Ghul's words blindly. He tossed the captured man toward Clark.
He had no particular interest in the Lazarus Pool in the Middle East. As long as the water possessed healing properties, any pool would suffice.
The closer the spring was, the less damage Jonathan's body would suffer from the delay.
"Where are you taking him?"
A deep voice echoed from above.
Batman crashed through the glass dome overhead and descended gracefully, his cape spreading like wings as he landed.
His gaze lingered on the slightly battered Ra's al Ghul, his expression complicated.
"I suppose you're the real master ninja," Batman said slowly.
During his training with the League of Shadows, Ra's al Ghul had been his mentor. The man had taught him countless things, including the philosophy behind hiding one's true identity behind a terrifying symbol.
Only by becoming something inhuman could fear truly take hold.
At that time, they had been both teacher and friend.
"That monk you called the Ninja Master was just a puppet you placed there," Batman added.
"No," Ra's al Ghul replied with a faint sigh. "He was the Ninja Master when I was absent."
From the familiar shape of Batman's lower face, Ra's al Ghul recognized his former student immediately. He had already suspected the identity of Gotham's mysterious bat vigilante.
"You followed my teachings well," Ra's al Ghul said. "You hid your vulnerability behind a mask."
"That's enough."
Victor frowned impatiently.
He had no intention of giving the two of them time to reminisce.
"The conversation is over. If he didn't lie to me, I'll spare his life and return him to you."
Batman had helped him once already by providing the crucial clue.
Victor wouldn't forget that favor.
Before anyone could react, Victor and Clark vanished, carrying Ra's al Ghul away.
Their destination was the Rocky Mountains.
…
The Rocky Mountains stretched across North America like the continent's backbone.
Thousands of kilometers long, the range consisted of countless peaks and ridges, some named, many forgotten.
One remote branch of the mountains rose more than two thousand meters above sea level. The air there was thin and cold.
Snow blanketed the surrounding peaks, forming a magnificent white landscape.
Near the summit stood a hidden stone palace carved into the mountain itself.
Whoosh!
Victor and Clark appeared suddenly outside the structure, a gust of wind scattering snowflakes behind them as they arrived.
"We're here," Victor said calmly.
Clark immediately activated his vision and looked through the stone walls.
"There's a pool at the bottom of the palace," he said excitedly. "It's guarded by a lot of people."
Once they obtained the water, they could return and save their father.
But Victor remained cautious.
Just because a pool existed didn't mean it was genuine.
Ra's al Ghul was still in Clark's grasp, stunned by the unbelievable speed of their journey. Victor cast him a cold glance.
"You'd better not be lying," Victor warned. "Otherwise you should start preparing a coffin for your daughter."
Dozens of ninja assassins burst out of the palace, surrounding the two intruders with weapons drawn.
Victor glanced briefly at the tiny surveillance cameras hidden among the nearby cedar branches before looking away.
"You're quite advanced here."
"Everyone stand down," Ra's al Ghul ordered quickly.
The ninjas hesitated but obeyed.
Looking around at the familiar surroundings, Ra's al Ghul felt his mind swirl with disbelief.
These two men had transported him thousands of kilometers from Gotham to the Rocky Mountains in less than half an hour.
And both of them possessed the same impossible ability.
"Who exactly are you?" Ra's al Ghul asked quietly. "I have traveled the world and witnessed things beyond ordinary imagination. Yet I have never seen anyone like you."
"You don't need to know."
Ignoring the staring assassins, Victor and Clark escorted him deeper into the palace.
They entered a stone chamber carved from the mountain cave itself.
At the center sat a pool filled with glowing green water.
Under the dim lighting, the liquid cast an eerie reflection across Clark's face, tinting it green. Clark instinctively disliked the color and felt uneasy.
He glanced toward Victor.
"Is this really the pool you mentioned?"
"It doesn't look like a holy spring that can resurrect people," Clark added quietly. "It looks more like something from hell."
"Is this the Lazarus Pool?"
Victor crouched beside the water and dipped his hand into it.
It was his first time seeing the legendary liquid that supposedly revived the dead.
"Of course it's not perfect," Ra's al Ghul said with a sneer as he stared at his reflection in the pool.
"The Lazarus Pool heals wounds, resurrects the dead, and extends life. But excessive use comes with a price."
"Such as madness."
"Good things go in," he said calmly, "and something worse comes out."
Ra's al Ghul had known about the pool's mental corruption for centuries. But he never believed it had truly changed him.
Everything he had done was his own decision.
Clark looked at Victor in surprise.
Victor hadn't mentioned this earlier.
"Enough talk," Victor said.
He motioned for Clark to retrieve the large water bag they had brought.
Victor stood up, shaking the water from his hand.
"Even drinking too much ordinary water can kill someone," he said calmly.
Different theories existed about the Lazarus Pool's origin. Some believed it was formed from impure Dionysium—a liquid metal that granted immortality. Others believed it was the result of powerful magical energy.
"I'm not sure about other pools," Victor continued while staring at the green water, "but this one appears to originate from Dionysium."
His eyes narrowed slightly as an idea formed in his mind.
Even though his control over energy had not yet reached its peak, his perception of energy was incredibly sharp.
"Perhaps it stimulates negative emotions and amplifies a person's dark side," Victor said thoughtfully.
But dosage mattered.
Without considering dosage, any discussion about side effects was meaningless. Even ordinary people could fall into madness during a bad day.
Humans naturally possessed negative emotions. Temporary anger or depression could fade quickly if a person was mentally strong.
Clark hesitated.
In the end, he trusted Victor's judgment.
He had no other way to save their father.
"Whatever happens," Clark said quietly, "it's better than Dad dying from poison."
He filled the water bag, which was nearly half his height.
"We can go back now."
Clark glanced briefly at Ra's al Ghul. Because Victor had instructed him to hide their identities, Clark had avoided mentioning names or explaining their purpose.
"Wait."
Victor stopped him.
Now that they had secured a backup supply of the water, Victor felt confident enough to try something else.
He fired a beam of energy from his eyes into the pool.
The glowing green liquid began evaporating rapidly.
"What are you doing?" Ra's al Ghul shouted in shock. "Are you trying to destroy it?"
A blinding light filled the stone chamber.
Ra's al Ghul's expression darkened with anger.
Even though he possessed multiple Lazarus Pools, it was humiliating enough to be forced into revealing one. Watching it destroyed before his eyes was even worse.
Still, he remained silent.
Clark looked confused.
"If you don't want to be buried here," Victor said coldly, "keep quiet."
The cosmic energy blazing from Victor's eyes intensified, heating the boiling pool water further.
The Dionysium factor was named after the Greek god Dionysus, representing rebirth. Pure Dionysium could grant immortality and resurrection without driving people insane.
"If we obtain pure Dionysium," Victor said quietly, "Father's recovery will be safer."
And there was another reason.
"With Dionysium…"
"This kind of thing will never happen again."
Victor clenched his teeth.
He would go to hell and bargain with demons if it meant saving his parents' lives.
But if he could eliminate the possibility of danger entirely—
Why wouldn't he?
Within seconds, the massive pool more than ten meters wide completely evaporated. The ground beneath melted into boiling magma, filling the chamber with a suffocating sulfur-like smell.
Victor continued increasing the energy output.
The air inside the chamber grew dangerously thin.
Ra's al Ghul retreated quickly, struggling to breathe.
At the bottom of the chamber, the molten pit glowed brighter and brighter. The temperature exceeded the surface heat of the sun, rising to tens of thousands of degrees.
The heat filled the entire stone chamber.
Only Clark could endure it.
If Ra's al Ghul had stayed any longer, he would have been burned to ash.
Yet still no metal appeared.
Victor frowned.
"Is the Dionysium here too scarce to form?" he wondered. "Or has it sunk into the magma?"
Just as he considered stopping—
Something changed.
Above the molten magma, droplets of green metallic liquid began gathering together as if alive.
The shimmering substance condensed into a thumb-sized pool of liquid metal floating above the magma, separate from it like oil on water.
Victor's eyes lit up.
He moved instantly.
Running across the molten surface as if it were solid ground, he grabbed the dark green liquid metal and returned to Clark's side.
Sizzle.
The moment the Dionysium touched his palm, it began trying to seep into his body.
Victor immediately fired a precise energy beam, carving a stone test tube from the nearby wall. He sealed the liquid metal inside it and shook the container gently.
No leakage.
"Is that what you were looking for?" Clark asked curiously.
He stared at the test tube.
"What does it do?"
"It will make saving Father safer."
Victor's eyes flashed with determination as he gripped the tube tightly.
"Now…"
"We should go back."
....
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