A day later, the North Pole, Fortress of Solitude.
Clark took off his shirt and lay on the bed made of crystal. Various sophisticated instruments were scanning him from head to toe. Jay, Carla and Batman were all around the bed, staring at him without blinking. while the scan is in progress.
It seemed like a century had passed for both the inspector and the person being inspected, the light of the instrument finally dimmed, and a beep sounded indicating the completion of the scan. Batman studied for a while in front of the panel displaying the readings, and said lightly: "The match is 100%, and there should be no problem with the data."
Clark smiled and sat up, reaching for his shirt: "Look, I told you I was real this time."
"Wait, Clark," Batman interrupted. "I need you to do it again, to check the results."
Clark paused and said with a bitter face: "Do it again? You know that the technology of the fortress never goes wrong, so it's unnecessary, right?"
Batman didn't say a word, but the look behind the eyepiece told him where he stood. Clark muttered something in a low voice, but lay back obediently. Batman restarted the program and watched as these complex high-tech instruments scanned Clark from scratch. In fact, if he could, he might even want to take Clark's soul out and examine it inside and out.
"The reading is still normal," Batman said, looking at the second reading.
"I told you," Clark muttered, pulling on his shirt.
Kara asked tentatively, "What about your spirit? Do you have any... er... urge to kill someone?"
"Why do I think like that?"
Carla breathed a sigh of relief, then gave him a big hug. "Welcome back, Clark. You don't know how much I miss you."
Clark patted her on the back: "Me too."
He stood up and looked at Jay. Jay thought that this should be the first official meeting between him and Superman—if the grouping of Doomsday didn't count. From a sensory point of view, he also felt that this should be the real Superman, with Wei Ran's aura and approachable sunshine on his body at the same time, which almost matched most of his past imaginations of Superman.
"I guess it's all thanks to you this time," Clark said with a smile. "The last few punches you gave Doomsday were impressive. Does your shoulder still hurt?"
"Thank you, it's no big deal." Jay moved his shoulder joint, which was just pierced by Doomsday yesterday, and now it has basically healed, "But it was also the heaviest fist I've ever thrown in my life. , I've never beaten it that hard, and I don't know why."
"Maybe you have potential, but you don't know it yourself." Clark glanced at Cara intentionally or unintentionally, and smiled half-jokingly, "And love is always the best catalyst for stimulating potential, isn't it?"
Carla understood what he was referring to, her pretty face blushed slightly, and she lowered her head unconsciously, but couldn't help but smile sweetly.
"And I've seen everything you've done these days. You've done a great job, New Superman," Clarke said. "You've given the world and people the light they need when they need it the most."
"But I didn't do as well as you, and I don't think I'll ever be as good as you." Jay shook his head. "I just filled your place temporarily while you were away, like a temporary agent. And Now that you're back...the world will be happy to have the real Superman again."
Clark smiled, and he patted Jay on the shoulder: "Hey, boy. It's you who led people out of the darkness when the world was at its darkest, not me, right? See, I can't be better in that situation. You are doing better. And like you said, a new era is here, and you are the one who started it. I'm pretty sure there's a place for you in this new era too - a non- You can't be there, you just have to find it."
Jay nodded understandingly. Clark smiled and said, "Okay, I won't disturb your time here. Maybe I should go upstairs and see if there are any new results from Batman's in-depth analysis."
"Sword Comes"
He flew up the second floor along the crystal trunk in the center of the fort, where Batman was analyzing the results of his full-body medical examination in front of a Krypton host. He landed gently behind Batman and asked, "What, did you find anything?"
"At one point, I roughly know the reason for your loss of ability and memory."
"Oh? Why?"
Batman gave him a meaningful glance.
"Hypnosis, Clark, the answer is hypnosis."
Clark frowned. "Hypnosis? Who did it?"
"yourself."
Clark was stunned: "Are you kidding?"
"You think I'm joking?"
"I don't know, you look exactly the same as usual when you're joking."
Batman ignored his complaints and continued: "I personally think it's a kind of new ability that you gain as you age. Six years ago in the war you released all the energy in your cells and lost your memory. You Instinct leads you to find an easy and ordinary life - and that's what you've always wanted, so subconsciously you resist remembering who you are. In order not to lose the life you want, you unconsciously Your own continued super hypnosis hinders the recovery of your own superpowers."
"Wow, wait a minute, you mean..." Clark couldn't believe it. "The reason why I haven't thought about who I am for so many years is because I don't think about it?"
"Yes." Batman said lightly, "That's it."
"It's ridiculous! I never thought..."
"Think about running away? No, I know you're not the type to allow yourself to run away from problems," Batman said. "But do you remember, Clark? You said you were struggling with unresolved disputes, and you Feel like you're going to be blamed for everything you do. You say you want to get rid of these extraordinary abilities and just be a normal human being."
Clark opened his mouth and was stunned for a long time before he said, "Those... those were just complaints, I just needed to vent."
"But that's exactly what your heart desires, so deeply imprinted in your heart, that it only takes a switch to flip."
Clark felt that there was no way to refute it, and he began to think that Bruce was right, and he was generally always right. He began to feel a little depressed: "It's my own responsibility to say so. The world has lost Superman and fell into darkness for six years, just because of my own selfish thoughts." He paused, bowed his head and said, "This is me Right, Bruce."
The Dark Knight was expressionless, stared at the screen of the Krypton host for a while, and suddenly asked, "Have you seen her when you go back?"
Clark was taken aback: "Who?"
"Lena," Batman said. "The girl in the mountains."
Clark nodded hesitantly. "Yes, but she looked...like she didn't recognize me, like she was looking at a stranger."
"You're a stranger," Bruce said. "She doesn't love Superman or Clark Kent. The person she loves doesn't exist anymore. Even for her own good, you should keep your distance from her in the future, then It will save her from getting involved in a lot of trouble."
"I know, of course I do," Clark sighed softly. "But it sounds like advice my old friend would suggest, at least I know you're not a fake."
"I'm only talking about necessary measures."
"I understand," Clark said half-jokingly. "To be honest, I miss your paranoid advice, too. It's been a while since I heard your weird voice. It does feel like something's missing."
Bruce sighed. "You shouldn't have come back, Clark. Those lives...that's what you've always wanted and deserved."
"But the world needs me." Clark patted him on the shoulder and added before turning to leave. "And admit it, you need me too, Bruce."