Superman's Saiyan little brother

In the Avengers base, Peter Parker and others, who had been summoned by Tony Stark, were all present. Originally, they were prepared to support Tony and his team, but JARVIS informed Peter Parker and the others that the Joker and Lars had already been captured, so they no longer needed to rush over.

This situation left Peter Parker and the others a bit confused. When they initially received the news, they thought it was a terrifying dimensional event similar to the Shadow Soldiers or an invasion by a powerful entity from the Dark Dimension. However, it now seemed a bit anticlimactic...

Of course, Peter Parker and the others merely made a wasted trip, while Hancock and Mary remained on standby at the Avengers base, ready to use their superpowers as they awaited further instructions.

Soon, Tony Stark and his team returned to the Avengers base, and everyone's eyes immediately focused on the Joker and Lars. Lars, who had lost his alien mask, was now unconscious, probably knocked out by Morbius.

"Is this the new Joker? Why doesn't he look like the one in the information I saw before?" Peter Parker, approaching Martian Manhunter, looked at the unconscious Joker and muttered hesitantly.

Regarding this new Gotham Joker, even Gotham's citizens didn't know he wasn't the original Joker. Even Batman had only suspected it. However, the Avengers had previously encountered a Joker used by Mephisto as a human vessel, driving around in the Joker's car, so they knew the Joker's fate...

If it weren't for Batman, who wasn't part of the Avengers, Peter Parker would have gone to Gotham earlier to bring the Joker, who repeatedly committed crimes yet enjoyed freedom in Arkham Asylum, to justice.

Looking at the Joker's face, which had black markings different from his memory, Peter Parker couldn't help but ask, "What are these black markings? They don't fit the Joker's makeup. Could this be how he got the Dark Dimension's power?"

"It's possible!" Although Peter Parker said it casually, Tony Stark nodded seriously, agreeing with Peter's speculation. "He doesn't have a Shadow Legion mask, but judging from their previous battle, his Dark Dimension power isn't much weaker than those with masks. It's even stronger than Morbius when he was controlled by a mask. This might be due to these mysterious black markings..."

"Cough, cough, why bring me into this?" Morbius coughed awkwardly and spoke helplessly, "I'm not the same as before. Didn't I just defeat this masked man?"

"That's because I helped you overcome your thirst for blood and continually researched Dark Dimension creatures, boosting your strength significantly. Otherwise, do you think you could have beaten him so easily?" Tony Stark scoffed at Morbius, disdainfully saying, "You're a vampire, stronger than ordinary ones, yet you couldn't fully suppress the mask's control. Even Bruce, that playboy, is better than you!"

"As if you can guarantee you wouldn't be controlled by the mask..." Morbius muttered quietly, "And Bruce Wayne being your fan? Your willpower might be weaker than his!"

"Bruce Wayne?" Johnny Storm blinked, looking suspiciously at Tony Stark and Morbius. "What's he got to do with this? Does he have a mask too?"

Johnny Storm was familiar with Bruce Wayne, once a fellow playboy like Tony Stark. In Johnny's view, he simply hadn't been born into the right family. If he had, he could have enjoyed a similarly colorful life. Of course, this was assuming he didn't have a sister like Susan Storm, who, despite financial freedom, restricted his fun. 

"Bruce Wayne has two faces, just like Tony," Morbius said, his lips curling into a smile as he glanced at Tony Stark. "Perhaps that's the secret of top-tier playboys. Too rich, they take up side gigs as hobbies to pass their otherwise dull lives..."

"You mean Bruce Wayne is Batman?" Before Johnny could shout out the revelation, Pietro cut in, stealing Johnny's thunder and leaving him momentarily speechless and frustrated.

"Hmph! Just a poor imitation of me!" Tony Stark raised his head disdainfully. "And he even copied my armor and installed my voice pack. Clearly, he's admired me for a long time. But that doesn't excuse his infringement. JARVIS, check the accounts. If he doesn't pay on time, sue him, and get that mask back!"

"Yes, sir," JARVIS responded respectfully.

"Why didn't you bring his mask back earlier?" Morbius asked, puzzled by Tony Stark's orders.

"Because he's had that mask for a while now. Since he hasn't had any problems and can control it, let him keep it. After all, his armor looks weak. Keeping the mask gives him some self-defense capability..." Tony Stark's words were harsh, but his heart was soft. He knew how hard it was to be a superhero, especially one fighting alone.

However, Tony Stark had no intention of recruiting Batman into the Avengers. Even though Wayne Enterprises was a behemoth, bringing it into the Avengers would expand their influence, resources, and funding. But Batman's philosophy clashed too much with theirs. Tony Stark couldn't understand why Batman clung to his no-kill principle, allowing super criminals to exploit legal loopholes and survive, causing repeated casualties.

Even Clark, under Robert's influence, knew some people needed to be eliminated. The Avengers were founded to prevent superhuman events from harming ordinary citizens. 

The Avengers would even proactively strike, aiming to nip superhuman threats in the bud, completely opposite to Batman's principles, which let super criminals repeatedly escape justice. Besides, whether as Batman or the playboy Bruce Wayne, his activities were mainly confined to Gotham. 

However, Tony Stark didn't know that upon returning, Batman would rank the Avengers as a major threat, second only to Clark and Robert...

"Let's interrogate them first!" Tony Stark snapped back to reality, looking at the Joker and Lars. Lars was secondary, while the Joker was the main figure. The Avengers had to figure out how he obtained the Dark Dimension power and solve it to prevent similar events.

But considering the Joker's mental illness and Martian Manhunter's failure to read his memories, Tony Stark knew getting the truth from him wouldn't be easy...

Soon, the Joker and Lars were placed in separate cells. While the Avengers focused on the Joker, changes occurred with Lars...

"Damn it! This operation was a complete failure, and now I'm captured. Damn Joker! Damn Bruce! Damn Avengers!" Lars didn't open his eyes, nor did his body show any signs of movement, as if he were still unconscious. However, his mind was already active.

"Without the mask's power, I'm even less of a match for the Avengers. It's nearly impossible to escape this place. Do I really have to die here and use that trump card?"

As a seven-hundred-year-old relic, Lars had some tricks up his sleeve. Even though he didn't acquire many superhuman methods, he had researched technology.

Lars used the unique abilities of the Lazarus Pit to clone a body, assisted by technology. But he couldn't be sure if he'd still be himself after activating the clone.

This was a last resort, something Lars wouldn't use unless absolutely necessary. But now, it seemed he had no choice. If the Avengers learned everything about him, his clone and the Lazarus Pit would no longer be secrets, leaving him no chance for rebirth.

Lars trusted his willpower, having resisted the alien mask's control and wielded Dark Dimension power. 

However, he was uncertain about the Avengers' superhuman abilities. He couldn't guarantee they didn't have means to make him talk or read his memories. Martian Manhunter's muttering and Tony Stark's mysterious conversations made Lars uneasy...

"Fine! May Satan bless me!" After a series of thoughts, Lars made a decision. His body began to tremble slightly, then violently. Suddenly, he lost all vital signs.

"Alert, prisoner in cell two has lost vital signs!" JARVIS's voice rang out, making Tony Stark and the others, who were focused on the Joker, change their expressions. Martian Manhunter reacted fastest, phasing through the walls to reach Lars, his psychic powers probing Lars's body.

"Shhh!" Suddenly, Lars's body underwent a drastic change. He initially only lost vital signs, but now his body aged rapidly. From a middle-aged man, he became an old man, then a skeleton, his flesh disappearing, bones shrinking...

By the time Tony Stark and the others arrived, Lars's body had turned into bones, even showing signs of weathering, as if he had been dead for centuries.

It wasn't just 'as if' because Lars lived seven hundred years due to the Lazarus Pit's power. Now that he was dead, the Pit's power vanished, and the years' effects hit him all at once...

"Hmm?! It worked!" Meanwhile, deep in a Central Asian underground cave, a man identical to Lars opened his eyes in a nutrient chamber beside a strange swamp, relief in his eyes.

Quickly, Lars felt the weakness of this new body. It was no different from an ordinary human, perhaps even weaker. After leaving the nutrient chamber, Lars dove into the nearby strange swamp.

This strange swamp was the Lazarus Pit. Lars soon soaked himself in it, slowly gaining enhanced endurance, strength, speed, and overall fitness, returning to a superhuman state.

"Avengers, Bruce! Wait for me. I can't match you now, but don't let me find a way to deal with you..." A trace of hatred flashed in Lars's eyes. He felt his strength growing slowly. Revenge seemed far off, even regaining his strength without the alien mask seemed difficult. But Lars knew he couldn't rush. If needed, he'd outlast them, convinced he could live longer than Batman and the Avengers!

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