Joker walked to the center of the room, stretched out his arm and pointed at Clark, saying: "My praise for him is not exaggerated!"
"Even though he knows full well that this is a game of life and death, he's still defending his friend Lex! Hasn't he thought that if Lex escapes, he will die? No! Of course, he knows!"
"But he is just so willing to sacrifice himself to save others, just like Jesus walking in the world!"
It's yet another round of extravagant compliments coming from Joker's mouth.
However, the voting situation did not reverse, and the rope binding Lex was slowly being pulled up. At this moment, Batman finally determined that Joker had accomplices.
The mechanisms of the ropes and the ceiling beams that were suspending both men were not automatic, meaning there must be another person pulling the rope for the two to be raised.
Clark looked up, watching Lex getting closer and closer to the bomb, he shouted out: "No!!!"
Suddenly, the rope slowed down. Although Lex was still rising, his speed had decreased considerably. It seemed that there was still quite a distance from the bomb.
Then Joker spoke, he looked into Clark's eyes and said: "Do you know what, Clark? You have done me a huge favor."
"Maybe you don't know how smart this guy named Lex Luther is, but an equally annoying guy told me he may be one of the smartest people in the world."
"I hate dealing with people like that, you can't imagine the effort I put into dealing with him, but to no avail!"
"He's not like you, he can't easily be deceived by a mysterious agent calling."
"That call was from you!!" Clark said angrily, feeling like his anger was ablaze, feeling like he was a clown being toyed with.
"Exactly, a simple deception, but you were fooled. Clark, it was me pretending to be an agent, purposely leading you to find Lionel's body in the restroom, causing you to distrust Lex."
"There's nothing I could do..." Joker pouted, revealing a sorrowful expression: "I'm just an ordinary comedian, a humble clown nobody loves. How can I compete with a genius like Lex?"
"I called him, pretending to be different people persuading him, making up all sorts of reasons to bewilder him, but all my attempts were fruitless."
"Dealing with him was too hard, but dealing with you too easy. So, I chose to let someone as powerful and righteous as you confront him."
Clark's chest started to heave uncontrollably, his teeth clenched and his mouth muscles trembling violently in anger.
"It's okay, Clark, really..." Joker said calmly: "You are indeed administering justice. He is a despicable murderer who has killed his own father."
"What? You say Lionel abused him? But look..."
As he spoke, Joker curved his hands into the shape of a loudspeaker and shouted:
"Little Luthor killed his father because Lionel Luthor was a sexually abusive monster! He beat Little Luthor to a pulp, abused him, controlled him, inflicted harm on him repeatedly!"
"Little Luthor was only seeking revenge, he merely took advantage of today's opportunity, leveraging others to kill his own father and dismember him!"
Joker shouted loudly, even though his hoarse voice was somewhat grating, Clark was well aware everyone in the upstairs rooms could hear it.
However, the result of the voting remained unchanged, Lex was still being slowly raised, and began to get closer and closer to the bomb.
"Do you see? These truths you persistently seek, the justice you want to uphold, nobody cares."
It seemed like Joker was addressing Clark, but Batman could feel that his voice, piercing through the surveillance room screen, was directed straight at his heart. Batman knew Joker was speaking to him, as he was the only audience of this absurd drama.
"No." came Clark's subdued voice. His tone exuded a calm and firmness that even Batman found surprising.
"I want to punish Lex because I believe he's a murderer. I knocked him out to ensure he wouldn't hurt others."
"In the end, he and I were tied up here, not because my intention to uphold justice was wrong, but because I didn't investigate more thoroughly before the incident, and easily believed in the lies of a deceiver."
"That was my only mistake. I was the one who was mistaken and not the heart that yearns to uphold justice and fairness," Clark spoke each word deliberately.
"Moreover, in this whole situation, if there is someone to point a finger at for wrongdoing, it is definitely you, you damn madman."
"If you hadn't held this absurd comic performance, nobody would be trapped here, nobody would be forced to make a choice, and nobody would die."
"However, if you are determined to find someone to play this childish game with you, then I can only tell you, you chose the wrong person."
As he finished speaking, he thrusted his waist, forcefully swinging the rope. His silhouette swang out, and after a couple of swings, he struck the bannister of the second-floor atrium.
During this motion, Clark turned his body so his chest was against the railing. First, the rope with the kryptonite rubbed against the rail then, with a "clang" sound, the not-so-securely fastened kryptonite was squeezed out, drew a graceful arc in the air, and fell to the ground.
The place where Clark was suspended was quite high, therefore, there was still quite a distance between him and the kryptonite when it struck the ground. Almost instantly, Clark regained some strength, his arm muscles flexed, he immediately broke free from the rope, and soared into the air.
Joker looked up at him from below and cursed: "What do you want to do?! Rescue Lex, the despicable murderer? Is this the justice you want to uphold?!"
"No." Clark denied this. His eyes shone brightly in the light reflected by the snowstorm. His deep voice echoed throughout the manor, sounding like the voice of a deity coming from heaven:
"If all this was caused by my mistake, if my error gave you a reason to deny justice..."
"Then I will personally make up for all of it."
As he spoke, he turned in mid-air, breaking through the nearest window with a "swoosh", and flew out into the sky above the Mayor's manor.
His complexion was still somewhat pale, the feeling of weakness and exhaustion hadn't passed, but he strived to concentrate all his focus, squeezing out the last bit of strength left in his body, and his eyes began to emit a dazzling light.
When the red heat ray burst from his eyes, tracing over the land around the Mayor's mansion, everyone opened their windows, looking up at the figure seeming like a deity in the sky.
The heat ray shot from his eyes, encircling the entire property, leaving deep furrows over the traced land. The manor seemed like a slice of cake that had been cut through with a knife, completely separated from the surrounding land.
At this moment, everyone could feel the floor beneath them shaking violently. They let go of the phones in their hands and fell to the floor, yet their eyes stayed fixated outside the window.
The snowstorm intensified, amid the flying snowflakes, they saw the entire Mayor's mansion lifting into the air—
Or rather, held up.