Superman's Saiyan little brother

Robert was unaware of Tara's current mindset. Even if he knew, he wouldn't care much. Whenever Tara decided to show himself, Robert would deal with him then. If Tara kept hiding, Robert wouldn't bother to search for him. After all, after the ordeal of finding Tohru, Robert didn't want to go through the trouble of searching for enemies again. These guys could either show themselves or stay hidden forever for all he cared.

Moreover, Robert wasn't the only schemer in the world. Even Clark didn't want to spend his days using his x-ray vision to find potential criminals who hadn't acted yet, let alone Robert. Besides, Clark had his reservations about whether plotting without executing a crime constituted criminal behavior.

Thus, while Tara was trembling with fear, worried about Earth's dimension seeking trouble with him, and General Ika was confused, Robert had already left the mirror dimension. They each went their own way.

Although the impact of the Shadow Mask incident had not entirely dissipated, the follow-up issues weren't something Robert and Clark could resolve. They weren't adept at comforting the innocent victims and their families.

Realizing this earlier, Robert had chosen to collaborate with Tony Stark. Just as the Z Fighters in the Dragon Ball world needed a Satan to handle many things in front of the stage, Robert needed someone to manage both front and backstage affairs. Clearly, Tony Stark, richer and more superhero-like than Satan, excelled at this.

Tony Stark initially felt he was getting a good deal by partnering with Robert, but who could say who benefited more in the end?

However, handling the aftermath this time was less troublesome for Tony Stark. He had already received a message from Bruce Wayne—correction, from Bruce Wayne, not Batman. Unlike Tony, Bruce hadn't publicly revealed his superhero identity.

In a standalone universe, Batman's identity as Bruce Wayne would be hard to expose. Few would believe that a top playboy and a business magnate would be a knight fighting crime at night. But in this combined comic universe, where Tony Stark had already revealed his superhero identity, some gossipy people suspected that Gotham's Dark Knight Batman might be Bruce Wayne.

"Tony, this time we're looking at losses in the tens of billions, even with Wayne Enterprises sharing the burden. You need to be prepared. Shareholders might not mind under public pressure, but the board members will likely make things difficult," Pepper reported to Tony Stark in Stark Industries.

Pepper supported Tony's decision to compensate the victims and their families, recognizing these supernatural events as unavoidable disasters. But this forced rescue, costing substantial money without official backing, wouldn't please the board members.

In the USA, no official had taken the lead on such matters, even with Stark and Wayne Enterprises stepping up. The government would easily absolve itself of responsibility, let alone pay compensations.

"Shareholders, huh? They know full well Stark Industries is mine. If they annoy me, I'll just kick them out!" Tony Stark responded disdainfully to Pepper's report. "Wayne Enterprises hasn't backed out. Do you think I'm less capable than Bruce Wayne, the incompetent playboy?"

"Tony, isn't it a bit strange for you to say that?" Pepper's expression twitched slightly. Despite her extensive experience and ability to make people feel comfortable, Tony's remark about Bruce Wayne left her at a loss. Before becoming Iron Man, Tony had been known as a playboy, more famous in this regard than Bruce Wayne.

Bruce Wayne's reputation was more localized to Gotham, a dark city with limited external influence. Thus, his playboy image wasn't as deeply ingrained as Tony's. Now, Tony had become a superhero and could look down on someone once considered his counterpart. Even Bruce would find it hard to stay calm upon hearing this.

"I'm different now. Don't you know? I've stopped those indulgent activities long ago. I'm too busy with research," Tony said, smiling at Pepper.

"True, I don't spend much time with you now. You don't have time for those activities. But you aren't jealous of Bruce Wayne's magazine appearance, are you?" Pepper teased.

"Of course not! Do you think I care about that? It's just a small popularity contest. I used to be featured all the time. I just haven't been in the spotlight for a while... ahem!" Tony began to argue but stopped, looking awkwardly at Pepper.

Pepper smiled, "It's fine, I'm used to it. I'm looking forward to you scolding those board members!"

She turned and left to handle the follow-up cooperation matters. Tony's presence was mainly to deal with the board members. Pepper, despite her strong work capabilities, couldn't fully control the board, especially during major events.

For Tony Stark, it was a minor issue. He had more influence in Stark Industries than Norman Osborn in Oscorp. The board was nothing to him, especially as Iron Man. Tony quickly resolved their objections, and the board reverted to a group of dividend-hungry leeches, voicing no further complaints.

As Tony Stark's matters settled, Robert's issues remained unresolved. It was year-end, and Robert planned to reunite with his family. But he didn't expect further developments related to the Shadow Mask.

The Shadow Soldiers had devoured numerous shadows, resulting in many deaths. Consequently, a large number of souls entered the Hell dimension. Initially, the demons didn't notice much, as hell received many souls daily.

However, Earth's souls were different. Even ordinary human souls were more enticing than others. Soon, Hell noticed the unusual influx. But there was no immediate action because Mephisto had been eyeing Earth.

Everyone knew Mephisto was plotting something. Lesser Hell lords and demons dared not provoke him. However, after some time, these demons realized Mephisto seemed to be in seclusion, ignoring Earth's matters.

Upon this realization, several Hell lords began making plans. Earth was a prime target. With the previous breaches and the recent mass deaths, they had to act quickly or miss their chance.

Soon, human avatars of these Hell lords appeared on Earth, discovered by Constantine. Not because he anticipated Hell's move, but because he had gained from Robert earlier by dealing with Blackheart, son of a Hell lord. Constantine sought more demons to repay his debts.

Mephisto's presence had previously thwarted his plans, but suddenly, Constantine found several Hell lords' human avatars.

"Jackpot! I'm finally clear of my debts!" Constantine, once ready to flee or ignore such threats, was now ecstatic. He contacted Robert, aiming to deal with these demons together.

"What? Nine Hell lord avatars? And that's just what you've found?" Robert was stunned by Constantine's message. It seemed Hell was targeting Earth, as if it had become a sieve for demonic invasion.

"Yes, it's urgent! We need to act, or many will suffer!" Constantine exaggerated the urgency.

"Alright, Hell lords aren't a threat to me. I'll take them all out to prevent any chaos," Robert frowned. The Shadow Mask had already caused many deaths. Allowing nine Hell lords to rampage would lead to more casualties. Even if these demons weren't a threat, Robert intended to eliminate them.

"Well, it's not that urgent..." Constantine hesitated, awkwardly continuing, "They haven't started acting yet, seemingly observing. You could take them out one by one without much trouble..."

"Hmph! You want to take them all, don't you?" Robert rolled his eyes, understanding Constantine's intent. He had no interest in working for Constantine. Since the Hell lords hadn't acted yet, Robert decided to let Pietro and the others handle them.

Not just Pietro, but Kara, Lana, and even Tony Stark could confront these Hell lords. Their power levels matched or were close to the Hell lords. Although they had faced many Shadow Soldiers, few reached the Hell lord level. Thus, facing these Hell lords would be excellent training for them.

Peter Parker was an exception. Robert heard he was seriously injured and busy with something. Robert intended to heal Peter but was refused. Without updates from JARVIS, Robert didn't know Peter's activities and left it alone, trusting JARVIS would alert him if necessary.

"So, how many do I get?" Constantine asked bitterly upon hearing Robert's plan. He knew Robert wouldn't leave him empty-handed, but sacrificing all the demons for debt repayment was now impossible.

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