msmithbooks Chapter 438 The Dark Multiverse: Batman's Inevitable Fate of Fall
Chapter 438 The Dark Multiverse: Batman's Inevitable Fate of Fall
Chapter 438 The Dark Multiverse Batman's Inevitable Fate... The First Step Towards Fall!
You know... those darkest secrets.
Those highest, glittering worlds. They are the center of everything.
They produce the most precious thing in the entire DC universe: superheroes who never fail.
When the Mother of the Multiverse, Perpetua, created the DC Multiverse, she designed it as a system constantly experiencing crises and capable of self-regeneration, so that she could continuously absorb the crisis energy generated within the DC Multiverse.
Even though she was later betrayed by her three sons, the World Builder, the Watcher, and the Anti-Watcher, who used her and her army as materials to create the Origin Wall, sealing her forever within it.
However, the underlying operating logic of this DC universe has persisted.
Therefore, crises occur one after another, such as *Emerald Twilight*, *The Death of Superman*, and *Knightfall*...
The timeline is rebooted time and time again, in films like *Crisis on Infinite Earths*, *Zero Hour*, and *Flashpoint Reboot*...
But the DC universe will always continue, no matter how large or terrifying the crisis may be. The multiverse possessed its own immune system from its very inception:
Superheroes.
A crisis is like a disease, and superheroes are like the immune system that destroys the disease. To date, no one has been able to destroy this immune system, not even Superman at his peak or the Anti-Monitor, or Mohal.
They were all suppressed and defeated by this immune system of the multiverse, with Superman the Supreme even becoming an enemy of thousands of heroes.
Supervillains are like vaccines to superheroes; they forge their strength, hone their courage and wisdom, and are equally indispensable members of the DC universe.
Of course, some superheroes in individual universes within the multiverse also chose to kill the villains, such as Batman from Earth-51. However, that universe's superheroes were generally weaker because they hadn't been tempered by the villains, and thus were wiped out by threats from outside the universe.
Overall, this immune system has kept the DC universe running smoothly for so many years without any problems, but it's worth noting that...
This immune system will only protect those important universes, those whose destruction would affect the safety of the entire multiverse.
And what about the Dark Multiverse?
What is that thing?
The immune system doesn't care about those things.
The World Forger, the eldest son of the multiverse mother, Papetua, is responsible for forging one new universe after another in the World Forge.
The stable universes he created will be preserved, while the unstable universes will be destroyed by his dragons. After the unstable universes are destroyed, the energy that constitutes the universe will return to the World Furnace...
That's how things should be.
So, since all unstable universes are destined to be destroyed, why would the "immune system" of superheroes bother to protect a universe that is doomed to destruction?
However, for some reason, these unstable universes that should have been destroyed were not destroyed; they were quietly preserved by some being and hidden behind the multiverse.
And these so-called "unstable" universes are the ones we live in now...
The Dark Multiverse.
So, you understand now?
We are the dregs, the mistakes, the problems.
Our world is a low-level world, deformed and broken, one of many worlds destined to decay and decline.
It's all because of that light, the light from the heavens. No wonder countless Batmen, no matter what sacrifices they made, could not save it.
Where the light is, things are beautiful and whole; life flourishes there. But the price of their prosperity is the lower worlds, such as ours.
We decay and fall, and it lives through this. We suffer, and it grows through this.
The multiverse will not protect us. Every dark multiverse, no matter how many times it has hoped, no matter how much it seemed to be moving in a positive direction...
Their ultimate fate, and the fate of all beings in the entire Dark Multiverse, is singular.
That would be utter destruction.
And the beginning of destruction...
As you know, aside from those unstable worlds that were insanely twisted from the very beginning, most of the dark multiverses, which are somewhat stable but destined to collapse, often begin their destruction with the fall of a superhero.
Maybe it's Superman, maybe it's Wonder Woman, maybe it's...
batman.
Many, many years ago.
Earth-11.
The future [drowning soul] sits inside the bat cave.
She thought, "To stop the Atlanteans from invading the land... I'm afraid I must kill the Watergirl... Although I never kill people... I'm afraid I must make an exception just this once to stop the Atlanteans."
Thus, the [drowning souls] triumphed.
The price... is a world that is submerged.
Earth-32.
Bruce Wayne decides to kill the murderer who killed his parents on the spot.
Earth-52.
Batman decides to reverse the course of history.
Earth-44.
Batman decides to resurrect Alfred.
Earth-12.
Batman believes he can resist the corruption of the War Helmet.
Earth-1.
Batman decides to create a potion that will turn him into Doomsday, so he can kill Superman if necessary.
Earth-22.
Batman decides to kill the Joker.
A certain dark multiverse.
"Batman... are you really going to follow my plan completely... so easily?"
Night Owl sat in his owlhole, secretly watching Batman.
He gently stroked his chin, his heavy, armored hand rubbing against his slightly stubble, then caressing his non-existent beard.
"You saw through my plan... Even if I controlled the information leaked to Nightwing, you still saw through at least part of it."
"And now that you've seen through all this... you really don't intend to struggle anymore? Really..."
The owl spoke slowly, muttering to himself, "I find him rather annoying."
But I don't know why...
Why did you breathe a sigh of relief? Why did you feel disappointed?
Why do people who have already given up hope feel disappointed when they see others giving up as well?
Why do people who have already jumped into the mud without hesitation feel sad when they see others doing the same?
what……
Really...
sad.
The downfall of an upright hero is as harmful as poisoning a public well.
"Alright, since you've already cooperated with me so much, to prevent you from changing your mind, I'll give you a hand."
Night Owl muttered, "This will at least ease your guilt a little."
Then he paused, and said in a low voice, "It's also helping myself."
……
……
……
Antarctica.
Located in Superman Clark Kent's base, inside the Lonely Fortress, on a huge machine with Kryptonian technology, surrounded by a silver-white interior.
When Superman Clark Kent opened his eyes, he saw Batman's cat-like pointed ears appear upside down in his field of vision, followed by the other's somewhat amused voice:
"You're awake! The surgery was a success."
"You're a superhero again."
"real?"
Clark asked.
He was overjoyed, and looked at the wall beside him. He felt, just as Batman had said, an inexhaustible supply of energy within him. Then his eyes reddened, and a warm gaze emanated from them—
Not a single drop came out.
"It's a gradual process," he heard Batman say. "Your superpowers have been suppressed by the Doomsday Spores for too long. As long as you give it time and get more sunlight, your bio-force will slowly recover."
"That's great," Clark said. "I'll be able to help soon..."
Then he heard Chen Tao's voice: "That's secondary. The important thing is... cough."
"The Codex of Life extracted from your body."
"What happened to the Code of Life?"
"...See for yourself."
Clark, puzzled, took the object that looked like half a small beehive from Batman's hand...
Then, the next second, he realized what he had seen.
"The Code of Life"
"That's right," Chen Tao said, "but I advise you to take another look."
"I don't understand."
In front of Superman Clark Kent, Chen Tao took the Life Codex from his hand and then speechlessly inserted it into the Kryptonian machine next to him.
What are you thinking? You haven't restored your superpowers to microscopic vision yet, so what's the use of just staring at things?
Clark quickly deciphered the information the machine was giving him.
"My father, Jor-El, castrated the Codex of Life?"
"That's right, your father made a huge alteration to the Code of Life, and I guess your father's political views must be those of a staunch anti-government figure."
"..."
"He retained the Kryptonian genes, but reduced the number of Kryptonians that could be created from those genes, such as General Zod, who served as worker ants in Kryptonian society."
"Look at this." Chen Tao's head transformed into a rapidly moving bullet, then he read out the Kryptonian text projected by the Kryptonian computer:
"Krypton's practice of using cloning technology to reproduce will completely end in my generation. Every Kryptonian can bring new life into the world through natural pregnancy. Those old laws are forever broken, and this is the first time in so many years that Krypton has achieved true freedom..."
Clark covered his head.
"This thing won't be able to create even half a Kryptonian baby. The Kryptonians are now completely wiped out. Your father was ruthless enough to do that," Chen Tao said.
"So here's the problem." Clark hugged his super brain, intending to activate his amazing wisdom, only to find that due to prolonged inactivity and the loss of his superpowers, his mind was now completely empty except for his relationship with Lois Lane and breastfeeding.
As a superhero, his abilities have declined since he retired and no longer has supervillains to fight.
But for Superman, this regression is something he can quickly readjust and evolve back to, but not now.
"I will handle this."
He saw Batman stand up: "Take good care of yourself."
Several tens of minutes later, on the other side.
"You wish to speak with General Zod in person?"
Chen Tao stared at the supermodel girl in front of him.
How did you come up with this idea?
It's strange, you know, he's been trying to prevent Supergirl from having any connection with General Zod. After all, unlike Superman, who has never lived on Krypton, they are both Kryptonian survivors.
"Someone left me a message on my computer. He told me about General Zod's existence." Supergirl told the truth: "The message told me that General Zod wanted to see me."
"So you just woke up in the hospital and came straight to me wanting to meet General Zod?"
Chen Tao looked at the Supergirl. He knew there was something wrong with the information, but guess what?
Some of the owl's plans, if they could help him...
Why did he try to stop it?
Then, several tens of minutes later...
Chen Tao watched coldly as General Zod tricked the Supergirl into revealing everything she knew by repeatedly referring to her as a fellow countrywoman.
"My father once dreamed of taking a city adrift in space. He put Argon inside a protective shield and carried the entire city on its journey... He did a great job! They held out for a long time, but we were too late, waaaaaah, and now everyone in the city is dead... What, you're asking where it is? The city is located right here..."
The supergirl was crying and sobbing, her emotions completely manipulated by the experienced General Zod.
"Let me explain." After confirming that Supergirl had told General Zod everything she knew, Chen Tao interrupted her and began to speak:
"As I told you before, Krypton is completely finished. The Codex of Life simply cannot create a new Krypton. Our previous ideas are not going to work."
Tears streamed down General Zod's face. He collapsed in his cage, pounding the ground with his fists. Chen Tao ignored his weeping; he could not empathize with such sorrow.
He simply said:
"Just let go of your obsession. The Codex of Life has been extracted now, so it wasn't a complete waste of time. The command to protect Kryptonians in your genes can be directly deleted from your genes using the Codex of Life, which is like performing a minor surgical procedure. Jor-El only removed the ability to create new Kryptonians from it; you don't need to worry about the rest."
"You should serve your time in jail, then come out and live a normal life on Earth. Clark can live on Earth, and so can you. Fiora and Ek can too."
As Chen Tao spoke, he coldly observed General Zod's expression.
His face was etched with deep sorrow, his head bowed as if pierced by illusory spikes. Yet, upon hearing of the many Kryptonian corpses remaining, a sudden glint of light flashed in his eyes.
And in Chen Tao's eyes, there was also... an unfathomable light.
(End of this chapter)