Primary Universe Batman already understood that the purpose of the other party releasing The Hulk was to use Martian Manhunter's mind invasion to get The Hulk into the strongest state as quickly as possible, and then rush to support Asgard.
Although the base is surrounded, it's only by superheroes and some demon-like creatures. This formation pales in comparison to the joint invasion of the two major empires. Asgard and Earth are interdependent, so even if the strength is limited, they must send some support. Only by quickly resolving the issues there can they once again secure Asgard's assistance.
"It's really a headache." Batwoman said with her arms crossed as she looked at the star map, "The alliance between Earth and Asgard is far more stable than ours with the Apocalypse Star. As long as one side can free itself, any trouble for the other is not really a trouble."
"All life within the Nine Major Kingdoms has long been bound together, as determined by the structure of the cosmos." Primary Universe Batman sighed, straightened up from the table, and said, "However, Earth's development in this universe is exceptionally good, having the ability to stand on equal footing with Asgard, allowing both sides to support each other. This isn't the case in other universes."
"So, choosing the battlefield here, was it somewhat rash?"
"Not exactly. Since we're training troops, naturally we should choose strong opponents; otherwise, how could we improve?" Mechanical Batman said while watching from the side, "Their command center seems confident, even sending all the Hulks to support. So let's keep applying pressure and see what cards they hold."
The battle line continued to advance.
The relentless onslaught of demon-like beings continuously pressured the mechanical defenses. Because they were too close to the base, fusion bombs couldn't be used. The mechanical defenses mainly relied on shields and laser weapons. The most common trap was the gravity trap, but as long as there was enough initial speed, one could escape it, so it wasn't lethal.
Many demon-like beings stepped into the traps, but rather than accidentally falling for them, it seemed they deliberately triggered them. They seemed determined to use sheer numbers to topple the mechanical defenses.
Captain America was holding up his shield against the corrosive creatures. It's said that skillful catching is better than precise striking, and Captain America could always use the shield to catch the mucus they sprayed.
This stuff was highly corrosive, even causing smoke to rise from the Vibranium shield, and the impact force from the spray was considerable, frequently sending Captain America flying.
Steve raised his shield, took a mucus spray head-on, and was inevitably flung out again, crashing into the mechanical shield behind him. The shield provided him propulsion, but turning around in the cosmos was still a bit difficult. Just then, a mechanical hand reached out to him.
Steve grabbed Bucky's hand, adjusting his posture. He exhaled and then said, "Thanks, buddy. Are you okay?"
"Not bad." Bucky panted lightly, clearly exhausted from the recent battle. He shook his mechanical arm and then said, "Howard has indeed outdone himself; this arm is so much better than the previous one."
"I thought you'd say he hid treasures and didn't let you use them." Steve smiled and said, "He always does that."
"Whatever he used to do, he must've brought out his best for this one." Bucky grinned and said, "Come on, let's show these guys something."
Steve followed him, hesitated for a moment, then activated a switch on his shield.
"You finally decided to use that?" Charles's slightly amused voice rang in his ear.
Steve exaggeratedly sighed, making Charles laugh even more, and then Steve said, "This thing is no use if not hit, but if used, it must hit. I was planning to use it on Batman, but now it seems Green Lantern should try it first."
"Who are you eyeing?"
"The one with the brightest armor." Steve looked over and said, "That one, dressed as if he's going to a ceremony..."
Steve was looking right at Hal. Hal was wearing Prince Jade's attire, much more luxurious than other Green Lanterns, thus immediately catching Steve's attention.
"Alright, unlucky for him." Charles said.
Steve stopped talking and raised his shield to continue dealing with the endless demon-like army.
The situation quickly reached a stalemate. Under the interception of superheroes, the demon-like beings couldn't further press the defenses, but their sheer numbers made it impossible for the heroes on Marvel's side to clear them out.
Continuing to wear out resources like this was advantageous for Marvel, as they were consuming machines, whose essence was minerals, and they weren't lacking in minerals, so they weren't worried about consumption.
Demon-like beings were many, but they ultimately required aliens as materials. The current demon-like beings on Apocalypse Star were aliens that Darkseid had previously captured and transformed. Though they had pure mechanical technology, they weren't particularly skilled in it, and Darkseid wasn't proficient in this area, certainly not at Stark's level.
Moreover, the alliance between Batman and Darkseid wasn't so solid. Although Darkseid said everything was laid open, if too much was used and he became dissatisfied, Batman would be in a difficult position.
"About time." Hal said, "Get ready to move."
With the balance almost equal, a decisive outcome required adding weight to one side.
At his command, the Green Lanterns immediately gathered, carrying the ships they had manifested during their break, slowly flying towards the front lines.
Marvel sent people over to intercept. Besides members of The Avengers, there were quite a few young heroes, such as Speedball Robert. His ability seemed tailor-made for space battles, as he could accelerate after crashing into something and then crash into something else. A few hits with the speed impact he generated were enough to obliterate opponents.
He was leaping back and forth among the demon-like army, and soon got close to the Green Lanterns. Seeing something flying toward them, the Green Lanterns raised a barrier to block, thinking it was a missile.
A few Green Lanterns managed to block him continuously, but this only increased Speedball's speed. One unfortunate soul with their back turned got slammed in the waist by Speedball, letting out a cry as they flew away.
Speedball was headed toward the Marvel defense line. Being hit like that, the Green Lantern could be considered deep in enemy territory, surrounded by foes as he started to think of escaping.
Seeing this, the other Green Lanterns rushed to rescue him, but Hal shouted, "Don't go yet!"
He wasn't stopping them from rescuing, but rather explaining that too many people going would disrupt their ability to suppress the front line, forcing a continued stalemate. Just send one or two people.
This Green Lantern was a humanoid creature, with inherently vulnerable waist, and without even having a chance to defend, he vomited blood from the shock. Clearly, his internal organs were rattled, and he couldn't get up.
This was bad, with so many enemies around, and losing his mobility temporarily, he couldn't use the Green Lantern energy to fly out, only hoping others would rescue him, though his location was very dangerous.
After some consideration, Hal decided to go himself. He was nearby and better at teleporting than other Green Lanterns. He opened a Green Lantern Teleportation Gate beside him, flashed inside it, and when he came out, he grabbed the Green Lantern and continued toward the portal.
Unexpectedly, a spinning shield flew straight at him. Hal took a step back, flipping away to dodge, and then a punch came from the right side. Hal turned his head to see it was Winter Soldier.
He snorted coldly, kicked back at Winter Soldier's mechanical arm, barely pushing him away, and then Captain America charged in. Hal took the punch on the chin without flinching, grabbed the Green Lantern again, and kept moving towards the teleportation gate.
As he was about to enter, another shield flew over. The companion he was carrying let out a pained whimper. Hal bit his teeth, took the hit forcefully, and jumped into the teleportation gate before the opposition could close in.
Steve arrived shortly after without any hint of disappointment. He retracted the shield, lightly touched its center, nodded, and said, "Looks like it worked."
"We have to thank Dr. Pym this time," Charles said. "His Pym particles were put to good use."
"Indeed, though I'm not sure if the curse of that 'M'Kraan' crystal is real, throwing such a dangerous item to Batman is better than keeping it at home."
Charles, in the office on Sky Island in the capital of Andromeda Galaxy, smiled. Erik turned and said to him, "Did the plan succeed?"
"In a way. Steve successfully delivered the shrunken crystal to that Green Lantern. Whether Batman can discover it, we shall see. If he doesn't, we can observe whether the crystal curse is real; if he does, he'll likely study it, and maybe he'll discover something useful for us."
"You've got some nerve," Erik said calmly, sitting down.
"Anyway, this thing is part of the cosmos rules, and they can't take it away," Charles shrugged. "Leaving it with them is fine. No matter what happens, we don't lose."
Erik shook his head. Although he had agreed to the plan, now that it succeeded, it felt a bit absurd.
It's because previously, this crystal was a treasure of the Shi'ar Empire, and acquiring it took quite a bit of effort, only to become a hot potato that had to be thrown to Batman in the end.
This relates to the legend of the crystal. The M'Kraan Crystal is said to be the ultimate of all realities, possessing the power to destroy the universe. The legend states that when the crystal collapses, a new universe will be born, and anyone holding the crystal will fall into misfortune.
The mutants believed this crystal to be a powerful divine artifact, as the Shi'ar Empire treated it as such, naturally thinking it was formidable.
But it turned out to be nothing like that. The mutants couldn't directly use the crystal, and destroying the universe was nonsense; this thing's energy was so stable, even Magneto couldn't do anything with it.
Thinking about it, if it were so easily activated, Eternity would lose sanity.
Moreover, ever since acquiring the crystal, the mutants seemed to run into runs of bad luck, coupled with frequent incidents in the Andromeda Galaxy. Charles, somewhat believing in superstition, thought this cursed thing shouldn't be kept at home. Erik initially didn't believe in curses, but after the birth of four Demon Lords of Mayhem, he started suspecting he might be cursed.
So with Charles' persistent persuasion, Erik wavered and considered that since they couldn't research or use it, why not throw it away. Just when other universes were invading, why not toss it to Batman.
If Batman could use it, great for him, but it's only temporary usage as the thing is part of the cosmos rules, meaning Batman can't take it out of the world; if he can't use it, he'll definitely repeatedly study it, and maybe he'll make some discovery useful for the mutants.
More importantly, if it really brings bad luck to whoever holds it, Batman's struggle will be in vain due to the great will of the universe, ensuring their eventual defeat.
However, the crystal was originally the size of a planet, and Batman isn't blind, so he wouldn't just watch something so big come near him without interception. To throw it to Batman, there's no way to do it openly, it had to be done sneakily.
So the mutants sought help from Dr. Pym, who used Pym particles to shrink the crystal and attached it to Captain America's shield, waiting for the opportune moment to throw it onto Batman.