Chapter 180: The Deal
"Whether you believe it or not isn't important to me," George said with calm confidence. "It has nothing to do with why I came here. I only came specifically to find Martian Manhunter."
George's gaze fixed directly on the green-skinned hero. "How about it? Shall we find a private place to chat about something important?"
"Don't go with him!" Princess Mera interjected sharply, her voice filled with suspicion. "He might be trying to defeat us one by one using some kind of trap!"
George didn't even glance in Princess Mera's direction, maintaining his focused attention entirely on Martian Manhunter.
"Alright, I'd like to hear what you have to say," Martian Manhunter said after a moment of consideration. His telepathic abilities had detected no immediate deception from the stranger.
"Right here will work perfectly," George replied, leading Martian Manhunter to a secluded corner of the underground hideout. With a wave of his hand, both figures suddenly entered the Mirror Dimension, becoming invisible to the others.
"Is this some kind of subspace technology?" Martian Manhunter asked. He could clearly see that he was still standing in the same location, but somehow none of the other survivors could detect or find him.
"Something similar, but not ordinary subspace," George replied. "It's quite complicated to explain. This is a specialized type of magic that operates on dimensional principles."
Martian Manhunter reached out and touched the surrounding invisible boundary with his fingertips, testing its properties. After a moment, he walked back to George and asked directly, "George, right? What exactly do you want to find me for?"
"A deal. I want to make an important deal with you," George said, his tone becoming more serious.
"Oh? What kind of deal are we talking about?" Martian Manhunter asked.
"I want the Life Equation," George stated plainly, glancing at Martian Manhunter. "The trade I'm offering is to restore this entire world to its previous state, before Darkseid's invasion."
"That's completely impossible," Martian Manhunter responded immediately, shaking his head. "Let alone the Life Equation, I don't believe you could even restore Earth to its original state before the destruction."
"Don't jump to conclusions just yet," George said patiently. "Do you know the real reason why Darkseid invaded Earth in the first place?"
"Because the Anti-Life Equation was hidden somewhere on Earth," Martian Manhunter replied without hesitation.
Since George had come specifically to ask about the Life Equation, the matter of the Anti-Life Equation would naturally not be a secret worth protecting.
"Exactly right, the Anti-Life Equation," George clapped his hands together and smiled. "Now, if the Anti-Life Equation wasn't located on Earth, would Darkseid still bother coming to Earth?"
"But the Anti-Life Equation is definitely on Earth," Martian Manhunter pointed out.
"I said 'if', this is a hypothetical question," George clarified.
"Then no, he wouldn't," Martian Manhunter confirmed after thinking it through.
This was the truth of the situation. If the Anti-Life Equation wasn't hidden on Earth, then such an inconspicuous and primitive planet would not even register on Darkseid's radar, let alone warrant a personal visit from the tyrant himself.
George glanced at Martian Manhunter with a knowing expression. With a deliberate stretch of his hand, the Anti-Life Equation materialized and appeared directly in his open palm.
"You mean to tell me that this object is the Anti-Life Equation?" Martian Manhunter asked with complete incredulity, staring at the dark sphere.
"That's right," George confirmed calmly. "You also possess superhuman hearing abilities. Both you and Superman can listen carefully to what's currently happening on Darkseid's side, and then we'll continue our discussion."
After he finished speaking, the dimensional space in front of them shattered. The two figures returned instantly to the underground space where the other survivors waited.
"Hey, where did you two disappear to?" Barry asked with curiosity, looking around confused. "Why couldn't we find you anywhere?"
Neither George nor Martian Manhunter was currently in the mood to entertain Barry's questions. Martian Manhunter immediately flashed out of the underground space at super speed to investigate George's claims.
Meanwhile, George leisurely took out some food supplies from his dimensional storage, preparing to treat the weary survivors to a proper meal. Only Barry accepted George's offer, which George didn't mind.
Exactly ten minutes later, Martian Manhunter returned to the hideout and gave George a meaningful look. He then voluntarily walked back to the same corner where they had spoken before.
George followed him over, and with another wave of his hand, the two were once again isolated within the Mirror Dimension.
"How about it? You can confirm the truth now, right?" George asked.
"You used this dimensional method to snatch the Anti-Life Equation directly from Darkseid's hands?" Martian Manhunter asked with amazement.
"Exactly, just like this," George demonstrated by walking to the side where the other survivors were gathered. They didn't notice at all when a bottle of beer that had already been opened by Barry suddenly disappeared completely from right in front of everyone's eyes.
Back in the Mirror Dimension, George shook the stolen beer in his hand and said with amusement, "It's really that simple when you understand dimensional manipulation."
He then lightly blew on the beer bottle. After the beverage was properly chilled, he drank the entire contents in one gulp and even let out a satisfied burp.
Casually disintegrating the empty beer bottle, George looked at the now very attentive Martian Manhunter and asked, "Can you give me your answer now?"
"How do you guarantee that Darkseid won't simply come to Earth anyway?" Martian Manhunter asked.
"Because once I obtain the Life Equation from you, you can have Barry restore this timeline back to the exact time when Steppenwolf first invaded," George explained. "I believe this shouldn't be difficult for someone with his Speed Force abilities."
"Yes, it can definitely be done," Martian Manhunter confirmed.
"At that crucial point in time, Barry and I will travel back to the past together," George continued his plan. "After successfully killing Steppenwolf and preventing the mother boxes from being united, I will voluntarily travel to Apokolips to meet Darkseid directly."
"But no one knows the exact location of Apokolips in space," Martian Manhunter pointed out.
"Anyone who controls a mother box can easily determine the precise location of Apokolips," George said with a confident smile.
"You mean you've already successfully controlled a mother box?" Martian Manhunter asked in surprise.
"That's correct," George confirmed. "If you're worried about the plan's success, you can come back with me to witness everything firsthand. However, you're different from me in one crucial way."
George's expression became more serious. "It's best that you don't meet your past self after returning to that timeline. The same warning applies to Barry as well."
Sometimes time travel isn't completely impossible to work with safely, it's just that most people don't understand how to manipulate it properly.
To put it simply, every time Barry uses the Speed Force to go back and change historical events, it either causes a catastrophic "Flashpoint Paradox" or directly creates an entirely new timeline with unpredictable consequences.
But George was different from other time travelers. He existed as the only version of himself across all possible worlds and timelines. Because of his unique nature, it was completely impossible for two George entities to appear at the same point in time simultaneously.
Even if George traveled back through time, the George from the previous timeline would automatically merge with the later-appearing George into a single being. This process ensured George's universal uniqueness across all realities.
The historical changes that George implemented would also become universally unique due to George's special existence, rather than creating problematic new timelines repeatedly.
"Alright, I'll go with you," Martian Manhunter said after careful consideration. "I want to see this plan succeed."
"Then our deal is officially made," George said with satisfaction. "Please give me the Life Equation."
George had never worried that Martian Manhunter wouldn't possess the Life Equation. After all, Darkseid had first learned of the Life Equation's existence from studying the Green Martian civilization, which was Martian Manhunter's original race.
This was because Martians possessed their own unique philosophical and mathematical system for interpreting the meaning and purpose of life itself. This interpretation could be presented through a mathematical model that encompassed hope, growth, and positive existence.
In Martian philosophy, life possessed inherent meaning and value, and this mathematical model was called the Life Equation.
"Okay, I can give it to you," Martian Manhunter said solemnly. He concentrated deeply and materialized a brilliant orb of pure light in his hands.
After George carefully received the glowing sphere, he immediately felt the warm, bright energy pulsing within it like a living heartbeat.
The Life Equation existed within the mind and soul of every intelligent being throughout the universe. It represented the hope of life itself, the bright, positive side of the Soul Law that opposed the Anti-Life Equation's darkness.
"Thank you for trusting me with this!" George said with gratitude. "Now it's my turn to fulfill our treaty and restore your world."
The two returned to the outside dimension, and Martian Manhunter carefully explained the entire situation and George's proposed plan to everyone gathered.
After hearing the full explanation, Bruce asked the practical question, "If you go back and successfully change the world's fate, all of us in this timeline will simply disappear from existence. I understand and accept that consequence, but what will happen to Barry and Martian Manhunter?"
"They will also disappear completely," George replied honestly, "at the exact moment I prevent Steppenwolf from reporting back to Apokolips."
"Alright, I have no more questions about the plan," Bruce said with resigned acceptance.
"I respect Martian Manhunter's choice completely," Superman added, his voice carrying the weight of leadership and trust.
"It's going to be a bit difficult for me to run through time while carrying two people..." Barry said with some concern about the logistics.
"If you're all willing," George suddenly thought of an intriguing possibility, so he interrupted Barry mid-sentence, "I can take all of you back to witness the restoration firsthand."
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