Chapter 247: Your Anticipation of My Anticipation of Your Plan Is All Part of My Plan
The Batman Who Laughs was a man of great ideals, even though his power wasn't particularly outstanding and the reality-warping ability he possessed had been granted by Barbatos.
But that was fine. The Batman Who Laughs didn't feel weak in the slightest; on the contrary, he believed himself to be immensely powerful. For instance, he was exceptionally skilled at taking what Batman did and perfecting it, always able to produce various contingency plans to resolve the crisis at hand.
"Now, I'll have to add another plan to the list."
The Batman Who Laughs downed the red wine in his glass. He was growing impatient. Just recalling the overwhelming display of Doctor Manhattan made him crave that kind of power for himself.
Within the vast and gloomy Grand Hall, the shadow of every ancient pillar stretched long.
A colossal figure slowly stepped out from the shadows. "You look pleased. You've lost your composure far more often recently than in the past."
"I was thinking of something joyous, very joyous... The Dark Knights will soon be assembled, my master. You will soon possess a Dark Multiverse Batman version of the 'Justice League.' This team will become a sharp blade in your hand, tearing through all obstacles for you."
The Batman Who Laughs looked at Barbatos, who had appeared so bizarrely, as if he were monitoring his every move from up close, even trying to spy on his innermost thoughts. Yet, no hint of surprise showed on his face. He calmly set down his glass and offered a polite bow.
When etiquette was required, The Batman Who Laughs was more meticulous than anyone. In any case, courtesies like these would never hinder him from simultaneously executing all sorts of conspiracies.
Even if the one before him was the renowned master of the Dark Multiverse, the Dragon of Worlds, the Bat-God, and the controller of the World Forge, Barbatos, he would absolutely not receive any form of respect from him.
In truth, The Batman Who Laughs respected no one. Every person and object was, in the final analysis, a stepping stone to achieve a certain goal, the only difference being whether they had value to be used or were utterly worthless.
Barbatos looked down, scrutinizing The Batman Who Laughs, who wasn't even as large as his palm.
In the Dark Multiverse, there were a great many insane Batmen—the very reason the Dark Multiverse was prefixed with "Dark" was because these universes were generally twisted, malformed, and incomplete. Even their most fundamental cosmic rules were flawed, leading to the birth of all sorts of illogical monstrosities within them.
In the era when Perpetua's firstborn, the World Forger, was forging universes with the World Forge, these abnormal universes should have been destroyed by Barbatos the moment they were born.
But after Barbatos killed the World Forger, he did not destroy these abnormal universes, instead allowing them to cluster and settle, forming the Dark Multiverse.
"Of all the Batmen I have seen, you are the most special. Your talent is also the one that moves me the most," Barbatos spoke in the ancient divine language.
An ordinary Batman truly wouldn't have understood, but the mind of The Batman Who Laughs stored far too much knowledge. Furthermore, he could use his spiked visor to peer into all corners of the Multiverse and the Dark Multiverse, giving him the opportunity to learn a vast amount of knowledge. Understanding the divine language was simply too easy for him.
"Hehehe, I imagine you're about to use the word 'but' to turn the conversation... No matter what happens, I will stand firmly by your side." The Batman Who Laughs grinned, revealing a mouthful of teeth.
Yes, as long as Barbatos was still alive, he would obey the incredibly powerful Barbatos.
"It's best that you do. Find a way to open a channel to the Main Universe as soon as possible. As long as the Main Universe falls into the Dark Multiverse, to be corrupted by the sin and evil here, the entire Multiverse will not escape my grasp," Barbatos said in a deep voice. "The longer we drag this out, the more problems will arise."
"That's true. Who would have thought that a God of Xenomorphs of unknown origin would suddenly pop up? And be so unbelievably troublesome... Speaking of which, if not for the protection of your power, I probably would have been parasitized the moment I called out his name."
The Batman Who Laughs let out a sigh of genuine amazement, but in the next second, the part of his chaotic mind from the Joker caused his thoughts to shift abruptly, and all amazement vanished.
Even The Batman Who Laughs himself couldn't be sure what he would be like in the next moment, let alone a deity like Barbatos. But that was what made it interesting. The Batman Who Laughs was deeply intoxicated by his own infinitely evolving, insane thoughts, unable to extricate himself.
"Rest assured, he cannot extend his hand into my domain. When I was suppressing countless worlds, he was who-knows-where." Although Barbatos said this, he had become intensely wary of Du Wa.
The Xenomorph as a creature was just too broken, and Du Wa had somehow managed to utilize this creature to an unbelievable level.
Barbatos only needed to observe the changes in the Main Universe to know that Du Wa had already covered it. If left unchecked, not just the Multiverse, but even the Dark Multiverse would become overrun with Xenomorphs.
"Traces of Xenomorphs have already appeared in the Dark Multiverse. I will soon make a move to eliminate all of them. You had best speed up. You don't want the Dark Multiverse to be teeming with Xenomorphs, do you? Even you would become a part of the Xenomorphs, forever under his control, with no escape."
With that final sentence, Barbatos's figure vanished, off to consolidate his rule over the Dark Multiverse.
The Batman Who Laughs remained bowed. A long while passed before the other Batmen of the Dark Knights approached. Only then did The Batman Who Laughs stand up straight with great ceremony, making it seem as if he were utterly loyal to Barbatos.
But everyone knew that was impossible. A character like The Batman Who Laughs was incapable of loyalty, a fact Barbatos himself was well aware of.
"Gods also feel fear, as long as we find the right method."
The Batman Who Laughs said, though it was unclear whether he was referring to Barbatos or Du Wa. "I need to launch a spectacular operation... The Devastator, you're with me."
"What about us?" The Dawnbreaker flashed the Green Lantern ring on his finger. "You summoned us here only to have us do nothing? If so, I might as well return to my universe to enforce my rules."
"A foolish notion. Your desperate efforts to transform one Earth in a dark universe are nothing compared to transforming the entire Multiverse into a Dark Multiverse. When I need you to execute the plan, I will arrange it."
The Batman Who Laughs left with The Devastator, also known as the Doomsday Batman, and headed for an unnumbered dark universe.
But The Devastator was no quiet, good-natured man. He glanced at the eyes of The Batman Who Laughs and noticed that the visor the man always wore was gone. "You'd better deliver on your promise to me soon. Otherwise, I won't be able to stop myself from killing you. I have never had anything to say to the Joker."
"Soon. You will have your chance to kill the Superman of the Main Universe."
"Faster! I was listening to your conversation with Barbatos. The Main Universe is already ruled by that so-called God of Xenomorphs? I just hope the Superman there isn't dead yet," The Devastator said coldly.
He was originally the righteous Batman of Earth-1.
The Superman of his universe had been infected by a Kryptonite toxin, gone insane, and started killing everyone. The Batman of Earth-1 had no choice. After Superman tore off one of his arms, he could only open the Doomsday virus in his utility belt and inject it into his own body, using superior strength to kill Superman.
But the price was that his perception became numb and his heart grew cold, no longer stopping for things like friendship or family. For the first time, he had saved himself from endless pain.
"I know you regret not using the Doomsday virus on everyone on Earth-1 sooner, so that everyone could have had the strength to fight Superman. But don't regret it just yet. We need to accumulate enough strength to fight the Xenomorphs, successfully carry out the invasion, and turn the Main Universe into our gateway for invading the Multiverse."
The Batman Who Laughs spoke as if to himself, his mind operating at high speed, formulating numerous plans. Choosing The Devastator to accompany him was also part of the plan.
In this dark universe, there was also a Batman, one whom The Batman Who Laughs had made contact with the moment he sensed the existence of Doctor Manhattan.
Now, he was guiding this pitiful fellow into a Quantum Laboratory to repeat the experiment that Doctor Manhattan had once undergone.
He had successfully obtained the specific experimental steps by observing the conversations between Adrian and the Second Generation Rorschach. The next step was to perfect it and go through trial and error.
Never underestimate the intellect of a Batman. They only needed a few directional pointers, and they would perfect the rest themselves.
For example, this Batman, guided by The Batman Who Laughs, firmly believed that after he perfected and upgraded this experiment, he would definitely become a quantum deity comparable to Doctor Manhattan.
"Doctor Manhattan... He is too powerful. What he could achieve by accident as a mortal, I can surely achieve with a meticulous plan! Then, I can correct these erroneous universes and make them just like normal universes!"
As this Batman fantasized, he remained wary of The Batman Who Laughs who had provided him the intelligence, carefully calculating all possibilities and choosing the safest possible location to conduct his experiment.
Unfortunately, he didn't know that The Batman Who Laughs possessed a visor that could see through universes, allowing him to watch his every move.
"As soon as I become a deity, that Joker-like Batman, no matter what conspiracy he has, will be no match for me."
He activated the equipment. Countless points of light appeared. Amidst a pained roar, his body began to dissolve into innumerable particles. An unknown amount of time passed, and then, where he had vanished, blue nerves appeared out of thin air, followed by blood vessels, then a skeleton and flesh and blood, finally constructing a blue body.
"It seems to have been a success. But how were you so sure he would succeed?" Although The Devastator had injected the Doomsday virus, his brain hadn't devolved into Doomsday's mindless state. He couldn't comprehend the current result. "I don't know why you guided him to do this, but failure should be the norm for this kind of self-modification experiment."
"Correct. Hehehe. That's why I never placed my hopes of success on him. There's no need to hide it from you now. He was actually the seventeenth experimental subject I selected... The previous sixteen all failed and died," The Batman Who Laughs said with a vicious grin.
The Devastator immediately understood. The data from the experiments of sixteen Batmen who had given their lives, combined with the analysis and refinement by The Batman Who Laughs and the seventeenth Batman, would naturally bring them closer to success. All they needed was a bit of luck.
Of course, the reality was not as simple as The Devastator imagined. Through the results of these Batmen, The Batman Who Laughs had also confirmed one thing.
The very moment the Quantum Batman was born.
The Devastator clenched his fists, the spikes all over his body bristling. He was ready to strike at any moment and take down this unprecedented Quantum Batman.
But someone was faster.
"It seems this is the place. It was worth waiting all this time and specifically observing the time-flow of various universes. Everything is within my plan."
Du Wa's figure immediately burst in. Even without deliberately releasing any sign of his power, his presence alone made everyone on site instinctively tense up.
Du Wa looked at the Quantum Batman, who was struggling to reassemble his own body, and showed a satisfied expression.
Very good. Just like this.
"As for you two..." Du Wa swept his gaze over The Batman Who Laughs and The Devastator.
Swish!
The Devastator didn't hesitate for a moment, nor would he feel any fear. He immediately swung his fist and charged, smashing towards Du Wa like a cannonball.
An attack like this would have been too much for the Superman of Earth-1 to handle.
But Du Wa simply extended a single finger and easily blocked The Devastator's fist. With a backhanded flick, one of The Devastator's arms exploded.
"Back then, was this how the Superman of your universe crippled one of your arms?" Du Wa looked at this Doomsday Batman with great interest.
The Devastator's severed arm rapidly regenerated. A red glow appeared in his eyes, and more spikes erupted from his body. He had clearly undergone a minor evolution.
Du Wa shook his head. With a single slap, he smashed the fellow into a meat paste, destroying every single cell.
"I once owned two of your kind. Do you know why I haven't parasitized a new Doomsday? Because there's no point. I'm not interested in low-grade things like you."
Du Wa fixed his gaze on The Batman Who Laughs.
The Batman Who Laughs wasn't flustered at all. "You spoke a line that sounds familiar. However, your plan to hijack this outcome was within my plan from the very beginning. How will you deal with that, Mr. Xenomorph?"
"You're not wearing the visor. This is your clone?"
Du Wa nodded and said, "Then you must not know that your very plan to anticipate mine was also within my plan."
"?"
It was the first time The Batman Who Laughs had encountered such a person. As Du Wa crushed his head, he was still lost in thought.
Du Wa casually kicked the corpse of The Batman Who Laughs aside. One didn't need to guess to know that The Batman Who Laughs had made another move.
However, his greatest trump card had already been preemptively countered. The Batman Who Laughs, in his mortal body, no matter how much he schemed, was ultimately defined by the other half within him—the Joker.
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