Su Ming had to go through some effort to find Barry. He eventually discovered him hiding in the tunnel from which Su Ming had just emerged. Barry had somehow procured a bag of cookies and was munching away, crumbs falling from his mouth.
"Had a good rest?" Su Ming asked calmly, leaning on his Great Sword, black blood dripping down the blade.
"Cough cough, the cookies are too dry. It would be great if there was some water..." Barry stretched his neck, gulping down a mouthful of cookie with difficulty. He looked sheepishly at the pile of empty cookie bags beside him. "Do you want some? I just got some chocolate Oreo cookies from Ron."
Although Su Ming was clean now, the disgusting feeling from being surrounded by the bizarre dark energy inside Barbatos still lingered, leaving him with no appetite.
Besides, he's not a Speedster, so he wouldn't get hungry so quickly. On the contrary, due to the modifications by X Metal, he felt a fullness of energy within him.
"No, thanks... Speaking of which, Mars Hunter really has a special fondness for chocolate Oreos. He should ask the manufacturer for an endorsement fee, so he can enjoy them for free."
"Uh, Mars Hunter is not like you. He's a... very low-key person, not fond of appearing in public and making a show of things."
Barry stuffed another cookie into his mouth, answering Su Ming's question vaguely.
Su Ming suddenly thought of grabbing Mars Hunter to ask him if he knew about the four ways to write... no, eat Oreos.
Endorsing a product is a completely legal and proper thing. Given he's a loyal customer of the product, Mars Hunter could benefit from it, if only he wasn't worried about misleading consumers' fair choice of cookie brands; after all, his taste doesn't represent everyone else's.
Such moral scruples really seemed overly cautious and excessively considered.
If Su Ming had his powers, he would undoubtedly go around like the Justice League to rake in money, endorsing some products, shooting a few commercials, and counting money at home.
Su Ming felt that Ron lost a million.
"What do you think I should endorse if I want to make money?" Su Ming suddenly asked Barry.
"Uh???" Barry was a bit bewildered. Is there such a thing as endorsements in mercenary work? No reputable company would ask Deathstroke to endorse anything, right?
"Never mind, just saying. Let's go, take me to find the Laughing Bat and Diana."
Su Ming was indeed just joking with Barry; shooting commercials is nowhere near as fun as fighting. A mercenary should appear on the busiest battlefield.
Barry wiped his mouth. Eating too many sweets all of a sudden was giving him a sugar rush headache; he usually preferred pizza.
"Where are they?"
"The Laughing Bat's Bat Cave should be under Challenger Mountain, but Diana hasn't returned, and we haven't detected any signs of a fight beneath us." Su Ming looked at the surrounding bustling crowd; he was just standing there idly, which felt quite conspicuous. "What other place in all of Gotham would attract an Otherworld's mad Batman?"
Barry understood. He always was clever, especially when Su Ming practically spelled it out for him.
"I got it, Batman's Bat Cave in our world."
"Exactly, take me there."
.......................
Underneath Wayne Mansion.
The Laughing Bat sat in Bruce's chair, holding his chin as if pondering something, though the way he occasionally burst into sinister laughter suggested he wasn't particularly serious.
Not far from him, an old man was tied to a piece of equipment, surrounded by strange devices attached to him.
This shabby-looking old man in a white vest, with a head severely balding like the Fire Cloud Evil God from "Kung Fu Hustle," was none other than the mighty Watcher of the DC World.
But he wasn't a match for Barbatos, having been tortured in nightmares to the point of losing his abilities.
Now, give him two birdcages and a pair of tinkling iron balls, and he'd be the spitting image of the grandpa from Su Ming's familiar neighborhood.
The Laughing Bat had removed his skull cap, exposing his brain, and modified Batman's Final Machine operating table. Now, with a mere push of a button, the brains of the Positive and Negative Watchers would collide, leading all universes to annihilation, given the Main Universe Earth is stuck at the Blood Domain boundary.
Yet, the Laughing Bat didn't proceed with this plan. Instead, he paused, endlessly joking with his hounds as if waiting for someone.
The Watcher, having regained consciousness after being removed from the Tuning Fork, found himself powerless, unable to escape the Promethium-made devices, and could only watch helplessly as the Laughing Bat did inexplicable things, anxiously awaiting his fate.
Once, he believed he could control destiny, but the Anti-Monitor taught him he was not nearly as strong as he imagined.
When he lived a low-key life, blending into human society and enjoying his existence, Barbatos struck him again, showing him how vulnerable he really was.
A short while ago, the Laughing Bat had secretly brought him here, spouting a torrent of words beyond his comprehension, a reality so mad that even he, who thought himself the Universe's observer, couldn't accept.
He realized this Laughing Man was utterly crazy, his plan truly terrifying.
The Laughing Man told him they were all virtual characters, existing within some absurd comic books, everyone's fate manipulated, performing their pre-written roles like Puppets.
Only his plan could change everything, granting true liberation to all...
His plan involved killing all the Batmen, including himself, exterminating the person known as DC Universe's hope once and for all.
But before doing so, he needed to have a good talk with the Batman of the Main World, to show him that he was the greatest Batman, the real Bruce.
That he was the one who would ultimately save everyone, freeing them from their manipulated, laughable fate...
Time flew by with his mad laughter and the panting of the Robin Hounds. The Watcher felt the Laughing Bat was merely waiting for an audience to gather; most madmen loved an audience.
The Laughing Bat had long anticipated Barbatos' brainless defeat, knowing strength wasn't everything; it was intellect that mattered. He had been deceiving everyone for so long, all for today's arrival.
He wanted the Main World's Batman; Batman was the key. But first to arrive was Wonder Woman, much to his displeasure.
The Laughing Man used Bruce's voice from the Main World, combined with his command of fingerprints, retinal scans, and technology, to already obtain the Bat Strike Armor from the Main World.
In a distinctly different style of combat, he used Joker-like bizarre tactics to tangle with Wonder Woman. Although the Hellbat Armor was destroyed, Wonder Woman inadvertently got hit by his Strong Hypnotic Needle and fainted.
He didn't kill Wonder Woman but let her live a while longer. He tied her to a stone pillar using the Lasso of Truth, making her the audience.
The Laughing Bat returned to the computer, observing everything at Challenger Mountain through Batman's surveillance cameras in Gotham. He saw the defeat of Barbatos, a group of people knocking Barbatos off the Tuning Fork and freezing him.
"Gah gah gah... Soon, Bruce, the other me is coming."
He raised his hands, wildly waving them in the air, overwhelmed with excitement.
"Aren't you happy?"
He suddenly dashed over to the Watcher, the smile on his face disappearing instantly, displeased by the Watcher's mournful expression.
How could the Watcher be happy? If Bruce came, the Laughing Bat would surely activate the device, leading them all to annihilation. Only the Laughing Bat would find joy in such a situation.
The things he talked about were outrageous, and the Watcher didn't believe any of it—or perhaps dared not to.
But before he could come up with an answer, the Laughing Bat suddenly raised a finger, laughing as he placed it against the old man's thick lips.
"Shh... no need to talk, I understand, hahaha! We are all tired of this fake world, and everyone will truly be set free!"