PFC Chapter 3888 The Nameless Bat (58)
Chapter 3888 The Nameless Bat (58)
Chapter 3888 The Nameless Bat (Fifty-Eight)
"Something happened in your universe too? What about... that Batman guy? You know, the one who likes to wear metal armor. I messaged him and he's not replying... What? They've been invaded by cyber life too? My God..."
"No, Batman's fine. I'm the one calling you because he's busy catching that guy. Ever since he came back from magic school, we've been beating up Hades, the god of the underworld in our universe, draining all the souls he'd accumulated in the underworld and turning them into energy. We've been working on this for months. By the time we found out about the trouble on the East Coast, that guy was already well hidden. We've been working ourselves to the bone lately..."
"Okay, is your space war still going on?... Is it nearing its end? How much did you manage to get your hands on? Don't mind me, Batman asked me to ask this."
"What?! You wiped out Oa?! All the Guardians of the Universe are dead?!... Oh, okay. But most of them are dead, right? They deserved it. Yes, I heard Green Lantern talk about them..."
"The intercepted power of the Seven Lanterns? Does such a thing really exist? Approximately how much? Okay, I'll have Green Lantern keep an eye out. If there really is that much, I'll organize an army to attack Oa..."
"Where did that Batman in the metal armor get his energy? What?! He destroyed Mount Olympus?! Didn't Wonder Woman object? He locked her up?! Raoh! I'd call him the strongest Batman ever!"
"Really? Hecate still has power? I knew it, that owl only knows how to do these underhanded things. He even bullied me, the Batman of this universe, at school. I'll settle the score with him sooner or later! I'll go ask Wonder Woman later..."
"New Genesis? Batman's already taken action against them? The Injustice League? They've got guts. Of course, someone's bound to cause trouble for Darkseid. I thought you'd help the Light Brigade against Darkseid. Anyway, I really need to go talk to Batman."
After hanging up the phone, Superman, dressed in his white suit, clenched his right fist and slammed it against the wall, causing the entire building to shake. He silently counted to three, and a figure flew to the window. Wonder Woman called out from outside, "What happened, Carl? The energy conversion device's connector almost came loose! Be careful!"
“Wait, Diana.” He turned around, revealing the handsome yet serious face of Lord Superman. He said, “Do you know Hecate?”
"You mean the goddess of magic? She's been missing for a long time. I heard she was sealed away, what happened?"
"She has some kind of power, right?"
"Uh, perhaps. After all, she's a goddess of magic; it's normal for her to have energy. It's just that we don't know if she still has that energy after she was sealed away. What do you want?"
“We don’t have enough energy from the underworld; we need to find another way,” Lord Superman said, frowning.
Wonder Woman flew in, looking at him with some concern, and said, "Didn't you say yesterday that you had enough power? And Batman also said that we currently have enough energy to initially establish a magical defense network. What made you change your mind?"
Lord Superman sighed and said, "Did you know that Batman has already raided the entire Mount Olympus?"
"What?!" Wonder Woman exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Then what about their Wonder Woman from that universe...?"
"Stop pretending, Diana. Don't act like you and Zeus have a deep father-daughter bond. As long as Paradise Island is safe, you'll be fine. Weren't you part of the main force in this attack on the Underworld?"
“It’s not that I feel sorry for Zeus. I’m advising you not to attack Mount Olympus directly because something is sealed there. If you kill the gods, you’ll end up in prison.” Wonder Woman shook her head and said, “Although Hades is also sealed in the Underworld, as long as you don’t kill Hades and just take what you can, it won’t cause too much trouble. It’s the most cost-effective option.”
“I know you’re on my side,” Lord Superman said, stepping forward and patting Wonder Woman on the shoulder. “But the Batmen in other universes are progressing too fast. I thought we were doing pretty well, but compared to them, it seems like we’re falling behind again.”
"Really? They're even faster than us?"
"That's right. I just got off the phone with that Batman who's in charge. Guess what? He's teamed up with Darkseid to take over Oa, the planet where the Guardians of the Universe are located. All the Seven Lanterns' power that the Guardians intercepted is now in his hands. I heard he has more than enough to build three magical defense networks. How can I not be anxious?"
Hearing Lord Superman say this, Wonder Woman frowned. She gently shook her head and said, "You know, the leaders of the Justice League in other universes are all Batman. I'm not saying you're inferior to Batman, but only Batman, who has the final say in the team, can unleash his full potential. Right now, he's just assisting you, so he can't really utilize his intellectual advantages. But you can't have your cake and eat it too. If we let him lead the Justice League, we might have to consider all the consequences and start studying the human rights of those criminals again."
Lord Superman stood silently in place. Wonder Woman further persuaded, "I originally thought you two were about to break up, but I didn't expect you to be back together. This couldn't be better. As for our slow progress, that's because we started late. At worst, you can send Green Lantern to investigate Oa, and I'll look for Hecate's whereabouts. We'll catch up eventually."
Lord Superman seemed relieved. He nodded and said, "Yes. Although they made a big fuss, the follow-up troubles are much greater than ours. Although the energy they obtained this time wasn't much, it saved us a lot of trouble and effort. Is everything alright in the Underworld?"
"Don't worry. The souls Hades held captive in the underworld are spirits of the dead, and they can never return to the mortal realm. They can only wander along the riverbank day after day until they forget everything and their own existence. By taking these souls away and refining them into energy, we have essentially freed them. Although Hades is dissatisfied, he is afraid that we will release our eldest son, so he dares not do anything to us."
“I’m going to talk to Batman,” Lord Superman said, waving his cape. “If we can catch up with the progress of the other universes, I’m not in a position to give him a certain degree of autonomy. The multiverse is about to undergo a revolution, and we must achieve a higher position in this new order.”
Batman Arkham sat on his private jet, eyes closed, resting. After a while, he opened his eyes and looked down at the map. The locations of 80% of the Sanctuaries had been confirmed. To ensure effectiveness, the chosen locations for the Sanctuaries were roughly the same as those in the Marvel Universe. However, Gotham's Justice League base replaced Kamar-Taj as the headquarters of the Magic Defense Network.
Suddenly, he received a new message from the Doujie (Battle Realm). He had only glanced at it casually at first, but after seeing the content, he immediately sat up straight. He took the water cup from the flight attendant, took a sip, and began to read it carefully.
“A soul from the underworld?” Arkham Batman muttered to himself, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest of his seat. He thought for a moment, then pulled out a rather retro-looking phone from beside him—the upper half resembled a tablet, but the lower half had a box attached. He pressed a button on the box, and the phone emitted a faint magical glow.
“Diana, are you there?” Batman from Arkham said to the box.
There was some static on the other end, but an echo came quickly: "Yes, I'm here. I'm reinforcing the seal on Mount Olympus. What's wrong?"
"Is there a group of souls trapped in Hades' underworld?" Batman from Arkham asked.
"If you're referring to the spirits of the River Styx, then yes, they do exist. They are souls that, for various reasons, have been unable to cross the River Styx over thousands of years and remain in the underworld. Moreover, many such souls lie submerged beneath the River Styx. What's wrong?"
"The Superman and Batman from the Justice Lord universe went to the Underworld, stole these souls, and refined them into energy. Do you think we could do that?"
"Uh, isn't the energy of the entire Mount Olympus enough?" Wonder Woman's voice was somewhat incredulous.
“Just tell me if it’s possible,” Arkham Batman said decisively.
"Alright. Hades has never been a benevolent god. He doesn't care about any other living beings besides the gods. He might be angry that you trespassed into his territory to steal things, but he probably wouldn't fight you to the death for those wandering souls that are of no use to him. My suggestion is that you talk to him directly; maybe he'll be willing to give you those things."
"Do you have anything on him?" Arkham Batman asked bluntly.
“Not really.” Wonder Woman paused for a moment before saying, “A being prophesied to bring destruction to Mount Olympus is sealed in the Underworld, called the Firstborn. Hades probably won’t be happy to see him free. You can use that to negotiate with him. However, I’ve never heard of a technology that converts souls into energy, so you’d better make sure it’s possible before you go.”
Batman Arkham hung up the call and turned to his assistant, saying, "Cancel this afternoon's visit to Bhutan. I have personal matters to attend to."
"Okay, Mr. President. Will the plane still land in Washington?"
"No, we'll change course and go to Gotham."
After disembarking, Arkham Batman returned to the Justice League base. Superman was somewhat surprised to see him back, saying, "Didn't you say you were busy for the past week?"
"The plan has changed. I need to build a machine that converts souls into energy, and then go to the Underworld to talk to Hades and ask him to give me the souls wandering the River Styx. That way, we can increase the budget for the magic defense network again."
"Another increase? But the divine power we've acquired is already enough to build two magical defense networks. Didn't you say that yourself?"
“Yes, but you can never have too much backup energy,” Batman Arkham continued. “Some Batmen have already acquired the power of the Seven Lamps. That’s a huge amount of energy, at least a third more than we have. It seems the Lamp Society is indeed very wealthy.”
"You want Green Lantern to..."
“Let him go and investigate first,” said Batman Arkham. “Even if our universe doesn’t have the power of the Seven Lamps that were intercepted, we might be able to find a way from the Lamp Furnace and the Lamp Ring. It’ll be some income, no matter what.”
"In addition, the goddess of magic, Hecate, also possesses a sum of energy. I will have Wonder Woman keep an eye on it. Once we find her trail, we'll go and get our hands on the energy."
"Looks like you're about to start a competition," Superman couldn't help but exclaim. "Exchange resources, share information, and then slaughter all the fat sheep in the universe."
"Only by using this energy for the magical defense network can we ensure it is not used to harm Earth, but rather to protect it. This is a brilliant way to kill two birds with one stone. If our technology were not currently unable to support large-scale space warfare, Darkseid and the new Genesis would also be good targets."
After a pause, Batman Arkham said, "A storm is brewing in the multiverse. To rise above it, we must get those lazy gods to contribute to the development of the universe."