Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 5558 - 584: Day of Pure White (4)
In fact, the Batmen are never unprepared, especially when they are about to visit the universe of the famous Nameless Bat. Almost every one of them leaves safety messages for the Justice League. At regular intervals, the others receive different messages. If there’s a delay or an error in the messages, it indicates that Batman might be in trouble.
This mechanism allows universes that have lost Batman to immediately realize that he might be in danger. So, they gather according to Batman’s emergency plan. However, the biggest problem with Batman’s emergency plan is that without Batman, its execution is bound to be severely compromised.
For instance, in the Movie Universe where Ben belongs, Superman successfully brought together the Justice League. But when it came to what to do next, everyone was clueless.
"We should go to his universe," Wonder Woman said. "No matter what he encountered, we must bring him out of there."
"That’s exactly the problem. If even Batman encounters danger in that universe, it means that it might have already fallen completely. Going there now would be walking into a trap," Martian Manhunter frowned.
Their debate mainly revolved around this. Some wanted to break in and rescue Batman immediately, while others wanted to plan thoroughly. It wasn’t out of respect for the enemy but out of respect for Batman.
The obvious fact is: assuming Batman was caught off guard and disappeared without a trace, even if he’s not dead now, the enemy he faced must be incredibly powerful. And if all of them blindly walk into a trap for Batman’s sake and can’t return, then what about their universe?
The threat of Darkseid is near. Even though he tried to create trouble multiple times within the Apocalypse Domain using a cloned fake Superman with the Omega Ray, Darkseid still covets Earth. Ignoring it is akin to handing Earth over.
They debated this issue for a long time, but eventually, all eyes turned to Superman. Without Batman, he was the absolute core and leader of the Justice League, and ultimately it was up to him to decide the course of action for the Justice League.
"I know Batman very well," Superman began. "The purpose of the safety messages he left us is not for us to panic and rush to save him the moment we realize something’s wrong. But in the face of a crisis that might threaten him, we must seize every second. Most importantly, we must do something useful as quickly as possible."
Diana almost heard the buzzing sound made by the super brain when it was operating frantically. It was a strange sensation, even capable of facing the winds caused by mental disturbances in the real world. Kryptonians are indeed so extraordinary.
"As far as I know, he didn’t go alone," Superman continued, "Other Batmen went with him too. So, I need to contact the other Batmen first and ask them what happened to him."
"Have you already sent out a message?"
"Yes. But I can’t directly contact the other Batmen, so I’ve messaged the other Supermen. They haven’t replied yet."
"How long do we wait?"
"We don’t need to wait because if the Supermen from the other universes haven’t replied, it indicates their Batman might also have issues. They should be eager to inquire from others as well."
"My God," Cyborg shook his head. "It’s hard to imagine what kind of disaster could wipe out so many Batmen. Why is the Black Death Emperor so powerful?"
"We’ve long known that he is a Multiverse level disaster. Whenever the Batmen gather, they are prepared for sacrifices. Soon I’ll go meet them. Stay here and wait for my news."
"It’s all we can do," Aquaman sighed lightly.
Superman didn’t keep them waiting long. He could indeed be described as fast in coming and going. He was only gone for a few minutes before reappearing before everyone, who was eagerly watching him. Yet he shook his head and said, "It’s inconvenient to discuss in Battleworld, we need to go to the Prime Universe."
This made everyone feel a bit apprehensive. They knew very little about other universes in the Multiverse, especially the so-called Prime Universe. They didn’t know what criteria were used to rank the importance of universes. But being called the Prime Universe, it must have something special. Would the Justice League there be different?
Fortunately, Superman knew more about this. He comforted them by saying: "Most Justice Leagues across universes are the same. You will meet our counterparts there. They are the same as us, but also different. But at this moment, we must overlook these minor differences and unite to face the disaster. In this regard, they might not necessarily do better than us."
This reassurance was effective because they realized that across so many Justice Leagues in the Multiverse, they couldn’t be the only ones who valued Batman so highly. Losing Batman is a major disaster for any universe. Even if someone had gone through such an experience before, they couldn’t possibly adapt. As long as they calm down, they won’t behave worse than others.
And indeed, when they descended into the Prime Universe through the teleportation portal, the chaos was beyond words.
A Superman in a white uniform is pinning another Superman to the ground, beating him up. Beside them, two more Supermen are trying to mediate. The other Superman, who resembles the Monster Doomsday more than a Superman, is preparing to join the fray with a Superman wearing a blue cape. However, a younger Superman is not so optimistic; he floats in mid-air, troubled by the situation below.
But this is just about the Supermen. There is another figure even more eye-catching: a Batman who doesn’t quite look like Batman. His uniform style makes him look somewhat like an Owl, surrounded by several Wonder Women and other members of the Justice League. This is clearly not a picture of friendly exchange.
Then there is a large group of Batmen with a peculiar aesthetic, gathered together to discuss something. The nearby Supermen who are fighting are not even the central topic of their discussion. The whole scene is chaotic, yet with a kind of chaotic beauty. If this scene were documented by a painter from the Middle Ages, the name would probably be "The Death of Batman."
Superman decided to first deal with the fighting Supermen. Apparently, other Supermen thought the same. Under a combined effort of several Supermen, the crazy white Superman was finally subdued.
"He doesn’t really think that guy is guilty." One Superman says, "He just wants to vent his frustrations. They are both almost equally dangerous."
Superman agrees with this assessment. From the appearances of the two and the avatars they used within the group, he deduced that one is a Justice Lord, the other is an Injustice Superman. Their feud hadn’t just started today. As for fighting here, it’s not completely for venting; it’s because the relationship between the Batmen from their respective universes is relatively closer compared to theirs.
There’s an inappropriate yet suitable analogy: every Batman from a universe with a dominant Superman is like a sympathetic Beagle owner. However, some Beagles focus on barking, while others excel at dismantling houses.
Such Batmen are more communicative within the Batman community. Because they need to constantly check with their counterparts to confirm if their Superman has gone off on a rash impulse causing trouble again. Seemingly more outgoing in personality, it’s actually because they’ve run out of options.
Superman stood among the crowd, listening to their quarrels. Not all of it was meaningless content. At least it could be determined that there are roughly a dozen Batmen missing without a response. But the number of missing Batmen should be more than that because some universes’ Justice League haven’t arrived.
However, arguing is arguing. Regarding the rescue of Batman, everyone reached a high degree of consensus—they cannot rashly charge ahead, or they’d end up dead for sure.
If the Superman from the Movie Universe still holds some doubts about this, his counterparts are evidently much more resolved. Perhaps it’s because they all encountered stronger Batmen during better times. The consequence of not missing their peaks is a deep belief from everyone: any trap that can entrap Batman could kill them a thousand times.
Of course, such results might also be attributed to the current chaotic scene. Despite everyone arguing and fighting, this is also an expression of treating each other as hope. Because they can support each other and jointly find ways, they’re able to express their emotions.
It’s conceivable that when they are alone in their respective universes, they must be as serious as they can be. When you are the pillar, you cannot afford a misstep. Yet with so many pillars together, even if the sky falls, there is always someone taller to hold it up.
Main Universe Superman had to stand out—everyone could see he wasn’t very confident—but it was still an act of bravery worthy of praise. He cleared his throat and said, "The Justice League from that universe hasn’t come. This proves they are also trapped."
Some Supermen subconsciously checked the time. When they found out it was indeed working hours during a weekday, they had no choice but to be more serious. Don’t see that the League leaves as soon as work ends, but they wouldn’t absent from work for no reason; they are also very diligent during working hours. If they haven’t come now, then it proves it’s not just Batman that has a problem; the whole Justice League from that universe might’ve been involved.
This left everyone no room for blame. Being targeted by the Black Death Emperor wasn’t their fault. Their universe was the first to catch fire, preventing other universes from being afflicted.
"Therefore, we don’t have any other means to learn about that universe’s situation unless..."
"Unless what?" Someone asked.
"Survivors." Main Universe Superman said, "We need to find survivors from that universe."
"Would there really be survivors? And just happened to enter the Battleworld?"
"It’s because we don’t know which is why we need to search. Wonder Woman, please widely contact others within Battleworld to see if anyone has come out from that universe."
"No problem." Wonder Woman’s group is the most united. But precisely because of this, anxious emotions are spreading, without conflicts or contradictions to interrupt their release of feelings. Main Universe Superman had to find them something to do first.
"I believe everyone agrees on one thing: it’s impossible to rescue Batman by bypassing the Black Death Emperor. So while we seem to want to rescue Batman, in reality, it’s just taking over Batman’s work, continuing to deal with the Black Death Emperor. Did your Batmen inform you of his battle plan before leaving?"
Everyone started a lively discussion.
