Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 5559 - 4585: Day of Absolute White (5)
Not every Batman is silent. Or rather, Batman is only silent about less critical matters. And when it comes to catastrophic events affecting the survival of the Multiverse, it clearly doesn’t fall within this realm. Most Batmen will discuss their strategies with the Justice League. Of course, it may seem that they are cheerful in character, but in reality, they too have run out of options.
In an ideal situation, Batman would devise a flawless plan and then direct them to execute it. But in practice, this doesn’t work, because if the plan isn’t explained to others, they won’t be able to execute it effectively. Moreover, if they aren’t involved during the planning stages, mishaps may occur during execution.
This doesn’t involve democratic procedures or such, but rather resembles a scholar explaining a problem to a mediocre student. Throwing out a result and expecting them to backpedal through the process is absolutely ineffective. They must be guided meticulously, step by step, so they can derive the result themselves; that is the proper coaching method.
It may seem like a waste of time, but at this moment it proves useful. More or less, the other members of the Justice League have heard about Batman’s plan. Some have established an incredibly detailed monitoring system to prevent sudden revivals; others have crafted a passage to the Earth’s core, always prepared to awaken the Spirit of Existence; while others delve deeper into the research of Magic and the Power of Seven Lanterns, believing that to defeat the Black Death Emperor, only stronger Mysterious Power can prevail.
Most Supermen favor the last strategy. Passive defense isn’t the answer; one cannot let the Black Death Emperor act like a sniper, taking targets down one at a time. Even if victory is achieved that way, the Multiverse would be riddled with scars by him. It’s better to gather strength and take him down directly.
Primary Universe Batman is the executor of the counterattack plan. He’s never given up on the research of the Emotional Spectrum and Magic. Unfortunately, the term "research" is largely alien to other members of the Justice League. This is a domain exclusive to Batman. No one knows how he researches or what he has discovered.
"I’ll go back and take a look," Main Universe Superman said, "but I know the existing results aren’t fruitful. Or maybe there’s been little progress for a long time; otherwise, he wouldn’t risk heading to the universe being invaded by the Black Death Emperor."
The atmosphere grew dour because everyone else understood this logic too. Directly venturing into that universe is undoubtedly a risky decision. But because Batman left in such a hurry, he didn’t explain much. Therefore, they could only see it as a risky gamble after stagnant progress. This proves that the first half of the plan hasn’t gone smoothly.
"Before he left, Batman was doing something very important," Main Universe Superman said, "He was exploring the secrets of the Lantern Corps."
These words attracted everyone’s attention. They knew that if Primary Universe Batman had no leads, Main Universe Superman wouldn’t have brought this matter up.
"The First Lantern," Main Universe Superman said, "I believe everyone here has heard of them. Those blue-skinned, large-headed Guardians of the Universe aren’t the true masters of the Emotional Spectrum. They’re not even its discoverers or controllers. The methods to utilize the Emotional Spectrum weren’t invented by them. They merely occupied these methods. This knowledge comes from an ancient mysterious entity—the First Lantern."
As soon as his words fell, someone chimed in. Obviously, more than one Universe Batman has been looking for this person. Every Batman who could access the Oa Star or even landed there turned it upside down but found nothing.
"Maybe it’s just a legend," someone said, frowning, "I can hardly believe it. There was a Batman who couldn’t find someone."
"But even if he can’t find them, Batman firmly believes in his existence," Main Universe Superman rebutted, "Batman is the kind of person who values evidence the most. If a being exists only in tenuous myths without concrete evidence, he wouldn’t expend such enormous effort to find them."
This was quite reasonable, leaving everyone else speechless. They couldn’t presume Batman to be stubbornly trying to source power from myths and legends because that would make them seem foolish.
"Is there any substantial evidence?" Wonder Woman finally calmed down and asked, "We’ve only ever heard that he’s searching. But we’ve never figured out what compels him to do so. Honestly, couldn’t Batman research the methods the First Lantern discovered?"
This sparked a vigorous discussion. Everyone thought it was a great idea. Because it was clear that in such domains, Batman was unmatched; he could research anything in this world. Couldn’t this include the methods to utilize the Emotional Spectrum?
If he could research it directly, he wouldn’t need to look for the former inventor; this thing doesn’t have any patents. Even if it did, the patent would have expired long ago. Surely it isn’t just for paying tribute?
Batman didn’t choose to conduct the research himself but obstinately searched, proving he must have certain evidence. Proving there were things only the First Lantern possessed. That even the Guardians of the Universe hadn’t obtained. This was quite incredible.
If the First Lantern had really been imprisoned by them for years, they should have obtained everything they wanted already. But they hadn’t. Maybe Batman also thought he couldn’t acquire that thing either. That’s why he continued searching.
What could it be? The Supermen were all at a loss. They had thought about seeking help from Green Lantern, but Green Lantern didn’t know much more than they did. They were just Swordholders, entirely clueless about sword forging.
"Maybe we should think in reverse," another Superman spoke, "what kind of place could make even Batman unable to find anyone?"
Now the atmosphere in the room was boiling again. Nearly everyone opened up, not hard to see that every single one had imagined a scenario where Batman fails. Due to the difficulty in crafting a logically sound narrative, they pondered again and again. But because it was far too morbid, no one could confide in it.
Now they could openly discuss it, a rare opportunity for exchange. Everyone chimed in, proposing every possibility they had imagined—mostly absurd beyond belief.
The faction representing mysterious existence believes there are far too many unknown realms in the cosmos. Some are beyond human reach. No carbon-based or intelligent life can get there. That place is the best choice.
The faction outside the cosmos believes there’s nothing within the cosmos that can stop Batman. He must go outside the cosmos. No one knows what lies beyond, but such a place must exist.
The faction believing in hiding in plain sight thinks such a place is on Earth. A place Batman is unwilling to remember and rarely visits. Like his parents’ graves. Or some place in his memory.
The three factions are in heated arguments. Each has its own reasoning. But the debate is only about where Batman is strongest. Clearly, this is one of the Justice League’s routine brainstorming activities. They have so much to talk about.
Main Universe Superman cleared his throat to stop their fervent discussion. He said, "I think there’s a possibility. Would you all be willing to listen?"
Everyone looked at him, and Main Universe Superman continued, "There’s only one First Lantern. I mean, there’s only one in the entire Multiverse."
"Is that possible?" another Superman asked, looking at him, "The only existence in the Multiverse?"
"Yes, it’s like the Black Death Emperor," someone else said, "You can’t think he has any fundamental difference from these mysterious existences just because he sounds more human. They may not have equivalents."
"That makes sense, if there’s only one in the entire Multiverse, then only one Batman can find it, and the others are just scrambling in vain."
"What we can think of, Batman can think of too. There will definitely be information exchanges between them. This way we can form a search network."
"But the Batman in Battleworld isn’t everything," someone else said, "If he ran to some corner of the universe, he won’t be found, right?"
The atmosphere once again became stagnant, because this is a problem they have to face. Battleworld has been open for a long time. Those who could come have come, others either can’t, or aren’t willing. No one has a good solution for these universes.
"I don’t think so," Main Universe Superman said again, "although it might sound a bit arrogant. But if there’s nothing in the Main Universe, then no other universe can have it either."
There was a rustling noise below. This statement was indeed a bit too arbitrary. Main Universe Superman continued, "I’m not bragging. For these mysterious existences, the Main Universe is extremely tempting."
"Then why didn’t the Black Death Emperor choose the Main Universe?"
"That’s precisely why I reached this conclusion — he didn’t come. Could it be because there’s someone already here?"
This touched on a key point. Everyone stared intensely at him. Main Universe Superman spread his hands and said, "The mysterious existences observe this universe in a different way from us. They can see the importance of the Main Universe intuitively. If they could come, they wouldn’t miss it. The benefits of invading here are tens or hundreds of times those of other universes."
"We all know how effective surprise tactics are. The first universe attacked will certainly suffer the most losses. Letting the Main Universe be the first has only benefits. Even if we lose, causing chaos is enough. After retreating, we can still disrupt other universes. The Black Death Emperor didn’t choose to do this for a reason. This aligns with Batman’s urgent search for the First Lantern. Perhaps he knows the First Lantern is the true counter to the Black Lamp Power."
"So you mean he’s in the Main Universe now?"
"Highly likely." Main Universe Superman said, "Just perhaps not on Oa Star. Maybe somewhere else."
"Then let’s go find him," someone else said, "So many of us here, we could turn the whole universe upside down. How could we not find him?"
"No." Justice Lord spoke, "The Black Death Emperor might be waiting for us to do that. If this speculation is correct, he’s the one most eager to eliminate the First Lantern. If we find him, the Black Death Emperor would reap the benefits."
"Can’t find him, can’t not find him, what do we do?"
"We can search, but not ostentatiously," Main Universe Superman made the final decision, "Let’s focus our attention on the universes where Batman might be trapped. Then send people secretly to search. As long as we don’t alert anyone."
