Mephisto was like this, not to mention the superheroes on the battlefield, torn to pieces. The Primary Universe Batman, clad in Hell Armor, managed only to see a flash of white light and hear the echoes of countless wails.
Being targeted by the hunters meant a relatively swift death, their transformation into white light and return to Battleworld with a stab. But if they were watched by those in control, their deaths were indescribably horrific.
The closest superhero Bat saw was Martian Manhunter. When he flew over, he realized it was the Martian Manhunter from his universe. He hurriedly approached to check the situation.
"Ron!" Primary Universe Batman called out to him.
But as Martian Manhunter slowly turned his head, his face was already stained with tears. Then he turned back again, staring at the battleship set ablaze by Pyro not far away. An ominous premonition spread in Batman's heart.
"Ron! Ron! Listen to me..."
Main Universe Martian Manhunter plunged into the flames.
Primary Universe Batman widened his eyes, watching him. He rushed over, attempting to pull him out. But at the moment the white light rose, he saw Martian Manhunter's lips move. He was reciting his wife's name.
Batman took a deep breath, his fingertips trembling. He whipped his head around, but flashes of memory fragments kept emerging before his eyes.
"You don't understand Zorro at all. I don't want to watch movies with you! I'm going home!"
"Dick, I just want to tell you, being a superhero isn't that simple..."
"I will find you, Jason. Trust me."
"Clark, I think we need to talk..."
Batman shook his head violently, yet those scenes relentlessly punched his brain. He turned to find the culprit, only to see a pair of vague, scattered gray eyes.
Primary Universe Batman knew he couldn't stay here. He immediately flew away towards the distance. However, many superheroes around were still on the brink of death. He couldn't just stand by and do nothing, which slowed his retreat.
Arkham Knight was hiding behind a fragment of a small asteroid, gasping for breath. His metal armor was nearly shattered, and the life support system could barely function. Thus, he was gradually suffocating, like a drowning man.
He tried to slow his breathing rate, but it also meant he couldn't make any sudden movements. Even standing still and breathing was painful as the oxygen intake felt insufficient and his lungs burned.
But just then, he suddenly felt a surge of fresh air and heard a faint female voice, "Battery..."
"What?" he asked.
"Armor, energy..."
Arkham Knight recognized it as the voice of Polaris. He immediately moved his arm, extracting the energy source from the life support system on his back.
The energy source was sealed in a closed compartment to prevent leaks or radiation during operation. When pulled out, Arkham Knight felt a violent electric surge that numbed half of his body.
"It's me," Polaris's voice sounded again, but very weak, "I don't have a body anymore, I need to stay in your battery for a while. But I can supply you with power."
"Alright. How's the living space? Three bedrooms and a living room?"
Arkham Knight was severely injured. Knowing he was near death, he didn't mind chatting with his opponent. He leaned back against the fragment.
"It's awful. Your understanding of energy storage devices is no better than that of an ancient tribal chieftain." Polaris sounded even weaker. She said, "I have to find my father. Only he can save me."
"How will you get there?"
"You take me."
"Please, I'm almost dead," he said.
"Quicksilver's body is strong, he shouldn't have died in the explosion. He has a healing serum, one shot will heal you. As long as you have one last breath, try your luck."
Arkham Knight certainly didn't want to die. He bit his lip, glanced over the edge of the fragment, and said, "There are monsters out there too."
"You'll get eaten if you hide here," Polaris said irritably, "Who goes to war afraid of death?!"
"Who's afraid of death?" Arkham Knight took a deep breath, leaned halfway out, and at that moment saw Quicksilver floating over. But for some reason, his expression was terrifying.
Alarm bells rang in Arkham Knight's mind. Sure enough, Quicksilver swooped in, biting down hard on his shoulder, almost tearing off a piece of flesh.
The Arkham Knight let out a scream, instinctively kicking him away. He glanced up at his expression, those eyes filled with a hunger so intense it was almost evil.
"He's been controlled, kill him." Polaris's voice sounded pained but still sensible, "Before he dies, you have plenty of time to snatch the potion back. Hurry, or we'll all die here!"
The Arkham Knight gritted his teeth, using the only arm that wasn't broken to pull out the gun at his waist and fire a shot at Quicksilver, but it couldn't even penetrate his defense. He had no choice but to draw his laser dagger and, seizing the moment Quicksilver lunged at him again, stabbed him in the neck.
His gaze fell just in time to see the gear pack hanging from Quicksilver's waist. He yanked the pack over, kicking Quicksilver further away, watching as he transformed into a white light.
Opening the gear pack, sure enough, there was a healing serum inside. The Arkham Knight injected himself, feeling the wounds slowly heal. He sighed and said, "It's definitely someone from your side who's done this."
Polaris was speechless. Because she remembered seeing Doom sneaking around when she flew over. She knew those mad scientists must be up to some big moves!
"Find a power source," Polaris continued, "charge me up a bit. Then I can scan my dad's brainwaves. Otherwise, you won't be able to deal with those monsters, and we'll still end up dead."
The Arkham Knight looked around. Fortunately, this time Marvel sent quite a few ships over for the battle. He saw a burning ship not far away. He slowly flew over, not daring to fly too fast for fear of attracting attention.
But as it happens, the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen. He was only halfway there when he felt a chill on his back and instinctively turned to block. A knife plunged into his arm, and the figure was kicked away by him in turn.
"Shiller?!!"
Not everyone knew what was inside the dimension. They didn't even know the dimension had been blown apart. Seeing such a familiar face out of nowhere almost made the Arkham Knight's heart leap out of his chest.
"Run!" Polaris said weakly.
"Why?" Arkham Knight said, "I know him, maybe he can help..."
"He's a monster. Run!!!"
The Arkham Knight turned and ran, asking as he ran, "What the hell is happening?!"
"Doom blew the dimension open, they might have come out from there," Polaris speculated, "As for where exactly they came from or why they're attacking us, I have no idea. We're here, just stick the battery on the ship's hull. I can charge myself."
The Arkham Knight extracted the battery and stuck it to the relatively intact part of the ship's hull. Soon, energy filled up, and Polaris's voice no longer sounded as weak.
"Damn it," Polaris's voice became low again, "I can't detect Erik's presence; his magnetic field seems to have vanished. Could he be dead?"
She then muttered to herself, "That's impossible. He and Wanda couldn't have been blown to bits... What kind of power is that?"
Before the words had even faded, the Arkham Knight experienced a sudden weightlessness and a momentary dizziness. When he came to, he found himself standing by a swimming pool, holding an inflatable ring. Looking up, he saw a water slide akin to a gigantic maze.
"Some mysterious force has invaded the real dimension," Polaris's voice came from behind him. The Arkham Knight turned to see the green-haired lady speaking with a serious face: "The ones who survived should be trapped here. We need to go and regroup with them first."
"This is big trouble," the Arkham Knight said, "Is your plan to drag us into an unfamiliar dimension and make us run the gauntlet?"
"This isn't our plan," Polaris sighed, "The scientists on our side are a bit uncontrollable."
"'A bit'?!"
"You can't expect everyone to be like Batman," Polaris said, spreading her hands, "We don't have such paragons of morality over here. When you have a mind rich in wisdom and brimming with inspiration, you tend to want to try everything."
"This is entirely because of your indulgence," the Arkham Knight said, "Even that Ultron who ran to our side was something made by your crazy scientists. They face no consequences, so things like this happen repeatedly. You're lucky you don't have Batman, or he'd definitely break those maniacs' spines!"
"It's pointless. Somebody on our side had their spine broken but turned around and attached eight metal tentacles to themselves, then chased Spider-Man all over New York," Polaris shook her head, "It's just the criminals on your side who insist on being artistic, not quite seeking practicality. If Batman came to our side, it wouldn't take two days for Arkham Sanatorium to stand up and shoot him."
The two stared at each other. The Arkham Knight said, "Alright, let's not discuss this. Technically speaking, we're enemies, but..."
"We're not enemies," Polaris said, "That Ultron wasn't my creation, nor did it harm you. We only meet on the battlefield because we each have our own duties. Let me ask you, if Batman hadn't called, would you have come?"
The Arkham Knight sighed. He honestly didn't want to come; he had no interest in brawling with superheroes. He'd rather spend the time working on armor in his own base.
"Since he became president, he's gotten more temperamental," the Arkham Knight said, "He even threatened me, saying if I didn't come, he'd classify my base as an illegal structure. Not only would it be demolished, but I'd also be fined heavily. If I couldn't pay up, I'd end up on the streets."
"I'm in the same boat. My dad said if I didn't come, he'd send Billy and Thomas over for me to take care of. I'd rather be directing traffic in the Solar System!"
The two fell silent, then proceeded forward together, entering the enormous maze of water slides. Deep in the maze, Magneto, Scarlet Witch, and others who survived the powerful explosion and were the first to encounter the Power of Dreams were already engaged in a fierce battle with the Incubus.