They stayed like this for nearly half a year. During that time, much had occurred in the DC movie world, yet nothing rose above the level of an average day in the lives of superheroes and supercriminals. The largest of crises failed to touch even a single city.
For the world as a whole, this was a rare and precious period of peace. Naturally, this tranquility had no effect on Shin and his group's extended vacation. As long as they chose cities where superheroes operated, trouble tended to avoid them, or at least, it found someone else first.
If there was one notable development during this time, it was that Shin and Scarlet Witch were now officially living together. In nearly every world, Shin adhered to monogamy. That didn't mean he never sought romance elsewhere, it simply meant that if he found a new girlfriend, it was usually in a new world.
The truth was, he feared that starting a harem in the same world could quickly turn into a catastrophe. He preferred to avoid that particular brand of chaos.
...
Gotham City, however, had not changed. It remained as gloomy and rain-soaked as ever, shrouded in a darkness that seemed woven into its very bricks.
Batman, as always, was a shadow in motion, elusive, unpredictable, and as constant a presence as the gargoyles perched on its rooftops.
Unfortunately for him, no matter how elusive he was, it didn't make much difference. Shin's arsenal of perception abilities, Observation Haki, Super Vision, Super Hearing, chakra-based life sensing, and more, meant he could find Batman no matter where he chose to lurk.
And even setting those aside, Shin was a ninja. When it came to stealth, he was no less skilled than the Dark Knight himself.
That's why, as Batman crouched on a stone gargoyle, gazing over the city below, he suddenly heard a voice behind him.
"By the way, finding you is such a hassle. Aren't you tired of patrolling every night?"
Batman didn't flinch. He stood slowly, his movements steady, but Shin could hear the quickened rhythm of his heartbeat. The sound betrayed the fact that he had, in fact, been startled.
"You haven't been to Gotham in a while," Batman said, his deep tone carrying the weight of an unspoken question.
"It can't be helped. Bringing your girlfriend to Gotham for shopping and sightseeing is just asking for trouble," Shin replied with a shrug. "Still, I'll come to you when I need help."
"I don't think there's anything I can help you with," Batman said, his voice cool and distant.
It was a fair point. The movie version of Batman was not the same as his comic book counterpart. Their resources and experiences differed in ways that couldn't be bridged by mere intellect.
It wasn't a matter of wealth or even raw intelligence, though both versions were formidable in those respects. The difference lay in their worlds. The Justice League led by the comic book Batman had access to vast arrays of technology, immense magical archives, and a collection of gadgets that defied logic.
In that reality, Batman could design the Hellbat Armor to battle Superman or craft gadgets that seemed to thumb their noses at the laws of physics.
The two Batmen might have matched each other in intellect, but the challenges they faced were worlds apart. Comic book Batman could expect to run into an old foe every three days, deal with a mass breakout at least once a week, and battle Gotham's entire rogue gallery in a month. Every year, some universe-ending, or at least Earth-ending, crisis would occur.
In contrast, the Batman of the movie world mostly dealt with gangsters and only occasionally crossed paths with supercriminals. Planetary threats were still relatively new territory for him.
Even Arkham Asylum reflected this disparity. In the comics, a supercriminal escaped or was broken out nearly every week, with mass carnage every few months. In the movie world, once you were locked up there, you could expect to stay put for a year before even thinking about an escape attempt.
With such different levels of experience, the comic book Batman naturally developed sharper tactics and broader strategies.
That said, Shin didn't doubt for a moment that this Batman was still dangerous. The Brother Eye incident had proven as much. He was certain that, lesson learned, Batman now had multiple contingency plans for dealing with superhumans, plans more careful, more elaborate, and far less likely to spiral out of control.
"Don't worry," Shin said with a small smile. "I'm sure you've been preparing for this next one for a long time. And by 'this one', I mean… taking on all of Apokolips."
Batman paused mid-step. "You've already found the coordinates of Apokolips."
"What's with you lately? Using declarative sentences instead of questions?" Shin teased. "Hmm. It does sound more dramatic that way. Please, keep it up."
Batman ignored the jab, keeping his eyes locked on Shin. With a small sigh, Shin relented.
"Yes. On my last trip to another world, I visited the Flash's home turf, and I came back with a lot of valuable information."
"You should already know that the Flash from that world is much faster than ours," Shin continued.
Batman gave a small nod. "His speed has reached the speed of light, and that's likely not his limit."
"Exactly. And according to him, his world has over a thousand superheroes of every kind. Naturally, that means their supervillains are just as numerous, if not more so."
Shin leaned on the wall beside Batman. "With that kind of speed, the enemies who can actually challenge him are bound to be incredibly powerful. And when he came here, he already seemed to know the Justice League members, clearly, they exist in his world too."
Batman's eyes narrowed slightly. Shin went on, "Despite his power, that Flash has an optimistic nature but lacks leadership and strong self-confidence. That means he's not the strongest in his Justice League, nor its leader."
"Which suggests," Batman said quietly, "that their Justice League is even stronger than ours."
"That's right." Shin nodded. "If you compare our Flash, Barry, to him, the difference is staggering. Their entire world is like ours, but amplified in every way. Everything we have, they have too… and theirs is better."
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