Chapter 195: The Doomsday Xenomorph, the Fleeing Bat
In just over ten minutes, Doomsday's strength had surged several times.
By now, when Superman charged in for melee combat, the force of his blows—measured in millions, even tens of millions of tons—couldn't even break through Doomsday's defense.
This bioweapon that grew stronger with every hit, a creature that defied all standards and comprehension, left Superman horrified and Batman utterly speechless.
"Bruce, come up with a plan," Superman said, sending Doomsday flying several hundred meters with another punch. He knew, however, that this only bought him a precious moment to speak with Batman.
"Pick up the Kryptonite weapon, charge in, and stab it. That is the most perfect plan, but neither you nor I can do it." Batman's heart was filled with a sense of defeat, feeling death drawing near.
All other effective measures had been tried, only to successfully help Doomsday become even more powerful.
They had never encountered an opponent with such a characteristic.
"Moreover, there are other guys watching this place. I just don't know if they're a backup plan from Lex Luthor or some dangerous elements with ill intentions." Batman looked at the scan results of the surroundings through the single remaining electronic lens of his helmet.
He saw many agile creatures with bizarre body structures darting through the darkness, having long since surrounded the area.
"I've already heard and seen them. An Amazonian warrior fought a man wearing his underwear on the outside and carrying half a shield. She lost quite badly. I also heard they came from—never mind. But whatever their purpose, we don't have the ability to deal with them. We can't even solve the trouble created by Lex Luthor..."
Watching the unscathed Doomsday rise to its feet, let out a roar, and charge toward him, Superman gritted his teeth, a look of grim resolve in his eyes.
"Bruce, after I die, remember to take care of my mother. For you, giving her a peaceful old age shouldn't be a problem," Superman said in a low voice.
Batman was a billionaire. Wayne Enterprises' business spanned all industries; looking after a lone, elderly woman would be no difficulty at all.
Superman was going to personally pick up the Kryptonite spear and, with all his strength, charge forward to stab Doomsday to death!
"You will die."
"But if I don't, we will all die, and many more people will die. If my death allows more people to live, then that's enough."
Hearing this, Batman's mouth opened. He had a thousand words he wanted to say, but in the end, said nothing, his heart filled only with deep guilt.
This was the superhero willing to sacrifice himself—the very same one he had been scheming to kill not long ago. How... ironic.
For the first time, Batman felt that his former self was just like the Joker.
Superman locked onto the Kryptonite spear's location with his super-vision. Instead of facing Doomsday head-on, he immediately turned and accelerated toward the spear.
As expected, Doomsday brutally gave chase. The creature possessed only combat instincts, lacking anything akin to "thought."
"Heheheh, as expected of a monster created by Krypton's taboo biotechnology. But, Clark, Bruce, so what if you kill Doomsday?"
Lex Luthor held a loudspeaker, his long golden hair flying in the fierce wind. His face was a mask of madness, more like the Joker than the Joker himself, as he shouted, "I already hinted at it before! In a place you've overlooked, a new life is brewing! Why would you think I was talking about this brainless Doomsday?"
Batman's expression changed drastically. He furiously charged, firing a bat-hook to rapidly cross the high-rise ruins, and landed a light punch on Lex Luthor.
After all, he was still wearing the exoskeleton armor; if he had used slightly more force, Lex Luthor's head would have exploded.
Batman didn't mind killing, but for a culprit like this, he had to be subjected to a punishment more terrible than death.
"Just how much have you been hiding?" Batman demanded angrily, grabbing Lex Luthor. "Are you trying to destroy this world?!"
"Quite the opposite. I want to save this world. If I succeed, this world will possess even greater power, and the one controlling that power will be me—a pure human!"
In many parallel universes, Lex Luthor was Superman's arch-nemesis. The reason many Luthors despised Superman was simple: it was precisely because Superman was not an Earthling, yet was too strong and too righteous, always leading humanity through one crisis after another. Lex Luthor could not tolerate it.
At the same time, Superman was just about to grab the Kryptonite spear. He could already feel Doomsday's massive hand reaching for his spine.
Just one more second. Grab the spear, turn, and thrust. The battle would be over. That's what Superman thought, and that's exactly what he did.
The motion was fluid, all in one go.
A spear glowing with green light pierced through Doomsday's chest.
But in the same instant, a punch from Doomsday smashed Superman's chest.
Without the Kryptonite, such an injury would be nothing to Superman; he possessed a powerful self-healing ability. But unfortunately, the Kryptonite was annihilating the cells in his body on a massive scale, weakening him rapidly. In just a few seconds, he became weaker than an ordinary person.
His breathing grew ragged, his consciousness quickly blurred, and his eyelids felt heavier than meteorites.
But as Superman watched Doomsday also rapidly losing its life force, he believed his death was worth it.
"Let's go to hell together, you biochemical monster..."
"No, you won't die."
A figure walked out. It was the Super-Soldier. He first pried Superman's hands from the Kryptonite spear, then sent Doomsday, spear and all, flying with a kick.
Without the suppression of the Kryptonite, Superman's injuries healed rapidly.
"You also gain your power from solar radiation? It's a shame it's not daytime, and the fellow named 'Sentry' isn't in this universe. Otherwise, you two could have a go at each other. It might produce a wondrous chemical reaction."
The Super-Soldier extended a hand and pulled Superman up from the ground.
"Thank you, a parallel universe's... Superman? This is truly..." Superman looked at the wailing Doomsday, his first instinct to express his gratitude.
Logically, these visitors from a parallel universe had saved him, so they were fundamentally on the side of peace. At the very least, they wouldn't be like that monster Doomsday, which possessed only an instinct for destruction.
Unfortunately, Superman's thinking was still not comprehensive enough.
"Superman, be careful!! There's something wrong with these outsiders!" Diana warned, screaming so hard her voice became hoarse.
"That's right. That person requires you to pay a price—with your body," the Super-Soldier said, his face ashen.
He watched as Superman's face filled with bewilderment. The next second, a power identical to the Xenomorph larva within his own body materialized out of thin air inside Superman.
There was no medium, as if anything coexisting within the same system of space-time was naturally subject to this power's corrosion.
"What is this thing?! What are you trying to do to me?!"
A mix of terror and rage, Superman immediately tried to tear open his not-yet-fully-healed chest and pull out the foreign object.
But the Super-Soldier could not allow him to do so, reaching out and gripping Superman's hands tightly.
*Pfft!*
A dark red ray of light curved through the darkness and struck Superman. The ray splashed like spring water, covering his body.
"This is faster. I'm very experienced. Back in Universe 9602, I conquered planet after planet, transforming various races into a unified bioweapon." Thanoseid walked over, his hands behind his back, and said coldly, "Also, your methods are too stupid. Du Wa can know all your motives from your brain. Don't bother trying to find a vulnerability in Du Wa's control over you. I've already looked for them. There are none."
Thanoseid's mood was extremely foul. He knew he had once again underestimated the terror of a concept god.
"Very good. It seems you understand bioweapons very well, and have deep insights into how to be a good bioweapon." The Super-Soldier watched as this universe's Superman was reduced to Du Wa's puppet.
This was a complete disaster. Before long, more superheroes and supervillains would be manipulated by Du Wa, never able to escape his control.
"No, it won't be like this. The more people he controls, and the more powerful they are, the greater the chance a vulnerability will be found! I don't believe there can be a truly perfect god in this world, it's impossible!" The Super-Soldier's eyes were bloodshot.
When Superman stood up again, he could no longer control himself as he once had.
"The thing inside me, it's those strange creatures... That's also a bioweapon, and it can perform parasitism in this manner?" Superman had only just perceived his own state, and his heart sank to the bottom of the abyss.
It was over. All struggle and resistance were futile. It was as if his will had become disconnected from his body, unable to match.
"That's right, just like that! It seems Superman's brain is a bit more useful than yours, Bruce. See, Superman survived, but he has given up resisting. That's very strange, isn't it?"
A look of astonishment also appeared on Lex Luthor's face. Although he had his deductions, even Superman was now unable to escape this control. This was the absolute worst of all the possibilities he had envisioned.
The god among men had fallen before that person, becoming a puppet. What chance did anyone else have?
"Clark? What are you doing..." Batman stared in disbelief at Superman, who was suddenly standing silently beside this group of strangers. His brilliant mind already realized something was wrong.
Mind control? Thought magic? Mental suggestion? Illusion? Or some other means of deceiving the brain's perception?
"You've dealt with these guys before? You know what they are?" Batman glared viciously at Lex Luthor. In his eyes, this bastard Luthor was the culprit behind all the upheaval.
"I only knew a little. Now I know more—"
"It's obvious you've screwed up, you bastard! I don't care what you were scheming to get from these strange people and creatures, but you've ruined everything! This is even worse than letting that Kryptonian biochemical monster go on a destructive rampage!"
There was only one Doomsday. In theory, as long as a powerful entity didn't show up to constantly beat on it and force it to complete evolution after evolution, Doomsday's slaughter efficiency was far preferable to these guys who could control Superman and command a horde of strange creatures.
But now? Doomsday was dead, but the danger level of these newcomers far exceeded Doomsday's!
"It's not over yet, Bruce. At least have a little more faith in me, who surpasses you on an intellectual level." Sweat beaded on Lex Luthor's forehead, but he hadn't given up hope. He still had a card up his sleeve. "I admit that guy's means are extremely terrifying. Even Clark has been controlled. He has one—no, two underlings who seem no weaker than Clark! But it doesn't matter, we'll have an even stronger fighter soon. Look—"
Lex Luthor pointed in a direction. "Look over there, our greatest power! I must bring it up to you for a third time: a new life is brewing!"
Batman's heart leaped in alarm, unsure whether to feel relieved or angry. He saw Doomsday, who should have been dead beneath the Kryptonite spear, suddenly convulse.
Doomsday wasn't dead? No, since it was a "new life," that meant...
*Pfft!*
A long, slender claw tore open Doomsday's body. Then, a monster began to rip at Doomsday's corpse as if it were a tattered cloth bag.
Doomsday originally had one last breath left. Under Batman's distant gaze, its body seemed to instinctively begin a new round of evolution, but it had lost the power to evolve and breathed its last.
In the face of a higher concept, the Doomsday that had been born less than an hour ago ultimately couldn't hold on.
Speaking of which, this Doomsday was merely created from General Zod's corpse. It was likely only slightly stronger than the Doomsday-Parademons from the animated universe, which were mass-produced by Darkseid using Doomsday and Parademons as raw materials.
"Next, I just need to control this big guy, and I can kill those people!"
"How do you control it?"
"Pheromones! I observed the Xenomorphs' social structure and biological characteristics and extracted from them..."
As Lex Luthor spoke, as if to enhance his persuasiveness, he theatrically thumped his own head, but his eyes were fixed firmly on Batman.
"You madman, pinning your hopes on something like this?" Batman punched Lex Luthor hard.
But his heart stirred. He vaguely understood something. Instantly, without even a glance toward Superman, he broke into a run, leaped into the air, and used a bat-hook to catch a brand new stealth Batwing in the sky, swiftly fleeing the scene.
"He ran? This universe's Dark Claw is..." The Super-Soldier subconsciously frowned in thought, but then his heart jolted. He suspected his very thoughts were gradually leaning toward Du Wa's side. Otherwise, why would he be pondering such a question?
"He probably has a new tactic. I have a feeling he'll bring me a surprise. Running away decisively is a smart idea, but no matter where he runs, he can't escape this planet, this universe."
Du Wa watched the fleeing Batman and shook his head.
Escape was impossible. Never mind the DCEU Universe; even in the other numbered universes, many worlds had met their doom, and the reality of the Justice League being wiped out was not uncommon.
(end of chapter)