Chapter 199: The Last Hope Against Du Wa, The Flash Reverses the Timeline!
Du Wa had a clear understanding of himself. He knew that in his current state, he lacked the ability to interfere with the deeper changes of the Flashpoint event, let alone influence the Endless Family or Doctor Manhattan, who were about to join the DC World.
As a single-universe-level concept god, he did not yet possess sufficient strength to meddle in a major event of this level. In fact, to the lofty, high-level deities, the addition of an outside concept like Du Wa to the multiverse was something they would not care about at all, because far too many new concepts were born and old ones died within the multiverse.
Someone like Du Wa was, at best, a newborn concept at the level of a Cosmic Celestial, not worthy of much attention.
But it didn't matter. Du Wa had no intention of confronting a group of native multiversal gods or his fellow outsiders. However, he needed to secure a good observation point to carefully study the fusion process of different universes.
Taking Universe 9602, the one he was most familiar with, as an example, although this universe was unknown to most, not even known by the majority of deities, it was ultimately a small and extremely secret convergence of the Marvel Comics and DC Comics multiverses, which held great reference value.
Du Wa knew that, barring any surprises, the fate of Universe 9602 was to be split in two, re-dividing into two independent universes. These two universes would then return to their original places—what belonged to Marvel Comics would return to Marvel Comics, and what belonged to DC Comics would return to DC Comics.
From its appearance to its division, the existence of Universe 9602 was destined to be an extremely high-level secret, with only a very few individuals knowing what was truly going on. The beings who had facilitated the birth of Universe 9602, quelling the minor collision between the two great multiverses, were none other than Marvel's Living Tribunal and DC's Ghost, working in tandem.
"The birth and demise of Universe 9602 are insignificant to the two multiverses, but the addition of the Vertigo Universe is extremely important to the DC Comics Multiverse. I need to find an opportunity to observe the entire process up close and prepare for the future…"
This was a crazy move. The slightest misstep could lead to a catastrophic failure, causing his own demise. But for Du Wa, if he were to let this momentous, likely once-in-a-lifetime opportunity pass by out of caution, he wouldn't be able to resist slapping himself.
Du Wa stared at the retreating figure of Batman, a restless urge stirring within him, but he forcefully suppressed his impulse to act, waiting for Batman to bring him an even greater surprise.
As for his surroundings, Gordon and his group were completely ignored by Du Wa. Controlling this Doomsday body, he soared into the sky with a thunderous boom and vanished from the world's sight.
...
The world descended into chaos.
Anyone with the ability to go online and spend a little time browsing the news could realize this.
"Origin of Biochemical Monster Unknown, LexCorp Stock Prices Halved! Where Does the Future Lie?"
"Second Biochemical Monster Suspected to Have Appeared in Gotham City, But No Superman or Batman!"
"Witnesses Claim Strange Humanoid Creatures Have Been Sighted Moving in Groups"
A global search was launched.
The mysterious disappearance of powerful heroes, their whereabouts unknown, allowed criminals to run rampant. In fact, many criminals were also causing trouble as a way to search for the whereabouts of Superman and Batman.
The epicenter of the disaster was Gotham City. A large wave of "professional players" from Arkham heard the news and initiated a large-scale team-building activity: "Where's Batman?"
"Oh~ this is so unfortunate, the Bat is gone..."
The Joker sat on the roof of a car, surrounded by a crowd of heavily armed police officers, his face a mask of sorrow.
So Batman was really gone. He had specifically picked every lock in Wayne Manor just to confirm it.
That eternally confident and dark knight was taken out by a bunch of nobodies of unknown origin? In any case, the Joker didn't believe that Batman and Superman could be killed by Doomsday.
An unknown force must have joined the fray. He had indeed found a target; the activity of the Xenomorphs was becoming more and more frequent, gradually becoming known to certain observant individuals.
Many brave souls had also rushed forward to test them, but all ended up dying miserable deaths.
"Even if those creatures are impressive and numerous enough to take out Bruce, could they also defeat Superman?" The Joker scratched his head in frustration. He had only been lying low for a while. How did the world become so unrecognizable in the blink of an eye, with the distinct feeling of an impending apocalypse?
Whether it was the apocalypse or not, Barry Allen didn't know, but he knew that if he didn't properly handle the Batman before him, he would be in trouble.
"So, you've mastered a power called the 'Speed Force' and have experience with time travel, is that correct?" Batman's expression was as grim as ever, which successfully intimidated the young Flash.
Many heroes had heard of Batman's name, but they weren't actually clear on how capable he was.
A typical example was the New 52 Earth. When a group of heroes gathered to take on the Darkseid instance, Batman was mercilessly mocked by Flash, Green Lantern, and others because he couldn't fly, run at super speed, or use any superpowers.
But on DCEU Earth, as a veteran hero with a mysterious and dark persona, Batman still held a great deal of intimidating power over a young man like the Flash.
Batman made good use of this, relentlessly questioning in a hoarse voice, and within a few sentences, he had completely uncovered Barry Allen's secrets.
"Isn't this a bit much? If we weren't facing a crisis, I couldn't bear to listen anymore," Alfred couldn't help but complain through the comms.
"You should know that when you say that, there's a high probability this kid will hear you. His physical attributes are absurdly powerful; it's perfectly normal for him to have super-hearing."
Batman took off his mask and said in a deep voice, "My real identity is Bruce Wayne. It's a pleasure to meet you. I need your help, and this world needs someone like you to save it."
"Batman's real identity is actually that famous billionaire? I often hear gossip about you."
This gesture successfully caused the Flash, who had been on the verge of bristling, to relax significantly—and this was clearly a move by Batman to ease the tension and build rapport.
Alfred sighed, unable to bear listening any longer. The young man was just too young.
It was fortunate that he had encountered the real Batman. If it had been someone like the Joker, the outcome would be unimaginable. Of course, those guys certainly wouldn't be interested in a little-known Flash.
"Let me first explain the current situation to you. If nothing changes, our world is already on the brink of destruction. A terrifying race of monsters has invaded us..."
Bruce quickly recounted the events, as if grooming Barry Allen to be a savior, a move that successfully struck a chord in the young Flash's heart.
"Just because you say so? I don't believe you," Barry said, maintaining a semblance of restraint.
"Superman is gone. He used to operate all over the world, so why would he suddenly disappear? It's not like many people outside are guessing—that he was killed by a bioweapon developed by LexCorp. He was captured by those outsiders," Bruce said.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Do what you've done before. Time travel," Bruce said.
"If you're really Batman, you should know that reversing time is an extremely dangerous act! Even if I succeed, other unfortunate events will inevitably happen to replace what was supposed to occur!" Barry retorted.
"Yes, I know. But we have no choice. Our raw power is no longer enough to resist our ever-strengthening enemies. We can only use other methods to tear it all down and start over—at least if we start over, we can be prepared in advance." Bruce looked at Barry. "You travel back to the past and tell my past self what happened here. My past self will make preparations in advance."
"And then? We'll be able to defeat the enemies?"
"Not necessarily. If we fail, you continue to travel back, learning lessons from each experience."
"That's insane! I'm not even sure I can successfully time travel!" Barry could hardly believe his ears. Even someone who had just started his career knew that toying with time like this could easily make a mess of things. He even began to doubt whether the man before him was the legendary, hyper-intelligent Batman.
He was as crazy as Gotham's Joker.
"You will do it. With my help, you can. I can provide you with all sorts of theoretical research on time, and you will use the Speed Force to put it into practice." Bruce was unmoved, his expressionless face appearing exceptionally cold at this moment.
Alfred was also listening intently. After a long silence, he said in a low voice, "Continuously overwriting the old timeline with a new one... Young Master Wayne, this really isn't like you. For more than a decade, you've never been so... self-destructive."
Yes, self-destructive.
If the Flash, after some sort of trauma, decided to desperately change history to undo something, Alfred wouldn't be surprised at all. But for the calm and suspicious Batman to do something like this was simply too out of character.
"This world has already lost Superman, Alfred. And he now stands against us, having become our enemy. I have calculated countless possibilities and have no confidence in rescuing Superman from the hands of a monster like Du Wa."
Bruce said icily, "Didn't we already review all existing superheroes? We even went through the files of all the supervillains. Is there any one of them stronger than Superman?"
"I've thought of an idea. We could use Lois..."
"Indeed, that's an idea. But Lois is just an ordinary person. The moment she appears, she will be invaded by Du Wa and become a Xenomorph, turned into one of the weapons used against us. At that point, we would be trapped in the dilemma of whether or not to kill Lois."
Use Superman's girlfriend and adoptive mother? Bruce had long since considered this method. It was useless and would only be counterproductive, because the enemy they faced—Du Wa—was completely different from any enemy they had ever encountered or imagined. He was bizarre to the extreme, able to parasitize people out of nowhere.
Most likely, he could invade a host's body through mental and psychic means, forcefully creating and implanting a Xenomorph larva.
"I also considered arranging for a group of ordinary people to wear down Du Wa. If we could make Du Wa reach his control limit sooner, that might be our opportunity to strike. But we can't possibly face several enemies on Clark's level, or even stronger than Clark, at the same time."
Bruce was at his wit's end. He thought about the powerful combat units Du Wa had already revealed: Superman, the female warrior from Paradise Island, two Doomsday Xenomorphs, a suspected parallel universe counterpart of Superman, and another rock-skinned creature who seemed even more powerful, plus the mysterious and unknown Du Wa...
Oh, and there was also the highly intelligent Lex Luthor, who had surely become Du Wa's lackey by now. It was just unknown how much of his intelligence Luthor could use while under Du Wa's control.
Against such a lineup, unless he could pull together an alliance of six, seven, or eight Supermen in a matter of minutes and develop a means to resist Du Wa's parasitism, everything would be for naught. It would only make Du Wa stronger with every fight.
Barry suddenly said, "I think I understand. Basically, our world is finished, right?"
"Exactly."
"We could be... parasitized at any moment? Become one of those... Xenomorphs, our bodies and minds falling captive?"
"Correct."
"Then why are we safe for now?"
"Perhaps the enemy's control has a limited range, or perhaps the enemy is observing our every move, waiting to see what we'll do. Logically, the first option makes sense, but I suspect it's the second. They have already accumulated enough power to conquer the world, yet they haven't made any major moves, let alone hunted me down."
Bruce said coldly, "I have no other way, so I'm choosing you to save everything. I refuse to believe that an outsider can stop a change to the entire universe's timeline! Unless he is a true deity, the kind of deity who can manage a universe!"
Barry's gaze was no longer wandering; it became resolute. "I understand. Let's start now. I'll run with all my might and try to enter that state again... the state where time starts to flow backward as I run, rewinding everything to before those people invaded this universe, erasing all the results of their invasion!"
"Excellent. I look forward to seeing that happen."
Bruce fell silent for a moment, then handed a specially made hard drive to Barry. "You said you can use the Speed Force to protect people and objects from the effects of velocity changes. Take this and give it to my past self—it doesn't matter if it gets damaged. When my past self gets this, he will understand that what you're saying is true."
Barry quickly put on his suit, carefully tucking the device inside, keeping it close to his body. He lifted one foot high, and blue lightning flashed in his eyes.
"Good luck to us, Batman. And to the nameless hero you're talking to."
With a shower of electric sparks, the Flash began to run, though even he didn't know if he could successfully enter a state of time reversal.
(end of chapter)