Chapter 255: The Final Plan
Starro was not a pleasant fellow.
This giant starfish possessed frighteningly formidable mind-control abilities. His most impressive feat was briefly shielding Perpetua's perception, helping the Main Universe Justice League cause trouble on Perpetua's turf.
This performance led many to firmly believe that Starro was DC Comics' number one master of mind control.
But if that were all, Starro wouldn't be so disliked throughout the Multiverse. The most troublesome thing about this creature was his incredibly vexing parasitic ability, which allowed him to scatter countless progeny and transform innumerable life forms into his slaves.
That's right, it was very similar. The last person to take the art of parasitism to a whole new level was none other than Du Wa, who was currently at the height of his prominence.
Many beings noticed Starro slowly entering the Main Universe and were astonished that this monstrous thing would appear here at such a time.
"Strange, why would he come to the Main Universe? There shouldn't be anything here that could attract him."
"Who knows? The Main Universe is currently the most chaotic place in the Multiverse, but in a sense, it's also the most stable and orderly. A parasitic deity wandering into the territory of another parasitic deity is not a good idea."
More than one deity was surprised by Starro's strange actions.
In fact, Starro himself didn't want to come to the Main Universe, but he had no choice. By coming to the Main Universe, he might have a chance to do something, to change his current dire situation; if he did nothing, he would be truly finished.
Du Wa also detected the arrival of this Patrick Star-like creature immediately.
"Starro... This guy should be surviving in the Dark Multiverse, yet now he's appeared in the Main Universe. Heh, Barbatos? Or The Batman Who Laughs?"
Du Wa smiled and shook his head. He could see Starro's struggle and conflict at a glance. Although Du Wa hadn't yet spread his concept widely throughout the Dark Multiverse—he couldn't make Xenomorphs appear in every dark universe, as that Barbatos fellow was guarding it too tightly—he could at least recognize a character like Starro.
From a deity's perspective, this giant starfish was undoubtedly not a god, but he was more difficult to deal with than many gods. That ability to create spores could parasitize and control countless life forms.
"If I remember correctly, Starro will invade an animated universe and instantly wipe out that universe's Justice League... That kind of strength is quite decent. If it were me before my promotion, I would have treated him seriously. But now, this guy appears here with such a dawdling attitude, clearly reluctant to be in my presence, so..."
Du Wa's current computing power had accumulated to an unbelievable degree. Trillions of Xenomorphs served as computing terminals, performing computations for Du Wa. Furthermore, with every passing moment, as the Xenomorphs continued to spread across various universes, Du Wa's strength was constantly increasing.
After all, after several major battles, no deity was willing to openly challenge Du Wa to a fight to the death for the sake of so-called justice and peace.
"This shows one thing: your throne is not stable. Even if no one will actively attack you, actions to probe you with various means and find your weaknesses are constantly proceeding in the shadows," Thanoseid said as he digested the divine authority of the Main Universe Darkseid.
With every portion he absorbed, his aura would swell dramatically, as if he had crossed a critical point. With each step forward, his strength would rise exponentially.
Everyone knew that Thanoseid was getting closer and closer to the Darkseid of the Sphere of Gods. With Du Wa's help, Thanoseid truly had a chance to ascend to his perfect form and replace Darkseid.
Thanoseid wasn't relying solely on himself; he had the terrifying deity Du Wa backing him, along with a group of beings of various levels like Quantum Batman.
Even if Darkseid still had Apokolips in the Sphere of Gods, with Desaad and a host of other helpers, no matter how one looked at it, this group of New Gods on Apokolips no longer held a clear advantage against the Xenomorphs.
Du Wa and Quantum Batman, plus Thanoseid, were enough to suppress Apokolips.
"You think this is the work of some of the guys from the pantheon?" Du Wa asked, looking at the slowly moving Starro.
"Isn't it? You haven't spread the Xenomorphs to the Sphere of Gods, have you? Through Darkseid's divine authority, I can learn a few things happening in the Sphere of Gods—quite a few are wary of you. Everyone is worried they'll become the next Quantum Batman." Thanoseid completely absorbed the divine authority of the Main Universe Darkseid. The wildly expanding mass, like the sum total of multiple universes, suddenly began to contract.
In the end, Thanoseid was still Thanoseid, looking incredibly normal and... peaceful.
That's right, a damnably peaceful demeanor, or perhaps the composure gained after fusing with multiple Darkseids.
"We haven't reached that step yet. I don't intend to deal with the numerous worlds of the Sphere of Gods at the same time, like I did sweeping through the Multiverse," Du Wa scoffed.
In the Sphere of Gods, the vast majority of gods were at the cosmic Celestial level and did not reach the multiversal level. At best, depending on their unique abilities, they could display extraordinary power under specific conditions, even comparable to a multiversal being.
For example, Ares, God of War; the more people who participate in a battle, the stronger he becomes, eventually able to shake the Multiverse. Or the likes of Mister Mxyzptlk from the Fifth Dimension, who, upon entering the Multiverse, would possess strength far beyond a single entity, easily rewriting the fundamental rules of the entire Multiverse.
There were a few other similar characters, but none of them possessed true multiversal standing.
"Of course I want to bring those guys from the Sphere of Gods into my fold, but I can't do it yet," Du Wa said dismissively.
Thanoseid nodded silently. He knew this day might come. Even if Du Wa suffered a setback in this world, he could still return to another multiverse, find some relatively weaker multiversal gods who showed a weakness, and seize the opportunity.
Du Wa's future was unimaginable. When the gods thought Du Wa was at his worst, Quantum Batman joined his command. And just as the gods began to feel anxious about their own futures, Du Wa found even more convenient ways to obtain more powerful subordinates.
"So, someone else is behind Starro's appearance here?"
"Of course. The Dark Multiverse plays a part, but it's more from the Multiverse side." Du Wa casually looked down at the Earth below him and saw a few individuals who had fallen into a strange silence.
Alexander Luthor tried his best to relax his body, controlling the signal transmission of every nerve within him. He desperately suppressed the activity of his brain, crushing any inappropriate thoughts from the very beginning.
The God of Knowledge, Lex Luthor, sat on the Mobius Chair with a cold sneer.
"Do you think Du Wa knows?"
"He knows. His intelligence is not low, and his computing power far exceeds yours and mine. Even by using brute force, he could discover that something is amiss."
The two Luthors fell silent, feeling their hearts hammer in their chests. But they eventually confirmed that they were safe; Du Wa had not done anything to them.
"I detest his confidence. Many times I thought he was being overly and blindly confident, but the results proved that he was always right, and we were always the ones who guessed wrong."
"Yes, every prediction hoping for his defeat has failed. But this time will be different... This gift is immense!" A fierce glint appeared in Alexander's eyes.
After being a lackey for so long, wearing the guise of a Xenomorph to serve Du Wa, the extremely malicious Alexander had long since had enough!
After enduring for so long, it was finally time to wrap things up.
The Hellbat armor, the Main Universe Darkseid, the Editorial Department... all of it was just part of the process. All the failures were merely outcomes.
Every character who entered the stage was destined to never stand on Du Wa's side. They were bound to resist to the end, absolutely refusing to accept the fate of becoming a Xenomorph. No matter what means they used to fight Du Wa, it would ultimately become part of the process.
"Starro has already begun to scatter his spores. Soon, the entire Main Universe will be filled with Starro's spores, and every living being will be parasitized by Starro."
"But we both know, Starro won't last long, even with..."
The two Luthors quickly ceased their communication and thoughts, completely extinguishing the one notion that most needed to be hidden.
Du Wa still paid them no mind. This calmness, on the contrary, made the two schemers anxious. They wracked their brains but couldn't fathom Du Wa's thoughts, ultimately attributing it to Du Wa being too confident, even arrogant at a time like this.
Lex Luthor vanished in a flash of white light. No one cared about his whereabouts. On many past occasions, Lex Luthor had been just as elusive, disappearing to some unknown time node in some unknown universe.
...
Starro was indeed reluctant. He had no desire to come to this godforsaken place, the Main Universe. But he had no choice. Barbatos and The Batman Who Laughs had captured him, leaving him with no other option.
"Fortunately, even if I die, I can be resurrected at any time... Every life form infected by my spores becomes my clone, but when I die, one of these clones will become my main body..."
Starro was thankful he had developed this ability; even if he died, he could be resurrected from any spore at any time.
But as Starro rolled his massive eyeball, the mere thought of facing the God of Xenomorphs, who possessed almost identical and even superior means, gave him an immense headache. His five giant tentacles couldn't help but tremble, triggering a cosmic storm.
*I'm doomed*, Starro thought.
Just as Starro began to spread his spores wantonly across the Main Universe, Du Wa made his move.
From across half the universe, a single slap locked down Starro completely, squeezing him bit by bit.
"No matter what that laughing fellow ordered you to do, you shouldn't have come here, and you certainly shouldn't have gotten involved in this messy business," Du Wa's voice rang in Starro's mind.
"You knew?" Starro was horrified, trembling with fear. "How could you know? That guy clearly told me he could definitely deceive you..."
"He lied to you. I warned him long ago that all his plans are within my plan. That wasn't just talk. If Barbatos wasn't protecting him, he would have died at my hands long ago. How would you have even had the chance to appear?" Du Wa said.
This fellow Starro, known as the Justice League's first enemy, had shone brightly in the Bronze Age, but the Bronze Age was long past.
Normally, Starro would have followed The Batman Who Laughs to invade the Main Universe during the *Metal* event, only to be defeated by the Justice League. In the end, only a single spore clone would remain, raised by the Main Universe Batman in a glass jar. As a result, he would be won over by the Main Universe Batman's charisma, acknowledging him as his father and becoming Robin.
In that period, Starro had another name—"Jar-Ro."
But now, the Main Universe had been altered beyond recognition by Du Wa. Starro would never have the chance to redeem himself. From the very beginning, he was crushed to death by Du Wa.
"Why drag me into the struggles between you freaks..."
Starro died, but he quickly resurrected from a spore in the Dark Multiverse.
The Batman Who Laughs listened to Starro's account, fell silent for a moment, and then unhesitatingly activated a device, killing the newly reborn Starro before him.
"Why would you do that?"
The Dawnbreaker, a Batman who had seized a malevolent Green Lantern ring, asked in confusion.
"I cannot be certain if Starro was parasitized by Du Wa. Especially a newly resurrected Starro; he might have already become a Xenomorph while still in his spore stage." The Batman Who Laughs was uncharacteristically uncertain, his expression shifting.
"Wasn't this part of your plan?"
The other Batmen gathered around, looking at The Batman Who Laughs with cold smiles. If he couldn't produce a valuable plan and shattered his own myth of infallibility, the other Batmen wouldn't mind replacing him.
"You'd better think before you speak. Lord Barbatos is no longer fond of you. Your unauthorized actions caused Lord Barbatos to lose Quantum Batman, allowing a dangerous deity like Du Wa to obtain an extremely powerful Batman!" Red Death said coldly.
No one wanted to face a being like Du Wa, whose strength had been further inflated. If they left the Dark Multiverse, they would instantly become Du Wa's vassals, and their lives might be even more miserable than now. They would rather continue following Barbatos and stay in the Dark Multiverse.
"A bunch of fools... My concern about Starro is a completely different matter from whether my plan will be successfully implemented. Just watch. You will soon witness Du Wa's crushing defeat. In the best-case scenario, Du Wa will never be able to recover, because the gift I—no, we—have prepared for him is unprecedented, a culmination of the wisdom of many."
The only thing that worried The Batman Who Laughs was that Du Wa was too quiet. He should have done something, but he did nothing.
But at this point, too many people were indirectly involved in this project. There was no turning back.
"Come now, let me see. So many people are looking forward to your arrival. A being that can counter Du Wa in every aspect—Reality, Rules, Concept—just how much Despair will it bring him! Hahahahaha!!"
The Batman Who Laughs burst into maniacal laughter. As long as Du Wa was defeated, they would have the chance to invade the Main Universe and transform the entire Multiverse into a part of the Dark Multiverse.
(end of chapter)I think people don't understand it. I have a personal website where I post advanced free chapters — there are 10 new chapters per day, so you can check it out here: soollhooaf.com