Just as the boy's voice appeared, the lights in the lab began to flicker eerily, and the scars on Batman's body were spreading at a visible rate.
The situation certainly looked very dangerous.
"You're not just able to appear in my dreams?!"
The Flash looked down at his arm. The scars on his arm were also emitting a strange blue light, which penetrated the thick black bandages wrapped around it.
Even the entire scar seemed to squirm like a living thing.
"Yes, I could always be in your mind, I just feared that doing so would completely frighten you." The voice of the Dream Boy echoed in the Flash's mind again.
It was young but possessed a power that couldn't be ignored.
"..."
The Flash had certainly been on edge enough lately. He didn't know if he should thank the entity, as it seemed considerate yet was a harmful "parasite" to him.
"If you want to save him, or prevent what is about to happen, then you must quickly decide whether you are willing to accept my help to briefly manifest in your world."
The Dream Boy reminded him once more.
"You can help him? Really? What did Bruce do to himself?" The Flash was breathing rapidly. He could feel the abnormality beneath his skin spreading.
Because he was already cautious enough, the Flash didn't respond immediately. He worried this was like a contract with a demon, and simply answering would open the door for the entity to enter this world.
"He made the most insane decision a madman could make." The Dream Boy showed no sign of anger or urgency. He simply commented with a sigh.
"Hearing that, I'm not surprised at all, for some reason." The Flash stepped forward to check on Bruce, finding that Batman's body was shaking continuously.
"The problem me and Bruce are facing is the same thing. I'm sorry, but I dare not agree to what you propose." After a moment of hesitation, the Flash spoke in a deep voice.
The Dream Boy was silent for a moment.
"Every shattered universe has two choices. The shattered universe that targeted Bruce Wayne... clearly made the wrong choice, a choice different from ours."
The boy's voice seemed to come from a distant point in time. He didn't know if he was trying to convince the Flash, but the Flash remained unmoved.
As the fastest man in the world, Barry Allen encountered a faster opponent every year, and almost every year, he encountered a villain disguised as a good person.
More than ten or twenty years of honing.
It made the Flash very hesitant to trust inexplicable goodwill easily.
"There must be a price to get your help, right?" The Flash cautiously probed, his fingers instinctively tightening, as if considering Jordan's earlier suggestion.
He was conflicted.
If the scars on his arm started spreading wildly too, should he really just chop off the arm? With Batman unconscious, he had no one to help him think.
"Of course there's a price. The price is that you must help me return home. I remember I already told you that." The boy's voice carried a hint of helplessness.
"I don't think it will be that simple."
The Flash began searching the base, using his knowledge to try and find the backup plan left by Batman—he firmly believed that Batman wouldn't take risks lightly.
This man always made the most thorough preparations before an adventure.
"It won't be simple at all. Our home has drifted to who knows how far. However, Flash and Batman, you always find a way to solve problems, don't you?"
The Dream Boy's voice held a touch of expectation.
"You seem to know a lot about us. How can I be sure you're not deceiving me now, enticing me to do something very detrimental to our world?"
The Flash remained unswayed.
He attempted to unlock a warehouse door, his fingers constantly running through all possible password combinations at incredible speed. Fortunately, Batman hadn't set up a mechanism to explode if the unlock failed five times.
"If I wanted to harm you, Barry Allen, you would have been completely corrupted long ago—trust me, I'm not lying. My power exceeds your imagination."
The boy's voice suddenly became serious.
"Batman cannot die. I still need him to help me figure out a way home—this is my sincerity." As soon as this sentence fell, the scars on the Flash's arm suddenly faded.
His skin also returned to its normal color.
"What's going on?"
The Flash was astonished. The problem that he and the Justice League had struggled with for so long seemed to have been retracted by the invading Outer Universe itself.
"The corruption you suffered was only for us to observe the outside—they are our eyes." The Dream Boy's voice now sounded slightly more ethereal.
As if being transmitted to the Flash's brain from an even greater distance.
"So, are you saying that Bruce's current situation is the observation of our world by many invading Outer Universes?" The Flash looked at Batman, whose face was covered in scars.
"My television set is no longer showing what your eyes see, but your understanding is not wrong." The Dream Boy's ethereal voice was slightly indistinct.
As if there was a problem with signal reception and transmission.
"That's certainly not good news."
The Flash ran through every possible six-digit password sequence but still couldn't open Batman's warehouse. His attempt to use his phasing ability to break into the warehouse also failed.
"You need to make a decision quickly. I cannot lend my power to you, you are too weak." The Dream Boy spoke again, stating a fact in the most ordinary tone, which left the Flash speechless.
"I could run faster, but ever since you corrupted me, my speed and physical fitness have been declining." The Flash hit the door hard.
His strength wasn't even enough to trigger the intrusion alarm.
"..."
This truly frustrated the Flash.
"It's not because we are secretly absorbing your power. Read fewer of those books written by Superman's youngest son." The Dream Boy had clearly seen Ian's works through the Flash's eyes.
[Overbearing Superman Falls for Me] had reached a new stage. The Superman with the sleeping soul had become the reincarnation of the female lead's magic mirror old man, secretly wiping off the female lead's sunscreen every night and borrowing her skin to absorb sunlight to restore his soul—occasionally also absorbing some of the female lead's power.
Yes.
The female lead had powers in her second life.
Urban novels always end up like this in the later stages.
"Oh? If it's not because of you, did my speed just vanish into thin air?" The Flash didn't believe the Dream Boy's words at all. Everyone in the Justice League loved reading Ian's novels.
Superman was the exception.
"No, they've always been there. In fact, you are much, much stronger than before. You feel your speed has slowed down only because you are carrying me and my world as you run, and my world is still attracting more universal matter to reinforce itself." The Dream Boy's response clearly exceeded the Flash's expectations.
His expression remained stunned for a long time.
It wasn't until Batman let out a painful groan that the Flash woke up from the unexpected answer.
"I need to... find someone who can make the decision to assess the situation." The Flash's eyes darted nervously. After looking at Batman, who seemed moments away from death, he turned and ran toward the door.
Before his words faded, he transformed into a golden streak of lightning, rocketing out of the underground base. The Speed Force energy trailed a brilliant wake behind him, and in the blink of an eye, he reached the surface.
However.
Before the Flash could rush toward Metropolis, an unexpected sight greeted him.
On the ground.
In front of a damaged church.
Superman was already floating in mid-air, his red cape flapping in the wind. The Flash was extremely surprised, wondering if Clark was now so strong that even Batman's base couldn't block his super-hearing.
"Clark?"
The Flash stopped in surprise.
Superman didn't answer.
His expression was unusually serious, his gaze fixed on a distant abandoned church. Before the Flash could ask further, Superman shot toward the church like an arrow from a bow.
"Wait!"
The Flash hurriedly followed.
They burst into the church one after the other, and the sight that greeted them made the Flash gasp—Ian Kent was standing among a gathered group of fallen angels.
Next to him was Madison, the Plague Girl who could emit Super AIDS.
"Remember!"
After sending off the Dream God, Ian jumped back onto the podium, raising his arms and shouting, "Every drop of sweat you shed in the mortal realm today is your ticket back to Heaven tomorrow!"
The angels were fired up, with some constantly wiping away tears.
"Look at this!"
Ian suddenly pulled out a large disc. The cover of the disc was emblazoned with [Angel Prize Wheel]. "As long as you meet performance targets, you can redeem Heavenly points!"
"You can use Heavenly points to draw, and there's a chance to win a qualification certificate... fragment to return to Heaven. Anyway, after you collect one hundred and eight fragments, I will definitely send you back to Heaven."
With that.
Ian even demonstrated the back of the wheel, disassembling it to prove that he, the kind Archangel Ian, wouldn't use any underhanded tactics to alter the one-in-twenty winning probability on the wheel.
Honestly.
This was 100% Ian's conscience at work. He even stopped his super-brain from using the strategy of [ Lucky Draw], where after collecting one hundred and seven fragments, the system would start collecting fragments of the fragments.
Archangel Ian was truly this pure and benevolent.
"We will work hard to atone!"
"Hope is right before us!"
Just like that, a thunderous applause erupted on the spot. The angels who arrived later also signed the labor contracts with red eyes, afraid of missing this "precious opportunity" by a moment.
Ian was so engrossed in his speech that he didn't notice Clark, his face dark, walking up behind him. Superman grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him into the air.
"Ian."
Superman's deep voice suppressed his anger.
"What are you doing?"
He truly hadn't expected that the moment he looked away, his youngest son would turn into a pyramid scheme leader again, even managing to fool a whole bunch of genuine angels.
"I'm helping homeless angels! Yes! We are just running a charity! Helping lost angels find re-employment!" Ian swung his legs in the air.
He was incredibly stubborn.
Superman didn't reply.
He just slowly turned his head to look at Madison, who was trying to sneak around and club him on the back of the head with a street lamp.
"..."
Seeing the girl trying to hide a three-meter-tall street lamp behind her less than 1.7-meter frame.
Superman's expression was a mixture of speechless and bewildered.
"Your mother and father are very worried about you. You should go home." Superman could hear Madison's parents' thoughts, but he actually told a lie here.
He had no choice.
Because Madison's parents seemed to have some mental issues themselves, actually believing that since their daughter had finally latched onto an alien, she should follow the alien to strive for success outside.
"Liar! You're lying! My mom and dad totally support me." Madison was very smart in moments like this. The most basic skill of a high-level green tea girl is discerning whether others are lying to her.
"I'm Ian's hired Public Relations Manager. He needs a professional to handle relations with the media, and he also needs me to stop the angels from joining bad local unions."
"Oh, and also, he's going to shoot a few movies telling the great story of him taking in the homeless. I'll be playing the female lead." Madison was truly completely bought over by Ian.
Ian offered too much.
It wasn't wrong for her to dream of becoming a Hollywood star.
"Yeah, yeah, not only do I cover their food and lodging and offer them a chance to return to Heaven, but I also pay them a salary." Ian quickly adjusted his strategy to align with his father's values.
"They don't need your help."
Clark spoke expressionlessly. He was also frustrated. Why did those aloof angels who refused Batman's help in the daytime now seem so easy to fool?
Batman's help didn't even require the angels to labor! If Batman collected angel blood for research, wouldn't Ian, who proclaimed himself more Batman than Batman, do the same?
Clark had observed!
The wealthy Ian had just secretly purchased several labs! He didn't even have to guess. The father could tell that Ian was going to research an "even better-tasting" angel serum than the Superman formula!
Just as Clark didn't know how to evaluate Ian's behavior.
"Let go of Lord Ian!"
Madison clearly wanted to save Ian. One scheme failed, so she came up with another, employing the deep-seated skill she used in school to ostracize people she disliked and gather a clique of green tea girls.
"You evil Superman, let him go! He has the support of the masses! We want to work for him and atone!" Madison, hidden in the crowd, buried her head and yelled loudly with a choked voice.
The Hollywood child star maintained her restrained acting, making her tearful voice very infectious.
"You definitely don't want us to return to Heaven! You want to keep us trapped on Earth!" This sentence was like a spark dropped into a powder keg. The surrounding angels immediately erupted.
"That's right! Let go of the Archangel of Salvation!"
"We volunteer!"
"This is a sacred employment ritual!"
One female angel even flew forward and pointed a threatening finger at Superman's nose, "If you don't let go, I'm going to publish the details of you confessing to Lana's photo every night when you were little in the Daily Planet!"
"I know what you said, all those filthy words. You certainly don't want me to tell Lois!" The angels naturally knew Superman, and they genuinely knew his black history from childhood.
"..."
Superman's hand trembled slightly.
His face turned red at a visible speed.
From his earlobes all the way down to his neck.
Ian seized the chance to break free, landing lightly on the ground. He shook his shoulders, and seventy-two light wings *swooshed* open. The mimicked wings illuminated the entire church as if it were daylight.
"Alright, alright, don't be like that to my dad. He is my most beloved family member, after all." Ian pretended to be serious and waved his hand. He truly suppressed his curiosity for the sake of family harmony.
Of course.
From the fragmented words of the angels.
Ian roughly realized that the "filthy words of pollution" Jordan often muttered in his dorm should also be a kind of bloodline inheritance. He had, after all, been too hard on his second brother in the past.
Kryptonians seemed to have a rutting season.
Just as Ian changed his opinion of Jordan.
"How tolerant of him, the Great Lord!"
"That is the demeanor of an Archangel!"
"Lord Ian is too kind!"
...
The angels took the opportunity to shower him with flattery—you see, the angels hadn't learned much else in Heaven, but they were masters at buttering up Archangels.
There really were other Archangels in Heaven who enjoyed flattery.
Clark stood aside, the black lines on his face almost materializing, looking as if they could extend all the way to the moon's surface. He opened his mouth but found himself completely unable to interject.
The father could only start convincing himself internally that perhaps this was what God wanted Ian to do. Although absurd, at least it allowed him to get a good night's sleep.
The invincible Superman really wasn't as bold as his youngest son.
Fooling angels?
Making angels tighten screws in a factory and run live streams? Even demons probably wouldn't dare to do such a thing.
"Uh, excuse me for interrupting, but I have something very important to say." Just as the farce escalated, the Flash, standing at the church door, finally couldn't take it anymore.
No one paid attention to him.
The angels were asking Ian when they could start their atonement.
"The earliest is tonight, the latest is tomorrow morning. Don't worry, they're all very simple tasks. Oh, right, Little Delinquent, you need to find some dance instructors and have the angels learn some modern hot dances."
"Then I'll also have my pet ox-head teach you how to listen to the troubles of late-night citizens through phone chat services. You need to comfort those most likely to commit suicide by jumping off buildings with the gentlest and most caring tone." After all, the fees would be very expensive, so the service naturally had to be good. Ian liked to treat paying customers like God.
He actually had the heart to do something constructive.
There were truly many people jumping off buildings late at night.
Ian hoped that by making money for himself, the angels would also accumulate more merit. If the angels could win once, he could probably win three, four, five, six, seven, or eight times.
"Oh, and by the way, don't let me catch any real fallen angels among you using my live stream or chat platform to engage in unhealthy transactions. That would harm my merit."
Ian was still rambling on.
This new-era method of accumulating merit couldn't be understood by his conservative father. Clark just sighed heavily, even covering his ears and burying his head in the sand.
"..."
The Flash, seeing that he was practically invisible, was utterly helpless. He took a deep breath and shouted with all his strength, "Batman is dying!"
Because there were so many angels and Madison present, the Flash didn't call out Batman's full name. This sentence, however, was attention-grabbing enough. The church instantly fell silent.
"Batman won't die."
One angel spoke with a confident tone.
Superman looked at this angel, deep in thought.
"Did that guy try to kill himself before I even got to see him turn evil?" Superman's expression and tone were complex, a mixture of shock and regret.
He wasn't even as concerned about Batman as Ian was.
"My biggest connection in America can't be in trouble! Mom hasn't even started campaigning for president yet!" Ian couldn't quite figure out what unexpected event had occurred.
How could Batman, who was lively in the daytime, be declared critically ill just a few hours later?
He wracked his brains.
But the young delinquent girl already had a guess.
"Could he have been poisoned by Batwoman during that thing?" She lowered her voice, suggesting a movie-level plot. Clearly, the girl always thought Batman and Batwoman were a couple.
Such an ethically questionable guess wasn't entirely without reason.
"You're so smart! But it shouldn't be Batwoman; it must be a seductive stray cat outside! Batman loves going out to talk late at night with cunning cats!"
"This incident is also recorded in the soon-to-be-released Catwoman Don't Look Back, I'm Batman!" Ian praised Madison while also promoting his new book.
He didn't think Batman would die so quickly.
That was Batman.
The DC powerhouse that no major super-event could truly threaten! Death had already proven this, Batman was incredibly important to the DC Universe.
"If your new book is made into a movie, can I play the lead?" Madison had heard of the book, in which the female lead was Wonder Woman. She felt she could perfectly embody the role.
"No problem!"
Ian was always good to his friends.
He readily agreed.
"..."
Superman wanted to speak but restrained himself.
"How about you tell us what happened to Batman?"
He changed the subject, not wanting to discuss Ian's works, because while performing acts of heroism recently, people had started asking him if he was truly in love with an older woman.
"I'll just take you to see him." The Flash was clearly tired of being tricked. He looked at the gathered angels and didn't mention the Outer Universe contamination.
He was mainly worried that there were actual fallen angels mixing in with the group. Persecutory delusion is a stage every superhero goes through, especially Barry Allen, who is victimized by other speedsters every year. He even worried that if he exposed his contamination, he and Iris would be summarily wiped out by Heaven as a threat.
Angels in movies often did things like this, so it wasn't surprising that the Flash had such a stereotype.
"Good, good. Hurry and take us to save my Uncle Batman, then I can conveniently demand favors in return." The honest Ian spoke his simple and sincere thoughts.
Superman looked at him several times upon hearing this but didn't offer any criticism or education.
"Where is he?"
Clark scanned the surroundings, but still couldn't find Bruce's location in Gotham—the guy was hidden so well that nobody would find him even if he mutated into a Batman Doomsday.
"Uh, he should be here."
The Flash pointed directly to the ground beneath the church. He suspected the reason Batman activated this base was because a small boy was preaching a cult-like culture right above it.
"An underground base, then." Superman immediately frowned and looked toward the ground. His X-ray vision penetrated layers of soil, but he found nothing unusual. He didn't know what kind of isolation methods Bruce had reinforced.
"I'll take you down. I hope the door hasn't sealed itself shut automatically." The Flash saw Superman's confusion. He sighed, and golden Speed Force lightning crackled around his body.
Superman prepared to follow.
Ian also quickly turned and instructed his chief manager, Madison, "Take good care of these important assets of Ian's Greatest Technology Group! Buy them some takeout food!"
"Buy plenty! They must eat organic food! Don't let my fixed assets be poisoned! Who knows if angels who have lost their power can withstand the current American pesticide technology."
Ian pulled a stack of banknotes from his pocket and stuffed it into Madison's hand.
It was indeed a substantial amount.
"Lead the way." Superman glanced at the amount, which was likely equivalent to several years of his own salary, then retracted his gaze, but couldn't help turning back to look several times before following the Flash.
Ian did the same.
The Flash's speed was now slow enough that Ian could easily keep up.
"Uncle Flash, please don't die. If things get really bad, let me beg my admirer to spare your life. If you die, what will happen to the over nine million favors you owe me?"
"You won't go to Heaven or Hell after you die, you'll have to go to the Speed Force to repay your debts... it will be very hard for me to contact you there." Ian's voice, growing faint, drifted from outside the church.
After Ian left.
Madison immediately pulled out her phone and opened the takeout app, only to find that all the shops in Gotham were listed as "closed." She didn't hesitate to swipe her phone to switch to the Metropolis area.
"Gotham has just gone through a major incident, and it's a chaotic city anyway, but Metropolis is different. People deliver takeout even at midnight."
Madison had regional pride.
She spent a fortune ordering a pile of takeout from Metropolis. Because it involved many different restaurants, the bill was somewhat complicated, and the math truly reached a blind spot for the young delinquent girl.
She calculated repeatedly.
But still couldn't make sense of the total.
"Um... Miss Madison."
An angel cautiously approached, starting to guide Madison on how to keep track of the expenses. Although the angels hadn't read books, simple math was naturally not a problem for them.
"Not bad, not bad. Your math is great. You're half as good as Ian." This was Madison's usual compliment. The angel chuckled awkwardly, not daring to mention that he could sit and debate with several genuine great mathematicians. Just as Madison was frantically trying to correctly record the accounts under the angel's guidance.
The church door was suddenly smashed open by a blinding white light.
"What are you all doing here?" His voice made the temperature in the entire church plummet. Michael walked in with a dark expression, his handsome face filled with displeasure.
"Your Eminence!"
The angels immediately became excited.
They finally saw a familiar Archangel. So, while flattering Michael, the angels also chattered away, explaining that the Archangel of Salvation, Ian, had already arranged their path of atonement.
They explained Ian's "Salvation Plan" all at once. The more they talked, the worse Michael's face looked. The Archangel could barely believe his ears.
He had only been delayed by something else.
Who would have thought?
Heaven was being hollowed out!
"You fools! All of you, come with me now!" Michael roared, turning to walk out the door. He had to hide the angels back in Heaven before the contamination noticed them.
Even if this violated God's original intention.
However.
It was definitely better than the angels being completely fooled by a mortal. Michael didn't want to see angels working secular jobs on Earth, that was simply a disgrace to Heaven.
It made him furious.
He walked all the way to where the Gate of Heaven had fallen.
Just outside the church.
"Stop! This area is sealed!" Wayne Tech security personnel immediately surrounded him, aiming high-tech weapons at him. Michael merely gave a cold glance, and all the security personnel simultaneously collapsed and fell unconscious.
Their protective gear also turned to ash instantly.
Such was the will of an Archangel, capable of easily rewriting reality.
Even if he couldn't exert his full power on Earth.
Michael easily breached all the defenses. However, when he arrived at the fallen Gate of Heaven, something unexpected happened—completely unexpected by Michael.
"Clank~"
Michael reached out to push the door, but it didn't budge. The angels followed him, watching eagerly. Michael's face lost some composure, and he pushed harder.
The door still didn't respond.
"What's going on?" Brilliant glory began to emanate from Michael, attempting to force the Gate of Heaven open. But something even more alarming happened—the glory on his body was rapidly fading.
It vanished completely in the blink of an eye!
The angels were dumbfounded.
"Your Eminence Michael, do you also have to atone?"
The group of angels looked at the Archangel in disbelief. They could clearly feel the Archangel's glory receding, just as their own glory had receded before.
Hearing this.
Michael was silent.
A look of horror was on his face.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
"No! Impossible! I am the Archangel! I am the Sword Bearer!"
He frantically pushed the door, but still couldn't succeed. Even his wings began to wither. Just as Michael was roaring toward the sky, Madison squeezed out of the crowd and considerately handed him a document.
The enraged Michael looked down.
The document's title was clearly written as:
[Ian's Greatest Technology Group Angel Labor Contract]
Ian had left this copy of the [Ian's Labor Contract] with Madison, anticipating that more angels might come rushing in after hearing the news. This was a side ability gained after the Grimoire consumed the Death Note.
Now.
It clearly found its use.
"I've read the Bible. I know you, the Archangel is very powerful. I'm making you the team leader. You'll get three extra spins on Ian's Great Gratitude Wheel every month compared to the other angels."
Madison spoke to Michael, mimicking Ian's style of painting a grand vision.
Her tone already captured three-tenths of the essence.
The air grew slightly quiet.
Exclamations of envy came from countless other angels in front of the Gate of Heaven.
***
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