The sound of dense footsteps echoed above the Bat Cave, accompanied by a ransacking noise. It seems the army dismantled the alarm, discovered the hidden door, and is now breaking in.
Su Ming just let Diana and Arthur block the way while he calmly looked at Green Arrow and Thomas: "If you think about it, it's probably what the physics teacher taught, right? It's often used in the principles of electricity. In conventional circuits, before and after the switch, the current changes greatly. The analysis of this moment requires using negative zero, representing the value corresponding to the moment infinitely close to zero."
"Just because you think Divine Speed is electricity?" Oliver pinched his brow.
"What is the essence of Divine Speed? I don't know either. I only know its external manifestation is electricity, isn't that enough?" Su Ming spread his hands.
Barry rubbed his chin, sometimes looking up and sometimes down. As the person most familiar with Divine Speed, he still couldn't figure out what Deathstroke was doing with that small badge and X Metal.
However, he didn't forget the important matter, the theoretical research can wait for later.
"Dr. Wayne, you must leave with us quickly. Although we don't know how long this world can last, the moment infinitely close to zero will not be eternal. Your son needs your help right now."
"I...."
Thomas was about to answer when an explosion occurred above them, followed by a stream of shadows descending the nearby stairs.
They were holding weapons, shouting as they charged: "By the orders of King Arthur of Atlantis and Queen Diana of New Paradise Island! Prepare to die, Bat!"
Leading them was a female warrior who burst through the dissipating smoke and hadn't steadied her footing before a shield emblazoned with an eagle slammed her back, causing the others behind her to tumble like rolling gourds.
The smoke from the explosion settled, and they saw Diana standing majestically in front of them, her sword and shield exuding a faint golden light, her expression stern.
"Who dared to spread my orders falsely?!"
"Her Majesty the Queen... But we... this isn't..."
The female warriors from Paradise Island looked at each other, bewildered. They couldn't believe the one stopping them was Her Majesty the Queen. What's going on?
"No buts! Withdraw the troops, sisters, return to Paradise Island, return to your loved ones! Stop bleeding unnecessarily!" Diana took a few steps forward, completely overwhelming the female warriors with her presence, leaving them no time to think.
Barry had told her before that this version of her in reality was a shrew, so she needed to act domineeringly to achieve her goal.
Arthur also caught up from behind her, pounding the Trident on the ground with a loud crunch. He too assumed the stance of a king, roaring like a lion: "Atlantean warriors, withdraw the troops, this is my order too!"
"....Who are you?" The Atlantean soldiers didn't recognize him at all.
"???" Arthur wore a puzzled expression of disbelief. Why did the same thing work for Diana but not for him?
Not far away, Su Ming smirked slightly at this huge difference. Should Barry instantly cut his hair and shave his beard?
But Arthur was only speechless for a moment, and he had his own methods. Within him was the Power of Life, allowing him to communicate with all aquatic life and wielding Poseidon's Trident, representing Seven Seas Monarchy and Divine Authority, he knew how to make Atlantis retreat.
He pulled the Trident from the ground, holding it high above his head, its blue light growing intensely. Nearby, the moisture transformed into crystalline water droplets, seeping out from the Atlantean warriors' armor.
Without the seawater stored inside their armor, Atlanteans out of water had no combat power. With a single gesture, Arthur made them lose all fighting ability, kneeling and gasping like fish out of water, as if worshipping the lord of the sea.
"I am King Arthur, Atlantian ruler, King of Seven Seas! If you do not want to die senselessly, retreat immediately!"
No one could oppose him anymore, that's Arthur's style; making the unwilling submit by force.
"Take them and throw them all into the sea!" Diana immediately gave orders to the Amazons, who were clearly intimidated: "Now leave my sight, do not return! We will talk to Batman ourselves."
"As you command, Her Majesty the Queen."
The female warriors curiously glanced at the man claiming to be Arthur. Was this really Arthur? Claiming to be Sea King was so bold, so manly....
However, this should be the Queen's new man now, and they had no share in it, what a pity.
Despite having various thoughts about Arthur, whom they saw as a testosterone-fueled muscular man, the female warriors strictly followed their Queen's orders.
They lifted the Atlanteans who were nearing suffocation and quickly took their leave.
The previously noisy Bat Cave has now quieted down, with even the startled little furry animals finding a new spot to hang upside down again.
"It's resolved, at least this can buy us two hours. But before that, we'll already be out of here." Su Ming crossed his arms and pulled out a bottle of liquor from his belt: "Mr. Wayne, if you need to pack your belongings upstairs, now's the time."
Thomas gave him a look, pulling the bat-shaped cowl off his head and smoothing out his snow-white hair: "I never said I was leaving with you."
"But you haven't refused either, have you?" Su Ming flicked off the bottle cap with his thumb and handed the bottle to Thomas: "Bruce is in big trouble, his fiancée was killed by the bad guys, and now he wants to take his own life. We're powerless, we can only think of a way for you to go see him."
"If I could leave, why didn't you take me the last time?" Thomas took the bottle, sniffing it to make sure it wasn't poisoned, then pointed to Barry beside him.
"Because last time he was missing a few things." Su Ming lightly flicked the blood-stained grinning emblem on his chest, and then revealed the X Metal from his finger bones for the old man to see: "Not fully prepared, we couldn't take you away, now this is the only chance. Don't you want to see what your son looks like when he's grown up? Don't you want to meet his ex-wife and child?"
"He had an ex-wife? And now he wants to kill himself over his fiancée's death? That's illogical." Thomas didn't drink, passing the bottle to Oliver. Being a surgeon and very disciplined, alcohol would make his hands tremble.
Checking the bottle was just another way to confirm these people bore no malice.
"Some people are different, you understand." Oliver stole a glance at Deathstroke, deciding to help him cover up: "This woman who died was incredibly significant to Bruce."
"I understand, I'll go with you." Thomas sighed: "Honestly, I wished for Batman to end with me, Bruce shouldn't become Batman, he should be a regular person, spending more time with his wife and child, not becoming Batman for me or Martha. Such pain shouldn't belong to my child."
"This is... hard to explain. When we get back to our reality, you'll find things are more complicated than you imagine. There are other worlds where your son wants to kill your real son. Those other world's Batmen aren't technically your son, etc., this sounds like a tongue twister..."
Barry hopped onto the Cosmic Treadmill, assuming a ready-to-run position, and as he spoke, seemed to confuse himself.
"Enough talk, let's go!" Thomas flicked his cape, and almost no one saw him as he already sat in the car, even taking the front passenger seat.
Just moments ago he seemed indifferent, but now he's in a hurry more than anyone, this really is....
Diana wrote the speech, and Su Ming hadn't had the chance to memorize it yet. Just mentioning Bruce's current situation, love for his child overwhelmed Thomas.
Not all Batmen refrain from killing, and not all Batmen who kill are madmen.
Thomas Wayne is a rational and ruthless Batman, a reinforcement the Laughing Bat never anticipated.
Even if the Laughing Bat tried to spy on the N52 Rebirth's Flashpoint World, all he would see is void.
There's no way he'd expect Su Ming to rewrite the Flashpoint World's history using Quantum acceleration within the Divine Speed Plane, layers of plans totally in his blind spot.
The Red Death Demon is dead, the Dark Knight Order can't counter the Divine Speed.
Besides, Thomas Wayne is unusually effective against other Batmen, 'I'm your father!' could very well be the scariest FLAG out there.
.........
"The scenery on the road isn't nice." Closing the car door, Thomas glanced around at the unfamiliar surroundings, feeling something dark lurking under the jet-black sky: "And this isn't Gotham."
"This is Midtown, we borrowed the quantum equipment from the Star Laboratory here." Barry, gasping for breath, slid off the car roof, his legs like limp noodles: "And the Cosmic Treadmill seating five, God, that's definitely overloaded, my liver really hurts."
"The Flashpoint World collapsed behind us, a piece of non-existent history disintegrating wouldn't paint a pretty picture, outsides full of lightning and temporal fragments." Diana adjusted her hair, still contemplating matters of Paradise Island: "I don't understand, this emblem sent us to the past but let that reality fade before us, why?"
Barry's girlfriend brought him a high-calorie drink, and he gulped it down: "I heard Wally say, someone stole our time just to harm us. Probably the same reason again, villains do bad things because they're sick, there's sickness here."
Barry put down the cup, pointing his finger at his temple.
"Regardless, let's first get back to Gotham, I need to see Bruce." Thomas still carried the gun that killed his wife and son, his primary weapon.
"No one understands the Divine Speed issues, don't dwell on it. But Barry, you and Wally owe us an explanation, that damn past is only something you Speedsters and Deathstroke know? What's up with that?" Oliver lowered his hood, his eyes under the green brim turning to Deathstroke: "Let's focus on the immediate mission, what do you say?"
"Bringing Mr. Wayne back is naturally to see Bruce, we'll talk about our stuff later, I've guessed some of Batman's next plans, but the risk is too high, I have to insure him."
Su Ming looked seriously at the group. Though at times he resorted to unscrupulous methods, there's still a baseline of humanity, he extended his hand to an empty space nearby:
"Teleportation Gate, Bat Cave beneath Wayne Manor."