In the darkness, a Batman clad in heavy power armor stands firmly.
Opposite him, Deathstroke hangs upside down from the ceiling like a bat, slowly circling the mecha, seemingly searching for an angle to strike.
"I thought that even if they made you the Hell Bat Armor, you would have worn it out killing them."
Su Ming is still chatting. If it weren't for the awkward dancing technique being useless this time, he might have done a little more; after all, in all these years at Marvel, he'd learned a thing or two.
"Why use their gift against them?" Laughing Bat approached, reaching out to grab Su Ming, who nimbly dodged: "I can defeat them myself. I wonder if your Bruce has a set of armor called 'Fenrir'; I have one too, but later I renamed it Husky Armor after I killed them, hahaha."
"Without them, you could win all the same. Is this what you want to prove?"
"Ah, to me, you're quite a smart person, at least broader-minded than other Bruces, but why can't you see it?" Laughing Bat shot Heat Sight at the spot where Su Ming was hanging but missed again. He didn't mind and kept speaking, "Stories are always written by the victors, and people always only remember the names of the winners. Who remembers the losers?"
"I guess you're a results-oriented person." Su Ming also countered with a Lantern Ring and magic, but the outcome was clear, resulting only in various sound and light effects, without even scratching the armor.
So, close combat is the key here...
"Every Batman is the same; you're no different. We only like good outcomes; who cares about the losers?" Laughing Bat didn't utilize the speed of the mecha but instead advanced steadily, applying psychological pressure, stepping closer amid Su Ming's barrage: "I once defeated a villain named Mad Quilt; who remembers him?"
"I remember, a zealous color theory enthusiast, wore a uniform pieced from countless cloth scraps in red, yellow, and blue, with a small mustache." Su Ming immediately joined the topic, referencing content from ancient comics. Laughing Bat seems to possess memories from the Infinite Earths before.
But, considering the creation time of the Dark Multiverse, he shouldn't know.
Is it because he's Batman?
Laughing Bat probably didn't expect Deathstroke to know past matters; after all, from his perspective, an outsider is ultimately an outsider.
"Interesting, perhaps only someone like you remembers a loser." Laughing Bat manipulated the armor to leap over, a heavy punch barely grazing Su Ming's head. Watching Deathstroke evade and again open distance, he shook his head: "But the world has forgotten him. Our multiverse has rebooted many times; after the world became 52, that guy ceased to exist."
"Gotham is still Gotham, unaffected by any villain's absence." Su Ming jumped down from the ceiling, pulling out all weapons from his belt and gripping a great sword.
Testing is about done; this armor appears nearly immune to energy. The various metals Laughing Bat previously gathered were likely used to enhance this armor.
Moreover, it seems this equipment imposes no burden on him; he still has plenty of capacity.
"You know, to us, you are the Dark Multiverse; we are the light side because we see further..." Laughing Bat charged, giant metal fist aiming for Su Ming's chest: "The world forgets not just him but potentially all of us. If we can't be victors, there's no future!"
"So you're seeking fame, trying to influence the high-tier will possibly existing beyond the walls to ensure your survival?"
Su Ming advanced instead of retreating, dodging the fist as best he could, and executed a lateral slash with the great sword at the opponent's waist. The white light formed by X Metal flowing onto the blade cuts a splendid plane through the darkness.
"Boom!"
Both struck the other; even if Su Ming turned to dissipate force, the punch drove him into the rock wall behind, compressing earth and rubble, creating a hundred-meter deep human-shaped tunnel.
And Laughing Bat's Hell Bat Armor, to disperse the impact from X Metal, was similarly knocked to the ground, sliding a long groove, colliding with the stone wall behind.
"Cough..." Su Ming clutched one shoulder, climbing up. This truly is armor capable of god-slaying; if not for the dual protection of Vibranium and X Metal Skeleton, half of his body might have been pulverized.
Yet, even then, Vibranium did not fully neutralize that massive force; not only is Strangulation repairing the armor's cracks, but he himself now suffers internal injuries, organs screaming.
Only after spitting out a mouthful of blood does he feel slightly more comfortable, breathing gradually returning to normal.
The Healing Factor begins its effect inside, and the bloodthirsty desire in his heart casts a faint red light over everything he sees.
Laughing Bat is evidently in much better condition, lazily standing up from beside the wall, calling to the cavity: "Want to know how I can withstand X Metal?"
"Heh, just because you're Batman?" Su Ming used a teleportation gate to appear behind the armor, kicking it on the back, watching as the armor jerked forward, nearly falling into the cavity.
Laughing Bat turned around, and not only does Su Ming have no good way to deal with him, but he also has no good way to deal with this Deathstroke.
Not only is the self-healing ability extremely strong, but it can also shape-shift and teleport instantly. Unless you can kill it in a moment, dragging it out is meaningless.
"Have you also learned to answer quickly? But you're right, I've done a lot of research, especially after you cut off my head with the Great Sword last time, hehe. The Multiverse we live in now, though false, is all made up of X Metal, so is there a way to reverse all things back to X Metal? I discovered a critical point, prepared some special things, then reversed their time flow, reversed 20 billion years. Guess what I got? Hahaha...."
"X Metal." Su Ming took a deep breath, feeling the impact of his lung injury.
"Ah, yes. I immediately took out this set of battle armor. It's both to thank you for the inspiration you gave me and because this armor is connected to Divine Speed. Time travel is always inseparable from Divine Speed... I also really like Barry. I still remember my Flash looking at me with bleeding eyes, oh, it was really moving."
The Laughing Bat, manipulating the battle armor, even raised a hand to wipe under the eyepiece as if wiping nonexistent tears but ended up smearing the red paint on his mouth, looking as if he had just eaten flesh and blood.
He clearly couldn't see his own face but knocked his two fists together and continued to speak to Su Ming: "The Justice League symbolizes transcending, becoming a better self, higher, faster, stronger, right? Sounds just like the Olympic spirit, so I brought it here because it also has a spirit, and that is... fair competition!"
With that, he laughed and activated Divine Speed, rushing towards Su Ming at a speed fast enough to chase electric light.
And at this moment, Su Ming seemed to have no reaction, just standing quietly in place.....
...................
"The simplest dimension is a point, then comes a line, then following a set direction, it develops into a bridge, a path, or a threshold, a critical point."
White Superman enthusiastically introduced their new Hall of Justice to the Justice League members while recounting his experiences over the years with a smile on his face.
But honestly, even Batman couldn't understand what this answer meant.
Too general and too vague.
This Hall of Justice looks entirely different from their current one, even larger and brighter, with endless glass cabinets filled with various trophies, photos, and other memorabilia as soon as you enter.
Only the large staircase where the heroes' uniforms were placed right at the entrance was gone.
Barry ran around, touching the dinosaur skeleton over there, then fiddling with the new 3D printed inventions, quite thoroughly exploring.
Returning to the group, only a few seconds had passed.
He happily pulled down his mask and said to the elderly Superman: "Please make sure to reserve some rooms for us here, it's really fantastic."
White Superman nodded with a smile, readily agreeing to Barry's request: "We used space folding technology. The rooms here can accommodate everyone. Of course, the cafeteria is still open; would you like to eat first?"
Ron looked around the tall and spacious hall, his gaze moving from his aged self and Hawk Woman to the green-skinned, winged child between them.
He felt the long-lost warmth of family and was pleased: "I noticed there are no defense facilities and energy barriers here..."
"That's because we don't need them," White Superman said proudly. "Earth is safe, the cosmos is safe. This place is now called the Court of Justice, just to commemorate the past heroes and their efforts and sacrifices in saving the world. It's open to anyone; all areas are open, no danger, no secrets."
"Wow, how did you all do that?" Barry greeted Old Wally enthusiastically, despite seeing his phantom in the Divine Speed Lightning behind the other, guessing he might have died resolving the crisis.
But if Earth and the cosmos were saved, it didn't matter if he sacrificed himself.
Old Wally hugged him warmly, with his usual smile: "Continue down the current path, and we made breakthroughs in time and dimension."
"Speaking of time, we don't have much time left, Clark," Batman reminded White Superman expressionlessly.
Beside him, Diana was equally impatient: "Yes, Superman, if we are to fight the Destruction Legion, what should we do?"
"I will explain, Bruce,"
White Superman finished with a smile. A younger Batman came over, the red Bat emblem on his chest particularly striking, and he also said without expression: "But you have to understand the current situation, involving time and dimensions, involving us, is very difficult to explain clearly."
Older Cassie also chimed in, her white long hair braided into pigtails draped over her shoulder, with the Lasso of Truth wrapped around her Divine Arm Armor:
"You want the truth, and the truth is quite shocking, I need to warn you of that first."