American comics: Starting in Arkham, a system-based Batman

Chapter 116 Things Are Going Into the Worst

Consciousness rises and falls like a sailboat in a storm.

Sometimes, he felt lightheaded, and images of driving across the bridge during his escape from Arkham flashed through his mind. The water shimmered, the twilight reflecting the flames of explosions, and in the underground factory, mental patients in striped clothes scattered outwards, while he slipped into the tunnel entrance.

Sometimes, heavy blows would come from the boy in the black and red uniform, who would swing the stick, striking the young man and sending him crashing to the ground, the back of his head hitting a protruding stone. His breathing would stop, and the struggle within the prison would cease.

Heroes with different abilities stand facing prisoners in orange prison uniforms, all watching as a father takes his son away.

Various images flashed through my mind: Superman in his white uniform standing tall in the blue sky, with a gray bat and a short-haired superheroine gazing at his back from the ground.

Batman, leaning against the throne, was covered in fluorescent purple patterns, even his pupils were tinged with purple.

Nightwing, with its sharp teeth that suck the blood of its companions, and the child who snatches a thug's pistol and shoots his parents in an alley—a massive amount of information flooded into Zheng En's mind, his consciousness seemingly adrift in a dark, deep sea.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he finally struggled out of these layers of memories, as if his head had popped out of the water or escaped a confined space and finally breathed in fresh air.

Zheng En opened her eyes.

The environment that came into view resembled a high-tech laboratory, and he was in a connecting corridor or similar area.

The floor and walls were made of the same metal plate, which shone with a cold white light under the soft light on both sides of the passage. A very low hum could be faintly heard in the distance, and Zheng En realized that it was the sound of an engine or reactor operating.

This is where?

He didn't see anyone there, so he walked straight ahead and, after rounding the corner, he could see a figure standing not far away.

The person was wearing a familiar red cloak, and beyond that was a large expanse of transparent glass. Looking through the glass, one could see the pitch-black night sky and the blue-white planets suspended within it.

Jung Eun realized that it was Earth.

"Hey, Superman?"

He waved, wanting to greet Superman, his mind full of questions waiting to be answered, but the other man acted as if he couldn't see him, not even turning his head.

Zheng En walked around to his front, but still didn't attract his attention.

Superman can't see me?

A sudden thought flashed through Jung Eun's hazy mind. He remembered that he had fallen into a pool of water. If he wasn't mistaken, it should be the pool in the comic that contained the Dionysus factor.

He remembered seeing the clown pour something into the container before he rushed down.

But even if it's a combination of clown toxin and Dionysus factor, the result shouldn't be like this.

so----

Jung Eun reached out to touch Superman, and unsurprisingly found her hand piercing the man's chest.

"Is this a dream? Or have I become a ghost?"

Zheng En looked at his hands in confusion. He remembered having a similar dream before, and the hazy memories that had faded upon waking became clear again at this moment.

Before he could even process any further thoughts, someone suddenly appeared beside Superman. The other person's body overlapped with his, a very strange feeling. Relying on his experience using the bamboo dragonfly, Jung Eun silently floated up.

"Sorry, Da Chao, I didn't mean to be late."

The hero in the red uniform scratched his head and apologized repeatedly. He had lightning bolt-shaped symbols on his chest and the sides of his head, and his grinning face was quite endearing.

The Superman, dressed in his three-color uniform and looking perfectly normal, was as kind as he remembered. He didn't take the other person's lateness to heart, but he was a little puzzled. "Wasn't Diana supposed to be on duty with me today?"

"Oh, she switched shifts with me." The Flash shrugged. "It seems Ares has made some moves, but it's not confirmed yet, so Diana went to investigate."

"But now that you mention it, isn't her shift partner today Ronnie?" When he first arrived, he thought he had made a mistake. After quickly checking the duty roster, Flash confirmed that he still had a good memory after working overtime for many days.

"Just like you."

Superman shrugged. "Ron has been busy lately, as has Batman, but he can still hand over Gotham's night patrols to Robin, so there's no need to find someone to switch shifts."

"Criminal rates have been rising globally recently, and the situation is particularly serious in cities where heroes are stationed."

Batman was the first to discover this, and he discussed it privately with Superman and Wonder Woman. "Bruce couldn't find anything unusual about it, and Diana felt that it might be related to Ares."

"This was supposed to be discussed at today's meeting, but it seems that the meeting may have to be postponed."

The Flash didn't care about that; his focus was on the crime rate. "I was wondering why there were so many crimes in Central City lately!" He slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand.

Not only does he deal with criminals all day under a secret identity, but his real identity is that of someone working in the forensic department of the police station. With the increase in the number of cases, his workload doubles.

Martian Manhunter, who chose to become a policeman, is in a similar situation and has clearly fallen into an overtime hell.

"Before I arrived, the scoundrels were still fighting with other criminal gangs."

Being on duty in a watchtower is usually a leisurely job. After all, aliens don't invade Earth every day. When they're not busy, they mostly chat. Sometimes, someone will bring over unfinished work to finish.

Like the manuscript Clark has to submit tomorrow, or the documents Bruce hasn't finished reviewing.

The current Superman and Flash don't have this problem, and they can chat much more freely. The Flash recalled what he had seen in Central City earlier: "When I arrived, the Rogues were still complaining that guys from other places had broken the rules."

Of course, they didn't put it that euphemistically.

The Flash arrived and, without a second thought, tied them all up. While the gang members were bound and sitting on the ground, one of them yelled at another group, "You bunch of stinking outsiders, don't you know the rules?!"

"Even criminals have a sense of morality! You scum who would even prey on women and children, don't you have any moral compass at all?!"

It has to be said, The Flash thinks they were right to criticize.

So while they were hurling insults at each other, he only silenced the other group.

The thought of the endless overtime he was about to face made him slump again, even slowing down his pace of eating potato chips. "By the way, Clark, I saw on the news that Luther is going to be released in a few days. Will he come after you again?"

Superman: "Probably not."

The Flash perked up his ears.

"Every time he goes to jail, the company's stock price plummets. He has to make the money back before he has time to cause me trouble."

Superman stroked his chin. "I should be pretty relaxed until he makes his money back."

Although it's unclear where Luther's obsession with him comes from, it's still quite expensive to conduct various research and development of weapons and equipment in order to oppose him.

The Flash was surprised to hear this answer and burst into laughter while holding a large bucket of potato chips.

He was laughing so hard that the chip can slipped from his hand, but he caught it instantly.

"Indeed, he still needs to earn money to upgrade his Lex Luthor armor."

Superman could only manage a helpless, wry smile.

Jung Eun-pyo watched the whole thing from above. Compared to the dream she had before, this time it was much more relaxing. There was no world on the verge of destruction, and no Superman who had already turned to the dark side or was about to turn to the dark side.

He likes the Justice League, and he never gets bored just watching the two of them chat.

But the environment, which he had previously confirmed to be absolutely real, blurred and faded away like ripples on water under his gaze.

Zheng En tried to reach out and grab them, but instead touched a tombstone.

His hand passed through the tombstone.

It had a name he recognized engraved on it—Oliver Quinn.

Zheng En looked around. Everyone was wearing black suits and holding umbrellas. Fine rain swirled down, and the biting wind seemed to penetrate his bones.

He knew some of them, and he didn't know others, but they all wore the same sadness on their faces.

Batman, Superman, The Flash—people came forward one after another to present flowers.

Not far away, a woman with long, flowing hair stood quietly, fine raindrops falling on her golden curls and wetting her black dress.

"I know you're sad, Dana."

Wonder Woman approached her friend and tilted the umbrella toward her. "Perhaps I can keep you company in peace for a while."

Black Canary glanced at her, then looked back at the tombstone. "I still can't believe it, Diana."

"They said his cause of death was intracranial hemorrhage."

She gritted her teeth. "Everyone says it was an accident. But how could someone who's been a superhero for years die chasing a petty thief?"

"How come there just happened to be a puddle there, and he just happened to step on it, and then he fell down before he could even keep his balance?"

The black canary refused to believe it. "How could it be that just one protruding rock was the cause of Oliver's death?"

When this happened, no one could believe it. The Flash was a forensic scientist, and he had visited the scene multiple times after Green Arrow's death. His experience told him that the medical examiner was right: Zatanna had seen Green Arrow's body and had also visited the scene, proving that there was no magic involved.

Everyone told her it was just an accident.

But the black canary refused to believe it.

"There must be some conspiracy behind this." She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. "Didn't the meeting say that the global crime rate has increased significantly? There must be someone behind this."

Wonder Woman, unwilling to see her consumed by hatred, said, "I've investigated, and this has nothing to do with Ares."

"It could be something else entirely!" Black Canary whirled around, teeth clenched, brows furrowed, and tears streaming down her face. "I must avenge Oliver!"

Compared to the previous dreams, these two scenarios weren't as bad. But it was clear they were connected.

Jung Eun didn't understand what this meant.

While the fragmented scenes in worlds like Red Reaper and The Destroyer were horrific, they didn't create the same sense of oppression as this continuous development.

When he heard about Green Arrow's cause of death, he shared the same thoughts as Black Canary.

This is ridiculous.

How could Green Arrow lose his life from a fall?

Even if DC's lousy writers have written similar plots before, and Nightwing in Injustice died in the same way, how can such an absurd plot be repeated a second time?

Fine rain seeped through Jung Eun's body, seemingly enough to wet her eyes. After wiping away the misty rain from her face, the scene before her changed once more.

This time it's a watchtower.

The place where Jung Eun first saw it.

This time, however, Superman and The Flash were absent; only Batman stood alone in front of the giant viewing glass, quietly gazing at the boundless starry sky.

Just like before, there were twinkling lights, bands of nebulae, and that blue-white planet hanging there.

It's absolutely beautiful, with blue and white intertwined, and light clouds gently swirling around it.

The surroundings were eerily quiet; it was as if Batman was the only one present in the vast space.

But soon, Superman flew over.

"Are you alright, Bruce?" He landed close to Batman, looking at him with concern.

Batman didn't look at him. After a long while, he slowly spoke, "I don't understand, Clark."

"Everything seems to be heading in the worst possible direction." His voice was low and hoarse. "Oliver is dead, Dina is missing, and Billy lost his powers after being seriously injured and is still unconscious."

These Supermen all know, "Don't worry, things will get better." He patted Batman on the shoulder, "We've faced these challenges together, risking our lives every time."

"But we all made it through."

"We will find Dana, and find a way to wake Billy up."

Looking at Superman's sincere and positive smile, Batman remained silent for a moment, then said, "Perhaps."

He knew the other person wanted to comfort him and cheer him up, but he couldn't be as optimistic as Clark.

"To be honest, I've had a feeling all this time." Batman didn't know how to tell Superman these things; he didn't want to tell anyone these baseless, unsettling words.

But Superman has that kind of magic that makes people speak up involuntarily.

"A premonition that no matter how hard I struggle, things will only get worse."

Superman stared at him in a daze.

I knew it.

Batman sighed. "Never mind."

He wouldn't think anything of Superman because of this; after all, this feeling was just an unfounded association on his part.

Perhaps he was too pessimistic, or perhaps he was overwhelmed by the various events that had occurred recently.

He lowered his eyes, but someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

"Why didn't you say so sooner, Bruce!"

Superman stared at him with wide eyes, his handsome face revealing a childlike enthusiasm and joy. "I actually feel the same way, but it feels strange to say it out loud since there's no source to it."

"Since we all have this feeling, it's unlikely to be an illusion."

Seeing Superman's expression as if he wanted to pick him up, Batman took a step back. "I'll ask Zatanna. This might be some kind of extremely profound magic."

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