"If you really have to do this, I don't recomnd being too straightforward. If you can appeal to their emotions and reason with them, that's best. If not, don't tear faces too early, or we'll easily find ourselves in a passive position," Green Lantern shook his head and said.
"I know that very well." There seed to be a storm brewing in Superman's tone. He placed his hands on the table, fingers intertwined, and said, "If they know our intentions, they will never agree. We can't use force to compel them either."
"Why not?" Wonder Woman asked.
anwhile, Batman, who was monitoring the situation in the eting room with a listening device, realized that what Diana from the previous universe said made sense. This universe's Wonder Woman was problematic, both in her mysterious stance and lack of intelligence.
"Because they have the power of ti," The Flash said, "Those who wield this kind of power are imnsely strong. If they can, as you say, rewind the universe's ti without limit, we can't possibly be their match."
"You also claim to have ti power," Wonder Woman said, "But you haven't accomplished much with it, have you?"
"That's completely different," The Flash said, "I control the Divine Speed, not actual ti. I have no way to alter the past. Do you think I haven't tried?"
Wonder Woman turned her gaze away, showing so disdain. Superman continued, "I don't want to reveal our intentions from the start; this would make them extra wary. I hope they use this power to protect themselves."
"Exactly, if they were to deal with Brainiac but found themselves in danger and had to use ti-rewriting power to save themselves, it wouldn't count as us provoking them," Wonder Woman added.
Batman in the room sighed. Superman should better not do this for real, but looking at this situation, even if he doesn't intend to, Wonder Woman would persuade him to do it.
However, this was utterly foolish, treating the opponent as if they are idiots. Unfortunately, the opponent's intellect was intact, and you could even say particularly shrewd.
Negotiating with smart people requires a tit-for-tat exchange of interests. You could say as long as the benefits are substantial enough, they wouldn't refuse to help.
So Batman's worry was always about the consequences of rewinding ti, not whether the other party would help in doing so. He knew exactly what they wanted, but he didn't want to give it, so he stayed silent to express his protest.
But now it seed the people sitting outside couldn't even see this. They still thought they could gain the other party's power through deception and trickery, but this wouldn't work at all.
If the negotiation collapsed, it would have been a good thing for Batman, but it wasn't that simple, because Batman had long seen that the other party wasn't a "Justice" League.
Compared to his lovely but foolish companions, the other side was the true Injustice League.
They weren't like the Justice League of other universes, who are disciplined and righteous. They talked about ideology, but their minds were filled with business, and they were vindictive, displaying an evil and madness deeper than even super villains.
Fooling them was not a good idea.
Whether to walk out and tell them the consequences of the plan, trying to salvage the situation, or continue to stay here and deal with the aftermath after they collapsed in negotiation? Batman's mind weighed between the options.
But at this mont, the stupidity's impromptu brilliance shone even brighter.
"If they used the thod of ti reversal to deal with Brainiac in their universe and did it many tis, it indicates they couldn't defeat Brainiac head-on. Perhaps we could use this point," Wonder Woman suggested.
Batman thought he couldn't figure out this logic even if he pondered for three days and nights. But no one present raised any objections. The silence transmitted through the listening device made Batman start to reassess the human race gradually.
"I think we can pretend to team up with them against Brainiac, and then retreat at the crucial mont. Forced into a corner by Brainiac, they would naturally use that power to rewind ti."
"But they won't rewind to the correct ti point," The Flash glanced at Superman and said, "Not to the exact point we need."
"Perhaps we could interfere with them," Wonder Woman suggested.
Now Batman also fell silent. This was tantamount to saying, "Perhaps we could interfere with a flying nuclear bomb."
Superman still didn't speak, and Batman believed he had other plans. This wasn't a good sign; the opponent finally started using his super brain. His intentions were good, but he'd better not act on them.
"They will be here soon," Superman said, "I hope you all can seem welcoming, and it's best if no one leaks anything."
Superman swept his gaze around and said, "...I can hear you, as you know."
"We're united behind you, naturally we'll support you. Batman is the one you should be careful with," Wonder Woman said, "If you don't keep an eye on him, he might tell them our entire plan."
"And laugh them to death?" Batman thought to himself, "Sounds like sothing Joker would do."
"He locked you up before, you can lock him up this ti; nothing wrong with that," Wonder Woman said, "At least don't let him have the chance to contact them. What do you all think?"
"You can't imprison Batman!" The Flash said.
"But this is for Earth's sake," Wonder Woman raised her voice, "Before, he imprisoned Superman for Earth's safety. So why can't we imprison him now for Earth's safety? Is he only willing to sacrifice others?"
"I don't understand whether you're really thinking of Earth's security or your own desires," The Flash slamd the table hard and said, "Why can't you learn to accept what's already happened, learn from the lessons, and stay clear-headed?!"
"Well said," Batman thought, "but unfortunately, it's useless."
"Sit down, Barry!" Superman said to him, "This isn't the ti for you to talk."
"You think I'll listen to you, you cruel hangman! You killed the Joker; you can say he was your enemy, but why kill Shazam?! He's innocent! He's still a child!!" The Flash had already started to roar.
"I said sit down!" A laser beam shot past, and The Flash disappeared instantly in the golden light.
Everyone else stood up, ready and alert. The Flash's attacks were unpredictable; they couldn't help but be nervous.
But after waiting for a long ti, that golden flash did not appear. Wonder Woman sneered and said, "A coward fleeing from battle! This is what Batman taught him."
After a while, Batman saw the golden light appear in his field of vision. He did not speak because he feared being heard by Superman.
But what appeared in front of him was not the familiar Flash, but a younger figure.
Barry's light faded, followed closely by another golden figure that chased out. The Flash looked very tense; he was about to say sothing when Barry shook his head and pointed to the eting room next door.
"Then put your hand on the wall." Black gold light spread, covering all the walls' surfaces.
Batman watched as every place touched by the interwoven black gold light began to produce fine debris. The debris flickered with cosmic light and then gradually turned into a crack, as if the whole space was being cut down.
"Hello, Batman. It seems you've encountered so trouble."
"Did you co from your universe?"
"Yes, I'm here to scout the way and to ask you sothing."
"Ask what?"
"We want to talk with you, but we're only willing to talk to you. While it can't be said that Batman is more important than Superman, for now, we need Batman's strength more."
"What is this? An ultimatum?"
"Of course not. Besides you, we have other choices. After all, there are plenty of Batmans in the Multiverse. We chose you because your universe is in ruins and aligns with our criteria."
"Do you know you sound like a cultist right now?"
"Glad to see you still have the mood for jokes," Barry said. "Perhaps traveling to our universe hasn't truly shown you what we're like."
"I don't need to know more."
"You will know more, very soon."
After Barry left, The Flash sat beside Batman. He said, "He's really powerful; I was almost instantly controlled by him. That mysterious black force gives a very bad feeling. Batman, you're right; Superman is inviting trouble inside."
Batman remained silent, not echoing The Flash. He was lost in thought.
Barry could travel through ti, and the Barry from that universe is particularly good at it. Although he hadn't seen it himself, Batman could guess that Barry was the main force in retracing the ti of that universe.
Did he visit the future after arriving in this universe? Did he co back after seeing certain events to persuade Batman?
Batman couldn't be certain, but he knew that if this were true, future events could be very tragic.
If he stepped out now to talk with them, there might still be hope for change. But Batman didn't want to do this.
He knows what that universe's Justice League wants to talk about. Barry already ntioned that this universe's Earth is in ruins.
In the eyes of ordinary people, the ss created by Superman's previous tyranny is a big problem. But Batman understands that a solid order is hard to shake; if it's chaos, creating a new order is simple.
That universe's Justice League wants to help him rebuild order, but they certainly aren't purely well-intentioned. They'll definitely interfere, shaping the order how they want it.
Would that be better for ordinary people? Batman doesn't know yet; he's still thinking, unable to make a decision.
This isn't about being indecisive; he simply deeply understands that its impact on their universe is far-reaching beyond the surface.
Especially when looking across the entire Multiverse, if that universe's Justice League is to reshape this universe's order, it ans Batman will be in the sa boat with them. In the future, regarding any universe or organization in the Multiverse, Batman can only stand by their side.
This might not be a good thing, especially when Batman hasn't yet figured them out. His caution won't allow him to make a decision so quickly.
But there's another possibility: they're only willing to talk to him, and if he doesn't talk, so fools are going to bleed.
Batman also doesn't know if his personal desires are at play. He can only try his best to control himself, not to think in that direction. He just needs ti to think and make a decision rather than indulging in revenge.
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