"So, what do you need me to do now?" Barry Allen knew Bruce's habits all too well.
If Bruce was willing to admit this involved the future, it already meant that some things could only be solved with the help of the Speed Force.
As for the present?
Barry Allen was honestly a bit confused.
"I need your Speed Force."
The moment Bruce said that, Barry Allen instantly jumped to the far end of the cell.
He couldn't help it—he practically had PTSD from that sentence now.
The Bruce in his body had said the exact same thing, then strapped him to the front of a Batmobile retrofitted from a Cosmic Treadmill.
The two of them fused completely in that state of extreme speed. That pain was beyond words.
Now, hearing this Bruce say the same thing again was downright terrifying.
But he quickly realized this Bruce wasn't like the one he remembered.
After all, right now he was technically living in someone else's head.
If Bruce really wanted to do the same thing as the previous one, the first thing he'd need to figure out was how to get Barry completely out of his mind.
So Barry Allen quickly shook off his panic.
Still, he cautiously approached Bruce. The trauma this version of Batman had left on him was no joke.
Bruce didn't give Barry a chance to shrink back. He opened the cell door and grabbed hold of Barry, who was still inhabiting the body of the Red Death.
"Just so we're clear, don't do anything reckless," Barry said nervously to Bruce.
But Bruce didn't respond—he simply pulled the Flash along and walked out.
At that moment, City was quietly observing Bruce's movements. Bruce had been standing still for over ten seconds.
Given what City knew about Bruce and the data it had gathered, this Batman would never be idle at such a moment. Standing frozen for over ten seconds was definitely abnormal.
Before City could ask what was going on, it sensed something had changed in the person before it.
City had a unique ability to distinguish superhumans, and in that instant, it felt a shift in Bruce—something uniquely tied to superhuman traits.
In fact, City had been continuously monitoring Bruce's vitals, and in that instant, his physical attributes had nearly doubled.
Clearly, something was wrong. How could a normal person evolve into a superhuman in such a short time?
But that wasn't even the most shocking part for City.
Golden lightning began to arc across Bruce's body, and a golden battle suit replaced his usual black armor.
It lasted only a moment.
But to City, that moment was long enough. Technically speaking, the lightning and armor on Bruce lasted only one-thirtieth of a second.
Yet as a top-tier AI, City still captured that brief frame.
It could feel the surge of power erupting from Bruce—power that could potentially fuel the entire City.
City also recorded the exact characteristics of that energy.
And just like that, Bruce returned to being an ordinary person. The bracelet at his side had been fully charged with that overwhelming energy.
"Such astonishing energy…" After analyzing the bracelet, City was genuinely amazed at the energy levels stored inside.
"Are you really just a regular human?"
City found it hard to believe Bruce was an ordinary person—someone who fought crime solely through advanced tech, combat skills...
And his brilliant mind.
"You can scan it now. That was our agreement," Bruce said, placing the travel bracelet in front of City, offering full transparency for inspection.
But the AI declined.
"There's no point. Without that kind of energy, we still can't replicate the bracelet."
City understood clearly—the bracelet existed only because of that unique energy.
After documenting its properties, City had sent the data to their energy lab. The lab's response was simple: they had no way to reproduce it.
So to City, scanning the travel bracelet was now irrelevant.
Even if they could recreate the object, they couldn't replicate the energy it required.
Hearing this, Bruce merely nodded, then decisively fastened the bracelet to his wrist.
As he turned to leave, City finally spoke.
"If there are more things like this in the future, City is willing to assist you."
Bruce gave no reply—just continued walking. City didn't try to stop him, instead assigning Tomorrow's Child to escort him out.
"He turned us down?" asked Tomorrow's Child, who had always stayed close to City.
From their perspective, Bruce hadn't given a direct response, which meant he'd chosen to sever ties with them.
"No, he agreed."
Though just an AI, City had evolved over time. Through interaction and learning, it had come to understand that some people simply don't express their intentions outright.
But Tomorrow's Child didn't care for human nuances, nor did they need to understand such things. The people in their environment weren't ones who played social games.
"It's just that the outside world... is far more complicated than ours."
Leaving that final remark, City fell silent.
Tomorrow's Child understood well: the difference between them and the outside world wasn't just technology or civilization—but the human heart.
After completely leaving City, Bruce turned back for a deep, lingering look.
To be honest, he had prepared many contingency plans before coming here, but he didn't expect his mission in City to go this smoothly.
Boarding the Batwing, Bruce vanished from the skies over Europe in an instant. But high above the clouds, another pair of eyes was tracking his every move.
"Boss, Tony Stark—Iron Man—has been attacked. The assailant was a S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite," came Jessica's report just as the Batwing began its return.
Hearing the news, Bruce immediately activated every stealth system on the Batwing.
He didn't even head back to the Batcave—instead, he changed course and turned toward South America.
Meanwhile, the eyes watching Bruce grew visibly agitated when the target vanished. No matter how hard they scanned, they couldn't detect a trace of the Batwing.
"Damn it!"
The figure controlling everything was clearly frustrated that his plan had failed. But there was nothing he could do now.
All he could do was shift his focus to the other members of the Ultimate Team.
At the very least, they needed to weaken the Ultimate Team as much as possible.
Although Bruce wasn't a member of the Ultimate Team, his existence held far greater significance than the team itself.
That guy had almost become a symbol of heroism in the hearts of the American people. As long as Batman existed, America could rise again.
But that was not something they wanted to see happen.
"It doesn't matter. Once we gain control of the ultimate weapon, no matter what kind of person he is, he'll just be a stepping stone for us."It was the man seated on the throne who finally spoke, his tone indifferent.
"In the future, try not to use S.H.I.E.L.D.'s satellites. I suspect those people might be using the opportunity to probe into our activities."
"Understood."
After paying their respects to the man on the throne, the team began packing up their equipment and wiping all traces clean to avoid S.H.I.E.L.D. discovering they had once again hacked into their satellite system.
"Make sure to send me all the movement data on that spider, and keep an eye on that Spider-Woman from S.H.I.E.L.D. as well."The man on the throne stood up, showing no concern for those below him. The next moment, he had already vanished before their eyes.
What more could those below say?
When it came to his orders, all they could do was obey.
Honestly though, monitoring that Black Spider wasn't too difficult.
Black Spider appeared on the streets and alleys of New York almost every day, doing what he could.
Tracking his movements was fairly easy.
They even had a fairly mature plan for how to deal with him.
But as for that Spider-Woman—no one really knew where she was now.
Ever since S.H.I.E.L.D.'s last rebellion, she had practically vanished off the face of the earth—no one had seen her since.
After leaving, the man from the throne arrived at another place—where an old acquaintance sat waiting.
General Thaddeus E. Ross.
"To be honest, I never imagined HYDRA would still have anything to do with you."
General Ross looked up at the man in front of him. Clearly, HYDRA's current state was something that even he found surprising.
"I feel the same way, General. I never knew HYDRA had reached out to you either."The man took the main seat with no hint of surprise that Ross was here.
After all, while consolidating HYDRA, he had already uncovered every government official they had connections with.
He even knew how many were still connected to HYDRA, what they wanted—it was all in his grasp.
"Is that bat dead yet?"General Ross was very concerned about Batman's fate—because if Batman wasn't dead, he couldn't replace the guy. That masked freak was still a symbol in the hearts of the American people.
Sure, maybe dying would make Batman remembered even longer—but for Ross, there was no difference.
What he needed was that masked freak's death.
"No need to be so impatient, my friend. What we need now is to take our time solving everything."The man seemed far calmer about it.
To him, whether Batman lived or died wouldn't affect his grand plan.
"That bastard actually put a woman in the White House. Unbelievable!"
Ross was so furious at this point, he crushed the whiskey glass in his hand—but not a single shard cut his skin.
Clearly, this general was no longer just an ordinary man.
The man could understand Ross's rage. As an old-school American officer, Ross couldn't stand the new generation of politicians—nor the new generation of superheroes.
Perhaps if Captain America had become President, Ross might have accepted it. After all, the guy was a veteran of war.
Ross calmly wiped the spilled whiskey from his hand, then looked directly at the man.
"I want to see the White House soon."
"Don't worry. That day will come."
With a wave of the man's hand, a glass of whiskey appeared in front of General Ross. In front of the man himself was a glass of champagne—a symbol of victory.
No one saw where those drinks came from. They just seemed to materialize out of nowhere.
"A toast to our future?"
"A toast to our future!"
After downing the drinks, the man suddenly spoke again.
"But even if you sit in the White House, the America you gain might not be whole."He said it lightly, not bothering to consider the increasingly sour look on Ross's face.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, your so-called great American empire will coexist with the West Coast Nation."
A new man stepped forward.
Ross didn't recognize him—but he looked oddly familiar.
"Looks like I forgot to introduce myself. Ford Elenton, Governor of Sacramento, and future President of the West Coast Nation."
Hearing that, Ross fixed his gaze on the man from the throne—and this time, his eyes were filled with fury.
He would never accept a divided America.
Ford calmly raised his glass of champagne and walked over to Ross.
"General, what's so bad about splitting and ruling together?"
Ford sat down beside Ross, but the hot-tempered general immediately stood up the moment he did—knocking over his own chair in the process.
"I will not allow America to be divided."
Ross spoke these words with righteousness, but Ford didn't seem to care one bit.
The next moment, the man at the head simply waved his hand—and Ross's enhanced superhuman body, previously injected with serum, exploded into a bloody mess.
As Ross's blood spilled into Ford's champagne glass, Ford sighed with slight regret:"What a waste of Dom Pérignon. It's not easy to come by, you know."
As he spoke, he poured the rest of the champagne onto the ground.
"You found what you needed, didn't you?"The man didn't care about what just happened. He was savoring his own champagne.
"I should thank you. It's because of you that I learned from a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that they once formed such a small special team."
Ford was clearly pleased with what he'd gained. Smiling, he placed a hand on his chest and bowed slightly to the man.
"But I also plan to make a move on that bat."
As he said this, Ford glanced at the man's expression.
Seeing no reaction, he was reassured.
"I'll also deliver to you whatever you wish for in the future."
Hearing that, the man burst into hearty laughter.
Then he said no more—just waved his hand, signaling Ford to leave.
Ford respectfully exited, while the man leaned back into his chair, letting the shadows engulf his face.
(End of Chapter)
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