louisehourcade Chapter 559 The Smiling Batman is Lucky
Chapter 559 The Smiling Batman is Lucky
Chapter 559 The Smiling Batman is Lucky
"Your future is going to be tough... you know that?"
Chen Tao heard Dr. Manhattan's voice.
Somewhere in the multiverse, on some unknown timeline, the Golden Vanguard and the Time Master groaned in unison: "Damn it, where did this blue bald guy come from?"
"What do we do now?"
Golden Vanguard asked Time Master, "You're not an expert in timeline management, so please give me the following commands. How should we solve this?"
"You can try attacking this blue bald guy."
"real?"
"Just kidding, you'd better not."
The Time Master, head bowed, continued operating the strange instrument in his hand: "This is truly bizarre; my instruments cannot detect this guy's origins at all on the timeline."
"What does this mean?"
"This means he is outside the timeline."
"so……"
"So if we don't want to die, we'd better not provoke him," the Time Master said solemnly. "It will only cost us our lives and nothing else."
"So we're just going to stand by and watch him rewrite Batman's history? Just watch him destroy the timeline?"
The Time Master smiled wryly:
"I'm afraid so."
He said, "We have lost the ability to interfere."
The Time Master put down the instrument; it was no longer useful.
"So we can't do anything right now?"
"Golden Vanguard asked."
"No."
The Time Master gritted his teeth.
"There are still ways to stop it. We can interfere with Batman's history. We must go back to the timeline before Batman created this multiverse crisis and try to erase it."
He said, "Stop looking, let's go."
He glanced down at the timeline: "We'll be in the Batman universe... but which specific location and timeline should we go to?"
As they began to act, Dr. Manhattan, who was talking to Chen Tao, seemed to sense something.
In an instant, his gaze traversed infinite dimensions, focusing on the Golden Vanguard and the Time Master within a limited timeframe before they could even notice or react.
As he observed the two men, Dr. Manhattan also learned of their plan.
Because Dr. Manhattan exists simultaneously in the present, past, and future, seeing their past interactions is as clear as looking at the lines on the palm of your hand.
Dr. Manhattan slightly raised his hand. He originally intended to slap the Time Master and the Golden Vanguard to death, just as he had slapped the Night Owl of the Positive Matter Universe and the new god Metron during the New 52's "Eternal Evil" era.
He can do these things as easily as swatting a mosquito.
Dr. Manhattan raised his hand.
"Strange, this instrument suddenly broke down."
"Are you sure you can handle it?"
"I don't know! This thing was working fine just now, and can you stop talking nonsense? I'm focusing on fixing it."
"Let me operate this device."
Don't even think about it.
After thinking for a while, Dr. Manhattan finally gave up the option of murdering someone.
Because he suddenly realized that the appearance of the Golden Vanguard and the Time Master here was itself part of the time-traveling self-rescue operation, an attempt.
If he wants to conduct his own experiment and observe the feedback of the time-lapse, he should not actively shut down this attempt; otherwise, it would not be an experiment, but a puppet show completely manipulated by himself.
However, he cannot allow the Golden Vanguard and the Time Master to act unchecked. If they interfere with Batman's past history, they might erase the current reality of "Batman in the Dark Multiverse causing a multiverse crisis."
Wouldn't that be equivalent to destroying all of Dr. Manhattan's experiments?
Therefore, Dr. Manhattan made a decision.
He set an anchor point for the Time Master and the Golden Vanguard, and with just a wave of his hand, he tampered with the duo's instruments.
No matter how they repair, modify, or even replace the equipment, they can only be fixed in one location as monitoring cameras. This way, they can avoid interfering with the history of the time-traveled stream, and also prevent the time-traveled stream from having a self-rescue response.
"Wait, the machine is working again now."
"So, can we just rush over there?"
"Don't be impulsive, we need to carefully choose where we land..."
"...This thing works sometimes and doesn't work sometimes. If you ask me, if we don't go now, we might not be able to get through later..."
"No, of course not. I'm telling you, you absolutely cannot just choose a timeline like that... What are you doing?"
"Let's go there and talk about it then."
"...Damn it, that would cause the timeline to break, leading to the collapse of reality..."
"Damn it, Richard, do you think I want to? If I could really..."
"It seems to be working... Shut up! Stop talking nonsense, I'm begging you. Quickly erase all the effects..."
"You try operating it yourself!"
(Note: The journey of the Time Master and the Golden Vanguard will directly connect to the plot of Chapter 480, "The Destruction of Fiji," and begin their unfortunate story of repeatedly crossing time but always keeping their perspective fixed on being imprisoned in Fiji, acting as surveillance cameras.)
This explains why, no matter how many times they repaired the machine or tried, they could only probe different timelines in Fiji and could never enter Chen Tao's timeline! It's because Dr. Manhattan tampered with their equipment!
But readers will have noticed that things didn't go as Dr. Manhattan thought—that it "had no impact." The actions of the Golden Vanguard and the Time Master in traveling back in time directly led to the destruction of Fiji in Chen Tao's universe! They still successfully altered a portion of history!
……
……
……
"You see... I know you're wary of me. But I'm here to help you."
"Death offers me a much better bargaining chip," Chen Tao said. "What makes you think you have the ability to persuade me?"
No, they're not the same.
Dr. Manhattan said.
"Building a utopia in the afterlife is nothing but a cowardly escape. But if you are willing to accept my help... then you are heading towards a brand new future."
"You originally intended to build a fortress in the Dark Multiverse, didn't you? With your roughly one-quarter of the power."
"Although your understanding of this power is shallow, and due to the lack of authority and your own lack of knowledge, you cannot even weave destiny, you still have the ability to block Barbatos' influence... at least in that small area you can contend with Barbatos. You believe you can become the gatekeeper of the Dark Multiverse, and you believe you have the ability and can completely withstand Barbatos's wave after wave of attacks in the Dark Multiverse."
"But you should know."
"The tragic fates of those universes in the Dark Multiverse were not entirely woven by Barbatos; he merely steered them in the direction he desired. Rather, they were largely the result of those universes' inherent malformation."
"You will go through difficult times. You will not only have to withstand attacks from outside the fortress, but also the malice of the universe itself. Your actions have caused great damage to the multiverse. At some point in the future, you will have to take responsibility and complete the time loop to save the multiverse. This is the destiny you have cast for yourself, and this destiny is still vague and has not yet solidified."
Dr. Manhattan looked at the bewildered Batman and said in a low voice:
"If you don't understand, let me put it more clearly: the emergency self-rescue through the super-time flow creates a mysterious reversal of cause and effect."
"Now, the outcome of the multiverse being saved has been forcibly set, but the cause of how the multiverse was saved has not yet occurred."
"Once you decide to continue according to the script written for you by the multiverse timeline, you will inevitably face those difficulties and obstacles that are still shrouded in mystery."
"But I can offer you another option."
Dr. Manhattan said, "I can help you pull you out of this vortex you've created yourself."
"By transferring all life forms from those two universes, you and your universe will be far removed from the chaotic center of the multiverse, becoming one of the two most insignificant parallel universes among countless others."
Dr. Manhattan gave examples: "For instance, Batman in the Victorian world (see Gotham Under Gaslight), Batman in the West..."
"They still exist in the DC universe, but they are not required to participate in any critical mission to save the multiverse."
"They are also immune cells in the multiverse, but they are the kind that only need to protect their own universe. Don't you want to be that kind of immune cell?"
Dr. Manhattan said, "You want to retire, don't you? The last time you retired, Alfred kicked you out of Fiji when you were depressed, which rekindled your fighting spirit. But life in Fiji is ultimately what you want."
(Note: Dr. Manhattan is referring to history before it was altered by the Golden Vanguard and the Time Master, but after the timeline was changed by the Golden Vanguard and the Time Master, Fiji has already been destroyed!)
"But I can help you. If your story were a book, it's time for it to end. Why continue to entangle your life in endless fighting and strife?"
"Then... what about the trouble I caused?" Chen Tao realized that the history Dr. Manhattan described was different from his own memory, but he did not ask about it.
He raised another question, asking, "If I do as you say... if I become the gatekeeper of the Dark Multiverse as originally planned, I can fill the void of reversed cause and effect and successfully save the entire multiverse. But once I accept your conditions, who can save the entire multiverse in my place?"
The blue-haired bald man remained noncommittal.
"You're not special, Batman. Don't you understand that no one in this world is irreplaceable?"
Dr. Manhattan said, "If it's not you, it will be someone else—Batman A, Batman B, even the Justice League. Someone will always be the hero. You've thought about that yourself, haven't you... Why do you always have to do it all yourself? Why do you always have to go through all this alone?"
Why are some people born into a life of ease and comfort, while others are born wiser than themselves and do not have to bear these responsibilities and hardships?
Dr. Manhattan said, "And now an opportunity to get rid of these responsibilities is right in front of you. I can't think of any reason why you should refuse."
He said, "This is neither using death as an escape nor indulging in an irresponsible and playful life."
"You've just been carrying this burden for too long, and you're tired and weary, so you're transferring it to someone else."
"There's no moral pressure involved, is there? No one will condemn you for this. You just said it was your fault, but you overestimate yourself. Since the birth of the multiverse, it has experienced countless crises far more dangerous and terrifying than what you just did. The crisis you caused is merely a potential threat to the destruction of the multiverse. It may seem serious, but it's not the first time it's happened."
Dr. Manhattan said, "The entire multiverse is a petri dish of crises. These crises will always happen, whether you are there or not. Never take the blame for the cause of the crisis."
"You've done enough. You can hand over your work and return the burden to the Justice League in the main universe."
"You have completed your heroic epic, reached the edge of your adventure. But all adventures have an ending, don't they? It's time for you to return to Fiji, to fulfill your promise, your promise to Alfred, you..."
"Fiji is destroyed."
Then Manhattan heard Batman say something.
"What?"
He didn't react for a moment.
Manhattan suddenly looked up, and in an instant, he read the history of Fiji's destruction, the history that had been altered by the Golden Vanguard and the Time Master.
Then he heard Batman say, "When things are out of my control, I can't even decide if my safe haven is safe."
Dr. Manhattan was dumbfounded. He existed simultaneously in the past and the future, yet just now he hadn't clearly seen the changes in spacetime. The causal connection between the past and the present was so mysterious, simply indescribable. For the first time, Dr. Manhattan had witnessed changes beyond his control. Did this mean that his previous understanding of the entire multiverse would be completely overturned?
Then he heard Batman say:
"Furthermore, how do you want me to give up...?"
"What about the beings in this dark multiverse?"
"Are you... are you really sure about this? Are you really determined to make this decision? The reason you're willing to stay in the Dark Multiverse... you're actually trying to save all life in the Dark Multiverse? Didn't you even consider the possibility of failure?"
Dr. Manhattan asked, the results of the experiment both puzzled and surprised him.
"I am seeking to take control of my own destiny," Chen Tao said.
"As for what you said..."
"fail?"
Dr. Manhattan heard Batman say, "Of course I've thought about it, but what's that line?"
Dr. Manhattan saw Batman and chuckled softly.
"A smiling bat is bound to have good luck."
(End of this chapter)