Waiting is often the most anxiety-inducing part.
They were waiting for Bruce to detect a signal related to the purple figure—or perhaps the Star-Eater entity.
Monica could no longer sit still; she paced back and forth in the command center.
She looked at Bruce but saw only his calm and steady figure seated there.
Monica couldn't understand how Bruce could remain so composed at a time like this. After all, this information could very well determine the fate of Earth itself.
The other superheroes weren't doing much better than Monica. They were equally anxious, but everyone knew that taking any action before the energy signal was confirmed would be futile.
If there were anyone who resembled Bruce in his current state, it would be Reed.
Compared to Bruce's calm demeanor, Reed seemed like his polar opposite—rather unrestrained.
He even had his feet up on the conference table.
After Rick Jones left the room, the Thing had already let go of Reed's collar.
"When will the intel finally come in?" Monica couldn't stand it anymore. She walked straight over to Bruce, slammed the table, and looked him in the eye.
Ding~
"It's here," Bruce said, ignoring Monica's agitation. He simply stood up and used the S.H.I.E.L.D. computer to display the purple figure Rick Jones had captured, along with the special energy signals.
"This…"
"Incredible…"
"Is that... actually real?"
The superheroes in the conference room couldn't help but feel a sense of helplessness as they stared at the purple figure displayed on the screen.
Rick Jones had gotten incredibly close to that figure, and thanks to that, they now had a rough estimate of its size.
Rick's entire body wasn't even as large as the figure's knuckle.
Bruce then pulled up a rough image that Rick's watch had captured after he was sent flying by the figure—showing its full form.
Not only was the figure enormous, but it was also surrounded by dense swarms of Star-Eater creatures.
"There's also a video," Bruce added.
Everyone locked their eyes on the screen, hoping to glean something more from the footage.
The video showed Rick Jones's point of view. After passing through the golden portal, he arrived at Captain Marvel's location.
He didn't greet her immediately—Captain Marvel was already locked in a desperate battle, on the verge of death.
Rick Jones rushed directly toward the purple figure and launched an attack.
His massive energy blast struck the helmet of the purple figure—but it caused no damage whatsoever, not even a dent on the armor.
In the next second, the purple figure casually slapped Rick Jones away.
The camera spun violently as Rick was flung through the air.
But what could still be seen was that the purple figure was commanding the Star-Eater swarm in its assault.
That was the end of the video.
When it finished playing, the superheroes in the command room fell into silence.
Rick Jones might not be considered a particularly competent superhero, but the level of energy he had just unleashed was beyond the reach of 90% of the heroes present.
If even that kind of attack couldn't break through the figure's defenses—what exactly were they supposed to do?
But some had begun pondering the connection between the purple figure and the Star-Eater swarm.
"They seem to…" Hawkeye hesitated, unable to find the right words to describe the relationship between the two.
"They've merged," Vision offered.
He had grasped the nature of the situation.
The Star-Eaters were clearly acting to protect the purple figure, and the figure was, in turn, commanding them to launch attacks.
If they hadn't merged, Vision couldn't see how the Star-Eater swarm would be obedient to that figure.
Other civilizations had attempted to capture and modify Star-Eaters in the past—hoping to turn them into ultimate weapons.
But without exception, those civilizations failed.
And the price of failure was the complete consumption of their worlds by the very creatures they tried to control.
Bruce was listening in on their conversation, but he hadn't forgotten what Reed had said earlier.
"Now that we've got the energy signal—"
"We can locate his original universe," Reed said as he stood up and stretched, addressing Bruce seriously.
"What do you need?"
"I need to return to the city," Reed replied with a smile, his eyes locked on Bruce.
"No. He cannot return to the city."
Just as Reed had expected, Monica immediately objected.
"See? Even if you let me out, they still won't trust me," Reed said. Bruce had already contacted him via some discreet means while he was still imprisoned.
Back then, Reed had made it clear: whether it was S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Ultimate Team, they would never easily allow him out—let alone let him near the city.
"Do you even understand what you're doing? You're letting him go back to the city!"
Monica was growing increasingly frustrated with this Batman. He always seemed to do the right thing—but this time, she felt he'd gone too far.
He shouldn't have released Reed, and he definitely shouldn't be letting Reed analyze the energy data.
"If I gave you the energy data, could you locate the original universe?" Bruce asked coldly.
That single sentence rendered Monica speechless.
"Or do you believe that maintaining a stable environment is more important than humanity's survival?"
Bruce's indifferent tone as he said this was enough to push Monica to her limit. She raised her fist, ready to punch—but someone stopped her.
"I'll go with them," Stark said, stepping forward and catching Monica's fist.
He had sensed something was off in the atmosphere earlier and had gradually made his way over—just in case something unexpected happened and he wasn't fast enough to intervene.
And as expected, there was indeed a problem—though not with Batman, but with the S.H.I.E.L.D. commander.
Stark understood how the situation had reached this point. Under such immense pressure, having someone speak in a tone as cold as Bruce's would make it nearly impossible for anyone to keep their temper in check.
Especially now that Bruce had released Reed.
This only further strained Monica's already fragile nerves.
Bruce didn't seem to care about the situation and simply turned to leave the command room. Reed glanced at Susan, who was sitting quietly, said nothing, and followed Bruce out.
"I'll keep a close eye on them," Stark said as he patted Monica on the shoulder, then turned to leave the command room as well. Before he left, he gave Thor a quick tap on the arm.
Thor seemed to understand something and nodded solemnly at Stark.
"Sure enough, the air outside really is sweeter than in prison," Reed said with a deep breath, visibly relaxed as he stepped out of the command room.
Stark, following behind, chimed in, "Exactly. The first thing I did when we took over your Alpha One was replace the entire air circulation system."
"Well, I have to say, your ventilation system isn't bad," Reed replied, saying something that genuinely surprised Stark.
According to Stark's expectations, shouldn't Reed be criticizing his technology at a time like this?
Why was he offering compliments instead?
Something about this tone felt off.
"I'm not used to this attitude of yours. Maybe dial it back a bit?"
"I actually like this version of me. I don't think I need to change."
It was hard to say why, but whenever these two were together, they seemed to do nothing but bicker. There didn't seem to be any other topics worth discussing between them.
To Bruce, it sounded like the two behind him had activated some strange switch the moment they were near each other.
Chirping away like chatterboxes.
The last time he had this feeling was when those Spider-People held their meeting.
Ignoring the two behind him, Bruce had already led them to his Batwing.
Bruce opened the cockpit and climbed in. Reed stretched his body and slid into the other seat beside Bruce.
Neither of them said a word to Stark—not even a simple, "Sorry, there are only two seats."
"I feel like you should've at least told me," Stark muttered stiffly as he looked at the two already seated.
Bruce gave him a glance, then started the Batwing and took off, vanishing before Stark's eyes.
"Well, I knew it—genius is always a lonely path," Stark said helplessly, spreading his hands. The helmet he had taken off was now sealed back in place.
In an instant, he caught up with Bruce's Batwing. Of course, Bruce hadn't pushed the Batwing to full throttle—otherwise, even Stark would've had trouble keeping up.
For people like them, distance had long ceased to be an obstacle. In barely any time, they had arrived at the occupied urban area.
"Honestly, it's not my first time seeing the city, but every time I look at it, I'm still a little amazed. It really does exude a certain technological allure," Stark said as he landed, marveling at the sight before him.
"That's because you should look at who built it," Reed landed beside Stark and replied without missing a beat.
But the moment Reed appeared, the city blared with a sharp alarm.
Dozens of Tomorrow's Children burst forth, watching Reed warily as he returned.
"Looks like you're not exactly welcome here," Stark said, clearly enjoying the scene. Reed, the city's creator, had now become a high-alert target. The irony was amusing.
Reed said nothing. He knew this was a natural response. Ever since the city gained self-awareness, this kind of reaction had become inevitable.
Otherwise, the city wouldn't have agreed to hand Reed over to the U.S. government to quell the conflict back then.
Just then, Bruce stepped forward.
The moment the Tomorrow's Children saw Bruce, they immediately lowered their weapons and dropped their hostility.
Both Reed and Stark found this incredibly strange. As far as they remembered, Bruce had barely visited the city before.
"Let's go," Bruce said, taking a few steps forward. Only when he realized the two weren't following did he turn back and call to them.
Even though they had no idea what was going on, they could only follow Bruce for now.
"Batman…" One of the Tomorrow's Children stepped in front of Bruce.
Bruce stared at the figure silently.
"I'm not stopping you. I know what's between you and the city, but I hope you'll keep an eye on that guy—don't let him bring disaster to the city again," the Tomorrow's Child said seriously, referring to Reed Richards.
Bruce didn't respond and just kept walking. The Tomorrow's Child stepped aside, letting the three pass.
"Looks like you've built quite the relationship with them," Reed said with a hint of self-mockery.
Once the city's creator, now so unwelcome here—while Batman, who had barely ever been around, was someone they clearly trusted.
Stark couldn't believe what he was seeing.
After taking Reed from the city, they had placed it under tight surveillance.
Anyone who made contact with the city was subject to S.H.I.E.L.D. investigation.
Yet in all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records, there was no trace of Bruce ever coming here.
But now, the city's attitude toward Bruce said a lot. Clearly, there was some hidden connection between them.
"Don't tell me you planted some kind of backdoor in the city's system?" Reed asked casually, though he kept his eyes fixed on Bruce, trying to read any reaction.
But Bruce remained silent, steadily walking forward.
"Then again, if you had left a backdoor in the city's code, it would probably look very different by now," Reed added, almost like he was reassuring himself.
Still, there was no reaction from Bruce.
Not until they reached the city's core.
"You contacted me. The equipment is ready," the city's mechanical voice said calmly.
It didn't show any excessive reaction to Reed's presence.
"All right," Bruce replied.
(End of Chapter)
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