"How much time do we have left?" Listening to Bruce, Reed asked heavily.
"I don't know." Bruce gave a straightforward answer.
He also wanted a clear timeframe, but none of the sources had provided a specific date.
In fact, Bruce felt that the mere fact this universe had survived this long was already a stroke of luck.
But such luck wouldn't last forever.
They were inevitably going to face the end of the world.
That was precisely why Bruce had come to them directly.
"What kind of preparations do we need to make?" Reed didn't look at Stark and the others behind Bruce; he spoke only to Bruce.
He did trust Stark and the others to a certain extent, but in this matter, only Bruce could give him an accurate answer.
"This can't be known by anyone else right now. The few of us knowing is enough. And we also need to build a device that can detect the crisis."
Bruce calmly laid out everything that needed to be done, not just for Reed, but also for Stark and the others.
To be honest, when they heard this, both Stark and Amadeus were stunned.
They never expected something like this to happen. But since they now knew, of course they had to find a solution.
"I'll have you released later—you'll return to the city." Bruce looked at Reed and said this, then turned and walked toward the command room.
Naturally, Reed wasn't going to let Bruce release him at a time like this. After all, he had just been locked up—if he were released now, where would that leave Director Monica's authority?
Stark and Amadeus followed behind Bruce. They had things they wanted to say, but ultimately decided against it.
"There'll be time for that later."
Bruce could clearly sense the hesitation from the two behind him. Just before entering the command room, he said this to them.
The next moment, Bruce pushed open the command room door. What he didn't expect was that, instead of ordering pizza or burgers—typical American fast food—they had ordered a bunch of Chinese-style fried noodles.
At this moment, Thor had already piled a large heap of fried noodles next to himself and was happily digging in.
When he saw Stark come in, Thor happily waved at him, gesturing for him to sit beside him.
Stark didn't really know what to say as he looked at his friend, but somehow, the atmosphere did lift his spirits.
Amadeus grabbed a box of fried noodles and went straight to sit among the X-Men. For him, he could see the members of the Ultimate Team anytime, but mutants like the X-Men weren't so easy to meet.
As for the Bat—
Neither of them was concerned about where he would sit.
After all, the empty seat between the two Spider-Women already made it quite clear—that was obviously reserved for the Bat.
Why should they worry about where he sat?
Bruce calmly sat down in that very seat. And the moment he did, almost everyone turned their gaze toward him.
The anticipation in their eyes made their intentions obvious.
They wanted to see what face was behind Batman's mask. Even though they had all speculated before, they had never received solid proof.
Now that they finally had a chance to see the real face beneath the mask, how could they possibly miss it? Even the X-Men stopped chatting with Amadeus and stared intently at Bruce.
The next second, they watched as Batman picked up the box of fried noodles—but he had no intention of removing his mask and simply started eating.
This was a huge letdown for everyone.
Hawkeye shot a look at Captain America.
Although Captain America had always played the role of the mature big brother and usually didn't get involved in this sort of thing, the mystery of Batman's true identity was undeniably intriguing.
Captain America caught Hawkeye's look and spoke up.
"Aren't you going to take off your mask? Eating like that can't be very comfortable."
He was speaking from experience. During World War II, he'd had to eat with a mask on, and it had been a real pain.
That thing, while protective, did interfere with your ability to eat properly.
Bruce swallowed a bite of noodles, wiped his mouth, then looked up at Captain America.
"Nano-tech. Perfect fit." That was the only explanation he gave before diving back into his food. After all, there was still a lot for him to deal with once dinner was over.
Hearing Bruce's reply, everyone present was a bit stunned.
Thor even leaned over to Stark, wanting to ask whether nanotech was really that incredible.
After all, the first person in the world to research nanotech had been Stark himself. It was nanotech that allowed Stark Industries to dominate over other weapons manufacturers.
Stark tugged at the corner of his mouth but said nothing.
But truthfully, Bruce's description of nanotech was spot on. That stuff could provide precise coverage where needed without hindering any muscle or joint movement.
Jessica and Gwen nearly burst out laughing when they heard Bruce's words.
Because back at home, Batman had never once used such features—clearly, he didn't trust the people here enough to show his real face.
With such a convincing explanation, no one pressed further about Batman's identity. It would just be annoying to keep pestering him.
At that moment, X-Men leader Kitty stood up and walked toward Bruce.
Jessica instinctively narrowed her eyes, giving Kitty a dangerous look.
But Kitty didn't care in the slightest. She only had one reason for approaching the Bat—to thank him.
"Thank you for giving us Eden."
That's right. During Bruce's brief time as President of the United States, he had already allocated a territory specifically for mutants and turned that land into their sanctuary.
Bruce didn't pause his meal or make any particular response. Instead, he handed Kitty another box of fried noodles.
Right now, Bruce just wanted to eat in peace, hoping the food would shut her up so she wouldn't talk to him again.
Kitty was caught a little off guard by his gesture, but still accepted the box and quietly returned to her group.
After a nearly silent lunch, Monica had intended to speak with Bruce, but she noticed that he had already packed up and left.
"Did he just come here to eat?" Monica found it hard to understand. If that bat only came for a meal, there was no reason for him to show up at S.H.I.E.L.D. He could have gone to any restaurant untouched by the recent conflict.
But the next moment, when a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent rushed in to inform her of what had happened, Monica once again found herself grinding her teeth in frustration at that bat.
"If that bat shows up again, no one is to open the door for him—not even with my authorization."
Fuming with anger, Monica gritted her teeth and issued the command to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Though they outwardly agreed, every agent knew that if the bat came and they actually tried to block him, they'd probably be the ones in trouble. So it was best to pretend they hadn't heard a thing.
"I really didn't expect you to actually bring me out today," Reed said, once again bundled up into a ball and placed inside the Batmobile.
Although being balled up again made him uncomfortable, it was still better than staying locked in prison.
Does it really matter how he got out?
Bruce had no intention of answering Reed. He simply slammed the accelerator, sending the Batmobile speeding forward.
Realizing he wasn't going to get anything from Bruce, Reed shifted his focus to Jessica and Gwen, hoping they might know something about the potential destruction of the universe.
But just as he opened his mouth, Jessica shot out a web and sealed it shut, not giving him the slightest chance to speak.
"Quiet down," Jessica said with a smile, physically silencing someone who had been desperately seeking answers.
Sensing Jessica's mood, Reed could only nod. After all, he was currently at the mercy of others.
The next second, Reed saw a familiar device appear around the Batmobile as Bruce stepped on the brake and brought the vehicle to a halt.
It was one of the city's aircrafts, and standing on it were members of the Tomorrow's Children.
"You're sure he won't cause any more harm to the city?" The leader of the Tomorrow's Children spoke directly to Bruce as he exited the Batmobile.
"The city has already told you—he's no longer a threat," Bruce replied calmly, despite knowing full well that the city must have informed them of their prior conversation.
He wanted to reassure them. Reed's time as a Creator had plunged the city into endless war.
Bruce then motioned for Jessica to remove the web from Reed's mouth, though it was clear she wasn't very gentle about it.
They could see how the web had stuck tightly to Reed's face, even stretching his cheek as it was pulled off. But considering Reed's abilities, it probably wouldn't cause him any harm, so they didn't worry too much.
"You really trust me enough to let me return to the city?" Reed was baffled by Bruce's behavior. If Bruce had taken him to another secret research facility, it would have made more sense.
After all, this bat trusted no one—not even himself.
It would be unthinkable for Bruce to rescue him and then hand over the most cutting-edge technology. Even the most naïve member of the Ultimate Team, Thor, would know better than to let Reed regain control of the city.
Yet now, the most paranoid bat of them all was making this choice?
"If you want to live the rest of your life bearing the title of the greatest criminal in human history until the Earth itself disappears, I have nothing more to say," Bruce replied, his eyes calm, as if he had fully grasped Reed's psychology.
Staring at the composed Bruce, Reed suddenly burst into exaggerated laughter.
Enhanced by his own abilities, his mouth looked wide enough to swallow a person's head.
"I have to admit, you really know how to get inside my head," Reed said with a grin, before quietly following the Tomorrow's Children as they led him away.
Jessica approached Bruce. "You're really okay with letting him go back like this?"
"I believe he'll make the right choice," Bruce replied, without watching the departing figures. He turned and got back into the Batmobile.
Since Bruce was so certain, Jessica didn't say anything more.
The Batmobile roared back to life and headed toward the Batcave.
But just as they arrived at the Batcave entrance, they saw two familiar figures approaching.
Both Bruce and Jessica instantly recognized them.
It was Aunt May and Peter Parker.
They couldn't help but wonder why the two had come at this particular moment.
"Aunt May, they're back," Peter Parker said, spotting Bruce's Batmobile and turning to his aunt.
Ever since Bruce had replaced all his Bat-vehicles' engines with Stark's arc reactors, the noise level had dropped to nearly nothing.
Only the wind and the sound of the tires could be heard.
Though Aunt May was still in decent health, her age had naturally affected her hearing to some extent.
Bruce stopped the Batmobile, and before he could ask what was going on, he saw Aunt May waving at Peter to bring over a basket of food.
"Aunt May saw the reckless footage the reporters caught today and figured you'd be starving after that fight. So she made all this at home and brought it over to make sure you had a proper meal," Peter said as he handed the basket to Bruce.
Bruce looked a little surprised.
In his Doomsday form, it was hard even for him to associate that image with himself.
Let alone someone judging it based only on a photo taken by a reporter.
"I made red date bread," Aunt May said with a smile, looking kindly at Bruce.
(End of Chapter)
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