No one could believe it—the Batmobile had unexpectedly reappeared on the streets.
"Could someone have stolen the Batcave?" Captain America suddenly raised the possibility.
Even though only they were aware of Batman's disappearance, it was like those luxury cars parked on the streets of London.
Even if people knew that anyone who could afford such cars was definitely someone not to be trifled with—so what?
Those cars still got stolen from time to time.
There were always some who were audacious to the extreme. If they had somehow discovered the Batcave, stealing the Batmobile wouldn't be impossible.
However, the moment Captain America voiced his suspicion, he was met with a roll of the eyes from Stark.
"What's wrong with what I said?" Captain America didn't think he was wrong.
"That's the Bat. You, me, the entire Ultimate Team—we still can't figure him out. You really think a few petty thieves could break into his base?"
Stark's words left Captain America awkwardly smiling. He had indeed overlooked that point just now.
"Maybe those two girls are trying to trace Batman's whereabouts," Susan recalled the two Spider-Women who had returned to Batman's side.
Perhaps they weren't willing to accept that the Bat was truly gone and wanted a result they could believe in.
"In any case, the fact that they left that place and came to us is a good thing," Stark offered a different perspective.
Batman was gone, and Stark didn't want to see two promising heroes fall into despair.
No matter how you looked at it, that wouldn't be a good outcome.
As they talked, the Batmobile had already arrived beneath Alpha One.
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had been stationed here in anticipation of its arrival. After all, the vehicle had a clear target—Alpha One—either to initiate a conversation or for some other purpose.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent had just moved forward to investigate when he saw something that left him stunned: the man S.H.I.E.L.D. had officially declared dead jumped out of the Batmobile.
All the agents froze on the spot. After all, someone who had just been confirmed dead appearing before their eyes was, to say the least, shocking.
They tensely raised their guns, ready to open fire at the slightest movement from the Bat.
And then, the two Spider-Women stepped out of the vehicle as well, leaving them completely confused.
Judging from their demeanor, this Batman wasn't an imposter or some kind of ghost.
But the issue was—they had all seen it with their own eyes: Batman pushing Galactus into outer space, followed by a massive energy explosion.
The magnitude of that explosion left no doubt—no one could have survived it. Even Thor, often hailed as the mightiest hero, wouldn't have stood a chance.
Of course, that was assuming Thor still had his godhood intact.
Bruce paid no attention to the agents' apprehension. He calmly walked toward the entrance to Alpha One.
As his figure disappeared from view, the surrounding agents exchanged looks and quickly reported the incident to Monica in the command center.
"What?" Monica shot to her feet upon hearing the report, her face filled with disbelief.
The members of the Ultimate Team, however, didn't understand her reaction. Since they hadn't been informed by the agents, they had no idea what Monica was so shocked about.
"What's up with her?" Thor clearly didn't understand why Monica was reacting this way.
Despite living among humans for so long, there were still times Thor couldn't handle the way human women were so easily startled.
"Who knows, maybe it's that time of the month," Stark shrugged indifferently.
Once the agents finished explaining what they saw, Monica simply hung up in stunned silence.
"So, are you going to tell us what news you just got?" Stark asked Monica directly.
"Batman's back."
Her words exploded like a depth charge in the command center.
"What?"
"Are you serious?"
"Is this a scam!?"
…
Everyone started speaking over one another, but Monica didn't respond.
Then, the command center doors suddenly opened, and that dark-clad Bat slowly walked in.
It was as if someone had hit the mute button—everyone fell silent, staring in disbelief as he walked in.
"How do you usually handle lunch here?" Bruce didn't care about their shock or the disbelieving eyes fixed on him. He simply walked up to Monica and asked about lunch.
"…"
Monica didn't know what to say. His first question being about lunch made her momentarily suspect this Batman was a fake. But seeing the two Spider-Women behind him, she knew there was no way he was an imposter.
The cognitive dissonance was overwhelming.
"Is it really him?" Stark stepped up immediately, activating his armor's scanners. He wanted to confirm whether this was truly the man they all loved and hated.
All readings from the suit confirmed—it was definitely him.
But Stark couldn't begin to imagine how Bruce had survived such an explosion.
Even if Bruce's powers allowed for resurrection, the magnitude of that blast should have vaporized every single cell in his body.
There shouldn't have been anything left to recover.
Even the kid, Amadeus, stepped up curiously, reaching out to touch Bruce just to see if he was real.
Based on all the knowledge in his head, Amadeus was certain—not even Doomsday could have survived an energy shockwave of that magnitude.
Just as Amadeus's hand was about to touch Bruce, it was already bound by spider silk. Turning his head, he saw Jessica staring intently at him.
Amadeus felt a chill under Jessica's gaze. All he could do was reluctantly back away from the Bat, no longer interested in figuring out how the Bat had survived that kind of energy blast.
Bruce didn't care about these trivial matters. He simply turned his gaze to Monica, hoping to get an answer from her. After all, the main reason they had come here was to get a proper meal.
Sometimes, he thought his life as the Bat was truly pitiful. He was either mooching food here or there.
There was nothing about him that resembled a wealthy magnate—he was completely just an ordinary civilian hero.
"All we can do now is order food from outside. Even though Manhattan has almost been destroyed by that thing, there are still some restaurants open."
Seeing Bruce's gaze, Monica quickly responded. Perhaps Bruce's reaction reminded the surrounding members of the Ultimate Team that they too were starting to feel hungry.
"Then please order for us as well."
The Ultimate Team showed no hesitation at all and directly raised their hands to Monica.
As for the Fantastic Four, there wouldn't be any problem for them either.
The only ones in an awkward situation were the X-Men.
They exchanged glances, a bit at a loss. They had been summoned to provide assistance, but the current situation clearly didn't require their help anymore.
And yet, they didn't know how to make their exit.
At that moment, Stark noticed the X-Men nearby and turned to Monica. "Don't forget to order something for those guys too."
Of course Monica hadn't forgotten. In fact, she had already placed everyone's orders early on. After all, even S.H.I.E.L.D. agents needed to eat.
Unfortunately, after calling several restaurants in Manhattan, none were willing to deliver. After all, no one was certain whether the danger outside had truly passed.
In the end, they had to order from restaurants in other parts of New York, which meant S.H.I.E.L.D. had to send agents to pick the food up.
Just as they were discussing what to eat, Bruce walked over to Stark and called out to Amadeus as well.
Though the two of them didn't quite understand why the Bat was calling them, they still obediently followed in his footsteps.
Jessica and Gwen, though they had the impulse to follow, were stopped by Bruce, who told them to just stay put.
What they were about to discuss wasn't suitable for too many people to know.
"You want to tell us how you survived that energy explosion?" Stark, following behind Bruce, asked with a grin.
Hearing this, Amadeus nodded seriously.
To survive such a massive energy blast, Bruce must have had some extraordinary means—perhaps some technological method to protect himself?
Bruce said nothing, merely leading them farther ahead. This path was all too familiar to Stark; he had once taken it to detain a very important individual.
"You're going to see Reed."
"That's right." Bruce finally replied, just as they arrived at a heavily guarded hatch.
Looking at the securely locked door before them, Stark knew full well that it could only be opened with the joint authorization of Monica and Nick Fury.
But glancing at the Bat beside him, Stark also knew that no door in S.H.I.E.L.D. could truly hold him back. If he wanted in, no facility could stop him.
Bruce stepped forward, pressed a few keys, and the tightly shut hatch opened completely—revealing Reed, bound like a dumpling inside.
"I thought, like everyone said, you were dead," Reed said, lifting his head and calmly watching Bruce walk in. There was no surprise in his eyes—only a composed gaze.
"I assume you've discovered something," he added.
Reed looked up at Bruce. Susan had come to him earlier and explained what they had uncovered.
She had described something resembling a devourer swarm—and Bruce had already dealt with it.
But Reed instinctively felt that this wasn't the same event that Conqueror Kang had once told him about.
The World Devourer was indeed immensely powerful and invoked despair, but it was never destined to completely destroy Earth or push the entire universe toward annihilation.
So Reed could only assume there was an even greater threat lurking in the shadows—something Bruce had already discovered.
"I need a device that can traverse the flow of time," Bruce said, and the three of them widened their eyes in shock.
To be honest, time-travel devices are a staple of all science fiction and something many scientists dream of creating.
But when the Bat—known for his reliability—says he needs such a device, it's a clear sign of how urgent and terrifying the threat they face truly is.
"Interesting," Reed said with a smile. He did have some research on time travel. In fact, ever since he learned that Conqueror Kang came from the future, Reed had started developing a time-travel device.
Even while in the city, Reed hadn't stopped his research. However, all his devices could only send someone one week into the past—any further, and the person would be lost in temporal turbulence, never to return.
"Can I ask what exactly you discovered?" Stark asked, listening to the borderline insane conversation between the two. He didn't question the need for the time-travel device—instead, he was more curious about what Bruce had seen.
"The destruction of the universe," Bruce replied—identical to what Conqueror Kang had once said.
"But wasn't that thing just a representation of a cosmic entity? We already took care of it. Why would the universe still be destroyed?"
"The arrival of the World Devourer—what you call the cosmic entity—was merely a sign that the universe is no longer what it used to be," Bruce turned to look Stark in the eyes. "The entire multiverse is at risk. Every universe will face catastrophe."
"But perhaps, we still have a chance to save it all."
(End of Chapter)
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