He turned his head to look at Shiller sitting next to him, only to find Shiller had no trace of joy. Stark snorted and said, "With such a significant victory, is someone unhappy?"
"Your father was truly right," Shiller looked at him and said, "The post-war generation really knows nothing."
Stark immediately frowned and said, "What do you mean? Where did I go wrong? Previously, Batman was hiding on Apocalypse Star, protected by the Planet's Shield. Even if they withdrew from the Dark Quadrant this time, it's still far easier to deal with than Apocalypse Star, isn't it?"
"We only see this as a drill, but Batman may not," Steve said from the side, "Wars are never fought in the present but for the future. Take World War II, for example, the Air Force bombed certain places not because there were many soldiers there, but because destroying those places could lead to a shortage of industrial products in two or three years, thus affecting the national economy and consequently the military strength."
Stark was a bit bewildered. He indeed didn't know much about warfare and couldn't wrap his head around it for a moment. Shiller continued to explain, "In most cosmos, Batman and Darkseid are arch-enemies. Even if they've temporarily allied in the Prime Universe, there's no way they could become true allies. The existence of the Apocalypse Domain will be the greatest threat to Earth where Batman is."
"Yet, the Primary Universe Batman previously had to ally with the tiger, so to speak, to end the Guardians of the Universe. While he gained a lot of energy for himself, he also let Darkseid inherit the Blue People's technological legacy from Oa Star, further strengthening Apocalypse Star. Do you think Batman will allow Apocalypse Star to continue growing stronger?"
Stark immediately opened his mouth, realizing with a bit of enlightenment: "So he wants to use us to weaken Apocalypse Star?"
"Exactly. Scarlet Witch destroyed Apocalypse Star, what harm does it have to Batman? It's just lacking a strong enough base in an unimportant war. And the benefits?"
Stark swallowed and said, "The greatest threat to Earth will have no home for thousands of years to come."
"Currently, Darkseid's strongest moves are twofold: the elusive Omega Ray and the invincible stance within the Apocalypse Domain. These two together yield an effect greater than 1+1. He can completely dispatch the Omega Ray to kill others and then revive them within the Apocalypse Domain, allowing him to virtually capture anyone in the cosmos."
"But now, without the invincible Apocalypse Domain, when he activates the Omega Ray, at most he can kill opponents but not capture them. Without the invincible stance, no matter where he brings people, they might be rescued, leaving him almost no strategic space."
"But if we can revive people, can't the Apocalypse Domain be revived?" Stark asked.
"Reviving these superheroes has already given the administrators on both sides quite the headache. How much favor can Darkseid have to make Lucifer work overtime to resurrect his domain? Lucifer might even wish that thing never returns, or else he has to rewrite the code all over again."
"My God," Stark couldn't help but exclaim, "Batman is simply too cunning! We were just thinking about having a battle, and he seizes the chance to clear his universe of hostile forces. So do you think we could do the same?"
"That's the cunning of Batman," Shiller squinted slightly and said, "From what I know, there's quite a few doomsday devices in their universe as well, but none have appeared so far. Batman's probably reluctant to play the role of a cleaner and doesn't want to be used by us, so he's keeping them hidden."
"Wait a moment," Stark seemed to realize something, "I feel something's not right. The four kids sneaking out might indeed be an accident, but Magneto being captured on Apocalypse Star..."
"It was indeed a program error," Shiller said, "Though whether the error was naturally occurring or influenced by someone is unknown."
Stark slowly sat down and pondered, "It might not have occurred naturally but instead Batman used some method to interfere with the judgment of the Battleworld."
"Consider that Charles hadn't yet used his powers to kill The Flash back then, and the Dark Quadrant surely had The Flash around. Batman couldn't have been unaware of a certain Magneto fighting with Thanos. The Flash might not recognize exactly which Magneto it was, but he certainly knew two people were fighting."
"Yet, the Primary Universe Batman chose to have Darkseid use the Omega Ray to transport the two back... Uh, according to what you say, it's to kill first and then resurrect, then he must have anticipated this would affect Magneto. Whether Magneto is taken away or killed, it will certainly trigger the nerves of the Mutants."
"If he's captured, they would rescue him; if he's killed, they would seek revenge. The Mutants would eventually cause trouble for Apocalypse Star. Could this really be unintentional?" Stark thought for a moment more and then said, "I get it, Batman had purposely caused the program error."
"What do you mean?" Steve asked.
"If the Primary Universe Batman incited Darkseid to kill Magneto, causing the Mutants to besiege Apocalypse Star, then Darkseid could surely recognize it as Batman's trap. He might even turn coat on the spot and choose to deal with the superheroes within the Apocalypse Domain. That would be immensely dangerous for Batman, because within the Apocalypse Domain, no one could defeat Darkseid, and superheroes would be like fish in a barrel."
"But if Magneto didn't die and was merely captured, Darkseid would believe there was room for negotiation. He wouldn't think of it as Batman's trap because if it were a trap, Magneto would be killed outright to goad the Mutants endlessly; if he were alive, there'd be far more room for negotiation. Therefore, Darkseid wouldn't feel a strong sense of crisis and wouldn't preemptively strike against the superheroes. By the time Wanda arrives, Apocalypse Star would be instantly destroyed, and then it'd be too late for Darkseid to react."
"So, Magneto's survival is Batman's delaying tactic, meant to boil the frog slowly, waiting for Scarlet Witch's decisive blow to take out Darkseid's greatest asset—the Apocalypse Domain. It's similar to what Shiller once did against Thanos's Dark Quadrant."
"When you think about it, what did the Primary Universe Batman lose? Though indeed he suffered losses in this war, it was never important; the Flashes would all be revived in Battleworld. But the Apocalypse Domain that was destroyed is gone forever."