"Let's talk about the Golden Apple first," Bruce said. "As I grow older, I have to admit that the human body has its limits. I'm gradually paying the price for my recklessness when I was younger. My decision to gradually withdraw from the vigilante life isn't just because I'm mentally affected. In reality, my body is starting to give out."
Bruce softly lifted the edge of his sweater to reveal his side. Diana widened her eyes; there was a deep indentation on his side, and it looked as if the flesh had completely necrotized, even affecting the ribs beneath. Although Diana didn't have X-ray vision, she could sense that there were likely more than a few steel pins there.
"You were too reckless when you were young," Diana placed her cup on the table and then said. "I've seen many young people like that, relying on their physical strength, heedless of danger, rushing headlong into the trenches. After being bombed, they would stand up as if nothing happened, then thirty years later during the examination of the body, they would find dozens of shrapnel pieces inside. Most people don't have a good understanding of the fragility of their bodies, but I didn't expect you to be one of them, Batman. Everyone says you're very smart."
Bruce could hear that Diana was somewhat dissatisfied, but it wasn't in a bad sense; it was more like a grandmother scolding a child for being careless.
"I've seen a lot of deaths," Diana said, "Many of them have no regrets, fearlessly charging ahead, sacrificing their lives. Because death is brief, and the pain it brings is limited. But of all the seriously wounded I've seen who suffered from years of illness, almost all went insane."
"I'm also very fortunate I didn't go insane," Bruce said, "But that's about it. If things proceed calmly like this, perhaps I could have a peaceful twilight. But a friend from afar brought us bad news."
"Who?"
"Schiller."
Diana covered her forehead, and rubbed his eyes forcefully, then said, "I knew it."
"Helping Clark is something that should have been done by me. But I'm very aware of my own mental and physical state, which probably isn't sufficient for such a complex plan. So most of the work was done by him, and I only assisted at appropriate times. Now, it seems to be working well."
"Where did Clark go? When I returned, I heard he made quite a splash, but now no one can find him."
"He probably returned to his homeland; the spaceship parked in near-Earth orbit has an automatic navigation system."
"He went back to Krypton? Well, he should visit his homeland. But, what bad news did you mention?"
"Primary Universe Batman... that's what they call him, you can understand him as the Batman of the most important universe. He detected abnormal dark readings in the cosmos; our universe is the most abnormal one."
Diana immediately squinted and said, "Dark readings?"
"Yes. This means a Multiverse Dark Crisis is approaching, and the point of outbreak might just be our universe."
"That sounds terrifying."
"Indeed, which is why I asked if the Golden Apple is truly as miraculous as described in mythology. I'm not asking for a power that can restore my youth, but I must heal my old injuries. Otherwise..."
"Alright, I understand, you don't need to say more. I'll go back and talk to the three sisters later." Diana extended One Hand and said, "Suppose the Golden Apple really can solve your physical issues, what about mentally?"
"I wish I could lead our universe's Justice League, but in reality, it's likely I can't." Bruce shook his head and said, "Given the current situation, we need a younger, more energetic, and more aggressive leader."
"You're talking about Clark? I also think he's a suitable candidate. What about the others? I've heard the name Green Lantern, but I don't know who he is specifically. I've heard there's also The Flash; they're from the West Coast, right?"
"More or less," Bruce nodded and said, "We need to assemble our strength quickly; the impending darkness won't wait long."
"You find a way to contact them," Diana said, "Perhaps some of them also received invitations but didn't come since we didn't act. But now we probably have no choice but to unite."
"In fact, I've already contacted one, and he's about to arrive."
Before Diana could finish her coffee, a familiar figure pushed the door open and walked in—it was Ron Ronz.
"Seems like I didn't miss afternoon tea," Ron smiled and said, still maintaining the guise of a Black man officer.
"Martian Manhunter?" Diana asked.
"That's right, ma'am, it's been a long time since anyone called me that."
All three of them sat down on the sofa. Ron, somewhat nostalgically, said, "Clark has grown quickly; this move of his caught Congress and the military off guard, they might be in turmoil for quite some time. Meanwhile, A.R.G.U.S. is already out of shape, we'll have a long period of freedom."
"Were you also targeted by A.R.G.U.S.?"
"I'm afraid you are too, ma'am, they just didn't let you know. As long as one lives in human society, it's inevitable to be surveilled. As long as they don't interfere with my normal life, I don't want to bother engaging with them. But at the same time, to avoid them causing trouble for me, I can only try to minimize my presence, almost unable to do anything."
"You've done plenty," Diana said, "If it weren't for you, Clark might not have escaped the military base so easily."
"That wasn't all my doing. My intuition tells me that guy called Rodriguez is not simple, is he an Immortal Species too?"
"He's not from this universe," Bruce said, "The specifics, we'll explain when he gets here."
Before Bruce's voice had faded, a knocking was heard again. Schiller, dressed in a suit, walked in and shook hands with the two sitting on the sofa, while Diana's gaze never left him, full of scrutiny and curiosity.
"Let me introduce myself, Schiller Rodriguez. I'm here mainly at the behest of the Primary Universe Batman to investigate the abnormal dark invasion in your universe."
"You don't look like you're investigating," Diana said, "You nearly turned the whole world upside down."
"The one capable of turning the world upside down is Clark Kent, I only played a minor role in it," Schiller said with a smile, "So far, the Man of Steel project is proceeding smoothly."
"Alright, let's talk about the dark energy then..."
"No, before that, there's actually something else." Schiller looked at Bruce, then said, "Clark has done enough, but it's not over yet, some of what's left might need you guys to finish up."
"Such as?"
"For example, the monster Zod turned into hasn't been eliminated. Also, enemies in the depths of the cosmos might be watching eagerly."
"Good point," Diana said, "At least that monster descending over Metropolis must be dealt with first, it's too great a threat to Earth. Do you know where it is now?"
"Near Mars," Ron spoke up, "Though Mars civilization has perished, the equipment in the lab I accidentally entered the first time I came to Earth captured its image."
"Shall we make a trip to Mars then?"
Bruce shook his head and said, "No. In this situation, taking the offensive is disadvantageous for us, it will come back eventually."
"So you want to let it in here to fight? But that would destroy the city!" Diana stood up and said, "Wouldn't it be best to fight in the cosmos?"
"Zod is not to be feared," Schiller said, "He's not that strong, doesn't matter where we fight. However, the mysterious dark power is different, he has the means to incite Multiverse level disasters, and has been waiting for the right time."
Diana seemed somewhat confused, but Ron nodded knowingly and said, "Indeed. If I were to invade a universe, I would certainly wait until it's in chaos. When disaster befalls Earth, people will inevitably embrace the darkness."
Diana understood too, she said, "But even to draw out the dark power, we can't increase casualties needlessly..."
"So I must first return to peak condition, then assemble manpower, and launch a saturated attack to repel the monster. This way we can create a disaster, but ensure that the source of the chaos doesn't make much of a wave."
Diana sat down again, thinking and said, "Alright, that could work. But what exactly is the enemy in the depths of the cosmos?"
"The Dark Monarch, Darkseid." Schiller took out a file, placed it on the table, and said, "In the previous Multiverse war, he ascended to the only one and gained new abilities. This might alter the pace of his invasion of Earth, but undoubtedly, he will eventually become Earth's great adversary."
Diana picked up the file and as she read, her brows furrowed tighter. Schiller pointed to one of the pages and said, "This could be his vanguard. In your universe, his abilities might differ compared to other universes, but there's no doubt Savage Wolf is powerful."
Diana put down the file and then said, "We must assemble the Justice League immediately, we can no longer delay."
"Leave that to me," Bruce said, "Ron will handle stabilizing the Federal Government and the military, best if they don't cause us trouble. And you, ma'am, if you can bring the Golden Apple that's best, if not, whatever healing relics the God Clan has, I can buy them."
Diana was about to say something when Bruce took out a box from behind him, and opened it to reveal a gemstone inside. Diana's eyes widened immediately: "Heavens, the energy within this gemstone..."
"I acquired this from Battleworld, other Batmans possess many of these, I spent points to buy some. I think it should be enough to move the gods."
Diana accepted the gemstone, nodded, and said, "Hera loves such beautiful and powerful things, I should be able to get some good things from him, and combined with the Golden Apple, perhaps we can also craft Batman a Man of Steel."
"That won't trouble you, ma'am." Bruce turned his gaze towards the entrance of the Batcave, and as his gaze penetrated down through the thick floor, in the dimly lit Batcave, a ferocious battle armor glimmered with a hellish red light.