Twenty minutes later—
Five dark figures darted toward the unconscious body of Barry Allen, surrounding him in a defensive circle. Each wore a grim expression, their faces tense beneath the moonlight.
The man in the lead slowly raised his hand to his comms earpiece and reported in a steady voice: "We've found the Flash. Fortunately, he didn't make it to the Batcave. He passed out on a highway just outside Gotham. We're still unsure what exactly happened. Doctor Mid-Nite's already been contacted."
Just then, a voice called out from nearby.
"Dick, over here—I think I've found something."
The call came from Tim. At the mention of his name, Dick Grayson—still in communication with Old Bruce Wayne—hurried over and crouched beside Tim. Following Tim's pointed finger, he spotted a long, blackened scorch mark along the ground.
"What is this?" the female Robin asked, frowning.
"No doubt about it," Dick replied, lowering himself further to run his fingers over the charred grass. "That's a speedster's trail. When a speedster taps into the Speed Force, it causes environmental damage—scorching like this comes from friction at near-light velocities."
Red Hood followed up, thinking aloud: "So someone else used the Speed Force here. That would explain why Barry passed out—he must've been attacked."
"But why would the attacker just leave the Flash here?" the female Robin asked, confused. "They had the perfect opportunity to finish him off."
The group fell silent. No one could immediately come up with an answer.
It was Tim who broke the tension with a quiet but bold hypothesis:
"What if the speedster's target wasn't Barry Allen at all?" he said.
"If you think about it… in a twisted way, they might've actually saved him."
Hearing that, Dick nodded slowly, thoughtful.
"It's possible. But we won't really know anything until Barry Allen wakes up."
After a pause, Tim turned to Dick and asked quietly: "Nightwing, do you really think it's possible that the one who attacked the Batcave was Alex?"
"No way."
Dick shook his head firmly, rejecting the idea outright. Even Red Hood stepped forward and added in a serious tone: "Alex would never do something like that. And besides, with the level of power he possesses, do you really think a Boom-tube built by Stark would be enough to stop him from finishing what he started?"
Tim didn't reply, but the tension in his face visibly eased.
-----------------------------------
Meanwhile—
Back at Barry Allen's home, Pietro had already informed the Justice Society of everything that happened. Every available hero was now mobilizing.
Old Bruce Wayne had taken his place once more at the command center, broadcasting an emergency update to every unit.
"There's an impostor—a dimensional intruder—masquerading as Alex, and he's a threat to our world. He also possesses a form of portal technology remarkably similar to Alex's. It appears he can pull beings from other universes into ours."
Bruce's voice remained calm but carried the weight of urgency.
"I can confirm that the two men in white uniforms who followed the fake Alex are not anyone we've ever encountered before," Bruce said, recalling the earlier scene.
"They looked extremely similar—almost like father and son. The older one had a square jaw, a thick mustache, a massive frame. I didn't engage him directly, but I could feel his power. And when he attacked Batman... in terms of strength and speed, he was easily on par with Kara."
"Kryptonian?" Pietro frowned.
"We can't be sure yet. The multiverse is vast, and there are plenty of beings with Kryptonian-like traits," Old Bruce Wayne shook his head slightly.
"We can't definitively determine what that man was."
"Can you reach Alex?" he asked.
"No chance," Kara replied with a sigh.
"Alex seems to have gone to a very unusual universe this time. Even the Overseers can't detect his anchor point. Honestly, Alex is nearly impossible to track in general. He moves unpredictably, and... yeah."
Hearing this, Old Bruce's expression darkened slightly. He looked at the three of them in silence for a moment, then finally began to speak—his voice heavy with the weight of a long-buried memory.
"Before any of you came to this universe, Alex once returned here alone. At the time, he discussed inter-universe trade with me, and even helped us deal with the threat of the Shabbak Demon."
"Yeah, I remember," Pietro quickly nodded.
"Alex must've been gathering supplies back then. I remember he brought a ton of food back to the Wasteland. That was during our time at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."
"Exactly."
Old Bruce gave a slight nod and continued.
"But just as Alex was leaving this universe, something... strange happened to me. Something I've never told anyone about. And from that day on, I never saw Alex again—not even once. I never got the chance to ask him about what happened."
"What happened?" Kara's brow furrowed deeply, an uneasy feeling creeping into her chest.
"It was Barry Allen," Old Bruce Wayne lifted his gaze, locking eyes with Kara. "He tore through space and appeared right in front of me. He warned me—I had to find Alex."
At his words, everyone in the room fell silent, each processing the surreal revelation in their own way.
"I couldn't determine which Barry Allen he was," Bruce continued. "He could've been the Barry from our universe, the one who traveled through time, or even some Barry from another universe we've never encountered. That's why I never told anyone. I wanted to verify it with Alex first."
"What exactly did he say?" Kara pressed, her tone urgent.
"He said Alex is the key to everything," Bruce replied, voice low and grave. "He told me I had to trust him… and warned me again—no matter what, I needed to find Alex."
The old man's weathered face grew darker as he recounted the moment, wrinkles tightening with the weight of memory.
"At the time, I had no idea what he meant," he said. "But judging by his urgency, I knew it was no small matter. And if Alex was involved, it had to be something that threatened the multiverse itself. That was the day I began preparing."
"At first, I didn't think too much of it. After all, Alex and I had already discussed inter-universe trade. I thought it was only a matter of time before he returned. But… I didn't expect Steppenwolf to show up before Alex did."
"So that's why you were so certain the one who attacked the Batcave wasn't Alex…" Ashley murmured as she and Pietro exchanged glances.
"Given where we are now," Kara said, "it looks like we're going to have to head to the Batcave ourselves. Maybe we'll find clues there."
"It could also be a trap left by the enemy," she added cautiously.
Old Bruce paused, then nodded. "Which is why we don't rush in. The Robins have already found Barry Allen. Doctor Mid-Nite is en route. I've summoned Black Adam and the others. Once the Justice Society heroes are gathered, we'll move together."
No one objected.
Just as they were preparing to leave, a loud, urgent alarm suddenly rang from the control panel on Old Bruce's wheelchair—drawing every eye in the room.
Everyone there knew exactly what it meant: the Bat-Network's global threat monitoring system had detected a spike—an energy reading far beyond its danger threshold.
"What's going on?!" Pietro snapped, brows furrowing.
Bruce didn't answer. He simply tapped the panel on his wheelchair, projecting the alert data into the air.
And then, the room went still.
At the location marked "Gotham Harbor," a massive landmass was slowly rising from beneath the ocean.
No—wait.
It wasn't land.
It was a giant head.
Two monstrous eyes slowly opened, followed by a terrifying maw that began to part, revealing rows of jagged teeth. Seawater poured out from between them like cascading waterfalls.
As the creature's neck and body emerged from beneath the waves, its horrifying scale became fully visible to everyone watching.
Even Kara, who was usually unshaken, widened her eyes in disbelief. The entire room fell silent, collectively holding their breath at the sight.
The creature was colossal—so massive that Gotham's skyscrapers seemed like toys in comparison. It looked like a titanic bipedal lizard, magnified a hundredfold, its black-green skin covered in jagged, menacing scales.
Its heading was clear—it was advancing straight toward the Gotham Harbor, ready to make landfall. Suddenly, the comms panel on Bruce's wheelchair began flashing red. The voice of Hourman blasted through the room.
"Hey! Bruce! You guys seeing the feed from Gotham Harbor?!"
"Y-Yeah, we're seeing it," Pietro answered, his voice a little shaky.
"Still trying to wrap our heads around it…"
"Are you sure this isn't something Alex did?" Hourman's tone was grave.
"Positive," Pietro replied, rubbing his temples. "I'll admit, this looks a lot like something Alex could pull off, but this isn't him. He has no reason to drop Godzilla in the middle of Gotham."
"Alright. I believe you," Hourman responded. "But now's not the time to debate. If that thing makes it ashore, Gotham's toast."
"I'll intercept it," Kara declared without hesitation. "Pietro, Ashley—stay here and protect Bruce."
Pietro gave a firm nod, and Hourman's voice returned over the line.
"Black Adam and Shazam are en route. We're counting on you, Supergirl!"
...
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