As he spoke, Bruce had already started walking toward Molecule Man, the strange aura surrounding him gradually fading away.
By the time Bruce finally stopped in front of Molecule Man, he had already returned to his most ordinary form.
There was no trace of the oppressive presence he previously exuded.
Even the battle helmet on his head had slowly disappeared with each step.
It was as if nothing had ever been there.
Molecule Man didn't respond directly to Bruce's words. He simply looked at the Bat who had come to stand before him. "You should be aware of the situation here. All the continents have been forcibly stitched together."
Molecule Man closed his eyes, as if deeply sensing something.
"Do you feel it? The edges of the crust are shattering, like puzzle pieces being jammed together. But no one ever asked those pieces how they felt."
"After all, I mean, who would care about how a puzzle feels?"
"Even if they don't belong here."
"They'll scatter eventually—I know they will. I created all this. I devoured them. But I'm still hungry." After saying this, Molecule Man turned to Bruce and asked, "Did you bring anything to eat, Bat?"
Listening to him, Bruce placed his hand on his utility belt, searching for something.
In the end, all he pulled out were a few small items.
"Some tasteless ration bars, and a couple of candies for kids."
"Give them to me!" Molecule Man's eyes lit up with fanatical intensity for the first time, as if he were seeing the most precious treasures in the world.
And indeed, to him, they were just that.
Bruce handed over the items in his hand.
Molecule Man tore open the packaging without a shred of dignity and began devouring them ravenously, completely unconcerned with whether they had any flavor.
Perhaps what he craved was simply the sensation of eating—of having a full stomach.
While Molecule Man ate, Doom stared at Bruce.
"I didn't expect someone like you to carry things like that," Doom said, genuinely surprised that Bruce had such items on hand.
Hearing this, Bruce glanced at Doom. "I'm just an ordinary man. I get hungry."
Doom looked him up and down.
To be honest, hearing that made Doom question why Bruce would say something so absurd.
If this Bat was an ordinary person—then what did that make him?
"You should know I could tear you apart right now," Doom said, turning his gaze from Bruce to the sugar-chewing Molecule Man.
Bruce nodded. He was fully aware of the power Doom wielded.
After all, the last time he visited Earth-616, he had seen firsthand how Doom dealt with the mechanical legions.
Naturally, he also understood that with all his powers withdrawn, Doom could easily kill him at any moment if he so wished.
Bruce turned his head slightly and looked at Doom. "But you can't kill me."
Doom didn't reply. Instead, he acted without hesitation, launching a blast of energy directly at Bruce.
But before the energy even touched Bruce, Doom saw it being blocked—completely sealed off from Bruce's body.
He knew who was responsible.
Doom looked at Molecule Man, who had just finished eating the candies. "Why?"
"Did you bring any food, Victor?" Molecule Man didn't explain his actions. He simply repeated the question to Doom.
It was, perhaps, one of the most infuriating questions for Doom.
Every conversation with Molecule Man seemed to begin with this line.
Even without waiting for a response, Molecule Man already knew that his friend hadn't brought him a single thing to eat.
After all, the look on Doom's face said it all.
Doom wanted to speak, but found that he had no strength left. Molecule Man had already taken control of the power within his body.
He had even sealed off Doom's ability to speak.
His eyes widened involuntarily.
He wanted to know why—but Molecule Man had no intention of answering.
"Why are you so sure I'll help you?" Molecule Man turned to Bruce and asked.
When he took Doom away back then, Bruce hadn't come along.
If Bruce thought that a bit of food would be enough to win his help, then he was clearly placing too much faith in Molecule Man.
Bruce didn't answer. Instead, he asked another question: "What did you see in me back then?"
Molecule Man paused, but quickly understood that Bruce must have figured something out.
"You know?" Molecule Man asked, somewhat testingly.
Bruce nodded, then shook his head.
He tapped his temple. "I know bits and pieces, but not the whole picture."
"Then you should have come to me first." As Molecule Man spoke, he glanced at the immobilized Doom, then turned his eyes back to Bruce. "Why did you go to Doom first?"
"Because someone asked me to," Bruce answered frankly. "Originally, I did intend to come straight to Doom's fortress to find you. I knew Doom would place you somewhere he trusted most."
"And for people like us, the most trusted place is often right by our side—sometimes even under our very noses."
"But there was a little detour."
"Stephen," Molecule Man said at this point. "That friend who appeared near the end, was it him?"
Molecule Man was well aware that even though Stephen had always remained close to Doom, seemingly his most capable aide—
He also knew Stephen had his own plans all along.
Including that Doomsday Ark hidden in his own territory.
All of it was within Molecule Man's awareness.
He just hadn't said anything. Maybe, if Doom had brought him some food one of those times, he would've told him. Or maybe not.
"He ran into some trouble at the time. And judging by his condition, he, like me, wanted to tear down this illusory world of Doom's." Bruce looked directly at Doom, who now seemed to have given up resisting.
Bruce's words clearly caught Molecule Man's attention. He stopped restraining Doom and looked straight into his eyes.
"What do you plan to do with our friend?" Molecule Man asked, gazing at Doom.
Doom didn't explain. He simply said to Molecule Man:
"I haven't done anything yet—but his questions will get him killed eventually."
"This really is an unexpected development." Molecule Man chuckled, but anyone could tell his smile was one of bitter amusement. "This is truly interesting—he was there, saw everything, knew everything, and now even his eyes can no longer show him the truth of the world."
Doom said nothing, silently listening to Molecule Man's words. He knew there was nothing he could say at the moment.
Suddenly, the atmosphere was engulfed by a suffocating silence.
Molecule Man pointed a finger at Doom and said, "I chose you. But now, I realize that perhaps I made a mistake back then."
After leaving those words behind, Doom tried to say something, but in the next instant, he realized his body had completely vanished from Molecule Man's side.
When he opened his eyes again, the worried faces of Susan and Valeria greeted him.
"Victor?" Susan looked at Doom with deep concern. Ever since Doom had gone to Utopia, they had received no news from him.
Now, unrest was breaking out below.
The once fragmented Warzone had suddenly unified and was launching an assault on Doom's castle.
However, it posed no real threat—Doom's castle was a force far beyond the imagination of those from the Warzone.
Still, the attack had an undeniable impact, and now, even the lords who had previously pledged allegiance to Doom were joining the uprising.
This tipped the already weakened Warzone into an even worse position.
But Doom wasn't concerned with any of that. He sprang to his feet. He needed to return. He had to get back to Molecule Man.
Because he knew that the uprising in the Warzone was just the beginning. A far greater chaos was looming—and the only one who could end it was Molecule Man.
Just as Doom was about to set out, a portal opened before him.
Stephen, along with his group, stepped out and reappeared in front of Doom.
"Victor!" Mister Fantastic rushed through the portal.
But before he could reach Doom, his eyes fell on Susan, who stood nearby with a worried expression.
What surprised him even more was that Susan stood at Doom's side, watching him nervously. Even Valeria beside her looked confused and unsure.
Mister Fantastic was momentarily at a loss, but he quickly understood.
If Doom could call himself a god, then he must possess godlike powers.
And after Stephen had given them a rough briefing about this world, Mister Fantastic realized even more clearly that everyone in this world had had their memories altered by this so-called God-King Doom.
Valeria was excited upon seeing Stephen, but quickly noticed something seemed off between him and her "father."
After all, Valeria had always idolized this sheriff, and this situation left her utterly bewildered.
As for Susan, when she saw Mister Fantastic again, she froze for a moment.
"Victor!" At that moment, Mister Fantastic truly didn't know how to face his old friend.
He had stolen his entire life.
Putting aside the ethical and familial drama unfolding above, Bruce was now engaged in a conversation with Molecule Man.
"Initially, I just wanted to see who among you would emerge victorious," Molecule Man said to Bruce. At the same time, he recreated in his hand the object he had once seen within Bruce's energy.
"That pitch-black energy can even erode power that surpasses the gods. Honestly, I was terrified."
Molecule Man didn't try to hide the fear he felt when he first saw that.
Power that surpassed the gods—beings capable of destroying the entire multiverse—yet even their energy could be corroded.
Molecule Man couldn't imagine what kind of entity could erode something of that magnitude.
But he did know one thing: he had to control the source of it all.
So, he decided to act against Bruce.
Bruce looked solemnly at the dark, alluring energy shown in the recreated image.
Because in his memory, his own energy had never undergone such a transformation.
Which meant that something had subtly altered his perception back then without him realizing it.
The very thought was horrifying.
Thinking of what had been inside his own head, Bruce had a good idea who was behind it.
The previous "mind prison" was already strange enough, but when something entirely different showed up inside it, it clearly signaled that something was wrong.
Especially with the appearance of the remorseless Iron Hand and that laughing figure often spoken of by other Batmen.
Their presence meant the mind prison was undergoing changes.
And not good ones.
"Are you confident you can control whatever might emerge?" Bruce asked gravely.
"No," Molecule Man answered bluntly. "To put it simply, I'm just a supersized battery full of energy that surpasses the gods."
"The best I can do is restrain you—seal you away."
"But looking at it now, that was a mistake."
"I thought Victor would create a relatively ideal world, but clearly, I made the wrong choice."
"But maybe we still have a chance to change things," Molecule Man said, looking at Bruce. "Maybe we can find someone else to try."
"Who?" Bruce asked, without the slightest complaint.
Neither he nor Molecule Man could guarantee that if Bruce regained that power, the entity within him wouldn't emerge.
And Molecule Man had already admitted—he couldn't control the thing inside Bruce.
Instead of answering, Molecule Man used his power to bring in two individuals from Doom's castle who were currently in the middle of a fight.
The sudden change in environment made both Doom and the entangled Mister Fantastic instantly go on alert.
But Doom quickly realized where they were.
He had been here many times before.
Mister Fantastic, however, looked lost.
"Him?" Bruce naturally understood that the power couldn't be entrusted to Doom anymore. The only potential candidate now was Mister Fantastic.
Although he knew this was a different version of the man he once knew, Bruce couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"At least it's better than letting the thing inside you come out," Molecule Man said calmly.
Bruce nodded. But at that moment, a burst of laughter echoed in his mind.
"Hahahahahahaha!!!!"
"We will meet again!!!!"
(End of Chapter)
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