To strip so many Bruces naked and parade them through the streets would be tantamount to publicly revealing Batman's identity. Moreover, how could they explain the Dark Multiverse to the public without causing even greater panic?
"Strange, why hasn't he shown up yet?" Alan looked at the members of the Dark Knights with a puzzled expression. By all rights, the Bat-God Barbatos should have stepped in to rescue his subordinates by now. It was impossible for him to just sit by and do nothing. In the numerous dark universes, these seven Dark Knights were among the top-tier, serving as the vanguard for invading positive matter universes, and they would certainly not be abandoned easily.
"What's happening?" Doctor Fate suddenly exclaimed in alarm. "I sense a dark aura spreading."
As his words fell, a black dot appeared out of thin air behind the Dark Knights, which then expanded into a black hole. It was deep and dark, as if containing an endless abyss within, possessing the terror of devouring everything.
"What a surprising universe, to actually defeat my advance forces." A deep, lingering echo emanated from the black hole. A figure sat upon a dark throne, cloaked in pure black, as if the night itself covered his entire body. The Bat-God, Barbatos, master of the Dark Multiverse.
That dark, ancient, and destructive aura left the Justice League members breathless. Some heroes who had encountered ancient gods felt that the Bat-God's power far surpassed that of any deity they knew. In particular, Shazam could clearly sense that the Bat-God's power level was several tiers above the seven gods within him.
Thump! Alan brought over a chair, plopped down, and crossed his legs. "Hey, you. Release Batman. Then wear white silk stockings for a photo, and I'll pretend nothing happened."
"..." Barbatos fell into deep thought, recalling information about the person before him. After a moment, he suddenly realized he had no related memories.
Multiversal Singularity! A term appeared in his mind. Instantly, Barbatos couldn't help but take this person seriously. He himself was a multiversal singularity, so he naturally knew this was no ordinary being. Although multiversal singularities were not numerous, there were quite a few, with several existing on the Source Wall. As for encountering such powerful beings in the multiverse, they were merely high-dimensional projections into lower dimensions. Even Barbatos couldn't be certain if he could kill him. It was possible that this person's future self was watching over the past from the realm of time, or perhaps he possessed abilities like causality manipulation to interfere with the final outcome.
"Release him?" Barbatos refused. "Bruce is a spatial coordinate. How can I release him so easily?"
Of course, they were both multiversal singularities. As for who was stronger, a fight would decide. "As long as I control the coordinate, I can continuously transport the Dark Knights Legion. The Batmen from the Dark Multiverse will be able to overwhelm you," Barbatos threatened. The world contained countless positive matter universes. He didn't have to destroy this particular one. But if he was scared off by a single sentence, how could he maintain his reputation?
At these words, the Justice League members held their breath. The Dark Knights alone were enough to overwhelm them. An entire legion would likely wipe them out in minutes. They patiently waited to see how Alan would respond, already preparing to mobilize all available forces to face a universe-wide catastrophe.
"Wow, I didn't expect you to be so sinister," Alan said, then couldn't help but ask, "Do you also have a Dark Superman Legion?"
"Correct. The legions I command far exceed your imagination," Barbatos admitted. The Dark Multiverse wasn't a place where only Batman survived. All sorts of hero survivors could form legion-sized armies. It was just that he, as the Bat-God, naturally favored Batmen.
"Boss, is it too late for me to join you now?" Alan asked with wide, expectant eyes.
"..." For a moment, Barbatos was a bit stunned. He had expected his opponent to spout some harsh words and assume a posture of fighting to the end, but instead, he shamelessly chose to surrender. Even the Justice League heroes were prepared to imprison Alan on the spot if he dared to defect.
Barbatos sneered in response, "You defeated the Dark Knights. Do you think I would possibly accept you?"
"Using the same trick too often makes even the villains smart," Alan said with disappointment. "To think you saw through my plan to infiltrate the enemy. Why face you head-on? I didn't even want to use my trump card."
"What trump card?" Barbatos was startled. Just as he suspected, this guy had the ability to handle the crisis.
"Do you know what this is?"
"Your right hand?" Alan raised his right hand. Barbatos looked baffled. Was there some hidden mechanism?
"Wrong." The armor on his right hand shimmered with different colored lights. Alan gave a mysterious smile and began to explain, "From the day the Court of Owls began their scheme, I was already thinking of a countermeasure. After much thought, the only artifact I could find in this world is probably the Infinity Stones from the Marvel universe next door."
As he spoke, one by one, dazzlingly bright gems transferred to the surface of his armored gauntlet. The six Infinity Stones shone brilliantly, their different colors representing different powers. The Power, Space, Time, Reality, Mind, and Soul Stones... possessing just one could make one a master of a corner of the universe. These divine objects were the source of conflict for various forces throughout history.
At this moment, Barbatos was moved. He rose from his throne, attempting to see through the black hole to discern the gems' authenticity. Among the heroes, many knew about the Infinity Stones, but only through hearsay. They had never seen them for real. Some couldn't help but feel a pang of greed, thinking of seizing the gems. Constantine was one of them.
"Even with all six Infinity Stones, you would only have universe-level power, still insufficient to fight against me at a multiversal level," Barbatos said seriously. This was true. Infinity Stones existed in different universes and disappeared with the destruction of their universe. Collecting them would at most grant invincibility within one's own universe, but ultimately couldn't harm Barbatos. So he appeared very calm, merely disappointed that he hadn't successfully invaded this universe.
"Who said there are only six Infinity Stones? Heh heh heh..." Alan let out a chilling laugh, raising his left armored gauntlet. Six more, different Infinity Stones appeared.
"Actually, there are twelve Infinity Stones in the world. As long as you obtain one, they will attract each other," Alan explained. "The golden one is the Ego Gem, formed from the will of the goddess Infinity. The red one is the Empathy Gem, representing wisdom. The pink is the Rhythm Gem, the black is the Continuity Gem borrowed from Deadpool, and the white and cyan ones are something else entirely..."
"Stop talking. You can have him." Barbatos decisively released Bruce. He knew a little about the secrets of the Infinity Stones. The six on the right hand represented the physical body of the goddess Infinity, while the six on the left represented her consciousness. At the very least, he had heard of the Ego and Empathy Gems. To know of the existence of twelve Infinity Stones, this person must have an extraordinary origin.
Previously, Barbatos was confident he could test his strength, but now, he had no intention of probing further. A weakened Bruce fell out of the black hole, looking like a frail old man. Maintaining the spatial portal required draining his life force. In a normal invasion process, the Dark Knights would have captured more people to act as human batteries to maintain the portal's stability and expand its capacity.
Bruce's condition wasn't a major issue. The Batcave had pure Dionesium. A soak would restore him to his original state. At this moment, the black hole shrank until it disappeared. The Dark Knights had clearly been abandoned by Barbatos.