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Bruce, infected with the Joker virus, eventually degenerated into the Joker's desired form. He was as crazy as the Joker, but possessed the composure of Batman. He deceived everyone and ultimately killed his Bat-Team and the Justice League with a meticulously designed disguise.
After he personally tortured Superman and his family to death in cruel ways, he felt that everything was boring. But at this moment, a powerful being revealed the existence of the dark multiverse to him.
The Laughing Bat!
It can also be called the dark side of the universe.
He wanders through the various dark multiverses, selecting his favorite members from among them. Each of these members is his dark self, and each of them represents a powerful force in the universe.
Speed Force.
The power of metal.
The power of Neptune.
The power of the old gods.
The power of Kryptonian Doomsday.
And the dark side of the Joker and Batman combined.
Each of them is unique in the team. Under the call of the Laughing Bat, they have destroyed many universes and worlds just to find the so-called main universe and new companions.
Bruce sat up from the bed, sweating profusely. The scenes in his dream still echoed in his mind with incredible reality. The immersive experience made him, who had a heart as hard as iron, feel palpitations and panic.
Every moment of despair he encountered in that dream was the scene he least wanted to face. And those scenes were presented to him so cruelly and directly, vividly and bloodily.
He could empathize with every one of them, and could feel the suffocating and devastating despair in every one of them. He had no way of guaranteeing that if he were to experience the things in his dream, would he still be able to maintain his will and sanity?
After all, those people in the dream were all him! They had experienced what he had experienced and feared what he feared. They had many common weaknesses.
Bruce was well aware that he had mental and psychological issues, but he had always believed he could manage them well. However, the dreams reminded him of how fragile his self-confidence was when faced with those terrifying images.
Bruce glanced at the dark window, threw back the covers, and got up from his bed. His sleepiness had vanished as he woke up, and now he was filled with anxiety. He had to drink something to calm himself, to cool his feverish and confused mind, so that he could think carefully.
"Are you all right, sir?"
In the living room, a familiar voice suddenly reached Bruce's ears. Hearing this voice, Bruce's still somewhat anxious heart suddenly calmed down a little, as if this voice had a kind of peaceful power to him.
"I'm fine." Bruce forced a smile as he watched the butler Alfu slowly walking down the stairs.
"Although I'm old, my eyes are still very good. Did you have a nightmare again?" Alfu came to Bruce's side, looked at the drink he was preparing in his hand, and said with concern in his eyes.
He knew Bruce too well. He could easily grasp Bruce's current state of mind from any subtle expression. And Bruce would never pretend or deceive him, unless absolutely necessary.
Bruce's expression reminded Ah Fu of the nightmares he'd suffered as a child. Back then, his heart was filled with fear, and he'd experience nightmares every night. Ah Fu had witnessed this state countless times. Only after he grew up and returned from his travels did the nightmares and expressions of fear gradually decrease, until they completely disappeared.
Ah Fu had always believed that the master had completely restrained and conquered his inner fear. But now, it was clear that the master had not completely conquered his inner fear, but that the fear was suppressed and could not affect him temporarily. And now, something else triggered the master's inner fear.
Is it Steppenwolf?
Or the so-called Apocalypse?
Alfred speculated. He was a skilled intelligence gatherer, and it wasn't easy to become someone the master could rely on and trust. Plus, Bruce hadn't been hiding much from him, so he knew just as much as the Justice League members.
Therefore, Alfu naturally knew about the existence of Stephen and the others, and he also knew that they went to Apokolips to solve the problem of Darkseid.
Did Stephen and the others fail?
"I just dreamed about something." Bruce wanted to talk about something, but when the words came to his lips, he couldn't say them. It was difficult for him to reveal too much about his dreams to others.
"Want me to do it, sir?" Alfred wanted to take over the bottles and jars Bruce was mixing. He knew about the existence of psychic energy and even knew how to mix a few psychic liquid drinks. Of course, they were diluted many times according to the recipe.
"I can do it myself. Alfu, I need some quiet time alone for a while. Don't worry, I'm fine." Bruce did not hand over the bottle of azure liquid in his hand, but held it tightly again and asked Alfu.
"Are you sure?" Alfu and Bruce looked at each other, and after a moment of silence, he asked softly.
"I'm sure!" Bruce nodded.
"Well, it's the middle of the night now. If you have figured it out or calmed down, you should go to rest." Alfu let go of the hand that was fighting with Bruce for the bottle, bowed slightly in Bruce's sight, said goodbye to him, then turned around and walked up the stairs steadily with his palms on the handrail, and finally disappeared from Bruce's sight.
Bruce retracted his gaze and continued his preparation, then downed the drink in one gulp. The ingredients, designed to calm the mind and dispel negative emotions, took effect instantly. The oppressive, despairing feeling that had made it difficult to breathe, the constant feeling of fear and despair as if a giant hand were gripping his heart, was instantly and significantly alleviated.
The scenes of despair that made him sad and unforgettable were constantly replaying in his mind, and they seemed to be immediately peeled away. Although it still made him feel uncomfortable, it allowed him to temporarily re-examine those scenes that made him so sad that he didn't want to watch them a second time with the attitude and mentality of an outsider.
Bruce subconsciously raised his fingers and stroked the blue crystal on his chest. The touch from his fingers suddenly woke him up again.
Bruce swiftly turned out the azure gem embedded in a silver necklace on his chest, pinched it between his fingers, and examined it closely in front of his eyes.
Bruce was incredibly familiar with the psychic crystal known as Serenity Blue. It had brought him so much help and spiritual comfort. His strength of mind and conviction didn't mean he lacked other emotions; it was simply that he was more able to suppress them with his mind and convictions, preventing them from affecting him.
In truth, Bruce was fully aware of the depth of darkness and negativity within himself. Compared to the average person, he was simply better at controlling himself and those negative emotions. But this didn't deny that he had psychological problems. He had studied various psychology disciplines on his own, even reaching a level high enough to be considered an authority. But perhaps because it's difficult for a doctor to heal himself, this didn't solve his problems. He knew exactly what his problem was, but he couldn't solve it.
Until the advent of psychic powers, the Serenity Blue had granted him long-lost peace and tranquility. It even became addictive. He would often subconsciously rub the Serenity Blue crystal with his fingers in his spare time, so even the slightest change would be instantly noticeable to him.
Its size has been reduced!
Even a significant decrease!
It was so obvious that just touching it surprised Bruce. After all, calming the darkness within him and soothing his spirit and soul wouldn't require much energy from the crystals. But this was clearly a phenomenon that only occurred after intense consumption.
What is the reason?
Bruce immediately found the reason. It was the despair he experienced in his dreams, which made him feel as if he were there and could empathize with them! Not just one, but multiple times, each one was enough to completely crush his faith, will, perseverance, and bottom line!
Only with so much despair could the energy consumption of the Tranquil Blue Crystal be so great and so obvious.
If Bruce had not actually taken away the Serenity Blue Crystal, then when he woke up he probably wouldn't have been simply annoyed and scared, but would have been on the verge of falling into the abyss of darkness.
Thinking of this, Bruce immediately thought of the other self in his mind. It was obvious that all of this was the other person's doing. Only the other person could have constructed such a realistic and emotionally resonant dream in his mind.
For this day, the other party must have been carefully preparing for a long time.
Bold, crazy, careful and meticulous.
Bruce compared every detail of the other party since his appearance into his dream, and finally confirmed that a figure emerged in his mind.
That was a crazy, clown-like self.
The Laughing Bat!
That dark, oppressive, and insane self, enough to make him breathless and utterly resistant. It was obvious that the other party did all this to lure him into depravity.
It was hard to say when the other person had first been lurking within him, nor was it possible to say what subtle influences they had on him. But the fact that they had finally revealed themselves, engaging in dialogue and contact within his spiritual sea of consciousness, and arranging such a realistic yet terrifying dream for him today, clearly indicated they were either desperate or felt the time had come.
Purpose?
Having seen all the dreams, Bruce could easily draw a conclusion. The Laughing Bat wanted him to join his team, just like the bats in his dreams! But he knew that in his normal state, he wouldn't join, and would instead become an enemy of their Dark Knights. So, he arranged this incredibly realistic dream, hoping to make him fall into empathy and sink into darkness.
In fact, he almost did it. Without the Serenity Blue crystal, Bruce wouldn't have been aware of his own consciousness in his dreams. In other words, he would have mistaken the experiences of the corrupted Batmans in other universes as his own.
Being there and feeling the same emotions, after all, meant he wasn't actually there. This slight difference alone was enough for Bruce to realize something was wrong and maintain his sanity, his bottom line, and his convictions. While he was inevitably still affected by the unknown, at least he didn't go mad like the versions of himself in his dreams.
Bruce didn't believe he could survive repeated despair while thinking he was himself. The dream the Bat-Laughing Man had prepared for him was bound to be long and rich. Only when Bruce completely sunk into despair and collapsed, perhaps he could truly emerge from the dream. Bruce believed that the Dark Knights were more than what he had seen in his dreams.
If there were no Tranquil Blue Crystal!
Finally, when he woke up from the dream, it was obvious that the Tranquil Blue Crystal had noticed that his spirit had slipped to a dangerous edge, and had to expend energy to completely pull him out of the dream and make him sober.
So the question is, does he have any qualities that the Laughing Bat must have?
The self in the dream was only seen after the fall of the Laughing Bat. Or it could be said that it was sensed by the Laughing Bat.
But what about him? He hadn't fallen into evil! Yet, the Laughing Bat had already spotted him and arranged such a great gift for him.
What is it about him that the Laughing Bat, or the powerful being behind him, values?
Wealth? Wisdom? Fighting ability? Everything else? Everything he had, the other Dark Knights also had. He was nothing special.
Thinking further, it could only be an external object. Thinking of each of the Dark Knights, each possessed a powerful power that they had snatched away, Bruce couldn't help but begin to eliminate them one by one.
Lantern Ring? Doomsday Virus? Aquaman Gene? Olympus Artifact?
Each of these seems to be able to find the corresponding dark self in the Dark Knights. So what does he have, and what are those things that he himself does not have?
Bruce's eyes subconsciously fell on the gem-like crystal that his fingers were caressing, and a sudden realization arose in his heart.
It's psychic power!
The psychic energy created by Luke and brought by the Captain! It has a high degree of energy absorption and adaptability, and also has the rare energy properties of light and darkness, positive and negative, both opposing and unified.
If there was anything about him that the Laughing Bats and their ilk coveted and cared about, it was psychic energy! Perhaps even further, it was the ultimate in negative psychic energy, something he had only vaguely heard of—the Abyss!