Spider-Man wobbled back to New York on a bicycle.
Superman flew over.
“Hi, Red Robin, Ghost, are you two going to the Watchtower together? The Watchtower has an interstellar warp ship repair room that can be used to repair your Leap Mech. I mean, [Knowledge Explorer] is a beautiful name; it's truly amazing and has been a huge help to us.” The Superman of this world is an angel; even though Colt melted Kryptonite into Bai Chao's blood right in front of him, Red Robin has Kryptonite in his utility belt, he still remains completely without suspicion toward the two of them.
Colt happily used his iron-like hands to grab Red Robin and shove him back into the cockpit, then flew toward the Watchtower with Superman.
The Batwing had crashed, Batman was standing inside a green energy shield that looked like a hamster ball, making hand gestures toward the Knowledge Explorer.
Colt ignored him and accelerated past Green Lantern. He wasn't a Vigilante Forum member, so he couldn't understand the Vigilante's hand gestures.
Red Robin handed the Leap Mech's controls over to Colt and tapped the small computer on his arm.
A duck quacking sounded inside the cockpit, a message popped up in the encrypted group chat between the two.
[What are you going to the Watchtower for?]
Colt glanced at Red Robin and typed distractedly: 【I want to know where Superman comes from. Will they immediately interrogate prisoners?】
I think so. Have you seen Superman in a dream? Was it in some comic book?
Red Robin seemed to know everything.
Hmm, I've dreamed of a world where the Justice League fell and became the Justice Lords, Superman's uniform was just like Superman's," Colt selectively told the truth. "I want to know if those stories from my dreams actually exist.
The Watchtower has arrived.
Normally, the interior of a space station is quite cramped, but the Watchtower is more like a space base; the repair room is so spacious that even a Knowledge Explorer standing upright could not reach the ceiling.
Superman was busy interrogating the prisoners and asked Flash to stay and help them.
Batman gave Red Robin a look before leaving, a look of disapproval.
'Don't set up any surveillance; I'll go eavesdrop.' Colt wrote in Red Robin's palm.
Red Robin took a Bat Lollipop and a nutrition bar from his utility belt, quickly gaining Flash's trust. Of course, this trust came from Batman, also from the fact that Red Robin was the leader of the Teen Titans.
Colt focused on two things at once as he infiltrated the Red Sun Interrogation Room. Following the repair plan formulated by Red Robin, he used his Spiritual Power to fuse and weld the broken points, while using the Leap Mech's voice device to chat with Flash, all while eavesdropping on the interrogation.
“You can call us Justice Lords.. We come to save your world.. In our world, madmen have their frontal lobes removed, criminals are detained in concentration camps, their genes are prohibited from being passed down. There is no crime.. Batman.. Our world has no Batman, because there are no Dark Alleys that cause eight-year-old children to lose their parents.."
You know Batman's identity!
.. We have been to the Prime World, which is Earth 0, it is just like yours..
How many Earths have you invaded?
“.. Does that matter? I felt something watching me, then I followed the invitation and discovered your world. Which one of you gave us the coordinates..”
..
Colt left as quietly as when he had arrived, passing by the Hall of Justice along the way to scan the Universe Shuttle and record the relevant data.
Red Robin noticed that Colt's mood was off, but the Watchtower was not a suitable place for conversation. They repaired the Knowledge Explorer and asked Flash to help tell Batman to fly the Leap Mech directly back to Earth.
The Leap Mech entered the newly constructed Underground Hangar, but Colt did not withdraw his Spiritual Power from the mecha, Red Robin was in no hurry to leave the cockpit.
Inside the Ghost force field, sounds from the outside cannot get in, sounds from the inside cannot get out.
Red Robin put on his spare Hearing Aid and gave Colt's shoulder a squeeze. "Colt, you understand, no matter what happened, you can tell me. We'll solve it together, okay?"
Colt lowered his head and looked at his hands: "Even if I might have done something wrong?"
He had just searched the entire web and learned that the invasion by the Justice Lords had resulted in nearly a hundred deaths in Metropolis, thousands of people missing, tens of thousands injured, hundreds of thousands displaced, millions suffering property losses. As time passed, these numbers would certainly continue to grow.
Red Robin hugged him tightly. "I don't think you would do anything wrong, even if you did, it would be unintentional, right?"
I'm not sure." Colt rested his head on Red Robin's shoulder, drawing warmth and courage from him. "They really are from Lord World. Superman said he felt someone watching him, then he discovered the coordinates of our world. Could it be that my observations caused a connection between the two worlds?
If Earth Simulator No. 1735 is indeed a projection of the Lord World, then prolonged observation could indeed create a connection between the two worlds, causing their coordinates to open up to one another.
It can't be determined yet if Superman discovered our world through your dream; even if he did, that isn't something you can control." Red Robin kissed Colt on the forehead. "If the Joker says he escaped Arkham to play games with Batman, does that mean the wrong person becomes Batman? We all know the wrong person is the Joker.
“You're right, don't blame yourself for other people's mistakes.” Colt cheered up and gave Red Robin a kiss. “Go on with your business. I have to go perform follow-up exams on patients today, I haven't even finished my daily check-ins. I can't waste time wallowing in self-pity.”
The two shared a parting kiss and went their separate ways to attend to their own business.
After Colt finished collecting the patients' follow-up data and completed his daily learning check-in, he stood before the Earth Simulator once again.
The red-eyed, white-caped Superman could not be found in the skies above the Virtual Earth, the Justice Lords headquarters was empty, with only Wonder Woman remaining on duty. This Wonder Woman came from another world, although she was in a political marriage with Superman, she did not agree with Superman's totalitarian rule over Earth.
The probability of Earth Simulator 1735 being part of Lord World exceeds 80%.
Timothy's location is at the company, Batman is still at the Watchtower, the Batcave's defenses have decreased.
Colt put on the Virtual Helmet, but instead of entering the Virtual Laboratory, he transformed his consciousness into a mass of data and hacked into the Batcomputer.
Of course, he didn't just barge straight in; instead, he first masked himself with Red Robin's account, wrapped an "invisibility cloak" around that account, then layered seven or eight more disguises before finally infiltrating.
The Batcomputer contained too much data, with encryption levels layered upon one another. Colt got lost for several rounds before finally locating the classified files related to parallel universes by following the star icons and eye symbols.
Information regarding Lord World has not yet been archived, but there is plenty of intelligence related to parallel universes, including high-dimensional worlds such as the fourth and fifth dimensions.
Colt found Joseph's name among the informants, then he began searching for his own files.
Batman must have made a file on him!
Colt was disappointed.
He searched through all the hidden sections but still couldn't find his own file. He only found Joseph's, Alisa was even included in Joseph's attachments, yet he appeared only as a single name from beginning to end, without even a fake file being included.
Colt searched for Ghost's files again, this time he found them, but there was only a single sentence of introduction—it was too short to even be considered a file, it was even attached to Iron Man's file.
"Am I not dangerous enough? Am I not powerful enough? Am I not in a relationship with Red Robin? Why wasn't I turned into a file?! " Colt's resentment nearly triggered the Batcomputer's alarm.
Colt suppressed his anger, wrapping the copied content and carefully evacuating. He leaped through the springboards, his data body scattering and reassembling, erasing all traces before jumping back into the Quantum Superbrain to slowly browse through the detailed contents.
..
Impossible!
This is impossible!
Colt abruptly ripped off his helmet, staring at the surveillance footage playing on the light screen, his eyes bloodshot and his breathing heavy.
On April 16th, ten years ago, during the anniversary celebration at Gotham Elementary and the massive riot at Arkham, a car accident occurred at Boulder Plaza at 10:41 AM. A small car was crushed, the driver died on the spot.
The deceased driver was named Joseph Reed!
At 11:00 sharp, the crushed car was restored to its original state, the deceased driver also woke up as if nothing had happened.
Colt repeatedly replayed the recordings, reviewed the files, even infiltrated the Batcomputer to sift through all the intelligence related to that upheaval ten years ago.
Batman seemed to be wary of something; he did not create an independent file for Colt, but instead scattered what he had done across various different files. Not a single word mentioned Colt's name, yet every single sentence pointed directly to him.
For example, the changes in Joseph before and after his wife's pregnancy, as well as the changes in Little Reed's family after Colt's birth, all serve as proof that he can subtly change the people around him. The two casualty lists from the Arkham riot back then also prove that Batman knew time had been reversed and that someone had altered reality.
Dad was an exception.
Dad didn't resurrect through time reversal, but instead was resurrected after Colt left.
"Do I have the ability to resurrect people?" Colt looked at his own hands and shook his head. Even if he did, it certainly wasn't the person he was now. Even with the rapid healing serum, he could only produce a low-grade version, which resulted in young patients with amputations still having to wear prosthetics.
Colt rushed to Germany, finding the research institute where Joseph was on a business trip, saw Joseph engaged in a war of words with someone.
Colt did not approach, but instead hid behind a wall, using his Spiritual Power to scan Joseph through it.
Cellular activity is normal; muscle tissue, nerve tissue, connective tissue, epithelial tissue, other tissues are all normal. Organs are normal, the proportions of water, fat, protein, inorganic components are normal.. Joseph is a normal living person.
Colt left just as he had arrived. He sat back down in front of the Quantum Superbrain and watched the surveillance footage of Joseph's resurrection once more.
The video was not fake.
Mom is dead!
Dad is dead too!
Colt's chaotic mind seemed to have broken through a critical threshold, suddenly becoming clear as all the fragments of memory connected.
He remembered!
Everything, including the so-called grand plan, he remembered it all!
He was Du Zhe, who grew up with his grandfather, a scrap collector, after both his parents passed away. When he was in his first year of high school, his grandfather also passed away, leaving him a complete orphan. His classmates bought many comics to practice English and paid him to translate them, which made him fall in love with the superheroes in the comics. Batman was his idol. When "Gotham War" was first released, he was so furious by the character assassination in the plot that he failed to notice the out-of-control vehicle rushing toward the sidewalk.
He collapsed on the ground, blood staining the comic book in his hands!
He died!
Then he woke up again, opening his mouth to let out an infant's cry. He had a new mother and a new father. His father was intelligent and powerful, his mother was beautiful and gentle. His father and mother loved him so, so much; they were the happiest family in Gotham.
Yes, Gotham.
There is Wayne, there is the flying Grayson, there is Gotham, filled with darkness and sin.
Perhaps because his soul originated from a High-Dimensional World, Colt discovered that he possessed superpowers. His Spiritual Power was immense, allowing him to turn invisible. His parents suspected he was a Mutant, but they did not abandon him; instead, they took him to see Professor X. He was not a Mutant, so the school for Mutants naturally did not accept him, but his parents learned how to control his abilities from Professor X.
Using his invisibility ability, he would often sneak out in the middle of the night, feeling like a superhero, solemnly give himself the name "Ghost." He helped the young Batman find evidence of where criminals were hiding, attempting to prevent the tragedy of the flying Grayson, but his warning letters were thrown away as trash; the criminals would be released on bail right after being sent to the GCPD, while Batman was the one being wanted by the GCPD.
Superheroes couldn't save Gotham, so he decided to become the President to amend laws and establish rules, fundamentally changing the world.
Spiritual Power could help him gain the trust of others. He formulated five-year plans, intending to start by influencing the classmates around him, using twenty-five years to achieve his goals.
He became a leader among his peers, having the future Red Robin as a close friend, stopped Super Villains from committing crimes on many occasions, including even the Joker. He thought he was walking on the right path, believing that this world could still be saved.
Until that day arrived.
Gotham Elementary was holding an Easter celebration, his four-handed duet with Timothy had just finished, shaking the earth and blowing the entire venue sky-high.
He died.
His soul drifted above Gotham, seeing the malice of the world swirling around him, seeing the countless threads binding people together, seeing an invisible pen writing everyone's fate. A single, lighthearted setting could render Batman's efforts in vain, pushing those who had crawled out of the mire back into the mud.
He couldn't find his father; he only saw his father's car still parked at Gotham University, while his mother had already died under the Joker's gun half an hour ago.
What will happen to Dad?
He and his mother are dead; will his father become a part of Arkham, just like those geniuses who have experienced terrible misfortunes?
What will Batman do?
Gotham Elementary has nearly a thousand students. Watching so many children die, won't Batman truly break down?
What will Timothy do?
Timothy hasn't become Robin yet, hasn't become the World's Second Detective; how could the great Red Robin disappear here?
..