This Isn't Batman at All

"What a pity."

A hint of regret flashed in Thanos's eyes, and the Spear of Dawn, embedded in his joint, turned to ashes in the blink of an eye.

On the other side of the distant void.

Kino looked at the Power of the End he had just intercepted; even without Thanos's control, it was continuously dissolving the power of his Ultimate Equation.

But when Kino put his hand in, there was nothing unusual, as if it didn't exist.

"Why?"

Kino mutters to himself.

"The Power of the End is the power that negates the world."

"And you don't belong to this world."

Thanos's voice could still be clearly heard amidst the chaos of the battlefield.

"I have destroyed countless worlds and observed countless universes."

"These spirits were all rebels in the past, but you don't exist in those worlds."

Your essence is above this world; like those observers who manipulate this world, you are an external variable, a loophole in the rules.

Thanos's eyes, reflecting countless futures, seemed to pierce through Kino's soul.

"You don't belong in this end, so why burn yourself for these bubbles destined to vanish into nothingness?"

Thanos pointed to the chaotic, agonizing heart of the battlefield, to the figures fighting desperately for survival.

"Look at them, Kino. Their struggles, their sacrifices, their hopes and despair—what meaning do they have? They only prolong the suffering, adding to the lament of destruction."

"Join me. Or at least... don't stand in my way."

Thanos was engulfed in a purple, apocalyptic light, carrying with him a promise that bordered on charity.

"I saw your ties in this universe, and I saw the paradise you built for yourself."

I can promise that after the end sweeps everything away, I will preserve a universe for you, a universe of your choice, a universe where you can continue to be your Demon King.

There, you can take the people you cherish and live on Eternity, according to your own wishes. This is not charity, but my kindness as a friend."

Thanos's words were very tempting: the universe is vast, he has the ability to create planets, and one universe is enough to settle everyone on the battlefield, even a portion of the people in the DC universe.

Kino turned his head and looked at the people still fighting fiercely on the battlefield.

Some of them were lovers, some were friends, some were subordinates, and some were enemies who had been coerced or lured into the war, but what they all had in common was their perseverance.

A slight upward curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

"Amusement park? Eternity haven?"

Kino raised his head, and the Golden Flame burning in his eyes not only did not extinguish, but burned even more intensely.

"You say they're destined for nothingness? That their struggles are meaningless?"

"Meaning? Meaning is never defined by others! Meaning is something they forge themselves! It's something they create in the process of rebelling against your bullshit 'fate'!"

At Kino point, Lucifer, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but roll his eyes dramatically.

"This is my home!"

"You want to tear down my house, kill my family, and you're talking to me about some bullshit amusement park?"

Fuck your destiny!

"Fuck your end!"

"I'm standing here today not for some bullshit 'superiority over the world,' but to tell them—"

Kino clenched his fists, and the power of the Ultimate Equation within him surged at an unprecedented speed, with golden runes erupting around him like a boiling Nebula!

The Power of the End that he had intercepted began to twist and deform violently under the frenzied onslaught of the golden runes, as if it had been forcibly shoved into an incomprehensible furnace!

"Your destiny? I'll smash it to pieces today!"

"Arrogant!"

Thanos's response was like a muffled thud as the universe collapsed; his three-meter-tall body instantly erupted with an even more terrifying Ultimate Purple Light!

Thanos stopped trying to persuade; his pure will to destroy transformed into a purple spear of light that pierced through multiple dimensions, aimed directly at Kino!

"The Ultimate Equation - Proof of Existence, Negation!"

Kino roared and shoved the ball of Power of the End in his hand, which was forcibly wrapped and twisted by golden runes, forward!

It is no longer pure destruction, but under the mad deconstruction and reconstruction of the Ultimate Equation, it has become a... shield made of countless fragmented cosmic images, the cries of billions of living beings, and a huge and distorted shield!

At the core of the shield lies that forcefully "transformed" Power of the End!

Boom--Crack!!!!

Just as Kino was battling Thanos.

Bruce arrives on a dilapidated planet.

The wind, carrying the cold scent of rusted metal and the deathly smell of dust, swept past Bruce Wayne's mask.

He stood before a massive, tilted metal structure jutting into the ground—the iconic "A" shape of Avengers Tower.

The ground beneath their feet was not soil, but a mixture of countless shattered alloy plates, crystal fragments, and some indescribable, vitrified, skeletal substance.

This planet, once the cradle of a glorious civilization, is now nothing but boundless ruin and desolation.

After witnessing Thanos wielding the Power of the End and commanding billions of dead, Bruce knew that conventional power, tactics, or even Qiji like Kino's might not be able to truly end this catastrophe.

Understanding the enemy is the cornerstone of victory.

So.

Hang in there, I'll find it...

Suddenly, Bruce dodged to the side.

Several black Bat-dart grazed the edges of his armor and embedded themselves deeply into the twisted metal skeleton of the Avengers Tower ruins behind him, making a dull "thud" sound.

He steadied himself and instantly locked onto the source of the attack—a twisted, crazed figure leaping down from a huge, cracked ruin above, like a massive, ominous Owlman.

His signature pointed helmet, his restrictive uniform, and his face forever frozen beneath a maniacal, the Batman Who Laughs.

The Joker Batman.

"Place your hopes for victory on others."

"This is not Batman at all."

"It's nothing like you."

Bruce didn't respond; all his senses were heightened to their peak. He knew the Joker Batman was dangerous—a monster that combined his own darkest will with the Joker's ultimate madness.

But with his Hellbat Armor, he could blow this guy's head off in an instant.