The Villains' Relics (Part 1)

Zhang Ye and Pietro made their way toward the Batcave through the long tunnel.

Old Bruce Wayne had told Zhang Ye about this route. There were many ways to enter the Batcave from Wayne Manor, far more than the abandoned well cover in the backyard from Barry Allen's memories. There was actually a secret passage inside Wayne Castle itself.

The reason Old Bruce Wayne had not told Barry Allen about this path was that he wanted to see whether they truly were, as they claimed, his close comrades-in-arms from another timeline.

From the surveillance footage, the two Barry Allens had made their way to the entrance of his Batcave with practiced ease. They were clearly very familiar with it, which made Old Bruce Wayne lower his guard somewhat.

Though he did not know what his counterpart in another universe was like, Old Bruce Wayne believed that if that other version of himself had trusted this young man enough to reveal the Batcave's entrance, then he was undoubtedly someone worthy of trust.

As for the mysterious pair, Zhang Ye and Pietro, Old Bruce Wayne had decided to trust them for the time being as well. General Zod's arrival had plunged the entire world into danger. Whatever their goals might be, this world was already hanging by a thread.

Holding the key Old Bruce Wayne had given him, Zhang Ye was immensely excited. Although he had not met Batman in his prime, he had still truly come face-to-face with a superhero from another universe.

This place was far stronger than Pietro's universe. Though many superheroes were gone and the Justice League could no longer be formed, it was still much better than the Avengers being wiped out and the X-Men either becoming lunatics or falling into darkness.

No matter what, in this universe, Zhang Ye had truly witnessed the glory of superheroes.

"Zhang, I've actually wanted to ask for a while. Who were those people? Why did you seem to know them so well? And what is Batman? Are they the superheroes you were talking about?" Pietro asked curiously.

"They really are superheroes. As for why I know them so well, once you travel through a few more universes, you'll get used to this sort of thing. Batman was the title that white-bearded old man had when he was young. He was no ordinary person. After all, he was the guy who declared war on all the crime in an entire city."

Zhang Ye smiled. He was in a very good mood right now. Thinking about how he would soon get to choose from all those interesting pieces of equipment, he did not show much on his face, but inwardly, he was thrilled.

"Declared war on all the crime in an entire city!? Was he really that terrifying? He... he just looked like an old man." Pietro found it hard to believe. From his perspective, Old Bruce Wayne was nothing more than an ordinary old fellow.

Pietro even felt that he could beat him with one hand tied behind his back, even without using his super speed.

"You really shouldn't underestimate him. He may be old now, but the combat experience in his bones hasn't grown rusty. If you gave him time to prepare, he'd find a way to kill you even if you didn't lose an arm," Zhang Ye said with a smile, shaking his head. Never agree to a fight with Batman; that was not just a meme.

"Seriously? Isn't that a little too ridiculous?" Pietro said sarcastically. His face practically screamed that he did not believe it.

Zhang Ye merely smiled and did not pursue the matter. Arguing now was pointless. Still, when he had the chance, he could have a proper talk with Pietro about how so many speedsters in the DC Universe had met gruesome ends.

The two hurried onward and eventually stopped before a door at the very end of the passage. It bore a bat emblem, and beneath the bat was a slot that appeared to be a keyhole.

"This is it." Zhang Ye quickly inserted the key in his hand, then rubbed his hands together excitedly.

With the roar of grinding steel, the door slowly opened, revealing the room beyond. Once it had opened completely, the chandeliers inside lit up automatically, displaying every item in the room before them.

"Wow..." Pietro's mouth fell open. Though he somewhat looked down on Batman, the trophies before him still left him in awe. "It looks a lot like President X's secret chamber, Zhang. Could this Batman also be a dictator like President X?"

"What do you think?"

Pietro recalled the harmless-looking drunk old man from earlier, then burst into laughter. "How could that be? He doesn't have powers as terrifying as President X's. But Zhang, are there really things here that can help improve your combat ability? Aren't these all things used by ordinary people?"

"Pietro, you need to show some respect. You should know that every single item here, every object, was once owned by someone who left a bold mark on Gotham City's history. Never underestimate them."

Zhang Ye spoke seriously, then swept his gaze across every item displayed in the cases, as if comparing them with the memories in his mind.

Although this world had no other superheroes, Batman and most of his mortal enemies had been preserved. The packed display room alone showed that Batman in this world had taken down the vast majority of Gotham's villains.

Zhang Ye walked and stopped, the displayed items one after another constantly stirring memories that had long been buried deep within him.

"This is Black Mask's mask. Rumor has it Roman carved it from his father's coffin. And Killer Moth's costume! Too bad that guy was too weak; the costume wasn't much use either. There's also Professor Pyg's pig mask, another lunatic who loved experimenting and killing."

"What's this, a calendar? Don't tell me it belonged to Calendar Man. My god, is this Deadshot's mask? It's pretty cool. Why is there even a set of musketeer clothes here? And a flamethrower—this should be Firefly's, right? Oh, and Mad Hatter's hat. It's hard to imagine Batman actually went through with it."

After setting down the hat, Zhang Ye turned his attention to the other side. A gleaming golden cane rested on a display stand, with a question mark clearly visible on it.

"Zhang, look! There's a whip here. Isn't it perfect for me?"

Hearing that, Zhang Ye turned around and saw Pietro fiddling with a black leather whip. Judging by how it did not reflect the light at all, its material was clearly no ordinary thing.

But this was not the time to worry about what the whip was made of. Zhang Ye pointed at the surveillance camera and said to Pietro, "Pietro, for the sake of your life, I suggest you put that whip back where it was."

"Uh, okay." Pietro smiled awkwardly and immediately put the whip back. He was not afraid of Bruce Wayne watching from behind the cameras; he was simply listening to Zhang Ye.

"Hey, Zhang, have you found it yet?"

"Almost, almost," Zhang Ye answered casually. Then, from the corner of his eye, he suddenly spotted an exquisitely crafted umbrella. Turning to look at it, Zhang Ye smiled faintly.

"Aha, I found one of them!"

(I'll post another chapter later as compensation for updating late today.)