DC KO (I)

"Are you serious? A starfish as Robin?" Tim felt his worldview being shattered. Dick was his idol, Damian was Batman's son, Stephanie was his friend. It was one thing for them to be Robin, but what was with this starfish? The species was completely wrong!

"That's incredibly rude of you!" Jarro protested loudly. "Damn it, that's racist!"

"Heh, do you think I'd take racism seriously?" Tim rolled his eyes. "I am racist, so what?"

Having been in Gotham for so long, how could I be swayed by just a few words?

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Batman tapped Tim on the head. "Stop learning this drivel from Roland."

"Dad, do you think he went too far?" Jarro stood on Batman's shoulder, glaring angrily at Tim.

"He even calls you 'Dad'!" Tim exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"You can call me that if you want," Batman said after a moment of silence.

"Uh----" Tim suddenly fell into deep thought.

"You've actually got it!" Damian raised an eyebrow. What's wrong with these guys? They all want to take his dad away from him.

Since you're so lacking in fatherly love, go find Roland at the Church next door; he likes Little Boy.

"You don't think Batman doesn't like it, do you?" Roland's voice suddenly rang out, startling Damian.

"What brings you here?" Batman was not surprised by Roland's sudden appearance and calmly asked him what his purpose was.

"Doomsday me to give you a message." Roland paused, "Well—come to my Church tonight, and we'll talk when everyone's there."

"I understand." Batman nodded. "I'll be there at seven tonight."

"Good."

Then, Roland called up several of his brave and skilled friends and arranged to meet at Roland Cathedral that evening to discuss matters.

7 PM.

Batman and Roland entered Roland Cathedral, where the Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Cyborg, Superboy-Prime had already arrived and were sitting at a round table.

"Barry wasn't late this time, that's surprising." Batman joked with the Flash as soon as he walked in.

"Roland provides meals here, so I came over without having dinner." The Flash picked his teeth with a toothpick. "You're still as punctual as ever, not a minute late."

"Hmm." Batman pulled out a Chair and sat down. "What's going on tonight? You called us all over—and aren't Clark and Arthur missing?"

"They are pacifists, so it's better if we handle this operation," Roland explained.

"Oh, you really haven't forgotten Arthur?" Batman, somewhat skeptical.

"Aren't I a pacifist?" The Flash asked.

You don't need to participate in this event either.

"Then why did you call me here?" The Flash asked, puzzled. "Just for this dinner?"

"Of course not." Roland shook his head. "Your role in this event is as a means of transportation."

"----Not surprising at all." The Flash's lips twitched.

"So what exactly is going on?" Batman asked. "And—why are there two Doomsday here?"

"He comes from Parallel Universe," Doomsday said, pointing to the aged yet wise-looking Doomsday beside him. "You can call him the Time Trapper."

"As for why I'm here," the Time Trapper removed the Pendant from his chest, revealing a holographic image, "Please watch the VCR."

This is happening in our Universe.

Suddenly, he appeared.

[The heroes' longest-standing and most powerful nemesis may well be the enemy they know best.]

[But this Darkseid has become unrecognizable; he has not only become larger and stronger—he is the embodiment of everything, a Universe force.]

[Wherever his gaze fell, the city belonged to him—no, Clark believed, not to him—but to him; Clark could see it all. Every particle, every molecule: every atom was now Darkseid.]

[Now that being—his existence transcends the laws of physics. He inexplicably appears simultaneously in various places.]

[He appeared in Gotham City, Central City, Metropolis, Themyscira, the Rock of Eternity, and Oa.]

[He is not merely a god; he is embodying divinity, magic, and Witchcraft; he is the embodiment of both the wonders and terrors of the Universe.]

Darkseid finally became the form he was destined to become—the End of All Things.

[We successfully combined our time energy to turn back time seven days, but Darkseid has conquered the future and is traveling back in time to this moment.]

[However, this Timeline has become part of our Universe's history. The flames before us at this moment represent Darkseid. We have explored all the variables, but no matter what we try, he will devour everything and move forward. Everything ends here, ends at this moment.]

[I've witnessed the Justice League try thousands and thousands of times, but all of them ended in failure.]

So the only thing you can do is give up and start over.

[But unsurprisingly, they refused outright.]

"What do you mean by starting over?" The Flash asked curiously.

"Use my time energy to create a new Timeline for them," the Time Trapper said.

"Isn't this just running away?" The Flash said.

"That's what the Flash in my world said too," the Time Trapper nodded, "But that means survival."

"So what exactly happened? How did Darkseid become like that?" Batman asked the key question.

"Wait a minute." The Time Trapper loop fiddled with the Pendant on the table for a while, and another video started playing from it.

"Your equipment is quite advanced."

"Thank you for the compliment."

To understand him, you must understand what he is pursuing.

Our Universe is filled with mysterious energies, but since the birth of the Universe, the two most fundamental energies have been the twin energies we call Alpha and Omega.

Alpha is the energy of creation, wild and extremely explosive. Almost all planets with life are powered by Alpha Energy, except for Apokolips.

[At the heart of Apokolips lies a purgatory machine, a core powered by Omega Energy —an energy that represents conquest, assimilation, and control—and when Darkseid sought it billions of years ago, it chose him as its champion.]

From that moment on, he was trying to transform Earth, the most Alpha Energy- rich planet in reality, into a new Apokolips. So, when he was shaping his new Universe, he placed the Heart of Apokolips at the center of the original Earth.

[All the Omega Energy in that realm flowed to him—making him absolute.]

Therefore, he became the Omega King of that Universe.

[The embodiment of all Omega Energy, a walking Singularity capable of altering everything around him.]

"Interesting." Green Lantern had a bold idea. "If the Heart of Apokolips formed at the center of your Earth, could we..."

Could it be used to turn one of us into the Omega King?

"Theoretically feasible, which is precisely why I came to you," said the Time Trapper. "That heart has a Universe- level connection with Darkseid, so we used the Booster Gold, who had been imprisoned by Darkseid for many years and whose body was filled with Omega Energy, to impact that heart with that energy, performing a Universe- level defibrillation. That heart, in order to find a champion, reshaped itself and created a tournament."

"Another competition," Green Lantern said eagerly.

"Yes, this will be a competition, a search among you for the ultimate conqueror, a champion." The Time Trapper nodded. "One of you must defeat all the others, and then defeat the Core itself, to prove your worth. At that time, the Universe will yield to you, and you will become the sole supreme being."

"So that's why you've come to our Universe," Batman said. "It seems you're not very confident in the abilities of your own Universe's heroes."

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"Compared to you, indeed," the Time Trapper said frankly, "To win, you must fill the core's fiery pit to match Darkseid's power, which means you must fight with all your might to win the game, without Compassion, without compassion—their bottom line is still too high."