Batman stared at the outstretched hand, rainwater trickling down the texture of his black glove.
What dimension of power is this? A deal with demons? A trick by higher-dimensional beings? Or the materialization of some unknown cosmic rule?
What If...? I refuse, will the other party immediately take back these three lives?
What If...? I agree, will Gotham become this man's private playground?
Beneath the blast-proof cloak, muscles were taut, and behind the tactical goggles, a miniature computer was frantically analyzing the residual green energy in the air, the screen filled with a string of gibberish and error messages.
It's flawless, illogical, and devoid of any common sense about physics.
How much do you want?
Batman lowered his voice, his Adam's apple bobbing, and he practically squeezed the words out between his teeth.
Thor tossed the tin of mints in his hand, making a crisp clinking sound.
How much do you think their lives are worth?
Damian had just climbed out of the mud, and the dent in his chest was now completely unmarked.
Cassandra touched her flat stomach, while Stephanie stared blankly at her hands.
The three little birds stood there alive, their body heat radiating even in the downpour.
Batman flicked his wrist, and a solid black metal card slid out from a hidden compartment in his tactical belt.
He pinched the card between two fingers, exerted force with his wrist, and the black card sliced through the rain, flying precisely towards Thor.
"This card has a credit limit of 100 million."
Thor raised two fingers and firmly held the black card between them; the pure gold bat logo gleamed under the streetlights.
That Old Bat is really rich and powerful.
"There's something else I need your help with."
Batman's jawline was clenched into a sharp line; this request went against his usual principles.
Demanding favors from a terrifying entity whose background is unknown is tantamount to handing over your own neck after washing it clean.
But that green light was too unreasonable.
That is an absolute authority that transcends life and death.
"Helping Barbara stand up is no big deal."
Thor stuffed the black card into his pocket without even hesitating.
Batman's breath hitched for half a second.
He really can read minds!
Thor raised his right hand.
He casually drew a circle in the air with his index finger.
A wisp of green energy, even purer and more concentrated than before, took shape at her fingertips.
The green light transformed into a shooting star, soaring straight into the sky and instantly tearing apart the long-standing gloom over Gotham, hurtling towards the Wayne Manor.
Deep inside the Batcave.
The enormous supercomputer screen flickered with a ghostly blue glow.
Barbara, still in her wheelchair, was typing furiously on the keyboard, trying to restore Arkham's surveillance signal.
A beam of green light ignored the dozens of meters thick blast-proof lead layer in the Batcave, penetrating the rock wall and disappearing into her spine.
Warm.
grow numb.
Broken neurons reconnect within milliseconds, and atrophied muscle fibers grow wildly and become congested with blood.
Barbara was stunned.
Support yourself with both hands on the wheelchair armrests.
Knees bent.
Exert force.
Stand up straight.
" Bruce..."
In Arkham Square, a voice burst with barely suppressed elation over Batman's comms.
" Bruce! I can stand up now!"
The communication device was very loud, and several people nearby could hear it clearly.
Jason the Red Hood dropped his dual pistols, the barrels hitting the puddle and splashing up a ring of mud.
The dead came back to life, and the paralyzed stood up.
This is the true god, so powerful and so unreasonable.
Shayera clutched her broken left wing, leaning against a broken stone pillar.
The technology of Planet Thanagar is advanced enough to traverse galaxies, but it is absolutely incapable of reversing life and death.
This man had been watching the show the whole time.
It wasn't that he couldn't defeat those monsters; he simply couldn't be bothered to do so.
Thor cracked his neck, his knuckles making a few sharp sounds.
"If you take someone's money, you're obligated to solve their problems. Here's a free cleaning service for you."
Thor pointed one finger at the night sky.
Boom--!
The thunderclouds above Arkham went berserk instantly.
What was originally an ordinary downpour was forcibly interrupted by a terrifying force.
Deep within the clouds, purple lightning bolts darted about wildly.
The Law of Thunder. The Law of Destruction.
Two Multiverse Level forces converged in the clouds.
The concentration of ozone in the air skyrocketed, and static electricity made everyone's hair stand on end.
"Oh, Lisher! My God..."
Huntress Helena looked up; rain lashed against her goggles, revealing a vision of impending doom.
No villains were given a chance to beg for mercy.
Hundreds upon hundreds of bolts of purple lightning, as thick as buckets, poured down.
Precision guidance.
Black Mask hiding behind cover.
Scarecrow waving a gas canister.
The Two-Face is frantically trying to escape.
Killer Croc, Clayface, and Brick Wall, just crawling up from the ground.
Even Joker in abandoned sewers several kilometers away.
A flash of purple light.
There were no screams, no shockwaves from the explosion.
Not even a drop of blood was spilled.
The moment the lightning struck, the thugs, along with their weapons and clothes, were completely vaporized at the molecular level.
Arkham Square, which was crowded and chaotic just a moment ago, became deserted the next.
Not a speck of ash remained in the muddy water.
Absolute annihilation.
Red Hood Jason whirled around to look at the spot where Bane had just fallen; there was only a crater scorched by lightning.
He opened his mouth, and a meaningless hissing sound came out of his throat.
I wanted to swear, but my vocabulary suddenly gave out, so I could only shut my mouth and swallow hard.
Huntress Helena slung her crossbow behind her back and strode over to Thor.
"Thanks."
She raised her chin and looked at the casually dressed man.
"And you did a great job. I really like it. These scum should have Hell long ago."
Thor raised an eyebrow. This girl's temperament was quite to his liking; at least she wasn't like some sleazy guy who just liked to play house with a bunch of lunatics all day.
Batman remained kneeling on the ground, his riot cape fluttering in the wind.
His brain was completely overloaded.
The principle of not killing? Procedural justice?
Faced with the purple lightning that this man casually summoned, Gotham's decades-old criminal ecosystem was physically wiped out.
Green Lantern's analysis at the League meeting was correct.
Faced with an existence of this caliber, all of the Justice League's tactical plans are utterly useless.
It has no weakness like Kryptonite, requires no magical medium, and doesn't even have a casting cost.
Batman slowly stood up, his knee armor scraping against the gravel.
He looked at the empty Arkham, at the lively Damian, and at Barbara's steady heart rate on the communicator.
"Thanks."
Dry, stiff, and lifeless.
For the Dark Knight of Gotham to utter those two words was more painful than death itself.
Geostationary orbit, Justice League Watchtower.
On the giant holographic projection screen in the main control room, an image of Arkham Square was displayed.
Dead silence.
You could hear a pin drop.
The Flash Wally, the Flash, was glued to the screen, his finger trembling as he pointed at Batman on the screen.
"Look! Did you hear that?!"
Wally turned his head; his red suit was extremely dazzling under the lights.
" Bruce actually said thank you! He actually thanked someone!"
"This is even rarer than Superman wearing pink underwear!"
Unfortunately, no one responded to his comment.
Superman Clark Kent stands with his arms crossed over his chest, his red cape draped behind him.
His superhuman eyesight and hearing allowed him to see everything that Gotham.
Resurrection. Annihilation.
There is no indication of energy conservation.
Clark involuntarily clenched his fist. What If...? this man attacked the Metropolis, how many seconds could he hold him off?
Wonder Woman Diana stands in front of the control panel, the Sword of Hephaestus sheathed, the veins on the back of her hand clearly visible.
Her demigod physique, which she was so proud of, probably wouldn't have lasted even a fraction of a second against that purple lightning.
There was absolutely no hope of winning.
J'onn the Martian Manhunter had his eyes closed, his green skin appearing even more somber under the screen's fluorescent light.
I still can't read any of his thoughts.
J'onn opened his eyes, his voice filled with deep exhaustion.
Green Lantern John Stewart twirled the Green Lantern Ring on his hand, its eerie green light flickering intermittently.
I already said that.
John stared at Thor on the screen.
"As long as we don't cause him trouble, he won't cause us trouble either."
Gotham, Arkham Island.
The torrential rain finally stopped.
The clouds dispersed, revealing the pale moonlight.
Thor pulled his hand out of his pocket and stretched.
The fight was over, and the money was collected.
Even though Gotham City is run-down, it still needs some decent late-night snacks, right?
I was just about to ask the Huntress where there were good hot dogs nearby.
A voice that completely disregarded spatial distance and physical medium exploded in the depths of Thor's mind without warning.
Extremely elegant, extremely arrogant.
It has a strange texture that blends sulfur and rose.
It was Lucifer Morning Star.
" Thor."
The voice slowly and deliberately uttered his name.
Thor stopped what he was doing, and the thirty-odd laws in his mind simultaneously emitted a soft buzzing sound.
He has only one request for you.
Lucifer's words echoed in Thor's subconscious.
"As long as nothing catastrophic enough to destroy the multiverse."
"You can destroy a universe if you want, so be it."