At the center of the Speed Force storm of gold and red, the concepts of time and space have become blurred.
In Diana and the others' almost frozen perception, Thor and the Red Death had transformed into two elusive streaks of light, each collision resulting in thousands of real attacks and defenses.
Fist, palm, elbow, knee—each contact contains kinetic energy powerful enough to tear reality apart, yet they are tightly bound together by each other's Speed Force.
Mars flew from the crimson armor, and for the first time, the Red Death's overlapping voice took on a solemn tone. "You are not from this universe... The Batman Who Laughs mentioned you, an unexpected troublemaker."
"A troublemaker?" Thor's figure abruptly stopped after a brief exchange, golden-red lightning coalescing around him into ancient armor patterns. He grabbed the fist that the Red Death was swinging at him, his voice tinged with the mockery of an elder.
"No, I'm just here to resolve some internal family conflicts and teach a lesson to a disobedient junior."
The Red Death tried to break free, but found that the other's hand was like an iron clamp, and no matter how much he activated his Speed Force, it did not budge.
He was utterly enraged. "So what if you really are Thomas Wayne? My world is destroyed! No one can stop me! Not even my father!"
Well said.
Thor nodded approvingly, then his other hand rose without warning, crackling with golden Speed Force, and slapped the Red Death's helmet squarely.
"Smack!"
A deafeningly clear bang, so crisp it even drowned out the roar of the Speed Force storm.
The Red Death was sent flying by this unreasonable force, tumbling through the air a dozen times, his mind buzzing.
He's the Speedster! Batman who combines all the speed of the Flash! How could he... get slapped?
Before he could adjust his posture, a golden-red figure appeared beside him like a shadow.
"Being distracted during battle is not a good habit, my son."
Thor's voice seemed to ring in his ear, followed by a knee strike imbued with pure power, ruthlessly slamming into the Red Death's lumbar spine.
"Snap!"
The waist armor of the Crimson Armor shattered instantly, and the intense pain caused Bruce's consciousness within the Red Death to momentarily lapse.
But in that very instant, Thor beneath him felt the physical presence of that body vanish abruptly.
Taking advantage of the moment he was severely injured, the Red Death forcibly activated molecular vibration, transforming himself into a phantom and passing through Thor's restraints.
His goal was clear: since this fake "father" was too tough to crack, he would deal with the weaker ones like Barry Allen first!
Once he absorbs the Flash from the Prime Universe, his Speed Force will be fully restored, and then...
Seeing the Red Death break free and charge straight at him, Barry immediately assumed a fighting stance, golden lightning crackling across his body, preparing for a desperate battle with this version of himself from the Dark Multiverse.
However, the anticipated collision did not occur.
The crimson lightning bolt stopped abruptly less than half a meter away from him.
It was as if an invisible hand had seized their fate by the throat.
Barry looked closely and realized that a large hand covered in black and gold nanotech armor had somehow grabbed the Red Death by the neck, forcibly pulling him out of his speed state and leaving him suspended in mid-air.
Thor's figure slowly appeared, his tone tinged with impatience. "I told you, this is a family education issue. Kids who misbehave need to be disciplined."
Before he finished speaking, he clenched his other hand into a fist and unleashed a barrage of heavy punches on the Red Death's abdomen.
Each punch made the space vibrate, and fragments of crimson armor flew everywhere.
This is no longer a battle; it's a one-sided beating.
"My God..." Barry stared in disbelief, muttering unconsciously, "I never imagined... this Bruce could be so violent."
"He's not Bruce," Diana's calm voice rang out from the side, her gaze fixed on Thor. "He's Bruce's father, Thomas Wayne."
Barry was stunned, his mind racing, and a world he had created, buried deep in his heart, surfaced before his eyes.
It took him a while to react, and he said in a complicated tone, "Then... that's not surprising, Thomas Wayne... he's always been violent."
Diana turned to him, a hint of inquiry in her voice. "You know him?"
"I... didn't I tell you? I created a ' Flashpoint ' to save my mother..."
Barry explained bitterly, "In that universe, when the Wayne were robbed, Bruce died. His parents survived. His father, Thomas Wayne, became Batman. A... Batman with no no-kill policy. Many of Gotham City's villains were killed by his own hands."
He paused, then added, "In the end, it was he who personally killed Reverse-Flash, allowing me to correct the timeline and return to our own world."
At this point, Barry scratched his head, looked at " Thomas " in the distance who was using the Red Death as a punching bag, and said in a dreamlike tone:
"To be honest, I never imagined that one day we'd have to rely on Bruce's father to save the universe... Speaking of which, if Bruce knew his dad saved us, would he... cry?"
"Impossible." Arthur, clutching the trident, touched his still-aching cheek and forced out the words through gritted teeth, " Bruce hardly ever smiles, and you expect to see him cry?"
Diana thought for a while before saying thoughtfully, "Perhaps... Bruce will secretly cry."
"Actually, I've seen Batman smile," Barry suddenly said.
Arthur and Diana both looked at him.
"His laugh... was like Xenomorph's." Barry shuddered, still shaken.
Arthur and Diana exchanged a glance and instantly understood who Barry was referring to— the Batman Who Laughs, who had dragged the entire multiverse into a nightmare.
The two spoke at the same time, saying in unison, "Perhaps there's a reason why Bruce doesn't laugh."
In the short time they were chatting, that one-sided "family education" session had already come to an end.
"Bang!"
The Red Death was like a bag of tattered trash, which Thor casually tossed in front of everyone.
His crimson armor had completely shattered, revealing his battered body beneath, which flickered between reality and illusion, as if it might vanish at any moment.
Beneath the mask, the madness and obsession in those crimson eyes were fading, leaving only endless weariness and unyielding regret.
He struggled to stand up, but he didn't even have the strength to lift a finger.
The internal struggle between the two opposing forces of consciousness had reached its limit.
Bruce's (dominant) voice rang out hoarsely, tinged with a self-deprecating sneer; he had given up the struggle.
"I relentlessly pursued speed... thinking that as long as I was fast enough, I could prevent all loss... In the end, I still had nothing."
Deep within his consciousness, another faint whisper, belonging to Earth-52 Barry Allen, echoed softly:
"I told you long ago... Bruce... speed can't fill the void of sorrow."
His life force and Speed Force were rapidly fading; Bruce's vision was beginning to blur. With his last breath, he whispered his final words:
"If... I had a second chance... I hope... I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of plundering power..."
Thor walked up to him, looking down at the fading Dark Knight, and calmly said, "There will be opportunities, my child. My city is lacking some management talent."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Red Death's body could no longer maintain its form and completely collapsed.
Instead of turning into specks of light, he disintegrated into countless dark and corrupted Speed Force particles, which, filled with resentment and despair, were blown away by the wind and completely dissipated in the city he had personally torn apart.
Thus, the third Dark Knight, the Red Death, died!