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Chapter 318 Head Count Issue
The situation on Earth-2 seemed even worse than Orin Vale had initially imagined, but he wasn't too surprised.
Compared to the main world, it was an unluckier world. In fact, that world was even more technologically advanced than the main one. Their Superman and Batman had started earlier, possessing greater combat experience and strength. But that world had no Justice League; even Green Lantern and The Flash only appeared after the war.
And during the time Power Girl and Huntress were stranded in this world, the situation had likely deteriorated even further.
If things followed the original comic's plot, Apokolips wasn't defeated. Batman of Earth-2's final, dying struggle had locked down all Mother Box teleportation, making their world inaccessible. This was also why no more invaders arrived for a time.
But all he had managed to do was buy them some time. The invaders found a way to break the lockdown and returned with a vengeance. And this time, there was no Superman, no Batman, and no Wonder Woman. The people of this world, who had just seen a glimmer of hope, thought this might be the dawn after the nightmare, not realizing it was merely the prologue to hell.
The true despair was yet to come.
Orin Vale got a general understanding of the situation, and Power Girl enthusiastically shared her research on the quantum tunnel with him. It had to be said that as a Kryptonian from a family of scientists, with the boost from her super-brain, her research over the years had indeed made decent progress. Orin Vale instinctively felt that some of her experimental data and theories might be the key to a breakthrough.
In fact, in his view, Power Girl's current concept was already quite mature. Many aspects of her quantum tunnel's construction coincided with the model Orin Vale himself had established. Yet she said that all experiments to date had failed without exception, and the key issue, in Orin Vale's opinion, was likely the energy source.
All they needed was a sufficiently powerful energy source capable of traversing space.
Like the Speed Force, for instance.
Orin Vale and Barry's current research had already enabled them to successfully travel through time—a fact they had already verified. Multiversal travel was still only a theory, but many principles should be transferable.
Orin Vale felt that if he connected the cosmic treadmill he designed to Power Girl's quantum tunnel, and then asked The Flash to personally work his magic... ah, no, to run at lightspeed and release Speed Force energy to power it...
This problem might be easier to solve than imagined.
The next day, when the Justice League met at the coffee shop for their regular get-together, Orin Vale found Barry after their meeting and brought up the matter.
"You're talking about... multiversal travel!?"
Barry's eyes widened in excitement upon hearing this.
"Oh my god, the multiverse is real? I mean... I've heard the theory, but I've never seen any scholar confirm it. You're saying we could really have a chance to go to another universe, another Earth, and... another me?"
Barry was a tech geek, after all, and the exploration of the unknown was an instinct etched into the DNA of every scientist. In the original DC Comics canon, Barry Allen was the first character to successfully travel the multiverse. The Flash was a milestone figure in establishing the very concept of the multiverse.
So, although Barry himself didn't realize it, when it came to traversing the barriers between worlds in the DC Universe, no one was more of an expert.
"Wait," Barry suddenly frowned. "If there are more of me in a parallel world, they wouldn't be bad guys, would they?"
Nearby, Hal sat with his legs crossed, sipping his coffee. He said with a grin, "You? A bad guy? Give me a break. I think there's a nine-in-ten chance the Bat is, though. Who knows? I didn't think he looked like a good guy the first time I met him. If you told me one day we'd have to fight a bunch of evil Batmen from other worlds, I wouldn't be surprised at all."
Orin Vale glanced sideways at him.
The man's a prophet. Has Hal been secretly reading the DC script?
"But we still have a lot of problems to solve," Barry said, scratching his head. "For example, how do we solve the Third Formula proposed by Terry Sloane in his earliest work on multiverse theory? And DeVoe's Grand Theorem? Also, when the oscillation frequency changes between different worlds, the Semir Cycle needs to be recalculated, right?"
Hal spread his hands. "Great, he's started speaking gibberish again."
"These are all theories proposed by the geniuses of previous generations based on the multiverse model," Barry said earnestly.
"Give me a break, I was never cut out for studying," Hal said, raising his hands in surrender. "My physics class went off the rails back in junior high. I basically slept through it... when I wasn't skipping class."
The strong aura of a slacker emanated from him.
Just then, Stryker, the Kryptonian orange cat, who was floating in mid-air reading an e-book, heard this and couldn't help but wag his tail. He flew down and offered his opinion: "Meow~"
Orin Vale listened patiently to Stryker's opinion and nodded slightly. "He just suggested the Solar Resonance Calculation Method proposed by the Kryptonian scientist Jor-El. It's indeed worth referencing."
Hal: "???"
His eyes widened as he stared in astonishment at the flying cat.
"That cat... It... it..."
"Did you just get schooled by a cat's knowledge reserve? I think so, Hal," Barry said gleefully. "I think his intellectual level is higher than yours."
Hal: "..."
Just then, Superman and Batman walked into the shop side by side. The two were still arguing about something as they entered—well, it was mainly Batman expressing his dissatisfaction, while Superman just kept smiling without talking back.
"I said, my city, my problem," Batman said in a deep voice. "I don't need your help."
"You're right about everything," Superman smiled.
"What happened now?" Kara peeked over.
"Sigh, it's nothing really. Just Bane breaking out of prison, taking city hall and a group of civilians hostage, and getting a bomb that he claimed could nuke Gotham," Superman said, waving his hand dismissively. "It's no big deal."
The others looked at each other in dismay.
"Uh... I don't know how you define 'big deal'," Barry said, "but to me, this problem sounds serious enough."
"It's fine, it's already been resolved," Superman said with a laugh.
He briefly explained the situation to everyone. It went something like this.
Half a day ago.
City Hall and the Gotham City Police Department had been overrun by Bane. The politicians were thrown into prison, while the criminals who should have been behind bars were released and recruited as Bane's new henchmen. The Gotham City Police Department tried to form a SWAT team to launch a raid, but they ended up falling into a trap along with Commissioner Gordon and were sealed underground by Bane.
Mm, just another uneventful night in Gotham City.
Afterward, Bane stood at the podium in City Hall and delivered an impassioned speech to the people he held hostage.
"I'm doing this for your own good! I'm giving the city back to you!" Bane said loudly into the microphone. "I will cut off this city's transportation and blow up all the bridges connecting to the outside world. Then I will return power to your hands. No more fake politicians, no more lies, you can all be truly free!"
"Really? We can do whatever we want?" a reporter asked boldly.
"Of course. Once I liberate Gotham, you will all become masters of the city!" Bane said.
"Then can we move the bomb you're using to hold us hostage out of the city?"
"Uh... that's the only thing you can't do," Bane shook his head.
"Then can we know who has the detonator?"
"Oh, you can't do that either," Bane explained patiently. "This is the most ingenious part of my design! Even I don't know who has the detonator. Can't you see the drama in that?"
"Well, I don't think this game is very fun. I'd like to quit and leave Gotham, is that okay?" the reporter asked again.
Then someone else asked: "Then can we let the SWAT team out from underground?"
"No, you can't do that either," Bane shook his head repeatedly. "It took a lot of effort for me to get them to fall into my trap and lock them in."
The hostages looked at each other.
"So, you won't let us move the bomb, you won't let us leave, you've released all the criminals, and you won't let us have police... and then you say we can do whatever we want," a reporter retorted.
Bane seemed momentarily stumped and was silent for a while.
"Forget it, I've changed my mind. I'll just detonate the bomb now and blow everyone up."
He said, pulling out the detonator.
The crowd immediately broke into a commotion, and some started to scream.
"Liar! The detonator was in his hand the whole time!"
"Stop!"
"..."
However, when the trigger was pulled, nothing happened.
Bane frowned and pressed the trigger hard several times in a row. But there was still no response.
"Blow up, you stupid bomb!"
Under the bewildered gazes of the crowd, Bane furiously mashed the button, click, click, click.
Until a voice rang out from mid-air: "Sorry, pal. The bomb you have called is not in the service area."
Bane looked up and was shocked to see a guy with an 'S' on his chest and a floating red cape, grinning as he floated in mid-air.
"Because I just threw your bomb into the stratosphere."
Bane's pupils contracted. He glared at the floating Superman for a long moment.
Then he gritted his teeth and forced out a sentence.
"This is unfair! I was waiting for Batman!"
"So, I threw away the bomb, Bane was taken down, and the police were freed," Superman said with a cheerful laugh. "A happy ending for all."
"Except for one problem. This isn't your city," Batman said with a cold face.
"Faster than a speeding bullet, remember? It doesn't even take me a minute to fly around the Earth," Superman said, raising his hands. "Besides, I was just passing by."
Hal also laughed and said, "Yeah, you were lucky, Bat. You might have... I'm not sure, maybe you'd have gotten your back broken by that guy named Bane. Or you would have had to fly that bomb out yourself in your plane, and you might not have even gotten away."
"I already had an excellent plan to take down Bane," Batman said coldly. "A plan that didn't involve a 'Kryptonian falling from the sky'."
"Alright, we can talk about these issues later." Orin Vale stepped forward, interrupting their argument over who stole the kill. "I have something else to discuss with you all..."
Orin Vale looked at Batman with a half-smile.
"...about your daughter."
He clearly saw Batman's perpetually expressionless face twitch, as if revealing a fleeting moment of surprise.
At the same time, everyone present turned their gazes in unison toward Old Bat and let out a perfectly synchronized sound.
"Eeeeeh—?"
(end of chapter)
The situation on Earth-2 seemed even worse than Orin Vale had initially imagined, but he wasn't too surprised.
Compared to the main world, it was an unluckier world. In fact, that world was even more technologically advanced than the main one. Their Superman and Batman had started earlier, possessing greater combat experience and strength. But that world had no Justice League; even Green Lantern and The Flash only appeared after the war.
And during the time Power Girl and Huntress were stranded in this world, the situation had likely deteriorated even further.
If things followed the original comic's plot, Apokolips wasn't defeated. Batman of Earth-2's final, dying struggle had locked down all Mother Box teleportation, making their world inaccessible. This was also why no more invaders arrived for a time.
But all he had managed to do was buy them some time. The invaders found a way to break the lockdown and returned with a vengeance. And this time, there was no Superman, no Batman, and no Wonder Woman. The people of this world, who had just seen a glimmer of hope, thought this might be the dawn after the nightmare, not realizing it was merely the prologue to hell.
The true despair was yet to come.
Orin Vale got a general understanding of the situation, and Power Girl enthusiastically shared her research on the quantum tunnel with him. It had to be said that as a Kryptonian from a family of scientists, with the boost from her super-brain, her research over the years had indeed made decent progress. Orin Vale instinctively felt that some of her experimental data and theories might be the key to a breakthrough.
In fact, in his view, Power Girl's current concept was already quite mature. Many aspects of her quantum tunnel's construction coincided with the model Orin Vale himself had established. Yet she said that all experiments to date had failed without exception, and the key issue, in Orin Vale's opinion, was likely the energy source.
All they needed was a sufficiently powerful energy source capable of traversing space.
Like the Speed Force, for instance.
Orin Vale and Barry's current research had already enabled them to successfully travel through time—a fact they had already verified. Multiversal travel was still only a theory, but many principles should be transferable.
Orin Vale felt that if he connected the cosmic treadmill he designed to Power Girl's quantum tunnel, and then asked The Flash to personally work his magic... ah, no, to run at lightspeed and release Speed Force energy to power it...
This problem might be easier to solve than imagined.
The next day, when the Justice League met at the coffee shop for their regular get-together, Orin Vale found Barry after their meeting and brought up the matter.
"You're talking about... multiversal travel!?"
Barry's eyes widened in excitement upon hearing this.
"Oh my god, the multiverse is real? I mean... I've heard the theory, but I've never seen any scholar confirm it. You're saying we could really have a chance to go to another universe, another Earth, and... another me?"
Barry was a tech geek, after all, and the exploration of the unknown was an instinct etched into the DNA of every scientist. In the original DC Comics canon, Barry Allen was the first character to successfully travel the multiverse. The Flash was a milestone figure in establishing the very concept of the multiverse.
So, although Barry himself didn't realize it, when it came to traversing the barriers between worlds in the DC Universe, no one was more of an expert.
"Wait," Barry suddenly frowned. "If there are more of me in a parallel world, they wouldn't be bad guys, would they?"
Nearby, Hal sat with his legs crossed, sipping his coffee. He said with a grin, "You? A bad guy? Give me a break. I think there's a nine-in-ten chance the Bat is, though. Who knows? I didn't think he looked like a good guy the first time I met him. If you told me one day we'd have to fight a bunch of evil Batmen from other worlds, I wouldn't be surprised at all."
Orin Vale glanced sideways at him.
The man's a prophet. Has Hal been secretly reading the DC script?
"But we still have a lot of problems to solve," Barry said, scratching his head. "For example, how do we solve the Third Formula proposed by Terry Sloane in his earliest work on multiverse theory? And DeVoe's Grand Theorem? Also, when the oscillation frequency changes between different worlds, the Semir Cycle needs to be recalculated, right?"
Hal spread his hands. "Great, he's started speaking gibberish again."
"These are all theories proposed by the geniuses of previous generations based on the multiverse model," Barry said earnestly.
"Give me a break, I was never cut out for studying," Hal said, raising his hands in surrender. "My physics class went off the rails back in junior high. I basically slept through it... when I wasn't skipping class."
The strong aura of a slacker emanated from him.
Just then, Stryker, the Kryptonian orange cat, who was floating in mid-air reading an e-book, heard this and couldn't help but wag his tail. He flew down and offered his opinion: "Meow~"
Orin Vale listened patiently to Stryker's opinion and nodded slightly. "He just suggested the Solar Resonance Calculation Method proposed by the Kryptonian scientist Jor-El. It's indeed worth referencing."
Hal: "???"
His eyes widened as he stared in astonishment at the flying cat.
"That cat... It... it..."
"Did you just get schooled by a cat's knowledge reserve? I think so, Hal," Barry said gleefully. "I think his intellectual level is higher than yours."
Hal: "..."
Just then, Superman and Batman walked into the shop side by side. The two were still arguing about something as they entered—well, it was mainly Batman expressing his dissatisfaction, while Superman just kept smiling without talking back.
"I said, my city, my problem," Batman said in a deep voice. "I don't need your help."
"You're right about everything," Superman smiled.
"What happened now?" Kara peeked over.
"Sigh, it's nothing really. Just Bane breaking out of prison, taking city hall and a group of civilians hostage, and getting a bomb that he claimed could nuke Gotham," Superman said, waving his hand dismissively. "It's no big deal."
The others looked at each other in dismay.
"Uh... I don't know how you define 'big deal'," Barry said, "but to me, this problem sounds serious enough."
"It's fine, it's already been resolved," Superman said with a laugh.
He briefly explained the situation to everyone. It went something like this.
Half a day ago.
City Hall and the Gotham City Police Department had been overrun by Bane. The politicians were thrown into prison, while the criminals who should have been behind bars were released and recruited as Bane's new henchmen. The Gotham City Police Department tried to form a SWAT team to launch a raid, but they ended up falling into a trap along with Commissioner Gordon and were sealed underground by Bane.
Mm, just another uneventful night in Gotham City.
Afterward, Bane stood at the podium in City Hall and delivered an impassioned speech to the people he held hostage.
"I'm doing this for your own good! I'm giving the city back to you!" Bane said loudly into the microphone. "I will cut off this city's transportation and blow up all the bridges connecting to the outside world. Then I will return power to your hands. No more fake politicians, no more lies, you can all be truly free!"
"Really? We can do whatever we want?" a reporter asked boldly.
"Of course. Once I liberate Gotham, you will all become masters of the city!" Bane said.
"Then can we move the bomb you're using to hold us hostage out of the city?"
"Uh... that's the only thing you can't do," Bane shook his head.
"Then can we know who has the detonator?"
"Oh, you can't do that either," Bane explained patiently. "This is the most ingenious part of my design! Even I don't know who has the detonator. Can't you see the drama in that?"
"Well, I don't think this game is very fun. I'd like to quit and leave Gotham, is that okay?" the reporter asked again.
Then someone else asked: "Then can we let the SWAT team out from underground?"
"No, you can't do that either," Bane shook his head repeatedly. "It took a lot of effort for me to get them to fall into my trap and lock them in."
The hostages looked at each other.
"So, you won't let us move the bomb, you won't let us leave, you've released all the criminals, and you won't let us have police... and then you say we can do whatever we want," a reporter retorted.
Bane seemed momentarily stumped and was silent for a while.
"Forget it, I've changed my mind. I'll just detonate the bomb now and blow everyone up."
He said, pulling out the detonator.
The crowd immediately broke into a commotion, and some started to scream.
"Liar! The detonator was in his hand the whole time!"
"Stop!"
"..."
However, when the trigger was pulled, nothing happened.
Bane frowned and pressed the trigger hard several times in a row. But there was still no response.
"Blow up, you stupid bomb!"
Under the bewildered gazes of the crowd, Bane furiously mashed the button, click, click, click.
Until a voice rang out from mid-air: "Sorry, pal. The bomb you have called is not in the service area."
Bane looked up and was shocked to see a guy with an 'S' on his chest and a floating red cape, grinning as he floated in mid-air.
"Because I just threw your bomb into the stratosphere."
Bane's pupils contracted. He glared at the floating Superman for a long moment.
Then he gritted his teeth and forced out a sentence.
"This is unfair! I was waiting for Batman!"
"So, I threw away the bomb, Bane was taken down, and the police were freed," Superman said with a cheerful laugh. "A happy ending for all."
"Except for one problem. This isn't your city," Batman said with a cold face.
"Faster than a speeding bullet, remember? It doesn't even take me a minute to fly around the Earth," Superman said, raising his hands. "Besides, I was just passing by."
Hal also laughed and said, "Yeah, you were lucky, Bat. You might have... I'm not sure, maybe you'd have gotten your back broken by that guy named Bane. Or you would have had to fly that bomb out yourself in your plane, and you might not have even gotten away."
"I already had an excellent plan to take down Bane," Batman said coldly. "A plan that didn't involve a 'Kryptonian falling from the sky'."
"Alright, we can talk about these issues later." Orin Vale stepped forward, interrupting their argument over who stole the kill. "I have something else to discuss with you all..."
Orin Vale looked at Batman with a half-smile.
"...about your daughter."
He clearly saw Batman's perpetually expressionless face twitch, as if revealing a fleeting moment of surprise.
At the same time, everyone present turned their gazes in unison toward Old Bat and let out a perfectly synchronized sound.
"Eeeeeh—?"
(end of chapter)
