What bad thoughts can Batman have?

Chapter 1000 I Killed Batman: But Batman and Death Have a Connection (6000-word long chapter)
Dr. Manhattan might think he understands the DC multiverse. After living in the DC multiverse for so long, including completing many major experiments such as stealing ten years from the DC multiverse, he would naturally begin to feel that he already knows the DC multiverse well enough.

In the Doomsday Bell event of the comics Chen Tao had read, Dr. Manhattan conducted his most adventurous and insane experiment.

He wanted to test what would happen if he used his absolute strength to force Superman to punch him.
Dr. Manhattan could not foresee the reality that would follow this event. He believed there were only two possible causes: either the DC multiverse was destroyed, or he, Dr. Manhattan, died.

Power cannot be created out of thin air. If superheroes can defeat villains, especially by using power far exceeding their own, then it means that the DC multiverse must have balanced the forces of good and evil, achieving a balance of yin and yang.

He wanted to know the upper limit of the DC multiverse's system of heroes defeating villains and constantly generating a sense of crisis, but now, Batman Dragon has given him a try.

You see, this is the biggest change that Batman: Dragon brought to Doctor Manhattan, far exceeding anything else.

The reason you experimented on yourself was because you couldn't find any other test subjects, but Batman: Dragon helped you bring Perpetual out.

He showed you how one could single-handedly confront the entire DC multiverse and face its backlash, and...

What will be the final outcome of all this?

So, Dr. Manhattan awaits the end of the story. That end will depend on whether he can continue his experiments, and in what way.

But at least Dr. Manhattan doesn't actually understand the death system of the DC multiverse yet. Or rather, let's put it this way: unless you experience it firsthand, no one can understand the entirety of the multiverse through observation alone, at least...

So now.

……

……

……

Papetua was very weak.

The punch delivered by Batman Dragon, carrying the weight of everyone in the DC multiverse, weakened Perpetua to an unimaginable degree, leaving her desperately in need of an energy boost.

This may sound a little funny, but the Mother of the Multiverse needs to replenish her energy. As long as there is no interference from Batman Dragon or his rebellious sons, can't Papetua just create a reality that is favorable to him?
No, if she could freely access the energy of the DC multiverse without anyone stopping her, then Papetua wouldn't have been sealed onto the Origin Wall by the Eagle Judge.

The Mother of the Multiverse is like a skinny person who has been starving for a long time. If she were to suddenly start eating a large meal, she would easily burst. She needs a bowl of thin porridge to help her recover, at least to regain the strength to move, and then regain control of the entire DC multiverse to continuously generate crisis power to strengthen herself.

Well, now we've found Papetua.

What a coincidence! This is the Essence Meeting.

The members of the Essence Society are mostly Olympian gods from different parallel universes, plus a small number of supervillains and a very small number of superheroes. Most of them have abandoned their responsibilities and are trying to escape from the DC multiverse to the Watchmen universe to avoid the great danger of Batman Dragon fighting Perpetua.

As a result, when they arrived in the Watchmen universe, Batman Dragon caught them red-handed and handed them over to the Void Hand to be NPCs in his created stories, to help him increase his power to fight Doctor Manhattan.

Finally, the Void Hand obtained Batman Dragon's help in exchange for fighting the Mother of the Multiverse, thus escaping from the Watchmen universe. He also took these essences with him from the Watchmen universe as NPCs he might need, and secretly hid them within his body.

The Void Hand and Batman Dragon joined forces to punch Perpetua, severely injuring him and making it impossible for him to maintain the essence within his body. Thus, the essence was completely freed from the control of the Void Hand.

They fled in chaos after the violent roar, but fortunately they were all on the same planet, making it easy to escape to other fragments of the multiverse.

Well, it's still not very convenient.

With a deafening roar, the Essence Society and their giant planet finally landed on a relatively large fragment of the multiverse. All around were shattered planets, and occasionally the unfortunate corpses of some kind of aliens floated in space.

Batman's Dragon punch represents the collapse of a hyper-timeline reality, causing only spacetime distortion. Although the fragments of different multiverses are separated, from the perspective of the beings on these fragments, they are still very close.

However, the Essence Society's actions were entirely for the purpose of occupying the space within this fragment. They forcibly crushed someone else's planet. In short, when the corpses of innocent aliens and fragments of their home planet crossed the barrier and drifted towards other fragments, the Essence Society's planet was already engulfed in a sea of ​​jubilation.

Most of the members of the Essence Society were Olympian gods, who laughed wildly as they celebrated their escape.

For them, it was just another successful escape from danger; neither Batman: The Dragon nor Perpetua mattered to them.

No matter how others fight, it cannot ignite any passion in their hearts.

And at the moment when the cheers reached their peak...

They saw the enormous face of the Mother of the Multiverse.

Ugh!

The Mother of the Multiverse bit off half of that giant planet in one go, just like eating an apple—it was unseemly and unpleasant.

Crack, crack, crack, crack... Countless defenses erected by gods and others shattered under Perpetua's bites. All they could do was make it less palatable for Perpetua to chew.

In fact, if the many gods of the Essence Society had joined forces, they would have had a chance to withstand Perpetua's first attack. After all, he had just recovered and was not that strong. They could have easily become tough opponents. However, while Perpetua was attacking, they split into two factions: one to negotiate with Perpetua and the other to run away. This caused them to lose the opportunity to cooperate.

Well……

Chew, chew, chew...

Papetua remained expressionless.

If Batman Dragon's punch hadn't weakened her so much, Papetua would never have used such an ungraceful posture to absorb energy.

“Lord Papetul! Papetul…”

Ok?
Papetua seemed to hear something nutritious on the apple speaking.

“…Great Mother of the Multiverse, you cannot simply devour us all like this; it will cause problems…”

Papetua lowered her head and saw, in a tiny detail on the apple, a small blue man bowing deeply to her:

"The Essence Society has now gathered almost all the Olympian gods and their counterparts from the DC multiverse. Once they all die, the seal on the goddess of magic, Hecate, will loosen..."

The Essence, sweating profusely, tried to explain everything to Perpetua, but the Father beside him could no longer bear it. He tried to fly out of the giant planet like a streak of light and escape into the depths of the DC multiverse, and this action immediately attracted Perpetua's attention.

"Don't even think about it."

Perpetua stretched out his palm and swatted at the Father as if swatting a mosquito, and the Essence of Gance let out a desperate roar: "No! Damn it, you can't just leave like this..."

Ganser's rage soared to the heavens.

He wasn't lying. The magical power of the Olympian gods, or rather, all concepts of magic in the DC multiverse, were not native to the Olympian world. They originated from the goddess of magic, Hecate. The Olympian gods stole her magical power, sealed her away, and continuously reinforced that seal.

But the seal is not secure. She has released a little bit of her hidden power many times, and even left her reflection in the Dark Multiverse.

(Note: Empress Hecate, who appeared at the beginning of Volume 5)
If the multiverse's mother, Perpetua, were to kill most of the Olympian gods here, it would cause the seal on the goddess of magic, Hecate, to completely loosen, thus releasing her.

Isn't this a huge threat to you, Mother of the Multiverse? I'm stopping you now to help you and prevent you from creating an adversary for yourself!
More importantly, Hecate's magical power did not belong to her; it was stolen from the Outer God [The Hanged Man], who lived outside the DC multiverse.

If the goddess of magic is the thief, and the Olympian gods are the robbers who double-crossed and robbed the thief, then the Hanged Man is the true victim.

Once you attract the other party to the DC multiverse, what good will that do you, Papetua?

Ganser firmly believed that as long as he explained everything to Perpetua, the latter would rationally spare his and the other magic users' lives. But all of this had been ruined by the Heavenly Father's attempt to escape. What if Perpetua refused to listen to him anymore? This was such a foolish death!

He raised his hand, and the green light energy gathered in his palm, materializing into a javelin that pierced through the departing Father. He had to stop him before he could have a chance to continue explaining to Papetua!

This dog-eat-dog situation caused Papetua, the mother of the multiverse, to pause in her actions, giving the Heavenly Father an opportunity.

He endured the attack of the essence of the demon, sacrificing all his teammates at the cost of injury. He quickly tore through space and then, through a fragment of the multiverse, teleported to an unknown depth in the multiverse.

Papetua was too lazy to chase after him.

"The gods are hiding an important secret: the Mother of the Multiverse..."

Click.

Amidst a violent scream, Papetua contentedly devoured the apple in two bites.

Although there were resistances, such as those from characters like the Phantom Assassin or Hera, some of whom even caused real trouble for Perpetua, the final outcome was fortunately unchanged.

Feeling the abundant energy, Papetua was in a very good mood.

She never expected that such a group of false gods could replenish so much power for her after being devoured. She originally thought that at most it would only restore her mobility, but the result was better than she imagined.

A significant portion of the energy was not actually taken by Perpetua, but leaked into the depths of the DC multiverse, though the Mother of the Multiverse did not seem to care.

Anyway, Batman Dragon is finished, Void Hand has been forced to retreat, and her three sons are probably plotting how to escape the multiverse, no longer daring to be her enemies.

Wherever that energy goes, it remains in the DC multiverse; it's just a matter of time before it's collected.

After destroying Batman Dragon, Perpetua quickly relaxed. Perhaps the Essence of Ganther did intend to say something, but the Multiverse Mother Perpetua no longer cared.

Once she discovered that there was no power in this multiverse that could threaten her, she had nothing to worry about as long as Dr. Manhattan didn't intervene.

If she had been a little cautious just now, that caution had vanished as she absorbed the power of the Olympian gods and regained her mobility.

Papetua has confirmed several times that Batman Dragon has indeed gone to his death, not the Black Death Emperor, but the most primal death.

Unless he has a connection with death, he will never have another chance to crawl out of the graveyard.

It's not easy.

Papetua never imagined that simply taking the step of reclaiming his own universe would be so difficult.

Trapped on the Origin Wall for countless days and nights, Papetua's deepest fear and hatred was for the Eagle Judge who utterly defeated him. However, Papetua never doubted that as long as she came down from the wall, she could successfully reclaim the entire universe.

From the Crisis on Infinite Earths to the Final Crisis, Papetova, though not in the DC multiverse, has her whispers echoing throughout the history of the DC multiverse.

Everyone was once her plaything, her offspring Anti-Monitor, Parallax Morhal, Superman Supreme, and even Barbatos. They continued to follow the trajectory set by Perpetua before she was sealed on the Origin Wall, constantly creating crises for her so that she could escape.

The Mother of the Multiverse has always looked down from a high place, overlooking the DC multiverse...

But facing Batman Dragon, the feeling of not knowing what the opponent had prepared was a completely new experience for Papetua. During their confrontations, he had witnessed his opponent pull out a backup plan many times, saying, "Haha, this is all part of my plan!"

Is this fucking reasonable?

Fortunately, the other party is now dead.

This profound sense of powerlessness, so different from that of the eagle judge, has finally completely left Papetua.

puff!
Papetua chuckled softly again, and then her lips gradually parted into a wide grin.

"I won!"

"I killed Batman—ho ho ho…I killed Batman!"

She whispered in the empty Arkham Asylum, she was...

Wait, where is she?
Papetua was horrified.

"No way."

Papetuard stayed.

The flow of time is surging, a vast, low murmur.

She turned her head and saw the Void Hand Warrior standing in front of the Witch of Perpetual: "Batman will never be defeated by you, you piece of trash."

His voice merges with a story from beyond countless spaces and times, a story from a trans-temporal stream—the final blow of Batman Dragon, the story he wrote for Papetua…

And everyone plays the ultimate role in it.

"damn it!"

When Papetua saw Parallax Morhal, Superman Supreme, and the others appear at the edge of his field of vision, with Genie I and the three brothers from the 6th Dimension following closely behind, an inexplicable and uncontrollable rage began to fill his heart.

It's always been this way, this is why Batman Dragon can never learn to give up, even in death.

This is absolutely none of your responsibility, so why can't you just admit defeat?

"Batman will never lose."

Papetua heard those people say to him.

“Are you an idiot—I took down Batman!” she roared at the crowd that had surrounded her. Everyone was exhausted, but Papetour was in the best shape.

She could have quickly killed the enemies who surrounded her, but the power of the story stopped her, as did Papetua's own rage.

Papetua berated her rebellious sons, saying, "Foolish! I didn't even come to settle accounts with you, yet you dare to come back and show yourselves before me?"

The three brothers, gods of the sixth dimension, remained silent.

Then the World Maker sighed.

“Mother, our mother, you created us, don’t you understand? You gave us the ability to see the future, you gave us unparalleled talents and abilities, therefore... we will always be on the side of victory.”

Then the World Forger said, "Let me do it."

"Batman will never be defeated." The World Maker smiled, just as when the Bat King ascended the throne, it was often his favorite courtier who read the imperial edict.

Even if the jester is not here now, and the World Maker takes over his role in the story, he still has to pretend to be the other person. Is this Batman's twisted sense of humor, or the Pale Man's eternal love for that black bat?

I don't know, but that's how the story is written, whether it was Batman or the Joker who came up with it.

The World Forger chanted softly, and his ethereal voice, piercing through the DC multiverse, resonated in the ears of the Batman Who Laughs, guided by the power of story:

"Even though he has fallen, it was because he wanted to fall, he needed to fall. You're the fool."

"No! Shut your stinking mouth!" x2
The Bat of Laughter roared almost simultaneously with Papetua, but this could not stop the story from coming to an end.

"Batman will defeat you."

"No! You're just a loser who refuses to accept the truth."

“And the fact is, I won! The DC multiverse belongs to me!” Papetua declared. “I am your creator!”

"You are indeed our creator, but this multiverse has given us so much."

The monitor said so.

“No, I should be the one to devour the entire DC multiverse!” the Anti-Monitor said from the side.

Let's ignore him for now.

"It's time to give back to her."

“Everyone,” the World Maker said, “today, in Batman’s absence, right now, we should fulfill our duty in the story… shouldn’t we?”

"madness!"

Papetua kept his mouth shut as much as possible, knowing that whatever he said would be drawn into the story Batman: Dragon had written for him.

All she has to do now is slaughter these people. Papetua has just finished reading about the history of Batman Dragon and knows what kind of story Batman Dragon wants to use the power of the Void Hand to create.

This story isn't without its flaws. Batman's dragon is dead, and the Batman Who Laughs has fled. If Batman doesn't appear as expected, the story can't continue. Furthermore, they can't just find anyone to replace Batman. Perpetual still has a chance…

Does it really exist? The moment that thought crossed Papetora's mind, she already knew the answer.

Batman: Dragon will not leave any gaps.

“Okay, okay. I know you’re Bane, I know that very well.”

Then Papetua heard a voice behind her head. The voice that filled her with rage and utter helplessness.

"But I think you've forgotten..."

"I am Batman!"

Bruce Wayne, the Batman of the main universe, has now entered the battlefield after filling the void in Batman's identity!

……

……

……

at the same time.

"No, I don't want to go...!"

"Stop hugging my legs, it's no use."

Death was already exhausted, and she tried her best to reason: "I really think bargaining is the most difficult part to deal with. Can you please stop being like this and speak more rationally?"

"You are death. You can delay taking others away completely, can't you?"

"This really doesn't go against my instincts..."

"After all, I still have two timeline restarts left to use."

“Yes, it is precisely because of these two restart opportunities that you now have the chance to bargain with me here,” Death said.

Chen Tao also stopped struggling. He said in a low voice, "I need to save one more chance to restart the timeline. Otherwise, once I use up all three, all the beings in the DC multiverse will be taken away by you at the same time. Even if I defeat Papetua, it will be meaningless."

“This is the price you pay for toying with me,” Death said. “Yes, I will take them away; I cannot go against my own nature.”

"So although I have two more chances to restart, in reality I only have one."

Chen Tao said, "Only once."

Then he heard Death say:
"Do not."

"what?"

"Actually, it's still three times. After the three times are over, I should start taking away every creature in the DC multiverse one by one, one after another."

He said the word "death" slowly and deliberately.

"I can take them all at once, or I can take them one by one."

"If you restart the universe quickly enough, I won't be able to take more people with me, because I won't have time to take you all before you are all resurrected—I have already fulfilled my duty to take you all, but I was a little slow in doing so, while you were resurrected too quickly."

Death said, “But do you know what this means? It means I have to take one of you with me, because I can take you all slowly, but I can’t not start, understand?”

Chen Tao gripped Death's thigh.

"clear."

He said so.

At least he's still holding onto his leg, so he still has a chance.

One of the few opportunities available.

(End of this chapter)