What bad thoughts can Batman have?

Chapter 980 The Fairy Tale of the Void Hand, but Dr. Manhattan is studying

Everything the Hand of the Void does comes at a price.

Despite using the Ultimate Watcher, the Void Hand undeniably overwhelmed Perpetua in a direct confrontation. When Perpetua finally managed to transform herself from a raspberry back into a colossal goddess, her face ashen, she was momentarily unsure whether she should follow him into the Watchers universe.

The most troublesome problem stems from the unknown; even to the Mother of the Multiverse, Dr. Manhattan is far too mysterious.

Whether it's the Void Hand, Batman Dragon, or the Worldmaker, they all have a clear goal. Papetua can use these goals to determine his attitude towards them, and even try to win them over. Even if he fails to win them over, he can still reach a consensus with Batman Dragon on some issues while being hostile to them.

But Dr. Manhattan was different. Papetua knew that the other party was trying to conduct experiments, but how to conduct these experiments? To what extent should they be carried out?
The only area where Papetua knew far less about Doctor Manhattan than Batman Dragon did. The Void Hand's intrusion into the Watchmen universe was almost entirely orchestrated by Batman Dragon. Apart from the Void Hand using the Ultimate Watcher as a shield when it entered, everything should have been part of Batman Dragon's plan.

So, is she now just supposed to quietly wait outside the DC multiverse, passively awaiting the final outcome?
She turned her head and saw Batman Dragon standing there. In that instant, a thought flashed through Papetua's mind: without the Ultimate Watcher, if she killed Batman Dragon now…

Then, in the next instant, Perpetua saw the three brothers, the sixth-dimensional gods of the DC multiverse, appear beside Batman Dragon. In that instant, the upstream and downstream of the hyperchronic flow were once again filled by these three brothers. Although they were a beat late in appearing beside Batman Dragon, history had now been rewritten to "they weren't a beat late," completely blocking Perpetua's possibility of rewinding the hyperchronic flow to attempt to murder Batman Dragon.

Pappetua suppressed her lingering desire to launch an attack and said in a deep voice, "What do we do now? The Void Hand has entered there. You told me you wouldn't let the Void Hand interfere with our fight, but you let it enter the Watchers universe."

“I was forcibly controlled by him. If I could, I would have pierced his back with a sharp blade,” Chen Tao said sincerely.

This is a lie. Chen Tao originally wanted to try to drag Dr. Manhattan out of the game with the Void Hand. As long as the other party judges that this super-large-scale experiment in the DC multiverse is meaningless and worthless, and that neither Papetua nor the Void Hand is a normal change in the DC multiverse, then everything will be over, and Dr. Manhattan will clean up the mess himself.

But here's the problem: Dr. Manhattan thinks both the Void Hand and Papetua are "normal," and Chen Tao can only categorize them as the blue bald guy whose brain was burned out by quantum power.

But since that's what he thinks, Chen Tao will go along with it and wait until he thinks it's normal. The Void Hand will wipe out his Watchers universe in one fell swoop and directly merge it into the DC main universe, instead of it being a non-stick pan attached to the DC multiverse like it is now. Chen Tao can then use the Watchers universe as a weapon to guide Dr. Manhattan's behavior to a certain extent—no matter how much is said, the core point is that Dr. Manhattan will never watch the Watchers universe dissolve. The DC multiverse is just his experimental field, while the Watchers universe is his home.

Dr. Manhattan was ultimately a transcendent being who had transformed from an ordinary person.

The Void Hand, due to the story contract he himself made, had to devour the Watchers universe in order to absorb one-third of the DC multiverse. He also accepted the blue essence of Superman N52. "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," so he was compelled to do things beneficial to the DC multiverse, thus circling back and forth…

It's time for me to pose a question to you, Dr. Manhattan. While you sit high above, manipulating mortals at will, have you ever thought about...?

One day, you too will face me, this insignificant person.

All of this was done for you, Dr. Manhattan, Outer God high in the sky, Outer God who never shows mercy. I'm curious, what will you do?

Meanwhile, on the Void Hand's side...

When he saw the blue Dr. Manhattan, the hair on his body stood on end.

The blue bald head hovered in mid-air. You felt as if you could defeat him in an instant, yet you also felt as if you would be defeated by him in an instant. This eerie feeling was driving you crazy.

For a moment, the Void Hand didn't even dare to launch an attack. He could use his ability called Storytelling to analyze other gods, including other transcendents, and even influence their actions to some extent, just like Batman Dragon and the Worldmaker before. They didn't voluntarily separate from the Ultimate Watcher, but the Void Hand actively pulled them out—

It wasn't that he didn't want to drag the Ultimate Watcher into the story, but the Ultimate Watcher was too powerful. He needed to suppress another Ultimate Watcher of the same level while suppressing Perpetua. Void Hand was not up to the task, and he wouldn't take such a risk.

Now, facing Dr. Manhattan, Void Hand felt that the opponent seemed even more terrifying than Perpetua was now. He tried to analyze Dr. Manhattan using his storytelling abilities, which would help him draw the opponent into his own story once he made a move, creating more favorable conditions for himself. As he was thinking this, he heard Dr. Manhattan's greeting.

"Hello."

The Hand of the Void did not answer.

“There’s no need to build up your power. Just unleash it. I’m very curious,” Dr. Manhattan said. “How did you do all this? I’d like to imitate you, but I just can’t do it like this.”

The Hand of the Void kept its mouth shut.

“You should act now.” The Void Hand heard Dr. Manhattan’s voice and even tried uncontrollably to obey him, then he suddenly realized that this was a timeline overwrite, covering the real reality with a reality where he “followed orders.”

Frankly, this imitation is nowhere near the level of Papetua's work; it's like a poor novice painter trying to imitate a mature artist and producing a mediocre work that only looks similar.

But even though the attack wasn't particularly damaging, Void Hand could no longer tolerate the attack from Dr. Manhattan...

Ah, look.

So, that's the story.

Long, long ago… in the vast and boundless realm of the DC Multiverse, there lived a warrior named Voidhand. He wore a cloak as deep as the night sky, and his heart beat with fearless courage. The great King of the DC Multiverse entrusted him with a new mission: to travel to the Watchers' Castle, suspended beyond time, to challenge the dragon guarding it—"Dr. Manhattan"—and bring new order to the castle.

The Void Hand, the warrior, remembered how, not long ago, in the Whispering Woods, with the help of the kind wizard Batman Dragon, he had outwitted the evil witch Perpetua. He stepped confidently into Watcher's Castle. Here, the sky was a perpetual twilight, and gears and stars slowly turned between the towers.

Dr. Manhattan, the dragon, was not a fire-breathing behemoth. His entire body was azure, as if sculpted from the sky itself, and his eyes held the mysteries of the birth and death of stars. The warrior, Void Hand, heard Dr. Manhattan say, "Interesting. How did you do that? I actually became a dragon." The dragon stood upright, then his figure rapidly shrank, successfully transforming from a blue dragon into a bald blue man, but then immediately reverted to his terrifying form.

The Void Hand warrior launched an attack, but failed. The evil blue dragon was incredibly powerful. The Void Hand's all-out attack could not even shake a single dragon scale, like a breeze trying to topple a mountain.

The dejected warrior remembered his wise friend. He hurried back to Whispering Woods and found Batman Dragon studying the plans.

"Friend, please help me again!" the Void Hand pleaded. "That evil dragon is too powerful."

Batman Dragon adjusted his half-moon shaped glasses, his gaze gentle yet firm: "Okay..."

Chen Tao let out a muffled groan.

This isn't right. The story can't control him indefinitely, confining him to one identity. He can't possibly be powerless to resist. Chen Tao has realized that the stronger the person he pulls into the story's ethereal hand, the weaker his control over the story becomes. Therefore…

“No, Void Hand, I can’t help you this time.” He said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly.

"What did you say?"

No, I can't help you.

The warrior asked the question more than a dozen times, but the kind wizard Batman Dragon's answer was always the same. Blood tears streamed from the kind wizard's eyes, but he still sadly refused the warrior.

"Why?" The Hand of the Void's heart sank, as if plunged into icy water. "Didn't we defeat Perpetua together? Why are you abandoning me now?"

“It’s not about abandoning,” Batman’s voice was like a night breeze rustling through the treetops, “but because some battles must be faced alone by the warrior. Some answers lie deep within your heart, and can only be found through solitary struggle and contemplation. Courage that relies on others is like a tree without roots, unable to grow into a towering tree.”

The Void Hand was heartbroken. He felt abandoned by friendship, and the horns of adventure sounded harsh. He tore off the badge of a warrior and decided to return to his peaceful but ordinary home—the Void—no longer caring about missions or dragons, nor the gifts promised to him by Batman Dragon and the DC multiverse. He just wanted to go home!

“Don’t even think about running,” Dr. Manhattan said. His voice came from the distant Watchers universe, spreading like ripples on a calm lake throughout the story. And so, at that moment, a poorly written story gained a twist.

However… just as Void Hand finished packing, a deep dragon's roar echoed through the sky, causing the entire multiverse kingdom to tremble slightly. Dr. Manhattan's power seemed to be affecting the balance of the world. Void Hand knew he couldn't run away. He had to return, not for the king's mission, but to defeat the version of himself that had once failed.

The Void Hand Warrior's face twisted in pain.

“I’m really curious,” Dr. Manhattan said. “How will the story unfold next?”

But how could he defeat a dragon that was almost omnipotent? The warrior Void Hand pondered deeply, and a bold, even somewhat insane, idea popped into his head.

He ventured deep into the Whispering Forest once more and found the wicked witch Papetua, still grumpy and planted in a flowerpot.

“Help me deal with Dr. Manhattan!” said the Void Hand.

"Don't even think about it!" Papetua screamed, his vine-like hair trembling with anger.

The Void Hand recalled a quote from Batman: Dragon—"Sometimes wisdom is more powerful than strength." He observed carefully and noticed that the witch would cower in fear at the mere mention of Doctor Manhattan. He immediately had an idea.

“If you don’t help me,” the Void Hand said menacingly, “I will… I will find a way to destroy the entire Watcher’s Castle! When that happens, Dr. Manhattan, having lost his nest, will definitely come to settle in your forest and fight you for territory!”

Papetua nearly jumped out of the flowerpot in fright. The thought of that powerful blue dragon settling in her beloved forest, overgrown with poisonous mushrooms and biting roses, was unbearable. "Enough! You wretched warrior!" she shouted angrily. "I'm helping you this time! But only to drive the dragon away!"

Chen Tao: ?
Regardless of how absurd it is, the story just keeps going, take it or leave it. Chen Tao couldn't quite believe that Papetua had been dragged into the story by the Void Hand, but that was the truth.

Papetua made her decision and went with the flow, following the narrative constructed by the Hand of the Void.

Thus, the strangest combination in history was formed: a warrior and an evil witch, who entered the Watcher's Castle together.

The battle erupted instantly! Papetua brandished his wand, summoning a thorny serpent and a shadow raven. The Void Hand charged forward with his sword. However, they distrusted each other, their coordination a complete mess. The witch's magic constantly interfered with the warrior's charge, and the warrior's sword always avoided the monsters summoned by the witch. Their attacks struck Dr. Manhattan like raindrops falling into the ocean; his blue scales remained pristine, unharmed.

Just when all hope seemed lost, Perpetua used all her magic to create a brief binding aura, temporarily trapping Dr. Manhattan's feet. "Now! Attack!" she screamed.

The Hand of the Void mustered all his courage, raised his sword, and charged towards the blue dragon like a meteor. However, to his utter surprise! The instant he charged, Perpetually turned his wand, shooting out a sticky magical rope, attempting to bind him!

"Fool!" the witch exclaimed triumphantly. "I don't want to actually fight him! I'll just take you, this 'trouble,' away and we'll live separate lives!"

(End of this chapter)