What bad thoughts can Batman have?

Chapter 985 Batman: The Dragon, I'm here to thank your whole family.

Here it comes, it's that familiar feeling again.

Dr. Manhattan sensed it. It was all like an invisible net, constantly dragging him into a situation set up by the other side. It was not just Batman Dragon's plan; it was a confrontation across the DC multiverse, a charming and attractive counterattack. Behind this seemingly hesitant counterattack, one couldn't help but want to explore how this counterattack was achieved.

Batman: Dragon is merely one link in this vast chain, pulling him into a situation where he must intervene to repair the mess in the DC multiverse. Originally, no one should have been able to affect the Watchmen universe, let alone the Time Stream, but the arrival of the Void Hand broke through the protection set up by Dr. Manhattan for the Watchmen universe, thus causing the destruction of the Watchmen universe.

Earth in the Watchmen universe lost Antarctica—but the Watchmen universe isn't the DC multiverse. Once Antarctica is lost, it's lost. Although Papetua replaced it, the hastily created new Antarctica is as conspicuous in its original location as a social media blogger using 3D printing to patch up a broken corner of a wall. You can't really say it's not flat, but the material and color are not the original.

In conclusion, Dr. Manhattan still wants to create a cosmic core for the Watchmen universe someday in the future, making the Watchmen universe even more powerful. Therefore, the destruction of the Watchmen universe is now infinitely close to the limit that Dr. Manhattan can accept.

When Chen Tao and the Void Hand join forces, Chen Tao creates the future for the Void Hand, and the Void Hand uses the future to create stories. Even Dr. Manhattan cannot stop it, so he can only compromise.

His original offer to the Void Hand was simply to let him go. It was a simple matter that would not cost Dr. Manhattan anything, and the Void Hand would not have to pay a price either.

In this simple deal, both sides benefit, except for one person who becomes a victim: Batman Dragon, who is ignored as if all his help was given for free.

However, Chen Tao's use of the pressure of the DC multiverse to drive the Void Hand into Doctor Manhattan's world did not allow the two of them to escape unscathed.

Even though he wasn't physically present, he still demonstrated his influence to the two deities. When the Void Hand opened its arms to Batman, allowing him to rewrite his story using the timeline, Chen Tao could seize the Void Hand's power over the story by altering the timeline reality.

The price that Batman Dragon offered them was also quite interesting.

He presented the severed hand to the Void Hand on behalf of Dr. Manhattan, meaning that the Void Hand could leave, but he had to leave a portion of his power in the Watchers universe, especially the power of his story.

Chen Tao didn't believe that Dr. Manhattan wouldn't be tempted. The reason Dr. Manhattan would let an Outer God like the Void Hand, who possessed such unique abilities, go was simply because he couldn't stand by and watch the Watchers universe and the DC multiverse merge. It didn't mean that Dr. Manhattan didn't want the Void Hand to stay.

If the other party insists on leaving now, wouldn't it be reasonable to leave some seeds of strength for Dr. Manhattan to study in the future?
If Dr. Manhattan couldn't see this opportunity, that would be one thing, but now this opportunity is right in front of you. Batman Dragon is clearly trying to force the Void Hand to leave some of its power behind. With such a good opportunity, Dr. Manhattan, are you still confident that you can capture the Void Hand again next time?

As for the forces that oppose Papetua...

Doctor Manhattan knew perfectly well that Batman Dragon knew the Void Hand, whose power had been partially stripped by Doctor Manhattan, would be incredibly weak once it emerged. In this situation, if even if he and Batman Dragon joined forces, they couldn't defeat Perpetua, wouldn't this balancing act, orchestrated by Batman Dragon, be out of balance?

He needed to add another layer of protection to his plan, so he asked Dr. Manhattan for help: "While you've seized the power of the Void Hand, you must also give it power to maintain the balance of power. Get this straight, it's not the Void Hand that's making a deal with you now, it's me, Batman Dragon. This is all my doing. The Void Hand has lost the initiative. No matter how terrifying its power is, it cannot refuse the hyper-timeline reality I offer."

Because whatever I do, I leave him with the opportunity to remain free in the DC multiverse. The Void Hand will always be more willing to believe that even if he loses some power now, he can get it back with interest from the DC multiverse someday in the future. He would never accept being thrown into the Watchers universe and imprisoned by Dr. Manhattan, waiting for an unknown future to escape, or being directly expelled from the DC multiverse and all his previous investments going down the drain.

Interesting, so interesting.

Doctor Manhattan's gaze pierced through countless timelines, revealing Batman Dragon, who was still fighting against Perpetua outside and struggling to survive inside the Ultimate Monitor.

He finally couldn't contain his curiosity any longer: "How did you do that? Are you sure you can win? Are you sure that even if the Hand of the Void leaves my control, it will help you defeat Papetua? How did you come up with such a plan? How do you think you could come up with it? Let me see your brain... This plan is completely out of your mind."

Dr. Manhattan felt a slight hindrance; he couldn't yet freely read Batman Dragon's mind without restraint. But even if he could only peek a little, he could confirm that Batman Dragon's mind contained no record of the plan to send the Essence to him. This was even more interesting. Batman Dragon's memory showed that he had devised this plan and then deleted his own memories, but who could prove it?

If we're talking about conspiracy theories, Dr. Manhattan could easily guess that this plan wasn't devised by Batman Dragon, but rather created out of thin air in the DC multiverse and then materialized in his mind, just like those ordinary creatures whose memories were altered by the time flow, making Batman Dragon believe that it was a plan he created. This possibility is small, but it's definitely not zero, right?
However, this probability is still infinitely close to 0. In the concept of quantum mechanics, all physics does not exist. Whether Batman Dragon really orchestrated this plan has become a superposition state, just like the origin of Batman Dragon.

This situation left Dr. Manhattan unable to make a judgment. Dr. Manhattan suddenly felt that this was indeed another top-notch method to hinder him from obtaining information. How interesting!

On the other side, the Void Hand.

"you……"

The Void Hand felt absolutely awful. This was what he hated most: after he partnered with Batman Dragon, his story was completely out of his control. Instead, Batman Dragon would provide a story, then immediately write it into the timeline, and then make him answer true/false questions.

Hey buddy, do you like the answer I wrote? If you like it, give it a tick and make it a reality. If you don't like it, give it an X and I'll rewrite it for you. But that depends on my mood. If I'm not happy, I'll give you the same answer sheet until you tick it.

You disagree? Go ahead and bite me!
That's bizarre. If the Void Hand wants to build its own story and establish a timeline, it has to contend with both Doctor Manhattan's constant interference and the possibility of Batman Dragon suddenly rewriting a different version of the story, directly and brutally disrupting its plot.

This power, known as Time Flow Overwrite, is so wondrous and bizarre that the Void Hand began to take a liking to it. If he could also incorporate this strange ability of Time Flow Overwrite into his own stories, wouldn't it mean that if anyone in his stories behaved in ways that didn't fit their original character, he could use Time Flow Overwrite to correct everything? In that case, his ability to create stories and manipulate others would completely make up for his shortcomings, making him far more terrifying than before.

But here's the question: how can he study and understand what time-lapse and overwriting actually are?

Moreover, on the other hand, he did not want to accept the proposal from Batman Dragon, nor did he want to leave a part of his power with Doctor Manhattan. Although he felt that it was almost impossible for the other party to learn and master the ability to independently construct a story, he still did not want anyone to study the nature of his energy.

He tried to construct a story himself: as the rainbow gate opened, a seven-colored rainbow appeared in the sky, and amidst the soft, cotton candy-like fragrance, the crystal giants...

Hey! Now, after hearing what that short-legged tiger, Old Monster Ganse, said, the four crystal giants all bowed down, silencing the entire hall of heroes!

But the Void Hand, who was in the lead, was taken aback for a moment. Then, a fierce and heroic look appeared on his horned face, and he almost spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm: "Batman Dragon, I..." "Damn it, I really want to thank you!"

With a flick of his sleeve, the figure revealed a black-clad, horned hero with flames shooting from his eyes. He then gracefully bowed down.

"Hahaha! What the Gan brothers, the short-legged tigers, said is exactly what I wanted!"

Ganser was nearly scared to death.

"Back when I, Void Hand, roamed the world, I relied on nothing but integrity. Now that Brother Manhattan has established his stronghold here, how can the rules be broken because of me?"

After he finished speaking, the hand in the void froze there without moving.

A large crowd surrounded him, consisting of Olympian gods from parallel universes or other villains. Many random members of the Essence Society were forcibly used as lackeys in this story. Despite the large group surrounding the Void Hand, not a single one dared to come forward and persuade him.

The Void Hand wanted to forcefully control someone to come up and grab him, to make a last-ditch effort, but before he could even finish his story, it was wiped out by Batman Dragon.

Void Hand took a deep breath. He really wanted to completely deny the time-traveling future that Batman Dragon had created for him, but he knew very well that he had to stay away from Doctor Manhattan for the time being.

Everything comes at a price, fine, he accepted it.

Then, before anyone could react but chose not to, the Void Hand suddenly raised its left arm and then brought its right palm and fingers together like a knife.

"Brother, look, this hand will remain in the mountain stronghold today, as a token of my sincere heart!"

Without further ado, the Void Hand severed the left hand with a single strike. This energy was now something he had to give, whether he wanted to or not.

The moment his hand fell, it transformed into a ball of black energy and vanished instantly, snatched away by Dr. Manhattan. Meanwhile, the left hand that had been severed from Void Hand's body before it drooped down returned to its original form.

He only lost a portion of his power; the part about cutting off his hand was purely a twisted sense of humor created by Batman: Dragon when he created the story.

The Void Hand swayed slightly, but his expression remained unchanged, instead appearing even more fierce. He declared loudly, "Brother, though this hand is gone, my resolve to punish that sorceress Papetuana remains as firm as a rock!"

The Void Hand was disgusting.

Immediately afterwards, Dr. Manhattan sat as still as a mountain, his eyes gleaming with quantum light as he deduced the future millions of years from now.

He spoke softly, his voice ringing like a great bell, saying:
"My virtuous brother's loyalty is renowned far and wide. It's not that I'm unwilling to send troops—it's just that I fear the calamity will turn the world upside down, and things will turn fierce and chaotic."

But then, Manhattan flicked his sleeves, and with his fingertips he picked up blue and white light, as if it were hidden within a galaxy.

The stars rise and fall, all things grow, transforming into the quantum light of the divine sword. And then, the leader of Manhattan descends from his seat and sings:

"This sword is named Schrödinger. It has no substance, no form, and no existence. My worthy brother, wield this sword to break the evil magic, and make that witch nowhere to hide!"

it is good!
"Thank you, brother, for bestowing upon me this divine weapon!" The Void Hand felt a little comforted by the power given to him by Dr. Manhattan, which even made him forget the lines that Batman: Dragon had given him, before he was forced to fill them in by the reality that had been copied.

"Thank you, brother, for bestowing upon me this divine weapon. I will surely behead that vile woman on this journey. When I return victorious from my mountain stronghold, I will drink three hundred cups with you!"

Papetua...

……

……

While Dr. Manhattan and the Void Hand were putting on their show, the main universe's Batman, carrying the main universe's Superman, appeared in the Antarctic of the Watchmen universe.

Although Antarctica in the Watchers universe was originally barren, it was at least a place with a normal ecosystem and life. But now, since it was destroyed and then hastily and poorly rebuilt by Papetua, it has become a forbidden zone for life and a paradise for monsters.

Batman and Superman watched as a polar bear with eyes on its butt walked past them, then nonchalantly shoved those enormous eyes back onto its head. Luckily, the monster didn't notice them. After it ran past in its pointless frenzy, the two looked at each other in disbelief.

They were panting heavily, looking at the white expanse of sky.

“So,” Superman from the main universe gasped, “what’s next?”

(End of this chapter)