I, V, Gotham Legend

The coalition forces of Earth and our alien friends collided with a river of locust-like demons. The sounds of fighting and metal clashing were intertwined. Even from a distance, one could still smell the blood.

Valerie looked up and saw countless spaceships that were almost as big as herself floating in the air, splashing Apocalypse Demons onto the ground like cockroach swatters.

She realized that she was now viewing the mothership she had hacked into, and the main ships around her were the fleet that had fought with Darkseid.

A little black man fell from the sky, holding something that looked like an axe, and smashed it to the ground like a small weight.

Valerie could recognize at a glance that this little thing was Darkseid. When facing this guy in person, Darkseid's body was big enough to fit her in it, but now he looked so small.

Even though it looks so small now, it still exudes an oppressive feeling that cannot be ignored, allowing the now incredibly large Valerie to recognize it at a glance.

This was a protracted battle. Darkseid became more and more courageous under the siege of the powerful men on Earth, like the protagonist in a passionate animation.

Valerie was a little nervous. She had been watching this battlefield for almost a day, and she clearly felt that an emergency seemed to have occurred outside the cyberspace. Even though the flow of time was different, it was not the time to continue watching.

But now that she was here, Valerie could feel that she had triggered the mechanism outside and frozen herself. She couldn't just leave halfway without getting anything.

"Can I fast forward?" Valerie opened her palm and thought.

Of course she could fast forward, just by running it faster, but then her overloaded brain would burn to ashes in no time.

As if he was waiting for this moment when she was distracted, Darkseid, who had just been flying around in the sky and killing everyone, suddenly fell to the ground.

He flew backwards, smashing the Apocalypse Demons along the way like Moses parting the sea, and splitting his army in two.

The unusual behavior of the character that she had been paying close attention to immediately caught Valerie's attention, just like an ant keeper seeing the queen ant suddenly flip over.

Darkseid looked like he was having a great time fighting just now, but now he was lying among a group of Apocalypse demons, until a group of guys who looked like cadres came running behind him and hurriedly helped him up and took him away.

Valerie always felt that it was a bit weird to see him lying on the ground covering his wound, but she couldn't figure out what was wrong with it.

She lowered her head and looked at her feet. There were numbers moving across them. This was one of the few places that could prove that this was a fake digital space.

She followed her instinct and mobilized her brain, as if she was controlling a supercomputer that was not a part of her body. As she controlled it, the numbers flowing on her feet began to flow backwards like iron sand attracted by magnetism.

It's just a representation, but the world is really moving backwards with the numbers on Valerie's feet.

Everything was like a weird live game. Darkseid, who was carried away by his men, walked back, then bent over and flew back like a squid.

Along with the retreating Darkseid came the army of Apocalypse demons that he had knocked away. The golems that were torn into pieces by the residual power and crushed into meat paste by the pressure crawled up from the ground like the living dead and returned to the army like fireworks.

Valerie had an illusion that she was a god controlling the world, especially since she had replicated the size of her own ship, which made her feel extremely involved.

Fortunately, she knew what she was doing. In the regressing world, Darkseid stood back to the place where he was before being knocked away. A bullet flew out of the torn wound along with the returning blood.

Valerie finally remembered where the weird feeling came from. It was not only because of Darkseid's sudden defeat, but also because the way he was injured looked too much like being shot.

She looked at the Earth Alliance. Even the Green Lantern Corps, which seemed to have the most advanced technology, did not summon any weapons that looked like guns.

The weapon used to defeat Darkseid came from the Earth Alliance and was extremely effective. This discovery made Valerie, who had originally thought that her efforts were in vain, regain her spirits.

As the air flowed, time continued to flow backwards. Valerie used all her energy, not only her eyes but also the authority of cyberspace, to stare at the bullet that hit Darkseid.

The bullet passed through the army, through the Valkyries and heroes fighting bravely, and finally went back into the sleeve of a man in a purple robe.

……

An old man was hunched over, leaning against the wall and coughing heavily. In front of him was a dry pond with several uncovered coffins in it.

On the other side of the pond, Batman looked at him with his claws raised, while Flash and Aquaman stood on his left and right.

Just now, they followed the claws' instructions and walked disorderly in the messy passages, sometimes even using violent means to dig out the collapsed rocks and mud.

After going through untold hardships, they finally found the room. Miraculously, it had not collapsed. According to Batman, the marks on the wall showed that it had been in an ultra-low temperature state for quite a long time.

Just as a few people were strolling around, several unsealed ice coffins placed in the center of the room suddenly lit up with blue light, and the old man in purple robes suddenly appeared.

At this time, the old man seemed to be feeling very tired. He did not stand with the other superhumans, but chose to sit down against the wall.

His robe was very loose, making the body underneath seem frail, like a dead tree in the desert after a fire, as if it would turn to ashes if the wind blew.

The Flash glanced around. Batman didn't say anything. He was always cold, and Aquaman didn't seem to be very polite. He felt that he had a great social responsibility. He took a deep breath and then asked tentatively: "Um... old man?"

"What time is it now?" The old man leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.

He didn't look like he had done any exercise, maybe just breathing made him tired.

"Anti-Life Equation." Batman said a few words briefly.

"Ahem..." The old man coughed twice, "God, tell me you are not Darkseid's men."

"Of course not, we come here to strike first... What did V say? Try to defeat Darkseid himself using Darkseid's methods." said the Flash.

"Then you may be disappointed. The Anti-Life Equation does not exist to kill the New God." The old man poured a basin of cold water, but lit a bright light. "But you have found the right person. I have the means to kill them."

"New God? Do you mean Darkseid?" Batman grasped the point.

"Not only Darkseid... He is indeed one of the most dangerous people..." The old man stood up tremblingly, "For such a day that will surely come in the future, we have passed down our traditions for tens of thousands of years, just for such a day."

"Are you okay?" The Flash was worried as the old man looked like he was about to pass away at any moment.

"I'm fine, I'm just dying of old age... Don't worry, I've already found an heir. He's in the city above, and he should be able to help you." The old man said, "But you have to follow me first."

NO27. Radioactive particles

The old man stood up, took a few shaky steps, and finally gave up trying to be brave. He sat on a coffin beside him and took deep breaths as if to relieve his fatigue.

Flash looked at his exhausted appearance and couldn't help but ask: "Do you need treatment? We can try our best to help."

He remembered that when he was seriously injured by Steppenwolf, Valerie gave him a medicine that could heal his broken leg immediately.

"I'm not injured, I'm just dying..." The old man closed his eyes and finally explained as if he couldn't bear it anymore, "The formation exploded a few days ago. In order to suppress the violent power, I was almost dead."

He has been holding on until now these days in order to find an heir.

"Does the detonated formation have anything to do with the people from Apocalypse?" Batman asked.

"Apocalypse? It's even more dangerous than those aliens." The old man coughed a few more times, "It's a terrifying existence that can drag down the entire universe. Fortunately, it has a very convenient weakness that allows us to lock it out of the universe."

"Barbatos?" Batman asked bluntly.

“You called His name directly... Well, it seems that no disaster came immediately. I said that feudal superstition is not advisable.” The old man seemed satisfied that his curiosity had finally been satisfied at the last moment of his life.

"It seems that my guess was right." Batman did not feel relieved that he had guessed the answer correctly. Instead, the real answer made him feel more stressed.

Perhaps it's because the Court of Owls has been wiped out and no one is willing to cover up the traces of these rats anymore. Batman's research on the Court of Owls in the past few months has been quite effective.

He had learned that these people believed in some god that they dared not call out by name, but Batman had indirectly dealt with this god several times.

Considering that this is a base of the Court of Owls and that the anti-life equation is hidden here, it is inevitable that people will associate the old man with the court.

Batman continued to ask: "The formation you mentioned is to isolate Barbatos' influence on this world? He did something big in this city not long ago."

"I know about that incident. At first I thought it was the work of the god's followers, but the dragon was too big." The old man seemed to have a moment of enlightenment, and his mental state improved a lot. "It was only later that I discovered that He had been using some means to influence the formation, and it was well hidden. Fortunately, a series of explosions suddenly occurred in the city earlier, destroying the formation and His manipulations. Only then did I notice the problem with the formation."

As the man behind Gotham, Batman certainly knows what the serial explosions refer to. Earlier, V sneaked in here as a reporter, and soon after, a large-scale collapse explosion occurred here.

It's just that he has never had time to investigate because he was busy taking care of his childhood "friend", investigating human trafficking, and now the sudden alien invasion.

However, according to Valerie, the explosion was caused by the Assassin's League.

Knowing Valerie's character, Batman knew that the League of Assassins she was talking about was basically herself, but now it seems that she might really be dealing with that "god" in her own way.

The Flash behind him quietly elbowed Aquaman in the stomach: "Do you know what they are saying?"

"Of course I know." Aquaman's eyes drifted upwards.

Batman looked back, thought for a moment, and explained: "This is related to my fundamental purpose of integrating superhumans. In a sense, it is more important than Darkseid."

"Nothing is more important than Darkseid right now." The old man stood up again, seeming to have rested well. "Come on, I'll take you to see the Anti-Life Equation and the... Shooting Particles I mentioned."

As he finished speaking, a glowing whip appeared in his hand, floated into the air, and then circled in front of him, opening a door.

Behind the door seemed to be a cave, which looked damp and dark.

The old man pulled out a staff from his sleeve, wiped it as if he was stroking an old friend, and finally used the staff to support himself to stand up.

"Let's go." The old man led the way into the portal, as if he was returning to his hometown.

Several superheroes followed, treading on the muddy ground, the sand and gravel beneath their feet being pressed into the mud.

Batman still had his claws on, and he followed the old man walking in front, still full of questions.

"What is your relationship with the Court of Owls?" Batman inquired.

"It doesn't matter. They may be another group of Dark God's followers. Every once in a while, there will be a new group of evil god followers." The old man walked in front and said, "As long as they don't actually lead the way, I don't have the energy to care about them."

The Court of Owls existed before the founding of the United States, but in the mouths of the elderly, it seems like a flash in the pan.

It was hard to imagine how long the old man had lived, but no matter how long his life was, he now looked like he was at the end of his rope.

Batman changed the subject to the purpose of coming here: "What is that thing you are talking about that can kill the New God?"

The old man raised his head, his cloudy eyes beneath the brim of his hat looking into the distance, as if recalling: "It was a long time ago, older than the birth of human civilization, when the old gods were still active on earth.

Darkseid came to Earth with an army that the people on Earth had never seen before, and he himself was so powerful that even the old gods trembled.

Until a multiverse god came to their aid and gifted the Earth Alliance with a weapon that would determine the outcome."

As he spoke, the old man stood still. A gust of wind came from nowhere and blew up his purple robe.

The dust on the ground was blown away by the strong wind, like a cleaned floor, revealing a complex circular magic circle.

"Is this magic?!" The Flash, who was following behind Batman, showed a surprised expression.

The magic circle lit up with brilliant light, with blue and purple flashes complementing each other, until an ancient box slowly floated out.

"The gods call it radioactive particles, and it was created specifically to restrain the New Gods. My ancestor got the chance to use it, and with it, we severely damaged Darkseid."

"Radioactive particles. That doesn't sound like a special term." The Flash said curiously.

Batman opened the Blazer and jumped out of the mech's chest, and he caught the box.

After studying it for a moment, he opened the box and saw two cone-shaped pieces of metal lying inside.

"This is..." Batman frowned.

Although it is quite big, this thing looks like a bullet no matter how you look at it.

"The history of this thing is longer than human civilization." The old man introduced proudly.

"..." Batman closed the box and said nothing.

Whether it is reliable or not, it is a solution after all.

"Oh, there's one more thing." The old man suddenly raised his hand and pointed to a cliff not far away. "The anti-life equation you mentioned is sealed at the bottom."

"I heard that was really an equation?" said the Flash.

"I don't know. I've never been down there." The old man shook his head.

"Where is this cave? It looks so big." Aquaman suddenly interrupted.

"It's nowhere. This is an independent space, attached to the surface of this universe." The old man said in a low voice.

"Subspace?" Batman asked, looking up.

The old man nodded: "This place is like a garbage dump. Anything extremely dangerous will be locked up here."

"..."

The old man suddenly threw away the crutch in his hand and straightened his back, which was almost bent. Batman subconsciously reached out his hand to support him, but the old man waved him away.

"You fought against Darkseid, you are the warriors of this era... I want to apologize to you." The old man lowered his head, "The Anti-Life Equation has been sealed. It is different from the seal that isolates the dark gods. Normally, Darkseid should never find this place... It's all because of me."

"While repairing the seal of the Dark Multiverse, I accidentally triggered the seal of the Anti-Life Equation, causing it to be leaked out."

The old man's words were like a thunderbolt, blowing away the doubts of several people.

But the Flash didn't take up the topic: "Sit down first, you're not feeling well."

"I've reached my limit a long time ago, but I just haven't made up my mind." The old man shook his head and looked at the ceiling.

Several people followed his gaze and found that the stalactites above their heads were intertwined together, like a larger magic circle.

"It can't be repaired. Barbatos will come sooner or later. I can only use my last bit of strength to delay his arrival."

"You want to commit suicide?" Batman understood.

"It's not suicide, it's a sacrifice. My soul is with you." The old man shook his head and said.

"We won't watch you die." Batman said, approaching the old man and trying to grab him.

But his hand just passed through the old man's body and didn't grab anything.

"I have already sacrificed myself. What remains here is just my last obsession." The old man sighed, and his body finally seemed to lose its disguise and faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.