The Primary Universe Batman looked at this call for help and felt a bit surprised. They're in the middle of a war, sending a call for help to their enemies—did they get something wrong?
But on second thought, the other side isn't foolish. Seeking assistance from their opponent would surely be reported back, affecting morale. Yet they still chose to do so, indicating that the situation might be really bad.
The Primary Universe Batman furrowed his brows and sent Bruce a message, saying, "How are things on your side? Can Barbados eliminate those Nightmare Phantoms?"
"Eliminate? Don't joke, just trapping them within that scope is already good enough. In fact, the force constituting them and the Dark Power of Barbados are on the same level. Unless I can summon his real body over, there's no way to directly eliminate them."
Bruce's voice sounded a bit tired. Not because he was exhausted from using Dark Power, but because summoning the origin power of another Great World across worlds caused countless program errors. Lucifer took fifteen days to barely fix it. Lucifer angrily kicked Bruce into Lake Eden, and he had just climbed out.
However, the power belonging to Barbados is indeed formidable. If one of the fundamental rules on the Marvel side is "imagination," then one of the fundamental rules on this side is "Batman," and Barbados happens to be the origin power of Batman's dark side. The Dark Power and Power of Dreams are on the same level.
Currently, it's Bruce using Barbados' Dark Power to block the dimension's entrance that was blown open, preventing the Power of Dreams from pouring out and also using this Dark Power to confine the Nightmare Phantoms within the realm of Dark Power, preventing them from running all over. Otherwise, other civilizations in the cosmos would have been in trouble already.
But precisely because the two powers are on the same level, and Barbados' real body isn't here, yet the Incubus who mastered most of the Power of Dreams is here, Bruce's side suffers a bit of a disadvantage. He can barely control the Power of Dreams from leaking out and keep the Nightmare Phantoms from escaping, let alone counterattacking or eliminating them.
"I see," the Primary Universe Batman said, then couldn't help but ask, "Since that so-called Power of Dreams is so dangerous, why would the other side blow open the dimensional channel to release such power?"
"Haven't you realized yet? They're completely different from us. I know sometimes you feel the Justice League can be disobedient or impulsive, but if the Justice League's disobedience is level 1, the superheroes here are probably at level 100. They can suddenly have a bright idea, especially those scientists. Hoping they'll follow orders is asking too much."
"But how could Greed allow them to do such things? Those Nightmare Phantoms could threaten Earth... okay, Earth already ran away, so they can't threaten Earth. Wait, could this be their plan all along?"
"You just figured it out?" Bruce said with some disdain. "You can borrow their power to destroy Apocalypse Star, and they can't use your guise to eliminate opposition in the cosmos? The two great empires invade the Nine Major Kingdoms so desperately; would they be Greed if they didn't give them a hard time?"
The Primary Universe Batman certainly understood. Initially, he hadn't realized this simply because he didn't know how powerful the Power of Dreams and Nightmare Phantoms were. He assumed they were mere dimension-native monsters, easily eliminated.
But upon learning these things are on par with Barbados' Dark Power, he could roughly gauge how troublesome they were. The seriousness of the situation was entirely different.
Although the Primary Universe Batman knew it was the other side's scientists who blew it up, it happened so suddenly he had no evidence. Even if he announced it, no one would believe him. Other civilizations in this universe would only think these invaders accidentally released some monsters while fighting the local humans.
But if these monsters rampage through the cosmos, Batman would bear the blame too, because if they hadn't come to fight, perhaps these monsters wouldn't have been released. Even the descent of the Dream Dimension or the evildoings of the Incubus could be wholly attributed to them.
This is the same logic as the Primary Universe Batman using the Scarlet Witch's power to destroy Apocalypse Star. When the Nightmare Phantoms rampage through the cosmos, first destroying the capitals of the Three Great Empires, then laying waste to the Ring Region, who benefits most in the end?
Of course, it's the human civilization, which harbors grudges against the Three Great Empires and urgently needs to elevate its interstellar societal status. Once they rise to power, they can entirely pin cosmic slaughter crimes on other world invaders, leaving no trace of blame on themselves.
The Primary Universe Batman knew, Greed couldn't suffer a loss. You use his hands to eliminate a major threat within the universe, and he manufactures accidents to exclude opposition and pin the blame on you. If successful, you'd be even.
But, Bruce held back, sheared Barbados' wool, and forcibly restricted the Power of Dreams and Nightmare Phantoms, likely foiling Greed's calculations.
However, the Primary Universe Batman thought again and felt something was off. Greed had been to their side several times; at worst, he could look at Arrogant's memories. He had to know Bruce had this trick, yet seemed to have done nothing to prevent it. What's this about?
The Primary Universe Batman didn't think it was negligence or a mistake. There was only one possibility: what Greed was plotting was likely even bigger than imagined.
"Bruce, don't let your guard down," the Primary Universe Batman advised in a deep tone, "you must remain vigilant; this matter might not be so simple."
After terminating the communication, the Primary Universe Batman couldn't be sure if Bruce had understood. He was inclined to send reinforcements, but the dark powers that Bruce controlled were too strange, provoking the inner darkness in anyone who came close, especially Batman. Under these circumstances, sending Superman would be best, but unfortunately, Superman was too severely depleted, and there were no available forces.
Since he couldn't assist Bruce, he had to consider carefully whether to accept the call for aid. Why exactly did Greed want the command center to ask for help?
His forces were too scarce; if reinforcements were indeed necessary, either the Manhattan Batman or Super Body would have to be deployed. The Primary Universe Batman leaned more toward Super Body; perhaps they intended to simultaneously eliminate Super Body and the Incubus?
Greed had been gone too long, and they hadn't obtained any useful information, leaving the Primary Universe Batman unable to infer Greed's intentions from this scant clue. The only solution was to send someone to investigate.
However, the Primary Universe Batman had a thought. Knowing his usual way of doing things, he would likely send Super Body; thus, he dispatched the Manhattan Batman. Although not expecting to disrupt Greed's plans, at least if something happened, the Manhattan Batman could escape faster than Super Body.
"You must, must, must ensure your safety," advised the Primary Universe Batman to the Manhattan Batman, repeating, "if anything unexpected happens, run first, don't try to get involved, don't be a bystander, or something will surely go wrong."
"Don't worry," said the Manhattan Batman, "I'll be careful."
Watching him leave, the Primary Universe Batman felt extremely uneasy. Those who hadn't clashed with Greed would never understand his prowess. The Primary Universe Batman had long been thankful that it was Arrogant who ended up in their world instead of Greed.
When the Manhattan Batman arrived in the Dream Dimension, the battle was already fierce. The superheroes, who had been drawn into the Dream Dimension, had united to besiege the Incubus, who retaliated without hesitation, unleashing countless monsters from their dreams to continuously attack the superheroes.
Besides possessing immense power, these monsters were also the most terrifying entities from their nightmares. For example, Erik faced the murderer who had killed his parents in the past, the Arkham Knight faced the Joker, and Spider Man confronted the mutated Gwen. They not only had to deal with these superpowered familiar figures, but also had to be wary of mental attacks; any slight negligence would allow an opening for assault.
Some less powerful superheroes had already turned into white light, returning to the Battleworld; the ones persevering were the strongest among the strong. The main attackers were Erik and Wanda from the Central Universe; their overwhelming power of Scarlet enveloped the entire Dream Dimension in a crimson hue.
The Manhattan Batman remembered the Primary Universe Batman's advice and didn't reveal himself immediately upon arrival, opting to hide nearby to observe the situation. He feared that if he emerged, they'd unite against him. As the saying goes, a strong dragon can't overpower a local snake, and his power level was at most on par with the Power of Dreams and, since he wasn't the real Doctor Manhattan, might even lag slightly behind. If this group turned against him, he would be in trouble.
However, he could see that the battle was indeed perilous. Even when Erik and Wanda collaborated, coordinated with several of Legion's personalities, they could barely suppress the Incubus, let alone talk about destroying him.
But an unexpected twist quickly arose. As they fought heatedly, the Incubus, floating mid-air, suddenly paused upon feeling that Dream Power Doctor Strange's force competing for the Power of Dreams had suddenly intensified.
"Damn, he's broken free! How is this possible?!" screamed the Incubus, "How could he have escaped from there?!!"
Half an hour earlier, Greed and the agent, riding in Jack's truck, drove along a highway in the Dream Dimension until a city appeared ahead. They parked the vehicle by a sign at the city entrance.
"Alright, leave it to us from here on," said Greed.
Greed and the agent got out of the truck together. As they walked towards the city, the agent asked, "You know Stephen Strange well, where do you think he'd be?"
"Of course, the hospital," replied Greed, "that was the best time of his life. If the Incubus trapped him using his fondest dreams, he would definitely be in the hospital."
"Which hospital?"
"The one that made him the Hand of God."