Malrick didn't realize that from the very first moment they met, Batman was already analyzing him, calculating countermeasures in silence.
He turned his gaze toward Atom, who was still catching his breath.
"I came back as soon as I saw things were going south," Malrick said calmly. "Looks like I made it just in time."
If not for the immediate danger the Earth was facing, he might've gone a few more rounds with Superman.
While Atom and Mera gasped in awe, muttering about how incredible his timing and power were, Malrick gently descended to the ground. He carefully placed the unconscious Superman onto the sand, letting him rest on his back.
Then, with a simple breath, he released his dimensional power—his "World." In an instant, that invisible energy enveloped the entire planet. The sky shimmered faintly for a moment as billions of Parademons vanished from existence.
Those soldiers of Apokolips, once an overwhelming force, now ceased to matter. For Malrick, erasing them was as effortless as blinking.
"There won't be any Parademons left on Earth, at least until Darkseid sends another wave," he said, his voice calm and steady. His eyes shifted toward Batman and the others. "Now, I'd appreciate it if you shared whatever intel you have."
---
By nightfall, the group had set up a makeshift camp across the sand dunes. The desert wind howled through the tents, carrying the faint smell of dust and smoke.
Malrick released Tony and Diana from his inner world. They had regained consciousness, though both wore heavy expressions after witnessing the broken state of this reality.
"We're from the timeline before the reset," Malrick said, tossing a piece of driftwood into the campfire. "Barry probably mentioned that to you."
After brief introductions, the heroes split into two sides of the fire—Malrick's group and Batman's. Doctor Fate sat silently, his golden helmet glinting in the firelight, while Cyborg adjusted his repaired lower half with Tony's help.
At the center of the camp lay Superman. Batman had placed a shard of Kryptonite on his chest, suppressing whatever dark force still lingered within him. Despite the warmth of the fire, beads of cold sweat rolled down Superman's temples.
"Barry mentioned you," Batman said, his voice low behind the cowl. "He said Malrick Stark could cross timelines, even resets… and stop Superman."
"That's right," Malrick replied. "His mother is with me. But speaking of Barry—he's gone, isn't he? I searched the planet. He's nowhere."
Batman was quiet for a moment, then gave a slow, grim nod.
Malrick sighed and rubbed his temples. "So I return his mother, and the kid himself is already dead. Perfect."
Tony frowned. "Wait—how the hell does the Flash die? He literally is the Speed Force. Who could possibly kill him?"
He leaned back, still disoriented from being freed from Malrick's world. When he first breathed in Earth's air again after the reset, he had expected relief—maybe even a sense of triumph. Instead, he inhaled nothing but the stench of decay and scorched earth.
After hearing Batman's explanation of this post-reset world, both Tony and Diana had gone silent.
"Barry…" Batman's voice cut through the crackling fire. "Superman killed him."
Tony's eyes widened. "You're joking. Superman!?"
Batman pressed his lips together. "Barry went looking for Kryptonite to help the Resistance. Superman detected him. To keep the Resistance hidden, Barry led him away."
"And then?" Diana asked quietly.
"The Kryptonite he found had tracking devices planted in them," Batman continued. "Every time Barry escaped, Superman would find him again. Eventually, Barry ran out of speed. Superman caught up—and killed him."
The wind picked up, whipping the tents. Shadows from the fire danced across their faces.
Tony shook his head, disbelief in his eyes. "That hyperactive kid… taken down by Superman? That's unreal."
Kara's face tightened with a mixture of grief and anger. "Is he still the Kal-El we know? Or has Darkseid completely taken over him?"
Batman nodded.
Kara lowered her gaze. Before the reset, her cousin had died in Zod's hand. Now, in this twisted world, he lived again—only to become a puppet.
To her, this world reset for nothing.
Tony exhaled through his nose. "First thing that happens in this messed-up reality is Flash dying. Yeah, this is bad."
Malrick, however, was focused elsewhere. "Batman, Barry's father—wasn't he acquitted before all this?"
Batman blinked. "He was. Cyborg helped him. We repaired the old supermarket footage that showed his father's face clearly. That served as proof of innocence. Why?"
"That's the problem," Malrick muttered, frowning. "In the normal timeline, that footage was corrupted. Barry's father was never acquitted. If he was freed, that means Barry changed the past again—another deviation."
He rubbed the side of his face in frustration. "Seems the kid didn't listen after all."
Batman leaned forward. "You're saying… this isn't the correct timeline?"
"Exactly," Malrick said. "But at this point, it doesn't matter. Tell me everything. Start from the beginning—what happened in your world before we got here."
Batman nodded slowly. "Darkseid's invasion began with the war between the Red Alliance and America."
Malrick's eyes narrowed. "The Red Alliance? What the hell is that supposed to be?"
Batman looked puzzled. "You mean that's not normal? The Red Alliance formed decades ago. During World War I, the Eastern superpower developed advanced steel armor technology. They won every conflict that followed."
He continued, "By the 1990s, most of the world had joined them. The Red Alliance became a unified global power."
Malrick sat there in stunned silence. Barry's interference had rippled across history in ways no one could have predicted. The Red Alliance still existed—proof that this timeline was broken.
"What about Japan?" Malrick asked. "Did the island nation sink during the war?"
Batman shook his head. "No. They were defeated in World War II and later joined the Red Alliance as a subordinate nation."
"I see," Malrick said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. The consequences of Barry's actions were unraveling piece by piece. The technology and weaponry Malrick had once shared with that nation must've survived the reset. Maybe they were immune to temporal reversal—artifacts from beyond the universe's own laws. Or maybe the altered timeline had simply preserved them.
Diana leaned forward, her expression worried. "What about Themyscira? The Amazons?"
Batman's eyes darkened. "Yes. There was another Diana in this timeline. But… they've all fallen."
Her heart sank. "Were they killed by Superman?"
"Not entirely," Batman replied. "To explain that, we need to go back to the beginning."
He drew in a slow breath, the firelight flickering across his armored face.
"In the 1980s, a Kryptonian ship crashed in Kansas. The Kents adopted the child inside."
Tony smirked faintly. "The classic origin story."
Batman nodded. "But because of America's violence and corruption, the Kents eventually immigrated to the Red Alliance to raise their son in peace."
Malrick arched a brow. "So this is Red Son Superman?"
"Something like that," Batman replied quietly. "He grew up among ordinary people until the Kryptonian fleet came looking for him. He fought them off, saved Earth, and became its hero."
"After that, the Red Alliance cooperated with him. Together, they pushed the world toward what they called a 'perfect society.'"
"But not everyone agreed," Batman went on. "Some feared Superman's alien nature and wanted him gone. Others believed humanity didn't need a god on Earth—that mortals should rise on their own."
Malrick smirked slightly. "Let me guess. Lex Luthor led the first group, and you led the second."
Batman lowered his head, shadows masking his eyes. "Luthor and I… we joined forces. We nearly killed him."
"Then you stopped?" Diana asked softly.
"Before dying, Superman called out the names of his parents and his lover," Batman said, his voice faint. "That's when I realized—he wasn't a god. He was a man. More human than I'll ever be."
He went silent for a long time before continuing. "But Luthor wasn't finished. He created Doomsday. Superman destroyed it… and died doing so."
Kara stood abruptly, fury flashing in her eyes. "You killed him! He protected humanity, and you killed him!"
The camp fell quiet. Only the Joker, grinning madly at the edge of the firelight, seemed entertained by the story.
Batman's shoulders lowered slightly. "I was wrong," he admitted—a rare confession from the Dark Knight.
"To avenge Superman, the Red Alliance declared war on America," he said. "The conflict hadn't started when Superman died, but without him, Earth was defenseless. That's when a mother box opened a Boom Tube—and Steppenwolf arrived."
"In that war, the Red Alliance fell. Luthor's army fell. Humanity itself nearly collapsed."
He stared into the fire, the orange glow flickering across the black of his cowl.
"When Superman was resurrected, he defeated Steppenwolf and saved the planet. But that victory… was just the beginning of the real disaster."
Malrick leaned forward. "And Luthor?"
Batman's expression hardened. "He opened another Boom Tube—this time to bring Darkseid himself."
The flames crackled as silence fell across the group.
Malrick looked down at the fallen Superman beside the fire, his face calm but unreadable.
"Then it seems," he said quietly, "we've all come back to the wrong world."
_______
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