There was no denying it, Cindy's cooking skills were really bad. It seemed just as she said, she merely threw whatever vegetables she could find into the pot.
Su Ming swore, this was the worst stew he had ever tasted, and the method was a Western-style sweet soup.
The turkey left by Briss, however, should have been made by the old butler. Despite having a bit of a fridge smell, it was still edible.
The three of them ate in silence, without much conversation.
Vico ultimately didn't find any proper protective suits, only a few Bat masks.
Though unsure of Briss intended use for them, upon inspection, they indeed had anti-toxic functions, so she had them all wear one.
There weren't any proper weapons in the Bat Cave, and Su Ming didn't care for things like darts. He just replenished some smoke bombs, calling it the completion of their preparations.
Everyone returned to the car, leaving a mess behind, without cleaning or hiding it.
Su Ming blindfolded them again, allowing Cindy to drive away from there.
Outside the cave, the wind seemed to have lessened a bit, but the rain was heavier, the dense rain once again shrouding the car, and the atmosphere became heavy again.
Su Ming leaned against the passenger seat, resting his head on his arms, silently calculating.
If Falcone and Leixiao Gu were still manageable, then the Laughing Bat and Barbatos hiding in the shadows were another story. Su Ming was aware of their plans, but those were the comic versions of them, in the real world, anything could change.
For instance, his arrival was a destructive impact on the original story, and the resulting butterfly effect was hard to estimate.
His past comic memories no longer provided much help, at most allowing him to gauge opponents' strength levels and trump cards in the face of enemies.
If the Laughing Bat faced them directly, he and Cindy would surely win, but Barbatos was a completely different story.
He's referred to as the Dark Cosmic Dragon, the Bat God, which implies a Multiverse Level monster, such strength isn't something a couple of people can handle.
In the comics, to defeat Barbatos, some special... metals were needed.
The metals serve as the door connecting the light and the dark multiverses, and Barbatos plans to use them to travel to the Main World.
Over there, various metals were being infused into Batman as planned.
Thus, he influenced some people through dreams, making them his followers, executing his plan.
First, there was the Owl Court's Amber Gold, resembling clear spring water, which Batman accidentally drank during his fight with them.
Then, the Dionysus Factor, found in Joker's blood. It entered Batman's body during mutual injury with the Joker.
N Metal was exposed to Batman during his assistance to Hawkman and Hawk Woman, with its energy permeating his physique.
Next was Promethium, the metal composing Deathstroke's armor, which Batman used to create his "Final Machine" — a high-tech automatic surgery table capable of rapid healing, and he had used it several times.
Finally, there was Bat Gold, located in the ancient tomb of the Bat Tribe in Egypt on Earth 0.
When all these metals are gathered, the Batman of the main world will become a gateway to the Dark Multiverse, and he will undergo spatial exchange with another Bruce, who is the Laughing Bat from Earth -22.
The Laughing Bat will summon Barbatos to Earth 0, preparing various dark rituals, and once Barbatos arrives there, he will launch them, continuously gathering power, dragging all worlds into darkness to achieve his goal.
N Metal is what converts dark energy into reality; it can harm Barbatos and his dark creations.
But to truly defeat Barbatos, the tenth metal in the universe is needed, X Metal, which exists within the World Furnace. As for the World Furnace, Su Ming only knew it was located somewhere in the Dark Multiverse.
Where exactly? He didn't know. How to get there? Unknown too.
This means even if Earth -11 is saved, it only prolongs his life, for once the Bright Multiverse falls into darkness, the entire DC World will lose its balance, and everyone will perish together.
Yes, Barbatos never meant for this; he just wanted to drag all universes into darkness, making them his territory, erasing the light, he would be the sole ruler.
But the trouble is, his understanding is still limited, and he never considered the principle of cosmic balance.
There are 52 bright universes, 52 dark universes, within an invisible plane of the world, one side towards the sun, one side shrouded in shadows.
They are like eggs at the ends of a balance scale, capable of coexistence.
If a few from the other side were brought over, the scale would tilt, causing severe consequences, like the Flashpoint Paradox and Infinite Crisis.
If, as planned, all were brought over, the scale would topple, and everyone would end.
If Su Ming wants to continue living, he must go to the Bright Multiverse and eradicate the scourge.
Since the story changed, his arrival already affected Earth -11's destiny, nothing is as in the comics, and if the Justice League continues acting as they did in the comics, the outcome would be uncertain.
He didn't want to entrust his destiny in others' hands.
But Deathstroke is a mercenary, not a mage; how can he traverse plane barriers?
For now, he hadn't thought of a way, only able to take one step at a time.
......................................
Cindy didn't know what he was thinking about, just felt Su Ming seemed to have become much quieter.
The water on the road was already very deep. The car driving on the road more resembled a boat, with ripples spreading on both sides from the water it pushed aside.
Apart from them, the car had only a corpse of a Shadow Dancer, wrapped in several black garbage bags, tossed in a corner, perhaps as a bargaining chip with the Shadow Dancer Alliance.
Everyone remained silent; there was an atmosphere of an impending battle, yet each's expression was quite different.
Barbara was daydreaming, thinking about various things, her face flushing at times, turning pale at others, occasionally stealing glances at Su Ming's back.
Vico was excited. She was reapplying her makeup, adjusting her anti-toxic mask in the mirror, seeing how to wear it nicely, believing she was witnessing history tonight.
Pete, well, he had no thoughts, as he seemed to have fainted.
The weather made them the only vehicle on the road; on the pitch-black highway, their car's lights were the only source of illumination.
The storm likely damaged Gotham City's power facilities, as most of the city was plunged into darkness, aside from a few central districts.
However, the Bat Lamp atop the police station, it seemed always to remain lit.