RedX43
patreon
[Superman] Chapter 224: The Suddenly Disappeared Target Universe
🕑 Added 2024-09-04 03:42:23 +0000 UTCThe infinite darkness crisis is about to strike. The entire multiverse is on the verge of being consumed by endless darkness.
Upon learning this dire news, every member of the Justice League became urgently focused. Fortunately, they weren’t without means to prevent this looming catastrophe. Moreover, they weren't alone in their fight against the darkness. In such an enormous crisis, everyone across the multiverse would become their allies.
With that in mind, the Justice League plunged into action, though not without direction. Before everything began, they devised a simple plan to combat the universe-spanning crisis.
“In the Speed Force, my future self told me that by harnessing the Speed Force, I could traverse universes and gather more powerful allies to our cause!”
At this moment, Barry had clearly become the most crucial figure in this crisis. He was the only one who possessed the ability to open portals to other universes.
“But right now, my understanding of the Speed Force isn't advanced enough to achieve that. It might take some time before I can use the Speed Force to open passages to other universes.”
To warn the people of every universe about the impending darkness, Barry would need to fully master his Speed Force abilities. Fortunately, Barry had received insights into controlling the Speed Force from his future self's memories, though he hadn't yet had the chance to put them into practice.
“Barry, for now, you don’t need to worry about anything else. Your priority is to master the Speed Force as soon as possible, and then…”
Batman stared intently at the young Barry, fully aware of the importance of Barry and his Speed Force in resolving this crisis. Without Barry, their universe alone wouldn’t be able to withstand the overwhelming darkness threatening the entire multiverse.
“And the rest of us will prepare for our journey to other universes.”
“Victor, I need you to quickly build a machine that can stabilize and harness the Speed Force to open a time-space portal!”
“As for the others, in addition to helping Barry and Victor complete their tasks, we also need to search the world for allies with special abilities. Invite them to join the League and fight the darkness alongside us!”
“The time we have left is short. We don’t know when that eerie darkness will invade our universe.”
“So, from now on, we must unite all the forces in our universe that can be united to prepare for the dark invasion.”
Batman understood that their universe was also under threat from the strange dark energy. Since they had already encountered it before, their universe was more likely to be the first to face this dark force than any other universe in the multiverse.
And the time left for them to prepare was likely running out.
“In short, from this moment on, we must give everything we have to prepare for the darkness!”
“When Barry masters the Speed Force, and Victor completes the time-space machine…”
“We will head to other universes together to find stronger allies and drive away the darkness!”
“In this vast universe, light will prevail.”
“Justice will triumph over evil, and light will eventually dispel all darkness!”
...
While the Justice League on Earth was making ample preparations for the upcoming dark invasion, Peter on Apokolips remained unaware of these developments. He had just finished inspecting the prototype Doomsday creation designed by DeSaad.
Sitting back on his throne, he contemplated the creature’s performance. While impressive, it wasn’t entirely satisfactory in his eyes.
The strength and speed, for instance, were only barely planetary level—adequate for destroying less advanced planets, but ruling the entire universe seemed far-fetched.
“However, this might be enough. A few of these Doomsday creatures should be more than sufficient to annihilate a backward planet like Earth!”
Peter mused to himself. Earth, with its relatively low level of technological advancement and inability to even leave its own planet, seemed an easy target for destruction. But Earth was always the center of the universe; no matter what happened to other planets, Earth always seemed to endure.
“And the best part is that these Doomsday creatures can be controlled, which makes them far superior to an uncontrollable Doomsday!”
“If their numbers grow large enough, they could indeed become an unstoppable force.”
Satisfied with his thoughts, Peter was pleased with DeSaad’s work.
“You’ve done well. Proceed with mass production as planned.”
After praising DeSaad, Peter instructed him to begin mass-producing the Doomsday creatures, replacing the easily defeated Parademons.
“As you command, great king!”
DeSaad smiled with pride at Peter’s praise but quickly regained his composure, kneeling respectfully before Peter and pledging to follow his orders.
“Alright, you may go…”
With a wave of his hand, Peter dismissed DeSaad to ensure his orders were carried out swiftly. Left alone in the vast, silent palace, Peter felt a sudden sense of aimlessness.
“Perhaps it’s time I went to that universe myself!”
Soon, Peter remembered what he originally intended to do: travel to the special DC universe that had once invaded the Marvel Universe’s Earth and investigate the true source of that eerie darkness.
Initially, he had chosen to visit this universe first only to gather sufficient Speed Force energy. He hadn’t expected to spend so much time here, even taking over as the new ruler of Apokolips, replacing the dark lord Darkseid.
Such is the unpredictability of fate—in the boundless multiverse, anything is possible.
With that thought, Peter didn’t hesitate. He vanished from the vast hall, returning to the Marvel Universe. Of course, before leaving, Peter didn’t forget to take with him all the technological data DeSaad had given him on how to create Doomsday.
...
“Sir, why have you returned so quickly this time?”
As soon as Peter returned to the Marvel Universe, Reed received the news and hurried to the lab.
“Nothing much. This time, I came back to prepare for the trip to that designated universe,” Peter said, explaining the reason for his quick return.
“I see…” Reed nodded in understanding. “Sir, are you sure you’re ready? After all, that universe might be the very point where the crisis you’re concerned about will erupt…”
However, Reed, still concerned, couldn’t help but ask Peter.
“...”
For a moment, Peter was at a loss for words. If it had been before today, he wouldn’t have hesitated at all. After all, at that time, he hadn’t witnessed the true power and terror of the dark force. But now, he knew that the one controlling this dark force was likely a being as strong as himself.
“Hmph, even if it’s as strong as me, it won’t easily defeat me, let alone leave me helpless!”
“If worst comes to worst, I’ll just retreat if the situation turns dire.”
However, Peter’s hesitation only lasted a moment. He was confident in his strength. No matter how powerful the entity controlling the darkness was, it couldn’t make him powerless.
“Don’t worry. Since I’m willing to go in person, I’m confident I can return safely!” Having made up his mind, Peter spoke to Reed without hesitation.
“Alright, sir. I respect your decision…”
“So, sir, do you want to leave for that universe immediately, or would you prefer to rest for a while?” Reed, still worried, knew he couldn’t change Peter’s mind.
“No need. This trip didn’t take much out of me, so let’s start right away!” Peter shook his head, indicating there was no need to rest.
“Please wait a moment then, sir…” Reed didn’t say much more and immediately began the process of opening the cross-universal portal for the third time.
Since this was the third time opening the Speed Force portal to the DC universe, everything went smoothly. In less than a minute, with the gathering of massive Speed Force energy, a new portal formed. The pathway to the target universe was successfully opened.
Peter didn’t hesitate and moved toward the portal, ready to step through. But just as he was about to enter, he stopped and turned to Reed.
“By the way, hand these technological materials to Dr. Connors…” Peter said as if suddenly remembering something, tossing a small silver cube to Reed. It was the Doomsday technology he had brought back.
“Alright, sir. I’ll deliver it to Dr. Connors,” Reed responded without hesitation, though he couldn’t help but be curious about what kind of technology was contained in the cube. However, he did not question it and agreed immediately.
Peter then turned and stepped into the Speed Force portal.
…
The crossing process was almost identical to the previous two times. Soon, Peter crossed the boundary of the omniverse and entered the vast DC universe.
The next moment, he followed the pre-set coordinates, traveling toward the universe that had previously invaded the Marvel Universe. However, as Peter reached the designated coordinates, an unexpected situation occurred.
At the target coordinates, there was nothing—no sign of a single universe.
“That’s odd. The last time I was here, I passed by this universe. It should be at these coordinates. How could it suddenly disappear?”
Seeing the empty space where the target universe should have been, Peter couldn’t help but feel strange. After all, he had seen this universe in this exact location not long ago. How could it disappear so quickly?
“Could it be that this universe was destroyed by some powerful being?”
Peter couldn’t help but think this was a possibility.
“But if a universe is destroyed, there should be some trace left behind. How could it vanish without a trace?”
Seeing no signs of destruction, Peter became even more puzzled.
“Could it be that these coordinates are wrong?”
Puzzled, Peter extended his powerful senses to scan the surroundings. Soon, in the nearby void, he discovered the universe he was looking for.
“That universe is still in its original place, unchanged. And the surrounding universes haven’t shifted either.”
“Which means the issue lies with this universe itself!”
“Could it be that the one controlling the dark energy used this universe to invade another?”
Peter quickly concluded that the problem was with this target universe and that its sudden
disappearance might be related to the mastermind controlling the dark energy.
“Seems like it’s a pity this time…”
Just as Peter felt some regret and was about to return to the Marvel Universe to reconsider, he suddenly saw a rapidly moving figure in the Speed Force portal.
“That’s… the Flash I encountered during the first crossing?”
Seeing the figure, Peter immediately remembered the Flash he had met the first time he entered the Speed Force, who seemed to be from the TV show version.
Now, only a short time had passed, and this guy seemed much more mature, with a far better grasp of the Speed Force.
The figure naturally noticed Peter as well, but he seemed to be in a hurry and had no intention of stopping, trying to pass by Peter.
“Wait a minute, Barry Allen!” However, just as he was about to pass Peter, Peter reached out and stopped him.
“No, I can’t stop. I have something incredibly important to do…” Barry, blocked by Peter, showed a very anxious expression, indicating something extremely urgent awaited him.
“Just a moment. I have one question: Was there ever a universe at that location? Do you know why it suddenly disappeared?”
Peter clearly intended to ask Barry about the disappearance of the target universe.
“What? That universe… disappeared?”
“Damn, could it be that guy’s plan has already started?”
Originally anxious, Barry looked at the empty space where the universe should have been, and his expression turned to shock and disbelief.
“No, I can’t delay any longer. The universe needs my help!” Peter could see that Barry seemed to know why the universe disappeared.
“Wait, I think we need to talk. What’s the deal with this guy and his plan?” At this moment, Peter knew he couldn’t let Barry, who might know the inside story, leave easily.
...
(End of Chapter)
