章 239: Chapter 239: The Apocalypse Approaches
"The End is coming?"
Peter's words instantly left Barry in utter shock.
Almost immediately, as if sensing something, he whipped around, locking eyes with Peter as they both gazed toward the distant horizon.
In the sky, Ultraman and Superman were locked in fierce battle, each of their blows creating powerful shockwaves.
Boom!
Moments later, with a deafening explosion, the two combatants were thrown apart.
"What's happening?"
Just as they were about to clash again, Superman suddenly sensed something. His gaze shifted from Ultraman to the far-off horizon behind him.
There, in the distant sky, a massive, unending blue energy barrier had appeared.
This enormous curtain of light seemed poised to engulf the entire sky and earth.
The sheer scale of the scene was overwhelming and awe-inspiring.
"Is that... the Anti-Matter Energy Wall?"
Even Superman, witnessing the colossal Anti-Matter barrier—larger than the universe itself—couldn't help but feel a wave of terror.
The immense power felt nearly unstoppable.
"Hmm?"
Ultraman, who was about to resume his fight with Superman, noticed Superman's sudden change. Confused, he turned around and followed Superman's horrified gaze.
"What is that thing?"
With eyesight as keen as Superman's, Ultraman easily spotted the massive Anti-Matter energy wall closing in on Earth.
His stern, resolute face momentarily showed a hint of confusion.
"Could what they said be true?"
At that moment, the doubts he had about Superman and the others' warnings vanished. He finally believed everything they had told him.
"My universe is truly facing an extinction-level crisis?"
Disbelief was written all over Ultraman's face.
He glanced briefly at Superman, not far away.
Without further hesitation, his figure flashed as he sped toward his teammates.
"What... what is happening?"
By now, almost everyone had sensed that something was wrong in the universe. No one had the heart to continue fighting. They split into two factions but all looked toward the distant horizon.
Their faces were filled with shock and disbelief.
Whoosh!
Two figures sped back to their respective teams, landing in front of their comrades.
"Boss, you're here!"
When Ultraman arrived at his team's forefront, Johnny Quick looked at him in shock, as though he had something to say but couldn't find the words.
"Hmm..."
Ultraman nodded slightly, his gaze never leaving the distant energy curtain.
"Superwoman, it seems those people weren't lying after all."
Superwoman approached him, her expression grave as she spoke in a low voice.
"Hmph, even if that's true, it's not their place to save our universe."
Ultraman's face remained cold, showing no sign of accepting their help.
"But, boss, what should we do now?"
Johnny Quick looked at the overwhelming energy curtain looming in the distance, fear filling his eyes as he asked Ultraman.
"Owlman, do you have any thoughts on this situation?"
Though Ultraman had nearly invincible strength, intelligence was not his forte. He turned to the shadowy figure clad in black armor and asked in a deep voice.
"Apologies, Ultraman. This energy manifested too suddenly. We have no data on it, and I don't have a solid plan right now."
Owlman, silent for a while under the scrutiny of Ultraman and the others, finally shook his head, indicating that he didn't have a viable solution in such a short time.
"Should we... ask them for help?"
Seeing even the smartest among them stumped, Power Ring hesitantly suggested.
"Hmm?"
His words instantly drew Ultraman's icy gaze.
"Forget it. I didn't say anything."
Feeling the coldness in Ultraman's stare, Power Ring quickly backed down, weakly shaking his head as if retracting the suggestion.
"Hmph, no matter what, we don't need outsiders interfering in our universe's affairs."
Satisfied with Power Ring's reaction, Ultraman withdrew his gaze but still reminded them sternly.
"Before this, we had already conquered this universe. I, who am invincible, even felt a sense of loneliness..."
After establishing the Crime Syndicate, they had forcefully taken control of this universe. They ruled everything on Earth.
Anyone who dared resist them—those self-proclaimed heroes who sought to free the planet—had been crushed. Their heads were severed and turned into trophies to mark their domination of the universe.
With no one left to challenge them, they had begun to feel bored and lonely.
Until today, when they learned of the existence of other universes.
And that their own universe was facing imminent destruction.
"Now, we have a new goal. Beyond our universe, there are countless worlds waiting for us to conquer. Billions of humans are waiting to be ruled by us."
"Therefore, we cannot allow our universe to be destroyed."
"I will, in my invincible glory, save my Earth and all the people I command!"
Ultraman was proud, violent, and unrelenting.
Yet, at this moment, he didn't shrink back from the overwhelming Anti-Matter energy. Instead, he was ready to save the world and universe they had conquered!
Without hesitation, Ultraman shot into the sky, heading toward the distant horizon.
With a fearless, invincible posture, he charged toward the crisis threatening to destroy the universe.
"What... should we do?"
Watching Ultraman's figure disappear, the rest of the Crime Syndicate exchanged hesitant glances.
"Of course, we follow him and face the crisis head-on!"
Superwoman, unwavering like Ultraman, didn't hesitate. She followed him without a second thought, speeding toward the distant sky.
"Well..."
The others, though still uncertain, no longer hesitated. They, too, raced toward the horizon.
...
"They... are they really this reckless?"
At this moment, as the members of the Crime Syndicate rushed toward the looming crisis without hesitation, the Justice League couldn't help but look at them in disbelief.
None of them had expected that the supervillains of this universe would take on such responsibility at this critical moment.
Unfortunately, their approach seemed overly reckless.
Faced with a massive crisis that could annihilate the entire universe, they had no apparent plan.
"Seems like they're not completely beyond saving..." Aquaman snorted, his view of them shifting slightly.
"But their past actions have caused significant trouble and disruption for us..."
Batman, however, wore a serious expression. He knew that the Crime Syndicate's unwillingness to cooperate had caused their original plan to go awry. The already limited time they had was further eaten up, leaving them with almost none.
The anti-matter energy wave sweeping across the universe was now closing in, ready to engulf this reality. And they hadn't had the chance to fully prepare according to the plan.
"Now, there's barely any time left for us to make any preparations," Batman said, his voice heavy. "This universe's reality might already be..."
His words trailed off ominously.
"Sigh... is this fate, then?" Others couldn't help but lament, feeling sorrow for this universe and its people.
"Since it's come to this, all we can do is our best," Clark, too, wore a look of sadness that quickly hardened into determination. "Even if we can't save this universe in time, we must gather enough information to prepare for saving others."
Clark's objective was clear: to prepare by gathering precise data on the anti-matter energy so that they could find a way to completely eradicate it before it swept through other universes.
"Looks like that's our only option now," Batman nodded gravely.
"If we can, Barry, everything rests on you now," Batman said, turning toward Barry.
"No problem, leave it to me," Barry confidently nodded, instantly transforming into a streak of lightning, with the vast power of the Speed Force surging from his body. Soon, the energy converged near them, forming into a powerful force.
Buzz!
As the Speed Force continued to accumulate, it began to vibrate violently, slowly expanding into a large portal.
"Victor, can you hear me?" Batman asked, as the portal fully formed.
"Loud and clear, Bruce!" a voice crackled through their communicators. Everyone exhaled a sigh of relief, the tension easing a little.
"Thank goodness, our tech's still working," Batman murmured, allowing himself a rare moment of ease.
"Did you reach Victor and the others?" Barry, still running at breakneck speed, slowed just enough to ask, concern lacing his voice.
"No issues, connection's been made."
"That's great!" Barry beamed with excitement.
"But don't get ahead of yourself," Batman cut in, his tone stern. "We still have a lot of work to do, and there's not much time."
"Don't worry, God will watch over us!" Barry replied optimistically before darting into the portal as a bolt of lightning. In less than a second, Barry reemerged, holding several thick cables in his hands.
"Quick! See if they work!" Barry asked, nervousness creeping into his voice as he placed the cables down.
"One moment," Batman responded as he grabbed a cable, connecting it to his suit. Thankfully, though the previous battles had been fierce and his suit had suffered damage, it was still functional. His system was up and running.
As green symbols and data flickered across his arm display, Batman finally relaxed, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Connection established. The inter-universe data transmission plan is working without a hitch!"
In their bid to save the universe and counter this crisis, they had made many efforts and prepared numerous contingency plans.
This, fortunately, was one of the simpler ones. Ideally, they wouldn't have tested it under such time pressure, but the suddenness and speed of the crisis had left them little choice. Many of their plans had to be tested and deployed on the fly.
Fortunately, the plans designed by the smartest minds of their universe weren't prone to failure.
"Alright, time is short. Let's proceed with the next phase!" Batman said, as he removed his suit for the first time, revealing a rapidly transforming array of metal components that reconfigured into a special device.
"Clark, Barry, you two return to our universe and bring the remaining equipment!" Batman ordered.
"The rest of you, clear the surrounding area and leave enough space!"
As Batman's suit morphed into the new device, he gave out orders to the others, who wasted no time in carrying them out.
In their original plan, they had intended to use their devices to attempt stopping the advancing anti-matter wall.
But thanks to the Crime Syndicate's interference, they had lost too much time, leaving no room for additional preparation.
Now, they had to abandon the initial strategy, opting instead for a more direct approach: measuring the anti-matter energy's properties and determining a way to counter it more precisely.
Quickly, the area around them was cleared, leaving a vast empty space. Superman and Barry then began ferrying the prepared equipment through the portal. Superman himself carried a massive silver trident and planted it at the center of all the assembled devices.
"Perfect, we finished just in time," they said, all letting out a collective sigh of relief as they admired their handiwork.
At the same time, not far from them, Ultraman and his group finally witnessed the massive anti-matter energy wall advancing ever closer!
(End of Chapter)
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