ตอน 37: 37. Misunderstanding
After gathering the required weapons, Alex closed the door to the display room and retraced his steps with Pietro.
Alex highly valued items that could enhance his combat abilities. The saying "know thyself, know thy enemy" is essential when traversing these dangerous universes. Without strong combat skills, survival was impossible.
Even with Pietro, the speedster, as a bodyguard, Alex never felt completely safe. Every universe harbored beings at their peak of combat power, and facing them would easily result in death for an ordinary person like him due to the residual effects of their battles.
Alex was well aware of his limitations. He didn't have any particularly impressive skills, and his combat experience was mostly from street brawls. He knew nothing about advanced technology and couldn't create powerful armor like Tony Stark.
Under these circumstances, to improve combat ability there were only two ways: technology for the wealthy and mutations for the poor.
However, walking these paths was far from easy. Alex had to start by taking some suitable equipment from Batman to increase his chances of survival.
Back in the dining room, Alex couldn't find old Bruce Wayne. Assuming Bruce had already gone to the Batcave, Alex and Pietro were about to head there when they found Bruce shaving in the bathroom.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" Bruce asked, seeing Alex through the mirror while rinsing the foam off his face.
"I found some useful stuff, thanks to your notes. I can now skillfully operate this multifunctional umbrella, and under the right conditions, I can also produce fear gas," Alex said, holding up the umbrella.
Bruce merely nodded, indicating he knew all about Alex's actions in the display room.
Alex also knew Bruce was constantly monitoring him. Neither mentioned it, maintaining a tacit understanding.
"Any leads on Superman's whereabouts? I doubt Barry Allen can find any clues. If Superman is an alien, there should be a corresponding spaceship. With no answers after so long, it's likely some organization intercepted it."
Bruce was silent for a moment. After drying his face and hands, he picked up a file from the side table.
Alex took the file, feeling the warmth of the freshly printed pages. It was hard to believe Bruce had found Superman's whereabouts so quickly.
Even though Batman was old, his skills hadn't dulled.
In the movie, Barry Allen searched from afternoon till midnight without finding anything. Yet Bruce, excluding time spent cleaning the dining room and shaving, took less than twenty minutes.
The file contained records from the Russian Security Bureau, describing an alien spacecraft entering Earth's atmosphere and landing in Russia. Though some information was blacked out, it was clear the ship was secretly controlled and stored in a military base in the snowfields, where experiments were conducted. There were even records of capturing a live alien.
This was Superman's current location.
Interestingly, in Alex's memory, the comic's Flashpoint event involved Superman being captured and imprisoned by the US government. In the movie, it was Supergirl captured by the Russians.
"Did you tell Barry? He might still be using your Bat-network to search for his 'Superman'," Alex asked after scanning the file.
"I wanted to see how familiar that kid is with my Bat-equipment and how he handles things. Turns out, he's just a rookie vigilante with powers but no skills," Bruce shook his head.
"Indeed. From what I know, he usually operates under another universe's Batman and Alfred's guidance. This is his first time working alone, especially after causing such a big mess," Alex sighed.
As they chatted, they took an elevator from a castle to the Batcave. Upon entering, the sight made Alex shake his head. Adult Barry Allen was seriously searching for Superman, while young Barry Allen sped around the Batcave like it was a playground.
Young Barry was too wild, spoiled by his parents, unaware of the severity of the situation, making the serious and quiet Bruce frown.
Finally, Alex spoke. "Pietro, make him stop."
Pietro instantly vanished. His eagerness showed he had wanted to do this for a while.
Growing up under President X's rule, Pietro faced human oppression and discrimination against mutants, making him serious and composed during crises. Seeing the immature young Barry, Pietro's disdain for spoiled kids surfaced. Within seconds, Alex and Bruce felt a gust of wind. Pietro appeared holding young Barry's hand.
"Wow, you're a speedster too! I can't believe there's someone with the same ability. Were you struck by lightning too?" young Barry exclaimed.
"Quiet, kid. I'm a mutant. My speed is innate, not from a lightning strike," Pietro frowned, clearly annoyed.
"You're a kid too! And you're slow. I wasn't even using my full speed. Do you think you can catch me?" young Barry retorted.
Their actions caught adult Barry's attention. He intervened, stopping young Barry from challenging Pietro to another speed contest.
"You're a speedster? Did you also travel through time to get here?" adult Barry asked, curious.
"We have specialized equipment for controlled time travel," Alex half-truthfully replied, even Bruce couldn't tell if he was lying.
Before anyone else could react, young Barry spoke up.
"Oh, I get it! You're like time cops, here to handle time violations and arrest those who disrupt timelines, right?"
Young Barry's words shocked adult Barry. He never expected his attempt to save his mother would cause such chaos and attract the attention of 'time cops.'
Seeing their misunderstanding, Alex didn't explain.
Although not part of the Time Variance Authority, he did use a time controller for travel. The TVA indeed managed multiverse timelines. Since they assumed, he let them. Whether the TVA could manage DC Universe timelines wasn't Alex's concern. No one would expose him.
Alex calmly glanced at young Barry. "Now isn't the time for this. Bruce found Superman's location. We should leave immediately."
.....
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38. Teaming Up with Batman.
39. The Terrifying Invasion.
40. Eerie Arrival!
41. Finding Superman.
42. Kara Zor-El.
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