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Chapter 202: Who Are You Again? II

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And lastly... Darkseid, a bigger and stronger Darkseid. This is a meeting that isn't supposed to happen, yet it's happening, all because of Ian.

Such an assembly would terrify almost anyone. It will certainly be the bringer of despair because no amount of heroes could ever hope to contend.

"Are we all in agreement?" Darkseid asked emotionlessly.

"I am." The Anti-Monitor spoke while stealthily glancing at Perpetua, knowing that she might just try to kill him if he lets his guard down.

Their enmity is very deep. Previously, the only reason she influenced him is because she was imprisoned, thus unable to affect the material world too much.

Now, however, she's free. In fact, she was freed by Darkseid himself who went to great lengths to do so.

"I am," Barbatos spoke with venom in his mouth, seeming especially furious. How could he not after the chaos Ian's unit left behind in his own dimension?

The magical explosions that set off only after they left. Harley literally messing around with his people's fear levels to the point they became cowards, not willing to even lift a hand.

And Barbatos feeds on chaos, so when everyone became so afraid they weren't willing to leave the comfort of their own home, it annoyed him to no end.

The only one to survive Her fear corruption was the Batman Who Laughs, probably because he has no fear, or he already has too much fear in him.

Not just that, he felt the energy of fear spreading throughout his dimension, affecting other worlds, and the most troublesome thing is that he can not stop it!

That nearly drove him insane considering it's his fucking home! And he's supposed to be unrivaled within. It's like there is some kind of force spreading, limiting his influence.

"Only temporary," Perpetua finally spoke, her tone sounding kind of hazy,  "And I won't leave my hiding... I will only support from afar."

Her words froze the nonexistent air in the realm, but still, no one disagreed because they knew that if she were to leave, it'll appear.

That creature will appear, and even the combination of them all may not be able to deal with it. Not Ian, but the cosmic Raptor.

The Cosmic Raptor, a giant cosmic bird who was sent by the Judges of the Source to seal Perpetua, and the totality of her powers in the Source Wall. 

Its power is seemingly infinite, dwarfing those of Perpetua and her army, thus why it was able to easily seal her.

Instantly, Perpetua, Barbatos, and the Anti-Monitor vanished, going to prepare for the battle to come. Well, Perpetua went into hiding, constantly changing her hiding place just in case.

Only Darkseid was left in the crack between universes, looking at nothingness before him with a glint in his eyes, "This is the only way, but they're too ingrained in this fake reality to understand it... True evil is the evil that lives."

Whatever he meant by that was unknown, but what was known was that their movement didn't go unnoticed. Perpetua escaping her seal was too big of a deal to be ignored.

And soon, only a few weeks later, the heroes of Earth received the news from the Guardians of the Universe.

"What should we do?" Nightwing asked, seeming nervous.

Everyone turned their eyes to Batman, waiting for a dose of wisdom, "What can we do besides trying? We already know that she's responsible for the destruction of many universes, so negotiating isn't an option."

"But as you said yourself, she's capable of universal destruction, so what can we do to combat that? Even if we survive, many will die. We can not allow that." That's the most troublesome thing Superman saw with dealing with such a being.

"We give it our all, and we take risks," Batman responded with a frown, seeming hesitant, something noted by everyone in the hall, and by everyone, it's literally everyone.

Every Hero they know was there, hundreds uniting together for one goal. Not just that, even the villains of the universe were having a meeting of their own.

The guardians of the Universe made sure everyone know of the consequences that Perpetua could bring.

"Say it," Diana spoke, seemingly already knowing what he wants to say. 

"We might have to rely on Ian if things come to worse... Or perhaps we should just hire him to do the job." Batman finally let out a sigh, speaking out.

"Hire? Does this not involve him also? He will be forced to get involved, no?" Someone who doesn't know much wondered.

"According to my investigation. He isn't here. His people also aren't here." Batman said, and added noticing people's confusion, "I don't think, or I know he's not in this universe anymore, confirmed by the Guardians."

Batman took a deep breath, finally getting to the most important part, "Moreover, the Roses vanished. The guardians think they've been teleported to a certain closed solar system owned by Ian, so he has nothing tying him to this world anymore. Perhaps that's his goal."

"Doesn't that mean he's in that solar system?" Someone else asked.

"No, I met him in a faraway place, a dimension outside of this universe in our battle against Hecate... Something he did made it pretty clear that he's stronger than all of us combined." It was Diana who answered.

And Batman continued, "I don't know how he became so strong, but it wasn't unexpected. His track record definitely defines him as a dangerous person, but not someone who would destroy universes, thus my offer."

If only they knew...

"There is a problem though," Batman was even more stressed now, "Hiring means he requires payment, and he's a bit greedy. So we can only imagine what he would want for facing an entity like Perpetua..."

Charity... And he's not greedy...

"The options are we try our best, and only if we lose can he get involved so as to not pay anything if we're successful. That might come with the problem of numerous casualties. The other is hiring him directly." The Green Martians stated, looking thoughtful.

"We can't compromise. Our main responsibility is to protect, so what's best for the people is what we have to do." Superman accentuated, and no one disagreed, either because of the good of their heart or because they don't want to risk their lives.

The universe, no, the multiverse was moving. Most other universes besides prime were also made known of Perpetua's escape, thus everyone was getting ready. 

Some were even contacting other universes to unite. That's how Batman came to know of the situation of some other universes, and he assumed their destruction to be the result of Perpetua's resurgence.

Everything coincided so well for all the blame to be thrown at Perpetua, the poor thing. Hell, even the people of Earth-38 seemed to have forgotten about Ian and Dr. Manhattan.

And what's even more interesting is that it wasn't Ian who was manipulating the strings behind the scene...