American comics: Starting with Luke the Maker

What kind of world lies behind the door?

Before entering, Bruce thought he would see a hellish scene, devoid of order and civilization, even more irreparably chaotic and dark than Gotham had been.

Everywhere, bizarre and twisted villains would roam unchecked.

But upon entering, what he saw and observed was quite different.

They arrived in an orderly and well-organized world that seemed peaceful and prosperous. The scarlet hues and madly overflowing pupils that had been in his mind a moment ago vanished completely the instant he stepped through the door. It seemed to be just a means of intimidating people and measuring the courage of those who entered.

"Here?" Bruce looked questioningly at Luke beside him, and then at the Bruce in the hospital gown, wanting to inquire about the current situation. He had expected to face a difficult battle upon entering. He had prepared for any eventuality, but everything was calm and peaceful, as if he had been overthinking things.

"What you see is not the truth. I remember this world; it should be a city constantly cycling in darkness. It's unique, so unique that the Batman Who Laughs made it his home," the Bruce in the hospital gown said with a solemn expression. "Don't be fooled by its current appearance as a normal, beautiful city full of order and peace. It will soon descend into the abyss of darkness at a speed no one can imagine. Even if countless people in this city want to save it, it will be in vain.

The Batman Who Laughs has given this city a dark and evil will and soul, causing it to cycle endlessly, greedily devouring the darkness and fear in the hearts of everyone in the city.

Blooming, bearing fruit, and then recycling. Ultimately, destroying the entire universe."

After the Bruce in the hospital gown finished speaking, his gaze followed Bruce's to a landmark building in the city. He continued, "That's right, this is Gotham! This world's Gotham!

The side of order represents Bruce, which is our will, while darkness and destruction represent the Batman Who Laughs, combined with the Joker, and the being behind him. So you will see the beauty we yearn for, and you will also see many people willing to stand up and protect this city when it is invaded by darkness, but ultimately they will forever sink into failure under the darkness. That despair is this city's favorite food."

As Bruce silently followed Luke and the others, the hard ground beneath his feet trembled and emitted a muffled and terrifying roar, as if a carpet was being lifted.

From the torn ground, streams of ghastly green water gushed upwards like fountains, transforming into crystalline liquid and spraying in all directions. People on the streets who couldn't avoid it were all covered and washed by this green rain.

"Dionysus factor. Or rather, the Laughing Virus created based on it. This is the beginning of the virus disaster," the Bruce in the hospital gown reached out and felt the mist-like liquid falling from the sky.

"This city will gradually go mad under the influence of the Laughing Virus, then despair, and finally rot. All the darkness and destruction accumulated during this process will become food for the city, making it even stronger. Each destruction is a meal. To stop it, you can only reverse everything. But under the arrangement of the Batman Who Laughs, this reversal will only be a beautiful dream that is just out of reach."

"It seems the energy foundation of this world is somewhat similar to the matching degree of psionic energy. It's just that we use positive energy, while they are frantically creating and collecting negative dark energy. If the Batman Who Laughs infects Bruce and obtains the method of preparing psionic energy from him, this universe may evolve into an abyss," Stephen used magic to blast away the Dionysus factors that approached, and the Cloak of Levitation transformed directly into a raincoat, completely covering him.

"What should we do?" Bruce looked at the Bruce in the hospital gown.

"Generally speaking, in the end, we have to face the Batman Who Laughs and the members of his dark legion. They are the ones who maintain the various 'organs' of this city. According to my memory, they should be preparing in this city," the Bruce in the hospital gown spread his hands.

"Where are they?"

"You know, don't you?"

Upon hearing this, Bruce's face darkened. He thought of Wayne Manor and the Batcave beneath it. Seeing the expression on the face of the Bruce in the hospital gown, which seemed to say, "You guessed it, it's there," he subconsciously clenched his fists.

"The speed of distortion is a bit fast! It seems the city has discovered our presence and intends to start digesting us," the Bruce in the hospital gown sighed slightly, looking at the pedestrians who suddenly twitched and then turned their malicious gazes towards them. It seemed that even the opportunity for them to follow the strategy and go through the process had been cut off.

They didn't have time to crack the situation and then gradually reverse it based on the clues. From the beginning, the situation was spiraling out of control towards the most unpredictable and worst-case scenario.

"Can we end all this by defeating the members of those dark legions?" A sphere on Bruce's body emitted a warm golden light, helping Bruce isolate and dispel the influence of the Dionysus factors.

"We don't need to go there. They're already here," Luke suddenly said.

As his voice fell, the sky suddenly turned dark, and a huge, all-encompassing bat shadow, like the deepest terror, shrouded the entire city's sky. If the Bat-Signal meant to Gotham that that annoying Batman was going to meddle again, then the current Bat-Signal meant that the deepest darkness of the city was about to join this carnival of destruction.

One after another, figures exuding a powerful dark aura appeared, surrounding Luke and the others. Stephen looked around at the faces that appeared, and sighed slightly, "They're all familiar faces."

The members of the dark legion that appeared in Bruce's mental world were now appearing before them in real form.

"Where's Barbatos? I want to see him," Luke greeted a Bruce combination closest to him in a friendly manner.

"Did you kill the Batman Who Laughs?" The Merciless said.

"That depends on how you define death. If it's physical death, then probably not yet. But if it's death of consciousness, I'd rather call it rebirth. Look, leaning towards order, rid of the Joker virus, and regaining his original will, it's the Dawnbreaker! He's back," Luke stepped aside, revealing the Bruce in the hospital gown behind him, and said.

"He is not the Batman Who Laughs," The Merciless only glanced at the Bruce in the hospital gown and said decisively.

"Kill him! Let me give him the judgment of death!" A voice with a metallic tone rang out.