[Integrated/Crossover DC/Marvel] Why Did the World End Again? - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Revenge of the Moon

Immediately after, a woman in a long white dress leapt from a third-story window. Like a ghost, she ran with light, rhythmic steps, sprinting toward the sea.

She raised her arms and screamed:

“The world is finished!”

Watching this, Alice fell into silence. What could she say? She wanted to shout along with her: The world really is finished…

The woman wore a very plain long dress. Before Alice could react, a group of medical staff appeared behind the woman, surrounding her. Eventually, they dragged her back to the Metropolis Asylum.

Alice stared at the sign in silence. She had heard of Arkham Asylum, but a “Metropolis Asylum” was a first.

Alice followed Annabelle’s shadow. After being forcibly taken back, Annabelle was brought into a room the Director’s Lounge.

In the center of the lounge stood a metal iron chair. The staff strapped Anna to it and left one by one, leaving only one man standing there.

“I thought you were going to kill me…”

Annabelle lowered her head. The man didn’t answer her; he simply paced around her a few times before fixing his attention on the wall.

A single photograph hung there. It was a picture of the Daily Planet, looking worn and tattered. Surrounding the photo like decorations were various instruments of torture.

“Do you still remember this symbol? The place where everything began.”

Annabelle remained silent. The man reached out to touch the photo.

“The day the Daily Planet collapsed, the Metropolis Asylum was founded…”

“You know better than anyone why it collapsed.”

Alice felt that Anna hadn’t had water in a long time; her voice was incredibly raspy.

After Annabelle spoke, the man fell silent for about two seconds. Then, he turned and leaned directly into Annabelle’s face.

“And? Are you still keeping up the same act? You’re a smart person, Anna. You should know how to act to get a ‘better result’.”

“A better result? Like you, being a dog for them? Go be one yourself.”

As soon as Anna said this, the man’s expression instantly turned grim. He reached for one of the torture devices on the wall.

“You used to be so smart, yet you choose to be stupid about this…”

Alice was shocked. An asylum director just beating a patient whenever he wants?!

Alice didn’t know how much time passed. She could only stand outside the door, watching the clock tick. Two hours later, Alice saw the staff enter and drag Annabelle out. She was drenched in sweat, her clothes soaked through.

The lounge door wasn’t closed. Alice saw splatters of blood on the man’s cuffs.

The moon outside remained bright, reflected in the window. Alice’s perspective followed Annabelle, who lay weakly on her bed while the night-shift nurses patrolled the halls in circles.

Anna turned over, staring blankly at the ceiling. Then she rose and went to the bathroom. When she came out, Alice could see large patches of fresh blood on her dress and tears covering her face.

Like a ghost, she crept toward the door of her ward. She tapped softly on the door. A patrolling nurse heard the sound and hurried over. When she saw the blood on Anna’s dress, she grew highly tense and reached for her alarm, but Anna stopped her.

“Sister, I think my period started… please, don’t tell anyone. Can you help me get something for it? I’m scared I’ll get beaten again. Please, I’m begging you.”

Alice knew Anna was quite pretty, though her usually cold, expressionless aura masked it. At this moment, pressed against the small window of the door, her pale, pitiful face and pleading eyes were truly heartbreaking.

The nurse was moved, perhaps by her plight. She gritted her teeth and walked back. She only wanted to help, so as she turned to leave, she didn’t see the smile that appeared on Annabelle’s face.

“Hooked.”

Soon, the young nurse reappeared. She held a small package and slid it through the gaps in the window bars. After taking the items, Annabelle didn’t look relieved. Instead, she looked at the nurse with a troubled expression.

“I’m sorry, sister… it’s my first time and I don’t know how to use it… can you help me? If I’m not obedient, you can press the alarm.”

Alice could see the young nurse struggling. Perhaps Annabelle appeared too fragile, or perhaps her thin frame under the moonlight seemed non-threatening. The young nurse eventually opened the door and followed Annabelle into the bathroom.

Under the dim yellow light, Annabelle obediently removed her clothes to show she had no weapons.

Alice stood by and watched this scene. God, she’s so thin. Probably due to years of not seeing the sun, Anna’s skin was exceptionally white. Combined with what had happened in the Director’s Lounge, her body was covered in wounds. There were marks from electric shocks, and her neck was a “disaster zone” covered in hand-shaped bruises.

The young nurse had been hesitant, but when she saw so many injuries, she fell silent.

“The Director… he did this to you…”

“It’s okay, sister. I’m used to it. Can you help me apply medicine to the wounds on my back? I only dared to ask because you look new. If it were the regulars, they’d tell him and I’d get beaten again.”

The young nurse carefully treated the wounds on Annabelle’s back. Alice looked at Annabelle; there wasn’t a hint of joy in her eyes—only numbness and a “just as I expected” look.

Anna chatted idly with her.

“Did you just start working here recently, sister?”

“Yes… how old are you?”

“I’m twenty.”

“So young…”

Annabelle’s answers invoked a sense of pity. If Alice hadn’t seen her face and her flat expression, she, as a stranger, would have also felt for this poor, locked-up girl.

The young nurse wanted to say something else, but Annabelle turned around.

“Go to sleep, dear sister.”

The nurse instantly collapsed to the floor. Annabelle looked coldly at her and muttered:

“Higher concentration next time.”

Then, she stripped the nurse of her clothes and put on the uniform. When the intercom crackled, questioning why the nurse had disappeared for a few minutes, Annabelle picked it up and said:

“No abnormalities. Everything is normal.”

When she spoke, her voice was indistinguishable from the young nurse’s.

Annabelle adjusted her cap, flashed a brilliant smile, opened the cell door, and walked straight to the Director’s Lounge.

Perhaps out of arrogance, the lounge door was unlocked. Annabelle walked in silently. The doctor was lying on his bed, resting. Annabelle looked around, pulled a stone out of the fish tank, and aimed it at his head…

Alice was baffled. She knew there would be revenge, but she didn’t expect it to happen so fast. After two hits, the man fell into a deep coma. Annabelle unhurriedly washed her blood-stained arms.

The scene shifted. Alice saw Annabelle standing by the sea. The doctor, his limbs bound, had been tossed aside. Anna was silently digging a large pit with a shovel. Alice watched, wondering what Annabelle was planning.

As the pit neared completion, the man regained consciousness. Annabelle looked out at the sea.

“Do you like the moon?”

The cryptic question left Alice in silence. She didn’t know who Anna was talking to. For a split second, she felt the character’s eyes looking directly at her.

Alice was confused by the words, then watched as Anna dragged the so-called Director into the sandpit. As the tide began to rise, Alice realized what was happening.

“She’s going to bury this man alive…”

The man struggled, but Annabelle didn’t care.

“When the tide comes up, the sand will return to the pit. You will be buried, and no one will ever find you. It wasn’t me who killed you; it was the moon.”

Alice bit her hand. She couldn’t imagine how terrifying being buried alive would be. Homebody girl, you’re too scary. I’ll never mock your dream of building a time machine again…

“A special technique. You won’t be able to struggle out. From the moment I stepped into this asylum, you should have known this was your destiny.”

Hearing her, the man gave up struggling. He lay quietly in the pit.

“Anna, you were unwilling to kill others, yet you turn around and kill me?”

“You must think you’re very smart. Truthfully, in my eyes, you’re still a fool. No matter what wealth or status you have, you’re just a piece of trash a defect who can only squeeze dignity out of others through violence.”

On the pitch-black beach, the two faced each other.

“Kill me, and you won’t escape either. Give up. Let me go, and I’ll let you out of the asylum.”

Annabelle watched his final struggle with a calm face.

“Do you remember? There used to be no sea here. And over there…”

Annabelle pointed to the vast, endless sea across from them.

“That used to be Gotham.”

Just as she spoke, a bright spark in the distance ignited everything. The Metropolis Asylum was engulfed in a raging fire.

“Tomorrow, people will say the hospital equipment was old and caused a fire, and the Director fled with a huge sum of money, never to be found…”

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