[Integrated/Crossover DC/Marvel] Why Did the World End Again? - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Secrets of Krypton

The Justice League.

Cyborg and The Flash set Alice’s computer down on a table. Green Lantern, seeing the commotion, huddled around with them to observe.

“Alright, I’ve brought both the girl and the goods back,” Barry said.

Cyborg began attempting to breach the system but soon shook his head, indicating there was nothing technically unusual about the files. Alice, meanwhile, stared up at the ceiling, her mind adrift. Hal Jordan leaned against the table, making small talk with the girl to coax the story out of her. Eventually, through Alice’s frantic venting, the three heroes learned the whole ordeal.

First, she was a game streamer looking for niche titles. Second, there had been a drought of good games lately, so she downloaded this one on a whim. Then came the dream—a dream that followed the game’s plot—and suddenly she had transmigrated into the game world, only returning this morning.

Hearing this, Hal looked at Barry. Barry silently pointed at Cyborg.

“He told me to go get her.”

Cyborg covered his face. “Batman told me to—”

Before Cyborg could finish, a familiar, imposing figure appeared at the doorway. Alice stared at the towering silhouette and the iconic emblem on his chest. It was the Slender Man of Gotham himself: Batman.

True to his reputation, Batman quickly processed the sequence of events and steered the investigation onto a formal track. Once seated, he began questioning Alice on exactly how she unlocked superpowers and what specific abilities they were.

Alice sat there like a model student. This was the Big Boss of Gotham; she had to choose her words carefully.

“It’s about raising affection levels with the characters to trigger the plot. Once the plot is finished, character traits are unlocked. Then the game system asks me to click ‘Confirm’ to claim them, and then I just… have those abilities.”

Batman fell into a pensive silence. Unlocking superpowers by playing a game—it was a first, and frankly, quite absurd. But then again, considering the Greek gods who stashed various powers into artifacts for anyone to pick up, a system that required personal effort to unlock felt slightly more plausible.

Alice pondered how to describe her current powers. She thought about what she had unlocked so far… they didn’t seem particularly useful. She couldn’t destroy the world or rewrite the laws of physics, and her utility was minimal. Thinking of the two bizarre traits, she finally spoke:

“I unlocked… Love and Kindness.”

The moment she said this, she felt every superhero in the room lapse into silence. Batman turned to the computer and opened the game.

The Flash looked at the NPC named Lycoris Wayne on the screen, covered his mouth, and glanced at Batman. Batman’s expression remained unchanged as he clicked through the game’s various options.

As Lycoris Wayne’s character card was opened, everyone saw the newly unlocked trait: Bat-Stan.

Bat-Stan: You are a fanatic Bat-fan. When someone insults Batman, you gain a Berserk buff, doubling your combat power.

Green Lantern tried to lighten the mood. “Good girl, you certainly know how to pick your tags…”

Batman went briefy silent after reading the tag’s description, then continued scrolling through Lycoris Wayne’s personal info. Most of it was locked—even her age was a question mark. But then, Batman’s eyes locked onto the one-star plot entry displayed under the affection bar:

Chapter One: The Death of Todd.

Standing behind him, The Flash saw those provocative words and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He didn’t know what brave soul had designed this eerie game, but it was over. Absolutely over! Supes, where are you? Get down here and save us! Looking at Batman, whose gaze remained fixed on that line of text, the three heroes behind him knew: the Justice League was in for a very rough few days.

In Metropolis, Superman—who was currently catching a plane—sneezed. He then proceeded to the next accident site.

“What happened? Who is Todd?”

Alice could clearly sense a slight hitch in Batman’s voice when he spoke that name.

“At first, I was kidnapped, and then I was rescued by Lycoris. Her mental state was… unstable. She said a lot of strange things—that a madwoman was going to crawl out of the sea. She said the townspeople sacrificed Todd to get a temporary harvest, and that she came for revenge. She said Todd was her brother.”

Alice paused here. She cautiously observed the faces of the men across from her. After all, the next part involved the Wayne family—specifically Bruce Wayne, the Justice League’s biggest benefactor. If she offended the guy who paid the bills, would she ever have a good day again?

“Continue,” Batman said. “Don’t leave anything out. We need more information to help you get rid of this game system.”

Alice swallowed nervously and continued.

“Lycoris Wayne said the townspeople were holding a ritual. Todd was taken in by them when he was injured and became one of them. Later, they killed him—likely for some kind of benefit. They got a taste of the ‘rewards’ and wanted to keep the rituals going. The Outer God they worship specifically demanded a Wayne.”

“Why a Wayne? So this Lycoris Wayne is…”

Before Barry could finish his question, Alice nodded.

“Yes. She said she’s part of the Wayne family… and that she’s the last Wayne.”

“Hiss…“

Alice thought she heard someone in the room catch their breath.

“In what way was her mental state ‘unstable’?” Batman pressed on calmly, as if the story about his entire family being wiped out wasn’t about him.

Alice recalled that eerie laughter, the bizarrely agile movements, and the cold-bloodedness. She didn’t know where to start.

“She was laughing… a terrifying laugh. The corners of her mouth were pulled back so far… and she killed people like she was killing chickens, without a hint of hesitation. She was very fast. She didn’t feel like a high-society lady at all—more like a professional assassin.”

Just listening to Alice’s description, images of several people flashed through Batman’s mind: the laughing Joker, and Damian, the killing machine he had been raised to be. It seemed that if he had time, he needed to pay the League of Assassins a visit.

“I hope I’m not too late. Flash, was there a reason you called?”

A familiar figure walked in. The warm red-and-blue color scheme and the ‘S’ on his chest proclaimed his identity: the core of the Justice League and its Chairman—Superman.

Barry felt like he couldn’t catch his breath. He had been afraid Batman wouldn’t be able to take the news alone, so he had secretly summoned the World’s Finest partner for backup. He did it quietly—even Hal didn’t know. Who would have thought Clark, knowing nothing of the context, would walk in and stumble right onto the truth?

Batman glanced back at Barry. Barry turned his head away, dodging the “Bat-Glare.”

“It’s nothing, Superman. Just some anomalies.”

As Batman’s long-time partner, Superman could tell at a glance that Batman was currently not in a pleasant mood.

“Alright. If you need me, just call. And you must be Alice, the girl who moved to Metropolis recently.”

“Huh?” Alice was dazed. She was just an ordinary person; she didn’t think she had any qualities that would make a superhero remember her.

“I… I can’t believe you remember me, Superman…”

Clark smiled and spoke frankly. “I can remember the heartbeat of everyone in this world, especially in Metropolis. I remember each of your heartbeats and your names.”

Alice looked at the Superman before her. To be fair, as an alien, he was undoubtedly striking, possessing a certain divinity. Having not lived in Metropolis long, Alice hadn’t understood why people in this city always looked to the sky and praised this hero so much. Between the newspapers, the talk of the town, and the overwhelming amount of merchandise, you could feel that everyone in this city loved their Son of the Sun.

At this moment, Alice seemed to understand. That feeling of someone remembering you and stopping for you at every moment was truly wonderful. Perhaps everyone is just an ordinary person, but in the eyes of the Son of a God, every person is unique. He listens to everyone’s voice and lends a hand.

The questioning was interrupted. Batman didn’t say anything but began casually browsing through the character profiles. Superman, very naturally, rested his hand on the back of Batman’s chair, leaning in to look at the screen.

Batman knew for certain there was something wrong with this game. Alice watched as a group of superheroes huddled around her computer, studying the game.

But something strange happened. No matter what Batman did—whether he tried to give items to the characters or interact with them—the affection levels wouldn’t budge and no plots were triggered. The NPCs simply repeated a few mechanical lines of dialogue.

Batman seemed to realize something and called Alice over. Once the game was back in her hands, the plot began to move again. Alice controlled her character while Batman watched.

Alice navigated her “Little Mary” to the door of the two male characters on the floor above. This time, when she knocked, someone came out immediately.

“Hello. Is there something I can help you with?”

Alice clicked on the man’s card:

Name: Theia Wix

Gender: Male

Age: ???

Character Traits: ???

Affection Level: 15

Clark frowned when he saw the surname, but ultimately said nothing. Batman quickly noticed his change in demeanor.

“Superman, what is it?”

“B, maybe I’m being too sensitive, but the ‘Wix’ family was one of the three great families of Krypton. Only… they’ve long been extinct.”

It wasn’t surprising Clark felt he was being sensitive. One could argue the game developers were just leeching off the Wayne name by creating Lycoris Wayne, but the Wix family was something even Superman knew little about. Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

Then, the second NPC walked out of the room. He looked exhausted, with silky blonde hair draped loosely behind him, unbound. He looked at Alice and said:

“Super Mario, I hope you’ll come to see us alone in the future. I don’t quite like being watched.”

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