The inference was indeed farfetched, bypassing many essential logical steps, yet everyone knew that geniuses in the scientific community were always like this, making scientific conjectures that are often very leaps and bounds, even fanciful.
Some ideas just appeared in their minds, like a momentary delusion of a mentally ill person, but sometimes scientific development is like this: a step to the left is a madman, a step to the right is a genius.
Reed Richards was obviously the most genius among them, and he differs from Tony Stark in that he had a bigger adventurous spirit than Tony Stark.
Stark's scientific spirit was relatively dialectical, that is, under the support of sufficient information, he would weigh the balance between the result and the risk, and then take the boldest action. In other words, he had morals and would consider consequences.
Reed Richards was purely about having the audacity to be productive, whether he himself lives or dies was irrelevant, he doesn't care if the city is destroyed, or if the universe exists or not, even if the machine in front of him says it will destroy the universe, he is determined to start it today.
Of course, he was more daring in making assumptions than Stark, even ridiculous, but because of this, some geniuses who seemed to have a premonition of the future always had inspirations appearing in their minds, and this time was no exception.
"I make the following conjecture: from the beginning of this city and most of the subsequent construction time, a group of people have been adding this 'solid darkness' to all the metals in the city."
"They must have a special smelting method, which allows the 'solid darkness' to be fused into ordinary metals without changing their properties and form a kind of radiant energy connection on the invisible level of human eyes, thereby creating a dark force field."
"When I was considering the motivation, I understood why they chose metals in the architecture, because it was not only hidden, but also covered a wide range, and the 'solid darkness' material could very likely fuse well with the metal. So, I infer that it is also a kind of metal."
"While guessing its origin, I found that 'solid darkness' is not what they made, but what they obtained. They got this material, and also got the way to use it, but they themselves did not produce it, and they were not its master."
"Hold on." Bruce Banner interrupted him and said, "That's a bit too far-fetched, how did you come to this conclusion?"
"I have been researching the Antimatter Universe," Reed did not shy away. He began to pace in front of the conference room and said, "Antimatter particles and 'solid darkness' have something in common. The research on the existence of antimatter particles itself has no meaning, but as long as we can get it and use it correctly then it is acceptable, 'solid darkness' is the same."
"So, I boldly speculate that this so-called 'solid darkness' material may also come from a certain dark space, like the abyss river below the earth's surface. Some people in this city extract it like pumping water, and then use it in a universe with properties completely different from the abyss, allowing the darkness of the abyss to shroud the city."
The conference room was quiet for a long time, at least for ten minutes. The top scientists were all carefully considering this possibility. Finally, the Skrull scientist was the first to speak, "I think what Reed said may very possibly be the truth."
He adjusted his glasses and spoke in Stark's voice. "In the Skrull Empire, we have mastered a special technology called 'matter disturbance'. The general principle is that we summon special particles from some special subspaces, and use a particle cannon that is similar to the human collider but much more powerful, to fire the particles at the enemy planet."
"In addition to causing physical impact damage, the special properties of the particles will interfere with the material properties of the buildings on the planet. You can understand this as us forcibly melting a certain material on a planet into another completely different material, thereby causing them to collapse and disintegrate."
There was a hum of discussion below, mostly about how powerful this weapon was and whether it would be useful to humans.
"But we really never thought of arranging the particles thrown out into a structure to form a kind of radiant force field. I think in some cases, this kind of operation may be more useful and not destructive."
True to form, Stark began to pace anxiously in a small area, constantly turning, and speaking rapidly, "Indeed, if it is possible to control the force field by affecting the material, many things can be accomplished."
"For example?" Nick tested.
"At the most basic level, the radiation-covered force field can completely achieve the effect of anti-gravity. It can also become a shield like the Magical Defense Network, or even further...fold the entire city and take it away in a pocket."
In the laboratory of the Navi Family's Air Fortress Base, the three big and three small sets of Robins were almost buried in experimental data. Harley was typing away on the computer like a printing machine, quickly inputting experimental data provided by the Scarlet Witch Wanda.
Dick and Nightwing were in charge of print and organization. They were not very good at this purely theoretical knowledge in science. The two Tims were the real analysts, while Jason was busy back and forth in the lab.
"No good, our equipment here is too poor." The smaller Jason scratched his head vigorously and said: "This kind of temporary pieced together experimental device can't do such high-end experiments, dear God, this requires a particle collider?! Where can we get one???"
Tim also sighed, looked at his taller self. Red Robin held a stack of documents and thought for a while, then said: "It seems we have to move back to the Batcave, only the advanced equipment there can support us to do these complicated experiments, and yet it may not be completely successful, because we are not Batman."
"Are these hypotheses really not just myths?" asked Dick, holding his head in agony. "It feels more like philosophy than science?!"
"Some scientific hypotheses are like that. I dare to say that it's all super-geniuses on the other side," said Red Robin with a certain tone, "Their conclusions reveal a great degree of mental agility. I often sense this kind of brilliant inspiration in Batman's thoughts."
"You're saying they could have a genius on the other side equivalent to Batman?" Nightwing seemed very surprised.
"It's not just our universe that has geniuses, as you should know."
Having finished speaking, the Robins started to pack up. Harley Quinn rested a hand on Harley's shoulder and said, "It seems you'll have to continue being the pathetic messenger here, but I have to go down and see if Amanda has arrived and check on what those lunatics are up to."
Poison Ivy also stood up to leave, so the two of them left hand in hand. The Robins, along with Harley and Constantine, went back to the Batcave, and the moment they returned, they ran into the Joker, arms full of books.
Red Hood drew a sharp breath, but thanks to his recent experience in another universe, he wasn't flabbergasted. He just looked skeptically at the Joker and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm nurturing a gift for Batman. Why are you here at this time?" The Joker looked irritated.
"Don't you have a home?" Asked a disgusted Tim. "You're wallowing here like a parasite, and you think that's okay? Can't you have some shame?"
The Joker was dumbfounded by the verbal abuse. Since when did Robin skip reasoning and go straight for personal attacks?
"Forget it, let's not bother with him." Dick rolled his eyes impatiently, "Let him do whatever he likes. When Batman comes back, he can deal with him."
Nightwing opened his mouth to express the dangers of the Joker, but by then the three kids had already walked into the Batcave as if not caring about any potential traps the Joker might have set. The older Robins looked at each other, figuring that they couldn't lose face either, so they went in too.
"Wow, so this is the Batcave you've been talking about?" Tim, Jason, and Dick were amazed. "It looks like a giant alien base, or a bizarre museum. It's so interesting! If I didn't have real work to do, I'll explore every corner here," said Jason.
The older Robins, knowing what was like in the Batcave of another universe, felt proud. Red Robin stepped forward and said, "I haven't shown you the most spectacular part yet. Let's go to the lab. It has the most advanced experimental equipment in the world."
The Joker watched their retreating figures and snorted. Usually, he would ensure these kids learned a lesson, but now he had more important things to do. He had just plundered Gotham's library and was about to deliver the nourishment of knowledge that Little Bruce required.
Joker was holding a pile of books and dragging a large trailer behind him. After a few trips, he had piled all the books in front of the cell where Little Bruce was lying, and buried Little Bruce with books.
Little Bruce started to read with an extreme thirst for knowledge. But after a while, he started moaning in pain, holding his head. Then he said in a deep, hoarse voice, "No good... These books are all rubbish, with no knowledge to glean from. I need more, harder, more basic theories..."
The Joker made a hissing sound.
Honestly, even though the Joker and Batman always play off each other, with each having abilities that the other basically possesses, the Joker hardly ever shows scientific talent, at most some big bombs or magic inventions.
His inventiveness is more like wish fulfillment, whatever Batman pulls out, the Joker can definitely pull out something to counter it. If Batman raises a difficult question, the Joker can always answer, but he's not as versatile as Batman in mastering theories. Asking him to explain basic science from scratch is practically killing him.
Little Bruce was asking for something the Joker could understand, but he was more aware of Batman's genius level. To challenge Little Bruce, maybe even the world's cutting-edge theories wouldn't suffice. It would take completely ahead-of-their-time, or even bizarre and absurd ideas.
The Joker tugged at his messy hair. But then, it seemed as if Little Bruce had heard something. He began patting one ear forcefully, "I can feel it, some kind of enlightenment... It's so close... So close..."
Little Bruce began to move towards the cell door as if sleepwalking. The Joker hadn't locked the door, he hadn't really detained Little Bruce, so Little Bruce just strutted out, and the Joker merely followed behind.
The ultimate destination turned out to be the Batcave's lab.