The Primary Universe Batman halted his steps before the cave, just as the Arkham Batman continued walking in, nearly colliding with him.
Arkham stopped in his tracks, and Batwoman looked at the Primary Universe Batman with some confusion. The Primary Universe Batman first sighed deeply, then, in a voice barely above a whisper, said, "No matter what you see in a moment, don't show any surprise, especially don't talk to that person..."
Then, without concerning himself with the other two, he stepped into the cave.
In this vast cave were many Batmen, gathered in twos and threes. Some had very strange appearances. The Primary Universe Batman spotted the Bat Tyrant Dragon and the Lightning Batman at the back of the crowd.
And, unsurprisingly, all the other Batmen had gathered at the periphery of the cave, while a group stood at the very center, chatting and laughing at the moment.
"I must tell you, it really isn't your fault. If you took even an hour from your busy crime-fighting schedule to see a psychiatrist, he would tell you the same thing, I swear..."
"Yes, as I've said, my professor was a very famous psychologist. I graduated with a PhD under him, so you have to believe me when I say this isn't your fault at all—it was just a sad mistake."
"Of course, the blame falls on your parents. If they hadn't been corrupt and allowed the city to become like this, you wouldn't have needed to act, so it's clearly them who really caused your brother's death."
"Let's look at it from another angle. They already had children but didn't set a good example, continued their wicked ways despite washing their hands of their past, they were the ones who didn't think of you first. So was your rebellion truly something evil?"
"Since it wasn't evil, where's the need to reform? That's why I say, I just want to make friends with you because I think you're different from these stubborn old-timers. Your hat is much cooler than theirs. What's that on your face? Glasses? Do they have any special functions?"
In the middle of this small group in the center of the cave, a young man with blue eyes was speaking animatedly. The Batman he was facing looked special, having a visage that no longer resembled a bat but, with those round eyes and feathery appendages beside his head, was more akin to an owl.
This owl-like Batman kept staring at the young man with blue eyes; in fact, every Batman in the cave was watching him more or less because this guy wasn't wearing a mask.
The Primary Universe Batman could tell from the marks on the ground that efforts had been made to keep the identity of Bruce secret, but obviously, they were all in vain.
The Primary Universe Batman knew who that owl-like Batman was. Ever since learning about the dark universe and Barbados's conspiracy, he had been trying to recruit Batmen from various universes and had also gathered some information about the Batmen from some well-informed beings.
The Primary Universe Batman was confident that the information he had received was accurate because he had struck a deal with Gabriel. In exchange for helping Gabriel hide and prevent God from finding him, Gabriel provided him with intelligence on Batmen from various universes.
The information wasn't very detailed because Gabriel had explained to him that universes are always developing. What someone is like at the start of their career could change after a few events, so providing specific information could mislead. Gabriel only gave the Primary Universe Batman the names, codenames, and past experiences of these Batmen.
This owl-like Batman claimed to be the Night Owl, and his story wasn't complicated. Put simply, in his Gotham, every citizen was wicked. The Mr. and Mrs. Wayne were in cahoots with the mob and corrupt officials, which ultimately led to the darkness of the city.
Bruce Wayne's brother, together with Alfred, took action and eliminated the cancerous Mr. and Mrs. Wayne but accidentally killed Bruce in the process. Henceforth, Gotham lost a superhero called Batman but gained a tyrant known as Night Owl.
Indeed, Night Owl couldn't be considered a complete criminal; he was more like an enforcer of order who took extreme measures, similar to Jason's philosophy. He did not shy away from killing, but the end goal of such killing was to save others.
Night Owl's timing couldn't be better, thought the Primary Universe Batman. He was short a brother, and here was someone who loved playing the role.
Bruce Wayne came from Dr. Shiller's universe. If the Primary Universe Batman were to assign him a codename, it would probably be "Bastard."
The Primary Universe Batman didn't need to think too much because just the thought of him was a headache.
By this time, Bruce had already reached out to grab Night Owl's mask. Night Owl's muscles instinctively tensed, and he reflexively reached for the dart at his waist, but he truly managed to hold back.
Night Owl grabbed Bruce's wrist, flung him away, and Bruce sighed and said, "I wasn't going to do anything. I just wanted to have a look. Can't even do that?"
"The equipment might get damaged," Night Owl managed to say, "I don't have any spare parts."
"Isn't that a coincidence? I do," said Bruce. "What do you need? I have X-ray glasses. Want some? Guaranteed to make you a fortune at the poker table."
"You gamble?" Night Owl turned to look at him.
Done, the Primary Universe Batman sneered inwardly. My dear brother has taken the bait, his resolve lasting even less time than that of an extraterrestrial distress canine. Such a pity for the family.
Arkham Batman didn't have as many psychological processes as the Primary Universe Batman. He grabbed Bruce by the back of the neck and dragged him over, then said, "What's going on? Who is that guy?"
Although a question, the sentence also carried a heavy threat similar to, "If you don't tell me, I'll break your legs."
The two were not familiar with each other, but Arkham Batman treated everyone like this. He never had the time to chat and laugh with criminals, and in his view, a Bruce Wayne without a mask appearing here was no different from a criminal.
The Primary Universe Batman couldn't help feeling a bit envious. He thought, indeed, Dr. Shiller was right, when one is deeply sick, worries naturally vanish.
Standing next to Night Owl was another tall Batman, whose demeanor was dark and profound, even more so than Arkham Batman by a few degrees, most importantly, he had a machine gun strapped to his back.
The Primary Universe Batman searched his mind for information on Batmen who used guns and then locked onto one marked by the Universe administrators as the Cruel Knight.
Then, to the right of this Batman stood another glowing red all over, a kind of radiance that made the Primary Universe Batman feel extremely uncomfortable, constantly stirring his negative emotions.
The Primary Universe Batman searched through the data and finally found only one Batman that matched this description, that is, the Dark Judge Batman from the Ancient God Triad.
Next to him stood a Batman with a peculiar eye mask design, sporting two green lenses over his eyes, making him look like a green-eyed fly.
This image was very familiar to the Primary Universe Batman; he had previously tracked this Batman from a universe where NAZI ruled the world, who gave himself the codename "Skin Wing."
Next to this character stood a Bruce Wayne wearing a black-framed set of eyeglasses. This Bruce Wayne was not in a bat suit, but in a strange battle armor, surrounded by many non-material drones, resembling Iron Man.
However, one of the small drones gave away his identity, as it looked like an evil monster with countless tentacles. According to the information provided by Gabriel, this guy was a mad scientist, even crazier than all the villains in Arkham Asylum combined.
Then the Primary Universe Batman noticed that ever since he arrived, someone had been reading his mind. He guessed that this might be Martian Manhunter's ability. Batman's gaze settled on the seemingly unremarkable Batman standing next to the mad scientist and decided to call him Heart Hunter.
The last towering figure made the Primary Universe Batman feel somewhat familiar. Rather than saying he was Batman, it looked more like Darkseid wrapped in a Batman skin. However, the Primary Universe Batman knew this was indeed Batman who had stolen the power of the Anti-Life Equation to become the Master of Anti-Life. The Primary Universe Batman gave him the codename Apocalypse Batman.
These six Batmen, plus Bruce, a total of seven people, formed a very obvious small group. All the other Batmen stayed far away from them.
Of course, this could not be blamed on the other Batmen, the key issue was that this group's style was completely different from the rest.
Or maybe, it was better to say the six Batmen other than Bruce had a completely different style from the other Batmen. Bruce, although different as well, was the exact opposite, he was a bit too normal.
The Primary Universe Batman could imagine how long Bruce had stood there, having endured countless seconds of 360-degree scrutiny. But unfortunately, no one would be able to find out anything since this guy was now a completely normal person, so normal it was almost abnormal.
After getting the information he wanted, Arkham Batman tossed Bruce aside. Batwoman glanced at him and waved him over. Bruce ran towards her but was pulled back by Night Owl halfway there.
Night Owl squinted his eyes at Batwoman as if he thought she was no good. Batwoman looked at the Primary Universe Batman to seek his opinion, and he gently shook his head at her.
Batwoman might have thought that the guy who looked like an owl had some skills and that it would be unwise to start a conflict now. In reality, the Primary Universe Batman meant to say, since you've been fooled already, don't stoop to his level.
Completely ignoring Bruce, the Primary Universe Batman walked to the center and said, "I believe everyone has discussed enough. Since no one has stepped forward, I'll take the initiative and share my thoughts..."
Batman first explained some basic knowledge about Battleworld and revealed the content of a few instances they had tested in the beta. At that moment, several figures emerged from another corridor; The farther Batmen had also arrived.
Batman saw the familiar Beihan, followed by a colossal creature with countless tentacles on its face and body, resembling a deep-sea monster. However, it seemed to lack aggressiveness, as it just found a corner to squat down after entering.
The people who came in after were not as peaceful. A tall Batman and a purple, glowing Magic Batman got into a fight, and with a red flash in his eyes, the Dark Judge Batman caused the Magic Batman to collapse to the ground.
"Curse! Who has cursed me?!"
Seeing his lack of strength, the Primary Universe Batman labeled him with the codename Black Magician Batman and noted that the Batman he fought was also one of his recruitment targets.
He was nothing special, just that his face had established the impression of Batman for many people. To this day, countless people still regret that he does not have his own movie; he was the original Batman.