Shiller had successfully negotiated terms with Mr. and Mrs. Wayne of Lego World, primarily for them to start a factory to manufacture enough plastic blocks for them to use as building materials to construct houses at their Battleworld base.
The specific quantities weren't further discussed because, with material recycling technology, once they found better materials for building houses, they could simply return the original components to the Brick Universe, where they would be converted back into plastic materials for their own cosmos construction, so it was essentially a rental until they had enough.
The trade was not in ordinary money, nor in mechanical technology, because the technology in Lego World wasn't quite compatible with that of the real world, so the exchange was for material science technology.
Batman had previously discovered that by adding some special substances to the plastic materials, he could enhance their strength or alter their properties. Thomas was interested in this technology and hoped that Batman and Shiller could provide them with additives that were unavailable in their universe to mix into their plastic materials.
Shiller thought Vibranium would be a good choice, but that would require a transaction with Wakanda, so he suggested Thomas first try if Molten Steel would work, as he had some ready in stock.
Batman provided Apocalypse Star metal, which was included in equipment they had moved from Apocalypse Star last time. Tim didn't have any materials on hand, so he needed to go back and consult with his colleagues, but ultimately, they could still offer the Amber Gold used in Gotham's construction.
After the talks, Wayne Enterprises' factory began work and first produced a batch of standard building components, specifically standard cubic blocks.
These standard components had their advantages; the buildings constructed might not win beauty contests, but they would surely be sturdy because these were among the longest-produced bricks with molds that fit tightly together.
Everyone thought there were no problems, so they found a suitable time and opened a Teleportation Portal at the airport.
Of course, the local Batman also secured an invitation, and fortunately, he wasn't too late; he entered the portal with the vehicles behind him and the Primary Universe Batman.
Passing through the Teleportation Portal was essentially just a blinding flash of white light, and after about two seconds of loading time, the vision of the Primary Universe Batman was restored.
For safety reasons, they didn't bring Thomas and Martha along, and Primary Universe Batman almost immediately realized how right he was to make that decision.
Because almost everyone had overlooked one issue—Minifigures were really only as big as the blocks themselves.
Returning to his normal human size, Primary Universe Batman turned around once, twice, thrice, and saw no one behind him.
Only when he looked down at his feet did he see the Brick Universe Batman, staring up at him—still not as tall as his shoe heel.
Primary Universe Batman leaned over and picked him up from the ground; those two little legs flailed about, struggling less vigorously than a cockroach.
Looking at the Brick Batman standing in his palm, the Primary Universe Batman was left speechless.
The so-called wisdom of the wise knows no bounds, but there is always something amiss. The Primary Universe Batman had just remembered that bricks can build houses, true, but if they were truly toy-scale blocks, how many would be needed to construct a human-sized house in reality?
Moreover, even if the number wasn't an issue, how many years would it take just to piece it all together?
And more importantly, since the Minifigure was only the size of a palm, even if he was Batman, he could at best battle a cockroach—mice would seem like Godzilla to him. Was it really a good idea to bring him into the Batman Team?
Batman couldn't help but suspect this was Shiller's conspiracy.
Meanwhile, Brick Batman had already started shouting, "My goodness, why are you so big? Is this Giant Country?!"
"It's not that we are too big, but that you are too small," Batman replied, bringing his face closer: "I'm afraid we need to reconsider the plan for building the base with blocks."
"And we also need to reconsider having Mr. and Mrs. Wayne from Brick Universe join the Batman Team. Such tiny Minifigures can easily be stepped on if we're not careful. If they aren't kidnapped by villains, getting accidentally crushed by their own son would really be a tragic comedy."
Soon, Shiller, along with Tim and Dick, also returned to Lego World and stood speechlessly in front of the Teleportation Portal.
Shiller touched his nose somewhat awkwardly and said, "It wasn't entirely my plan, you agreed to it too, right?"
"I can't take a Dick like this back to our base," Tim said. "I might end up keeping him in a hamster cage—of course, my relationship with Dick isn't that bad, but you can't expect every one of us to resist doing so. I mean, could you?"
Shiller glanced at the Joker, whom he was holding, and sighed, saying, "I suppose I really need to build him a cage first, in case he runs off into some nook or cranny and gets eaten by a rat. We are in the Forest, after all!"
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne walked up somewhat puzzled, for they had returned to their Minifigure forms with no issues in body size, making it hard for them to understand the other's dilemmas.
Fortunately, the Primary Universe Batman still remembered the issue and said, "We've discovered there might be some problems with our estimate of the size of the blocks. I want to know how big you can make the block components."
"Size isn't really an issue," Thomas shook his head and said, "If you want, we could directly cast blocks as big as a building, but are you sure that wouldn't cause any assembly problems? Too many cantilevers and cranes might affect the construction schedule."
"I'm afraid we won't need cranes," Primary Universe Batman estimated the size in his mind and then said, "I think blocks about the size of the Wayne building should do, and then some smaller blocks, preferably black..."
"No, I want colored ones," Shiller said, "Preferably in natural colors, camouflage works too."
Since Tim's base was also by the sea, he added, "Can I have transparent ones? I've always wanted to build an underwater crystal palace."
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne didn't refuse, but they were also curious about what the universe where the Batmen were from was really like, so they immediately arranged for the factory to start work, manufacturing everything in enlarged versions.
Under the guidance of the Primary Universe Batman, they finally made a vehicle that was proportionate to the real world, intended for carrying blocks roughly the size one could handle in the real world.
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne then stood on the roof of the magnificent giant truck, following it through the teleportation portal.
This activity certainly made quite a commotion, as almost all the Batmen who were still in the cave gathered around.
So Mr. and Mrs. Wayne saw several dozen pitch-black giant faces crowding towards them.
"Ahhhhhhhh!!!"
Martha let out a shriek, and Primary Universe Batman quickly pushed the others back and swiftly introduced the situation of the Brick Universe.
Then Thomas and Martha saw dozens of blue eyes light up simultaneously.
"Are you serious?" one of the Batmen asked the Primary Universe Batman, "They are Thomas and Martha? But I mean... um..."
The other Batmen also looked skeptical because, as expected, the expressions of the minifigures were just painted on, with hardly any facial features that could help in recognizing them.
If you dyed Joker's green hair back and wiped off the lipstick, looking at two eyes and a nose on a cylindrical head, you couldn't say he wasn't Batman.
After the initial shock, Thomas and Martha caught on, because after all, it was much easier for them to recognize whether the group in front of them was Batman than it was for Batman to recognize if these were his parents.
After all, most Batmen looked pitch-black, with two pointy ears on top and a long cape behind, which could also be reflected in the Brick World.
So, they quickly realized that everyone in the room was their son. Martha let out another brief shriek and said, "My goodness, I can hardly imagine what kind of mother could have given birth to you, how on earth could she manage such giants? If you all were like Little Bruce, insisting on reading in a rocking chair until falling headfirst to the ground, how would she rescue you?"
Most Batmen paused because they all had that experience in their childhood and still had a scar on their scalp.
Dozens of blue eyes drew even closer, and Thomas quickly waved his hands and said, "Spread out, spread out, you all look just like monsters from a horror movie, take turns if you have something to say!"
So, a scene scarcely seen in millennia occurred, the Batmen lined up obediently, bringing their noses close to the minifigures, their usually impassive blue eyes showing a mix of excitement and nostalgia.
The parents of the minifigures didn't indeed have the same impactful presence as real people, but conversely, they wouldn't age like real people either, avoiding tragic circumstances where even upon meeting, they couldn't recognize each other. In this world, there weren't many profound disasters, so there wasn't much grievance about parting and reunions to talk about either.
In fact, Thomas and Martha from the Brick World were much more optimistic than many Batmen remembered their parents being, with Martha being more emotional and fond of loud laughter, and Thomas also being cheerful, not the hurried figure Batman often saw in his childhood.
Many Batmen actually found this hard to adapt to, as it was previously said, most Bruce Waynes grew up gloomy, and even without the tragedy of losing both parents, he wasn't particularly cheerful.
Though some of it was ingrained, family education was also a significant influencing factor.
Thomas wasn't the type of frivolous youth; he was a somewhat serious father, a middle-aged man with high expectations who valued responsibility over sentiment, and Martha was a genteel lady with a calm mindset, decisive, so most young Bruces rarely saw their parents get overly emotional.
The way Mr. and Mrs. Wayne solved problems was by sitting down and talking it out, relying on rational communication and balanced cooperation, not by smashing pots or boosting each other's jokes.
So, when the parents of the minifigures started joking about Batman's embarrassing childhood incidents, they all tacitly looked up at the sky or down at the ground, discreetly moving away.
Even the Primary Universe Batman, who had witnessed his parents argue, really didn't have much to add; they were no longer the kids who could excitedly continue a conversation on a topic started by their parents.
Except for two people—one, of course, was a son of a gun, and the other, according to the Primary Universe Batman's estimate, must be the Batman from the universe where Tim was from.