Returning to the Batcave, Bruce sat at the center of the console, observing the current situation in New York City.
The situation in New York was indeed quite calm.
Apart from the initial explosion caused by Three Flyers' appearance, no other disturbances had occurred.
Everything had already been brought under control in time.
Ensuring that no further problems would arise.
Seeing the large robots that had landed throughout New York City, Bruce could confirm that the Creators' plans were fully in motion.
With the power of the Infinity Gauntlet, creating robots capable of maintaining law and order was almost effortless.
At the same time, all the preparations they had made at the start were now being fully deployed.
Based on the previous conversations between Conqueror Kang and the Creators, as well as what had been said to him directly, Bruce could more or less deduce when these people began implementing their plan—it was likely quite early on.
Possibly even long before he arrived in this world.
Bruce couldn't be certain about the true nature of their plan.
However, from the very beginning, when Conqueror Kang explained the situation to him, she wasn't lying—it was obvious that she truly knew the ultimate fate of this universe.
But, that was the only thing Bruce chose to believe.
He dared not trust anything else.
"What happened at Three Flyers?" Jessica asked, now fully suited up for battle, and even Gwen was dressed and ready to move out at any moment.
But before they could head out, they saw Bruce sitting there.
One of the reasons they were so anxious was because Bruce had been heading to Three Flyers to hand Kingpin over to S.H.I.E.L.D.
Given Bruce's nature, if something went wrong at Three Flyers, he would definitely get involved.
Naturally, this made them worried.
Seeing Bruce sitting calmly here eased their concerns a little.
Especially when the console screens showed that New York was calm and peaceful—it seemed they wouldn't need to act after all.
"Prison break," Bruce said casually, without even shifting his gaze from the screen in front of him.
From what he had initially seen of the gauntlet, it should have had eight Infinity Stones.
But now, the Creators only possessed six.
The most important task ahead was to find the remaining two Infinity Stones.
Although Conqueror Kang had some connection with Pietro, no matter how Bruce looked at it, he couldn't see any genuine trust from Kang towards Pietro.
It seemed she was constantly on guard against him.
Even the Creators themselves had once asked Kang whether Pietro could be trusted. Clearly, neither of them had much faith in him.
Rather than saying they were wary of Pietro himself, it was more accurate to say they were wary of the race he represented.
Mutants.
Before Bruce could dig deeper into this line of thought, the screen he usually used to simulate a normal computer suddenly displayed a new image.
The face of the Creator appeared on the screen.
"Wasn't he already locked up?" Jessica recalled the major incident the Creator had caused before, which was partly what led to Bruce becoming President.
By all rights, there was no way this guy could have escaped from S.H.I.E.L.D., but thinking back to Bruce's earlier mention of the prison break, everything seemed to make sense now.
"Bruce, don't tell me you had something to do with this," Jessica said. She knew better than anyone what contingencies Bruce had left within S.H.I.E.L.D.—at least, she knew what she was aware of; beyond that, she knew nothing.
Bruce didn't reply. He simply shifted his gaze back to the center of the console.
The screen now showed events unfolding across the world, especially highlighting the robots appearing on the streets of New York, which Bruce paid particular attention to.
"My name is Reed Richards. I was once known as Mister Fantastic," the Creator's voice came from the computer.
Jessica and Gwen's attention was drawn to the Creator's voice; they wanted to see what this guy, who had just broken out of S.H.I.E.L.D., had to say.
"I have made many mistakes—evil, painful, and foolish mistakes—that have caused irreversible damage to the world." Despite these words, there was no trace of remorse on the Creator's face on the screen. His eyes were completely hidden beneath his helmet, making it impossible to read his expression.
But they weren't given much time to discuss it, as the Creator had already begun his proclamation.
"But now, everything will change."
"With the help of my allies, I will reform the world's ecology, politics, and society on every level."
"Not just to ensure the stability of this planet, but for the entire galaxy. And unlike our predecessors, the Ultimates, our actions will be completely open and transparent."
As he spoke, Bruce could see the robots appearing all over the world. He immediately mobilized every satellite he had ever hacked to monitor their movements.
Tehran, Iran—Parliament Building.
The robots had stormed the Parliament with brutal force and taken all the government officials hostage.
"Our first step is to achieve global peace through negotiations. Any nation unwilling to submit will face appropriate consequences, though we will make every effort to protect innocent lives. My new generation of Herbitron robots is equipped with the most advanced technology, becoming soldiers with thought and logic, capable of completing this seemingly impossible mission."
As the Creator spoke, the screen updated with real-time footage from inside the Parliament Building in Tehran. However, as the Creator had said himself, only the most "appropriate" footage was being shown—not necessarily the full truth.
Bruce's satellite feed told a very different story.
The methods employed were less about negotiation and more about bloody suppression.
Anyone who defied the Creator was killed by the robots.
Meanwhile, in New York, the robots had also stormed into Stark Tower.
Not just Stark Tower—Roxxon, Hammer Industries, and Oscorp had all been invaded as well. Despite their formidable defenses, they were still no match for the robots.
"We are immediately abolishing all global patent and copyright standards. Effective now, all designs, concepts, and scientific advancements belong to the public domain."
"We are currently liberating Stark, Roxxon, Hammer, and Oscorp, while taking the utmost care to protect innocent lives."
"Through collaboration and innovation, we can build a brighter future. I ask for nothing else but for your ideals and dreams to surpass mine."
Even though the Creator kept emphasizing their protection of innocent lives, the so-called "innocent" were, after all, defined solely by their side.
In this situation, he said that whoever is innocent is naturally innocent, and conversely, whoever is guilty is naturally guilty.
Bruce remained silent. It was clear that the Creator had now reached the very scene Bruce least wanted to see.
"To turn dreams into reality, we eliminated debts and lifted financial blockades. We created a society free from financial worries. Banks are now meaningless. From today onward, money is nothing more than printed paper."
"The variant consciousness seeds developed by Stark have been distributed across the world. After modifications, they are now used for the production of fruits and vegetables, reaching unprecedented levels of yield, effectively solving the global famine issue."
"This inspiration came from mutant society, and it is precisely why we encourage every society to continue to inspire us, whether it be human society or mutant society."
Bruce was no longer listening; he directly shut down the computer.
"Why not continue watching?"
Hearing those words, Jessica and Gwen actually admired what that person had done. Naturally, they also saw everything being displayed on the control screen.
"There's no need."
Bruce could already imagine what the Creator would say next and was clear about what they needed to do.
The Ultimate Team was still roaming outside, and they were people who could not be let off.
The Creator now possessed six Infinity Stones. On the current Earth, he was almost completely invincible. What others couldn't achieve in a lifetime, they had completed within just a few short hours.
However, as long as he hadn't collected all the Infinity Stones, he still had a weakness.
Bruce's mission now was to find an Infinity Stone before they did.
Bruce never believed he could find two.
"You sure picked a hidden little place."
A figure suddenly appeared in the Batcave. The purple and green outfit immediately revealed the newcomer's identity — Kang the Conqueror.
"Let's go."
Bruce stood up without saying much, speaking only these words to Kang the Conqueror.
This left Kang feeling a little disappointed.
"I thought you would at least ask how I found you, how I managed to get past all your intricate traps and defenses. But you're so calm," Kang said, spreading her hands, clearly dissatisfied with Bruce's response. But this was also the purpose of her visit — to bring this bat to their current base.
Neither the Creator, Bruce Banner, nor Kang herself felt it was wise to leave Bruce out in the open.
Even though they now held the invincible Infinity Stones, according to their collected data, this bat — while certainly a hero — was also someone who always had countless plans, and could even betray his allies when necessary.
All for the sake of the final plan's success. Though they didn't know exactly how this bat related to the one from the comics, out of caution, it was better to keep him under close watch.
"Wait," Gwen called out to Bruce, who was walking toward Kang.
But Bruce said nothing to her. He simply looked up at Kang.
"You can protect them here, right?"
Bruce's words caught Kang off guard.
"I'm not quite sure what you mean," Kang replied, pretending not to understand Bruce's meaning.
"With your technology, shouldn't it be easy? Or do you want to let the Ultimate Team gain two more powerful members?"
Bruce slowly walked past Kang.
"What do you think, Susan Storm?"
"You really are a clever man," Kang said, shaking her head and shifting her gaze to the two Spider-Women.
"But sometimes, clever men aren't very likable."
"Speaking of which, wouldn't it be easier to just kill these two?"
Bruce said nothing. He merely turned back and glanced at Kang.
Naturally, Kang understood the meaning in Bruce's eyes and could only nod helplessly.
"Got it. Got it."
She spread her hands, and an entirely transparent barrier instantly trapped the Spider-Women inside. No matter how hard they pounded on the barrier, they couldn't break free.
"Batman, explain yourself!"
"Hey! Batman!"
Jessica and Gwen shouted frantically at Bruce, but all they could see was his back.
"Goodbye!" Kang waved playfully at the two Spider-Women.
Above Washington, countless air-carrier-like ships floated in the sky, along with one enormous floating fortress.
Alpha One — Reed Richards' floating aerial fortress.
At that moment, Reed Richards was wearing the Infinity Gauntlet, watching dozens of computer screens in front of him, able to make decisions and issue commands at lightning speed.
When Kang brought Bruce inside, what they saw was the Creator, like a mass of infinitely stretchable putty, extending countless hands to operate the various controls.
Even so, he had the leisure to swivel his chair around to face Bruce.
"Welcome to my fortress, dear Bat," said the Creator, his Infinity Gauntlet-covered hands clasped together as if he were the master of everything.
"Honestly, finding your little Batcave was quite a task. If you hadn't left a backdoor in SHIELD's system, I would never have found you through it," he said, even showing a hint of frustration. It was clear that locating Bruce's Batcave had cost him a great deal of effort.
"Why didn't you finish watching my speech? At least you're still one of our allies, aren't you?"
(End of Chapter)
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