Chapter 2467: The Bizarre Ancient Bat Family (Part Ten)

The atmosphere in the living room of Wayne Manor was particularly tense.

Batman did not know how to ease the tension; his love life was rich, yet his emotional experiences were so scarce that they were hardly worth mentioning, and the situation at hand was overly complicated.

Generally, this should be an issue among Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, and no matter which universe, these three individuals have their share of problems. But if they each come from different universes, the complexity of the situation more than doubles.

Clark quite obviously noticed the malevolent gaze of Doomsday Batman, but he didn't understand what he had done wrong. He only wanted to find the Batman of his own universe, and clearly this was not him.

Clark looked around for Mechanical Batman, but at that moment, God of War Batman and Diana came back. The two of them actually had nothing to do with this feud, but in this universe, Batman and Wonder Woman were together, which successfully caught Clark's attention.

However, as soon as Clark paid attention to the Batman and Wonder Woman here, Doomsday Batman became even more displeased, because naturally, one could foresee that in a trio of close friends, when a man and a woman become a couple, the other man who learns of this news might express dissatisfaction with their relationship. Why else would he take special notice?

Regardless of whether he was dissatisfied with Batman and Wonder Woman being together, or with Wonder Woman and Batman being together, what did he have to be dissatisfied about? Doomsday Batman thought, isn't them being together better than being with you?

Clark was genuinely curious because in his universe, Batman and Wonder Woman didn't really spark any romance. In his view, this was fine, so he wanted to extend his blessings, but the death stare growing heavier behind him made him turn around to look.

Standing aside was Batman, who felt he should do something; otherwise, the ceiling of Wayne Manor was in jeopardy. But what should he do? Who could possibly calm this situation?

The answer was a tangible psy-storm.

This was an extra product that came when Charles approached with a scowl, but it startled all the Batmans present, as they distinctly felt their minds being read.

"You always worry about things that have never happened," Erik said. "Insights from other universes have led you to completely misunderstand me. Such judgments are very rash and hasty..."

"But you did do it!" Charles roared at him. "You took us on a detour that time just so I wouldn't meet Ms. Harrell! And you shamelessly admit it!"

"I don't think knowing her would do you any good. Our universe doesn't need so many unstable mutants."

"That's where our ultimate disagreement lies. Their birth is natural; they should not be subject to your control. Otherwise, how are you different from those who discriminate against us, who aim to oppress us?!"

Their argument seemed to have reached a dead end. From the content of their dispute, Batman could deduce that Charles, upon returning from that universe, had probably used some method, or perhaps Professor X told him, but in any case, he knew about the past between Professor X and Magneto.

And for some reason, Erik of their universe knew as well, at least about Ms. Harrell, who is David's biological mother.

Batman speculated that it was very likely Charles who told him, sharing his adventures in another universe, which inevitably involved David's lineage. It could also be just a vent between friends, such as when they first didn't know David's true identity and amusingly treated their own son as a classmate.

As a result, Erik was quick to act. During a mission where Charles was supposed to meet Ms. Harrell, Erik led the team on another path, causing them to miss what might have been their only chance to meet. Somehow Charles found out about this.

After being discovered, Erik, of course, wouldn't just admit it, or perhaps that was his actual intention, to prevent David's birth, but explaining this inevitably shifted the quarrel from a personal emotional issue to an ideological one.

Even by looking at Erik's face, Batman could see that he was a person with a strong desire to control. If he wanted to change the fate of a race, he wouldn't care about the life or death of an individual. His goal was not to protect mutants, or rather, he believed that allowing mutants to win the war, to rise above humans, was the real protection they needed.

And how many humans or mutants die on this path didn't concern him; he just wanted to achieve his goal.

For instance, this time, he thought David should not be born, so he directly intervened to change Charles's destiny, preventing him from meeting David's mother, all because he thought David's birth would be detrimental.

Moreover, he was extremely confident, believing that Charles, as his good friend, would surely understand him. But when Charles, who was still relatively sane, declared he couldn't understand at all, calling you practically insane, Erik actually felt wronged.

Then came the lengthy argument, the general theme being whether you love me, who you love more, who loves whom a little more...

Batman believed that if the argument wasn't stopped, it would surely lead to a tragedy for one of them, or possibly both.

However, it was clear that they had already finished the first half of the argument before coming here. Now, in the presence of so many Batmans, they actually forgot all about not airing their dirty laundry in public and began to explain what was going on.

The process was as Batman anticipated, much like he had imagined. Both men were clear in their views on mutants; Charles was more like a mother, guiding and protecting without too much interference, while Erik was more like a strict father. He believed he had planned a perfect route for mutants. If they followed that path, they could completely escape their current plight and even become the most powerful group on Earth.

Batman thought there was absolutely no need to break up the fight, primarily because both parties were very young. They had plans, but they had not put them into practice, nor had they learned any lessons from real-life setbacks. They simply believed they were right, and the intensity of their argument was metaphysical.

Secondly, even though they had been through a lot, they were still resolute in their ideological struggle, which couldn't really be resolved as either right or wrong. It wasn't necessarily correct to say that intimate protection was right, or that strict supervision was wrong.

And, indeed, this group of people started to analyze that very concept.

"If, as you say, the awakening of the Mutant race is uncontrollable and could potentially lead to great disasters, then perhaps they should separate from ordinary humans sooner, find a place to build a nation, or figure out a way to leave Earth or something," Doomsday Batman reasoned.

"From the perspective of an ordinary person," he continued, "I cannot accept that thousands of Kryptonians are lurking among us, ready to explode at any moment. Since conflict is inevitable, you need to prepare early."

"But ordinary people won't allow them to form a nation," God of War Batman expressed, "among them, extremists want to see them extinct, and even the moderates think they should invent a way to detect Mutants before their powers erupt, which is clearly a genocidal attitude."

"I think it's because there are too many Mutants," Diana said. "If there were as few people as on Paradise Island, then taking a small island and living a carefree, isolated life might be nice, and nobody would care about you."

"Paradise Island is backed by Mount Olympus..."

Their logical and accurate analysis did nothing to quench the anger of Charles and Erik; they weren't looking for rational analysis – their argument was still a matter of personal feelings.

So, they had no choice but to steer the conversation back on track, and if that was the case, those who saw themselves as victims were filled with rage.

"I think deception is hard to accept," Doomsday Batman glared at Clark, leaving him completely confused, and then he continued, "if you think something is not good for someone, you should discuss it with that person, not act on their behalf and then fail to tell them afterward, showing no remorse."

Charles nodded incessantly and, together with Doomsday Batman, turned to look at Erik.

Erik snorted coldly and said, "For a mere Human, you even thought about aborting the mission and going home. Is this how you commit your life to the cause of Mutants?"

"I've already said that it's not about Ms. Harrell, it's because..."

"Enough." Batman saw now that the two were talking past each other; Erik felt that Charles was willing to argue with him over a woman he'd never even met, essentially disregarding his importance and betraying their mutual promises.

Charles felt that Erik made decisions for him without any respect, without considering his feelings, and was now being completely unreasonably self-righteous.

How could such a problem ever be resolved through arguing?

Batman's judgment was quite accurate; they were no longer planning to argue, but to settle it with a fight.

Erik had already started to levitate, a Magnetic storm brewing within him, while Charles stood his ground, his blue eyes locked onto Erik's face. Everyone nearby felt the vibrations of thought.

"What's going on here? Who are these two gentlemen?" Martha asked, leaning on the second-floor balustrade. She was quite familiar with Batman, so she turned to him directly and asked, "Your new Robins?"

Batman thought he was looking for a Robin bird, not an eagle. His brain rarely ventured into interpersonal relationships, so he simply said, "Yes, they are temporary workers I hired to investigate the mastermind behind recent events."

"And you haven't even prepared a welcome dinner for them."

Right now, I really want to shove them back through the portal, but I can only think that. Batman also thought it wasn't a good idea to leave them here as they might cause all the Batmen in the house to fight eventually.

"It's already late, but I think the Iceberg Restaurant is still open. Perhaps we could go there and discuss our next steps."

"Well, you must go too." Martha looked at Green Lantern Batman and said, "You need to watch him and make sure he doesn't come back too late."

Green Lantern Batman appeared quite reluctant, but he could only walk towards Batman. Under Martha's Death Stare, Batman had no choice but to silently walk out, taking all the unstable elements with him. At that moment, no one resembled a lone hero more than he did.