Chapter 268

In the Arizona desert.

Nine people gathered under the scorching sun, watching the portal forming and growing larger.

The most unfortunate was the man in a completely black suit, feeling like his suit was an oven.

Green Lantern looked at the sky, squinting his eyes before creating a green energy tent that covered them.

"You're not going to run out of juice, are you?" said Flash, smiling at him.

"This is nothing," Green Lantern replied arrogantly.

"It's not the best solution just to wait here," said a man in a golden suit with a trident.

"We don't have another choice. We don't know what will come out of the portal. It could be an army or an individual. We're not far from populated areas; if we react too late, people could die," Batman said, looking at the portal without emotion.

Superman was the only one having a good time, enjoying the scorching sun on him.

The group of nine superheroes waited for about two hours, observing the portal growing in size.

Suddenly, the energy sphere that had grown significantly trembled before expanding into a disc shape.

Everyone immediately became serious and surrounded the portal strategically.

Their stances seemed ready for a fight, while the only sound was the buzzing from the portal.

The portal's buzzing intensified when suddenly a tattered humanoid figure stumbled out.

….

When Damian entered the portal, his body was forcefully dragged through what seemed like a tunnel.

His curiosity couldn't be contained, and he reached out to touch the tunnel walls.

Suddenly, without pain or any visual indication, his fingers that touched the wall disintegrated instantly.

Damian raised an eyebrow in surprise before looking at his hand, which healed immediately; durability was not his strong suit anyway.

Soon, half an hour had passed, and Damian was still traveling through the tunnel. He couldn't help but get bored, having thought it would be like a normal portal and he would instantly arrive at his destination.

Damian could only lie back in the air, placing his hands behind his head and looking at the tunnel walls in boredom.

Everything was calm when suddenly some cracks appeared in the walls, letting through small energy beams that immediately cut his body.

Damian quickly started trying to avoid these beams as much as possible. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed he could see the tunnel's end.

His body moved rapidly, dodging the energy beams as he approached the tunnel's end.

In a few seconds, he finally emerged in an awkward position before stopping in the air and sighing.

He really didn't want to find out what would happen if the tunnel collapsed completely; he might end up trapped between two drifting universes, a rather unpleasant thought.

Damian looked at his body and saw his clothes were in shambles, but with a mere thought, they returned to normal.

Suddenly he noticed several eyes on him, and he raised his head in curiosity, wondering what creatures he was about to meet.

His mouth almost dropped open in surprise at the sight of their flashy costumes.

"DC, huh?" Damian said without much surprise; in his memory, crossovers existed between DC and Marvel.

The group of nine superheroes was also surprised to see a person who at first glance seemed human come out.

Batman's eyes narrowed before he looked at Martian Manhunter and nodded slightly toward him.

Martian Manhunter turned his gaze to Damian, squinting slightly as he concentrated on probing the stranger's mind.

This didn't go unnoticed by Damian, who turned to look at him, his crimson eyes locking onto the Martian, startling him.

"So... can I help you with something?" Damian said, looking at the group, not without giving Wonder Woman a couple more glances.

"It would be good if you identified yourself and stated your intentions," Superman said, taking the initiative to speak amicably.

In his mind, it was ideal to avoid conflict; if everything could be resolved peacefully, it would be perfect.

"My name is Damian, and I come from another universe," Damian said, smiling. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he pulled out a basketball-sized sphere and activated it.

The small sphere activated and began scanning the surroundings.

"Another universe? You mean another Earth?" Batman said, frowning. They were already aware of other Earths and had interacted with such people before.

"No, that would be a parallel universe, but I come from further out," Damian said, looking at the sphere without bothering to explain much.

"And what is your goal in coming here?" Batman asked in an interrogative tone.

Superman couldn't help but sigh silently, seeing Batman starting to be aggressive with someone who was currently conversing with them.

"To gather some data about this universe," Damian said casually.

Damian continued to watch the metallic sphere, soon receiving a response.

The sphere would take three days to analyze the new universe's data; only then could he return home.

Omniversal travel technology was clearly in its infancy, so it was not the best time to explore.

The entire Justice League couldn't help but look at each other in doubt; for the moment, the guy didn't seem like an enemy and was quite easy to talk to.

If they tried to capture and interrogate him, leaving aside whether they could, they might create a villain, and that was the last thing they wanted—they already had enough.

Damian continued checking the orb and ensuring everything was in order. Afterward, he pushed it toward space to continue collecting data.

"Alright, see you around. I'd appreciate it if you didn't touch my orb as it would annoy me greatly," Damian said, preparing to leave.

Batman frowned at this; his paranoia told him to stop him, but his logic said that would only provoke an unnecessary fight.

"Wait, you say you're just passing through Earth?" Batman said suddenly, unable to bear watching him leave so easily.

"That's right," Damian said, glancing at Batman.

"How long until you leave?" Batman asked, looking at Damian.

"When I want to leave," Damian said, slightly frowning as he turned his body toward Batman. He was a patient person, but he also had his limits.

"How do you expect us to be at ease letting you roam the Earth? We don't know what kind of person you are. The portal you arrived through could have blown up the Earth if something went wrong," Batman said, looking at Damian, who seemed to have run out of patience judging by the way he looked at him.

"Clearly, you're a potential danger," Batman said, looking at Damian.

"So you want to turn the potential danger into a real danger?" Damian said, approaching Batman while still floating in the air.

His actions immediately put the league on alert, preparing for any outcome.

Flash watched Damian's hands intently, ready to save Batman at any moment.

"Let us check that device of yours to make sure you're really just passing through," said Batman, staring fearlessly at Damian.

"For a regular human, you're incredibly brave," said Damian, chuckling as he extended his hand towards Batman.

Flash noticed this and immediately started running towards Batman to get him out of there. But to his surprise, Damian's hand wasn't moving slowly, as the world usually did when he began to run.

He could only watch helplessly as Damian's hand extended. Damian's fingers flicked before his middle finger struck Batman's forehead.

Batman saw nothing as he felt a powerful impact on his head, sending him flying several meters before hitting the ground unconscious.

Damian immediately moved aside to dodge Superman's incoming punch and then ducked to avoid the Amazon's sword, which would have surely decapitated him.

He wondered what had happened to the no-kill rule.

The League's attacks seemed very coordinated as a giant transparent green pillar fell towards him.

Damian stopped dodging and punched the pillar, shattering it. Green Lantern was immediately thrown back several meters by the destruction of his projection.

Damian quickly moved his forearm to block a pair of red energy beams before lifting his leg to avoid the Amazon's slash.

For the first time, Damian felt like the final boss in a game.

At that moment, the blond man in a gold suit approached from behind to attack him.

Damian deftly avoided the attack at the last moment before turning around and forcefully kicking Aquaman.

The poor man, far from his element, flew dozens of meters, creating a small ditch in the sand. Damian noticed the man with wings and a mace, who hadn't attacked yet, flying to rescue him.

Damian hovered gently and retreated several meters.

Superman and Wonder Woman still seemed ready to attack.

Looking past them, Damian saw Flash and Cyborg tending to Batman.

Of course, he wasn't dead. Damian had held back, and at worst, Batman would have a concussion.

With Cyborg's help, Batman woke up and sat in the sand, touching his forehead.

Damian wore an amused smile watching him. Who told him to be so annoying? He really should consider who he's talking to.

With Batman recovering, Cyborg and Flash joined Superman and Wonder Woman.

"He seems very strong physically and can fly too. Is he one of yours?" asked Cyborg, looking at Superman.

"Don't ask me. Even if he were, I wouldn't recognize him," said Superman, rolling his eyes.

"Enough talking. Things have come to this point, so let's subdue him before asking questions," said Wonder Woman with her sword and shield, charging at Damian with large strides.

Damian smiled and got into position, seeing Wonder Woman bash her shield towards him.

Damian quickly blocked with his forearm, creating a small shockwave that sent sand flying around them.

With his other arm, Damian swiftly punched at her. She quickly advanced towards Damian's punch, dodging it by mere millimeters while trying to stab him.

Damian quickly dodged before increasing his speed, sweeping his legs before striking at Wonder Woman's chest.

She swiftly used her shield to block Damian's blow, creating a small crater as her back hit the ground.

Suddenly, a buzzing sound made Damian cover up as Superman's beams hit him, this time with full force, leaving a trail on the ground.

Cyborg joined in, his arm transforming into an energy cannon that fired a blue energy beam at Damian.

Green Lantern wasn't left behind, shooting a green energy beam from his ring.

"Damn, that hurts," murmured Damian, feeling the energy on his forearms.

Suddenly, his body became ethereal as he sped forward, catching them by surprise and punching Superman in the face. Damian didn't hold back, sending him flying hundreds of meters into the distance.

Turning to look at Cyborg and Green Lantern, Damian smiled before knocking them out with a few quick blows.

Looking around, only Martian Manhunter, Flash, and Batman, who had gotten to his feet, were left, seeing their comrades fall.

Damian glanced at them before sending a mental wave, rendering them unconscious.

At that moment, there was a sonic boom, and Damian saw Superman flying at full speed towards him.

Damian smiled before flying towards Superman as well. They clashed in the air, each grabbing the other's wrist with their free hand.

A shockwave much greater than the one Wonder Woman generated exploded, sending sand everywhere as they grappled in the air.

Damian noticed that Superman seemed visibly disconcerted at being physically overpowered.

In his opinion, Superman's strength was greater than Bruce's, at least the version he had fought in another universe.

Being overpowered this way, Superman could only use his heat vision to try and break free from Damian.

Damian quickly released Superman, dodging his attack before kicking his chest.

Superman flew several meters before stopping in the air and quickly began exchanging blows with Damian in the air.

Damian's punches grew stronger as they clashed with the Kryptonian, forcing him to retreat constantly.

Damian didn't know if it was the blazing sun in the sky, but Superman turned out to be really tough and strong.

So much so that he was using all his strength and couldn't knock him out.

He also noted that Superman wasn't a very skilled fighter, but that was normal since he used his superior strength and speed to defeat his enemies.

Surely, he felt like he lived in a world made of paper, and it was possible that even now he was still holding back his punches despite losing.

Suddenly, crimson energy began to bubble around his arm before Damian accelerated, appearing in front of Superman in an instant.

His arm, now seemingly covered in a layer of energy and slightly enlarged, struck Superman incredibly hard.

Superman shot off at high speeds toward the ground, crashing into the sand, which rose hundreds of meters from the impact, creating a small tremor.

Since they had moved a bit away from the others, they weren't too affected. Damian looked at Superman and saw his head bleeding and a couple of broken ribs, his brow furrowed as he seemed about to wake up soon.

He had to admit the guy knew how to take a beating.

Distracted by watching Superman, he didn't notice the golden lasso suddenly wrapping around his leg.

Looking down, he saw Wonder Woman pulling the glowing lasso.

Damian felt a compulsion trying to affect him, but his familiar easily dispelled it.

"You know, I don't like these kinds of games," said Damian, looking at her with a slight smile as he approached her.

Damian landed and saw her face scrunched in effort, trying to take control.

Suddenly, everything slowed down in Damian's vision as he saw a fist inches from his face.

Damian's eyes quickly moved to where he had left Flash unconscious and noticed the spot was empty.

Not only was he surprised by Flash's speed, which had reached him, but also by how quickly he had recovered.

Damian simply turned his body into mist, making Flash's punch pass harmlessly through him.

At the same time, he freed himself from the lasso before grabbing it in his hands and yanking it hard.

Wonder Woman left a trail in the ground before being pulled towards Damian, who kept turning parts of his body into mist to avoid Flash's attacks.

Damian saw Wonder Woman being pulled towards him and quickly grabbed her forearm, wrapping her wrists with her own lasso.

Suddenly, his eyes moved, seeing Flash running towards him, so he used Wonder Woman as a weapon to hit Flash.

Wonder Woman's back collided hard with Flash's abdomen before Damian let her go.

They both rolled on the ground before Wonder Woman quickly got off Flash and stood up, glaring at Damian with anger as she tried to free her hands.

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