301. Rescuing Nightwing.
After hanging up the call, Alex couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency rising within him.
From the moment he first arrived in the Wasteland Universe, he knew what the greatest threat to him in this universe would be.
The Great Devourer—a supreme being who had destroyed countless planets. He was revered as the God of Destruction, on the same level as entities like 'Eternity', maintaining balance in the universe, and far more powerful than the Celestials.
Though in the comics, The Great Devourer often got defeated for various reasons, Alex wasn't foolish enough to actually believe this being was someone who could be easily taken down.
The Great Devourer was not just an empty title. His power was beyond human comprehension, and no ordinary planet could withstand him. When he first descended upon Earth, it was only because Mister Fantastic pulled out the Ultimate Nullifier that Earth wasn't obliterated.
"The Ultimate Nullifier..."
Alex touched his chin, his mind recalling some memories about that device. It was a weapon, somewhat resembling a lighter, capable of destroying any being in the universe, based purely on the user's will.
It could even erase an already occurring reality, resetting everything back to a previous point in the timeline—much like a pair of scissors trimming a timeline.
If Alex remembered correctly, in the original story, Star-Lord traveled back in time through a temporal flow caused by the Fantastic Four Tower, and after defeating Kang the Conqueror, he managed to obtain both the Ultimate Nullifier and a shard of the Time Stone, two incredibly powerful items.
Unfortunately, though the Ultimate Nullifier was said to be able to erase any existence, it wasn't a durable object. Doctor Doom easily crushed it into fragments with his bare hands.
If Alex could travel through the temporal flow back to the Wasteland's past and retrieve this device...
Just as Alex was contemplating the feasibility of his plan, a commotion erupted from the circus behind him. When he turned to look, he saw the grand circus building slowly melting in the rain, turning into a pool of sludge.
Frowning slightly, Alex thought of Dick, who had entered the circus. Seeing this strange scene, he began to suspect whether or not Dick had failed. Just as Alex was about to go in and investigate, he suddenly sensed a magical imprint left on his black umbrella.
Next, from the rapidly decaying circus entrance, a figure came sprinting out, holding a high-tech black umbrella. Upon closer inspection, it could only be Dick.
However, he looked entirely different now. His regular clothes had been replaced by a tight, black suit. On his chest, a blue bird symbol was suddenly printed, and his face was now adorned with a blue mask.
Alex didn't say a word nor make any other movements. He simply raised his hands, yet his presence was overwhelmingly majestic and unyielding.
Massive amounts of dark energy filled this small world, merging with the surrounding darkness, entwining and clashing. In the unseen depths of the darkness, the battle between various energies had already reached a boiling point.
The ground began to tremble, and buildings in the distance slowly dissolved into nothingness, consumed by the darkness. Nightwing could feel the surrounding shadows creeping ever closer, as if they intended to devour the last bit of light.
The shaking ground caused the standing water to ripple and splash, yet the raindrops didn't fall back down. Instead, they followed their previous paths, rushing back upward into the sky.
In an instant, everything changed—the ink-black raindrops flying upward against gravity, the darkness closing in to swallow the last light. It all left Nightwing feeling a bit overwhelmed.
As the darkness approached, Nightwing couldn't help but turn to look at Alex. To his surprise, Alex's body had become ghostly and translucent, like a specter.
Before he could process the bizarre scene, the darkness extinguished the last glimmer of light, and Nightwing was fully consumed by the shadows, losing control over his own body in an instant.
"Gah—!!"
Inside the prison cell, Dick suddenly gasped, taking a deep breath. At the same time, the cloudiness in his eyes was cleared away, and his gaze returned to clarity.
Feeling the control over his body return, Dick realized he was in pain all over, and an overwhelming sense of hunger assaulted his mind, leaving him disoriented. But he quickly regained his composure and looked around, only to see a terrifying creature that looked like something out of a nightmare staring back at him.
A chill ran down his spine, freezing him in place. Before he could react, in the blink of an eye, the creature transformed into a man dressed in a black trench coat.
This eerie sight was something Dick had never seen before. After steadying himself, he confirmed that the man standing before him was indeed Alex. He shook his head, doubting whether he was hallucinating.
At that moment, Alex's voice echoed in his ears.
"Lucky you. Welcome home, Dick."
.....
????30 advanced chapters on p@treaon????
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
302. A Warm Family - Raven and Trigon.
303. Facing Trigon.
304. Demon Contract and the Imbalance of Good and Evil.
305. The Plan.
306. Clark's Thoughts.