American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

369. Strange Data!!!

To be fair, Bruce Wayne had indeed hit the nail on the head regarding the greatest challenge currently facing the Wasteland.

Previously, the Wasteland had been carved up by super-criminals, leading to a fractured state of rival factions. In such an environment, group management was nearly impossible, which in turn led to severe disparities between the rich and the poor and vast differences in quality of life.

Those with power could make fortunes with little effort, as they controlled a massive portion of the Wasteland's resources, treating the lower classes as mere tools for their wealth accumulation.

For those without power, life here was indistinguishable from hell—and in some ways, even worse.

They constantly lived in fear of gangs barging into their homes, wary of being caught in the crossfire of extraordinary beings' battles. Their lives were like duckweed, drifting at the mercy of the current, where a single misstep could cost them everything.

To change all this, a handful of heroes alone would not be enough.

Whether by forcefully suppressing gangs or reintroducing proper values and education across the entire Wasteland, it would require an enormous amount of manpower. This is also why Alex aimed to bring in all the refugees from the Apokolips War universe as a fundamental solution.

Destroying a civilization is simple. For Alex, it would not even require Galactus-level power; a few underhanded methods would be enough to collapse an entire planetary civilization, or even a universe.

But rebuilding a civilization—now that demands far more.

If everyone's goal is to restore the Wasteland to what it was fifty years ago, they would likely need to invest vast amounts of time and energy; this is not a problem that can be solved within one or two generations.

"A single voice for the entire Wasteland?"

Barbara looked at Bruce Wayne in shock, finally understanding that this world no longer needed mere "heroes." What it needed was a leader who could help its people achieve a decent life.

"Does Alex know about this? Moving forward so boldly—could this create misunderstandings? After all, we are outsiders to this world."

"In fact, this is Alex's own directive."

Bruce Wayne did not intend to divulge too much. He had always regarded Alex as a potentially uncontrollable "threat."

Of course, that didn't mean he thought Alex would suddenly turn into a world-destroying monster—it was simply Batman's nature to remain cautious.

Unlike Clark, Superman might be incredibly strong, but he also has his weaknesses.

During their time together in the Apokolips universe timeline, Bruce had not worked with Clark for very long, but he could tell that Clark had humanity. And that humanity was both Clark's greatest vulnerability and Batman's main reason for accepting him.

Had Clark been an unfeeling Kryptonian, no matter how righteous he claimed to be, Batman would never have worked with him; he would have secretly found a way to eliminate him.

But Bruce's feelings about Alex were more complicated.

He suspected Alex to be a "higher-dimensional" entity, though unlike Mxyzptlk or Bat-Mite, who found amusement in making heroes' lives difficult, Alex instead maintained peace across multiple universes and resolved various crises.

Everyone's actions follow some traceable pattern; every deed has a motive.

This is a life lesson Batman learned growing up in Gotham, though he had yet to discover Alex's true objective.

Alex was already the de facto ruler of the Wasteland, yet he did not personally intervene. Instead, he entrusted everything to heroes like the Justice League and Avengers, even allowing them to assume governing power without hesitation.

This puzzled Bruce Wayne deeply.

"In any case, Alex may have more pressing matters. Although we haven't spoken extensively, I can tell that his mind isn't focused on the Wasteland. Or rather, it's the stability of the Wasteland that concerns him, not the place itself."

"So, are you saying that Alex has already left this world?"

Barbara felt a sense of unease. Although she hadn't known Alex for long, he provided her with a sense of security she had never experienced before.

As long as she stood behind Alex, it seemed that no problem was insurmountable.

Hearing now that Alex might have left this universe gave her a feeling of vulnerability, as if her powerful backer had suddenly vanished.

"True, considering Alex's ability to travel across multiverses, the challenges and dangers he may face make our issues seem insignificant by comparison."

"I didn't say he'd left."

Bruce Wayne took a deep breath. His caution regarding Alex stemmed from the unknown—there were too many mysteries surrounding Alex, too many to casually investigate.

"Alright, that's enough small talk. Let's do another test and start preparing to restart the generators and network equipment."

Seeing Bruce Wayne return to his serious demeanor, Barbara also nodded in agreement.

"Got it."

---------------------

The Wasteland's reconstruction efforts continued at full pace.

The first census of outsiders was now complete, conducted by Blood Nest and the Avengers Federation, and it aimed at a broad survey across the entire Wasteland, primarily focusing on housing refugees from other worlds.

Since it was only a preliminary survey, the data collected was not highly accurate. Initial reports indicated that nearly two-thirds of the population was unaccounted for, with the confirmed death toll surpassing one hundred.

Suffice it to say, the first encounter between these two civilizations had not been ideal. For many local Wastelanders, the refugees from other worlds were seen as nothing more than a providential feast.

Most of the deceased had been unfortunate enough to fall into the clutches of cannibal tribes or to find themselves in the wild forests, where these monstrous predators, seeing such an abundance of food, naturally didn't let them leave.

Under these circumstances, the heroes barely had a moment to rest. To prevent further casualties, they threw themselves entirely into the rescue efforts, working to stabilize the situation for these people.

Among them, the contributions of the Justice League were particularly commendable.

Though whether to applaud or lament is uncertain, ever since they were transformed into cybernetic beings, the Justice League members needed no rest. For the past few days, they had been tirelessly active, without a moment's pause.

Superman Clark Kent, formerly the Justice League's strongest member, now had his combat abilities weakened due to the Wasteland's sun. Unlike Kara, however, Clark could still fly, albeit at a slower pace.

With everyone working hard for the entire wasteland, Alex could feel somewhat at ease.

Now, he was standing alongside Ms. Minutes, gazing out quietly over the entire wasteland through a set of five floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Are you really not going to intervene in the development of this universe? As the master of the timeline, you could influence its trajectory and create any future you desire."

Hearing this, Alex's fingers trembled slightly.

He understood what Ms. Minutes meant. The timeline of the wasteland had now become an extension of himself. With his power to trim branches of the timeline at will, he could easily reshape this universe.

Whatever unexpected outcomes arose, he could always prune new branches, leaving only the one that aligned with his desired outcome.

"No need. This isn't the outcome I want. Life isn't a game, and I am not their 'god.' Saving as many as I have already is enough. From now on, this universe should develop freely."

Alex's gaze fixed on one of the windows, where Pietro and Ashley were fighting Connors.

The two were cooperating seamlessly. Although Dr. Lizard's fighting power had increased rather than diminished, he was still at a disadvantage under the joint assault of Quicksilver and Lady Venom.

Even someone like Alex, not particularly attuned to combat, could see that it was only a matter of time before Pietro and Ashley claimed victory.

In another window, Kara and Clark were tearing down the headquarters of the Night Demon Gang.

These guys, who knew nothing of past battles, had no idea that Daredevil once fought for the poor. By day, he was a blind lawyer defending the disadvantaged; by night, he fought evil. However, the wastelanders saw only his iconic outfit and thought it would make a cool gang name. Thus, they took on Daredevil's mantle, dominating the area and exploiting the poor.

The hero who once sacrificed himself for the downtrodden had, ironically, become a gang's namesake. It was sad, to say the least.

In the scene before him, the heroes looked a bit weary but full of spirit. They had a passion for life and hope for the future.

They were bringing change to the wasteland, transforming this fractured world with their own hands.

Watching them fight, Alex couldn't help but smile softly.

"I promised Pietro I would take him to a safer universe. I also promised Kara she would see her cousin. Now, they have what they wanted."

"You always keep your promises."

Hearing this, Alex glanced over at Ms. Minutes.

"So, as the timeline's custodian, it's better if I stay outside it, allowing this newly restored line to flourish undisturbed."

"My lord,"

"Hmm?"

"You're really quite dashing."

The corners of Alex's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"I think so too."

----------------------

Meanwhile, in the House of Mystery Laboratory...

After countless experiments, Reed Richards had finally created a stable device for safeguarding the wasteland timeline, based on an existing multi-dimensional timeline shield oscillator.

This device not only monitored the entire wasteland universe in real-time but also warned of any actions that might affect it.

Now, no matter what troubles the wasteland universe faced, Reed Richards would be the first to know and would have time to respond. However, as Reed was performing the final adjustments, the device suddenly emitted a loud rumbling and began vibrating violently.

"What's going on!?"

Susan was the first to notice the device's abnormal behavior. She activated her energy field and looked toward Reed.

"I'm not sure. This isn't supposed to happen. My work is flawless. This error should be impossible." Reed adjusted his glasses, frowning.

[Buzzing… Detecting a significant influx of unknown data.]

HERBIE, the robot, dutifully reported the situation.

But neither Reed nor Susan had any interest in dealing with HERBIE just then.

"But this is a temporal device, and our understanding of 'time' is still limited."

"Science is universal, Susan. Let's not forget, we've used the time sled to cross several timelines."

Reed reached for the quantum bracelet, hoping this special artifact would stabilize the errant equipment.

"But we've never dealt with 'multi-dimensional time theory.' We need to contact Alex immediately; this is dangerous."

Frowning, Susan took a step to leave the lab and inform Alex of the situation. But before she could take another step, Reed Richards called her back.

"What did you say just now, Susan?"

"I said I'm going to tell Alex about this."

"No, not that. What was the sentence before?"

"We've never dealt with multi-dimensional time theory," Susan murmured, then asked, a little unsure, "What is it?"

Looking at the still-glowing device, Reed Richards suddenly seemed to see something priceless.

"That's it!"

Staring at the machine that was radiating lights of various colors, Reed held HERBIE close, his face filled with excitement.

"This isn't a malfunction, nor an error in our system,"

Reed stretched out his arm and hugged HERBIE, his face brimming with joy.

"HERBIE was right. It's unknown data—a complex influx of information from the multiverse. My device has, by chance, intercepted these transmissions. Since it wasn't meant to handle such data, it caused the current instability."

Susan looked on, unable to understand Reed's excitement and asked, puzzled,

"So, what is it, exactly?"

Reed spun around, eyes gleaming.

"It's information, my dear."

Reed Richards explained with conviction.

"It's a transmission from other universes within the multiverse!"

.....

📢30 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
370. The Law of the Dark Forest.
371. Messages from Other Universes!!
372. Zombie Heroes!!!
373. The Harvelle's Roadhouse.
374. The Forces of Evil!