27. Another Universe
"Metropolis."
Alex's eyes widened, and soon a pang of pain hit him. Rubbing his eyes, he seemed unable to believe what he saw and continued to gaze at the large screen.
The text on the screen remained unchanged, still displaying the same greeting message. But that message containing good wishes made Alex feel like he was plunged into icy waters. He even felt his limbs growing numb.
In Alex's memory, there was no city named 'Metropolis' in the whole world because this city was entirely fictional. It was different from New York, where he and Iron Man were located, or Queens where Spider-Man resided, or even Brooklyn where Captain America was born.
Metropolis was a completely fabricated city.
And the universe that possessed Metropolis, as far as Alex remembered, was only one, and the only one—DC Multiverse.
Metropolis, known as the 'City of Light,' where darkness ceased to exist, had only one reason for its existence—the appearance of another character, Superman.
Unlike other superheroes, Superman's life on Earth was like a human living on a fragile paper-made planet. His every move could destroy this fragile world, so he had to control his powers to ensure the safety of the planet.
Because of this, very few existences could threaten Superman, so much so that when other superheroes saved the world and made headlines, it amounted to Superman's rescuing a cat from a high place, making it to the front page.
Overall, the DC Universe was not much different from the Marvel Universe, both basking in the glory of heroes. But for Alex at this moment, it wasn't so beautiful. Perhaps in movies and comics, Alex could happily watch various events in this universe, but when he personally arrived in this world, what he felt from head to toe was a chill.
No one would like the frequent reboots happening here, nor would anyone like the terrifying 'power collapses' in this world.
"How... how is this possible? Why did we come to the DC Universe?" Alex muttered, unable to believe what he was seeing. His calmness from before vanished, replaced by anxiety. He quickly took out the tempad from his pocket.
"Miss Minutes, take us away from here!"
His fingers swiftly tapped the screen, his mentality somewhat on the verge of collapsing. But this time, the Miss Minutes from his memory did not appear. Instead, a red battery symbol appeared on the screen, seemingly indicating that the device was out of power. The battery icon blinked twice before disappearing.
"Out of power? How can that be?" No matter how Alex clicked, the screen of the time controller remained pitch black, reflecting his anxious face.
"Alex, what's wrong? Did something happen? Are we facing a problem?" Sensing that something was amiss with Alex, Pietro turned to look at him.
At these words, Alex stopped his actions, looking at Pietro's worried face. After a moment of silence, he quickly put the tempad back into his pocket.
In the next moment, Alex put on a smile.
"It's nothing, Pietro. Everything is under control."
Metropolis was located in Delaware, on the east coast of US. Its creation was inspired by New York City and Manhattan, situated on a coastal island city not far from another fictional city, Gotham.
From the tallest building in Metropolis, one could even see Gotham Harbor across the sea. However, compared to the constantly luminous city of Metropolis, Gotham City was its antithesis.
Guiding Pietro to a relatively rundown hotel, Alex quickly took out money from his pocket, paid for three days' stay, and, under the guidance of the manager, found their room.
The room was small, with only two small beds and nothing else. There wasn't even a television. But judging from the style of the hotel's decoration, Alex wasn't surprised by the poor facilities inside.
Alex helped Pietro onto the bed, covered him with a blanket, and then stood up without sitting down himself, speaking.
"You rest here for a while; it'll help accelerate the recovery of your leg. I'll go out and gather some information. I'll bring back some food when I return."
"Really? Won't you be in danger?" Pietro sat up from the bed.
"Don't worry, it's safe here." Alex smiled and then turned to walk towards the door.
"Alex."
Just as Alex reached the door and opened it, Pietro suddenly called out to him.
Hearing the voice, Alex turned back, looking at Pietro with some confusion, while Pietro returned him a smile.
"Thank you for keeping your promise."
Upon hearing this, Alex didn't reply but just nodded calmly. He then walked out and closed the door behind him.
Walking out of the hotel, Alex pondered over some things about the DC Universe, but the thought of the earth-shattering battles still made him shudder. Who knew how Batman managed to mix in with those monsters?
The money in his pocket was running low. Although the two universes were from different eras, the value of money remained the same. Plus, Alex's timeline was earlier than this world's age, so the money he brought with him could still be spent.
There was also anything Alex was most worried about—being an illegal immigrant. While he could stay in low-profile hotels without identity checks, if stopped by the police for inspection, his illegal status would be exposed.
Apart from this, there was a more important point—Alex urgently wanted to know what universe this world belonged to. If it was just the main universe or a regular universe, it would be fine. But if it was some universe he didn't know at all, then his and Pietro's situation would become extremely dangerous.
And to investigate some information about this universe, newspapers and the internet were often the most crucial sources, just like what Alex had done before—being a scavenger for a while.
Thinking this way, Alex walked onto the street, heading towards a newsstand.
Suddenly!
An electronic fluctuation swept through, and Alex felt a brief ringing in his ears. In the next moment, all the screens around him plunged into darkness.
Not only the large screens on the tall buildings but even the phone screens in the hands of passersby turned into darkness. The television screens in storefronts did the same, and quickly, without anyone knowing what had happened, they lit up and turned into static.
Seeing this sudden change, almost everyone stopped in their tracks, looking at the static screens in confusion, not knowing what had happened. Alex frowned and stared at the screen on the building a few steps ahead, as if trying to see it more clearly.
Soon after, without much delay, the static screens emitted a crackling electromagnetic sound. Then, a man's face slowly appeared on the screen, although the static continued, making the man's face appear intermittently.
"I come from a distant star."
The voice was rough and piercing, but it could still convey the man's message.
"I traversed the stars to reach this planet."
"For a long time, your planet sheltered one of my people."
Seeing this scene, Alex's pupils suddenly contracted.
General Zod!
.....
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28. Twins.
29. The Sword Hanging Overhead.
30. Heading Towards Destruction.
31. An Unstoppable Catastrophe?
32. Batman.