On the rooftop of the Empire State Building, Batman used his bare hands to disassemble the modified Ultron robot he had built before leaving for Wakanda, stripping off the Arkham Batsuit it was wearing.
Just as Batman prepared to bring these parts back to the Bat-Island, the moon in the night sky suddenly glowed with brilliant radiance. Khonshu, the Moon God, appeared before him unannounced this time.
"I hope you brought news," Batman said, tossing the parts aside and looking at Khonshu.
He had met Khonshu on the night he found Dane Whitman, threatening the Moon God into searching for spider-related powers by secretly hacking into the nuclear deployment systems of the United States and S.H.I.E.L.D.
Seeing Khonshu now, Batman got straight to the point, with absolutely no intention of making small talk.
"I couldn't find anything," Khonshu said, spreading his hands.
He was currently wearing his white shroud suit, which, combined with the gesture, gave him a somewhat rogue-ish air.
Batman remained expressionless. "But you must have brought other news."
Otherwise, there would be no reason for Khonshu to appear of his own accord.
"Correct. The Ancient One asked me to pass a message to you: the power you are looking for does not exist in reality or the dimensions where gods reside," Khonshu said.
"Higher?" Batman asked.
"Higher," Khonshu confirmed.
"The multiverse?" Batman pressed.
"...You actually know that concept?" Khonshu asked, surprised.
Batman didn't press further; he was wary of this "Ancient One" character.
Batman would never forget that the letter warning him against going to Wakanda was sent on August 13th—the exact date he transmigrated into this world.
From what he currently knew about the Ancient One, the sorcerer likely possessed more than just precognition; they also seemed to know about the suspected existence of the "Spider-Totem."
Since he didn't yet know if the other party held all his secrets, the more Batman spoke, the greater his own risk became.
"Tell me about the Ancient One. I had never heard of him, yet the name has been coming up frequently lately," Batman said, shifting the topic.
"When the time is ripe, he will naturally appear before you," Khonshu replied, refusing to disclose information about the Ancient One.
"Then what about Norse mythology? I encountered someone in Wakanda who seemed to belong to Norse myth," Batman asked. "The Ancient One tried to stop me from going to Wakanda, and you told me there was a conspiracy against me there. I need to know the truth."
Upon hearing this, Khonshu fell silent immediately. Only when Batman pressed him again did he speak after a moment of hesitation:
"Who did you meet in Wakanda?"
Batman frowned. "I thought you and the Ancient One knew everything."
Khonshu shook his head repeatedly, his massive avian skull swaying back and forth in the air. "You are right, and you are wrong."
Batman clenched his fists, considering whether he should employ some of his interrogation techniques on the Moon God.
Fortunately, Khonshu didn't keep him in suspense this time. Instead, he walked a few paces over and sat on the edge of the Empire State Building's rooftop, gesturing for Batman to join him.
Once Batman sat down as well, Khonshu said, "When it comes to the places you have been and the things you have touched, even the Ancient One cannot foresee what will happen."
"Your arrival has triggered a series of changes in the timeline. For instance, Doctor Otto shouldn't be on your island teaching your Robin, nor should Robin look like a teenager right now... In fact, a character like Robin shouldn't even exist in this world."
"The Lizard should be hiding in the sewers, and Electro, the Green Goblin and his son, the Hulk, Abomination... none of them should be in their current states."
Batman's heart gave a slight jolt. He had now fully confirmed that both the Ancient One and Khonshu knew the truth: he did not belong to this world.
"So, if I hadn't gone to Wakanda, would things have unfolded according to your control?" Batman asked.
Khonshu gave a slight nod of his massive avian skull. "Precisely."
"I accept that as the Ancient One's reason for stopping me," Batman said, refusing to be sidetracked as he kept his objective in mind. "But what about the conspiracy against me? If I had listened to the Ancient One and avoided Wakanda, how could that so-called conspiracy target me?"
"I don't know," Khonshu let out a sinister chuckle. "I am the Moon God, not an omniscient or omnipotent deity. That is simply what the Ancient One said."
"Is he in Tibet? I will find a time to pay him a visit." Realizing he couldn't get any more useful information out of Khonshu, Batman dropped the line of questioning.
"If he doesn't want to see you, you won't find him even if you search the entire Himalayas. If he does, he will appear before you in the next second," Khonshu said.
"The ritual you taught Robin before...?" Batman tried probing for something else.
"Yes," Khonshu cut him off, answering before Batman could finish the question. "No matter how unbelievable your deduced conclusion might seem, that is the correct answer."
Inside the City Hall Batcave, Batman burned a list covered in names from Norse mythology to ashes, then made his way toward the Bat-Island.
Without the Batmobile, he had to rely on his grapnel gun to swing through the city. Fortunately, it wasn't an emergency, giving him ample time to think while on the move.
Based on his conversation with Khonshu, Batman was certain that the incident in Wakanda was merely a prelude; the real trouble lay ahead.
Connecting his recent findings, the only notable clues were Daredevil and Silver Sable encountering a mysterious shield-bearing man who questioned them about events from two years ago, alongside the coincidence that Luke Cage and Jessica Jones had also vanished for a period two years prior.
Yet, according to his current deductions, if that shield-bearing man was Taskmaster, Batman couldn't fathom how a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent could be linked to Norse mythology, let alone what kind of conspiracy they were brewing.
"I need a plan, but there are too few clues collected at the moment. I need to finish crafting the suit first," Batman muttered to himself.
When he previously made the Black Panther suit for T'Challa, Batman had already mastered the intricate techniques required for processing Vibranium.
Now, taking advantage of the fact that the so-called conspiracy had not yet come to fruition, Batman immediately threw himself into the work—a task he should have completed long ago, but had repeatedly delayed due to various interruptions.
Hum—
Inside the Batcave beneath the Bat-Island, a sequence of large-scale machines powered up one after another. While waiting for the equipment to initialize, Batman began sketching a series of blueprints by hand.
As the tip of his pen moved, a design completely different from the Arkham Batsuit he currently wore began to take shape piece by piece.
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