Chapter 225 23. I'm Mason Cooper most of the time, with an occasional cameo in Marvel
Batman, who received Mason's call, was standing in front of the porthole of a lounge at the watchtower base, looking out from orbit around the earth with some kind of tired master.
He sees the remnants of a shattered world.
A few hours ago, the Justice League used three imitation mother box bombs to shatter the earth's core and continental shelf of the incoming world, and before it crossed the boundaries of the planes to affect its own world, a group of powerful magicians Disassemble it as a whole under work operation.
The whole process is smooth and smooth.
Under the cover of the enchantment covering the world presided over by Dr. Fate himself, it didn't even cause any waves.
Except for the mobilized actors and K-team and some capable people, this night is no different from last night for the vast majority of people in the Gotham world.
Countless people fell asleep peacefully, unaware that their existence had just brushed shoulders with death.
But for Bruce Wayne, who personally presided over and participated in this operation, this process did not make him feel easy.
Especially at a moment when the world is shattering before his eyes, all Batman feels is a heavier worry and an unspeakable pessimism.
At this time, a group of heroes who can survive in the space environment headed by Superman are cleaning up the debris of the world outside the orbit. Most of the collapsed debris has been pulled back to their original plane in the rewind of the dimensional subsidence.
But there are still some traces that must be cleaned up.
Frankly speaking, this scene really looks like the murderers are hurrying to clean up the scene after a murder.
At this time, facing Mason's meaningful question, the master was silent for a moment, first activated the data encryption that he always carried with him to prevent the call from being eavesdropped, and then whispered:
"Have you seen it with your own eyes?"
"No, I just got bad news from my companion when I came back from another world."
Mason didn't hide anything. This moment is not a good time to pretend to be a riddle. In the howling wind of Miller Harbor, he said directly:
"My companion is in your hands, is the kite man still alive?"
"In the brig, Diana watched him herself."
Master also answered frankly:
" Didn't suffer much, although when Superman captured him, he resisted violently and once wanted to take poison to kill himself. I have to say, Charles Brown is very loyal to you, Mason, he was not so stubborn when he was under Zhou Keer's command.
伱What are you going to do next? "
Master paused and asked:
"Escape? Or."
"I already called you on this, Bruce."
Mason took a long breath and said:
"And you still owe me a favor."
"Favours cannot be used in this kind of thing."
Master refused straight away:
"I can guarantee that you and your companions will not be harmed, provided that you have to cooperate and come to the watchtower to 'live' for a period of time. Selena told me that you have some kind of taboo and cannot tell too much truth.
But I think we can always find a tactful way to get what both parties desperately need. "
"You know that's impossible!"
Mason was also unambiguous, and directly rejected:
"That means we will be exposed in the eyes of 'them', that means we will become traitors and be targeted and hunted down for a long time by an organization that spans countless worlds.
It's not that I don't trust your abilities.
I would rather work with you than them, but not now.
Let me get it straight, Bruce.
I'm making this call for a showdown with you, not the Justice League or anyone else.
I'm sure you can keep a secret and fully understand why it needs to be done, but I don't trust the people around you, even if they are a brilliant group of defenders and fighters. "
The young man coughed a few times and said:
"Selena should have told you that the stars will still have a lot of eyeliners in this world. From the darkest point of view, I have to pessimistically regard all members of the Justice League except you as potential threats.
Bruce, I want Charles back safe!
In exchange, I will give you a 'personal' gift, the kind that will definitely satisfy you and your friends and keep your mouth shut. "
"It is indeed necessary to think carefully, maybe we can meet."
Master thought for a long time and said:
“Having seen firsthand the troubles we face, I believe I can convince some credible people.”
"No, I only trust you now, especially now that you have destroyed a world with your own hands."
Mason shook his head and said:
"I don't know if this decision was made by you, but this behavior itself...it means that I must be vigilant against you."
"There are no living people in that world. We used various methods to detect it seven times before we acted! We can ensure this. It is full of wandering zombies without any trace of life."
Batman said with emphasis:
“No one was harmed by this operation, and you know, we had to.”
"Your tone sounds like a child who has done something wrong is powerlessly justifying, Bruce, you know it's wrong yourself."
Mason snorted and said:
"Perhaps you can convince yourself that there is no need to save a world where monsters are rampant. You must do the right thing for your own world and people.
I can't fault anything, and I'm not a fanatical Madonna.
But I just have one question for you.
You can destroy it this time, but next time, what will you do? "
The captain of Team K said to the other end of the phone:
"Let's assume that if the next time you encounter a great epidemic in the world, more than 99% of life has been extinct and transformed into bloodthirsty monsters, and only 1% of the survivors still exist in the world in the refuge.
When the time left for you is no longer enough to find and rescue them, will you make the same choice?
You can use the same reason to convince yourself.
Own world is obviously more important.
So next time, if that world has 30% life left, next time, 50% life left. I could go on and on, but I think you get my point.
Path dependence, once developed, can lead to terrible results.
The first step in something like destroying the world is always the hardest to jump over, but once you have the first time, the second decision is not so difficult.
The third time will become reasonable, and even start to look forward to the fourth time.
Especially driven by the noble reason that you still have an entire world to protect, I'm sure some of you will end up singing the praises of this destruction.
Phew, you might think I'm just nitpicking about a necessary rescue and a great victory, but I'm telling you, it's not!
Bruce!
I just returned from a world that was destroyed.
I witnessed the demise of two worlds just like you, but unlike you who destroyed the zombie planet neatly, I saved the last 1% of the survivors in that world."
Mason closed his eyes and said:
"There are less than 1 million people left there, and it is also a zombie-infested doomsday wasteland, which perfectly fits the most extreme situation I just described.
If it had collided with our world this time, would you have made a different decision? 7 billion people and 1 million people, which is more important when you put them at the two ends of the balance?
If we can vote for the majority with peace of mind, then one day in the future, when a world has more lives than us and we face the difficult choice of having to die.
Can we calmly face the ending of self-sacrifice? "
Mason paused, looked up at the starry sky again, and said:
"The choice the stars will make is to ignore it, to throw it away as 'worthless'. The Justice League just got off to a bad start, which means you could be another one someday" All the stars will be'.
And Bruce, have you ever thought deeply about why the stars would carry out large-scale "pollution" in the parallel world system? "
This question silenced the master.
He looked at the dark stars beyond the porthole, and could vaguely see the remains of some zombified strange creatures that were thrown into the debris of the stars after the world exploded, wandering aimlessly as space junk.
After nearly a minute of thinking, Batman answered hoarsely:
“They are trying to make us feel more at ease when we make such cruel decisions, and take the pressure off of our decision-making so that we can realize that selfishness and salvation can go hand in hand.
When all the survivors have **** hands, no one can confidently hold up the moral archway.
If this is a competition, then they are making the rules of the game, snuffing out the spark of communication and letting everyone enter the dark forest of naked life and death.
If they can provoke more divisions between the good and the evil while looking for collaborators, it will give them an advantage when entering the 'finals'.
This is a vicious ethical trap, and we have just stepped into it. "
"It's still you who can see clearly. I only realized this after being reminded by others."
Mason laughed and said:
"What they're doing is turning an already bad situation into the worst kind of zero-sum game, but I think there's something else going on besides surviving the shock and punching the dog's brains out of each other. kind of solution.
I haven't found a way yet.
I don't even have a train of thought.
But I think we should give it a try, we still have some time.
I hope I can get your help in this process. The K team has come to this point, and we will continue to lurk in that organization to find more truth and information.
I'm going to lead the process.
As for you.
I hope you can cooperate with us to cover up your identity.
I think there are opportunities in any crisis. For example, if this conflict works well, it can wash away our suspicion of betrayal.
After the irreconcilable conflict between K-Squad and the most powerful group of guardians in this world, our promotion in the stellar society can only go more smoothly.
After all, they have never given up on infiltrating this super A Grade dangerous country.
They need us.
Therefore, we who exhibit just the right value will also be safe.
Give me the weakness of the watchtower defense system, Bruce, and you don't have to worry about the rest. "
"Fake show for real?"
The master asked a question.
Mason shook his head and said:
"No matter how fake it is, it will be discovered, so this time it has to be real! You don't have to work hard to make plans for us, you just need to let it go when there is a conflict, don't put the 'anti K-Squad Tactics' really worked out."
"Um."
Master nodded.
He looked at the dark sea of stars in front of him, and after a few seconds of silence, he said:
"Mason, can I trust you?"
"I have no idea."
Mason says:
"But you can trust Selena, I will send you a gift to Wayne Manor, a 'conqueror' from a violent organization of the higher-level organization of the Stars Club.
There must be many, many secrets in his mind.
I wanted to do it myself, but right now I leave it to you. How much you can dig out depends on your means.
In addition, I also have a "communication representative" from a B-level world that also resists the tyranny of the Star Society. He represents a powerful civilization that has repelled the infiltration of the Star Society.
They are looking for a collaborator, and it is best for you to contact him.
You can also choose people you trust to slowly join our 'secret agreement'. In this regard, I absolutely trust your prudence, but don't let them know too much.
Clark Kent had a wife and kids after all, Diana Prince had her clan mother, and even you, Bruce, had your lovers, family and kids.
We all have weaknesses.
But now that I’ve said this, I’m going to ask. "
The young man frowned and said:
"In such a lively event, didn't the dark monarch jump out to show his presence? You have dealt with him before, right?"
"Apocalypse and even the passage of the entire fourth dimension were completely closed a few years ago. Not only Darkseid, but other cosmic villains have disappeared."
Master whispered:
"They obviously don't intend to get involved in this matter, but this is a good thing. We really don't have so much energy to deal with them in the current situation."
"Where's the Möbius Chair?"
Mason narrowed his eyes and asked:
"Is that thing in your hands? Before you decided to destroy a world to save your own, no one proposed to sit on it and ask the truth of the universe?"
"Mason."
Master turned back with strong exhaustion.
He glanced at the chair of future technology behind him that was covered by a piece of magic silk, and said softly:
"How do you think this cruel decision was made and everyone agreed? I asked it myself, and this is the advice it gave me, and it said it was the only way."
"Well, that must be the wrong way for you to ask."
Mason says:
"I don't believe that mutual destruction is the ultimate answer to everything. Maybe it's because you didn't ask the right question. You should try me next time."
"Do you believe in miracles? Even after seeing all this?"
Master asked quietly.
Mason didn't answer immediately. After several seconds of silence, he said:
"Yes, Bruce, I believe in miracles."
He hung up the phone.
The moment he put the flip phone in his pocket, Mason said the second half of the sentence he didn't say:
“After all, I am a miracle myself”
He said this to himself and looked up at the sea of stars.
Those stars are shining.
It is like a gorgeous diamond dotted on a dark curtain full of cruelty.
"No matter who sent me here, I believe their purpose is definitely not just to let me watch and record the collapse and destruction of an entire parallel world system.
This is a super difficult 'assessment'. "
Mason took a long breath. Under the night sky of the empty Miller Harbor, he put his hands in the pockets of his gray windbreaker, looked up at the sky and whispered:
"The answer is hidden under this starry sky, and my mission here is to find it. But this question is really too difficult."
He lowered his head, took out a pack of Sika cigarettes for Zha Kang from his luggage, and popped one out of his mouth. This action made the black sorting hat on his head dissatisfied.
Mr. Hat scolded:
"Hey, Mason, minors are not allowed to smoke!"
"Today is my 18th birthday, it was just past twelve two minutes ago, and I am an adult."
Mason rubbed a ball of flames without raising his head.
In the first puff of smoke rising, he puffed like a skilled old smoker and said:
"This is definitely the worst birthday in my short life, and given the current situation, I think you should be more lenient with me, Mr. Hat.
As long as I personally captured a conqueror you hate so much.
You probably should."
"beep"
Before he finished speaking, the phone in his pocket vibrated twice.
Mason picked up the phone in surprise and opened the cover, and several consecutive messages popped out.
There's one from Catwoman, one from Nightwing, one from Barbara and her dad Gordon, and one from Dr. Leslie and Harley Quinn.
The top text message is from the master far away in space, and their contents are surprisingly consistent.
"Happy Birthday, Mason."
"Well"
Mason curled his lips, threw the ringing cell phone back into his pocket, raised his head again to look at the night sky that hadn't changed much, took a deep breath, threw the cigarette he had only smoked on the ground and stamped it out.
He complained:
"Look at what these **** are doing so provocatively? I almost burst into tears. Ah, I must be too hungry. Look, unbelievable saliva is pouring out of my eyes."
(end of this chapter)