After Batman tied up the unconscious criminal, he looked at Aaron, who was standing by watching the commotion.
With just one glance, he sensed that Aaron was unusual.
In Gotham City, where folk customs were simple, there was no shortage of talent.
If you met someone with a special aura on the street, then you had to be careful. This guy was very likely a formidable character hiding his true abilities.
Although the Gotham City of the Keaton Batman universe was not as complex as other universes, it was by no means to be underestimated.
Bruce Wayne could swear, based on his over thirty years of experience, that judging by the aura emanating from the man in front of him, even in Gotham, a city full of talent, he was absolutely no ordinary person.
Aaron was very handsome, and he seemed out of place in Gotham City. Under normal circumstances, a handsome man like Aaron would never have the chance to show his face publicly. He would either be captured and tortured by some underground boss, or sold into prostitution, serving both women and men.
But Aaron stood before him perfectly unharmed, and so calm.
With that unique aura and flawless face, Keaton Batman felt that such a person should not live in Gotham City, Gotham City was unworthy.
There was no soil for him to thrive here.
While Batman felt vigilant, he couldn't help but advise, "Sir, I welcome you on behalf of Gotham City, but I suggest you'd best go to Metropolis. As you can see, it's very dangerous here, especially for someone like you."
"Thank you for the reminder. I will be leaving Gotham very soon." Aaron smiled slightly, then looked up at the sky.
A treasure was about to fall from the sky. Wasn't that better than Gotham?
Batman nodded, just about to handcuff the criminal aside and wait for the police to finish up.
However, some whispers sounded from nearby.
"Did you see when that handsome guy appeared?"
"I don't remember. It seemed like no one was here just now? Like he just suddenly appeared?"
"I saw him. He just 'poof' appeared. Could he be the legendary angel?"
"He must be an angel. Only an angel could be so handsome. He's still looking at the sky, perhaps he's looking at heaven?"
"…"
Batman paused.
An angel?
That's right, he was indeed very handsome. In Gotham, a city shrouded in darkness, he seemed like a holy angel.
Not only his attire, but also that unique, transcendent aura. There was an indescribable sense of detachment from Gotham City.
If Gotham was hell, then Aaron truly seemed like an angel.
Batman suddenly looked up, taking a few steps to stand before Aaron. "Sir, are you really an angel? From heaven?"
Aaron shook his head, saying meaningfully, "I have no relation to those bird-people."
Batman frowned slightly.
Not an angel? Bird-people? Could he be a demon from hell in human skin?
For some reason, Batman subconsciously felt that Aaron was no ordinary person.
In the depths of his being, a voice was telling him, 'Do not miss him, or you will regret it immensely.'
It was a very special feeling.
Batman had not believed in gods in this world before. But at this moment, he felt that if he didn't speak up today, some terrible disaster might occur in the future. He even felt a sense of suffocation.
Aaron raised an eyebrow, hearing the echo of this world. It was an extremely faint, unconscious sound from all living beings in the world.
It seemed they saw their inevitable demise in the future, and under some self-preservation mechanism, they influenced Bruce, the absolute center of this world.
Interesting.
This was Aaron's first time noticing such a situation.
Could this be the voice of The Green?
Or perhaps… the unwilling cries of the deceased from countless shattered timelines decades later, transcending time?
Aaron's appearance allowed them to see the only hope?
This special feeling made Aaron subconsciously divert much of his attention to explore this "Voice of The Green."
Any strange situation should have a corresponding explanation.
Aaron would not ignore this anomaly, even if he was certain it posed no threat or ill intent towards him.
Bruce did not notice anything unusual about himself. That special power left him somewhat puzzled. He attributed this influence to Aaron's uniqueness.
"Sir, I can confirm I have never seen you before, but for some reason, I feel a special affinity for you. Would you mind enlightening me?" Bruce chose his words carefully.
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Is that so puzzling? It's merely because I'm handsome. You see, others feel the same affinity for me, don't they?"
Bruce scanned his surroundings. The people around, especially the women, looked at Aaron with sparkling eyes. If it weren't for the fact that this was a crime scene, they might have already rushed up to talk and flirt with Aaron.
Bruce remained silent for a few seconds. "No, that's not the same. For some reason, you seem very important to me."
Aaron thought for a moment, then, with the intention of testing, he tentatively said, "Perhaps it's because… I can save this world."
!!!
Bruce's eyes widened.
Either I have a problem, or you have a problem.
Save the world? What the hell? Was a nuclear war about to break out between the United States and Russia?
Aaron smiled, pointing into the distance and a flash of spiritual light surged into Bruce's mind.
Aaron had intercepted a portion of the world's outcome decades later and transmitted it into Bruce's brain.
Bruce slowly processed it, as if he had been immersed in it, experiencing that future period like a fleeting glimpse.
The current Bruce had only just become Batman, protecting Gotham City.
The Joker had not yet been born, and the Penguin had not yet dominated Gotham.
The future "happiest city in the world" was still nowhere in sight.
However, Bruce had to face a terrible truth—the world was going to end.
"I found you."
Before Bruce could fully process it, Aaron finally found the reason.
He surveyed the lushness of Gotham City, which was not the call of Mother Earth, but the voice of The Green.
The Green is one of the mysterious natural forces in the DC Verse, and also one of its elemental forces. This force imbues plants with vitality, making it almost the most resilient and tenacious force in the DC verse.
Theoretically, every green plant in the DC world is connected to The Green.
A host chosen by The Green, as long as a trace of green exists in the universe, can be reborn.
Aaron looked into the distance.
A red-haired beauty walked over. Her skin was somewhat pale, and her face held a hint of bewilderment, panic, and unease.
"You are… Pamela?"
Aaron was quite surprised, not expecting Batman to also have Poison Ivy.
Pamela said with a hint of nervousness, "Sir, can you help me? I was just pruning plants, but they seemed to come alive and stung me, and that's how I became like this."
Pamela raised her slender hands, but there were no wounds on her smooth, flawless skin. It was clear that Pamela's eyes were filled with confusion, as if she was wondering why she had healed so quickly.
"I heard many voices, like countless people arguing in my ears. They told me to come find you. I don't understand, I feel like I'm going crazy."
Pamela clutched her head with her right hand and shook it frantically. "They seem to be saying… save me?"
Aaron gestured for Pamela to come closer.
Pamela hesitated, but looking at Aaron's face, whether it was an illusion or not, she felt her spirit was being comforted, and the feeling of mental dissociation also lessened.
The closer she got to Aaron, the more peaceful she felt inside.
Pamela slowly approached, and Aaron placed his hand on her hair, acquiring her abilities.
[Fragment of The Green: You have acquired some characteristics of The Green, possessing immense vitality, the ability to control all plants and their properties, and to strengthen yourself by leveraging its power. As long as plants still exist in the universe, you will be immortal.]
The moment he acquired this ability, Aaron, with his powerful mind, instantly gained control of the entire Earth's plant's perspective.
Plants do not have eyes, but they can sense everything in their surroundings through wind, hormonal scents, tendrils, and so on. Any place where plants exist is his "eye," capable of monitoring everything for him.
Moreover, he can control plant hormones, and through various combinations, create mind-controlling toxins, hormonal agents, and deadly poisons, while also being immune to most external toxins.
All plants are a part of his power. He can augment this power to gain immortal vitality and even greater physical strength.
'The Green can be combined with my internal Universe's power, strengthening my body while rapidly recovering, thereby augmenting even greater power.'
With powerful computational abilities, Aaron quickly analyzed the utility of The Green for himself, combining it with his own abilities.
This plant power not only provides him with information about the current world but also records past memories and can even link to the future through certain means.
The Green of this universe, sensing that this universe was destined to collapse due to the constant reboots by the Big Flash and Little Flash, unconsciously sought help from Aaron.
It even proactively made Pamela it's host to approach Aaron and seek assistance.
Those voices were precisely the voices of all plants on Earth and even in the universe.
However, in this universe, supernatural abilities are not prominent, and even the power of The Green is so weak that it struggles to assemble a complete, powerful plant host.
Poison Ivy was already the strongest spokesperson that the unconscious The Green could produce. However, against the future Zod, she was simply not enough.
Having gained the power of The Green, Aaron was more adept at controlling it than Pamela, able to perfectly harness it without being influenced by the myriad plant consciousnesses.
Seeing that Pamela was still in some pain, Aaron intervened to alleviate her symptoms.
Pamela took a deep breath as if reborn, the fragmented noise in her ears finally gone, and she couldn't help but smile.
"Thank you, sir, I knew you could help me."
At this moment, Bruce had finished sifting through his memories and looked at Aaron with a complex expression.
"Is this the future of our world? The timeline collapsing and being destroyed because of two idiots?"
"Sir, may I ask… can I just shoot them?"
Keaton Batman wasn't a benevolent Batman. Unlike most Batmen in other universes, he did not adhere to a no-kill rule.
In the next two years, he would take down the Joker, who plagued the entire city, as well as the Penguin and other famous villains.
Moreover, this universe's Gotham did not have as many supernatural criminals. That's why he was able to eliminate the underground forces and, using the wealth of the Wayne Corporation, spend decades transforming Gotham City into one of the happiest cities in the world.
The Dark Knight retired perfectly, becoming a legend of Gotham City.
Keaton Batman shared commonalities with other Batmen, such as his love for Gotham. He was quite relieved to see his future self successfully transforming Gotham City decades later, but when he saw how the Big Flash's selfishness turned the world he had painstakingly changed into one of countless colliding and shattered universes, the bitterness and anger in his heart were inexpressible.
He knew that both Barry Allen were not criminals, but rather true Superheroes. However, it's not the god-like opponent one fears, but the trash teammate.
Barry Allen's foolishness greatly shocked Keaton Batman.
Compared to having two Flash and a Supergirl on his side, he would rather kill the other party, as long as it could change the inevitable future.
Aaron shook his head. "It's fine if you want to kill them, but you need to consider that even if you kill them, you won't be able to change the outcome."
With Flash's ability to reverse time, it's almost impossible for him to be killed.
But Aaron never doubted Batman's combat prowess.
You can say Batman's individual combat strength is weak, but the premise is: don't challenge him to a fight.
Decades of preparation… even a god could be killed.