Chapter 1010: Is This Batman? (Part 1) (Patreon)

In DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List

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"I have some bad news and some even worse news. Which one do you want to hear first?" In the cryogenic laboratory of Gotham University, Victor looked at Batman and asked without waiting for Batman's response, he continued, "The bad news is that both Gotham's rainwater and drinking water sources have issues. And the even worse news is that these two issues are not the same."

Batman furrowed his brows, looking at Victor, waiting for his conclusion. In the past, he would have personally checked the test results or taken samples to the Batcave for analysis. But now, he simply hoped to deal with the problem with the highest efficiency, without delving into the details.

"I detected a mysterious substance in the rainwater, which doesn't match any known compositions in our current spectrum," Victor said as he walked to the lab table, picking up a report. "To study the nature of this substance and the uniqueness of the rainwater, my students conducted numerous experiments and found that this substance reacts with metals."

"What kind of reaction?" Batman inquired.

"It's not clear yet," Victor shook his head. "This reaction doesn't occur at a visible level, but rather, we discovered it when observing the feedback of the magnetic field using a magnetic force oscillator."

Upon hearing this, Batman seemed to have a realization. He turned to Zatanna, who approached Victor and said, "Could you reproduce this reaction process? It's highly likely related to magic."

She went on to explain, "For those without Spirit Realm vision, magic is invisible. For instance, I can pull a rabbit out of my hat, and you can see the hat and the rabbit, but you can't see how the rabbit is conjured, even if I use a transparent hat."

"However, there are traces. Prolonged magic reactions can be observed by humans through magnetic fields. Some individuals have a naturally unique magnetic field, which is affinity to magic, easily attracting 'spirits' or 'souls', known as possessing a 'spiritual constitution.'"

"The reactions invisible to your naked eye may manifest as ongoing magic reactions in the Spirit Realm vision. So, if you can reproduce this process, I might be able to find some clues."

Watching Zatanna's exhausted and pale face, Batman moved his lips slightly, but Clark immediately spoke up, "Miss Zatanna, you look incredibly tired. Don't you need a rest?"

"I'm sorry for damaging your portal. If possible, I'll compensate you for all the materials. If you're injured or exhausted because of this, you better go back and rest for a while."

"I'm fine," Zatanna shook her head with pursed lips. "Losing the portal and depleting my energy are nothing. I've undergone harsher training than this. Please trust me; I'm a professional in magic. Let's start now."

Batman kept glancing at Zatanna, seeing his past self in her stubborn demeanor. Now he somewhat understood why Schiller said Zatanna was becoming like him four years ago.

Currently, Zatanna's demeanor wasn't just resilient; it was more like excessive paranoia. In terms of magic, she had to prove her professionalism, demonstrate her invincibility, and deal with all the world's cases, regardless of her condition, all by sheer determination, without retreating an inch.

One couldn't help but acknowledge that from the perspective of an onlooker, there was an urge to suggest that she should go to a psychiatric hospital for some medication.

Victor merely glanced at Zatanna and didn't say anything. He called over a few students and reproduced the process of their previous experiment.

It was quite simple, just placing a piece of iron in the magnetic force oscillator, turning on the machine, dripping rainwater, and the table displayed some abnormal readings.

Clark and the students transported buckets of rainwater, while Batman and Victor watched the readings on the table. Zatanna's eyes emitted a faint glow. Just as the water poured into the chamber and submerged the iron piece, she suddenly exclaimed, "Stop! Something's wrong!"

Victor and Batman both turned their heads to her. Zatanna said, "I observed some magic reactions... Correct. My inference was right; this is a sustained magic reaction with some dark and chaotic states... Let me see. No, wait, the pattern of triggering the reaction seems off. Can we repeat it again?"

The experiment was repeated, and Zatanna frowned. She conjured a screen in the air and began writing words and formulas with her finger, explaining, "Look here, the so-called sustained magic reaction can also be understood as a long-term activated magic array."

Zatanna waved her finger, drawing a slightly complex pattern in the air, and continued to explain, "Firstly, I engrave the triggered end of the magic array on an object, like this."

The pattern she drew gradually lit up and floated to their overhead. Zatanna waved her hand and said, "This is just a Magic Circle I randomly drew, and now, I'll trigger it with another type of magic."
Afterwards, Zatanna's finger lit up as she continued, "At this point, the efficacy of this magic array is merely illumination, and the effect of the magic in my hand is also just illumination. However, when they converge..."

Zatanna lightly moved her finger, pointing towards her magic wand. A beam of light shot out, and with a whoosh, a strong wind blew out from the magic array, causing Zatanna's black hair to swirl around her ears.

Moreover, the wind continued to blow steadily until Zatanna extinguished the Magic Circle. She extended her hand to explain, "See, this is the sustained activation of magic, different from ordinary magic."

"If I were to use ordinary magic, like this... Gust of Wind!"

Zatanna focused and casted the simplest form of reverse language magic, causing a gust of wind to blow towards Batman, lifting the cape behind him. However, the strong wind quickly dissipated, and Batman's cape fell back down.

"Normally, the magic we use is determined by the amount of magical power we use, dictating its strength and duration," Zatanna explained the principles of magic much more professionally than Constantine. After all, she had received the most professional education in college and knew how to explain the principles of magic to others.

"However, with sustained activation magic, it's different. After establishing the activated Magic Circle and triggering the elements of the Magic Circle, once the two meet, the magic will continue to be effective."

"In that case, does sustained activation magic mean it's much stronger than ordinary magic?" Victor asked with a frown.

"However, sustained activation magic is also much more difficult and fragile than other types of magic. It's not just about setting two things up and expecting them to work forever once triggered," Zatanna shook her head. "In most cases, the sustained activation magic cast by many sorcerers is very fragile, requiring maintenance, and the effects aren't strong. Plus, it requires significant investment. Nowadays, very few people use this kind of magic."

After explaining the principle, Zatanna looked at the iron piece still in the apparatus and said, "The rainwater you just poured in is indeed the triggering element, but the metal in this machine is not the correct triggered end."

"The concept of magic is quite vague, not as precise as scientific experiments. The formula set in the rainwater for triggering could likely include metals, so although this metal isn't the correct triggered end, it will still react with the rainwater to some extent."

"This indicates that the correct triggered end is metal, but not this type of metal. As for which type exactly..." Zatanna pondered for a moment before saying, "Wait, I'll enter the Spirit Realm, cast a tracking magic on the rainwater, and observe its critical path. That should help determine what the triggered end really is."

After saying this, she took a deep breath, disregarding her weakened state, and forcefully entered the Spirit Realm. The rainwater collected in the bucket emitted a glow and then disappeared.

After a while, a questioning "Hmm?" came from the air, followed by silence for a long time. Zatanna's figure reappeared, her face even paler. She took a cold breath and looked at Batman, saying, "I have some bad news and some even worse news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Batman silently looked at her. Zatanna sighed and said, "The bad news is that the triggered end for the rainwater isn't a single piece of metal; it's all the metal in Gotham's buildings."

Batman's expression immediately darkened. He stood up, focusing on Zatanna, who continued, "And the even worse news is that the nature of the entire sustained activation magic is even more sinister than I thought."

"Although I knew this magic leaned towards evil and chaos, what I didn't expect was that all the triggered ends of the metal combined to form an even larger magic array. This is a kind of complex magic that I can hardly describe, or rather, it can't even be considered within the realm of magic."

Zatanna's complexion became even paler, almost devoid of any color. She looked at the ground beneath her feet somewhat indistinctly and said, "We're standing on top of the world's most intense darkness and evil. Perhaps, this is the truth of the Curse of Extreme Evil."

Zatanna then raised her head, looking into Batman's eyes, and said, "The rainwater triggers the Magic Circle in the metal, and the sustained activation magic within the metal Magic Circle forms an immensely powerful vortex, absorbing all malice from the space. That's why this place is called the Land of No Salvation..."

"So, do you have a solution?" Batman asked Zatanna.

Zatanna suddenly fell silent, and the atmosphere in the room became quiet. After a while, she took a deep breath and then said, "Of course, I have a way... I have a way to deal with the most terrifying curse in the world. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come here and sought you out. Before coming here, I had already figured out a solution."

Batman had a premonition of what she was going to say next. He saw a kind of tragic determination in Zatanna's eyes.

Time seemed to rewind to four years ago, and Batman facing Zatanna across from him was like looking into a mirror. He thought that perhaps, when he stood on the rooftop of Wayne Tower, he had also made eye contact like this.

Before Zatanna could speak, Batman said, "You don't have to sacrifice yourself because, in reality, you're not as important as you think you are."

Seeing Zatanna's sudden change in expression, Batman finally understood why Schiller had always looked down on him back then.

Because now, Zatanna's downturned mouth, narrowed eyes, and furrowed brows held such seriousness in her own perception, but to an onlooker, they seemed ridiculous and absurd.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1011: Is this Batman? (Part 2)