"Project S.W.O.R.D.? Based on your previous records, Master Wayne, this initiative likely contains intelligence regarding extraterrestrial life... However, I doubt it holds any information regarding the origins of Double-Head's species."
Alfred presented a different perspective.
"Yes, you're right, Alfred." Batman continued walking slowly along the banks of the Hudson River, making his way forward through the night. "Though, in truth, we've already encountered quite a few extraterrestrial lives, haven't we?"
"Double-Head, Asgardians, Frost Giants, Venom," Alfred listed off one by one. "Indeed, that is hardly a small number."
Batman remained silent. His sudden request to meet with Double-Head alone—aside from the complete lack of traceable information on Double-Head—carried another meaning.
Alfred truly was one of the people who understood Batman best in the world, even if he was currently nothing more than an artificial intelligence.
Noticing Batman fall silent, Alfred let out a light chuckle:
"Master Wayne, I wager you are thinking of someone right now."
"Who?" Batman asked in return.
"Answer one question for me first: since coming to this world, have you attempted to analyze the underlying mathematical logic and physical laws of this realm?" Alfred asked.
Batman had, of course, calculated them. It was just that after completing his calculations back then, he hadn't recorded the data, leaving Alfred unaware and forced to guess.
"Yes," Batman said. "The mathematics of this world are completely identical to our own, as are the fundamental physics. That was precisely why I could tell at a glance back then that Dr. Otto's nuclear fusion formula contained a calculation error."
That had been the very first event after his crossover, and Batman remembered it with absolute clarity.
"So you suspect that this world is actually the same universe as ours? Or at least situated within the same multiverse structure," Alfred said with a laugh. "I take it the person you're thinking of wears a bright red cape."
"It seems I still can't hide anything from you, Alfred." Batman let out a small smile as well. "If it truly is as you say, perhaps I really can find a way to call Clark over."
"In truth, you don't actually want to call him over. You are simply worried that your plans might prove ineffective against Thor, the strongest entity you have encountered so far. But if Superman were here, perhaps there would be nothing left to worry about," Alfred said.
Batman didn't mind in the slightest that Alfred had exposed his true thoughts:
"In our world, even though powerful entities pop up one after another from all sorts of bizarre places, there are correspondingly many methods we can employ."
"Yet in this world, there are truly only two things in my hands that are of real practical use: the Tesseract and Pym Particles."
"Master Wayne, you have fallen into anxiety once again," Alfred said.
Batman shook his head. Just as he was about to say something, Alfred spoke up once more:
"Why don't we give it a try? Sending out a call to Master Kent?"
"Alfred, even though I am inside Peter's body and this physical form is only nineteen years old, my actual age is already greater than yours." Batman rejected Alfred's idea.
"It appears that before you left, Gotham had been genuinely transformed by you, and you were already in a state of retirement?" Alfred asked.
"In truth, I wasn't retired. Just like before, I spent three hundred and sixty out of three hundred and sixty-five days fighting crime." Batman shook his head.
Understanding dawned on Alfred:
"No wonder you didn't take huge risks to steal the Tesseract from the very beginning, nor did you rashly use it after acquiring it."
"Otherwise, if the Joker, Scarecrow, the Riddler, and that whole gang were still running rampant in Gotham, I suspect you would have set off the very night you crossed over and learned of the Tesseract's existence."
"May I ask how you managed to bring about a true transformation in Gotham? That could not have been an easy task."
Batman chose to keep him in suspense for now, flashing a mysterious smile:
"Once we return to Gotham in the future, I'll show you around. You'll fall in love with Gotham all over again."
This time, it was Alfred's turn to fall silent. It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but rather that he was waiting for Batman to speak again.
Batman gradually picked up his pace, eventually leaping into the air. Pulled by a strand of pitch-black web-silk, he soared into the sky, unfolding his cape to hover like a giant bat creature as he searched for prey.
Before long, Batman appeared to have spotted his prey. Pulling back the broad, heavy cape behind him, he plunged straight down.
A few seconds later, in an alleyway in Queens, Batman launched back into the night sky, leaving behind more than a dozen oddballs clutching broken arms and legs as they lay groaning on the ground.
"Alright, Alfred." Hovering in midair, Batman let out a sigh. "If it had truly been completely transformed, I wouldn't even need to return to Gotham... But it hasn't. It still needs Batman there. If I'm not around, I worry a new string of supervillains will spring up all over again."
This was also the confusion that had arisen from the bottom of his heart on several previous occasions when he met Professor Connors, Jack Monroe, and others who had suffered tragedy, only to find that no matter how miserable they were, they always strived toward the light.
Something that was so rare in Gotham was so commonplace in this world.
Even though Alfred hadn't rendered a holographic projection, Batman could still imagine the old butler making a shrugging gesture at that moment.
"If you didn't resort to extreme measures to change Gotham, then I believe you can temporarily put this question to rest, Master." Alfred offered words of comfort.
"What counts as extreme?" Batman countered.
"If Master Kent in his normal state didn't stop you, then it doesn't count as extreme," the old butler said with a smile.
"He didn't." Batman's tone grew considerably firmer now.
Communicating with Alfred as he went, Batman made his way toward a charitable organization in Queens.
That place had once belonged to Mister Negative, Martin Li. After Venom's initial arrival and the ensuing massacre, the facility had been sealed off.
As for those who died, Batman had long since made secret arrangements for proper handling and compensation, while even those who weren't injured received a substantial payout for emotional distress.
After all, witnessing a two-meter-tall Venom going on a fanged rampage at close range was not something just anyone could handle.
A while back, the location had been taken over and renovated by someone else. It remained a charitable organization, though this time it was affiliated with a Catholic believer.
Batman crouched quietly at the edge of a nearby building, observing silently for a moment.
No bizarre scenes occurred this time. Batman left several more wiretaps behind before taking his leave with peace of mind.
He still chose not to return to the Batcave, heading straight instead toward Empire State University in Manhattan.
"Spider-Man" Benjamin Reilly was attending school there.
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