Chapter 161: Not Batman
"You don't actually need to reach the train engine in exactly ten minutes," the Red Queen observed, her holographic avatar circling around Jake's left hand like a miniature fairy.
"Wasting time is pointless when you're on a deadline," Jake replied, boarding yet another train carriage and conversing with his AI assistant.
"Didn't you once call yourself a priest? Why the killing spree this time?"
"Because the sins committed by everyone on this entire train are too grave for redemption. None of them deserve salvation."
Jake despised nearly everyone aboard this train, regardless of their social class or position.
He continued opening doors between carriages.
Each small car was like a microcosm of society condensed into metal boxes on rails—the entire world compressed into this single massive train.
A small orchard, an aquarium, even a sushi restaurant.
A café for the elite to socialize, a nightclub, and a swimming pool for their leisure.
Each carriage wasn't particularly large, but contained everything the upper classes could want. With so few people in the forward sections, there was more than enough space for luxury.
Soon Jake arrived at the engine room. He knew surveillance cameras were monitoring his every move, but he didn't care in the slightest.
Using the same circuit-bypassing method, the final carriage door opened, revealing a heavyset woman in a yellow dress carrying two rifles, standing directly opposite Jake.
An elderly man dressed in loose pajamas was leisurely eating steak at an elegant table.
"Hello, mysterious guest..." Wilford paused his knife mid-cut, gesturing graciously for Jake to sit and talk like civilized people.
"I don't believe you're a passenger on this train," he said, picking up a glass of red wine from the table. The vintage had existed only seventeen years ago—every sip was irreplaceable and precious.
Taking a measured sip, he set down the glass and continued calmly, "Would you care to explain how you got here? And why you've launched this unprovoked assault?"
He was Wilford—creator and absolute ruler of this train.
Following his question, the heavyset woman in yellow raised both rifles, silently demanding Jake confess.
"I need to discuss with you the matter of stopping this train," Jake stated plainly.
"What? Stop it?!" Wilford slammed his hand on the table, standing abruptly and roaring, "Absolutely impossible!"
The response was a single gunshot from Jake.
THUD—
The woman in yellow collapsed to the floor, dead before she hit the ground.
"Let's just talk," Jake said calmly, displaying the two pistols in his hands with casual menace.
With that subtle gesture, Wilford—who moments before had displayed fearless arrogance—went pale. "No! You can't do this!!"
Jake had aimed his weapon directly at the perpetual motion engine behind Wilford!
The most critical component of the entire train. With the engine damaged, the train would be completely finished.
BANG!
One shot killed Wilford instantly, and several more rounds destroyed critical engine components beyond any hope of repair.
The original timeline's long and agonizing battle of twisted humanity and revolution ended instead with Jake's overwhelming and decisive victory.
The train ground to a complete halt, and Jake stepped outside into the frozen world.
He carefully assessed the ambient temperature—it was similar to the post-apocalyptic ice age from The Day After Tomorrow, but definitely survivable for humans with proper preparation.
The train's sudden stop filled every passenger aboard with existential anxiety. They all understood that without movement, there would be no power generation, no food production, no heated water, and no warmth!
Everyone would freeze to death!
Curtis ran quickly toward the front of the train. He stared in astonishment at the open engine room doors and a trail of footprints visible in the deep snow, leading away from the train. Someone had walked a considerable distance...
Curtis tentatively reached out his hand into the outside air. Though cold, it wasn't the bone-shattering, instant-frostbite temperature they'd all feared.
He took a cautious step outside. Seventeen years later, he was finally standing on solid ground again. The sensation thrilled him almost to the point of tears.
WHOOOOSH!
Suddenly, snow swirled violently as powerful downdraft pressed down from above.
Curtis looked up and saw a massive aircraft in the sky, with a strange spherical object suspended beneath it by cables.
The black aircraft rapidly flew away, piercing through the overcast sky and disappearing within seconds.
Nearly two hours later, a blinding flash of light erupted in the far distance, instantly evaporating vast expanses of snow and ice—even vaporizing entire mountain peaks in a controlled nuclear detonation.
Staring in the direction the light had risen, Curtis knew with certainty that the mysterious man was connected to it somehow.
He didn't know why the stranger had come to their train, or where he'd gone afterward. Curtis only knew that the man had helped them achieve victory in their revolution—even if only as an unintended side effect—without asking for anything in return.
Back in Gotham City
"It's really resolved?" Bruce Wayne removed his cowl, staring directly into Jake's eyes, awaiting confirmation.
"Of course," Jake nodded. "Though I'm afraid your Bat aircraft is gone. Vaporized with the warhead."
"That's nothing," Bruce shook his head, glancing toward Talia al Ghul—subdued and seated under guard nearby. "I'm going to send her to Blackgate Prison where she belongs."
"Do what you think is right," Jake replied with indifference.
Given Batman's moral code and principles, it would be shocking if he actually killed anyone.
The crisis was over, the battle concluded, and Jake was preparing to leave this world entirely.
Unexpectedly, Batman—having replaced his cowl—asked, "Jake... would you consider protecting this city?"
"Me?" Jake pointed incredulously at himself. "You want me to be Batman?"
He had no idea what had given Bruce that impression. Although Jake admitted to occasional acts of kindness, he also harbored darkness within him—making him no different from any ordinary person. The selfless dedication that defined Batman was simply impossible for Jake to emulate.
He fell far short of Batman's exacting standards.
"You could be a guardian who operates in daylight, rather than someone like me who watches over the night," Bruce suggested.
"No thanks," Jake decisively shook his head in refusal. "I have no interest in being Batman. Actually, being a wandering dimensional traveler is quite interesting enough."
Besides, he couldn't afford to be bound to any single world permanently.
"Then... think it over carefully. The offer stands," Bruce didn't press the issue, simply nodding before grabbing Talia and speeding away on the Batpod.
Afterward, Jake and Mia visited Selina Kyle's former best friend and arranged a legitimate job for her at Wayne Enterprises.
After a day of sightseeing around Gotham, they collected their equipment from Wayne Manor and prepared to depart.
The very next day, Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon gave a historic public address.
The speech acknowledged his past deceptions and mistakes. He declared that Batman was the city's true hero, that everything that had happened eight years ago regarding Harvey Dent had been a complete fabrication to preserve hope, and that Dent had actually become a villain before his death.
A bronze statue of Batman was commissioned and erected in City Hall plaza, symbolizing his role as the city's eternal guardian.
A small group of people now knew Batman's true identity, but they would never reveal it.
Gotham City—a metropolis that had slumbered in false peace for eight years—had finally erupted in a major crisis just days ago.
Crime had returned with a vengeance, and Batman, missing for eight years, had reappeared to save the city once more.
In this world, evil had never truly stopped or diminished. But because of Batman's existence, people could feel safe in their homes.
In the darkness of another Gotham night, sirens wailed as gunshots and the flames of criminal activity illuminated the skyline.
A Dark Knight appeared from the shadows, delivering justice and protecting the city from those who would prey upon it...
[Power Stone Goal: 500 = +1 Chapter]
[Review Goal: 10 = +1 Chapter]
If you liked it, feel free to leave a review.
20+chapters ahead on P1treon Soulforger