10. The Eve of War (Part 1)
◎Ludwig: The Gentle Grandma Martha◎
Cyborg sat tensely on the sofa in Wayne Manor. Next to him sat Clark, who had already changed into comfortable clothes, and he looked even more nervous than Cyborg.
“Um… Ludwig, are you okay? Earlier… well… it looks like you were bleeding,” Clark said. He liked Ludwig very much, as if he were an old friend, and he couldn’t help but show concern.
“I’m much better now. Thank you for your concern, Clark. The Kents are very nice people, aren’t they?” Ludwig smiled in response to Clark’s care, but he didn’t really look much better.
“Y-yes, Mr. and Mrs. Kent are very kind people…” Clark finished, not knowing what else to say, then lowered his head and gripped his pants tightly.
“No need to be so formal. There’s nothing here you need to pay for, as long as you don’t take down the last beam of the house,” Ludwig said, sitting on the sofa. Even though Wayne Manor still looked like ruins, he somehow gave off the dignity of the White House.
“Alright, young Mr. Wayne, I don’t know where you suddenly appeared from, but we’re here looking for Batman. Could you please send him out?” Cyborg impatiently interrupted the long and boring small talk. He knew Superman was strong, but to win the battle, Superman alone wasn’t enough.
“Don’t be so impatient, Mr. Stone. Batman has some things to handle first. You know Gotham is never peaceful — patience is also a good quality of a hero,” Ludwig said just as Barry came back carrying a cookie in his mouth.
“Hey, Looch, B wants you to come over,” Barry gently patted Ludwig’s shoulder. The two smiled at each other, both recalling the small meeting the three had in the Batcave earlier.
Three hours ago (before Thomas chased the Joker):
Ludwig got out of bed. He was feeling much better, so he grabbed the blanket that had been with him all along and made his way alone toward the Batcave, his instincts telling him he would find Thomas and Barry there.
In fact, he did see Thomas and Barry — or rather, the Flash and Batman who were arguing.
“This world is real too! We can’t just ignore it. If we fail, the original world won’t come back. We have to give all the ordinary people a chance to live,” Barry pleaded earnestly, but he underestimated Batman’s stubbornness.
“No. Right now, we have only two choices: bring Bruce back or let this world continue to burn,” Batman’s voice was low and carried a threat.
He no longer cared about this broken world. All he wanted was for Bruce to return, even if it cost him his life.
“The situation might not be so simple anymore.” Ludwig stood on the steps, interrupting their conversation.
Batman and Barry both looked toward the stairway, where Ludwig was coming down wearing a white nightgown, his face pale.
“What do you mean?” Batman’s red eyes fixed on Ludwig. That emotionless gaze brought intense psychological pressure.
“I mean that this world already exists. He won’t be erased for no reason, but we can make it better.” Ludwig paused, thinking carefully before reorganizing his words.
“I am Bruce’s child. According to cause and effect, I cannot appear on any timeline where Bruce doesn’t exist.”
“But you’re here because of your superpowers?” Barry tilted his head in confusion. He understood Ludwig’s point, but like Ludwig said, he did have superpowers.
Ludwig shook his head. “That’s why I say it’s not that simple.”
Ludwig glanced at the thoughtful Batman, then at Barry, who was scratching his head in puzzlement, and proposed the most likely possibility for now.
“Perhaps, on the original trajectory of this world, I was always meant to be born, and my birth created this world. I arrived because Barry came, and the world changed as a result.”
Ludwig explained, but the whole matter was too complicated to clarify in a few sentences.
However, Barry caught on.
“Because Bruce didn’t survive, and I brought the chance for Bruce to survive, your existence becomes uncertain, like Schrödinger’s cat?”
“Yes,” Ludwig nodded, approving Barry’s idea as another expert in altered timelines.
“The foundation of everything is what you did,” Ludwig said firmly, looking at Barry.
Barry exclaimed in disbelief, “I didn’t do anything! It was Reverse-Flash!”
Ludwig retorted, “But you do have memories as the Flash. You know only those involved with timeline changes can remember everything.”
“This…” Barry hesitated. Suddenly, he felt Ludwig might be right. Could it really be something he did?
But immediately, he pushed the thought out of his mind. “I often travel through time, so the rules of temporal amnesia no longer apply to me.”
Thomas, an elderly man who had never been involved in parallel world theory, blinked but could still understand some of what they were saying.
“If that’s the case, then whether we win this battle or not has nothing to do with our purpose, right?”
“That’s exactly the problem,” Ludwig said, spreading his hands. He sighed and explained, “After all, this is one world, and no one can guarantee it won’t become a new branch.”
Ludwig looked at Thomas sincerely and asked, “If that’s so, what will you do?”
“…” Thomas fell silent. He understood what Barry and Ludwig meant—they hoped he could remain strong in this world without Bruce, because even if they really saved Bruce, Thomas would never know.
Barry seemed to sense Thomas’s hesitation and almost pleaded, “At least Bruce would choose to join in saving the world.”
Thomas remained silent, like a statue, half of his face hidden in shadows and behind the mask, no one could read his expression.
Just when Barry and Ludwig were about to give up, a hoarse voice sounded again in the Batcave.
“I need you to do me a favor.”
Ludwig’s eyes suddenly lit up. He knew this meant Batman had agreed to help.
“As long as I can.” As long as I can help you rekindle your will to live.
“I can do anything.” I can do anything.
Time returns to the present.
The Batmobile screeched into a drift and stopped inside the Batcave. Martha couldn’t wait for the car to stop and jumped out immediately.
“Alright, where’s our little baby?” Martha swept her green hair back, revealing her face hidden beneath heavy foundation covering scars.
“Grandma Martha?” Ludwig stood on the stairs. Seeing a familiar face made him happier than ever.
He sprang down from the stairs and jumped into Martha’s arms.
Ludwig wasn’t heavy, Martha easily caught him and held him steadily, carefully studying that familiar face.
“Oh my God… this really is…” Even with Thomas’s prior warning, Martha was still shocked.
Even if he was just an actor Thomas had brought, at least here, Martha had a perfect dream.
Held in Martha’s arms, Ludwig’s gaze fixed on the corner of her mouth. It was rude, but Martha didn’t mind.
So Ludwig took the liberty to reach out and gently touched the scar at the corner of Martha’s mouth.
“Does it hurt?” Ludwig’s mood sank bit by bit as his hand stroked the scar that nearly ran across her entire face. He couldn’t help feeling upset.
It must have hurt a lot. In Ludwig’s eyes, Martha was a noblewoman, the only person in charge of the Wayne family, a symbol of elegance and grace. This was the first time Ludwig had seen such a vulnerable side of Martha.
“A little, but it doesn’t hurt now.” Martha buried her head in the child’s neck. Her voice was muffled by Ludwig’s clothes, carrying a sorrowful tone, and her tears almost soaked Ludwig’s collar.
So much like him—Ludwig was almost an exact replica of the Bruce in Martha’s memories. The pain of losing a child surged in her heart once again.
“So…” Martha’s breathing trembled, but her spirit was strong, and a gentle smile reappeared on her face.
“So, is Bruce doing well? Did he choose to become a doctor like Thomas?”
Thomas, standing behind, pressed his lips tightly. His whole body was tense, he just wanted to go hold his wife. They had missed so much that the things they missed had formed a chasm that blocked their love.
But Ludwig gave him a look, telling him not to rush.
“He should be doing fine, I guess? I also have a brother, Damian. He’s grumpy and likes to fight, but he likes magical girls, and anyone who likes magical girls can’t be all bad. Bruce even joined us for the magical girl premiere. When I arrived, Bruce’s wish was to run for mayor.”
Ludwig rambled on, but his body, still recovering from illness, was not used to standing for long. Martha helped him claim the only chair in the Batcave, pushing aside its usual occupant.
Martha squatted on the ground, her eyes burning as she listened closely to Ludwig’s disorganized chatter, as if she had lived through the rest of that child’s life.
Thomas gradually relaxed as well, leaning against the doorframe, watching the two people he loved most chatting aimlessly.
At this moment, Barry appeared beside him and gently patted Thomas’s shoulder, telling him Cyborg and Captain Marvel were already waiting.
Thomas nodded, and in the next second, he turned from Doctor Thomas back to Batman, and Batman still had a tough battle to fight.