DC Heroes in Marvel

"Speaking of justice points, it seems there's nothing particularly urgent to focus on right now… Oh, wait—the Fantastic Four are still floating around in space. They should be returning to Earth soon. When that happens, I'll probably be able to squeeze some benefits out of Doctor Doom."

Anton pondered this with a smirk.

As he mulled it over, he entered the system space and began checking the armors in Batman's arsenal. 

With a hefty balance of 45 million justice points, Anton didn't even glance at anything priced below that. His eyes went straight to the ultimate prize.

"Just 100 million justice points for the Ultimate Battle Armor? It's basically a guaranteed win!" Anton chuckled to himself. "Once the New York battle is over, I'll be even closer to reaching my small goal."

Suddenly, something caught his eye—a line of text under the Ultimate Armor's description.

Anton had never noticed it before, likely because it had only appeared now that he was carrying such a large amount of justice points. 

The line seemed to hint at an additional requirement for acquiring the armor, something akin to a "capital verification purchase."

Curious, he read it more closely. The moment the meaning became clear, it hit him like a lightning bolt.

All traces of his smile vanished.

"Damn! No wonder the Ultimate Battle Armor is priced like a small goal. There are extra conditions to unlock it!"

Anton's heart sank as he read the details.

The text explained that the Ultimate Battle Armor, as Batman's strongest suit, required compliance with the cosmic laws of equivalent exchange. 

And in the Marvel Universe, what treasures embody those laws? The Infinity Stones, of course.

In other words, to unlock the Ultimate Battle Armor, Anton needed not only 100 million justice points but also five Infinity Stones.

"Five Infinity Stones plus a small goal's worth of justice points? Are you kidding me?" Anton groaned, clutching his chest as though physically pained.

Still in disbelief, he quickly scrolled to check the other armors.

What he discovered made him even more exasperated. The Hellbat, the second most valuable suit, also came with additional restrictions.

This legendary armor was forged through the collective efforts of the Justice League's most powerful members. 

Superman forged it in the heart of the sun. Aquaman tempered and condensed it in the deep sea. Wonder Woman enchanted it. Cyborg and his father, Dr. Silas Stone, built the electronic engineering systems. The Flash infused it with the Speed Force, and Green Lantern cast the cloak.

The Hellbat Warframe was practically invincible, second only to the Ultimate Battle Armor, with even the Fenrir Armour/ Justice Buster having minor flaws in comparison.

 It was the same suit Batman once wore to beat Darkseid into submission.

But here was the catch: to unlock the Hellbat Warframe, Anton had to first redeem several Justice League heroes of the highest caliber who contributed to its creation. On top of that, he needed an additional 80 million justice points.

Anton took a deep breath, the reality hitting him hard. "This feels like reading a novel back in the day, where the author panicked about plot holes and patched them up overnight. So frustrating!"

A small goal? Forget it.

The effort needed to unlock the Hellbat Warframe was nearly on par with the Ultimate Battle Armor, apart from being 20 million justice points cheaper.

Fortunately, as Anton scrolled further, he noticed that only those two suits came with extra conditions. 

The remaining armors could still be exchanged purely with justice points, including the Fenrir Armor, which was also priced at 80 million.

That small silver lining eased his frustration—if only slightly.

Speaking of Fenrir's Battle Armor, it boasts incredible defensive capabilities and can track the Flash's speed. It also stores red solar energy in its gloves, allowing it to weaken Superman's powers. 

In simple terms, Batman designed it specifically to exploit the weaknesses of the Justice League's strongest heroes.

This idea traces back to the New 52 "Endgame" storyline, where the Joker used a specialized toxin to control the Justice League and turn them against Batman. 

The Dark Knight managed to defeat them one by one by exploiting their individual vulnerabilities. From this perspective, Fenrir's Battle Armor, like the Hellbat Armor, has direct ties to the Justice League's top heroes.

However, in terms of combat effectiveness, it's clear that Fenrir's Battle Armor isn't on par with the Hellbat. 

Anton reflected, "In that case, once I save up 80 million justice points, I might consider it... though it doesn't seem worth it."

Anton frowned, clearly dissatisfied.

"By the time I accumulate 80 million points, the Superman clone might already be available. Batman's armor may not even be as useful by then..."

With that thought, Anton's mood shifted. "Might as well create a brand-new armor for fun!"

After everything that had happened, Anton had come to a realization: Batman was falling behind.

During the conflict between the Justice League and the Avengers, Batman had remained on the sidelines, only entering the Helicarrier at the end to conclude the battle. 

Was it because he wanted to show off? Not at all.

The real reason was that the Arkham Knight's Armor, despite its advanced features, was struggling to keep up with the rapidly growing power levels of the Avengers.

Forget Captain America, who can go toe-to-toe with anyone. Even Hawkeye and Black Widow, both enhanced with the Extremis Virus, were leagues ahead of their former selves. 

The days of Batman easily overpowering Hawkeye were long gone.

As for the heavy hitters like Iron Man and Doctor Octopus? Both were far more dangerous than before, especially Tony Stark.

The only remaining Avenger Batman could comfortably handle was Crossbones, Rumlow. And even he wouldn't be a guaranteed win if paired with someone like Arrow or Venom.

This forced Anton to rethink his strategy.

The only real success Batman had during the battle was using the Batwing to put on an impressive show without exposing his weaknesses. 

But the situation drove home an undeniable truth: Batman's current gear wasn't cutting it anymore.

Anton began reviewing his options, focusing on two sets of armor he could realistically afford next: Batman Beyond Armor (40 million justice points) and Anti-Superman Battle Armor (50 million justice points).

The Beyond Armor comes from a future world where the traditional heroes have aged and retired, replaced by a new generation. In this world, humanity has suffered as collateral damage in the battles between superheroes and supervillains. 

Superman, having retired, returns as an all-powerful god-like figure. To stand against him and other superhumans, Batman created the Beyond Armor. 

It's equipped with flight capabilities, unmatched durability, and grants the wearer the strength of a "god among mortals."

The Anti-Superman Battle Armor, on the other hand, is a classic suit, famously featured in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. 

This armor can absorb the energy of an entire city and release it through its fingertips, drastically enhancing Batman's strength and making him a formidable match for the Man of Steel.

After careful consideration, Anton concluded that the Beyond Armor was the better deal, offering more utility for the cost.

Although the Anti-Superman Battle Armor was designed to defeat Superman, its success in that battle was largely due to the use of Kryptonite to weaken the Man of Steel rather than the inherent strength of the armor itself.

In Anton's view, despite its iconic reputation and popularity, its combat effectiveness doesn't surpass the Beyond Armor.

"Forget it, no rush!" Anton muttered to himself.

After some thought, he decided to resist the temptation to exchange justice points for any armor just yet. 

His plan was to save up to the upper limit of 80 million justice points and only exchange for armor when absolutely necessary.

The existence of additional conditions for redeeming the Ultimate Battle Armor and the Hellbat Armor had shifted his strategy. 

Blindly accumulating justice points with the goal of unlocking the Ultimate Battle Armor no longer made sense.

For now, Anton reasoned, the more practical approach was to strengthen Batman's combat power incrementally as needed, rather than focusing entirely on long-term goals.

He muttered under his breath, "The events of Thor 1 have already passed, and the Avengers were established earlier than expected. Judging by the timeline, the next major Marvel event should be the Battle of New York..."

Anton's thoughts turned to Loki, the key figure in the New York War. Although Loki had been soundly defeated by Wonder Woman during the recent events of Thor, he had still managed to escape under King Odin's watchful gaze.

This meant the Battle of New York was inevitable, though its timing remained uncertain. The altered timeline could make it occur sooner or later than in the original story.

In either case, resolving the New York War would undoubtedly yield a significant amount of justice points. But Anton's goal wasn't just to resolve it—it was to achieve a perfect resolution.

The key to that, in Anton's mind, was destroying the biological mothership of the Chitauri.

Simply closing the space portal was a reactive, passive solution. But actively destroying the enemy's core forces would be a bold, decisive move with a far greater payoff in terms of justice points.

The difference was clear: one was a defensive approach, while the other was an offensive one. The rewards for each approach would naturally differ.

However, with the current power level of the Justice League, directly storming the Chitauri mothership and annihilating it seemed like a daunting task. 

The only one with that kind of firepower was Superman, and he wasn't available just yet.

Perhaps, Anton thought, this could be the perfect opportunity to redeem new battle armor.

He rubbed his chin in thought.

"Still, no point in overthinking it now. Worst case, we let the Avengers take the first beating. If things really don't go as planned, closing the space portal directly is an acceptable fallback to isolate the invasion."

…

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