American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

317. The Ruins of Baxter building.

"I didn't expect the system here to still be functioning automatically after all these years."

Barbara marveled as she lifted her arm, pulling out a small foldable tablet about the size of a smartphone. She started tapping on it rapidly.

"What are you doing?" Pietro asked, curious, as he leaned over.

"I'm going to connect it to Batman Network. There may be many differences between the two universes, but the network signals aren't that different. I'm going to try and see if I can connect to the systems inside Baxter building," Barbara explained without turning her head.

"But if I remember correctly, Hydra should've taken full control of the network here. Even though they've fallen, their signal base stations wouldn't be that easy to hijack," Pietro said, surprised.

"It's no big deal. While I was in the Blood Hive, I already hacked into Hydra's data platform using the network there. Big thanks to Baron Blood for that—his prior dealings with Hydra left a bunch of their internal terminals behind," Barbara smiled.

"Your Bat-computer has its own network?" Pietro was astonished.

He couldn't help but think that if he had a Bat-computer, he'd be able to play games anywhere without worrying about losing internet connection.

"Not exactly," Barbara's answer immediately shattered Pietro's fantasy.

Then she added, "But I did hack one of Hydra's satellites."

Pietro: "Impressive."

"Anyway, we should head inside," Star-Lord said, striding confidently past the holographic image and heading straight for the entrance of the cave. "Whatever's in there, we can't back down now."

Seeing this, the others didn't argue and followed Star-Lord into the cave.

As soon as they entered, the dim environment made some of them uncomfortable, and a stench of decaying corpses hit them, forcing everyone to cover their noses and mouths.

"It looks like this place was made to be a ventilation shaft. Whatever lives here clearly considers this their home," Batwoman Kate remarked, adjusting her mask.

"Be cautious. We can't be sure of the safety here," Star-Lord warned as he lit up his elemental gun, illuminating their path and advising the group behind him.

With the added light, everyone could finally take a better look at their surroundings.

What they saw was complete devastation. The ground was littered with fragments of stone and machine parts, while exposed steel beams from the ruined structures jutted out in sharp, menacing angles.

A cold wind gusted through, carrying the foul odor out of the cave.

"It seems like someone dug this place out. The cave has been made spacious and connected to the ruins of the building. If someone wasn't very familiar with Baxter building, it would've been nearly impossible to achieve this," Kate observed, using her night-vision equipment to scan the environment.

You had to admit, people from the Bat-family, regardless of their combat skills, were absolute experts when it came to investigating clues.

Barbara and Kate seamlessly split their tasks—one attempting to connect with the remains of the Baxter building's systems, while the other continuously monitored the surroundings, assessing potential dangers.

After walking along the ruined path for quite some time, the environment ahead began to change again. The dirt and rubble vanished, revealing a series of broken rooms, shattered experimental equipment, and glass shards scattered across the ground. There were even some human skeletons visible among the debris.

"Be careful, we should have already entered the interior of Baxter building," Star-Lord took a deep breath and reminded everyone again.

"These people haven't been dead for long. I'd guess they're the 'intruders' that the hologram outside mentioned," Kate quickly examined the area and came to a conclusion.

"It's not that simple. They've been partially eaten by something," Logan sniffed the air and walked over. "The scent is familiar. I think I've dealt with these creatures before."

"Do you know what they are?" Kate asked.

"Not sure. I haven't thought about those things in a long time, and most of the enemies I fought are just distant memories now," Wolverine sighed and shook his head.

Just then, Pietro and Star-Lord, who were leading the way, made a significant discovery.

"Come quick, check this out!"

Everyone rushed over, only to find the skeletal remains of something that looked half-human, half-rhino, with half of its body wedged in a crack in the wall. Judging by the condition of the bones, it had been dead for decades.

At first glance, Logan immediately recognized the creature.

"That's Rhino. I remember him well. I once fought him alongside Spider-Man. He was a tough opponent. I didn't expect him to die here."

"Looks like that battle was even more terrifying than I imagined," Star-Lord commented, astonished by what he was seeing during this trip to Earth. He never thought that such events had unfolded while he was away from the planet.

Now he understood why neither the Avengers nor the Fantastic Four were able to come to his aid—they were barely surviving themselves.

"No matter why Baxter building ended up here, the fact that half of the building is embedded in the ground suggests that the Fantastic Four fought one hell of a battle."

Without lingering too long, the group continued moving forward through the cave. Most of the area had already been "cleared out" by something, making the path ahead spacious and easy to follow.

Suddenly, a crisp sound echoed from Barbara's Bat-computer. She snapped her fingers in excitement.

"Got it!"

Everyone turned to look and saw Barbara beaming with a smile.

"I've managed to hack into part of the system here. Although I don't have full control yet, it's only a matter of time. For now, I can access the building's remaining structural framework, so we won't be wandering around aimlessly."

"That's a huge help, miss! Can you pinpoint the location of the Ultimate Eraser?" Star-Lord asked eagerly.

"That's tricky, but I can tell you that up ahead, there's a massive pit. Below it lies the most reinforced part of the entire building. If there's anything valuable here, it's bound to be there."

Barbara tapped on the platform a few more times, and soon, a small blue holographic map of the structure appeared from her tablet, giving everyone a clear view of the area.

As the group gathered around Barbara to examine the holographic display, both Constantine and the older Wolverine, who had been quietly smoking nearby, suddenly tensed up. The two exchanged glances, and in each other's eyes, they saw a warning.

Without hesitation, Constantine turned toward the dark corridor and loudly cautioned everyone.

"Be careful. Something's coming!"

.....

30 advanced chapters on p@treaon
For advance chapters: /Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
318. Blood Battle with the Subterranean Creatures.
319. Crisis Approaches!
320. The 'God' from Beyond.
321. Fierce Battle!
322. A Fight to the Death!