Author's notes: This chapter will be like the Batman: Lost and Hawkman: Found tie-in issues were for Dark Nights METAL last fall. It's focused mainly on Owlman and Team Rocket during Serena's, Dawn's and May's Magnet Train ride from Goldenrod City in Johto Region to Saffron City in Kanto Region with the Devastator-disguised-as-Batman. I originally thought about making this chapter happen when they were flying to Johto from Hoenn, but in retrospect it works better this way.

Also, In the flashback scenes, that take place before Thomas Jr dug up his Owlman costume, I will be focusing on events that took place before Ash was born and through that to his parentage. That last bit is definitely going to be dividing opinions for better and worse. And I'm actually asking you to leave me your opinions on the matter in reviews.

Also also, before I go the only review last chapter got, this chapter will have callbacks to my previous stories when Thomas Jr is speaking about his past to the character who also appears in Dark Nights METAL.

Replies to Reviews:

-Guest: Thank you. Seriously, feedback like this is what helps me write this story. And I hope you have read my previous stories too to appreciate the callbacks in when Thomas Jr talks about his past and about the Multiverse. As for Misty... I have planned a way to make her appear in the next chapter, but after seeing what the Drowned is capable of, don't get your hopes up about what happened to her in the beginning of the Prologue.

Chapter 8: Revelations

Alola Region – Melemele Island

The previous evening…

Thomas Jr entered his home with the to-go bag of Malasade meal from Mallow's restaurant. So, that social gathering had ended badly by news broadcast where Doomsday of all things had appeared into this world and gone into a rampage in the very region in the very town where the person, who had invited Thomas Jr there in the first place, was from and being helpful had lead to him getting fast food at his home. And probably to daring that poor boy into going up against Doomsday and…

Where could have that Doomsday have come from? Thomas Jr himself had been sent here by someone, or by something, considering how Potter had been merged with the Life Entity that had suddenly decided to send Thomas Jr away from their Earth when all he would have had left was to surrender to the police. Could the Life Entity had done the same thing to Doomsday as well or-

''Oh, who hell cares!'' Thomas Jr said throwing his hat away and sat down to eat his food.

He was just one man and even with his equipment Thomas Jr didn't have any chances of going up against the likes of Doomsday. Crime Syndicate was dead even if he was still alive and fit to still be Owlman and even if he was to step forward to let any authorities in this world know what Doomsday was, any resistance against that monster would have been just delaying the inevitable. No matter what the people would do, no matter what strong Pokémon they would train and send against Doomsday, that killing machine would eventually have come back from it and the people's unpreparedness to it's return would have left them vulnerable for Doomsday to do whatever would end up happening.

''If Doomsday kills us all, me included, I deserve that,'' Thomas Jr said having eaten his food. ''After everything I have done, I deserve to die.''

''Thomas Wayne Jr of Earth-3.''

The unexpected voice calling his name and original home world caught Thomas Jr off guard, but he reacted to it quickly by throwing the trash left from his meal at it. From a strategic point of view, that was to momentarily confuse the intruder in his house, so he could focus on his next attack by a weapon from his belt and subdue-

''The Devastator you have seen is more dangerous than the Doomsday monster you are familiar with,'' albino skinned man with white hair and black eyes wearing a white robe with yellow linings and emerald pendent spoke passively confronting him.

The thrown scraps of food had not hit him. Instead, they were floating in the air in front of him, before they merged with the mists coming from his presence.

''Who the hell are you!?'' Thomas Jr yelled at the albino's face. ''You know who I am and where I'm from, are in leagues with the Entity that sent me here!?''

''I am the Dream of the Endless,'' the albino spoke as his answer. ''I have come to tell you that this nightmare, which you have brought upon this world with your selfish actions, has only just begun.''

Kanto Region – Team Rocket HQ

Now…

While Jessie and her Wobbuffet had walked into the Team Rocket HQ through the front door and so drawn all the attention of the outer security, Owlman had taken the old-fashioned way in by scaling the surrounding rock formations to get to the walls of the hidden fort and gotten in through the vents in the walls. The first thing he did when getting in was find an office or a workstation where he could download a virus that kept the Big Brother levelled security system from acknowledging his presence in the base and could help him not getting lost in the fort.

GRID ONLINE! the screen of the workstation declared when done.

''Recognize administrator,'' Owlman said lifting the webcam on the screen to view him.

RECOGNIZED: OWLMAN OF CRIME SYNDICATE the screen declared recognizing Owlman, who nodded to the recognition.

''You have been offline for a long time, Grid. There is a lot you don't know yet,'' Owlman spoke to the sentient computer virus. ''The two of us are the only ones left of the Crime Syndicate and we are in a new world now, that is being invaded by nightmares from the Abyss. That is the short version. Now, I need you to search through this facility for people and resources who can help us in fighting back. Do you acknowledge?''

ACKNOWLEDGED! the changing text on the screen declared.

''Okay, Grid, I'm going to show you the assets on our side now,'' Owlman continued showing the webcam a picture of Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet. ''The woman and the blue blob are here in this base right now, while the man and the scratch cat are out there carrying out my orders to them. Do you recognize them as assets?''

RECOGNIZED! the screen responded.

''Next objective,'' Owlman said now turning to work on the workstation's keyboard. ''I'm bringing up an image of the man in charge of the Team Rocket criminal organization. I need you to locate him in this base for me.''

WAITING FOR TARGET IMAGE… the screen declared as Owlman begun to go through the personnel files of Team Rocket.

While climbing the corporate ladder from grunts to admins and to the leader, Owlman made a bored and annoyed moan seeing the humiliatingly low rank of those Team Rocket members he had recruited to his side during the plane ride from Alola to Kanto. Jessie, James and Meowth had been in Team Rocket for almost a decade and not have gotten any kind of promotions or pay raises during all that time when they had…

''Tried and failed to capture one Pikachu for that long?!'' Owlman said almost like he was feeling sick of embarrassment. ''Why are they even still working here?''

Owlman shook his head to get back to what he was doing and resumed to going through the personnel files. Team Rocket had a lot of grunts that seemed to be part-time workers, while the admins seemed to be the ones who had truly committed to their work for the organization. Then there was the Team Rocket leader-

''Giovanni Ignazio,'' Owlman said finally seeing a picture of the leader of Team Rocket. ''Grid, locate this man.''

LOCATING… the text changed to tell on the screen as Owlman looked at the man on picture.

The Dream had been right. Those seven Nightmare Batmen from the Dark Multiverse had come to this world because of what Owlman had done all those years ago.

''Dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!'' Owlman cursed under his breath not to give away his location. ''I do one good thing in my life to undo a bad one and this is the thanks I get.''

LOCATING COMPLETE!

That message from Grid got Owlman focused back on what he was working on and stop him from getting a tantrum due to his outrage over the injustice of it all. He copied the schematics of the Team Rocket base as well as Giovanni's location to the interface in his gauntlet and grit his teeth, before giving Grid one more objective to handle.

''Go through the base and find a transport that can be used as a mobile base, like an aircraft,'' Owlman said mapping his next route to his next objective. ''Or take what you can and recreate it like you did your first body from Cyborg's surplus cybernetic. That is going to be your new body then. Contact me on my gauntlet once you're done.''

HAVE A NICE DAY!

''Yeah, you too,'' Owlman said as he climbed back into the airducts and begun to make his way to the Team Rocket Leader.

Alola Region – Home of Thomas Wayne Jr

Last night…

''Nightmare that I brought!?'' Thomas Jr said insulted and confused at the accusation that the Dream had blatantly thrown at him. ''I had nothing to do with that Doomsday monster appearing here or any other-''

''Allow me to remind you,'' the Dream spoke lifting the palm of his hand between them before blowing dust at Thomas Jr, ''of your story!''

The dust flew quickly right into Thomas Jr's eyes. He reacted to it as anyone would have from getting sand into their eyes and lost his vision for a short time as he was trying to get it out. Then suddenly the dust felt like it had disappeared from his eyes, so naturally Thomas Jr opened them, but saw that he was no longer in his house in warmth of the Alola Region. He was standing in Crime Alley in Gotham City, on his own Earth, witnessing the events of that night.

''I want pizza,'' young Bruce said walking ahead of his parents and his brother from the movie theater.

''You already ate a hot dog and nachos at the movie, Bruce,'' Thomas Wayne Sr told with little authority in his voice.

''But I WANT pizza, Daddy,'' young Bruce insisted. ''I want it NOWWW!''

''Just buy the boys what they want, Thomas,'' Martha Wayne told her husband while more focused on keeping up her make up. ''Their screeching hurts my ears so.''

''But we're on a budget, dear,'' Thomas Sr tried to tell his wife. ''I need to save every dollar I can to keep the lawyers fed.''

''Because you can't stop 'slipping' when you put someone under the knife!?'' Martha asked obviously accusing her husband. ''Those accidents keep adding up, Thomas! And it's hard to deny the pattern as anything but your surgical fetish, you idiot!''

''Mommy, I want a gun like Zorro!'' young Bruce yelled uninterested at his parents' argument as young Thomas Jr observed them. ''Make Daddy buy me Lorcin L. 380! BANG! BANG! BANG!''

CHAK!

''Wait, Thomas,'' Martha said turning away from her husband.

''What is it, dear?'' Thomas Sr asked.

''I thought I heard someone in the alley.''

''Oh, Mother, that's only me,'' young Thomas Jr said revealing himself pointing a gun at his parents with his left hand while his right hand rested on young Bruce's shoulder. ''Put your hands up.''

''What are you doing, Junior? You put that gun away right now!'' Martha yelled at her eldest son while her husband cowardly hid behind her. ''You listen to me!''

''No,'' young Thomas Jr simply said holding the gun with a calm mind. ''Bruce and I are never going to listen to either of you again. Because Dad's going to let you throw away our money and leave me and Bruce with nothing, unless we do something about it.''

''Tommy,'' young Bruce said turning to his brother, ''I can't.''

''What?''

''I've changed my mind,'' young Bruce said scared. ''I don't want to hurt Mom and Dad.''

''We made a plan, Bruce,'' young Thomas Jr said glancing down at his little brother while keeping the gun aimed at their parents. ''A deal. Don't you back out now.''

''Stop playing around and get back to the Bentley, you brats!'' Martha told her sons totally unfazed how she had a gun pointed at her face.

''I'm not playing, Mother,'' young Thomas Jr said with a stern look on his face.

''No,'' young Bruce said grabbing a hold of his older brother and pulled him to the ground. ''NO, TOMMY!''

"You stop this foolishness!'' Martha spoke down to her boys struggling in the ground. ''Eight lashings for the each of you!''

BLAMM! Martha Wayne was shot to the back from behind.

BLAMM! Thomas Wayne Sr was shot to the back from behind.

''Bruce?'' Alfred spoke walking to the alley with the smoking gun. ''You should have listened to your brother.''

''I don't need reminding about this night,'' Thomas Jr said knowing the Dream had made him see these events again. ''I have seen it again and again. The only mistake I made then was let Bruce in on the plan. If he had been left in the dark, he wouldn't have fought me while Alfred finished the job. And he wouldn't have been in that strategic position where the bullet that went through my Father would have hit him in the chest.''

''It is done, Master Thomas,'' Alfred told the young Thomas Jr as they stood in a triangle of three dead family members.

''I remember a bird speaking to me that night,'' Thomas Jr said looking up to a owl sitting on a perch on the edge of the two buildings. ''Like Bruce, bewildered and confused, as he laid there dying away from blood loss. It was asking me who I was. And like a young though guy, I answered the worst possible way.''

''Tom… Tommy?'' young Bruce tried to speak with blood coming out of his mouth as young Thomas Jr picked up his gun.

''Who am I?'' young Thomas Jr said turning the gun on his bleeding brother on ground. ''I'm Thomas Wayne Junior, the richest boy in Gotham City.''

BLAMM!

''I remember later justifying my actions,'' Thomas Jr said looking as his past version killed his brother. ''That we couldn't take him to a doctor without turning ourselves in. That he was already dying, and it was necessary to let him out of his pain. Gotham City was dangerous, and people got killed there every day of the week.''

The vision of the past turned dark and Thomas Jr was brought back to his house in Alola, faced with the Dream once again.

''What was your point of showing me that?'' Thomas Jr asked in bored voice. ''I have lived with it for 39 years and-''

''The events of that night kickstarted a chain of events that are still continuing to this day,'' the Dream spoke over Thomas Jr. ''Do you remember what happened after that?''

''Yes, Alfred and I left for England waiting for the dust to settle,'' Thomas Jr said sitting down. ''I met my wife, Annataz, there and later Ultraman with whom we started the Crime Syndicate. Then there were those mages who revealed themselves, at which point I had taken over my family's company and could work with them for the Syndicate. And then that Doctor who had-''

''You are getting there,'' the Dream spoke once again. ''The Doctor who had come from another Earth and left a piece of him to your Earth. That helped you and your Crime Syndicate crossover to the Justice League's Earth. But that wasn't the first time you crossed over from your Earth to another.''

''No, it wasn't.''

Kanto Region – Team Rocket HQ

Now…

Jessie and her Wobbuffet walked along the hallway. As for their plan with the Owlman, they had gone in and gotten back Pokémon that they had left in the use of the Team Rocket organization. And now that they had done that, they needed to leave and join James and Meowth in shadowing Ash- I mean, the Twerp, to keep up the appearance they were still following the orders given to them by the Dawnbreaker. At least by having allied themselves with the Owlman, they had gained an upper hand against those orders and ways to delay.

''WOBBUU!'' Wobbuffet screamed startled with his shocked trainer as Owlman suddenly jumped out of nowhere to in front of them.

''Listen, both of you,'' Owlman said speaking with urgency in his voice. ''I have reprogrammed the security around here to ignore my presence so pretend like you can't see me and just listen.''

''Right,'' Jessie said resuming formation with her Wobbuffet and continued walking as Owlman walked behind them.

''Only thing that can tip your organization off about my presence is if I'm seen by living being, but I prepared for that with my own alarm system that warns me we're approached by non-assets,'' Owlman said checking the interface in his gauntlet. ''That means you two count as assets along with the two shadowing Ketchum. Did you get your Pokémon? Nod for yes, shake your head for no.''

Jessie nodded and tapped the bag she carried as her answer.

''Act natural to what I say next,'' Owlman continued. ''Your boss, Giovanni, was replaced yesterday by a 3D hologram with augmented voice patterns. Most likely to make Team Rocket eventually be used as scapegoat for whatever the Nightmares are planning.''

Jessie swallowed nervously and exchanged glances with her Wobbuffet.

''At least that is what I would do. Out of all the criminal organizations in this world, Team Rocket is the only one still going strong even if it's doing so covertly,'' Owlman added before changing the subject and dropped something into Jessie's bag. ''I have however managed to locate Giovanni in the premises. Return to the car and wait for a call from me.''

PTOOTH!

With that, Owlman grabbled away to the ceiling and checked the location again from his gauntlet before climbing back into the vents. His assets were informed of the progress and knew what to do next, so now Owlman needed to do his part of the operation by locating Giovanni.

The Team Rocket Leader was locked up in a basement cell in the lowest underground floor of the fort, cuffed to a hospital bed and kept in a medically induced coma. Owlman easily let himself into the cell and looked at Giovanni. He activated his goggles and scanned the comatose man's vital with them. Giovanni wasn't kept in a life support, so Owlman cut the chemical intake from Giovanni and used a gadget from his belt to speed the Team Rocket Leader's recovery by waking him up with an electric shock.

''Ghaah!'' Giovanni grunted to the electricity before opening slowly opening his eyes.

''It has been long time, Giovanni,'' Owlman said loosening his cowl and let the Team Rocket Leader see his face. ''I can't say this is how either of us imagined seeing each other again.''

''Doctor Wayne?''

Alola Region - Thomas Jr's house

Last night…

''Around the same time Doctor John Smith, the man I would eventually call Valeyard, came to my world, Annataz had also worked on researching what those mages called Horcruxes,'' Thomas Jr spoke confessing his accused sins to the Dream of the Endless. ''Wayne Enterprises worked together with the merger of the mages' government and another organization called Torchwood. As their ally I was always informed of what they were doing and had access to their resources. So with them, I had the ways and means to learn how to crossover to outside worlds in the Multiverse and Hypertime.''

''You know there is more to the Multiverse than the 52 Earths,'' the Dream spoke. ''Like the Realms of the Dream and Nightmare, as well as the Shadow of the Multiverse.''

''Of course, I do. I learned about them from the experience of traveling in them,'' Thomas Jr said stating the obvious. ''When Annataz was researching the Horcruxes, aka soul vessels, she somehow was able locate souls, including Bruce's. I remember when she called me to her work station to let me she had located his soul. I had just come back from meeting with Doctor Smith at Torchwood where we had talked about travelling to other worlds. At the same time, I had been given back brother and a way to travel to another world. I spent three nights thinking what I would do with them.''

The Dream raised his palm once more and blew his sands around Thomas Jr, so that everything he spoke of took form as an illusion around them. In the illusion, Thomas Jr was shown dressed in a suit and carrying a case in his hand, in a place in his world that was known as Cardiff in Great Britain.

''That, there was something Torchwood called the Rift in that place,'' Thomas Jr said looking at his past self standing there with his now deceased wife. ''The Rift was what had helped Doctor Smith and his wife come to our world, through Norway, so I used it to look into the Multiverse and past it to the Hypertime to find a world where I would leave Bruce to live his life free of his past as someone else.''

''What possessed you to throw away your brother after getting him back?'' The Dream asked as the illusion showed Annataz open the Rift and Thomas Jr was shown enter it.

''The last night I thought about it, I realized I couldn't bring Bruce back to the world as it was then or let him meet the man I had become, especially after it had been me ultimately took his life, even if it was as mercy,'' Thomas Jr explained looking as his past version stood in a space where different worlds and timelines flashed before him. ''I decided to use the profession our father, who I'm named after, bastardized and as a Doctor find a suitable vessel for Bruce to live. Find a hospital with newly born babies that had loving parents and infuse Bruce's soul with one of them. He would live on as a new person on the world I would have chosen.''

''And in the end, you chose this one,'' the Dream said as the Thomas Jr in the illusion took a step forward and arrived into a side of a forest.

''Or the Hypertime chose it for me,'' Thomas Jr said as his past version walked towards the nearby town. ''I arrived to what the locals called Viridian City, spending my first few hours to learn as much as I could about the place and how the people in there lived. As you can see for yourself, I spent my 24 hours in there as productively as I could.''

The illusion showed Thomas Jr walking around the Viridian City and talking to multiple different people throughout the day and until the nightfall, where the people, whom he had made himself acquainted with, had invited him to dinner. Thought what they saw was shown, there was no audio on what they were talking about. The Dream was most likely speeding things up to get to his point.

''Long story short, they recognized from my features that I was from a region called Unova, which this world's equivalent from America,'' Thomas Jr said commenting what the illusion was showing. ''Thanks to Alfred's acting lessons, I was able to socialize with these people and they treated me like friend they had known for years. Among them was that young couple, who were expecting a child.''

''And that child was born prematurely that night,'' the Dream spoke just as the illusion got that point.

''Yep, Gio's and Delia's boy wasn't originally supposed to be born for a few days, but for some reason her water broke right then and there,'' Thomas Jr said looking at the hysteria happening in the illusion. ''And of course, because I was posing as a doctor, they asked me to deliver the baby. Wasn't easy, but I managed. And while I was doing that, I saw my chance to do what I had come to do there in the first place.''

''You infused the newborn with the soul of your brother,'' the Dream said halting the illusion.

''Back in my world and in that world the Crime Syndicate invaded, there was another baby who lived with small piece of soul infused with him,'' Thomas Jr said speaking strategically to justify his actions. ''That soul belonged to a 55-year-old murderer, but Bruce was 7 when he died. The risk was minimal to nonexistent. And the worst Gio's and Delia's boy would experience would have been seeing glimpses of Bruce's life in his dreams.''

''WRONG!'' the Dream said, for the first time speaking aggressively at Thomas Jr and changed the illusion of his past to another. ''You left a Bruce Wayne who had born in the Multiverse to live outside the Multiverse. And now, forces you have no idea of, have targeted that boy to use him in getting into the Multiverse.''

''What?!'' Thomas Jr asked confused, but unintimidated as the Dream showed him the new illusion.

''While you and your Crime Syndicate were trapped in the Limbo prior to your invasion of Earth-0, the Batman of that world was captured along with 12 different versions of himself by the man you called Valeyard,'' the Dream said showing Thomas Jr an illusion of 11 different Batmen and a young Bruce Wayne. ''3 of them were able to break free and the Batman of Earth-0 found his way to Valeyard's template, who trying trace his steps to Valeyard. And in doing so, projected the image of the Batman through all time and space for everyone to see.''

As the Dream spoke, the illusion showed the Batman that Thomas Jr had met in the world the Crime Syndicate had invaded. The version of Bruce who had lived without an older brother, standing with another Batman in a black costume and one with brighter colored costume. Then he saw how an old man with grey hair and black coat with red lining lead that version of Bruce to a console and stuck a cord from into the palm of his left hand. Doing that sent an echo, that spread to every direction, but the illusion showed focused on the direction going downwards.

The echo moved down, Earth by Earth in the Multiverse and past the original Earth-0 to below, into the Darkness. And in that Darkness, Thomas Jr saw a large being move, reacting to the echo and looked up to see the Batman.

''Everyone, including Barbatos,'' the Dream spoke as the being looked up at the symbol of the Bat above it, ''the Ancient Dragon of the Dark Multiverse.''

Kanto Region – Outside Team Rocket HQ

''Operation Hoothoot calling to Operation Tailing the Twerp,'' Jessie spoke to the communicator to reach out to James and Meowth. ''Come in Operation Tailing the Twerp.''

''Operation Tailing the Twerp hears you, Operation Hoothoot,'' James' voice answered from the other end. ''Go ahead, Operation Hoothoot.''

''I just returned from HQ with and got some of our Pokémon back,'' Jessie reported as she got back into the rental car with her Wobbuffet. ''I got my Seviper, Yanmega and Gourgeist as well as your Mime Jr, Carnivine and Inkay back to us, but not the Pokémon we got from the Unova Region.''

James was heard sighing on his end before he responded to Jessie.

''That is good enough so far, where is the Hoothoot?''

''Still inside, told me to wait for a call from him before going after the Boss,'' Jessie said picking up the small earpiece Owlman had dropped into her bag and put it in her left ear. ''What about your end? Any news on the Twerp?''

CLINK!

''The Twerp and the original big Twerp have made it to Saffron City and are currently parked at the train station,'' James spoke from the comms as the rock next to the car was hit by a grabbling hook. ''Meowth and I think they are waiting for the Twerpettes and that other Wayne with them.''

''I have Giovanni and I'm coming up the cliff to you now,'' Owlman's voice spoke from Jessie's ear. ''Start the car and prepare us for a quick getaway!''

''The Hoothoot just called about having the Boss and being on his way,'' Jessie said putting the keys into the ignition and started the car with her free hand. ''I'll call you back soon. Operation Hoothoot out.''

As Jessie started the car and turned the car around to start driving away from Team Rocket HQ. Then she recalled her Wobbuffet into it's Pokéball and looked at the rearview mirror to see Owlman climb up from the edge of the rocks with his grabbling gun and carrying a body over his shoulder.

''17 fractured bones, start driving us to the nearest hospital while I create a fake identity for him,'' Owlman said placing Giovanni's body on the backseat and tied him to a stable position with the seatbelts before getting to the front seat of the car next to Jessie and begun to tinker with the interface of his gauntlet. ''DRIVE!''

''The nearest hospital is in Saffron,'' Jessie said looking up their destination with the car's GPS while trying to drive out of the rocky area they were in.

''Everything is Saffron,'' Owlman muttered as he worked on Giovanni's fake ID and opened another communications channel. ''Grid, what is your status?''

Owlman's question was answered by a launch of an airship from the Team Rocket HQ, that flew past the rental car and ahead of them opened a ramp that caught it, bumpy, aboard.

''Grid?'' Owlman asked as the car was brought onboard the airship's hangar.

WELCOME ABOARD, OWLMAN AND ASSETS, read on the interface Owlman's gauntlet as he and Jessie got out of the car. MEDICAL DROIDS ARE HAVE BEEN ALERTED TO PICK UP THE INJURED AND THE MEDICAL DECK IS PREPARED.

''Okay, that's good to know,'' Owlman said showing the message to Jessie as robots arrived at the hangar to pick up Giovanni. ''Call James and Meowth. Let them about know our situation.''

Alola Region - Thomas Jr's house

Last night…

''Barbatos?'' Thomas Jr said looking at the large being in Darkness shown to him by the Dream of the Endless.

''This ancient being was once the pet of the Forger at the Forge of Worlds,'' the Dream said showing as the being created 7 variations of the Bat-symbol in it's hands and turned then gave them forms as beings of the Dark. ''Barbatos' mission was to destroy the worlds created by the Forger that were unfit to exist and knowing only destruction, he killed his master and took over the Forge of Worlds, letting the unfit worlds existence turn it into the Dark Multiverse. Then Barbatos saw Batman as the way to climb out of the Darkness and drag everything above down with it.''

''How?'' Thomas Jr asked looking at the large demonic being. ''What does Batman or Barbatos have to do with me leaving my brother's soul into this world?''

The Dream showed Thomas Jr four more illusions before speaking again. The first illusion showed Batman being hit with magic from a witch dressed in pink and looking like a toad. The second illusion showed Batman holding a Mother Box in his left hand, that pulsed with red energy that made his eyes burn read as he was fighting against soldiers. The third illusion had Batman hold a large red shard in his hands as he was fighting over it from a woman with wine red robes and purple hair with face tattoos. And the final illusion showed a Bruce Wayne, surrounded by his Alfred, sidekicks, Superman and other people, with necrosis in his skin as his blood was being fought over by two mages.

''Barbatos chose these key points in Batman's life to prepare him as his wagon from the Dark Multiverse to the Multiverse above it, but then he was taken out of his reach,'' the Dream continued explaining as the final illusion ended with the wounded Bruce Wayne phasing away from his hospital bed and being pulled into the Hypertime. ''While attempting to pull Batman back to his reach, Barbatos discovered your brother, another Bruce Wayne who had been born inside the Multiverse, and sent his seven Knights to this world so they could claim him into their ranks. The Devastator you saw attacking the town of Pallet in Kanto is one of those Knights sent by Barbatos.''

''That thing was sent for Bruce!?'' Thomas Jr said shocked about this revelation. ''And it's just one of seven? But… It has been only 2 years since I was last here. Bruce- no, that baby would be-''

''It has longer than that, Thomas Wayne Jr of Earth-3,'' the Dream said correcting Thomas Jr's misassumption. ''After you returned from this world and before you invaded Earth-0, you and the Crime Syndicate were trapped in the Limbo, where nearly two decades passed in this world. That baby has grown up to young man by now.''

''Two decades?'' Thomas Jr asked looking back at the Dream. ''That would make him the same age as-''

''Gio's and Delia's boy-''

''Your mother's name is Delia?''

Thomas Jr realized it them as he remembered back to his own words that he had spoken that night. Just now to the Dream and earlier to the young man who had seen his hometown being destroyed. Thomas Jr had met his brother again already earlier that same day and had no idea that had happened.

''Ash was Bruce!?'' Thomas Jr asked looking at the Dream, shocked with cold sweat on his skin. ''The baby I infused with Bruce's soul grew up to became Ash Ketchum!?''

''Yes, and the Devastator is not the only one after him,'' the Dream answered once more showing Thomas Jr an illusion that consisted seven beings of the Dark. ''These are the seven Knights that Barbatos has sent into this world to retrieve him as another Bruce Wayne among them. Red Death, Murder Machine, Dawnbreaker, the Drowned, Merciless, the Devastator and the Batman Who Laughs.''

Thomas Jr looked at the beings before him. Nightmare Batmen that he had been accused of drawing into this world by leaving Bruce in here. Most of them seemed generic supervillains as he himself had been as Owlman, but then he looked the Doomsday monster he knew to be dangerous and then at last one of them, seeing it as the same kind of monster that had killed his wife Annataz.

''What do you want me to do?'' Thomas Jr asked moving to grab a shovel without even waiting for an answer.

''Start by finding his friends and family'' the Dream answered. ''Tell them what you have done and arm them with your knowledge how to fight against Barbatos' Knights. Once you have them at your side, have them cover you while you undo the soul infusion.''

''It can't be that easy,'' Thomas Jr said disbelieved.

''Depends on how easy you make it,'' the Dream said passively before turning serious again. ''But be warned of failure. Hope this is the last you see me, for the next time I will come to you is once Ash Ketchum and Bruce Wayne have truly been lost to the Dark and Batman will be no more.''

Author's notes: So, if you didn't get it, Owlman had come to the Pokémon World before and left the soul of his deceased brother to live infused to a newly born baby and grew up to be Ash Ketchum. That is why the Dark Knights are interested in turning him into one of them. And it's why Dawn's Piplup was suspicious of Bruce in Chapter 3, because he could recognize him being like Ash, but clearly saw he was not Ash.

Next chapter will feature the backstory of the Devastator after all this build up in being mentioned and spoken of, especially now that he is posing as the Batman for Serena, Dawn and May.