Beyond

I Know Everything

The lasso tightened around Metron's neck. "Diana! He won't tell us anything if he can't breathe!" Batman got down on one knee and put his face an inch from Metron on the ground gasping for air. "How do we beat DarkSeid". It was more of an order than a question.

"If I knew I would tell you." Metron said between coughs.

"Oh he knows" Green Lantern chimes in. Everyone looks at him questioningly. "Oh...I might be wrong but ain't you the guy with the universe's knowledge at your fingertips or something like that?"

"I only know what I know" answered Metron. This brought on another round of choking from Wonder Woman's lasso of truth.

"Diana! We won't learn anything if he's dead"

" Is that Bruce I hear talking about restraint? He has to be telling the truth but he's insistent about not saying  specifically what we need. He'll need to be otherwise persuaded."

"What's that you're zapping him with? Smells like ozone" Green Lantern said inhaling deeply.

Metron cried out in agony. He screamed, "It isn't possible for me to know what you ask!" Batman placed a hand on Wonder Woman's shoulder to cease the torture.

"You're not the one who has the answers are you?" You haven't amassed all the knowledge." Batman turned his head slowly. Everyone else followed his intent glare. "The chair did."

Metron quietly laughed through the smoke rising from his flesh. "The world's greatest detective."

Batman without hesitation started walking toward the mechanical chair that Metron occupied before Wonder Woman's lasso found him. The Green Lantern swiftly flew to block his path

"Bruce. Bruce. Bruce. Maybe we should take a second to think about this."

"Seconds are wasting. We need answers"

"We don't even know how this hunk of space junk works. Would you wait a second!"

Batman stopped and looked directly into Green Lantern's eyes. "A basic assessment would put the technology similar to your mother boxes. It interacts with its users through touch so I'd reason that to use it................I'd sit.

"Well....yeah...there's that. Or we could.... Hey. Could you stop doing that stare into my soul thing you're doing"

Batman turned on his heel and made it to the chair in three long strides. Metron laughed and coughed. From the second batman connected with the metal time stopped around him. Time is relative This echo was accompanied by a loud "PING" sound.

"Whoa! Where'd you go there"

Batman realized he was suspended in the air held by a huge green hand. "Put me down! Jordan I was only gone a second."

"A second? Uh how about a full minute of agonizing screaming? Ring a bell?"

"A second? Screaming?" Batman looked at Wonder Woman's obviously confused face. "Oh it was just my perception of time. Why I didn't feel the pain I don't know. " He closed his eyes." I turned off my pain receptors? No. I blocked the glutamate receptors in my brain. That means I flooded my brain with...I'll come back to that one.."

"Earth to Bruce! Or wherever the hell we are to Bruce!" What in thee fuck are you talking about?!" I told you. That chair Kentucky fried your brain and....."

"On the contrary Jordan. I know everything."

Metron chucked again. "It would take too long to explain. But I can get all the answers from right there. The Mobius chair. It's quite a marvel of innovation. Now I'm aware it will alter my perception of time. I'll try to control that. All the answers. I can find them all. Put me down."

"Slow down Bruce. What are you saying?" Wonder women says in a soothing tone.

" I still remember that first rush of information. Pure stimuli. It's invigorating isn't it?' Metron coughed still on his knees.

Batman took the two strides back to the chair and sat before anyone could stop him. "Diana we don't have the luxury of time. All the answers are here. We need to know how to beat DarkSeid."

"Bruce are you sure?" Wonder woman said warningly.

PING. "time is relative"

"No....I'm not sure. I'll test it. Who killed my parents?"The sensation was like leafing through old book pages. Batman instantly knew that was how his  brain rationalized the information it was sifting through. The pages were actually timelines. Parallel realities. Searching backwards and forward was surprisingly easy. Accompanying the sensation of mental whiplash came a feeling of cold. Chill. Joe. "That's how this works? All I have to do is ask?" Information about the beginnings of technology flooded in. Reactive AI was first achieved. "Ok Ok. I get the point. I need to know how to take down DarkSeid. But one more test before we start. Who is the Joker?

PING