## Chapter 10: One Minute
“You’re saying you found Batman in this run-of-the-mill van on the side of the road?”
“Uh, that’s right.”
“And then you thought he was fake, so you tried to rob him, and then Batman turned his hands into wheels and knocked you out?”
“That’s exactly what happened.”
“Ha!”
“Cousin, I know this is ridiculous, but…”
“Shut up! I think you’ve been sucking in too much internet hype. If there really is a Batman in there, I’ll eat this crowbar right here!”
“Don’t go, cousin! There really is a Batman in there!”
Knock, knock, knock!
The thug’s cousin had only knocked on the door three times when it swung open.
The thug saw Batman step out of the car, lock the door, and then *whoosh*, it transformed into a bizarre, bat-shaped off-road vehicle. The tires spun, and in a blink, it was gone without a trace.
A gust of wind blew through, leaving the thug and his friends standing there, bewildered.
After a long silence, one of them mumbled like he was in a dream:
“What the fuck! Saw the ghost of Jesus Christ! All these years, I thought Batman *rode* the Batmobile, but I never expected that Batman *is* the Batmobile!”
…
…
…
From both the front and the side, the tattooed man’s aura had reached its peak.
The sexy tattoos, the confident eyes, all exuded the air of a “pro.”
Deathstroke was even a bit skeptical. Could he have misjudged him?
But no matter how he looked at it, his steps were loose, his movements were floating, and although he was muscular, he seemed simple-minded. He didn’t even have the intimidating presence of the previous “Living Knot.”
To be honest, Deathstroke thought he wasn’t even as good as the Javelin Captain. At least he was an Olympic-level athlete who had won the javelin throw multiple times.
Could a guy like this really be hiding his true strength?
The tattooed man took off his shirt, revealing a mess of tattoos, all sorts of things.
He looked like a low-level thug from a gang, but the tattoos on his back, writhing like living creatures, made it impossible to ignore.
Bane stopped what he was doing. He casually tossed Killer Croc, who was like a dead dog, to the side and tensed all his muscles.
Catwoman returned. Due to her good shock absorption and body flexibility, she wasn’t fatally injured, just a little dusty.
She crouched on the ground, trying to regain her strength as quickly as possible.
Glug, glug, glug, glug, glug, glug…
As if something was crawling out of a swamp, Bane’s expression turned serious, and he prepared for battle.
The tattooed man’s face contorted in pain. Then, in plain sight, the tiger tattoo on his body twisted, deformed, and crawled off his body!
!
He was a superpower user!
Deathstroke’s eyes widened.
It was a real, live Bengal tiger with striped fur and terrifying fangs. This was straight out of a fantasy novel!
Bane struck a defensive pose.
The tiger charged at Bane!
The tiger leaped and pounced!
The tiger bared its fanged maw!
With a crack, Bane slid, and the tiger, like a teacup poodle that had been kicked, flew backward with broken bones.
Uh…
Ah, it’s okay, the tattooed man just summoned a mammoth! So cool!
Boom! The several-ton mammoth was flipped over by Bane, who punched its skull in several times, making it dent.
The tattooed man summoned a pack of wolves!
Annihilated.
The tattooed man summoned a chimpanzee!
Met the same fate as the “Living Knot.”
The tattooed man summoned…
“Damn it, I have to use my big move!”
The tattooed man’s face turned pale. He turned to Deathstroke and said, “Buy me some time.”
Deathstroke readily agreed. Although the tattooed man’s summoned creatures weren’t much help in the fight, the fact that he was a superpower user gave Deathstroke confidence.
“I can probably hold off this big monster for 30 seconds,” Catwoman said, her cold voice like moonlight illuminating the battlefield. “As long as I don’t engage him directly.”
Deathstroke added, “And with me interfering, that time can be increased to at least a minute.”
“And I only need 20 seconds.” The tattooed man trembled. Deathstroke saw a Western dragon tattoo twisting and struggling to break free from his chest.
This gave Deathstroke a surge of confidence.
Boom! Bane slammed his fist into the ground. The reinforced concrete floor exploded like a spiderweb. Catwoman dodged with a move even an Olympic gymnast would be ashamed of. Gravel sprayed against her, making her heart skip a beat.
“Catwoman, can your jellyfish venom affect him?” Hearing the employer’s question in the earpiece, Catwoman inexplicably wrinkled her nose. Although her nose and face were hidden under the mask, no one knew.
She mumbled, “I don’t have any jellyfish venom. And poison is totally not a cat thing.”
“Ha?”
Chen Tao was stunned. In his mind, jellyfish venom should be Catwoman’s most iconic feature.
But he quickly dared not waste any more time distracting Catwoman, because Bane was already charging towards the tattooed man.
“Fire!”
Deathstroke rolled and crawled, constantly trying to distract Bane. “Fuck, I knew this money wasn’t going to be easy!”
He cursed loudly, “Where the hell is the Ventriloquist? You old bastard, where have you disappeared to? Get your ass out here and help!”
Bane was enraged by the bullets constantly aimed at his eyes. Deathstroke looked up to see a car wreck spinning like a flying disc towards him. He screamed, turned, and ran.
Finally! The tattooed man finished charging!
A Western dragon burst from his chest!
Holy crap, this was a full-blown fantasy creature. It had black scales, ugly wings, and could breathe fire. Deathstroke was moved to tears. Finally, there was—
Wait, why is this dragon the size of a dog?
“Woof!”
As soon as the dragon appeared, it squatted down, snorted, stuck out its tongue like a dog, and made a purring sound.
???
“You’re kidding me, right???”
“I, I don’t know what happened either…” The tattooed man was sweating profusely. “This is the first time I’ve tattooed a fantasy…”
The next second, the fire-breathing dragon was squashed into a meat paste by Bane’s foot.
“It’s over.”
Deathstroke’s heart sank. Without hesitation, he turned and ran. There was no chance of victory anymore.
He glanced back at the battlefield. The tattooed man had taken a solid punch from Bane. His limbs were twisted like a rag doll. Basically finished.
Killer Croc was covered in blood, lying there like a dead dog. No hope of saving him, goodbye.
Catwoman was bouncing around like a monkey, dodging Bane’s fists. She was seconds away from dying too.
“Deathstroke, you have to save your teammates. Catwoman and Killer Croc will lose their ability to resist soon. You must…”
Deathstroke said nothing. He threw his two submachine guns, rocket launcher, and entire backpack full of explosives and weapons on the ground to make his escape faster.
He knew that if he ran, Catwoman and Killer Croc would be dead for sure. The Suicide Squad, which had just formed, would be nearly wiped out. This was definitely not a result that their mastermind would accept.
And he, the deserter, might face retribution, might damage his reputation, might face all sorts of serious consequences and troubles, but no matter what… it was better than dying right there!
“Hold on a little longer!”
Deathstroke heard the sound of wind rushing in the earpiece. It sounded like the other person was riding some kind of high-speed vehicle.
“Hold out for one minute, one minute… and there will be reinforcements!”
Hearing the ridiculous words, Deathstroke laughed angrily.
“You’re full of shit!” Even he himself couldn’t help but feel his voice trembling.
He looked at the muscle monster who was tossing car wreckage around like toys:
“What kind of reinforcements can take down a monster like this? In Gotham, who else could possibly deal with a beast like that?”
“Batman?”
(End of Chapter)
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