Chapter 43: Soulmates
Bane had never experienced such a bizarre sensation.
His partner only needed a glance to understand his intentions, a single move, and he would instantly react accordingly.
This soul-mate-like coordination was so uncanny, it almost drove him mad.
They didn’t resemble enemies who had been locked in a life-or-death struggle mere days ago, but rather twin brothers who had practiced countless times, achieving perfect synchronicity.
“Damn it, how did you…”
The Rotting Black monster was no match for them, even for a single round.
Countless wood chips were torn away, as easily as peeling the flesh of a dragon fruit. The monster was already weakened, completely unable to withstand the combined force of Bane and Batman.
The Rotting Black’s power lingered on Bane, but it couldn’t corrupt him, nor could it do anything to Batman, who could transform into metal at will.
Even a dead thing loses its ability to resist once it’s been dismembered. The Plant Master’s body was already badly damaged, even with the Rotting Black’s Three Hunters pushing it to its limits. But once that body was physically shattered…
The Three Hunters barely managed to control the people under their sway to make a last stand, but they only succeeded in continuously delivering crisis energy to Bruce Wayne.
Boom!
The Rotting Black’s creation collapsed. The Plant Master, completely under the Rotting Black’s control, slumped to the ground, trembling incessantly. Various types of rot spewed from the gaping holes ripped open by punches, Bane, panting heavily, supported himself against a nearby tree. After continuously destroying armies and manipulated individuals, his body and strength had reached their limits.
Bruce Wayne spat at the Rotting Black, who was writhing on the ground, then took out a large bottle of Lazarus Pit water and poured it onto the creature.
Accompanied by a sound like sizzling meat, the Rotting Black monster lay completely still, unable to move.
Poison Ivy, recovering her strength, had her green plants slowly wrap around the Plant Master: “Jason cannot die, he is an important part of the Green—-”
“I have no intention of killing him,” Bruce Wayne said to Poison Ivy, observing her slightly wary gaze. “Control it.”
Poison Ivy sighed in relief. “Alright, after all, Jason isn’t human… I was really worried you would…”
Batman had killed countless talking plants she had created in the past.
Bruce Wayne ignored her.
“Then there’s…”
Bane leaped high into the air before Bruce Wayne could turn his head. “We shall meet again, Bat. This is absolutely not the final end of our encounters—-”
Bruce Wayne shook his head.
He turned his attention to Cheshire Cat and the others. The Rotting Black’s power had dissipated from them, and they were supporting each other as they stumbled to their feet, looking dazed.
[Cheshire Cat’s Mask: The cat refuses to take off her mask, even when facing those she trusts the most. Her father forced her to marry a master of toxins, which led directly to Cheshire Cat’s runaway. But one day, the cat will have to accept her fate.]
[“My beauty has only brought me tragedy.”]
[Ventriloquist’s Glasses: Arnold had never felt warmth in the world, until Batman came to him.]
[“Batman! My god!”]
Their meager scratching attacks brought Bruce Wayne nearly 14 points of crisis energy and another three almost useless trash Batmen. But Harley Quinn brought him something he couldn’t ignore:
[Harley Quinn’s Broken Baseball Bat]
[Description: The baseball bat in Harley Quinn’s hand was modified from the wooden handle of the large mallet the Joker gave her after it broke, crafted by Poison Ivy herself. Although Ivy often protested that Harley still kept the Joker’s things around, and always turned the baseball bat into a wooden snake to scare Harley, this bat remained Harley Quinn’s favorite weapon.
Before Harley Quinn was corrupted by the Rotting Black’s power, this baseball bat was the last to break. But extraordinary affection cannot change the fate of destruction. Even the most twisted and loyal love in the world cannot win the slightest response from the cruel pale man. You might be able to use it to summon a Batman from another parallel universe…]
[Error! Error!]
???
Bruce Wayne was taken aback. This was the first time he had seen the Alfred Protocol exhibit such a strange anomaly.
[But, would the being summoned because of twisted love for the pale man be Batman?]
[“No, my puddin’! He loves me, I believe he loves me, why? Why do you always think of Batman, I’m the one who loves you most!”]
[Crisis Energy Units Converted: 40]
[Crisis Energy Units You Currently Hold: 124]
[Warning! Downloading targetable…]
[Mad La… ]
[Error! Error!]
[Already targeted—]
[Jokerman]
[Danger Level: D]
…
…
…
The Iceberg Lounge in Gotham City was Penguin’s headquarters, the infamous supervillain.
It used to be the biggest casino and liquor smuggling hub in Gotham, but now only the smuggling racket remained. After years of relentless attacks from Batman, Oswald Cobblepot finally gave up on running a casino business from his lair.
It was now past nine o’clock, and the evil and cruel Penguin was enjoying his late-night snack: a pink strawberry cake.
The Iceberg Lounge was about to close. After a day of diligently breaking the law, the underworld kingpin also needed a strawberry cake to reward himself.
—However, eating this kind of dessert late at night all the time, it was no wonder he was short and fat, looking exactly like an oversized, wrinkled, fat penguin.
Penguin was a bit preoccupied today.
The crazies who recently escaped Arkham Asylum had almost completely destroyed Gotham’s order—everyone had escaped.
The Joker, Scarecrow, Zsasz, the Riddler, Two-Face—it was utter chaos. They turned Gotham into a complete mess. Every day, crazies were brawling and carrying out terrorist attacks in the streets. His business was either encountering the cops or some kind of accident. It was just impossible to do business.
“Sigh, they’ve all gone mad.” Thinking about this, Penguin took a long sigh and poured himself a glass of milk. He didn’t drink coffee—being middle-aged, too much caffeine and he wouldn’t be able to sleep.
These days, there was one crazy after another, and that new guy Bane who just arrived in Gotham was also a crazy one. It was getting harder and harder for a legitimate criminal like him. He would close shop early these two days and wait until Batman sorted out all the chaos.
Penguin smacked his lips. His brain was a bit spaced out from the sugar.
The casino and arms business were constantly under attack. His old business was doing pretty poorly. He needed to find some new ways to generate revenue and cut costs…
Maybe he could invest in some ice cream trucks or Mexican burrito stands featuring Penguin’s endorsement? Then he could have his heavily armed goons guarding the door—nobody would dare rob him then, right?
Or maybe he could go into stocks. He heard there was something called Bitcoin that was doing pretty well lately…?
But just as Penguin was enjoying his quiet moment with cake, pondering the future direction of his business, a goon stumbled into his office, his face filled with terror, tripping over the plush carpet.
“Boss! It’s the Joker! The Joker is here!”
“!”
With a “poof,” Penguin, holding his cup, sucked in a sharp breath, milk spraying out of his hooked nose.
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