34 Chapter 34: Batwoman
"Hmm, where did that woman go? It's taking so long."
Roman Sionis, the Black Mask, felt inexplicably restless. After pacing back and forth, he returned to the side of the two captives to confirm their restraints.
In the innermost part of the boiler room, a man and a woman were chained to metal pipes. Their hands and feet were securely tied with ropes, and their eyes and mouths were tightly covered with black cloth.
However, their reactions to this situation were different. James Gordon remained quiet, making it seem like he might still be unconscious. But Harley Quinn kept struggling non-stop.
But regardless, they couldn't free themselves from their restraints. The Black Mask began to wonder if being locked up in Blackgate for too long had made him somewhat cowardly.
Although the woman who was their biggest threat had disappeared, there were dozens of hired thugs guarding various entrances outside, so everything seemed foolproof.
Besides, there were still five people guarding the only entrance to the boiler room. Even if there were invaders, they would be detected immediately—
Huh? Four people?
The Black Mask carefully observed the figures patrolling outside and counted them, realizing there were indeed only four.
"Hey! Where did the other one go?"
At the Black Mask's stern shout, the other four began to look around anxiously.
"It's strange, she was just here—"
"I didn't notice either—"
The Black Mask's heart sank. The sudden disappearance of one of their own, unnoticed even by their comrades, was a situation he was very familiar with–like a deja vu.
But it couldn't be. Didn't Talia say he wouldn't appear?!
Swish!
Just then, one of the four outside suddenly seemed to be hooked by something and flew upwards. This time, the Black Mask finally saw what was happening—a slender figure had clasped his neck with her legs in an instant and was flying towards the ceiling with him.
"She's up there! Up there! Get her down quick!"
Upon hearing the Black Mask's urgent reminder, the others regained their senses and aimed their guns at the ceiling.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
But before their eyes could catch the shadowy figure on the dim ceiling, something accompanied by a whistling sound knocked their guns out of their hands.
"Is that—a Batarang? Is Batman here?!"
One of them, with sharp eyes, saw the metal projectile embedded at his feet. Though he wasn't a native of Gotham, he had heard of the legend of Batman and immediately shouted in panic.
"Shut up, fools! Don't panic! Can't you see she's a woman! Everyone calm down—"
The Black Mask yelled angrily at them, but it was too late. The remaining three had already descended into chaos, and the other side clearly had no intention of letting this opportunity slip.
A slender figure clad in black tight-fitting clothing descended from above, her pure black cape unfurling like bat wings behind her.
Bang! Bang! Clatter!
Her movements were graceful and swift. She danced among the three lackeys like a gymnast, but the three who were attacked couldn't appreciate her grace. Within seconds, one was knocked unconscious by an uppercut to the chin, another fell to the ground in agony after being kicked in the groin, and the third rolled helplessly on the ground with dislocated joints.
"Whether you're a man or a woman doesn't matter. What's important is for you to remember that the Bat always watches from the shadows, ready to punish you."
A graceful figure walked slowly into the boiler room. Behind the black bat-shaped mask, fiery red waves of hair cascaded over her shoulders. On her shapely chest, a golden bat symbol gleamed brightly.
"Batwoman, I thought you were dead long ago—but it doesn't matter. I'll send you back to your coffin right away!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Black Mask raised his gun and fired at Batwoman without hesitation, but she immediately crouched down and used her cape to shield herself. The bullets hit the cape, producing the sound of metal colliding and deflecting.
"For someone like me, bulletproofing is top priority—I've learned my lesson."
Swish!
Two batarangs flew out from behind the cape at lightning speed, whistling as they arced towards the Black Mask. But the Black Mask was agile too. Both batarangs grazed his arm and stuck into the ground at his feet.
"Hmph, how can such inaccurate shots—"
Bang! Bang!
Before the Black Mask could finish his sentence, the batarangs at his feet exploded, releasing a dense white smoke that obscured his vision.
"Fuck!" In that instant, the Black Mask knew something was terribly wrong. Batwoman's batarang attack had been a feint from the start, just to take away his vision, while the real attack—
A yellow boot shot through the white fog towards the Black Mask's face. In the blink of an eye, he barely managed to lift his arm to block the flying kick, but Batwoman stepped on his foot, leveraging herself to flip over his head and land behind him.
"Black Mask, this time you'll stay in Blackgate Prison and behave until you die!"
The Black Mask felt a slender arm wrap around his neck from behind, and his brain was on the verge of fainting due to lack of oxygen.
"Ugh... You think... you've won? He'll... he'll deal with you all—"
Due to the pressure on his neck, the Black Mask's head turned to the side and he lost consciousness within a few seconds. At the same time, a small object slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a clear clatter.
Batwoman's heart skipped a beat as she immediately threw the unconscious Black Mask aside and then crouched down cautiously to inspect the object that had fallen from his hand.
"A remote control? What's this for?"
Batwoman cursed herself for being careless. She hadn't noticed the Black Mask's slight movements, a consequence of three years without real combat.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. Batwoman hurriedly ran to the side of the two hostages, quickly removing the black cloth covering their mouths and eyes.
"Batgirl, how did you get here?"
Commissioner Gordon looked at Batwoman with a complex expression, but she seemed to deliberately avoid his gaze and instead looked at Harley Quinn beside him.
"Are you okay, Harley?"
"Of course, sweetie. Being locked up like this is something I'm used to from Arkham. But I didn't expect you to come rescue me. Did you see anyone else on your way in?"
"Your two companions seemed to be causing a commotion at the main entrance. Luckily, they drew most of the attention, allowing me to sneak in so easily."
Upon hearing Barbara's words, Harley's eyes flashed with a hint of sadness.
"Just two of them, huh? So, he really—"
"Let's not talk about that now. Let me untie you first. These chain locks are a bit tricky—"
Boom!
Suddenly, there was a loud noise from above, and debris fell from the ceiling. Batwoman's heart skipped a beat as she immediately remembered the remote control the Black Mask had dropped earlier.
Was it a bomb? No, it feels like it's coming from the ceiling...
Boom!
With another deafening sound, countless cracks appeared in the boiler room's ceiling, and then, with another thunderous roar, the ceiling collapsed, creating a large hole. At the same time, an extremely tall and burly figure descended from above, causing a seismic-like impact upon landing.
Batwoman turned her head and immediately looked shocked and wary behind her mask.
"Why is Solomon Grundy here?"
°°°
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