Chapter 2964: When the Night Falls (46)

"Doctor! Get out of the way!!"

Standing behind Shiller, Dick suddenly pulled him out of the path, preventing the blood-colored tornado from reaching Shiller.

Batman's dart arrived in a flash but failed to penetrate the perimeter of the tornado. The girl who called herself Starfire floated into the air, her eyes emitting an evil red glow.

Yet Shiller spoke with interest, "I really didn't think you'd be so easy to deal with, but it's not that surprising. If you were a patient and clever person, you wouldn't be here right now."

Gordon actually understood very well what Shiller was saying at that moment. If this woman, who called herself Starfire, hadn't shown up here and had sent the tapes in some other way, staying out of it and continuing to hide, then she probably could have remained within the Batman Family indefinitely.

Even if Batman had noticed something amiss, he would have lacked evidence, preoccupied with dealing with the vampires, pacifying Barbara, and handling the affairs of the Batman Family. During this phase alone, she would have had countless opportunities to scheme behind the scenes.

If she had any patience at all, or a brain slightly larger than a walnut, her cunning plot might have actually succeeded.

So her eruption now, triggered by a few words from Shiller, wasn't the least bit surprising. If she weren't such a fool, she wouldn't have chosen this moment to reveal herself.

Although Batman had thrown a Batman dart, he didn't seem as angry as before, but instead let out a cold laugh, feeling somewhat absurd for getting genuinely upset with such a fool.

Starfire finally revealed her true form in midair.

She was dressed in a long, red gown, seductive and beautiful, radiating a thick blood-colored glow. Dick called out her name—"Bloody Queen Mary."

Shiller wasn't surprised at all, for he had heard from Constantine about Bloody Mary's previous scheme; she was very good at repeating a stupid act.

Previously, she had been extremely pleased with her not-so-flawless cousin marriage plan. Even after it resulted in disaster and left her severely injured, she did not give up.

This time, she seemed to be very satisfied with her plan to infiltrate and impersonate Barbara, so after the first failure, she tried again for the second time.

It was a level of stupidity that made one want to replace her with a machine.

Doctor Strange certainly didn't indulge her. He had just returned to his prime condition and had obtained an extremely powerful vampire summon. With a raise of his hand, a colossal Bat Monster roared as it burst from the earth.

Mary was furious, she roared, "Where did you find that? I am the Ancestor of the Blood Clan, do you think you can handle me with that?!"

Countless Blood Magic creatures condensed above Wayne Manor, and Mary herself fought back fiercely, sending powerful magical blades toward the vampire creature relentlessly.

The Arkham Knight and Moonlight Shiller exchanged a look, understanding that the intense battle they had long awaited was now upon them.

The Arkham Knight's weaponry transformed again; he had upgraded his equipment before, and the sniper rifle had been turned into an ultraviolet laser gun specifically targeting vampires.

As he hoisted the massive sniper rifle onto his shoulder and aimed, a fine beam of light shot toward Mary's head.

Mary sneered, ultraviolet light was useless against her. With a flick of her hand toward that direction, the laser beam was blocked by Blood Energy and sent back.

Moonlight, covered in silver light, swung the golden candelabra like a blade, a crescent-like the edge of a new moon, but it still dissolved within the blood-colored barrier.

Only the shadow energy of the vampire creature could break through the Blood Magic barrier, but Mary was very fast and seemed to be able to Blink infinitely. The vampire creature was too cumbersome and simply couldn't keep up with her.

In the span of a few moves, Wayne Manor was nearly destroyed. The Robins charged in, but because they didn't know Magic, their moves were ineffective against Mary.

The Arkham Knight raised his laser gun once again. Mary didn't even look at him, for she knew such weapons posed no threat to her. The next second, however, an incredibly bright light emerged from the muzzle, and the beam of laser light that shot out pierced through the barriers, hitting Mary directly in the back.

Mary screamed as she fell from the sky. Moonlight quickly closed in, slashing before and after, the pain inflicted by the attack on the Bloodline Ancestor making her powers grow stronger, until even the energy of Moonlight could no longer restrain her.

Nearly dismembered, Mary was still able to coalesce back into her original form; her Self Healing Power was many times stronger than that of ordinary vampires, able to completely heal in an instant even from severe wounds.

The normally gentle Moonlight suddenly became sharp. For the first time, the figure of Khonsu truly appeared before everyone, the power bestowed by the Moon God Position suppressing the Blood Energy Mary used to heal herself, causing it to gradually thin.

The vampire creature seized the chance and bit into Mary's neck. Clearly, it wasn't its first time doing so.

As her blood was drained, Mary screamed, the glow on her body growing weaker and weaker.

Yet she still had the strength to escape. After a Blink, she was out of reach, clenching her teeth in midair, knowing she had been thoroughly defeated this time.

Normally, she could rely on her Undying Attribute to outlast her enemies, but not this time. She knew Batman, and when it came to immortal beings, Batman could capture them and then lock them away.

Having just turned Gordon's daughter, Barbara, into what she was, falling into Batman's hands would mean a fate worse than death.

Mary had already developed the intention to retreat.

Shiller clearly saw her plan, and could only say that this vampire ancestor was even dumber than she had imagined. She should have either run the moment she was discovered, or decisively stood her ground and fought to the death. Trying to run now was probably too late.

The last thing Batman is on this world is afraid of dragging out time.

With a roar that echoed in the skies above Wayne Manor, another red-haired figure descended from the sky.

"Maryyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

To everyone's surprise, it was Starfire, the one Batman had shown them information about before, completely different from the girl Mary had transformed into earlier. She exuded a wild aura, just like in the photographs.

She immediately delivered a punch to Mary as she arrived, with two Green Lanterns emanating green light following her. Upon seeing this, they began to construct cages with green lantern energy, which is not afraid of the power of blood magic and even has a certain restrictive effect on it.

The Emotional Spectrum's place is clearly higher than the origins of blood magic's power – the Green Lanterns had been overwhelmed by the Vampire Flash, probably mainly because Hal had been soft-hearted toward Barry.

Starfire kept Mary under pressure, making the building of the Green Lanterns' cages an easy task. It wasn't long before the person to deliver the final blow arrived; Superman slowly landed amidst the ruins of Wayne Manor.

Wonder Woman followed behind him and casually tossed the Lasso of Truth, binding Mary tightly. Superman coated the cage holding Mary with a shell of light.

Mary wasn't afraid of sunlight, but as the saying goes, being exposed to ultraviolet rays is one thing; being thrown onto the surface of the sun is quite another. The temperature of the cage's shell was comparable to that of the sun's surface.

True Starfire stood on the ground, looking up at the silhouette in the cage, grinding her teeth in anger.

"Ma'am, could you please tell us what's going on here?"

Starfire finally came to her senses, her expression softening a bit as she looked at Batman and said, "Thank you for notifying me. I indeed have a score to settle with this woman."

With Starfire's recounting, everyone finally understood what had happened back then.

Starfire's backstory was actually quite simple. She was an alien princess who, through a stroke of fortune, gained superpowers. However, her mother planet got invaded by aliens who forced her sister to banish her from their world.

Then, unlucky enough to be captured and enslaved in an alien prison, she struggled through a series of tough battles, not only freeing herself but also helping many others along the way and gradually made a name for herself.

After shedding her slave status, Starfire roamed the cosmos, dispensing justice and eventually became a universally renowned superhero.

But obviously, the aliens who invaded her homeland had no intentions of leaving things at that. They were constantly on the hunt for Starfire; one day, caught in a trap and injured, she was pursued to a desolate, barbaric place: the Solar System.

Starfire had been healing near the sun, but during one misstep, she entered Earth as it also basked in sunlight. She decided to recuperate on this beautiful planet for some time.

But once again, she capsized in the gutter, unfortunately encountering Bloody Queen Mary. Initially, Mary approached her under the guise of a magician. Starfire, being unaware of the ins and outs of the mystic world, didn't suspect much.

During their interactions, Mary gradually discovered the special property of Starfire's blood, which seemed to contain a unique power capable of improving the physique of vampires. Mary then set a trap, successfully entrapped Starfire, and over several years, continued to draw her blood.

Ultimately, Starfire managed to escape, but being weakened, she couldn't fend off a vampire queen's persecution and had to hastily flee Earth.

She had always wanted to avenge herself but had been entangled in one cosmic calamity after another.

After discovering Mary had impersonated Starfire, Batman realized that she must have come into contact with the real Starfire, their costumes bore similarities - indeed Mary appeared to be imitating Starfire.

Hence, during Mary's battle with Arkham Knight and Moonlight Shiller, Batman contacted Green Lantern Headquarters, who found Starfire and informed her of the situation.

Upon hearing this, Starfire immediately knew it was Mary's doing and, accompanied by the Green Lanterns who had brought her the message, rushed to Earth, ultimately succeeding in capturing Mary.

The reason Dick and Zan were immune to sunlight was because the Mary masquerading as Starfire had given them the real Starfire's blood, with the intent to throw the Batman Family and the Justice League into disarray.

And the reason the Green Lantern Corps was willing to help Batman was that he told them about Hal's capture by vampires. Hal is important to the Green Lantern Corps, who felt they too should send someone to assist.

After leading the Bat Monster to Mary's old den, as supplied by Constantine, and finding it empty, Batman speculated that the mysterious King of Vampires was Mary herself.

Constantine's information might have been accurate; it is possible that Mary really did give birth to a child and planned to make him the King of Vampires.

But as mentioned before, this catastrophe wasn't initiated by vampires; Mary might have been drawn into combat unwillingly. The child she bore might not have matured yet, and Mary likely had high hopes for him, not wanting him to risk exposure.

Moreover, she was very confident in herself, believing there was nothing she couldn't handle personally. Hence, she chose to disguise herself as a member of the Batman Family, Barbara Gordon. Even after one failure, she didn't give up, which brought her here a second time.