Chapter 147: Adventures of Batman (1)

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"Justice is reason and law. Reason is defined by one's own beliefs, and law is made through power."

- Iltutmish (Taboo Tattoo)

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<{Inside the Bank of America, Gotham Central Park}>

<(Omniscient POV)> 

"Hey Lloyd, did you see the news this evening? Some genius researcher just claimed that he is going to build a large machine in Star City that can theoretically generate enough energy to power the entire city without any pollution or fuel. Isn't that just unbelievable? He is calling it a particle accelerator or something. The people in the news are even saying that his invention can change the world and we will enter a new age of limitless energy if it ever succeeds." One of the two security guards dressed in a light-blue uniform, sitting on a chair in front of a dozen monitors showing different camera feeds of the entire bank from different angles, explained to his colleague with genuine excitement in his voice. 

"You are watching too much news nowadays, Harry. This is America. It doesn't matter if someone invents the source of unlimited energy or an infinite food Hax, we will always be the ones ending up paying for it because that's how capitalism works. It leeches us of our wealth and freedom by channeling everything we have into the pockets of the top one percent who are richer than us. Our country right now is a joke and no matter what potential invention or the next great discovery they try to fill up our minds with, our situation isn't going to improve... God, sometimes I really wish that Hitler would have won that day. At least, that way, we would have known that we are slaves to the elites." His friend who was dressed in a similar-looking uniform responded with a displeased click of his tongue before going on to finish his grilled sandwich with an aggrieved look on his face.

"... You are just angry because your wife cheated on you with some rich banker before leaving you with the kids, aren't you? *Sigh* Don't worry buddy, it's going to get better. It has to. I mean we live in Gotham. How much worse can it possibly get?" Harry replied with a straight face, making his colleague just release an annoyed grunt in response.

Harry and Lloyd were both security guards in the Gotham Central Park branch of Bank of America and were currently "working" their posts in the CCTV control room, diligently guarding the bank at midnight while everyone else in the rest of the city was sleeping in their comfortable beds... well, at least that's what they would be telling their superior later because the truth was that they were more focused on anything but keeping an eye on the CCTV cameras.

In fact, this had almost become routine for not just the two but all 4 of the security guards working in the bank at this time since they were pretty sure that no idiot in Gotham would ever try robbing a bank that was located just a few blocks away from the police headquarters of the city. Indeed, it was also the reason why every guard in the bank absolutely loved their job here as they didn't have to worry about having to defend against most of the city's notorious psychotic criminals and gangsters. 

Unbeknownst to them though, this false sense of security they had developed was about to be shattered very soon because as the two guards continued to converse on various topics, they failed to notice the presence of two men standing at the bank's entrance. These two individuals were clad in bizarre, makeshift costumes, making them look like Comic-Con cosplayers. However, despite looking like they had come straight from a fictional comic-book movie, each of the two held extremely realistic-looking weapons in their hands, making it clear that they meant business. 

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"See, I told you this is going to be easy. Every single one of these Gotham cops is a lazy pig. They won't be coming here even if we call them here ourselves. We will be in and out before those fuckers even realize what happened. Just follow my lead" One of the two men standing outside the bank who was wearing a custom-designed tactical vest and a gas mask said with a huge, excited grin on his face as he aimed what looked like a heavily customized water gun at the closed entrance of the bank. 

For those wondering who he was, the man was none other than a mildly famous supervillain named Killer Moth, a rising name in Gotham's underworld. Besides being known for his obsession with moths, toxic weapons, and bank heists, a crime in which he excelled, he was also known for his admiration of the rumored Dark Knight, someone he wanted to be like one day, although for helping criminals like himself instead of civilians. 

[{(Image)}]

"Yeah, you were right, it was a good idea to do this team-up. This is much more fun than I originally thought it would be. I can't wait to burn a few people to charred flesh with my new flame thrower. I even replaced its fuel with a more efficient one for today's special event." The person standing beside Killer Moth answered with an overenthusiastic voice, sounding almost eager at the prospect of burning someone. Quite similar to Killer Moth, he too was dressed in weirdly styled clothing but contrary to the former, his costume consisted of what looked like a repurposed, black-painted fire proximity suit generally worn by firefighters along a full gas mask as his headgear and two pairs of small artificial wings attached to his back that made him look like a humanoid dragonfly.

However, the biggest difference that separated him from his more well-known partner-in-crime was the existence of a large flame-thrower in his hand, a signature weapon of another notorious supervillain in Gotham who was slowly getting a name in the city's underworld for his brutality. He was none other than the newbie arsonist, Firefly. 

[{(Image)}]

"Hey hey hey, slow down right there. I never said that we were going to kill people for no reason. We are just here for the money, not because we are some sort of freaks who derive joy from causing pain to others. As long as we get the money without any hiccups, we can just leave as peacefully as we came. Our weapons here are either only for self-defense or for scaring people." Killer Moth immediately warned his partner with a displeased voice, chastising him for his bloodlust that could put them in unnecessary trouble with the cops... or someone a whole lot worse. 

"... No, of course not." Firefly chuckled in response, seemingly agreeing with his veteran partner before aiming his flame-thrower at the entrance of the bank and pressing the trigger releasing an unnaturally large torrent of flames that instantly started to slowly but surely melt the entrance.

*FWOOSH* 

In a matter of only minutes, the fire melted down a major portion of the entrance into liquid as a hole about the size of a grown man appeared at the center of it, paving a path for both of them into the bank.

"Special fuel that can make any ordinary flame thrower 10 times stronger. Lexcorp does deliver on its promises, doesn't it?" Firefly commented with a smirk as the duo walked into the bank through the newly created hole. 

"Cool fire but it is nothing as impressive as my venom." Killer Moth laughed as he took out a couple of strange-looking grey-colored grenades from his belt buckle and tossed them around randomly. As soon as the grenades exploded, the entire bank was filled with thick white smoke, making sure that the duo could now complete whatever they wanted to do without being shot by snipers or stray cops and guards. 

They had already mapped the entire building before coming here and knew exactly where the money was stored. So, not wasting any time, they went straight to the primary vault before Killer Moth took out a wet sponge from his buckle and began to rub the entire vault door with it. 

"This is an extremely flammable solution that also has an acidic effect on metals after being combusted. Try using your fire now, it should have an increased effect." He signaled towards the vault. 

Of course, Firefly did not have to be told twice. He immediately used his flame gun at the highest setting and fired toward the vault. In an instant, the entire room was covered with bright light from the fire as black smoke from the flamethrower began to mix with the white one, forcing even Killer Moth and Firefly to squint a little despite the gas masks on their faces.

The moment the fire from Firefly's flamethrower touched the door, the steel caught on fire with a mini explosion after which in front of their very eyes, the steel door of the vault began to quickly dent, twist, and turn before melting as the heat of the fire intensified with each passing moment. However, before the door could melt completely, Killer Moth and Firefly heard multiple footsteps coming their way. 

"It seems the stupid guards have finally woken up from their slumber. I was quite surprised when we didn't find any of them trying to stop us when we entered the building. But I guess they are just really bad at their job. Don't worry though, they won't be interfering with our work. You see, I mixed a little something for them inside my smoke formula, something they are quite going to enjoy." Killer Moth grinned from behind his mask as the guards slowed down in their approach. By the time they reached the two, all four of them looked like they were more stoned than they had ever been in their entire lives as they staggered around with stupid smiles on their faces like a bunch of drunkard fools.

"That was surprising. What is in that smoke, marijuana? Also, where did you buy those smoke bombs? I want some too." Firefly asked while laughing.

"They are under the influence of a synthetic hallucinogen I made with the help of my moths. Unlike you, I don't buy my gadgets. I simply make them at home. They are one hundred percent homemade. Absolutely killer weapons by the killer Moth." He answered with a proud look on his face. 

"Well, whatever makes you happy, buddy. Let's kill them before we melt down the last layer of the vault door." Firefly remarked with a joyful tone in his voice as he aimed his flamethrower at the five guards who had already dropped their weapons and were dancing around pretending to chase butterflies. 

"Wait, no. We agreed on no killing without proper reason, remember? Plus, look at them. They aren't a threat to us anymore. We can just do our job, steal the money, and get out before this gets complicated further. Why kill a bunch of people for no reason at all? We have already got access to the money we wanted." Killer Moth asked with a frown on his face as he took a few steps back to make it clear that he wasn't in support of Firefly's idea at all.

"You think I want to kill them because I feel threatened by their presence? No man, of course not. I don't even want to kill them... I just wanna watch them burn. I want to see their skin catching fire, smell their flesh burning, and hear their bones cracking from the heat of the fire. I want to see the visions in their burning corpses. The fire tells me the future, it shows me stuff. It's a gift. Haha. Fire is the most beautiful thing one could ever see. These guards burning in the purest of fires lit by me is a gift, my friend and I need to give it to them. I NEED to see what the fire wants to show me. And nobody is going to stop me from that... not even you. HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHHA." Firefly began to laugh crazily while pointing his flamethrower at Killer Moth to make him understand how serious and determined he was about this. 

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