Chapter 347 Oh dear
The person who arrived was none other than Darian, disguised as Batman.
Since the mission required Batman to arrest super-criminals, Darian tried his best to imitate Batman’s style.
Actually, imitating Batman wasn’t difficult at all; you just had to be pretentious enough.
And being pretentious just happened to be what Darian was best at.
He stood on a steel frame over a dozen meters high, looking down at Harley and Poison Ivy. His entire figure almost blended into the surrounding shadows, with only the cold white light shining where his eyes were, faintly outlining the silhouette of the Batsuit.
Behind him, large swathes of shadow surged silently, resembling a bat cape blowing in the wind, or perhaps countless writhing black tentacles, exuding an undisguised, sinister aura.
Domain expansion, Batman’s Fear Induction!
Harley and Poison Ivy both felt their hearts sink, a strong sense of suffocation welling up within them; they felt that the Batman before them was even more eerie and terrifying than usual.
"Poison Ivy, Harley, you shouldn’t be out here."
A deep, raspy voice came from the shadows, carrying that signature phlegmy texture.
"Batman!"
Poison Ivy snorted coldly and lifted her chin without backing down: "I haven’t settled the score with you for locking me up in Arkham Asylum, and now you’ve come to my doorstep yourself. Perfect, tonight I’ll use you as fertilizer for my babies!"
Before she even finished speaking, she suddenly raised her arm.
From all directions in the garden, large swathes of vines surged up like a green tide, rushing toward Darian high on the steel frame.
Darian was unhurried; he casually threw several batarangs, which accurately embedded themselves into the cluster of vines.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent explosions went off in succession. The vines were instantly blown to pieces, and open flames quickly spread along the broken branches, affecting the surrounding plants as well and leaving behind large scorched marks.
"Bastard!"
Seeing this, Poison Ivy’s eyes twitched with heartache.
As an extreme environmentalist, she had always believed that the lives of plants were lives too, perhaps even more important than human lives.
Darian’s actions undoubtedly ignited her fury.
Bang!
The next moment, the ground beneath his feet suddenly split open, and a giant man-eating flower burst forth from the soil.
Its petals opened to a width of three meters, with dagger-like sharp teeth arranged unevenly along the edges. It actually emitted a piercing hiss and, opening its massive maw, bit down directly at Darian.
Darian leaped up, his cape unfurling behind him to form a pair of bat-wing-like gliding surfaces. He traced an arc in the air, dodged the man-eating flower’s lunge, and landed steadily on the ground.
The moment his feet touched the ground, the man-eating flower’s roots began to writhe violently. The entire plant completely pulled itself out of the soil, with seven or eight thick roots still attached underneath.
At the end of each root grew a miniature version of a sharp-toothed mouth, twisting and closing in on him from all sides.
"Can this thing even be considered a plant?"
Darian complained inwardly. With a shake of his arms, sharp blades popped out from his gauntlets, and he severed all the roots lunging at him, splattering green sap all over the ground.
But in the blink of an eye, more roots grew wildly from the man-eating flower’s stem, swarming toward him densely; at first glance, it looked like a plant version of Anaconda.
"Endless, are we?"
Darian pulled out several batarangs, imbued them all with fire magic, and tossed them directly into the densest cluster of roots.
A series of rumbling explosions sent large swathes of roots flying. Shattered tissue splattered everywhere in the firelight, and at the same time, balls of searing flames erupted, spreading along the network of roots and instantly turning the entire area into a sea of fire.
Setting fire to the mountain means a life sentence in prison.
But it was Batman doing the deed, so what did that have to do with him, Darian?
Just then, a fierce gust of wind rushed toward his face.
The giant man-eating flower passed through the flames, lowered its corolla, opened its massive mouth, and with incredible speed, swallowed Darian whole in one gulp.
Then the petals closed, and with a gulp, it swallowed him down.
Poison Ivy felt a surge of joy, but before the smile could spread across her face, the man-eating flower suddenly let out an extremely shrill scream. Its corolla opened toward the sky, and it convulsed violently inside, as if it had swallowed something unclean, desperately trying to spit it out.
The next second, a hand wearing a gauntlet punched directly through from inside the corolla.
The five fingers spread out, gripping the edge of the petals.
Then, the other hand also burst through the wall.
Both hands gripped one side of the petals each and tore outward with force.
Rip!
The man-eating flower’s corolla was torn in half down the middle on the spot, green sap and shredded flesh splattering the ground.
Darian slowly walked out from the opening, without a single stain on his body.
Harley gasped: "Has this Batman been secretly taking protein powder lately? Why does he feel even fiercer than before?"
Poison Ivy’s expression darkened: "Don’t worry, we still have help."
She raised her hand and clapped twice.
The ground broke open again, and two slightly smaller man-eating flowers emerged from the soil, opened their corollas, and each spat out a figure.
The man on the left was tall, wrapped in a heavy, dark blue cryogenic suit. He held a freeze gun emitting a blue glow, and his entire body radiated bone-chilling cold. Standing next to him, you wouldn’t need air conditioning in the summer.
The man on the right was the exact opposite, wearing Firefly-style armor, with a jetpack on his back and a flamethrower strapped to each arm, his whole body emitting waves of scorching heat.
At this moment, both men looked vacant, their eyes glowing with an eerie green light.
[NPC: Victor Fries]
[Codename: Mr. Freeze]
[Status: Mind Controlled]
[NPC: Garfield Lynns]
[Codename: Firefly]
[Status: Mind Controlled]
These two famous Gotham super-villains both showed a status of being mind-controlled.
No need to wonder; this was definitely Poison Ivy’s doing.
Poison Ivy was originally just a college student who loved plants, until she was unfortunately used as a test subject by botanist Jason Wood, who injected a large amount of plant toxins into her body.
But she survived, her blood transformed into chlorophyll, and from then on, she gained the ability to control plants, became immune to all known toxins, and could secrete hormonal pheromones from her body to control others’ minds.
In some versions of the comics, Poison Ivy at her peak could even control all of humanity simultaneously, including Batman, who possessed a Superman-level will.
Of course, the Poison Ivy before them was clearly not that overpowered, otherwise she wouldn’t have been sent to Arkham Asylum by Batman.
After breaking out of prison, Poison Ivy happened to run into her peers, Mr. Freeze and Firefly, so she simply used her abilities to capture them and use them as henchmen to prevent Batman from coming after her.
"What kind of combination is this, Fire and Ice people of the forest?"
Darian looked at Poison Ivy and her two Pokémon, raising an eyebrow.
"Take him out."
Poison Ivy pointed at Darian and gave the order to the two.
Mr. Freeze was the first to raise his right arm. The muzzle of his freeze gun quickly charged with blue and white light, and a thick freeze ray shot straight out, instantly freezing the air along its path into white mist as it surged toward Darian.
Darian raised his hand and fired a grappling hook, his figure swaying as he swung seven or eight meters away.
The spot where he had just been standing, along with a patch of vine debris, was hit squarely and instantly frozen into a crystalline ice sculpture.
Firefly followed closely behind, activating his jetpack and diving at full speed.
He raised both arms, and the devices sprayed roaring flames, two waves of fire instantly engulfing Darian.
Amidst the fire, an arm suddenly reached out, firmly gripping Firefly’s mask and lifting him into the air.
The flames continued to erupt, but the moment they touched Darian’s body, they automatically slid off, not even affecting his cape in the slightest.
"You poor, controlled wretch, let me help you wake up."
As he spoke, Darian suddenly applied force with his hand, and Firefly’s helmet was instantly covered in cracks, emitting a brittle sound of being overwhelmed.
Firefly convulsed in pain, his limbs flailing wildly in the air, but he could never break free from that iron-pincer-like hand.
Crack!
A crisp shattering sound rang out, and Firefly’s mask was crushed by Darian’s bare hand, revealing the face beneath, covered in burn scars.
But the green light in his eyes had not faded, and he still continued to attack, following Poison Ivy’s orders.
"Looks like I need to increase the intensity."
Darian slowly curled the corners of his mouth, revealing a kind smile.
But he was currently in the guise of Batman, and in the eyes of others, this smile was even more horrifying than a ghost in a horror movie.
After seeing this smile, Firefly shuddered violently, the green light in his eyes instantly dimming significantly, and he finally regained a trace of clarity.
"Wait, Batman, I’m awake."
Bang!
Darian punched him directly in the mouth, forcing the rest of his words back down his throat.
He held Firefly with one hand, his fist smashing into his face one after another, the dull sound of impact continuous.
Darian was very measured in his strikes; he stunned him without causing brain damage, the force was just right.
As Batman, he certainly couldn’t kill, but he could do everything else besides killing.
As long as it doesn’t kill them, beat them to death!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Accompanying the dull sounds, Firefly’s face instantly swelled up like a pig’s head, he didn’t know how many teeth he had broken, his face was covered in blood, and he hung limply in Darian’s hand, having completely lost the ability to resist.
[Objective: Have Batman bring the escaped super-criminals to justice (2/7)]
Darian casually threw the limp, mud-like Firefly onto the ground, the blood on his fist dripping into the soil.
Too brutal!
Harley watched, dumbfounded: "This Batman doesn’t look right."
Poison Ivy also felt something was off, but she didn’t think too much about it; seeing Firefly defeated, she immediately signaled Mr. Freeze to step up.
Upon receiving the order, Mr. Freeze raised his freeze gun and fired continuously in Darian’s direction.
The blue and white rays swept across the ground, instantly freezing an ice field.
But Darian had retreated into the nearby shadows after throwing Firefly, his figure instantly vanishing without a trace. Mr. Freeze’s rays all missed, leaving only a few thick ice marks on the wall.
Mr. Freeze immediately looked around, on guard.
But the next second, a black shadow suddenly darted out from the shadows behind Mr. Freeze.
Mr. Freeze turned around suddenly, but before he could pull the trigger, his wrist was grabbed by Darian, who took the opportunity to snatch the freeze gun from his hand, and it disappeared from his grasp.
Mr. Freeze: "?"
Was I just robbed?
But Poison Ivy’s order still stood. Having lost his only weapon, Mr. Freeze had to use his trump card.
He pushed off with his feet, lunged forward, and unleashed a masterful set of "turtle punches" at Darian.
There was no helping it; Mr. Freeze was just a Ph.D. in cryogenics who relied on technology to make a living; he didn’t know anything about fighting techniques.
Darian was amused by Mr. Freeze. He didn’t dodge or evade, but instead backhanded a punch that broke his helmet and slammed into his face.
Mr. Freeze was instantly down for the count.
[Objective: Have Batman bring the escaped super-criminals to justice (3/7)]
In less than a minute, the Fire and Ice people of the forest were reduced to just a plant person.
Harley and Poison Ivy were stunned on the spot.
Two super-criminals were taken out in seconds just like that?
In the past, Batman would use all sorts of strange gadgets to keep super-criminals with special abilities like them in check, focusing on high-IQ combat, using tactics and intelligence to crush them.
Now, he was just steamrolling them with his bare hands; he wasn’t even pretending anymore!
"As expected, no man is reliable."
Seeing her two Pokémon defeated one after another, Poison Ivy had no choice but to take the field herself, the trainer.
She raised her hand to activate her ability, and dozens of thick vines burst from the soil, swarming toward Darian to entangle him.
Darian swung his arms, the gauntlet blades slashing rapidly, severing the incoming vines. At the same time, he pushed off with his feet, charging straight toward Harley and Poison Ivy at incredible speed.
Just as he was about to reach the two women, Poison Ivy suddenly revealed a cold smile. The ground beneath them trembled violently, and a giant root as thick as a water bucket suddenly burst from the soil beneath Darian, instantly wrapping tightly around his waist and abdomen.
Darian didn’t panic; while his arms could still move, the gauntlet blades kept slashing at the smaller vines that were wrapping around him.
The roots grew and spread crazily, wanting to bind Darian’s entire body.
However, Darian’s attack speed was extremely fast; the growth rate of the roots couldn’t keep up with his speed of destruction, and the ground was covered in countless plant fragments.
Seeing this, Poison Ivy raised her right hand, palm up, and blew gently in Darian’s direction. Countless invisible hormonal spores drifted over with the wind, instantly enveloping Darian.
"Become my slave, Batman."
But several seconds passed, and Darian’s movements didn’t stop; it was as if he hadn’t been affected at all.
Harley, familiar with Poison Ivy’s abilities, looked puzzled: "What’s going on? Didn’t your ability work?"
Poison Ivy frowned and explained: "Batman’s willpower far exceeds that of an ordinary person; the concentration of airborne spores is too low to shake his mind at all."
"Then what do we do?"
"Unless we can restrain him, then I can transmit high-concentration toxins through saliva; no matter how strong his will is, he won’t be able to resist in the end."
Poison Ivy stared at Darian, who looked like a god of war before them, and gritted her teeth: "But I don’t know what’s up with this Batman today; his combat power is too strong. I can’t restrain him, so I have to think of something else..."
"Oops!"
Before she even finished speaking, she saw Darian in front suddenly slip, let out an exclamation, and fall to the ground.
The surrounding vines seized the opportunity and swarmed over, wrapping him layer upon layer like a mummy, suspending him in mid-air with only his head exposed.
Poison Ivy: "....."
Harley: "....."
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