Volume 1: Welcoming Gotham Chapter 34 Even if a cat has nine lives, it can’t withstand your mischief!
Mason found the zombie Fang, dozing off amidst a sea of corpses and blood, in a deep passage in the main prison area of Blackgate Prison. Fang had completed its mission perfectly.
A total of 35 people from the Assassin's League's black warrior team would be very "evenly" distributed throughout the passage.
The luckiest few among them only lost a hand or a leg before death came, and now they are still wandering aimlessly in the corridors.
Those that were completely torn apart naturally could not turn into zombies and scare people everywhere.
After completing such a brilliant battle, the zombie dog certainly couldn't be unscathed. In fact, even with the help of the resurrection stone fragments, Yaya's black skin was still covered with wounds that had not yet healed.
The most fatal wound extended from the abdomen to the heart, almost blowing its entire huge body apart.
"The combat power of the elite warriors of the Assassin's League is indeed not to be underestimated. If they had not encountered the real 'undead beast', they would have most likely turned defeat into victory.
This is without a commander like Bane or Deathstroke leading the charge."
Mason, wrapped in an invisibility cloak, carefully observed Yaya's condition. He came to a conclusion in his mind about the combat power comparison. The zombie dogs and zombie cats could only bully ordinary soldiers, and they would probably not be able to withstand a super villain who was good at fighting.
"Good dog, come here!"
Mason stopped thinking about the future.
He took out the voodoo birdcage from his arms in a blind spot where the camera couldn't see, took off his invisibility cloak, and whistled at Yaya who was lying there.
The zombie dogs and zombies were alarmed at the same time, but Yaya was obviously faster. The 1.5-meter-tall zombie beast climbed up with a roar and limped towards Mason.
There was no emotion in his scarlet eyes, only brutality. The moment he pounced, Mason activated the voodoo birdcage with ease and locked him in it, then he put it in his arms like a magic trick.
"The second weakness of the zombie dogs is that they have no brains. Miss Magg seems to be smarter than the other two in this regard."
The young man stood up, glanced at the swaying zombies in front of him, curled his lips and prepared to leave, but when he put on the invisibility cloak, he suddenly noticed that the Hell's Eye collar pin on his collar was emitting a faint light.
This startled Mason, and then he frowned.
The collar pin given by Zha Kang had predicted a danger for him before, but the description of this thing also said that it has the ability to detect hidden life. There are very few living people in the entire Blackgate Prison now.
Especially in places where Fangya had wreaked havoc.
So, there's someone hiding nearby?
Mason immediately became alert.
What he fears most now is that someone from the Bat Family is hiding nearby and saw him recycling the zombie dogs, which means that his whereabouts are at risk of being exposed.
Although he could guarantee that he had not harmed any good people tonight and had destroyed the Penguin Gang and severely damaged the influence of the League of Assassins in the city, Batman probably wouldn't listen to his explanation.
He calmly put on his invisibility cloak and made himself disappear from the spot, then said to the kite flyer through the earphone:
"The plan has changed, Charles. Don't worry about me. Just go and meet up with the Bat Family. Commissioner Gordon and I will work together to find a way out."
"Got it, Boss. I'll destroy this headset then."
The Kite Man responded, and then Mason heard a busy tone indicating that the communication was interrupted. He took off the headset in his ear and threw it into the suitcase, then began to look around in stealth.
In the corner of the second floor of the main prison area, about a hundred meters away from where Mason disappeared, Catwoman was covering her mouth and trying to shrink into the corner next to her.
Just now, she clearly saw that the horrible zombie monster was collected by Mason using some strange thing.
Although a zombie apocalypse had already broken out when she arrived at Blackgate Prison, she had probably guessed everything that had happened there through the brief visual experience just now.
The image of Mason Cooper, the shy young man who was always silent but full of character, collapsed in her mind, replaced by a dark villain with a gloomy mind, thinking about dark things.
She even felt that Mason might be more dangerous than the Penguin or the League of Assassins.
Those guys have to do it themselves if they want to harm someone, but Mason possesses a dangerous power that is different from that of ordinary villains.
"I have to tell Bruce about this!"
This was the first thought that came to Catwoman's mind.
As Batman's lover, she knew very well that Batman had an abnormal attention to Mason Cooper, perhaps because Mason's style and personality were very similar to those of the deceased Jason Todd.
In order to find the missing Mason, Batman even broke his own rule of keeping to himself and invited other superheroes to help him search.
Five minutes ago, Catwoman would have thought this was nothing.
After all, because of his childhood tragedy, my boyfriend does have an indescribable strange "adoption fetish".
But now she doesn't think so.
It turns out Mason Cooper is far more dangerous than Jason Todd!
The latter is just irritable and rebellious, while the former... well, it's hard to say. In short, she must stop Bruce Wayne from getting closer to Mason Cooper.
But on the other hand, Catwoman is very conflicted.
She always felt that Mason was not a bad person. This was not due to her emotional thinking but the conclusion she came to after several interactions with Mason.
After so many years in Gotham, Catwoman still has some confidence in her vision, and if you count the time at Dr. Leslie's clinic, Mason has saved her twice.
Repaying kindness with enmity is not her motto.
This is also the reason why Selina did not report what she saw to the bat communication network immediately . She hid there and thought for more than ten seconds before finally making up her mind.
Batman will be back in Gotham soon anyway.
Maybe the man is heading to Blackgate Prison right now. I should tell Bruce about this alone first and then see what he decides.
But before that, he had to avoid further contact with Mason Cooper, who currently seemed to be both good and evil.
"Snapped"
Just when Catwoman made up her mind to sneak out of Blackgate Prison first, a hand pressed on her shoulder without warning, which made Ms. Selina tense up and ready to fight back.
Then she heard a voice behind her.
"Didn't I tell you not to come over ? You're really a cat that never obeys."
Mason's voice was filled with strong helplessness and distress. He said:
"Did you see everything?"
Catwoman sensed no hostility from the young man.
She slapped Mason's claws away, stepped back and stared at him warily, as if she was looking at a monster in the skin of a 17-year-old young man.
"You're not going to explain?"
She grabbed the cat's tail whip in her hand and grasped the hilt of Sujie's Eagle with her other hand. But then she remembered that the sword was lent to her by Mason, so she immediately loosened her fingers and stopped touching it.
It was as if the sword was also infected with the dangerous zombie virus.
"There's nothing to explain. It's hard to explain in just a few words."
The young man did not hold a gun but was leaning on Penguin's armed umbrella. He stood there wearing a blood-stained silver-gray invisibility cloak and said to Ms. Selina:
"Can you promise not to tell Batman what you saw? I still want to live in Gotham, and being considered a dangerous person by him will definitely make it difficult for me to move forward here."
"Of course I can. We're in this together, Mason."
Catwoman responded immediately, but both sides fell silent at the same time.
Two seconds later, Mason said:
"You're lying! You won't betray your lover again for a boy you've only met five times, Selina. You love him deeply, and you won't allow another dangerous person to get close to him.
Batman is on his way here, so I have to inconvenience you for a moment.
Until we can work out a perfect solution, I have to ask you to go to a safe place to rest for a few days.
Relax.
I won't hurt you.
Whatever you think, I think we are friends.”
"What if I say no?"
The cat whip in Catwoman's hand hung on the ground. She leaned down like a black cat about to pounce, her eyes narrowed under the ruby goggles, and she asked sarcastically:
"Will you send your monsters to eat me? It's like you've turned this prison into hell with them."
"Blackgate Prison was a hell of filth, Selina, and I just restored it to what it should be. My only regret about what happened here tonight is that I came a little late."
Mason slowly raised the penguin umbrella and said softly:
"Batman believes that everyone deserves a second chance, but I prefer to cut the Gordian knot."
"nonsense!"
Catwoman swung her whip at Mason, and the young man pulled the handle of the umbrella, turning the intracranial disruptor that he had loaded into the umbrella and turned on into attack mode.
The invisible electromagnetic waves are obviously faster than the flying whip.
Before the cat-tail whip hit Mason, Catwoman felt dizzy and nauseous, and staggered back to the railing on the second floor.
Mason grabbed the whip that had lost its target and pulled it hard, knocking Catwoman's whip out of her hand.
Seeing Mason approaching with the umbrella that kept emitting strange power and making her dizzy, Catwoman gritted her teeth, pulled out Sujie's Eagle, turned the blade and stabbed at the young man.
The dazzling sword light scattered in all directions, but Mason, who had covered his eyes in advance, was not disturbed. He also sprinkled out a small bottle of dark green primary paralysis potion hidden in his hand.
The liquid splashed all over Catwoman's body, causing her limbs to go numb. She collapsed to the ground with her eyes rolled back and retched.
Sure enough, no matter how beautiful women are, if they do this kind of action, it will seriously affect their charm.
"Once this thing is turned on, it will burn out nearby electronic devices, so the words you just tricked me into saying can't be heard by the Bat Family."
As the young man approached, he whispered:
"I really mean no harm."
"Mason, this isn't right!"
Catwoman struggled and said:
"You killed a criminal, that means you become a criminal too! The total number of criminals has not changed! It's meaningless."
"Well said. But I have to remind you, Selina, I just killed 347 criminals."
Mason said this and walked to the almost fainted Catwoman, opened the suitcase, activated the Invisibility Extension Spell, then took her hand and picked Catwoman up.
First, he let her feet enter the open box, and then said to the still struggling Catwoman:
"Don't go to the basement of that apartment building! Don't go out and wander around. I keep Miss Mag, Fangya and Mao Mao there. You can move around on the second floor and the top floor. There is some water and food there.
Take a break, Selena.
Once I'm done here, we'll need to have a talk."
"You're going to put me in this box?"
Selina felt very uncomfortable and dizzy. Catwoman gritted her teeth and said:
"Are you crazy? Or am I crazy?"
"Luckily, we are both normal. I think you may have almost wasted your nine lives, so please remember my advice if you don't want to become a zombie beauty."
Mason gave a gentle smile.
The moment he loosened his hands, the Catwoman in his arms screamed, her whole body spun around, and she fell into the suitcase at her feet with a whoosh as if she was falling off a cliff.
Her drawn-out scream still echoed.
But the lid of the suitcase closed automatically the next moment, and then shook once in place, making the place completely quiet.
"Click"
The suitcase was locked and held in Mason's hand.
The young man straightened his clothes and turned off the jammer of the Penguin Umbrella. He stretched his shoulders and put on the invisibility cloak again, went downstairs, and quickly walked around to the cage where Commissioner Gordon and several policemen were hiding.
A group of zombies are still wandering around here, and the Penguin Boss is among them.
Mason took out his pistol and shot several people, led them into the prison area on the other side and locked the fence door. Then he appeared in front of Chief Gordon and the police officers who were already numb.
"I locked them up, luckily those guys were stupid enough."
Mason reappeared, wiped the stains off his face, and said to the police while opening the cage:
"Those monsters are gone. I don't know where they went or whether they will come back, but we must take the risk and leave now! Gordon, can you still walk?"
"I can."
The director, who was almost in despair, was now filled with joy.
He looked at the rifle in his hand that had run out of bullets and threw the fire stick aside, then took the pistol thrown by Mason and loaded it with a click.
The young man helped carry the two wounded people, and after confirming that they were not bitten by zombies, he led a group of people to the exit that was blown down by the kite man.
Of course, there were zombies rushing out along the way and trying to kill a few unlucky guys, but with Mason and Gordon's good marksmanship, the group finally arrived at the collapsed exit safely.
This place has become a hell.
Those Penguin Gang members who rushed in to rescue their boss unfortunately encountered the wandering zombies here, and their fate is self-evident.
Judging from the horrific bloodstains and residues on the ground, the power that Oswald had spent more than a decade building was bound to vanish after tonight.
"Oh my god, the exit was blown down, we can't get out."
When a police chief saw the collapsed entrance wall in front of him, he squatted on the ground with his head in his hands in despair. The others also had bitter expressions on their faces.
What's worse is that there are low roars of zombies coming from behind.
But Gordon didn't stop.
He was looking for something useful nearby to get his brothers out of the desperate situation. Just as Mason was about to help, he heard a familiar engine roar outside.
Gordon, who was more familiar with this, shouted directly:
"It's the Batmobile outside! Get out of the way, Batman is coming!"
Everyone was cheered up when they heard this.
Ten seconds later, with a loud bang that shook the earth, the exit of the collapsed prison main building exploded as if it had been hit head-on by a tank's high-explosive bomb.
Amid the flying rubble, the cool and domineering Batmobile crashed through the obstructing stones and rushed in, instantly making the surviving police officers feel very safe and cheered.
The Batplane was also cruising in the night sky outside, shining its high-powered lights into the gap. In the illumination of the strong light, the cabin of the Batmobile slid open, and a familiar figure stood up from inside.
Mason glanced over there.
In the bright light, he could only make out a caped silhouette, but he was certain it wasn't Nightwing filling in for Batman.
That's Bruce Wayne!
There's something about the real Batman that can never be faked, as if his mere presence in any situation means that no matter how dire the crisis is, it's not worth mentioning.
The Dark Knight is back.
Just like countless times before.
He was always there when the city needed him.
But Mason quietly took a step back when the man approached. He could no longer face his once favorite superhero as calmly as before.
After releasing the zombie beasts with his own hands and turning Blackgate Prison into hell, Mason knew that he would never be able to stand with Batman.
But he does not regret his choice today.
What happened today has ensured my safety and will benefit Gotham as a whole.
He respected the man in front of him but he didn't have to follow him blindly. He could learn from Batman but he didn't need to become a poor imitator of Bruce Wayne.
He can rely on himself to make his own way in this new world. He may not be praised, but just like the horror story that happened tonight, it is destined to be circulated in Gotham City for many years.
He does not have to bow down to anyone or flatter anyone.
Although there might be a risk of being discovered by Batman and captured and sent to Arkham Asylum, Mason had to admit that compared to following in Batman's footsteps and becoming a well-behaved Batboy...
He really prefers the feeling of being in control of everything now.
With this finally determined thought, when Batman's eyes fell on him, Mason raised his head and gave a polite smile.
He wiped the blood off his face, took the initiative to extend his hand and said:
"You're late this time, Batman."
