Volume 1: Welcoming Gotham Chapter 47: Shadow of Doom: Dark Tide
"Roar!"
The things trapped in the rusty iron cages in the bottom hold of the merchant ship smelled the scent of fresh flesh and blood.
When the four members of Team K approached, its pale eyes rolled up, its twisted nostrils sniffed fiercely, and then it pounced over with a roar.
It slammed into the side of the cage with a bang, and its twisted claws stretched out and scratched continuously, and with this movement, the festering wounds and shriveled flesh on its body also gave off a disgusting stench.
The black magician Zha Kang looked at the thing in front of him, and a serious expression appeared on his nonchalant face. As for the still angry Catwoman, she directly thought of the covered-up disaster that happened in Gotham a few days ago.
"boom"
Mason, with a grim look on his face, raised his hand and pulled the trigger.
A spinning bullet flew out of the gun barrel and blew up the head of the thing in the cage in front of it. The headless corpse fell on the damp and smelly bottom deck, and filthy blood flowed out.
"Zombies... Zombies again!"
He looked at the kite man behind him who also had a grim expression on his face, and whispered:
"Go check on the people on the boat. Anyone who has been scratched or has come into contact with zombies, throw them directly into the sea."
"No, sir."
Charles whispered:
"The locals call this infection the 'Black Death'. According to the boatswain, this disease has been prevalent in the Old World for more than two months. It is said that there are few people left alive in Europe.
Their seafaring merchants are now flocking to engage in the "immigration business", specializing in sending living people from the Old World to the New World for refuge, so they know how to prevent this kind of danger.
Before we came, all the injured crew members on the ship had been dealt with, and they kept this zombie because it was the captain of the ship three days ago. "
"Zombies appeared more than two months ago?"
Mason said in surprise:
"So, the official government has not been attacked by the 'World Destroyer'? Yes, a world whose civilization is still in the modern era cannot possibly resist such a rapidly spreading biological disaster.
Those bastards didn't need to go to the trouble of destroying the center of civilization.
They only need to drop the virus to bring about the end of the world in rapid blood loss."
Catwoman overheard Mason's conversation with Kite Man. She looked at Mason and said:
"Isn't this your first time dealing with this kind of global disaster? Where did the zombie beasts you used to attack Blackgate Prison come from?"
"another world."
Kiteman explained:
“This is the first world we were taken to by Old K. It’s even worse there than here. The zombie crisis and the attacks of the World Destroyer have turned it into a true doomsday wasteland.
There is no living person left in that world."
After that, Kite Man handed Mr. Potter's diary to Catwoman at Mason's signal. On the way that Team K left the bottom cabin and went to the deck, Catwoman showed the diary to Zha Kang.
When everyone saw the sunlight again, even the most heartless Constantine had no smile on his face. The sunlight that was so warm just now now made the four explorers feel chilly.
It's like a replica of the disaster.
Everything that happened in the Hogwarts world is being repeated in the world of Pirates of the Caribbean, but in a more cruel and cold-blooded "global battle royale" way.
Mason remained calm.
He looked at the group of distraught sailors on the deck and the haggard-looking people who risked all their fortunes to buy tickets to leave the Old World and go to the New World to beg for a living.
According to Charles' inquiries, there were two ships of this group that had 420 people on board when they set out from France ten days ago.
After encountering an attack disaster caused by an infected person turning into a zombie on the way, the only people who survived were less than 50 people in front of us.
Everyone has lost hope, just like confused zombies waiting for the merciful release of death.
"Boatswain!"
Mason shouted:
"Do you have any problem with us taking over the ship now?"
A middle-aged man with one blind eye and an eye patch raised his head, moved his dry lips but did not say anything, just nodded silently.
"boom"
Mason took out a large box of compressed biscuits and several barrels of water from his bag and threw them on the deck. This magical "miracle" immediately made everyone look at him.
Mason lightly kicked the deep-thinking Zha Kang, who immediately reached out and snapped his fingers, understanding.
A ball of green flame appeared out of nowhere on the deck, forming a hideous skeleton that howled and pounced on the confused crowd in front of it, scaring the men and women who survived the disaster so much that they screamed and fell down, dodging in a panic.
Although it was a very bad thing to do, under Zha Kang's magic, these guys finally had some reactions that living people should have.
"Wizards! They're wizards!"
Screams of terror echoed on the deck, which still bore traces of battle. In this day and age, "wizard" was not a good word.
"Quiet!"
Mason raised his powerful hand cannon and fired a shot into the sky. When the deck fell silent, he said indifferently:
"Now, you are all slaves of the wizard! Come and get food and water, you poor creatures. The kind wizard wants you to work hard.
Anyone who dares to be lazy will be hung on the mast and sun-dried to death!"
These cruel words had a miraculous effect. More than 40 people on the deck immediately rushed up and lined up timidly under the threat of the black muzzle of the gun in the kite man's hand.
Catwoman picked up the compressed biscuits and handed them to a few children who were covered in dirt and were obviously malnourished.
She sighed.
She took out the high-end snacks and candies she used to relieve boredom from her pocket and stuffed them into their hands. However, there was only fear in the children's eyes towards this most beautiful big sister they had ever seen since they were born.
But others were quite happy.
Although becoming a slave was a tragic thing, it was nothing new in the era when the triangular trade was in full swing. Moreover, the arrival of sufficient food and water was nothing short of a miracle for these people who were almost starving to death and thirsting at sea.
After barely filling their stomachs, the Kite Man, under Mason's instructions, drove this group of poor people to adjust their direction and head towards the nearest port city.
Mason then called in the boatswain, a taciturn middle-aged blind man who was the only remaining leader of the group.
Team K now needs his years of sailing experience.
"Tell me about it."
Mason took out a world map and placed it on the table in the dark captain's room. He then lit a lantern and pointed at the map and said to the boatswain holding the biscuits:
"Where are we now? And where are you going?"
The boatswain had never seen such a sophisticated map, but he quickly pointed on the map based on his experience and said:
“Master Wizard, we were originally heading to Virginia, but the disaster caused us to get lost here. According to my experience, we should be near Haiti now.
If we execute it correctly, we will reach Port-au-Prince tonight.
but……"
Seeing that he was hesitant, the angry kite man said impatiently:
"Just say what you want to say!"
"Well, I heard some bad news when the ship wasn't attacked by that 'ghoul'."
The boatswain said hesitantly:
“It is said that some smugglers were blinded by money and accidentally transported some patients infected with the Black Death to the New World.
It is said that Haiti is now a living hell.
Maybe we shouldn't go there, after all, we barely survived the siege of the ghouls."
"Then give me some advice."
Mason looked at the map and said:
"We can't keep drifting on the sea. Your boat is starting to leak."
"We can go to Tortuga!"
The boatswain perked up all of a sudden.
He also wanted to show off his abilities in front of this "new captain" who had mastered terrible witchcraft, so he ate the biscuit in his hand, pointed to a point on the map that was so small that it couldn't be any smaller, and said:
“Although I am a serious businessman, I have some friends who do not-so-serious business in this sea.
They told me that Pirate Kings from all over the world have decided to gather on Tortuga Island and reopen the Pirate King Conference to discuss how to survive the end of the world.
That was news half a month ago.
If all goes well, we’ll arrive in Tortuga just in time for the meeting.”
"A group of pirates, planning to save the world?"
The cat lady sitting in the captain's room seemed to have heard a black humor joke. She held the hilt of the sword at her waist and said:
"So there's no one left who can take charge here? Must a sewer rat step up to the plate?"
"Selina, your words remind me of the tone often used by young people who were born in a peaceful era... Don't be angry, I don't mean to be sarcastic."
Mason, who had seen sighed and said:
"I just feel that even though you witnessed the end of the world with your own eyes, you still don't have a clear understanding of the concept of 'end of the world'. It's not that the pirate kings are just pretending to be powerful, but if they don't stand up, the world will not even have a last chance."
"Yes, my two great wizards!"
The boatswain waved his hands excitedly and said:
“It sounds ridiculous that pirates want to save the world, but they really have the ability to do so!
I heard that Captain Barbossa, the legendary pirate of the Queen Anne's Revenge, has taken out the cursed gold coins to summon the Undead Army. And the Flying Dutchman, who has disappeared for several years, has reappeared, bringing the evil spirits of hell to deal with the ghouls who have desecrated death.
It is said that even the Royal Fleet sent envoys to attend the meeting.
After all, the noble king can only live on the flagship of the fleet with his wife and lovers now and dares not set foot on the cursed land again.
And Jack Sparrow...
Damn Jack still owes me thirty gold crowns.
But he also made a rare trip to Tortuga Island with the Black Pearl.
It is said that he brought news of the legendary trident of Poseidon, which can cleanse all curses.
As for the other pirate kings, they planned to ask the wild sea goddess for her protection.
Think about it, Master Wizard, so many rare treasures gathered together can definitely defeat the terrible Black Death, at least to protect the sea as our last hiding place. "
This boatswain clearly possessed common traits of people who roamed the sea at that time, such as being extremely superstitious, using vulgar language, and being untidy.
But the news he told made Mason's eyes light up.
He glanced at his companions behind him, and after getting everyone's unanimous agreement, he turned back to the boatswain and said:
"very good!"
"Then let's go to Tortuga Island, set off immediately!"
——
While Team K was experiencing the Age of Discovery in another world, midnight had arrived in Gotham City, when crime was rampant.
Gordon House.
Barbara Gordon closed the computer in her arms with some fatigue.
As the Bat Family codenamed "Oracle", she has been very busy recently. A large amount of data and information needs to be processed, and the follow-up information about Blackgate Prison also needs to be sorted out and stored in the Bat database.
Not to mention the sword-shaped hard drive left by her boyfriend.
Even though all the data inside had been deleted, she still had to find a way to extract some data that could be recovered. Batman said that the data was very important.
"I have to work overtime again tonight!"
The beautiful and gentle girl stretched in the wheelchair. She glanced at the night outside the window, activated the security system of the house, and pushed the wheelchair out of her room.
She planned to make herself a midnight snack before working overtime.
Her boyfriend has returned to Blüdhaven, a small city near Gotham. He is the "guardian" there, just like Batman's role in Gotham.
But Blüdhaven was obviously not as exciting as Gotham City. Grayson had already settled down there, and before he left this time, he even invited Barbara to move in.
In addition to the fact that the boyfriend and girlfriend want to live in their own world, Barbara also knows her boyfriend's subtext.
Grayson obviously doesn't want Barbara to continue doing this superhero job. The last time Nightwing was shot and paralyzed by the Joker, he almost scared Nightwing to death.
He almost thought he was going to lose the love of his life.
"Alas, he is like a child who never grows up. He appears to be very mature in front of outsiders."
Barbara sighed, and just as she turned on the kitchen light, she suddenly felt something was wrong. The former Batgirl grabbed the dinner knife at hand and stabbed behind her in a fierce attack.
But a strong hand grabbed her wrist accurately, causing her to loosen her hand in pain and the knife fell to the ground.
A figure in a black cloak appeared beside Barbara. He let go of the girl's hand, and under her vigilant gaze, he deftly pulled out all the weapons on the special wheelchair, turned off Barbara's rescue device, took off the Batwatch on her wrist and threw it aside.
This series of actions made Barbara Gordon feel increasingly heavy-hearted.
Whoever this person is, he knows a terrifying amount about the Bat-Family and himself.
"Are you afraid?"
A hoarse voice sounded, somewhat gloomy.
The tall man walked up to Barbara, who looked wary.
He didn't hurt the girl in the wheelchair.
On the contrary, he squatted down, and the strange and weird armor on his body made a slight crackling sound.
The moment he looked up and met Barbara's eyes, the man wearing the strange helmet reached out, held the edge of his helmet and took it off.
The face hidden under the helmet was revealed.
When she saw the face in front of her, Barbara's heart was struck by lightning. She was speechless and wanted to say the name of the person in front of her, but the latter gently reached out his hand and pressed her lips.
He reached over and turned off the kitchen light.
In the darkness, he held Barbara's trembling hands and placed them on his forehead.
"I miss you so much in these creeping nightmares from which I will never truly wake up. Barbara, don't be afraid of me. I will never hurt you.
I know you have a lot of questions, but you have to listen to me now.
I need your help.
And I can understand the hatred hidden in your heart..."
"I don't hate anyone!"
Barbara subconsciously retorted:
"It was just a mistake! I'm not going to waste the rest of my life hating a lunatic. I still have my life and I've moved on."
"I didn't say you hated clowns, Barbara."
The man chuckled and said:
"You hate Batman... Bruce Wayne! The man who should have protected you but failed to do so, the man who should have punished the murderer but let the madman go free and commit countless blood feuds.
I know what's in your mind.
Don't hide it from me, Barbara .
Because I was harmed by him just like you.
He thought he was our father, but he failed to fulfill his duties as a father. He was the worst guardian in the world, and I came back this time to correct this mistake."
The man stood up, and while Barbara was struggling, he reached out and hugged her, gently lifted her from the wheelchair, and whispered in her ear:
"I will not let my brothers and sisters be led into disaster after disaster by him. I will protect you. I can also let you stand up! Barbara.
If I can return from death, I can also bring you back to life.
Consider Grayson.
You will have a perfect life blessed by everyone, with your own family under the sun, even children... I can help you, Barbara.
But you have to help me too.”
"you……"
Barbara's struggle became weaker and weaker, as if these words hit the shadows that had been hidden in her heart. Finally, she gave up struggling.
She leaned her head on the shoulder of the man in front of her and whispered:
"You're going to kill Bruce?"
"No! He is the father."
The man whispered:
"A bad father is still a father , and I will give him a reason to retire, and then take over his mantle and put an end to all the chaos and filth in Gotham.
Help me, Barbara.
You have become my target since you got in touch with that hard drive, but I won't hurt you! They have already targeted you and Gordon, and if you continue investigating, you will get into more trouble. "
After a long silence, Barbara Gordon took a deep breath.
She whispered:
"Okay, Jason, I will help you, but I have one request, you can't hurt anyone in this family!"
"I promise!"
The resurrected one said seriously:
"But don't call me 'Jason Todd' anymore. That's the name of the poor kid who was left in hell by that man like you.
They gave me a new name.
Barbara, I'm now the Scarlet Knight.
And I am here to make Gotham a scarlet city!"
