Volume 4: The Last Day Chapter 22 Now please Batman explain what a fucking surprise is!
Amid the familiar light and shadow, Mason and his crew returned directly to the secret base in Miller Harbor, Gotham.
It’s not that they don’t want to go to Osborne Tower to reunite with the remnants of the Caribbean world, but because of the impact of the outbreak, the World Gate is temporarily unable to open the passage to any other world except the base world.
When Mason lowered his head to look at the brass door handle, he found, as expected, that two world coordinates on it had permanently dimmed.
It seems that the Hogwarts world was not spared from this impact.
What a pity.
"Let's take a break first. After the impact of the shock has passed, we'll go to Osborne Tower to meet up with Selina and the others. Why aren't Charles and Ivy here?
They should be waiting for us here."
Mason looked around.
He saw some black soil residue, which should have been brought back by his other two teammates from the Hogwarts world.
Without giving it much thought, he just whispered something to Zha Kang, who was still able to move, asking him to look around and contact Kite Man and Poison Ivy.
He arranged Barbara and Ertong on beds in this secret base, gave them medicine and let them rest, and took out Barbara's separation chip.
"I used the program Judy gave me to trap the evil data entity inside Bizarro's mind."
The sickly Batgirl held a bag of ice cubes to her forehead and said to Mason:
"You can talk to it using my microcomputer, but it will only hold it for 12 hours before it loses its power and we have to move it to a more secure data 'cage'.
Judy should have dedicated data equipment."
"Well, I know. You should take a rest first and don't think too much."
Mason put away the hot separation chip and took off the microcomputer from the 2077 era from Barbara's wrist. He dragged the captive Bizarro, who was brought back to this world, into a small compartment separated inside the container.
I plan to give this unfortunate prisoner some treatment first.
Although the Kryptonian clone still has strong vitality, this guy has been pierced through the body by the dangerous Alice sword for several hours, and his vital signs are extremely weak.
"There is no soul curse on this conqueror."
When Mason pulled Alice's sword out of Bizarro's zombie-like body and bandaged him to stop the bleeding, the Sorting Hat, which had remained silent, spoke to Mason:
"It seems that only members of your Star Society will be branded with that cursed tattoo. Members of other organizations have their own ways of traveling through the world."
"But the coordinate system of the World Gate is their location for traveling between the worlds. This will not change."
Mason poured a bottle of healing potion into the unconscious Bizarro's mouth to help him heal his wounds. He checked the guy's physical condition and shook his head.
"So the World Gate and Lord Fate are still the core of the problem. We won't be done until we solve them. So, next we have to think about how to win Ciri over. Even the new member Norman has seen the problem with the Quint Society. It won't be good if she continues to be stubborn."
"You'd better keep a low profile."
The Sorting Hat reminds:
"This Quint Club doesn't look like a good bunch. If you plan to use them to get along with them, you have to be more 'friendly' for now and avoid doing things that are clearly not in line with their style, like what's going on right now."
"I'll try my best."
Mason nodded and said:
"It's really annoying to deal with these 'reformists'. They always want to change the situation by patching things up. This style is really unpleasant."
"It's not about style, my brother."
The Isu ghost Consus reminded at this moment:
“The problem is choice!
Since they cannot come up with an answer to deal with the impact event, naturally they have no other choice. In this case, asking them to completely abandon the system constructed by the Star Society is equivalent to asking them to tie their own hands and wait for death in despair.
If you want to completely get rid of the Stellaris, you have to give them a new choice.
You have to come up with a solution to the problem.”
"That's really hard for me, a C-level person."
Mason curled his lips and said:
"If I had a solution, why would I need to play this boring stealth game here? I also hope that a group of god-like guys will suddenly jump out to help me solve all the problems at the moment.
However, no god can save us in these dark times.
They can't even save themselves.
God has his own difficulties, and man has his own mission..."
This answer silenced both consciousnesses in Mason.
A few minutes later, Mason took off his blood-stained medical gloves and confirmed that the zombie superman's worst injury was not in his pierced body.
His super self-healing ability can allow this kind of penetrating wound to heal quickly, the real trouble lies in his brain.
Barbara used a hacking program to burn out the "smart components" in this guy's brain, like setting off a bomb in Bizarro's brain.
Even though Kryptonians' brains are tough enough and have self-healing abilities, this kind of horrific injury cannot be solved by self-healing.
"He has now had one-third of his brain cut off."
The Isu ghost Consus hovered beside Mason. The top biologist said:
"We can't wait until he heals himself. This kind of injury is probably fatal to all races except Kryptonians. No, it is fatal to Kryptonians as well!
It’s just that the sample in front of me is a little special.
Perhaps in order to better control it, the Cleaners made some kind of modification to his brain, which allowed him to survive after enduring the explosion caused by the overheating of the prosthesis.
But the skull must be opened immediately, my brother.
Get those broken pieces of metal out, or he'll die soon."
"Do you want to open this guy's skull?"
Mason was a little embarrassed. He curled his lips and said:
"Then we need a blue kryptonite to temporarily shed his steel body. Otherwise, even a laser cutter won't be able to cut through his titanium-alloy skull.
I have green kryptonite, but I have no idea how to convert it into blue kryptonite. Maybe I can get some help from the master?
He has always been interested in things that can be used to beat up his own people."
"Or, you could ask the guy who has been controlling this zombie superman."
A vague human face protruded from the hat that Mason had placed next to him, and said:
"Can't you decipher that chip?"
“Well, this is also a solution.”
Mason nodded and glanced at the zombie Superman who was still in pain in his coma.
He inserted the separation chip in his hand into Barbara's microcomputer. The moment he turned on the start button, an aggressive voice rang out from it.
The guy yelled:
"Let me out! No, this damn data hell! Damn unknown AI! I curse you!"
"Shut up, Arnim Zola!"
Mason scolded coldly:
"Let me ask you, do you want to live?"
"Can I still live?"
The former Hydra evil scientist who was exiled and besieged by the data life from the 2077 era was also a man of character. Even when he was suppressed, he responded in a sarcastic tone:
"Stop joking! You traitors, I have seen countless worlds destroyed. Wherever I appear, everyone there wishes I would die right there.
The same goes for you.
You are a bunch of betrayers.
If you want to keep your secret, it is impossible to leave anyone alive.
Do you think I'm the kind of fool who would be persuaded by hope?"
"Well said, but I'm not kidding."
Mason looked seriously at the strange human face constructed from data that appeared on the microcomputer screen in front of him. He said:
"I'm not afraid to tell you that the Star Club and I have never been on the same path. Compared to going down the same path to the end, I prefer to have other options at critical moments.
If you cooperate enough, I can hand you over to the superheroes in my world, and I assure you that they are a group of 'humanitarians'.
You will be imprisoned and perhaps tortured.
But you won't die.
The premise is that you don’t commit suicide.”
"You want to use me as a 'gift'? Asshole!"
Mason's answer made Dr. Zora, who had already transformed himself into some strange data consciousness, frown. As smart as he was, he immediately understood Mason's plan.
This cunning fellow flickered a few lines of data on the screen and said with a sly grin:
"You want to use me to clear your stains to your world and win back their trust? Do you really believe in your world? Even after witnessing the truth of the impact with your own eyes, do you still think that your world can survive the crisis of destruction again and again without relying on us?"
"I can answer you, yes!"
Mason said casually:
"Compared to the Star Club and you guys, I believe in my world more. Considering that I might have to confront them soon, a handy 'gift' is necessary.
Now I leave the choice to you, Arnim Zola.
You choose.
From what I know about your past, you shouldn't have any psychological pressure to jump back and forth, right? First you jumped from the mustache to the Red Skull, then from the Red Skull to S.H.I.E.L.D., and finally from S.H.I.E.L.D. back to Hydra.
Compared to us, you are the embodiment of the word "traitor". "
"Haha, you are really a peculiar little fellow."
Dr. Zola, trapped in the separation chip, laughed strangely and said:
"Looking across all the worlds, it's rare to find someone as indecisive as you. I need some time to think about it. Also, I remind you..."
He suddenly turned down the volume on his computer and said sinisterly:
"You want to save that stupid Superman? I know how to make blue kryptonite, but I can't tell you now unless..."
"Mason! I found Ivy, but you need to come over here right away! She's not in a good state."
Zha Kang's shout rang out outside the cubicle, and Mason frowned.
He turned off the microcomputer at Dr. Zora's scream, walked out quickly, and saw the distraught Poison Ivy sitting in the corner of the secret base, covering her face with her hands, wondering what she was thinking.
"Where's Charles?"
Mason walked over to Poison Ivy and patted her on the shoulder. He handed her a cup of soothing medicine to calm her down, and asked:
"Is he all right?"
"he……"
Poison Ivy took the palliative with some trembling. Witnessing the end of the world with her own eyes made her obviously shocked and confused. Facing Mason's question, Ivy drank the potion in her hand and then looked up at him.
There was anxiety in those green eyes.
She took Mason's hand and said:
"He was captured! Charles lured those guys here to save me, but he was captured! This door didn't resume function until the world collapsed. I struggled to block the sword of the female demigod, and I almost didn't get out.
Go and save him!"
"Don't be impatient, tell me slowly, what's going on?"
Mason frowned and asked:
"Who took Charles away?"
"Justice League!"
Poison Ivy stood up a little irritably, waving her hands and saying without thinking:
"Superman and Wonder Woman came swooping down on us as we were delivering the potion and the seed into that apartment and back here.
But they came too fast and we couldn't get away unscathed.
Charles let me go first.
He was very brave, but… I managed to fend off Wonder Woman and escape, and I tried to reopen the door but couldn’t, some force was interfering with me.”
"etc!"
Mason took a few seconds to sort out Poison Ivy's somewhat confusing description. He widened his eyes and said:
"You said Superman showed up in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts? The entire Justice League was there?"
"Yes! Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman, they are all here!"
Poison Ivy gnashed her teeth and said:
"I saw it very clearly. It was the Batman we are familiar with... He was wearing strange clothes, and he..."
Mason was startled.
He turned around and rushed out of the secret base, standing with Zha Kang and the others in the night sky of Miller Port, looking up at the sky.
There's nothing there.
"John!"
Mason shouted with a gloomy face, and Zha Kang also realized the seriousness of the problem.
Leaning on the trident, he suppressed his fatigue and snapped his fingers, sprinkling some green fluorescence into his companions' eyes, allowing them to penetrate the global illusion barrier set up by the spellcasters of this world and see everything that exists in the real night sky.
In the starry sky, the ruins of a world are suspended above the sky...
It was the only remaining ruins of a destroyed celestial body, scattered across the night sky like suspended broken rocks, and the remaining main body of the continental shelf was being pushed away from the sea of stars bit by bit.
"Hogwarts!"
Mason looked at the rubble scattered across the sky and muttered to himself.
"What?"
Zha Kang beside him blew out a smoke ring in surprise and said:
"Isn't Hogwarts ruined?"
"It's destroyed, and it's right in front of us. It was the world that was supposed to collide with ours! The Justice League destroyed that world ahead of time...
This is a fucking joke."
Mason pointed at the floating world fragments above his head and said to Zha Kang, whose face changed drastically:
"The worst thing now is that Charles didn't run away when he was escorting Poison Ivy away. He was captured by them, right there! Among the stars."
"Fuck! It's over!"
The cigarette in Zha Kang's mouth fell to the ground. This guy was at a loss as to what to do by this "surprise", and the first thing he reacted was to turn around and rush back to the secret base.
He said to Mason:
"Quick! Pack up everything and go! Kite Man can't keep a secret, and even if he could, Wonder Woman's rope would make him say everything he should and shouldn't say.
It’s not a matter of willpower at all.
We will be exposed soon.
No, he doesn't need to say anything more, Batboy knows the relationship between you and him very well.
Finished.
It's leaked!"
"What's the hurry? Don't run! Show some respect!"
Mason slammed Zha Kang against the container next to him. He stared at him fiercely and then looked back at the others around him.
He took a deep breath and said:
"Anyway, I was planning to confront the Justice League after this was over. This matter hasn't gotten out of hand yet. We can't abandon Charles!
We have to get him out before we leave this world!"
"You don't want to die, but you want to rescue people from the Justice League?"
Zha Kang screamed:
"With the strength of our defeated army, Dachao makes us unable to defeat him even with one hand or two feet!"
"We have to save Charles!"
Mason stared at Zha Kang and said word by word:
"I'm not asking for your opinion, John! We have to do this, and I would do the same if it was you who got caught. Remember our conversation on Turtle Island?
I won't allow anyone from Team K to become a 'cost'!
I wasn't kidding.
Not now either!"
He let go of Zhakang.
The latter held a cigarette in his mouth and although he cursed, he did not mention running away again. Perhaps he felt Mason's determination and knew that this had to be done.
Mason looked back at the others who were silent. He took out his cell phone and said:
"You guys go wait for me at Spider-Man's place. We need a plan. I'll be there soon after I make a call."
Captain Jack glanced at him, supported Barbara and turned to walk towards the secret base. The weak Colepso also patted the shoulder of the complaining Zhakang and signaled him to support her back under the container.
When Mason was the only one left there, he opened his flip phone and looked at the emergency contact number saved in it. After several seconds of silence, Mason cursed under his breath and pressed the dial button.
The beeping sound lasted for a long time before the call was connected, and the deep and hoarse voice was the same as always.
"Mason?"
"Bruce..."
Mason put the phone to his ear.
Looking up at the wreckage of the world in the starry sky in the night wind, he rubbed his aching forehead and whispered:
"How's the scenery in the Forbidden Forest?"
