Night.
Gotham.
A city that light can never fully encompass.
A sinister aura permeated the streets and alleys, with robberies unfolding everywhere, the robbers' distorted faces becoming even more grotesque in the dim light.
Intense gunfire erupted one after another, bullets whizzing through narrow streets and alleys, sparks flying.
Drug deals quietly transpired in corners, those greedy eyes glinting with an eerie light in the darkness.
Human trafficking never ceased either, the cries of the innocent mercilessly drowned out by the clamor of this city of sin.
And whenever Gotham faced a crisis, Batman would appear to save it.
In the sky.
Batman piloted the Batwing, locking onto a black drone and opening fire.
Boom—
A massive fireball appeared in the sky above the city, illuminating a stretch of the heavens.
Gotham citizens, attracted by the explosion, glanced up before lowering their heads and hurrying on their way, seemingly numb to such sights.
After resolving the drone bombing crisis, Batman was about to return to the Batcave when an urgent cry for help came from below.
"Hey! Batman, save me…"
Batman leaned down to look, seeing a man in a suit sitting on the ground, his expression panicked, desperately waving at the Batplane for help.
Batman opened the cockpit and jumped down.
Thud!
Without any cushioning, he landed directly on the ground, the powerful impact instantly creating two deep footprints in the ground beneath him, sending dust flying.
The suited man's expression froze, his mouth slightly agape, his eyes filled with shock, seemingly startled by Batman's thunderous entrance.
Batman also realized his entrance was problematic and offered an explanation.
"Newly developed power boots. Are you alright? Are you injured anywhere?" Batman's low voice held a hint of concern.
"Uh, I'm fine, just my leg is injured. Could you help me up, Batman?"
The suited man seemed to believe Batman's explanation, his voice trembling as he pleaded.
"Of course. Let me check your injury."
Batman glanced at his injured leg, then knelt beside him, placing both hands on his leg.
"You fell for it! Die, Batman!"
The suited man's eyes suddenly glinted viciously, as he pulled out a sharp spike from behind his back and thrust it fiercely towards Batman's temple.
Clang—
The sound of metal striking metal rang out.
The suited man looked at the deformed spike in his hand in shock, then at the glimpse of flesh exposed by Batman's damaged helmet, his face filled with disbelief.
"Drone, you should be grateful."
Batman didn't even lift his head, gripping the leg he held and applying sudden force.
"Ahhh!!! Stop, stop it!"
The drone let out a piercing shriek, wildly stabbing the spike in its hand towards Batman.
Crunch, crunch, crunch—
Accompanied by several teeth-grinding snaps, all the bones in the drone's right leg were crushed to dust.
"Ah ah ah…"
Batman didn't stop, grabbing its other leg.
Crunch, crunch, crunch—
"Ugh…"
The drone immediately fainted.
"You wanted my life, and I only crushed your two legs. Isn't that very generous?" Batman slowly said.
"…You… uh… who… are you, exactly?"
The drone was covered in cold sweat, looking at its legs, now as soft as noodles, its voice trembling uncontrollably.
Such cruel methods, such immense power, definitely did not belong to Batman.
Batman looked at it in surprise. This level of pain, fainting for a few seconds and then waking up, any minor boss in Gotham has this level of willpower.
He could only say it was overthinking; this was waking up from pain.
"I am the night, I am fear, I am Batman."
With that, Batman jumped back into the plane hovering in the air and flew away.
The drone on the ground watched the disappearing Batman, its taut nerves finally giving out, and it fainted, only to repeatedly wake up from the pain.
Back inside the plane, Batman took off his helmet, revealing Qinuo, who shivered.
"How awkward. How did Bruce come up with those lines?"
Qinuo's face still held the lingering seriousness of his recent cold demeanor, but now it was tinged with helplessness and embarrassment.
That's right, Qinuo also came out to fight crime.
How could he be left out of something so interesting?
"I actually think it's pretty cool. But next time, the lines should be:
I am the eternal night, I am disaster, I am the Demon King! Pamela, what do you think?"
"My dear, I also think it's very cool. Just now, an electronic eye captured some very cool photos."
Venom and Pamela's voices came through the plane's communication.
"We can try it next time, and also the lines I just said, everyone has to say them."
Qinuo spoke into the communication channel, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Yes, Young Master."
"Received, Leader."
"The Leader must feel awkward himself, so he's dragging us along to be awkward with him."
A voice spoke up, followed by silence from the others. Frank's voice then sounded.
"Will, you idiot, your microphone isn't off."
"Ah! Sorry, Leader, I didn't mean to."
Will's flustered voice came through the communicator.
"It's alright, I'm not some petty person. But Will, which foot did you step into the portal with first today?"
Will, who was sprinting across the rooftops, relaxed upon hearing the Leader's calm voice and answered without thinking, "My right foot, Leader."
"Don't you know I like to lead with my left foot today? Will, you're going back for a week of Hela's hellish special training."
Qinuo's voice remained calm, yet it made Will feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. His foot slipped, and he tumbled into a small alley, quickly climbing back out.
"Leader, spare me!"
Will wailed. The so-called hellish special training truly meant training you to the brink of death, then healing you with potions and continuing.
Beep.
Qinuo had already hung up the communication.
Will's communicator then started buzzing with comforting messages from his teammates.
"Will, don't worry, I'll help you, help you inject the healing potion."
"Poor Will, where did your luck in beating us go?"
"It must have run out from beating us."
"Hahahahaha…"
His teammates' laughter echoed through the communicator, leaving Will on the verge of tears.
"What's so fun? Can I join in, brothers?"
A lewd voice came through the communication channel.
The once lively communication channel went silent, everyone tacitly turning off their communicators.
"FK! Why is there no sound? Is it broken? Dead battery? Batman's stuff isn't reliable either!"
Deadpool slapped the communicator a few times, saw no reaction, and casually threw it away.
"Forget it, time to get serious. For the exciting showdown ahead, my dear, remember to watch!"
Deadpool blew a kiss to the corner, a signature cynical smile on his face, and put on his mask.
He walked towards Arkham with Batman's characteristic stride.