The Dawn Trail in the World of American Comics

"Oh my god! Mr. J!"

On a tree outside Arkham Asylum, Dr. Harley Quinzel, who was placed here by Poison Ivy, saw the scene of Joker being executed by Mason through the telescope.

The corners of her mouth twitched.

On one hand, the nightmare in her heart finally ended.

She no longer had to worry about being harmed by Zhou Kuo'er.

But on the other hand, a strange sense of loss rose in Dr. Harley's heart.

It was like losing a possibility forever in life.

This strange emotion made Dr. Harley's face show a smile that was both relaxed and regretful. The smile slowly widened, eventually forming a strange grin.

"Whatever, the old life is over, and my life has entered a new stage."

Harley Quinn moved her body and took off the tattered doctor's robe and threw it away. She thought for a moment and said:

"How about changing my name to celebrate the new life?"

Then she saw a black-clad warrior escaping from Arkham while clutching his stomach. Harley was startled and grabbed the baseball bat left by Poison Ivy next to her for self-defense.

She licked her lips.

Staring at the fleeing warrior, the strange impulse that had been suppressed by the sedative surged in her heart again.

"How about calling myself Harley Quin? Queen sounds great."

She thought so, cheering and screaming as she leaped down from the tree branch, swinging the baseball bat at the warrior who looked up, like a predatory cat.

Bang!

A muffled sound of a bullet shattering a skull.

Blood splattered.

---

Arkham Asylum was still burning.

It was unknown which genius ignited the entire old building in the chaos, and the battle between the Bat Family and the League of Assassins left them no time to extinguish the escalating flames.

The entire ground building had already burned into dazzling torches under the night sky.

But the battle was not over.

On the only safe rooftop, the final battle was still going on.

Batman vs. Batboy, Catwoman vs. Talia.

It was almost like two destined duels, with two spectators on the side.

"Don't move, look at how you've been beaten like a dog."

Mason took off the deformed helmet of the Red Hood, waved his hand, and threw a bat tranquilizer into Grayson's neck, trying to calm down this excited guy.

"Separate them!"

Nightwing, however, didn't care about his own injuries at all.

He grabbed Mason's hand and tremblingly pointed at Batman and Red Hood who were fighting for their lives.

Master obviously felt very guilty towards Jason Todd, so he was somewhat hesitant in the battle. On the other hand, the furious Red Hood dual-wielded two pistols and used a rather cool "gun-fu" technique, almost every move was lethal.

Perhaps the former Robin had some shortcomings when facing Batman, but the year and a half of training by the King of Assassins personally in the League of Assassins had made up for his shortcomings.

His advantage lay in completely breaking the bottom line of the Bat Family and no longer using death as a shackle to limit his destructive power.

"Mason! Separate them! I beg you."

Nightwing pleaded.

But Mason didn't even look over there.

He took out the first aid kit and began to bandage Dick Grayson's wounds in this miserable chaos, his movements were as precise and perfect as always.

He said:

"I have already taken care of the most troublesome part for them. What comes next is the communication between a guilty father and a rebellious child. I'll say it again.

We'd better not interfere.

Bruce will handle everything. He has made mistakes twice, and he should learn his lesson."

The bat tranquilizer took effect, and Nightwing felt a dizzy spell coming.

He leaned against the wall and watched Mason skillfully bandage his wounds. In the last moment before falling asleep, he whispered to Mason:

"Thank you. Without that shot from you, tonight's events would be difficult to end. But you will be..."

"It's okay, Grayson."

Mason comforted softly:

"Don't feel regret for me. I never wanted to join this twisted family. It's too heavy a life for me.

When you're just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

I prefer to live a more relaxed life.

Sleep now.

Don't waste the medicine I gave you. When you wake up, you will be strong enough to stop such tragedies. Oh, by the way, I have good news to tell you."

"Hmm?"

Nightwing, who was drowsy, looked up at Mason.

The latter smiled and said:

"You have another little brother to take care of, dear Bird Mom. Trust me, that guy will give you more headaches than Jason. Be prepared in advance."

"Huh?"

Nightwing fell into a deep sleep with strong doubts, and Mason dragged him to a safe place before standing up and stretching his body. He grabbed the reloaded explosive hand cannon and aimed it backward.

Bang!

The spinning bullet shot out from the muzzle. Mason's Lv4 marksmanship made his accuracy even more deadly.In the moment of the gunshot, Talia's shout was heard from afar as her blade aimed at Selina was deflected, sparking off and being caught by Catwoman, who took the opportunity to stab the malicious assassin lady in the waist.

"Help! Mason!"

Selina, who was suppressed and in a pitiful state, shouted.

"I'm coming."

The young man responded and then activated his new talent, focusing on the retreating Talia.

The Eye of Death, activate!

In that instant, Mason's world almost "paused", resembling the effect of the legendary "Za Warudo". Mason could feel his energy rapidly depleting.

He seized this fleeting opportunity.

Leaving his gun temporarily aimed at Talia and the Crimson Knight, his gaze swept over several important areas. He pulled the trigger several times, emptying the bullets in the chamber.

In the next moment, the effect of "Za Warudo" disappeared, and his perception returned to normal time flow.

"Bang bang bang bang bang"

Five bullets flew out of the barrel almost simultaneously, shooting towards the two in front.

Talia's katana in her left hand, the dart she took out with her right hand, as well as the magical accessories hanging on her chest and the handguns in the Crimson Knight's hands were all simultaneously knocked away.

In just an instant, the two who were still struggling like trapped beasts were "disarmed" by Mason.

"Phew!"

The young man felt that these few shots almost drained all his energy, leaving him exhausted. He yawned several times while standing in place, supporting himself with his gun. He had to gulp down a stimulant to barely recover.

But the situation for the two opposite him was miserable.

Talia, who had lost her weapons and protection, was pounced on by Catwoman, whose eyes were shining, and was stabbed three times. The proud black hair was maliciously "shaved" by Catwoman, who always had a short hairstyle.

As for Jason, who had lost his dual pistols, he could only reluctantly fight against the master with his fists.

But how could Batman, who had won the "Gotham Boxing Championship" countless times, lose to this Robin he had trained himself in his own field?

Just ten moves!

The furious and crazy Crimson Knight was beaten to the ground by the master using almost the same techniques as the League of Assassins.

When the man and woman were knocked down at the same time, their gazes also met.

In the next moment, Talia threw a specially made smoke bomb towards the ground, and the Crimson Knight shouted as he pushed the master away and pounced towards Talia's direction.

The two of them embraced and rolled off the rooftop, disappearing into the sea of fire on the ground.

"Your son belongs to me! Bitch!"

The victorious Catwoman shouted from the rooftop:

"Talia! Stay away from my husband and son in the future! If you dare to reach out again, I'll cut you!"

There was no response echoing from the burning flames below. But after swaying a few times at the edge of the rooftop, she also felt dizzy and covered the wound where Talia had stabbed her before falling downwards.

A black figure pounced over and pulled Selina back from the edge of the fall.

In the familiar and warm embrace, Catwoman, who had "succeeded in her scheme", showed a fleeting smile, and then enjoyed the explosive sense of security given by her lover with peace of mind.

The master, holding Catwoman in his arms, stood silently at the edge of the rooftop.

He looked at the burning flames below, seemingly searching for Jason Todd's figure.

A few seconds later, he turned his head and looked towards the center of the rooftop, which was surrounded by flames. There, the fragmented corpse of the Joker, painted in various colors, was lying in a pool of blood.

Even the world's best surgeon couldn't sew it back together.

Batman's mood at this moment was hard to fathom.

But he didn't know what he was thinking when Mason fired that fatal bullet just now.

He knew what would happen after the Joker's death, but instead of stopping the bullet, he tackled Jason and pulled Grayson out of the danger zone.

Perhaps

Perhaps this was also his answer to that question in his heart.

"It's all over."

Selina in his embrace caressed the crack in the armor on the master's chest and said softly:

"Don't think too much, it's all in the past. They will come back, just like before, they will eventually return to your side. You're not a bad father."

The master shook his head without answering.

Everything that happened in the past was like a thrown knife stuck in a target.

Taking out the knife didn't mean that everything could be treated as if it hadn't happened, because the cracks on the target would continue to exist.

"Can we leave now?"

Mason's voice came from behind.

He helped the unconscious Nightwing to his feet. The young man was covered in bandages, looking as pitiful as a patient dragged out of the ICU.

Batman looked at Mason with a complicated gaze.

After a few seconds of silence, he was about to speak, but suddenly a loud explosion came from the distance. The towering flames rising in the night sky of Gotham immediately caught the attention of everyone present.

And under the illumination of the blazing flames, a single-person hot air balloon painted green with a large black "?" in the center swayed and descended from the night sky that was about to dawn.In the green hot air balloon basket, a guy wearing a green suit, holding a cane, and wearing a tall hat, spread his hands like a "superstar" posing.

It is worth mentioning that this guy's suit, hat, and even shirt and forehead are adorned with black "?" marks.

When the guy was seen, even the usually indifferent Batman couldn't help but let out a painful and helpless sigh, and the Catwoman in his arms hated him so much that she wanted to shoot him in the head.

"Ding ding ding ding! Congratulations, the great Batman family, you have once again accomplished an almost impossible feat in a terrible crisis!

You saved Gotham!

You saved Arkham!

You even saved me!"

The guy stood in the basket of the hot air balloon, waving his cane and shouting with a spirited tone:

"But to put a perfect end to this perfect story tonight, I, the highly anticipated arch-villain Riddler, will appear as the last terrifying character you must defeat!

Uh, is that Zhou Kuo'er in the pool of blood over there?

Great!

Who killed that bastard who was hated by everyone so cleanly and neatly?

I will reward him with a little green flower!"

"Oh my god."

Mason covered his face with his hand and complained softly:

"Can I just shoot him in the head? I won't miss, really! Just one shot."

"Whoosh"

Batman reacted faster than Mason.

A black bat dart flew out like a bullet and accurately pierced Riddler's hot air balloon, causing him to scream and fall into the sea of fire below.

But soon, supported by a strange flying backpack, he swayed back to his original position.

He shouted:

"You can't do this! This is against the rules! Listen, this is a riddle, carefully prepared by me, and you must solve it before dawn!

I know what you're going to say.

But sorry, you have to play this game. Because while the Assassin's League was fighting you, I took the time to place seventeen bombs in seventeen places in Gotham!

The big explosion you just saw was my reminder to you.

Don't worry.

That explosion only destroyed the empty Gotham Police Department, but the bombs to be detonated next won't be so simple.

My dear Batman.

Are you ready to listen to my carefully prepared riddles?"

Faced with this malicious invitation, Catwoman yawned and held Master's hand as she walked towards the stairs, saying:

"Let him go, let this guy continue to amuse himself. We're all tired, we should go back and rest."

"Hey! I planted the bombs! I'm not joking!"

Seeing Catwoman ignoring him and Batman actually following Catwoman to leave, Riddler couldn't hold back anymore.

He shouted:

"Those are very, very dangerous bombs. Each one can destroy a building! In the current chaos of Gotham, once I detonate those bombs, it will create a terrifying massacre in an instant!

Batman!

Don't you understand my threat?

Or have you become a cold-blooded scum who disregards human life?"

"Enough, Nygma!"

Catwoman turned around disdainfully and retorted:

"You are the Riddler."

"So what?"

Riddler felt Catwoman's contempt. This guy, who appeared like a comedian, floated in the air with his hands on his waist and stared with his eyes wide open, questioning:

"I am the Riddler, so what? What do you want to say? Catwoman!"

"You are the Riddler, so you can't accomplish anything! Every time you try your best to create something scary, but you voluntarily hide the clues in your damn boring riddles for Batman to solve!

But he is the best detective in the world.

He can solve your damn riddles in half a minute, so you can't accomplish anything!"

Selina directly replied, which immediately angered Riddler.

This guy dressed in colorful clothes waved his cane and shouted:

"Shut up! You little wild cat raised by Batman! You don't understand the value of the three words 'Riddler'! I am Gotham's top villain!

I am one of Batman's most powerful enemies!

In the 'Most Feared Villains in Gotham' ranking at the last Villain Forum, I was only one place below the Joker! Every time I appear, the whole Gotham trembles because of me!

Millions of people will be terrified by my riddles!

Enough!

I don't want to discuss this with you. You, a second-rate villain, won't understand.

Anyway!

Batman, for the sake of those seventeen bombs, you must solve my riddles before dawn! Are you ready to listen to my appetizer riddle now?

Ahem!

Listen carefully!

What walks into a dark alley with six legs and comes out with two legs?"

The entire rooftop fell silent.

Only the sound of the flames burning echoed in the night, and Catwoman's expression became strange as she secretly glanced at Batman, who exuded a chilling aura from head to toe.Mason, who was standing nearby, also jumped in fright.

Hey!

Is this how explosive the riddle is from the start?

You're really courting death, Mr. Riddler.

The master's hand, held by Catwoman, was trembling slightly. Perhaps it was because the previous battle had consumed too much energy, or maybe the long night had left him exhausted.

He called out the young man's name.

"Mason."

"Hmm?"

"Take action!"

"Bang"

(End of Chapter)