The Dawn Trail in the World of American Comics

Jason Todd was highly regarded by Batman when he was Robin.

Compared to the eldest Grayson, this guy, Jason, had a hot-tempered and impulsive personality, but his combat talent was much stronger than the eldest. He completed Batman's entire training in less than half the time it took Grayson.

He was also a guy who could make all the villains in Gotham tremble when he was Robin.

Batman and the eldest Grayson restrained themselves from using violence.

Even when facing extremely wicked criminals, they would at most send them to the intensive care unit with "a little punishment." But if they unfortunately encountered Jason on patrol, the criminals would mostly end up in the cemetery.

Breaking ribs was just an appetizer. Occasionally, he would crush the femur or remove a few leg bones to prevent them from committing crimes again.

This was normal operation.

In general, before encountering any major changes in life, Jason was a complete "violent person." Perhaps more interested in getting a "free punching bag" than stopping crime.

Because of this bad habit, he was often reprimanded by Batman.

To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com.

After being killed by the Joker and then being dropped into a pit by the League of Assassins, he was resurrected in the Lazarus Pit and underwent extensive training in that assassin organization, further enhancing his violent tendencies to the point of "cruelty."

The Lazarus Pit could bring people back to life.

But this kind of resurrection came at a price.

Just look at how vicious and bloodthirsty that twelve-year-old Damian was, and you would know that it was definitely not some heaven-sent elixir.

In short, on this gradually pouring evening, in the dark alley where Batman lost his parents, in the "fateful place" where Jason Todd first met Batman and tried to dismantle the Batmobile's tires, a confused and painful soul and another guy he hated began a deadly fight.

He planned to use the assassination techniques he learned from the League of Assassins and his extraordinary archery skills to create a "gunfight technique" and beat Mason, this annoying guy, to the point of paralysis or something, to vent his anger.

But then he was fiercely hit in the face by a golden lightning bolt from Mason.

That umbrella, which looked no different from an ordinary umbrella, burst into dazzling electric currents when swung. It struck Jason along with the rainwater, knocking the unsuspecting cold-blooded killer to the ground, while two bat-shaped throwing knives, enhanced with special materials, flew out and landed on the ground on either side of Jason.

The red dots on them were shining, indicating that they were explosive engineering explosives. With a loud bang, they blasted Jason, who was flying in the rain, onto the dirty ground.

"Is that all?"

Mason grabbed the umbrella and said disdainfully:

"Did you shoot your brain into Talia when you slept with her? Did you forget everything Bruce taught you? Or do you think I'm easier to bully compared to the eldest and the third?"

"Bang!"

Mason's answer was a large-caliber bullet.

The open umbrella blocked the bullet, but Jason obviously modified the ammunition to have not only impact force but also mini-explosive capabilities.

The impact force made Mason take a step back, but the umbrella surface made of double bulletproof materials was obviously more resilient than before.

The explosive bullet failed to break through the defense.

But Jason quickly recovered from the paralysis caused by the Lazarus Pit's enhancement. Instead of underestimating his opponent, he took advantage of the opportunity when Mason opened the umbrella to block his vision and quickly rushed forward. He fired four bullets in rapid succession, forcing Mason into a corner, ready to execute him.

But what he didn't know was...

With the combat assistance activated, Mason didn't need his eyes to track his opponent's movements. Even if his eyes were covered, he could perfectly grasp his opponent's actions.

Therefore, while Jason was jumping off the wall, preparing to shoot a bullet into Mason's head, the tip of the young man's umbrella rose, and the umbrella handle in his hand rotated.

"Poof!"

A green fear toxin came towards Jason, spraying him directly in the rain. The action was very similar to Jason actively attacking Mason.

This was probably the legendary "random arrow technique."

It wasn't that Mason's aim was accurate.

It was mainly because Jason gave him face and received the attack well!

In the previous battles, this guy had already lost the "Crimson Knight" suit specially designed and made for him by the League of Assassins. Without the protection of the high-tech helmet, he took the opportunity to inhale a mouthful of fear toxin.

His mind was immediately attacked.

The dark alley in front of him suddenly twisted, and Mason, holding the umbrella, became more and more overlapped with the figure that had once killed him.

While retreating, he could even hear that strange and crazy laughter.

But Jason's performance was indeed good.

Perhaps it was because he had experienced the torment of death and learned secret techniques to protect his mind in the League of Assassins, he was not knocked down by fear.

Although it was difficult to fight as agilely as before, he had no problem protecting himself while retreating.

However, for Mason, who was a shooter, creating distance was an advantage. He threw out a golden high-voltage electric current that struck Jason, then drew the double-action revolver from his waist and took a deep breath.

The Eye of Death, activated!

The dark alley in the pouring rain and the figure of Jason, who was defending against the bullets, suddenly froze. Mason raised his gun and fired five shots at Jason.

In the next instant, his senses returned, and the five bullets whizzed past, knocking away the two guns in Jason's hands and leaving three wounds on his right arm, left leg, and abdomen.

To avoid killing him, Mason even thoughtfully switched to small-caliber bullets.The intense pain caused Jason to fall to the ground. He struggled in the rain, seemingly overwhelmed by the fear gas, and even let out a scream.

But Mason wasn't fooled at all.

He held up an umbrella as a shield while reloading his gun and aiming at Jason's head. He said, "What are you pretending for? If the Crimson Knight can be easily defeated, you wouldn't qualify as the secret weapon of the Assassin Alliance against Bruce.

Someone who can defeat Batman head-on won't be taken down by a few bullets.

Tell me, Jason.

Are you using Barbara?

Or do you not want to involve her in your mess?"

"What's the difference?"

Seeing that Mason wasn't fooled, Jason gave up his weak tactics.

He knelt on the ground, not picking up the gun on the ground, but instead held his hands behind him. With the movement of his wrist, two black assassin blades, one long and one short, were drawn out.

They looked like Japanese swords, but with slightly different shapes.

These two weapons emitted a strange buzzing sound when they were drawn, and emitted an ominous red glow in the rain.

"Are these the Grand Clan Blades given to you by Ra's al Ghul?"

Mason raised an eyebrow and said, "You used these to defeat Bruce and poison him, right? They are quite good spoils of war, but tell me, Jason! Barbara almost chose to end her own life because of your involvement.

She is your sister!

You bastard!

You almost killed her."

"I sent someone to pick her up, but she refused to come to me!"

Jason, whose hair was soaked by the rain, shouted, "She just wanted to express her dissatisfaction with Bruce from the bottom of her heart. She has been tortured for too long! You blind people can only see her forced smile!

Only I can understand the pain in Barbara's heart.

I never wanted to hurt her...

I even got her the Lazarus Pit water to help her recover, but she refused. Even when she made up her mind to leave this world, she still didn't want to hurt her friends and family.

But Bruce let her down!

Just like he let me down..."

"Very well, besides your rebellious and immature words, I am quite satisfied with this answer."

Mason nodded and said to the communicator in his ear, "Charles, cancel the bombardment."

"Buzz"

More than twenty flying bombs flew up from the garbage piles on both sides of Jason and were retrieved by the Kite Man, who was wearing an invisibility cloak in the sky. This scene made Jason's heart chill.

It seemed that Mason wasn't joking when he said he might be shoveled out...

"You've been betrayed, poor guy."

Mason put down his gun.

Looking at the wounds on the bodies of the two Jasons that had already healed, he said, "Talia sold you to me, you idiot! Didn't Batman teach you not to fight on the enemy's chosen battlefield? Or did the Joker not teach you this lesson with his blood-stained crowbar?

You actually fell into the same trap twice. It seems that the Lazarus Pit water is really harmful to intelligence.

Or maybe you disappointed that crazy woman so much that she completely lost hope in you?"

"You said this is your chosen battlefield?"

Facing this mockery, Jason showed an indescribable smile.

He stood up and immediately activated the button hidden in his boots. With a low explosion, the walls on both sides of the Crime Alley collapsed with a loud noise.

In Mason's gaze, this short alley quickly turned into a closed space with no way out, and the two Jasons in front of him waved their wrists in the rain.

The buzzing Grand Clan Blades made a light sound as they cut through the rain.

With his head lowered, the two Jasons said in unison, as if speaking their last words, "Sorry, Mason Cooper, but I didn't plan to leave here alive today. Perhaps you, the person chosen as my substitute, can accompany me to hell.

So that we can have company on the way."

"Substitute?"

Mason looked at Jason, who was approaching him with a strange expression on his face. He fired three shots in a row, but the bullets were easily split by the Crimson Knight's dual blades.

The bullets were useless, and the young man with an umbrella stepped back.

In the pouring rain, he said, "So you, like those fools, think that I was only noticed by Batman because I was his shadow. You also think that I approached Batman to become a member of the Bat Family, just like them.

When will you guys truly understand that the best way to pay tribute to an idol is never to become him? Admiration is the emotion farthest from understanding.

Do you really think that the ultimate purpose of my coming to this world is just to become your shadow?

Don't look down on people.

Okay?"

Jason didn't answer.

He just prepared for a double-blade thrust. He knew that this guy, Mason, definitely had other cards up his sleeve, but he didn't care.

As he said, when he entered this alley, he never thought about leaving alive.

As for the reason...

"I saw your tattoo before, Mason. You concealed it well with magic, but that wicked pool gave me the ability to see through the truth."

Jason said in a hoarse voice, "You are in cahoots with them! I'm sorry, but I can't allow you outsiders to continue living! Perhaps this is the last thing I, a person who shouldn't be alive, can do for this world."

"Hush!"

Mason raised his finger in the rain and made a gesture for silence.In the astonished gaze of the two barrels, Mason dropped his umbrella and gun, and took out a delicate gadget resembling a syringe from his bag.

He sighed and shook his head, then stabbed the gadget into his arm. The cold blood flowed into his veins, causing immense pain.

His face twitched, and he said in a hoarse voice, "You just said something you shouldn't have, you naughty child. I'm sorry too, Jason, but it seems that there's no way to resolve this between us today."

As the strange object was injected into Mason's arm, a beast-like aura suddenly erupted from him.

The aura reverberated in the pouring rain, causing the two barrels' expressions to change drastically.

Without hesitation, they quickly approached.

Two large and small blades of the noble lineage crossed and pierced into Mason's chest. One of them pierced through his heart and pinned him to the rocks behind him, causing him to take three steps back.

However, this potentially fatal attack did not make Jason feel even the slightest sense of security in this pouring rain.

Therefore, Mason, who had been stabbed through the heart, not only did not die, but instead moved his neck and raised his head. A painful smile appeared in his eyes, which emitted a wild aura.

Blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, but he continued to laugh in the rain, looking at the drastically changed Jason Todd.

He said, "Then, allow me to introduce a new friend to you, Jason."

"Poof!"

Amidst the sound of flesh tearing, three pale and blood-stained bone claws shot out from Mason's fists, ruthlessly piercing into Jason's abdomen and chest at a distance that he couldn't dodge.

Amidst Jason's screams and the chaotic noise of the pouring rain washing away all the blood in Crime Alley, Mason said in a hoarse tone, "Call me 'Logan' for the next 30 minutes! Please bear with it, it's definitely going to hurt..."

---

When Batman arrived at Crime Alley, all he saw was Mason lying on the ground with a miserable expression.

The young man seemed to have been swept over by invisible blades. His whole body was covered in wounds, big and small. He leaned against the blood-stained wall, struggling to bandage himself in the rain.

Seeing that Mason was still alive, the master suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

He swiftly landed in front of Mason and injected him with a dose of hemostatic and analgesic medicine. He then looked at the chaotic surroundings, which looked like a place ravaged by a terrifying beast.

He said in a hoarse voice, "Is this... Jason's doing?"

"Damn it, that guy went crazy."

With a weak voice and a face covered in blood, Mason said, "He attacked me on my way home from work, but he could have killed me. I suspect he was just venting his anger through me, expressing his dissatisfaction with you and the Bat Family."

Bruce, you really need to reflect on how you interact with your Robins."

"I'm sorry, Mason."

The master sighed in the rain and helped Mason up, walking towards Dr. Leslie's clinic. He whispered, "Did Jason leave anything behind when he left?"

"He said he won't come back."

Mason coughed and said, "He said his fate with Gotham is over. He also said he apologized to me after beating me half to death, and asked me to convey his apologies to Barbara for the death of the Joker. But he also promised that he won't associate with the League of Assassins anymore."

"I think he might be looking for a way to heal himself. After all, the contamination of the Lazarus Pit's water has a long-lasting effect on a person's sanity."

Speaking of this, how is Damian? Are you getting along with him?"

"I came to find you for this reason, Mason."

The master, who was fearless and never frowned in the face of any hardship, rarely sighed in the rain. He whispered, "Regarding Damian, I might need your help with alchemy... Are you interested in becoming the Wayne family's personal alchemist? Although Alfred has invited you, I feel that my invitation would be more formal."

"I'll consider it."

Mason shrugged and said, "For now, I need to rest. I hope Dr. Leslie can arrange a quieter ward for me."

At the same time, in the basement of Mason's cottage, in the empty area inside the open magic suitcase, Kite Man was nervously watching Jason Todd being sent into the healing pod to sustain his life.

The two barrels were almost completely torn apart!

If it weren't for the healing properties of the Lazarus Pit's water in his body, and if Mason hadn't regained his sanity after recovering from his blood rage as the Wolverine, Jason would have been shoveled out of Crime Alley.

Kite Man had witnessed the entire process.

At this moment, he couldn't help but tremble at the thought of the boss, who had gone crazy like a wild beast just now.

"The boss's potion is too damn mysterious!"

Charles complained, "Does even his personality change when increasing his strength?"