American comics: What kind of evil intentions could Batman have?

Chapter 154 Let's get down to business first

Chapter 154 Let's get started with this big shovel (5000-word chapter)

When Luther arrived at the scene, his heart skipped a beat when he saw Blake's crooked mouth and eyes, and two rotten black insect-like segments growing from his bald head, which was as smooth as a braised egg.

He envisioned many scenarios:

Superman killed Black, or didn't kill him, or Black killed Superman in return, or even Batman killed Black—he had planned all sorts of special scenarios.

But why is Bane here?

Luther ignored Bane, who was wrestling with Batman inside the electromagnetic barrier, and also ignored the Mudfaces who were blocked outside.

He shouted at the zombie Blake:

"Blake, Blake!"

"roar?"

The zombie Black was not under Bane's control and looked dazed.

The sound drew his attention. He turned his head and saw Luther's green mech, its cloudy eyes reflecting no light.

"roar!"

Luther soon realized that he had lost the ability to communicate with people.

He immediately realized that the situation was somewhat tricky.

His original plan was not to kill Blake...

Luther was momentarily dazed, then fell into deep thought.

In his original plan, it would be best if Black died at Superman's hands, so that he could logically prove that Superman was an unstable threat, and then directly use that trump card to kill Superman, while also giving Batman a good beating, but without actually killing him...

Luther felt a moment of dizziness again, and he touched his bald head in confusion.

Damn it, have I been sleeping too little lately?

He continued his reflections:

He should use that trump card to kill Superman directly, and while he's at it, he should also take the opportunity to kill Batman. Batman keeps interfering with his plans, so he shouldn't hesitate to eliminate him if he has the chance. Besides, this opportunity is rare; if he doesn't get rid of Batman this time, he might not have the ability in the future.

After all, that trump card is not very stable and cannot be used for too long.

Luther wasn't worried about the consequences of killing Batman.

Over the years, the de facto ruler of Gotham has caused the government and military a lot of trouble. A considerable number of people within the government hope that Batman dies, as eliminating him would allow them to establish a friendship.

Ok.

The motivation and logic behind the idea of ​​"killing Batman" are completely self-consistent.

Yes, that's his idea.

But Luther quickly suppressed his rising murderous intent; killing Batman was never the primary objective, and he absolutely could not reverse the order of priorities.

He continued thinking.

He also envisioned a scenario where Superman didn't kill Black. Superman would be overjoyed after discovering that the so-called Louis was just a snakeskin in disguise, and at that moment, he would appear and take Black away.

With his abilities, as long as he isn't caught red-handed by Superman and Batman and thrown into jail, any subsequent charges against him will just be a legal battle, which he is perfectly capable of handling.

Blake's presence was still quite important to him, the most important thing being control over "that trump card".

That trump card he had, enough to kill Superman, was so powerful that even Luthor, the creator of that card, often felt a sense of unease.

Those guys are different from the parasites; Luther needs Black's psychic abilities to completely control them.

That's why he secretly helped Blake overthrow those two countries; it was all a deal between them. Blake needed his financial resources, he needed Blake's abilities, and he even needed Blake as an ally to give him more room to maneuver when facing the Five Stars. The two hit it off and colluded.

Wait, if Blake is that important to him, then why was his original plan to let Blake die...?

Luther was momentarily stunned. He shook his head, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes, and then concocted a plausible explanation for himself:

His goal was to prove Superman was problematic and then kill him. If Black died, then his goal would be achieved, and Black would be useless. So it was acceptable for him to die. Replacing Superman with him would definitely be a win, and it wouldn't affect the plan.

This reason is logically consistent to a minimum, but it is still far-fetched. However, it doesn't matter as long as the logical chain appears complete and he can accept it.

A malicious glint flashed in Luther's eyes, but it lasted only a fleeting moment, so brief that one might doubt their own perception. He quickly reverted to his previous bewildered expression and began to think again.

Blake maintained his dark blue telekinetic shield, while the equipment on the Luther mech detected the opponent's telekinetic abilities and simultaneously assisted Bane in operating the electromagnetic barrier system.

Damn it, now there's a problem: Black is dead, but he's being controlled by Bane—Luthor has done a thorough investigation into Bane and knows that he seems to be able to control plants, just like Poison Ivy, Gotham's infamous villain.

But he never knew that Bane could even control the dead!

This has a very troublesome consequence:

The person he was originally going to rescue changed from Blake to Bane.

This increases the difficulty by more than several times.

He had previously played Bane for a fool, pretending to sell Blake to him, and then using him as a tool to attract the attention of Batman and Superman. This was an old grudge.

Given that the other person has already been betrayed once, is it possible for him to trust him and let him rescue the other person?

But no matter what, we have to give it a try.

Luther isn't naive enough to think that taking the zombie Black is the end of it.

If Blake were only exhibiting listless eyes or some other outward symptom, Luther might still be willing to take the risk, but look at the state Blake is in now:

Several cracks appeared on his bald head, oozing dark red and black pus. His skin, like dead skin, cracked in patches all over his body, revealing terrifying muscle groups.

The most horrifying thing was his mouth. Luther felt that it was obviously dislocated, half of his mouth collapsed and was stuck on his neck. His lips and the surrounding face were rotten, and sharp fangs replaced normal human teeth. Saliva kept dripping from them onto his belly.

No matter how you look at it, this is no longer human. But he saw Blake hovering in mid-air, supported by a dark blue telekinetic shield, which meant that even though the other was under Bane's control, his abilities were still preserved and could still help him control "that trump card," and that was enough.

So now we're back to that question.

"Bane! Bane!"

Inside the electromagnetic barrier, Bane clutched his knee, while Batman stood beside him, arms crossed, like a statue cast in steel.

They were like playing a game of "Red Light, Green Light," not speaking to each other or making any unnecessary movements, letting the mud-faced figures outside keep attacking the electromagnetic barrier.

Luther called out twice, but Bane remained blank and unresponsive, which made him a little anxious.

"Don't waste your energy."

He heard Batman say, "This electronic barrier is very interesting. I studied and tested it a bit with nanobots, and the technology is quite advanced."

This barrier cannot be actively closed from the outside until its energy is depleted. The method to close it from the inside is likely known only to Bane.

Luther gritted his teeth. Outside, Mudface roared and raged, but inside, all was peaceful and the two got along harmoniously. Batman's demeanor, as if he were on a picnic, seemed utterly absurd in such a chaotic scene.

But Luther quickly calmed down. He turned his head and saw countless mud-faced figures relentlessly attacking the barrier. So he said:

"Bane! Bane! Listen to me!"

He shouted twice, but the other person still didn't respond.

"I've come to rescue you!"

This time, Bain finally raised his head.

This action slightly cheered Luther up, and he continued:

"I can't believe I'm standing with so many mudfaces! Good heavens, these guys are all—Bane, I'll take care of them first, then I'll rescue you. Listen to me, we're in this together..."

Then he saw Bane inside the barrier wearing an expression of utter humiliation. He gritted his teeth and said, word by word:

"Fuck you, I hate mud faces more than anything in my life! I'm going to smash mud faces to pieces!"

Luther immediately raised all the weapons on the mech: "That's right, you're right, Bane, I hate Mudface too."

Although he hadn't originally planned to attack the mud-faced creatures attacking the barrier from the outside, since his ally said he hated these little mud monsters, he, as a teammate, should naturally do it for him.

Moreover, to be honest, these mud faces are really ineffective against the electromagnetic barrier, consuming very little energy. It's not even as effective as Luther simply firing a missile or an energy cannon.

On the contrary, if these guys manage to rescue Bane later, they might rush up to help Batman attack him, jumping onto his feet like toads—harmless but disgusting. It would be better to clear out these thugs outside while Bane and Batman are trapped inside the electromagnetic barrier, making it easier for him to escape with Bane later.

So Luther forced himself to pilot the mech and unleashed a barrage of attacks, quickly eliminating Mudface, who was attacking the barrier from the outside.

These mud-faced figures were ultimately just dummies created to backstab Bane. They were designed for surprise attacks, were highly camouflaged, and had a good deceptive effect. They didn't have much combat power themselves and were no match for the powerful artillery fire of the Luther armor when it was firing at full power.

After all, the imaginary enemy of this mech is Superman, so using it to swat mud faces is like taking them out with a single shot, as easy as swatting mosquitoes.

"You think you can just smear mud on my face like that?!"

Before Bane could react, Luthor saw Batman inside the electromagnetic barrier looking anxious: "These are all mud-faced kids grown in greenhouses!"

Luther found it strange; the other party's acting was terrible. Why was he pretending to be so excited?

Bane glanced left at Luther, who stood there bewildered, and right at Batman, who was beaming with excitement. He felt insulted and his face turned red with anger.

Luther slowly descended, watching the two people inside through the screen.

His body was surrounded by mud-covered faces lying haphazardly, their metal robotic skeletons melted by the intense heat. The remaining mud, splattered everywhere, lay limply on the ground, struggling to coalesce into a few clumps, still muttering:

"We're dead!"

Don't be ridiculous. Mudface is just a lump of living mud. Their fighting ability may not be outstanding, but their ability to survive is unparalleled.

The sustained high temperature might kill the activity of this mud, but Luther knew very well that it was definitely not something he could kill with just a few bombs.

These guys even lied after being defeated; it's outrageous!

For some reason, Luther also felt a sense of shared hatred; Mudface was really annoying.

He saw Bain limp up on one leg, approach him through the electronic barrier, and say, word by word, "I hate Mudface the most in my life, and I hate Mudface for lying to me the most."

"Never mind that, Bain. Quickly open the electromagnetic barrier. I know this is one of your methods; you must have a way to open it."

Luther urged:

"Hurry up, I'll carry you and run. As long as you don't get caught by Batman and Superman, with my connections to the government, I guarantee you won't even have to go to jail."

"They can still move freely outside, without even needing to wear ankle bracelets?"

Then he heard Bain's question, which sounded angry and even a little sarcastic.

"Yes, yes, that's it," Luther nodded hastily. "But the key is not to get caught. Quickly open the barrier, I'll take you away. It'll be too late if we wait for Superman to come back!"

He took a breath and said, "I know you harbored resentment towards me before, but we don't have any deep-seated hatred, and we can still cooperate. After all, our goals are the same on many levels."

Luther felt incredibly sincere. He had always known he was a master liar, lying as easily as drinking water, and to say such things so earnestly was unlike him.

Then he heard Bain say, "I hate Mudface more than anything in my life. When I catch Mudface, I'm going to punch him—I'll smash him from the mud into rock!"

Bain originally intended to say "break every bone in the Mudface man's body," but he quickly realized that Mudface had no bones at all. He didn't even know what to do with him, and even the threat sounded like a lame joke.

This made Bain even angrier.

The "loser" outside was still spouting nonsense like "we are allies on the same side" and "our interests are aligned," which enraged Bane to the extreme, but he became unusually calm.

After hitting a steel plate, he realized he couldn't escape.

Whether it's Superman or Batman, no matter what kind of hat trick the other used, in the end, the other defeated him, and he had already accepted the fact that he would soon be sent back to prison.

but!

but!

You can do anything to Bane, even kill him, even break his back, but you should never insult me ​​with a mud face again!

What a coincidence! He had just suffered another crushing defeat, utterly despondent, and was about to be sent to prison when, before that, the loser who had made a fool of him and sold him out without hesitation risked being caught himself to come and save him?

Would Luther really be that kind?

Does Luther really have the guts?

What's he after?

Fuck you, mud face again!!!

If he really foolishly believed the other party, he would probably get another injection after being carried several kilometers away.

Then, when he woke up, he found himself bound and gagged in Batman's private prison, next to a huge blob of mud, clapping and laughing, "Eek—he got tricked, he got tricked again! He really thought he could escape, hahaha!"

Then this lump of mud face transformed into Lex Luthor in armor, then into Batman, then into Superman, and finally back into his likeness...

Just imagining such a scenario made Bain furious and almost lose his mind.

He calmed down strangely.

"Okay, I'll open the barrier."

With Luther's intelligence, he quickly realized that something was off about the other party's attitude, but Bane's action of opening the barrier made him temporarily suppress his doubts.

The azure barrier disappeared under Bane's control, and Luthor hurriedly raised his hand and fired a shot at Batman.

boom!

At the same time, the energy wave he had secretly set up when attacking Mudface also erupted, knocking Batman away at an angle.

Luther realized that the other party was very hard, as hard as Superman.

Fortunately, he had made sufficient preparations.

He precisely calculated Batman's landing point, and the instant Batman was knocked away and hadn't even had time to stand up, countless metal tentacles burst forth from that spot, inlaid with tiny kryptonite, instantly binding Batman hand and foot.

Dozens of cannons of different principles and calibers protruded from Luther's mech, and various energy binding and particle confinement were applied to Batman's body by Luther in just three seconds as if it were free.

The entire sequence of movements was fluid and seamless, executed with lightning speed and smoothness. Luthor truly lived up to his reputation as Superman's strongest nemesis, successfully suppressing Batman even with such a short preparation time!

"Very good, Bain, we..."

Inside the mech, Luther wiped the sweat from his bald head, then turned around and looked at Bane.

He was met with a powerful slap from Bain.

In an instant, Bane unleashed dozens of different fighting techniques, unleashing a barrage of punches, kicks, and unparalleled strength onto Luther's mech in just three seconds.

The entire sequence of movements was fluid and seamless, faster than lightning, and smooth and fluid. Bane truly deserves to be Batman's strongest nemesis. Even with such a short charging time, he still managed to dismantle Luthor's armor with his bare hands!

A gust of wind blew by.

With a whoosh, Luther felt a chill in front of him. He had spent billions of dollars painstakingly forging his super armor, but before the energy shield could even be activated, Bane had cleverly smashed it into a huge lump of scrap metal with his bare hands.

Clang!

Wearing only a white shirt, Luther crawled out of the destroyed mech in a disheveled state, and the wreckage collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Bain remained silent.

Luther remained silent.

Batman remained silent.

"Why did you hit me?" Luther asked Bane earnestly.

"Because you have a mud face," Bain replied sincerely.

"But I'm not a fucking mudface!" Luther roared.

He was so angry he almost couldn't catch his breath.

"You..."

"I understand now." Bain said with a slight hint of apology, but quickly regained his seriousness. "But let's fight first."

(End of this chapter)