Talon

"I knew you'd come back. How about making a deal?"

Jude said, "My time is limited. Better make it quick."

The Black-Clothed Woman stepped closer to the glass wall, as though that would let her see Jude more clearly.

"I didn't expect you to be able to shatter this wall. That was a little beyond my expectations, so I have a proposal. Let us out, and we'll help you take Ivy Pepper away."

"Trust me, this is a proposal that benefits everyone. Don't forget, this is the depths of Arkham. Once we start making trouble, the security measures will activate immediately. With an unconscious girl in tow, you won't be able to get out."

Jude had never intended to release these monsters. Who knew how much chaos they would cause? They might even draw in a group of superheroes or supervillains, and he had no desire to deal with those people yet.

But the fact that the Black-Clothed Woman could see him was beyond his plans. Ivy was unconscious, and he had gotten in through surprise. He didn't believe the depths of Arkham had no security measures at all.

At the very least, to prevent their secret experiments from being exposed, it was entirely possible they had a self-destruct device. With his small frame, getting Ivy out then would not be easy.

"Neither of us has much time. You'd better not think too long," the Black-Clothed Woman said again.

Jude decided he would deal with it after getting through this. Ivy was right in front of him. He had to save her.

"Deal. Step back."

A smile appeared beneath the Black-Clothed Woman's mask. She quickly retreated several steps, then watched as the Freezing Ray erupted and the glass wall shattered with a boom.

"Freedom!"

The instant the glass broke, the Black-Clothed Woman ran out of her cell with both hands raised, shouting. It was obvious she had been suppressed for a long time.

"Keep it down. You'll draw the others here!"

The Black-Clothed Woman snarled, "I'm out now. They all have to die!"

"Ma'am, that doesn't match our agreement."

"To hell with the agreement. If you'd been imprisoned here for two years and subjected to inhuman torture every day, they'd inject toxins into your body, slice your skin apart inch by inch with knives, burn you with flames, and let rats gnaw on your flesh."

"Tell me, if you went through all that, what would you do?"

"I don't care about that. Get your revenge if you want, but help me get out first."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you might want to find out what it feels like to be shot."

The Black-Clothed Woman glared at Jude. "You think a Freeze Gun can deal with me? The high temperature in my body will melt you!"

"Is that so? What about this?"

As he spoke, Jude took out the Laser Gun and aimed it at the woman.

She said with a hint of disdain, "What is that? A toy you dug out of a garbage dump?"

But after the laser melted a fist-sized hole through the reinforced floor beside her feet, the woman's attitude changed immediately.

"Hey, don't get worked up, friend. We still need to cooperate."

Suddenly, an alarm rang out, and red lights began flashing throughout the entire experimental base.

Jude frowned. "What's going on?"

"Your handiwork must have been sloppy. They've discovered us. Move fast—they'll find us soon."

At that moment, white mist began spraying into every cell. The test subjects covered their noses and mouths, anxiously looking at the Black-Clothed Woman.

"It's anesthetic gas. Break the glass quickly. Otherwise, the two of us definitely won't make it out of here."

This time, Jude did not hesitate. The Freezing Ray fired continuously until its energy ran out. He rescued three test subjects in total. As for the others, all of them were knocked out by the gas.

The man with the tiger tail hoisted Ivy onto his shoulder, and the five of them began rushing outward. A few minutes later, they heard a jumble of footsteps, followed by a fully equipped security team appearing in front of them.

More than a dozen automatic rifles were aimed at the five of them—or rather, at four of them. The Captain shouted, "Everyone, return to your rooms immediately, or you will be shot on the spot."

The two sides faced each other in silence. The Captain continued shouting, "I'll count to three. Go back immediately. Three..."

But he had barely started counting when Jude turned invisible and ran into the crowd. He directly activated Protective Mode. A ring of electric current immediately flashed from his clothes, passing from person to person and instantly bringing down the entire squad.

Jude waved his hand. "Go!"

The Black-Clothed Woman teased, "I couldn't tell before, but you really do have quite a few good things on you."

In the command room of the depths of Arkham, a man stared at the surveillance feed and asked in disbelief, "Whose ability is this? Firefly, Bat, Wild Tiger, or Man-Bull?"

None of the researchers beside him could answer. They could only change the subject. "Sir, what do we do next?"

The man fell silent for a moment. "They can't possibly have this kind of ability. Someone else must be hiding among them. Close the blast doors immediately and prepare to release a massive dose of anesthetic. I want them alive."

Jude and the others hurried back, only to hear mechanical gears shifting. Numerous recessed openings appeared along both sides of the corridor, and black nozzles extended from them. Large amounts of white smoke began spraying out, while the blast doors in the distance started closing.

The Black-Clothed Woman—Firefly—shouted, "That damned anesthetic again! Man-Bull, Bat!"

The two men beside her understood at once and activated their abilities together. The man called Bat suddenly split his mouth open until it stretched across half his face, then he unleashed waves of ultrasonic cries from his throat, instantly shattering every nozzle ahead.

At the same time, the other man, who had horns growing from his head, charged toward the blast door. He braced it with both arms and forcibly held up the ten-thousand-pound door, though two bursts of blood exploded from his arms.

After Jude and the other three passed through, his strength gave out. He tried to crawl out, but the blast door, which could no longer bear the strain, crashed down. The two legs that had not made it through were severed cleanly.

Looking at her companion lying on the ground in such a miserable state, Firefly asked in the same cold tone, "Do you have any last wishes? I'll do my best to fulfill them."

Hatred flashed through Man-Bull's eyes. "Kill them all!"

"Even if you hadn't said it, I would have done the same."

In the command room, a subordinate said in panic, "Sir, the blast doors and anesthetic didn't work. What should we do?"

The man regretted it now. Had he known this would happen, he would not have used anesthetic. If he had used sulfuric acid, firearms, flamethrowers, or something similar, these disobedient test subjects would already have been reduced to ashes. After all, keeping the secrets of the depths of Arkham was more important than satisfying his curiosity.

After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Deactivate the freezing device. Release Talon."

After escaping the long corridor, they encountered no more danger. But when Jude and the other three approached the elevator, they saw a man in a mask and black clothes standing there ramrod straight, radiating a dangerous aura.

The moment they met, there was no pointless talk. The man suddenly charged forward, moving so fast that no one had time to react. The tiger-man took a punch to the chest and fell backward flat on his back.

Another chapter done. I'm begging for everything!