There's Still a Way

"Friend, I think we need to have a talk." Stockman Fly raised both hands.

"Don't even think about stalling for time."

Jude had no intention of wasting words with him. The Freeze Gun fired as if ammunition were free, shooting in a full 360-degree circle. Moments later, the shield had been completely frozen over.

"Fuck you!"

Jude kicked the shield apart and stepped up to Stockman Fly. Seeing the guy about to pull something out, he immediately aimed his gun at him.

"Put your hands where I can see them, or I'll blow your head off."

Baxter gave a cowardly smile and held up a small pistol with both hands as though presenting an offering.

"Don't misunderstand, sir. I just wanted to offer you a weapon. You can't destroy this thing with your bare hands alone, can you?"

Jude snorted and kicked him. The dwarf fly monster let out a shriek of pain and flew away like a kicked ball.

"Bruce, I'm about to destroy this thing. Remember, you owe me one hell of a favor."

Jude raised the Laser Gun as he spoke, ready to pull the trigger, when a series of sharp whistles cut through the air beside him. More than a dozen ninja stars had already blanketed him.

"FUCK! You think these things can make me back down?"

He activated the basic defensive device on his suit. The ninja stars stopped an inch in front of him, as if they had struck an invisible wall, then clattered to the ground. But after being used once, the protective force field vanished as well.

At the same time, the Laser Gun fired at the spraying device.

But a white figure suddenly leaped out, raising an arm to block the laser. Even though the beam pierced through his arm guard and ruined one of his arms.

Still, Shredder endured the pain and launched himself forward, kicking the gun from Jude's hand. His other intact arm drove a fist into Jude's abdomen.

"Ugh... that hurt!"

Since his debut, this was the first time he had ever been directly attacked. That punch nearly made him throw up last night's dinner.

"You cannot stop it. No one can stop it."

"Mutation is about to begin. Darkness is about to descend. Hope will be annihilated, and evil shall live forever!"

Amid Shredder's roar, the massive airship finally arrived above the room. Four steel cables as thick as arms shot down from it, tearing the roof away and hauling the spraying device inside.

Not far away, Bruce's eyes were practically splitting with rage at the sight. He wanted to stop the airship from taking off, but Ra's al Ghul was desperately stopping him as well.

"Don't force me, Ra's!" Bruce let out a low growl.

Ra's al Ghul attacked him even more fiercely, not leaving him the slightest chance to catch his breath. He wanted to force Bruce to kill him this way.

"Argh..."

Bruce suddenly roared, catching the blade between his bare hands before surging forward and slamming his elbow into Ra's al Ghul's face.

"Urgh... that's it, Bruce! Hit me harder!"

Ra's al Ghul roared as he threw a punch back, but Bruce caught his fist halfway with his left hand.

Then Bruce raised his right arm and smashed it down viciously. One of Ra's al Ghul's arms snapped at once.

But Bruce was not finished. He followed up with a savage kick to the back of Ra's al Ghul's knee. More cracking bones sounded, and Ra's al Ghul dropped to one knee with a thud.

But this was not the outcome Ra's al Ghul wanted. He reached out with his remaining good arm, picked up the curved blade, and dragged his ruined leg as he continued slashing at Bruce's back.

"I told you, if you can't kill me, then even if only my mouth can move, I'll still stop you!"

Watching the airship rise farther and farther away, the last remnants of Bruce's reason completely vanished. He suddenly turned, seized the curved blade, and tore it away. A flash of cold light cut through the air, severing Ra's al Ghul's remaining good arm.

Spraying blood splashed across his face and into his eyes, its burning heat stabbing at his nerves.

Bruce looked at the reflection on the flat of the blade. On one side was himself, his face covered in blood and filth, his expression twisted. On the other was Ra's al Ghul, wild-eyed, with a martyr's resolve flashing in his gaze.

What am I doing? Do I want to kill him? No... I can't do this.

After freezing for a moment, Bruce threw away the curved blade, moved behind Ra's al Ghul with a sidestep, and struck the back of his head hard, knocking him unconscious.

Looking at Ra's al Ghul's limp body on the ground, Bruce took out a pill from his Utility Belt and fed it to him. At the same time, he sprayed a hemostatic agent over his severed arms.

After doing all that, he knew full well that with Ra's al Ghul's physique, he certainly would not die.

But as he watched the airship disappear into the distance, a trace of bitterness rose in his heart. What was right, and what was wrong? Even he was lost. All he could do was hold fast to his convictions.

"Batman, what the fuck are you standing around for? Get over here and help me! Any later, and we won't catch that airship!"

Bruce had been about to call Alfred and deploy the Batplane. Whether they could make it in time or not, they had to try.

But then he heard Jude calling for help and hurriedly asked, "You have a way?"

"Bullshit. I wasn't just drinking in your Batcave."

Bruce was overjoyed. He trusted Jude. If Jude said he had a way, then he definitely had a way.

With a few quick strides, Bruce rushed over and was already locked in battle with Shredder.

Jude, meanwhile, adjusted the Gravity-Adhesion Shoes. While in the Batcave, he had found time to improve the equipment precisely because he feared something like this might happen.

The moment he flipped the switch, white jets blasted from the soles of the shoes, sending Jude into the sky.

He wobbled and twisted unsteadily several times in midair before getting used to the new function.

"Very good. Now, increase the power."

The white jets grew stronger and stronger, propelling Jude straight toward the airship.

Very soon, he was only dozens of meters from the airship. With just a little more effort, things would take a turn for the better.

But at that moment, wings beat through the dark night. Scarecrow suddenly flew out from behind Jude and flung a packet of drugs directly into his face.

"This is an enhanced version of the fear toxin I painstakingly formulated. As its first recipient, you should feel honored. Hahahaha..."

A harsh, crow-like shriek assaulted Jude's mind. His vision immediately turned blood-red, and even the entire world before his eyes became a sea of red.

In an instant, the horrors he had suffered, the horrors the original body had suffered, and Grandpa Rick's terrifying memories all surged into his mind.

Triple the memories, triple the pleasure!

Even a genius could not face fear head-on, because intelligence had nothing to do with fearlessness. In fact, the smarter someone was, the more they often understood what there was to fear.

"Argh..."

With a pained howl, Jude fell from the sky.

Bruce was alarmed. He immediately abandoned Shredder and caught Jude with all his strength. As for the departing airship, all they could do was try their best and leave the rest to fate.

A lot of readers want high-tech gadgets, but only a little over a day has passed since he met the Bat Family. Where would he have found the time to make high-tech gadgets? I have to respect the timeline. He'll definitely get to them later.