Professor Zoom and the Spectator

Professor Zoom and the Spectator

Li Zu was pretty lucky. As a special exception, he got a cell to himself.

There was no bed in the room; it was separated from the next cell by rusty iron bars.

"I really miss the single beds at Arkham."

Leaning against the wall, he said to the vacant-eyed man next door, "You know, breakfast there was toast. If you'd just gone through counseling, you could even get a glass of milk~"

The vacant-eyed man's eyes brightened slightly. Li Zu's rambling had apparently brought him back to his senses a little.

He twisted his body and turned his face away, making sure to get as far from Li Zu as possible.

"I wonder how the doctors at Arkham are doing. Do they still love electroshock therapy so much~?"

He rubbed himself against the wall and closed his eyes.

This was a nice place, somewhere he could sleep soundly without worry.

One day,

Two days,

Three days...

Li Zu seemed to have truly resigned himself to his fate. He stayed motionless behind the iron bars, with no intention of escaping.

If the doctors at Arkham saw how obedient he was being, they would surely be delighted. But the electroshock therapy definitely could not be skipped.

That day,

He sat on the floor with his back against the wall.

He was fiddling with the Killer Croc toy in his hand.

After counting the few items remaining in his Prop Box, he realized that this battered Killer Croc toy was still his favorite.

"Twelve hours left. Why hasn't it started yet...

It'll start soon...

It has to start..."

He muttered to himself, smiling. His eyes were clear, but his smile was manic.

Outside, two patrolling Amazonian warriors passed by. One of them gave Li Zu a strange look.

"Ignore him. He's just a lunatic," the other Amazonian warrior said. "He always smiles like that!"

"Why not kill him?"

"He still has a very important use. Look, they're here..."

The Amazonian warrior stopped and jerked her chin forward.

Four female warriors were approaching them.

Acting on the orders of the "Avenger Goddess," they came every day to interrogate Li Zu, hoping to get some information about the Resistance.

It was this time again.

Right on schedule.

Li Zu swaggered out of his cell and followed behind the four women.

Those who had long grown accustomed to this scene merely muttered "lunatic" before losing interest.

Interrogation room,

The room and windows were sealed shut and locked from within.

Li Zu sat in a chair, still clutching the Killer Croc toy in his right hand.

The four haughty female warriors now wore unusually respectful expressions.

"Queen Diana left today. She was furious. It was probably because of that traitor matter."

"The Resistance has been searching for you."

"I heard King Arthur has a secret weapon. He's been furious ever since Queen Mera died, and it seems he's preparing to unleash that weapon. It'll destroy more than half the life on land!"

"It's finally time to begin~"

He braced himself on the table and stood, tossing the Killer Croc toy to the floor.

Using the Toyfication ability so many times had greatly improved his body's tolerance for overusing his powers.

Besides, he had rested very well during this time!

"He can't kill his way out by himself." The four women looked at Killer Croc with disgust.

Yet they also felt a sense of satisfaction.

The man-eating monster that had once tortured them had become a toy, his soul imprisoned forever within a plastic shell, able only to obey Li Zu's commands as a tool.

Li Zu did not answer. He stared at the Killer Croc toy.

"Hehehe~"

His pathological laughter had relapsed.

Boom~

The humanoid crocodile tore through the iron cage and bit off the thigh of the nearest Amazonian warrior.

Blood and flesh filled his stomach, making it feel warm~

"I know you're nearby, you bastard!!"

He roared.

He wanted to find that bastard in the green suit, with that strange grin on his face.

Before he could spot that bastard, more Amazonian warriors rushed over and surrounded him.

"It's you!!" Killer Croc sneered at the fully armed Amazonian warriors.

These women had made him suffer plenty. Before killing that damned guy, he could vent some of his anger on them first!

His rat-gray scales quivered.

"Perfect, I'm hungry!!"

On the streets of London,

Li Zu staggered out of a narrow alley and squatted on a bench by the roadside.

At the other end of the bench sat a pitch-black, foul-smelling thing.

He had strolled leisurely out through the gates of the Amazonians' concentration camp.

As for the four women, he had sent them to find the Resistance.

Of course, he would never admit that he had not let them continue following him because he was too lazy to remember their names.

Boom~

The ground shook as a man holding a trident and clad in golden scales descended from the sky.

"World exploration progress: 47%"

"Hey~" Li Zu grinned.

"I once loved you, but ever since you killed Mera, I swore..." the man threw back his head and shouted.

A beam of light descended from the sky, moving beyond the limits of Li Zu's vision.

Only when the man raised his trident with a clang to block the sword, sparks flying as he stopped that beam of light, did Li Zu see its true identity.

A beautiful queen in battle armor.

"World exploration progress: 48%"

Aquaman Arthur and Queen Diana.

The ground beneath their feet shook and split apart.

The sound of clashing weapons scratched at his ears, leaving them tingling.

"So, you're the Joker of this world?" A voice suddenly sounded by Li Zu's ear.

Li Zu turned his head in confusion.

That pitch-black thing had disappeared, replaced by a "familiar face."

A yellow battle suit, with lightning-bolt symbols decorating the ears.

The same symbol was emblazoned on his chest.

He sat on the bench with his arms folded, curiously watching Li Zu. "The Joker is actually Asian?"

"Hehehehehe."

Li Zu looked at the person beside him, and his smile grew wider.

"HAHAHAHA!!"

He burst into laughter.

"What are you laughing at?" The man was somewhat displeased. He raised his right hand, his arm vibrating at high speed, faster and faster until it became a blur.

"I could easily take your heart out through your chest. It would happen so fast that your body wouldn't even know... Want to see your own heart? You'll have a chance to get intimate with it using both hands!"

He disliked Li Zu's manic laughter and tried to use fear to regain his presence.

But when he stared closely at Li Zu, he found himself unable to stop wanting to laugh along.

It was an uncontrollable influence from the spiritual level.

"HAHAHA!" Li Zu clutched his stomach and doubled over.

He kept laughing, laughing more and more wildly until he began coughing.

"World exploration progress: 50%"

"...51%, 52%, 53%, 54%"

After this person appeared, the world exploration progress began skyrocketing again after a long absence.

It did not stop until it reached "57%."

And Li Zu could clearly see that he had gained something entirely new.

"Aura: Influencer"

An indescribable mental influence rode the express train of cosmic energy, spreading wantonly outward from Li Zu at its center.

"Forget it..." The man lowered his rapidly vibrating arm.

"Even a lunatic like you won't survive long on this battlefield." He was very confident.

"You may not know this, but everything in this world was caused by a certain superhero missing his mother. Isn't that interesting? And I get to watch all this without doing anything at all."

"This is a wonderful world, a perfect world!"

He was still talking to himself when he noticed Li Zu staring at him strangely.

As though he were looking at a lunatic.

Being watched like a lunatic by a lunatic was deeply unpleasant.

"This world isn't interesting at all," Li Zu said seriously.

"It's quite surprising to hear the Joker call a chaotic world boring... I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Reverse-Flash. You can also call me Professor Zoom."

"The show is starting. Time for me to watch!" Reverse-Flash stood up and vanished from before Li Zu's eyes in an instant.

He was so fast that it was as though he had been erased from existence.

Li Zu turned his attention back. Queen Diana and Aquaman were still locked in battle, their fighting affecting several buildings and causing destruction on the level of missiles.

"The world of superheroes is truly both lovable and terrifying."

(End of Chapter)