Blackgate Prison

When the office building lost power, Black Mask hurriedly led his men out. Before getting into the vehicle, he turned back uneasily.

What he saw was Deadshot Norton hanging upside down from the building.

Lit by a flashlight, he looked like something out of an art painting, making even Black Mask freeze for a moment.

But he immediately realized what was wrong. The super thug he had hired had been taken down. This was bad!

"Drive! Now!"

Black Mask shouted ahead. They were using Blackgate Prison's prisoner transport van, and it had a high level of bulletproof protection.

"But there are still people who haven't gotten in!"

The "new employees" in the van spoke up hurriedly. Two men had indeed gone to collect the gathered weapons.

They were still on their way back, and their figures were already visible!

Black Mask's eyes widened as he looked at the driver. The driver shrank his neck in fear and quickly started the engine.

The two employees running over with bags of guns saw the vehicle start up and hurriedly raised their hands, shouting, "Wait for us!"

Black Mask looked over with a cold expression, pulled a .44-caliber Colt revolver from his coat, and pulled the trigger at the two late employees. He was an excellent shot.

Bang! Bang! The two gunshots rang out, and the employees' heads burst apart like watermelons smashed by hammers.

"Drive!"

Black Mask put away his revolver and spoke in a low voice. The vehicle fell utterly silent, so quiet it was terrifying.

Sweat beaded on the driver's forehead as he pressed the accelerator and gripped the wheel, driving the transport van away. Even his breathing grew much lighter.

The defiant, heavily sentenced prisoners in the back were now as quiet as sleeping babies, without a trace of their previous arrogance.

Only now did they realize that their new boss had a pretty bad temper...

At Blackgate Prison's entrance, the Batmobile was parked sideways across the road, blocking the entire street and preventing the transport van from getting out.

"Th-this... Boss, we can't get through."

The driver spoke softly and timidly, like a little girl meeting a stranger, terrified of angering Black Mask.

"..."

Black Mask said nothing. His eyelid merely twitched as silence filled the vehicle for three seconds.

"Move that car out of the way!"

Just as Black Mask gave the order, a figure suddenly dropped onto the transport van's windshield and slammed a fist into it. The bulletproof glass instantly cracked into a spiderweb pattern.

"Aah!!!"

The driver screamed in fright, then remembered Black Mask behind him and quickly covered his own mouth.

Black Mask was startled by the sudden scene as well, but he immediately reacted. "Kill him!"

The doors opened, and the "new employees" in the back immediately climbed out. They had not brought many guns, but crowbars, batons, and kitchen cleavers were handy enough.

These new employees were all gang members, serious criminals sentenced to at least twenty years.

No judges or lawyers would protect them, because they belonged to no major gang.

That was why Black Mask had chosen to recruit them. They were the absolute elite of the underworld, prison-kingpin material even in Blackgate Prison.

Bang bang bang bang...

Gunfire erupted. A heavily sentenced prisoner holding a pistol pulled the trigger at Batman, who stood before the vehicle.

Batman's yellow chest emblem became the most obvious target, bullets striking it and throwing up sparks.

His heavy chest armor feared no such firepower. Batman charged toward them like Superman, invulnerable to blades and bullets, and grabbed the hand holding the gun.

With a crack, the new employee screamed. His thumb was snapped backward against the back of his hand.

Batman showed no mercy against criminals. Defeating the greatest number of enemies in the shortest time was the martial art he had always practiced.

Not killing was his bottom line, but that did not mean these people could take advantage of it. He would make them feel the terror of darkness from the depths of their hearts, turning it into a permanent nightmare!

"Aah!!!"

Screams rose one after another.

A new employee wielding a hooked crowbar tried to sneak up behind him, only for Batman's rear leg to sweep out and kick him in the crotch.

"Urgh..."

The man's face twisted in agony, his mouth hanging crookedly as the crowbar fell from his hand. Clutching his groin, he collapsed limply to the ground.

Just as Batman turned and pulled open the vehicle door, Black Mask, who had been holding himself back inside, pulled the trigger.

The door swung open. Bang!

At such close range, even Batman's reinforced bulletproof chest armor could not withstand a .44 Magnum round. The impact knocked him straight backward onto the ground.

Black Mask sneered and shifted out of the vehicle with his revolver. He actually knew a little about this black bat.

If this giant bat had not disrupted Gotham City's underworld order, he would never have found the chance to do something big.

He would send him on his way right here!

Black Mask extended his pistol out of the vehicle, aimed at Batman's head, and softly said, "Bye-bye."

His finger tightened on the trigger, and Black Mask could practically see Batman's head exploding into pieces.

Batman, lying on the ground, opened his eyes and kicked Black Mask's wrist. Bang! The gun fired.

But... it fired into the sky. Pain shot through Black Mask's wrist, and the barrel involuntarily pointed upward, missing its target!

Black Mask hurriedly adjusted his aim, but Batman's fist followed immediately, landing a heavy blow on his face.

The ebony mask was sturdy, but Batman's fist was clearly harder. The face behind the mask was not nearly so tough.

With a thud, Black Mask's nose broke. Blood gushed from his nostrils and ran down the inside of the ebony mask.

Batman reached out to remove the ebony mask, but Black Mask struggled and kicked him away. During their scuffle,

a canister of Fear Gas slipped from Black Mask's pocket. At the sight of it, Black Mask gritted his teeth and twisted it open. Green gas immediately poured out.

Black Mask and Batman inside the vehicle both inhaled the Fear Gas. Hallucinations and the fears buried in their hearts surfaced.

Batman saw bats rushing at his face and hurriedly swatted at them, trying to fend them off as his breathing became more and more rapid.

Black Mask, meanwhile, saw... fire. A raging inferno, fire everywhere, and his parents within it.

"No... You're dead. I didn't kill you! It wasn't me! I didn't, I didn't!"

Black Mask shouted in panic, lying on the ground and waving his hands like a child who had done something wrong.

Batman breathed heavily and shook his head. He had a slight resistance to this Prototype Fear Gas.

Perhaps it was because he had experienced this hallucinatory terror under the teachings of Ra's al Ghul, the Demon's Head, in the Assassin League.

He crawled out of the vehicle. Police sirens sounded outside, and he knew it was time to leave. Leave this place...

Batman wearily pushed himself up and staggered toward the Batmobile. Its canopy opened, and he climbed inside, activating the auto-navigation. Destination: the Batcave.

The Batmobile's canopy closed, its headlights came on, and its engine roared to life. It turned around on the spot and barreled down the road, frightening an oncoming police car into driving into a ditch.

Not long after the Batmobile left,

an explosion erupted at Blackgate Prison's entrance. Flames soared into the sky as Black Mask, clutching his face and howling in pain, was supported by two new employees while they jumped into the river and escaped.