Chapter 228: The Bat That Flies Into the Fire and the Firefly

Hoo—

A frenzied torrent of flame instantly engulfed the Man-Bat. The thick, bio-mutated fur and muscle might have withstood bullets and blades, but they could not withstand fire. Under the assault of Firefly's flamethrower, the Man-Bat instantly became a giant ball of fire.

"Lanthorn, how do you feel now, how do you feel now!?"

Firefly danced triumphantly in the air, mocking the ignited Man-Bat. Below, Ma Ma Zhaodi sighed at the Man-Bat's fur being weak against fire, while simultaneously casting a "I Did Not Kill Anyone" buff on both figures in the sky.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

The burning Man-Bat shrieked twice and, catching Firefly off guard, charged upward again. The flames covering its body seemed to have fully unleashed its frenzy and savagery. It appeared that the sanity of the man named "Lanthorn," along with his fear, had been torn away completely, leaving only a beastly shell filled with aggression, fighting a desperate battle against Firefly.

"Sol, Sol! I release your control. The Joker tells me the Mad Hatter's theater is about to be raided. Have you and Dr. Lanthorn dealt with that squad of soldiers on your end!"

"There are no soldiers, Freeze." Ma Ma Zhaodi watched the battle in the sky and replied to him: "The intel is fake. There isn't a squad of troops here, only one Firefly."

"Well then—but surely two against one gives you an advantage?"

"If my gun could hit those two up there, the situation would be two against one. But if they insist on fighting at high altitude, I can only watch from the ground, powerless. In this case, it's at best two separate 1v1s, and ones with low odds of victory at that—so since I've said all this, can you come support us?"

"I can't. I'm rushing to the Mad Hatter's theater. He is too important right now; without him, we will have no soldiers to replenish our ranks."

Hearing that Mr. Freeze was heading to the theater, Ma Ma Zhaodi raised an eyebrow, forming a plan in his mind.

"I understand what you're saying." He replied calmly: "But I can't just stand here waiting for Firefly to finish off the Man-Bat before he comes to deal with me, can I? And what if we run into Batman?"

"Sorry, but you must stay there. So, I guess you can only pray that Batman doesn't show up on your end—now, resume control."

The young man in the black robe immediately snapped to attention, his body returning to the controlled posture.

"Assist Dr. Lanthorn in defeating the enemy with full force. Do not flee the battlefield until the fight is over."

"Yes."

Hearing the indifferent tone of the reply, Mr. Freeze ended the communication.

Inside Falcone's villa, the Joker casually switched off his communicator; he had no patience to listen to his subordinates' conversation any longer.

On Ma Ma Zhaodi's side, the battle in the sky continued. High above, the Man-Bat now clung tightly to Firefly, tearing at his armor with sharp teeth and claws. The massive bat teeth pierced straight through his metal shell, stabbing deep into his shoulder.

"Damn monster!"

Firefly couldn't help but curse in anger. He was nothing like Killer Croc, Bane, or Clayface, those high-health, high-damage mutated super-humans. All of his combat power came from his armor and weapons. Beneath the steel protection, he was still flesh and blood, even more frail than an ordinary person.

"Squeak! Squeak!"

The flames on the bat's body continued to burn, yet it still clung tightly to its prey, emitting a non-human, piercing shriek. At this moment, the more severely injured it was, the weaker its sanity became, and the stronger its beastly instincts grew. A wounded, even dying beast would naturally launch the fiercest counterattack.

Creak—Screech!

The giant bat's sharp claws and teeth hooked into the gaps of the armor. Amidst the ear-piercing sound of metal deforming, chunks of armor plating were torn off directly, exposing the flesh and blood beneath, revealing Firefly's face.

Blackened scabs intertwined with dark red new tissue, forming large wrinkles across his face. The nostrils were fused inward, producing a whistle-like hiss even when breathing. His eyelids were everted, and his ears had been melted and scorched, turning into scarred flesh tumors.

These shocking signs of severe burns extended from his face down to his hands. It was not hard to imagine that beneath his close-fitting clothes, the scene was likely just as grotesque and twisted. Looking at these wounds, Ma Ma Zhaodi could not fathom how the other party had survived such severe burns.

"I will kill you!"

Firefly, having exposed his appearance, roared at the Man-Bat; it seemed he did not like people seeing his face. But immediately after, Garfield, who had previously been able to move freely through the fire thanks to his fireproof armor, discovered that the flames on the bat's body were now burning his own exposed flesh.

Yet he still pointed his flamethrower at the Man-Bat's body, frantically pulling the trigger, while letting out a miserable wail.

The two became a single ball of fire, dancing in the air. Listening to their sounds, Ma Ma Zhaodi seemed to detect a hint of pleasure in Garfield's wailing. Only then did he recall another rumor he had heard—that Firefly became an arsonist because of his obsession and fanaticism for fire.

But he truly did not expect that even burning his own body could bring Firefly joy.

"Damn, when are they coming? I can't stand such a twisted scene, hey."

Thump, thump!

As if responding to Ma Ma Zhaodi's muttering, just as he looked up into the night sky, a pitch-black Batwing suddenly emerged from the darkness. It left a trail of cyan exhaust and fired two bullets at the two figures in the air. Ma Ma Zhaodi's vision was excellent; he clearly saw that they were two rubber bullets.

The man and the bat in the sky were hit by two shots and immediately fell into a state of pain-induced paralysis. Below the Batwing, another nozzle extended. A clear, icy high-pressure water jet, like a long blade, locked onto the two still entangled figures, washing them toward the ground while extinguishing the flames on both of them.

This was easy to understand. After suffering a defeat against Clayface last time, Batman naturally made modifications to the aircraft to counter him. Of course, this might also have been a pre-arranged move to take down Firefly.

Down below, Ma Ma Zhaodi cast another "I Did Not Kill Anyone" skill on the falling Firefly—just now they had flown too high, outside the skill's range, so Ma Ma Zhaodi hadn't had much chance to apply buffs.

Fortunately, that arsonist didn't die mid-air; he had essentially been granted a second life.

Then, Ma Ma Zhaodi simply pulled out a bicycle and mounted it.

Mr. Freeze's order was "Do not flee the battlefield until the fight is over." Now that the fight was already over, it was naturally time to run. Was he supposed to wait to be caught by Batman?

(End of Chapter)