Chapter 233: Not a Battle

"No, this is fleeing."

The Penguin spoke with absolute certainty into the communicator: "Undeniably fleeing. Anyone would say the same."

Ma Ma Zhaodi said nothing, merely pedaling the bicycle harder. The gears and chain spun wildly, and the electric motor's hum grew louder, even reaching the other end of the communicator.

"Listen, Solomon, we need you to go back and find Man-Bat. We don't need you to hit the Batplane, but at least hold off Batman or Firefly for him. This is important."

"This conflicts with Man-Bat's orders. I cannot—"

"Enough, shut up for now."

The Penguin sighed, cut the connection with Ma Ma Zhaodi, and turned to contact Mr. Freeze—the remote control was in his hand.

"Mr. Freeze, I need you now."

"Wait a moment, I'm a bit busy right now!"

At that moment, Mr. Freeze's voice came through the communicator. From the sounds of battle coming from his end, it was clear he hadn't taken down Poison Ivy just yet.

"You and the Mad Hatter together still haven't finished the job?"

"We should have been able to, but..."

"Fries, Pamela, and Tetch, all three of you come with me to the Gotham City Police Department!"

Hearing the deep voice from the other end of the communicator, the Penguin almost instinctively jumped up.

"Batman?!"

"The Mad Hatter has already been tied up by Batman; even his hat was knocked off by a Batarang. Now it's just me and Poison Ivy dealing with him alone."

The Penguin looked back at the Joker. The Joker still wore a blank expression, though his mouth hung even lower.

"Alright, alright, listen to me now. Use the remote to call Solomon over immediately. Langstrom is about to be taken down by the Batplane. We don't know why there are two Batmen, but your side is more important, so hurry up and call Solomon over!"

"Alright." Mr. Freeze sighed: "Tonight is a disaster. I'll call Solomon to help right away."

"Boss, any orders?"

The sudden reply made the Penguin frown involuntarily—why did this voice sound so close? As if it were right beside him...

"Boss, any orders?"

No, it was right beside him!

The Penguin whipped his head around toward the entrance. The perverted bicycle hero in the black robe had pushed his bike into the hall.

"WTF!?" The Penguin's mindset shifted slightly at that moment: "Only five minutes since the call! Did you fly here?!"

"Boss, any orders?"

The perverted bicycle hero's tone remained mechanical and calm. Judging by his demeanor, anyone would think he was a loyal cannon fodder who followed orders without question. No one could imagine he was the ultimate slacker who had just encountered an enemy, panicked, sold out his teammates, retreated, and slipped back to headquarters all within five minutes.

At that moment, the Joker's mouth twitched. He reached for the revolver at his waist, glanced at it twice, then shoved it back.

"I really want to shoot him right there." He said: "But this reminds me of Chuck. Hmph, both of them are almost funny."

Mr. Freeze asked over the communicator: "Cobblepot, what's wrong? What's the problem on your end?"

"Nothing, Fries—just give the order directly. Solomon has run back. According to him, this is Man-Bat's order."

"Even when controlled, the instinct for self-preservation is still working, huh? This guy Solomon..."

At that moment, Poison Ivy, who was delaying Batman on the battlefield, was gradually struggling to hold on: "Fries, if you don't come help soon, we're all done for!"

"Hold your vines for a few more seconds—Solomon, come to the Mad Hatter's theater immediately to help!"

"Received, received."

Upon hearing this, Ma Ma Zhaodi immediately mounted his bicycle and vanished from the hall in a flash.

At this very moment, Batman, Mr. Freeze, and Poison Ivy had already fought from inside the theater to outside. The Mad Hatter remained tied up on the ground, feeling extremely insecure. Batarangs flew past his head from time to time, or icicles swept by—he couldn't move a muscle.

"Pamela, dissolve your damn hallucinogenic toxin and let my men come to their senses!"

Poison Ivy blocked the flying Batarangs with a wall of vines, then swung her poisonous thorns to counterattack Batman: "I told you, there is no antidote for this hallucinogenic effect—not even I can do it."

"Why didn't Fries get hit?"

"Idiot, look at his sealed armor. Do you think he wouldn't design an air filtration system for himself?"

Mr. Freeze spoke little. He tracked Batman's position with his freeze gun, but the opponent's figure was as agile as a ghost, and the armor's anti-freeze properties seemed extremely strong. The cold air didn't slow him down in the slightest, making the possibility of freezing him virtually zero.

"Batman came prepared; otherwise, he wouldn't have brought an air filtration mask."

"Obviously. He always comes prepared. That mask is standard equipment for him."

Batman listened to their conversation, still expressionless, his movements focused mainly on evasion and disruption.

At this moment, the situation on the battlefield maintained a strange restraint. Not only had the battle moved to a sparsely populated outdoor area, but all attacks deliberately avoided the passersby wearing hats. After fighting for so long, there were no casualties on the field.

Both Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze noticed this. They exchanged a glance, and the same thought arose in both their minds.

"Hold on, Pamela." Mr. Freeze deliberately fired a freeze beam off-target, leaving an opening for Batman to close in.

When he realized Batman didn't take advantage of the opening, he became even more certain of his thoughts, so he said: "The perverted bicycle hero will be here soon. With the three of us against one, we can at least escape unharmed."

"No." Batman interrupted: "None of you are getting away."

Poison Ivy immediately understood. She shook her head and replied: "Batman, you can't win. The hallucinogenic effect of the flower scent will wear off in half an hour. By then, you won't have any chance of winning."

"What?" The Mad Hatter, tied on the ground, suddenly perked up: "If we just hold out for half an hour? Then we're saved!"

None of the three paid him any attention. The information exchange was complete; the Mad Hatter was completely an outsider at this point.

"Speaking of which, the Scarecrow has fear toxin, and the Joker has laughing gas." Pamela casually waved her vines: "Why doesn't Batman wear a mask usually? That would avoid many attacks."

"Do you think a mask can block the toxins developed by those two?" Mr. Freeze casually fired another beam: "Those two toxins can invade the human body through the skin and penetrate any filter. The mask's effect is close to zero."

"What are you two actually doing?" The Mad Hatter, lying on the ground, watched for a while and suddenly felt something was strange: "Why not use hostages as leverage—"

Swish!

A tranquilizer Batarang struck his shoulder squarely. The Mad Hatter's head tilted, and he passed out immediately.

(End of Chapter)