Chapter 239: Is That It?

PS: This morning I was catching up on Constantine, and it seems I won't have enough time; the second update might be a bit late.

"It's already over, Riddler."

Batman's declaration at this moment carried certainty: "This city is already scarred; this war must end today."

"Rather than dreaming such unrealistic dreams, how about guessing a riddle?" the Riddler sneered. "Little Tommy is dead. There is food residue on his lips, and his spine has been snapped—what happened?"

Batman did not answer, merely standing in place and watching the Riddler.

"The answer is, Little Tommy was a little mouse, a little mouse trapped in a trap."

After the Riddler finished speaking this sentence, several people suddenly flew in through the window again, standing behind Batman and the other two.

Solomon Grundy, Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, Two-Face, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Man-Bat—a group of prisoners who should have been locked up in the Gotham City Police Department and prepared for transfer to Arkham Asylum suddenly appeared at this moment; it was obvious that the Riddler's mole inside the police department had made his move.

"I lost quite a few of my inside men, Batman, but it was all worth it." The Riddler, with a smile on his face, bowed and saluted Batman: "Do you really think I would come to deal with the Joker without any preparation? Do you think I would ignore the annoying bat flying around in the sky over Gotham all day? No, no, no. I hold you in high regard; I know too well what you are capable of—so I will use every means at my disposal to deal with you fully, and these few are the grand gifts I have specially prepared for you."

"Since you are so powerful, why not recall everyone else?" The Joker, lying on the ground, ruthlessly tore open the Riddler's wounds: "I guess a few people were unwilling to come help you, weren't they? They know very well that you cannot win this war."

"Fool." The Riddler returned a contemptuous look to the Joker: "Some people were taken away directly by Batman; if you could find them, you wouldn't be lying on the ground chattering with your mouth now. As for me, the cards in my hand right now are enough to beat both of you."

"You are right, it is time to end it, Batman." He sneered: "Today, this war will have only one winner; the Riddler will win Gotham City; the Riddler will obtain the honor of killing Batman!"

He looked behind him; Killer Croc bared his claws, Mr. Freeze raised his freeze gun, Deathstroke drew his dual blades. Batman, Catwoman, and Kite Man were instantly trapped in a desperate situation surrounded on all sides, while the Joker was pinned to the ground by Two-Face with a gun drawn, unable to move.

"As for you, Kite Man." He sneered: "An insignificant small character, a stinking bug that can be crushed with a kick; I can't even think of what point there was in you running here—have you ever thought that Batman just called you here to be cannon fodder?"

Kite Man clenched his fists tightly.

"You laid hands on my son." He said: "So I came to find you."

"I'm going to beat you so badly your own mother won't recognize you."

Well done, Ma Ma Zhaodi admired inwardly; I rolled out of the battlefield of gun-swept Gotham; I can't lose face; be spirited!

"Fool." The Riddler handed his hat and cane to Poison Ivy beside him and walked up to him as if strolling leisurely: "Don't say I have a numerical advantage now; even if I let you fight me one-on-one, you would only be sent by me to meet the deceased little Charlie."

"Or perhaps, you just want me to do that?"

"Bastard!"

Kite Man angrily charged at the Riddler, but at this moment, Grundy beside them immediately stretched out a pair of huge hands, lifting Chuck up directly; no matter how much he struggled, it was in vain.

But the Riddler waved his hand, signaling Grundy to put him down: "Let him rush over to meet his son; what threat can the fists of such an incompetent person pose?"

At this time, Batman and Catwoman beside them had long since tensed their bodies, ready to spring, but they were completely surrounded by Deathstroke, Deadshot, Killer Croc, and others, making it impossible to act rashly now, let alone go help Kite Man.

When Solomon, as instructed, actually put Kite Man down, the Riddler saw the anger in his eyes, but he did not care—this guy was originally a very important part of his plan, but now, he was completely irrelevant; his only value now was to leave Batman and Catwoman's side, then be knocked down by him, serving as a bargaining chip to threaten the two of them.

Perhaps Catwoman wouldn't care about his life or death; who knows? Anyway, doing this would definitely tie up Batman.

So, when the angry Kite Man swung his fists at Nygma, he sneered disdainfully; as he thought, the opponent was just an inexperienced novice, the punching motion was purely beginner-level, and the footwork and center-of-gravity control were also entry-level.

However, as far as he knew, Charlie Brown was just an ordinary aerodynamicist; judging by this, he seemed to have gained some more fighting knowledge than before; did he find Batman to train him?

Hah, that would truly be a disgrace to Batman.

He sneered, sidestepped with a step, easily dodging the opponent's slow punch, and used his hips and waist to twist, delivering a powerful hook to Kite Man's cheek—the opponent was wearing a helmet at this time, but the lower half of his face was still unprotected; striking here could truly be called "fist to flesh."

Bang!

After the dull sound of impact rang out, Kite Man fell to the ground in response. In Ma Ma Zhaodi's eyes, the Riddler of this world possessed advanced unarmed close-combat mastery at this point in time; his heavy punch was enough to knock an ordinary person down in one strike, and Kite Man at this moment was undoubtedly just an ordinary person.

"You are wearing armor, aren't you?" The Riddler looked at Kite Man, who had fallen heavily, casually pulled off his helmet, and threw it aside: "Your confidence is the new armor Batman made for you, right? You hope I will treat this set like your previous scrap equipment and break my own fingers? Look at this new material: light, thin, flexible, and tough—but what can it do for you?"

"You are too weak, Chuck; one punch can solve you, and you will never get up again." The Riddler bent down, grabbed his hair, and sneered at him: "I don't even need to dodge your punches, because they are too powerless, too weak."

Thud!

Kite Man's head was slammed heavily onto the ground by the Riddler; blood gushed from his mouth and nose; after a moment, he lay flat completely, seemingly falling into shock.

"Bang!"

At the same time, Batman and Catwoman, unable to endure it any longer, began to act simultaneously; they wanted to move towards Chuck's direction, but they were blocked layer by layer by the super-villains, falling into a bitter battle.

"So, is that it?" The Riddler shrugged: "Well, I shouldn't have had any expectations in the first place."

(End of Chapter)