"WTF? She's missing!?"
Dante had originally thought everything would be fine once they found the Joker's whereabouts and figured out how to deal with that Extreme Speedster.
But Harley had just pulled off something major.
"This… you should come back to the Base and see for yourself." Hela finished speaking and ended the call.
"What exactly happened?" Fury urgently asked. "Why do you say Harley Quinn is missing?"
"Old man, don't rush. It's not worth it if you get so anxious you need to take quick-acting pills."
Dante pressed Fury back onto the office chair and continued, "Now, you immediately mobilize all resources to search for the Joker's whereabouts. I'll go see what's going on with Harley."
After Dante finished speaking, he didn't bother with Fury's expression. He opened a portal and returned to the Team Base.
The Legends followed closely behind him.
Hela was standing in Dante's room. Seeing him rush back, she pointed to the desk.
"See for yourself."
Dante frowned, looking where Hela pointed.
On his desk, there was a note.
"Pudding, I have some small personal matters and need to leave for two days. Don't miss me too much~"
At the end of the note, there was also a small pink heart drawn.
Dante twitched his lips.
What kind of crazy stunt was Harley pulling now?
Disappearing at such a critical moment made it hard not to suspect she had been kidnapped by Carnage Joker.
But she had conveniently left a message in Dante's room that was extremely Harley Quinn-esque.
After all, it wasn't the first time Harley had suddenly disappeared. There had been plenty of instances of her running out of the Base to play.
So even Dante wasn't sure of Harley's current situation.
"Teacher, actually, I think you don't need to dwell on Doctor Quinzell. The most urgent task is to find the Joker, Carnage, and that Extreme Speedster. As for Doctor Quinzell, hasn't Fury already taken responsibility for her?"
Dante exhaled deeply.
He had always regarded the Joker from the most insidious and malicious perspective.
Because he truly was a twisted and bizarre madman.
And madmen never followed logic.
Absolutely, one must not follow him.
That was an abyss of eternal damnation. Do not attempt it unless you are Batman.
However, fortunately, Batman had also started searching for the Joker's whereabouts.
Thinking of this, Dante's heart, which had been thrown into disarray by Harley's disappearance, gradually calmed down.
The Joker and that Extreme Speedster want to play with him, do they?
Dante twitched his lips.
I'm too lazy to play with you all!
I'm calling for backup!
After so many days, spending so much effort, and making so many connections, what was it all for?
Wasn't it precisely to deal with situations like this!?
And so…
Everyone and every organization in the U.S. connected to Dante or the Federal Bureau of Investigation began searching for the Joker and related clues.
Even the Rising Tide organization, which had become the U.S.'s biggest marketing account, temporarily returned to its old trade under Skye's operation, frantically hacking into every camera in the country.
The entire Star Team also began a carpet search, relying on their respective abilities.
Meanwhile, Dante took the Legends back to Los Angeles.
Ultimately, for a dangerous eccentric like the Joker, the probability of him staying in Los Angeles, the scene of the crime, was the highest.
"Chloe, do you have any leads?"
"The identities of all the deceased at the scene have been confirmed with the assistance of Coulson."
"There are a total of twenty-six deceased, all of whom came from a company called 'Life Foundation.'"
Dante suddenly stood up.
"Life Foundation!?"
"That's right… Is there a problem with that?" Chloe was startled by Dante's reaction, then asked somewhat confusedly, "I've investigated this company. It's located in Los Angeles and is an internationally renowned pharmaceutical company."
"There's no problem. On the contrary, it has helped me clarify my thoughts." Dante shook his head, looking at Chloe. "Has this Life Foundation had any recent movements?"
"I'm not too sure about that, because they pay a lot of taxes and are a star enterprise in Los Angeles, with close ties to Los Angeles politics. It's too difficult for the LAPD to investigate them…"
"Leave this to me."
Dante didn't say much but waved for the Legends to follow him, then walked out of the LAPD office area.
Sarah Lance followed closely beside him, whispering:
"Life Foundation? How come I've never heard of this company?"
"Perhaps because in this era, this company completely disappeared, so you didn't encounter it in the future. As for not encountering it in a branched timeline, that's just a matter of luck." Dante shrugged. "Simply put, this company was the first to begin researching Symbiotes. And since Carnage has set his sights on them, it indicates that the current Life Foundation already possesses certain Symbiotes and has begun researching them."
"After all, for a Symbiote to become powerful, almost the only option is to devour its own kind."
The only thing Dante was unsure of now was whether the Symbiote held by the Life Foundation was some unknown Karami or the famous Venom.
If it was those miscellaneous Symbiotes, it would be fine.
But if it was Venom…
Then it wouldn't be so good.
The Symbiote Venom is overall very metaphysical, after all, it was the first Symbiote to leave the Planet.
If a Symbiote can devour Venom, then it basically obtains the key to ultimate evolution.
"Teacher, do you mean… Carnage discovered traces of his Symbiote kin in this era, and so he plans to find and devour it?"
"If there are no surprises… yes."
Dante nodded in agreement.
But he also discovered a problem because of this…
Carnage's purpose in coming to this era was to devour Symbiotes. The Joker's purpose in returning was to deal with Batman or Harley.
What about that Extreme Speedster?
An Extreme Speedster who would help the Joker escape from prison—what good could he be?
Could he do these things without compensation?
But unlike Carnage Joker, the identity of this Extreme Speedster was still in question.
After all, the number of Extreme Speedsters was simply a bit too many.
So they had to take it one step at a time.
After boarding the waverider, they located the Life Foundation's location.
For a spaceship, this distance was reached in the blink of an eye.
And by landing directly on the top floor and working their way down, it would be more convenient.
After all, the boss's office is usually on the top floor.
Carlton Drake, sitting in his office, looked somewhat bewildered at the group of people who pushed open the door and entered.
Dante revealed a kind smile and gently knocked on the glass door.
(To be continued.)
***
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