Over the swamps of Louisiana, the clouds tore open.
A sharp whistle pierced the air.
The sky itself was run through by this streak of light.
Ter-Ror hovered directly above Belle Reve Prison.
He looked down.
The isolated island resembled a turtle shell cast from steel.
Countless faint and chaotic auras emanated from within.
"Hmm?"
Ter-Ror's perception spread out.
He did indeed discern a few slightly stronger auras among this pile of small fry.
But they were only slightly stronger.
Like a few soldier ants among a colony of ordinary ants.
"The strong ones Batman spoke of, are these it?"
The expectant look on his face fell.
He felt as if he had been played for a fool.
When he returned, he'd have to give Batman a real black eye!
Belle Reve Prison, Central Control Room.
A piercing alarm blared throughout the room.
On the screen, a red dot representing an unknown target was rushing straight from Gotham at an alarming speed.
Then, under the disbelieving gaze of all radar operators,
the red dot stopped from supersonic speed.
It hovered precisely directly above the prison.
Amanda Waller extinguished her cigar.
Her corpulent body leaned back in the commander's chair, with no hint of tension on her face.
Just thirty seconds ago, she had received a communication from that shadowy figure.
"I'm sending you a sparring partner."
Waller's lips curled into a sneer.
Another one of these Riddler-like tests.
She wanted to see what new toy Batman had sent this time.
"Target locked."
"Identity: Unknown."
"Threat Level: Unknown."
The technician's report sounded in her ear.
Waller raised her chin, her tone brooking no argument.
"Shoot him down."
The order was given.
The silo covers, disguised as swamp vegetation on the prison's perimeter, slid open silently.
Twelve surface-to-air Sidewinder missiles trailed white smoke, whistling as they streaked towards the black dot in the sky.
At the same time,
the Phalanx CIWS Gatling guns on the prison roof began to spin up and preheat.
The gun barrels hummed with a low thrum.
Immediately after, a chain of thousands of depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds, like a glowing whip, lashed out at the target.
Further away, the electromagnetic railgun turrets also completed their charging.
A visible blue electric arc flashed and disappeared.
An alloy warhead shot out silently at over ten times the speed of sound.
A net of Death woven from modern top-tier firepower enveloped Ter-Ror.
Waller picked up the coffee from her desk and slowly took a sip.
She could already envision the invader being torn to shreds.
No one would challenge her authority at this "Gate of Hell."
"Boom—!!!"
A massive fireball exploded in the sky.
The scorching white light even made the swamp water boil.
Everyone in the control room breathed a sigh of relief.
Under this level of firepower, even Superman would be stripped of a layer of skin.
Waller watched the slowly dissipating flames on the screen, her face showing an "I knew it" expression.
On a watchtower.
A prison guard, cigarette dangling from his lips, leaned against the railing.
He had just witnessed the grand "fireworks" display.
"Ha, another fool who doesn't know his place."
He chuckled, exhaling a smoke ring.
But the next second,
the smile on his face froze.
The cigarette in his mouth slipped from the corner of his lips and fell to the ground.
From within that orange-red explosion of flames,
a figure walked out, completely unharmed.
He strolled leisurely, as if in his own backyard.
The shrapnel and shockwaves, powerful enough to breach tanks, couldn't even tear his clothes.
Ter-Ror brushed the dust from his body.
He looked down at the turrets below, which had no effect on him.
He felt a bit bored.
"Is this how Earthlings welcome visitors?"
"So enthusiastic."
Central Control Room.
Everyone stared at the clear image on the main screen.
Waller's hand, holding the coffee cup, froze in mid-air.
The muscles in her face twitched uncontrollably.
"Plan B."
She squeezed out three words through gritted teeth.
"Initiate full prison lockdown procedures immediately!"
"Release neurotoxin in Sector A-7!"
Waller's breathing became rapid.
The alarm once again grew urgent.
Incredibly heavy alloy blast doors descended from all directions.
Accompanied by a dull roar, the entire Belle Reve Prison was completely sealed off.
It became a true tin can.
At the same time, a colorless, odorless gas, specifically targeting the nervous systems of super-powered individuals, began to spread across the prison roof.
Ter-Ror slowly descended onto the roof of the prison's main building.
He smelled a strange odor in the air.
It was somewhat like the smell of saliva left for a long time.
It made him very uncomfortable.
Ter-Ror frowned.
He didn't even bother to use his aura for defense.
He simply stopped breathing.
This gas, capable of paralyzing an adult blue whale within three seconds, was no different from ordinary air to him.
He looked at the five-meter-thick reinforced concrete roof beneath his feet.
He then looked at the distant passages, completely sealed by alloy doors.
"Finding a door is too much trouble."
He muttered to himself.
He lifted his foot and gently stomped down.
There was only an extremely dull, colossal thud.
"Dong!!!"
Waller and everyone in the control room felt a tightness in their chests.
The image on the screen shook violently.
Next, they witnessed a sight they would never forget.
The prison roof, boasted to withstand bunker-buster missiles,
had a perfectly regular circular hole, over ten meters in diameter, stomped right through it.
The edges of the hole were incredibly smooth.
Countless steel bars and concrete collapsed inwards, yet there were no outward signs of an explosion.
Ter-Ror's figure, bathed in the moonlight streaming through the hole,
slowly floated down.
Prison, Sector A, common activity area.
Hundreds of hardened criminals from all over the world were restless due to the recent alarm.
They shouted, cursed, and slammed their bodies against the alloy bars.
Suddenly.
"Boom!"
The entire ceiling above them vanished.
A man descended from the sky.
All the prisoners were stunned.
They looked up, staring at the man floating in mid-air, and the cold moonlight streaming through the broken hole behind him.
The entire prison block fell into an eerie silence.
Ter-Ror looked around.
He sensed the faint auras on these prisoners, and the malice mixed with madness and brutality.
The expression on his face changed from curiosity to undisguised disappointment.
He spoke.
"Is this all?"
"Where are the strong ones Batman spoke of?"
No sooner had he spoken,
a giant man, nearly three meters tall, with bulging muscles, flashed a fierce glint in his eyes from among the crowd in the prison block.
He was the "King" here, nicknamed "Bone-Smasher."
He believed this was an excellent opportunity to make a name for himself.
As long as he took down this pretentious invader, he could completely solidify his position in the Gate of Hell!
"Die, kid!"
Bone-Smasher let out a bestial roar.
The concrete floor beneath his feet cracked inch by inch.
His massive body charged with full force towards Ter-Ror's back.
His fist, as large as a casserole, stirred up a foul wind.
He slammed it down hard onto Ter-Ror's unsuspecting head!