Gotham, East End, Cole Street.
Zane walked out of a supermarket holding an apple-flavored ice cream.
The sunlight felt warm on his body. He stretched and walked towards his car.
Every warm afternoon in early autumn should be cherished, because before long, this city would be shrouded in cold, damp rain.
Nightwing and Robin were already on their way to Walton Street in the East End. The day to save Private Batman was today.
Zane didn't want to be late. He got into the driver's seat and started the car.
Vroom...
The roar of the engine sounded a bit strange. Before Zane had time to figure out what was going on, there was a sudden boom. The entire car suddenly exploded, and an orange-red pillar of fire rose from the spot.
"Cough, cough, what the fuck is going on."
Without transforming into Diamondhead, the solid dark armor absorbed all the damage. Zane sat in the burning car... It was no longer a car, at most a car shell.
Sitting in the shell, he felt the deep malice coming from this city.
Bang!
Two dark creatures covered in terrifying bone spurs, resembling blood-red eels, drilled out of the flames.
Their large mouths full of sharp teeth bit firmly onto the car shell above Zane's head. With a light toss, they tore the red-hot car shell aside.
Just as he walked out of the fireball, countless bullets were fired at him from over there.
The rat-a-tat sound was exactly like a typewriter being constantly struck. Zane pressed the transformation button on the Omnitrix and chose to transform into Diamondhead.
His body, made entirely of crystals, was incredibly hard. At this moment, illuminated by the warm afternoon sun, his whole body seemed to be covered in a layer of brilliant gold leaf.
Glancing over, there were several armed thugs in cheap suits by the street, their large guns frantically spewing bullets.
A massive metal net woven from countless bullets completely enveloped Zane. However, for the highly defensive Diamondhead, these bullets were completely useless, not even leaving a single white mark.
Revenge from the Viper Gang?
It didn't look like it. Everyone in the East End knew that those old bastards from the Viper Gang never wore suits.
What faction could it be then?
With no matching suspects in mind, Zane planned to beat these noisy thugs until they lost their combat ability, and then interrogate them properly.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! The sound of breaking air rang out. Several crystal blades with sharp front ends and disc-shaped back ends pierced through the air, speeding towards the thugs.
These thumbtack-like crystal blades instantly pinned the thugs firmly to the wall.
Zane walked over, stood in front of the thugs, and asked what faction they belonged to. As a result, these thugs were quite tough; even pinned to the wall, they refused to speak.
That was easy to solve. After rewarding each of them with a few crystal slaps, Zane got his answer.
Falcone?
The emperor of Gotham's underground world, nominally commanding all the gangs. A legendary mob boss who could make Gotham's situation tremble with a single move.
So, how did this old immortal know me? And why send his men to kill me?
Zane was full of doubts, but a few seconds later, another anomaly suddenly occurred on the scene.
An incredibly surging wave of fire lunged crazily towards him. The extreme heat distorted the surrounding air and even caused the road surface to melt.
Zane immediately turned around, then stomped his foot. A crystal wall sprouted in front of him, firmly blocking the wave of fire.
"What a piece of shit!" The person who spewed the fire wave hovered in mid-air using a winged jetpack and cursed angrily, "This isn't what I imagined. I thought you, a piece of stinking glass, would be blown to pieces by my flames."
This person was wearing a flight suit inspired by a firefly. His waist was covered with grenades and Molotov cocktails, and he held a military-grade flamethrower in his hands.
Gotham's famous arsonist, Firefly!
Zane had seen this guy in the comic where Batman had his back broken, so he recognized his identity at a glance.
After hearing Firefly's words, he sneered, then leaped onto the crystal wall in front of him, followed immediately by another massive jump, launching himself right in front of Firefly:
"Glass? I am a diamond!"
Bang!
Firefly's arrogance cost him dearly. A guy who looked so clumsy was actually so agile when moving.
Punching Firefly away, Zane was about to press the attack and shoot crystal blades, but his raised arm was suddenly bitten hard by a genuine, colorful, fierce tiger.
"Huh?"
Zane shook his arm in bewilderment. The tiger was also tossed around, but it just wouldn't let go.
Did it escape from the Gotham Zoo?
Turning around, on a building dozens of meters in front of Zane, stood a shirtless guy.
This person wore nothing but a pair of shorts, and the rest of his exposed skin was covered with dense tattoos, including jackals, wolves, tigers, leopards, swords, spears, clubs, and all sorts of bizarre things.
The mercenary villain who killed for money, Tattooed Man!
"That stink bug flying around in the sky is indeed trash." Tattooed Man cursed his teammate disdainfully, then looked viciously at Zane over there. "I still have to do it myself."
"Bite him to death!"
As soon as Tattooed Man's voice fell, an entire pack of wolves ran out from his body. Accompanying the wolf pack's attack was an eagle.
The scene shifted to Zane. It turned out that the tiger on his arm hadn't escaped from the zoo, but was Tattooed Man's tattoo.
With a thought, two blood-red eels covered in bone spurs emerged from Zane's back, each thicker than a muscular man's arm.
Their sharp teeth and large mouths bit down, killing the tiger directly in just a few seconds.
The tiger's massive body fell to the ground and melted into something resembling ink.
Glancing at the wolf pack in front of him and the eagle circling in the sky, Zane helplessly slapped his forehead: "Why do I always feel like I'm being underestimated!"
Raising his arms, several incredibly sharp crystal blades shot out with a swishing sound, launching an indiscriminate attack.
Dozens of wolf corpses lay scattered on the ground, all melting into ink without exception.
The eagle attacked from above. Spikes grew from Zane's head, and he jumped up on the spot, impaling the attacking eagle to death.
"No way, is that it?" Zane mocked loudly.
"Heh!" Tattooed Man over there sneered in defiance, then his expression turned to one of pain as something that didn't look like an Earth creature struggled to drill out of his chest.
Lying on all fours, its whole body was covered in scales, its neck was thick and long, it had a dragon head with frills and horns, wings on its back, and a tail like a spindle. Its overall size was about seven or eight meters.
Judging solely by its appearance, it looked exactly like a magical giant dragon straight out of a fantasy novel.
"Taste this!" Tattooed Man laughed proudly, but after only laughing twice, he coughed up some blood and hunched over slightly.
Obviously, summoning such a massive tattoo had consumed a great deal of his strength.
"That's more like it." Zane curled his lips, finally taking it seriously.
At the same time, he secretly ordered the Necromancer Talon to search for a possible third attacker within a one-kilometer radius centered around him.
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~ Evey 150 PS = Bonus Chapter
~ ush the Story forward with your [Power Stones]