In the dimly lit streets of Gotham's East End, the penguins who have been shot in the needle are no longer wailing.

Batman injected a hemostatic into his wound and a special spray to keep the severed finger from worsening, and then used his bat communicator to signal Director Gordon.

The Penguins broke some kind of "tacit understanding" and attacked the police station, which naturally had to be closed by the Gotham Police Department.

The VIP tickets for the Black Gate Prison have been delivered to Oswald by the lord himself, which can be regarded as a kind of superhero who should do what he says.

But that's not the end of the day.

Young Mason knew he couldn't just leave, because Batman was staring at him with eyes that were so cold that they almost didn't change his mood.

Even through the goggles of the Bat Helmet, Mason could feel the cold scrutiny.

Obviously, the old man was very dissatisfied with his "shameless sneak attack" just now.

"A Gotham high school dropout, a 17-year-old young man, was raised by a gangster with a serious tendency to violence."

Batman said in a dumb voice:

"Your performance tonight is out of step with your past experience, Mason Cooper, maybe you should explain?"

"I guess you don't understand what a tragedy it is to have a dad who went crazy when he got drunk since he was a child, and it's a pity that the man got drunk every day."

The young man crouched down under the watchful eye of the old man, picked up the black umbrella that the penguin man had "dropped", and held the delicate and deadly weapon in his hand.

He didn't look Batman in the eyes, lowered his head, and said in a calm but bitter tone:

"You took my father to prison three times, I think you know that man better than I do, and I remember him smiling only a handful of times since I was a child, and when my mother died, he brought all kinds of women home to mingle, and I was more of a burden to him than a gift.

Have you ever had such a childhood? Batman. ”

Mason raised his head, glanced at the old man, and said:

"I guess you don't. If you have, you should know that I have been hiding and secretly exercising, and practicing marksmanship hard is not to hurt others.

I'm just trying to protect myself!

Especially after I secretly called the police to take me away when I was seven years old, and the man found out and almost beat me to death, I knew that no one could protect me in those hellish days.

You can't even make Gotham tremble!

Batman wouldn't show up in that nightmare and take me away like he did in the comic books. ”

This sentence instantly stabbed the old man's heart as hard as steel.

Of course, it won't break the defense all at once.

But those familiar with Batman's origin story know that when confronted with Batman's questioning, it is obviously easier to get some sympathy by turning the conversation to the parental level.

What's more, Mason isn't talking nonsense either.

Judging from the memories he had gained after taking possession of the body, the young man's short life was really painful, and his father's hacking to death in the middle of the gang fire did not seem like a curse to the young man.

It's even more akin to liberation.

Of course, this kind of thing cannot be said right now.

"I'm hurting the Penguins tonight, they're the bad guys!"

Seeing the silence of the old man, Mason knew that his words had worked, and he stroked the penguin umbrella in his hand, and took a step back to step on a batrang that had fallen to the ground.

He exclaimed:

"Ever since I was a kid, the Penguins and his gang locked everything in me like locks, and I went to high school thinking I could get rid of them.

But as soon as my father died, they approached me and asked me to drop out of school and join them.

That bastard at your feet buys insurance for all his subordinates and buys hearts and minds.

He professes to be the most righteous boss in the city, but to this day he has not given me my father's share of the insurance money. I hate them, is there something wrong with that?

Only when they are all done will I be able to shake off the past, overcome my fears, and embrace a new life... Batman! You're a great guy, and you're not afraid of these guys.

They can't hurt you with a gun.

But I can't.

I'm just an ordinary person with good marksmanship, I'll die if I get hit, and I also helped your friend, is it wrong for me to pursue a new life?

Do you want me to apologize to them? ”

Under repeated questioning, a progress bar for the analysis of the special engineering artifact "Penguin Man's Armed Umbrella" appeared on the light curtain in front of Mason's eyes.

Compared to Batman's high-tech equipment, which often takes hundreds of hours to analyze, this thing is much faster.

There are a few minutes left to complete the drawing.

But this umbrella is most likely to be taken away by the master, and Mason just wants to get the "loot" he deserves after this conversation.

After an unbearable confrontation for more than ten seconds, he spread his hands and said to Batman:

"That's where all I came from.

The story of a young man who finally found a chance to escape from hell after 17 years of endurance, believe it or not! But I'm not here to provoke you, I'm actually here to thank you.

Without your intervention, my feud with the Penguins wouldn't have ended so easily. ”

"The end?"

The old man finally spoke.

His cloak covered his body and the low black armor, and he kept his usual indifferent posture and said in a dumb voice:

"It's not the end at all, it's just the beginning.

You can't hide what you're doing tonight, and the Penguins' gang won't disband because he's and his backbone in prison, and Oswald has a bunch of killers in town to deal with similar things for him.

The feud between you and the Penguins, I don't judge.

I have no intention of criticizing your opinion of your father. But Mason, you've sent yourself into a terrible precarious situation with your own hands, and you may not even survive tomorrow night. ”

"That's my business, the path I chose, I'll walk on my own."

Mason was a little weak-hearted.

But he still behaved like a young man who did not bow his head, he picked up his gun and put it behind his back, glanced at the old man, and whispered:

"I can leave now, right? Batman, I'm going back to pack up and start on the run. ”

"Stay here and wait for Gordon to come over and he'll protect you."

The old man spoke briefly, and Mason's eyes widened, and he whispered:

"There are gangsters in the police station! If it weren't for you tonight, those black cops would have sold Director Gordon to the Penguins in the first place, you can't know it, right?

You want me to jump into the tiger's mouth? ”

"Gordon has a couple of credible safe houses."

The old man didn't explain much.

When the siren sounded in the distant street, he waved his hook gun and drove the flying claws into the height, and at the moment of flying, Batman warned:

"You say you want to live a peaceful life, Mason, and you'd better do what you say. I'll keep an eye on you. ”

"Whoosh"

The man's figure disappeared into the night, merging with the darkness, and Mason stood there watching him leave, glancing at the penguin's armed umbrella in his hand.

The old man didn't take this?

Is this a tacit acquiescence that you have this weapon?

Maybe he felt that he needed this thing to protect himself in the next situation?

The young man blinked, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Anyway, it seems that the words he carefully prepared along the way really moved the master, and of course it is very likely to be some kind of "resonance" between the two orphans?

"Lay down your arms!"

As the police car came to a halt with a swift tail swing, Chief Gordon's angry shouts rang out in the night, and Mason had no intention of showing his bravery.

He raised his hands and let the officers step forward to collect his weapon.

Old Gordon walked over with a blank face, and took the tracker out of Mason's arms and made a gesture to hit the unbehaving child, but in the end he just reached out and patted him on the shoulder, and ran to check on the unconscious penguin and put the handcuffs on the penguin's wrist.

On a certain corner of the street, Batman, standing alone on the roof, watched the police cars leave like a statue, and after the shining lights completely disappeared, the old man activated the communication and said to the other end:

"Alfred, go into the Gotham City Resident Database, keyword 'Mason Cooper', and check all his profiles. Focus on whether he had a police record when he was seven years old, and whether he had a record of being abused by his father. ”

"Wait a minute, young master."

Ah Fu's calm voice sounded from the communicator hidden in the bat's ears of the battle helmet, and after a few seconds, the old butler sighed and replied:

"Yes, the information is very consistent with your description, the child was admitted to the hospital three times at the age of six, ten, and thirteen.

The mildest one was also a rib fracture.

He himself is very peaceful.

Although he has a gangster father, he doesn't even have a record of petty theft, and although his grades in school were not excellent, according to his graduation records, all his teachers rated him positively.

Nothing wrong other than a little withdrawn.

Oh yes, this kid is an avid 'bat fan' who joined the little group of worshippers in high school, and is still a skeleton. ”

After speaking, Ah Fu hesitated for a moment and asked again:

"Young Master, are you going to train a new Robin again? Need me to prepare adoption paperwork and call that person? The child no longer has any relatives. ”

"Nope."

Batman decisively refused, and when he turned to leave, he said to Alfred:

"I saw Jason's appearance in him.

Maybe he will live safer without touching me, keep an eye on him, Ah Fu, he has been suppressed by the darkness for too long, and tonight's outbreak may be just the beginning.

But whether it will return to calm or go distorted is not known.

As for me...

I just don't want to see one more occupant of Arkham Asylum, the city has enough troubles. ”

---

In the wee hours of the morning, Director Gordon personally drove Mason to a safe house in an apartment in the Odiesburg district, where the chief was wary and had no entourage other than him.

Obviously, he also knew that his police station was not so clean.

"You'll stay here for the next few days, waiting for the next arrangement."

The director threw a large bag of temporarily purchased daily necessities on the bed in this small apartment, and said to Mason, who had changed his clothes and wore a baseball cap to cover his figure, and looked around:

"Don't go out, there's an ordering phone on the table over there, and there's an emergency contact at the bedside. Again, I ask, are you really willing to accuse Oswald in court as a witness? ”

"It's all offended to this point, and they won't let me go if I don't be a witness."

The young man was not stressed, he walked to the window and pulled up the blinds slightly, and he could see Miller Harbour and the Gotham River flowing through the city in the distance.

He looked back at Director Gordon and asked:

"How long will the penguins be sent in?"

"With his black material, at least two hundred and thirty-five years."

The director shrugged his shoulders and added:

"Of course, if you don't get robbed."

Mason had no temper at all, and he grinned:

"So you, a police chief, have already tacitly agreed that the villains who are caught in prison by your own hands will definitely escape from prison?"

"This is Gotham, where anything is possible."

The director laughed dryly.

After looking at the time on his watch and preparing to leave, Mason stopped him and said:

"Leave me a weapon in case I need it. What about the gun I assembled myself? ”

"I'm staying in the Evidence Section."

Gordon pushed his black-rimmed glasses and glanced at Mason.

Probably thinking that this young man's situation was indeed special, he hesitated for a few seconds and took out his spare gun from his arms and put it on the table, leaving an extra magazine.

He said:

"Stay safe."

"Hmm."

Mason watched the director leave, and then played with the gun and watched the car drive away by the window.

He stepped forward to lock the door and took a beautiful bath, then returned to his room and picked up the umbrella he had been carrying, and took out the two batrangs he had picked up from his shoes.

He put the thing on the table, and the light curtain in front of him immediately gave the information label:

The penguin-man armed umbrella

Quality: Excellent engineering, special items, excellent workmanship

Status: Complete Accessories (Semi-Automatic Repeating Rifle, Fighting Spear, Staff Sword, Micro Flamethrower, Micro Gas Sprayer, Umbrella Bulletproof Shield, Catapult Throwing Knife)

Maker: "Penguin" Oswald Copote

Item Description: We generally call this ingenious multi-purpose self-defense weapon "3000 for your life".

Hint: Drawings have been included, and deep transformations can be carried out after engineering skills are improved

"Click"

Mason twisted the crooked handle of the umbrella, causing the umbrella to make a slight sound like a gear returning to its position, and as he watched, a snow-white blade popped out of the tip of the umbrella.

Turning the handle slightly, the tip of the umbrella is replaced with a delicate spout.

As he turned the handle of the umbrella all the way down, the sharp tip of the umbrella swooped out and slammed into the wall, the hollow spikes of the little finger sinking into the concrete, and the tail end was still trembling at high speed.

Mason grinned, retracted the tip of the umbrella, and pulled the handle open to reveal the loading port, filling the bullets from Director Gordon's rifle one by one.

It's got fifteen rounds of ammunition, but it's a waste of time to reload, and obviously shooting is only its most trivial function.

The dazzling little accessories are hidden in a ring-shaped mechanical box at the top of the wing, which looks as delicate as a music box.

With Mason's current engineering level at Lv0, he was sure that if he dismantled this thing himself, he would definitely not be able to install it on his own.

He played with the umbrella for a while, picked up two tough and exaggerated batarang, and put them in front of him, and the information label popped up again:

Basic Bat Dart

Quality: Excellent forging/engineering items, outstanding workmanship

Status: No components are carried, and there are seven weapon slots of different sizes in the center of the dart to meet different needs including blasting, electromagnetic shock, blinding, toxin, and surveillance.

After pulling the dart, it can be used for melee combat.

Maker: Wayne Industrial Technology R&D Department

Item description: You know that the cost of this small lump of iron and borrowing a few loans will be enough to buy you a new car, right? Can you bear to throw it out and smash people?

Hint: Physical samples have been collected, and drawings have been included.

"Who's going to use this thing but Bruce Wayne?"

Mason sighed and said:

"So those villains who were knocked down by the batrang were actually smashed by a luxury car? This is the ability of money, tsk, I really envy. ”

But the young man's envy like eating a lemon was not over, and a prompt popped up on the light curtain in front of him: enter the battle state...

“？”

Mason blinked in surprise.

The next second, some kind of heavy object hit the wall of the "safe house", and then there was a violent explosion that shook the entire apartment.

The young man was blown out and slammed into the wall on the other side, spitting blood when he got up.

But he reacted quickly, and in the confusion he grabbed the penguin's umbrella, and opened it like a shield in front of him.

The thump thump hit the umbrella, and the flying bullets pulled the young man back to the frantic shootout hours he had had had.

Black smoke billowed from the blasted walls, and several masked men rushed towards the automatic weapon, they hadn't seen their target yet, but Mason's wandering aiming frame had locked onto them.

The young man held the umbrella while holding the trigger of the umbrella handle, and shot decisively the moment the trajectory was corrected.

Three shots in a row overturned the two killers who burst in, he picked up the nearest rifle that had been dropped, carried the matching gun left by Gordon in his arms, stuck the batrang on his belt, staggered and covered his mouth, and rushed out the door amid the gunfire behind him.

The Gotham Police Department's safe house is safe enough...

Well, at least for the killers, it does.