The track of dawn in the world of American manga

Chapter 4 4. For the sake of everyone being orphans.

In the dim streets of Gotham's East End, the Penguin who had received an injection no longer howled.

Batman injected a hemostatic agent into the wound and used a special spray to prevent the severed finger injury from worsening, and then used his Bat communicator to send a signal to Commissioner Gordon.

The Penguin broke some kind of "tacit agreement" and attacked the police station. Naturally, it was up to the Gotham Police Department to end the matter.

The VIP ticket to Blackgate Prison has been personally delivered to Oswald by the master. This can be regarded as a kind of faith that a superhero should keep his word.

However, this matter is not over yet today.

The young man Mason knew that he couldn't leave just like that, because the Batman in front of him was staring at him with a pair of eyes that were so cold and almost emotionless.

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

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

"A dropout from Gotham High School, a 17-year-old young man who was previously featureless and mediocre was raised by a gang veteran with serious violent tendencies."

Batman said hoarsely:

"Your performance tonight is inconsistent with your past experience, Mason Cooper. Perhaps you should explain it?"

"I guess you don't understand how tragic it is to have a father who goes crazy when he's drunk. What's even more regrettable is that that man is drunk every day."

Under the gaze of the master, the young man knelt down, picked up the black umbrella that the Penguin "dropped", and held the exquisite and deadly weapon in his hand.

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

"You personally arrested my father and sent him to prison three times. I think you know that man better than me. In my childhood memory, he smiled only a handful of times. After my mother died, he brought various women home to hang out with.

, I am more of a burden than a gift to him.

Did you ever have a childhood like this? Batman."

Mason raised his head, glanced at the master, and said:

"I guess you haven't. If you have, you should know that I have been hiding and practicing secretly and practicing my marksmanship not to hurt others.

I'm just trying to protect myself!

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

Not even you who can make Gotham tremble!

Batman will not appear in that nightmare and take me away like in the comic books."

These words instantly stabbed the master's heart as hard as steel like a knife.

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

But anyone familiar with Batman's origin story knows that when faced with Batman's questions, it is obviously easier to gain some sympathy by turning the topic to the parents' level.

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

Judging from the memories he gained after possessing this body, this young man's short life in the past was really painful. The fact that his father was hacked to death in a gang fight did not seem like a curse to the young man.

Even more akin to relief.

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

"The people I hurt tonight are all members of the Penguin Gang. They are bad people!"

When Mason saw the master's silence, he knew that his words were working. He stroked the penguin umbrella in his hand, took a step back and stepped on a fallen batarang with his foot.

He said loudly:

"The Penguin and his gang have been like a lock on everything since I was a kid, and I went to high school thinking I could get away from them.

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

That bastard at your feet buys insurance for all his subordinates and buys people's hearts.

He calls himself the most benevolent 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 a problem with that?

Only when they are all gone can I get rid of the past, overcome fear, and embrace a new life. Batman! You are a powerful person, you are not afraid of these guys.

They can't hurt you with their guns.

But I can't.

I am just an ordinary person with good marksmanship. I will die even if I am hit. I also helped your friend. Is it wrong for me to pursue a new life?

Do you want me to apologize to them?"

After repeated questioning, the analysis progress bar of the special engineering creation "Penguin's Armed Umbrella" appeared on the light screen in front of Mason.

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

It only takes a few minutes to complete the drawing collection.

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

After an excruciating ten seconds of confrontation, he spread his hands and said to Batman:

"That's where all my origins come from.

Believe it or not, this is the story of a young man who endured 17 years and finally found a chance to escape from hell! But I’m not here to provoke you, in fact I’m here to thank you.

Without your intervention, the grudge between me and the Penguin Gang would not have ended so easily."

"Finish?"

The master finally spoke.

His cloak covered his body and the low black armor, and he maintained his always indifferent posture and said in a mute voice:

"This is not the end at all, this is just the beginning.

What you did tonight cannot be concealed, and Penguin's gang will not disband just because he and his core members are in jail. Oswald has a group of killers in the city specifically to handle similar matters for him.

I won't comment on the feud between you and the Penguin Gang.

I don’t mean to criticize your views on your father. But Mason, you have personally put yourself into a terrible crisis, and you may not even survive tomorrow night.”

"That's my business. The path I choose is my own."

Mason felt a little guilty.

But he still acted like a young man who didn't bow his head. He picked up his gun and carried it behind his back. He glanced at the master and whispered:

"Can I leave now? Batman, I have to go back and pack up and start my escape."

"Stay here and wait for Gordon to come. He will protect you."

The master said briefly, and Mason's eyes widened, and he whispered:

"There are gangsters in the police station! If you hadn't shown up tonight, those gangsters would have sold Commissioner Gordon to Penguin as soon as possible. You couldn't have known that, right?

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

"Gordon has several trusted safe houses."

The master didn't explain much.

When police sirens rang in the streets in the distance, he waved his hand, raised his grapple gun, and drove the flying claw into a high place. The moment he flew up, Batman warned:

"You said you wanted a quiet life, Mason, and you better keep your word. I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"Whoosh"

The man's figure disappeared into the night, blending into the darkness. Mason stood there and watched him leave, and then glanced at the Penguin's armed umbrella in his hand.

The master didn’t take this away?

Does this mean that you have this weapon by default?

Maybe he feels that he needs this thing to protect himself in the next situation?

The young man blinked and breathed a sigh of relief.

In any case, it seems that the words he carefully prepared along the way really moved the master. Of course, it is most likely that there is some kind of "resonance" between the two orphans?

"lay down your weapon!"

As the police car swerved to a stop, Commissioner Gordon's angry shouts rang out in the dark night. Mason had no intention of showing off his bravery.

He raised his hands and allowed the police to come forward and collect his weapons.

Old Gordon walked over expressionlessly, took the tracker out of Mason's arms, and pretended to beat the unruly child, but in the end he just reached out and patted him on the shoulder, and ran to check on the unconscious Penguin.

He personally put the handcuffs on the Penguin's wrists.

At a certain corner of the street, Batman stood alone on the roof like a statue watching the police cars leave. After the flashing lights completely disappeared, the master activated the communication and said to the other end:

"Alfred, enter the Gotham City resident database, use the keyword 'Mason Cooper', and check all his information. Focus on whether he had a record of calling the police when he was seven years old, and whether he had a record of being abused by his father.

"

"Wait a moment, Master."

Ah Fu's steady voice sounded from the communicator hidden in the bat ear decoration of the helmet. A few seconds later, the old housekeeper sighed and answered:

"Yes, the information matches your description very well. This child was sent to the hospital three times when he was six, ten, and thirteen years old.

The most minor one was a rib fracture.

He himself is very peaceful.

Although he has a father who is a gangster, he does not even have a criminal record for petty theft. Although his grades in school were not excellent, judging from his graduation records, all his teachers evaluated him very positively.

There are no problems except being a little lonely.

Oh, by the way, this kid is a fanatical 'Bat fan'. He joined a small group that admires you in high school and is still a core member."

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

"Master, are you going to train a new Robin again? Do you need me to prepare adoption documents and call that person? This child no longer has any relatives."

"No."

Batman decisively refused and said to Alfred as he turned to leave:

"I saw Jason in him.

Maybe he will live safer if he doesn't come into contact with me. Keep an eye on him. Ah Fu, he has been suppressed by the darkness for too long. Tonight's explosion may be just the beginning.

But no one knows whether it will return to peace or become distorted.

As for me.

I just don't want to see another resident of Arkham Asylum, the city has enough troubles already."

——

In the early hours of the morning, Director Gordon personally drove Mason to a safe house in an apartment in the Odsburg district. The director was very vigilant and there was no one accompanying him except him.

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

"You will stay here for the next few days, waiting for follow-up arrangements."

The director threw a large bag of temporarily purchased daily necessities on the bed of this small apartment, and then 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 a phone for ordering food on the table over there, and an emergency communicator by the bedside. Let me ask again, are you really willing to serve as a witness against Oswald in court?"

"I've been offended to this extent, and they won't let me go if I don't serve as a witness."

The young man didn't feel any pressure. He walked to the window and raised the blinds slightly, and he could overlook Miller Harbor in the dark night and the Gotham River flowing through the city.

He looked back at Commissioner Gordon and asked:

"How long will Penguin be sent in?"

"Based on his dirty information, at least two hundred and thirty-five years."

The director shrugged and added:

"Of course, that's without being jailed."

This made Mason lose his temper. He grinned and said:

"So you, the police chief, have already acquiesced that the bad guy who was imprisoned by you will definitely escape?"

"This is Gotham, anything is possible here."

The director laughed twice.

After checking the time on his watch and preparing to leave, Mason called to him and said:

"Leave me a weapon in case I need it. Where's the gun I built myself?"

"Left in the evidence department."

Gordon pushed up 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 placed it on the table, leaving an extra magazine.

He said:

"be safe."

"Um."

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

He went up and locked the door and took a nice bath first, then returned to the room and picked up the umbrella he had been carrying, and took out the two batarangs he picked up from his shoes.

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

Penguin's Armed Umbrella

Quality: Excellent engineering, special items, excellent craftsmanship

Status: Complete accessories (semi-automatic repeating gun, fighting spear, staff sword, micro flamethrower, micro poison gas injector, umbrella bulletproof shield, ejection throwing knife)

Maker: Oswald "The Penguin" Cobblepot

Item description: We generally call this ingenious multi-purpose self-defense weapon "Kill You 3000".

Tip: The drawings have been included, and you can carry out in-depth modifications after improving your engineering skills.

"Click"

Mason twisted the bent umbrella handle, making the umbrella make a slight sound like a gear returning to its original position. As he watched, a snow-white blade popped out of the umbrella tip.

Turn the umbrella handle slightly again, and the umbrella tip will be replaced with a delicate nozzle.

As he turned the umbrella handle all the way, the sharp umbrella tip shot out with a whoosh and pierced the wall hard. The hollow spikes as long as his little finger were completely buried in the concrete, and the tail end was still shaking at high speed.

Mason grinned, retracted the tip of the umbrella, opened the handle of the umbrella to reveal the loading port, and loaded the bullets in Director Gordon's gun one by one.

This thing has fifteen rounds of ammunition, but reloading is a waste of time. Obviously shooting is only its most insignificant function.

Those dazzling little accessories are hidden in a ring-shaped mechanical box at the top of the umbrella body, which looks very delicate like a music box.

With Mason's current Lv0 engineering level, he can be sure that if he dismantles this thing, he will definitely not be able to install it by himself.

He played with the umbrella for a while, then picked up two tough and exaggerated batarangs and placed them in front of his eyes. The information label popped up again:

Basic bat fighting dart

Quality: Excellent forging/engineering items·Excellent craftsmanship

Status: Not equipped with any components. There are seven weapon slots of different specifications reserved in the center of the fighting dart, which can meet different needs including blasting, electromagnetic shock, blinding, toxins and monitoring.

It can be used in close combat when the dart is pulled open.

Producer: Wayne Industrial Technology R&D Department

Item description: You know that the cost of this small piece of iron and a little loan can be enough for you to buy a new car, right? Do you have the heart to throw it out and hit someone?

Tip: Physical samples have been collected and the drawings have been included.

"Who else can use this thing besides Bruce Wayne?"

Mason sighed and said:

"So those villains who were knocked down by batarangs were actually hit by a luxury car? This is money power, tsk, I'm so envious."

But before the young man's envy was over, as if he had eaten a lemon, a prompt popped up on the light screen in front of him: Enter combat status.

"?"

Mason blinked in surprise.

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

The young man was blown away and hit the wall on the other side. He got up and vomited blood.

But he reacted quickly. In the chaos, he grabbed the Penguin's umbrella and opened it with a snap like a shield in front of him.

The bang-bang-bang impact hit the umbrella, and the flying bullets pulled the young man back into the crazy gun battle a few hours ago.

Black smoke billowed from the collapsed wall, and several masked men rushed towards the automatic weapons. They hadn't seen the target yet, but the sight frame in front of Mason's eyes had already locked onto them.

The young man held the umbrella while holding the trigger of the umbrella handle, and fired decisively as soon as the preset ballistic trajectory was corrected.

He shot two killers who rushed in with three shots in a row. He picked up the rifle that had fallen closest to him, put the gun left behind by Gordon in his arms, put the batarang in his belt, staggered and covered his mouth.

He rushed out the door amidst gunshots rang out behind him.

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

Well, at least that's true for killers.

(End of chapter)