Chapter 577: All Stitched Up (Part 1) (Patreon)

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As mentioned before, Gotham had many laws, but above all these laws stood one, a law that could be considered superior to all standards and rules—the law of Batman.

In Gotham, Batman and everything he created took precedence over everything else.

Victor had designed the liquid storage unit to be exceptionally sturdy, considering safety concerns. Some might wonder why he didn't encase the device in the toughest steel rather than transparent glass. Wasn't this sacrificing safety for aesthetics?

However, that layer of transparent glass was tougher than anything else. It was a material Victor had developed based on dense ice, even tougher than steel and more resilient than diamond, ensuring that even in its thin state, it wouldn't shatter easily. It boasted excellent sealing properties, making it far from vulnerable.

Yet, once it faced Batman's personally crafted batarangs, it became as fragile as glass.

Victor had thought of everything, but he could never have imagined that Batman would use batarangs to attack this contraption. He had even anticipated the possibility of someone using a nuclear bomb here, so the material was designed to be heat-resistant, impact-resistant, and radiation-resistant. Still, it didn't account for batarangs.

Batman and everything he created trumped everything in Gotham. So, the moment the batarangs touched this resilient material, it shattered.

Its shattering wasn't the issue; the liquid inside sprayed out. Even that wasn't the issue. However, Gotham had another law: the backstories of villains were never wasted. What was meant to happen would always happen.

In Freeze's origin story, Victor had transformed into Freeze due to a gas leak caused by a power outage. This time, in the same laboratory of Victor's, a leakage of freezing material, unsurprisingly, created another Freeze.

Or rather, more than one.

Thomas was transformed by this substance; he possessed all the qualifications to become Freeze. He perfectly inherited Freeze's backstory, even though it was a bit peculiar.

The only problem arose with Lex.

Previously, Lex had encountered the original Schiller as he was about to leave Metropolis. At that time, the original Schiller had noticed that Lex had been administered an excessive amount of sedatives, severely affecting his development and organ functions.

Perhaps out of sympathy, Schiller had given Lex a certain amount of fine wine, the Dionysian factor.

Since Lex had used only a very small amount, the enhancements it brought were not significant. It slightly accelerated his recovery abilities and gave him some night vision capability.

Even Alberto, who had fallen into a pool of Dionysian factor-laden wine, hadn't turned into a super-fast-healing monster like Deadpool. Thus, it appeared that the self-healing effects of the Dionysian factor weren't as potent as they seemed.

However, the Dionysian factor's inability to take effect wasn't due to the inability of individuals to absorb it. Instead, beyond its pharmacological and pathological effects, the Dionysian factor seemed more like a mystical presence. It could only work on designated individuals, and that was the Joker...

If it wasn't the Joker, even with the Dionysian factor, the enhancements wouldn't be significant, and one couldn't achieve the kind of resilience the Joker displayed. He could be beaten by Batman one day and bounce back, causing chaos the next.

But Lex's current predicament also fit another backstory: the Joker.

Don't forget, the Joker had an origin story involving falling into a chemical vat. While Lex hadn't fallen in, he had been completely submerged in chemical agents, with a similar effect.

Furthermore, this accident had been caused directly by Batman, effectively aligning it with the Red Hood's backstory. Lex had become another person chosen by Batman.

Creating Gotham's villains was akin to cooking—a primary ingredient, another one added, put it in the pot, and you'd cook up a villain.

Sometimes, a dish required only one ingredient, like Freeze—just toss in "cryogenic laboratory material leakage," and you'd have a dish ready.

For the Joker, you needed two ingredients. First, you threw in the essential main ingredient, which was "chosen by Batman," and then you could choose the "falling into a chemical vat" backstory, the Dionysian factor, or traits like "already mentally unstable," among others.

Mixing the main ingredient with any one of the secondary ingredients would yield a dish named Joker. Now, Lex had not only the main ingredient but also two secondary ingredients: the backstory of "falling into a chemical vat" and the Dionysian factor. Hence, it was no surprise that another Joker was born.

At the same time, Lex also fit Freeze's backstory. In Freeze's original backstory, the chemical vat he fell into did nothing more than change his hair and skin color, but Victor's creation was different—this chemical vat could create Freeze.

So, Lex, who possessed two different backstories and managed to cook up two distinct dishes from the same ingredients, became an unprecedented trinity of villains—Froze, Joker, Luthor.

At this moment, the blue liquid was entirely absorbed by the two individuals near the liquid storage device. As the liquid diminished, the true faces of the two began to emerge.

The first to regain consciousness was Thomas. After a moment of stupor, he began to scream frantically.

His screams were akin to someone being thrown into hot oil. He continuously curled his body, incessantly scratching his skin. Visible wisps of smoke emerged from his body, as if he were burning.

This reaction wasn't surprising. In the original comic, Freeze had a significant weakness: he had to wear cryogenic armor. If the room temperature exceeded 0 degrees Celsius and he lacked the protective gear, he would die.

If it had been Victor experiencing this, he could have immediately analyzed the situation and found the quickest way to sustain his life. After all, he was the world's most formidable cryogenic scientist, and this was his headquarters.

However, Thomas was different. He was a college student with no background in physics or chemistry. Although his grades were considerably better than Bruce's, they were still at the level of an average college student. He had no connection to cryogenics, and it was his first time in this laboratory. There was nothing here he could use.

He had no idea what was happening as his cells gradually began to deteriorate due to the low-temperature transformation. But at that moment, Batman walked over, captured Thomas, and tossed him into the liquid storage device, which still held a small amount of blue liquid.

Batman's skills were undoubtedly far superior to Thomas's. Thus, he immediately identified the issue. As expected, once Thomas was immersed in the remaining blue liquid, he stopped screaming and lay there bewilderedly, staring at the ceiling.

Ultimately, Freeze's strength lay in his technical prowess rather than his intrinsic abilities. This low-temperature transformation was more of a liability on its own. If someone only received this transformation, they'd be worse off than an ordinary person. Thomas was in such a predicament; outside of the blue liquid, he couldn't survive.

Batman paid no heed to Thomas's hateful gaze. He turned his head and looked at another figure lurking in the shadows of the room. The recent burst of laughter sent shivers down his spine.

Now, Lex's skin was even paler than before. When he looked up, Batman saw the familiar maniacal grin on his face.

The reason Lex didn't fear room temperature and avoided self-combusting like Thomas was because the Dionysian factor within him was working at full throttle. This clash between low-temperature alteration and self-healing abilities had granted him greater power.

While Batman was momentarily captivated by that smile, Lex extended a hand, and a cold mist drifted towards Batman. In just a second, a thin layer of ice formed on Batman's Batsuit.

Batman quickly retreated, and as he landed firmly, he exhaled a visible cloud of frost. By now, the room's temperature had dropped close to freezing point.

The blue liquid absorbed into Lex's body hadn't completely altered his cells because his Dionysian factor continuously facilitated cell regeneration. Thus, this freezing liquid had been stored within Lex and had transformed into one of his powers.

In simple terms, Lex had become a well-fueled ice-cold gun. Moreover, he wasn't limited to a specific weapon form and could change his freezing tactics.

With cutting-edge technology, Joker's madness, and Luthor's intelligence combined, Batman took a deep breath, realizing that a fierce battle was about to unfold.

Meanwhile, in the hospital room at the center of Gotham, Schiller was sitting beside a hospital bed. Gordon stood across from the bed, and lying on it was the third victim, the girl who had been stabbed multiple times. According to Schiller's notes, her name was Angel.

Gordon widened his eyes and asked in disbelief, "Are you saying that no one was trying to kill you, but you stabbed yourself? You..."

He paused for a moment and then continued, "Angel, I understand that Gotham is a very dangerous place, and there are many people here who could threaten your life. Perhaps they forced you not to speak the truth. But with Professor Shiller and me here, you should trust us. If you tell the truth, we will bring the real culprits to justice. You are safe..."

Pale-faced Angel shook her head, her expression somewhat dazed. She said in a weak voice, "No, what I said is true. I was the one trying to kill myself. I think I might be going insane."

"Please, tell us the whole story. What happened?" Schiller didn't argue with Angel like Gordon did because he could tell that Angel's mental state was far from stable.

Her face was pale, and it wasn't solely due to the loss of blood from the multiple stabbings. Based on the details of her skin, her poor color had likely persisted for some time.

Angel closed her eyes and spoke in a very feeble voice, "About a few days ago, I started having a strange feeling. Every time I saw my good friend Belenna, I had this... this urge to kill her."

Angel's face contorted in extreme agony, and with a hint of a sob, she continued, "I just... had this overwhelming desire to kill her."

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 578: Completely Stitched (Part 2)