dhibooks Chapter 199 And so the Mirror Master gently knelt down.
Chapter 199 And so the Mirror Master gently knelt down.
Chapter 199 And so the Mirror Master gently knelt down.
"What are you doing?"
Killer Croc stroked his chin, unsure whether he, as Robin, should go up and help or what.
Instead of going into Midtown Hospital, Batman took him to the hospital's rooftop.
From the rooftop, Chen Tao's lower body transformed into floating nanobots, carrying him along the outer wall and leviting him directly into a room on the second floor.
A question mark appeared above Killer Croc's head: "Hey, Batman! I'm not in the car yet!"
"Wait here," Chen Tao told him. "It's a tradition for Batman to abandon Robin and act on his own. You should learn from that..."
Then he turned his head and saw Killer Croc clinging to the wall with his claws, following behind him. Despite his enormous size, he was as agile as a mouse. To enter the room, he even let out a groan, and then his body shrank a little.
He said:
"Ignoring Batman's orders is also one of Robin's traditional skills."
Chen Tao was speechless.
He ignored the killer crocodile and focused intently on operating the equipment in front of him.
This room is the power distribution room of Midtown Hospital. He carefully checked it before entering. There were no mirrors or anything with a surface so smooth that it could reflect images.
That's fantastic.
"What exactly do you want...?"
"I need to have a backup plan," Chen Tao told Killer Crocodile. "Now I can cut off the power to any room in this building at any time."
He stood up, his eyes gleaming with a captivating light: "Let's go. We'll go meet the notorious rogue gang in Midtown... or rather, the incomplete version."
Immediately afterwards, he pushed open the door to the power distribution room and walked out openly and honestly.
Killer Croc followed behind him: "Huh? I thought we wouldn't have to fight this time."
"We need to talk, but we're not the Flash."
Chen Tao said:
"We don't have the buff that guarantees 100% success in need talk."
A nurse, yawning as she walked down the corridor around the corner, carrying a patient's medical record, bumped into Chen Tao and Killer Crocodile.
The assassin Crocodile, dressed in Robin's uniform, grinned at her.
"Eek—" the nurse screamed, threw the medical record card on the ground, and ran away.
Killer Croc froze, then turned his head resentfully, looking at Batman with a pitiful expression: "I thought you were going to knock him out or let us infiltrate or something."
Chen Tao ignored him. He turned his head and saw a figure in orange and green rapidly disappearing into a smooth tile at the edge of the corridor.
He knew who the other person was.
Sam Scudder, the Mirror Master, is another important member of the Rogues and the lover of Lisa Snart, Captain Cold's sister.
"Keep going."
Chen Tao said, "Use your appearance to scare away as many irrelevant people as possible in the hospital."
He said, "We're probably going to have a fight. The Rogues are going through a very, very tough time right now, and the Mirror Master will do anything to protect his lover."
……
……
……
I am Sam Scudder, the Master of Mirrors.
I used to work in a mirror factory, but one time I accidentally mixed the wrong chemicals into a mirror.
Like all legendary stories, the mirror was supposed to be destroyed, but it wasn't; instead, it gained the ability to connect to dimensional spaces.
Through studying this mirror, I learned to create various mirror effects and teleportation, and I also built my own mirror gun, thus beginning my criminal career.
later?
Later I joined the gang of scoundrels.
The reason we got together was simple: The Flash is just too damn good.
To deal with someone as fast as the Flash, sheer numbers can tip the scales. Besides, some of us can melt vehicles, create frost, and summon blizzards with a wave of our wands.
Even if this Speedster is incredibly fast, it will still take him some effort to deal with our group.
We have money, ability, and plans. We've even earned a bit of respect from other criminals, and we have many admirers, like the Rainbow Thief and that rookie magician who came to Midtown to gain a foothold in the Rascals.
To be fair, I know we are lawbreakers, and our actions are indeed illegal from a technical standpoint...
But here's the thing: we live in the greatest country in the world, full of opportunities, aren't we? Everyone has the right to earn a living by doing what they're best at.
Our easiest job is robbery and theft, so is it our fault?
You can blame our parents, or society, or anyone else you think is right, it doesn't matter.
Our nature is hard to change; we are just a group of ordinary people who are busy all day long and don't fit in, trying our best to survive in this world.
Believe it or not. We adhere to certain rules, three main principles:
First, never kill unless absolutely necessary. The police officers are simply doing their duty.
Second, we don't touch drugs, not because we stay away from wrongdoing, but because drugs always lead to violations of principle number one.
There's a third option: win.
We are proud to have always strictly adhered to these three principles.
It is often said that a hero's strength is equal to that of his enemy.
According to that logic, The Flash is more powerful than the entire U.S. Army combined. You should give him a try.
The Flash might think we're slow, but who can be faster than him?
People never seem to understand that there's a reason why the Rogues always manage to push the Flash to his limits.
The Rogue Gang is never content with the status quo; as long as there are more benefits, they will make a comeback. People don't understand that our relationship is much closer than many people realize.
We steal, we rob, that's what we do.
The Rogues also have an unwritten rule, a bond stronger than death itself: we'll watch each other's backs until we die in battle.
Okay, but all of that is in the past.
I have always been grateful to Captain Cold whenever I have the chance, not only because he led us, but more importantly because he introduced me to his sister, Lisa Snart, the Golden Glider, the love of my life.
I would die for Lisa.
The Rogue Gang is such a big family.
But Captain Cold destroyed it himself.
In short, this is what happened:
For a long time, even with high-tech equipment, we have found it difficult to compete with the fastest, but Captain Cold...
He was the leader, and he felt he should be drinking with us, celebrating the greatest crime in history, instead of wallowing in sorrow, drinking whiskey, and engaging in mindless looting and vandalism.
Under the constant pressure of being unable to defeat the Flash, Captain Cold went insane. And you know what the worst thing was? He dragged the entire Rogues down with him, and sent us all to hell.
A year and a half ago, Captain Cold found a device called a gene recombination device. According to him, this thing could rewrite the DNA of everyone in the Rogues, combining our bodies with superpowers, and we would become superhumans, just like the Flash.
We all believed his lies.
"How do you know this thing will definitely work?"
"What have we lost?"
"You've had enough of slamming your head against the wall, getting easily disarmed by the Flash, and struggling to the point of exhaustion? This machine will completely turn the tide!"
"Put the weapons into the machine, let's have a good time!"
"Are you kidding me, Leon?"
"No joke, Lisa."
That's all our conversation, and then we were like idiots, trying out a machine we had no idea how it would work.
Captain Cold said he never jokes; he brainwashed me, he brainwashed everyone. The Rogue Gang entrusted all their trust to Captain Cold…
What did we get in return?
Yes, the gene recombination device worked, giving the Rogues superpowers, but at what cost?
I am forever trapped in the world of mirrors.
And the golden glider, my Lisa, was forced to leave her physical body and become a spirit, only able to remain in that state for a very short time each time she touched anything.
Her spirit wandered everywhere, while the real her could not move an inch, and her life was worse than death.
The heatwave... poor guy, his whole body was burned beyond recognition. Do you know how much pain burn patients experience? But Mick was completely charred.
The weather wizard's life is more gloomy than sunny. His emotions fluctuate with the weather. Although he is no longer bound by the weather wand, he has completely lost control of his mood.
He suffered from depression and various other mental illnesses. All psychotherapy and medication were ineffective for him. His mood was only affected by the damn weather!
The Rogue Gang is finished. We're scattered and fighting our own battles. We want to kill Captain Cold, but that coward just ran away without a word, leaving us behind...
now.
This is a ward on the second floor of Midtown Hospital. Lisa Snatt, the Golden Glider, is lying in bed, her entire body wrapped in bandages.
The image of Mirror Master Sam appears in a mirror next to him.
Due to a glitch in his superpowers, he is no longer able to appear in the real world.
"Lisa... Lisa..."
He called softly to the beautiful woman on the bed, but received no response.
The Mirror Master's face darkened.
"I won't let anyone hurt you, Lisa," he promised. "Batman, and Killer Croc, whatever their motives, I won't let them near your room."
His eyes gleamed with a silver light; he had made up his mind.
Meanwhile...
"Good heavens? What is this?!"
The killer crocodile screamed in alarm.
They were no longer walking in the corridors of Midtown Hospital, but instead found themselves in a space filled with broken shards of glass.
Their enemies... the Mirror Masters, number in the hundreds and thousands.
"This isn't fair!"
Just as Killer Crocodile tried to stand up, he was grabbed by dozens of Mirror Masters and crushed into a dried-up crocodile.
He heard the other person's voice, layer upon layer, echoing among countless people.
"Welcome to the Mirror World. This can be called my territory, but let's call it by its real name—Prison!"
Killer Croc roared, unleashing tremendous power that sent dozens of Mirror Master clones flying. But it was to no avail; Mirror Master simply snapped his fingers, and more identical clones continued to pour out from the other mirrors.
The killer crocodile was caught off guard and was hit on the forehead by one of them.
"Ouch!"
"The situation has changed, we've evolved, we've become many people... more and more!"
The killer crocodile promptly chickened out.
He turned to Batman, who was standing by watching the scene unfold, and exclaimed, "Wow! Hurry up and save your Robin! If you don't do something soon, I'm going to be crushed to death!"
As he spoke, he struggled to tear off the countless Mirror Masters covering his body, when the other party suddenly pulled out one of his teeth with a forceful pull, causing him to scream in pain.
Chen Tao completely ignored Robin's pleas for help.
He was looking directly into the eyes of the Mirror Master.
The other party seemed to realize just how dangerous Batman was, so they deliberately chose the weaker target and didn't use their clones to attack him.
It must be said that Sam did a good job of keeping the conflict within certain limits, which was undoubtedly a smart move. As the man who temporarily took over the captain's position in the original work when Captain Cold was absent, even when imprisoned in the Mirror World, his strategic mind was still sharp.
"Get out of here, Batman."
But love makes people blind.
Despite his words, Chen Tao had already noticed that he was preparing to banish them into a deeper level of the mirror world.
That was a realm that even the Mirror Masters could not reach, filled with strange creatures of all dimensions and all sorts of unknown dangers.
Chen Tao looked at the image of the Mirror Master in front of him.
This probably isn't a real person either. The other party has blended in well among a bunch of clones, or perhaps they're not even here at all.
"We need to talk."
Chen Tao told him.
You've started the "We need talk" campaign!
Your talk failed. Please change into the Flash costume and try again!
"I have nothing to talk to you superheroes."
A silver light flashed in the Mirror Master's eyes.
Since gaining superpowers, these abilities have been extremely unstable for him, and he himself doesn't even know when something might go wrong.
His attempt to open a portal to a deeper mirror world was also a very dangerous act, but he had no other choice.
He knew very well how formidable Batman was, so he either wouldn't make a move or would go all out; otherwise, he would only lose.
If he loses, Nalisa...
The Mirror Master made up his mind.
Then he saw Batman snap his fingers.
Waaaaah...
He heard a strange sound in the Golden Glider's room, as if the instruments that kept the Golden Glider alive were groaning and stopping.
The Mirror Master's movements came to an abrupt halt.
Then all the mirror images shattered in that instant. Killer Croc looked up from the pile of broken mirrors and saw the Mirror Master's true form appear in another mirror in the distance, charging towards the two of them.
"He's here. You've forced him to reveal his true form, Batman."
Killer Croc rubbed his hands together, eager for a fight: "Finally, it's time for a fair battle! One-on-one! Face to face!"
It's getting closer, closer and closer.
Killer Croc raised his fist.
With a sharp crack, Mirror Master slid to his knees, the mirror forming a path beneath his feet, allowing him to slide all the way to his knees directly in front of Chen Tao.
"Please, please turn on the power!"
In a great hurry, the Mirror Master grabbed Chen Tao's trouser leg.
"Without electricity, the medical equipment sustaining Lisa's life can't function, and Lisa is going to die!"
"Please, please!"
(End of this chapter)