2187 Side Story: Fantasy Journey
Sure enough, when Gordon looked at the shadow that had appeared in the corner of his eye, he saw Master Wayne perched on the signal tower on the roof, his cape fluttering behind him.
He had just landed after gliding through the air.
Em~ Why didnât he land on the ground like a certain other person? That was because it was Lukeâs choice to keep a low profile, not Master Wayneâs.
After he was done posing, Master Wayne made sure that there were no eavesdroppers nearby before he jumped down.
!!
Gordon shifted his gaze, only to see three people already standing silently where Master Wayne had landed: the battle goddess, Diana, in her red and gold battle outfit; Barry, in an all-red suit, and Luke, Master Wayneâs impersonator.
Gordonâs attention lingered on Luke for two seconds before he looked at Master Wayne. âApart from this person, how many other Batmans like you are there?â
Hearing the questioning tone, Master Wayne frowned. âIâm the only Batman. Tell me, whatâs going on?â
Gordon took out a kidâs drawing and handed it to him. âEight people from S.T.A.R. Labs have gone missing, six in Metropolis and two here on our side. A kid drew a sketch of the kidnappers.â
Master Wayne saw that the drawing was of a humanoid with wings and a hood over its head.
Diana glanced at it. âItâs a Parademon.â
With one look, Luke understood why Commissioner Gordon had paid more attention to him.
The Parademon had wings like a dragonflyâs on its back, and its insect-like facial features were too complicated for a child to draw, so it had been rendered simply as a black hood.
Coupled with the fact that the sketch was done in black pencil, it looked 60 to 70% similar to Batman.
Thus, he could understand the hostility he sensed in Commissioner Gordonâs mental fluctuations.
After all, Luke wasnât an old friend like Batman. It was normal for Commissioner Gordon to be suspicious.
Of course, Luke actually felt that Commissioner Gordon looked a little like someone from back home â like that Jameson guy?
That guyâs family opened a branch of the Daily Bugle in New York. When he went to Los Angeles to play, he tried to steal Vanessa from Wade. Wade, who hadnât been too crazy back then, beat him up and pretended to steal 20,000 dollars from him.
Luke looked at Commissioner Gordon, who was wearing a black coat and a black hat. He was a serious man, and didnât look like he deserved a beating at all.
Clothes really made the man.
âNine now.â A figure jumped up onto the roof. The red eye in his face startled Commissioner Gordon and Barry.
Barry hurriedly patted his pounding heart and glanced at Master Wayne and Luke, before he relaxed. These two were much better fighters than he was.
In fact, Master Wayne, Diana and Luke had sensed the personâs arrival earlier on, and had just been waiting for him to come out.
The person walked out of the shadows on the roof to reveal a strange metal body and half a human face. It was none other than Victor Stone, whom they had failed to rope in not long ago.
His expression was dark and angry. âThe head of S.T.A.R. Labs was just taken.â
Everybody except Commissioner Gordon was enlightened â the head was Victorâs father.
No wonder he had come over now after seeing the Bat signal, when he hadnât agreed to join the Justice League before.
Unlike Barry, who had clutched his chest, Commissioner Gordon was used to being startled. He only glanced at Victor; seeing that Master Wayne and the others didnât react, he knew that they werenât enemies.
He took out a document from his pocket. It was a map of the crime scene. âWe investigated these locations, but didnât find the kidnappersâ base.â
Victorâs mechanical eye flashed red. âOnly on the mainland.â
Everybody looked at the map, and Victor did the calculations swiftly in his head. âPutting all the monstersâ movements together, Brixton Island is a very likely location between the two cities.â
As someone who worked underground. Master Wayne was very sharp. âBack then, Gotham Port wanted to build an underground tunnel to Metropolis, but the economic crisis happened a few years after it was started, and it was abandoned.â
Gordon couldnât help but follow his gaze and look in the direction of Metropolis. After staring for a moment, he turned around. âDo you really think that the Parademonsâ nest is⊠there?â
There was already nobody in front of the commissioner except for Barry, who was listening to him with a dazed expression.
Seeing Gordonâs surprised expression, Barry looked around in surprise. âWow, they disappeared just like that⊠Hm, rude.â
Swoosh!
The top of the GCPD building was completely quiet, leaving Commissioner Gordon with his mouth open. He then shook his head, as if he didnât know what to say.
âŠ
A few minutes later, the newly established five-member Justice League stood in front of a huge tunnel.
Looking at the image transmitted by Lukeâs drone, Master Wayne frowned. âThe people from S.T.A.R. Labs are still alive. There are over 100 Parademons.â
Everybody was quiet. Victorâs father was also inside!
It was inevitable. Everyone would be just as cautious if it were the butler or Barryâs father inside.
Luke blinked. âAre you forgetting something?â
Everybody looked at him. He looked at Barry and patted the energetic young man on the shoulder. âWhen we move later, charge in and get Victorâs father out first, then the others.â
Barry was lost for words.
Seeing the agreement on everybodyâs faces, he was a little stumped. He raised his hand and said hesitantly, âOkay, itâs like this. Iâm afraid of insectsâŠâ
Everybody was lost for words. Although the Parademons looked a little like insects, they were completely different.
Barry continued to confess, ââŠThey also have guns, and theyâre bigger than me.â
Everybody couldnât help but look at the monsters on the surveillance feed. Many of them were indeed holding guns.
As for their size⊠Barryâs head didnât even reach Dianaâs shoulder. Thatâs it? Bad guys shorter than you are definitely rare!
Barry wasnât done yet. âIâm afraid of blood and dead people. To be honest, Iâve never fought a bad guy. At most, I just push them and runâŠâ
Master Wayne stepped forward and loomed over Barry, who stopped babbling.
Staring into the kidâs eyes â well, they were the lenses of the nanosuit, but his eyes could still be roughly made out â Master Wayne said in a low voice, âThen save one first.â
Barry: âWhat?â
Master Wayne said, âSave one person first. Victorâs father.â
...
Barry: âHm, and then?â
Master Wayne said, âDonât talk, donât fight. Go in and bring people out. Thatâs all.â
Barry: âThatâs it?â
Master Wayne nodded seriously. âThatâs right. When the time comes, youâll understand the rest.â
Barry swallowed nervously. He suddenly really wanted a cup of Knightâs black tea.
However, he still nodded. âOkay, got it.â