American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

517. Scavenger Returning to the Old Ground.

The moon hung high above the treetops, casting a silver glow.

In a quiet alley in Gotham Harbor, a rectangular purple portal suddenly opened, and a man dressed in black swiftly stepped out.

"I've gotten used to it."

Looking at the nearby trash can less than three meters away, Alex didn't know how to comment.

Returning to Flashpoint Universe 1, Alex felt quite conflicted. He was eager to see how Old Batman and young Barry Allen were doing now. At the same time, he was concerned that after being away for such a long time, this universe might have changed beyond recognition.

Due to Miss Minutes's imprecise location and the fact that this universe was originally part of a doomed timeline, even Alex, as a traveler, couldn't predict what had become of it.

However, seeing the relatively normal buildings around him at least reassured him that this universe was still in a safe state. He had been prepared to step into a wasteland.

Adjusting his collar, Alex quickly walked out of the alley.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Gotham was a city prone to heavy rain, with the moon rarely visible. Under such weather, the Bat-Signal was hard to project through the clouds.

Of course, that applied to other universes. In this Gotham, it had long since become one of the safest cities in the world.

In the last century, Batman, Bruce Wayne, had personally dealt with the criminals of Gotham, and he had proudly retired. Had it not been for Zod's arrival forcing him back into action, it was likely that Batman's name would never have been heard again.

Walking through the streets of Gotham at midnight, Alex couldn't help but smile.

If the Batman of the Wasteland saw this scene, his expression would probably be quite amusing. He would never have imagined that Gotham's nights could be this quiet and peaceful.

While Alex was lost in thought, a faint cry for help suddenly reached his ears.

This made the smile freeze on his face, and he felt a bit awkward.

Well, Gotham really couldn't handle compliments. Just when he thought peace had finally settled here, this slap in the face came too quickly.

Without any hesitation, Alex turned and walked toward the source of the cry for help.

Normally, Alex would avoid getting involved in such matters. However, this was an old friend's city, and the black umbrella he was carrying had been provided by Old Batman.

It was during a time when he most needed protection that Old Batman had given him trust and assistance, allowing him to reach his current position.

Now that he encountered something like this in Batman's city, Alex naturally wouldn't just stand by and do nothing.

The cry for help only sounded once and wasn't very loud. The voice was probably restrained, as the person was unable to shout loudly.

Expanding his magical senses, Alex quickly pinpointed the location of the person in need of help.

Beneath the steps of the drainage canal at Gotham Harbor, a man bound tightly with ropes was fearfully staring at the weak man standing in front of him.

The bound man was round and plump, dressed in an expensive suit, with a luxury watch worth millions on his wrist. He appeared to be a wealthy upper-class individual.

However, at this moment, he didn't look noble at all. His fine clothes were drenched in the stinking sewage, and he was trembling, his eyes filled with fear.

"I told you, no shouting! Do you think I won't kill you?!"

In front of the bound man, a very skinny man wearing a gas mask shouted angrily in a hoarse voice.

Apparently still not satisfied, the man stepped forward and kicked the bound man hard in the stomach.

"Please, please, sir, I haven't wronged you." The fat man groaned in pain, his voice full of pleading.

However, his words didn't seem to soften the skinny man's face; on the contrary, it only seemed to fuel his anger.

"Haven't wronged me? Haha, of course not. You big shots will never remember a small fry like me."

The skinny man continued to beat the fat man, his voice growing increasingly hysterical.

"It's because of you people that I spent ten years in prison for no reason! I lost my family! I lost my daughter!"

Under the continuous punches and kicks, the fat man's face was covered in blood. He desperately wanted to scream for help, but he didn't dare to.

First, because this was Gotham Harbor, and no one would be around at this hour. Second, because shouting might provoke the man in front of him, and he feared that doing so might get him killed.

However, the fat man didn't realize that the other man had no intention of letting him go.

"Please, please, sir, I can give you anything you want. Money, power, women. I can give you everything you desire."

Upon hearing this, the skinny man sneered, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"Money, status… I just want my family. You locked me up for ten years on false charges. How are you going to make up for the time I lost? I can't even find my family anymore!"

"I... I can help you find them, really. Believe me, I can contact the Gotham Police to help you."

"You think I'll keep believing your lies?"

The skinny man coldly stared at him, as if looking at a corpse.

With that, the skinny man pulled out a knife from his coat and slowly walked toward the fat man.

"Don't worry, I'll make you experience my pain."

"No, no..."

"Please, don't do this!"

"Hey!"

Just as the skinny man raised his blade, Alex could no longer stay silent and interrupted the man's actions.

Hearing the noise, the skinny man shuddered and quickly turned around to look in the direction the sound had come from, his eyes flashing with fear.

"You're here, old bat."

Before he could finish his sentence, the scene he had anticipated didn't appear. Instead, a man in a trench coat was standing above him, watching.

In the moonlight, he could even clearly see the Asian features of the man.

"Wait, who are you?"

"Just a scavenger returning to the old ground." Alex instinctively reached for his hat, but then remembered he had given it to Pietro as a gift.

So, he simply ran his fingers through his hair. "If you're just planning to beat him up, I can pretend I didn't see it, but if you want to kill him, then you've crossed the line."

"The one crossing the line here is you, damn it! Get the hell out of here!" The skinny man yelled angrily.

"Sorry, I can't just stand by and watch you hurt someone. Perhaps I can make sure he gets what he deserves and even help you find your family. How about it?" Alex said seriously.

"Shut up! I'll never believe you! You're just like them, all liars, all damn upper-class liars. You're not the rulers of Gotham!"

Screaming madly, the skinny man ignored Alex above and turned, brandishing his knife, and lunged toward the fat man's chest.

Bang!

A gunshot rang through the night, and the bullet hit the knife blade with perfect precision. The immense force made the skinny man release his grip on the knife.

The knife, now with a bullet hole, flew from his hand, clattering onto the cold rocky ground.

The skinny man, clutching his numb hand, turned around in fear, looking toward Alex, who was now holding up an umbrella with the tip pointed at him, with faint smoke rising from it.

This bizarre scene completely froze the skinny man in place. He never expected the other man to be carrying a firearm, and it seemed like the gun was combined with the umbrella.

Who on earth would make such a deadly weapon to carry around?!

"Who… who are you? I've never heard of anyone like you in Gotham."

The skinny man couldn't help but take two steps back, his eyes flickering as he stared at Alex.

"When I was here before, you should have still been in prison," Alex said, having carefully listened to the skinny man's previous words. "Give up resisting. Trust me, I'll help you."

"Trust you?"

The skinny man lowered his head, seemingly deep in thought.

After a few minutes of silence, the skinny man let out a low, sinister laugh and slowly lifted his head.

"Then ask them if they'll agree."

Upon hearing this, Alex furrowed his brows.

Then, his ears perked up, and he heard rustling noises coming from the darkness. It sounded like something was rapidly moving from various locations, closing in from all directions.

The noise grew louder, and Alex's expression darkened.

Finally, the source of the strange noise emerged into Alex's view—rats. They were scurrying out of the sewer, moving quickly in swarms, and within just a few seconds, the ground was covered by them.

Alex felt his scalp tingle at the sight of these disgusting creatures. He really couldn't stand rats.

"Ratcatcher , huh?"

When Alex had heard the skinny man talking about his past, it sounded somewhat familiar. Now, seeing the rats, he was certain about the man's identity.

He was from Gotham's pest control, falsely accused of being a criminal due to a street brawl. As a result, he was imprisoned for this unjust crime.

After being released from prison, his mind and spirit had become warped. He believed that Gotham's true threat wasn't the rat infestation but humans themselves.

Armed with a device that allowed him to communicate with and control rats, he began to take revenge on Gotham's officials, torturing them both physically and mentally.

"Control rats, huh?"

Thinking of this, Alex turned to face the horde of rats approaching. His pupils began to glow red, and his skin sprouted brown fur, while his teeth began to sharpen.

.....

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