"Three murders in one night have completely overwhelmed me, so much so that I failed to notice that the sun did not rise on time. Even though it's been an hour past the normal sunrise, there hasn't been any commotion in the city. It's as if they weren't surprised by the three murders in one night, nor would Gothamites be surprised by the coming of eternal night. In fact, for the past few decades, they have lived this way, with no one expecting the sun to save them. This custom continues to this day, and it's the only good thing—it allows us not to have to pacify panicked citizens while tracking down the murder case. As I calmed down and pondered why the sun had abandoned us, a frantic lady burst into Rodriguez's office."
"Oh, Professor!" Jenna shouted, kicking off her high heels, and ran in barefoot.
Victor quickly stood up and offered her his seat. Shiller fetched a pair of disposable slippers and placed them at Jenna's feet. Jenna sat on the chair, panting heavily several times before she had a chance to tidy her somewhat messy hair. Numerous sequins had fallen off her red dress, leaving it less dazzling. Victor twitched his nose, detecting a faint smell of blood on her.
"What's wrong, miss?" Victor asked. He frowned and looked at Jenna with concern. The lady seemed as if she had just encountered danger. Given the current situation, this was not a good sign. Could she have already been attacked?
Jenna's throat moved, she opened her mouth but didn't speak, as if trying to cover her awkwardness, she took a deep breath and swallowed it down, suddenly coughing violently: "Cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
Shiller handed her a glass of water. Jenna panted heavily a few more times, taking small sips. Several minutes later, she finally calmed down completely. During this time, neither Shiller nor Victor pressed, they just waited for her to steady herself.
"I told you not to wear so little." Victor said half-jokingly, "If you catch a cold, I'm afraid no hospital will be open to see you until morning."
Jenna slouched against the armrest of the chair, holding the cup in one hand and supporting the bottom with the other. Her throat moved again, then she said, "Yeah, everything is too strange."
"Sounds like you have a clue?" Shiller asked.
Jenna opened her mouth again but still didn't make a sound. Shiller continued, "You know we won't force you, miss. But if the trouble you encountered made you immediately think of coming to us, rather than James Gordon, there must be a good reason, right?"
Jenna opened her mouth again, this time finally uttering a sentence, "I might be in big trouble, Professor."
Jenna's brown eyes always bring to mind some small feline creature living in the rainforest, which is the only thing that sets her apart from the human race. When stimulated by changes in light, a mysterious and aggressive gold appears in the center of her pupils, exuding a wild beauty.
Jenna pushed Barry aside suddenly, then whipped around. Under the incandescent light of the interrogation room, the brown eyes had transformed into a radiant gold. Reflected in her pupils, Pelota flashed her a mysterious smile.
"Are you okay?" Jenna looked at Barry's arm. She pulled Barry's arm over and examined it carefully, then glanced back at Pelota, "What was that?"
The panic from being attacked flashed across Barry's face and quickly disappeared. He calmed down, lowered his head to look at his own arm. He instinctively felt something amiss, but the skin on his arm was as smooth as ever, without any marks. What did Pelota just attack him with?
That's just the problem. Pelota said she wanted to see Jenna before being sent to detention because she hoped Jenna could help deal with some personal items she couldn't take with her, then send money to her.
Jenna really didn't want to help this malicious killer. But in front of Barry, she didn't want to seem too heartless. Plus, Pelota's family conditions were poor. Her father was disabled, and she had a sister still in school. If pushed to the brink, who knows what kind of trouble she might cause in detention. With these thoughts, Jenna went.
Barry was worried about Jenna and went with her. Both of them are not ordinary people, and Pelota was restrained in a chair, so they were completely unprepared.
At the instant of entering the room, Jenna's empathy suddenly activated. She realized the Pelota in front of them held massive malice towards them. A cold sensation pierced through the top of her head. In that instant, she saw a thin black line aiming straight at Barry's arm. Jenna shoved Barry away.
But, the attack seemed like an illusion. There was no black line, Barry's arm wasn't hurt at all, even Brainiac's monitoring equipment didn't capture anything unusual. Jenna was almost doubting if this was sensory disturbance caused by nervous tension.
"No." Barry seemed to guess what she was thinking, and said, "I can also feel something attacking me. If nothing went wrong here, then it must be in the Divine Speed."
Barry also glanced back at Pelota, unwilling to leave Jenna alone here, or even leave the room. So he brought Jenna with him into the Divine Speed.
After entering the Divine Speed, Jenna understood Barry's Divine Speed wasn't just an excuse to bring her along. It's a space where gold and black intertwine. The gold Divine Speed is fragmented by black energy, constantly disappearing and reappearing, while the black energy is bound by the Divine Speed, rising and falling.
The diverse information in the fragments flashing within Divine Speed from different time points and the negativity-inducing malice within the black energy simultaneously affect this space. Just a glance was enough to make Jenna dizzy and nauseous.
"Don't look." Barry stood behind her, half embracing, covered her eyes with his hand, then started looking around. After a while, he said, "Found it."
"What is it?" Jenna couldn't see, but her mind could feel. She turned her head in one direction. Barry stared silently at that patch of black that was unlike any other darkness.
"Death." Barry said, "It's coming."
"What?"
"It has marked me. A chase is about to begin. Jenna, help me."
"How can I help you?"
"Uncover Pelota's secret. Find out who made her do it. Where this power comes from. The sooner, the better."
In the next moment, Jenna felt the world spinning. She was back at the interrogation room door, but Barry was nowhere to be seen. Jenna was anxious, but forced herself to calm down.
Barry being attacked wasn't an illusion. He wasn't the type to speak in riddles at critical moments. "Death" and "it's coming" were likely literal. The subsequent "being marked" and "chase" were even easier to understand.
Pelota marked Barry with something. This mark doesn't exist in the real world but in Divine Speed. It might attract a terrifying monster that will chase Barry. If Barry is caught, death could be what awaits him.
Jenna took a deep breath, the more urgent the situation, the faster her brain seemed to work. Now the key was Pelota. There must be a secret with her. She had to figure out what was going on.
But by this time, the officers were already escorting Pelota out. Seeing the armed police, Jenna lowered her hand. Any rash actions at this time might be deemed as jailbreak. Even though Gotham police had restrained themselves, it didn't mean no one would overreact. While she couldn't be killed by bullets, getting hit might still incapacitate her. She couldn't act impulsively.
More importantly, without her brother nearby, she couldn't use superpowers. The Magic Twins' superpowers required physical contact with each other or at least being close enough.
Thinking of this, Jenna took out her phone.
"Brother. Something happened. You need to come over."
The two quickly gathered in the alley behind the police station. Zan wore a dark uniform, making him inconspicuous in the night. Jenna's red dress was a bit too eye-catching, but she couldn't bother changing.
Jenna spoke rapidly, "Although I want Brainiac to stop the escort vehicle directly, he captured nothing and can't enter Divine Speed, we lack sufficient evidence to prove Barry was attacked. So he might not cooperate."
"So you want us to handle this ourselves?" Zan asked, "Why not ask Director Gordon for help?"
"He'll have us wait until the transfer is complete to question. But Brainiac doesn't allow interrogation under duress. If we wait until the transfer is complete to ask, we won't learn anything." Jenna's eyes flashed with determination, "To force her to tell the truth, we have to seize the moment and use illegal methods."
"Alright. Tell me what to do, and I'll cooperate with you."
Jenna pulled up a map on her phone, pointing to a section of the route, "The escort vehicle will inevitably pass this street. There's a blind spot at the turn. Make the water condense into ice here. The front axle of the escort vehicle will lose control on the ice surface. The impact of the overturn should be enough to knock most people out."
"Later, I'll transform into a flying insect and enter the vehicle. I'll reveal myself during the overturn to interrogate Pelota. Faced with the threat of death, she should tell us something."
"The risk is too high. What if the others don't pass out? What if she refuses to tell you anything?"
"We have to try anyway. We'll think of something else if it doesn't work."
"Warning. This is a highly unwise action." Brainiac's voice said, "Using superpowers to create an accident will result in..."
Jenna directly tossed her phone into the garbage pile nearby. She extended her hand to fist bump Zan. In the next second, she transformed into an almost invisibly small flying insect, pursuing the escort vehicle.
Her speed was much faster than ordinary insects, soon catching up to the escort vehicle and slipping through a gap inside. No one inside noticed her. She stayed on the seatback of the driver's seat, lightly flapping her wings, waiting for that moment.
Before long, the vehicle's front shook violently. This was the precursor to the front axle losing control. Jenna clung tightly to the seatback. After a dizzying spin, nearly everyone in the vehicle was knocked out.
She quietly reverted to human form, stood before Pelota, grasping her neck, checking her pulse. But with just one touch, Jenna froze.
Pelota was dead?!!
She had no pulse anymore. Unbelieving, Jenna also checked her breath and heartbeat, finding nothing. She hurriedly straightened Pelota's body. As she was about to check Pelota's cause of death, a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Pelota suddenly opened her eyes, pushed Jenna away forcefully. Jenna felt herself being thrown by immense strength. This was power beyond any human can possess. She barely dodged to the side, avoiding Pelota's pounce. In the pitch-black night, Pelota's eyes gleamed, instilling an inexplicable fear. Jenna clearly heard her heart pounding like a drum, faster and faster.
She gritted her teeth. Moments later, an enormous creature filled the entire compartment, revealing its fangs in the darkness.