## Chapter 343: Catwoman and Harley Quinn's Magical Combat
Batman's combat instinct, honed through a thousand trials, was incredibly swift. He raised his hand, and a grapple gun shot out from his armor's wrist, latching onto the Window Ledge of the Tall building apartment.
As the grapple gun's black rope rapidly extended, he was pulled upwards, soaring towards the high altitude—
Batman, who shot up into the Sky with a whoosh, narrowly avoided the attack of two whistling, ghastly white skulls.
Under Harley Quinn's control, the two skulls, wrapped in black smoke, became as large as buckets, forcefully blasting two water-tank-sized Holes in the Ground where Batman had been standing, sending concrete splashing everywhere.
The sirens of the vehicles parked Roadside blared loudly from the impact.
Seeing Batman use the grapple gun to evade her attack, Harley Quinn put her Right Hand's thumb and index finger to her lips and blew a long whistle.
Following the whistle, the two skulls paused briefly, then, wrapped in black smoke, they shot up into the Sky, chasing after Batman.
Batman clung to the Window Ledge with his hands, hanging in mid-air using his arm strength. Facing the pursuing skulls, despite the horrifying scene, Batman remained calm and composed. He carefully observed the two skulls, judging from their sharp fangs that these skulls were likely not from human bone.
Just as the skulls, with their upper and lower rows of sharp teeth constantly opening and closing, were about to reach his feet, Batman reached behind him and pulled out two smoke grenades, throwing them towards the two skulls.
The black smoke produced by the smoke grenade explosions instantly enveloped the two skulls.
The area below this apartment building seemed to instantly enter night mode.
Night was Batman's best friend, but unfortunately, Skeleton Demons, this kind of Magic Tool, were not creatures; they did not hunt by sight.
This Demonic Dao Magic Tool "sees" the intensity of a person's Essence Blood. Scientifically speaking, it's somewhat like thermal imaging.
The moment Batman activated the infrared night vision mode on his armor, the two skulls broke through the fog created by the smoke grenades, their sharp fangs opening and closing, biting towards Batman's lower body.
Quick-witted Batman shot out two Batarangs. Accompanied by two light sounds of metal collision, the upward momentum of the two skulls was slightly hindered, then, amidst a series of clattering teeth and bone collision sounds, they continued to rush towards Batman.
Relying on his powerful arm strength, Batman clung to the Window Ledge, using the leverage to flip onto the apartment's Balcony.
*Crack!*
The two skulls instantly gnawed on the Balcony made of reinforced concrete, forcefully biting out two Holes covered in tooth marks.
"Long time no see, Bruce Banner. Why are you always in such a sorry state every time I see you?"
That was close!
Even with Batman's strong mental fortitude, he was still a man. Just a moment ago, those two skulls almost... A familiar voice made Batman, who was kneeling on the Ground in lingering fear, look up. What came into view was a graceful figure wearing a black tight suit, half-reclining on a chair.
The woman was half-lying on the back of a lounge chair, one hand propping up her chin, watching Batman kneeling before her with a smile. With the other hand, she swirled a wine glass with a small amount of red wine. The shallow alcohol gently swayed in the wine glass with the movement of her finger.
"Selene! Why are you here?"
Batman was a little in doubt. He stared at the woman before him with a scrutinizing gaze.
"I was a bit tired from being busy, so I came to Gotham City for a vacation! You didn't think I came for you, did you, Mr. Wayne? You'd be flattering yourself!"
Catwoman, Selene, raised the wine glass in her hand and brought the crimson liquid in the cup to her mouth. Whether intentional or not, a trickle of alcohol flowed down the corner of her mouth, sliding over her fair, swan-like long neck, disappearing into the pale smoothness. Even with Bruce Banner's astonishing self-control, facing such temptation, his gaze couldn't help but flicker away.
Catwoman, who had been watching his look, showed a smile in her eyes upon seeing this scene.
"I don't remember any jewelry exhibitions in Gotham City recently!"
Master Wayne, being a straight man, didn't bother to look at his ex-girlfriend's complexion. Out of instinct, his first thought was which precious jewels this master thief ex-girlfriend had targeted again.
After all, this master thief ex-girlfriend of his was a world-renowned Great Thief.
Catwoman looked at this insensitive, stinking man before her, and her complexion instantly turned gloomy.
"Jewelry exhibition? If you have time to worry about that, you might as well look behind you!"
"Hmm?" Batman alertly threw two specialized Batarangs behind him with a flick of his hand.
*Ding ding* Hearing the two sounds of metal collision from behind him, he pulled Catwoman's hand without looking back and ran into the apartment.
"You leave here first, I need to deal with these two skulls!"
The moment he entered the apartment Room from the Balcony door, Batman pushed Catwoman, turned around, closed the Room door, and faced the two skulls circling and flying in mid-air.
*Ding ding—*
Batman raised his hand and shot out two more Batarangs.
Looking at the hard skulls that sparked firelight upon impact, Batman frowned. These skulls were clearly harder than he had anticipated.
He activated the controller on his wrist, about to summon the Bat-jet parked at high altitude. The Bat-jet was loaded with many high-power weapons, enough to deal with these two mysterious skulls.
However, the premise was to lure these two skulls away from this Downtown Area, otherwise, it would be easy to accidentally injure the nearby residents.
Electric net, freeze gun, or use other weapons?
"Bruce Banner, you'd better not anger her. That crazy girl obviously held back, otherwise, with the toxicity of the Poison Smoke sprayed by these two Skeleton Demons, you'd be dead by now!"
"Skeleton Demons! Selene, you know the origin of these two skulls!" Batman, who was stopped, looked at Catwoman, who had pushed open the Room door and come to his side at some point, and asked in doubt.
Catwoman listened to the man's questioning beside her. She twirled the string of beads in her Right Hand, but did not answer.
The string of beads on her wrist was colorful, woven from over a dozen precious gemstones mixed with gold threads. Among these emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and cat's eye gemstones, were interspersed a few orbs that looked like white jade.
She naturally knew Skeleton Demons. Unlike Harley Quinn, who went back to her apartment and slept soundly after snatching the Skeleton Demons, she returned to her hotel and, out of her love for jewels, immediately began to research these bone jades.
And she successfully gained the recognition of that mysterious existence, even exchanging for some things from him.
Downstairs from the apartment building, Harley Quinn sat in the black Commercial Vehicle, her feet resting on the Steering Wheel. Through the Skeleton Demons' perspective, she happily enjoyed the scene of Batman being toyed with.
Her bastard ex-boyfriend had been defeated by Batman several times. Now that she had defeated Batman, essentially, compared to her, wasn't that ex-boyfriend just trash?
Thinking of her moment of triumph, a mad smile appeared on Harley Quinn's face. As she laughed, two tears rolled down the corner of her eye.
"How is that bitch here?"
Harley Quinn found a box of paper towels in the Commercial Vehicle's storage box and was about to wipe the tears from the corner of her eye when her hand holding the paper towels paused.
Through the Skeleton Demons' perspective, she saw the bitch who had almost scratched her face off last night. Harley Quinn stuck her head out of the Car Window, gritting her teeth as she looked towards the Tall building Balcony.
On the high-rise apartment Balcony, the black mist covering the two skulls in front of Batman and Catwoman suddenly spread out. The Phosphor Fire in their eye sockets instantly surged, turning into two green Phosphor Fireballs.
As their mandibles opened and closed, two streams of black smoke wrapped in Phosphor Fire shot directly towards Catwoman.
"Get out of the way!"
Seeing the green Phosphor Fire within the black smoke, like fireflies, Batman naturally knew it was nothing good. While shouting a stern warning to Catwoman, he unclasped the Bat-cloak from his back and threw it towards the two streams of black smoke.
*Whoosh!*
The moment it came into contact with the two streams of black smoke, Batman's cloak, made of special material and capable of being used as a glider after being electrified, was instantly burned with over a dozen Holes by the green Phosphor Fire.
The green firelight spread along the cloak instantly. In an instant, Batman lost his beloved cloak.
If he hadn't thrown the cloak in his hand out in time, he would have almost been ignited by the green firelight.
Before the black smoke could get close, a sweet and bloody smell rushed towards Batman. His consciousness instantly became hazy.
"Be careful!"
Seeing the black smoke about to spray onto Batman's face, Catwoman quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him back, saving him from the invasion of Poison Smoke.
The two skulls opened and closed their upper and lower jaws. Seeing two more streams of Poison Smoke about to spray out, a three-inch long miniature sword suddenly appeared in Catwoman's Palm.
Catwoman blew on this miniature sword according to the method in her memory.
On the miniature sword's sword body, streaks of blue streaking light lit up. As the Spirit Marks within the sword body converged, the miniature processor inside the sword body, powered by the extremely tiny Space Energy Stone on the sword hilt, immediately began to operate. This miniature sword, not much longer than a hairpin, floated in Catwoman's Palm, and a blue radiance instantly illuminated the small Balcony as if it were brightly lit.
With the Energy Crystal providing power, the Spirit Marks on the sword body converged into a Restriction Formation. The sword edge of the miniature sword, with its faint Sword Qi, began to stir restlessly.
Batman looked at this magical small sword and quickly understood it was a Magic Item. His acute Five Senses made him sense the danger of this small sword, just like the feeling he had when he was ambushed by Bane in the darkness – as if a fierce beast was lurking in the darkness, ready to pounce and deliver a fatal strike at any moment.
Catwoman felt this small sword, which was connected to her mind. This feeling was like having an extra arm. Under her control, the small sword floated up and down, left and right.
Facing the two pouncing skulls, Catwoman directly controlled the small sword in the air to meet them. The miniature sword transformed into a three-foot long, four-finger wide Sword Qi in mid-air. For a moment, the blue light flared brightly.
The skulls spraying black smoke and the blue light Flying Sword crossed paths, colliding and slashing at each other.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!!!* Accompanied by Catwoman's mental power, the blue light emitting Flying Sword split into an identical Flying Sword in mid-air.
2v2, two Flying Swords and two ghastly white skeletons collided in mid-air. The repercussions generated by their clash shot out in all Directions, and the surrounding Balcony walls were instantly covered in scratches.
Batman watched the four forms of light and shadow, two black and two blue, battling in the air. He didn't foolishly wait there for the two women to determine superiority.
He quickly entered the Room, opened the Room door, and went downstairs from another Direction. After finding a Corner that was a blind spot for Harley Quinn's vision, he lowered his grapple gun and leaped down.
Fixing his gaze on the Commercial Vehicle where Harley Quinn was located, Batman began his stealth. The empty Street Block was now devoid of any shadows, except for the bodies lying haphazardly on the Ground.
Thanks to the Ninja Master's training, Batman's footsteps were almost silent while in stealth. He quickly sneaked to the Car Door of the Driver's seat of the Commercial Vehicle where Harley Quinn was.
"Type 3 Modified Flying Sword, can be used three times per charge, supports Solar Energy! (See the parts/accessories manual for specific usage methods!)
Flying Sword, oh, my God, I was drunk last night, that stinking bitch exchanged for the things on the list! I should have drunk less wine, it's all that bastard's fault!"
Batman listened to Harley Quinn's cursing and grumbling voice from above, rapidly analyzed the useful information revealed in her words, while a modified stun gun appeared in his hand.
"Harley Quinn!"
After a sudden shout, Batman abruptly stood up. Taking advantage of Harley Quinn's moment of distraction, he decisively shot the stun gun in his hand through the open Car Window.
Harley Quinn, with her legs resting on the Steering Wheel, had half of her attention focused on controlling the two Skeleton Demons, and the other small half was checking the origin of Catwoman's sword through the white bone prayer beads in her hand. She was completely unaware of Batman's approach.
Startled by his sudden shout, she didn't react at all and was struck by the stun gun.
*Hiss—*
Under the force of the high-intensity stun gun personally modified by Batman, Harley Quinn's body instantly trembled uncontrollably.
And as Harley Quinn's consciousness was almost lost from the electric shock, high above the apartment, the two skulls that were evenly matched with Catwoman's Flying Sword instantly lost control and rapidly fell towards the Ground.
Just as Batman was about to open the Car Door and handcuff Harley Quinn, he suddenly felt a whistling wind sound from Behind one's Back.
"Not good!"
Batman performed an emergency roll to the side. The place where he had just been standing was struck by the two skulls.
The Commercial Vehicle's Car Door was forcefully dented by the collision of the two skulls.
The two skulls, having missed their strike, adjusted their Direction and continued to chase after Batman. Unlike normal Magic Tools, Skeleton Demons, this kind of Demonic Dao Magic Tool, could even be left to roam freely because they could hunt for Blood Food themselves.
So even though Harley Quinn's consciousness was hazy, the two Skeleton Demons instinctively protected their master and launched a counterattack against Batman.
Batman had seen how formidable the Poison Smoke sprayed by these skulls was and didn't dare to clash head-on. He could only dodge their attacks. Using the time gained by the two Skeleton Demons, Harley Quinn, who had recovered from the paralysis of the electric shock, didn't linger in combat. Looking at the Sword Light shooting down from the Tall building, she quickly started the engine of the car, stepped on the accelerator all the way, and sped away in this Penguin's Assets.
Before leaving, she didn't forget to stick her head out and make a very unladylike gesture towards Batman with malice.
Batman watched the departing Commercial Vehicle, just standing there silently. He clicked a few times on his arm, and a Bat-shaped Bat-jet descended from high altitude, slowly landing in front of him.
The Bat-jet hatch opened, and Batman sat in the Driver's Seat. The Bat-jet ascended vertically. Just as he was about to control the Bat-jet to track Harley Quinn, his smart wrist device suddenly lit up with a red light, accompanied by a sharp, piercing alarm sound.
"Wayne Manor is under Invasion!"
Batman brought up the Surveillance footage of Wayne Manor on the Bat-jet's big screen. Inside the Manor at this time, several guys wearing strange armor were fighting with Diana and the others.
Looking at the armor on their bodies, which was almost exactly the same as the armor he had confiscated from Star-Lord, they should be from the same place as the man who called himself Star-Lord.
Parallel Universe!? After thinking for a moment, Batman finally gave up the plan to pursue Harley Quinn and instead shifted his gaze to the high-rise apartment.
Selene might have the answer he needed! On the high-rise apartment Balcony, which had lost its cover, Catwoman played with the metal small sword in her hand, looking meaningfully at her ex-boyfriend as the Bat-jet parked in front of her.
"What, is the famous Batman planning to arrest me? Are you planning to send me to Arkham Asylum?"
Facing Catwoman's sarcastic questioning, Batman frowned. "Selene! I have no Malice, I just need to ask you about some matters!"
"Is it about this sword?" Catwoman spread her hand, and the miniature sword in her hand instantly attracted Batman's gaze.
"Selene, I need to know what's going on with this sword of yours and those skulls Harley Quinn is controlling?"
"Of course I bought it. Did you think it was a gift from you? Even though we dated for so long, I never received any gifts from you!"
Mentioning this, Catwoman looked at this ex-boyfriend with a face full of displeasure.
Although this guy in front of her was a Billionaire on the surface, he was a guy who didn't quite understand women's hearts.
"Selene! The matters concern the safety of Earth, I must know the whole story!"
Hearing her old flame say this, and seeing his serious look, Catwoman hesitated for a moment, but finally shook her Head and said:
"I can't tell you, Bruce Banner. A rule restrains me, I have no method to tell you the reason for this."
Rules? Some kind of magic?
With John Constantine as an "Old Friend", Batman naturally knew some magic. He remembered Constantine once told him that there were several secret-keeping magic that could make people keep secrets.
Presumably, Selene must have signed such a secret-keeping magic. Thinking of the words he heard from Harley Quinn, Batman tentatively changed Direction and asked Catwoman.
"You just said you bought this sword in your hand. Did you use Money or something else?"
"Money can't buy this kind of treasure!" Catwoman put away the miniature sword in her hand. As for what she used to exchange for this sword, she didn't explain it to Batman. This wasn't due to the rule's restraint, but because the things she exchanged for this small sword were not legal.
Last night, while Harley Quinn was having a hangover, Catwoman secretly snuck into Arkham Asylum and used excessive Truth Serum to get the Fear Gas formula from Scarecrow.
The reason she chose this was because the Fear Gas formula was on the list given by that mysterious existence.
Catwoman knew this ex-boyfriend too well. He was a guy who strictly followed rules and law. If he knew that she had secretly gone to Arkham Asylum and used excessive Truth Serum to turn Scarecrow into an idiot, this guy would definitely not consider their past relationship.
As for turning Scarecrow into an idiot, as someone who grew up mixing in the Street Blocks, she had no psychological burden dealing with a villain like Scarecrow.
Hearing Catwoman say this, and thinking of the exchange mentioned by Harley Quinn, Batman was thoughtful. For some reason, John Constantine's face suddenly appeared in his mind.
"Is there anything else? If not, I'll be leaving now!"
Although she said she was leaving, Catwoman's gaze was fixed on the staring blankly Batman, thinking that an invitation for coffee from this stinking man wouldn't be bad either!
"Selene, can I borrow your sword temporarily? I want to research its material and operating principle!" Batman shook his Head, putting his guess aside, and looked at Catwoman.
"No!" Catwoman gave Batman a seductive eye roll and turned to walk back into the Room.
Batman watched Catwoman's figure disappear into the Room and ultimately did not detain her. He controlled the Bat-jet to ascend and sped away towards Wayne Manor.
A moment later, Catwoman stood on the Terrace again, playing with the miniature sword in her hand, staring blankly at the departing Bat-jet in the Sky, lost in thought.
"Oh my God, this is a massacre."
In front of Rose Apartment, the detectives who arrived carried out the bodies from inside and outside the building one by one. Seeing the bodies covered with White Cloth, a young detective couldn't help but exclaim.
More than twenty Gunman Corpse, all tragically killed, made several newly recruited young Police Officer vomit. Even the old detectives who had served as Police Officer for many years in this hellhole Gotham City couldn't stand it.
Although Gotham City's Public Order/Security had been poor these past few years, such vicious gunshot incidents had not occurred for a long time since the inmates of Arkham Asylum increased and Batman conducted continuous high-intensity night patrols.
At this time, Gotham City Police Department Director Gordon, who had received the information, also rushed to the Scene with a group of Police Officer.
The reason he arrived so late was that someone inside the Police Station had deliberately suppressed the information, giving Penguin's Gunman enough time to do their work.
As for why, it was naturally because of Money.
Director Gordon upheld Justice and didn't take dirty Money, but the Police Officer below him still needed to make a living.
So when Gordon received the information, the gunfight was already nearing its end. By the time he arrived at the Scene, all he saw was Corpse scattered everywhere.
Even Gordon, Batman's trusted ally, who had experienced many matters with Batman and faced many difficult Supervillain, was startled when he saw the tragically killed Gunman.
Bodies with smashed heads were one thing; the Police Station received dozens of those every year. But what was going on with these bodies that had been sucked dry of all flesh and blood, leaving only Dried Corpse?
Vampires? That wasn't right either. The Wounds weren't on the Neck. Had Vampires changed to sucking Blood from the Chest now?
Director Gordon lifted the White Cloth covering a body, looking at the Dried Corpse that had been sucked dry of flesh and blood by a Skeleton Demon, completely unable to figure it out.
"Director, the identity of these people has been found out. They are all Penguin's Subordinate!"
A detective came to Director Gordon's side and reported.
Gordon asked, "Penguin's Subordinate? Then who killed these Gunman?"
"We retrieved the nearby Surveillance footage. It was Harley Quinn! Penguin's Subordinate attacked her Residence! Harley Quinn summoned two skulls and killed them all!"
Hearing his Subordinate mention Harley Quinn's name, Gordon's brows furrowed deeply. He wasn't afraid of Harley Quinn, but he feared the Madman Behind one's Back.
As for hearing that Harley Quinn had summoned two skulls, Gordon didn't pay it much mind. Having been a Police Officer in Gotham City for so many years, he had seen too many things that defy logic.
Compared to Scarecrow's Fear Gas, Killer Croc living in the Sewer, the Madman Joker, and those Ninja Assassins, what were two skulls?
"Is there anything else?" Gordon asked with a frown, looking at his hesitant Subordinate.
"That person also appeared at the Scene!"
(end of chapter)