Batman never kills, but he never shows mercy either; those he targets are either crippled or permanently disabled.
"Your bodies aren't getting injured?!"
He dodged an incoming punch, grabbed it, and asked in a surprised, deep voice.
Every single one of these people had taken heavy blows from him, yet none of them stayed down, as if they could never be defeated.
And every move was swift and ruthless, with no decrease in strength or speed during continuous attacks, like perpetual motion robots.
Truly tireless and uninjurable!
"Bruce Wayne, the Court originally planned to send just one Talon to deal with you, but then we heard you might be Batman. The Court's two targets, possibly the same person?
So, after consideration, the Court sent five of us—an entire Talon squad!"
The Talon squad leader, swinging a short dagger, viciously stabbed one of his arms, then kicked him flying, saying coldly, revealing strong self-confidence.
"There's no way you're surviving today."
The Court of Owls' assassin squad, the Talons, have self-healing and resurrection abilities after being modified with Nth Metal and Electrum, two of the major metals in the DC Universe.
"Is that so? Sounds like Batman got me into trouble."
Bruce Wayne didn't know this, but he had just experienced their power.
He lay on the ground, clutching his temporarily disabled arm, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his face grim as he watched the five figures walk towards him.
Without his suit and gear, facing five fully armed Talon assassins who couldn't be injured or tired, Batman was in a crisis unlike any he had encountered since his debut...
...
Coast City, California.
"Master, Gotham has become even livelier because of you.
Why didn't you stay to watch the show and come to Coast City instead?"
In the late afternoon twilight, the tide rose and fell, making soothing sounds of crashing waves. A salty sea breeze blew as a handsome man and a beautiful woman strolled along the shore.
Catwoman put her hands behind her back, feigning cuteness, walking backward and giggling as she asked, blinking her beautiful eyes, subtly trying to figure out the reason.
That was a grand show orchestrated by this annoying guy, yet he wasn't interested at all. It seemed strange no matter how she looked at it.
"This place is more interesting than Gotham."
Ron walked with his hands in his pockets, gazing at the horizon, answering casually.
Exposing Batman's identity was just for gaining ability points.
No matter how lively Gotham was, it was just a struggle among mortals, nothing interesting.
He only cared about the outcome.
Comparatively, Catwoman's investigation yielding results was more worth paying attention to.
The names had rough information attached, so they weren't hard to find.
Batman was still in the late stages of his youth, and Superman was even younger, still living on a rural farm in Kansas, not yet having moved to Metropolis to become a reporter.
What was worth his attention were Wonder Woman and Green Lantern.
"I can't find any trace of Diana Prince in human society.
What's going on? Has she not left the island?"
According to the original plot, by this time, she should have long since been brought off the island during World War I by Steve Trevor, who accidentally crashed into Themyscira. After Steve Trevor's death, she would have become a Dr. of history.
But Catwoman's informants couldn't find her, despite repeated searches.
"Is this an effect of my first transmigration?"
He couldn't help but recall his first transmigration experience.
Ron wasn't actually transmigrated for the first time. Long ago, he had transmigrated into this Universe once, but... that experience was very short, and extremely boring, depressing, and dangerous.
He transmigrated into a U.S. military pilot during World War I. From the names like Gotham, Metropolis, and Coast City in his memories, he realized he had come to the DC Universe. In a meat-grinder war that killed millions, he didn't survive long before being shot down and buried in the sea with his plane.
The only thing worth mentioning might be that he was also a Gothamite in that life, and his surname was Wayne.
But he had no real feeling for that identity due to the brevity of the experience.
"This place is more interesting than Gotham?"
Hearing Ron's words, Catwoman quipped, "What's so interesting? Are there aliens or something?"
For an ordinary woman, bathing in the evening breeze and strolling on the beach would be very interesting, but she felt a bit unenthusiastic.
Ron had no interest in the struggles of Gotham City, but as a Gothamite, she was very interested.
She wanted to see how Bruce Wayne would fare against all of Gotham, whether he would be shattered in the end, and what the Court of Owls was really like.
"Indeed, there are."
Ron looked at her and said.
The reason he came to Coast City was because the Green Lantern storyline was approaching.
"The Emotional Spectrum, one of the most powerful forces in the Universe..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he looked towards the horizon, his gaze fixed on a falling spaceship, and he murmured softly.
"Aliens?"
Catwoman didn't believe it at all and laughed loudly.
But at the same time, a meteor streaking with flames fell towards a distant beach pier, and the sound of it breaking the air made her turn to look.
Her excellent eyesight allowed her to vaguely see that it wasn't a meteor, but a spherical spaceship!
"Is it an illusion?"
She rubbed her eyes, looking dazed: "I think I saw a spaceship?"
Bang!
Water splashed dozens of feet high.
The spaceship crashed heavily, shattering a patch of reefs, and came to rest by the pier's seashore.
The weak, dying purple-skinned alien, Abin Sur, the Green Lantern Corps' most elite warrior, laboriously raised his hand, looking at his Green Lantern Ring.
Under Parallax's attack, he was already failing.
"It has appeared again, stronger than before. It has absorbed the fear and life essence of everyone on two living planets, and a single blow nearly killed me."
He, who had once sealed Parallax, was now powerless and about to die.
But before he died, he had to pass on the responsibility of the Green Lantern Corps.
Abin Sur spoke weakly to the Green Lantern Ring.
"Go... go choose a will to inherit... the Green Lantern Ring."
A fist-sized green energy orb shot out from the Green Lantern Ring and flew rapidly into the sky.
"Did you see that?
An alien spaceship just landed not far away!"
Catwoman pointed to the distant beach, saying to Ron in shock.
That spherical spaceship could absolutely not be manufactured with Earth's technology.
Aliens, would there be aliens inside? How much jewelry could an alien spaceship buy?
Ron was expressionless, using his X-ray vision to look at Abin Sur in the distance, ignoring her surprise.
Whoosh, a ball of green energy flew from the horizon.
"Choosing the Green Lantern Ring's successor?"
He narrowed his eyes, considering the will-first selection rule.
The energy flew over with a whoosh, as if it had found its target, then quickly made a judgment between Ron and Catwoman, and drilled into Catwoman's body from behind.
"Something just drilled into my body."
Catwoman stopped speaking, sensing something was wrong, and quickly reached behind her. She had just felt something seemingly enter her body from behind.
Before she could finish, the energy formed a giant green light sphere, enveloping her and lifting her into the air.
"Aliens? I'm going to be taken away.
Master, save me."
The energy sphere was meant to protect the chosen one, but Catwoman's eyes widened, associating it with aliens, thinking the other party wanted to imprison and abduct her. She couldn't break free no matter what, her fists felt like they were hitting an iron wall. She quickly turned to Ron, who was standing on the beach, for help.
"You only call me Master when you're in trouble, and never otherwise.
Selina, you're really practical."
"Master, I was wrong!
I... Master, your little cat is about to be taken away. Aren't you going to do something?"
She was being carried backward, and she pleaded even more urgently, feigning a pitiful look.
Ron raised an eyebrow slightly, then slowly followed, flying, watching Catwoman and the energy sphere.
"A will-first selection?
It's fine that it didn't go for Hal Jordan like in the plot.
Between me and Selina, the Green Lantern Ring actually prioritized her. What does that mean?"