Chapter 37: The Method of Awakening in Fairy Tales
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“Hiss...” Roland suddenly thought of something. He stared at Batman and drew in a sharp breath.
“What is it?”
“I just remembered something. Doctor Hugo believes Batman possesses the superior genes he has always dreamed of. He wouldn’t happen to have...” Roland thought for a moment before continuing, “kidnapped Natalia and locked her up here, then disguised himself as her so he could extract your excellent genes, would he?”
“Damn it, Priest, why is your imagination so vivid?” Killer Croc said in shock. “Is that really something a human being could come up with?”
“I think there’s a fairly high chance that’s exactly what happened.” Roland stroked his chin, striking a wise pose.
“...Professor Hugo is certainly an eccentric man, but he isn’t quite that perverted,” Batman said.
“Hard to say.”
While the three of them were discussing the matter, Roland raised a finger to his lips, then whispered, “Footsteps.”
“I hear them too,” Batman said quietly. “Judging by the sound, whoever it is doesn’t have much athletic ability.”
“Then let’s ambush him first.” Roland quietly slipped into the darkness.
Professor Hugo arrived at the dungeon he had set up, only to find it completely deserted. He cursed the Maroni family under his breath for their incompetence—they could not even keep watch over a single woman—then began searching through the waterways.
After giving it some thought, however, he realized that he had no subordinates to call upon. Aside from the experimental subjects he had made from incurable patients transferred out of Arkham Asylum, he did not have a single henchman.
After all, henchmen had to be paid and fed. Ever since Gotham State University had expelled Professor Hugo for conducting inhumane and illegal genetic experiments in secret, he had not only lost his income but also piled up a mountain of debt. Where was he supposed to find the money to hire anyone?
He had finally found a partner in the Mad Hatter, only to discover that the man was a lunatic who kept demanding that he find some so-called “Alice.” Fortunately, Hugo had prepared in advance and kidnapped Natalia—but now he had let her escape as well.
At the thought of this, Professor Hugo could not help sighing.
“Alas... Huh?”
Professor Hugo noticed a fresh footprint on the path ahead. Judging from its size, it appeared to belong to a woman.
Seeing it, Professor Hugo smiled. “Give yourself up, Miss Natalia. You won’t get away.”
“Fine. Come and catch me, then.”
A shrill voice drifted toward him, sending chills down Professor Hugo’s spine.
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“Who... who are you?” Professor Hugo drew his pistol and aimed it forward. “Answer me, or I’ll shoot!”
“Oh, ho, ho, ho... Go ahead and shoot. I can still kill you before you do!”
A shadow slowly approached Professor Hugo.
The gunshot echoed through the sewers. In the next instant, Professor Hugo felt someone seize him by the neck and hoist him into the air.
“I told you. Shooting first wouldn’t help.”
Roland gave a sinister chuckle, tightened his grip, and choked Professor Hugo unconscious.
[Goodwill +70]
“Why did you make such a theatrical spectacle out of capturing one man?” Killer Croc and Batman came over and looked at Professor Hugo in Roland’s hand.
“So it really is Professor Hugo Strange.” Batman frowned. “I dealt with him back when I was at Arkham. I never imagined he would end up like this.”
“Yeah. Come on, let’s interrogate him and find out what he’s really doing here,” Roland said.
Before long, Batman began questioning Professor Hugo.
As a scholar, Professor Hugo could not withstand Batman’s brutal interrogation. After only a few blows, he confessed everything.
“The Mad Hatter again.” When Batman learned that the Mad Hatter was once more searching for that cursed Alice, his expression darkened, and his eyes filled with murderous intent.
“Let’s go. We might as well get rid of him while we’re at it,” Roland said. He had no fondness for the Mad Hatter either.
Among Gotham City’s villains, there were some Roland was willing to associate with—particularly the attractive ones. The Mad Hatter was clearly not one of them.
The two of them immediately headed for the location Professor Hugo had provided. However, the place was already as lively as a concert venue.
A crowd of people wearing hats had gone completely berserk. The moment they saw Roland and Batman, they launched a collective attack.
“The hypnotic effect of his hat is utterly ridiculous,” Roland cursed. “It’s practically on par with the abilities of a hypnosis app. Is this thing even remotely scientific?”
“It certainly is troublesome.” Batman felt equally vexed. Everyone in front of them was an ordinary civilian under the Mad Hatter’s control. He could hardly use the same methods on them that he used against criminals.
“How about this? I’ll draw their fire while you sneak inside and take out the Mad Hatter. Capture the leader and the rest will fall,” Roland suggested.
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“No. I’ll draw their fire.” Batman had originally intended to agree, but then he remembered that Roland’s attacks tended to be excessively forceful. Worried that Roland might kill or permanently cripple these ordinary people, he changed the plan.
“I can’t compare with you when it comes to infiltration,” Roland said, taken aback.
“It’s fine. I’ll find a way to keep them occupied.”
“All right, then.”
Roland immediately turned and ran. After taking a wide detour, he reached the small cabin where the Mad Hatter was hiding.
“Little bunny, little bunny, won’t you open the door...” Seeing that Batman had already drawn away the controlled crowd outside, Roland kicked the wooden door open.
He had badly misjudged the cabin’s structural integrity. The kick not only sent the door flying but also reduced the entire cabin to a pile of debris. The falling planks buried both men beneath them.
“What the hell... What kind of shoddy construction is this?”
Roland moved several planks aside and climbed out of the wreckage, conveniently hauling out the Mad Hatter, who had been knocked unconscious by the debris.
“Hey, hey, wake up.”
Roland slapped the Mad Hatter repeatedly across the face, but the Mad Hatter showed no response.
“...Don’t tell me waking this guy up requires the same method they use in fairy tales?”
Speaking of fairy-tale methods of awakening someone, the most classic example was, of course, Sleeping Beauty.
“The prince kissed Sleeping Beauty on the lips, and then the princess happily awoke...” Roland glanced at the Mad Hatter. “But this guy doesn’t even have lips.”
After thinking for a while, Roland caught a frog in the sewer and pressed its mouth against the Mad Hatter’s.
No one knew what sort of principle was at work, but the Mad Hatter actually woke up.
The instant he regained consciousness, the Mad Hatter began loudly cursing Roland, showering him with vicious abuse.
“Stop wasting time and release your control over everyone outside,” Roland said grimly.
“They’re linked to my brainwaves. As long as I’m alive, their control cannot be lifted.” The Mad Hatter sneered. “Only my death will free them. Heh heh heh... What are you going to do?”
“Huh?”
Roland froze for a moment. Then he grabbed the Mad Hatter by the neck and twisted, turning his head a full three hundred and sixty degrees.
“Then you can just die. Why are you asking me what I’m going to do?”
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