I, V, Gotham Legend

"What a joke! The boss is not someone who will be bound by a mere law!" The gangster waved his hand and said, "We, the Penguin Gang, have the most powerful force in the city!"

Valerie probably understood, she sat up straight and asked: "You guys broke into the prison?"

"They hijacked the car that was used to transfer the boss." The gangster warned, "Those stupid policemen must say that the boss is a lunatic who should be admitted to a mental hospital and that they want to transfer him away from Black Gate."

"Is that so? It's a pity that Batman didn't stop us." Valerie said, touching her chin.

"Haha, the so-called Batman is just a legend. You don't really believe that image, do you? It's just a trick used by the government to scare people. Otherwise, who can broadcast the entire city's channels at once?" He was talking about the Riddler's live broadcast, "and even if he really exists, he's just an ordinary person in a costume.

And the same thing about V, do you really believe that a knife can pop out of someone's arm? Urban legends have become more and more exaggerated in recent years."

The gang leader became more and more excited as he spoke: "I really don't know where they found such a beautiful girl. She is just playing the role of a vase. Really..."

"Brother, brother!" A gangster behind the leader kept poking him in the waist with a nervous expression on his face.

"What are you doing?" The leader was talking happily. He impatiently pulled his subordinate's hands away, but noticed that the younger brother was looking at the car in horror.

He suddenly had a bad premonition and followed his younger brother's gaze. It was still the same delicate face in the sunlight.

Valerie didn't have the classic blue hair, nor did she wear the iconic yellow jacket. Her eyes also turned into cool punk skulls, but her delicate and pretty face never changed.

He did not recognize her at first, but now the image of Valerie in the leader's mind overlapped with the close-up photo he had seen many times.

"You are..." Although he had just boasted happily, the leader was still frightened when the legend appeared in front of him.

Valerie didn't say anything. The leader only felt a flash before his eyes, and a soft little hand touched his cheek.

Then, a long knife flashing with blue light popped out from Valerie's arm and brushed against the leader's neck.

"Ah!" The leader was so frightened that he dared not speak.

"Did you see that? The knife popped out of the arm." Valerie's voice was soft, and the leader could feel his hairs standing up as the electric current attracted them.

There was the sound of clattering footsteps behind him, but the sound was getting farther and farther away. If nothing unexpected happened, his men would have abandoned him and fled without hesitation.

"Female... My Lord, please spare my life. I will give you all the protection money I received..." The leader felt the warmth in his crotch, and he forced a crying smile.

"Tell me what happened in Gotham in the past month." Although it would be the same to go back and ask her accomplices, since they had already caught a gangster who seemed to have some status, Valerie might as well ask them first.

NO22. Flying Grayson

After the gangster Ventriloquist was sent to Arkham, the gang that relied on Scarface's authority quickly collapsed.

Originally, the citizens of Gotham were ready for a new round of gang wars. At this time, the Penguin returned to the underworld with the rescue of his loyal subordinates.

He quickly integrated his former legacy and the Gotham gang that was about to fall apart, and then sneaked into the darkness very vigilantly. This time, there was really no trace left.

Having said that, the Penguin's downfall still dealt a heavy blow to his vitality, especially now that the Dent Act is in full swing and the living space of the Gotham gangs has been severely squeezed.

In order to restore his strength as quickly as possible, the Penguin tried every possible means. He tried every possible way to get money to purchase arms.

The most basic protection fee is no longer collected only from fixed stores. Penguin's men also collect money from parking spaces and even fishing spots.

Even so, under the blockade of the police and Batman, the Penguin's business of collecting money was not very smooth. A large number of grassroots personnel were lost or arrested every day, so he had to promote gangsters who knew nothing to do the job.

The gang leader who was pinned down by Valerie was one of the bad guys. Three months ago, he would not even have been qualified to join the Penguin Gang, but now he can be the leader of a team.

"That's all I know, please spare me, my imagination is limited by my limited knowledge, I really didn't recognize you..." When it comes to survival, the gangster's vocabulary makes Valerie admire him.

"That's enough. Don't let me see you again." Valerie took the backpack full of protection money from the gangster, and then put the mantis knife to his face.

The blue electric current flowed through the gangster's body, shocking him whole body, making his hair stand on end and his torso tremble as if he was being treated.

It was not until Valerie removed the knife from her hand that he fell to the ground like a puppet without a soul.

Valerie didn't kill him, but the level of electric shock he received meant he would probably be confined to a hospital bed with a catheter for the next few weeks.

"Are we going to buy some more drinks?" Helena asked after watching Valerie's operation.

"Of course, the protection money has been paid." Valerie shook the package in her hand.

Although it is debatable to whom the money was paid, the protection fee was indeed paid.

Helena unlocked the door and Valerie finally got out of the car. She ran towards the supermarket, skipping with the new cash in her hand.

Helena looked at Valerie's back, her little face resting on the steering wheel, and she felt a little longing.

Helena once wanted to be as powerful as Valerie, but now, she feels that Valerie always has something more valuable.

It was like this kind of carefree attitude of not worrying about any revenge and not fearing to anger any force. This was something Helena, who had always lived cautiously, had never imagined.

Just like the ripples caused by water dripping from a lotus leaf into a pond, a thought suddenly crept into Helena's heart.

She seemed to have never heard Valerie talk about her family and past, and even now she didn't know what V's real name was.

Perhaps the relationship between me and V is not that close, or maybe V himself has some unspeakable secrets.

Helena decided to make a side-step to Marlon and others who were closer to V, and then decide whether to ask her based on that.

After buying the drinks, Valerie returned to the car, and Helena restarted the car and quickly drove towards the city of Gotham.

Gotham's sunshine shines through the thick layer of dark clouds. It seems that the season has finally arrived, and there are faint raindrops falling from the sky.

Helena finally drove to the gate of the community where she lived. After waving goodbye to Valerie, she opened the door and got out of the car.

After watching Helena leave, Valerie got into the driver's seat, flexed her fingers, and got on the steering wheel for the first time in a long time.

Let’s go to Lao Wei first to see what research results he has!

Valerie stepped on the accelerator and the car crashed through the fence and sped towards Gotham Hospital.

……

Dick Grayson escapes from Wayne Manor.

Just half a month ago, Dick had a happy family. His parents were world-famous circus performers, and he himself was extremely talented.

Their family is known as the "Flying Graysons" for their juggling skills, known as "Magic in the Sky," and they are a ticket magnet wherever they perform.

Just when he was successful, his father, the current head of the Grayson family, made up his mind to bring his family back to his hometown Gotham to perform.

Old Grayson spent his childhood in Gotham until Dick's grandfather took his family away from Gotham. Perhaps he also had the mentality of returning home in glory.

But old Grayson has been out of touch with Gotham for too long, and he doesn't know much about the place.

When the time and place of the Gotham performance were being determined, Black Mask and Penguin had just fallen, and Gotham's gangs were vying for supremacy.

It was not until Scarface initially integrated his power that he demanded protection fees and rent from the Grayson Family, who happened to have chosen a location in their territory at the time.

With the attitude of spending money to avoid disaster, old Grayson paid a large sum of money to shut up the greedy mouths of the gangsters.

However, not long after the Grayson family paid the money, the ventriloquist, who seemed to be on the rise, was suddenly arrested, and the thriving Scarface gang quickly fell.

The Penguin, who was jailbroken by his men and returned to the underworld, once again took control of Gotham's underworld. He increased the scale and means of collecting protection fees.

The Penguin has his eyes on the Grayson family's wealth, so he sends his men to their house and demands protection money from them.

Old Grayson, who had already paid protection money once, refused to pay a second time.

This was more or less due to some problems with capital turnover, but more of it was due to old Grayson's stubborn character. His willingness to pay once was already a step backward.

The Grayson family has been out of touch with Gotham for too long. Old Grayson underestimated the rampant Gotham gangs and the madness of the Penguin.

Just as the Flying Graysons held their last performance in Gotham, when the performance reached a crucial part, the rope of the trapeze artist broke, and the Graysons fell from a high altitude at the same time.

Dick had just finished getting dressed and came to the stage to prepare for his next performance.

The parents fell from the sky and died before Dick's eyes, and their blood flowed all over the ground like flour leaking from a sack.

Dick was stunned. He lost the ability to think for a moment. The chaotic circus scene seemed distorted. The only people left in the world were his parents.

For a long time afterwards, Dick didn't remember what happened. He just walked around, responded to everything, and went with the adults' requests. The only thing in his mind was the image of his parents falling to their deaths in front of him.

When he came to his senses, the car carrying him had already stopped at the gate of Wayne Manor.

NO23. Are there any fish that slip through the net? (Two in one)

Although his parents' death seemed like an accident, Dick didn't think everything was as simple as it seemed.

They will definitely check the facilities carefully before the performance, especially for events like aerial acrobatics where an accident could mean death.

Why is it such a coincidence that an accident happened during this fatal performance?

Dick believes that this incident is closely related to the Penguin Man who has threatened his house many times.

His adoptive father Bruce Wayne is a playboy who seems to have no interest in his parents' affairs. He is not at home every day and is probably dating some young model.

The efficiency of the police was also disappointing. Rather than dealing with the circus crash which was most likely an accident, they prioritized dealing with the remnants of Bane who were clamoring for a prison break.

Bruce forbade Dick to leave the manor, saying it was for Dick's own safety.

But Dick can't wait any longer. He wants to investigate the whereabouts of the Penguin himself and redress the injustice for his parents.

The boy was wearing a beige windbreaker and walking on the dirty streets of Gotham. As far as he knew, there were homeless people everywhere. In the movies he had seen, convenient intelligence networks such as the homeless network often appeared.

He didn't know if there was such a convenient setting for Gotham's homeless people, but he had no experience in criminal investigation and could only act according to the movies he had seen.

The environment in the slums is humid and there is a constant unpleasant smell, even after years of improvements in urban planning.

The history of slums began with Gotham, and it is obviously not something that can be solved by decades of cleaning and urban planning. However, the number of homeless people has decreased a lot in recent years. Of course, this is due to the help of major charities, but more credit goes to the economic recovery after the end of the crisis in recent years.

From a distance, Dick saw an old man warming himself by a brazier. He was wearing a coat full of holes. The firelight shone on his face, illuminating his cheeks full of sores.

The wound on the old man's face was daunting, but Dick didn't seem to see it and he approached the old man politely.

"you know……"

"This is not the place for you." The old man looked at Dick, who had his eyes closed and seemed to be blind.

"How do you know if I should come here?" Dick smiled. "I just got off a black ship in Gotham Harbor. I have no identity and no money. I'm almost starving to death."

He described it so vividly that the old man was stunned.

"You don't sound weak... Who are you looking for here?" The old man changed the subject. He held his hand on the edge of the brazier and didn't seem to feel the heat.

"You know Penguin..." Dick choked in the middle of his sentence, "Wait, you said [you]?"

As if to support what he said, the crunching sound of footsteps suddenly became louder behind him.

Dick turned around in horror and saw at least four men wearing cotton hats.

The leading man held the phone, repeatedly observing Dick's face and the screen on the phone, and finally showed a satisfied smile: "The little brat from the Grayson family, it turns out to be you."

Dick immediately took a vigilant stance. He had already guessed who these guys were. "Did the Penguin send you to wipe out the roots?"

The hooligans looked at each other, and one of them shook his head: "We never told you that. Did this guy guess it himself?"

"Smart kid, but we won't let you go just like that." Another gangster took out a dagger from his pocket.

Dick closed his mouth and looked at the people in front of him with bated breath.

As a boy who grew up in an acrobatic family, even though he is only sixteen years old now, Dick still has a strong body. If it comes to a street fight, he is confident that he can face two adult men at the same time.

But the environment here is open, which is not suitable for him to use his acrobat's mobility advantage. The pants are a bit tight and it is uncomfortable to wear them. And there are not just four people in front of him, they are also equipped with weapons.

Dick searched Wayne Manor before he went out, but to his dissatisfaction, he did not find any useful things like guns. The stun gun hidden in the closet was the only suitable weapon he found.

He put his hands into his collar and pulled out the stun gun. His face remained cool, trying to show from his expression that he was not someone to be trifled with.

But a few hooligans were watching the fun. They approached Dick with a sly grin, not taking the kid seriously at all.

Dick kept his composure, knowing full well that his enemy's arrogance was his weapon.

However, his first battle in Gotham did not go smoothly. Dick noticed that a dark figure appeared behind these people.

"That's..." Dick almost shouted out in surprise. He remembered that he had heard stories about superheroes from various people before coming to Gotham.

He thought he was lucky to meet Batman, but the dark figure pulled out a silver sword from his waist without saying a word.

A cold light flashed, and in the blink of an eye, the heads of several gangsters fell to the ground with hideous grins on their faces.

It all happened so fast that Dick didn't even have time to react. He stared in shock at the figure's blood-stained orange lenses.

The man who came was not Batman at all. His fully enclosed mask made him look more like an owl.

Dick looked at the visitor in shock. He had never seen such a clean and neat murder scene. His mind went blank and he didn't know what to say.

The owl stared at Dick through its empty lenses for a long moment, then he noticed the homeless man behind the boy stand up.

Without saying a word, the tall owl man stepped forward and hugged Dick, ignoring the boy's struggle, and pulled out a grappling hook from his waist.

The hook was thrown out and caught on the roof of the small building next to it. Then he pulled Dick and flew high into the sky.

The tramp opened his eyes with scars on them, pulled out a bat-shaped dart from his sleeve, and aimed at the owl man who was rising into the air. But he seemed to notice something, and obediently took back the dart, closed his eyes, and continued to roast by the fire as if nothing had happened.