章 179: Unexpected discovery
Nightwing's intuition was tingling unpleasantly. The group had almost reached the shelter of one of the two-story houses with strong enough walls and bars on the windows, but there were only a couple of small creatures on the way. Naturally, having studied the preferences of the local inhabitants, the superhero tried to choose the right route and followed the already scouted road, but the noise of the fight and the smell of fresh blood were bound to attract at least someone. He also had to remember that Richard had left a bit of a trail while wandering around the city, but a few of the previously killed rats had vanished, leaving behind only small pools of black blood and hinting at the presence of another flesh-eating mutants, who were in no hurry to show their faces.
"It's too quiet..." the magician whispered faintly.
"That's right," the teen listened.
During his exploration, he was always surrounded by a variety of sounds reminiscent of those that could be heard in the jungle at night. The triumphant growls of large predators catching up on tasty prey, the squeaks and squeals of smaller monsters, the scraping of claws, the sounds of tearing flesh, and even the death rattles of creatures failing to divide their territory: all of it made up the unique melody of the infected city. But now it was as if the neighborhood had died out, and only in the distance could they hear any noise, but around their group, all life was silent.
The last hundred meters separating the company from the shelter remained to be crossed. Nerves were frayed, aided by the worsening condition of the wounded. The strong man could no longer walk properly, so Hassan and Eddie had to practically carry him on their backs, which was not easy, since the man weighed over a hundred kilograms. The green kid was also starting to give up. When the adrenaline rush wore off, the wounds reminded them of the incessant pain and the stains of red blood that would normally attract the attention of monsters with a good sense of smell.
As they crossed another alleyway, Nightwing was even relieved to hear the approaching clatter of many paws. Something was running purposefully down their trail.
"Hide in the house," Richard said seriously, preparing a pair of batarangs for battle. The big guy and the shifter wouldn't be able to escape, so the only way for them to survive would be for the budding superhero. He will act as bait and simply lead the crowd of monsters behind him, because Batgod adds a hundred points to his mobility.
"But..." Hasan tried to sluggishly protest, receiving a gentle poke with his elbow from his comrade. - What?
"Turn on your brain," the gymnast nodded expressively at his friend's pale face, whose shoulder was showing strange red veins the thickness of a finger. - The guy clearly knew what to do.
"Yes, you're right," the magician nodded, and he grabbed Rob's arm and dragged him briskly toward the nearest doorway. The door itself was not far away, and it had clearly been broken from the inside, so there was no chance of encountering mutants in the room. The chosen house was a two-story hovel with thin walls and ordinary shutters on the windows, which simply could not withstand a serious onslaught, but there was nothing to choose from.
"Five... Four... Three..." - Nightwing mentally counted down, counting on throwing his weapon to hit as many creatures as he could and accurately draw attention to himself, but he was completely unprepared that the paws would have only one wielder who would find a place in the pages of Lovecraftian stories.
A second's stupor was enough for the disgusting meat centipede to crawl swiftly into the alley and try to wrap its body around the aspiring hero. It resembled a long and incredibly thick intestine, to which some madman had attached sharp segmented legs that looked like human hands, stripped of their brushes and pointed at the ends.
"You'll get over it! - The budding superhero does come to his senses and leaps upward, avoiding capture. A pair of shock batarangs immediately took flight, taking aim at the large faceted eyes. Explosive gadgets would have worked well here, but they, unlike other equipment, were in a locked section of the Batcave that he couldn't access yet.
"I understand the Joker now. Napalm grenades sure could use some," came the background thought as the vile unnatural creature regenerated rapidly. The shells fell to the road with a clang, pushed out by the regenerated flesh.
"The monster's voice suddenly sounded like human speech, and in a language he could understand."
"Reasonable, high danger..."
Richard did not harbor false hopes, given the enemy's actions. The monster was many times more hideous than any mutant he had ever seen, and its long, flexible, eight-meter body made it the largest member of the local fauna. In addition, the long, flexible eight-meter body made the monster the largest representative of the local fauna.
~Fshu~
The skin under the monster's snout swelled sharply, like a toad's throat pouch, and then the guy had to hastily dodge a jet of acrid green liquid, which, hitting the pavement, melted it a bit.
"It's amazing, how you managed to survive in the Forest with such hunting skills, - from the other end of the alley, where Batman's protégé was planning to retreat to, a rumbling growling bass sounded.
It belonged to a very large primate, its skin replaced by red chitinous plates. The new protagonist was at least twice the size of the shifter's combat form, and its well-developed posterior muscles and unusual limbs hinted that it could reach impressive speeds over short distances. The latter could be a weakness, though, for maneuverability should be noticeably reduced at high acceleration, and it could take advantage of that.
"My talents lie in another area," the centipede grinned, its long, sharp fangs showing a flexible, bifurcated tongue between them. - I can let go of the leash, too.
"I'm begging you, you'll be the one to deal with the aftermath when the younger ones swarm in," the ape-like monster snorted contemptuously, finally turning his gaze to the frozen boy, who wanted to pat himself on the cheeks as he listened to the monsters' highly intellectual conversation. - Is this the one we're looking for or not?
"I'm not sure. Reaction speed and coordination are noticeably faster than normal humans, but Crimson's energy is practically unfeeling."
"Well, then it's standard, maybe he'll be touched by the blessing. Ahem, ahem, listen, kid, since you have demonstrated unusual abilities, you are granted the honor of becoming one of us and joining the Overlord, but to do so, you must eat a special parasite that will create a channel with the Kingdom of Rot."
"What makes you think I'm a boy," Richard said, slightly offended. The Court of Owls had changed his body, making him more masculine and noticeably taller.
"You're a little short, aren't you? I can see you're still a little understated. And you could use some muscle. Look at those cans," the monster said, flexing his biceps, which made Nightwing want to scratch his brain, because the whole situation looked so surreal. - If you eat the parasite, maybe you'll grow some of those for yourself. Or maybe you'll turn into some weird shit like him," the centipede said with a dismissive nod. - Or you might lose your self and become just another brainless creature who doesn't care what she looks like.
"I think I'll pass."
"Huh, that's even more interesting," sparks of anticipation flickered in the monster's eyes.
"We don't have time for your games," the millipede said with obvious resentment in her voice. But that didn't stop her from pulling the rest of her body up to block her escape route completely.
"Don't worry, I'll make it quick."
The huge ape-like carcass tensed slightly, and then literally shot itself out, threatening to turn the fragile human figure into a pancake. However, Nightwing had long ago prepared for such an outcome.
A touch of an unassuming cufflink at his belt, and a light grenade exploded in the alley, blinding both opponents. The young superhero was hurt, too, despite his eyelids, but he was aware of the effect, so he sprawled on the ground, avoiding the deadly embrace.
"The Joker knows how to pick the right gifts. I don't know what he got Bruce, but Alfred doesn't seem to part with his magic wand even in his sleep... Maybe he should hint at flying boots like Batgirl's for the next holiday, or magic lenses with automatic dimming and different spectra of vision..." - he pondered, trying to blink to get rid of the blur of light in front of his eyes.
Despite the slight disorientation, Dick was not badly hurt, but the monster that flew overhead was much less fortunate. Not only did the flash carry a light component, severely damaging the retina through which the energy of the rot was circulating, but the monster itself had no time to slow down and crashed into its kin at full speed, strung up on its sharp legs.
"Agh! Gra-ah-ah-ah!" the mutant's outraged roar hit my eardrums unpleasantly.
A second's hesitation, and two long bolas flew into the disgusting duo, causing their bodies to clutch at each other, followed by another shocking batarang. The projectile hits the articulation between the chitinous plates at the primate's shoulder and delivers a powerful discharge, forcing the muscles to contract sharply, causing it to tear its flesh even more against the sharp claws.
"You little bastard! - The rampaging creature, ignoring the numerous lacerations, continued to violently lash out.
The other creatures would surely have been killed, or at least forced to retreat, but the creatures that had caught up with the survivors were clearly of a different league. Intelligent, incredibly resilient, and very strong. Frankly speaking, the guy wasn't sure he could overpower them, but it looked quite realistic to take them away and try to throw off their tails there.
"Stop it! You're making it worse! Umh..." The millipede's outraged screams were abruptly replaced by a painful groan as the anthropomorphic mutant simply ripped off some of the interfering limbs along with a large chunk of red flesh.
"I'll kill him! Stay out of my way."
It took less than a minute, and already small black eyes stared at the superhero standing at the edge of the roof with great anger. Choosing between a meeting with another flying creature and a close acquaintance with a reasonable representative of the local fauna, Batman's protégé preferred the first option, because now maneuverability was important.
"It hurt..." The insect-like creature took it calmly, though during the brief embrace it had gotten a terrible laceration and lost more than a dozen paws. However, they quickly regained their number, though not all of them grew back in their proper places, making the monster even more disgusting. His comrade's regeneration was noticeably worse, but this aspect was partially compensated for by a stronger defense and a stronger body.
"You will suffer. I'll tear off your arms and legs, then eat you one piece at a time, and I don't care if the Overlord loses a promising servant."
"Maybe we shouldn't..." the second creature began to speak apprehensively, but he immediately fell silent at the stern look in his eyes.
"Drive the younger ones away, I have to finish one important thing, - the mutated primate once again sharply shot himself, demolishing with his carcass a part of the wall together with the edge of the roof on which the superhero stood a moment ago.
His heart was pounding like a madman, his muscles were working hard, and the surrounding world was perceived as if in slow motion, helping Dick to react to all the attacks of the incredibly dangerous creature. Death was breathing down his neck, for his enemy had stopped restraining himself, trying to get rid of the annoying bug, which still did not want to die, circling the neighborhood quite successfully and occasionally snapping at him, which was aided by a close-to-human anatomy with familiar pain points.
In contrast to his training with his foster father, the boy was progressing literally in front of his eyes, better and better unlocking the potential of the Court of Owls. But he was still a man with a limited set of gadgets, while he was being fought by an indefatigable creature whose powers were fed directly from the Kingdom of Rot. So it was no surprise that Bat Claw soon ran out of squibs, and then ran out of smoke bombs, along with a load of the Joker's Christmas present, and now Nightwing couldn't even get away from his persistent pursuer for a moment to catch his breath. More and more often he had to move into close combat, but even a serious knee injury, successfully inflicted by a telescopic baton, was healed literally before his eyes, after which the death run continued.
Concentration and stamina were decreasing, and with that came the possibility of a mistake, which didn't take long. Dodging another dangerous lunge that threatened to crush his head, the young superhero immediately attacked the conveniently placed limb, but this time the baton, instead of hitting a nerve, unexpectedly got stuck between the chitinous plates. Richard immediately released the weapon, hesitating only for a moment. But that was enough time for the monster to grab his arm.
"Gotcha! - he roared triumphantly.
The guy's limb felt like it was under a press that was increasing the pressure with each passing second.
"The time of reckoning has come," the monster's voice was full of anticipation.
The other hand with the shock batarang also ends up in the grip, and the enemy with a sadistic smile just starts pulling the guy in different directions. Muscles and bones crackled from the strain. Nightwing covered his eyes, holding back a scream. This wasn't how the sortie was supposed to end, but history is not subjunctive.
"How stupid... I just wanted to show I was worth something, didn't I..."
~Shurh~
Suddenly a rush of air hit his face, and the mutant's grip loosened.
Nightwing opened his eyes and stared in surprise at his decapitated opponent, black blood gushing reluctantly from his neck. To his left stood a tall, bald man in an ancient red uniform, over which a heavy black cloak was carelessly thrown. In his hands he held a straight long sword with blue runes flickering on the blade. Another memorable feature of the savior was his dark green skin with many scars, one of which looked very much like the mark of a brutal trepanation, when the upper part of the skull is cut off completely
The monster's grip visibly loosened, but it continued to stand as if it didn't believe it was dead.
"Hmm, looks like a control is required," the man said thoughtfully.
Surprisingly, the decapitated creature twitched as if trying to escape, but the unknown swordsman separated the right foot with a single swing, and after that he smashed into the huge carcass to soon reach the heart. It was only after losing its second vital organ that the mutant finally fell silent.
"Thank you," Nightwing thanked, squeamishly brushing off the black, slimy blood that looked like fuel oil.
The savior wasn't too careful, splattering almost the entire roof of the building with it, and the superhero at the same time.
"Not at all, if you hadn't distracted him, the outcome of the fight might have been different. The Rot Hounds are not an opponent to be underestimated. Huh, it's amazing that you managed to run away from him for so long!"
"Hounds of Rot? - The boy clarified, deciding to ignore the first part of the sentence. If he paid attention to the first part of the phrase, it would seem that his companion was just watching the deadly chase and intervened only when he was sure of victory.
"Uh-huh. That's the name for intelligent creatures from the Kingdom of Rot. Before the mages sealed the Passage, they frequented the Earth dimension in search of prey. A unique specimen, you might say," the man kicked the severed head. - But you can't get ingredients from them, they'll rot away. By the way, did you happen to wander into the northern part of the city? Maybe see anything unusual?
Nightwing looked around at his surroundings with an expressive gaze. The golden dome overhead, the huge clots of flesh in the distance, the grotesque monsters spewing from their bowels, the chopped-up creature, and the Tower of Apokolips in the distance.
"Well, yeah," the man scratched the back of his head. - Maybe some kind of unusual animal. Just one that isn't susceptible to infection. Or a human... To be honest, I have no idea what or who I'm looking for.
"Hmmm... Other than your son, I've never met anyone unusual."
"A son?"
"Green guy. He can also turn into a big gorilla."
"Wow... I never thought I'd suddenly have offspring after I died."
"So it's not your son?"
"Hell if I know. I've done all kinds of things with my new life. Anyway, we should definitely get to know each other. Lead the way."
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