American comics: Damn it, I’m surrounded by those who worry about their fathers!.

Chapter 1099 Loki VS Riddler

"It seems you've run into some serious trouble."

Loki, standing above, smiled slightly.

Then, with a slight twitch of his fingers, the rope steadily lifted the three people from the sea of ​​blood, freeing them from the suffocating water.

"However, perhaps it would be more appropriate to call me 'Savior' here, wouldn't it, Nightwing?"

The three were pulled to the top of the relatively safe wall, where they collapsed to the ground, panting heavily and trying to recover the strength that had been drained from them.

Starfire and Beast Boy, however, watched the strange creature that had suddenly appeared with caution, not completely letting their guard down.

This was the first time the two had ever met Loki.

"What are you doing here? Is Mr. Patrick here?"

Nightwing ignored Loki's teasing and calmed himself down before asking.

Loki dusted off non-existent dust from his robes. "It's not surprising that I came here with such a big commotion in Gotham. As for my father, he's not in Gotham."

After the strange events in Gotham, Peter sent Loki, Mark, and Clark to investigate.

Upon arriving in Gotham, the three split up. Loki noticed Nightwing and his group and followed them.

"So your father sent you?"

The beast boy couldn't help but interject, his tone tinged with suspicion.

He had also heard of Peter's name; in the superhero community, Peter was already legendary.

However, Beast Boy didn't care, after all, he had seen many superheroes who were overrated.

Loki glanced at him, a look that made Garfield involuntarily shrink back.

"Pie? No, kid, I came on my own. How could such an interesting drama unfold in Gotham be complete without the participation of the God of Story? Besides..."

As Loki spoke, he glanced into the depths of the maze, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes. "I'm also quite interested in this maze. As for rescuing you, it was just a side effect. After all, having a few more pawns to scout the way is never a bad thing, right?"

Nightwing: "."

He found that this guy's personality was even more disliked than Homelander's.

The group continued forward, with Loki leading the way, his steps light as if he were strolling in his own backyard, a stark contrast to the slightly wary Nightwing and his two companions behind him.

“Stay close, kids,” Loki said without turning his head. “This maze is alive, and it doesn’t like guests, especially uninvited ones.”

As he spoke, Loki's fingers moved randomly in the air, using magic to mark the corners of the walls he passed.

Nightwing silently memorized the shape of the mark while cautiously observing his surroundings.

As Xinghuo flew in mid-air, very close to the ground, her energy perception was severely interfered with in the maze, as if shrouded in a thick fog.

The beast boy sniffed the air intently, trying to detect any unusual scents.

The group walked along a seemingly endless spiral corridor, with inverted "sky" on both sides.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, Xinghuo suddenly stopped, his brows furrowed.

"Something's wrong."

She pointed to a mark on the wall that she had just passed. “I saw this mark three minutes ago. Look over there,” she said, then pointed to another almost identical mark on the wall at another fork in the road. “And over there, we’re going in circles.”

Upon hearing this, Loki stopped in his tracks, a look of surprise appearing on his handsome face.

“Indeed, my mark has been moved. This labyrinth not only has spatial distortions, but also magnetic fields that interfere with or even tamper with energy markers… or something worse.”

He looked at Xinghuo with great interest. "Smart girl, your perception is very sharp, far beyond that of ordinary people. Where are you from?"

Starfire was somewhat surprised by Loki's directness, but still replied, "I am Kolianda from Tamaran."

"Tamaran Star..."

Loki nodded thoughtfully.

Aliens?

That's not surprising at all.

"Good, it seems our team isn't all just a burden."

Loki said in a very irritating way.

spark:"."

The group adjusted their direction, with Xinghuo attempting to lead the way using her faint sense of energy flow and spatial memory.

On the way, Garfield, the Beast Boy, couldn't resist his curiosity and leaned closer to Loki, whispering, "Hey, your last name is Patrick, right?"

Loki glanced at him with a "that's a stupid question" look on his face. "Of course, is there a problem?"

Garfield's eyes lit up. "So...so all those rumors are true? Your father, Peter Patrick, really is that legendary 'Sleeper'? Possessing the most powerful strength in the world, able to put anyone to sleep with a snap of his fingers? Saving the world countless times in secret wars? And...and it's said he has many, many wives and children, like a...a superhero version of King Solomon?"

Loki stopped in his tracks.

His expression was somewhat complicated.

Although I really wanted to refute this idiot, I felt that what he said seemed to make some sense.

A superhero version of King Solomon sounds strangely fitting for my dad.

But who exactly spread these bizarre rumors about my father?
Loki coughed, suppressing his urge to retort, and tried to speak calmly: "Has no one ever told you you're a gossip?"

As soon as Loki finished speaking, suddenly—

A black figure emerged from the shadows of the corridor ahead.

Batman appears before everyone!

But his condition was extremely bad at this moment. His battle suit was torn, and his face was contorted with extreme pain. Most horrifyingly, his mouth was open at an inhuman angle, revealing sharp teeth dripping with saliva.

"Night...wing..."

Batman's voice was hoarse and filled with resentment, "You... you should have had a chance to save me, but you... killed me, you took my place!"

Batman's eerie and terrifying image sent a jolt through Nightwing, but he quickly regained his composure: "You're not Batman, what are you?"

Spark and Beast Boy immediately went into battle mode.

Just as Nightwing was about to step forward and subdue the imposter, a hidden door that was originally part of the wall suddenly slid open.

A massive arm covered in rough scales and bulging muscles reached out and patted the shoulder of the gaping-mouthed "Batman".

A deep, husky voice rang out: "Hey, buddy, are you lost?"

Then, two even more unexpected figures emerged from behind the hidden door.

One is Killer Croc, a tall and imposing figure resembling an upright crocodile, while the other is Harley Quinn, dressed in a red and black costume, wielding a huge wooden mallet, and sporting a crazy yet excited smile.

Batman was clearly taken aback by this situation and paused for a moment.

The next second, Killer Croc opened its blood-red maw and let out a deafening roar. Then, with a speed disproportionate to its size, it bit down hard on the upper body of the imposter Batman.

A sickening sound of bones cracking and tearing rang out, accompanied by a brief scream.

Killer Croc suddenly swung its head, slamming the twisted creation against the wall like a rag doll.

The imposter Batman twitched twice and instantly turned into a pool of viscous black liquid.

"Pooh!"

Harley Quinn jumped up excitedly and pounded Killer Croc's solid back with her mallet. "Well done, big guy. God, seeing Batman get bitten to pieces—even if it's an imposter—gives me a strange sense of satisfaction."

She turned to the dumbfounded Nightwing and the others, blinked, and said, "Hi, guys."

Then Harley's gaze fell on Loki, and her eyes lit up instantly. "Oh my god, little Loki, is that you? You've grown so much!"

Completely ignoring the tense atmosphere, she skipped and hopped over to Loki, looking up at him (Harley didn't care that Loki was in adult form).

"How's your dad? Has he mentioned me lately? His adorable kitten Harley? We had a great time at the 'party' in Gotham last time."

Loki: "..."

He felt his facial muscles were a little stiff.

Even Loki was caught off guard by Harley Quinn's unpredictable behavior.

Taking a deep breath, Loki managed to maintain his composure: "My father... is well, thank you for your concern, but he's been very busy lately and probably won't have time to mention his past social activities."

"Oh, what a pity!" Harley sighed dramatically, but immediately perked up again. "But it's okay, it's great to meet you. Are you also here to have fun in this crazy maze?"

After a chaotic exchange (mostly Harley talking), Nightwing finally understood.

Killer Croc and Harley Quinn are here because they are currently "employed" by Amanda Waller's suicide squad.

The unusual phenomena in Gotham attracted the attention of high-ranking government officials, and Waller dispatched this task force composed of criminals to investigate.

The consequence of mission failure is that the nanobombs in their necks will be detonated—their heads will be removed.

Although the composition of allies is extremely complex and unreliable, it's always good to have more strength at the moment.

So this hastily assembled team—Nightwing, Starfire, Beast Boy, Loki, Harley Quinn, and Killer Croc—continued onward.

With Harley's rule-breaking and reckless approach to "breaking the deadlock," Killer Croc's simple and brutal physical dismantling abilities, and Loki's insight into illusions and energy traps, the maze's mechanisms were solved by the group with astonishing efficiency, or even "skipped" directly.

Harley even smashed through a seemingly impenetrable wall with her mallet, only to find a shortcut behind it. She proudly declared, "See? Riddlers always have to come up with fancy tricks. The best answer to a riddle is a big hammer!"

This behavior, which completely deviated from the riddler's script, clearly angered the master of the maze.

When the group finally reached the center of the maze—a huge, upside-down circular plaza—the angry voice of the Riddler Edward Nigma resounded throughout the space through loudspeakers:
"Cheating! This is blatant cheating, devoid of any elegance, and completely undermines the rules and spirit of the game!"

Upon hearing the riddle teller's voice, the group looked up at the square and discovered a colossal object standing in the center.

A robot with an exaggerated design, as tall as four or five stories, with the Riddler's signature green and purple colors.

The robot's head is a huge, red-glowing question mark, and most strikingly, on either side of its head are a pair of metal horns resembling those of a bull, giving it a menacing appearance.

The robot's heavy metal feet pounded on the inverted "ground," producing a dull thud.

The Riddler himself stood on the robot's broad shoulders, wearing a brand-new bodysuit with question mark patterns, holding a microphone-like main controller, trembling with rage.

"You have defiled my art, the culmination of my wisdom!"

He shrieked, “Especially you, Harley Quinn, and that farm cheat, you’re not worthy of playing my game!”

Harley, carrying a mallet, nonchalantly picked at her ear: "Come on, Eddie, your game is so long and tedious, let whoever wants to play it play it. Tell me who hired you to cause trouble here, or I'll turn your big toy into a pile of scrap metal."

"Arrogant!" The riddle-maker was even angrier.

But he quickly calmed himself down. "However, before punishing you, according to tradition, there is one last riddle. If you can solve it, I might consider letting you die a quick death."

He took a deep breath and said in a reciting tone:

"Listen: If you say I'm being dragged out the window, I'll only leave behind a grieving wife. Bring me back, and you'll see someone giving life at the door. What are we? Hint: We are all interconnected!"

Upon hearing the riddle, Nightwing and Beast Boy both frowned and began to think rapidly.

Loki stroked his chin, his eyes gleaming with interest.

He also enjoys riddles and the game of riddle tellers, which he finds quite interesting.

Harley Quinn, however, completely ignored the Riddler's riddle.

Her attention was completely drawn to the pair of enormous bull horns.

Wow, cow horns!

Harley's eyes lit up, and she excitedly struck a bullfighter pose, waving a non-existent red cloth. "I've always wanted to be a bullfighter. Come on, you big bull, let your big sister Harley play with you."

"Game begins, crush them!"

Seeing Harley's provocation, the Riddler ignored the riddle and angrily pressed the button on the controller.

The red light in the bull-headed robot's eyes suddenly flared up, and it let out a roar that sounded like a steam whistle mixed with the friction of metal.

The robot took heavy steps, lowered its head, pointed its terrifying horns at the crowd, and launched its attack.

The entire square trembled under its footsteps.

The battle breaks out instantly!

Nightwing used his agility to weave between the robot's legs, striking the joints with the Cari Rod, sending sparks flying.

Xinghuo flew into the air, gathered stellar energy in his hands, and bombarded the robot's head and chest.

However, the energy attack was blocked by an energy shield and was ineffective.

The Beast Boy transforms into a giant rhinoceros, roaring as he charges at the robot from the side, attempting to overturn it.

With a loud "thud," he was knocked back by a heavy punch from the robot, wincing in pain.

Loki did not directly participate in the head-on attack.

He roamed the edge of the battlefield, using illusion magic to create multiple fake versions of himself to draw the robots' fire.

"I know the answer now."

After a moment of contemplation, Loki dodged the robot's stomping foot and said to the Riddler:
“The window and the sorrowful wife, the sorrowful wife is the widow, and the door gives life, the one who gives life is the donor.”

“If you bring the ‘donor’ back and see him at the door, remove one letter and it becomes ‘door’; and if you pull the ‘widow’ out of the window, add one letter and it becomes ‘window’.”

Loki snapped his fingers, and a green light formed a letter in the air: "And the letter that connects 'door' and 'window,' that turns 'widow' into 'window' and 'donor' into 'door', is the same letter—'N'!"

The answer is: N!

Just as the puzzle was solved, the Minotaur seemed to be struck by some kind of rule-based attack. Its movements suddenly froze, and the energy shield around it flickered a few times before abruptly going out.

"No! That's impossible!" the riddle-maker cried out in terror.

"Chance!"

Nightwing seized the opportunity, fired his grappling hook, and entangled the robot's shoulder beneath the Riddler's feet. With a sudden pull, he dragged himself up.

Spark's energy cannon and Beast Boy's fierce attack landed simultaneously on the robot's chest, which had lost its shield, blasting a large hole in it.

The massive bull-headed robot lost its balance and crashed to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

Nightwing leaped down before the robot fell, landing steadily and stepping on the chest of the Riddler, who had just crawled out of the rubble and was dizzy.

"Game over, Nigma, where's Batman? Who's pulling the strings behind all this?"

The riddle-maker struggled, his face filled with the bitterness and fear of defeat, and screamed, "You...you know nothing! You ruined 'his' plans! You're doomed! I'll watch you die!"

On the other hand, Loki did not participate in the interrogation of the Riddler.

He walked to the wreckage of the robot, his gaze drawn to a metal card that had fallen out.

Loki bent down and picked up the card.

The card's material is the same as the dark aura he sensed earlier, and a lifelike, roaring minotaur monster is etched on the front.

The back of the card features a twisted bat and a clown symbol.

"A bat? A clown?"

Loki stroked the card, sensing the somewhat familiar dark energy it contained, his brow furrowing slightly.

He seemed to have sensed a similar aura emanating from this metal card somewhere before.

Just as the riddle-maker was defeated and the bull-headed robot was reduced to scrap metal.

Beyond the crater, beneath the dark red clouds above Gotham City, Batman, who had previously released the Riddler, was watching the city descend into chaos.

At his feet were drooling Robin Hounds chained up.

Batman's torn lips seemed to twitch slightly, with a hint of disappointment, but more so with a knowing, playful expression.

"Oh dear... our riddle master has failed."

He said in an aria-like tone, "What a waste of a good card of mine. I thought he could play a little longer and cause some decent trouble for our protagonists."

Then Batman shook his head, as if lamenting the damage to a toy.

"But it's alright. Plans always need to be adjusted flexibly. The sacrifice of a small soldier is no big deal."

He stretched out his hand, which was covered in a worn glove, and pulled out a card from his pocket that was slightly different from the other metal cards.

"It's time to resort to some unconventional methods."

Batman deftly toyed with the metal plate between his fingers, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic Gotham City and toward Smallville in the distance.

"We have to give our farmers a surprise that's big enough, hehehe...hahahaha."

Batman's maniacal laughter rang out again, spreading through the Gotham night sky.

(End of this chapter)