Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4548 - 3630: Edge of Tomorrow (39)

Pamela withdrew her thoughts and looked at the screen in front again. Amanda said, "We have identified from the background of their livestream that it's an abandoned factory in the West District, the same place Team 1 encountered the Joker before."

"Prior intelligence indicates that the chemicals in the pool are highly corrosive, and falling in would certainly be fatal. We can't expect this madman to show any mercy, so it's best to get there quickly and rescue the hostages. This will also reinforce the investors' confidence."

"Now I'll arrange the operational tasks..."

Amanda began detailing his tactical deployment using the factory map, while the true Tactical Masters, Batman and Deathstroke, frowned repeatedly.

To be honest, Amanda's tactical abilities are really lacking. What he's doing is obviously the type of assault plan learned in an agent school, which in simple terms means kicking down the door, applying suppressive fire, killing everyone breathing, and then sending agents to finish off.

Even without being a Tactical Master, any normal person with some smarts can see that this tactic is flawed. Not to mention if Harley Quinn has any other plots; just clearing the magazines is impractical.

The factory might be spacious, but there are other pieces of equipment there. What if they explode? What if a bullet spark ignites flammable materials?

Moreover, the ground is hard concrete, and the walls are iron sheets; how many ricocheting stray bullets will there be with such a burst of gunfire?

The hostages are vulnerable; what if a stray bullet hits their heart or brain? Wouldn't this rescue mission be in vain then?

Deathstroke was about to speak when Pamela pulled him aside. Pamela gently shook her head at him.

He thought about it and agreed, after all, Harley intended to be caught, so she would certainly give a flaw and then surrender herself. Such a meticulous operational plan isn't useful.

And the second rule of mercenaries is "whoever pays is the boss". The employer dictates how it's done, and if he thinks the plan works, then so be it. Anyway, it's not his life on the line. If you keep opposing him, he might just stop hiring you out of anger.

So Deathstroke said nothing.

Sure enough, Batman and Amanda started arguing. Batman believed they were superpower users and shouldn't follow ordinary agents' operational methods.

Amanda argued that Team 1's annihilation was due to being too bold, assuming their superpowers made them invincible, leading to a lack of basic defense, and then they were wiped out. Batman bore some responsibility for this, so his opinion shouldn't be taken seriously.

Batman indeed had some fault in this area since when Team 1 was wiped out, he was right there, and he couldn't save anyone. Amanda used this as a reason to blame him, and he couldn't really refute it.

However, he thought that he could just take over command during the actual operation. Unfortunately, Amanda had anticipated this.

She took a box out from behind the table and said, "Here are the combat earphones for you. I've organized a professional and mature command team to relay operational orders to you from the command center. I only have one request, that you follow my orders diligently; otherwise, even if the operation succeeds, I will take you to a military court!"

The others had no objections, put on the earphones, and prepared to head out. Only Batman wanted to struggle a little more. Unfortunately, if Amanda was the kind of person who listened to reason, she wouldn't be the way she is now.

Batman had no choice, and they even felt that this Amanda of their universe was already cooperative enough. If it were Amanda Waller from their universe, she'd be completely unreasonable.

Almost every Amanda from any universe is a pure troublemaker. Other villains at least have some grievances or a goal, like world domination or something.

Amanda does not. Amanda merely causes trouble. Even when it's no benefit to her, she does it, as if she was born to create chaos for others.

At least this universe's Amanda is actively fighting Brainiac, which can be considered an unexpected ally, and they can't ask for too much.

So, both Batmen put on their earphones and boarded the helicopter with the other Task Force members, heading towards the West District of Gotham.

Even though they've already seen how different this Gotham is, looking down from the sky still feels different. Batman even somewhat sentimentally said, "I feel like we shouldn't disturb their peaceful lives."

"Their peaceful lives aren't disturbed because of us, it's because of Brainiac. Even though he hasn't done anything yet, you know he can't maintain his disguise forever."

"Sorry, I forgot your universe is under Brainiac's invasion. You're right; that evil artificial intelligence is no good, we indeed need to take precautions early."

After getting off the helicopter, they followed the factory roads to the edge, reaching the overgrown abandoned factory area.

This place isn't exactly deserted. A new factory is being built nearby, and these structures seem to be up for demolition to make way for new factories. Nearby construction vehicles come and go, with many cargo trucks heading to the construction site.

Some concrete mixers are going east, cranes and other construction machinery are heading south, and one truck is driving towards them.

When Batman saw the driver in the truck wearing a full suit of purple, he instinctively felt something was off. But by the time he confirmed it was the Joker driving, the truck was almost upon them.

"Watch out!! Spread out!!!!"

As soon as he said this, the crowd scattered like birds and beasts, each taking their own evasive action.

Pamela was lifted directly by the vines, rising high above the height of the truck, completely out of its way, and she managed to pull Victor up with her.

Deathstroke was the quickest to react. The Joker hadn't yet stepped on the gas, but Deathstroke had already started running to the side. By the time the Joker crashed the truck, he was completely out of the collision's reach.

Charles, playing the role of the Wise Man, had mind sensing, so he naturally knew someone was going to crash into him. He also pretended to have foreseen it and ran in the same direction as Deathstroke. Although not as fast, he made it to the safe area.

The others weren't so lucky. Batman stood at the center of the team; he was quick to react, but he was surrounded by teammates. As he tried to run out, he was blocked by Dotted Man beside him.

Injustice Batman ran in the opposite direction but saw Mouse Woman frozen in fear, standing still. To save her, he had to run back again.

Katana and TDK were even more absurd, like NPCs in a game that only know one move: one raised a katana to block, and the other crossed his arms in front of him.

Unsurprisingly, they were all knocked flying.

Luckily, the road to the abandoned factory wasn't smooth. The truck came barreling down, not too fast, only sending them flying about three meters.

However, the damage was considerable. The two Batmans had several ribs broken while protecting their teammates. Katana and TDK vomited blood from the impact.

Though protected, Dotted Man and Mouse Woman were unharmed. But, unfortunately, at that moment, Dotted Man decided to release.

As those who were hit writhed on the ground, he was about to explode. Seeing the danger, Pamela quickly snatched him from mid-air and tossed him aside, but the height was too great, breaking his leg.

Joker Jack, sitting in the driver's seat, opened his mouth, and Harley, watching from atop the abandoned factory, was dumbfounded.

"Are you sure you want to get caught by them?" Jack hesitated over the walkie-talkie but finally said, "Not to mention the shame of being caught by this bunch, is joining such an organization really a guarantee of your safety?"

No sooner had he finished than Deathstroke pulled out his gun. After all, the enemy had already appeared; staying dazed would be unprofessional. Considering his salary and reimbursement claims, he had to react faster.

Batman, feeling touched, quickly sat up and looked over. Indeed, it had to be the world's best mercenary!

Deathstroke performed a tactical roll, approached the truck, pulled out a submachine gun, and fired a burst—only to knock himself down.

"Hahahahaha!" The Joker quickly rolled down the window, a furry green head sticking out as he said to the fallen Deathstroke, "Didn't expect that, did you? Bulletproof glass!"

Deathstroke certainly knew Jack's car was equipped with bulletproof glass. Besides, the range of the submachine gun wasn't that close; he didn't have to be up close to fire. He did this deliberately to let the ricocheting bullets hit himself. How else could he show his hard work without getting injured?

Being a cyborg, Deathstroke wasn't actually afraid of bullets. The impact of the ricocheting bullet wasn't that strong, at most grazing his skin. If the medical expenses could also be reimbursed, he could buy more painkillers and adrenaline for future missions.

Deathstroke lay peacefully on the ground, calculating his future combat mission's medical supply costs.

And Batman, who had just laboriously sat up, lay back down helplessly.

The Joker obviously didn't expect such significant results from a single collision, and it threw him off a bit. If this continued, wouldn't the entire X Task Force be wiped out? Wouldn't that be too much for Amanda?

Mainly, wouldn't this be too hard on the budget?

The Joker hesitated slightly, then had to make a disdainful expression and reversed towards the factory.

Fortunately, Batman knew the Jokers of this universe weren't normal, and he was mentally prepared for the Joker's disinterest in Batman, so he didn't find the Joker's actions unusual. He thought the Joker was in a hurry to torture hostages.

Amanda saw this through their cameras and screamed furiously into the headset.

Those who escaped unscathed came to check on their teammates. The most severely hit head-on were Katana and TDK, who had no protection and were knocked flying. They basically lost the ability to move.

Next was Dotted Man, who suffered secondary injuries, but the colorful dots inside him seemed to have a healing ability. Within moments, he went from a broken leg to a limping but mobile condition.

El Diablo was also hit, but the spirit inside protected him, so he was unscathed. Mouse Woman was fine under Batman's protection. Shark King was unharmed due to his robust constitution.

Both Batmans had broken ribs but could barely move. However, they couldn't engage in strenuous activities and could only serve as commanders.

In the end, the most seriously injured, Katana and TDK, stayed behind to wait for helicopter rescue, while the others continued to advance toward the factory.

The others still marched forward with a bold, defiant stride. Only Batman, and it was hard to tell if it was because of his injuries or something else, showed a shadow of bleak uncertainty about the future in his back view.