Phantom Kid in the World of American Comics

Chapter 146: Holding Gotham Hostage

Chapter 146: Holding Gotham Hostage

BONUS Chapter brought to you by, the one and the only, KingSpy25i, enjoy!

 Winter is here, and from the beginning of the month, light snow has been falling from the sky.

The ground in New York is covered with a thin layer of snow, and if the snowfall stays the same as it is now, it will basically be impossible to form a real snowpack.

In the past three months, Mathison and Charlie have travelled to museums in New York and surrounding major cities. 

They ruled out a lot of false information about the relics. 

Gradually, they also discovered a pattern in the database of supernatural objects: they were using a lot of information as smoke and mirrors, to confuse outsiders. 

After all, the possibility of organization members being intercepted by the police should always be accounted for.

And in case the police or S.H.I.E.L.D. laid a hand on this data, this process will, at least, make it impossible for them to quickly verify the authenticity of the information. 

However, forged information is forged after all, even if it is put together using a bunch of myths, people can always point out something wrong about it. 

So, starting from the second month, Mathison and Charlie have basically figured out the pattern of the Rising Tide organization’s data. 

Judging by past experience, the existing treasures in New York are probably: 

The Blue Diamond of Hope, Grade A or above, is mostly famous for being called “Heart of the Ocean.”

It is a legendary cursed stone, existing in a research institute of New York City. 

The B-grade Pink Lion Diamond has no special ability but is more precious than other diamonds, existing in the Museum of the City of New York. It is protected for being their main treasure. 

All that is left is the space gem that is a ???-grade. 

Of course, there is also the mess of dangerous items from S.H.I.E.L.D. that no one knows where they are. 

Just when Mathison intended to loosen up and pick one of two: the Blue Diamond of Hope or Pink Lion Diamond to send out a notice letter, a big piece of shocking news spread all over the world. 

Gotham City – Held hostage! 

A dozen hours ago, Blackgate Prison and Arkham Asylum were attacked by a terrorist who called himself Bane.

These two prisons were breached in a very short period of time, and countless criminals were released by Bane. 

Of course, Bane didn’t have the guts to release everyone in the Arkham Asylum. That scene makes people shudder to think about it.

He just selectively released a few powerful and disciplined super-criminals. 

Such as Deathstroke, Deadshot, Scarecrow, Riddler, Black Mask, etc… 

They were not all under Bane’s control. Some went back to gather their original men, while others disappeared. 

As for our clown, the Joker, Bane had no intention to release him, even more, he strengthened the level of custody upon him…

At the same time, the gangs of the Penguin caused riots in the city one after another. They burned, killed, looted, and committed all crimes. 

The city of Gotham was instantly swallowed in war and bullets. 

This is not over yet, Bane released a blockbuster after liberating all the prisoners. 

He bombed all the bridges connecting Gotham City to other cities, making Gotham an isolated city from then on! 

Then, he led a large force to occupy the Wayne Building and then seized the fusion reactor being researched by Wayne Enterprises.

Afterwards, under Dr. Leonid Pavel’s hands, the fusion reactor was transformed into a nuclear bomb that was about to explode. 

Pavel, a nuclear physics expert who had proposed the theory of weaponizing fusion energy a long time ago. He was rumored to have died in a plane accident a few years ago. No one realized that he was actually kidnapped by Bane.

Once the nuclear bomb explodes, the millions of people in Gotham would be left to die. 

Bane issued a statement to Washington that the U.S. military is not allowed to send reinforcements to Gotham. If he finds a helicopter trying to fly over Gotham or a Gotham citizen trying to escape the city, he will immediately detonate the nuclear bomb. 

The White House immediately ordered the withdrawal of the support troops, leaving only the Army to guard across several broken bridges to avoid any daring Gothamites attempting to escape.

When necessary, in order to ensure the safety of the entire city, people who are trying to escape could be shot. 

The Department of Defense and the Pentagon held an emergency meeting to discuss how to deal with this difficult incident. 

They tried to negotiate with Bain, and they were willing to pay whatever ransom Bain demanded.

However, Bane didn’t do this for money, he just wanted to destroy Gotham. 

Only his mouth is saying that he wants to return power to the people and make Gotham an anarchic city.

No matter what the government promised Bane, he just couldn’t be bothered.

The negotiations were declared broken. 

As soon as the news came out, everyone in the outside world went crazy. 

Since the founding of the United States, there have been countless terrorist attacks, but in terms of scale, the 9/11 incident has already been the most serious attack in history. 

But compared to Bane’s act today, 9/11 seemed almost like a child’s play. 

Everyone was helpless against him. 

But not everyone is desperate, at least Gotham has the last hope: 

The Dark Knight Batman. 

But for some reason, when Bane blew up the bridge, Batman didn’t show up to stop him. 

Bruce sensed that there is a hand behind the scenes who was in gradual control of Gotham’s darkness.

He did not hesitate to take risks and found Bane’s lair in the sewers. 

Then, Batman was shocked to find that Bane was a member of the League of Shadows like him.

And Bane’s power is stronger than him. 

As a result, Bruce’s spine was abruptly broken by Bane, making him almost paralyzed. 

Bane didn’t tell the story of his victory against Batman, because he wanted to see the people of Gotham full of hope at first, looking forward to Batman to save the city. 

In the end, when they wouldn’t be able to wait any longer, their hope will be completely shattered, and despair will flood their hearts… 

At the Triskelion… 

Nick Fury urgently summoned Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff; Hawkeye, Clint Barton; and level-seven agent Coulson, and level-nine agent and deputy director Maria Hill. 

All those present are Fury’s inner circle and the strongest elite of S.H.I.E.L.D.

“Hill, you will be responsible for the explanation.” 

“Yes, Director.” 

Everyone looked solemn and saw Hill pull out a few holographic images, all of which were super-criminals raging in Gotham City. 

The leader was none other than Bane. 

“Bane, the leader of an international mercenary that has only been active within three years. He has a powerful strength that surpasses normal humans, and is even stronger than many powerful supervillains…” 

Hill began to introduce the capabilities of these criminals one by one, as well as the status quo of Gotham observed by satellites. 

“We are now facing one of the biggest problems.” 

When Hill finished speaking, Coulson followed him to express his opinion. 

“Bane has demanded that no flying equipment can appear in Gotham airspace or a nuclear bomb will be detonated. We have to find a way to get inside Gotham before we can discuss any other resolutions.”

Coulson hit the nail on the head. 

“So, we have to infiltrate Gotham without Bane noticing.” 

“Coulson, are you thinking of…” 

None of the people here are stupid and quickly guessed what Coulson was trying to say.

Thank you, KingSpy25i, for your generous offer

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PS: a bonus chapter will also be published to the Patrons.