American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

273. What Is Hope?

Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Gordon listened to the loud explosion and the abrupt end of gunfire behind him, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

In this situation, there was no chance that Two-Face, Harvey, had survived. The bitter irony was that these pests, entrenched in Gotham like a cancerous tumor, had now become the city's last hope for defense.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on such thoughts. Faced with the overwhelming onslaught of Parademons, Commissioner Gordon once again demonstrated the superb driving skills of his youth, skillfully avoiding their attacks as he zigzagged toward Gotham Hospital.

Grabbing his already loaded handgun, Gordon shot through the windshield, continuously firing at the Parademons ahead. Several clinging to the car's hood were shot in the head and tumbled off.

"Don't even think about stopping me, you monsters!"

Gordon slammed the gas pedal, shouting in anger.

"I'm not retired yet, you bastards. Gotham is my city too, and I'm part of it!"

More and more Parademons appeared, almost completely blocking Gordon's view. His speed gradually slowed as the swarm engulfed the car.

Bullets were finite, and with no time to reload, Gordon soon exhausted his ammunition. Taking advantage of the lull, several Parademons pounced on the car.

They clung to the hood, their sharp claws gripping the edge of the side mirror, while another claw reached into the car, aiming to rip open the reckless old man inside.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, a whistling sound cut through the air, as a black Batarang arced through the sky and embedded itself right in the Parademon's head, hitting the mark dead center.

"Cover!"

A familiar female voice rang out. That one word was like the firing of a starting gun. Immediately, the sound of gunfire erupted, bullets raining down on the Parademons like a storm.

Watching the fierce battle ignite, Gordon felt a bit of relief. All the Parademons in front of him turned their attention to the new threat, redirecting their assault toward the hospital.

Commissioner Gordon recognized the voice—it was Batwoman, a member of the Bat-family and one of Gotham's heroes.

Earlier, he hadn't understood why a war had suddenly broken out in Gotham, nor where Batman had disappeared to. Gordon desperately wanted to know where all the heroes had gone. Now, hearing Batwoman's voice, he finally had a sense of direction.

The police car was barely holding together, dragging its broken frame as it crashed through the first line of defense at Gotham Hospital. The scene shook before Gordon's eyes as he saw some of his officers and gang members holding their ground, fighting off the overwhelming Parademon army while providing covering fire for him.

At the outer edge of the defense line stood Batwoman, clad in her Bat-suit with her signature red hair (a wig), locked in combat with the Parademons.

Countless Batarangs, equipped with miniature explosives, flew through the air, each blast taking out two or more Parademons. Yet despite the casualties, the Parademon army remained largely unaffected.

Hitting the brakes hard, Gordon grabbed an automatic rifle and leaped from the driver's seat. Without hesitation, he joined the fight.

"There's heavy firepower in the trunk! Hurry! We can't let these monsters break through!"

Firing a few shots at the distant Parademons, Gordon shouted to a familiar officer beside him.

Upon hearing this, a few nearby people quickly sprang into action. They opened the police car's trunk and, as expected, found several heavy weapons and ammunition. While they weren't top-of-the-line, they were the best Gordon had to offer at the moment.

"There should be plenty of firepower in the Batcave too, but getting our hands on that stuff won't be easy," Batwoman said, noticing that Gordon had successfully made it inside and hurried back to his side.

She had been fighting continuously for a long time, and without a brief rest, she feared she wouldn't last much longer. If that happened, even retreating from the battlefield would become difficult.

Hearing Batwoman's voice, Gordon anxiously asked, "Where's Batman? Why haven't I heard anything from him?"

"Sorry, I don't know either," Batwoman Kate replied, panting heavily, her voice trembling. "I've lost contact with everyone. Ten minutes ago, I lost contact with Batgirl as well."

Gordon's mouth slightly opened as he stared blankly at Batwoman, unsure of what to do.

Batwoman wasn't in much better shape. Gordon noticed a grim wound on her leg, still bleeding. It must have been inflicted during the fight against the Parademons while she was covering for him.

"What about the others?" Gordon asked.

"The last time I contacted the Titans, they were fighting the Parademons in Metropolis. That's their main target, and the pressure over there is much worse than here."

As she said this, Kate's face darkened. "Don't count on reinforcements. Their situation isn't any better than ours. The Parademons have Kryptonian blood injected into them, and once we run out of Kryptonite, we're all dead."

In times of war, the last thing you want to do is lower morale, so Batwoman could only share this information with Gordon. If the others knew, no one would have the will to keep holding the line.

"How many people are here?" Gordon couldn't help but ask.

"Between the patients, doctors, and those who came seeking refuge, there are more than two thousand people," Batwoman replied. "Most of our fighting force consists of nearby gang members and a few security personnel."

"Where did you get the Kryptonite?" Gordon asked again.

Batwoman let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Thank the Joker. He broadcasted over the radio and exposed the locations of his hidden Kryptonite caches throughout Gotham. Most of it's synthetic Kryptonite, but it still works well enough."

"I thought so. When I saw the firepower Black Mask and Bane were using, I had my suspicions. Besides the Joker, few in Gotham could get their hands on that much Kryptonite," Gordon sighed in relief.

"But it's still not enough. There are too many Parademons. This Kryptonite won't even hold off the first wave, and night is coming soon. Their attacks will be even fiercer, and this Kryptonite will be like a drop in the ocean," Batwoman sighed.

"Wait, earlier you mentioned there's still plenty of firepower stored in the Batcave, right?"

Suddenly, Gordon thought of something and asked.

Batwoman nodded but quickly realized what Gordon was implying. Shaking her head, she objected.

"No way! I won't leave these people here to die, and I certainly won't let you—"

As a member of the Bat-family, Batwoman Kate knew very well that Gordon was Barbara's father. How could she let the father of her comrade stay behind and face certain death?

However, before she could finish, Gordon raised his hand, cutting her off.

"Kate, now isn't the time for hesitation."

"You…" Kate's eyes widened, staring at Gordon in disbelief.

But Gordon didn't care about her gaze. He simply smiled and continued speaking.

"Gotham is about to fall, and so are the people here. You know as well as I do, no one but you can break through the Parademon siege. Those left behind won't survive, but we can't abandon hope."

"And you... you are our hope."

As he spoke, Gordon raised his hand and placed something into Kate's palm.

"Will you take the gamble?"

Feeling the cold object in her hand, Kate's heart raced.

"If Bruce is still alive, tell him…"

Gordon spoke slowly, word by word.

"Avenge us!"

The lightbulb hanging from the ceiling swayed gently.

Barbara placed a coin, with two faces carved on either side, onto the table. Dried blood stained its surface, long since turned black from time and decay.

"This is the last keepsake my father left behind. Kate gave it to me when we met in the Batcave, and the Riddler… he blew himself up covering our escape."

At this point, Barbara's voice cracked with grief, and she covered her face, unable to continue.

Around the round table, everyone stared at the coin, their emotions mixed and complicated. The entire new Batcave fell into silence.

.....

30 advanced chapters on p@treaon
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274. Defeated Soldiers.
275. Into the Dream with the Wind.
276. The Master of Dreams.
277. Shazam.
278. The Next Target.