Chapter 506: Have You Heard of Arkham?
Chapter 506: Have You Heard of Arkham?
Before Tony could speak, the bald man tied up in the corner stared wide-eyed. “Superwoman?”
He recognized the woman called ‘Superwoman.’ In fact, most people in North America knew her.
She wasn’t the Wonder Woman from DC Comics but a superhero who’d been active in North America for the past decade. Her name was Joanna.
She could fly, had immense strength, was impervious to blades and guns, and could fire energy beams. That’s why people also called her Superwoman. She often appeared on the front lines fighting crime, adored by the public.
But real North America wasn’t Marvel or DC—it was more like The Boys.
Joanna wasn’t a Superwoman. She was the female version of Homelander.
According to secret documents the bald man had gathered, all Joanna’s crime-fighting deeds were staged scripts. Powerful backers crafted these stories to boost her fame, turning it all into entertainment.
Even her friendly, cheerful image was fake. Privately, she was a hot-tempered, foul-mouthed woman with a chaotic personal life—someone you’d easily call a bitch.
The only difference between her and Homelander was that she couldn’t shoot crescent moon energy blasts.
A “superhero” like her having close ties to Teacher Tony made perfect sense.
Only “insiders” knew about this secret base. Joanna entering through the hidden passageway proved she’d been here before.
Hearing the gasp, Joanna finally noticed the bound bald man.
She’d long forgotten him and turned to mock Tony.
“Tony, your tastes have gotten this gross?”
She crossed her arms, her bodysuit straining against her chest. “Did your dick stop working? Now you’re into shit-stirring?”
Tony’s face twisted, not from her insults, but because he’d been forced to ask her for help.
Their relationship was toxic. Tony collected actresses and female heroes, setting his sights on Joanna years ago.
Joanna wanted the young, rich Tony.
They hooked up, messed around for months, nearly getting caught by paparazzi.
But Tony couldn’t keep up with her endless appetite. Even blue pills failed him. Bored, he tried to dump her.
Feeling betrayed, Joanna scarred his face—the reason he later got idol-level plastic surgery.
They became enemies. But Tony later learned Joanna and her backers were investors in the Gates of Heaven.
With shared interests and Joanna’s untouchable allies, Tony had to tolerate her.
Now, desperate, he’d asked her here.
“Enough. I didn’t call you to hear your trash talk.”
Tony coldly explained the situation.
Joanna had already heard the chaos in the base with her super hearing. She’d thought it minor trouble—until he mentioned the Blood Emperor.
Her face paled. “You didn’t say the enemy was that monster on the phone!”
“Would you have come if I did?” Tony sneered. “Don’t forget—you own stakes in this base and the Gates of Heaven.”
The bald man had gone numb. The famed Superwoman of North America was linked to the cult too, even being one of its investors.
Was this world beyond saving?
Then again, considering his own situation… maybe it wasn’t so bad.
Joanna couldn’t flee now. Before arriving, she could’ve made excuses, but escaping after learning about the enemies would draw fire from other backers.
Her entry into this circle relied on both connections and her martial power – she couldn’t abandon them at the critical moment.
Joanna glared daggers at Tony. “I’ll settle this debt with you later.”
Tony’s mood improved slightly seeing someone he disliked get dragged down. “This isn’t personal. The enemies are vampires, and your ability naturally counters them.”
Superwoman’s power stemmed from the sun, enabling solar ray attacks that happened to be vampires’ bane.
Joanna remained uneasy. These monsters had defeated Isis – solar rays might prove ineffective.
Deception-fueled anger made her want to smash Tony’s smug face with a punch.
But memories of last time she’d scarred Tony and paid the price forced her to suppress the thought.
Spotting the bald man in the corner, Joanna abruptly fired a solar ray at him.
The silver-tongued collaborator didn’t even get to scream before his upper body vaporized, his lower half emitting the charred scent of grilled meat.
Such was the fate of most traitors.
Tony merely wrinkled his nose – not mourning the loyal underling’s demise, but disliking the acrid smell.
He clapped twice. The office wall behind him rumbled upward, revealing rows of steel combat suits.
Though resembling movie prototypes, these suits appeared bulkier rather than streamlined.
Years of military and tech company investments finally yielded functional steel combat suits, though mass production remained impossible.
The suits’ acceleration overload could kill ordinary users instantly. Only those like Tony, enhanced by Divine medicine, could withstand them.
The boosted fighting power nearly matched Iron Man’s original capabilities from the first movie.
This justified Tony’s self-proclaimed title as North America’s Iron Man.
He bypassed newer models for his most familiar suit.
Better synchronization meant greater combat effectiveness.
Without advanced AI like J.A.R.V.I.S. ready, Tony donned the suit himself. He addressed the scowling Joanna: “Let’s move. We’ll eliminate the threat before they dismantle the entire base.”
Activating flight mode, he shattered the floor-to-ceiling windows and soared out.
Joanna snorted softly before adopting Superman’s flying posture and following.
…
Walker had fled the underground level, emerging into the open base.
He couldn’t keep fighting Fang Cheng in those cramped tunnels where blood permeated every surface, enabling attacks from any direction.
God forbade retreat, forcing him to keep maneuvering in open terrain while awaiting reinforcements.
Fang Cheng pursued relentlessly, having already slain Walker thrice.
Walker now looked visibly weak; just a few more kills would collapse his soul completely.
Seeing Fang Cheng pursue him, Walker panicked. This mysterious enemy proved far more dangerous than the North American government’s half-hearted siege last time with barely any aces.
He floated midair through unknown means, his ground shadow reduced to near invisibility.
Unable to use Shadow Leap, Fang Cheng activated his War God Bloodline and teleported after him.
Sensing imminent danger, Walker spat out clouds of microscopic spores.
The spores multiplied like locusts in the wind, rapidly morphing into grotesque monsters.
Upon contacting blood particles around Fang Cheng, the creatures got shredded into butcher shop scraps by blade-like blood tendrils.
Their deaths released billowing black venom that smoked ominously in the air, forming a toxic barrier.
Fang Cheng plowed through the poison cloud, Vector Control repelling all contaminants.
Walker never expected this to injure his pursuer – mere delay tactics.
He fled toward Tony’s office until two speeding figures appeared. Relief flashed across his mutated face.
Tony and Joanna arrived at battle speed, only to recoil at Walker’s transformation.
The cult leader had become hairless with full octopus head – bulbous eyes, vanished nose/jaw, razor-toothed maw.
Thick tentacles writhed where flesh tendrils once grew, mirroring the Gates of Heaven’s deity.
Tony nearly mistook this for divine punishment before logic prevailed. “Lord Walker?”
“Me!” gurgled the distorted voice. “Powerful intruder…”
Before he finished, they spotted Fang Cheng closing in.
Tony’s combat suit whirred with weapon ports as Joanna radiated solar energy.
Fang Cheng halted at seeing Teacher Tony and Superwoman.
“So this Blood Emperor…” Joanna licked rosy lips, eyeing his handsome features. “Looks delicious.”
Tony internally cursed the sun-obsessed woman.
“Hold fire,” he warned, mask retracting as he floated forward. “Mr. Fang, we meet…”
Occupied contacting Ye Yuqing via Blood Source ability, Fang Cheng snapped: “Spit it out.”
Tony froze as Joanna chuckled. “Feisty! I like it.”
Glaring back, Tony steadied himself. “Surrender the ten Divine medicines and leave. We’ll forget this… maybe even collaborate.”
Their trio held numerical advantage, though damaging the Ark-containing base was unwise. Retrieve the goods first, punish later.
Fang Cheng studied him oddly. “Teacher Tony, know Arkham?”
Baffled by the title, Tony frowned. “The asylum? Why?”
“Full of lunatics. You’d fit right in.”