Viktor spent about forty minutes understanding the plans, then immediately started building.
After digging the foundation, laying the frame, setting the formwork, pouring the concrete...
The rough three-story villa was finished.
Viktor rested his hand on his brow and glanced at the sunset.
He casually washed his hands by the shore, stretched for more than ten seconds, then lowered his arms and looked at Rachel.
The two exchanged a knowing smirk.
Rachel cast a spell on Viktor, something like an illusion, to adjust his perceived physical size to match Batman's.
After thinking for a moment, Rachel gave him a thumbs-up.
"Have fun."
"I can't wait."
Viktor flew up into the night sky and headed toward Gotham.
During his time in the past timeline as a ghost, Viktor had already learned the location of the Batcave beneath Wayne Manor.
Now, while the old bat was seriously sick and stuck in bed, Viktor decided to do something big in Gotham.
He decided it was time to pick up a hobby too, to ease the frustration he had built up over the past few years.
The night fell.
Through an abandoned dry well outside Wayne Manor, Viktor found the hidden passage and slipped all the way down into the Batcave underground.
Even though his body was now far beyond normal humans, Viktor still couldn't stop feeling excited when he thought about what he was about to do.
He was going to cosplay as Batman.
A real-life speedrun of his favorite game from his previous life—Batman: Arkham Knight.
The timeline lined up pretty closely too...
In the game, the storyline involved Batman having already taken in Tim as the third Robin, after which the second Robin, who was supposed to have been killed by the Joker, returned as the Arkham Knight to exact revenge.
The only difference was that Batman hadn't adopted Tim yet, and the second Robin was nowhere to be seen.
These details didn't matter.
Who else could be Gotham's Dark Knight tonight but him?
A dark silhouette slowly approached the Batsuit displayed inside a glass case and stretched out a hand toward it.
Viktor, who was also hiding in the darkness and about to sneak over, widened his eyes.
The silhouette had reached the suit about three steps ahead of him, leaving him completely confused.
'What in the—?'
'Which idiot dared to do something like this?'
Viktor wrapped himself in his force field, crept silently behind the figure, and narrowed his eyes as he quietly raised a hand-chop.
The silhouette figure seemed completely focused on the Batsuit, still stretching out that hand again and again.
"Snap!"
Suddenly, a sharp click rang out, and the entire dim Batcave was lit up by a bare bright bulb mounted at the top of the cave.
Nightwing was leaning sideways at the entrance of a passage, arms crossed, looking helplessly at the three people in the Batcave.
At the front was Plastic Man in his red skintight suit, one arm stretched out two meters, nearly pressing against the glass of the display case.
Behind Plastic Man was Viktor, bent over and just about to strike with his hand, and behind Viktor was Superman, who was about to knock Viktor on the back of the head.
They all froze simultaneously. They looked up at the blazing lightbulb, then turned in unison to look at Nightwing.
"This suit is something I'd avoid wearing if I could, but you guys really…"
Nightwing was too exhausted to even make fun of them. He just let out a long sigh.
"Is it really that serious?"
A few minutes later, the three of them sat around the dining room upstairs in Wayne Manor with gloomy expressions.
Alfred, who had been woken up in the middle of the night, silently brought over a pot of hot chocolate and poured a cup for Plastic Man, Viktor, and Superman.
Nightwing sat at the head of the table like he owned the place, and the moment Alfred left, he kicked his legs up onto the table.
"Alright, talk. Why did each of you come here?"
The three exchanged a glance and began taking turns.
"I just wanted to have a bit of fun. I thought it'd be fun."
"I came to help. He's still unconscious, and since I was nearby, I figured I'd stop in."
"I'm here purely for revenge. I've been in a bad mood lately, and Gotham at night is a convenient place to beat people up and let off steam."
Plastic Man and Superman both turned to stare at Viktor.
Plastic Man's jaw literally hit the chair.
Nightwing showed a strange expression and frowned as he thought for a few seconds.
"Gotham does need a Batman at night. I did solo patrol last night, showed up to catch a few people, but it ended up feeling more like I was sending a signal to all the freaks and criminals that it was safe to come out and cause trouble."
The three exchanged glances.
It seemed like there might be something in this. From the sound of it, Nightwing was about to officially approve someone.
Plastic Man immediately straightened his back.
Superman was already sitting properly, while Viktor still lounged limply in his chair, holding his hot chocolate and taking a sip with his head down.
Nightwing seemed to come to a decision and pointed a finger.
"Your attitude fits best. You stay."
Plastic Man's jaw dropped again, and even Superman looked surprised.
Viktor licked the corner of his mouth, looked up, and was also stunned.
"Me?"
Nightwing raised a finger, pointing at him, and shook it.
"Yes, you, but remember no killing."
Ten minutes later, Viktor stood in the Batcave, barely containing his excitement, watching as Nightwing took out the Batsuit and waved him over.
"This thing is pretty troublesome the first time you wear it. There are a lot of details to watch out for, with some parts you can't mess around with—and why do you look a bit taller now?"
Viktor took a deep breath, accepted the Bat-helmet, felt the remarkable texture in his hands, and experienced a joy he hadn't felt in a very long time.
"Trust me. I came here fully prepared."
After Nightwing helped him put on the Batsuit, Viktor first rolled his shoulders to feel what the cape was like when worn properly.
Then he found a mirror and started twisting his waist and hips a little to warm up.
Nightwing frowned, walked over, and turned on the earpiece inside the helmet.
Immediately, a series of alert beeps filled his ears.
"It's time to move. Tonight, Gotham is going to fall into some chaos. They're all testing whether something has really happened to Batman since he didn't show up last night."
After activating the voice modulator at Viktor's throat, Nightwing turned and headed toward the hangar where Batman's various vehicles were stored.
Viktor followed behind and then suddenly remembered something.
A deep voice identical to Batman's sounded behind Nightwing.
"By the way… how much strength am I supposed to use if I'm not allowed to kill people?"
Nightwing nearly stumbled.
He turned back around and shot back irritably.
"It doesn't take much for the head. More for the ribs. A lot more for the legs. Remember that—and keep your sentences short."
As Nightwing rattled, Viktor quickly threw three punches with different levels of force.
The blade on the side of his arm guard flashed coldly, and the power of the punches combined with the blade cutting through the air, making three deep humming sounds.
"Alright, man, got it."
Nightwing took a deep breath, and his whole face twitched.
"You have to drop those weird catchphrases and those long sentences of yours, or tonight you keep your mouth shut as much as possible."
...
600 POWER STONES = 1 BONUS CHAPTER
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