Viktor quickly stepped forward and grabbed Nightwing by the shoulder.
Nightwing's mind was still foggy, and the last thing he remembered before passing out was being in danger.
"Don't move. The Atom is performing surgery inside your brain."
Viktor didn't really know whether a large movement would affect the microscopic level, but even a normal person would know not to move carelessly during a critical moment of surgery.
Nightwing opened his eyes and saw Batman holding him down. He stared for a moment, then remembered that this was Viktor disguised as Batman.
He relaxed a little and started looking around at the surroundings.
"S.T.A.R Laboratory… where's Bane?"
Nightwing suddenly thought of something even more terrifying.
"You didn't kill Bane, did you?!"
Rhonda stiffened sharply after hearing Nightwing's words, with some horror and disbelief flashing across her face.
After hearing Nightwing's words, Rhonda, standing behind Viktor, suddenly went stiff. A bit of fear and disbelief flashed across her face.
Viktor shook his head.
"No, I just disabled both his arms—do I really look like I enjoy killing people that much?"
Nightwing finally relaxed completely.
"That's good then."
Even though with someone like Bane, who is an extremely dangerous piece of shit, Nightwing actually didn't care too much whether Viktor killed him or not.
However, there was no choice.
Batman would definitely care when he woke up.
Nightwing had boldly skipped over Superman and Plastic Man, who Batman would actually be more likely to accept, and chose Viktor to disguise himself as the Dark Knight instead.
He himself felt somewhat doubtful about it, but Nightwing guessed right.
As long as Viktor could restrain himself from crossing the line of killing, the fear he brought to those went way beyond Batman's usual level.
The fear he gave to those people who were used to treating Batman like part of a game was, in some ways, even greater than Batman himself.
As long as they didn't use this method too often, Viktor filling in once in a while when Batman was unavailable was much more suitable than using Superman or Plastic Man.
If Superman pretended to be Batman, he would never get past Penguin.
Moreover, Plastic Man was even less suitable, as he was immune to most physical damage, and wearing the Batsuit would actually limit his own abilities.
And on top of that, Plastic Man didn't have hand-to-hand fighting skills, and having him play Batman would be a disaster.
Viktor's disguise, on the other hand, only made Penguin think Batman had become even crazier.
After a few minutes, Ryan had finally finished clearing all the toxic aerosol particles stuck to the capillaries in Nightwing's brain.
Nightwing suddenly felt an itch in his nose and sneezed violently.
The Atom, who flew out along with countless droplets of saliva, grew back to normal size in midair and landed on the ground while rolling.
After looking at the red-and-white sticky mucus stuck on his body, which had also enlarged with him, Ryan awkwardly said that he needed to clean himself first.
"The toxins haven't completely left your body yet, but if you lie down a little longer, you should be fine."
Nightwing expressed his thanks somewhat embarrassedly.
Ryan waved his hand dismissively.
That strange female assistant also finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly took Ryan away to wash the dirt off his suit.
After Ryan and the female assistant left, Viktor pointed to the bat helmet on his head.
"Do you still need my help tomorrow night?"
Before Nightwing could speak, Oracle's somewhat excited voice came through first.
"Bruce has already woken up. I've told him about you temporarily filling in as Batman for one night, and Bruce said he wants to ask you some things tomorrow during the day."
Tomorrow during the day?
Viktor was somewhat confused.
Nightwing offered a brief explanation.
To better separate Batman's identity from Bruce's identity, Bruce would sometimes purposely create situations where he and Batman appeared in the same place in front of the media.
After all, Batman's cerebral hemorrhage and coma meant Bruce couldn't appear at Wayne Tower for several days either.
Bruce's idea was that since Viktor was already wearing the suit, he might as well help accompany him tomorrow and act out a scene of a superhero visiting a friend in front of the media.
"Wayne Enterprises' public relations statement is that the reason Bruce was hospitalized was that he encountered some kind of terrorist attack, possibly involving some conspiracy targeting by lunatics in Gotham City, and you, as Batman, personally came to Bruce to question him in person as part of the investigation."
Oracle agreed with Nightwing's explanation.
"Besides, Bruce probably also wants to hear you personally talk about Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Martha."
Viktor looked somewhat helplessly at Nightwing, trying to turn over and get off the table.
"That sounds very reasonable for me to ask for some compensation for cooperating with this performance, right?"
After Nightwing's feet touched the ground, his steps were still somewhat unsteady. Viktor casually helped support Nightwing's arm for leverage.
Nightwing leaned on Viktor's arm and took a few weak breaths.
"Wayne Enterprises won't be stingy in this regard."
Afterward, the two slowly left S.T.A.R. Laboratory. On the way out, they once again expressed their thanks to Ryan, who was wiping his hair with a wet towel.
However, the female assistant wasn't accompanying Ryan, and no one knew where she'd gone.
As the three of them passed by each other, Viktor thought about it and still stopped to quietly ask Ryan a question.
"When did Dr. Palmer hire this assistant?"
Ryan froze for a moment, and a slight blush could clearly be seen on his face.
This kid actually was interested in his teacher's assistant.
"Oh, you mean Rhonda?"
Ryan scratched his head.
"I'm not really sure either. The professor met Rhonda during one of his field research assignments. Afterward, he kept her by his side, and Rhonda herself also likes researching microscopic structures—"
"Kept by his side?"
Viktor repeated in a low voice.
"Then why did Dr. Palmer choose to go on this field mission alone this time?"
Ryan shrugged his shoulders somewhat blankly.
"Dr. Palmer is indeed sometimes a bit strange. To frequently go on field research trips, he even recommended me to the university where he works as a professor and had me as a substitute at the university when he didn't have time."
This...
This Ray Palmer really didn't care about anything. He could even casually hand over his professor position.
It was fortunate that Ryan also held a doctoral degree in the same academic field.
Otherwise, there'd be no way to so perfectly take over all the burdens his hands-off teacher dumped on him.
He could hand over his job, his equipment, his superhero title, even his laboratory and female assistant.
The relationship between this teacher and student was really strange.
Because of this strange relationship, Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi could both be called the Atom, so, regarding that, Rhonda, who seemed to have ulterior motives, Viktor couldn't figure out which Atom she was actually targeting.
He could only remind Ryan.
"You'd better keep an eye on that Rhonda. She doesn't look like a good person."
Speaking ill of someone behind her back made Ryan frown instinctively, but he chose not to react since the other person was Batman.
Nightwing also looked very embarrassed, but then Viktor immediately added.
"I can even swear in Batman's name. I think, as the Atom, you should also be clear about what kind of place Gotham City is, and my judgment has always been accurate."
Nightwing bared his teeth and glared at Viktor.
Who are you to swear in Batman's name?
However, Ryan took it seriously and silently nodded.
There was no choice.
Even a man who was well-known for being serious, quiet, and not joking around was saying this, and Ryan had to take the warning to heart.
...
600 POWER STONES = 1 BONUS CHAPTER
[email protected]/Sothisq
You can find up to 15 advanced chapters on my Patreon.