Chapter 368: Ch.367 Headquarters
Chapter 368: Ch.367 Headquarters
Washington, Hall of Justice, half a mile underground.
Here was an enormous underground space—fifty meters tall and nearly a thousand square meters in diameter. This was the hall of the Dark Justice League.
It was constructed using Olympus stone, reinforced by Nth metal defensive arrays, and lit with glowing jars of magical insects.
There were even four underground rivers that flowed through here, forming waterfalls that provided moisture and some lively sound.
The skeleton of a giant dragon was fixed in the center of the hall, held in a majestic pose by metal cables. Though dead, the thirty-meter-tall skeleton still gave a sense of how imposing it must have been in life.
"Tsk tsk." Bobo observed everything around him, clicking his tongue in amazement at the grandeur of the place. Not to mention the myriad of corridors extending from the hall—who knew how much more there was to see?
The magical world was like that: what you thought was the entirety was merely the dorsal fin of a shark peeking above the waves.
Of course, an experienced sailor could estimate the size of the shark from the fin alone, whereas many outsiders couldn't even tell a shark from a dolphin.
"Batman went all out for you—to help you form a magic-based Justice League, he gave you all this, and in the end, it's just you here?" Bobo asked.
His eyes were fixed on the dragon bones, illuminated by the insects, unable to look away as he followed Diana.
Albera, on the other hand, ignored it all, simply continuing to drink.
Dragons were just larger magical creatures, nothing special. She'd seen Hellfire Dragons countless times.
Diana self-consciously touched her hair, feeling embarrassed. Though the Dark Justice League was formed, it didn't have much of a "league" feeling.
"Actually, there are quite a few members: Constantine, Zatanna, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Swamp Thing, and Enchantress. Sometimes Raven from the Teen Titans comes to help."
Hearing these names, Bobo quickly understood.
Constantine and Zatanna were in a very tense situation now—both avoiding each other. Naturally, they wouldn't come here at the same time.
Madame Xanadu's eldest sister was the Lady of the Lake, Vivienne, and her middle sister was Morgan le Fay, Queen of Camelot.
As ancient immortals, the three sisters had different surnames, and of the three, Morgan was the most cunning.
In pursuit of the Philosopher's Stone and the throne of Britain, Morgan had used magic to be reborn as Arthur's half-sister, even giving birth to Mordred, the most powerful rebel in Celtic prophecy.
As the prophecy foretold, Arthur perished in the rebellion.
Ultimately, it was Grand Magus Merlin who prevailed, defeating Morgan in a magical duel, gravely wounding her, and driving her from Britain.
But the price of the spell drove Merlin insane; he became corrupt and mad, leaving Madame Xanadu no choice but to kill him.
Though she used seduction, she still took down the greatest mage.
So Xanadu had seen it all. Joining the Dark Justice League? She might help for Constantine and Zatanna's sake, but don't count on her appearing regularly.
She was probably still running her fortune-telling shop in Manhattan, certainly not divulging anything about the magical world.
Swamp Thing? There was no sunlight here, no plants—he wouldn't like it. More than a mage, he was like a druid or shaman.
The Enchantress was a schizophrenic, frequently requiring psychiatric care. That seemed to be her state now.
Deadman Boston Brand, a ghost, loved to wander the world—no point in counting on him.
So, in the end, it was still just one person.
Bobo gave Diana a look filled with sympathy, like looking at an abandoned stray cat.
Diana exhaled sharply, her voice defiant: "I'm not alone—Kirk is here too."
"Kirk? Which Kirk?" Bobo was puzzled—he hadn't heard of any mage named Kirk.
"Hey, everyone, I think I heard my name."
Just then, a creature with the head of a bat approached them, wearing a furry vest and a white coat—a very odd combination.
"Is that Man-Bat? The Batman villain?" Bobo raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, Dr. Langstrom now works for the Justice League. After regaining his sanity, he wanted to make up for the harm he'd done."
"Diana, did you bring new people?" Man-Bat smiled sheepishly. The lingering effects of the bat serum made him feel embarrassed.
"No, Bobo is just helping temporarily, like you. Those two behind us are the same." Diana sighed. She preferred Kirk in his Man-Bat form, but now that he was calm, he talked too much. "Have the bodies I found been brought here? We want to take a look."
"Oh, of course, of course. I've been studying them, but time has been limited. I haven't discovered much, but I did detect a unique energy within them."
This topic fell within his field of research, and Man-Bat quickly rambled on—spectral analysis, special resonances—topics none of them understood.
"He's a scientist," Bobo said, giving Diana a deadpan look.
"Uh, I just want to help," Kirk said with a hint of grievance. "I used to be a respected scientist, but I made mistakes. Now I just want to prove that without the Man-Bat serum, I'm not a burden."
Diana quickly reassured him. "Any clue is helpful right now, Kirk."
Man-Bat perked up instantly, filled with energy. Wonder Woman said he was helpful—he was delighted.
"Good, good. Now, let's take a look at these terrifying bodies."
He led them down a passageway, opening a metal door. It revealed a spacious morgue, equipped not only with various alchemical and magical tools but also scientific instruments.
Su Ming glanced around. The equipment here must have cost Batman millions.
And there was likely another identical set in the Hall of Justice above.
At this moment, everyone's attention was on the corpses. When Diana and Su Ming had found them one by one, they hadn't thought much of it.
But now, seeing all these bizarre bodies gathered together—dozens of them on the autopsy tables—the visual impact was different.
Overgrown flesh, deformed limbs—there was nothing like this even in Hell.
Albera burped, pointing to a body whose intestines grew out of its stomach like a tree. "Heh, did we walk into a butcher shop? Sausage on sale today?"
"If you're up for it, I can cut some off for you to eat for free." Su Ming drew the Godkiller, moving closer to the body. "If you don't want it, hurry up and study them, then give me a definite answer."
Albera shrugged, putting away her bottle. Deep red Hell energy manifested in her hands as she began chanting incantations.