Prisoner Zero (4)

"Master Tim," Alfred's voice immediately came through after Tim put on the concealed communicator, "the person you're looking for appeared on the 8th floor, but quickly transformed into another victim, Jon Gillem's appearance. He's now in corridor B13."

"Got it."

Baia caught the communicator Tim tossed over and also wore it on her right ear.

System: Here it comes, time to score! The best support can't let the only dog ​​take the lead!

Baia: Shut up, stop poisoning the atmosphere.

She wrapped Ace's leash around her hand and followed Tim, chasing after him.

"Baia," Tim turned around, speaking with an unquestionable tone, "you've done enough, now go back to the car. I'll be there shortly."

"I can help you," Baia blinked, "give me a chance."

It could only be said that no bird in the Bat family was obedient, it might be some peculiar family tradition. Freed from the terror of last night and knowing the identity of the enemy, she wasn't as scared anymore. Naturally, she wanted to stay and help.

Not to mention she was also worried about Tim going alone to face that alien creature. Baia knew her own abilities well; she just needed to take care of Tim and didn't plan to personally confront the shapeshifter.

Tim was afraid Baia would secretly follow him, after all, as Batman's Robin, he had done such things many times himself. Rather than letting her take the risk alone, it was better to keep her by his side.

"Fine," Tim relented, "just this once, take care of yourself. Otherwise, don't even think about getting involved in any dangerous affairs in the future."

This conversation reminded him of when he had just become Robin. Bruce was more resistant than he had imagined; he could only prove himself day after day, traveling around the world to improve his abilities and gain Batman's recognition, which wasn't easy.

Now, it was their little witch who wanted his approval.

"Deal!"

With time pressing, the two didn't exchange much further.

Tim took long strides, running up the stairs two or three steps at a time, without even panting. He looked relaxed, as if it were effortless. Baia mainly relied on Ace's tug, not getting left behind, but her face was red, indicating she really needed more exercise.

Because they had Ace with them, they reached the eighth floor via the stairs. According to Alfred's voice guidance, they shuttled between patients and doctors.

"The Zero Prisoner has disappeared," Alfred said, "we couldn't find a face matching the database on the 8th floor."

"It seems it just found a new target on this floor," Baia made her own judgment, "maybe Ace can help us."

The big dog heard his name and immediately wagged his tail.

Baia's inference was the same as what Tim was thinking; he squatted down and gestured to Ace to search for the scent of the intruder from last night. The hospital smelled strongly of disinfectant, and with so many people around, it wasn't easy for Ace to find the right target in this situation.

However, there's no difficult task for a brave dog.

Ace immediately lowered his head to sniff the clean floor, the target's scent was unusual, carrying a hint of dampness and decay, completely different from the scent of people in the hospital.

They passed through several metal doors, crossing from corridor B13 to the critical care unit where there were fewer people.

A blonde girl holding a doll appeared in front of them, her blue eyes teary, looking pitiful.

"Big brother, big sister, save me, the monster ate my mom."

"Whimper—"

Even the usually docile Ace bared his teeth white and growled menacingly at the creature posing as a girl, ready to attack. Tim discreetly gestured to calm him down, and Ace immediately quieted down.

Baia looked at Tim worriedly. He slowly walked towards the creature. Although Tim knew the creature in front of him, disguised as a girl, was very wrong, if he turned and ran now, he wouldn't be himself.

Although Baia didn't agree with Tim's close contact with the extraterrestrial creature, it wasn't appropriate to speak out at this moment.

Baia: How can I assist Tim?

System: If you're asking me, I think you should stop being a drag.

The system hasn't developed any other skills, but its ability to babble is steadily improving.

A concealed smirk appeared at the corner of the blonde girl's mouth.

Tim did the same.

The gentle big brother opened his arms as if to hug the girl, except Baia, no one saw that he had a bat dart clutched in his palm.

Another system prompt began flashing before her eyes.

[Zero Prisoner] attempting to establish a mental link with your teammate... Success rate: 34%

Baia waved her hand dismissively.

[Zero Prisoner] attempting to establish a mental link with your teammate... Success rate: 0%

Obviously, this shapeshifter was unfamiliar with the extraordinary willpower possessed by every member of the Bat family in this universe.

As the high-frequency sonic bat dart, armed with a small explosive effect, began emitting sharp noises, Tim rolled away tactically from the shapeshifter's attack range.

The bat dart lodged halfway into the creature's back, impossible to destroy or shake off. The blonde girl began screaming and melting. Their attack was effective; evidently, her transformation had failed several times in a matter of seconds, and she had no choice but to revert to her original form and flee through the ventilation duct.

Tim looked up at the ventilation duct.

"The good news is that the sonic attack worked on her."

"And the bad news?"

"That was the only sonic bat dart."

"No problem," Tim took Ace's leash and started jogging ahead, "Gotham General Hospital was rebuilt with Wayne Enterprises' funding after it was destroyed by the Joker last time. I personally reviewed the designs, and all the ventilation ducts have escape prevention mechanisms. Even laughing gas couldn't spread through the hospital's ventilation system."

Of course, the story of why he could remotely control Gotham General Hospital's security system from the Batcave was related to Tim's and Batman's lineage and their controlling nature.

"Alf, close ventilation ducts K162, K8, K71, it's time to put an end to this," Tim commanded.

"H7-19 ventilation duct, no closure?" Alfred asked.

"No," Tim said confidently, "I'm hoping it goes there."

"Let's go, Baia," he turned to her, "we're going to check on Nora."

The room with Nora's cryo-chamber was also on this floor. Tim had mentioned to Baia before that, to ensure Nora's safety, this area was surrounded by layers of checks and defensive mechanisms. Only the disinfection room in the middle had a ventilation duct left open for air exchange.

Once she came out from there, there would be no turning back.

Even if Tim couldn't defeat this scheming creature, he could ensure Baia's safe escape through the defense mechanisms there in time.

Taking advantage of the lack of people around, Tim fashioned a stick from the hospital and used it as a weapon.

Read as a stick, written as a stainless steel corridor railing.

Holly had once explained to Baia that the current Red Robin, who partnered with Batman, was the most gentle and refined among several Robins, but his combat abilities were a bit lacking compared to his two predecessors.

What a joke.

Even the most refined Robin was still a Robin.

In Gotham, Robin was synonymous with martial prowess.

When the suave man in a suit kicked the metal railing, then tore off a piece barehanded, Baia was completely stunned.

After all, she had never really witnessed Batman, Nightwing, or Red Robin beating up enemies in person. The incident where Red Hood dealt with the cryo-frozen person wasn't as brutal; it ended after firing two shots.

Tim shook his new weapon. Although it was a bit light, it felt comfortable in his hand. He smiled at Baia. "Stop daydreaming, let's go."

The Zero Prisoner, realizing it couldn't escape through any of the ventilation ducts, understood that it was a trap. However, it wasn't too panicked. Huh, after all, they were just a few humans, what threat could they pose to a Level 5 civilization?

As it landed on the ground through ventilation duct H7-19, it saw Tim and Baia waiting for it there.

Without any greetings or verbal confrontation, apart from the sound of the ventilation duct closing, there was only a bat dart flying straight towards it.

It sneered at this thin and fragile metal piece.

It wasn't until the blue light on the bat dart flashed twice, followed by a dazzling blue arc erupting upon contact, engulfing its entire body in electricity, that the air immediately filled with the smell of burning flesh.

The Zero Prisoner let out an angry and painful scream.

This bat dart was originally prepared for the thick-skinned Croc, but evidently, it was also very effective against it.

System: What's this? Eel spirit?

Since Tim was handling the situation with ease, Baia didn't panic. Instead, she took the opportunity to observe the alien creature that had revealed its true form in front of her. It was massive, at least five or six meters long, but it had no limbs, resembling a huge eel swimming in the air, with sharp yellow teeth filling its mouth.

Without giving it any chance to react, Tim was already grappling with the struggling Zero Prisoner.

He really didn't want Gotham General Hospital, painstakingly rebuilt, to explode again.

However, for safety's sake, Tim handed the explosive bat dart to Baia, instructing her to use it if she encountered danger.

It was more like a gamble, even though she had no training whatsoever. If it turned out that it was Tim himself who was knocked down by the explosive bat dart in the end, then he would just have to accept it. But perhaps Baia would prove to be a good assistant; one could only know after trying.

While tightly clutching the bat dart, Baia didn't forget her essential role as a diligent caregiver.

The shapeshifter, resembling an eel, had sharp bone spurs on its back, and its terrifying teeth were capable of inflicting serious harm on Tim, but fortunately, Tim was agile enough.

It was harder than he had imagined.

The dagger-like bone spur slashed across his forearm, staining his shirt red with blood. Tim didn't even flinch, but the longer the struggle dragged on, the more dangerous it became. However, he soon noticed that his wounds were healing quickly, while Baia was softly singing in the corner.

When the Zero Prisoner attempted to swallow him whole, Tim shoved the metal railing into its gaping mouth, piercing its upper jaw with the sharp broken end. The shapeshifter thrashed wildly, unable to close its mouth or spit out the metal rod.

The disinfection room wasn't particularly large, and in such a confined space, the larger party always had the advantage. Tim wiped the sweat from his brow and adjusted his unstable breathing.

He was almost there.

As the shapeshifter writhed in agony on the floor, he took Baia's hand and pulled her towards another door.