Black Mist

Officer George immediately aimed his gun at Road Bully, who was hiding behind the hostages, and shouted through a loudspeaker, "You’re surrounded! Release the hostages and surrender immediately, or we are authorized to shoot you dead!"

"Shoot me dead? With you useless cops?"

Road Bully sneered, grabbed two hostages, and hurled them at the police like sandbags. The officers had never seen such a move before and hurriedly dodged.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Road Bully charged toward a nearby police car. Then, with a roar, he lowered his shoulder and slammed into it with the force of a raging bull. The police car and several officers behind it were sent flying at once.

With a boom, the police car smashed hard into a building behind it and came to a stop. Several officers tumbled to the ground in all directions, their fates unknown.

"This is what I wanted."

Road Bully threw back his head and laughed. Seeing his comrades dead or badly wounded, Officer George flew into a rage and led the officers in firing repeatedly at Road Bully.

Road Bully sensed the danger at once. He rolled aside to evade the bullets, then rushed to a police car and, with a heave, tore off the entire door.

Using the door as a shield, Road Bully charged rapidly toward the officers on the opposite side through the hail of bullets.

"Fall back! Get away from the police cars!"

Officer George was horrified and hurriedly dove aside. The other officers reacted a moment too slowly. By the time they remembered to flee, it was already too late.

With a bang, Road Bully slammed heavily into the police car. The car instantly crumpled and was shoved backward, sending several officers flying on the spot.

"Awesome! That million dollars wasn’t wasted!"

Road Bully laughed wildly and hurled the car door at the officers across from him, sending several of them flying. Then he jumped hard, landing on the hood of the police car with a bang. The hood instantly caved in.

The officers behind the police car immediately raised their guns and fired at Road Bully. He easily dodged, then jumped down, grabbed one officer, and used him as a weapon to smash another officer. The two officers instantly rolled away together like tumbling gourds.

The police had guns, but they were no match for Road Bully at all. He beat them into complete disarray.

"Damn it, this guy is a mutant."

Officer George cursed bitterly and shouted into his communicator, "Requesting Psylocke’s assistance! There’s a mutant robber here, with strength-enhancement abilities."

"Miss Psylocke will be there shortly. She happens to be nearby."

The dispatcher replied. When he mentioned Psylocke’s name, there was obvious fanaticism in his voice.

"Even the dispatcher has become a Psylocke fan."

Officer George’s expression was complicated. His feelings toward Psylocke were a mixture of love and hate. He loved that she had helped the police solve many problems, but hated her mutant identity.

Officer George truly had no favorable impression of mutants. Plenty of officers had been killed by mutants—just like now.

Psylocke had the Green Goblin Glider and soon arrived from the sky. Seeing the terrible scene below, she was furious. These damn mutant criminals did nothing but smear the name of mutants.

"Stop, or don’t blame me for getting rough."

Psylocke shouted. If she were still a mercenary, she definitely would not have given a warning. But she was a Super Hero now and had to follow procedure, or she would lose fans.

"Psylocke, you finally came! I’ll defeat you and become Earth’s number one supervillain!"

Road Bully was overjoyed to see Psylocke. He grabbed a nearby motorcycle and hurled it hard at her in the air.

Psylocke controlled her glider to dodge the motorcycle, then flipped through the air and landed steadily on the ground. Many nearby civilians cheered loudly, and some even shouted, "Psylocke, hurry up and kill that bastard!"

Psylocke answered coolly, "Right away."

"You think you can?"

Road Bully roared, lowered his shoulder, and charged at Psylocke with a thunderous rumble. He was a football enthusiast and had always loved smashing into people.

Psylocke spun aside to evade Road Bully’s charge, then condensed purple energy into a long whip and wrapped it around his neck from behind.

Road Bully was alarmed and quickly grabbed the whip with both hands to keep it from tightening. Seeing this, Psylocke released the whip and sprang into the air, her long legs delivering a rapid series of kicks to Road Bully’s back. He was sent flying and crashed heavily into the flower bed behind him.

"Psylocke is so cool!"

The audience cheered again. Even Officer George could not help but brighten up—purely because of Psylocke’s stylish movements, not because of her straight, long legs.

The move looks good, but it’s all flash and no substance. If the opponent weren’t so weak, I wouldn’t use it at all.

Psylocke shook her head inwardly, then walked forward and, before Road Bully could get up, pressed her scabbard across his throat.

Psylocke said coolly, "Sorry, you lost."

"Why did this happen? I spent a million dollars enhancing myself. Why am I so weak?"

Road Bully roared in disbelief. Psylocke stared at him in shock and asked, "You spent a million dollars to enhance yourself? You’re not a mutant?"

"I’m human, a pure human."

Road Bully shouted, "Don’t get cocky, Psylocke! I’ll keep finding ways to enhance myself. One day, I’ll kill you and become the strongest villain!"

"The strongest villain? Defeat Magneto first before you say that."

Psylocke scoffed. "Officer George, tie him up with my whip. Also, he says he isn’t a mutant. Make sure you investigate that thoroughly."

"If he isn’t a mutant, then this is troubling."

Officer George frowned. If Road Bully was not a mutant, that meant someone had developed drugs capable of enhancing the human body. That was not good news.

Will large numbers of supervillains appear in the future, just like in the comics?

Psylocke did not think that far ahead. She turned and walked toward the bank. Since she was already here, she might as well deal with the robbers inside too. Three minutes later, all the robbers had been beaten down and were escorted into police cars alongside Road Bully.

"Psylocke, we love you!"

Seeing that all the robbers had been subdued, the fans immediately gathered around, gazing at Psylocke in admiration.

"Thank you."

Psylocke replied with a proud yet approachable smile. Then she began signing autographs for her fans, occasionally chatting with them as well.

They’re all money. Once I’m popular enough, I can sell merchandise, film commercials, and take endorsements.

In Psylocke’s eyes, gold coin symbols seemed to float over every fan’s head. That made her extraordinarily patient. Who did not like making money?

Officer George first glanced at Psylocke, surrounded by fans, before turning his gaze to the wounded officers nearby, who had been completely ignored. He could not help sighing as he assisted the medical staff in saving his comrades.

Meanwhile, atop a tall building nearby, a gloomy figure was staring coldly at Psylocke.

"Super Hero? Hmph, you deserve to die. Just like this world, you deserve to die."

After thinking for a moment, the gloomy figure flicked a ball of black mist, invisible to everyone else, toward the police car. It spun in the air and flew straight into Road Bully’s body.

At that moment, the police car doors shut and the vehicle drove toward the station. Road Bully repeatedly smashed his head against the wall of the car, filled with unwillingness and hatred. It was not that he had never considered the possibility of failure, but he truly had not expected to lose so quickly.

He had been utterly no match for Psylocke. He was not even qualified to be a villain.

Just then, a slightly crazed voice rang out in Road Bully’s mind. "Do you hate? Do you crave power?"

"Of course I hate! Of course I crave power!"

Road Bully nodded fiercely. To pay that million dollars, he had even sold his wife to someone else. Did that not show how badly he craved power? The voice asked again, "Then what are you willing to pay for power?"

Road Bully screamed inwardly, Everything. All of it. As long as I can have power, I can pay anything.

"Very good. Then I will give you power. Use it to destroy New York."

Amid a burst of laughter, black mist erupted inside Road Bully’s body. He could not help screaming as though his body were being torn apart by an immense force.

"What are you doing?"

The two officers guarding them immediately aimed their guns at Road Bully. He was a dangerous man.

"I want power! I want to destroy New York!"

Road Bully threw back his head and roared. Faint black mist rose from his body, and then his eyes rapidly turned black, making him look like a monster.

The two officers were terrified and immediately fired at Road Bully. But to their horror, every bullet lodged in his muscles and failed to harm him.

"You deserve to die!"

Road Bully roared madly as his body rapidly swelled. The bullets lodged in his muscles shot backward with whooshes, piercing through the two officers and sending them down in sprays of blood.

Soon, Road Bully forcibly burst apart the purple whip. Grinning, he stood up and kicked the car door hard. With a smack, the door flew away and crashed onto the ground, throwing up a shower of sparks.

Road Bully then jumped out of the car and rolled repeatedly across the ground.

The surrounding civilians stared at Road Bully in shock. Just then, he climbed to his feet, and the scrapes on his body healed at a visible speed.

That was not all. Road Bully’s body continued swelling, and he soon became a muscular giant over three meters tall. He no longer looked human at all.

"I love this power."

Road Bully grinned and laughed loudly. At that moment, a car screeched to a stop in front of him. The driver stared at the terrifying Road Bully and frantically prepared to reverse.

Seeing this, Road Bully smiled viciously. He grabbed the car’s bumper with both hands and forcibly lifted the entire vehicle.

The driver screamed and stepped on the gas, trying to escape. Road Bully exerted force with both arms and flipped the whole car away, sending it tumbling across the ground.

"Ah!" The civilians were terrified and fled in every direction. Road Bully did not chase them. Instead, he shouted at the sky, "Psylocke, come out and fight! I’m not afraid of you anymore!"

As he shouted, Road Bully stomped hard on the ground. The concrete instantly caved in, leaving a pit more than a meter wide.

Several officers who had gotten out of the police car were frightened and retreated again and again, not daring to approach. Then, in trembling voices, they called Psylocke and begged her to come quickly.

"Something happened again?"

Psylocke’s radio crackled. She hurriedly picked it up and answered. A moment later, her expression darkened as she said, "Everyone, I’m sorry. That robber from earlier escaped. I have to go catch him."

The fans shouted in dissatisfaction, "He escaped? The police are too useless, aren’t they?"

Officer George, standing nearby, felt stifled. Was the idea of Super Police really a good one? The police force’s reputation had been declining lately.

"Psylocke, go over there quickly. We’ll follow and support you."

Officer George shouted, "Also, that man is extremely dangerous. Headquarters authorizes you to use lethal force."

"Understood."

Psylocke nodded, jumped onto her glider, and flew toward Road Bully.

On the other side, seeing that Psylocke had not appeared, Road Bully irritably grabbed the underside of a car. Then he heaved with both arms, sending the car tumbling into the restaurant ahead. The restaurant’s front entrance instantly shattered, and the people inside screamed as they hurriedly ran backward.

"Hahaha!"

Road Bully laughed. This power fascinated him.

Just then, Psylocke flew over on her glider. Looking at Road Bully, she asked in astonishment, "What happened to you? Don’t tell me you hit a second growth spurt?"

"Psylocke, I will definitely kill you and become the strongest villain!"

Road Bully was overjoyed when he saw Psylocke fly over. He yanked a streetlamp out from beside him, roared, and hurled it hard in her direction.

Psylocke easily maneuvered her glider out of the way. Then she jumped down from the air, gripping the hilt of her sword as she shouted coldly, "Surrender, or I may kill you."

"You think you can?"

Road Bully grabbed an unmanned car beside him and hurled it hard at Psylocke. The civilians hiding inside the nearby buildings cried out in alarm.

"Then don’t blame me."

Psylocke’s blade left its sheath with a clang, slashing toward the incoming car in a streak of purple light. The next second, the car was split in two and flew past on either side of her.

Psylocke then held her sword at her side and rushed swiftly toward Road Bully. Road Bully roared and charged to meet her. They collided head-on in an instant. Road Bully threw a punch at Psylocke’s head, but Psylocke swung her sword, effortlessly severing his hardened arm. It hit the ground with a smack.

Road Bully froze in the street and let out a piercing scream. Psylocke turned around and shouted, "Surrender, or next time, you’ll lose more than just an arm."

"I won’t surrender!"

Road Bully roared. A great amount of black mist rose from the arm on the ground, and then, wrapped in the mist, it flew back onto Road Bully’s body. When the black mist faded, his arm had completely recovered.

Psylocke was shocked. "What kind of ability is this?"

"I’m immortal! I’m invincible!"

Road Bully laughed wildly and charged at Psylocke again. Psylocke stood still, preparing to swing her blade. Just then, Road Bully stomped hard on the ground. The street instantly shattered and caved in, and Psylocke, caught off guard, pitched forward.

This was exactly the chance Road Bully had been waiting for. His fist howled through the air as it smashed toward Psylocke. Unable to dodge in time, Psylocke could only hold her sword horizontally before her. With a deafening clang, she was sent flying into a wall, where her entire body was left hanging against it.

The spectators covered their mouths. Psylocke had actually been sent flying?

"Keep going!"

Road Bully laughed arrogantly, tore off a car door, and rushed toward Psylocke. Psylocke dropped from the wall and said with an icy expression, "You’ve angered me."

"So what?"

Road Bully hurled the car door hard at Psylocke. Psylocke rolled aside to evade it, then snapped out a purple whip that wrapped around Road Bully’s foot, trying to pull him down.

Road Bully violently jerked his right foot backward, and Psylocke staggered forward against her will. Taking the opportunity, Road Bully charged over and savagely kicked at Psylocke.

A cold glint flashed through Psylocke’s eyes. Her body abruptly stopped, then she swung her sword and sliced through Road Bully’s left foot as though it were tofu. Road Bully screamed and retreated.

Psylocke pressed her advantage. Purple blade light slashed repeatedly toward Road Bully. Terrified out of his wits, Road Bully raised both hands to block. The next second, both hands flew from his body.

Finally, Psylocke swung her sword. Road Bully’s head flew high into the air, followed by his blood-spurting body slowly collapsing.