Red Skull’s Plan

The man’s body suddenly twitched, like a reflexive spasm of his muscles. The immense force made the chains binding him collide, producing a faint clink.

Yet in such a silent environment, the sound seemed exceptionally clear.

In truth, the man had nearly forgotten how long he had been imprisoned. At first, he could still rely on his steady biological clock and count by his heartbeat, but after Red Skull sedated him for a while, he completely lost the ability to keep track of the days.

Even so, the man could still roughly tell that he had been held here for at least a year.

The man had been cut off from the outside world for a long time. After Red Skull threw him in here, aside from coming to interrogate him at first, everyone here seemed to have forgotten he existed. Only cold robots remained.

The man’s last memory of the outside world was fighting those mutated Lizardmen.

He remembered slaughtering Lizardmen without end, though those memories were rather hazy. The Lizardmen possessed powerful regenerative abilities, and their combat strength was nothing like that of ordinary people. Their savage attacks were enough to put any fully armed squad in a difficult situation.

They were monsters no ordinary person could possibly fight, but fortunately, the man was no ordinary person.

The fighting skills he had inherited from urban legends and Gotham folklore had not grown rusty. Against these monsters that preyed upon the poor, all he could do was fight—throw himself into the battle until the Lizardmen stopped breathing in the mud pits and could no longer rise.

Unfortunately, his good deed did not earn the people’s respect. Or rather, the civilians’ fear of the Lizardmen had long since numbed them into a nightmare lodged in their hearts.

For the meager reward Connors had promised them, the civilians did not hesitate to betray the hero who had always helped them. They poisoned the man’s food and even released the toxic gas Connors had given them.

Though the man reacted quickly and chose to flee the moment he realized what was happening, he was still outnumbered when faced with Connors and his encirclement of Lizardmen.

After detonating countless explosives to escape, the man dragged his battered body into the wasteland.

He had long realized that this world was abnormal. Even someone like him, who had gone through countless brushes with death and witnessed every darkness of human nature, could easily see that this world had become a warped civilization devoid of hope.

He did not know where to go. He did not even know what he was supposed to do next.

At first, he thought he had traveled through time and arrived in another timeline of his own universe. But as he delved deeper, he discovered that this world was utterly different from the beautiful world he remembered. There was not a single person here whom he knew.

In their place were one familiar yet unfamiliar superhero after another. But those so-called "heroes" had already been sacrificed. They had been defeated, dying on the day criminals took control of the world.

The man had never imagined a world so despairing. Or rather, he could not imagine that without heroes, the world would become like this.

And now, he had to pay the price for his "good deed."

Perhaps misfortunes never came alone. The gravely wounded man suddenly realized that something was following him.

The man knew what it was. It was the first monster he had fought in this world, a freak as nauseating as the rats in Gotham’s sewers. He was furious that he had failed to kill it properly back then.

Now, that thing had come for him.

The man did not know how long he had fought Rat-Man with his severely injured body. He remembered losing, lying helplessly on the hard ground of the wasteland, feeling as though everything he had experienced during this time belonged to another lifetime.

Perhaps this world was a nightmare, a hopeless nightmare created by the Nightmare Gem.

He had still longed to return to his original world.

But things did not develop as he had hoped. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself imprisoned by Connors, the King of the Lizardmen. Those savage wilderness monsters crouched around him, their eyes filled with bloodlust as if they would devour him alive the next second.

Later, he was escorted before Red Skull and became the prisoner of this world’s criminal mastermind.

The man had never given up the will to resist, but those villains never gave him the chance. Or rather, they were highly experienced in dealing with superheroes.

He had thought he might be imprisoned here until he died. Perhaps he would never be able to return for the rest of his life.

But what he never could have imagined was that Red Skull had brought news of the Justice League. Though he could not see the three figures’ faces clearly, the man was certain they were the Justice League he knew!

Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman.

The man’s entire body trembled slightly. He felt tremendous strength suddenly surge through him as he desperately struggled against the iron chains, trying to break free from this sunless cage.

"Do you know, the moment I saw this bat symbol, I thought of you."

Red Skull sneered, then took a crimson helmet from an embedded cabinet on the opposite wall.

"Having a bat symbol printed on one’s chest is hardly fashionable. I don’t believe such a coincidence could exist in this world. A vampire? Heh heh, those ants were so terrified that they mistook the red on your mask for blood."

"…" The man’s eyes were bloodshot as icy killing intent radiated from him. He stared fixedly at Red Skull.

"I like that look in your eyes. How about it? Tell me something useful, and perhaps I can give you a quick death. Or I could find a way to reunite you with your hero friends sooner."

Red Skull spoke slowly and deliberately. After a moment, seeing no reaction whatsoever from the other man, he shook his head slightly, disappointment filling his eyes.

"Not talking? No matter.

To be honest, the moment I saw that video, you became useless to me. You were not the only one who came to this universe. The last bit of value you had is gone as well. I could chop you up and feed you to dogs, make you fertilizer for my garden.

But… I am a rather merciful man.

I will not do that. On the contrary, you are now the final link in my plan. At the same time, this is the only thing you can do for me."

As he spoke, Red Skull pressed close to the railing and continued with a broad smile.

"Tomorrow, I will issue an order announcing your trial to the entire nation and set the execution date for ten days from now.

When that time comes, I hope you, my bait, can help me hook a few big fish."