"So today, Joker got in touch with Penguin and convinced him to capture me. He needs me to make an antidote. The antidote isn't hard to make, but its chemical components are extremely unstable. Once ingested, it decomposes before it can take effect, so it requires a special regenerative bio-enzyme to remain stable."
Mr. Freeze continued to Hardy:
"So Joker set another trap. He used Two-Face and hired Deadshot to set up Batman, successfully capturing him. Joker then injected his own blood into Batman and sent several more samples, mixing them into the city's blood banks.
Batman managed to escape, and under Joker's interference—or rather, guidance—he found me and obtained the antidote formula. Now, he needs to find that regenerative bio-enzyme within twenty-four hours, or else…"
Mr. Freeze shook his head, not finishing the sentence. Instead, he changed the topic and asked Hardy:
"You once said you have a supernatural healing ability that could save Nora."
"I can try, but I can't guarantee it. I've read Nora's case files you sent me before, but I still need to examine her in person. With my current abilities, I can probably only alleviate her symptoms, not cure her completely.
Also, I'll need an MRI scanner capable of imaging at the molecular level as an auxiliary tool."
Hardy didn't make any promises, but a smile appeared on Mr. Freeze's face. If Hardy had sworn he could do it, Mr. Freeze would have suspected he was being lied to. But this cautious attitude actually gave him hope.
"No matter what, please try. As long as you can save Nora, I'm willing to give anything—my freeze gun, or all the knowledge I possess."
Mr. Freeze gazed tenderly at his wife lying in the ice coffin.
"Alright, but it will take time. I'd like to transfer Nora to Central City for examination. I know a top biomedical scientist at S.T.A.R. Labs there, and they have state-of-the-art equipment, including the MRI scanner I need."
Hardy crossed his arms and spoke to Mr. Freeze.
His healing technique was decent, but his disease extraction technique was only barely usable. If he could have molecular-level imaging, he could perform it much more precisely.
As for Nora's illness, Hardy had discreetly discussed it with Chiyo during training, giving her a rough overview and successfully obtaining a suitable treatment plan.
Nora's illness was complex and rare.
She carried a genetic predisposition for congenital neurodegenerative disease—though it was recessive and might never have manifested under normal circumstances.
But she was also a researcher, working in the same university lab as Victor Fries. They fell in love, but due to her work, she was long exposed to radioactive materials, which activated the hidden gene, causing protein misfolding and gradual degeneration of her nervous tissue.
As her nerve cells began to fail, she first experienced frequent muscle weakness, then fainting spells, and eventually the cause was discovered.
If this continued, she would soon lose all sensation, and then her brain's nerve cells would begin to deteriorate. At that point, she would truly be beyond saving.
Although they caught it early, to prevent further deterioration, Mr. Freeze had no choice but to place her in the ice coffin, using cryogenic technology to slow the progression while keeping her alive.
If she were thawed, her condition could worsen to a terminal stage within a year—or even months.
Chiyo's treatment plan involved the Disease Extraction Technique combined with the Creation Rebirth Technique. Hardy didn't know the Creation Rebirth Technique, so he could only use a much weaker healing technique as a substitute.
The Disease Extraction Technique would precisely locate and remove the diseased nerve cells, then the Creation Rebirth Technique would regenerate them, using its powerful yang chakra to accelerate the patient's self-healing and counteract the effects of radiation-induced degeneration.
It was very difficult, but according to Chiyo's method, it could be cured. Hardy's compromise, using only the healing technique, could only alleviate symptoms, not cure the root cause—and might not even fully relieve the symptoms. Without sufficiently strong yang chakra, even if she recovered temporarily, the disease would recur.
Still, this would be enough to extend Nora's life by several years beyond the single year she had left.
"That's wonderful! When can we leave for Central City?"
Mr. Freeze asked excitedly.
Hardy was about to remind him to be patient—there were still loose ends to tie up here, and the Arkham City incident needed him to assassinate Mayor Sharp and others to resolve it—when something unexpected happened.
From the sky, missiles were fired from helicopters, wantonly destroying everything in Arkham City.
Not just Arkham City—any organization or individual that Dr. Hugo Strange deemed criminal would be subjected to heavy firepower attacks.
Building Arkham City was merely a convenient way to gather most of Gotham's crime in one place…
Enough is enough.
The goal he and Mayor Sharp have always pursued was never to control Gotham's crime, but to physically eradicate it altogether.
As the Penguin's main stronghold, the Iceberg Lounge had just witnessed another violent clash between three major gangs, making it their top priority target.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Missiles rained down on the Iceberg Lounge, which had just been seized by the Hog United and the Two-Face Gang. The room where Hardy and Mr. Freeze were located was also hit.
"No! Nora!"
Mr. Freeze cried out in alarm, but quickly breathed a sigh of relief.
A pale blue chakra shield, conjured jointly by the White Samurai and Black Gold, enveloped and protected the defenseless Mr. Freeze and Nora.
Puppet Technique: Mechanized Shield Seal
"Thank you, Walter," Mr. Freeze said gratefully.
Hardy peered through the blasted wall, his eyes darkening as he looked at the helicopters hovering in the sky.
"Victor, tell Aman and the others to take you and Nora to the basement to hide. As for those annoying flies in the sky, I'll deal with them myself!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the White Samurai spread his wings and soared into the sky.
"F**k! What the hell is that? Batman?! He can fly now? And when did he turn white?!"
"That's not Batman, that's the Puppeteer! He's flying straight at the helicopters! Open fire, open fire!"
Several helicopters lowered their powerful Gatling guns and unleashed a crossfire barrage at Hardy.
In midair, Hardy zigzagged rapidly toward the helicopters.