At the Tiangong Society headquarters, which had been heavily modified by the Court of Owls, Benjamin approached Gwen's desk and gently placed a copy of the Gotham Gazette on the file-strewn surface.
Gwen paused, her gaze sweeping over the newspaper's headline.
"'Hero Police Solve Another Bizarre Case, Criminal Caught by Pilot Surveillance'?"
Benjamin's voice held a hint of ease: "Boss, the effect you wanted has been achieved."
Gwen also smiled: "So, have the 1 billion U.S. dollars been hidden?"
"We've already hidden half of it in Chief Luo Bu's house."
Gwen was surprised to hear this: "Doesn't Chief Luo Bu still have a wife?"
"His wife already went back to her maiden home after Chief Luo Bu's incident," Benjamin explained, his face devoid of extra expression. "She packed her bags and left overnight."
Gwen chuckled at this: "Then she'll probably regret it greatly when she finds out 500 million U.S. dollars were found in Rob's house later."
"I think so."
Just then, the Omnitrix on Gwen's wrist suddenly flashed.
She frowned, a little confused.
This was the Omnitrix's communication function. Gwen had only given communication access to Arcana, Benjamin, Qiu Huayan, and Da Zhuang. Who could be looking for her?
She lightly tapped the dial, and a holographic projection appeared in the air, revealing Qiu Huayan's anxious face.
"Yan Za, what's wrong?"
"Boss! We've been attacked by a Talon! The enemy is very strong, we can't hold her off!" Qiu Huayan was desperately dodging left and right, and the occasional clang of metal could be heard from her side.
Gwen's pupils suddenly contracted, her expression instantly turning serious: "How many enemies are there?"
"Only one! She's a woman, her equipment is a shield and a sword, and our attacks have almost no effect on her! That includes the Gene Repair Gun!" Just as Qiu Huayan finished speaking, the screen suddenly shook violently, and a muffled thud of something heavy falling to the ground was heard. "She hasn't caused us any losses yet, but who knows what will happen if this drags on."
Upon hearing the words "shield and sword," Gwen seemed to recall something and became even more serious: "Where are you now?"
"We're in Warehouse No. 3, and the remaining 500 million U.S. dollars are also here!"
"I'll be right there!"
Gwen disconnected the call and began operating the Omnitrix on her wrist.
Benjamin quickly stepped forward, his eyes full of worry: "Do you need me to call for backup?"
Gwen waved her hand: "No need, it's safer if I go alone."
"But..." Benjamin wanted to say something more, but he only saw Gwen finally select the alien hero she wanted and press the dial.
A purple light flared, and Benjamin instinctively shielded his eyes. When he looked at his boss again, he was somewhat dazed.
His boss had vanished, replaced by a red pterodactyl with yellow horns and wing membranes.
This crimson pterodactyl also wore black and white clothing, the style of which resembled the black blazers her boss used to wear.
(Similar to the half-breed Kevin from Ben 10: Alien Force)
"Jetray!" The crimson pterodactyl stretched its limbs and roared skyward, then scratched its head. "I thought I was gentle enough, I originally wanted to transform into XLR8."
However, it was even better, as Jetray is both fast and can fly.
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and flying would save time.
Thinking this, Jetray turned to Benjamin and said: "I'm going first. You take good care of the house. Don't let Da Zhuang bring people to help me. None of that 'I can't watch the boss fight alone' stuff! That's just self-gratifying and useless."
With that, she flapped her wings fiercely and flew out the door... In a disused Warehouse No. 3 of the Wayne Group in the Gotham suburbs, a fierce battle was raging.
The woman in the Talon suit moved like an agile Black Panther, her shield carving sharp arcs in front of her, blocking the Plumbers' attacks one by one.
As her longsword swung, cold light flashed, forcing everyone to retreat repeatedly.
It wasn't that her skill was significantly superior to the surrounding Plumbers, but rather her physical prowess gave her an advantage.
Four Plumbers grabbed her, and even with the amplification of their Plumbers' suits, she managed to throw them off.
It should be known that these Plumbers' physical abilities were already comparable to super soldiers, and they were also equipped with Plumbers' suits jointly created by Brainstorm and Grey Matter.
With the amplification of the suits, their strength should far exceed that of ordinary people.
Moreover, they could all tell that the Talon suit the woman opposite them was wearing was a standard Talon suit, which would not provide any buffs to defense or strength.
Of course, before engaging in close-quarters combat with the opponent, the Plumbers had also attempted ranged attacks.
The Plumbers' standard equipment did not include offensive weapons because Gwen had not yet designed them.
Their current melee weapons were still those left over from their time as Talons, and their ranged weapons were just some firearms and ammunition they had previously confiscated.
Aside from the suits, there was only one piece of standard equipment.
The Gene Repair Gun, specifically designed to counter Talons.
The Plumbers naturally tried to shoot the opposing Talon with this gun, but the results were not particularly good.
First, there was the hit rate.
Although the opponent appeared to be a relatively sturdy female, her movement speed was incredibly fast.
The Gene Repair Gun, as a beam weapon, found it very difficult to hit the opponent.
It wasn't that the projectile speed wasn't fast enough, but rather that the Talon's movement speed was too high for the aiming module to lock on.
After finally hitting the opponent, the Plumbers thought they had succeeded. They waited for the opponent to fall, ready to recruit a new member, when an unexpected event occurred.
The shot Talon did not immediately fall to the ground like other Talons. Instead, she continued her attack on the other Plumbers as if nothing had happened.
After confirming that the Gene Repair Gun was ineffective, the Plumbers reluctantly pulled out their melee weapons and engaged her in close combat.
However, as mentioned before, the weapons the Plumbers used were remnants from their Talon period, and their strength could not contend with the opponent's.
And the opponent not only possessed terrifying strength, but her sword and shield were also quite unusual.
Talon's swords were already considered to be of very good quality, but after clashing with the sword in the opponent's hand, they actually chipped.
A single sword strike on a Plumbers' suit could even cut a gash.
Although it didn't destroy the Plumbers' suit, the immense force directly sent the struck Plumber flying backward, crashing into the warehouse wall and losing consciousness.
And this was not an isolated incident.
If this situation hadn't occurred, Qiu Huayan wouldn't have contacted her boss for help.
Currently, the Plumbers present, including her, had mostly damaged suits.
After knocking out the last remaining Plumber, the Talon looked at Qiu Huayan, who was contacting for reinforcements.
She slowly turned, walking step by step towards her, each step seeming to land on Qiu Huayan's heart.
Despite some pressure, Qiu Huayan still put on her helmet, drew the long saber from her waist, and prepared to meet the opponent's attack.
Just at this critical moment, a red shadow streaked across the long expanse of the warehouse like lightning, moving so fast that it was almost invisible.
Immediately after, a faint purple beam of light shot out from the red shadow, heading straight for the Talon.
Although this attack came very quickly, the Talon still reacted.
She calmly raised her shield, and with a loud "boom," the beam struck the shield, erupting in dazzling sparks. Yet, the Talon remained steadily in place, easily blocking the attack.
The red figure landed on the ground, firmly blocking Qiu Huayan's path.
It was the silhouette of a pterodactyl, entirely crimson, but its head crest and wings, similar to a wingsuit, were golden yellow.
"Yan Za, hide a little. The upcoming battle will be quite brutal."
Although the voice was different, upon hearing the address, Qiu Huayan immediately reacted, exclaiming in surprise: "Boss?!"