"This must be Wayne Manor."
Sabretooth stood on a rooftop, his eyes fixed on the iconic structure in the distance: Gotham's infamous Wayne Manor.
Beside him, Toad swung over using his snake-like tongue as a makeshift rope and landed with a wet slap.
"That's right," he said, smirking. "I heard Joker used to be the Wayne family's butler. Can you believe that? A lunatic like that serving a prestigious family like them."
There was clear mockery in Toad's voice. However, he didn't seem to realize that with his own appearance and abilities, even calling him a lunatic might be generous; he was more like a full-blown freak.
"I don't care if their whole family's insane," Sabretooth muttered. "I just want to finish Magneto's mission and get out of here."
At the mention of "Magneto," a hint of fear flashed in the mutant's eyes. His mental state had never been stable, and not even Charles could do anything about it. The reason he joined the mutant faction wasn't out of any brotherhood or shared identity. He was simply afraid—afraid of Magneto's overwhelming power. It was strength that made him submit.
"Alright," Toad said with a shrug. "I'll sneak in from the second floor. As for you, do whatever you want."
Without waiting for a response, he launched himself into the air using his powerful legs—his only noteworthy ability aside from his tongue—and vaulted over the front gate of Wayne Manor. With practiced ease, he slipped through a second-floor window and landed quietly inside.
"So dark in here..." Toad murmured. "Do these people actually enjoy living in a crypt?"
It wasn't just the lights being off. As he crept through the hallway, he realized there were barely any real light sources at all. Even the chandeliers above cast only a dim, tired glow.
Just like the city of Gotham, the manor was steeped in shadows.
Tap, tap, tap...
Suddenly, the soft sound of footsteps echoed in his ears. Startled, Toad immediately scrambled up to the ceiling, clinging to a support beam.
"Sabretooth, is that you?" he called out, though he already knew the answer. That lunatic wasn't the type to walk around so carefully.
Out of caution, Toad pressed himself deeper into the shadows, until a bright flashlight beam cut through the darkness and lit him up.
"I knew it. You mutants would come after the manor eventually."
The one standing beneath him was Batwoman, Kate Kane, dressed in full combat gear. She hadn't stayed behind in the Batcave just to provide remote support. Her real job was to guard Wayne Manor, and the Batcave hidden beneath it.
If the mutants had learned from the Court of Owls that Alfred was actually the Joker, then it wasn't surprising they had also figured out that Bruce Wayne was Batman.
From the beginning, 'Batman' had already considered the possibility that the mutants would target Wayne Manor.
The moment the two's eyes met, the fight began.
Toad struck first. His tongue shot out from his mouth like a missile, aiming straight for Batwoman's face.
But while Batwoman had taken her fair share of beatings from people like Joker and Deathstroke, that didn't mean she couldn't handle a low-tier mutant like Toad.
She leaned slightly to the side, narrowly dodging the attack. Then, she turned her batarang into a makeshift dagger and stabbed it straight into the mutant's tongue.
"Argh!!"
Toad's tongue, capable of stretching at will, was filled with nerve endings. The pain from being pierced by the sharp weapon was intense.
He screamed in agony but didn't forget to pull his tongue back.
Batwoman felt a sudden force yank the batarang from her grip as Toad retracted his tongue, dragging the weapon along into his mouth.
"You monster! How could you be so cruel?!" he howled.
Toad was stunned. In his past fights, whenever he attacked with his tongue, people would instinctively dodge it in disgust. But what was wrong with these people from Gotham? They didn't even hesitate; they just threw a weapon straight into his tongue.
"Using your own weakness to attack. I really don't get what use a mutant like you even has."
Batwoman's soft remark cut into Toad like a blade.
If his tongue got severed, the pain would be enough to leave him paralyzed. Without proper treatment, he could bleed out and die. Not to mention, since the tongue was an internal organ exposed to the outside when stretched, it could bring all sorts of harmful substances into the body.
Calling it a weakness wasn't unfair at all.
'Batman' had come up with specific counters for nearly every mutant. As for Toad, even without special plans, a skilled fighter like Batwoman was more than enough.
"Filthy human! How dare you look down on me!"
Toad, who believed mutants were the superior race, was furious at Batwoman's words. Still, he didn't dare use his tongue again.
His throat pulsed, then he spat out a thick green substance straight at her.
Batwoman didn't know exactly what it was, but just the fact that it came from Toad's mouth was enough to make her want to stay far away. She threw another batarang at it.
As soon as the two projectiles collided, the batarang lost momentum and dropped to the ground, and the goo quickly hardened, sticking the weapon firmly to the floor.
"A fast-hardening substance? Is that all you've got?"
Batwoman was unimpressed, but she didn't waste any time. She launched her counterattack immediately.
Her figure moved swiftly through the narrow hallway, closing the distance between her and the foe in an instant.
"Stay back!" Toad shouted, spitting more of that sticky green goo again in a desperate attempt to stop her advance.
It was useless.
Batwoman's agility and combat skills were far beyond his. Helpless, he could only watch as she closed in.
Bang!
With a punch landing square on his face, Toad collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.
"This... was it?" Batwoman muttered, breathing steadily. She hadn't expected the ones sent to attack Wayne Manor to be this weak. She thought they'd at least send someone a bit stronger.
But just as she let her guard down, a thunderous sound echoed from the main hall on the first floor.
"Rrraaaaagh!!"
It was like the roar of a wild beast. Slightly startled, Batwoman stepped toward the edge of the stairs and looked down.
There, she saw a massive figure covered in thick fur, with long, beast-like claws—Sabretooth. And he was locked in battle with someone she recognized well.
"Deathstroke? What the hell are you doing here?!"
Down below, Deathstroke was clashing with Sabretooth, blades in both hands. Faced with the mutant's relentless, feral fighting style and his refusal to back down, even a warrior like him had to stay on the defensive.
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