[Western Crossover] The Blackgate Zoo Is Open for Business

With the economy in a slump, Elio rushes to apply for a job at a zoo as soon as he graduates.

On his first day, he stands at the zoo entrance and reads the sign aloud:

"Blackgate... Prison?"

When the wind dies down, an A4 sheet stuck to the sign falls off, revealing the zoo sign that had been covering the prison's name.

Elio: ...?! How can this zoo be such a shabby knockoff?!

Fortunately, though the place is run-down, all the animals the director brings in for treatment are adorable.

There's a snow leopard, a flying squirrel, wolves, an orca, a hedgehog... The zoo even comes with a stray Maine Coon!

Elio: Great! I've got more motivation! Blackgate Zoo is going to be a huge success!

**

Earth 3 is an inverted universe.

That means the sun rises in the west, and justice can never defeat evil.

Everyone claws at one another in the mire, making each other's lives worse and worse

Until one day, the evil leaders each find themselves with a secret problem.

The Kryptonian, leader of the crime syndicate that rules the world, suddenly calls off the invasion plan. Word is, he's depressed.

The other two bigwigs: ...? Are you kidding? What could possibly make you depressed?

The Kryptonian can't tell them it's because he inexplicably turned into a flying squirrel and failed to pounce on his keeper's hand.

The head of SPECTRE, 007, suddenly drives all the canines out of his territory one day. His excuse is that he "doesn't want to join the choir."

Quartermaster Q: ? What's wrong with you, Bond?

The Napoleon of London's criminal underworld has always been adored by his clients for his meticulous logic and elegant manner of speaking.

Then one day, right in the middle of a meeting, he suddenly moves with lightning speed and snatches off his client's wig!

Bald client: ...??

Sherlock Holmes: ...Damn instinct! Does a silver wig count as something shiny?!

The bosses suffer in silence and secretly plot their revenge.

But every attempt fails, defeated time and again by the keeper's endlessly crafty enrichment tactics.

Their desire to break out gradually turns into the temptation to return to the zoo.

Until one day, they see the evil keeper following close behind Gotham's tyrant, making kissy noises:

"Mimi, come get your cat treats, Mimi! Mimi, why aren't you clingy now that you've turned human?"

The keeper's eyes sparkle with amusement. He doesn't look like he's teasing a cat so much as a person.

Gotham's tyrant looks impassive. He doesn't look like he wants to kill anyone so much as he's trying to avoid someone.

The Joker just has to make a pest of himself, even if it kills him. "Owlman, why does he call you Mimi, Owlman?"

"..." Gotham's tyrant calmly turns his gaze on him and flips over the Joker's ornamental fish tank.

**

When Blackgate Zoo first opened, everyone thought it made no sense, and everyone was certain it would fail.

But a few months later, Gotham's tyrant has become a security guard, while 007 and the Sherlocks show up every day to mooch food from the cafeteria.

The villains have formed a joint animal-protection organization, and the president personally presents Blackgate Zoo with an award.

Elio cheerfully drags his cat, heavy as a weight, along with him. "Thank you, thank you... Is this some kind of National Zoo medal of honor?"

The president: "? Uh... We can arrange that too, but the main award today is the Peace Prize..."

Note:

1. New blurb! The old outline was too bleak. I want to write something lighthearted...

Still one-on-one. The goal is still to raise Owlman until his coat gleams. Whether Owlman is willing is still none of my business. ( )

2. All reference books, documentaries, papers, and so on will be listed at the end of the novel.

If you spot any mistakes, experts are welcome to point them out in the comments, and share additional facts!

3. A crossover of superheroes, middle-aged angel-and-demon romance (?), long-faced detective and pretty military doctor (?), IMF, and 007. My own timeline.

God in this story has Good Omens vibes.

4. Why hasn't the TV version of Harry Potter come out yet? Why is Christmas so far away? The wait is killing me. I'm opening a bunch of new projects.

Here's a preview of the next novel

Taigo, a Bengal tiger, 3.1 meters long, once held the largest territory of any tiger in his homeland

But now he's been reborn as a little black puffball.

The cub's legs are so short it's hard to climb up to a dish and lap water. He's so tiny he could fit inside the dish.

But Taigo's ambition will never die! Taigo will still become king of the territory!

A young Bludhaven police officer crouches beside the dish, watching Taigo lap water furiously, and frets endlessly:

Why does Taigo always go after Great Danes? Does he know he's a Munchkin cat with short legs, not even as big as a Great Dane's head?

Taigo doesn't know. Taigo firmly believes that if he eats more, sleeps more, and fights more, he'll eventually reclaim the throne.

At eight weeks old, his baby teeth have all come in, and the young officer's sofa has been sacrificed.

At four months, he rules the entire territory, and there's nothing in the officer's home he hasn't beaten up.

At seven months, he can already secretly assassinate his owner!

The young officer: Stop, stop, stop. Is this right?

At one year old, the mature Taigo finally sets foot in Gotham, a territory he is destined to conquer. Then he turns his gaze to even more distant plains: Metropolis, the oceans, the universe...

One owner after another comes and goes, from a giant black cat to a strange bald guy. The only thing that never changes is Taigo's ambition: the tiger will rule the world!

"..." His various owners watch with complicated expressions as a ball of fluff not even as long as a forearm carries two pistols and fights villains, cat fur flying everywhere.

"...Whose fault is this? Who raised a cat like that?"

"Not my fault. I only gave him a little help, like surgery."

"I gave him the ocean's blessing..."

"A little magic..."

"A Green Lantern ring."

"A little miracle."

His first owner: "..."

Thanks a lot. I sent him out to learn how to act like a cat, and now he's turned into a land, sea, and air version of the invincible protagonist... You really do have to raise your own kid!

1. One-on-one, happy ending. The cat stays a cat and won't turn human.

2. A crossover of superheroes, middle-aged angel-and-demon romance (?), long-faced detective and pretty military doctor (?), and 007. My own timeline.

If you're interested, you can add it to your reading list in advance~ The title is The Cat Wants to Rule the World.

Theme: Being alive means having hope. Everything happens for the best.