amaotonovel Chapter 3764 Rapid Pursuit (9)
Chapter 3764 Rapid Pursuit (9)
Chapter 3764 Rapid Pursuit (Part 9)
Batman arrives at Arkham Asylum. But this is quite different from the Arkham Asylum he remembers.
While Arkham Asylum in the main universe may resemble a prison, aside from stricter security, it does have highly professional doctors. All the mental patients receive proper treatment and enjoy better medical resources than mental patients in many other places.
But the moment Batman stepped into this universe's Arkham Asylum, he realized it wasn't a hospital at all. Calling it a prison would be an insult to prisons. Batman had only experienced this atmosphere in some of the US military's human experimentation bases he had previously destroyed.
Everyone was dressed in uniform, expressionless and unsmiling, more like professional secret agents than asylum staff. Security robots patrolled around the clock, the mental patients were nowhere to be seen, but various doctors, or rather, laboratory personnel, in white coats were constantly coming and going.
Despite the tight security, it was clearly no match for Batman. Especially after he confiscated Jason's headset and control devices as "operation fees," the patrolling security robots and cameras became even less of a threat.
Batman picked up his headset and activated it, causing the security robots in the hallway to stop. After Batman climbed into the hallway, the two robots and the security cameras in the hallway seemed to go blind, completely unable to see this living person barging in.
Elliott was willing to invest money, but his approach was flawed. Batman thought to himself, "All-electronic security is simply not safe. Even if humans are fragile, they're still large animals, and dealing with them will take some effort. If we turn them all into robots, a few Trojan programs can render them useless."
From this, Batman deduces that Wayne Enterprises falling into Elliott's hands is a waste of its potential. The company's situation is likely dire. His desire to run for president suggests he's relying on some other powerful force.
Batman made his way to the second floor, and before he could even begin his search, he heard a commotion downstairs. He immediately switched the channel on his headphones to listen to their conversation through the security cameras downstairs.
“...I am Special Investigator Jack Napier...zz...Jonathan Klein...zz...cooperate with my work…”
Batman went to the second-floor atrium, leaned out a little to look down, and saw a Joker dressed in a police uniform.
Batman genuinely felt his worldview was being shaken. In their universe, the Joker had also impersonated a police officer for his pranks, but his demeanor was far removed from that of a real cop. That police uniform on him—it wasn't so much a case of clothes making the man, but rather a rather suggestive outfit.
But the clown downstairs was different. Despite his green hair and red lips, his police uniform fit him perfectly—most importantly, it suited his demeanor perfectly. He wasn't at all like a clown with his manic energy; instead, he was serious, earnest, and even possessed a sharp edge of justice.
This made the person standing downstairs look less like a clown in a police uniform and more like Batman in clown makeup. That was far more frightening than the maniacal, grotesque figure.
Batman's heart skipped a beat. But the other person reacted quickly, abruptly looking up at him. And then—
"boom!"
The gunshot instantly caused chaos. Everyone downstairs screamed and scrambled for cover. Batman was shot in the shoulder, but for a moment he didn't feel any pain.
The psychological impact far outweighs the physical pain. Batman's current feeling can be summed up in two words—absurd!
Why did the Joker shoot him? Batman really wanted to ask. No matter how many tricks this madman pulled in the shadows, whenever they faced Batman head-on, he always ran for his life. And now he'd actually fired a gun! Was there no justice? No law?
The key point is that Batman seems to have a very strong sense of injustice. What circumstances would cause the Joker to instinctively shoot upon seeing someone in a bat costume?
What exactly did the Batman from the Joker's universe do?
Whatever he did, you can't take it out on me, can you? I didn't do anything wrong. Why did you shoot me without even asking what happened?
Batman admitted he was a little angry. More like annoyed than furious. He could have actually dodged the shot, but the Joker's intimidating presence downstairs startled him, preventing him from dodging. This made him seem guilty.
What angered Batman even more was that after this guy saw him, the people downstairs ignored him, stopped showing their IDs, and came straight for him. Seriously, who's going to be the clown jumping in Batman's face?
The Joker actually jumped onto Batman's face. The moment he went upstairs, another shot rang out. This time Batman dodged it, but the Joker wouldn't let it go and raised his gun to fire again.
Batman, having reached his limit, threw three batarangs. The opponent rolled over, then knelt on one knee, raised his arm, and fired another shot from a standard shooting stance.
"boom!"
But Batman was already upon him. In the instant the Joker stood up, he kicked the gun out of his hand, pressed the batarang against his neck, and slammed him against the wall.
"what are you doing?"
Batman was taken aback by his own tone. His emotions were a bit too intense; he did sound like an outlaw who had assaulted a police officer.
In the brief moment Batman's attention wandered, he caught a glimpse of the Joker, whom he was holding down, smiling at him. Then, with a "bang," a punch landed squarely on Batman's eye. Batman took a step back, covering his eye, and the Joker followed with a whip kick, knocking Batman to the ground.
Batman didn't get up because the other person had already retrieved the gun and was pointing it at his head.
"Are you the Batman of this universe?" he asked.
“No, you are,” Batman said, sprawled on the ground. He genuinely believed it. He had never seen the Joker with such fighting skills; that whip kick had a touch of Arkham Batman's style, and the power was astonishing, clearly the result of years of training. If you're not Batman, then who is?
"Resist to the bitter end." The Joker held a gun to Batman's head with one hand, grabbed Batman's arms behind his back with the other, and then skillfully handcuffed him.
Batman believes he might be the first Batman in the entire multiverse to be handcuffed by the Joker.
But he didn't reveal his identity. It was fine for them to think that way; if they were to interrogate him, they would inevitably reveal some information about him. Batman was more interested in this Joker than in the long-standing cases of this universe.
Sure enough, they dragged him into a room next door. It looked like an empty hospital room, but half of it was separated by a railing. The clown threw him inside.
"I won't waste any more words."
The Joker's first words were completely unexpected for Batman. Hearing such a line out of the blue was rather unusual, because the Joker usually loved to waste time with nonsense.
"How did you survive? I saw your emptied body in the cold storage."
Batman remained silent. He wanted to see how the Joker would deal with him.
The clown walked in and punched him right away.
A very Batman-esque interrogation style. Batman thought, not entirely unexpected.
But the next second, the Joker ripped off Batman's mask.
Batman was speechless with shock. Seriously, man, is he really insane?!
"You two look very alike, but not exactly the same. Twin brothers? No, that's not right... You're from another world, aren't you?"
Batman opened his mouth, unsure where to begin. The Joker, however, chuckled mockingly, walked over the railing, and said, "Are you shocked to have your true identity exposed? Or should I, like those lunatics, pretend I don't know who you are and play a few rounds of make-believe with you?"
Batman adjusted his posture to face the Joker directly. He thought for a moment and said, "No need. After all, in this universe, Elliott is the head of Wayne Enterprises."
"If you expect me to have any reverence for the identity your face represents, you're in for a disappointment, because in my universe, you're not the one who controls Wayne Enterprises."
Batman narrowed his eyes slightly; he seemed to know which universe the other person belonged to.
“Let’s get to the point,” the Joker said. “I found clues left by Gordon at the police station. Before he died, he had partially uncovered the truth behind the deaths of the Wayne couple and the Elliott couple. All these cases point to one person: Thomas Elliott.”
"Back then, after the Elliotts adopted Bruce Wayne, Thomas Elliott kept looking for all sorts of opportunities to provoke Bruce, eventually causing him to develop a mental illness and have to be admitted to Arkham Asylum for treatment."
"But Bruce didn't receive any proper treatment here. Elliott subjected him to all sorts of cruel experiments until just a few days ago, when Bruce Wayne died."
“I just saw his body in the cold storage. All his internal organs were removed. Although the body looked quite realistic, my intuition tells me he's not dead. If he's not dead, he'll definitely try to get revenge on Elliott. I have to find him.”
"why?"
“Because if we don’t find him, he might be recruited by someone else. You can’t expect someone who has been imprisoned and tortured for so many years to be normal. He must be full of resentment and anger, and if he is used by someone with ulterior motives, it will be another problem.”
Batman's assessment of the Joker's words was like hearing celestial music, instantly clearing his ears. He had never imagined in his life that such ivory could come from the Joker's gaping maw—how clear his words were, how logical his reasoning, how well-defined his plan, and how righteous his stance!
More importantly, in the entire 1 minute and 48 seconds of his monologue, he did not discuss any philosophical issues, did not once try to steer the conversation toward Batman or the Joker, and did not even laugh once.
"Night Owl, you're so confused," Batman thought to himself. "If you don't want this Joker, I'll take it. If you feel you need another Joker, I can give you the one from our universe—it's a happy decision."
Eat and take
(End of this chapter)