Chapter 2189: Battle of Two Cities! (Fifty-Three)

There are many reasons why Batman did not stop Gotham Sky Island from leaving, and the biggest reason is still the safety of the Bat Family.

The battle between Darkseid and the Green Lantern Corps is destined to be protracted and difficult to determine the winner, but Batman himself knows that Darkseid will not let him go. He has always been very interested in the half of the equation in his hand.

However, the earth is remote and weak, so there is no need to send a fleet here. The best way is still to send assassins to kidnap or assassinate. If Batman cannot be dealt with, then Gotham Sky Island floating above the earth will become the best target.

Didn't Darkseid send people here before? Although he did not successfully kidnap anyone, it reminded Batman that this great monarch is not a good person who is upright and honest. Breaking into the house and kidnapping is his specialty, so it is better to move the house directly.

After Gotham went to hell, Batman was relieved a little, but hell was still not far enough. People like Constantine could come and go freely. Just like the last time when Robin was transferred, it would be a good idea to let Gotham go to a farther universe for refuge.

So he acquiesced to Gotham going to a strange universe, but he didn't expect that this universe was undergoing great changes. Gotham's joining must have changed the situation to some extent.

It was not surprising that the lunatics in Arkham Asylum would go to the new city. The strange thing was that all of them were silent after rushing into the new city.

Batman keenly discovered that they might have adopted the method of replacing the isotope, and the most obvious one was the Penguin.

The Penguin was the mayor and had more opportunities to appear in public. The abnormality of some small actions was clearly visible in the reports of the news media. Batman almost immediately determined that the Penguin had replaced the prince with a cat.

Then there was the Joker. Batman had never seen the Joker in the New City, but he knew the Joker in his universe too well. He had also appeared in the news media, and the details in the photo on the front page headline also made Batman sure that this was the Joker who had just been captured by him and sent to Arkham Asylum.

Then there was Bruce. Bruce's arrival was also a turning point. Batman was unable to spare his hands, but he wanted to stabilize the situation on Sky Island, so he remembered that Professor Schiller had a student who was also Batman. This was the only Batman he could contact so far.

So Batman called Bruce, and Batman could also see from the photos taken by the media related to Bruce Wayne that although the local Batman and Bruce were very similar, Bruce later replaced the local Batman.

Then the three protagonists of the key turning point event were all gathered, and then Batman needed to study what exactly happened to the Enderkin incident that led to the outbreak of the hot war.

On the afternoon of the 26th, the Joker appeared on the screen, claiming that a certain reporter was kidnapped and announced his relationship with Batman. Bruce Wayne went to rescue him, but the rescue failed and Underkin fell to his death.

On the same evening, a total of 283 media outlets in New York and Gotham forwarded this report, including more than 60 influential newspapers, and more than 40 news media outlets pointed the finger at Bruce.

On the morning of the 27th, all newspapers reported the incident on the front page. A large amount of false news and unfounded speculation appeared on the pages, and the focus of most media reports was on Bruce rather than the culprit Joker.

So far, Batman can be sure of two things. At this point in time, Bruce is still the local Bruce, but the Joker has become the Joker of his universe.

It is obvious that the local Bruce cannot cope with this situation at all. After the incident, no effective measures were taken, neither to reverse public opinion nor to catch the Joker.

On the morning of the 28th, another blockbuster news appeared. Mayor Oswald Cobblepot attempted to shoot Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne fell down and was sent to the hospital for rescue. Since then, there has been no news.

On the afternoon of the same day, Mayor Oswald Cobblepot was arrested, but he was not brought to justice and became a fugitive. He also lost news for a long time.

On the morning of the 31st, the parade set out from Brooklyn, New York, circled half a circle in Brooklyn, crossed Queens and entered the upper reaches of the Gotham River, and the hot war broke out completely.

Then the doubts are obvious-why did the Penguin shoot Bruce Wayne?

This makes no sense. Oswald Cobblepot does not have such a motive or such courage, so the problem must be with Bruce Wayne.

Batman came to the mayor's office, which has been blocked since the shooting. Under multiple pressures, no police could investigate the case. The crime for which the Penguin was arrested was not attempted murder, and no evidence examination was required, so no one moved the crime scene.

The bloody sofa, the barely perceptible footprints, the marks of the gun on the coffee table...

Countless clues were transmitted to Batman's brain through his eyes. Almost in an instant, Batman was sure that Bruce had fired the gun himself.

The Penguin left marks on the sofa, not just because he was fat, but because fat people sweat more, so they need to use a stronger antiperspirant. The fragrance on it will remain on the fabric sofa for more than half a month. Batman can easily determine where he sat.

It is not easy to judge where Bruce sat, but according to the direction of the footprints and Batman's behavior pattern, he should be sitting right in front of the Penguin.

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The two of them sat facing each other, with their left and right sides opposite. The Penguin's dominant hand was his right hand. If he fired, it should hit Bruce's left chest. Even if he deliberately aimed at the right chest, the bullet should cut vertically instead of at an angle like now.

Apparently Bruce took the gun with his left hand and shot himself in the right chest.

It can be seen from the scratches left by the gun on the table that the gun was first in Penguin's hand and slid to Bruce through the coffee table. So it seems that Penguin influenced Bruce in some way and let him shoot himself. .

But this speculation was immediately overturned by Batman. It was impossible for the Penguin to control Bruce because Bruce's teacher was Schiller Rodriguez. And it would not do him any good to have Bruce collapse in his office. Batman would not think that it would be good for him for some populist media to call the Penguin a hero.

You can't blame whoever you eat. The Penguin squeezed his way in by bribing the upper class. The people in Bruce Wayne's circle are his food and clothing parents. He offends this group of people in exchange for a little reputation benefit. Anyone with a little bit of intelligence wouldn't do it.

Then this is Bruce's conspiracy, because this can completely cut off the Penguin's path to ascend.

But what happened next was unexpected. Penguin was arrested and handcuffed, but he was not caught in the end. He ran to the slums and organized a protest team and sent it to Gotham.

After some research, Batman determined that the Penguin had been exploited from beginning to end. He pulled up a team to save his life and organized a parade to restore his reputation. This was in line with the logic of his behavior.

Batman investigated the hospital's surveillance and found that Bruce was indeed seriously injured. He had been being rescued for more than 20 hours and was still in a coma.

The treatment records are complete and detailed, and it seems that Bruce risked his own life to die with the Penguin.

Framing the Penguin was indeed a masterstroke, so Batman couldn't be sure that this wasn't Bruce's plan.

So, going round and round, everything is back to the original point. If the Joker does not kidnap Enderkin, Bruce will not lose his reputation, and the Penguin who shot him will not become a hero, and he will not be able to build a team. This team There will be no entry into the Gotham area, and no hot war will break out.

The culprit is still the clown.

Just as the Joker predicted, Batman investigated and discovered that the trigger for the outbreak of the war was the Underkin case. The man behind the Underkin case was the Joker, and it was the Joker who destroyed New City.

Batman believed in his own investigation and judgment more than the clown's rhetoric. He didn't care about the clown's fables, so he went back to find the clown.

"I told you, Batman." The Joker sat gloomily on the bed with his head hanging down. His lips kept moving as he spoke, and his teeth could be seen through the gap between his lips.

"You really disappoint me." The clown tilted his head weirdly like a zombie and said, "You don't understand me well at all, just like you don't understand yourself."

"Do you want to change your career to be the Riddler?" Batman asked sarcastically.

The Joker continued to remain silent, and Batman tried every means to make him speak again. It was only at this moment that Batman realized that there might indeed be something wrong with his speculation.

What made Batman make this judgment was that the Joker refused to admit it.

In the past, when the Joker committed any major crime, he wanted to jump in Batman's face and ask him if he did a good job. He was eager to see Batman's reaction and let Batman evaluate his actions. He repeatedly asked Batman to do it. Smile.

Now that he has caused such a big mess, he has turned out to be like those little thieves who don't know the heights of the world. In order to avoid responsibility, he denies everything in front of the police and refuses to kill him. This is not like a clown.

And the Joker is the madman Batman knows best. Batman has witnessed many of the troubles he caused, including bombings, kidnappings, and all kinds of outrageous and horrific murders.

But these cases are not the results but the process. The clown does not commit crimes to blow others up or kidnap for ransom. He commits crimes to realize his artistic pursuits.

Just like the Underkin case, he kidnapped and forced Bruce to let go and let Underkin fall to his death. In essence, he did not want to kill the man, but just wanted to break Bruce's psychological defense.

Watching people suffer and collapse, watching them float and struggle in the quagmire of human nature, is the art that the clown wants.

War is certainly painful, and many people will die, but their deaths are too trivial and have no sense of beauty. The process and results of these people's deaths cannot provide any material for discussing human nature and artistic philosophy. This is what the clown sees. It's an unforgivable waste.

The Underkin case was interrupted because of Bruce's shocking shot. The Joker could not let it go. If the chaos outside was really caused by him, he must be rehearsing intensively now and give him a chance when Batman arrives. Super big surprise.

But he didn't, he gave up the struggle and let Batman capture him and put him in Arkham Asylum.

And Batman also wants to understand the reason why the Joker would rather stay in Arkham Asylum than go out to join in the fun - a starving man who has half-eaten food taken away, no matter what, he doesn't want to watch it. The capitalist pours milk into the river.