Chapter 62 Chapter 62 Because "I stopped you" and "You...

Most of Gotham was unaware of the events of the day as Batman took the little boy named Elio and Robin rescued the young Drake.

Yes, they had more or less glanced at the TV hanging from the ceiling of the fast food restaurant and heard the noon news broadcast - but those minor car accidents, kidnappings, and even explosions were part of Gotham's daily life, like cans and plastic bags floating in the sewer. Who would care?

They were already there.

These things are just what happen in Gotham.

They didn't have the energy to dwell on such trivial matters (as if paying attention would make any difference). They went about their daily lives, working and living as usual, carefully carrying their belongings through the streets. Rain pelted the convenience store's shelter, dripping onto the round black umbrellas. A passing yellow taxi flicked its windshield wipers. Everything was no different from usual.

The yellow taxi drove along in the rain.

There were many potential customers waving at it along the way, but the hooded driver drove away from them without paying any attention. He pressed the wiper button again, and the machine hesitantly swept across the waterfall of rain flowing down the front window, but soon, there was a stream of water again.

For most people, this was torrential rain, unsuitable for driving. But for the assassin, the water perfectly shielded him from any prying eyes outside the window. After all, being seen with a tied-up man in the back seat was not a problem the assassin wanted to deal with.

Even if that guy is two-faced.

Elio raised his eyes and glanced at the backseat in the rearview mirror. Two-Face noticed his gaze and immediately mumbled, protesting the unfair treatment.

His hands and legs were tightly bound, and his mouth was taped, but the assassin hadn't forgotten to "kindly" fasten his seatbelt for him; if anything were to happen, at least Two-Face, one of Gotham's most famous mafia bosses, wouldn't end up crashing headfirst into this ordinary taxi. But whether the assassin would get in the car to save him was hard to say.

After all, it only took a dozen seconds from the car leaking oil to exploding.

"If you don't want your pipe anymore," Elio said, looking away from the rearview mirror, "I can remove it for you. For free, for a limited time."

Two-Face quieted down. Elio didn't care whether he glared at him in the rearview mirror.

They drove on and out of the city.

The road, once wide enough for three or five cars to drive side by side, gradually narrowed, leaving only the taxi, its high-beams on. Tall weeds replaced the brightly lit buildings, swaying on either side of the road. The gravel creaked, and the wind and rain gently rocked the vehicle...

Like Oyster Bay in New York, this is a perfect place to dump a body.

In other words, a perfect hiding place.

—At least, until the assassin blew it up.

It was once a secret warehouse used by Two-Face to hide various smuggled items, evidence of other people's crimes (for blackmail), and cash and weapons. It helped Two-Face, who escaped from Arkham, to make a comeback countless times, and also helped the Two-Face gang "maintain their daily livelihood", especially when their boss was away.

"It's made outstanding contributions to your 'career,'" Elio glanced out the window. "It's also an old acquaintance of yours."

The two-faced man snorted coldly.

The car came to an abrupt stop, and Two-Face, who had been quietly sharpening a rope with a razor blade, was caught off guard and fell forward onto the back of his chair, his vision black. When the stars in his eyes faded, the assassin had already gotten out of the car and pulled him out. Elio, not at all surprised, noticed Two-Face's little move and tied him back to the handlebars in the back seat, throwing the razor blade away.

They were all caught in Gotham's torrential rain.

"I guess with it to keep you company on your journey," Elio said, "you won't be too lonely."

There was a crack of lightning. As he tore the tape off Two-Face's face, the light illuminated the assassin's eyes.

"You want to kill me?" Two-Face pouted. "You're making this too easy, kid. That's not how Gotham works. You think you can kill me just by robbing me from Arkham Asylum and driving me all the way to this godforsaken place?"

Elio said nothing, simply staring at him in the rain. The assassin removed his mask and tossed it aside. Two-Face also stared at him, at the young assassin foolish enough to remove his hood in the pouring rain.

"Do you recognize this face?" Elio said.

"Oh, so this is about revenge." Two-Face tilted his head, studying his expression. "Your brother? Sister? Parents? Parents. Which one?"

"You didn't recognize them," Elio interrupted. "I thought so too. Eight years ago, you sent your men to rob a bank near Chinatown, but you never thought of letting them return alive. Maybe it was because you discovered they were undercover agents planted by another organization, or maybe you just flipped a coin that day and it said 'no'."

"What are their names?"

“You don’t deserve to know their names,” Elio said. “You wouldn’t remember them anyway.”

He swung his arm with force, far exceeding the force needed to launch the Hidden Blade. The gleaming dagger scraped against Two-Face's Adam's apple, the blood quickly washed away by the rain, leaving only the white mark of the wound. But Two-Face did not die, not even realizing he was being held hostage. He suddenly threw back his head and laughed heartily.

In his upturned, inverted pupils, he saw a huge black shadow slowly standing up in the taxi.

"You don't really want to do that," Batman whispered.

Elio looked up, too. He stared at Batman in silence.

The rain soaked his black curly hair, which clung to the assassin's pale face. Two-Face's laughter quickly stopped as he drank a lot of water. But neither Batman nor the assassin moved first. They just stared at each other silently.

"What an eerie silence." Two-Face asked suspiciously, "Do you two know each other?"

But no one paid any attention to him.

"What did you find out?" Elio said to Batman.

"everything."

Elio obviously didn't believe him, "Really?"

"I know what happened eight years ago," Batman said, "and I know what happened today."

Elio was a little surprised that he could figure it all out in such a short time. But that was just one thing. After all, everyone knew that Batman was the world's number one detective.

But what he said next really surprised Elio.

"The only thing I don't know is what the future holds, Elio." Batman stared at him. "What made you take up arms? What made you who you are?"

He found out Elio's identity. He even found out that he was from the future.

"…Bad enough for one day," Elio muttered, "I suppose."

He looked at Batman, his expression dazed for a moment. Two-Face seized the opportunity and jumped violently, trying to break free from the pressure; but the assassin immediately pushed him back into the car, his expression sharp again.

"You said you found out everything, Batman." Elio shouted in the dripping rain, "You know he ordered the killing of my parents eight years ago. You know how many bad things he has done and how many people he has killed! He must die! If the law can't punish people like him, and you can't punish people like him, then I will do it!"

But he didn't move. Neither did Batman. He just stood there in silence, watching the tears fall from Elio's eyes.

Only Two-Face hissed and rolled his eyes at the rainy Gotham weather. He wanted to say, "Am I part of your game?" but the intense emotions surging within the assassin stopped him. After all, he didn't really want to die.

"If you wanted to kill him," Batman said finally, "you would have done it long ago."

Elio said nothing. With a loud bang, lightning illuminated the figure of the Dark Knight.

"You could have killed him in Arkham Asylum," Batman said. "You could have killed him on the way here. You could have killed him before I got there. With one stroke. But you didn't. You kept waiting for me to come and stop it."

"Is that why you haven't attacked me yet?" Elio whispered.

His voice was so soft, so soft that the rain could easily blow it away, but Batman heard it. He crouched down, his cape scattering in a snarling shadow over the taxi roof, but when Batman reached out and wiped the tears from Elio's face with his rough glove, his movements were so gentle.

"Because there's a fundamental difference between 'I stop you' and 'you give up on your own,'" Batman said.

The rain continued to fall. Wherever Batman brushed past, Elio's face was immediately covered with a steady stream of rain. But they both knew that something had changed.

"...You and I are fundamentally different, Dark Knight," Elio said. "You represent hope. Believe it or not, your efforts have brought hope to people."

This is actually the consensus of Gotham residents. Batman is the embodiment of fear, that's true. But he makes everyone—everyone who doesn't commit crimes, doesn't worry about Batman knocking on the door at night, and only worries about being inexplicably killed—realize that Gotham can still be saved.

Too dark? No problem, the bat lights will turn on.

Batman is Gotham's moon. He's dark, but hey, Gotham is in such a mess. A dark Batman is the best superhero Gotham could have.

"But I'm different," the assassin said. "My appearance symbolizes people's utter despair of legal rules, or any kind of procedural justice. You don't know what I am yet, Batman, but you will find out."

"What are you?" Batman asked sharply. "Is there someone else manipulating your will, pushing you down a path you don't want to take? If you need help—"

"No, no," Elio interrupted. "I've chosen this path. While I appreciate your help, I no longer need it."

"I highly doubt it," Batman said darkly.

"You don't need to believe it." Elio raised his Hidden Blade, forcing Two-Face to look up (he rolled his eyes again). "He's the focus of our evening. Two-Face, or Mr. Dent, whichever one is listening now—you're lucky. Gotham's death penalty has always had some leniency for the mentally ill and the wealthy, and you've got both."

Two-Face snorted.

The assassin glanced at him and smiled for the first time that night. "And I'll kill them both."