Chapter 62 Chapter 62 I'm tired of boomerangs...

"Tell me again who you are?"

Arkham Asylum, breakfast time is the time when most prisoners can meet each other. At this time, the Scarecrow looked at the strong black man across the table and laughed loudly.

"Even though Killer Croc escaped from prison last night and couldn't hear you, are you really not afraid that Killer Croc will come back and eat you?"

"If you're using someone else's name, at least use one with less obvious features," Black Mask said. "Aside from being both men, what similarities do you two have? You even have different skin colors. Could it be that the recent trend of Hollywood going dark has also spread to Arkham?"

Scarecrow scoffed, "You were thrown across the cell from me last night. I saw the guards escort you there myself. You weren't even in Killer Croc's special reinforced cell! You didn't think you could just rip us off just because you killed a few people, did you?"

"Oh, scam." The burly black man said calmly, "It's not surprising you think so. After all, Klein, you never dared to speak like that in front of me before. After you angered me and nearly got your face scratched, you've never dared to be so presumptuous to me face to face again."

"And you, Black Mask. Smile all you want. Your medical parole application will be approved in a few days, and you'll be the one who can't smile when you get out."

Before Black Mask and Scarecrow could utter another laugh, the black man continued calmly:

"Who was it that, during a chat last month, remembered that he was out reviewing students' papers and said he'd rather breathe fear gas than do that? It was you, Scarecrow."

"Who was it that was invited on a business trip to Blüdhaven before? Who was it that happily attacked Nightwing and injected him with fear gas? Only for Nightwing to hold his own against it, which only made him even angrier. He got beaten up and sent back from Blüdhaven before he could even stay there for 24 hours? It was you, Scarecrow."

"Who hired Two-Face as legal counsel, and ended up with a quarrel between the two and three personalities, causing protests from others due to disturbing the public? It was you, Black Mask."

"Who gave a prison guard a terrible riddle, only for the guard to not understand it, then announced the answer himself and then angrily stomped his feet in his cell, saying the guard didn't understand his humor? It was you, the Riddler."

"Who's the one who can't pick a lock and asks me for help and advice when escaping a prison? It's you, Killer Croc," said the Riddler, who was sitting at the next table. "Oh man, I never doubted you! After all, your mere appearance is the biggest and most interesting puzzle I've encountered recently, so the moment you showed up, I started solving it!"

With the black man's revelations and the Riddler's testimony, more and more Arkham patients looked at him with surprise and doubt.

They could question the stranger's statement. After all, surveillance was not uncommon in Arkham Asylum, and there was no shortage of mentally ill patients with cognitive problems. But they could not question the Riddler's brain and his obsession with riddles.

Looking again, apart from the appearance and slightly different voice, this stranger is indeed very similar to their old patient Killer Croc in terms of tone, voice and what he knows.

Scarecrow: "Are you really Killer Croc? Where's the crocodile part of you?"

The black man didn't even glance at the scarecrow. He calmly raised his spoon and took a sip of soup. "How should I know? I'm just a scammer after all."

"Scarecrow, what are you afraid of? Looking at Killer Croc's condition, you know he's only had his genes repaired, not brainwashed. You don't have any genetic mutations, so why worry about it?" Two-Face said, "The ones who need to worry are those who have genetic mutations like Killer Croc. We technical professionals don't need to worry."

"How do you know his brain hasn't been repaired? Was he always so good-tempered?" the Scarecrow asked. "Harley Quinn? Where's Harley Quinn? Come and take a look. This is work for you psychiatrists!"

"Killer Croc" didn't even raise his eyelids. He reached out and put the scarecrow's head directly into the breakfast plate, then continued eating.

"No need, I can tell he hasn't been brainwashed." The Scarecrow raised his head and calmly wiped the breakfast crumbs off his face with the cuff of his prison uniform.

Killer Croc wasn't originally known for his violent temper, otherwise he wouldn't have suppressed himself for so many years before going berserk. Much of his volatile nature stemmed from his ancestral instincts, which had grown with his scales, and the rejection he'd endured as a result of his mutation. Now that the strange appearance he hated so much was gone, he was naturally happy.

When people are happy, they tend to be more tolerant of idiots, but there are limits.

Poison Ivy: "Okay Killer Croc... Oh, I can't call you that now. I'll just call you Jones. Who made you like this?"

Like Killer Croc, Poison Ivy becomes a villain because of her genetic condition, but unlike Killer Croc, she rejects her own identity.

On the contrary, she now truly loves her new identity as the mother of plants, and this love will not change even if she is turned back into a human one day.

What was the formula of the plant toxin she injected?

Poison Ivy had already been planning her next prison break, but plans couldn't keep up with changes. Now, due to the sudden change of Killer Croc, all plans had to be redrawn. Especially if she was the next one to be transformed, how would she recover her original abilities?

Of course, it would be better if this risk could be dealt with before being turned into a disaster.

"Whatever, just be the same as usual."

Killer Croc now doesn't care what others call him. In Arkham, people use a mixture of names and code names in fights, but there are no such things in a mental hospital.

Killer Croc finished his meal in a few bites and said, "What I said before was the truth. I don't know how I became like this because I was knocked unconscious. I don't even know who sent me back to Arkham last night. My last memory was fighting a talking dinosaur."

He opened his eyes and saw the scarecrow opposite him, and then he had breakfast.

As for the giant dinosaur's words that could be used as solid evidence, "I'm helping you"... Killer Croc, who no longer dared to hope that he could live like a normal person after becoming an adult, decided to pretend not to hear it.

Anyway, he was unconscious, so it's reasonable that his memory is confused.

Scarecrow said: "You were sent here by Batman. I saw him and the prison guards throw you into the cell last night."

"That's not the point. The point is what he was fighting?" Harley Quinn tilted her head. "Didn't the dinosaurs become extinct a long time ago? Are you sure it's not your relative?"

"Isn't the point that dinosaurs can talk?" Two-Face said, "So, are you sure Killer Croc isn't your relative?"

Riddler: "What is this, a brawl between fellow Triassic residents?"

Someone from the back of the crowd said, "Why not Jurassic?"

Riddler: "Crocodiles and dinosaurs both appeared in the Triassic, and they coexisted together through the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods. So if you were to trace them back, they would be considered Triassic compatriots."

"I don't want to know the family tree of these reptiles." Black Mask slammed the table and said, "There are already enough weirdos in Gotham lately. There was a rumor that a monster that can spray ice and fly ate the Batmobile in public and escaped Batman's hands unscathed. There was also a rumor that there was a plant monster that can use vines to control plants like Poison Ivy. Now you tell me there's a talking dinosaur running around out there? What the hell is going on? I want more information about these monsters!"

Those monsters didn't come to Arkham. The fact that Killer Croc only transformed back into a human without losing any limbs meant that he wasn't a complete lunatic who only cared about destruction. Combined with Batman's appearance, it was very likely that he was on the lawful side. If he couldn't figure out what these new freaks were, what if he got beaten back in just one day after leaving?

A dinosaur that could defeat a fully-fledged Killer Croc without taking any damage must have been overwhelmingly larger, more defensive, and more powerful than him. And while Black Mask might be a powerful mob boss in Gotham, he was undoubtedly a completely ordinary human. That dinosaur could easily have crushed him with a single kick.

So how could such a monster even come to Gotham? It's completely out of character! They should cross the sea and the bridge to Metropolis to find Superman and bond. Maybe they'd discover they're actually fellow aliens.

How could Batman allow such a monster to enter Gotham? Does this mean that Batman is going to start introducing superhumans into Gotham?

…

At lunch, Bruce finally showed up at the table. After finishing his meal, he asked in the tone of a good father to Gotham's baby:

"Children, are you free after lunch?"

"If you're not taking care of the baby." Benjamin pointed his index finger at his head, where a baby ice ghost lay nestled. "I'm sorry, but that's what taking care of a baby is like. Being a parent is hard, isn't it?"

Although Benjamin frowned as he spoke, putting on a regretful expression as if he really wanted to attend Bruce's after-dinner event but couldn't, he didn't actually feel sorry at all, and even had a sense of hope:

As long as I don't have time, not even Batman can find the time to bring up old issues and lecture me.

Jason, who also had a cub on his head, said, "Ditto. Besides, being a godfather is tough too."

Li Hua, whose cub was arguing with his siblings, stretched his stiff neck. "I second that. And not only is a father's love as heavy as a mountain, but a child's love for their father, godfather, is also as heavy as a mountain."

Children in their growth period will grow in weight and height very quickly if they have enough food. Li Hua is sure that if this pace continues and the habits of these ice ghost cubs are followed, Benjamin's shoulders and neck may not be so beautiful when he returns to his own world.

This treatment should be widely acclaimed, but after all, Li Hua is not shooting a life VLOG, so no advertisers can come to him.

"I understand. After all, I'm a parent too," Bruce said. "But I don't think being a parent means losing your own time, right? For example, the card-moving method you suggested to Li Hua can be used to attract children's attention, right?"

"Well……"

Less than 24 hours later, Benjamin was hit by the boomerang of fate he had thrown himself. Before he could come up with a new excuse, Bruce launched the attack.

"I understand. You're worried that the children might act rashly without guardians. Furthermore, ice ghost pups are incredibly mobile. If they're not careful, they could easily run off to a place where their guardians can't see them and rush to them, putting them in danger. Or they could do something that could harm themselves or others. Right?"

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The author has something to say: Could this chapter be called "Dad Competition" again? In the end, the winner is the more experienced father. New fathers still need to practice (bushi)

P.S. A little extra comment on Scarecrow calling Harley Quinn. While Scarecrow is a university professor of psychology, Harley Quinn specializes in psychiatry, two distinct fields. Think of it as one theoretical and one clinical. So, it's fine for him to call Harley Quinn a "her" here; Harley Quinn's expertise is more appropriate in clinical practice.

【Catch the bug three times】