Chapter 38 Guessing? None of them were right.
Osborne Estate.
Harry and Peter had dragged the unconscious old Osborn into the manor's basement and locked him up as Alan had instructed.
The old butler, Bernard, served a cup of hot tea to the weary guests and the young master, showing no concern whatsoever for his imprisoned master.
After Peter locked the equally unconscious copy of 'Matthew' in another room, he looked around with an envious expression.
"Allen is amazing! I had no idea he expanded your basement like this!" It's so good to be rich, unlike him, who can only sneak into abandoned factories or borrow school labs.
Although it's called a basement, it's actually a vast underground laboratory with five levels below ground. The parameter settings and various instruments inside are exactly the same as the one Allen secretly dug out in Broodhaven. It's obvious that it's the result of the labor of robotic workers.
The room was filled with all sorts of experimental instruments, and Peter's eyes lit up as he looked inside.
Harry said generously, "Allen said we can use it as we please. Consider it payment to Spider-Man."
After saying that, he snorted, clearly dissatisfied that Peter had never told him about his other identity.
Peter cheered and rushed toward the control panel.
Old Osborn slowly woke up at that moment. Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, he didn't realize what was going on for a long time.
However, upon seeing Harry, he reflexively blurted out, "Harry Osborn! What are you doing here?"
Upon realizing he was in prison and Bernard was still calmly serving tea to the composed Harry, the old man grew even angrier: "What are you doing! Don't forget that everything in the Osborne family belongs to me! Imprisoning me won't do any good! Wait until I get out..."
"Go call the police?" Harry said sarcastically. "Do you think the Avengers will put you in jail first or the police will arrest me? Is the Sunlight Club fun? How about I bring your colleagues over for some fun too?"
Old Osborn's face turned bright red; he never expected that Harry would find out about him.
He pondered for a moment, then looked at Harry and Peter with a grim expression: "Harry, have you been listening to Alan's nonsense again? Do you know he's a madman, just like Emily! Don't believe him! Peter, you know I've always had high hopes for you, and I believed you wouldn't do anything illegal, right? Don't you care about your studies? And your Aunt May? Let me out, and I'll pretend nothing happened today!"
Harry watched with a mocking expression as Norman first tried to coax them, then threatened and bribed them, until finally he broke down and started hurling insults at them.
Peter turned his head away somewhat awkwardly, unsure of what to say.
In his opinion, today's matter should perhaps be handled by the authorities, as detaining a criminal privately is indeed procedurally illegal. However, they are unaware of how many "copies" like 'Matthew' are lurking around, having been replaced. Rashly handing him over would only alert the enemy and could potentially harm Allen and Dick, who is currently impersonating 'Matthew'.
So they had no choice but to lock Norman Osborn up first, and then have Harry stay at Osborn Manor, pretending that everything was normal.
Norman Osborn also has connections with Luther, so Harry has to help him cover it up.
They would claim that old Osborne's old illness had relapsed, and he was once again bedridden and unable to get up.
The Green Goblin's movements were disguised by Harry and Peter.
“Shut up!” Harry’s gaze toward old Osborn was devoid of warmth. He knew that the old man had also set a trap for him at the board meeting. The old man didn’t care about them at all; he only cared about himself.
Bernard sighed and reminded them, "Young Master Harry, Mr. Parker, it's getting late, it's time for dinner."
Harry nodded, then reached out and pressed a button. Immediately, Norman Osborn's voice was cut off by a metal door that rose from the ground. The prison where the old man was held was encased in layers of metal, ensuring that Norman inside could not hear any noise from the outside and could only rage helplessly.
**
Meanwhile, Allen was sitting in Dick's secret base, admiring Dick's physique while enjoying Dick's oatmeal porridge.
After this dinner, they'll put on a good show, waiting for those willing to take the bait.
Dick adjusted his Daredevil uniform in front of the holographic projection until every detail was exactly the same as the Daredevil in his memory, then turned to look at Allen, "Is this okay?"
Allen looked up and clicked his tongue: "Your ass is so perky. Seriously, has no one ever doubted that you're Nightwing? You guys wear those tight-fitting clothes and your features are so defined. You've been photographed countless times!"
Dick took off the helmet with the devil horns on it, walked over and hugged Allen: "I'm just a lowly policeman."
Allen continued his rant: "Bruce Wayne... I'll remember him, Batman, right? You guys made me determined to dig up the true faces of all the superheroes. Next target is Superman. I'm going to start by investigating the Daily Planet. What do you think?"
Dick paused for a moment, then observed a half-minute of silence for Clark.
He felt that Allen, who was now very vigilant, should be able to find out Clark's identity soon.
Allen continued, "First, let's rule out that reporter Clark Kent from last time who dared to tell the truth. Superman wouldn't be stupid enough to want to steal the spotlight in the news, would he? It probably wouldn't be Lois Lane either... Now it should be Lois Kent, but I guess she's Superman's ex-girlfriend. Wow, reporter Kent's got guts, he broke up Superman and Lois?"
Dick: ...
“…Yes, I also think he might have interfered,” Dick said slowly. “Anything else? Do you have any other suspects?”
Allen stroked his chin, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Since you all hide your identities so well, I imagine other superheroes are the same. I can't consider those overly ordinary possibilities. Maybe there are guys with very contrasting personalities... like a homeless person by day and a mysterious sorcerer by night... Do you think Oliver Queen from Star City might actually be Green Arrow?!"
Dick thought to himself, "You've finally guessed one right."
But the next second, Allen immediately denied it: "No, no, no, impossible. There can't be such an obvious answer, and he has the same character as Bruce Wayne... I know, it must be Malcolm Merlin! I know he was in the League of Assassins, he's rich and a bastard, and he uses arrows too! Damn it, he didn't tell me his real identity, I'm going to call and expose him!"
Dick: ...
He grabbed Allen's hand, and after staring at Allen's indignant expression for three seconds, he sighed in defeat.
Under Allen's bewildered gaze, Dick let out a wail, hugged Allen tightly, and gave him a hard squeeze: "Allen! I think you should honestly tell us who your other friends are!"
Next time they're looking for the identities of villains who like to hide behind the scenes, they won't have to go through so much trouble. They can just check one by one among Allen's friends.
Allen protested loudly, "I have no friends."
Dick: "Yes, yes, you work alone too, right? I understand, no need to explain."
He suspects that Allen is a mutant whose ability is specifically designed to attract superheroes and supervillains.
Allen glared at Dick: "Yes, I never cooperate with anyone, do you have a problem with that?"
Nightwing's expression was serious: "I do, unless you let me kiss you."
**
Meanwhile, Batman and Superman are inside the Batcave, watching various messages scroll across the Batcomputer.
Batman didn't actually stay in Brudhaven for very long. He went there partly to investigate the new type of drug that had been circulating, and partly to see Dick.
But after reading it, he felt even more worried. Dick was dating Alan Osborn, a dangerous man, and it was making him so worried that he was losing clumps of hair. If Alfred hadn't advised him, he probably would have taken Dick back to Gotham that very day to give him a good talking-to.
However, the old butler seemed to have a different opinion: "The children have long since grown up and should have the right to choose their own lives."
Bruce was silent for a moment, then said, "I haven't found out yet."
Everyone knows he was referring to Dick's new boyfriend, Alan.
Alfred sighed: "He's a young man who only has three months to live."
He couldn't even imagine how sad Dick must be right now.
Superman sighed and said, "While I don't know what you're worried about, I'm sure Alan Osborn is a good man."
Batman looked up, glaring at Superman, the meaning in his eyes was self-evident—
How did you manage to get involved with Alan Osborn without my knowledge?! What's going on?
Clark scratched his head somewhat sheepishly and continued, "Do you remember the news I reported on about organ donation and the media frenzy surrounding it? It was after that that I received many tips from Dr. Osborn, who is dedicated to upholding fairness and justice, and even leaked information to me about the black market for organ smuggling and trafficking... He's very brave, and also..."
He thought for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a single word: “Strange. Well, he is indeed strange. He even sent the location of Lex Luthor’s lab to the North Pole. My Lonely Fortress picked up his signal, but I’m willing to believe that he sent it specifically to me.”
Bruce glanced at the innocent and naive reporter and thought, "Well, you're really something. Alan Osborn has already dug up all your secrets and you're still here grinning like an idiot. Aren't you afraid that one day he'll go and tell other reporters about Superman's true identity?"
But it was too late to say all that now. He raised Allen's danger level to another level and began to suspect that Allen's approach to Dick was intentional. He couldn't understand how this had anything to do with Daredevil. He was basically certain of Matthew Murdoch's identity, but could Daredevil also be deceived by Allen?
“So Dr. Osborn is very likely a good person after all,” Clark said.
Bruce went through all the possibilities in his mind, but still felt that the current clues were not enough.
But soon, an alarm sounded in his bat cave.
Constantine's voice suddenly rang out: "Little bat, let me in for a moment! I need to talk to you!"
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