Chapter 95 Arkham Knight

"You helped him," Tim said to Nightwing after they left the rooftop. "I could tell he was actually in a good mood."

"Yeah, but is that my credit? I'm not sure."

Robin: "What was he like when you first met him?"

"Same old. Two bloody holes on his shoulders, and his shirt was torn - probably because he was trying to get his props. Also, the way he looked at everyone was not right. I thought he was angry with me at first, but now that I think about it, the air in the maze might not be that 'clean'."

Tim silently pulled up the records.

"You still have a copy of this?" Dick laughed. "Sometimes you really are like Bruce, Tibbo."

"Just out of habit."

Tim has officially been working for Batman for more than a year. Half a year ago, they would argue about who should be Batman's assistant, but as time went by (and Damian showed up), everyone got used to accepting this result, and Red Hood and Nightwing would even subtly praise his achievements.

"There were traces of some amphetamine compound in the air that I had not seen before. You're right, Dick, he was probably struggling with his hallucinations."

"Then I have to say, he's been hiding it pretty well." Nightwing said, holding his hands out to Robin, "But you see, he never said anything. He's not fighting alone, but his first reaction when he encountered danger was to abandon everyone else. Ha, he said it very nicely, Bludhaven needs you, the Batcave needs you, you do this, you do that, the arrangements are clear, and then - did you turn off your internal communication?"

"It shuts off the moment you say the first word."

"Thank God."

"I know what you mean," Tim said. "He doesn't really treat us as equal teammates."

"Well."

"I mean, he feels the need to teach and discipline us, but we have no obligation to help and repay him."

"Why do you think this is?"

“…”

Tim didn't answer.

But they all understood that this was extremely difficult for everyone.

That means admitting that you have a fear and facing it without pretending.

**

Members of Gotham's court committed suicide.

They did not give Batman and the Justice League a chance to investigate further. Like a pill bug that had seen the light, they hastily retracted their tentacles and hid in deeper darkness. But they did leave coordinates in one of their bases. A matrix composed of Greek numbers was carved on a huge stone slab, and a rubbing of it was brought back to the Batcave.

Outside Wayne Manor, speculation and rumors about the complicated relationship between Bruce Baby and the Justice League are rampant. The physical newspapers can still be controlled, but the online forums are full of blood and gore. There are endless arguments about whether the sponsor slept with the superhero and opened a harem, or whether the superhuman is raising a rich young master. The complicated multi-angle relationship 18X text is widely circulated, which shows that humans are particularly keen on gossip.

While dealing with relevant public opinion, the Batman family members were fortunate enough to come across a mysterious work titled "Young Master Bruce burped and ran towards the butler."

Barbara turned off the phone quickly enough, but Batman's expression...it's still hard to describe.

Maybe it would be easier to accept the plot where the overbearing president Wayne smiles evilly and says to Superman/Wonder Woman/Green Lantern and others: Man/woman, you have attracted my attention.

……perhaps.

I don’t know what the outcome of the Justice League’s crisis public relations meeting was. In fact, no one accused Brother Tan of wasting public resources, and no one said that the members of the Justice League were not doing their jobs.

It's barely effective.

Apart from this little episode, the overall atmosphere inside Wayne Manor was tense.

Two days later, the coordinates left by the court were analyzed by about 30%. Before Moses could study it in depth, the system suddenly warned him: "Are you sure you want to continue?"

Batman paused, frowned, and asked, "What's the problem? Is this a trap?"

"No, in fact, I think this coordinate is indeed very helpful for you to repair the boundary of the universe." The system said, "But it is also very dangerous. Or, it is particularly dangerous to you."

"Then I'll contact Superman or Spider-Man..."

"No, you don't understand me." The system corrected, "To you, I mean it's dangerous to all three of you."

Batman's first reaction was not to ask about the source of the danger, but to deny it: "I can't give this job to anyone else."

System: “I guess so.”

"So what aspect?"

"It's hard for me to say. It involves something beyond my authority that cannot be clearly explained, but you have to know that it is related to the universe before the restart."

Moses immediately remembered that Samantha mentioned that the coordinates of the court were passed down from someone unknown time.

Perhaps this point in time cannot be considered using linear logic.

He asked, "Is it related to Ge Tan?"

System: “Yes.”

The Dark Knight made his final decision: "That's my job."

"...I don't recommend you to solve it by yourself, really." The system's voice was more sincere than ever before. "It's not that I doubt your ability, but I can't provide you with any help in this coordinate. Your body, memory, and spirit may all be affected by this."

——You don’t help much usually.

System: "What rude things are you thinking about?"

"Sorry." Batman said calmly, as if he didn't mean it as a joke. "Is it dangerous to Robin and the others?"

"It's just like any other criminal I encounter. I won't lie to you. It may be a little emotional, but it's definitely better than going it alone."

The young man in front of the computer briefly put down the keyboard and mouse, rested his elbows on the armrest, crossed his fingers, closed his eyes and fell into thought.

After a while, he said, "No."

System: “What?”

"I can't do it." Moses stood up and looked at the dark corner at the end of the cave. He thought he saw his own reflection in it. "I can't let anyone else do this. It has to be me. Only me."

The system knew what Batman meant, that he had tried to convince himself to put aside his responsibilities and be someone who would provide support from the rear until the crisis was resolved, but he couldn't do it.

Just waiting and being prepared to bear the consequences were enough to make him breathless.

"I have more imaginations in my head than the fear gas is willing to show me." Moses finally said calmly, "Let's proceed according to the original plan."

Plan A, usually, means leaving everything to Batman.

"Do I need to hang a sign on you that says 'I came, I saw, I conquered'?"

Needless to say, this solution was unanimously rejected by the family. In addition to the above sarcasm from the Red Hood, Alfred even hinted that he was considering putting Batman's phone in "parent mode" to prevent him from "making irreversible decisions in the heat of the moment."

...This is assuming they don't know the system's language.

Moses reflected on it and felt that his disappearance during the Owl Court incident might have left them with a certain degree of psychological trauma.

But in this matter, the consequences of everyone's free actions are the same!

Don't you feel guilty when you see the superhero fan fiction popping up like mushrooms after rain? !

Headache.

Tim said, "Same old problem, tension headache? Alfred got a hot towel for you, Bruce."

"You need to rest," Dick said immediately, "Your injury is not healed yet."

When did these two people unite again?

Jason glanced at them.

"Don't you think that if you try to solve this problem alone, it will backfire?" He approached from another angle, "At least Damian and I won't listen. You might as well keep everyone under your watch."

Damian: "Hmph. So you gave me a costume just to put in the Batcave as a decoration?"

Moses: “I hope it is.”

Red Hood: "Pfft, I mean, it's immoral."

Damian wanted to jump up and kick him. "Are you an idiot? Where do you stand?"

System: "You can put up a sign in the Batcave. It says 'Bat Family Member, Born Free'."

never mind.

Let’s get back to business.

Moses said, "We can both make some concessions. You choose three people to go with me."

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Jason retorted, "No, either everyone goes together, or no one goes."

The old butler who was listening in had a subtle look on his face: "Excellent splitting tactic, sir, but it seems that Master Todd doesn't buy it."

He got a helpless sigh.

And a guarantee of a safe return.

The day the space-transfer machine was completed was actually a day of silence, without the fanfare that would have accompanied the launch of a great invention.

At the Gotan Café, the three old men had a brief conversation.

Superman said, "I still don't recommend that we conduct the experiment without telling anyone. I mean, how about at least notifying the Justice League?"

Batman: "After I leave, it's up to you."

"You can't always leave this kind of good relationship task to me."

"But you are definitely more suitable than me."

Spider-Man said, "Superman and I both have super powers, and I am more familiar with the parallel universe, so why can't I go?"

"Because the system says that solving problems has nothing to do with strength, the three of us are in equal danger. And because the coordinates are in Gothum, the rejection of the two of you may be even greater. In addition, we must leave people on Earth, which is equally important."

The heroes fell silent.

Because only they know the extent of the danger the system is talking about, and they cannot tell anyone else.

Worst case scenario, even if they died for this, it would not explain the cause and effect.

This is a one-way ticket with no return.

"We will wait for you." Superman said at last, "No matter what happens, don't give up hope, and don't forget to ask for help."

"Okay." Bruce Wayne stood up. "Don't be so serious. Maybe the problem can be easily solved. And there are so many loopholes in the universe. Maybe you will be the next one."

Spider-Man: "I couldn't ask for more."

"Me too."

Just like every ordinary gathering, they parted in a dull manner.

Batman returned to the Batcave, gathered the members, started the machine, and entered the coordinates.

"You still have a chance to regret it now."

He said without looking up.

Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, Robin, and Damian stood behind him, none of them saying a word.

Alfred stood a little further away, with a look of subtle worry between his brows: "Have a safe journey, everyone."

The Gotan rider pressed the starter button.

A bright beam of light enveloped him, and then quickly spread out to the surroundings, enveloping the five people behind him and not stopping.

Robin's voice came: "Wait, what's going on? The energy pattern is not what I expected?!"

"It's the coordinates that are complementing our universe!" Barbara shouted in panic, "This is impossible?! It is consciously screening entrants! I'm trying to intercept the signal but - what the hell is this thing, it can't be stopped!"

No one expected such a turn of events.

This light... I don't know what principle it's based on, but in addition to the original six people, it has added the butler Alfred Pennyworth, and is still advancing towards the entire city, searching for its target like a hungry beast.

It chose Jim Gordon, the police chief of Gotham.

Then it began to circle the city again, passing by Arkham Asylum several times. It seemed to hesitate for a while, but in the end it did not choose any of them, and finally stopped at the edge of the city reluctantly.

Meanwhile, Moses was experiencing a severe headache.

It was much more tormenting than his usual old ailments caused by lack of rest or emotional excitement.

For a moment, the direct neurological pain caused his mind to go blank and he completely lost all control of himself.

The mechanical sound of the system tablet rang in his mind, but it was destined to not get any response from the host.

"Warning - warning - level 3 rejection reaction - high risk. Shallow consciousness protection activated. Advanced memory encryption system activated."

"Operation Codename: Arkham Knight."

"No. VII's deep memory is loading..."

After the loading progress bar reaches 100%, the system sound disappears completely.

Moses opened his eyes.

He didn't know who he was or why he was standing here. But he knew that his name was Bruce Wayne and he was Batman.

The city in front of us is Gotha.

Gotan was waiting for him to save him.