Chapter 136 Chapter 136 [VIP]
It was only after Thanksgiving that Megan heard reports about the Riddler's capture. He was locked up back in Arkham Asylum. She heard that the prison system there was going to be upgraded again because the Riddler had actually tried to attack Bruce Wayne and was arrested on the spot by the GCPD. Although he hadn't caused any actual harm to anyone, he had deeply offended the rich playboy.
Because Edward Nygma is a mentally ill criminal, he can only be punished with imprisonment, so Wayne invested money in Arkham, demanding that the Riddler and other lunatics will never be able to escape from prison again in their lifetime.
A few days passed before Megan saw the Joker again. He was wearing a dark purple suit and the loose windbreaker he had thrown away in the summer was back on, making him look stronger and more oppressive. Although he was still dressed neatly and every detail was taken care of meticulously, there were deep wrinkles between his brows, revealing a hint of boredom and fatigue.
As soon as they met, Megan approached him like a happy little bear, with her arms open. Just as she was about to pounce on him, she suddenly stopped, sniffed him, and looked up and asked, "Dad, you smell strange."
It was a strange, yet familiar smell to Megan, but she couldn't think of what it was specifically. And after just a few minutes, the smell of the clown dissipated. Perhaps her nose had gotten used to it and she had excluded it from her senses.
In response to Megan's question, the clown glanced at her calmly and indifferently. Without answering, he just leaned over and patted her fluffy head before walking inside. "Okay, kid, it's been so long since we last met. Don't you have anything else to say to me?" His voice was dull and he didn't show his usual exaggerated expression when he saw Megan. It was obvious that the things he had been busy with before had encountered setbacks and all his efforts had gone to waste.
He sat on the sofa, leaning back against the backrest, lost in deep thought. Megan also climbed onto the sofa and insisted on sitting next to him. The Joker was used to it, so he pulled out the arm that was squeezed and gently placed it on her shoulder.
The two of them sat so intimately like this, and Megan even lifted her arms and legs and put them on him. She had to sit in such an awkward and laborious manner, not feeling uncomfortable at all. "Dad, why are you unhappy?" She was acting unscrupulously while pretending to be a caring little cotton-padded jacket.
The clown stared down at Megan's movements, forcing a faint smile on his face. He didn't bother to push her away. After all, he knew how annoying this child was, not to mention that children were naturally bold. However, he raised his eyebrows slightly at this question, squinting his eyes meaningfully. "Are you concerned about me, or are you trying to get information for your good friend?"
Don't think he doesn't know what Megan has been doing these days. She gets along well with Robin, and she sold out the idiot Riddler because she didn't like him. It seems to be an act of punishing evil and promoting good, but what is this child thinking?
Seeing her friends have ideals and goals, busy fighting criminals all day long, she follows suit and wants to be on the side of justice?
The Joker knew how powerful the subtle influence was, and he had gained too much experience with Megan, so he was inevitably curious about this question -
Will the child he raised go against him? And when will Megan develop her own ideals and aspirations? What direction does she want to go, or what does she want to achieve? The Joker pays attention to Megan's daily behavior, and now that the time is right, he asks directly.
As for whether Megan would lie to him, or whether she wanted to abandon him from now on...
He patted Megan's back gently and said with a smile: "Don't be too nervous, do you still need to think about this question?"
"I care about my dad." Megan shook her head and answered directly, but she looked up at the clown with a strange expression. Why did her dad care so much about this issue?
Children's cognition is inherently limited, not to mention... under the Joker's instructions, no one has rigorously and completely taught Megan the concept of good and evil. As for the information that naturally flows to her from textbooks, books, television media and other channels, as well as the experiences she gains in daily life, she can absorb it however she wants. The Joker raised her for fun, and this kind of social experiment was carried out by the way.
The Joker looked at Megan carefully with strange green eyes. You know, people's thoughts are uncontrollable, but their behaviors can be disguised. He is not sure which type Megan is. Even when she was in Arkham, the Joker always thought she had no brains, but at that time she had just given birth to herself and had no social experience. Naturally, she was clumsy and at a loss, but now everything is different.
Megan's self-expression, with more ideas and changes, if she is influenced by those precocious teenagers who are addicted to love at school, will she follow suit?
Choosing Robin, the boy who played well with her, mistaking that little friendship for ridiculous 'love', and imitating Romeo and Juliet, would make him dissatisfied and furious.
Seeing the risks, the Joker naturally wanted to eliminate those small accidents that might happen and would not wait until something happened before taking action. Sometimes he disguised himself as Arthur Damon and worked in the factory. He listened to their risk management and met a product manager, from whom he gained a lot of valuable experience.
The Joker lowered his head to meet Megan's curious gaze, a faint smile on his face, unmoved, "Okay, then I'll take this as your concern for me." He said it very reluctantly.
Megan has been in school for almost a full semester. The final exams will be held at the end of this month, and then the long New Year holiday will come. Not to mention the arrangements for that time, Megan is surrounded by so many peers and no longer resists stress. In such a very "normal" environment, will she really not have other thoughts?
The clown was skeptical, but didn't delve too deeply into it. He patted Megan's back soothingly. However, the child still wanted to make a fuss and refused to give up. He opened his mouth and said, "Dad, you are bad."
But how had he treated her badly? He rescued her, raised her, and sent her to school. He said she wasn't allowed to play with Robin, but he didn't discipline her too strictly. He let her do whatever she wanted.
The clown had given her all his patience and tolerance, so why wasn't she satisfied and still wanted more? This clown was more reserved. He didn't like to make exaggerated expressions, and he didn't even like to laugh. He would pretend sometimes, after all, because that's how clowns are. When they are immersed in the drama, they will sincerely act in accordance with the role.
"Why do you say that?" He even suppressed his emotions and asked calmly.
His child opened her arms and hugged him like a koala. She said, "Dad, you didn't even ask me." Then she snuggled up to him and didn't move.
The child seemed to be in autism, but the clown knew her better than she knew herself. He simply lifted her chin with his other hand and found that the child did not look aggrieved at all, but just a little angry.
So he smiled indulgently and said, "Well, my child, how have you been lately?"
Megan was easy to coax. As long as the clown did what she said and did it to her liking, she would be the most sweet and well-behaved child. She would immediately perk up and enthusiastically talk about her experiences and feelings. Although her words were just childish, the clown listened but didn't care much.
But in the end, Megan asked the question again, "Dad, why are you unhappy?"
The clown fell into deep thought, and slowly spoke to her strange and puzzling words, "That's a tedious undertaking. I need a successor, and we need fresh blood to join us. I've tried countless times over the years, but the chances of success are pitifully slim..."
Megan gradually tilted her head. This was the direct consequence of her failure to do a good job of socialization training. She had obvious movement characteristics, was accustomed to expressing herself with her body, was easily exposed to emotions, lacked a sense of security, was overly dependent on specific goals, and was indifferent and unconcerned with most other people. She was unable to take the initiative in dealing with interpersonal relationships and establishing new social relationships, etc. These problems seemed serious, but if they were not corrected, they would not affect her daily life.
She reached out to grab the end of her braid, and after grabbing it, she tugged at it with both hands, saying, "Don't you understand?"
The Joker patted her back gently and said, "This has nothing to do with you, Megan. I know it will fail, but we have to experiment repeatedly to find out where the problem lies, and then we will continue to improve it." There is no end to this cause, no matter in the past, present or future.
…
After the Joker came to see the children he cared about, he disappeared again, perhaps pretending to be Arthur Damon, perhaps being locked up back in Arkham by Batman, or perhaps being busy with other things.
Time quickly came to the end of December. Due to its geographical location, Gotham has a mild continental climate, so the winter temperature is not very cold, but you still need to wear a jacket or down jacket. Some people with good physiques still wear single clothes, or just add a coat. Even if they don't exercise, they still exude heat and look elegant.
Megan had caught a cold before, and Bob, who took care of her, kept a close eye on her and didn't allow her to dress thinly like other people. But Megan never tried that... She was a little afraid of the cold.
The air conditioner and heater in the small building are on all the time, and there are plush carpets everywhere. Megan still likes to sit on the floor, especially wearing not-too-thick home clothes and running around the house with only a pair of socks on her feet, because she feels very free and can lie down anywhere when she is tired of playing.
In the winter, Megan stopped running at night and instead exercised on the treadmill. She only went to Richard's place when the weather was good, and continued to meditate and practice Tai Chi.
Megan had been Richard's student for almost six months. On the last weekend of the semester, after meditating with Richard in the practice room, the mature and reliable mentor asked her, "Did you learn anything?"
Because she liked plush carpets and felt that bare floors were cold in winter, the club where Richard stayed also laid carpets according to her wishes. Megan got up and moved around, but when she was jumping around, she suddenly slipped -
The disadvantage of carpet is that the fur is too smooth and you may slip occasionally if you are not careful. The advantage is that the fur is warm and soft, and you won’t feel any pain if you fall on it.
Megan fell flat on her face and simply lay there, raised her hands and swung her feet. It had the same effect anyway, so she was too lazy to get up. She tilted her head and thought for a while, "My brain doesn't know." Little Bear knew, but Little Bear couldn't say it, so it was his brain that didn't know.
Richard smiled generously and changed the subject. "Your course ends this year. What are your plans for next year?"
It is obvious that he will not ignore Megan's wishes just because she is a child and has little knowledge. If Megan has her own plans, he will gladly accept them, carefully analyze the feasibility for her, and help her make perfect arrangements; and if Megan has no plans, he will state his proposal and there will be other options for her to choose from.
But the question remains, how long does the Joker want him to teach Megan?
Megan shook her head and said bluntly, "I don't know." This was different from what she said before that she didn't know what was going on.
Putting the two questions together creates a contrast. When stuck on one question, one turns to thinking about the other. Extending her thinking a little, Megan seems to know how to answer the first question, "The benefit is that I'm getting healthier, and I can also climb scaffolds."
Richard nodded slightly and said, "At first I thought you had almost no talent for martial arts, but if you want to learn, you can try following me."
Richard said this to the Joker at the beginning because he wanted him to give up. Because people who have no talent for martial arts must go through rigorous training if they want to learn martial arts, otherwise the mere appearance of martial arts will not be of any use. If the Joker wanted him to train this child into a warrior, that would be impossible.
But the Joker's only request was for her to become healthy. Richard also wanted to know what his purpose was, so he agreed. However, in the past six months, the Joker did not urge her progress at all, and it seemed that there was really no additional requirement. Moreover, when he first met Megan, her physique was not suitable for immediate intensive training, and she could not complete any physical exercise with a little intensity.
But now, seeing that Megan's physical fitness has improved a little, maybe we can try a few more times.
Megan jumped up upon hearing this and demonstrated to Richard what Robin sometimes did in front of her, and asked, "Can I do this or this?" Robin's movements were super cool!
Richard shook his head, carefully considering his words, "Maybe not. Just follow me and practice boxing."
The author has something to say:
Because my mental state is not very good and I have severe anxiety, I have to take leave from time to time. I apologize to everyone~
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