Chapter 177 Chapter 177 [VIP]
Megan brought back a new puppet, and she didn't hide it from the Joker at all. When he asked, Megan picked up the new puppet and showed it off to him.
"Look, this is what Pami made for me." The child was very excited and happy.
The clown glanced at her and said nothing to dampen her spirits. Who could match her skill at picking up trash? She always liked to bring back a mess of random things. He casually said, "Yes, this is Poison Ivy's gift for you. Do you want to add it to your collection?"
However, to his surprise, Megan shook her head and said, "No, Dad, I'm going to keep what you made for me and then show them the one Pammy gave me." She was still as stingy as ever, but now she was obviously more lively and wanted to show off the gifts she received.
"Okay, then go out and play by yourself," the clown said indifferently. A moment later, he noticed a furry head beside him. He raised an eyebrow slightly. Seeing that what he was doing was being interrupted, he put a hand on her head and forced her to turn around. His tone was slightly impatient, "If you are still my dear child, don't bother me so much."
Megan still didn't give up. Even after being pushed aside, she still peeked out and said, "Dad, you always say one thing and mean another." Then she walked out the door by herself. As she left, she still felt that he was mean and kicked the door again.
In fact, she was bluffing. After she walked out, she started to jog, fearing that she would be caught by the clown. If she was caught, she would have to play dumb and say it was a "joke".
clown:?
In the Arkham High Danger Zone, most people have seen the puppet that Poison Ivy gave to Megan. Even the Penguin, who just met her while taking a walk, was forced to observe the gift and praised it against his will: "It's a nice gift." After all, it was just to coax a child. If Poison Ivy was in front of him, would he still treat her so gently?
What's so good about a little wooden thing?
Seeing that Megan did not leave immediately after taking back the puppet, he took her for a walk and suddenly noticed the child's stature.
Penguin was fat and short, which had always been a sore point for him. However, seeing that Megan had barely grown in height over the years, he couldn't help but frown. "Did that lunatic mistreat your diet? Or has he finally revealed some ugly habit and drugged you?"
Cobblepot is from an old family after all. Even if the Penguin chose to commit crimes and worked tirelessly to seize wealth through financial trade and gangster means, his plots were sabotaged from time to time and he was sent to prison, but his family wealth was still there. He also knew the special habits of some bad people in the upper class. They liked children, used drugs to control others, and then brainwashed and abused them. He never disdained those things, but he knew how unscrupulous those beasts were.
Now that he sees Megan's slow development, he can't help but suspect the Joker. Mainly because this madman not only has poisons like nitrous oxide that damage the brain nerves, but also another stronger virus that only a few people have seen. It is said that it can turn people into his puppets. The Joker's understanding of neurology and pharmacology is definitely higher than that of the Scarecrow, so it is not surprising that he has developed drugs for other uses.
The Penguin has some intelligence channels and knows that his fellow inmates have hidden skills that they are unwilling to reveal, including himself. And if the Joker is a bad person...
His face instantly darkened, and even his steps stopped. Megan, who was standing next to him, had no idea what he was thinking, and asked curiously, "What's wrong, Os?"
The Penguin felt that his guess was too ugly to be told to children, but Megan answered his question, "Dad didn't treat me harshly? I was malnourished when I was a child, and the psychologist also said that I would grow slower than other children, um."
She said, "I take medicine. If I don't, my head will feel heavy and painful." She can still recall the dull and painful experience, as if she was standing at the bottom of the deep sea, with the weight of the sea water pressing on her body. Water was constantly flowing out of her body, and the external water was all trying to squeeze in. However, at this time she was no longer confused.
Her eyes lit up when she talked about the clown.
Although Megan gave an explanation, the Penguin didn't really believe in the Joker's morals and bottom line, but he held back and suddenly remembered the time he saw Robin knock down his men and take Megan away. He looked around first to make sure there was no one else before changing the subject and speaking in a low voice, "Does the Joker know that you and Robin are friends?" Although he had already had such a guess, he still needed to confirm it.
To be honest, the fact that these two kids played together and seemed to have a good relationship made Penguin wary of the clown.
What good method has he come up with to torture Batman, Robin, and this child who does not yet know the difference between good and evil and has never participated in any crime? When will the Joker reveal the truth? Through this small incident, he will undoubtedly be able to leverage more and start more crazy and evil plans, dragging everything into a vortex of chaos.
The Penguin never underestimated this madman, even if he thought about it a little more. He might not care about what would happen to Megan after she lost her value to the Joker, but what about him? His business, his gang, what kind of benefits he could gain, or would he suffer losses due to it? This was what he considered important.
He couldn't help but frown deeply when he thought of all these things, and the expression on his fat, crowded face became even more ferocious. However, when he came to his senses and saw the carefree child next to him, he pounded his cane, using the sound to attract Megan's attention, and asked in a deep voice, "Meghan, what is your father's attitude towards your friend?"
Megan didn't understand why he was acting so seriously, so she tilted her head and replied, "Dad knew. He didn't let me play with Robin, but later he just didn't care." She didn't mention that she had imitated Robin and punched her father, so it sounded like the Joker had some sort of plan.
Maybe the Joker really planned a conspiracy, but now is not the time to implement it. At least let the Penguin put his mind at ease, then he will have nothing to say to this child. After the walk, before leaving, he took out some well-packaged snacks from his coat pocket and stuffed them directly into Megan's hands.
The Penguin Man went straight back to his cell. On the way, someone saw him with a long face and a bad temper. He didn't know who had provoked him. When the person opened his mouth to try to greet him, the Penguin Man took out a pen from his pocket and said, "Get away from me, kid." The pen tip was pointing steadily at the other person, obviously not giving the pen to someone out of kindness.
…
Megan has a lot of friends in Arkham. She looks for this one today, that one tomorrow, and two days later she is seen following Bane.
Bane led her in stretching and meditation. His cell was extremely empty, but there was a brown stuffed teddy bear on the shelf. When they both came out of meditation, they still sat cross-legged on the ground.
Bane suddenly spoke, "I feel your thoughts and your spirit sprouting..."
"But now you've noticed the prison door that's trapped you. What are you going to do, Megan?" He asked calmly and steadily, turning his head to look at her, his eyes seeming to see through her to the trapped soul within. "You're hesitant and confused, but I think you're not ready to give up at all, are you?"
As a bystander, he had already made a conclusion, but looking at Megan, she still looked ignorant. She looked at Bain, then turned her head to look at the floor tiles in front of her, but her eyes were empty and had no focus at all.
"I don't know?" Megan spoke after a long while.
She couldn't figure out what was going on in her head. They were about to turn her into a dandelion, as if everything would be blown away and completely leave her if there was any wind.
"I have a direction and goal, but what if..." She couldn't clearly explain her direction and goal, nor could she explain the if, but she was a little timid and wanted to seek help from the reliable adults around her.
Megan felt a little tired of sitting cross-legged, so she stretched her legs straight and supported her arms at her sides, trying to find the most comfortable posture for her. This was all subconscious behavior. She herself could not notice it or analyze it, but Bain saw it. He knew that people always get lost and need help from the outside world.
Then why should he help her?
——Because Bain had already blessed her. He appreciated every tenacious life and strong soul. He had seen her stubbornness and demands a long time ago. In the end, she did not die young, but grew up from the cracks of the world.
Bain wasn't going to help her clarify her ideals now, as that would only make things worse. So he asked in a guiding tone, "Do you think that would put you in danger?"
When asked this question, the chaotic thoughts in Megan's head seemed to become clearer. She shook her head and heard Bain ask again: "Will it hurt other people?"
Bain discovered a problem the moment he saw her again. Given the child's dependence on the clown, if she had any doubts, the first person she would turn to would undoubtedly be the clown. However, she didn't. Instead, she was confused herself and expressed these doubts to him, which also explained one thing:
Everything Megan thinks about may not be possible to put in front of the Joker at all. There may be huge differences and contradictions between them. Even if Megan has not yet formed a clear understanding of this, her subconscious mind knows that she should not reveal it to the Joker, so she needs to ask others for help.
He thought quietly, but raised one hand and placed it gently on Megan's shoulder, "You don't want to hurt others, and based on this, your direction and goals are born." He was about to grasp the core, but stopped.
Megan sensed his comfort and pondered for a while before saying, "I still don't know...but should I sort it out first? Then tell Dad."
"What if he doesn't want to?" Bane asked. Beneath his rugged exterior, he was worried about the child. If the Joker got angry, how would he treat Megan? Could that little bit of hypocritical affection curb the Joker's mad malice? All of this was unknown and fraught with great risk.
But at this time, Megan was fearless and said with high spirits: "Then I have two more wishes. I will ask my father for one more-"
She can exchange it for an unconditional wish.
"You don't think the Joker will blame you for not wanting to commit a crime, do you?" he asked softly, but saw Megan nod affirmatively.
Megan said: "Daddy won't abandon me just because I can't or don't do something." In her opinion, being abandoned is the biggest punishment, and nothing worse will happen than this. She has never been abused by a clown, so she can say such naive and childish words.
Bane didn't ask what she would do if the Joker forced her, because Megan obviously never thought about it that way. In the short one or two years after she regained consciousness, the person she was closest to and trusted was only the Joker, and she felt at ease because she was under control. She asked for it carefully, and was proven to be "loved" time and time again. At that time, Megan had not found the anchor of Little Bear, and the only person she could hold on to and rely on was the Joker.
At the end of her memories, when she was stimulated to come out into this terrible world for the first time, the person she faced was the Joker. There was no kindness in his eyes, but he was full of interest, watching her to see how she could recover and what she would become.
The Joker had paid a lot, spending his time and energy, accompanying her, and protecting her, but he just wanted her to wake up, so when she really came, he said in a serious and hoarse voice: "...Dad."
From that time on, Megan believed that even if a steady stream of water flowed out of her body, there would definitely be other sources of water to replenish her, and the end of that source of water was undoubtedly the Joker. She chose to believe him, so she was willing to wake up.
Then Megan is also willing to bear the consequences of their "little disagreement", and she is always willing to believe that her father will compromise with her again.
The author has something to say:
A chapter that's a bit messy and a bit of a failure? But I have no idea how to fix it.
It begins to lay the groundwork for Megan's ideal, but it will take some chapters to write → Next is Jason's birthday, and he invites Mei to Wayne Manor.
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