Chapter 197 [Extra] Diverse Travel · Five [Extra]
As Batman finished speaking, a vague voice came from the other side of the underground cave. When he and Red Hood looked over alertly, they found that it was Arthur leading Megan in the Batcave. The child had changed into a nightgown and slippers, and her hair was loose. It was obvious that she was going to sleep, but was brought to this place by her parents for an "exploration".
And how familiar is Arthur with this place?
He was walking at a leisurely pace, accompanied by a child, so Megan wouldn't lose track. They hadn't set off an alarm. He used a half-length branch as a cane and pointed at the giant models of the Batcave. "Look, these collections are exactly the same as my old friend's."
There are huge mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex, giant coins, and giant Joker cards, all of which are worth seeing. Megan was no longer sleepy when she saw the Tyrannosaurus Rex, and her eyes were wide open. The fortifications in the Batcave were built on multiple floors, and they were on a middle floor, so they couldn't get close to the Tyrannosaurus Rex and could only watch from a distance.
Arthur took Megan to the elevator, skillfully set the target level, and then waited for the platform to rise. They stood on the elevator together and soon arrived at where Batman and Red Hood were. On the way, they passed by a display case. Unlike the uniforms of the previous Bat-family vigilantes they had passed by before, there was a blood-stained Robin uniform inside. Anyone who saw it would understand that it must have a special meaning.
He stood in front of the glass display case, chuckled and said, "I guess this is Jason's relic." However, his tone was not very friendly, and he commented directly in front of the two eyewitnesses.
"Alas," he sighed inexplicably, and as he lowered his head and saw the label under the display case, he couldn't help but say to Megan beside him: "I told you not to play with Robin, look at his height--"
"He's only 1.4 meters tall after a year! Oh my god, be careful he doesn't infect you with his growth retardation virus!"
This is simply alarmist. Is there any virus in the world that can prevent people from growing tall and is also contagious?
Megan felt that her father said something very offensive, so she didn't even gather her strength and directly raised her leg to kick Arthur. The upright little bear yelled, "You are not allowed to say such things!" She felt angry when she heard it!
Just as Black Marshmallow was about to get angry, Arthur leaned over and touched the top of his head. He felt so helpless. He hadn't even attacked Robin from his own world yet, but when he came here and just made a comment, he was beaten up by this kid. She didn't stand by him at all and only protected her good friend. So what was he?
Just because someone is considered close and trustworthy, does that mean you can just lose your temper with them? What's the logic behind this?
"But I will face off against Robin in the future. He will help Batgirl, and I still have a lot of things I want to do. Who will you side with when the conflict breaks out?" He asked this. Megan was patted on the head and looked at him quietly. Her eyebrows were as clear as ever, and her emerald green eyes were still clear and bright. She would never let herself fall into complicated and bad emotions.
She said, "Then I want both. You are my father and he is my friend."
These two relationships are different. The conflict between them lies in their stance. One is tirelessly committing crimes, and the other is engaged in the cause of fighting crime. They are at different ends, and Megan chooses to have both. Then why does she think that different stances will not cause conflicts?
Because she has realized that she is the 'subject'.
Megan wanted to hold on to everything she had gained. Just as the Joker had long seen, she became overbearing and willful. Since the Joker was on her side, she could naturally ask him to give in a little. But she never asked what the Joker would do when he encountered Batman and Robin during his crimes...
She stood on tiptoe to touch her cheek to Arthur's, gazing at him with the same focused and serious eyes as always, "I will never leave you, Dad."
"I'm not a fighter in Gotham, and I don't quite understand your struggle. In the news, you escaped from Arkham, and when your conspiracy was thwarted, you were locked up again, and then one day you got out again. Many people in Arkham are like this." They are played out over and over again, starting when Megan was still unconscious, and they will continue.
The Dark Knight who guards Gotham, Harvey Dent, once known as the 'Bright Knight', and the good sheriff James Gordon in the GCPD, have all worked hard to improve the environment in Gotham. When Harvey became Two-Face, the remaining two are still holding on, but things that these adults have not been able to handle cannot be handed over to a child like her.
Megan has always understood that as she gradually gained understanding and saw more things beyond the surface, she would become more aware of her own abilities and what kind of person her father was.
"But you promised to help me fulfill my wish. It's still in preparation, but after this holiday, we will try to make it come true. If I'm lucky, it will continue."
"It is my wish, one of the many proofs that you love me."
"Dad, I will never be separated from you." She looked at the man in front of her who loved her very much, and at a very young age, she made an extremely firm promise of "forever".
Arthur lowered his eyes and looked at her. Under the disguise of the role of a good father, he burst into laughter uncontrollably. The expression on his face suddenly became ferocious and terrifying, and the corners of his mouth were almost pulled to his ears. It was such a scary look, but Megan had long been accustomed to it and had never been afraid of him. When Arthur squatted down, she squeezed herself into his arms and hugged him with great peace of mind.
Batman and Red Hood, who were nearly enraged by the scene, had just witnessed a father-daughter confrontation, a near-enemy reconciliation, and a playful reassurance. Could the Joker they knew so well be so easily fooled? However, Megan calmed him down with just a few words, expressing her love for the Joker openly. And there was a key point in her story:
'Meghan's wishes' had apparently caused divisions between them.
She made her own choice, and the Joker condoned her stance, which was completely different from his own, and even helped her complete it.
Red Hood tilted his head to Batman and said: Familiar? Although it is a unique family drama played by a father and daughter with unexpected identities, does it feel familiar?
Even though the Red Hood was wearing a cold helmet that showed no emotional response, Batman understood his intention of laughing at the good show because of the tacit understanding they had developed over the years of companionship and fighting side by side, and was silent for a moment.
In the end, it was Arthur who took the initiative to break the deadlock. He patted the child on the back, let her go, stood up, and said jokingly, "Hey, Megan, although we are not welcome and have come uninvited, but since we are here, let's see what the couple in front of us are busy with."
He had just mocked the second generation Robin, but considering that they would not fight here in front of the children and could only use words, he restrained himself a little, but was not too polite, and shifted his attention to the big screen.
Batman made no move, but Red Hood tried to hide this fact, but he was too late.
Arthur had already seen it, and he didn't stop Megan next to him from looking.
He saw the many search criteria and corresponding results behind the death certificate, and then carefully examined the old and yellowed report.
Megan West, eight years old, was about the same height as when the clown picked her up, but weighed less. As for her cause of death? Suffering from mental illness, she ran away from home and disappeared. Police eventually found her body, and the autopsy report stated she died of shock.
His final assessment was: "Should we say you are lucky or unlucky in this world? She died just as you wished, before she had the chance to encounter anything worse."
The best detective in the world is here, and he undoubtedly heard that when the clown picked up his child, she was in a similar situation, but the clown took her back, so she survived, and the fate of both of them was greatly changed.
Megan Damon survived, while Megan West, who did not encounter the Joker, died.
Who wouldn't find this conclusion hilarious and ironic? The Joker saved a child, raised her to a form that no one could believe, cured her, allowed her to experience everything that symbolized "goodness," gave her an ordinary life, and provided her with a sufficient sense of security and love...
This is something that is almost impossible for the Joker to exist.
No matter what his original purpose was, he accomplished something that countless clowns in the multiverse could not have done and accomplished.
Megan also looked up at the big screen, still trying to understand. Perhaps she understood, and said a little blankly: "Then in this world, my mother's child is dead."
She was a little sad, very sad, and all of it turned into tears flowing out of her eyes. For a moment, she was crying like the child whose mother had died, who was moved around by relatives, mistreated, and finally abandoned.
Her condition was not always as bad as when she was picked up by the clown. In the past when she was lost, under her mother's careful care, she got better as she grew up. Her mother called her "Little Bear". When her mother came home, she would follow her like a little tail, looking at her mother seriously and attentively, or looking at the apron strings hanging behind her. Sometimes she would deliberately stay still when her mother turned around and gently bump into her legs.
How could a mother not know what problems and changes her child has? But this is a little game between them, the best comfort she gets after a tiring and busy day at work. Whenever this happens, she will pick up the bear, rub her cheek with it, hold her hand and play with her.
Megan was a child whom her mother loved very much, so she became so sick that she almost died after losing her mother and her home. She was extremely afraid of the outside world, and even more afraid of the world without her mother, not to mention that she was taken care of tenderly by her mother before, but the people who came after her were not good.
The world her mother had opened up suddenly slammed shut. Even though her mother held her hand and gave her many instructions when she was seriously ill, she only remembered the word "death". Because her mother was taken away by death, she chased after her, wanting to rush to her mother's side, because only there was no pain.
The displacement she encountered later, her fear of the outside world, the pain of losing everything... these too many things closed her soul, making her only world of her own even more desolate and dead. These blows and injuries made her mental state worse, and she lost everything she once had. Even now, she only occasionally recalls some fragmented images.
…
She stood there breathing very softly, tears falling uncontrollably. Seeing her crying pitifully, Batman opened a pack of tissues and handed it to her, which was taken by Arthur.
He didn't care what the old friend's mood and feelings were. He couldn't do anything with the child. He took out a tissue and wiped Megan's face patiently and carefully. She also raised her face to cooperate.
But Megan didn't speak for a long time. When she slowly stopped sobbing, the last few tears that flowed out were gently wiped away by Arthur's fingertips. Because her nose was blocked, she said muffledly: "Then the mother in this world will be so sad." She cried twice in one day and looked a little depressed.
Arthur once said that she was grown up and should no longer be held or carried by adults, but before she opened her arms to ask for comfort, he took the initiative to pick her up. Even though Megan had grown a little compared to the last time he picked her up, she was still far from being a burden. He could still support her with just one arm, and patted her back comfortingly with the other hand.
Megan hugged his neck tightly, resting her chin on his neck, and said, "I feel a little sad and miss my mother a little."
"Dad, the mom in this world is with the little bear, but I still want to be with you."
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