Chapter 30 Chapter 30
Megan didn't say anything on the phone, but fortunately the adults were patient and had plenty of time, and finally the scarecrow heard her slow "wooo".
She has no energy and no meaning. She is always stingy with expression. But if you really dig deeper, it is because she lacks self-awareness, and then there are a series of cognitive, thinking and logical problems. It will not be cured in a short time.
Scarecrow wasn't surprised by her "wooo" sound. He'd been there a few days before and witnessed it firsthand! He'd known about it much earlier than the Joker. Megan wasn't in good shape after her first vocalization. That was when she went back to perform her newfound wooo for her dad, and the praise gave her courage.
As a psychology professor, he could figure out the key points with just his little finger.
As for the child being able to vocalize but not wanting to talk? Having never heard her voice before, they thought it might be aphasia caused by brain damage. Since then, they've assumed she was just autistic. However, her condition is clearly improving, and it's only a matter of time before she starts talking.
After thinking about many things for a moment, the Scarecrow came to his senses and relayed the child's "Woo" to the clown as he had said.
He said, "Your daughter misses you and was saying you left her. She was so scared she was crying. Now she finally got a call and she immediately said she wants to see you. She can't wait."
She just opens her mouth and says a string of nonsense. They all know whether Megan can and will express so many meanings, but that doesn't stop Scarecrow from talking nonsense and adding fuel to the fire. Besides, what did he say wrong?
The Joker has taken care of Megan for more than half a year, except for the time when he beat the child, and her dependence on this good father in daily life is obvious. Now that the father and daughter are separated, Megan will be very uncomfortable, right?
Scarecrow also had good intentions, wanting his sick daughter to see her father and not let her hide and cry. What if Killer Croc knew about this and wanted to attack the Joker? Then he would lose a partner.
The tall, thin man next to him, wearing a rose-red suit and a top hat, looked gentle and refined, with a cane in his hand. He raised an eyebrow when he heard the words, but he didn't pay attention to the scarecrow's nonsense. Instead, he smiled in surprise and said, "You said she missed me? Okay, then bring Megan over!"
He was truly insane, saying something so crazy. You know, the two of them had kidnapped the mayor, and the news had already spread throughout the city, and Batman was looking for them! And now the Joker wanted to take Megan to him...
Did he think it was time to reap the rewards of his Meghan-fueled fun, or did he have other plans?
Before the Scarecrow spoke, he didn't expect the Clown to answer like that. He had a gas bottle slung over his body and a scarecrow mask on his head, with only his eyes and the mouth that was torn open and sewn shut showing. It was difficult to tell his specific emotions from these two parts.
There were only the two of them and a person who had been controlled by the poison gas. The Scarecrow stared at the clown for a while. He shouldn't care so much. After retracting his gaze, he chuckled and said, "Okay, I haven't seen Megan for several days." A gloomy look flashed across his eyes.
So Nelson brought Megan over. Megan was an obedient child who never ran around. She followed quietly all the way and only looked around curiously.
She couldn't express herself, but when she saw the clown, her eyes widened noticeably and she became a little more lively. She moved her short legs around, and when she finally stopped, she pressed herself against the clown, resting her head on his legs and didn't move.
This was already a sign of dependence, and the target was the clown. Seeing her stupid look, not knowing who the real dangerous person was, the Scarecrow couldn't bear to watch and simply looked away.
The clown who was attached to her was already used to it, but he hadn't seen her for a few days and didn't know if his puppet had changed at all. He bent down, pinched Megan's chin and lifted her head up, and saw that there was no emotion in her eyebrows, her eyes were wide open, staring at him without blinking.
But when she looked into his eyes, she squinted a little uncomfortably, and because her eyes blinked rapidly and uncontrollably, the clown understood something.
The Joker was deeply surprised, but he didn't show his enthusiasm. He was still waiting to see if Megan would show anything else. She: "...Woo."
It was very strenuous for Megan to look up at him. Her neck was stretched, making it difficult for her to speak. Her voice was soft and a little muffled. Finally, she could not hold on any longer and lowered her eyes, putting the weight of her head on the clown's hand.
The clown weighed the not-so-heavy head in his hand, and a meaningful smile appeared on his pale face. "We've only been apart for a few days, Megan? You miss me so much already?"
His lowered voice was low and eerie. He bent down again, his strange green eyes fixed on Megan, but he could not see any meaning from her face. Only her breath fell on the palm of his hand, which could be sensed even through a layer of leather gloves.
Well, it was still that stupid kid who had no idea what fear was. He patted Megan's cheek and let her go, but Nelson got some information and walked over to the clown and said something to him.
The always exaggerated and ferocious expression on the Joker's face changed slightly, becoming more real, happy, yet even more terrifying. He laughed and said to the Scarecrow, "The GCPD is coming here, so he will be here soon."
They all knew who 'he' was, and it was for that person that they prepared all this! But once he came, the whole situation would be different, and there would be no distraction for Megan, so she should leave now.
After all, the clown didn't want to scrap or consume her right away as the Scarecrow thought. He was always patient and remembered to say goodbye to her properly, even though he might go to see her tonight.
"Okay Megan, go out with Nelson now, and you'll see me later in the evening."
After this quick encounter, the Scarecrow watched the Joker's men and Megan leave, then tilted his head and asked the Joker in disbelief: "So you really do have a father-daughter relationship?" You could hear his doubt in his tone, but in fact he was telling this as a joke.
While he was speaking, he subconsciously adjusted the gas bottle on his body. Only he knew what he meant by the question.
The clown noticed these details from the corner of his eye and gave him a smile that was mixed with madness and distortion. He turned his gaze to the mayor who was still in fear and said, "I'll leave a gift for them at the door and then proceed according to the plan."
…
Nelson took Megan back to the two-story building. Before leaving, he looked in a certain direction, but did not go to find out. Instead, he drove away directly.
In the corner where he was looking, a blond man held a live falcon on his arm. He pressed the communicator to his ear, transmitting information to someone who was not there. "She's just a little girl. She doesn't look unusual at all. It doesn't matter if we capture her, but I was discovered by that driver."
The person opposite said in a deep voice, "Don't worry about it. Look elsewhere. Batman is about to take action."
The blond man had no complaints and set off directly after agreeing. He was quick and agile, and with a falcon flying in the sky acting as his eyes, he knew where he was going and which target he was chasing. Even if the target was their leader's, these followers were like this and would never question or disobey.
On the other end of the line, a man in a makeshift base, his physique nearly inhuman, cracked his neck and wrists, muttering to himself, "Clown, Scarecrow..."
"If I'm curious, then everything I want should be satisfied, just because this is Gotham."
"—my promised land."
He also had some kind of premonition that told him he should go and take a look, so he set off.
Megan sat on the carpet in the living room, holding Yellow Bob in her hand. Next to her was the chubby puppy doll that Bob had given her that morning. She was thinking that dolls were not balls, but they were both round.
If she poked it with her finger, she would find that the dolls were very soft. She tried to think and recall the ball, but her brain was empty and had not even established complete memory cognition and thinking logic, so her search was doomed to be futile.
She felt empty and at a loss, but suddenly there was a knock on the door. Megan looked up, and then looked again.
Bob went out, leaving her alone in the room.
The person outside kept knocking on the door, very politely knocking only three times each time, repeating it every half a minute. This knock went on and on for more than ten minutes, but there was no trace of impatience in the knocking.
The person in the room did not respond. Finally, the person outside the door spoke in a deep and powerful voice, "I'll meet you at the window." He figured out the solution himself.
Megan saw an extremely muscular figure stop outside the living room window. As he squatted down, a hooded face appeared. The eyes had been specially treated to appear red. His gaze searched the room and easily locked onto Megan. He said in a matter-of-fact tone, "I'm Bane, your friend."
Words come out of the blue to coax children.
His gaze fell on Megan for a long time. He was a man who had been locked in a water dungeon for ten years. He knew very well what loneliness felt like, but the cage only three steps away could not contain his growing thoughts. There he learned to get along with darkness, tides, evil and loneliness. Seeing this child now, he was undoubtedly aware of her problems.
Unlike him, his body was imprisoned, but his mind was beyond it. But the child in front of him...
"Your soul has long been dried up and buried in the grave, but it is clear that you have an extraordinary situation."
Someone forcefully chiseled away the wall that trapped her, offering her a source of water to lure her out. Did she listen? The villain bewitched an innocent child, but it also gave her a new lease on life, allowing her to live well here.
Bane knew that the man was the Joker. He stared at the child in front of him and said, "I know you were tempted by death, so you can actually come a little closer." He raised one arm, and the muscles and even the blood vessels on it bulged, revealing an unparalleled sense of strength.
"I am your friend." He said this a second time.
Megan initially ignored his words, but she had the concept of 'friend' in her head, and one of them dared to say it and the other dared to believe it. The child, who obviously believed it, walked forward and observed her new friend.
He tricked her over and brought her to the window. If Bane wanted to do something, he could succeed immediately. But just like he didn't force his way into the house, he didn't do anything now. He just stared at her with a heavy, oppressive gaze, but she had no sense of emotions yet.
Her soul is flawed, her will clouded, but for her, survival is a great feat.
This was a weak and powerless individual who was different from him. Bane had once escaped alive from the hellish Penaduro prison, but before escaping, he had already ruled there. All the criminals submitted to his perseverance and force, not to mention that he had also undergone biochemical experiments, which further improved his physique and strength.
He cast his gaze upon her, yet decided in the process that it didn't have to be so harsh. No one was him, just as no one could surpass him. He was destined to rule Gotham, defeat the so-called Dark Knight, and take control of everything here.
Each of them has their own path to follow, rather than repeating the path of others.
Bain pointed at her and said, "You are lucky, child. You have survived your fate. Perhaps this is the source of your tenacity. I wish you the same in the future."
The author has something to say:
The first half of the previous chapter has been overhauled, so remember to go back and read it~
Minor revisions to this chapter.
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