"I'm very glad to see you all here," the man began, "I don't think I need much introduction, you all should have heard of me and my family. I need to especially introduce the beautiful lady beside me—Talia al Ghul."
The woman in the green spaghetti strap dress exuded a stern aura despite her stunning beauty. She gently tucked her black hair behind her ear, smiling and nodding gracefully to the crowd, appearing noble and elegant.
"Thank you all for attending tonight's banquet," her voice was very pleasant, unfazed by the presence of various celebrities and reporters holding microphones. She smiled and said, "This building marks a new beginning for Wayne Enterprises. Achieving such a milestone couldn't have been possible without the help of our good partners. Thomas, could you introduce them for me?"
The man referred to as Thomas smiled and nodded. He hugged Talia's waist and extended his other arm to embrace a young figure beside him and said, "This is Jason Todd, the newly appointed president of Gotham Defense Group 'Red Line.'"
He then enthusiastically waved at a figure in the crowd, saying, "How could we forget our old friends? Benevolent and fair Judge Harvey Dent. And of course, the renowned entrepreneur and philanthropist Oswald Cobblepot. They are all my dear friends and the pillars of Gotham's safety and economy..."
Just as he said this, a chilly wind blew from behind, followed by a "bang," as the golden door, which was carefully opened just moments ago, was now forcefully slammed open. Policemen swarmed in, led by an unfamiliar face.
"Good evening, Mr. Thomas Elliot. Jack Napier, special agent of Gotham Police Department's Joint Task Force. Two hours ago, the Gotham Tax Bureau's tax investigation team visited your premises, and we suspect you manipulated last quarter's tax reports. Please come with us."
Elliot was about to glare angrily at the man when a badge was slapped in front of his face. The hand holding the badge was extraordinarily pale, and when the badge was lowered, an unusually terrifying pale smiling face was revealed.
"Oh my god!" Greed exclaimed while watching, "When did Joker become a policeman?! And you know what, it kind of suits him!"
"You actually have the nerve to mock others while not understanding yourself," Arrogant looked at the screen full of colorful lines and said, "This obviously isn't Joker, though he looks like him, it's one of those Pale Knight types."
"Which universe is he from?" the agent couldn't help but ask.
"What? Do you feel like he fits your style?"
"I just find it absurd," the agent said, "Joker conducting a tax audit on Batman..."
"Stop, you don't understand either," Arrogant had to speak up, "That guy isn't Batman, that's Silent Thomas Elliot."
"But didn't that Joker detective just mention Wayne Enterprises? How could Elliot inherit Wayne Enterprises?"
"There seems to be such a universe," Greed thought for a moment and said, "I think it's called 'Dark Multiverse: Hush.' Of course, in that universe, Batman still has no parents..."
"Bruce Wayne was adopted by the Elliott Family but fell into madness after witnessing the death of his parents, ultimately being committed to an insane asylum. And after the death of the Elliot couple, their only son Thomas Elliot inherited all the assets of both the Elliott Family and the Wayne Family, becoming the world's wealthiest man and replacing Batman in controlling this city," Arrogant said.
Others also recalled this story, but they were all sure there was no Joker auditing scene in it. If no accidents were occurring, this sudden Jack Napier was indeed one of the players.
"He can't be the Pale Knight," Greed continued, "Even if the name and personality seem similar, there are subtle differences, at least the Pale Knight wouldn't wear makeup like this."
Though the screen was almost filled with various color blocks and lines, one could still vaguely see some reality's circumstances. The Joker standing before Elliot wore the classic Joker makeup, with green hair neatly combed back, and that slightly crazed smile unchanged.
"I think I know who he is," the agent suddenly spoke, "Do you remember Earth 3 is a universe where good and evil are reversed?"
Arrogant paused his action, saying, "You mean the universe where Night Owl exists? You think this is the Joker from that universe?"
"That's right, Earth 3's Joker is a vigilante. Though he looks similar to Jokers of other universes, he does what Batman does, even more extreme and violent."
"That's possible, but why would the Joker from the Prime Universe seek help like this? They don't get along."
"Getting along isn't important, what's crucial is whether they are effective," the agent continued, "Do you think you're comfortable in the Dark Multiverse? Or do you think I am more suited to that term?"
Arrogant and Greed were left speechless. Greed waved his hand saying, "Alright, alright, we know you're skilled."
But inside, they also admitted that in the highly complex dark multiverse, especially in those universes rigged with traps and shrouded in dark conspiracies, an agent's method of skipping all plot dialogues and going on a killing spree is indeed more effective in opening up the situation.
Analyzing a conspiracy has its uses, but acting decisively and swiftly is more effective in breaking through. This straightforward approach is more suited for cutting through the chaos of the dark multiverse.
"This is quite interesting." Greed touched his chin and said, "However, this Joker really moves quickly. I recall that the comic opens at this very banquet, right? Now that Elliott has been taken away, how can the banquet continue?"
"Elliott won't be taken away that easily," Arrogance said. "He represents several factions, and these people won't let the Joker succeed so easily."
"I think there may be some misunderstanding here." Talya's tone turned serious as she said, "Wayne Enterprises has always adhered to the law and can't possibly commit tax evasion using such crude methods. I suspect someone is framing them. Moreover, you entered Elliott Manor without permission, which is quite impolite, don't you think, Judge Dent?"
"I also think it's inappropriate," Harvey said, coming forward. "Neither the Gotham Tax Bureau nor the Gotham Police Department should enter a private residence without solid evidence. That violates federal law. As for the tax issue, that's nonsense. Wayne Enterprises has always been a model taxpayer and could not have tampered with the tax details."
"Who sent you here?" Jason also joined in, saying, "I have never heard of a joint task force from the Gotham Police Department."
"You shouldn't have heard of it," the Joker said expressionlessly. "Because this organization was recently established, it is legitimate and with full documentation. You have no right to question the legitimacy of my identity. Now, I require your cooperation in the investigation, Mr. Elliott. If you decide not to come with me, you may later face charges of resisting arrest. Are you sure you want to do this?"
Elliott's face turned grim. He took out his phone and said, "I'll call Commissioner Brock of the Gotham Police Department!"
"No, sir, you'd better remain silent until your lawyer arrives. Anything you say could be used as evidence against you in court," Harvey said in a lowered voice. "Once the investigation process starts, all of this could be recorded. If you contact the police commissioner, you might later be charged with bribery and manipulating the government. It's best not to do that."
Elliott's face turned even harsher. He stared hard at the Joker, looking at his messy makeup and said, "How can the Gotham Police Department hire someone like you as a cop?! You look like a complete madman!"
"You can continue your personal attack in court, Mr. Elliott. I'm merely explaining to you the consequences if you refuse to cooperate," the Joker said calmly, completely unfazed by Elliott's hostile attitude. "Also, your personal attacks aren't very impressive. I've dealt with people far worse than you."
When Elliott met his gaze, he couldn't help but shiver. It was like a cat looking at a mouse.
"That's not surprising," Arrogance thought for a moment and said, "The Crime Syndicate of Earth 3 aren't pushovers. The Night Owl is especially tricky. Being able to deal with them for so long, this universe's Joker is likely very strong."
"I'm wondering why he's causing trouble for Elliott. His target should be Batman, right? But the news that Bruce Wayne has entered Arkham Asylum is public, he could just go directly to Arkham Asylum," Arrogance said after a moment of thought.
"Maybe he needs to gain trust," Arrogance considered. "Although the Joker knows that Batman is Bruce Wayne, this universe doesn't even have Batman, there's never been a Dark Knight. So even if he seeks out Bruce, he might not be able to convince him to become Batman."
"That's true. The Joker doesn't know the storyline. When he discovered that this universe never had a Batman, he knew seeking out Bruce would be useless. The other party might just be someone completely clueless. So he must target the true culprit,"
"But how did the Joker know Elliott isn't a good person?"
"The first place he would go upon arriving in Gotham is definitely the police department," the agent said. "If it were me, I would certainly do that. After arriving at the police department, it wouldn't be hard to discover that this universe's Gotham Police Department commissioner isn't Gordon. With a little investigation, he would learn that Gordon is already dead."
"This is very unusual. After all, this Joker has interacted with other Jokers from different universes and has certainly exchanged information. He would know what most of the Gotham universes are like. No matter what, an important character like Gordon dying so early isn't right. He couldn't have died from some ordinary accident, he was likely silenced."
"By following this lead, the suspects that come into view aren't many, and even fewer have had contact with Bruce. Elliott's suspicion greatly increased. Even without evidence, one can entirely fabricate other charges to detain him, and by then you'll know whatever you want to find out."
"Such identical secret agent tactics," Arrogance said with a smile. "Looks like you'd get along well with this Joker."
"Wait a minute. If what we are seeing is another first-person perspective of ourselves, doesn't that mean I'm also present at the scene?"
As soon as Greed said this, everyone else realized that what they were viewing was a first-person perspective, confirming that Morbid was standing among the crowd, witnessing the whole event firsthand.
"Uh-oh, we're in trouble."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, at the banquet scene, a body fell from the sky, landing right between Elliott and the Joker.