"Welcome to Gotham News Flash today. It is reported that the murderer of last night's banquet killing case has been identified as an assassin from the 'Outsiders' squad led by rebel leader Barbara. Today, the rebels attacked Wayne Enterprises Chairman Thomas Elliott..."
"Looks like you're fine." Dick leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and said to Jason, "But now Elliott is the one in trouble."
"You heard about his disappearance too?" Jason said, holding a cigarette in his mouth and leaning his elbow on his knee, "Wayne Enterprises has completely blocked this news, probably to prevent panic. But it won't be able to hide it for long. Who do you think the public will think did it?"
"Of course, it's his biggest rival in the election, March." Dick said, "I know what you want to ask. March's supporter is indeed the Court of Owls. But we didn't do this."
"Could it be the Assassins' Guild?" Jason said with some confusion, "Could all of this be done by the Assassins' Guild? Did they have a better candidate, so they had to deal with Elliott and his men?"
"We interrupt with breaking news." A voice came from the TV again, "News from Gotham Police Department, Gotham's beloved judge Harvey Dent has suddenly disappeared, and his whereabouts are currently unknown..."
Jason's face became serious. He frowned and said, "This looks like a purge. Elliott and everyone related to him are in danger."
"Do you need my protection?" Dick raised an eyebrow and said.
"No, I have to find Elliott. Without him, Wayne Enterprises might not choose to cooperate with Red Line. I absolutely cannot miss such a big client."
"Where are you planning to look for him?"
"Let's start by checking the disappearance location."
Dozens of minutes later, Jason arrived at the old town. Standing on the rooftop of a building looking down, the scene of the incident had been mostly cleaned up. The construction vehicles were repairing the building, and only some charred marks remained from the helicopter wreckage.
Using a drone, he jumped down from the building. Just as he was about to move forward, he saw a figure on the lamppost ahead.
The figure jumped down, the black cloak tracing an elegant arc in the air. The two pointed ears looked very distinctive.
"Who are you?" Jason posed in a defensive stance and asked.
"Batman," the other replied in a low voice.
"This city doesn't need more freaks. Are you part of the rebels?"
"I'm not a freak, nor am I a member of any organization," the low voice continued, "What are you looking for?"
Jason became immediately alert. He categorically denied, "I'm just here for a stroll. But you, with your odd outfit, showing suspicious behavior, are you a rebel? Perhaps the police should decide."
"I just didn't expect to see you under these circumstances, Jason. You seem to be doing well."
Jason was even more on edge. His hair stood up. He said, "Seems like you're from the Assassins' Guild. But no matter what you say, I won't believe your nonsense. Where did you take Elliott?"
This self-proclaimed Batman didn't speak. He just turned to look toward the helicopter crash site, then said, "According to the traces left on the scene, if someone kidnapped Elliott, they could only do it from the right rear of the wreckage. Only there is a complete blind spot. And there happens to be a surveillance camera there, which can capture the situation in the blind spot. I'm going to check the surveillance footage. Do you want to come with me?"
Jason frowned deeply. He said, "Who knows if you'll trick me into a trap. I'll get the footage myself. You must come with me to the police station too."
Batman shook his head, shot a grapple, flew directly to the other side's billboard, and jumped across the building rapidly disappearing.
"You're late, you didn't see the weird guy." Jason said to Dick, who just landed behind him, "Batman? It's a strange name."
"So the Primary Universe Batman indeed followed us." Arrogance said in the theater of the High Tower, "I wonder if he came to stop the Mad Laugh, or to stop the Morbid."
"Do you even need to ask? Definitely the latter." Greed said with great certainty, "If it weren't for Morbid not having enough fun, Batman would soon see half of the Mad Laugh."
"Mad Laugh's self-healing power is too weak." Mediocre couldn't help but say, "If it were the Joker, he'd probably be back to his lively self by now. He's still panting with every step."
"He's a Batman infected with the Joker virus, not a reformed Joker, so his self-healing power naturally isn't as strong as the orthodox Joker. But speaking of which, there is indeed a reformed Joker in this universe. Could Morbid be interested in him too?"
Arrogance stared at the movement of the colorful lines on the screen, then said after a while, "It seems he is very disappointed with the Mad Laugh. He should be preparing to shift his target."
"He better not mess with the Clown Hero. Even though Vigilante Joker's methods are a bit violent, he's still one of the few good Jokers in the multiverse. There's no need to mess with him, right?"
"Or perhaps it's the Main Universe's Joker. Ah, wait, it seems like it's the Main Universe's Joker who's unlucky, running right into it."
Shiller was in the preparation room on the second floor of a hospital, wrapping bandages around the handle of a knife. The knife was very long; even when Shiller picked it up, it dragged on the ground, as it was the upper half of a guillotine.
But because it was not originally meant to be held in hand, rather than a handle, it was more of a grip, not very comfortable to hold. Shiller removed the rubber casing on it and rewrapped it with bandages on the handle.
After finishing, Shiller pushed the door open and met eyes with the Main Universe's Joker who had just come up from the stairs. The lighting in the corridor was too dim for either to clearly see the other's face at first glance.
The top of the guillotine crashing onto the tiled floor made such a crisp sound, echoing through the hospital corridor with an almost ethereal quality. Anyone hearing this sound would experience a momentary mental blank.
On Gotham's pitch-black night, a light rain was falling outside. A tall, thin man in a suit was carrying a long, floor-dragging knife. Is there anything off about this scene?
No one said you couldn't wear a suit in a hospital, no one said you couldn't carry a knife while wearing a suit, and no one said the knife couldn't be that long.
Until the opponent made a move to attack, everything seemed strange but still relatively normal. The whole look just gave a feeling that made you want to run.
The Joker wasn't a normal person, so he didn't run. It wasn't until a flash of lightning flickered past the window, providing faint light in the dark corridor, that the Joker saw the man's face clearly.
It's like adding the most essential stroke to a masterpiece or placing the final rest note to an ethereal, terrifying composition. The intimidating presence of this face was stronger than the entire previous appearance, enough that even the Joker involuntarily stepped back.
In an instant where countless colorful lines converged to a single point, the long knife suddenly fell. The Joker was just a half-step slower, resulting in a long cut from the shoulder blade down to the lower back.
He let out a painful scream but didn't slow his escape at all. He had no doubt the opponent would kill him. The Joker virus in his body might intimidate Batman, but inside this guy, he'd take eight punches with each three steps.
After the Main Universe's reboot, the Main Universe's Joker and Shiller had no real grudges. But every Joker could claim to be a master of spiritual analysis. Those crazy illusions could equally inspire them.
Seeing Shiller in the corridor, instead of his physical injuries, the Main Universe's Joker first faced an explosion at the cognitive level within his brain. The things he read were even capable of impacting the Joker's mad little mind.
He didn't know what was up with Shiller. He only knew that reasoning with the chaotic mess under his skin was futile. Those proudly presented tricks and acts were certainly useless too.
Essentially, both Superman-like powerful order and extremely morbid chaos were nemeses to the Joker.
The Joker ran desperately forward, but the opponent was clearly faster than him. Within seconds, the Joker was struck again. He let out another scream as he fell down the stairs.
Rolling right in front of Batman.
The Joker never imagined in his life seeing Batman like a savior. Looking at Batman's stern face now, all the stubbornness and rigidity, all the solemnity—this truly was a Dark Knight full of security!
The Joker darted behind Batman with a "whoosh".
Batman was somewhat startled. He really wanted to ask what madness the Joker was up to. But just as his gaze returned from chasing the Joker's silhouette and looked ahead, Batman got a not-too-pleasant answer.
"Turn back!" Batman shouted at the Joker, who was still running for the door, "Turn around and face him!"
"Why don't you face Superman head-on?!" The Joker cursed.
"I'm saying don't turn your back on him!" Batman explained a bit helplessly, "He locks onto targets from behind. If you keep running, you'll get slashed again!"
The Joker was doubtful, then he got struck again.
Fortunately, as the blade grazed his shoulder, Batman tackled Shiller. He wanted to take the knife, but it was too big and heavy, making it hard to find the right grip. Unyielding, Shiller rolled him over. The blade cut through Batman's thigh, blood instantly spraying out.
The Joker grabbed a nearby stool and smashed it fiercely. The stool hit Shiller's back skull, and blood flowed. The result was Batman being kicked away by Shiller.
The Joker intended to keep smashing, but Batman hurriedly shouted, "No! Don't attack him!!!"
The Joker got so angry his nose was twisted. He directly threw the stool at Batman, shouting, "You're showing favoritism for him?! Can't you see he's more dangerous than me?!"
"It's not that," Batman said again, helplessly, "The more you hit him, the stronger he gets. If you keep attacking, neither of us will get away!"
The Joker wanted to retort, but at this moment, two more people rushed in from the door. Jason and Dick had arrived.
The Joker stepped back a few paces, seemingly planning an escape amidst chaos. He quickly gave Batman a look, hinting at running together. But Batman shook his head.
"You're worried about your two little birds again?"
Batman said unwaveringly, "No. He won't change targets until the locked-on one is dead. If you have any conscience, you should escape alone."
"You actually think I have conscience?!"
"I don't. So... Dick, Jason, run!"