"Bang!"
As the police in front fired their shots, the security personnel behind didn't hold back either, all beginning to shoot at the Mad Laugh.
The most fatal mistake was that the female teller Mad Laugh grabbed in his quick reflex was not suitable to be a hostage. This woman was nearly 1.8 meters tall, approximately weighing 75 kilograms, with visible signs of fitness from her arms, and started struggling as soon as Mad Laugh caught her.
Although Mad Laugh was Batman, he was a scrawny Batman. In such close combat, the weight class difference was very apparent. To suppress the struggling woman, Mad Laugh had already expended a lot of physical strength, and the wound on his chest that was supposed to heal split open again. This female teller gathered her strength and gave a fierce pull, directly throwing Mad Laugh to the ground sideways.
With a "bang," the police fired a shot right into his thigh. After freeing herself, the female teller hurriedly ran to one side. Without a hostage, the security personnel behind had no more scruples about firing, raising their hands for a sweep.
Fortunately, the Laughing Bat still had Batman's set of equipment. The moment he hit the ground, he fired the grapple in his hand, which happened to wrap around the doorknob of the bank's back door. The grapple rope retracted, taking him flying out. Due to the fast movement speed, he didn't take many bullets; in fact, the bullets broke the door lock, allowing him to successfully escape.
The moment he ran out, he turned back to look at the crowd, originally wanting to see if the police had caught up, but instead saw Shiller standing there in the crowd, smiling at him.
"Bang," the door closed.
The Mad Laugh felt his heart pounding wildly. Old memories surged in his mind, a silhouette standing at the end of a pale world, smiling at him the same way.
The Mad Laugh quickly shook his head to shake off those unsettling memories. This wouldn't work. He thought, Shiller must have some way to track him, and even if he escaped to the ends of the earth, the other party could still chase him down. This couldn't continue.
He had to take the initiative. He had to give Shiller something to do to divert his attention and prevent him from causing trouble. It would be best to create a problem for him, keeping him too busy to handle his own troubles.
The key lies with Elliot. The Mad Laugh thought that all the arms, equipment, and security personnel were under Elliot's control. If he could control these forces, he could keep Shiller out of their defenses.
Luckily, before leaving the hospital, he had already used the brainwave modification function of the spiked eye mask to preliminarily brainwash Elliot. He would want to become Batman.
The temporarily escaping Mad Laugh headed towards the Wayne Enterprises Building. At the same time, Batman and Joker were also making their way there.
About half an hour earlier, Batman had taken off the bat suit and changed into a set of laboratory personnel's clothes, starting to patrol the entire building. He did not intentionally hide his appearance, intending to attract the attention of some intrigued individuals. Sure enough, when he patrolled to the second basement level and passed by a storeroom, he was pulled inside by a pair of hands.
Batman turned his head and saw a familiar face. He almost sighed. "Joker?"
"Why are you back again?" The other party said with a slightly crazed smile on his face. "Aren't you planning to carry out your revenge plot?"
"I'm not him," Batman said openly. "I'm Bruce Wayne from another universe. Do you know where your universe's Bruce Wayne has gone?"
The man in the janitor's uniform was slightly stunned, then his expression darkened. He looked at Batman and said, "Are you that clone?"
"Clone?"
"That's exactly what Elliot was planning. He kept Bruce here to clone him, wanting his wisdom, that intelligence he could never have..."
This Joker started rambling again. For some reason, as Batman listened to his rambling madness, he felt a little more at ease. Fortunately, the Joker of this universe was insane. What he meant was, this universe's Joker was normal.
"Why are you helping him?" Batman asked.
"Didn't I already say that?!" Joker exclaimed in a startled manner, raising his voice. "Because of his intellect!"
"Thank you. Tell me where he went."
"Hmph, do you think I'm complimenting you? A counterfeit is just a counterfeit, you can never replace him!"
"Alright. I ask, you answer: Is he at Arkham Asylum now?"
Joker's eyes shifted, and Batman could tell the answer. He continued, "Did he go to the Gotham Police Department? Did he go to the Old Town? Did he go to the Wayne Enterprises Building?"
Batman sharply caught the change in Joker's expression, so he pushed open the storeroom door and walked out. It seemed Bruce Wayne had gone to the Wayne Building.
Doesn't he know that the people at Wayne Enterprises don't really want to help him? If he goes now, isn't he walking into a trap?
Batman felt a little anxious. The Clown Hero had already gone to make other preparations, and now he could only head to the Wayne Enterprises Building alone.
Batman raced against time to the Wayne Enterprises Building. Standing at the entrance, he hesitated for a moment: If Bruce was already inside, then all the board members would be heading this way, and Elliot and his backers would also come. What followed would be a battle for the leadership that would determine the fate of Wayne Enterprises.
Batman wasn't sure if this universe's Bruce could win, or rather, he wasn't confident. After all, after being in the psychiatric hospital for so many years, even if he managed to escape, he was still lacking in knowledge and experience. Could he really overthrow the ambitious Elliot and his supporters?
Batman thought for a moment, sent a message to the Clown Hero, then directly removed his cowl and walked toward the Wayne Enterprises entrance.
As soon as he entered the lobby, he directly revealed his identity: "I am Bruce Wayne. As the heir of Wayne Enterprises, I now demand a meeting with all shareholders. Contact them immediately."
The staff in the lobby were stunned. They thought the person in front of them was mad, but looking at his serious face and those blue eyes, no one could refute his words.
The receptionist quickly contacted someone. A woman hurriedly came down from upstairs, and upon seeing Bruce, she was also taken aback, but soon her eyes filled with tears: "Oh my God, Little Bruce! I'm Aunt Cain! The last time we met was at your parents' funeral... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned that. How are you? Why did you suddenly come here?"
Batman responded calmly while keeping an eye on his surroundings. He had just instructed the Clown Hero to scout around here, and if he spotted someone resembling this universe's Bruce, to capture him immediately.
After confirming from the Clown Hero that they looked similar, Batman came up with this Li Dai Tao Jiang plan. In his view, the Bruce who barely escaped from the psychiatric hospital needed time to recuperate, and it was better for him to handle the current predicament.
These were minor scenes for the Primary Universe Batman, but for everyone in this universe, they were shocking enough. The news of contacting shareholders spread quickly, and everyone was shocked before hurrying over.
Soon, all the shareholders gathered together. Batman stood at the forefront. A black-haired woman rushed in frantically, freezing the moment she saw Batman.
Talia's expression confirmed for Batman: the force helping Elliot behind the scenes, almost costing Bruce his life, was the Assassin's Union.
"Are you surprised to see me, Lady Lei Xiaogu?" Batman didn't show her any kindness. He added, "Send my regards to your father."
Talia's face instantly darkened.
Her father favored Bruce Wayne, something Talia knew very well. Before he came to Gotham, her father had warned her: Elliot could never possess the potential of Wayne; he wasn't the best choice for the Assassin's Union. Talia didn't agree with this because the madman from the psychiatric hospital couldn't possibly be as formidable as her father claimed.
But when she truly stood before Wayne, the dissent and retorts in Talia's mind vanished instantly. This man was overwhelmingly oppressive; she almost couldn't breathe.
"No, impossible," Talia said, "You're not him; you just look identical, but you're not Bruce Wayne!"
"Stop deceiving yourself. Or rather, do you have any solid evidence to prove Bruce Wayne couldn't be standing here?"
Talia's heart skipped a beat. They, of course, had: She and Elliot had both seen Bruce's corpse, so pale, so cold, utterly lifeless. This was undoubtedly solid evidence.
But this corpse couldn't withstand scrutiny, or it would expose what they'd done to Bruce all these years. Talia gritted her teeth, knowing she had to admit it.
Of course, Batman knew they had to admit it, so he no longer looked at her, instead addressing the shareholders, "I'm afraid I have to reopen the wounds and bring up that regrettable incident. After that, my parents' friends, the Elliot Couple, adopted me and temporarily managed Wayne Enterprises. And when I felt grief over my parents' death and had some emotional issues, I handed Wayne Enterprises over to my good friend Thomas Elliott to manage."
"Fortunately, I received excellent treatment at Arkham Asylum, freeing myself from past shadows. Now, it's time to return what's rightfully mine. Lady Lei Xiaogu, I believe I must personally express my gratitude to Tommy. Where is he?"
Talia opened her mouth, unable to answer. From her perspective, since Elliot was kidnapped, he hadn't appeared again. But indeed, this man just out of the psychiatric hospital probably didn't know of Elliot's abduction.
"He was kidnapped," Talia said, "Someone shot down his helicopter with a missile, then took the opportunity to abduct him. We're still searching for the perpetrator."
"What a pity. Then I definitely need to revive Wayne Enterprises, so we can find my dear friend quicker. I remember the stock loan agreement should be kept in court, right? I think now it's time to..."
As he spoke here, Batman suddenly stopped. Everyone turned to look in the direction where his gaze paused.
Against Gotham's dense night, a golden beam cut through the sky. A giant bat symbol was projected onto the city's sky by the light—it was the lit Bat Light.