The Death Knell

"When I was a kid, I loved coming to this area. Under that oak tree, I hit the bat for the first time in my life; on the path behind us, I learned to ride a bicycle."

The suburbs in the northeast of Gotham, not far from the Wayne Mansion, is a hilly area of ​​moderate size. The rolling hillsides are covered with carpet-like grass. Beyond that, there is the road leading to Gotham City. Along the roadside, there are all kinds of strange-shaped trees growing.

Nowadays, compared to the chaos in the city, this deserted place is calmer. At least the mushrooms here are normal and will not turn people into zombies or madmen.

The breeze carries a faint smell of grass, and if you feel it carefully, there may be some smell of berries, but the air here is still slightly cold even during the day.

At this time, there was a man in a brown cloak, hiding in the shadow of a dense tree canopy, talking to himself.

Maybe it wasn't as simple as talking to himself, because just after he said that sentence, he changed his voice into a high-pitched and funny voice and started chatting with himself.

"Aha! What a good start. Returning to Gotham always makes me happy. Even if I just watch the mushroom clouds rising in the city from a distance, I seem to be able to hear people calling me in their hearts. By the way, I always thought there was Children from rich families learn new skills in Hawaii, but you are still so different, Jie Jie Jie."

A pair of pointed ears on the figure's head swayed, and he raised his hand to cover his mouth to stop his laughter.

After a long while, he calmed down and continued: "I once asked my father why a large area around the mansion is full of open space? He told me that it was just because it was a cemetery without tombstones."

"Wow, that's awesome. The area around Wayne Mansion is actually a cemetery. Here's some new bat knowledge." The funny voice sounded again, and the figure leaned back and clapped. I don't know why he suddenly became so... Happy: "Continue, please continue, although I still saw the tombstones of Thomas and Martha, not far from the door of the house, which made me a little confused about who lives in Arkham today. ?”

"That's Thomas Wayne from the parallel world. He believes there can only be one Batman in Gotham, and thinks he's more suitable than me." The figure swayed slightly and leaned against the tree trunk next to him. The dry bark There was a crackling sound: "But he was wrong, we were all wrong, he is not my father."

"Boring, why are you so serious? Do you know Bat? Sometimes I ask a question and don't need an answer. It's just a joke, just like when I killed Catwoman. You see, just smile knowingly, That’s enough, hehehehe”

Batman was not smiling, at least not in his soul, but the Joker in charge of his body was forcing his face to look like a smile.

"That's not funny, and the memory can't torture me now." He turned around and looked at the Wayne Mansion, which stood on the top of the hillside, looking warm and peaceful in the sun: "At least it's better than your previous jokes. Much worse.”

"How dare you say that? Bat? How dare you say that?!" He suddenly grabbed his neck, slapped his face with his palms, and became angry: "Do you think laughing like crazy is funnier than me? He Can it make you feel relaxed from the bottom of your heart? No! He can't, he is only one person, and we are a team! Or, a two-person circus? Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!"

At the end of the sentence, he suddenly laughed again, as if he felt good about this clever joke, so he lay on the ground and huddled up, tapping the thick grass hard.

However, perhaps out of joy, Batman regained control of his body at this moment, took out a yellow-tinged injection from his bat belt, and plunged it into his chest.

Immediately, fear enveloped him, the sky became dim and narrow in his field of vision, and overwhelming bats flew in from nowhere, flooding the surrounding area.

Darkness has fallen.

He raised his arms to shield his eyes from the phantoms of his childhood. He turned over on the lawn and lay on the soft plant stems and leaves, panting violently with sweat.

The antidote to the Joker virus has basically lost its effectiveness after such a period of time. Batman also knows that his split personality is getting more and more serious. Now only Scarecrow's super-concentrated fear potion can have a little effect.

That is to use the 'fear' that represents Batman to overwhelm the other self in the body, the crazy clown.

At this moment, a black hole suddenly opened in the space behind him, and a white monster slid out hanging upside down. The eyeless face faced Batman's face, and its big mouth full of sharp teeth opened and closed. one time:

"Keep telling your story, I'm only hearing half of it."

Batman climbed up from the grass and leaned against a nearby tree, using his willpower to overcome his fear. This was what he did best.

After a while, he replied: "Don't pester me, you will get nothing from me."

"Really? Why don't you take off the X metal sheet that's been stuck on the back of your head and experience what I can do?" The Upside Down hugged his chest and licked Batman's face with his long tongue. A piece of slippery slime was left behind: "He exists in your spirit. If you get closer to me, I can help you solve that trouble."

"He wants to cooperate with you, but I don't." Batman stood up straight again and looked at the hills not far away: "Unless you kill me, there is no way you can kill him. What do you think about the Joker? I don’t know what it is.”

The Upside Down shook his head, his tone full of disdain:

"Is there any difference? You are him, and he is you. He used this body to summon me, reached some agreements, and let me see another possibility. Now that this is the case, if you tell Deathstroke what is happening now It has nothing to do with you, do you think he will believe it?"

Batman shook his head, not sure whether it meant 'no' or 'boring', but the fatal silence made him completely blend into the shadow under the tree.

After a long silence, he took a deep breath: "He won't find out in a short time. He will only think that it is the work of the Laughing Bat. I have enough time to complete the plan."

"Ah, that's what I mean. Look, what's the difference between you and the Laughing Bat now?" The Upside Down Man hung upside down in mid-air and finally learned to applaud with both hands: "But don't worry, miserable mortal, no matter it's a clown Be it Catwoman or your parents whose bones have been decomposed by microorganisms, as long as you figure it out and nod your head and agree to my terms, they can all come back to you."

"I don't think there's anything special about me that deserves the attention of the God of Witchcraft."

Batman interrupted the Upside Down. He raised his hand, took out a bat handkerchief from his bat belt, and wiped the foam from the corner of his mouth.

"You are pretending not to understand, I know, but I don't care. Maybe you can't see the connection between yourself and the entire multiverse, but I know that you are the ideal collaborator. Think about what I told you about the Origin Judge, The Court of Origin, God and the Giant Beast, The Power of Evil, Hand of Nothingness, Mandrake, Endless Threats Beyond Diversity, Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, The Laughing Bat. Just start thinking, bat, and then admit that you also need me, need a witch. The power of magic!"

The upside-down voice still echoed in the air, but Batman no longer wanted to answer.

He looked at Gotham City across the river, the war-torn place, and fell into deep thought, thinking about the names that the Upside-Down Man had overheard from Deathstroke in another world, and trying his best to match them with various clues.

In the hallucination, a swarm of bats were attacking him, and he stared into their eyes.