The Death Knell

The nights in Gotham seem to be the same forever. In the downtown buildings, high-end restaurants and nightclubs never lack customers. They spend a lot of money in exchange for physical or spiritual happiness. For example, eating a dinner that can cost the poor people half their life savings, or playing with young prostitutes.

In the alleys not far from these buildings, the screams and gunshots of others will be heard from time to time. In the darkness, evil is always at the forefront.

Any criminal behavior can be seen in Gotham, no matter how bizarre the crime itself or the perpetrator is, you can see it in Gotham. This is a living museum of modern crime history.

Chaos and order are intertwined, and the black and white world is getting further and further away, surrounded by gray areas.

Nights in Gotham never change, at least not for the better.

Having worked here for thirty years, James Gordon understands this very well.

He started as a small homicide detective, became a sergeant, and is today the chief. As a man, he is struggling.

Not only because there is some discrimination against men in the workplace in this world, but also because everyone knows that he is an upright person, and there are very few truly innocent people in the city. Everyone is more or less connected to the things in the dark. implicated.

The mayor is a frequent visitor to Penguin's Iceberg Restaurant, the senator is smuggling Arkham drugs to Scarecrow, the justice is Double-Face's old boss, and Black Mask is affiliated with the Gotham Institute, blatantly doing things in the city. A chemical factory is used to cover drug production.

In a city like this, he sometimes thinks it's a miracle that he can become the police chief without being killed.

But reason will always remind him that this is not the case. This is not a miracle, but because there is always a shadow in the darkness behind him.

The shadow came and went without a trace in the darkness, jealous of evil.

She would take over matters that were beyond the control of the law or beyond the power of the police. There were many people who tried to kill Gordon in the past, but there was always a woman in a Bat uniform who helped them dispel their thoughts.

fear.

Yes, anyone with darkness in their heart will be afraid of the bat in the darkness. She is thoughtful, agile, and is everywhere, never showing mercy.

When Gordon was still captain, Batgirl appeared for the first time. At first, Gordon rejected this masked vigilante in his heart.

Just because you say you are a good person, I cannot let you wander around the city with your face covered and hit people at will. I always want to see if what you do is really effective for public security, rather than letting the city suffer. Gets messier.

Gotham at that time was far from what it is now. Gangster families, led by the underworld boss Falcone, were spread throughout the city, and even half of the police department was composed of criminal police officers.

Drugs, smuggling, arms, slaves, they do whatever they want to make money, and officials create a protective umbrella for them.

Gordon tried to capture these gang members, but was always met with resistance. At this time, Batgirl helped him. She used violence to obtain evidence and overthrew the officials who colluded with the gangs, allowing Gordon to use the law to punish them.

And in the end, when Gordon and Falcone finally had a decisive battle, the Bat destroyed Falcone's self-confidence, completely defeated the underworld giant, and let the sunshine fall on Gotham.

Since then, Gordon's attitude towards Batgirl has become one of turning a blind eye.

Her behavior is indeed good for Gotham and the people. As for dressing up like a bat...maybe it is a personal hobby?

Thinking of those days, Gordon could not help but smile...

"Captain Gordon, I heard that the criminal who robbed the bank last night was knocked down by a strange woman in a bat suit. What do the police think of this?" Reporters frantically surrounded the police station door, where the captain's Gordon was escorting the prisoner out of the police car.

"Absurd! Ridiculous! There have never been any weirdos in Gotham wearing bat tights." Gordon said righteously.

"But we have video and evidence." The reporters refused to give up and expressed that they had solid evidence.

"Forgeries are all forgeries. On behalf of the Gotham City Police Department, I express serious concern and strong condemnation of this!" Gordon said seriously immediately.

But after locking up all the prisoners, he would go to the utility room on the rooftop and secretly call Batgirl to complain, why did you make things big again this time? Can you avoid surveillance next time before taking action? Class words.

.............................

Batgirl was relatively easy to talk to in those days, and her behavior was relatively restrained.

But as time went by, the news about a Batwoman in Gotham spread, which attracted her fans. Unfortunately, these masked men were all bad guys and psychopaths, which also made Gotham's fans The security situation deteriorated rapidly.

After that, in Gotham, if someone calls the police, it won't be a small matter like a bank being robbed or a house being robbed, but a major incident that will bring the entire city to hell.

For example, a madman hid a nuclear warhead in the city center and wanted to practice one-on-one combat with Batgirl, or someone kidnapped hundreds of hostages in a building and wanted to play a guessing game with Batgirl.

Fortunately, Batgirl finally solved these problems, but inevitably, her opponents also appeared in the city. They felt that it was bats that attracted villains from all over the world to Gotham.

But Bat didn't intend to explain anything, he still went his own way, and his methods were even more cruel.

Gordon also became the chief at that time, and he immediately ordered the bat lights to be set up on the roof of the police station and no longer covered them up. Whenever the Bat-Light lights up, it means that he has something to discuss with Batgirl, and there is a new madman in town, and Batgirl needs to solve it.

Yes, from then on, the criminals who reappeared were no longer something the police could deal with. They had to rely on Batwoman. The role of the police was to wait for Gordon's order and deal with the criminals left behind by Batwoman afterwards. , at that time, criminals were often in a coma or disabled state.

Fortunately, although Gotham was dangerous at that time, at least people were not what they are today. At least at that time, people still had good expectations in their hearts.

Until Batgirl's greatest rival arrives.

No one knows where she came from. She has long green hair and a pale face. She always has an exaggerated smile on her face. She also likes to use a knife to carve this smile on other people's faces.

She did a few great things to tell people how crazy she was and that being crazy was a good thing.

No more worries about death, no more worries about hunger and poverty, just laugh happily every day!

She planted the seeds of madness deeply in the hearts of Gotham people, and waited patiently and with a smile for them to sprout. From time to time, she would also do things that undermined the seeds, just for more fun.

She was entangled with Batgirl, was caught countless times, and escaped from prison countless times. It was as if the city had become their stage. She just wanted all the bat's attention to be on her.

Until half a year ago, the jester came up with a new game and planned to invite Gordon to act as a prop. As a result, something went wrong during the kidnapping process. Gordon's daughter Barbara was hit by a bullet in the lumbar spine and became a high paraplegic. , and could only spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

At the end of the matter, the Fool was caught by the bat again. Gordon wanted to kill her to avenge his daughter, but Batwoman blocked the gun and told him not to be fooled by the Fool, not to be dominated by madness, and not to lose his principles.

Gordon finally put down his gun and chose to act in accordance with the law. The law has no judgment for mental illness and will only be imprisoned in Arkham for treatment...

But who can control the Fool? The doctor who once treated her was inspired by her and became Harley Quinn today. Not only did she help the Joker escape from prison, but they also created the monster Two-Face together.

After that, Arkham stopped giving Rigoletto a doctor.

The Rigoletto seemed to be tired of playing this time. She stayed in Arkham without any movement for a long time.

According to past experience, when the Fool is caught, Harley Quinn will completely calm down as if she has lost her soul. So Batgirl and Gordon didn't care too much about not catching Harley last time. It would be better this way. If they were imprisoned in Arkham at the same time, something would happen.

About half a month before Su Ming arrived...

As usual, Gordon woke up from a nightmare, shook his head, fumbled with his glasses and put them on. He found that he was not tied to the roller coaster in the amusement park by the jester, and did not have to face crazy scenes. On the bed at home.

Cold sweat soaked the sheets, there was a whirring sound from the unclosed window, and the curtains were lifted high by the wind.

The electronic alarm clock on the bedside told him that it was only four o'clock in the middle of the night, and it had not been two hours since he lay down. As a result, his dream was full of Barbara lying in a pool of blood, and the Rigoletto kept laughing wildly.

Gordon's first wife divorced him, said goodbye to Gotham and his daughter, and was never heard from again. The second wife was a policeman who was killed by the jester while on duty to save the babies.

In addition to the Fool, they also often appear in Gordon's nightmares. Now only his daughter is left to depend on each other, and the Fool has also made her disabled.

Gordon had more reasons to go crazy than anyone else, but he didn't. He still insisted on justice and the law.

He picked up the gun from under the pillow, first closed the open windows tightly, and then carefully checked every room to prevent bad guys from getting in. Finally, he came to Barbara's door.

He gently opened the door and saw his daughter sleeping soundly on the bed in the moonlight. He felt relieved, put the pistol behind his waist, and went to the kitchen to find some water.

There are not many things in the refrigerator. When Barbara was still healthy, her daughter would do housework at home. Gordon was too busy to go shopping in the supermarket.

After searching for a long time, I only found half a carton of milk. It probably wasn't expired yet and could moisturize my throat a little.

Just as he was drinking milk and closing the refrigerator door, a person suddenly appeared behind the refrigerator door, which scared him so much that he almost threw the bottle away.

"Next time you go to bed, it's best to close the windows."

"Pfft... Damn it! Batgirl, can't you make some noise? It will scare me to death if you always appear so suddenly!" Gordon spurted out the milk in his mouth, and Batgirl quickly She ducked away without getting a drop on her cloak.

"Because... I'm Batgirl!" The visitor replied expressionlessly, his voice obviously changed by a voice changer.

"I know who you are, who you really are, I just won't tell you!" Gordon went to find a rag angrily, intending to clean the floor: "It's four o'clock in the middle of the night, and all the lunatics have been locked up, you Can’t you just let me have a good sleep? Don’t you have anything else to do at night?”

Batgirl completely ignored these words. Everyone knew that Bliss Vayne was a rich girl who was rich but good-for-nothing. People in the city thought she lived a life of revelry and partying every night, but in fact she was the one who hired her. The actors are here, just pretending to be acting.

She got down to business directly: "I have to leave Gotham for a few days. If I stay, I will pose a threat to everyone."

"Oh? What kind of lunatic is this time? I'll call the bureau right now." Gordon breathed out, dropped the rag in his hand, and went to find his mobile phone.

"I don't know, still looking for clues."

Batgirl shook her head and hid in the darkness. The bat cloak completely blended her into the shadows, but Gordon, who was familiar with her, could guess what she looked like now.

"Then how did you know it was dangerous?" Gordon was surprised.

"Someone told me that in some respects, he is very credible." Batgirl seemed to be touching something in her pocket, but did not take it out to show Gordon: "You and Barbara also immediately Come with me, or the lunatics will use you to force me out."

Gordon was silent. After a moment, he shook his head: "No, I am the police chief of Gotham. I will never leave. No matter who wants to cause trouble in Gotham, unless I die."

"Are you sure? Although I don't know the specific situation, but from what I know so far, the danger is definitely far greater than before." Bliss dissuaded: "Maybe you can take a month off and we can take Barbara with us. Find a doctor worldwide.”

"No, I won't leave. You take Barbara away, I'll stay here." Gordon said firmly. Once Batwoman leaves, if he leaves again, Gotham will be over, maybe overnight. His thirty years of hard work will be in vain: "Even if they kill me, you must not come back."

"I won't leave either. My father can stay, and as a woman, I have no need to run away."

It turned out to be Barbara. Although her life was safe after being beaten and disabled by the jester, the pain in her waist often made it difficult for her to fall asleep. In addition, she was always nervous and would wake up when there was any disturbance. This time she heard something in the kitchen. The two of them talked and came out of the room in a wheelchair.

"Barbara, you can think about it, maybe..." Bliss said to her.

"No need, even the Fool didn't kill me, let alone others. I will stay here with my father. I think the police station's communications room is safer and I can use my computer skills."

Barbara rejected her offer, saying she wanted to live and die with Gotham.

Bliss hesitated for a moment. Seeing how determined the two of them were, even she wanted to stay. But the mysterious man told her that if she continued to stay in Gotham, not only the city, but also the entire earth would be in danger, and she must leave.

With a roll of cloak, she left Gordon's house and headed to where Alfred was waiting for her.

Gordon held Barbara and cried for a while, strengthened his confidence, and solemnly said into the darkness:

"We're not leaving, Batwoman, do what you have to do, I...wait, she left again? Why can't she listen to me to the end every time?!"

Gordon was helpless. This time, Batgirl was just like hundreds of times in the past, suddenly appearing and then disappearing. He had never heard a word of farewell.

"Because that's what Batgirl is like. Can you take me back to my room, dad?" Barbara covered her mouth and yawned.