Chapter 2036: The Knight's Night of Terror (Fifteen)

"He's a smart kid, isn't he?"

That annoying, laughter-laced voice rang out again. Batman saw the Joker appear behind Peter's chair, cupping his face with his hands and saying, "I like him a lot. He made the right choice — abandoning Batman, even betraying him."

"What a wise and great decision. Even after observing you up close and joining the Bat-family, he still didn't change his choice. You know he's not stupid — he's too smart."

"He's realized the truth about you. Yes, you, Batman. You can't give anyone a good ending. Only truly eliminating you can bring Gotham a beautiful tomorrow."

"You also know everything I'm saying is the truth — like a close friend's earnest advice. Yet you've always clung to that shred of mercy, turning you from a true hero into an indecisive coward."

"Stop running. Stop running. Or just listen like this, Batman. Listen to how Judas came to know Jesus. Do they really need saving? Do they really deserve to be saved?"

In an instant, Batman found himself back in that pitch-black shack, hearing Jason's cries once more.

"Batman, where are you? Where are you? Why won't you come save me?... Batman, you've forgotten me, haven't you? Someone replaced me, didn't they?"

"It hurts so much... it hurts so much... No one will save me, no one will save us. Batman, you knew all along, but you didn't care. You only care about those long-term plans."

"Those killed by criminals, those harmed by criminals — how much pain did every last wraith on Gotham's dark streets feel before death? You don't care at all. You forgave every criminal on their behalf. But who are you to do that?"

"If we're to have a tomorrow, we have to survive tonight first. Maybe you'll make Gotham better... but we can't wait that long. I can't wait that long."

Jason's face and Peter's gradually merged together. After extreme fear came extreme rage. Batman found his hand touching a sharp object.

It was a sharp Batarang.

"No... no..."

His own voice grew weaker and weaker, while another voice rang out, "No... wake up... wake up! Human! Wake up! Don't attack..."

This unfamiliar voice jolted Batman, granting him a moment of clarity.

In that split second, the only action he took was pressing the button on his belt, unlocking the restraints on Nightwing's and Peter's seats.

"Go..."

Afterward, his consciousness sank into boundless darkness. Amidst the endless fall, the only thing Batman could hear was the Joker's maniacal laughter.

The moment Peter was released, he collapsed to the ground, gasping heavily, discovering he couldn't muster a shred of strength to stand.

Nightwing, confused, hurriedly helped him up, but Peter shook him off like a madman, stumbling and crashing his way out of the Batcave.

Gotham's rain fell harder. This was the darkest hour before dawn.

The icy rainwater cleared Peter's head slightly. As the stress response faded, he stood beneath a tree, adjusting his body's condition.

When he returned to the Batcave, Nightwing had already left, and Batman was nowhere to be found. Peter opened the Batcave prison door and let Poison Ivy out.

Poison Ivy realized Peter's state was off, so she didn't press for details, merely looking at his pale face and saying, "I guess you've learned your lesson now, boy. I told you, Batman isn't that simple."

"If I said he could easily end all crime in this city, you might find it unbelievable, but he truly can. The only reason he doesn't is that he wants to save everyone."

"He refuses to admit there are born monsters in this world. He believes he can find a way to truly save everyone here. He thinks one day he will."

"Hard to say who's crazier — Batman or the supervillains. I can only tell you: if you're not crazy enough, leave now. This is a showdown between madmen."

Peter knelt on the ground, feeling his heart had turned into a bomb — its rhythm and arrhythmia both illusions, impossible to discern clearly.

What made him gradually lose his sense of self was the spider-sense that had been screaming madly for so long it had gradually been adapted to.

Peter's hands braced on the ground gradually clenched. Poison Ivy's words were like the final puzzle piece, finally giving him that subtle spark of inspiration beyond what his rational mind had grasped.

"Death has never been the best retribution..."

Poison Ivy stepped forward, cupping Peter's face with both hands, bringing her ear close to his lips, wanting to hear what he was muttering.

"Death has never been the best retribution, but I have a way to turn it into a gift..."

Under Poison Ivy's slightly fearful gaze, Peter's eyes began to shine, flickering with a strange, manic light.

"Damn it." Poison Ivy shoved Peter's head aside as if touching hazardous waste. After cursing, she said, "I told you you should've left earlier. This city drives anyone crazy. You've been hit."

But Peter, unlike his previously somewhat stiff posture, sprang up with extreme agility and power, turning and walking out of the Batcave.

"Where are you going? Wait for me."

Poison Ivy clearly didn't want to stay in the Batcave alone, and ultimately followed Peter out.

Peter yanked open the car door with lightning speed, sat in the van's driver's seat again, floored the gas, and the van surged out.

Poison Ivy was jolted by the too-fast acceleration, letting out a cry of alarm. Peter didn't turn his head, saying, "Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. When a person knows what they're going to do, they truly can't wait a single moment, right?"

Poison Ivy heard the excitement in Peter's tone — even mania. She nervously swallowed.

Poison Ivy had seen her share of the world. She knew exactly where this mania came from, and what it would ultimately lead to.

But she couldn't help worrying, and asked, "Where are we going? What are we doing?"

"The police station. To the GCPD."

Huge waves rose again by the puddles, water soaking the base of the telephone pole, making it look like the mast of a leaking boat in peril.

Batman, standing on the rooftop, saw several Jokers closing in on him, yet he merely stood silently in place and spoke.

"You think you can manipulate the fear in my heart, Joker, but this is precisely what exposes what you truly fear."

"Many eggs in the bat's nest. He fed them diligently, protected them with effort. But when they hatched, one left, two went missing, three betrayed." The Joker sang a nursery rhyme with a strangely familiar melody. "All thanks to me. Only thanks to me."

"I locked up one of your little birds, plucked all his feathers, carved my name on his face. You should think about how much he suffered — all because of me! All because of me!"

Batman's fists slowly clenched.

Suddenly a flash of light crossed his vision. A figure in metal armor appeared at the rooftop's edge.

"Listen, old man. You made the stupidest decision in the world." The Arkham Knight's deep voice rang out: "A cuckoo bird snuck into your Bat-nest. You're not his father."

"Peter Parker. I don't know where you found him, but all of this was orchestrated by him. You'd better wake up."

The Arkham Knight's voice snapped Batman back to his senses. He stared at the Arkham Knight's mask, suddenly feeling their minds were connected.

"Take off your mask." Batman said: "Face me with your true face. You don't dare?"

"It's you who doesn't dare. I'm just here to point out you made another stupid decision — just as stupid as the last one."

Finishing his words, the Arkham Knight turned and leapt off the building. But to his surprise, Batman didn't pursue. He just stood there on the street, watching Batman's figure disappear into the distance.

He figured Batman couldn't have noticed Peter Parker's wrongness any later than him. He must be going after that kid. And he had to be on the scene — he had to see Batman's expression when he suffered the dire consequences of his own stupid decision.

So the two of them, one after another, headed toward the Gotham City Police Department.

Inside the GCPD, Poison Ivy looked somewhat blankly at Peter rummaging through the archive room, and she asked, "What exactly are you looking for?"

"Do you know how the Joker died?"

Poison Ivy shook her head, then sighed and said, "That was another astonishing farce."

"Tell me about it."

"It's a long story... alright, I'll make a long story short. It's also the Joker's own fault. He concocted a poison called... Titan Toxin, probably hoping to use it to defeat Batman, but obviously he failed. Somehow, he ended up infected with this poison himself."

"By the time Batman threw him into Arkham Asylum, he was already poisoned. I'm immune to all toxins, so I don't know how potent this toxin was, but I did observe the poisoned Joker once through the observation window. By then he was already very weak."

"Anyway, the Joker died later. I heard from Harley Quinn that he died of poisoning, but when Scarecrow captured me, he told me that Batman was actually poisoned too. The Joker transfused his own poisoned blood into Batman's body."

"As expected." Peter sighed and said, "I already noticed on the surveillance footage several times that Batman lost control. It didn't look like symptoms of a fear toxin attack."

"Found it." Peter took a file from the cabinet, brushed off the dust on top, and said, "This should be the detailed record of that incident."

Getting the file, Peter didn't linger. He took Poison Ivy and left immediately. Batman arrived a step too late.

On the way to the next destination, Poison Ivy drove while Peter sat in the passenger seat carefully reading the file.

The course of events was roughly the same as what Poison Ivy said, only in the police records, at the end Batman placed the Joker's corpse in front of the Gotham Grand Theater where they had their final showdown.

A massive fire burned the Joker's corpse. This criminal full of evil finally turned to ashes.

The rain grew heavier and heavier. Wind-driven raindrops hammered the truck's cabin. Like a frenzied death metal piece reaching its climax.

"What do we do next?"

"Go resurrect the Joker."