Chapter 4958: There Is No Batman Here (Sixty-Three)

"Sorry. The situation down there is indeed a bit strange, and I couldn't fully guard against it either," Charles said to the others climbing to their feet. "But it's fine now. Are you all alright?"

"It's fine, Professor. We weren't actually attacked," Damian said. "It was like having a dream."

Nightwing shook his head as well. "Why do I feel like I've forgotten something? What did I see?"

"I helped you blur some memories," Charles said. "This power would make you recall bad things, stir up negative emotions. I shielded some of it for you, like waking up and forgetting what you dreamed."

"I can probably guess what I dreamed about," Red Hood said. "It's like this every time. I've seen it enough to be sick of it."

Everyone knew what he would dream about, just like they knew what Batman would dream about. When they realized they might see their own psychological shadows, everyone looked at Batman, but Batman remained silent.

Harley rubbed her neck. When she'd fallen just now, her head had struck the wall, twisting her neck. She sighed. "Batman's dark side really is troublesome. Let's just head inside and see if we can find Joker."

They proceeded along the passage, even summoning the truck and driving a stretch, finally reaching the maintenance point Tim had mentioned. By now they were beneath the sea, only the tunnel had no observation windows, so they couldn't see the sea conditions, but this maintenance point did.

They climbed up, but didn't rashly look up. Instead, they took a photo with the terminal first, having Brainiac describe it to them. And unsurprisingly, there was indeed something in the sea.

In the photo Brainiac captured, there was a large pit ahead, and inside the pit was something like a flower bud. Faint laughter could be heard.

Red Robin thought for a moment. "This might be what the Court of Owls wants to incubate — a Joker contaminated by an Outer God. Arkham Knight is the final Sacrificial Offering. He should be close to hatching."

"We can't let him hatch," Damian said. "Joker's bad enough to deal with as is. A Joker contaminated by an Outer God — how could we possibly beat that?"

"The question is how to get close to it," Harley mused, looking at Pamela. "Can you build an enclosed passage?"

"Yes," Pamela nodded. "I'll use vines for the framework, Lorna will handle waterproofing. But that bud looks very strange. If we attack it directly, there might be complications..."

"I've got an idea," Red Hood said. "Since it hasn't hatched yet, it should be temporarily immobile. Instead of destroying the bud directly, how about we cut this thing down, load it onto the truck, and transport it to Batman?"

Bruce wanted to say, "You really are a clever little bastard. No wonder you're the guy who pried the tires off the Batmobile. When it comes to tormenting Batman, you're second to none."

But the Robins all approved this plan. Never mind how dangerous the bud was, or whether it could still hatch after being cut down, or whether whatever hatched could even deal with Batman — as long as they could transport it over, it counted as a win. A cultural victory, so to speak.

Said and done. Pamela created a passage outside first. Polaris used a magnetic field to keep the water out. Then they opened the door, and the group rushed out with wild cries.

Bruce wanted to go too. Charles gave him a meaningful look. He said, "With precautions in place, this thing can't affect me anymore, so naturally it can't attack them either."

"I've been wanting to ask," Bruce said to him mentally. "I feel like you're different. What happened?"

"You just haven't seen me wearing a Cerebro," Charles said. "Ever since Cerebro was destroyed in the war, Erik and I both felt that form wasn't viable. Even with high enough output, it was still too easily targeted. This version is different."

Charles turned to look at Bruce. Bruce saw a blue light flare between Charles's brows, like a third eye. This should have been a rather aesthetic sight, but however you looked at it, it was eerie.

Bruce instinctively turned away, averting his gaze. "You people are insane."

He hadn't expected to say that twice in such a short time. But it made him feel increasingly like the only normal person here — one guy beside him planning to poison a quantum entity, the other embedding Cerebro into his own skull.

Before long, a cheer came from the end of the passage. The Robins had actually succeeded. They managed to saw the bud down — thanks to Pamela's extensive botanical knowledge and a touch of occult guidance from Lilith — and loaded it into the truck.

They encountered monsters on the return trip. They'd closed the door when they entered, but these monsters weren't quite the same as the bat-monsters in the South District. They existed between virtual and real, not something physical-world attacks could defeat.

"Don't stop the truck," Bruce said, projecting as much of Batman's decisiveness as possible. "Ram straight through. We'll fight them once we're out."

Red Hood floored the gas. The blocking monsters weren't knocked away — they simply dissipated into the air. But the dark atmosphere grew even thicker. By the time the truck drove out of the exit, it wasn't a matter of dusk falling anymore. They had plunged completely into darkness.

Harley grimaced. "If we don't go take out the boss soon, he's going to come take us out."

"I think so too," Tim said. "Hurry up. Brainiac, navigate!"

Although the outside environment was dark, fortunately the map on the terminal still worked. They marked the destination, Brainiac calculated the shortest route, and they drove along it.

When they reached the base of Wayne Tower, the darkness here had condensed into something tangible. After getting out, they found even breathing laborious. Polaris directly became an electromagnetic storm, trying to clear away the dark matter, but to poor effect. She expended tremendous effort with no change.

"Don't waste your effort," Tim said. "Find a way to open the bud first. Arkham Knight might still be inside."

They didn't dare go to the top floor. They just set the bud down downstairs. Not daring to approach and cut it open with melee, they prepared explosives. Everyone hid far behind the truck before daring to detonate.

Only a boom sounded. It did sound like something had shattered. But no one dared peek. After a long while, Arkham Knight's body, carried by Polaris, slowly woke up.

Polaris instinctively looked at Charles. Charles nodded at him. This meant Arkham Knight had truly returned, not some monster occupying his body.

Polaris exhaled deeply. She even seemed unable to control herself as she looked at Arkham Knight climbing up from the ground. "Sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up back then..."

Arkham Knight silently shook his head, giving her a look. Polaris fell silent. Charles raised an eyebrow. Huh. Someone who can actually rein Lorna in?

Actually, Charles was well aware of the past conflicts between Havok and Iceman regarding Polaris. The main issue between those two was that they both wanted to become Polaris's boyfriend by "handling" the other, but that simply didn't work.

But it was a second-choice option. Because neither could "handle" Polaris. Not in the sense of suppressing her — they couldn't even influence her, whether in power or emotionally. So they could only target each other.

What Arkham Knight's deal was, Charles wasn't clear on yet. He had no intention of interfering either. Polaris wasn't a child anymore. Even if she was sometimes reckless, emotionally she was quite mature. No need to meddle in her choices.

Bruce obviously noticed this scene too. But his thought was: Arkham Knight's universe is all metal cans. Did he find himself an electromagnetic can opener?

"That's about it," Charles said. He held out a hand, snapped a photo with the terminal, then had Brainiac relay it to them.

The one inside the bud was indeed Joker. But he bore no resemblance to the original Joker anymore. It was a monster whose lower body had completely become tentacles. Its upper body had no torso either — like its head had enlarged, melted, and piled atop the tentacles. It grinned wide, laughing maniacally. And from its mouth extended many pairs of hands, as if these hands were controlling the jaw's opening and closing.

Perhaps because it hadn't fully hatched, it was still covered in a layer of slime. Its tentacles were fewer. But that laughter still pierced the darkness, reaching the top of Wayne Tower.

And the figure descending from the darkness was no less terrifying. Six enormous bat wings sprouted from his back. Every wing membrane was tattered. Immense dark power swirled around him. Even from far away, everyone was already suffocating.

Moreover, the air turned bitterly cold. Freezing, making one shiver. Like every cold, rainy night in Gotham. Unexplainable horrors mixed in the darkness, causing uncontrollable chills.

They had to retreat into the truck cab. And miraculously, this truck seemed to have truly become Noah's Ark. The dark power was dispersed significantly. They crowded in the cab, like returning to that night they charged into the North District Manor.

"I like this truck," Red Hood said. "I like that story too."

"That's not a story," Harley shook her head. "I know it sounds like a fairy tale. A great hero driving a truck, saving children from a storm surge. But if they hadn't survived those cold, rainy nights in the past, this day wouldn't exist."

"I agree with that," Red Hood said. "We weren't hopelessly waiting for a hero there. We were saving ourselves every single moment. That's why I don't like the Noah's Ark story."

Harley smiled. And the few people closer to the truck door started frantically taking photos, having Brainiac convert images to text.

Batman and Joker truly are natural enemies. Brainiac didn't delete this setting either. The moment they met, they were at each other's throats. Two monsters brawling beneath Wayne Tower. Shrill laughter and deep roars rang out incessantly. The darkness grew ever thicker.

?? Make me burn so hot I go nocturnal