mtl008 Chapter 3298 Bloody New City (47)
Chapter 3298 Bloody New City (47)
Chapter 3298 Bloodshed in New City (Forty-Seven)
Maria's experience is not complicated. She was just a clown who brought disaster to her, and now she has become a clown herself.
But if you look at it from another angle, her story is actually not that simple. If she just fell into the chemical pool and was watched by Batman, it would not be so easy for her to become the Joker.
Maria is an ordinary bank clerk. But before she became a bank clerk, her growth process was not smooth. In general, it can be summarized as: a violent father, a runaway mother, a jerk brother, and a hardworking girl.
She is able to find a stable job despite her family conditions, which shows how hard she works.
What is even more valuable is that Maria did not choose the path of crime, but seized every opportunity to work hard, being cautious and reducing mistakes, and finally won the battle for survival.
Perhaps many people have had this experience: when a person struggles for survival for too long, he or she is likely to lose himself or herself. Running like a lifeless machine every day, the soul gradually disappears. After achieving something that was once difficult to obtain, one can no longer feel any happiness.
This is what happened to Maria, she made her life a template, similar to yet opposite to Ruth.
Ruth relied on criminal means, which was not glorious, but she eventually reached a high position. Maria did not become a criminal, but through hard work, caution and a little luck, she also lived a stable life like an ordinary person.
But they all face the same problem, which is hitting the lid above their heads.
No matter whether it was criminal means or hard work, they had no way to go any higher.
Ruth chose to accept her fate, and as long as she could escape from the terrible living environment at the bottom of society, she would be a dog. Maria, however, chose to hold the clown's hand and fall into madness with him, using madness to resist despair.
Her self-nature has been suppressed for too long, and a life without room for advancement has left her with no reason to continue suppressing herself. The Joker has shown her the beauty of freedom behind madness, which has shaped Maria into the person she is today.
Is it the Joker who created Maria's tragedy? Maria, the Joker, and even Batman all think it's not, at least not completely.
The moment Maria's head hit the lid, her normal life could no longer be maintained forever. To break through this limitation, one must either become a criminal or a lunatic.
It seems that how many criminals and lunatics in Gotham have the same experience as Maria?
Clark was also thinking about this. He had never seen Gotham from this perspective before, but now he realized that a lot of the darkness in Gotham did not have a specific source like Metropolis. No matter how hard he tried, he could not trace it back to anyone or anything.
Then, Bruce showed Clark some videos of criminals in Arkham Asylum telling about their experiences.
Which super criminal who can get into Arkham's private room doesn't have a story? But then again, who can live to tell the story has not dealt with the lid above his head?
It is true that many of Arkham's criminals are born mentally ill, but that doesn't mean their choice to become a criminal is not influenced by other factors.
This society does not give these people with congenital mental illness any other way. Even on the road of crime, they have few choices. In the final analysis, they are just under the control of the upper class and consume each other with the lower class.
It is not objective to attribute all the mistakes to the rich. Many of them also climbed up from the bottom. Because of their own strength and a little bit of chance, they broke through the lid on their heads and fought for a better new life for themselves.
All their efforts to maintain their class status are just to prevent themselves from falling back and to protect their own interests. If they were other poor people, they would do the same.
This is how it should be.
If there is no way to dismantle this logical closed loop of thinking, then both sides should be punished severely, and then some gentle means should be used to improve it to ease the conflict.
However, after the Arkham Asylum jailbreak bet appeared, in Superman's eyes, this matter was no longer a question of the conflict between the rich and the poor.
It is one thing to protect one's class interests, but to treat human lives as toys for this purpose, and to unleash all one's cruelty and darkness for this purpose, and to take pride in it instead of being ashamed of it, this is something that cannot be solved by heavy punches. Even Superman would have to be beaten six times in one second.
After hearing what Bruce said, Clark was almost pissed off. His chest rose and fell so much that it felt like he was sucking the sun dry.
But unfortunately, there is no sun in Gotham. So Clark became even angrier.
Just as Clark was about to punch one by one, Bruce stopped him and tried his best to persuade him.
His logic of dissuasion is easy to understand: first, there are too many people involved in the case. Even if they can successfully arrest them all, the court will not be able to make judgments in a short time, which gives them room to operate.
These people are very cunning. Don't even mention how many of them can escape in a few days. Even a single day of delay is enough for them to destroy all the evidence and clear themselves.
A verdict must be made, but the most important thing is to collect a complete chain of evidence and prevent them from destroying evidence and nailing them to the pillar of shame.
In addition, this group of people controls Gotham's economy and people's livelihood. If they are all arrested at once, the short-term turmoil will be enough to make ordinary people suffer. If it is not a very critical situation, it is better not to be so radical.
Clark gradually calmed down. He tried to calm down his anger and admired Batman's calmness.
"So what do you think we should do?" Clark asked, "You must have found the evidence, right? Is there anything else I can do to help?"
"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you to come." Bruce said, "There are many people who can catch them, including the GCPD. But you are the only one who can expose their evil deeds and let the public know the truth."
"I am one of them. If I speak out, people may not believe me. Batman was only cleared of his terrible criminal identity a while ago, and his credibility is still insufficient."
"I contacted our mayor before, but someone reported that municipal funds were misdirected, and he is cooperating with the FBI to investigate the matter, so he is unable to help. Fortunately, you are here, Clark."
Bruce took a step forward, held Clark's shoulder and said, "I heard about your achievements in Metropolis some time ago. I didn't expect that when you have such powerful power, you would choose such a delicate way to help ordinary people. I am proud of you."
Clark gave him a hug without saying anything.
"I know it's hard for you to face this alone," Clark said. "I hope that if something like this happens again in the future, you will be the first to tell me. I will help you no matter how difficult it is."
Bruce seemed to hesitate, but didn't push him away, instead saying, "I will."
Clark said with some surprise: "You have changed a lot, Bruce. I am so happy. Alfred will be proud of you too."
Bruce smiled. Clark was stunned by his smile. It was so real, like he was actually happy. Even though Clark knew in his heart that he probably wasn't, it was hard not to respond.
"That's better than when you have a straight face," Clark said. "You should smile more."
Bruce smiled again. Clark smiled too.
"Arkham Asylum contains records of the admission and treatment of these criminals. This is important evidence. I hope you can go there and take it out, and keep it well, and don't let anyone get access to it."
"And I have to find the money for the bet to prevent anyone from having any bad ideas. Let's split up. After you get the things, we will meet at Wayne Manor."
Clark, as always, did not object to this plan of action. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go right away."
When Clark arrived at Arkham Asylum, he got the information without much effort.
The problem came when he went to Wayne Manor to gather. When he arrived at Wayne Manor, Batman was just about to go out.
Clark noticed that his face was not very good, and asked in confusion: "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the plan?"
Batman was stunned by his question. He thought quickly.
Seeing Superman's inquiring eyes, he immediately thought that Bruce and Clark might have talked about something and there might be some plan between them.
But if he said now, "The one you met before was not me," Clark might not reveal the plan to him. If you want to get the words, you have to pretend.
"Yeah, it's a little problem, but it's nothing serious, I'm just about to fix it." Batman said, "How are things going over there?"
"I got the stuff."
"Let me see it, I need to make sure it's okay."
Clark didn't even think about it, he just handed the thing in his hand to Batman. Batman was stunned when he saw it: Isn't this the information about the super criminal I published before? What is Clark going to do with this?
Luckily, Clark didn't let him down, and he didn't need to ask any questions. Clark said, "This information is indeed very important. If those people want to exonerate themselves, they will definitely find ways to modify the information."
"Although it should be safe in your bat cave, I think it's best for me to carry it with me. By the way, I can also organize the information and prepare for the press release later."
Several key words flashed through Batman's mind: criminal information, carry-on, press release...
Wait, isn't this the "Criminal Registration Bill" again? Did Penguin ask him to come? To get the criminals' information so he can make it public to support the criminal registration bill he proposed in the state legislature?
Batman frowned slightly. It turned out that the lazy Bruce had also sided with Cobblepot and even successfully persuaded Superman. This was a bit troublesome.
Batman knew about the recent commotion Clark had caused in Metropolis. He had become quite famous recently, and many people were paying attention to the press release he wrote. If it was really published and the state legislature passed the bill, the Pale Knight would definitely support it, and it would be difficult for him to fight alone.
He had to find a way to get Superman to his side.
If Bruce can impersonate him, then he can naturally impersonate Bruce too. They share the same identity anyway, so whatever he says is the truth, right?
"There have been some changes to the plan." Batman said directly, "Don't write a press release yet. I need to conduct a detailed investigation before deciding our next move."
Clark frowned and said, "Have you run into any big trouble? Didn't you just promise me that you would be the first to tell me if you run into trouble? Are you trying to solve it yourself without telling anyone?"
Who promised you that? Batman thought to himself, do Kryptonians have bad eyesight? Does that seemingly uneducated guy look even remotely like me? How could you be so wrong?
Besides, what did that guy promise? Why should I tell Superman about my troubles? What's the logic of doing so?
Batman was thinking when he felt a shadow falling in front of him.
The next second, he was hugged by Clark.
With a whoosh, Batman rushed out three meters and looked at Clark with the most terrified look in his life.
Seeing Clark's hurt expression, Batman couldn't help but ask - you again! Be sad! What!
Then, he thought of a terrible possibility - would Bruce really let him hug him?!
Just for a super criminal registration bill, this guy would sacrifice himself to this extent?
Batman thought in a panic, "Sign up, sir, who can stop you?"