mtl008 Chapter 2499: Battle for the Cloak (55)
Chapter 2499: Battle for the Cloak (55)
Chapter 2499: Battle for the Cloak (Fifty-Five)
Batman and Batwoman rushed to the neighborhood where they had suspected the location as soon as possible, and sure enough, they saw Bruce there. He did not look older, but just more mature.
The two of them followed Bruce back home. To be more precise, after Bruce returned home, they guessed the address of Bruce's home through the light on the window, and then climbed onto the balcony.
Through the gap in the curtains, they saw an old man lying on the bed.
Bruce put the purchased vegetables back into the refrigerator one by one, walked into the house, sat down beside the old man's bed, and turned on the bedside lamp.
Batman, standing in the corner of the balcony, saw that it was Gordon, but he was very old, with white hair, skinny and gaunt, and dull eyes.
"Sheriff Gein is divorced." Bruce said, "Her second husband cheated on her and was suspected of sexual bribery. She is suing him for custody, and the outcome is not optimistic."
Gordon just stared at the ceiling without blinking, his eyes didn't change at all, Batman and Batwoman both heard Bruce say, "I know she came to you 20 years ago, but it wasn't about the Claw Killer. You asked her to investigate me."
"You asked her to go to the police station to find the case file of you being shot that year. You suspected that I was the one who fired the gun."
Gordon finally slowly turned his eyes around and stared at Bruce with his cloudy eyes. Bruce said, "You saw me, right?"
Gordon slowly turned his eyes back.
Batwoman on the balcony looked at Batman, and there was no surprise on either of their faces because they had guessed it before.
It was not normal for Gordon to ask the female police officer to retrieve the case files but hide it from everyone, including Bruce.
Even if he was worried that there might be a hidden party in the police station who was trying to snatch the shares, there should be no need to hide it from Bruce, because the hyenas who were trying to snatch the inheritance were also Bruce's enemies, and they should have been comrades on the same front.
But Gordon didn't intend to tell Bruce, and even specifically emphasized to the female police officer not to tell Bruce, so it was obvious who he was suspecting.
"I fired the shot," Bruce said.
Gordon's hands gradually grasped the bed sheet. Bruce slowly lowered his head and said, "I know it's too late to say this now, but I was angry that you couldn't find the murderer who killed my parents. I wanted an incompetent policeman like you to be buried with them."
Gordon's expression suddenly shattered. His previous firmness and seriousness, even though he looked haggard, seemed to have collapsed in an instant.
He became dazed and numb, with a look of pain coming from his memories. The Wayne case was a hurdle that he would never be able to overcome in his lifetime.
"In fact, I regretted it the moment I fired the first shot." Bruce sighed and said, "I pulled the trigger instinctively, which led to all this. I know I am responsible, so I have to take care of you."
"Even if I'm a useless policeman?" Gordon said in a hoarse voice, "A policeman who can't catch the criminal who killed your parents?"
Bruce was silent, then he whispered: "This is a different matter, uncle, we will move soon, I have bought a new house, everything will be over."
Gordon's lips began to tremble and tears flowed from his dry eyes. He slowly turned his eyes to Bruce, who had already stood up.
"do you hate me?"
Bruce heard Gordon ask.
Bruce stood there for a long time before he walked towards the bedroom door and said as he turned the doorknob, "No, uncle, I don't hate you anymore."
"Of course you don't hate him, because you have already avenged yourself." A deep voice sounded from the other end of the room, and Batman drew aside the curtains and walked out.
Bruce looked back at the suddenly appearing Batman, and stepped back cautiously like an ordinary person, his back pressed tightly against the door, and grabbed the phone next to him and said, "Who are you? Why are you in my house?"
"Are you going to call the police?" Batman said, "At this point, do you still want to continue the show? Aren't you short of audiences now?"
Batwoman also came out, leaning against the wall next to her, standing with her arms folded, staring at Bruce at the door.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"If you really shot Gordon because he was a useless policeman who didn't find the murderer of your parents, you would have shot him dead, but you didn't."
"You let him live in humiliation, leaving him with nowhere to vent his surging sense of justice. He can do nothing in the real world, and can only keep recalling the past and endure endless mental torture."
"You also deliberately let him see you. He knew that you were the culprit of all this. It's not that he didn't hate you for turning him into this, but he still had to rely on you. Because he couldn't find the murderer who killed your parents, he blamed himself for all the tragedies he encountered. He tortured himself and couldn't get rid of it at all."
"You made him think that you depended on him and that you had feelings for him. He was your last relative, so he couldn't even commit suicide to get rid of this torture because he didn't want you to lose your relatives again."
"You made him suffer a fate worse than death but unable to die. You took the most brutal revenge in the world. And now you tell him that you don't hate him. Don't you feel despicable?"
Bruce looked at Batman with a sullen face, as if he was thinking about something. Batwoman lowered her eyes and said, "To this extent, it can only prove that you are a born sociopath, because it is impossible for ordinary people to witness his pain countless times over decades and remain indifferent. Regardless of whether he is his enemy or not, as long as you have empathy, you cannot accept it. If you have no reaction, it proves that you are a lunatic."
"You didn't feel any guilt when you told the truth." Batwoman shook her head and said, "You don't even have any emotions. The only frustration and self-blame you felt was probably reflecting on the fact that your creativity in torturing others was limited and you couldn't come up with a more cruel method. That's all you care about."
"I'm not an ordinary person." Bruce suddenly said, "Maybe I'm more like a loser. Both my parents are dead, and my relatives took away everything. I have no education and no ability. I have worked part-time for half my life, and I have to carry a burden with me."
"You are trying to portray yourself as a victim," Batman said. "This is also a common tactic used by sociopaths. When they say this, it proves that they are not the victims of these tragedies, but the creators."
"You're just trying to make Gordon feel more guilty," Batwoman pointed out. "You want him to know how hard it is for you, how long he's been a burden to you, and to pretend to be a normal person who can't cope with normal life."
"I've actually lived like this for most of my life," Bruce said calmly.
"But all this is because of the gun you fired." Batman was not disturbed at all and said, "If you hadn't fired those two shots, Gordon wouldn't be paralyzed in bed, and you wouldn't have to run around. Isn't this what you asked for?"
"I just acted on impulse."
"I told you that you are not. If you were impulsive, you would have shot him in the head instead of accurately hitting his spine." Batwoman smiled and said with a mocking look, "You don't think it is easier to shoot a person alive but paralyzed than to shoot him in the head? How long have you been practicing?"
"Then the cause of the incident should be that he failed to find the murderer who killed my parents. He is an incompetent policeman." Bruce said in a deep tone.
"Then you are also an incompetent clerk." Batman said, "Anyone who encounters you messing up anything at work should be the one to shoot you. Maybe your parents were also killed because they messed up something at their jobs."
Bruce's face fell and he stared at Batman with a frighteningly focused look in his eyes.
Suddenly, he smiled.
"Did you come here just to play this logic game with me? Well, you win, but if you don't leave my house, I'm calling the police."
"Don't be impatient." Batman said calmly, "Who created this world? Why?"
"Don't you think it's too late to pursue this issue now?" Bruce said without disguising: "It's meaningless now."
"Of course." Batman turned his head and said, "Because whoever built it is about to be destroyed."
Batman turned and left, and Batwoman also left, but neither of them noticed the corner of Bruce's mouth secretly raised behind them.
Arkham Batman, who was confronting Krypton at the door, was stunned. He heard the conversation between Bruce and Batman on the screen. He turned his head and looked at the screen and said, "What did he say? It's about to be destroyed? The world is about to be destroyed???"
"But Jason's little daughter hasn't been born yet." Arkham Batman said in despair: "Just now at the family gathering, he said he was looking forward to it. Of course..."
He no longer cared about the animals' obstruction and rushed out the door. Xiao Ke had no choice but to fly after him and asked, "Where are you going?"
"I want to enter this universe." Arkham Batman said, "I want to stop that Batman from destroying it. I have to..."
Jason's happy smile flashed through Arkham Batman's mind again. This was the destiny that Jason was supposed to have. He thought that he needed to get everything on the right track. Even if the dream would eventually wake up, Jason should enjoy some peace here. This was what he deserved.
He would never allow anyone to break this beautiful dream by violence, to bring Jason back to the cold reality, and to make even this limited time for him to escape from the painful memories of the past so short, even if that person was another Batman.
In the real world, Robins welcomed an unexpected guest, Poison Ivy.
What happened is that they finally got close to Wayne Tower, and after a series of hardships in the fog, they finally climbed to the top of Wayne Tower and entered the office, but unfortunately, there was nothing here.
There was no trace of King Robin, and those crazy Robins couldn't tell where their boss had gone. The Robins made a wasted trip and were inevitably a little frustrated.
But at this time, Poison Ivy walked out of the office lounge, and it seemed that she had been waiting for them here.
"Okay, you're finally here, it looks like you need help?"
(End of this chapter)