"If you fight a dragon too long, you become a dragon yourself. If you stare into the abyss too long, the abyss... will stare back at you."
Amygdala woke up from the severe pain and began to cry and wail, lamenting the pain and torture he had endured.
Killer Croc let go of Amygdala.
Chen Tao looked at him, and even with his chaotic brain, he could feel Batman's gaze.
His crying was stopped by an invisible big hand strangling his neck. He fell to the ground with a whimper, and curled up his body trembling.
"It's over, Batman. You too have become a prisoner of Gotham's evil."
The Riddler announced, "Do you remember Roman? Carme Falcone, did you know that when he was young, Carme Falcone's goal in life was to end the evil in all of Gotham?"
"—and he went on to become Gotham's biggest gangster, and so did you, Bat. When an upright man succumbs to sin, it's as harmful as a public well being poisoned!"
He said somewhat crazily, "So—Batman is dead!"
He threw the gun in his hand to the ground: "The Bat King has been reborn!"
He bowed to Chen Tao exaggeratedly, like a jester in a stage play: "Batman! You are a criminal now too!
He shouted with joy:
"You are no different from us!"
The Riddler has been convinced by the logic he has thought of, and in his eyes, Batman, who murdered the Joker head-on, is undoubtedly a criminal companion like him.
Batman has the same qualities as him, but is much more powerful than him, so -
He surrendered, in every sense of the word.
Chen Tao knew that if he just beckoned his finger, the Riddler would rush over and lick his toes crazily...
Well, maybe the other party will be more reserved and not be so exaggerated.
But the inner attitude is the same.
As long as Chen Tao wanted, he could get the Riddler's help immediately. If he did so, relying on the Riddler's intelligence, resources, and military force, it would definitely be convenient to defeat Bane, find the nuclear bomb, and save or rule the entire city, right
but…
I refuse!
"I'm already a criminal, Nygma. I've never denied the violation of personal rights, the illegal use of deadly force, and the flagrant violation of the Fortress Act. Now I've only added first-degree murder to the charge."
"But listen up you bastard."
"What you said is all bullshit to me!"
"Your whole dark-envelope theory is just another variation of the bad-day theory."
Chen Tao said:
"You think everyone is going to be a servant of some darkness, just like the Joker thought even Gordon would be the Joker if he had a bad day. But Gordon didn't become the Joker. And neither did Barbara."
As he said these words, his eyes were on the blindfolded Jim Gordon.
"Whether it's a bad day or darkness, it's just an excuse for bad guys to do bad things."
"Law? The law is just a piece of waste paper to me, Nygma, please don't misunderstand me. I drew a bottom line for myself in the past. It wasn't to protect myself, but you."
“I’ve been thinking about whether it’s just to sacrifice a small part of justice for a greater justice.”
"So you have your answer now, Batman?"
Chen Tao sighed.
From the moment Edward Nikema opened his mouth, he knew that the person he needed to refute was not the Riddler who had already collapsed in front of him.
It was Jim Gordon, the other member of Gotham's former iron triangle and the police chief who gave everything for the entire city.
He took off Jim Gordon's blindfold. The other looked at him with pity.
"Batman, you were hope."
He said.
Jim looked a little dazed, staring at Chen Tao:
"You told us, you told Gotham."
"No matter how much knowledge you have or how talented you are, you can't be like Nygma and think you are superior to others."
"No matter how much you want to save your family, you can't sacrifice the lives of innocent people for your family like Victor did. Even if the night in Gotham is cold, you shouldn't use other people's blood to warm yourself.
"Judicial efforts will always bear fruit in the end. Society will not remain in a gray area forever. Justice is worth protecting in the end."
"You tell us that life on earth is worth it, even if we've experienced the worst day, even if we've experienced pain that countless people can't even imagine, but no matter how painful, crazy, or desperate it is, it's worth it."
He suddenly said with some mental breakdown:
"You told us that the greatness of mankind lies in the fact that after facing the extremely brutal and bloody darkness in human history, we still have hope for it and work hard to heal this human society instead of destroying it with one shot! This is what you said, and this is what you taught us!"
"Why? Why let the Joker win? Why make such a sudden decision? Why make yourself like them?"
"For God's sake, you should have sent the Joker to jail instead of shooting him!"
"I didn't kill him." Chen Tao said, "I cut him into a paste.
Chen Tao added: "The kind that's crushed into powder. Clown sauce."
"Joker, Joker-chan. I'm pretty sure that was some kind of Japanese joke."
Gordon was so angry that he was babbling: "Why, are you planning to make some bat-clown flavored sandwich out of the clown sauce?"
"And I did just that, and I'm sorry, Jim."
"You know that when you do this, Batman will degenerate into..."
"Procedural justice is just a means, Jim Gordon."
"What?"
"I would just spit on the Joker's body, Gordon. Murdering the Joker doesn't make me some random murderer or tyrant."
"Do you really believe in the slippery slope theory? Isn't it substantive justice that we are always pursuing?"
Chen Tao said: "Superheroes have the ability and should inspire people to make the right choices.
When procedural justice and the system can do this, I should certainly support the system and procedures, but when the system and procedures are dysfunctional and corrupt, I should also supervise the system and procedures themselves.
In essence, the justice that superheroes pursue should be above the law. Otherwise, why don’t I just join the system and become a policeman? "
Gordon remained silent.
Chen Tao sighed, stopped what he was about to say, and shook his head.
This kind of thing is essentially a difference in concepts and thinking. Jim Gordon has been in the system for too long and his thinking has been framed.
Ever since he murdered the Joker, he had already thought that it would be impossible for the two of them to reach a cooperative relationship like they had in the past.
This was the price he had to pay, and he had anticipated it.
"So now, Mr. Nygma, you better tell me where you stole Penguin's nuclear bomb."
"What nuclear bomb? I've never stolen a nuclear bomb!"