"Never again—"
“No more games.”
"What do you mean?"
"Literally, bats."
The clown looked dazed...
He looked like he was dreaming.
"No kidnapping, no 2-choice, let me guess... you thought I would kidnap Robin?"
"Do you think the place Robin is stepping into now is a trap?"
He laughed mockingly.
"I anticipated the worst and made all the necessary preparations."
Chen Tao said.
The voices of Deadshot, Cheshire Cat, and Killer Croc rang out from his headset:
"Batman? There's nothing here, no Joker's minions, no traps popping up. This is not what you expected."
"I know, old trick." The Joker sat on the ground somewhat depressed, leaning against Bane who was kneeling on the ground and laughing silently.
"I guess the Robin who walked in must be Clayface in disguise. After that incident, you won't let those children get hurt again..."
He looked at himself and said with self-pity: "It's like you don't like me anymore."
The Joker raised his head, and his previously crazy face was surprisingly calm, and seemed strangely sincere: "So we don't play games anymore, Batman."
"No giant laughing gas balloons, no jumping dinosaurs, freaks and circuses, no roses, big beautiful fireworks and birthday parties."
He said:
"Now the matter is simple. The metropolis will be destroyed, tens of millions of people will die, and you will kill me... You must not hesitate."
Chen Tao pressed his earphone hard: "Everyone—"
Lucius' voice sounded faster than his: "Dozens of missiles were detected taking off from Gotham City!!!"
Cold sweat broke out on his face: "They are scattered in different parts of Gotham!"
He jumped up from his seat, threw himself in front of the computer, and yelled into the communication.
"Poison Ivy, tell me their trajectory!"
On the other side of Gotham, Poison Ivy with flying red hair was sitting under a huge hemispherical machine.
This is technology derived from Mad Hatter Tetch, a telepathic projection device that can read the most terminal and tiny signals in the neurons of the human brain and then convert them into visual information.
"I'm checking! Don't rush me, I need some time!"
On the other side, Lucius looked up at the small bright spots rising from various corners of the city on the computer screen.
"You might have to hurry up!"
"Our detectors can only determine the approximate trajectory," he said. "We need more detailed data—ideally within a centimeter, the more accurate the better, and we can't miss a single one."
He flipped open the transparent cover on a red button on the table next to him and put his hand on it: "Hurry up, Poison Ivy! I need the most accurate number before launching all the interceptor missiles!"
"Shut up, I'm checking!"
Poison Ivy roared back, "Be quiet!"
Lucius saw dozens of missiles on the screen falling down. The jammers they had deployed in the city had played a certain role...
But no one dared to bet that the real nuclear warhead mixed in among the dozens of missiles happened to be one of the ones that fell.
He suppressed his anxiety.
Although Batman had already told him that if the worst-case scenario occurred, it would definitely happen, and although he had prepared himself mentally before the incident began, he still felt his hands shaking.
He suddenly grabbed his wrist with his other hand and forced the trembling to stop.
This hand will be used to press buttons later, so don’t shake it, don’t shake it…
He said into the comm: "Batman! Take the jammer I gave you. If the missiles are not completely stopped—"
"No!"
The clown rushed over and hugged Chen Tao's legs: "Don't do this, Bat!"
He shouted loudly, laughing wildly with sorrow: "Don't go! I have paid so much for you! Kill me quickly. It would be an extremely happy thing if I could die in your hands. This is the best ending for me!"
For a moment, Chen Tao really wanted to chop off the clown's head with a knife.
This should be quick, just form the blade and scrape it gently—
But he resisted the urge.
It's not because of his iron rule of not killing, but because he was afraid that if he killed the Joker directly, he might inhale some clown gas and turn into a laughing bat, which would be troublesome - who knows what the Joker has hidden in his body
If they wanted to kill him, they had to stuff him into the crusher invented by Lucius.
As for hesitation… none at all. Neither the Riddler’s Dark Binding Theory, nor the Joker’s Bad Day, nor Batman’s original Slippery Slope Theory could hold him back.
Chen Tao knew very well that he was not a madman, and he would never become a scum or tyrant without moral limits just because he killed the Joker. The Joker was not special, he had never been special...
He had already murdered him once.
"open!"
He kicked the clown in the face: "You stinking trash, you pervert, you are so disgusting, don't come near me, let go!"
"No - please, just let this all end!"
The Joker pleaded loudly: "I am the special one. They all said you killed—"
His voice stopped abruptly, and he swallowed the half sentence he hadn't said yet. Chen Tao's heart moved slightly.
The clown continued to shout as if nothing had happened:
"This isn't fair. We've been together for so long, and I should be the first person you want to murder! I should have been the one who started your downfall! Not someone else. I'm crazy with jealousy!"
"The first batch of missiles has been located!" Lucius in the headset looked at the bright spot marked by a red dot on the computer screen and punched the red button hard.
"emission!"
"Batman!" he said. "You have to be ready to fly out and intercept any missed—"
"I know!"
Chen Tao kicked the clown in the face again: "Get out of here, you disgusting..."
"No, I'm not disgusting, I'm your favorite—"
Chen Tao lost his patience.
Silver-white particles flashed, followed by Baine Bat's thick fist.
He clenched his palms, and the next moment green appeared on his arms. The strange power and sharp claws of the Bat Dragon combined with the Bane Bat, knocked the clown back with just one blow, and he lay on the ground like a cockroach.
Chen Tao tried his best to control his strength so as not to beat him to death.
The Joker's attitude confirmed some of his guesses, but now was not the time to think about them.
Often the simpler and cruder the plan, the more effective it is. If the Joker plans to play some tricks like kidnapping Robin, Chen Tao will be able to deal with it with ease because he can predict it.
But direct launch...
This was a complete test of Chen Tao's advance preparation. If he was not well prepared, he would fail immediately!
"I'll be there soon." He turned his head and said to Lucius on the communication: "I'll be able to-"
"Bat-Man!"
Chen Tao turned his head and saw the clown rising from the ground, trembling all over. His muscular muscles burst his clothes, exposing his pale body with red holes on the skin to the air.
Chen Tao's face darkened: "Titan Venom."
"I am your favorite court jester—"
"Sorry, Lucius, I might need another three minutes."
Chen Tao said: "Just three minutes."
…
…
…
Meanwhile, the Batcave.
The Riddler Edward Nygma was locked up in a transparent cell alone. He sat in a corner with a stack of files in his hands, as if he had been forgotten by the whole world.
But he soon stood up and walked to the tempered glass of the cell.
"Oh my God," he said.
"It's you, Joker."