Kapitel 108: Madness and Mercy
His bulging eyes locked onto them, "Alice... Alice...!"
With a deranged laugh, he reached into the pocket of his green coat and pressed a switch inside.
The moment Batman noticed the move, he reacted instantly.
He grabbed the Mad Hatter's wrist and twisted it back, breaking his entire arm!
But a familiar ticking sound continued to echo from somewhere in the room.
Batman's expression shifted dramatically.
He spun around, ready to pull Jason and Soren away, but a descending red cape moved even faster, shielding them from behind.
A god among men had arrived with a thunderous landing.
A body of steel stood between Jason and the danger, grasping the ticking bomb in his hand.
The bomb that was wrapped tightly in his broad palm, detonated like a miniature hydrogen bomb in the small world of his palm, yet it caused no harm at all.
...Batman silently retracted the hand he had almost extended.
He turned around and grabbed the Mad Hatter by the throat, slamming him against the wall, leaning close to the Mad Hatter's face with a menacing tone: "You should behave yourself."
The Mad Hatter's eyes widened, a strange and twisted expression spreading across his face. "...Alice…"
Clark turned around, frowning.
His gaze fell on the small figure of Soren in Jason's hand.
He remained silent.
Soren climbed up onto the base of Jason's thumb, wiping his face.
In a thin voice, he directed them, "Go check on the kids in 'Wonderland'—follow me."
He quickly jumped from Jason's hand and into a miniature diorama made of paper.
He found the narrow door he had entered earlier, "There are a lot of kids in here..."
Clark walked over and, following Soren's instructions, carefully opened the small paper house.
What they saw inside left even these seasoned superheroes, who had long fought on the frontlines of crime, momentarily breathless.
Rage ignited in Jason's eyes.
He cursed under his breath, clenched his fists, and stormed toward the Mad Hatter.
His first punch smashed into the Hatter's nose, shattering the cartilage.
Blood sprayed from the Mad Hatter's broken nose, but Jason wasn't satisfied.
He struck again, this time landing a blow on the Hatter's chest.
Just as he was about to deliver a third punch, Batman's open hand caught his fist.
The young lion growled, his eyes filled with uncontainable fury.
He demanded of Batman, "…Why?"
Why hadn't they killed the Mad Hatter when they had caught him years ago?
Why had they allowed the blood-soaked criminals of Arkham to roam free?
Why did Batman cling to that ridiculous no-kill rule, even to the point of death?
How ironic.
It was because of that absurd no-kill rule that Batman had trapped himself in a never-ending cycle—constantly catching Gotham's criminals, only to watch them escape again, continuing to harm more innocent lives.
And then he would bear the weight of all those sins on his shoulders.
He had made himself a prisoner of Gotham's endless guilt.
Batman stood like a silent mountain in the darkness.
He gripped Jason's fist but didn't answer.
Clark gently picked up the small house where the girls were held.
He looked at Batman and said, "...B, we need to restore them to normal."
Batman glanced at the unconscious Mad Hatter and said in a deep voice, "Back to the Batcave. I'll work on an antidote."
...
Not long after they left the basement.
A light, humming voice drifted eerily through the night.
A tall, thin figure in a purple suit strolled casually across the lawn.
He seemed oblivious to the wreckage around him.
His deathly pale face was split by a grotesque, blood-red grin.
"Hee-hee... hee-hee..."
His shoulders trembled as if in spasms, unable to suppress the strange laughter bubbling up from within.
His jaundiced eyes, full of bloodshot veins, gleamed with manic energy.
"Batman... hee-hee... Superman... I've found you... hee-hee... HAHAHAHAHA!"
This lifelong nemesis of Batman, an escapee from Arkham Asylum, stood amid the ruins, laughing like he was on the brink of death, consumed by madness.
...
Batman had Clark take the Mad Hatter back to Arkham Asylum, while he brought the children and Soren to the Batcave.
On the way, Jason and Batman got into another argument.
The tension between the adoptive father and son had escalated to an irreconcilable point.
Jason questioned why Batman hadn't killed the Mad Hatter, but Batman, clearly more enraged, rebuked Jason's recklessness for endangering himself and others.
He fired back, asking Jason how he would take responsibility if Soren had been hurt.
Jason's chest heaved with anger.
He glared at Batman and muttered, "Of course I'll take responsibility," before storming off in fury.
...The atmosphere grew unbearably tense.
Soren followed Batman back to the Batcave.
He stayed with the girls the entire time, patiently comforting them and checking their injuries.
Many of the children's wounds had already healed, but several had infected, festering injuries.
His fists clenched repeatedly, anger bubbling inside him with no outlet.
He could only sit quietly with the children, waiting for Batman to finish making the antidote.
A moment later, Batman used two fingers to pick him up and placed him on the cold examination table.
Having dealt with the Toyman before, Batman had already developed a cure for the shrinking effect.
It didn't take long for him to prepare the antidote again.
Since Soren wasn't injured, Batman decided to administer the antidote to him first.
At just 5 inches tall, Soren's arm was as thin as a macaroni noodle.
Batman held Soren's tiny arm, flicked the thick needle, and a hint of hesitation flickered in his eyes.
"…B?" Soren tilted his head.
Batman glanced at him without a word, then turned to swap out the syringe for a different size.
After the antidote was injected into Soren's arm, it didn't take effect immediately.
It would take overnight for Soren to return to his normal size.
In other words, he would remain at just 5 inches tall for the rest of the night.
Soren returned to comfort the rescued girls for a while longer until Clark came back from Arkham Asylum to take him home.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein