"Alfred, I never thought you were so sharp." Bruce genuinely praised, saying, "It's indeed the Avenger of Batman."
"Batman always wanted to have revenge for his parents because someone killed his parents. He hoped that the murderer would repent and be judged by law. So when Anakin came to avenge Batman, should he also surrender and face his trials?"
"If he doesn't do so, why should the murderer who killed his parents back then escape legal sanctions? If he does, how would Anakin, who was manipulated by the Joker, give him a chance to go on trial?"
Alfred felt shivers down his spine. He suddenly understood that this was an insolvable set-up for Batman.
Parents were just relatives, Anakin watched Bruce apparently kill him. Although that was not the case, Bruce thought it was, but still chose to let go.
And indeed, Anakin did warn Mr. and Mrs. Wayne back then. He was not the mean type of journalist that Bruce believed who only chased fame and fortune. This meant Bruce betrayed Anakin twice, and the last caused his very death. Was not this reason enough for revenge?
"What are you planning to do?" Alfred's eyebrows were furrowed tightly.
"Although the Joker is not noble, he usually won't use such cheap tricks in this game like drug control or forceful psychic manipulation. So if that's the case, the plan he meticulously designed to simultaneously crush Anakin and Batman's attitudes would all crumble."
Bruce took the freshly made sandwich from Alfred, adjusted the toothpick on top, and then spoke.
"But Anakin would be hard to brainwash. The manipulation of him must be incomplete and exploitable."
Alfred handed Bruce a cup of hot tea, nodded and said, "Perhaps we can search for this madman all the time, find the place where he kidnapped Anakin, and rescue him as quickly as possible. This way everything still can be saved."
Bruce shook his head and said, "If the Joker wants to hide someone, no one can find him. Obviously, he won't let the person go easily before achieving what he wants."
"Then what to do?"
Bruce revealed a mysterious smile.
"You didn't bring me Kingpin's body, so I'm not going to pay." In Penguin Mayor's manor office, he rests his hands on the umbrella and says, "You might say Kingpin was caught by S.H.I.E.L.D., and rescuing him from S.H.I.E.L.D. is not part of your assignment, but I've never heard of a mercenary who demands a price raise because they weren't quick enough and the mission difficulty increased as a result."
Deathstroke is seated steadily opposite him, smoking with half of his face mask lifted, and says, "You have to understand the current situation, Mayor. Even if I complete the task for you at the original price, do you think S.H.I.E.L.D. would be that stupid?"
"Do they think a mercenary will break into the S.H.I.E.L.D. building without anyone instructing them and rescue an important criminal?"
Penguin Mayor cursed in his heart, blaming the previous Mayor for being foolish enough to hook up with Kingpin in the end. If he lets Deathstroke storm into S.H.I.E.L.D. now, S.H.I.E.L.D. would definitely think he sent Deathstroke to save Kingpin.
For heaven's sake, he just wanted to kill Kingpin. But once he breaks into S.H.I.E.L.D., he can't clear his name.
"Sneak in." Penguin Man said, "I will make some noise to attract the attention of those agents. You sneak in and kill the man. I don't need any evidence."
Deathstroke frowned slightly. He always felt that the current Mayor was somewhat different from before. He had prepared himself to be sworn at or even kicked out.
Unfortunately, he missed out on the chance to betray Penguin Man to S.H.I.E.L.D. to make double earnings.
Nevertheless, Deathstroke stood up without saying anything. He walked out, indicated by his actions that he agreed to Penguin Man's plan, but he wasn't gone for long when another uninvited guest broke in.
"Batman?!" Penguin Man exclaimed.
Then he sighed with relief as he realized the Batman in front of him was not the one he was familiar with, but the novice Batman of this universe who just debuted not long ago.
"Finally remembered to put on your mask, rookie?" Penguin Man sneered, turned and walked towards the sofa, saying, "I saw today's news. The Joker really had fun with you. Why do you come to me?"
Penguin Man didn't want to lose his temper, fearing that he would lower his intelligence if he argued with this Batman.
"I have no idea, he said he wanted to play a game with me." To his surprise, Batman sat opposite of Penguin Man. Penguin Man was stunned to watch Batman take out a revolver.
Batman leaned forward, pushed the revolver into the middle of the coffee table and looked up at Penguin Man, "Russian roulette, who goes first?"
Penguin Man hesitated, but then showed a treacherous smile, squinting at Batman, "Someone has been advising you, right? The other you? That's sort of interesting."
"But if you want to gamble with me, you must have some decent stakes. How much do you think it's worth for me to gamble with my life?"
"All of the shares I hold in Wayne Enterprises."
Penguin Man's eyes were bloodshot.
Then he closed his eyes, striving to suppress the twitch in his face, then scoffed and said, "Don't think you can trick me, boy. You tampered with the gun."
"You can use your gun."
Penguin Man became suspicious, but then Batman said, "But my goal is to arrest you and let the law sanction you, so we'll aim at the right chest instead of the head, which will severely injure but not kill."
Penguin Man evidently believed his words because all Batmans in the world were the same, possessing a naive compassion.
Penguin Man waved his hand, and a bodyguard in a suit and leather shoes immediately brought over a more exquisite revolver. Penguin Man loaded a bullet in front of Batman and rapidly spun the cylinder.
He also pushed the gun to the center of the coffee table, saying, "Prove your courage to me, Batman. You go first."
Without hesitation, Batman picked up the gun and aimed at his right chest, pressing the muzzle tightly against the surface of his bodysuit.
Bang!
Blood gushed out, and Batman's chest was pierced by a hole.
Penguin Man was stunned. He stood up abruptly, rushed to Batman and found that the wound was not false, the bullet really went through his chest.
Batman fell onto the sofa, with his bodily functions dropping rapidly and death swiftly approaching.
Penguin Man's terrified roar echoed in the Mayor's residence.
"Ambulance!! Call an ambulance!!!"