Capítulo 3393: Chapter 2530: Cape Battle (51)

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In the end, the Robins from the Schiller Universe persuaded those from other universes because their argument made good sense. If Batman really was dead, then it would be time to seek revenge and choose a successor.

But the problem was that there was ample evidence to prove he wasn't dead; this was all part of his plan. That meant everyone was still a Robin, their job was to assist Batman, and now that Batman had assigned a mission, who else would carry it out if not them?

To backpedal for a moment, the man hasn't died yet and they were already thinking about dividing his estate. Even now that Batman had become President Wayne, just wait and see if he doesn't come back and put them in their place.

The Batman from the Arkham Universe was especially taciturn, which actually made him quite intimidating. One of the main reasons he didn't get along well with the Robins was his excessive authoritarianism.

However, at this moment his usual authority proved useful. Fearing the potential reckoning upon Batman's return, the Robins from the Arkham Universe quickly affirmed their weak and precarious positions, opting to dutifully stay in their nests.

Because the Robins from the Prime Universe hadn't suffered much at the hands of the dense fog, they were still eager to stir up trouble. However, since they were in the Arkham Universe, they had to follow the lead of their host.

And so, the Robins' focus remained on finding a way to breach Wayne Tower and retrieve Batman's cape from King Robin. But first, they still had to conquer the dense fog that lay on the journey to Wayne Tower.

While the group enthusiastically discussed the types of monsters in the fog and strategies to combat them, Batman and Batwoman were discussing something else entirely.

Unlike the Robins, who were particularly interested in certain entities within the incident, Batman and Batwoman took a comprehensive and macroscopic approach to their observation.

This led them to a tougher question—who exactly was the real mastermind behind the curtain, and where was he?

Batman had a speculation in his mind already.

Let's not forget that just before he arrived here, he had deduced something—in various universes, it was very possible that a mix between Joker and Batman was stirring up trouble.

Having just made this inference, and with the Arkham Universe in chaos, who else could the mastermind be?

Batwoman had heard about Batman's speculation, but she found it far too absurd. She simply couldn't imagine what a fusion of Joker and Batman would be like.

But this didn't stop them from deducing the actions of this entity based on the behavioral patterns of Batman and Joker.

Batman immediately pointed out the key issue, "What do you think the mastermind's objective is?"

"This really isn't a question, but rather a hint," Batwoman promptly responded. "Indeed, it's strange. If he wanted to invade this universe, there's no need for such roundabout tactics and elaborate schemes. He could simply turn that bunch of peculiar Robins into an army and send them over."

"If his target is the Batman of this universe, then he would have made King Robin deliver a fatal blow, rather than trapping him. This kind of character wouldn't have any superfluous sympathy."

"The only thing I can think of now is that he's after the equation. If, as you've said, the power of the equation is incredibly strong, then he undoubtedly wants it for himself, and he wants a complete one."

Batwoman was clearly referring to sending King Robin to obtain the half of the equation that Arkham Batman possessed, using King Robin's wisdom to reconstruct the complete equation, and then reaping the benefits.

As for why he wouldn't just take the half of the equation in King Robin's hands directly, Batwoman guessed there might be animosity between them—they used each other mutually, and King Robin would not willingly give it up, resulting in this strategy where the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

"But for the latter part of his plan..." Batwoman's voice trailed off, showing her confusion, especially regarding the section that involved the dense fog. What was the purpose of this?

To put these people into a dream, what benefit did that hold for him? If it was to incapacitate the adversary and then launch a surprise attack, having the power to infiltrate right beside the enemy and steal their spirit, why not also effortlessly destroy the body? Why go through such a convoluted charade?

Batman quickly picked up that Batwoman, likely due to her experiences in this universe and limited dealings with Joker, or perhaps because she was a lovesick fool focused only on her deceased boyfriend, had not paid much attention to Joker at all.

This caused Batwoman to overlook a special attribute of the mastermind—he was Joker, and all his plans aim not for profit, but for psychological attack.

It could be plausible for Joker to devise a plan for a key prop, but that plan would certainly be about process, not outcome, and definitely not his ultimate purpose.

In the end, whatever prop he takes would be for setting up an even grander scheme, and the goal of that ultimate plan would be to break Batman's spirit.

From this perspective, many of the mastermind's seemingly senseless actions became understandable.

First, King Robin's attack physically devastated Arkham Batman. Pain alone could torment the human spirit, disrupt thoughts and weaken one's mental fortitude.

Secondly, letting Arkham Batman know that the already mentally unstable Jason had been further provoked was another psychological assault, compounding the burden on an already weakened mind due to physical frailty.

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Then, Superman, in his attempt to save himself, also fell into weakness and pain, even completely losing his once powerful strength, and became worse off than an ordinary person, which would make Batman suffer even more.

In other words, all of this was actually just to torture Batman, to make him very weak as he entered the Dreamworld.

And Joker's ultimate goal was to break down Batman, so there would definitely be more tribulations in the Dreamworld afterwards, the kind that directly targets the essence, causing Batman to collapse completely.

"What will that be?" Batwoman asked.

"No, we can't follow this line of thought," Batman denied her, saying, "Let's just assume that the Joker really has the capability, that he has prepared a flawless plan, with absolute certainty to crush Batman's soul at the final moment of the dream, then where do you think Joker would be?"

Batman and Batwoman exchanged a glance, the answer was unsaid — how could Joker allow anyone else to personally destroy Batman?

"He often imagines my downturn, calling it some kind of grand twist," Batman said, "In ordinary times, he wants to be the sole Court Jester in front of me, and at such times, he must be the only audience."

"Which means the monster that fused Batman and Joker is very likely also in the Dreamworld," Batwoman said.

Batman nodded and said, "Always ready to come out and deliver the fatal blow to Batman. It seems we must go."

Batwoman knew he was referring to the hole near the portal, they were also well aware of the great danger of jumping down directly, but at this point, it seemed the situation had reached its final stage, they had no choice but to go.

Clark stayed behind to watch over the bodies of the ill-fated couple, Arkham Batman and Superman, while Batman and Batwoman headed to the mouth of the cave where the portal was.

The dense fog still concealed dangers, but at the moment, they were no match for Batman and Batwoman together, and they quickly reached the cave mouth. Just before jumping down, Batwoman asked,

"What about that mysterious Guest in the Fog, then? What role do you think he plays in this drama?"

Remembering the tarot card, Batman said, "He is far more mysterious than anyone can imagine, and that monster will pay a greater price than he expects for provoking him to disguise everything with fog."

The two quickly jumped down the opening.

After a long fall, they soon found themselves on the rooftop of a building, overlooking a very strange city that looked like Gotham but had many buildings that Gotham did not have.

"Don't mind these things," Batman said, "Anything is possible in the Dreamworld. If that monster has gained the authority to fabricate dreams, it's not strange whatever he creates."

Batwoman understood that Batman was reminding her not to argue logic with a madman. If the opponent really was a combination of Batman and Joker, then that was true madness.

"We need to look for Batman," Batman said, scanning the horizon, "There must be information about Wayne Enterprises in the newspapers and on news media. Let's check them out now."

For them, it was simple; they easily entered a newspaper office to search for news, and not surprisingly, Wayne Enterprises was no longer called Wayne Enterprises. They also learned from old newspapers about the events of the past.

"It seems we're no longer the heirs," Batwoman sighed, "But finding someone named Bruce Wayne among ordinary people..."

"Go to the Gotham Police Department," Batman said, "They must have a record of where Little Bruce ended up. If we can find the archives, we can figure out what happened to Batman in this fabricated Dreamworld."

The sky was already darkening, and the two took the last glimmer of the sunset to find the Gotham Police Department, more accurately, a combination of the Gotham and New York Police Departments, in a city called New Jersey City.

They couldn't get the archives the official way, of course, so after a short wait for the sky to go completely dark, they snuck into the police station and quickly located the archive room, prying the door open and entering.

The next second, they were bathed in the light of flashlights.

"Who's there?!" A female voice came from the depths of the archive room.

Batman and Batwoman exchanged a look, seeing the surprise in each other's eyes; had they encountered a colleague?

As the flashlight's beam swung back and forth, it revealed a woman in police uniform. Batman and Batwoman immediately realized this was not a colleague at all — they had run into a cat as mice.

What more was there to say? Batwoman quickly rushed forward, kicking the flashlight away and cleanly apprehending the woman, pinning her right where she was.

Batman picked up the flashlight that had fallen to the ground and, aided by its light, they saw that the officer they had apprehended was a policewoman, and her badge bore her name — "Vigus Gwyn."

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