章節 2935: Chapter 2102: Knight's Terrifying Night (44)_1
Jason froze.
He carefully examined the expression on Clark's face, unable to find any hints of humor, nor the kind of disguised derision he'd often witnessed, cloaked in the veneer of seriousness. This reporter named Clark Kent was serious.
"Why do you ask?" Jason responded, quite puzzled.
Clark lowered his head slightly and said, "You might understand the news industry, but not quite. After that photo circulated within the industry, we figured out the life stories of Jason Todd and Dick Grayson within ten minutes."
"To be blunt, it wasn't smooth sailing, was it?" Clark seemed to be weighing his words carefully. He was extraordinarily cautious at this aspect, which Jason could clearly sense. And Jason knew this was how a reporter established their credibility.
"You two were both orphans. Please forgive my categorization. Although the circumstances differed slightly, both of you were indeed adopted by Bruce Wayne after losing your parents."
"Up until this point, he wasn't in the wrong…" Clark was clearly stating his own opinion rather than the views held by his editor or colleagues.
Jason knew what those opinions would be. He considered himself invincible, but the thought of the vulgarities that might appear in gossip tabloids, especially in reference to Bruce Wayne's name, still unnerved him.
"Regardless, he adopted you two when you were most vulnerable, enabling you to survive in this dangerous city. That is a heroic action, and I'm not here to chastise this."
"But your life stories reveal that at some point, you both disappeared from his side. Dick Grayson left first, then you also vanished, replaced by another."
"Children grow up and leave home eventually." Clark's fingertips rubbed together restlessly, his demeanor surprisingly cautious, a stark difference from the strength he had exhibited earlier.
Jason usually disliked it when others treaded around him lightly. Yet, this sense of empathy coming from Clark somehow felt too apt, it was disconcerting.
"So I'm not implying that you were in the wrong for doing so. If you chose to leave willingly, no one can detain you. I believe Batman isn't this kind of rigid parent."
"But I'm merely sharing a hypothesis and am in no way trying to steer you, so you don't have to follow my line of thought."
"All I'm saying is, Batman trained you to be his sidekicks, you provided help. Regardless of whether he really needed it or not, playing a fatherly role in a superhero family grants him authority over others, and thus, he should bear corresponding responsibilities."
"Do you think he upheld his responsibilities?"
Jason's head throbbed trying to follow Clark's roundabout rhetoric, but his swift, analytical mind quickly interpreted Clark's meaning.
"Do you think Batman abused us?"
"I don't think so, Mr. Todd. My goal from the start has been to validate this." Clark paused before saying, "Pretty much every newspaper in the country knows about it by now, so I need to find out the truth before they do."
"You know Batman, right?"
Clark refrained from answering, instead he tactfully said, "If he truly is this kind of person, I assure you that someone is capable of delivering justice upon him. You would know, this is no easy task, it's extremely challenging."
Jason fell silent, he knew Clark was right.
If Batman indeed possessed peculiar tastes as a sadist, then considering his social status, scientific and technological prowess, and martial arts skills, there was no chance for the orphans he adopted to speak up. They would be forced into silence till their deaths.
Jason was well aware, society is like that. Speaking is easy, voicing out is difficult. It is exponentially harder to be heard by a substantial number of people and effect change, let alone if the world's wealthiest man is involved - a near-impossible endeavor.
Then Jason started to question, was this reporter named Clark Kent implying that his presence here would ensure that if Batman had committed crimes, justice would be served?
Where did his confidence stem from?
Jason could tell that Clark immediately understood his doubt. The next second, the world spun around him.
He was being lifted up, realizing that he was getting further and further away from the floor.
The reporter tossed him into the air with one hand, then caught him and gently placed him back on the sofa.
And damn it, he was at least 200 pounds right now.
"I indeed possess extraordinary strength beyond human comprehension. I aspire to use this strength to uphold justice for everyone." Clark settled back on the sofa and added, "Personally, I do not believe Batman would abuse his sons. He is not that kind of person."
"Despite being reticent and not particularly adept at communication, his pursuit of justice aligns with mine. There might be many misunderstandings between him and his children, but they always eventually resolve."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because procedural justice is essential." Clark gazed at Jason and said, "I must afford both sides equal opportunities to voice their standpoints. Even more so under these circumstances, I have to give more, and give earlier, because compared to Batman, you are in a weaker position."
"Batman has many channels to make his voice heard, even if his identity is exposed, he is still the world's richest man, and the assets of Wayne Enterprises would not simply disappear."
"If he announces a press conference, journalists from around the world would flock to it. Even if half of them choose to flatter him due to the status of Wayne Enterprises, he could convince the world of his innocence."
"But you have far fewer opportunities to speak. You are orphans, raised by him, all your social relationships are under the control of Bruce Wayne, even your mindset and reasoning may be influenced by him."
"You have no way to express your true thoughts, or you think you have, but in fact, they have been guided. This is unfair."
"Furthermore, even if Wayne is mired in public opinion, the industries of Wayne Enterprises related to industrial manufacturing and technology would not be greatly affected, he would still be a billionaire, even if his influence is not what it used to be, at least he has no worries about food and clothing."
"But if you are affected by this incident, and I don't just mean losing the lawsuit but simply coming forward to accuse, it could have a profound impact on your lives."
"I'm sorry, Jason, there are many such tragedies in this world, and they are still happening, I can't save all of them, they might have won, but that's the end of the road for their beautiful lives."
Clark lowered his eyelids, his voice deepening, he sighed and said: "In my journalism career, I have saved more than one of these tragedies, but more often than not, I couldn't save them completely, no matter how strong I was."
"These incidents cause too much psychological trauma to the victims, some commit suicide, some turn to alcohol, this is their own choice, I can't interfere, and I don't have the ability to interfere."
"After the first tragedy, I understood that I must come as quickly as possible, regardless of how complex the interests are involved, I only protect you — no matter who the enemy is."
Jason felt a shock.
He was somewhat dazed, but eventually heard Clark clapping his hands, and reluctantly came back to his senses.
"To be honest, I have the ability to discern lies, so all you need to do is answer my question — has Batman ever abused you?"
"He hasn't." Jason answered.
However, Clark's face suddenly darkened, he looked at Jason incredulously and said: "You're lying."
Jason immediately felt panic, he took a deep breath and looked at Clark and said: "I'm not, I'm telling the truth."
"Symbiont, symbiont!" Jason cried out inside: "What's happening? How did I... he..."
"Your heart rate fluctuated for a moment, host," the symbiont answered calmly, "I felt your emotions, if I have to bluntly describe it to you, you still bear resentment towards Batman."
"So when you denied this, both your heart rate and brain waves fluctuated, if the other party has the ability to detect these two pieces of data, even minutely, it could indeed be easily judged as lying."
Clark had already stood up, Jason could tell from his expression that he had probably already identified Bruce's location.
But Jason couldn't let Clark go to Bruce right now because Bruce was likely doing some unspeakable things, some acts of impulse.
If Clark saw that, it would be even harder to explain, and from the adversary's power and understanding of Batman, Jason had a hunch about his identity.
There really is no need for more confrontation, Jason thought for the first time, isn't this mess enough already?
"Stop!" Jason raised his voice to stop Clark, then said: "This matter is very complicated, you have to listen to my explanation."
Jason could clearly feel Clark's hesitation, but more than that, his anger was burning intensely.
What a lunatic from Metropolis, Jason thought, why does he need to get so angry over someone else's business?
Of course, it's not to say that he shouldn't do so, after all, Batman is indeed infuriating, and there are too many issues to be resolved between them, but not with the Metropolis way.
Clark eventually stayed, he sat across from Jason again, and with a pressure that made Jason feel somewhat overwhelmed, he said to Jason.
"I want you to tell me the misunderstanding you mentioned unvarnished, without subjective judgment or embellishment, I just want to hear how things went and the exact words spoken at the time, if you can't remember, just say so, don't make up stories."
Jason watched Clark pull out his notebook, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, his lips twitching in an indescribable way.
That indescribable still means that, after such activities, he should speak, but he didn't.
Actually, Jason knew he couldn't speak.
Batman certainly did not physically abuse him, whether it was psychological abuse is a matter of opinion.
But if the other party is a lie detector in human form who could even perceive such slight emotions, how should Jason narrate the incident of being kidnapped by the Joker, so that this ultra-sensitive balance from Metropolis will not slam Batman into the wall out of anger and can't be pried off?
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