Gotham Fan Club

Bruce paused for a moment before frowning. "Even you don't know? Or was everything you just said nothing more than a made-up story?"

"A story? No, of course not. That was history that happened in Gotham."

Bruce pressed on. "If it's history, how do you know about it? You shouldn't have been born in 1922. No archives or libraries could possibly record such secrets, unless it was the Court of Owls itself."

Damian immediately reached for the weapon on his back, and the atmosphere grew tense for a moment.

"Ha ha ha..."

"Batman, you really are suspicious by nature. In your heart, you never trust anyone, do you? But I insist on telling you that everything I said is true."

As for the truth behind Batman's parents' deaths, Jude truly could not give a precise answer. By normal logic, the Court of Owls should have been the prime suspect, but unfortunately, even DC's writers had never given an answer. Naturally, Jude did not want to deceive Bruce, who had suffered so much.

"Where's the evidence? How am I supposed to believe you?"

"There is no evidence. You can only follow your heart. Believe it or not, you'll make your own judgment. Am I right, Bruce... Wayne?"

Jude suddenly exposed Batman's true identity. Even Bruce Wayne's brain seemed to crash for a moment.

"You don't need to deny it. People simply never made the connection, but once you put all the clues together, there are very few candidates left for Batman. Bruce Wayne happens to be the one who fits best, and you care so deeply about the Thomas couple."

The room fell silent again, though this time it lasted much longer. After quite a while, Bruce suddenly removed his cowl, revealing his true face beneath the mask.

He stood and extended his hand. "Let's get acquainted again. Bruce Wayne."

Before Jude could say anything, Ivy and Bridget beside him had already cried out in shock.

"Are you kidding me? Gotham's richest man is Batman? That's unbelievable."

Seeing this, Damian also took off his cowl and said with a smile, "Indeed. One is a playboy who lingers around celebrity parties, while the other is the Dark Knight who protects Gotham. Anyone would be shocked."

Ivy moved closer to Bruce and patted his arm and chest, continuing to gasp after confirming that he was real.

Bridget, meanwhile, reached out as if to pinch Damian's cheek. "Little guy, who are you?"

Damian slapped her hand away in disgust. "Before asking someone else, you should show your true face too. Take off your mask!"

Bridget planted her hands on her hips and challenged him. "I have my reasons for covering this face. Are you sure you want to see it?"

"Of course. Out of the three of you, you're the only one I couldn't find any information on. I know who those two are."

"Fine, I'll satisfy you, little guy."

As Bridget spoke, she removed her mask, revealing a severely burned, ulcerated face horrific enough to give anyone nightmares.

Damian had considered many possibilities, but he had never expected the face of that pleasant-voiced young woman to be so terrifying.

He was also the type who had no consideration for other people's feelings, and he bluntly said, "I think you should put it back on."

"What? Did I scare you?"

"No. I just find it a little disgusting."

"Hey, that's too hurtful!"

Bruce turned and glared at the brat. "Let's continue the previous topic—my parents."

Jude directly crushed his hopes. "I really don't know. I can be certain that Bruce is Batman, but I can't be sure whether your parents died in an accident or were deliberately murdered. I don't want to lie to you."

Bruce still did not want to give up. "Not even a single clue?"

"Well... I can't say there's absolutely nothing. I may not know, but if you can obtain certain items, perhaps you'll be able to uncover the true cause of your parents' deaths."

"What items?"

"The Mobius Chair or the Time Stone. But between the two, I recommend the Mobius Chair more. As long as you can sit on it, you'll become an omniscient god. You may not necessarily have the ability to control the Time Stone."

None of the people present, let alone Bruce Wayne, had ever heard of the two items Jude mentioned, though they certainly sounded impressive.

Bruce could not tell whether Jude was speaking the truth. He thought he could ask others when he had the chance. Superman, Hal, and those who often explored outer space might know something.

"Understood. Tell me more about the Court of Owls."

"You actually know the people in the Court of Owls. You may even know them very well, Bruce."

"What do you mean?"

"Like you, the Court's members come from Gotham's prominent families. Their history simply goes back further. Perhaps they existed from the very founding of Gotham City—the Boris Family, the Johnson Family, the Lombardon Family, and so on. Do those names sound familiar?"

"They're all members of the Court of Owls?"

"That's right. You can verify it. But the four great Gotham families that rose to prominence later probably never joined them—or rather, were excluded. And do you know? You once found one of their meeting dens."

Bruce's heart jolted. "That castle?"

"Exactly. You investigated it as a child, didn't you? It's just that you were misled back then. You weren't as powerful as you are now."

Bruce leaned back into the sofa. In mere moments, he had received so much information, and it was all crucial intelligence that had troubled him for a long time. Even with his firm resolve, he found it difficult to believe at first.

"I'll investigate what you've said. Now tell me about Arkham. What exactly is hidden inside?"

At that, Bridget and Ivy both became excited.

"What's hidden there? Let me tell you—experiments. Horrifying human experiments. I became like this entirely because of that place."

"And me too. They injected me with green liquid and turned me into a cactus."

Damian looked Ivy over. "But you look perfectly normal, ma'am."

Ivy snapped, "That's because Jude saved me. He formulated a genetic medicine, allowing me to return to normal."

Damian looked at Jude. "The intelligence says you only graduated from middle school. I didn't expect you to be a scientist too."

Jude burped drunkenly and wagged a finger. "Wrong. A great scientist. Einstein, Newton, and Da Vinci would all bow before me."

"Heh, drunkard!"

Bruce continued asking about how to enter the depths of Arkham, saying that he would investigate it thoroughly.

At that moment, the indicator light on the Utility Belt suddenly lit up. Bruce pressed a button, and a holographic projection appeared. The person on the screen was a woman wearing a Batsuit. From the skin exposed, she appeared to be a young girl.

"What is it, Batgirl?"

Batgirl paused when she noticed that Bruce had removed his cowl, but she had no time to care about that. She urgently said, "Emergency. Two-Face, Clayface, Mad Hatter, Killer Croc—those guys have all appeared together."

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