Crime Is Like a Plague

"You finally came, Bruce."

Bruce Wayne was not at all surprised that his true identity had been exposed. After all, he had slept with the man's daughter and fathered his son. It would have been stranger if he did not know.

In any case, the man across from him was technically his father-in-law, so Bruce still wanted to try persuading him.

"Ra's, if you take your people and leave now, I can overlook this incident. More importantly, I don't want Damian to be hurt."

Ra's al Ghul sneered. "Bruce, you know I have always had one wish: for you to succeed me as the leader of the League of Assassins. In my heart, you have always been the first in line to inherit it."

"Talia and Damian were both meant to bring you into the League. I would even give up Gotham, as long as you were willing to accept the baptism of the Lazarus Pit."

"Become the new Demon's Head, and with the wealth of the Wayne Group, your power and influence would be unmatched. I can promise you that the moment you join the League, I will step down and yield my position to you."

"You may deal with me however you wish. Exile me, imprison me, even kill me—it will all be your decision."

Yet even with such tempting terms laid before him, Bruce refused without a second thought.

"Ra's, if I took over the League of Assassins, the first thing I would do would be disband it."

Ra's al Ghul had naturally expected Bruce's answer. "It seems our ideals can never be reconciled. Do it."

"Um, as an observer, I have a suggestion. Not sure whether I should say it or not." Jude, who had been watching the drama from the sidelines, raised a hand, drawing the attention of both father-in-law and son-in-law.

"Bruce, I think you could absolutely join the League. There's nothing bad about it—in fact, it would do you nothing but good. At most, some people would call you the leader of a terrorist organization. But as the president of the Wayne Group, would you really be afraid of that?"

Ra's al Ghul's lips curved upward at once. He thought this young man was rather promising.

Bruce frowned, staring at him gravely. "Mr. Herbert, watch your words!"

"Don't rush. Hear me out. Bruce, your ideal is to save Gotham, to let this city bask in sunlight once again."

"And the League of Assassins also seeks to save the world. Their methods are simply more radical. No, I should say extremely radical. Still, I believe the League was beautiful in the beginning."

"Ra's, eight hundred years ago, a prince repaid your kindness with betrayal and had your entire family slaughtered. From then on, you founded the League to seek revenge. Back then, I believe you were much like Bruce is now—you wanted to change this broken world, to prevent tragedies like yours from happening again."

Although Ra's al Ghul was surprised that Jude knew about his past, having his private affairs exposed in front of others while he held such a lofty position still displeased him greatly. He said coldly, "Ancient history. I no longer remember it."

Jude nodded in front of them both. "See? That's another thing you have in common. You're both fucking stubborn tsunderes."

Bruce was somewhat surprised. He had assumed his father-in-law had been born a destroyer. He had not expected him to have such a tragic past. He would have to ask Jude about it when he had the chance.

Jude continued, "But no matter how beautiful a wish is, it becomes helpless in the face of a complicated reality."

"Take Gotham City, for example. Everyone has to admit that this city is rotten to the core. Bruce, you have spent all these years trying to change it, but what has been the result? It is still the same."

"Because one person cannot fight an entire city. You have money, but the Court of Owls and the various gangs have money too. You pour money into making the city better, and they pour money into making it worse."

"So you can only choose to become a vigilante. But what good does that do? Even if the Bat Family had ten times as many members, they still could not stop crime. There would only be hundreds of times more villains."

"Do you know why? Because crime is like a plague saturated with drugs. Not only does it spread quickly, it is addictive."

Ra's al Ghul nodded slightly in agreement.

Jude continued, "In that ancient Eastern nation, there is a saying: desperate diseases require drastic cures. Without destruction, there can be no rebirth."

"For a city like Gotham, perhaps destroying it is the better choice. Only then can it be reborn."

Bruce immediately objected. "Do you understand? Gotham City still has tens of millions of civilians. Most of them simply want to live in peace, working hard every day. No one has the right to sacrifice them for some so-called rebirth."

Ra's al Ghul's gaze sharpened as well. "I agree with your view, Bruce, but I cannot accept it."

"You know better than I do how corrupt Gotham City has become. Every year, it continuously exports evil to the entire world—drugs, arms, human trafficking. How many innocent families are destroyed by those things?"

"The businesses you destroy each year do not even amount to one-tenth of what they export. In places beyond Batman's reach, Gotham's evil far exceeds your imagination."

"Since your methods cannot change this city, why can't you try mine? Yes, millions would need to be sacrificed, but in return, the whole world would gain peace. Is that not worth doing?"

"For that goal, I am willing to bear the title of Demon's Head. So what if I become the enemy of the world? Even if I must fall into hell!"

"Think about it, Bruce. The ones who do this sort of thing most often are not the League, but your own country, the United States. The color revolutions, terrorist organizations, and puppet regimes it supports are too numerous to count."

"It merely wraps these acts in the skin of the Security Council, making them legal. But at their core, we are the same."

"The League even seeks salvation, while the CIA is merely a tool for those politicians to obtain benefits."

Jude offered a solution that could satisfy both sides. "Bruce, if you take over the League, why disband it? With your abilities, all you need to do is guide it gradually. I believe the League of Assassins will certainly change."

But no matter how much they talked, Bruce still chose to refuse. Of course, that suited his character. Otherwise, he would not be Batman.

"Honored Demon's Head, the spraying device has been fully repaired. The plan can be launched at any time!" Dr. Baxter Stockman suddenly shouted.

Jude's heart gave a violent thump. "Bastard, didn't you just say it would take another hour?"

Dr. Baxter Stockman helplessly spread his hands. "I merely sped up the progress."

Ra's al Ghul fixed his eyes on Batman. "Bruce, I will ask you one last time. Are you willing to take over the League?"

Bruce did not answer at all. He kicked off the ground and charged toward the spraying device.

"It seems you still choose to refuse. Then launch the plan!"

It was another new day. Keep it up, everyone...