A Little Surprise for Bane

This is one of Batman's dozens of Batcaves within Gotham City. There are bases like this in every corner of the city.

The Mad Hatter sat bored in his cage.

He had been in this oversized, oval, transparent capsule cell for over 16 hours.

After escaping Arkham Asylum, he had originally planned to host another giant tea party to gain more powerful subordinates, and then start causing trouble.

However, as soon as he gathered all his subordinates and the cannon fodder he controlled with his hats, he was wiped out by Deathshot, who was hired at a high salary by Chen Tao. All his subordinates were taken away by police cars, and he himself ended up in a luxurious suite in the Batcave.

Fortunately, unlike his subordinates who were shot and maimed by bullets from who-knows-where, he, the Mad Hatter, surrendered quickly to the police, so he was unharmed.

And, as expected, he was handed over to Batman again. As soon as he arrived at the Batcave, he was beaten soundly by Robin, who, while beating him, kept asking, "What's your plan?"

So unfair! He did have a plan, but he was captured before he could even implement it. Why was he being beaten for something he hadn't done?

CLANG!

The lights in the hall were turned on. The Mad Hatter closed his eyes. After a while, his eyes gradually adjusted to the sudden brightness.

With a mechanical sound, the transparent door in front of him opened, and Batman appeared.

"..."

Chen Tao pondered how to get the other party to speak.

Of course, he didn't have Deathshot capture the Mad Hatter for fun. He brought the other party here because, according to the comic's plot, the Mad Hatter at this moment controlled a...

THWACK!

As Chen Tao was thinking, Robin, who was beside him, jumped up and punched the Mad Hatter in the face, then kicked him to the ground. From somewhere, he produced a crowbar and began to beat him madly.

!!!

"Are you going to talk?"

"Auuuugh--"

"Talk, talk--"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The metal crowbar struck the Mad Hatter's skull like a drum, producing dull, rhythmic thuds.

Chen Tao secretly swallowed, startled. Robin is indeed a lunatic! How did Batman raise his child? This is pure violent tendency!

The sound of striking continued unabated, even intertwining with the Mad Hatter's screams to create a rhythm. Reality is not a comic book for all ages. Even Robin wouldn't be a quiet, handsome man when interrogating someone.

"Help! I really have nothing to say!"

The more the Mad Hatter screamed, the more excited Tim seemed to become.

The 15-year-old Robin swung the crowbar like he was having a seizure, a perverted smile on his face, drool dripping from his mouth:

"You filthy, disgusting, piece of scum! I'm going to break every bone in your body, and then crush them bit by bit, to flush the toilet!"

But this might cause the toilet to clog (

Oh God, what am I thinking?

The Mad Hatter writhed on the ground in pain, snot and tears streaming out. He crawled to Chen Tao's feet and grabbed his cape.

"Stop! Please!"

Tim delivered a hard blow to his backside from behind. Chen Tao saw that a part of the crowbar seemed to have... well... due to excessive force...

The Mad Hatter let out a scream that reached its peak.

Damn it, this crowbar is unusable.

"My God! What do you want me to say?" the Mad Hatter was going insane.

"!"

Chen Tao suddenly realized that he hadn't even asked his question yet.

Stop!

The Mad Hatter trembled all over, like a frightened hamster. He wished he could flatten himself and stick to the wall of the oversized, oval, transparent capsule cell behind him.

Chen Tao organized his thoughts.

"Tyech, don't be afraid. Because being afraid is useless."

As soon as Chen Tao spoke, he wanted to slap himself.

"Robin might seem a bit fierce, but he's actually very kind-hearted."

Tim slammed the crowbar hard on the ground with a deafening CLANG. The Mad Hatter, startled, covered his head and collapsed on the floor.

"..."

Chen Tao gave up trying to comfort him.

He got straight to the point:

"Tyech, you captured the red bird that Bane's subordinate [Birdman] used to monitor you, and then you placed a tracker on it. You know Bane's location, Tyech."

"Originally, you had gathered enough people and sent out many invitations, intending to play another one of your twisted Alice in Wonderland games, and then find a strong fighter, give them Bane's address, and use that person to test who Bane really is."

Chen Tao recounted the comic's plot, carefully observing the expressions on the other person's face.

Frankly, he wasn't sure how far the Mad Hatter had progressed, nor was he certain if the Mad Hatter had located Bane. However, the Mad Hatter's current reaction was basically an involuntary confession.

"It's settled," he thought. "He really knows Bane's whereabouts."

"Tyech, my patience is limited."

Robin raised his crowbar again.

Forty-five minutes later.

"Gordon, you need to move faster, preferably before Bane reacts..."

"...Of course, use heavy firepower! As long as you can hold him off, evacuate the residents, then you should carpet bomb... Does the National Guard lack..."

"That's right... Force Bane into a direct confrontation with you, be careful of his surprise attacks... If he attacks the officers..."

Beep--

Chen Tao hung up the phone.

Bane's expression would be priceless when he discovered his door was blocked by tanks.

"May God forgive you, as you forgive others. Man comes from dust and to dust he shall return... May your soul rest in peace in heaven, and may your struggles cease..."

The Death Angel's funeral was brief. Chen Tao and Robin stood at the far end of the cemetery, holding black umbrellas, watching as the priests and Alfred dug a hole large enough to fit the coffin, bit by bit.

In the original timeline, the Death Angel had replaced Batman, whose spine was broken by Bane, and successfully defeated him. However, as time passed, he gradually fell into villainy, and was eventually defeated by the returning Batman.

But now, this potential future had completely vanished as the mound of earth grew higher and higher.

If one really thought about it, it was all the butterfly effect caused by the transmigrator. The transmigrator clearly wouldn't relentlessly capture criminals day and night like the real Batman. This gave the Death Angel an opportunity. He excellently carried on the fine tradition of the Bat-family of "disobeying Batman's orders" and secretly took Batman's suit—

And then he was cornered by Bane. The next day, his headless body was sent back to Wayne Manor. This future arch-villain, who spanned the entire Batman: Knightfall arc, died just four hours after Chen Tao transmigrated, before he could even develop.

Chen Tao didn't feel any particular regret. Due to long-term brainwashing by the cult "Order of St. Dumas," the Death Angel's mind was already somewhat unstable; otherwise, he wouldn't have fallen so quickly into darkness later on. However, Tim was very sad, as he had a good personal relationship with Jean-Paul.

He laid flowers at Paul's grave and then said, "Bruce, I have something to tell you."