This was one of Batman's dozens of Batcaves scattered throughout Gotham City, with such backup bases hidden in every corner of the city.
Mad Hatter sat listlessly inside the cage.
He had been kept in this oversized oval transparent capsule cell for more than sixteen hours.
After escaping from Arkham, he had originally planned to throw another massive tea party, recruit a few more capable henchmen, and then start causing trouble.
But just after he had gathered all his henchmen and the cannon fodder he had mentally controlled with his hats, Deathshot, whom Chen Tao had hired at a high price, wiped them all out in one sweep. His henchmen were hauled away in police cars, while he himself ended up in a luxury suite in the Batcave.
Fortunately, unlike his henchmen, who had been shot until they lost arms and legs by bullets that had flown in from who-knew-where, Mad Hatter had surrendered quickly enough when facing the police and was completely unharmed.
Naturally, he was handed over to Batman once again. The moment he arrived at the Batcave, Robin gave him a thorough beating, all while asking him, "What are you plotting?"
What a travesty! He did have a few schemes, but he had been captured before he could put any of them into action. What right did they have to beat him over things he had never done?
Clang!
The lights in the hall came on. Mad Hatter closed his eyes, and it took quite a while for them to gradually adjust to the suddenly bright surroundings.
With a burst of mechanical noise, the transparent door in front of him opened, and standing before him was Batman.
"..."
Chen Tao thought about how to make the other man speak.
Of course, he hadn't had Deathshot capture Mad Hatter for no reason. He had brought him here because, according to the comic's plot, Mad Hatter currently possessed a...
Thwack!
Just as Chen Tao was thinking, Robin jumped up beside him and punched Mad Hatter in the face. Then he kicked him to the ground, somehow pulled out a Crowbar, and began viciously beating him.
!!!
"Are you going to talk?"
"Waaaaah--"
"Are you going to talk? Are you going to talk--"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The metal Crowbar pounded against Mad Hatter's skull like a drum hammering out an Ansai waist-drum rhythm, producing a dull, cadenced thudding sound.
Chen Tao secretly swallowed hard in fright. Robin really was a lunatic too! How had Batman raised this kid? This was outright violent behavior, wasn't it?
The pounding never stopped, and it even intertwined with Mad Hatter's screams to form a sense of rhythm. Reality really wasn't some all-ages comic. Even Robin wasn't exactly a quiet, pretty boy when it came to interrogation.
"Help me! I really have nothing to say!"
The more Mad Hatter screamed, the more excited Tim seemed to become.
The fifteen-year-old Robin swung the Crowbar like he was having a seizure, a deranged smile on his face as drool ran from the corner of his mouth.
"You filthy, disgusting, piece of scum! I'm going to break every bone in your body, then grind them to pieces and use them to flush the toilet!"
But that might clog the toilet (
Good heavens, what was I thinking?
Mad Hatter crawled around in pain on the floor, snot and tears streaming down his face. He threw himself at Chen Tao's feet and grabbed his cape.
"Please stop hitting me!"
Tim slammed the Crowbar hard into his butt from behind. Chen Tao saw part of the Crowbar apparently... well, because of the excessive force...
Mad Hatter let out a scream that reached its absolute peak.
Damn it, that Crowbar was unusable now.
"Oh, God! What exactly do you want me to say?" Mad Hatter was on the verge of going insane.
"!"
Only then did Chen Tao suddenly realize that he hadn't even asked him a question yet.
Stop!
Mad Hatter trembled all over like a terrified hamster. He practically wished he could flatten himself and stick himself against the wall of the oversized oval transparent capsule cell behind him.
Chen Tao gathered his thoughts.
"Tyech, don't be afraid. Not that being afraid will help."
The moment Chen Tao said it, he wanted to slap himself.
"Robin may look a little fierce, but he's actually kindhearted."
Tim slammed the Crowbar against the floor, producing a tremendous clang. Mad Hatter clutched his head in fright and collapsed onto the floor.
"..."
Chen Tao gave up trying to comfort him.
He got straight to the point.
"You captured the red bird that Birdman, one of Bane's men, used to spy on you, and planted a tracker on it. You know Bane's location, Tyech."
"You originally gathered enough men and sent invitations to a lot of people because you planned to play another twisted game of Alice in Wonderland. Then you would find some fighter at random, give him Bane's address, and use him to test exactly what kind of person Bane was."
Chen Tao recited the comic's plot while carefully observing the expression on the other man's face.
To be honest, he wasn't sure how far Mad Hatter had gotten, nor was he certain whether Mad Hatter had already obtained Bane's location. But Mad Hatter's current reaction basically amounted to a confession.
It was settled. He really did know where Bane was staying.
"Tyech, my patience is limited."
Robin raised the Crowbar again.
Forty-five minutes later.
"Gordon, you need to move faster. Ideally, before Bane realizes..."
"...Of course we have to use heavy firepower! As long as we hold him off first and evacuate the residents, we should then bombard the area... Does the National Guard really lack..."
"That's right... force Bane to engage you head-on. Watch out for his assaults... If he attacks the officers..."
Beep--
Chen Tao hung up the phone.
Once Bane discovered that tanks had blocked his door, the expression on that stern face of his would surely be spectacular.
"May God forgive you, as you forgive others. Man comes from dust, and to dust he shall return... May your soul rest in Heaven, and may your labors be extinguished..."
Death Angel's funeral was very brief. Chen Tao and Robin stood at the far end of the cemetery, leaning on black umbrellas, watching the priests and Alfred slowly dig a pit large enough to hold the coffin.
In the original history, Death Angel had taken over for Batman after Bane broke Batman's spine and had successfully defeated Bane. Yet as time passed, he gradually fell into villainy, only to be defeated by the returning Batman in the end.
But now, that possible future had completely vanished as the mound of earth over the grave grew higher and higher.
When examined closely, it was still the butterfly effect caused by the transmigrator. Obviously, the transmigrator wouldn't capture criminals with the same relentless, day-and-night intensity as the real Batman. That had given Death Angel an opportunity. He had admirably carried on the Bat Family's fine tradition of "ignoring Batman's orders" and secretly donned Batman's suit--
Then Bane had cornered him. The next day, a headless corpse was sent back to Wayne Manor. This future archvillain, who had dominated the entire Batman: Knightfall storyline, had died just four hours after Chen Tao's transmigration, before he had even had the chance to grow into his full power.
Chen Tao didn't feel particularly regretful about it. After being brainwashed for years by the cult known as the Order of St. Dumas, Death Angel's mind had already become somewhat abnormal. Otherwise, he wouldn't have fallen into villainy so quickly later on. Tim, however, was deeply saddened. He had been personally close to Jean-Paul.
He laid flowers at Paul's grave, then said, "Bruce, there's something I need to tell you."
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