Under the Moonlight

Lincoln March was a paper person. He didn't exist at all.

The Court of Owls created him. After being brainwashed, Lincoln March firmly believed he was Bruce Wayne's stillborn younger brother who had only lived for 12 hours.

Martha Wayne frequently visited Willow Creek Hospital before her death.

She visited every child she sponsored, and the heart-shaped pin was a badge of honor. The Court of Owls used this evidence to convince Lincoln that he was Bruce Wayne's brother.

They slowly guided Lincoln March, telling him he was a child abandoned by his parents and older brother. They gradually cultivated Lincoln March's hatred for the Wayne family.

They originally planned to use Lincoln March to seize the Wayne Group's fortune, but unfortunately, Bruce Wayne returned at that time—so the plan was shelved.

Thus, they created Lincoln March to help them transform the city in another way: "You will become the beak of a giant owl!"

But it was also very clear that Lincoln March was not as obedient as he appeared on the surface. He genuinely wanted to take over the city, no different from the villains who wanted to control the entire city.

But in the end, among the reasons Lincoln March opposed Bruce Wayne, besides the irreconcilable conflict of wanting to control the city, his hatred for Bruce Wayne was, at most, "My brother forgot about me."

And if Chen Tao were to tell him a new story he made up at this time: "Your parents didn't abandon you, and your brother never stopped looking for you. However, all of this was stopped by the Court of Owls. They stole you from your sickbed, causing the tragedy of your life."

Then, what would Lincoln March's attitude turn into?

"Listen, Joker."

Scarecrow walked behind Joker. "Batman is deliberately provoking you. He wants you to lose your mind and have a big fight with Bane. This plays right into Batman's hands."

He spoke very quickly. Although he racked his brain, he had no confidence in calming down the enraged Joker. Lunatics like them were highly emotional creatures. Someone like him, who specialized in and studied fear, was actually the minority.

Despite being a psychologist, Scarecrow truly had no experience dealing with a mental illness of Joker's caliber.

"Hahahaha..." He heard Joker let out a low chuckle, then begin to laugh hysterically. "Hahahahahahaha!"

With a clang, Joker suddenly jumped up from the ground and kicked the drone, sending it toppling to the floor.

A henchman from Joker's gang nearby didn't have time to dodge and was immediately knocked to the ground. Before anyone could react, Joker snatched a submachine gun from a henchman and fired directly at the drone and the henchman who had been knocked down. Ratatatatatata...

The muzzle flash illuminated his pale face, and then the radio...

When Joker finished venting his rage, only a corpse with eyes wide open in death and a pile of scrap metal remained at the scene.

Everyone present was silent, frozen in fear.

"...Joker?"

Only Scarecrow dared to speak without fear. He asked tentatively:

"Your mental state doesn't look good."

"I'm perfectly fine, hahahaha... What could possibly be wrong with me?"

He laughed as he threw the submachine gun back to the henchman beside him, tapping the man's head with his own forehead like an ordinary company boss to show encouragement.

He said with a smile, "Batman is using such low-class tactics to try and provoke me... an extremely foolish choice."

He said, "Crane, you don't need to treat me like an idiot. Do I look like the kind of lunatic who would let Batman have his way and immediately attack Bane?"

"Yes, you are a lunatic. The probability of the above event might be small, but it's definitely not zero," Scarecrow thought to himself.

Of course, he wouldn't say that in front of Joker.

So, the taciturn Scarecrow just nodded slightly and said, "Okay, what do we do next?"

"What do we do?"

Joker picked up a submachine gun. "What else? Our old bat has calculated that we won't kill Mayor Carlo today—haha, hahahaha!"

So he's fearless... Then why don't we go find him ourselves?"

"What, you mean you know Batman's loca—"

Before Scarecrow could finish his sentence, he saw Joker flip the back of the radio and find the address of Gotham's old Wayne Tower on it.

"We're going to storm Wayne Tower directly."

He said.

"This is very likely a trap," Scarecrow said, carefully examining the address the other party had secretly placed in the radio. "Batman is almost openly provoking you. Going to that place now is definitely a trap."

The tall and slender Scarecrow offered his opinion. "My advice is to ignore him and don't go there at all. It's not worth the risk for us."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Joker's bloodshot eyes and knew his words were in vain.

"I told you, you don't understand me."

Darkness. Complete darkness.

"I don't laugh because you've never given me a reason to."

The Joker heard Batman say this from the darkness.

It was always like this, him and Batman, confronting each other in the dark.

Again and again, year after year. But this time, the other party had hurt him too deeply.

"I'm not listening to this ridiculous talk."

"Think about it, Joker. I lack a sense of humor and don't understand what makes a good joke. But that doesn't mean you're funny."

"Shut up!"

The Joker cursed loudly, "Shut up! Batman!"

"I mean... joy buzzers and squirting flowers are old news. Where are the new gags? Making faces, pulling down pants, that sort of thing."

"No, you get out here!"

"You make me laugh, simply because you're pathetic—"

"Hahahahahahahahaha—"

First a low, drawn-out sound, then gradually rising in pitch.

The Joker heard Batman's mad laughter, a sound that sent chills down his spine, making him shiver all over.

"Enough, stop laughing, I won't allow you to laugh like this!"

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah----"

"So you fell into a vat of acid and decided to become a supervillain? What, you couldn't get a job at the circus? Hahahahahahahahahaha!"

"What's wrong? I thought the Joker always wanted Batman to laugh—"

"No, you're not Batman, get out!"

Then the Joker saw him. That Bat-demon he'd dreamt of.

"You wanted to see me, didn't you, Joker? You wanted me to laugh, and now I'm laughing, and you're unhappy?"

"I ask you..."

The Joker watched as Batman slowly removed his cowl.

Silvery-white particles swirled around him, a scene too dreamlike for this world.

He heard Batman softly whisper, "I ask you, Joker..."

"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

With a clang, the Joker dropped his gun onto the ground. In the pale moonlight, the pale man looked at the equally pale face...

As if plunged into an ice cave.

Let's turn back the clock two hours.

Thanks to Sadox for the generous reward!

Thanks to Bi Hua Bi Hua Bi Hua for 1500 Qidian coins!