"Ladies and gentlemen, time is running out. If you don't make a choice, Gotham is going to be blown to smithereens!"
The Joker leaned in front of the camera, wearing a brazen grin.
Bruce Wayne had never felt so desperate or in so much danger.
By day, he was Gotham's golden boy, a wealthy playboy. By night, he was Batman, fighting crime.
Aside from the time Bane had broken his back, he had never faced a crisis like this.
If it were only the Joker, it wouldn't be much of a problem. But the key to this crisis was the person behind the Joker.
Bruce looked around. He was standing on a stretch of concrete beside the reservoir.
Beside it lay the lush Gotham Forest, its trees resembling a demon's claws beneath the moonlight.
Shadows seemed ready to swallow the entire reservoir. Only two or three lamps provided a faint glow.
In the deeper darkness, he could sense that strange, powerful man standing there!
"Hehehe! If none of you are going to choose, then I guess I'll have to begin my journey of destruction!"
"But before that, let's see who Batman, the defender of justice, really is!"
Seeing that Batman—Bruce Wayne—hadn't said a word, the Joker took the camera and walked over to him.
A deathly pale hand yanked off Batman's cowl, revealing deep blue eyes and a resolute face.
"Wow! What do we have here? Bruce Wayne—he's Batman!" the Joker shouted with exaggerated astonishment.
He had known the truth all along.
When he thought Bruce Wayne had broken his no-killing rule and that he could finally die in a blaze of glory, he had been ecstatic.
But after tying Batman up, the man had remained unmoved, and that made him rather irritated.
He hadn't originally planned to reveal the true identity of Batman—Bruce.
But then an idea came to him, one that would humiliate his adversary to the utmost. The Joker couldn't help giving a soft snort as he pulled off Batman's cowl.
After all, he had come up with a better idea.
"Hehehe! Bet you never saw this coming—Batman is the tycoon Bruce Wayne!" The Joker shot Batman Bruce a wicked grin.
"Now he's tied up, and today, in front of all of Gotham, he's going to get raped!!"
Bruce Wayne's face filled the entire screen. The whole city erupted when they saw it.
"Bruce Wayne? He's Batman?"
"The rich playboy is the crime-fighting Batman?!"
"My God, is he really Batman?"
"You've got to be kidding! The righteous knight who fights crime is a rich kid?!"
"He can't be Batman. He's a fake!"
"..."
Bruce Wayne stared expressionlessly at the camera shoved in his face.
Now that his true identity had been exposed, there was no need to hold back.
Alfred had already found the nuclear bomb. All Bruce had to do now was...
Before Bruce Wayne could make a plan, something strange happened around them.
Flap! Flap!
The pale streetlights flickered, blinking on and off.
A black bat beat its wings rapidly as it flew out of the darkness, then came to rest beside Bruce Wayne.
Everyone in Gotham was watching through their televisions.
Those who had doubted Bruce Wayne was Batman began to have second thoughts.
Director Gordon immediately dispatched people to the Gotham Reservoir to stop the Joker's crimes.
But at the scene, the Joker and Bruce Wayne, along with the person in the shadows, all stared intently at the darkness near the floodlights.
The faint sound of wings beating kept coming from that spot. It seemed as if someone was standing there.
From beneath the yellowish lights, swarms of bats poured out.
Crack!
The Joker took a step back, accidentally stepping on the stand holding the camera. It made a sharp cracking sound.
The others looked over again. Countless bats were streaming out of the darkness, flying about chaotically.
Their chattering echoed through the air.
Tap!
In an instant, a black figure appeared among the bats.
Bruce Wayne shuddered. His jewel-like blue-green pupils shrank rapidly to pinpoints.
Amid the swarm, a hulking black figure stood, at times clear and at times blurred.
Everyone could see him in the yellowish light.
He wore a black bat mask, its two pointed ears standing tall. A striking golden bat emblem adorned his chest, and his massive muscles bulged like rocks embedded beneath his suit.
The camera broadcast the nightmare-like figure from start to finish.
His appearance set the whole city abuzz.
"What did I tell you? Bruce Wayne isn't the real Batman!"
"Look! Now that's the real Batman!"
"Bruce Wayne is just some rich kid. How could he possibly be Batman?!"
"Exactly! What does he know about being Batman? That fake was obvious!"
"..."
Seeing Bai Lang appear in a Batman suit, everyone believed he was the real Batman.
[Ability Points +5]
A pale blue notification appeared before Bai Lang's eyes.
"B-Batman?!" The Joker was stunned.
Hadn't he already captured the real Batman? Why was another one here?
Two Batmen?!
What he didn't know was that the man who had fought Bane in the abandoned factory and even killed him wasn't Bruce Wayne. It was Bai Lang, standing right in front of him!
Bruce Wayne's pupils shrank as he stared at the other Batman before him.
He had learned of Bai Lang's existence half a month ago. Since then, while pursuing the Joker, he had also been searching for him.
He had even started making an Anti-Batman Armor out of new materials.
But he had never imagined Bai Lang would appear here.
Even everyone watching on television, as well as the man standing in the shadows, couldn't help but freeze.
Bai Lang's expression remained impassive as he looked past the Joker into the deeper shadows behind him.
His superhuman eyesight let him clearly see a man standing there.
The man was fully armed. His metal helmet, shaped like a football, was black on one half and yellow on the other. Two long, thin gray strips fluttered behind him, and a long alloy sword was strapped to his back.
The man looked exactly like he did in Bai Lang's memories of the comics. Bai Lang recognized him instantly.
Deathstroke, one of the strongest mercenaries in the DC Universe.
Originally a modified soldier for the America military, he had a genius-level intellect, physical abilities beyond the human peak, and the ability to heal most of his wounds.
He was an extremely powerful villain, evenly matched with Batman and not the least bit intimidated by Wonder Woman or Superman.
No wonder the real Batman, Bruce Wayne, had been tied up by the Joker. He had such a powerful ally.
Seeing that Bai Lang was ignoring him completely, the Joker snatched up the pistol lying on the ground and fired wildly at him.
"Another Batman? Die!!"
The bullets erupted from the gun, propelled by tremendous force at an astonishing speed of over three hundred meters per second—almost faster than sound.
Bai Lang had already fixed his attention on the Joker's trigger finger.
He simply turned his head slightly, dodging several bullets that tore through the air.
Then he charged forward, grabbed the Joker by the throat with one huge hand, and lifted him like a chicken.
"You bastard, you're going to die!" His face twisted into a savage snarl, like a demon in the night.
Whoosh!!
With a fierce howl that tore through the air, he swung his arm like lightning and slammed the Joker into the ground.
With a heavy thud, the Joker's body hit the hard concrete. His arm bent at a ninety-degree angle, the bone broken.
Blood seeped from his bright red lips, but his eyes burned with unbridled madness.
After throwing the Joker to the ground, Bai Lang didn't stop. He stomped hard, instantly leaving a small crater in the concrete.
Like an arrow loosed from its bow, Bai Lang charged straight at Deathstroke!
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