Heroes

Five days after the Dollmaker case was closed, the Gotham Police Department held a celebration banquet. There had been no need to delay it this long; they could have popped champagne right away.

But one person had yet to leave the hospital: Miao Mu, the Arkham District police officer who had pursued the Dollmaker.

Strictly speaking, they had not needed him.

But Gordon had announced it directly to the media. Now everyone in Gotham knew that Miao Mu had solved the Doll Case, along with that street vigilante... Batman.

"Pah! What Batman? We're the ones protecting this city!" A senior detective grumbled indignantly, raising his glass and downing the champagne in one gulp.

The celebration banquet was held directly at the Gotham Police Department, and they had invited some media reporters and prominent figures.

Even Gotham City's mayor, Little Don Mitchell, had come in person. It was a grand affair, meant to ease the recent tensions.

As for the long-awaited Miao Mu, he had been promoted three ranks in a row to senior detective, just one step away from becoming a captain.

Above captain were deputy commissioner and commissioner, though it still depended on where one served. The Gotham Police Department was the city headquarters, while the Arkham Police Department was a district precinct. The difference was considerable.

Jerry had been promoted as well. A third-rank detective's annual salary started at sixty thousand, and he also received a dedicated vehicle: a police car awarded by the Gotham Police Department to Miao Mu and the others.

It was a new Urban Hummer H2 with police markings. Compared to the military model, this Urban Hummer was lighter but more bulletproof. It had originally been intended for the Special Action Team.

But at the recommendation of Captain Bullock, the officer in charge of the Doll Case, the vehicle had been assigned to the Arkham Police Department.

"Quite lively."

Mayor Little Don Mitchell stood at the second-floor staircase, looking down at the buffet below with a mild smile on his face.

That smile was genuine. The Gotham Police Department had handled the case efficiently, which reflected well on him and kept people from pointing fingers in his face.

"Yes..."

Gillian Loeb, the leading figure in Gotham law enforcement, strode over. Resting a hand lightly on the railing, he looked toward the headquarters entrance and said in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Maroni was arrested. This is going to be troublesome."

Mayor Mitchell took a sip from his glass, and his smile vanished. "He has his own methods. He'll get out. But that big bat has caused quite a few problems lately."

As he spoke, Mayor Mitchell snapped his fingers behind him. His sexy female secretary brought over a newspaper.

Commissioner Loeb turned to glance at it. The front page bore a photograph of Batman, blurry enough that it showed only the outline of a black silhouette. The headline read: Gotham City's Hero—Who Is He?

"A masked freak can be called a hero? Isn't that title a little cheap? Do you know what people on Gotham's streets are saying?" Mitchell asked, folding his arms and taking a step back.

"Just the usual pointless nonsense. Gotham doesn't need a hero. He's just a—"

Before Loeb could finish, the headquarters doors were pushed open. Gordon entered first, and the second person through was the star of the banquet.

The moment Miao Mu entered in his black detective jacket, the reporters immediately raised their cameras, and flashes went off in a burst.

"—criminal!"

"Look, Gotham Police Department's hero has arrived!"

Mayor Little Don Mitchell descended the stairs with a warm, friendly smile and clasped Miao Mu's hand.

"My God, you're so young."

Mitchell said it in surprise. He had read Miao Mu's file long ago, but he knew exactly how to perform in public.

"Hello, Mayor!" Miao Mu hurriedly nodded.

The cameras around them clicked nonstop. Tomorrow's headlines would be about the Gotham Police Department's hero.

Commissioner Loeb also smiled and solemnly shook Miao Mu's hand. "The Gotham Police Department needs elites like you. I hear you worked very well with Captain Bullock."

Miao Mu smiled awkwardly at that. When he glanced to the side, he spotted Captain Bullock at the edge of the banquet hall, stuffing himself with one hand holding a hot dog and the other a glass of wine.

When Bullock saw him, he set down his glass, used the hot dog in his hand to slash across his throat, and began gesturing wildly as he said something.

No lip-reading was needed for Miao Mu to know that Captain Bullock was mourning his Dodge sedan.

"What are you looking at?" Gordon came over, speared a piece of apple with a toothpick, and looked toward where Bullock was gesturing.

"That kid's coming to the Gotham Police Department. A hero..." Bullock dropped the act and took a drink.

"He deserves the title. He's a hundred times better than stubborn old fossils like us."

"I don't want him to come... Such a promising kid shouldn't be broken here. The waters here run deep."

Bullock shook his head. Compared to Gordon, who was stubbornly principled and refused dirty money, Bullock understood far better what the Gotham Police Department was really like.

"Did you see today's paper? Batman has made the front page for three days straight. I bet he'll be on it again tomorrow."

Gordon picked up a glass of champagne and took a sip. Bullock shook his head even harder at that.

"Who got dumped at the station entrance tonight? That guy only knows how to cause trouble. Maroni put a five-hundred-thousand-dollar bounty on him!"

"..."

Gordon said nothing. He merely looked silently toward the banquet hall. As a police officer, he did not like Batman, but as someone from Gotham, he only wanted to say that Batman was right.

Batman did not care what gang someone belonged to or what kind of boss they were. As long as they did evil in Gotham City, if he saw them, they got a brutal beating before being tied up and thrown at the police station entrance.

Every night, the station entrance welcomed a few "guests."

Maybe tonight would be no exception...

Gordon turned to look toward the station entrance.

On the streets of Gotham City, a small-time thug clutching a dagger screamed as he fled from a pitch-black alley.

The next second, a black grappling line shot from the alley like a soul-snaring chain from hell. It wrapped around the thug's leg and dragged him backward.

"No! I won't do it again! I won't do it again!"

The thug threw away his dagger and clawed at the cracks between the paving stones with both hands, screaming and begging in terror.

But the force on the rope behind him grew stronger and stronger, yanking his body into the air until his fingers slipped free.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

The thug screamed as he flew into the alley. Then everything fell quiet. The dark alley seemed to conceal some hidden monster.

Above the alley, on the rooftops of two buildings.

Batman climbed up with his grappling line. A gust of wind stirred the cape behind him, and he turned to look in the other direction.

Alfred's voice came through his earpiece:

"Master Bruce, perhaps I should not try to persuade you, but you truly need to stop. The people you wish to protect may kill you for that five hundred thousand. Being a hero is not so easy..."

"I'm not a hero. I never was, and I'm not one now. I... am only... carrying out my rage!"

Batman launched himself from the rooftop with his grappling gun. His cape snapped open behind him, and he soared through the air like a massive black bat.

"Help!"

A woman in a dress fell to the ground as two men who had followed her all the way approached with ill intent.

One of the men bent down, picked up the high heel that had flown off when she fell, ran his tongue over its surface, and asked with a lewd grin, "Did you drop this?"

The woman was terrified. The other man stepped forward, snatched away her handbag, pulled out her wallet, and slapped the bills against his palm.

His greedy gaze fixed on the woman's legs as he raised a hand to grab her.

With a rustle, a black shadow dropped from above. The man holding the high heel was kicked flying.

With a crash, he slammed into and knocked over a trash can by the wall.

Before the other man could react, a punch struck him in the stomach. Then a powerful hand seized his throat and smashed him against the wall as fists pounded his abdomen again and again.

A sedan drove past the roadside. In the glare of its headlights, the man finally realized in terror that the figure before him was Batman...

With a thud, Batman threw the man to the ground. He clutched his stomach and convulsed. "Ah... urgh!"

The terrified woman by the wall covered her chest with both hands and fearfully looked at Batman standing nearby.

A gust of wind swept through, lifting the scattered bills from the ground. The woman hurriedly glanced at them, and when she looked back—

Batman had vanished without a trace, as if he had never appeared at all, as if he had melted into the darkness.

The woman recoiled in even greater fear, grabbing a broken glass bottle as she looked around in terror.

Only the screams of the two men still echoed.

The woman fearfully looked at the man lying not far away, clutching his stomach and convulsing. Then she looked at the glass bottle in her hand.

Trembling, she walked toward the man. After hesitating fearfully for a moment, she gripped the bottle and drove it down. Glass shards sank into the man's unprotected neck, and blood sprayed out.

The woman dropped the bottle, grabbed her handbag from the ground, scooped up the money with blood-covered hands, and fled the scene.