Two Madmen Join Forces

"Ah, Gotham City. I'm back."

I'm back in the genteel Gotham City. The kerosene smell and dampness in the air made Roland uncomfortable all over, while the night sky was as black as thick ink, oppressive to look at.

"Coming back from Blüdhaven feels like entering some Demon's territory," Jason couldn't help complaining. "The atmosphere in this city is seriously creepy."

"Maybe this really is Demon's territory." Roland looked at the ground and spoke thoughtfully.

"Then why don't you go down there and pick a fight with him? Aren't you one of God's people?"

"Forget it. When the time comes, I'll let my boss argue with him." Roland raised his head. Have me fight Barbatos? Better forget it.

"You're talking as if Demons actually exist..." Jason muttered under his breath. However, after hearing Roland say that, he also felt that Gotham City really might have some occult force cursing it.

"Whatever. If the sky falls, someone taller will hold it up. What's there to fear?" Roland parked the car and looked at the black sky. "It's really dark... Hm?"

A beam of light shot through Gotham's pitch-black sky, flashing the shape of the Bat-Signal.

"Something happened again?" Roland shook his head. "Fine. In Gotham, that's normal too."

"Boss, you're back! Something huge has happened!"

"...Which lunatic is going crazy this time?" Roland asked directly.

"It's the Mad Hatter. That guy escaped from the Falcone!"

"Good grief... How did he manage that?" Roland was stunned. The Mad Hatter had practically no combat ability himself; a slightly larger cat could probably kill him alone. How had he escaped from the largest criminal family in Gotham City?

"I heard he seduced Falcone's daughter, then used the Brainwave Controller to make the people from Falcone turn on and slaughter one another."

"What the hell? He seduced someone?" Roland was stunned. "That guy could play Gollum in The Lord of the Rings without makeup. Is Falcone's daughter blind? How could she take a liking to him?"

"That's just what I heard."

"Forget it..." Roland shook his head. The rumor was far too unlikely to be true and probably had nothing to do with reality.

The Falcone

"That bastard... How exactly did he escape?" Falcone slammed his fist onto the desk. He had suffered far too many failures recently, and his mental state had become unstable.

"He created a Brainwave Controller and hypnotized the several people we assigned to guard him."

"...No one noticed while he was making it?"

"No. I suspect there was... a mole."

"Don't investigate the mole yet..." Falcone reclined in his Chair. "Send people out. The moment they see that freak Tetch, kill him!"

"Yes!"

"Since he doesn't want the Brainwave Controller technology to fall into our hands, then... destroy it outright!"

In Gotham City, who knew how many people were suddenly hypnotized and controlled by their own Hats, then began fighting the members of the Falcone.

"What a mess..." Batman watched the chaos and immediately followed the Mad Hatter's trail, hoping to stop the riot at its source.

Although the Mad Hatter was mentally unstable, he was highly intelligent. Batman searched all night but still failed to find the Mad Hatter's real body, so he could only work with the Gotham City Police Department to quickly quell the riot.

The next day.

"The Mad Hatter still hasn't been caught? Interesting." Roland looked at the newspaper. "Even Batman didn't catch him? Where did that guy run off to?"

"Tsk, that lunatic is still alive..." Jason recalled how he had once been hypnotized and controlled by the Mad Hatter, and his expression darkened.

"Don't tell me he left you traumatized?" Roland asked.

"No. I was thinking that if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been captured by you and brought here to work for free."

"So you should thank him."

"Thanks a lot!"

"Boss, something major..."

"What is it this time!" Roland flung down the newspaper.

"Big Sister Natalia has gone missing!" a child said anxiously.

"Who's Natalia?" Roland was completely confused. "Do we even know someone by that name?"

"She's the pianist who stayed beside Bruce Wayne on Valentine's Day. She's been coming by often lately to bring us food," Jason explained. "She was also the anonymous donor last time."

"You didn't tell me about this?"

"I was afraid you'd scare her away... Priest, I'm sorry."

Roland immediately hoisted Jason into the air. "Betraying your own side, are you?"

"No, actually, she told us not to say anything." One of the underlings explained, "Big Sister Natalia admires the charity work you do here. She wanted to help you but was afraid you'd refuse, so she..."

"Why would I refuse?" Roland was stunned.

"She doesn't believe in Christianity..."

"So what? I don't believe either... Ahem, I mean, I don't care about that." Roland shook his head. "Since she's missing, hurry up and look for her. We know a lot of people, so get them all moving."

"Yes, Boss... What should we do about Boss Jason?"

"Leave him hanging!"

On the outskirts of Gotham City stood a house assembled from wooden boards.

During the Great Depression in the United States, the homeless poor built shacks out of wooden boards and sheet metal. To express their dissatisfaction, the public called these shacks Hoovervilles. This house was one of the structures left behind from that era, never demolished.

"Who are you, and why did you save me?" the Mad Hatter's shrill voice came from inside the shack.

"Shh... Shh... Keep your voice down. Plenty of people want to catch you right now. You don't want the Falcone to capture you again, do you?" said someone dressed like a scholar. "As for why I saved you..."

"Because you're an extremely intelligent person. I admire your inventions and wisdom, and I need their help as well."

"Because I want to become your partner. An ally like you is very reassuring."

"Because we share the same goal: dealing with that Batman."

"Because I despise those greedy Italians. I don't want to see them continue causing trouble in Gotham City, and I'd like to give them some trouble of their own."

"Because we're actually the same kind of person. I saw in your eyes the same thing I have in mine—madness!"

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Hugo Strange, formerly a professor of psychiatry at Gotham State University." Doctor Hugo extended his hand toward the Mad Hatter. "So, my friend, will you join me?"

"YES."

"Excellent. Then let's begin our first joint project." Doctor Hugo handed the Mad Hatter a file folder. "These are the subjects from my genetic research. They're fifty feet tall and possess tremendous strength. Their only problem is that they have no minds of their own. Can you solve that?"

"Of course... But I have one condition."

"What condition?"

"Help me find Alice!"

Doctor Hugo fell silent. He seriously wondered whether cooperating with the man before him had been the right decision.