Below, Batman had already charged into the control tower.
The lights inside flickered, and the walls were plastered with photos of Joker and newspaper clippings.
The central control console had been remodeled into a huge smiling face, with cables stretching out of its mouth to connect to the entire amusement park.
As soon as Batman approached, two mechanical clowns dropped from the ceiling, spraying high-voltage arcs from their hands.
He sidestepped, grabbed one mechanical arm, and twisted it backward, using the leverage to smash the whole machine into the other. Sparks exploded, illuminating his cold face.
Chen Mo's urgent voice came through the communicator.
"There are at least twenty people on the Ferris wheel. Seven bombs left-no, six. Someone just tried to ambush me, and I sent him on a sightseeing trip through the sky... Mixing minibosses like this in with the hostages-how did Joker come up with something so messed up?"
"The control system has been isolated," Batman said. "Joker installed a manual backup."
"So?"
"The remote."
Chen Mo swore.
Joker still had the remote.
And at that moment, Joker stood in the middle of the stage, bowing to the actress who had played the teacher onstage earlier.
"My dear lady, you look like an educator. Wonderful. I've always believed teachers are among the bravest people in the world, because every day they have to pretend this world has answers."
The actress sat in the chair, trembling.
Joker walked a circle around her.
"Did you teach him? That little bug? Let me guess. Late to class, sloppy homework, never shuts up, but there's that annoying kindness in his eyes. Oh, I hate that most of all. Kindness is like bad glue. It sticks people to things they should have run away from."
He crouched down and looked into her