"[Hello, this is Wayne Manor. I'm not at home right now. Please leave a message after the beep.]"
"【drop--】"
"Hey! Bruce!" Penguin held an umbrella in his hand and said exaggeratedly into the landline phone: "Today, there is a great party at the Iceberg Restaurant. The young masters and ladies from all the families in Gotham will come, but only one
The person didn’t receive the invitation, guess who it is?”
"You~~~hahahahaha!"
Even speaking to an unanswered answering machine, this fat man in a tuxedo, with a hooked nose, and dressed like a penguin, was still laughing wildly.
Until he was kicked to the ground by Batman who broke through the window.
"Hey! You're too petty, Bu...cough, I mean -" After getting up unsteadily, Penguin changed his words mid-sentence: "This is not the guardian of Gotham, the Dark Knight, mysterious and unknown.
Is this Batman from the past? Why do you have time to come to Iceberg Restaurant? I'm really sorry, our reservation has been scheduled until next week, and even a weirdo wearing a bat suit can't jump in the queue."
"[I need information about 'Killer Croc'.]" Batman said in a low and hoarse voice.
"What is a killer?" Penguin pushed up his monocle: "I know many killers, but I have never heard of this name."
"[You supported Maroni's fight with Falcone for control of the Gotham gang, and Falcone explicitly warned his men not to enter the sewers to avoid encountering 'sewer crocodiles,'" Batman said:
"[So you must know where he is.]"
"Okay, I did hear that Maroni hired a strange-looking thug from outside to fight against Falcone. Was he originally called 'Killer Croc'?" Penguin shook his head: "If I remember correctly
, he should be in——"
Halfway through his words, Penguin suddenly raised his umbrella to Batman: "Here!"
Bang! Winter!
Batman slapped away the umbrella with one hand before anything could spray out. With the other hand, he directly grabbed Penguin's collar and lifted him up and pressed him against the wall.
"[Where?]" He continued to ask after what he said before.
"Damn it! I surrender! Put me down and I'll tell you!" Penguin screamed.
Batman let go of his hand and let Penguin fall to the ground.
"Haha! You've been fooled! My weapons are not just umbrellas!" Penguin yelled while quickly touching other equipment on his body.
Peng! Peng! Katcha! Wow!
As if he had rehearsed in advance, Batman knocked Penguin's hat, bow tie, boots and monocle away one after another when he reached out. Some of the equipment was lifeless, while others were meaninglessly activated after flying out.
"Why do you know about my special equipment and their uses?" Penguin, who was completely disarmed and now looked like a bankrupt gentleman, asked unwillingly.
"..."
Batman was silent for two seconds, then replied in a deep voice:
"[Because I am Batman.]"
————
After receiving information that "Killer Croc" was haunting the sewer mouth near the mouth of the Gotham River, Batman quickly left before the Penguin's men arrived.
Batman doesn't have to care about the current heir to the Cobblepot family, but Bruce Wayne has to consider the consequences of completely angering him.
He wants to prevent "chaos" in Gotham, not create "chaos".
However, many predetermined plans had not had time to be implemented, and the Penguin was solved by a more convenient solution.
Although Penguin is fat and ugly, he is very confident in his own intelligence and technology. If he were to use even one of those props today, it would be much more difficult to obtain information from him.
If I were to give an honest answer to his question about equipment...
——Because I already know what functions you will add to which parts, and what the specific startup sequence is.
——What? Where did you know that?
——In a dream.
This may sound like a provocation, but it's true.
Ever since he dreamed that his parents were saved by three crazy...three maverick women in Crime Alley, Bruce's occasional dreams have become a coherent series.
They opened a "sea restaurant" with strange rules, and joined forces with the Wayne family, the Cobot family and Falcone to eliminate the "Court of Owls" that secretly controls Gotham.
Then he picked up the mermaid princess who fell from the sky - this was the most dream-like development - and then prepared to go to war with Atlantis.
Bruce really wants to know what the parents in the dream are thinking. Has Gotham become so powerful? Who else are you going to fight? Aliens?
Of course, what he wanted to know more was the specific data on the armor developed by his parents, the cryogenic scientist named Victor, and the mermaid princess named Atlanna.
The time that Bruce enters the dream is not fixed each time, but he will definitely appear next to his childhood self and be restrained within a certain distance that is not too far away from little Bruce.
This caused him to see some armor parameters and designs intermittently from various devices when he had the opportunity, but because he could not interfere with the dream and let the computer display the complete document, his reproduction of it in reality was always at a low level.
degree.
During this period, the conflict between the teenage Penguin, Oswald Cobblepot Jr., and Bruce Wayne Jr. was an important reason that interfered with his learning of technology.
It was during this kind of fight between children that Bruce wrote down all Oswald's tricks, and then discovered that the tricks of the "Penguin" in "reality" were exactly the same as those in the "dream", and the "Iceberg"
The "restaurant" and the location are exactly the same as the "sea restaurant".
Bruce did not feel happy about this or take everything in the "dream" seriously. After all, if this dream was deliberately guided by his enemies, the day he fully believed it would be when he fell into a trap.
However, this possibility can be said to be slim, because this strange dream seems to deliberately show that it is different from "reality".
Not to mention the huge difference that his parents are still alive, Falcone does not control all the gangs in Gotham like reality. The Penguin's gang leader named Maroni is competing with him in every aspect.
There is no cryogenic scientist named Victor Fries, and there is no lighthouse keeper named Thomas Curry in Port Mercy. As for Atlantis and the mysterious mermaid, there are not even rumors.
Pass.
If the technology taken out of "dreams" could not be realized in "reality", Bruce might have used his psychological knowledge to get himself a diagnosis of trauma and delusion.
Those things can be put aside for the time being.
Batman stopped at a tall building near the mouth of the Gotham River and narrowed his eyes slightly to look at the green monster that had just gotten into the sewer.
I got you, you hidden rat.
——DC——
Gotham, sea restaurant conference room.
"I've got you, you little rat."
Thomas Wayne put a pushpin on the map of Gotham City at the mouth of the Gotham River.
Around the thumbtack, there are several arrows pointing to this location, and at the end of these arrows are some short reports and pictures, all of which either photographed or mentioned the "mysterious man in a cloak" and the "claw".
"Although it is reasonable, it is a bit unbelievable." Tucker Cobot adjusted his tie: "If I secretly controlled a city, I would never put my base in the sewer. Maybe'
Mr. Roman' would approve of that."
"Indeed," Falcone nodded, and then added: "But only if I am the only one in control."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"The 'Court of Owls' is an organization, and no organization can be monolithic. Rather, the possibility of conflicts among its members is very high," Falcone folded his fingers on the table: "In
It makes sense to gather in a location that is relatively secretive, difficult to track or identify each other, and easy to get to and escape from."
"You said it yourself, 'Easy to reach and escape'," Thomas Wayne turned to look at him: "If we go to catch people in a big way, they will find out in advance. If we only send a small number of elites, they may escape."
"Perhaps, we can send someone who they think doesn't need to escape at all, but who has the ability to catch them all?" Falcone looked at Thomas Curry.
"Judging from the combat effectiveness of those 'Claws', they should not be a match for the 'Sea King' armor." Thomas Curry nodded.
"Hmm. Is their secret gathering place near the mouth of the sea?" Atlanna interjected: "Although I don't have the Trident of the Sea King, I can still control water to a certain extent. If the sea water is allowed to pour in, not only can it be blocked
Their escape route would also allow Thomas' armor, which was built for underwater combat, to move more freely."
"Just right," Victor Freese grinned: "A battle of sufficient intensity wearing that armor can help me update the data."
Everyone present looked at each other, as if confirming whether there were any problems. Finally, they all turned their attention to Jin Jing, who was wandering in the sky.
"Miss Bai, what do you think?" Thomas Wayne asked.
"I have no objections," Jin Jing turned her attention away from the business simulation game and briefly recalled what they had just said: "The only requirement is that my two companions and I must participate in this operation."
"Oh? Why?" Thomas Wayne demanded, while Tucker Cobot and Falcone became thoughtful.
Why?
Do you want to say that there has been no progress at all in the side missions so far?
The job and house were settled, and I got to know a "Neptune", but I couldn't find anything to "defeat" him.
In addition, the other members of this small group are not superheroes, nor are they a superhero team themselves. Apart from "stopping crimes" that can be easily solved and "acquiring superpowers" that you don't know how to do, the only thing left is "participation"
You can try to complete this item "Big Event".
"Why? Are you asking seriously? Mr. Wayne?" After Jin Jing thought briefly, she decided to let these crazy people think for themselves: "Do you think the Brando family sent the second heir here just to help?
Did Gotham eliminate the person behind the scenes?"
"Well..." "Second pick..." "That's it."
As expected, Wayne and Cobot were lost in thought, the Neptune couple were a little confused, and Falcone showed a knowing smile.
"Don't be so pretentious, 'Roman,'" Cobot frowned and stared at Falcone: "Is this a slang that only the gang understands?"
"No, it's not that complicated," Falcone shook his finger: "Suppose, Cobot, you have two sons, and you only have an estate that cannot be divided, and you are going to leave it to one of them.
How can I compensate the other person?"
"Money? Connections? No..." Cobot raised his eyebrows: "Before I finally let go of my burden, I will create enough opportunities for children who cannot receive inheritances to develop on their own, which means..."
After thinking briefly and coming up with their own answers, the allies once again turned their attention to Jin Jing.
Although the two roommates were entertaining the children outside, Jin Jing had already compiled, ahem, deduced the purpose of the "Brando Family" based on her experience in the world of One Piece.
"We call it 'Super Divine Water'," Jin Jing said, "It's exactly what Atlanna sensed was something that smells like alcohol and can make people go crazy."
After looking at the attendees who looked like "Sure enough," she continued to compile.
"Although there are rumors of 'magic springs' and 'magic lakes' all over the world, most of them are false. Occasionally, there are some real ones that are controlled by huge forces," Jin Jing entered the state,
The compilation becomes more and more real: "There is also a 'super god water' in Gotham, but it is just our speculation based on the climate and environment. I originally planned to conduct a long-term investigation, but it was an unexpected surprise to encounter Atlanna who is familiar with the water conditions."
"I see." "No wonder it's a restaurant."
"Judging from the actions of those 'claws', are they very strong and agile, but their IQ seems to be very low?" Jin Jing simply stood up and walked to the information board and pointed: "If nothing else, they are...
It is an individual that has initially succeeded in the Owl Court's application experiment. It is specially used to hunt people who know or are close to the 'Super Divine Water'. This also proves that they have not fully understood how to use it until now. They can only use it through
The water cycle continues to create and study individuals who accidentally acquire abilities. So, gentlemen and ladies, where do you think these 'super magic waters' are hidden?"
"Under the sewer system!" Cobot hammered the table excitedly, then hesitated: "Could it be that the Brando family has mastered the method of applying these, uh, 'super magic water'? Obviously the Court of Owls has not figured it out yet."
"They are just timid," Jin Jing pointed to herself, and then gestured to the two roommates outside the door: "Soaking, drinking and injecting, there is always a way that will work."
