Chapter 17: The Dark Knight

When Batman showed Jay that he was hiding in a temporary bat cave underground in Metropolis, Jay was not even surprised. If the Batman in this world is half similar to the comic image in his impression, then he must have at least ten or eight top secret strongholds in the Metropolis.

But this did not prevent him from marveling when he entered the cave. Batman has opened up a space of more than 20 meters high underground. The interior is divided into three sections. They are the general operation room with computer equipment, the equipment room for storing light weapons, and the parking lot including bats. Hangar including Wings and Batmobiles.

How did he make such a space in the metropolis?

Batman barely spoke the whole time, and when he got here, he plunged into the room inside, leaving Jay and Helena waiting in the operating room. Jay looked at the various facilities in the bat cave with novelty, and shy away from his eyes when he realized that his actions were a bit like a rural person who had just entered the city.

He smiled at Helena: "This place is amazing."

Helena also smiled slightly: "You have a chance to go to Gotham to see the Bat Cave. Compared with that, it's really shabby."

Seeing that Batman was still not knowing what to do in it, Jay first asked Helena the question he had been holding back until now: "So, these are just the exam questions you set for me? Actually, there is no powerful organization that has discovered my existence. ?"

"That's about it. I have to apologize for that, but I'm not a lie-I did not report to my boss, I just told Batman. Batman insisted that he needs to know your bottom line Where?" Helena apologized slightly, "you have to understand, he was not like this before."

"What? So suspicious?"

"No, he's been very suspicious since I can remember." Helena shook her head, "but since the end of the Doomsday Invasion, he seems to be one step closer to the bottom line that he has never crossed. He has become tougher, and since Ge After Chief Deng stepped down, he terminated all cooperation with the Gotham Police Station. He hardly left Gotham in six years, and was completely indifferent to things outside Gotham...until I told it. His appearance of you. I think I can understand it. After all, he has experienced so much, Superman died, the Justice League fell apart, and the death of his mother..."

Jay was stunned when she said this. He suddenly remembered that he seemed to have indeed heard of such a parallel universe in the comics, where Batman married the catwoman Selena Kyle and gave birth to a daughter who grew up like her father. Put on the cloak and become a superhero named "Huntress".

Her name is Helena Wayne.

Jay opened his mouth wide: "You... are you his daughter?"

"Yes, I am." Helena didn't mean to hide it at all. "And I can tell you, my name is Helena Wayne, Helena Wayne from Gotham. This does not require me to tell you that the old bat is Who is it?"

Gotham, Wayne, these two nouns are always strung together very naturally, Helena is indeed about to tell Jay the fact that "Batman is Bruce Wayne". Although he knew it for a long time, at least it showed that she was willing to be honest.

Jay felt that the amount of information he received in an instant was a bit huge, even his super brain found it difficult to digest. He made a "stop" gesture and asked: "Wait, wait...You said your mother is dead, what's the matter?"

"It was also an invasion six years ago." Helena showed a trace of sadness. "The demons from the Apocalypse are almost all over the world, and Gotham has almost fallen. A group of citizens in the poverty-stricken area of ​​Gotham are trapped and formed in groups The team's demons surrounded there. My mother wanted to rescue them, and then..."

She stopped here and closed her eyes lightly, as if the scene of that day could still be seen before her eyes. Jay whispered: "I'm sorry."

"Father had a chance to save her. He knew that his mother had gone to the slum." Helena said in a low voice. "But it was the most critical moment of the Justice League's counterattack plan. He chose to stay in the League and do his best. Duty. In the end, as everyone knows, the alliance failed. In the end he failed to save the world, and his mother died in the darkest part of Gotham."

"Helena." At this point, Batman's gloomy voice suddenly sounded in the room, "You talk too much."

"We have found out his details, he can be trusted." Helena said, "In addition, you always seem to forget that trust is mutual. Considering that you gave him a set of things when you first met, I want to show some sincerity. necessary."

Batman said coldly, "It's up to me to decide."

He walked up to Jay, and Jay noticed that he had put on his usual bat combat suit. Almost half of his body is wrapped in a large cloak, and the chin under the mask is clear. He stood in front of Jay almost face to face. Jay could feel great majesty and oppression from him, but he did seem to be older than the Batman in Jay's impression. Perhaps it is because of the cruelty of reality, perhaps because of the ruthlessness of the years, or more likely both.

Without a word, he took out a badge with an "s" mark from his cloak and handed it to Jay. It looked like the one that had been worn on Superman's chest. Jay took it, a little at a loss, not sure what he needed this for.

"Wear it on his chest." Batman said lightly.

Well, wear it on the chest. Jay did so, and he pressed the "s" mark on his chest like a superman in his memory. I saw the badge immediately reacted, it faintly exudes a faint brilliance, the dark blue particles spread like a tide around it, and instantly covered Jay's whole body, turning into a complete tight-fitting jersey. . The bright red cloak naturally hung from behind him, the shape resembling the original Superman.

"At least this is certain," Batman said. "You are a Kryptonian."

"what?"

Helena explained: "The suit you are wearing is left by Superman. It is a Kryptonian bio-nano suit. It can recognize the genes of Kryptonians. It can only be detected if the wearer has the Krypton gene. activation."

"Thanks...thanks, it looks pretty cool." Jay asked, "Then you are giving this to me because...?"

"The world needs Superman, and you are going to take that place." Batman still said in his characteristic cold tone, sounding like he was giving an unquestionable order.

Become a superman? This is not the first time Jay has heard such words, but every time he feels that these words seem to be far away from him. The reason Superman is Superman is not only because of his magical abilities, not just that anyone can replace it.

No, it should be said that no one can replace it.

Superman is dead, this world will leave that vacancy forever, no one can fill it.

"Well, I am really happy to use my abilities to help others and save lives, but..." Jay pondered for a moment, shook his head, "I don't think I'm ready."

"No." Batman said, "I have observed you. You are indeed immature and need more experience. But you have a heart and have the same real humanity as him. You have not changed because of that omnipotent power. In essence, this is the most important part." After a pause, he added: "Besides, I will keep staring at you. If one day in the future you are on the wrong path, I will prepare for you."

It might be reassuring if someone else said that, but Jay understood what Batman meant by "be prepared". He tried to imagine the consequences, the easiest of which made people chill.

Jay was silent. He stared at the seam in the metal wall, thinking about something in a daze.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, I..." Jay hesitated, he had a hunch that the consequences of saying this would be terrible. He glanced at Batman, and finally summoned the courage to speak: "...I just think that maybe Lex Luther is right? Maybe that era is over, maybe the world doesn't need it anymore. Superman. I mean, look around, there were so many superheroes, how many are left now?"

He noticed that Batman squinted his eyes, which may be a sign of his bad mood, maybe he shouldn't have said that.

"The reason you say this is because you have been shrinking in your own little world, and you have never understood what is happening outside." Batman said solemnly, "The monster that appeared in the Metropolitan Underground Mall, have you thought about it? Did it come from there? Have you ever thought about how many things like this are in the outside world that you don't know?"

Jay was speechless. He really didn't know, and didn't even want to figure it out, because subconsciously, he still only felt that he was a high school student, and that was not his business.

"Do you really think the world is as peaceful as the politicians who run the train with their mouths saying? Do you think that super criminals will not act wantonly if they don't say it in the newspaper? They say that the world is getting better every day, ghosts Fuck! Take a good look with your clairvoyance and you will find that the world is just getting worse, every day."

Jay didn't know what to say. He wanted to refute, but found that there was nothing to say. Batman is right, he has always been only in his small circle of life, and he has never understood what the world looks like today. But he instinctively felt that it should not be as bad as the other party said, Batman was just too pessimistic. Considering everything life has made him go through, you can't blame him for this.

A communication request came in just at this moment. Batman frowned and answered the channel: "Penny one?"

Penny One is the code name of his steward Alfred Peniworth. For Batman, he is the closest person to his father in the world, and it is an indispensable part of the Batman legend.

The line was connected, and the old man's voice came from the channel: "I suggest you turn on the TV now and watch the local news section of Metropolis."

Batman frowned. "Not now, one penny."

"It's now, I'm afraid it will be too late for the plane to hit your head later, sir."

"What plane?"

Needless to say, Helena has already called up local news on the computer screen-this is not difficult, because almost all channels in the metropolis are broadcasting the same news.

"The flight from Metropolis to Chicago dropped sharply shortly after takeoff. After an apparent engine failure, the plane was hovering over the city and was in danger of falling at any time..."

"To Chicago!?" Jay cried out in surprise, "My dad is there!"

"Go and do what you are supposed to do." Batman took out a pair of yellow goggles from somewhere. "Put this on."

"Uh, you know that my eyes don't need goggles."

"Put it on, and you will find it useful," Batman said lightly. "Then think about it and make the right choice."