Chapter 594 Long Live the Cat! (Part 1)_1

On the edge of the battlefield, on the rooftop of another skyscraper, a black cat and a white cat stood side by side. The black cat spoke, "I've always thought there was a strange smell when I was with Bat Cat, but I've never kept a bird, so I didn't realise it was the smell of bird droppings."

He turned to look at the white cat. "Gordon Cat, you never told me that Bat Cat was one of their impersonations too."

The white cat also showed a shocked expression. He said, "No, Bat Cat doesn't seem to be... my God! They even replaced him too! The situation is worse than I imagined."

Yes, this white cat was in fact the chief of the Cat City Gotham Police Department, Gordon Cat. Shiller's encounter with Gordon Cat was earlier than anyone could have imagined.

It's not hard to guess that when Shiller's Tower of Thought landed in the middle of Gotham City, the first people to arrive would be the investigators from the police department. Gordon Cat was the most trusted cat of Bat Cat. So, it makes sense that he would be fully responsible for investigating this peculiar building.

Shiller, who was thrown out by the Superego, found a hiding place immediately and started observing the surroundings. As soon as he correctly identified that the cat was representing Gordon, he knew that this cat could be trusted.

In the vast majority of DC Universes, Gordon is one of the few symbols of hope in Gotham City. He might feel depressed, lost, encounter numerous hardships but in the end, he will always triumph over all the challenges to become the final conscience of Gotham.

Another important reason that made Shiller contact Gordon Cat first was that Gordon Cat's investigations seemed perfunctory. Often tracking some scent leads, but then not pursuing them halfway.

Command and coordination were whimsical, directing two people to wherever clues were seen, then diverting them after a while. After observing for a while, Shiller came to a conclusion. Either Gordon Cat was being negligent, or he was doing this intentionally.

The first time Shiller met Bat Cat, he was talking to Gordon Cat. Shiller noticed that Gordon Cat had plenty of leads, but only reported a tiny fraction, and not the important ones. Bat Cat trusted him very much, and hence did not pursue the matter in depth. That's how Shiller who was thrown out directly remained undiscovered.

Gordon and Batman were not on the same side. This situation was not common. Even in the Gotham influenced by Shiller, Gordon and Batman would act in a concerted manner. If Batman was investigating something at night and caused a ruckus, the police would arrive at the scene first. If the police were performing dangerous tasks, Batman would be there to provide protection on the flank. They worked quite well in coordination. This was true for most universes.

If Shiller had to choose a trustworthy counterpart from Batman and Gordon, he would opt for Gordon. Hence, he approached Gordon and explained his intentions. As expected, Gordon Cat never really trusted Bat Cat. He was always in hiding, waiting for the right time to take action.

"When Bat Cat initially intended to remodel this city, I realised that no one could prevent him. However, I observed his inexplicable paranoia, which might have been influenced by something else. Since he could not be stopped, the only other option was to take other measures to preserve important things."

In the glow of moonlight, Gordon Cat's white fur sparkled. His voice echoed through the night sky and vanished into the darkness as he reasoned with Shiller.

"When I realised his plans to couldn't be halted, I became his first ally. I stepped out and led the Gotham Police Department to help implement these transformations. At that time, there was significant dissent. I helped him iron out a lot of disputes with the assistance of my subordinates, so he trusted me."

"However, my efforts were aimed at figuring out what was influencing Bat Cat, and preserving crucial evidence that could possibly reveal the truth. These could be used to stop him when he finally goes mad."

"To prove my loyalty, I entrusted the Gotham Police Department to him for remodeling. He did completely transform it. But after that, I secretly opened the basement that he had not yet modified and put the preserved files in there."

"Back then, the entire city was in chaos. He was busy maintaining law and order and fighting against those who resisted him. In this confusion, I managed to accomplish this task."

"But later, when he came to his senses, he felt that the insurance measures previously taken were not sufficient. Thus, he transformed the original Gotham Police Department into a bank, and sent a trusted general to guard it, who was the Banker Cat."

"When we first met, you suggested that I kill Banker Cat. Did you smell a rat?" Shiller asked, looking at Gordon Cat.

"Indeed, once he settled in the original Gotham Police Department, his surveillance was strict. I had to ensure that he did not find the files, so I sent some cats in as spies. However, my subordinates reported back to me that the Banker Cat was acting extremely weird and seemed uncatlike. He also had a strange smell."

"In order to figure out what was going on on, I sent my subordinates to patrol that area to maintain neighbourhood security while actually keeping an eye on him. Finally, one evening while I was on patrol, I saw his shadow outside the window. It was not a cat, but... a bird."

"Birds, a distant species, once appeared in our menu, but now, have been extinct for a long time. Now only cats exist in this world."

"Having found out the true essence of Banker Cat, I began to doubt all those high-level contacts of Bat Cat. Soon, as I expected, birds were hiding among the mayor's staff, bank CEOs, financial tycoons, cargo ship owners, and mob bosses."

"I believe that they might have mastered a certain technology. They brainwashed Bat Cat and controlled him. The main reason I asked you to kill Banker Cat was because I had been keeping such a close watch on him that he had started to suspect me. Once he complained to Bat Cat, or found another way to brainwash Bat Cat, I would be doomed."

"But what I didn't expect was…" Gordon stared at the battlefield not far away: "It wasn't they who controlled Bat Cat, Bat Cat was not a cat, but…"

"...It's an owl." Shiller looked at the bird pinned under the black cat's paw, saying, "It's not a cat, it's an owl."

Gordon cat sighed, "I should have noticed it earlier. I know he imprisoned his butler, Alfred. If he really was the Bat Cat, he would never have tortured the old butler who grew up with him like that. It seems that the Bat Cat has already fallen into their evil hands."

"No..." Shiller suddenly contradicted, "Since they didn't kill Alfred, maybe... maybe the real Bat Cat is still alive."

Light sparked in Gordon's eyes. He asked, "Really? But... but where is he? Could he be imprisoned by them as well?"

Shiller looked up at the moon and stated, "Imprisoned? No... they cannot keep a bat caged."

Underneath the luminous moonlight, the delight scattered down like curtains. Bat Cat, pinned on the ground, was shocked to see feathers on his own body. He had shed his feline appearance and turned into a real owl. However, as if completely unaware, he cried out in astonishment:

"How is this possible! What have you done to me? How can I possibly be...I am supposed to be Bat Cat! The cat that rules the city! The richest cat! How could I be a bird?!! This can't be happening!!!"

"Nothing is impossible." Another voice interjected. The green Joker Cat approached, his maniacal smile gradually disappearing. Squinting his eyes, he looked at the panicked owl on the ground and stated:

"Of course you would be a bird. Otherwise, how would the Court of Owls dare to let their feline predators rule the city?"

Batman turned to look at his arch-nemesis, Joker Cat, and then remembered that whenever he encountered Joker in the past, that manic laughter would stir dark emotions within him, making him desperately want the laughter to stop, even sparking a violent urge to kill him.

Yet, since coming to Cat City, he heard the Joker Cat's laughter more than once, but did not feel the same emotions.

He recalled the first time he encountered Joker Jack, and the words Shiller had said to him. When that sound of manic laughter does not resonate in his heart, it indicates that the person across from him is not his predestined enemy.

Which meant, the cat opposite him, is not the Joker.

Information that Batman found in the Gotham Police Department aligned with this. The documents didn't record much important information, except a terrifying nursery rhyme. Yes, it was the Owl Nursery Rhyme - the Court of Owls, watchful while you travel...

Batman was all too familiar with the Court of Owls. He remembered vividly Joker's execution of the owls.

Batman recalled the first time he saw the Joker Cat, and his mad rambling. In their first meeting, Joker Cat had warned Batman that he smelt a bird odour on Bat Cat. Combining this with the familiar nursery rhyme, Batman thought that Bat Cat might not be a cat, but an owl.

While the evidence wasn't ample, even if Bat Cat wasn't an owl, the situation Gotham was in showed the influence of owls. With many thoughts along the way to investigating, Batman wondered, if no one was pulling the strings, would he really drive Gotham City to this state?

The conclusion of his thoughts was, he wouldn't. Because his rationality told him that it wouldn't work.

There's no standard that could perfectly differentiate human nature, it is impossible to classify those who meet this standard as good and those who do not as bad. Race, skin color, gender, personality, none of these can be used as a reliable criteria.

People's mentality and emotions are constantly changing. Setting a static standard to measure and differentiate, then forcibly separating others based on this standard is nothing new. A certain failed art student tried doing this before, and we all know how that ended.

As Batman suspected, his first strike was successful. The one on the other side wasn't a cat, but an owl. With that in mind, there was only one question left. Batman looked at the owl and asked:

"Where did you put the real Bat Cat?"

The Owl was still screaming crazily, repeating "Impossible!" and "I am a cat! I am not an owl!" over and over.

Just at that moment, an aging figure slowly walked forward. The moment Batman saw him, he knew it was Alfred.

And then, he saw the old Alfred Cat walk up to Joker Cat and rubbed his chin against Joker Cat's.