Chapter 52: Don't Move, Sir

"You mean homeless teen? There are indeed quite a few in Gotham."

Selina quietly shifted her position. She was still wary of this strange adult, Marcus.

"Oh, robbery, shooting, deception... Gotham really is a classic crime city!"

Marcus smiled and shook his head. He pulled the kunai from the wall and suddenly appeared in front of Selina.

"You look pretty smart. Do you know of any legends in Gotham? If I like what you tell me, I'll give you this kunai!"

Looking at the shining blade in front of her, Selina took two steps back.

She hadn't even seen Marcus move just now. At his speed, even if she wanted to run, there was no escaping this strange man.

Selina stopped trying to retreat and glanced at the kunai in Marcus's hand before whispering:

"Gotham legends? I do know one.

Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time. Ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime..."

As she was speaking, the man who had been beaten by little Bruce struggled to get up from the ground.

"Don't move, sir!"

Marcus had a Rex pistol in his hand now, its black muzzle pointed at the man's body.

Although Marcus was listening to Selina recite the nursery rhyme, it didn't mean he couldn't sense what was happening around him. He was fully aware of both Bruce and the gunman's movements.

But when the man saw that Marcus hadn't turned around, he ignored the warning completely. He lunged straight for young Bruce, planning to use the child as leverage to escape.

Bang!

Before he could touch Bruce, a bullet fired from the Rex. This shot, strengthened by amplitude crystal, was something even fully-armed Hydra soldiers couldn't withstand, let alone a man wearing only thick clothing.

His arm was shattered by the bullet's immense power, sending him flying several feet.

"I told you not to move, sir!" Marcus glanced at the man who was wailing over his broken arm, then looked back at Selina. "Go on. What's next?"

After witnessing the man's arm being broken, Selina swallowed hard and continued:

"They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed. Speak not a whispered word of them, or they'll send The Talon for your head.

That's it. Everyone in Gotham knows this nursery rhyme."

Marcus handed the kunai to the little cat burglar, his heart lifting slightly.

So the Court of Owls nursery rhyme really was circulating in Gotham. If he could find the nest of these little birds, he might be able to find what he wanted and begin extracting the Aya Stars.

"Not bad. I'm satisfied!" Waving at the girl, Marcus walked over to the injured man. "Remember what I warned you before? If you moved again, this blade would pierce your eyes. Didn't you understand, sir?"

"You shot at me and ruined my clothes. Did you really think you could just run away?"

As he spoke, two kunai appeared in Marcus's hands.

Seeing the metallic blades, the man begged with a trembling voice.

"Let... let me go! Please... let me go!"

Marcus smiled and called out to Selina, who was about to leave:

"Let you go? Is that how things work in Gotham, little thief?"

"No... no," Selina replied from a distance. "In Gotham, anyone who does what he did is already dead!"

With that, she climbed onto the roof using the balconies and stairs between buildings, while Marcus raised his eyebrows and looked down at the man.

"You heard her. There's no rule in Gotham about sparing those who try to kill others!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, two kunai pierced the man's eyes almost simultaneously. Blood poured from the wounds, and the intense pain made the man wail miserably.

"Thank you..." Bruce knelt beside his parents and sobbed softly.

He was deeply grateful to Marcus. It was Marcus who had caught the robber who killed his parents, and it was Marcus who had punished his parents' murderer this way.

"It's nothing. Should I notify someone now?"

...

Shortly after Marcus retrieved his kunai, Alfred, the Wayne family butler, rushed to the scene.

During his call with Bruce, he'd received the shocking news that Thomas and Martha Wayne had met with tragedy on their way back from the movies, leaving Bruce alone.

When he arrived, Bruce was standing in front of a pool of blood with Marcus, and not far from the Waynes lay a blood-soaked man.

"Master Bruce!" Alfred leapt from the car and ran over hastily.

"Alfred!" Bruce looked sadly at the approaching butler and pointed at the man. "Mom and Dad were killed by him."

Seeing the bodies of Thomas and Martha Wayne, then looking at the injured man, Alfred closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned to Bruce.

"Be strong, Master Bruce. You still have me!"

The Wayne family still had an heir, and as the family's butler, it was Alfred's duty to preserve the Wayne legacy.

"Yeah!" Bruce nodded and looked at Marcus. "This man caught him. He's very powerful!"

Bruce had witnessed everything Marcus had done. The murderer had tried to take him hostage, but Marcus shot him, breaking his arm. Then he'd even pierced the man's eyes with his blades.

"Thank you for your help!" Alfred approached and extended his hand. "What's your name?"

Marcus smiled and shook hands with him. He had always admired this butler.

"Just call me Marcus, Mr. Butler!"

Although Alfred had no superpowers, he would become an indispensable ally to Batman, and perhaps the only person Batman could fully trust.

As they were talking, Gotham police officers began arriving. Though many Gotham cops were corrupt, some still had a conscience. More importantly, since the Wayne family was involved, they had to handle this with extreme caution.

Seeing the Wayne couple lying on the ground, the officers took deep breaths. This was big trouble.

A policeman with a buzz cut came over and asked after seeing the man Marcus had disabled. "What happened to this guy?"

"He's the murderer!"

Bruce stared angrily at the man. Although the killer was nearly in shock from blood loss, that didn't diminish Bruce's hatred for him.

"He's the murderer? Ha! We can close the case, Gordon." An elderly policeman kicked the man, heard him groan, and said, "Who did this to him? Nice technique!"

"I did it. Is there a problem?" Marcus smiled at the two officers, raised his hand, and pointed at the hole in his shirt. "See this hole? I was defending myself."

Of course he knew who Gordon was. This justice-seeking policeman was also the only light in Gotham's darkness.

After checking the condition of the man on the ground, Gordon stood up and shook his head.

"No problem. Harvey was just joking with you. Even if you killed him, you'd be fine!"

He pulled out a stack of money and a broken pearl necklace from the man's pocket. These were the Wayne couple's belongings. Combined with the testimony from the Wayne heir, there would be no legal issues even if the man had been killed outright.

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