Chapter 19 Justice or Revenge
A few minutes later, Batman was lying on the kitchen table in the cafe, dying.
Kara hid by the door and secretly watched the situation in the room. Shen You took off his bat helmet, revealing the handsome but bruised face of Bruce Wayne, the son of Gotham.
"Is he dead?" Kara asked quietly.
"Not yet, but it should be soon if we just leave it alone."
Shen You took out the first aid kit, took out two bullets from his body and bandaged them.
The old wizard came over and took a look. He seemed to have a good first impression of this rich second-generation transvestite, and even gave him a healing spell.
The old wizard's mana was now exhausted and he couldn't use any large-scale spells, but he was still able to cast simple healing spells at his fingertips. Throwing a spell on it had an immediate effect. Bruce's almost deathly pale face quickly turned red, and he woke up in a short time.
The young Batman opened his eyes drowsily.
At first glance, I saw bright lights and an unfamiliar ceiling.
At the second glance, I noticed a bearded old man and a somewhat handsome Asian man standing nearby, standing in a "you woke up and the operation was successful" style.
The whole person bounced up as soon as it hit the ground, almost tearing the newly bandaged wound.
"Calm down, we picked you up from the trash can in the back alley, and you almost died."
Bruce was silent, as if he was gradually beginning to remember what happened tonight. Seeing the bandages on his body and the first aid kit next to him, he quickly realized what had happened.
He snorted coldly, ignored the screams in his body and stubbornly wanted to get off the table. But it was obvious that his body had not recovered yet, and he almost fell down after shaking for a moment.
Shen You stretched out his hand to support him: "This is not a good idea."
"I don't need help," Bruce said coldly.
Shen You shrugged: "Okay."
Then Leng Buding withdrew his hand.
Plop.
Bruce fell to the ground.
The arrogant old bat said nothing and climbed up with difficulty while holding on to the table. Shen You gestured to the TV that was on next to him: "Have you had a bad date with the GCPD tonight?"
He turned around and saw that the TV news was broadcasting the news that the GCPD was organizing an encirclement and suppression of Batman tonight. A pot-bellied police officer told the camera that they were sure Batman was injured and hoped that citizens who knew his whereabouts would report it to the police.
Bruce frowned, a little unconvinced by the bragging of the pot-bellied police officer: "They can't hurt me on their own. Someone leaked my whereabouts to them, predicted my actions, and was still in the Batmobile." A bomb was set inside.
A new face calls himself 'The Riddler'. "
Shen You understood. Dare is the Riddler borrowing a knife to kill people, borrowing the Gotham police to make his own knife in order to deal with Batman.
Tonight is probably the first time for the fledgling master to interact with his future members of the Arkham fan support group. He has not yet had as much experience as he will with mental patients in the future. It’s inevitable that you’ll feel a little flat the first time.
But his arrogant temperament of refusing to admit defeat has never changed. Seeing the chubby police officer on the TV still talking proudly to the camera about how Batman was beaten to a pulp by them tonight, Bruce snorted slightly.
"I was careless, but it won't happen again."
"What are your plans next time? Build a set of armor with 100,000 tons of horsepower, and add a thruster that can fly faster than light?" Shen You said, "Of course, you can definitely do it, sooner or later. But what do you think? Is that what you want? Is that what you want your ideal Batman to be?"
Bruce was silent.
It seemed that for the first time, Bruce began to look directly at Shen You, meeting his eyes, as if he wanted to penetrate his eyes and see through his thoughts with the sharp sight of the world's greatest detective.
"What do you want to say?" Bruce said stiffly.
"It's nothing. I haven't been in this city for a long time, but I have seen this place and the people here. I have seen them struggling for life, trying their best to find hope in the darkness.
Your presence did bring about some changes. Rumors began to spread, people began to talk about Batman, and began to believe that even in a place like Gotham, one could hope for a bright future.
But is this what you want?
Or rather, what is Batman to you? Is it the justice you pursue? Or a tool for revenge? "
Bruce looked at him expressionlessly for a moment.
Then he propped up his body, which had recovered from strength, and picked up the helmet and cloak.
"That's none of your business."
Batman stumbled away, putting on his suit and mask again.
He was a little distraught. Not only because of Batman's defeat tonight, but also not entirely because of Shen You's words - if someone usually said that, he would definitely not listen.
By coincidence, earlier today before he left the lair, he and his butler Alfred had a similar argument in the Batcave.
"."
"You can't go on like this."
Alfred sternly advised, "You are trying to shoulder a responsibility that is impossible for a flesh and blood body to bear. Anyone will be crushed sooner or later. At least you can't do it alone, no Any help."
"I have your help, Alfred."
As he spoke, Bruce was buckling on his utility belt, a piece of equipment that had just been updated from the technical department this week.
"I just need your advice."
"That's the problem, Master. You don't trust anyone, and I don't think that includes me." Alfred said calmly.
"I let you know what I'm doing, and I let you sit in this damn Batcave." Bruce said coldly, putting on his cloak, "You still think I didn't give you enough trust?"
Alfred shook his head.
"No, it's not trust, it's punishment or at least your way of showing your anger. I've been watching you since you were a kid and I can always guess what you're thinking.
Just as you also know that not all JCs in the GCPD are corrupt to the core, at least you know that Gordon is an out-and-out good guy.
But even so, you never thought of asking for his help. "
Bruce stopped what he was doing and looked at him expressionlessly.
Alfred continued: "You were still a little boy at the time, and you were alone in that alley, watching their two bodies getting colder little by little.
No one came, no one helped. There's no me, there's no Gordon, there's not a single Gotham citizen. And there's no Batman.
So you are going to punish us in this way and make us sit back and watch.
Why am I in the Batcave? Master? I think it's because you want me to stay here and watch you do things that neither me nor Gordon nor anyone else is capable of. You exclude us all and let us watch you do what we cannot do, to seek revenge on those who have hurt you as punishment.
But if you insist on doing this, Master, Batman will only become a shadow of your past, an infinite amplification of the lingering shadow in your heart. Sooner or later, he will turn out to be a demon rather than a creature of justice or hope.
Soon he'll be down, and so will you. "
Bruce looked at him for a long time without speaking.
Then in silence he put on his helmet and activated the Batmobile.
"I have to go, Alfred." He said coldly through the voice changer, "Don't wait for me."
"."
Alfred's words still echoed in his ears.
What exactly is Batman?
He avoided detection and walked into the deserted alley. He leaned against the wall and breathed heavily for a moment. He took off the hook and rope from his belt and gathered strength to throw the hook onto the roof.
At the same time, I made up my mind that I must go to the company's technical department to design a new equipment that can replace the hook rope.
He leaned against the wall to recover for a few seconds, his attention drawn to a noise on the opposite block before launching his grappling hook.
Two older children were pushing a young boy into the corner, forcing him to hand over the pocket money in his backpack.
Batman's first reaction was to stop him.
But after a few seconds, he realized that it wasn't necessary.
The young man suddenly became short and knocked down one of them with a sweeping kick. Then a nice right hook knocked the second oldest kid to the ground.
The two young robbers ran away in a mess. The young man raised his middle finger towards them from behind.
"Boss Shen taught me this, you idiots." He said proudly.
Batman said nothing and retreated into the darkness.
The question the young man asked himself echoed in his mind again.
Justice or revenge?
In other words, what does this city need from Batman?
He threw his grappling hook and climbed onto the roof.
Disappeared into the vast night of Gotham.