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Chapter 9: Batman's Secret Investigation
🕑 Added 2025-04-15 09:06:42 +0000 UTCLooking at the pile of mixed debris filling an entire room, Max could only laugh helplessly and cover his face. "Alright, I've got a lot of work ahead!"
He casually picked up five scattered wooden planks, which were fragments of the storage chest, and grabbed some nails from the workbench. Although the bench no longer had its magical block crafting feature, it still had all the basic tools he needed.
"The toolbox has limited nails, but everything else is complete. Good thing I learned woodworking in my past life, I just need to be frugal! Time to get to work!"
After some hammering and nailing, Max managed to craft a simple wooden box.
With the wooden box in hand, he quickly used it to transport the pile of sticks and dirt.
There was no need to discard any of it. Max piled the mixture outside the entrance and built a dirt mound for cover—though it did resemble a grave.
There were plenty of tree crowns nearby, ready to decorate the mound. After his Omnitrix transformation wore off, the floating tree crowns had been caught by gravity and fallen to the ground.
"Hmm… did I forget something?"
Max couldn't shake the feeling that he was forgetting something important! He kept thinking about it while working.
As he huffed and puffed, hauling the final load of dirt, it suddenly hit him. "Damn, I forgot to add ventilation to this base!"
Without Steve's power, this place wasn't fit for living. Max wasn't about to survive in an oxygen-deprived environment, and that realization hit him hard—he'd basically dug himself a tomb!
"This place has no electricity, no ventilation—other than being tough, it's got no advantages."
He paused, thinking for a moment. "Actually, this is pretty much like a grave."
Laughing awkwardly at his own joke, Max slumped against the wall near the entrance and fell asleep. Moving all that stuff was exhausting! Especially after the transformation ended—he was tired and hungry. He'd think about the base later, after a nap.
A New Visitor at the Batcave
"Wow! This is your secret base? In such a huge underground cave? Cool!"
Jason was shocked as he took in everything in the Batcave. It was incredibly cool!
The large platform with a dark metal style, the massive computer screen covering half the wall, and all the bat-themed tools spotlighted by various lamps.
The car, the plane, the motorcycle, the submarine, and even the complete sets of bat suits in display cases—Jason's adrenaline was through the roof. He was so hyped, he could hardly contain himself!
"Yep, all my gear is here."
Bruce Wayne, freshly showered and wearing his red bathrobe, smiled as he watched the excited kid in front of him.
The day before, when Bruce had finished his investigation and was about to leave, he had seen this kid taking apart the Batmobile! And, sure enough, all four tires were already off the car.
The audacious kid who dared to mess with the Batmobile's tires was none other than Jason Todd, the very same one who had gone out on patrol that night.
Bruce Wayne, seeing the kid had guts, thought he could be a potential ally. And since he was in need of a new Robin, Bruce decided to take Jason in as his adopted son the next day.
Now, he was showing Jason around the Batcave.
"Ah! This is so cool!" Jason's eyes lit up as he gazed at the Batcycle. He kept touching and looking at it. If Batman hadn't been watching, he would've jumped on it to give it a spin.
Bruce Wayne pointed out, "That's Robin's motorcycle. His name's Dick Grayson—your brother."
Jason's eyes widened. Robin was one of his idols! Immediately, he asked, "Whoa, where's my brother now?"
"…"
Bruce Wayne paused for a moment, then said in a low tone, "He disagreed with my philosophy and has gone to another city."
Jason's admiration for his adopted brother instantly spiked when he heard that Dick, his cool older brother, was actually at odds with Batman.
"Okay, got it! My brother's got some serious personality! That's awesome!"
Bruce, not wanting to linger on the topic, turned to the butler.
"Alright, Alfred, show him to his room. Once he wakes up, start teaching him some basic training methods."
"Of course, Master Wayne. Young Master Jason, this way, please."
Alfred smiled as he led Jason away.
After Alfred took Jason Todd to his room, Bruce Wayne walked over to a display case and began donning his gear.
When the bathrobe transformed back into the black Bat-suit, the cold and ruthless Dark Knight was back on duty.
He scanned through the data on the Batcomputer, reviewing all the information he had gathered in the past few days.
"After the factory explosion, the Gotham elites are paying to cover things up. The autopsy reports showed traces of fear toxin, and there's a mysterious group with a green symbol. Why were they at that factory…?"
Batman's sharp eyes kept scouring the information, looking for clues.
"There have been too many cases in Gotham recently, and the clues are too scattered. Or… maybe these are two separate cases!"
The more Batman thought about it, the more convinced he became.
Clue 1: The factory explosion aftermath. The Elliot family ordered a cleanup, which is suspicious.
Clue 2: The Elliot family had a long-standing relationship with Arkham Asylum, so they could easily get the fear toxin formula from Scarecrow.
Clue 3: All the dead were Penguin's henchmen, and lately, the Penguin has been "missing," and Batman couldn't find him!
Batman had already investigated the factory; he didn't find any trace of the fear toxin there. The only place where it was found was on the bodies of the dead.
This meant the factory wasn't where the toxin was being made. They must have inhaled it before they died.
And Scarecrow? He was still locked up in Arkham Asylum, with video footage from those days proving it.
So who could it be?
Who is using the fear toxin, and what do they want?
What role is the Penguin playing in all of this?
The questions kept piling up as Batman pulled up the live surveillance footage.
The screen displayed none other than Scarecrow at Arkham Asylum. He was asleep, showing no signs of causing trouble.
Batman watched him closely. Seeing how calm Scarecrow was, he switched to the next footage.
This time, the camera was focused on the Penguin's Iceberg Lounge.
Ever since the factory explosion, Penguin had seemingly vanished from the public eye.
Even when some new gangs tried to move in on his turf, the Penguin never showed up!
It was all very suspicious!
"Maybe the priority now is to find the Penguin! He must know something!" Batman muttered.
The footage switched again, and this time, the Joker appeared.
The Joker was still the same, grinning like a madman, his smile twisted with pure evil. Anyone who knew him could spot the hint of mockery in his expression.
Batman was just making sure that the Joker hadn't escaped. Gotham was already in chaos, and the Joker—the chaos-maker—couldn't be allowed to run wild again.
Meanwhile, the real Joker in Gotham was working hard.
Bodies were being swiftly stitched together under his meticulous care. He removed the large teeth from the dead and replaced them with metal teeth made from something called the "Dionysus Factor."
These metal teeth contained the "Dionysus Factor," a substance that could bring the dead back to life!
Once revived, these corpses became the claws of the Court of Owls.
Right now, the Joker was playing the part of the Court's talon assassin—ruthless, cold, and hardly speaking a word.
Using cunning, he had managed to set up one of the talons, killed him, removed the special teeth, and installed them into himself, completely taking the talon's place. With his fearless acting, the Joker was doing an incredible job of impersonating the talon.
Today, he had been assigned to work at the factory where the talons were made.
After learning how the "Dionysus Factor" worked—how it could bring the dead back to life—the Joker was filled with overwhelming excitement.
"Hahahaha! Perfect! Just perfect! This is the treasure that will let me play with the little bat forever! It's just too perfect!"
