PFC Chapter 3891 The Nameless Bat (61)
Chapter 3891 The Nameless Bat (61)
Chapter 3891 The Nameless Bat (Sixty-One)
Just as the main universe's Batman, wearing the Hellbat armor, got into the Batmobile, he received a phone call from his father, Thomas.
“My God, Bruce, how long has it been since you’ve been back to Gotham? It’s complete chaos here.”
"Is it more chaotic than during a gang war?"
Thomas fell silent. He sighed and said, "The rest is fine, but the key issue is that the weather forecast says a hurricane will make landfall starting tonight. The city's power grid needs maintenance. Wayne Corporation has sent out all its technicians, but it's still not enough. Are you really too busy to come back?"
“Sorry, but I really can’t leave.” The main universe Batman glanced at the key to Mount Olympus in his hand and said, “Any movement at Arkham Asylum?”
"No, things are calm for now. As long as you're not back, those supervillains are all staying put in the mental hospital. That's the only good news."
"Alright, then let's keep them busy. They're all PhDs, after all; surely they can at least maintain some power supply equipment?"
"What?" Thomas's incredulous voice rang out. "You mean you want those lunatics at Arkham Asylum to deal with the coming hurricane?"
"Or else? While I'm busy traveling through the universe, they're happily playing cards in an asylum?"
"But...but how do you order them around? Are you planning to call them?"
"No need, I have my own way. I'll hang up now."
After hanging up the phone in the main universe, Batman called Nightwing first. After the call connected, Nightwing seemed to guess what he was going to say and said, "Sorry, Batman, the underground water system in Broodhaven is terrible. It floods every time there's a heavy rain. I have to prepare for flood prevention, so I really don't have time to go to Gotham to help."
"Oh, it's okay. Where are Jason and Tim?"
"They're already in Gotham, one organizing gang flood control, the other overseeing the power center. Cassandra and her group have also gone to the docks. If you want to get anyone else to do anything, you'll probably have to ask the Gordons."
The main universe Batman knew perfectly well that Gordon and his daughter were also too busy. They were preoccupied with the aftermath of the serial murders and tracking down the mysterious electronic life form. The main universe Batman couldn't help but sigh.
While his unique position within his own universe was advantageous in securing leadership within the multiverse, the curse of Gotham was also deeply entrenched. And just a couple of days later, a barrage of natural and man-made disasters struck, all happening at once, leaving him overwhelmed.
This hurricane landfall appears to be just a normal natural disaster; Gotham experiences this kind of event eight or ten times a year. Whenever a hurricane approaches the East Coast, regardless of its initial direction, it will inevitably change course towards Gotham as it nears the coastline. Gotham is relatively experienced in dealing with these kinds of disasters.
The problem is that a mysterious electronic life form is lurking in the city, having previously used murders to disrupt the upper echelons and distract Batman. If it were to cause trouble at a crucial moment, what was originally an ordinary natural disaster could escalate into a massive catastrophe.
The main universe Batman thought for a moment, then dialed the number for Arkham Batman and said, "Where are you right now? Are you free?"
“I’m at a Green Lantern Corps outpost,” Arkham Batman’s voice was slightly muffled. “I want to observe the Green Lantern Corps’ composition and see if there’s an opportunity.”
How's Gotham where you are?
"Not bad. I'm the president, I have a lot of power. That electronic life form is afraid of being found by me, so it only dares to do small things, and it can't invade the power of magic or the emotional spectrum. There's nothing serious at the moment."
"Alright, then lend me that agent. Whatever you promised him, I'll cover half his salary and give him an extra 20% transfer fee, how about that?"
What do you want him to do?
“A hurricane is going to hit Gotham tonight, and I’m worried that cyber life might take advantage of the situation, so I have to make some preparations first.”
"Alright. But Natasha has been to your area, why not let her go?"
"The mission I need the agent to perform is a bit special, which is perfect for him, and he is very suitable for this job."
"No problem, I'll call him right away."
As soon as Batman from Arkham hung up, he called Schiller. About half an hour later, Schiller appeared at the entrance of the Gotham City Police Department in the main universe. James Gordon, who came out to greet him, was taken aback by Schiller's much younger face.
However, now everyone who has come into contact with or heard about the multiverse considers those with the same identity but slightly different appearances as counterparts from different universes. There are as many counterparts as there are multiverses, existing in different eras and ages; it's normal for some to be old and some young.
But Gordon soon noticed something else. The young Schiller in front of him didn't exchange pleasantries at all. He stepped forward, shook hands, and said, "Give me a car. Where's the FBI base?"
"Uh, so you're a secret agent?"
“Yes,” Schiller nodded. “I know you Gotham people don’t like outsiders interfering, but this time it’s different. To deal with the upcoming hurricane, we’ll probably need the cooperation of the state police and the FBI.”
“You’ve got one thing wrong, Mr. Agent. It’s not that Gotham people are hostile to police and law enforcement; it’s that they simply don’t dare to come in. Staying here for a while would drive them crazy. They have weapons, and if they get into trouble, it’ll be a huge mess. The federal government doesn’t want to get involved, so naturally, they won’t establish a base here.”
Gordon paused for a moment and then said, "But you have a point. For such a large-scale natural disaster, we should definitely call the state police for help. But don't count on the FBI. This hurricane has affected many important cities on the East Coast, so they might be heading to Chicago or Boston."
"Okay, then give me a car. I need to go to Arkham Asylum."
Schiller drove the car Gordon had prepared for him. It was an ordinary car used by plainclothes police officers, but it had flashing lights that could be turned on for enforcement purposes if necessary. There weren't many cars on the road at the time, so Schiller didn't turn on the flashing lights.
He drove all the way to Arkham Asylum. At that time, the asylum's director was still Hugo Strange. Schiller showed his identification at the front desk and was then led to the director's office by an assistant.
"To make a long story short, Batman is very unhappy with the current state of Arkham Asylum. You must make changes immediately, or you will face budget cuts starting next quarter until the board and management are restructured."
Hugo looked at Schiller, momentarily stunned. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "What's wrong, Batman?"
Hugo wasn't feigning ignorance; he genuinely didn't know. While he wasn't exactly a saint, he was at least of sound mind. He knew that Arkham Asylum had been unusually peaceful lately, with all the supervillains in a state of retirement, spending their days either sleeping in their rooms or playing cards at the activity club, their biggest conflicts revolving around winning or losing a game of cards. What could Batman possibly be unhappy about?
Do you know what Batman is doing right now?
Hugo shook his head. He didn't know either. If Batman were in Gotham, he might know a thing or two, but the situation in the universe was still too far removed from the lives of Gotham's supervillains.
"In the past week, he ended the interstellar war, conquered Oa, the home of the guardians of the universe, built the super furnace for storing energy, directed the Justice League to bring the power of the seven lamps from Oa back to Earth, modified the Hellbat armor, went to Paradise Island to obtain the key to Mount Olympus, and should be negotiating with the gods on Mount Olympus now."
“Oh,” Hugo uttered a single syllable, then said, “Batman’s normal level. And then?”
“He really disapproves of you idlers now.” Schiller walked to a chair by the window, crossed one leg over the other, rested his elbow on the table, and said sideways, “He’s busy all over the universe, while you’re here playing cards every day, going to bed early and getting up early. Aren’t you ashamed?”
Schiller's attitude was so self-righteous that Hugo was momentarily stunned. He even reflected on it for a moment before suddenly realizing what was happening and saying, "This is a mental hospital. The patients here are all incapacitated. What else should they do besides go to bed early and get up early to receive treatment?"
"Alright, Dean, let's be frank. I know perfectly well whether they are incapacitated or not, and I also know perfectly well whether you have the ability to make them more capable. I have already conveyed Batman's message. If you have any complaints, you can only save them for the shareholders' meeting when he returns. Hopefully, you won't receive news of being fired and kicked out then."
Schiller slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and turned to walk towards the door. Hugo quickly called after him, saying, "Wait! Is this really Batman's intention?"
"Should I have him make a phone call for you?"
“No, no.” Hugo paused, then couldn’t help but exclaim, “My God, there’s actually a day when Batman releases the Joker on his own initiative.”
"Their freedom doesn't come without a price. Batman can control the Arkham Asylum security system at any time to release patients, and your role is to let them know what to do."
"So what exactly are they trying to do?" Hugo couldn't help but ask. He really couldn't figure out what had gotten into Batman that made him need to send those lunatics from the asylum out to help. Was the universe really going to be destroyed?
Don't you watch the news?
Hugo was taken aback again. Of course he watched the news, not only every day, but from beginning to end, but this morning's news hadn't reported any major events.
“Hurricane Anora is about to make landfall,” Schiller said.
"So, it will sweep the entire Atlantis civilization onto land?" Hugo asked tentatively.
Schiller sighed, a hint of impatience in his voice, "Why haven't you figured it out yet? The key isn't what you want them to do, but rather keeping them busy!"
"If Batman didn't want these lunatics to be idle, why did he arrest them in the first place?" Hugo asked again.
“The past is the past, the present is the present,” Schiller said, shaking his head. “I don’t have time to waste with you. Get your business sorted out. Before the hurricane hits, there can’t be another idle person in this asylum. Got it?”
“Not at all.” Hugo didn’t want to answer that way, because it seemed like he had a low IQ and poor comprehension, but he really couldn’t understand it.
Or rather, he knew what he had to do, but he couldn't understand Batman's motives. He certainly wanted to understand the motives, not just to convince those lunatics, but also because he was interested in Batman. He wanted to know what had caused such a dramatic change in Batman—perhaps an occupational hazard of a psychiatrist.
“You need to explain to me in more detail how Batman conveyed this order to you. Of course, I'm not saying you misunderstood him, but based on my research back then…”
Before he could finish speaking, a dark gun barrel appeared before him. Schiller's grey eyes were faintly visible behind the muzzle. "I'm assuming you don't have the superpower of resurrection."
"God, I didn't."
"Shut up and get to work."
"Ok."