Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics

Batman was maneuvering with Talya in the office, mainly discussing the presidential election and rival candidates. About ten minutes into the conversation, the alarm of the security system suddenly went off.

Soon, the head of the security department rushed into the office, saying, "The monitoring system suddenly went offline completely just now; someone has broken into the lab on the 19th floor!"

"Lab?" Batman, while knowing what was going on, pretended to be clueless and said, "The lab on the 19th floor is just a regular lab. Is there really any need to break in? Was anything stolen?"

"Not really, just a glass jar seems to have shattered. Our people are still investigating the issue with the surveillance..."

"Alright," said Batman, "Just don't make me feel like you're deliberately causing me trouble. I don't have the same patience as your previous boss."

The department head had basically heard the news of Elliot's death, and the head of security wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "We'll have an explanation for you before work tomorrow morning."

After he left, Talya stood up with a serious expression and said, "It's the Court of Owls. It must be them. If you don't cooperate with them, they purposefully cause you trouble."

"But attacking those ordinary labs is meaningless." Batman put down the documents in his hand and said, "If that's the extent of their capabilities, we're bound to win."

Talya was somewhat displeased with his nonchalant attitude but didn't say much. The two briefly discussed the campaign strategy again, and Talya hurriedly left, evidently going to deal with the Court of Owls.

Batman opened the computer again to check the monitoring equipment. Although the Wayne building's surveillance system had briefly gone offline, the cameras he set up himself were unaffected.

The surveillance video showed that Red Hood Jason Todd hacked into Wayne Enterprises' surveillance system and took away Laughing's head.

But he didn't look like he was brainwashed. It seemed Laughing said something else to him through that employee, which led him to rush over and willingly steal Laughing's head.

Batman thought briefly, knowing what Laughing had told him. He probably had to prepare for it.

The night at Arkham Asylum was incredibly quiet. A metal mask reflected faint light, flowing along the uneven ancient walls. Claw Dick was walking down the corridor of Arkham Asylum.

The return of Bruce Wayne was too bizarre. His appearance was destined to disrupt the current favorable situation, which would jeopardize the interests of the Court of Owls. After leaving Wayne Enterprises, Dick immediately began his investigation.

He wanted to know what was happening inside Arkham Asylum.

Elliot was useless, but it was impossible for someone who had been locked up here for decades to come out so vibrant at once. Dick felt there was definitely something wrong, so he went to Arkham Asylum for investigation.

Elliot did not disappoint him. He wasn't careful enough with the storage of some top-secret files, severely lacking vigilance. And Dick was adept at such things. In the labs of Arkham Asylum, which seemed like a human experimentation base, Dick found clues related to "human cloning experiments."

From these records, he learned that Elliot had a complicated emotional response toward Bruce Wayne. Since childhood, he knew he couldn't compare to the boy next door. Little Bruce was smart and handsome, the kind of child his parents would always mention.

When Mr. and Mrs. Wayne died, Elliot felt genuine happiness, as if delighting in others' misfortune. But when he learned his parents were adopting Bruce, he was devastated because this lifelong role model would enter his home, outshining him entirely.

With resentment and malice, Elliot began to constantly provoke Bruce's psyche with the death of his parents. Perhaps God favored him, Bruce's mental state did indeed start deteriorating step by step, eventually leading him to the insane asylum.

But Elliot didn't feel much better either. As he grew older, he realized he could never surpass Bruce. One could say that, during his youth, Elliot wasn't even as smart as Bruce had been as a child. Elliot was jealous of Bruce's wisdom and frantically wanted to obtain it.

He began conducting human experiments on Bruce Wayne, trying to figure out why he was so smart. But evidently, he couldn't crack God's code of creation. So he changed his approach; he wanted to clone a Bruce Wayne's body, then transfer his soul into the new body, so he could own Bruce's wisdom.

Seeing this, Dick was startled. He thought he had guessed the truth—that the returning Bruce was not the real Bruce but a clone of Bruce Wayne, with Elliot's soul inside.

This was not an idle pursuit. Besides enabling Elliot to obtain Bruce's wisdom, possessing the identity of Bruce Wayne allowed him legitimate control over the group. The opposing voices within Wayne Enterprises would gradually quiet down. Moreover, he could run for president as Bruce Wayne; his mysterious background and tragic experiences would earn him more votes.

Dick couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine at Elliot's intelligence and ambition. But he couldn't let him succeed because the presidency could never fall into the hands of the Assassin's Union.

For now, he had to find the real Bruce Wayne and have him come out to expose Elliot's plot. Only then could the Court of Owls regain an advantage.

By observing the experiment logs, Dick discovered that Arkham Asylum had a top-secret lab of the highest confidentiality level. If the real Bruce was hiding within Arkham Asylum, he must be there.

The secret laboratory was built underground. Dick silently infiltrated the first basement level. He arrived at the laboratory's door but heard faint voices from inside.

"I saw him. He's more cunning than before. I felt a certain evil aura from him. He's very guarded against me."

"You should kill him."

"I... I don't think I can."

"How is that possible?! You've undergone so much master training, refined yourself into a true revenge machine, yet you can't kill a clone controlled by some fool?!"

Listening to the voices from inside the door, Dick, though unaware of the identities of the two speakers, felt that his guess was correct. The Bruce Wayne outside was a fake, a clone controlled by Elliot.

"I need help," said that deep voice. "I must defeat him and reclaim everything my parents left me."

"I'll help you," said the other voice. "First, we need to sabotage his collaboration with the Assassin's Union to divide and conquer them..."

"Perhaps I can help you." Dick called out from outside the door, "The Court of Owls can assist you."

The laboratory door opened, and Dick saw a strong figure wrapped in bandages standing by the window, while the other person, slightly smaller, dressed in a janitor's uniform, was laughing like a madman.

"What on earth do you mean?" In the office of the Red Line Defense Group Building, Jason stared intently at the head, saying, "What do you mean Bruce Wayne is a fake?"

"I know you might not believe it," the laughing voice echoed in the office, "but this Bruce Wayne isn't the little boy from the asylum. He's stronger than that and harder to deal with. Don't you want to forever linger in his shadow? First Elliot, then Bruce. When will it be poor little Jason's turn?"

"Shut up!" Jason's face darkened as he said, "As long as he can maintain the contract with the Defense Group..."

"You know he won't, he won't trust Elliot's men. He will hire another group. Those Wayne Enterprises veterans have long been dissatisfied with you..."

"Do you have any evidence?" Jason asked.

"Let's make a deal," said the Laughing Bat. "You help me do one thing, and I'll give you the evidence you want."

"What thing?" Jason asked.

"Help me kill a person and bring the body to me. It's that simple."

Batman, listening to the conversation through the bug installed on Jason, began to ponder. It seemed the Laughing Bat didn't intend to wait for Shiller to execute his plan. It's understandable; if left to Shiller's revival, even if it could make the new Mad Laugh very weak, he himself would become weaker. Wouldn't that be all for nothing?

More importantly, the Laughing Bat would absolutely avoid any risk of becoming Elliot. Most universe's Hushes are poor imitations of Batman; letting him be Hush is worse than killing him.

The Laughing Bat, having only a head remaining, yet still so full of life, might indeed live if he found a body to cut the head off and graft his on. So, seeking a corpse doesn't surprise Batman. But who would be his target?

Arkham Batman? That's possible. Using the power of the Red Line Defense Group to kill him and then bringing his body over to attempt a head swap could be a good choice. But Batman instinctively felt it wouldn't be the case. Arkham Batman was just too strong, and with only a head left, the Laughing Bat would not easily risk provoking him.

Himself? It might be a fallback choice. But he has successfully replaced this universe's Bruce and is participating in the election with the support of the Assassin's Union, making it even harder for Jason to succeed. The probability isn't very high.

Then maybe it's this universe's Batman? Batman thought the probability was high. Just now, the Laughing Bat and he had met the Silent Batman, who was clearly trained. Though his level might not reach the first echelon, he could be considered superior. Plus, being without support or protection, he was an obvious target.

Batman confirmed his suspicion. He slowly picked up the water cup and took a sip, thinking about how to protect the Silent Batman without raising suspicion. Then he heard Jason's voice coming from the bug:

"Kill a person? Kill who?"

"Schiller Rodriguez."

Batman spat out the water.