Chapter 176: The Phantom of the Opera (Part 1)

"Though complicated, in a nutshell, the Court of Owls don't involve in human affairs."

"They fabricated this persona for you, but did not tell you the truth, making you believe that you were indeed Falcone's son."

"But Falcone believed his son had been swapped, that you were the monster they foisted on him, hence his hatred towards you."

"Falcone lost his son, you lost a father, it's truly tragic."

"But there's only one innocent person in all of this..."

Alberto lowered his gaze as he said mockingly, "During Evans' moments of lucidity, I could see everything he saw, even had his memories, but he couldn't see mine, therefore he knew nothing. He even thought he had a brother and missed him dearly."

"If you really want to seek revenge against Falcone, Evans will lose his brother and father all at once. Even though Falcone didn't consider you his son, Evans really regarded you as his brother."

Alberto fell silent.

He was a persona created out of thin air, a rootless driftwood. Falcone believed he usurped his family, and the Court of Owls only saw him as a tool for executing their plan.

No one mourned for him at his funeral. If there was anyone who genuinely missed him, who once forged evidences of his existence, it was his brother, Evans.

Seeing his silence, Shiller redirected the conversation back to Batman, saying, "Even though your alliance is split in two, no worries, let's talk about something more pleasant. How bad do you reckon the Court of Owls will end?"

"What could possibly motivate that lunatic to confront the Court, and what makes him capable of doing so?"

"Haven't you realized? He's not like those maniacs you see on the street driven mad by rain. He is entirely different."

"But neither do I believe, he can take on the Court of Owls alone."

"Shall we make a wager? I bet the Court of Owls will experience a massive downfall."

With that, Shiller picked up the remote and turned on the TV, after flipping through some boring TV shows, he settled on the news report.

But before the news anchor could read off a couple of headlines, he suddenly looked terrified, and moments later, a gunshot echoed and a hole opened up on his head."

A bout of laughter echoed and that familiar figure appeared in frame. The first words out of his mouth were: "Oh! I am a criminal! I killed someone! What should I do?"

"Batman! Come arrest me. I know you are watching from some corner. Come catch this murderer..."

Batman gripped his fists tightly on the hospital bed. He desperately wanted to get up, but right then, Joker leant towards the camera: "Did you clench your fists? Are you anxious to stand up, to come over here and beat me up?"

"But you can't do it..." Joker limped back a few steps and stood by the dead body of the news anchor, pulling him into the camera view by his collar.

"Look, someone has been killed, shot to death. My hand happens to hold a gun."

"But, can you arrest me? Do you know why?"

"A bullet flew into his head, and then I appear in front of camera, holding a gun."

"But no one saw me pulling the trigger. I was just an innocent passerby, happened to hold a gun matching the bullet used in the murder, happened to pass by a dead body that was shot."

"So, what are you going to do? Beat me up? Assault this innocent passerby?"

"What?" Joker tilted his head, cupping a hand behind his ear, as if listening intently.

"You say, I confessed to the murder? I claimed I was a criminal?"

"So what if I did? I also said I was a frog, or a woman, or a stripper..."

Joker twirled in front of the camera, blowing a kiss to the screen.

"Believe me, if you were to come after me, I would, waah..." Joker began to fake cry, relentlessly beating his chest and stamping his feet, saying, "Like this, the audience would see a pervert in tights assaulting a weak, poor passerby..."

"Oh, wait." He halted all of a sudden, scratching his head in surprise. "That's not it, I'm not here for that. Geez, playing with Batman is so much fun, I almost forgot my purpose."

Then he let out another round of maniacal laughter, saying, "You know the Gotham Grand Theater, right? Of course you do! I have prepared a surprise for you there... A HUGE surprise!"

"Did you hear that? The great comedian, Jack, is now selling tickets! Tonight at midnight, each ticket is 20 US Dollars! With each ticket, you can even get a bucket of brain popcorn!"

Saying that, he took a couple of steps back, tearing a tiny paper slip from the pile of scripts on the anchor's desk. "Look, this is the ticket!"

Then, he clumsily tore up all the rest of the scripts, throwing the scraps into the air. He said, "Quick, call this number to purchase tickets! Right now! Or it might be too late..."

Another round of laughter rang, followed by: "Then you will miss out on the greatest comedy performance in history!"