17 Chapter 17 The Dark Knight

Jay wasn't even surprised when Batman showed him his makeshift Batcave hidden beneath Metropolis. If the Batman in this world is half as much as he imagined in the comics, he must have at least ten or eight top-secret strongholds in the Metropolis.

But that didn't stop him from marvelling at it when he entered the cave. Batman has opened up a space more than 20 meters high underground. The interior is divided into three sections: the central operation room where the computer equipment is placed, the equipment room for storing light weapons that he carries with him, and the parking space, including bats. Wing, Batmobile, including hangar.

How on earth did he toss such a space in the Metropolis?

Batman barely spoke the whole time, and when he got here, he plunged into the inner room, leaving Jay and Helena waiting in the operating room. Jay looked at the various facilities and equipment in the Batcave with novelty and looked back embarrassedly when he realised that his actions were a bit like a countryman who had just entered the city.

He smiled at Helena: "This place is amazing."

Helena also smiled slightly: "You have the opportunity to go to Gotham to see the Batcave. Compared with that, this place is shabby."

Because Batman still didn't know what to do in it, Jay first asked Helena the question he had been holding back: "So, these are just exam questions you sent for me? No powerful orgaorganisation discovered my existence. ?"

"That's about it. I have to apologise, but I'm not lying - I told my boss about you; I just told Batman. Batman insists he needs to know your bottom line. Where." Helena said apologetically, "You have to understand that he was not like this before."

"What? So much doubt?"

"No, he's been very suspicious for as long as I can remember." Helena shook her head, "but since the end of the Doomsday invasion, he seems to have gotten a step closer to the bottom line he never crossed. After Chief Den stepped down, he terminated all cooperation with the Gotham Police Department. He barely left Gotham for six years, and he didn't care about what was happening outside Gotham...until I told it. He and you showed up. I think I can understand that. After all, he's been through so much, Superman died, the Justice League fell apart, and Mom died..."

Jay was suddenly stunned when he heard her say this. He suddenly remembered that he seemed to have heard of a parallel universe in the comics, where Batman married Catwoman Selena Kyle and had a daughter who grew up wearing the same clothes as her father. Put on a cape and become a superhero named "Huntress".

Her name is Helena Wayne.

Jay opened his mouth wide. "You...you're his daughter?"

"Yes, I am." Helena didn't mean to hide it, "and I can tell you, my name is Helena Wayne, Helena Wayne from Gotham. That way, I don't need to tell you that the old bat is. Who is it?"

Gotham, Wayne, these two terms are always strung together very naturally, and Helena has indeed been about telling Jay that "Batman is Bruce Wayne". Although he had known it for a long time, it showed that she was willing to be open and honest.

Jay felt the amount of information he received in a single instant was a bit overwhelming for even his super brain to digest. He made a "stop" gesture and asked, "Wait, wait...you said your mother died; what happened?"

"It was also an invasion six years ago." Helena showed a trace of sadness, "The demons from Apocalypse are almost all over the world, and Gotham is almost occupied. A group of citizens in the poverty-stricken area of ​​Gotham were trapped and formed in groups. There's a team of monsters around there. My mom wants to get them out, and..."

She stopped here and closed her eyes gently as if the scene of that day could still come to mind. Jay whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Father had a chance to save her; he knew that mother went to the ghetto." Helena said in a low voice, "but that was the most critical moment of the Justice League's counterattack plan; he chose to stay in the league and do his best. Duty. In the end, as everyone knows, the alliance failed. Ultimately, he didn't save the world, and Mom died in the darkest corner of Gotham."

"Helena." As he said this, Batman's gloomy voice suddenly sounded in the room, "You talk too much."

"We've figured out his details; he can be trusted." Helena said, "You always seem to forget that trust is mutual. Considering that you set him up for the first time, I want to show some sincerity. necessary."

Batman said coldly, "That's up to me."

He walked up to Jay, noticing that he had changed into the usual bathing half of his body wrapped in a wide cloak, and the chin line under the mask was distinct. He was standing in front of Jay, almost with his face close to his face. Jay could feel the great majesty and oppression from him, but he did seem older than the Batman in Jay's impression. Perhaps because of the cruelty of reality, the brutality of the years, or more likely both.

Without a word, he pulled out a badge with an "S" from his cape and handed it to Jay, precisely like the one he once wore on Superman's chest. Jay took it at a loss, not knowing what he needed this for.

"Wear it on the chest," Batman said lightly.

Well, wear it on the chest. Jay complied, pressing the "S" to his chest in memory of Superman. I saw that the badge immediately reacted. It faintly exuded a faint brilliance, and the dark blue particles spread like a tide with it as the centre, covering Jay's whole body in an instant, turning into a complete set of tights. . The bright red cape hangs down naturally from behind him, and the shape is the same as the original Superman.

"At least that's for sure," Batman said. "You're a Kryptonian."

"what?"

Helena explained: "Superman leaves the suit you are wearing. It's a Kryptonian biological nano suit. It can identify the genes of Kryptonians, and it will only detect if the wearer has Kryptonian genes. activation."

"Thanks… thanks, it looks cool," Jay asked. "Then you're giving this to me because…?"

"The world needs Superman, and you're going to take that place," Batman said, still with his characteristic nonchalance, sounding like he was giving a non-negotiable order.

becoBecomeerman? It wasn't the first time Jay had heard words like this, but he felt it seemed so far away from him each time. Superman is Superman not just because of his magical abilities, not just anyone who can replace him.

No, it should be said that no one can replace it.

Superman is dead, and the world has left that void that no one can fill forever.

"Well, I'm happy to use my abilities to help others and save lives, but..." Jay considered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't think I'm ready."

"No." Batman said, "I have observed you; you are immature and need more experience. But you have a heart and a human nature as real as him, and you have not changed because of that omnipotent power. Essentially, that's the most important part." After a pause, he added: "Besides, I'll keep my eyes on you. If one day in the future you go down the wrong path, I'll prepare for you."

"The Age of Rebirth"

It might have been reassuring if someone else said that, but Jay understood what Batman meant by "getting ready". He tried to imagine the consequences, the easiest of which sent chills down his spine.

Jay was silent, staring at the joints in the metal wall, thinking about something.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, I..." Jay hesitated, with a hunch that it would be bad for him to say that. He glanced at Batman before finally plucking up the courage to speak, "...I just thought, maybe Lex Luthor was right? Maybe that era is over; maybe the world doesn't need it anymore. Superman. Look around; there were so many superheroes; how many are there now?"

He noticed that Batman squinted his eyes, which might be a sign that he was in a bad mood, or maybe he shouldn't have said that.

"You say this because you have been shrunk in your little world, and you have never understood what is going on outside." Batman said solemnly, "The monster that appeared in the Metropolis underground mall, you have thought about it. Where did you come from? Have you ever thought about how many things like this are in a world you don't know about?"

Jay was speechless. He didn't know and didn't even want to find out because subconsciously, he still only felt that he was a high school student, which was not his job.

"Do you think the world is as peaceful as those politicians with their mouths full of trains say? Do you think super-criminals won't do anything if they don't say it in the newspapers? They say the world is getting better every day, ghost Bullshit! Take a good look at it with your prophecy, and you'll see that the world is getting worse daily."

Jay didn't know what to say. He wanted to refute but found nothing to say. Batman is right; he has always been stuck in his little circle of life, never knowing what the world looks like today. But he instinctively felt it shouldn't be as bad as the other side said; Batman was just too pessimistic. Considering what life has put him through, you can't blame him for that.

A communication request came in just at this moment. Batman frowned and answered the channel: "Pence one?"

Penny One is the operational codename for his butler Alfred Pennyworth. He is the closest thing to a father in the world to Batman and an integral part of shaping the Batman legend.

The line was connected, and the old man's voice came from the channel: "I suggest that you should turn on the TV now and watch the local news program of the Metropolis."

Batman frowned. "Not now, Penny One."

"It's now, and I'm afraid it will be too late to wait until the plane hits your head, sir."

"What plane?"

Helena had already pulled up the local news on her computer screen—not tricky since almost every channel in the Metropolis carried the same information.

"The flight from the Metropolitan to Chicago plummeted shortly after takeoff. After an apparent engine failure incident, the plane was hovering over the city and was in danger of falling..."

"To Chicago!?" Jay exclaimed in surprise. "My dad's up there!"

"Go and do what you're supposed to do." Batman pulled a pair of yellow goggles out of nowhere. "Put this on."

"Well, I don't need goggles for my eyes."

"Put it on, and you'll find it useful," Batman said lightly. "Then think about it and make the right choice."