The two shadows flew one behind the other through the air, and in this dark night, Batman had to closely follow the figure to prevent it from suddenly vanishing.
Judging by its current mode of movement, the Antlion Butterfly seemed to be flying aimlessly over the city with no clear purpose, which was very strange for a carnivorous half-demon creature.
Batman felt the air disturb his suit, calculating quickly in his mind.
There were a few likely possibilities.
Maybe it had just had a big meal and was now exercising to digest; perhaps it was planning to return to its old ways, stealing to obtain money, then using the money to buy meat. Yes, in Gotham, there's a human meat market; similarly, its current erratic behavior might be due to being controlled by someone else.
It was still impossible to determine, as currently, there was no special need known for the opponent's meat supplier, whether fatties or skinnies, it was not picky.
So it didn't need to select victims; its predation was completely random crime.
However, for an escapee, the first task was to catch him without needing any evidence.
Batman quickly scanned the surrounding high rises, quickly calculating the possible route the opponent might take. Not far ahead of them was a canyon formed by high rises, and this kind of terrain could be utilized.
As long as he took a detour, occupied the high ground next to the Antlion Butterfly's route, he would surely be able to block it.
Batman thought this and did it. He immediately fired the Bat Hook, the micro-motor in his glove quickly pulling him towards the rooftop of a nearby building.
One skyscraper after another stood in the darkness, each with different shapes and heights, but without lights, they looked like towering tombstones.
Gotham was a giant graveyard, but such monuments were still not enough to commemorate those who died in this city.
In the course of action, Batman inexplicably thought of this, but the thought flashed by, and his attention returned to the task at hand.
Before dawn, before citizens resumed their daily lives, catch everyone who escaped from the two prisons and bring them back.
Of course, the ones who escaped from Black Gate Prison were far less dangerous than those from Arkham, where mostly mercenaries, assassins, and conmen with relatively normal mental states were held.
These people needed to plan their actions, and planning equated to needing time, so they could be dealt with later.
Arkham was different; it housed lunatics, and lunatic actions required no plan, they just needed to think of it, then do it.
Not caring about consequences or the process, such destructive force could not be allowed to run rampant.
If we talk about the most dangerous creature in Gotham right now, Antlion Butterfly is just a minor character. The owner of that grin is the most dangerous, and once given time, the whole city would go mad.
Batman, having installed an all-around energy barrier for Gotham to guard against events like tsunamis, naturally had ways to quickly restore the city's power supply.
Like a backup underground nuclear reactor, wireless power transmission technology, and backup relays sufficient for citywide use.
Although it didn't sound nice to say, Batman from the Main World was undoubtedly a bit stronger than Batmans from other worlds.
But he had no intention of restoring Gotham's power because it would be played into the Joker's hands.
The Joker's favorite trick is to appear on TV and put on a show, inciting the madness within people's hearts, awakening humanity's beastly nature and things would spiral out of control.
Therefore, before the Joker was captured, Batman wouldn't restore Gotham's power; sometimes it's better for people to know nothing.
Earth was in danger, on the brink of the apocalypse, and once the Joker informed everyone of this, societal collapse would be unavoidable.
Batman understood well what people would do in despair.
So, would the Joker do that? The answer was almost certainly yes, as he loved the twisted parts of human nature.
Bruce leaped nimbly between buildings using the hook, which was slightly faster than gliding, and the accumulated time allowed him to get ahead of the Antlion Butterfly.
After repeating this over ten times, he succeeded. From his current position, he could see the creature flying towards him through the gap between the buildings, seemingly unaware of the dark Bat crouching on a rooftop.
As long as the calculation was accurate, he could pounce on it when it flew by, first attacking the weak point to cause a loss of control, then knock it out and subdue it.
That was the plan.
However, plans couldn't keep up with changes. Just as Batman was about to stand and pounce, a violent explosion erupted on the rooftop he was on.
Although the flames knocked him off balance and deafened him, years of fighting endowed him with perfect reflexes.
He rolled on the spot, avoiding flying rubble and steel, merely getting knocked down by the blast wave without sustaining serious injuries.
But the explosion occurred at the edge of the rooftop, pushing him to the center, and naturally attracting the Antlion Butterfly's attention, making it change direction and fly away.
"Cough cough..." Batman clutched his chest as he stood up. The intense air shock had slightly damaged his lungs, but that wasn't the main concern because a tall shadow walked out from the stairwell at that moment.
Accompanied by the breathing behind the anti-toxic mask, the air seemed to solidify.
Batman shook his head, leaned against the wall, and stood up. This figure was one he would never forget, and appearing here now meant that this was all a conspiracy.
Bane didn't give Batman much time to prepare; he immediately pressed the skull button on his chest.
As the green liquid from the toxin filter flowed through pipes into his body, he swelled up like being inflated, muscles appearing under his skin as if about to burst.
The person who was already tall and strong now seemed to have transformed into a giant.
Bane clenched his fists, swung his head from side to side, the 'cracking' sound between his joints unending. He strode towards Batman, punching him over ten meters away, like a sack thrown onto the small room in the stairwell.
"Bang!" Mud splashed, and a human-shaped dent appeared in the cement wall. Batman nearly couldn't catch his breath, struggling to get up from the rooftop.
Meanwhile, Bane, with heavy steps, walked over the puddles, grabbed Batman by the neck with one hand, lifting him like a small pet in front of himself, breathing heavily onto the Bat Mask: "Long time no see, Bruce..."
.......................
"What do you think Batman's doing right now?"
Looking as Green Arrow immediately went to talk to Himeko, while the Teen Titans were being tormented by Harley's laughter, Bo Bo took the Shadow Contract to arrange how to connect satellite Earth 0 at the Eternal Rock, combining magic and technology.
Diana finally found some time alone with Deathstroke. She chose to open the conversation with a mutual friend of theirs.
Su Ming sat on the throne, and his mask slipped off his face. He pulled out a bottle of wine, removed the cork, and shook his head toward Diana in a troubled expression.
"You think I have something in common with someone covered in paint? Or do I seem to be exhibiting signs of insanity?"
"Hmm? Why say that?" Diana took the wine bottle from him, looking puzzled. Indeed, this Deathstroke was sometimes very irreverent, often saying incomprehensible jokes, but his mind was meticulous, almost without error in his plans.
The only time she saw him lose control was when he was impaled through the chest with a Giant Sword alongside the Merciless Iron Fists, which caused his Healing Factor to lose control.
Probably since then, she felt some guilt, curiosity, gratitude toward him, and was willing to act alongside him. During the ensuing actions, things happened between them, leading her to understand him more, including some fondness.
And all of this proved that he was completely normal; even if there were mental issues, he didn't show them in daily behavior.
Su Ming smiled and clinked glasses with her, gulping down the wine:
"That's good, now we're talking about Batman, not the playboy in daily life. Only someone like Joker or Mad Laugh would predict Batman's thoughts, so unfortunately, I can't guess what he's up to."
Diana also took a big swig from the bottle; for her, red wine was just a regular drink, and her super strong constitution made her almost immune to alcohol.
"When will our satellite monitoring return to normal?"
"Then you'd have to hope Wally has learned enough from Barry, while shut-in Billy has enough technology to cooperate with the Warlocks."
Su Ming leaned against the cold throne, Strangulation faithfully transmitting tactile sensations to his mind. Even he now had to wait for Ivy's progress over there.
The meeting among the three components of the Green of All Things probably could only be estimated in duration by God.
As a member of the Red of All Beings, he couldn't interfere in the plant world matters, as their communication way has been incompatible with humans from the start.
Similarly, the communication between Batman and Joker is alike; any outsider would either become cannon fodder or cause the hard-won clues to disperse.
Many could kill Joker, but none can bear the cost, and the world always resurrects that madman.
No one knows whether the face beneath that greasepaint is still the original one, and from Su Ming's 'reader's perspective,' besides world reboot, the Joker in the Main World underwent numerous personality changes.
Despite being known for unprecedented multi-personality disorder, Joker's multiple personalities wouldn't continuously manifest in life for long.
In the early comics, Joker was just a vaudeville actor without much ambition or profound motives, committing crimes just for money.
And after a period of capture and silence, the once unremarkable tier-five villain suddenly upgraded, became crazed, terrifying, Gotham's nightmare.
And after each world reboot, Joker undergoes changes, not revolutionarily overwhelming, but enough to make those familiar with him feel different.
Every instance seemed unlike the same person, until it recently escalated to him wanting to kill Harley, utterly unreasonable even for Joker's madness — such behavior was too mad.
In the Flashpoint-induced N52 era, Joker's face peeled off and was sewn onto the face of a Little Madman 'Joker's Daughter' by the Puppet Master.
And after N52 Rebirth, all this seemed never to have happened, Joker's face was intact on his own face.
Surely something happened that even Su Ming didn't know about, and Manhattan or certain advanced characters played a role in the whole matter.
However, none of the intelligence can confirm this speculation; apart from waiting quietly, Su Ming couldn't do much.