No one knew or saw that the Laughing Bat appeared in the prison of the Hall of Justice, disguised as a Human-Demon villain, and was sent in by the Joker's henchmen.
As one of the Batmen, and after being infected by the Joker Virus leading to "broad-mindedness," he clearly recognized his past weaknesses.
Which was that once someone passed Batman's trust test, his level of suspicion towards these people would decrease a notch in the days to come.
Like Barbara, as the daughter of the Gotham Police Department director, having followed Batman for so many years, the torment she suffered proved her firm stance.
She had proven herself, and Batman couldn't possibly demand that she prove her justice every time they met, which is perfectly normal. As a human, habits and familiarity naturally develop.
Batman was no exception.
The Laughing Bat naturally was always in Gotham; being Batman, where else could he go?
So when the Joker started his operation, kidnapping Barbara, the Laughing Bat discovered something amusing.
The Joker trapped Batgirl in a park, then had "Nameless" mimic Barbara, evidently planning to infiltrate the Justice League and stir up trouble.
DC is full of chameleons, many villains adept at mimicking others, such as Mud Face, whom even Superman can't distinguish from a distance using heartbeat or breathing.
Though his disguise ability is actually the weakest, Batman recruited him; Mud Face is a mercenary who charges for his services, but money is no object for Batman.
There's also "Onomatopoeia," a serial killer who specializes in murdering superheroes. He can mimic any sound in the world, and as long as he wears the corresponding uniform, before the mask is lifted, his voice could fool even the wives of the superheroes themselves.
This time, the Joker found "Jane Doe," whose codename derives from the police's designation for unidentified female victims. She originally looked like a corpse, but her disguise ability is truly terrifying.
She can create a special bodysuit, mimicking others' appearances, and even access all the memories in the mimicked person's mind, partially hypnotizing herself to perfectly play the role.
She is also one of Gotham City's serial killers, who loves to kill beautiful women, wear their skins, and live their lives.
Of course, she can't mimic superpowers; even if she looks identical, her disguise as a superpower user would surely get exposed.
But playing Barbara, that's no big deal. The only known way to expose Jane Doe is through deductive reasoning to ascertain her identity and then peel off her skin.
Thoughts, heartbeat, any subtle physical features, knowledge, intelligence, and martial arts she mimics to perfection, she even stores bits of skin and blood to pass scientific tests. The usual identity-verification methods would not work on her; she's a very tricky woman.
There are many similar people, but Jane Doe offers relatively affordable rates, high cost-effectiveness, and that kind of madness the Joker loves.
The Laughing Bat, secretly trailing the Joker, saw his plan and decided to go along with it.
Indeed, Copperhead was sold out by the Joker, and knowing that today Wolf Spider would look for Nightwing, the Joker sent him to the hospital to catch Nightwing, and this clarified a lot.
But after Wolf Spider kidnapped Nightwing, the sharp ears Copperhead saw on the ground were not Barbara's, but the Laughing Bat's!
He knocked Copperhead unconscious, hid him in the bathroom of a hospital room, donned his uniform, and used some Bat gadgets to disguise himself as the unlucky guy.
Then he just had to lie in the hospital room pretending to be unconscious; as a trained martial artist, controlling his heartbeat was basic skill.
Thus, with a little time manipulation, Jane Doe, after disguising as Barbara, sent the Laughing Bat disguised as Copperhead into the Hall of Justice....
Copperhead was just a bargaining chip to gain Batman's trust, paving the way for the Joker's subsequent plan and embedding the fake Barbara within the Justice League.
The plan seemed clever, and the Laughing Bat just hitched a ride.
As for how to escape from the Justice League Prison, it was no problem for the Laughing Bat. He understood Batman, because he was Batman.
Spitting out the N Metal nails allowed him to easily escape from the cage, then hack into the Hall of Justice's computer to cover his tracks.
It couldn't even be called hacking; the administrator password for the backdoor program of the main control computer was Martha, he didn't even need to guess. He then swaggered down to find the Green Arrow's dorm area under the Hall of Justice.
Indeed, Batman had reserved several thousand square meters of underground space for Green Arrow as dormitory, although Green Arrow never moved in.
Why live there? Even if living in the Hall of Justice, if not taken on missions, wouldn't it be awkward?
So when the door opened, revealing the unrenovated underground space, the Laughing Bat was very satisfied.
He moonwalked backward into the room as if doing a space dance, stopped at the door, gently touched the close-door button with his finger, locking himself inside.
"Tsk tsk tsk.... Nice place, safe and cozy, just right for opening a portal, dark, hehehe..."
Laughing as he toured, he pulled out items one by one from his belt, constantly placing them on the ground to form a circle.
N Metal, Promethium, Amber Gold, Bat Gold, Dionysus Factor blood....
Batman is the doorway.
He is also Batman.
Having almost finished the setup, he knelt down in the darkness, quietly waiting for something. Suddenly, he seemed to sense something, and his smile grew even more joyful.
"Oh, the resonance of the X Metal, such a wondrous sensation, as if they were just sweeping across my neck yesterday."
He pretended to be sentimental, shook his head, and smiled as he pulled a small piece of black flesh from his Bat Belt, tossing it into the circle of metal like flipping a coin.
That was Barbatos's flesh, and this gate also required energy to connect to the Otherworld. After Mad Laugh regained his freedom from the Destruction Legion, he didn't act recklessly, but first found a way to return to the Eternal Furnace, where he 'borrowed' a bit of flesh from the sealed Barbatos.
The former Dark God was still counting on Mad Laugh to rescue him, but this only amused Mad Laugh.
The Laughing Bat despised waste, and Barbatos was already a waste. If he could kill him, Mad Laugh would even bring some Robins to devour him like consuming the Dawn Deceit Lantern.
As the piece of black flesh landed, it wobbled lightly like jelly on the ground, and in the next second, a large amount of black liquid flowed out, surrounding the five types of metals, automatically sketching complex patterns.
Lines of black, like hair floating in water, swam, intertwined, and converged. In the next instant, a black portal ripped through space and appeared before them.
Several small figures ran out from the portal, knocking the Laughing Bat to the ground, rubbing their heads against his neck and face. The Laughing Bat laughed loudly, stroking the heads of these mad Robins.
"Hahaha, good kids, good kids. Ready to feast?"
Behind the Robin hounds, a few tall figures also stepped out, led by another Batman with obvious heavy armor, bearing equipment several times more than Mad Laugh.
Not only did he have three Bat Belts around his waist, but he also carried gear on his thighs. His entire body was covered with clips and chains of various calibers, with four weapons on his back: a heavy machine gun, an assault rifle, a sniper rifle, and a LAW anti-tank rocket launcher.
Not to mention wearing a heavy bulletproof vest, his sides were armed with two pistols and two Uzi submachine guns, grenades densely hung on his chest, and his thighs housed two bat-shaped military knives, turning him into a black Christmas tree.
"Mad Laugh, how's the preparation?"
"We're now at Batman's new home, 120 feet underground in a dark space, welcome to Earth 0, Merciless Iron Arm."
Without showing emotion, the Knight's face under Batman's mask was full of wind and stubble, looking utterly wasted, yet the chunks of muscle under his uniform made him appear stronger than the Merciless Iron Fists. Despite carrying hundreds of kilograms of weapons and ammo, he still seemed at ease.
His response to Mad Laugh's welcome was indifferent. He was here for his own goals.
Another Batman with a helmet like a sack approached, unlike others, his mask emitted yellow light from eyes and mouth: "Let's skip the pleasantries, and first eliminate the Justice League."
"Don't rush, my friends, we will win. Our opponent is only Batman from Earth 0, and everyone knows the Justice League is just a joke."
The Laughing Bat got up from the ground, smiling as he patted his leather jacket. Once again, he had pulled together a team from the Dark Multiverse, but this time, there was no need to pretend to play Barbatos's boring game. Mad Laugh had his own plan.
"The thing you wanted."
Merciless Iron Arm dragged out a flatbed cart from the other side of the teleportation gate, on which lay a metal tank two people high, resembling a cylindrical room, painted with yellow-black radiation symbols and a slightly peeling bat emblem.
Mad Laugh walked over, laughing while patting the nuke's exterior, as Robin hounds turned circles at his feet: "Oh? Smaller than I imagined. Can your custom nukes cook the entire Justice League?"
Merciless Iron Arm flipped up the control panel on the nuclear device, setting a three-minute timer, replying coldly.
"Guaranteed well-done."
.................
Returning the sight to Gotham, after some exchanges with Harley, the Humiliation Squad completely lost their hostility, following Harley's whimsical suggestions for everyone to enjoy thirty-two flavors of ice cream.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, Batman met up with Windbreaker Warrior in the museum hall. Windbreaker Warrior's lock-picking skill was quite mediocre, fumbling a long time to get inside.
Batman originally wanted him to wait outside, but since he got in himself, there was no need to send him back.
Upon entering, the Windbreaker Man appeared enlightened, spinning in place repeatedly, observing his surroundings.
"Is this Joker's crime scene... truly terrifying."
Windbreaker Man seemed scared, his back to Batman, with his shoulders trembling slightly.
Under normal circumstances, if a teammate exhibited emotional instability, Su Ming would certainly offer comfort, say a cold joke or something, but not Batman.
"This is Joker, the most dangerous criminal." Batman only stated the obvious.
"Really? Is he actually stronger than the aliens you dealt with in the Justice League?" Windbreaker Warrior removed his hat, vigorously scratching his head, leaving the black mask crumpled in his grip.
Batman didn't respond, instead maintaining silence, following the path Joker laid with neon tubes into the deep corridor.