Batman didn't like this environment, the colorful neon lights, various shades of light crawling over his body, and on both sides of the corridor, there were many bullhorns left by the Joker, looping with laughter.
It wasn't the Joker's laugh, but the canned laughter used in sitcoms to set the mood.
"Hahaha, hahaha, hahaha."
The laughter was very rhythmic, short, and noisy, as if hundreds of people were laughing simultaneously, but after listening for a long time, beneath this mechanical rhythm, there emerged a sense of terrifying indifference.
These people weren't truly laughing, maybe for money, maybe for work, maybe for prospects, but this perfunctory fake laugh is what humans exhibit most to others in their daily lives.
This is genuine laughter.
As Batman swiftly moved forward while thinking, he noticed these bullhorns seemed to be running out of power, like a tangled tape, and the laughter suddenly became twisted, turning long and eerie, resembling cries and wails.
The Windbreaker Warrior cautiously followed behind Batman, his head turning rapidly from side to side, like he was worried the Joker might pop out from anywhere.
Many people encountering the Joker for the first time indeed react this way; that guy exudes a powerful feeling of suffocation, and that pure chaos is so real, real enough that humans find it hard to accept.
Even Nightwing, now independent, couldn't even speak clearly the first time he met the Joker years ago.
"Pop, pop!"
Suddenly, two snaps sounded by them, and a bunch of paper fireworks sprayed out, like celebrating a birthday, shedding on them, even the laughter returned to normal.
Only now, the lights changed more frequently.
If before it was just street neon lights, it now looked like the nightclub dance floor's wildly flashing lights, Batman and the Windbreaker Warrior found themselves in a splendor.
"Sorry, I stepped on a trip mine." Windbreaker Warrior looked at his feet, it was he who triggered the paper fireworks, causing the surrounding change.
"He knew we were coming, it's irrelevant." Batman said calmly, although he came to find Catwoman, the Joker clearly took her first.
He must have guessed when Batman would restore Gotham City's surveillance, even if Batman hadn't brought Windbreaker Warrior along, the Joker must have left clues elsewhere in the city to lure Batman here.
Ah Fu in the headset confirmed Batman's suspicion, on several surrounding blocks of the museum, the walls of buildings suddenly showed large red characters.
"Hahaha!"
"Come find me!"
"The little cat is in my hands!"
And similar large slogans, with arrows pointing to the museum, as they flew over in the craft, Batman and the Windbreaker Man didn't see the slogans on the building walls below.
Now the guess is confirmed, Batman's expression remained unchanged.
Batman suspected that the opponent might have installed sensors on the rooftop or door, with a certain vibration or thermal signal, transmitting the intelligence of Batman's arrival to the Joker, activating various traps inside.
The Joker wasn't skilled with high-tech gadgets, but Bane understood them well, that guy was a rare smart person among big-builds. A scientist over two meters tall and weighing nearly two hundred kilograms wasn't impossible.
Antlion Butterfly was a former thief, knowing the museum surely not less than Catwoman.
"The Joker is well-prepared, it has nothing to do with you." Batman continued forward.
The Windbreaker Warrior heard Batman's words, trying to calm his breath, looking somewhat soothed: "That's good, just what might be ahead? I always feel, the atmosphere here...."
"He will set traps targeting my mind, not necessarily anything targeting you, but if there is, it would be life-threatening." Batman stopped coldly, turning to Windbreaker Man: "And your attention is not enough, it's dangerous to continue, I suggest you exit and wait for me."
The Windbreaker Warrior's fists clenched and relaxed, ten fingers intertwining: "But I don't want you to think I'm a coward or something..."
"Preserving life is a biological instinct, and the Joker certainly exceeds your response level, standing by outside is the best choice." Batman remained indifferent.
"All right, I'll wait for you outside, be careful."
The Windbreaker Warrior wasn't pretentious, appearing somewhat unable to bear the suffocating atmosphere, and hurriedly left.
Batman squinted, watching his departing figure, yet still couldn't guess his identity, there were millions in Gotham who could be scared by the Joker, it wasn't useful for deducing identity.
If possible, later on the way to send him home, obtaining a more valuable address through it could provide more information.
But for now, the Windbreaker Warrior's behavior was logical, following his intelligence actions, the people Batman encountered were mostly minor villains, some so obscure, Batman even forgot their names, remembering only their codenames and abilities.
What abilities do minor villains have? Like Dr. Eggman and Frontman were already strong.
The Windbreaker Warrior's targets were them, reasonable to Batman, the only ones beyond his capacity were the Humiliation Squad, still an anti-hero team, not necessarily causing a fight.
Besides haven't even found them, guessing on that little notebook, Humiliation Squad was probably considered a big boss level.
The Windbreaker Warrior insists on acting with Batman to deal with the Humiliation Squad, perhaps due to some personal grievance. Yet, failing to find them and not wanting to lose face, he instead brings Batman to other targets, proving his intelligence wasn't wrong. This all makes sense.
This fits the psychological profile of a young hero who has just started his career.
Unlike many hotheads, the Windbreaker Warrior is indeed unwilling to concede, wanting to prove his intelligence right, but he also knows his own power level, able to retreat when necessary. This matches the background he grew up in, in the poor neighborhoods.
Gotham's streets are just that real. Kids who grow up there have been accustomed to darkness from a young age, knowing that staying alive is most important.
Batman turned around, intending to proceed, yet he noticed that just in that moment, a shadow seemed to flash past the other end of the corridor.
But the lighting in the corridor was too confusing now, and Batman wasn't sure what he saw, so while guarding against a trap, he quickly rushed towards that direction.
Before reaching the corner of the corridor ahead, Batman smelled a strong scent of blood, immediately heightening his vigilance, with external distractions, such as lights and laughter, fading away.
He slowed his steps, but in the next second, a shadow suddenly dashed out from the corner, the opponent kicked against the wall, flipping in mid-air using the momentum, delivering a fierce whip kick towards Batman's head.
Batman was prepared; how could he possibly be hit? He crossed his arms in defense, firmly catching the strong and heavy kick, only retreating a step.
Although uninjured, Batman knew he was in trouble. The opponent's strength and martial arts were not weak, and in this narrow corridor filled with Joker's trash, a nimble fighter had the advantage over him.
The opponent felt Batman's forearm with the sole of her foot, then used it as a point of leverage to whip out another leg towards Batman's abdomen.
Batman could only block again, retreating a step, and the opponent took the chance to roll away, creating distance between them.
The opponent wore a red three-piece swimsuit, white gloves adorned with rhinestones on her hands, sparkling under the lights.
Her mask was white, with red eyeshadow around her eyes, a head of golden hair casually draped over her shoulders, twirling two Nepalese curved knives in her hands.
"Long time no see, Batman," she greeted Batman with a very feminine, husky voice.
"Lady Vico."
Unfazed, Batman clenched his fists. From the opponent's sudden attack, his forearms were already numb—a martial arts grandmaster, this was trouble.
Lady Vico wasn't Lady Siva, which was somewhat good news, yet she was no easy opponent, being one of the world's most powerful mercenaries.
Although not as strong as Deathstroke, her disadvantage primarily lay in her lack of proficiency with firearms, only knowing how to use an automatic rifle, far from Deathstroke's level of operating tanks and fighter jets.
In hand-to-hand combat, she's slightly inferior to Earth-0 Deathstroke because her reaction speed is just a bit slower.
Her combat skills do not match her frail appearance at all. Almost everyone in the Justice League's entourage has suffered due to her, and Nightwing once complained to Batman about his defeat.
"Dressed like a Victoria's Secret model, Jessica Stam, yet when she starts fighting, it's like a female version of Terminator mixed with Bruce Lee."
The first time Nightwing met her, his gaze lingered on her waist while she suddenly moved, and in almost an instant, Nightwing was knocked unconscious with broken bones.
The outcome for the former Red Arrow, now Arsenal Roy, was even worse. A member of the Green Arrow Clan, skilled in stealth, was tracked, jumped out on suddenly, and got his jaw shattered with a kick, then knocked unconscious again.
Batwing had a slight advantage against her, mainly because of his high-tech armor, though he often succumbed to asphyxiation, unlike Nightwing, whose fights ended much quicker.
Rumor has it Lady Vico has Paradise Island bloodline, but who knows—grapevine news always says anything could be possible.
Batman quickly reviewed the intelligence in his mind, while she simply looked at him calmly, adjusting her breath and stance, her red lips forming a charming arc: "Batman, you know this isn't a personal vendetta."
"How much is Joker paying you? I'll offer double," Batman used his superpower at the first opportunity.
"Sorry, when mercenaries reach our tier, we generally don't betray a client over small change," Lady Vico approached Batman with a catlike gait, her soft-soled boots making no sound: "A good reputation can be somewhat useful."
"But I also understand, mercenaries of your caliber don't just reveal a piece of their shadow from behind a wall. You intentionally exposed yourself because you want to talk."
Batman wrapped himself with his cape, secretly taking out a gadget from his belt.
Lady Vico's mask revealed the area below the nose, resembling the masks noblewomen wear at masquerade balls, which was now her weak point.
The museum's internal corridor, originally used as a gallery, had no windows on either side, with a narrow terrain and poor air circulation.
Joker's generator only powered his own setup, not the museum's air conditioning and humidity control systems, making it as airtight as a sauna.
So the plan was this: once negotiations failed, he would throw all the tear gas Bat Darts to block the path, forming a sealed corridor filled with tear gas.
Meanwhile, he himself would use a mini Bat Oxygen Tank to breathe, employing jujutsu to engage, pinning her down here, and outlasting her breath-holding endurance to clinch victory.
But this was destined to be a Pyrrhic victory, possibly worsening his injuries and uncertain if he could capture her.
Hence, Batman wanted to discuss terms.