The Comprehensive Evolution of American Comics.

Chapter 1326 Second Personality
Bruce hesitated for a moment, initially wanting to refuse, but after thinking about it, he agreed.

"Okay, it seems like my left rib was broken by a faulty fuse. Do you have any painkillers or anything like that on you?"

“I brought it.” Dick helped Bruce to sit down against the wall before bending down to rummage through his God’s Pouch.

"Take off your shirt first, I'll apply the medicine for you, and then we'll do professional treatment when we get to the bat cave."

Bruce didn't hesitate and immediately started taking off his shirt. He had only taken off half of his shirt when he felt something cold pressing against his stomach.

This made Bruce stop in his tracks. Looking down, he saw Dick's serious face and the batarang in his hand.

"Dick, what do you mean by this?"

"who are you?"

Instead of answering the question, Dick posed his own question to Bruce, which left the latter completely baffled.

"What are you talking about?" Bruce asked, puzzled. "I am Bruce Wayne, and also Batman."

“You are not him.” Dick’s gaze was firm. “Bruce will not leave Alfred alone in a dangerous place.”

"Just because of that?" Bruce found it amusing. "I already explained to Dick that the faulty fuse doesn't have the authority to kill any human other than me, so it couldn't have killed Alfred."

"And I didn't abandon Alfred; I used myself as bait to lure the failsafe out of the Batcave, thereby keeping Alfred away from danger."

"Your excuses are indeed interconnected and seem very reasonable, but your seemingly perfect reason has a fatal flaw."

Dick kept his eyes fixed on "Bruce," ready to thrust his batarang closer to Bruce's body if the latter made any sudden movement, so that he could easily pierce him with a little force.

Bruce didn't reply. He squinted at Dick, as if waiting for the latter to explain himself.

"You just mentioned that the failover fuse malfunctioned, so how can you guarantee that the malfunctioning machine will definitely act according to the program you designed in advance?"

“If it were really Bruce, he would never gamble with Alfred’s life under any circumstances. He would rather go through fire and water himself than allow his loved ones to be threatened.”

"What's more, are we making them like meat on a chopping board, gambling that a machine's program hasn't malfunctioned?"

Dick's questions bombarded Bruce with questions, leaving him speechless. Even after Dick stopped talking, Bruce remained silent for a while before speaking again.

"It's because of family ties that Bruce can only go this far."

These words were tantamount to revealing his identity, and Dick gripped the batarang in his hand tightly as he questioned him.

"Speak! Who are you? What did you do to the real Bruce and Alfred?"

In this day and age, it's not difficult to disguise oneself as someone else. Putting aside magical techniques, modern medicine alone can transform one person's face into that of another.

In Dick's short superhero career, he had encountered similar cases before, so in his eyes, the person in front of him was just someone disguised as Bruce.

Feeling the coldness in his abdomen, "Bruce" raised his hands in surrender, saying the same thing at the same time.

"Be careful, if your hands shake, you might cut open my abdomen."

“If you don’t want your organs to spill out, then tell me what I want to know!” Dick threatened in a low voice. Sometimes it’s not about how loud you are that scares your enemies. Batman had taught him that sometimes restraint is more effective in instilling fear, especially in intelligent people.

No, you won't do that.

Bruce smiled, which seemed very out of place to Dick.

"How do you know I won't? I don't need to follow any non-killing principle."

"The principle of not killing? No, it's not because of that boring thing."

Bruce shook his head and then explained, "You won't hurt me because I really am Bruce Wayne, or rather, the original owner of this body was Bruce Wayne."

"What?!" Dick's eyes widened in shock. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"That's a long story."

Bruce gave a sinister smile, then introduced himself: "You know, Gotham City has everything, but it doesn't lack capable madmen."

"They may not be as capable of destroying the world as the superhumans that the rising stars of Metropolis encounter, but when it comes to tormenting people, they are truly unmatched."

"Even Batman, who seems invincible to outsiders, often feels like he can't take it anymore. This is not only due to physical torment, but also to the severe mental trauma he suffers."

"Batman knows that his mind may be on the verge of collapse during a long struggle, at which point powerful enemies will take advantage of his weaknesses, and it is even possible that someone with mind control abilities will reappear to control him."

"After much thought, Batman came up with a brilliant idea: to force his brain to differentiate into a second personality by deliberately creating psychological trauma, so as to replace the collapsing main personality as a backup."

"Batman is indeed a madman. Although this method is painful, it is effective. Through his continuous attempts, he finally created a second personality."

"That second personality is me."

Bruce looked at Dick, who was shocked by the news, and recounted everything in detail.

"Let me introduce myself. Without a doubt, I'm also Batman, though not Bruce Wayne's Batman. You can call me..."

“Zur En A”.

"this…"

Dick was indeed speechless with shock at the sheer volume of information, and Zul, who had been under his control, seized the opportunity, his hands, which had been quietly lowered at some point, suddenly grabbing the former's right hand that was holding the batarang.

Dick was startled and was about to forcefully send the batarang into the other's stomach, but when he thought of what Zul had just said, even though he couldn't be sure if it was true or not, his actions hesitated for a moment.

Zul en Ah seized this fleeting moment of hesitation, his muscular hands, like vises, gripping Dick's palms and preventing him from advancing an inch.

It was precisely this moment of hesitation, less than a second, that caused a dramatic change in their identities.

With his amazing physical abilities, Zul managed to stand up from his seat using only his legs, and with a twist of his waist and abdomen, he pinned Dick against the wall.

(End of this chapter)