I'm doing bidirectional science popularization in American comics

Bruce had also considered the possibility of enemies from the distant future.

Especially after witnessing all sorts of inhuman criminals.

But he was just fantasizing; he never believed that anything could actually cross dimensions.

Although this kind of thing won't mean anything to him in the future.

Now, Bruce was secretly annoyed. Depp had actually thought of all this long ago and seemed to have already made preparations for it!

Sigh, it seems I've fallen behind this guy again!

At that moment, Bruce decided that once the matter of the Court of Owls was resolved, he would begin preparing to defend against enemies from the distant future.

After all, early preparation increases the chances of success.

Depp never imagined that a simple, offhand remark he made would prompt Bruce to prepare the technology needed for dimensional and cosmic warfare ten years in advance.

As for tomorrow's show...

Bruce asked, "What exactly have you been doing all this time?"

Depp gently pushed up his monocle on his left eye and said, "I've just slightly stirred up those guys' lust for power. It just so happens that almost all the core members of the Court of Owls have died recently, so... it seems that the new generation of those families is about to start a war for control of the court."

"I see..." Bruce thought to himself, then immediately stood up, his eyes wide with disbelief, and said, "What did you say? The core members of the Court of Owls are all dead? When did this happen!"

"Forehead..."

Depp scratched his head and said, "Just a few days ago, I found the guy who wrote the article based on that defamatory report about your relationship with Claws."

"And then you took him hostage?" Bruce asked.

Depp waved his hand and said, "No, then I disguised myself as William Cobb, and that guy gave me a freeze gun and carried me step by step to one of the nests of the Court of Owls."

Bruce couldn't help but laugh when he heard this: "I bet that guy was exhausted."

Depp said, "Indeed, he was exhausted at the time, and he was as dead as could be afterward. But the important thing is that I found Katherine Powers, the second-in-command of the Court of Owls, and other attendees there. Unfortunately, I found their information, which means I directly found the families of most of the Court of Owls members."

Bruce, now understanding Depp's next move and plan, said, "So you killed everyone present and then, based on their family information, instigated a fight between those guys?"

“That’s right! Anyway, I don’t have any oath of non-killing, so there’s no reason for me to let go of the current rulers of the Court of Owls, and their next generation of successors are obviously not qualified.”

Depp picked up the coffee on the table, took a sip, then frowned and spat it out, saying, "This stuff is really bitter. I don't know why you guys like to drink this stuff!"

"By the way, among the younger generation of those families, there's a guy named Little Bowers who's not bad. Although he's a bit slow to realize things, he still figured out my plan."

“Little Powers? Is that the kid from the Powers family? I think I met him at a charity gala. My him is now... dead as hell, isn’t he?” Bruce frowned; he could already imagine Little Powers’ fate.

However, he wouldn't feel sorry for these members of the Court of Owls. Although he wouldn't kill anyone, he wouldn't blame Depp for killing a heinous criminal.

“That’s right, I finished him off with a single strike using the katana with claws. Don’t worry, the blade is very sharp, the child won’t feel any pain.”

Depp continued, "Then, I gave all these fakes to an old acquaintance."

"An old acquaintance?" Bruce asked doubtfully, unable to immediately recall who this person could be.

“Dick Grayson’s father, John Grayson,” Depp said somewhat dejectedly. “That guy was captured by the Court of Owls and trained into Claw, but I think by the time he came to his senses, the Court of Owls would be gone.”

Bruce was surprised that Depp would also rescue John Grayson.

Furthermore, when he was nearly driven to the brink of collapse by the Court of Owls and faced a desperate situation, Depp actually managed to wipe out the core members of the Court of Owls almost single-handedly.

Where the hell can I complain to about this?!

Bruce said sourly, "You're really confident in your plan. So, is John at your house right now?"

Depp said, "Yes, he's locked in the bathroom on the second floor of my house right now. I guess when Selena brings Dick home later, he'll see his father who's about to gain immortality."

“That’s really good,” Bruce said. “So what’s next? It seems like I’m out of the picture.”

Seeing Bruce's frustration, Depp picked up his coat and said before leaving:

"That's right. The most important thing for you right now is to rest as soon as possible and get back to your peak condition."

"After all, I can't stay in Gotham forever to handle all your affairs. This is your city, and you are the knight of the night in Gotham City, the eternal nightmare of criminals."

"Once this is over, Gotham City will still need you to keep things in order at night."

"The city's DNA is perpetual crime and rebellion, Bruce. Don't expect this place to become as peaceful as other cities. You simply can't stop."

After saying that, Depp hooked his suit jacket over his shoulder, opened his umbrella, and left the Batcave.

Bruce sat in his chair, pondering Depp's words before he left.

"Gotham...is it really impossible to change?"

After a long while, Bruce's gaze hardened once more.

He muttered to himself, "Since that's the case, then let me become a pathetic wretch who will forever guard this city in the darkness."

Alfred, who had been silently watching everything from next door, finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

"As expected, the young master's will is so firm that I don't need to persuade him at all."

Then, Bruce got up, took off his rather heavy bat armor, and changed into a handsome casual outfit.

Then he drove directly into one of the world's limited-edition Mercedes sports cars in the Batcave and left the Batcave, returning to Wayne Manor.

It wasn't until Bruce drove the sports car far away that Alfred, who had just made a dessert, realized that he seemed to be the only one left in the Batcave.

At the same time, he also discovered that the globally limited edition Mercedes sports car was missing.

“Young Master Bruce must have driven it away,” Alfred said speechlessly. “But Young Master, I haven’t even gotten in the car yet!”

With that, Alfred got into another sports car, placed the dessert on the passenger seat, floored the accelerator, and sped off.

At Wayne Manor, a gentle night breeze stirred, and the curtains swayed in unison with the branches of the trees.

Inside the house, Alfred watched as Bruce shoved the last piece of cake into his mouth and finally left the living room, satisfied.

The next moment, Bruce immediately opened his mouth, ready to spit out the small cake.

But Alfred immediately poked his head out from outside the door and said, “Wasting food is a bad thing, Master Bruce. I think I should watch you swallow this piece of cake.”

Bruce:

Honestly, he was stuffed to the point of bursting.

But who told him to forget Alfred in the Batcave when he went home?

Bruce forced a smile, then, enduring the bloating in his stomach, swallowed the sweet yet painful little cake.

Seeing this, Alfred smiled slightly, bowed, and said, "Thank you for treasuring the food. Good night, Master Bruce."

-----

The next morning, as the hazy sunlight began, the citizens of Gotham began their hard work day.

On these days that seem no different from any other, undercurrents are swirling within certain long-established families.

The impeachment coalition, led by the Cross and Finch families, launched an operation against the Bowles family.

Initially, they were relatively restrained and did not engage in large-scale battles.

For these families, open warfare is always the last resort.

Compared to direct attacks, they prefer and are better at sneak attacks and assassinations.

Several old monsters from the Powers family were captured by assassins and taken to a secret room in the Court of Owls. Faced with interrogation and questioning by Cross and others, they were at a loss.

After all, matters concerning the Court of Owls cannot be discussed openly.

Even members of the Bowles family, apart from the heirs, knew absolutely nothing about the Court of Owls.

This is true for the Bowles family, as well as the Cross and Finch families.

For these non-heir family members, the Court of Owls is merely a legend.

After several interrogations, Cross and Finch exchanged a glance.

Looking at the Bowers family members hanging on the wall, already tortured beyond recognition, they finally confirmed one thing.

It's highly likely that no one in the Bowers family knows anything about the Claws and the Court of Owls anymore.

“I don’t know whether to be happy or disappointed,” Cross said. “The Powers family has now completely withdrawn from the Court of Owls, but it seems we’ve also lost the way to create Claw Warriors.”

Finch nodded and said, "But you have to nip it in the bud. I don't think you'd want the Bowles family to cause any more trouble, would you?"

Cross shrugged, ran a hand through his dwindling hair, and said, “Of course. I think we can confidently and completely eradicate the Powers family from Gotham City.”

While they were conducting inhumane interrogations, the Bowers family was in complete chaos.

After the deaths of several senior leaders, this time it is again several elderly members who have gone missing.

This was causing the Bowers family to nearly collapse.

But they had absolutely no clue. Although the previous heir, Bowers Jr., suspected that the Cross family and others were behind it, they still had no concrete evidence.

At this moment, the prestige of the Bowles family has been trampled underfoot.

These young people, who had been deeply influenced by aristocratic etiquette since childhood, were already burning with anger.

"If I find out who did all this, I'll tear them to pieces!"

A young man from the Bowles family was speaking menacingly when he was interrupted by a waiter.

The waiter, wearing a white shirt and black vest, held up a ring and asked, "Hello, Mr. Bowles, I found this under your uncle's bed while I was cleaning."

The young man said impatiently, "My paralyzed uncle disappeared this morning. Who gave you permission to enter his room? You... huh?"

He took the gold ring from the waiter; he was very familiar with the family crest on it.

This is the Cross family crest ring...

The young man from the Bowles family took two banknotes out of his pocket, tossed them to the waiter, and said, "You did a good job. You can go back to cleaning now."

After dismissing the waiter, he immediately summoned all the family members and brought out the Cross family ring.

"The cleaner found this in Uncle's room. It seems Little Bowers was right; those things were indeed done by those bastards from the Cross family!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the other members of the family immediately became excited.

"It really was the Cross family who did it?"

"In that case, it's also possible that they were behind Little Bowers' disappearance, since he discovered their plot!"

"Damn the Cross family, are they trying to start a war?"

"War? Since they want war, then we'll give them war!"