American comic book: After mastering resurrection, I became incredibly popular.

He crouched down, used his folding knife to cut off a small section of vine, and placed it in a small sealed bag. Then, he focused his mind and made a bold attempt.

[Immediate Recovery, Activate!]

……

Inside the bat cave, Tim stared at the object inside the glass enclosure for a long time without saying a word. Wang Baixi and Zatana stood beside him like bodyguards, all three of them dressed in protective suits, practically with gas masks welded to their faces.

"How long did it take you guys to deal with this thing?" Tim finally asked.

"How long did it take? How could you ask such a stupid question? It didn't take us a single minute," Wang Baixi asked.

"Really? Then you've seriously underestimated this guy's abilities." Tim frowned. He had dealt with this guy several times and knew very well that it was even more terrifying than before.

"Alright, alright," Wang Baixi said, "Now tell me, after observing for so long, what have you figured out?"

"It grows so fast. I've never seen anything grow so fast. And its ability to adapt to the environment is just... have you ever stared at it? You know, the kind of feeling where you stare at it and it seems to stare back at you."

“When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you,” Wang Baixi remarked.

“It has no eyes, great philosopher,” Zatana said.

At this very moment, inside the transparent, sealed glass enclosure surrounding them, the vines that Wang Baixi had brought back were growing at a visible rate.

They climbed up the glass wall, their purple nodules at the ends of their tentacles constantly expanding and contracting, like some kind of breathing organ.

Poison Ivy seems to have created some terrifying new species and then let it spread underground in Gotham. Those damn green terrorists!

Tim Drake had seen the prototype of this thing a few times, but back then, it didn't yet have the ability to mind control others.

At the same time, something under the isolation barrier moved slightly, and Tim instinctively took half a step back.

“Oh no!” he said, “I’m sure now that it’s watching us.”

Also inside the bat cave, just a few steps away from them...

Cassandra was sitting on a folding chair, holding a meat pie, silently staring at the glass dome in front of her.

This glass enclosure wasn't meant to keep the vines out, but rather to confine the killer crocodile.

Zatana's shrinking magic hadn't worn off yet, and Killer Croc's tail coiled up, wrapping itself in the middle. It didn't look like Gotham's most fearsome reptilian predator, but rather like a lizard waiting to be sold in a pet store.

Suddenly, the little crocodile's tail twitched.

Meatball was the first to react, jumping off Cassandra's lap. Cassandra, meanwhile, stared at the pair of yellow eyes slowly opening in the glass dome, then raised her hand and snapped her fingers in the direction of Wang Baixi and the others.

“Killer Crocodile looks like it’s awake.” Wang Baixi was the first to react.

Several people quickly surrounded them.

That's right, the killer crocodile had its eyes fully open and was even trying to paw at the inside of the glass enclosure with its front paws.

"Let...let me out."

"Let you out?" Wang Baixi squatted down and tapped on the glass cover. "Little Crocodile, you kidnapped a child, and now all the police in Gotham are looking for you, and you're telling me you're letting you out?"

"I...don't remember." Killer Croc clutched his head, his face contorted in pain.

Zatana gently pulled Wang Baixi back half a step and stood in front of the glass dome herself. "Mr. Wellen, you just said you didn't know where Poison Ivy was, so you should remember how she found you, right? Tell me, who introduced you to her? Why did you kidnap someone?"

The killer crocodile's tail thumped nervously against the bottom of the glass enclosure, making a series of dull thuds. He covered his face with his paws, as if trying to remember something. "It was... the Riddler. The Riddler told me that there was someone who could cure my atavism."

"The Riddler? How does he know someone can cure your illness? Who is that person?"

“I don’t know. I didn’t even have a chance to ask before he was arrested for gambling. I didn’t wait for him to come out; I only met Poison Ivy.” Killer Croc’s voice was clearly aggrieved. “She said she was commissioned by the Riddler to help me. She said she would help me become a normal person again. She said Wang Baixi couldn’t save me; only she could. And then… and then I don’t remember.”

Poison Ivy had indeed mentally controlled Killer Croc.

"Then why did she have you kidnap Young Master Raymond? Was it just for money?"

Killer Crocodile remained silent for a long time, a very human-like struggle appearing on his crocodile face, "I..."

“Tell me the truth!” Zatana said decisively, raising her hand.

The killer crocodile's jaws snapped open. It struggled for a moment, then slapped its head twice with its claws, letting out two low growls.

Zatana withdrew her gesture and shook her head at Wang Baixi. "The irony magic didn't work on him. I don't know if it's because his willpower is too strong or because his intelligence is too low."

Both are possible; that's the answer.

Just then, Alfred strode down the steps of the Batcave, holding a fax he had just received.

"Mr. Wang, excuse me for interrupting. Raymond Group just sent a formal notification. They stated that they will terminate all cooperation negotiations with Wayne Group."

“To hell with Raymond!” Wang Baixi blurted out.

“Calm down, Your Majesty. Don’t be angry; anger will cloud your judgment.” Tim pressed down on his shoulder. “Let’s put business aside for now. We have two problems to face: First, where is the Riddler? Second, where is Poison Ivy?”

"The first question is easy to answer. The riddle solver is still in the temporary prison." Wang Baixi counted on his fingers. "The second question... do you have any clues? Detective?"

"Me? I believe that since Poison Ivy left her mark underground, we have a way to find her. And in Gotham, besides Killer Croc, the only one who knows the most about the underworld is..."

“The Court of Owls,” the two said in unison.

Chapter Ninety-Four: There Can Only Be One Sun in the Sky, the Leader.

Kelvin Ross returned to the courthouse alone.

It's called their hideout, but it's really just another backup location that Batman hasn't blown up yet.

This underground labyrinth is hidden directly beneath an abandoned courthouse in Gotham's Old Town, with the entrance concealed in a secret door behind the judge's bench.

The Court of Owls thus silently parasitizes this city buried in corruption, poverty, and darkness. According to Kelvin, there are many more claws lurking in every corner of the city, waiting to be awakened.

Kelvin was walking down the damp stone steps when, before he reached the main hall, he was blocked in the corridor by three claws.

"Hey, it's me."

The leader, Claw, was half a head taller than Kelvin, with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Kelvin Ross, of course I know it’s you,” the clawed voice was deep. “Where have you been? You disappeared after Batman and the others arrived, and you haven’t participated in the entire operation these past few days.”

"I'm going to find the chief."

“The leader?” Another claw sneered. “Mr. and Mrs. Bowles are dead. What kind of leader are you looking for? I bet you took the opportunity to escape, but were hunted down and had no choice but to return to the courthouse.”

Kelvin did not refute; he simply raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, then walked through them and straight into the main chamber of the courthouse.

The atmosphere in the council chamber was even more chaotic than he had imagined. The remaining Claws leaned against the stone pillars in twos and threes.

The main seat was empty, and the nine high-backed chairs in this stronghold stood in an empty circle.

"Since the parliament is already defunct, why don't we elect new members ourselves?" someone suggested.

"Nominate? You're not qualified," someone said dismissively. "You've never even had access to the court's core secrets."

“So what?” another claw slammed its hand on the table. “Those well-dressed gentry have all run away. Instead of waiting here for their orders, we might as well set up our own territory.”

Even the cunning can rise up and the serfs can sing!

Just as these henchmen were arguing amongst themselves, a steady, unhurried footstep came from the entrance of the main council hall.

Everyone stopped arguing at the same time. They saw a figure slowly emerging from the shadows; judging from the figure's build, it was undoubtedly a man.

He wore a dark suit, his hair was gray, and he had a silver owl brooch pinned to his chest. The only thing that clashed with his attire was that he was wearing an owl mask, the kind worn by court leaders.

"Aren't you looking for me?" the man said.

Kelvin Ross was the first to stand up and bowed respectfully, "Chief."

The other claws not only didn't believe it, but also shifted the tense atmosphere onto him.

“You are… Joseph Powers?” one of the claws frowned, then lowered his voice to the person next to him, “Impossible, Powers is dead, I saw his body with my own eyes.”

"Seeing is not always believing," the person behind the mask said calmly, sweeping his gaze over the crowd with an air of authority. "Kelvin Ross, tell them who I am."

“This is Mr. Powers, the Lord of the Court, the leader of the Court of Owls!” Kelvin stood ramrod straight. “Mr. Powers faked his death, fooling Batman and those idiots in the Penguin Gang, but I never expected that he would actually fool you ‘wise’ guys as well.”

"But Mr. Bowles' body..."

"That was just a stand-in." The newcomer said confidently as he circled around everyone. "You, what's your name again? The twelfth outpost you set up in the East District was the first mission you did after joining the court, right? You lost a glove back then, and I had Willis, who was in charge of logistics, get you a new pair."

Claw's expression changed drastically when his name was called, but he was still unwilling to give up and continued, "What about Lady Maria? She..."

"Of course she's fine, but Bowers needs someone to manage it, kid. As for the courts? Oh, why leave that kind of rough work to men?"

"Impossible! You must be an imposter that Kelvin found somewhere!"

The other claw gritted its teeth and immediately threw a throwing knife from its waist, which flew straight towards the mask on the newcomer's face.

Click!

The sound of shattering ceramics echoed through the council chamber, and the mask split in two from the center, revealing a pale and gloomy face beneath.

It was Joseph Powers' face.

Time seemed to freeze. The claw that threw the knife was terrified and retreated in fear, while "Joseph Powers" simply wiped away the faint bloodstain on his brow and glanced down at the mask fragments on the ground.

At the same time, a flapping sound came from above the stone pillars of the council chamber. An owl broke the solemn atmosphere of the council chamber, landed steadily on "Joseph Powers'" shoulder, and began to squawk.

It means:

The ruler of the court has returned!

At that moment, doubt was replaced by awe, and the noisy council chamber suddenly fell silent.

Joseph raised his hand and stroked the owl's chin, then said to the claw that had thrown the knife, "Do you believe me now?"

The other person's voice was filled with surprise, "Chief, you're not dead?"

Joseph, however, was too lazy to argue with him. He simply raised his hand and ordered several of his henchmen to take him away. "Drag him out and deal with him according to the rules."

Two sharp claws immediately rushed forward from the left and right, dragging the guy who was still begging for mercy out. His screams echoed in the corridor for a few seconds before abruptly stopping.

Joseph then said in a trembling voice:

Does anyone have any further questions?

No one dared to answer.

But then, another claw interrupted, "Now that the leader is back, let's go and capture Batman!"

"He must pay for this in blood!"