Laughing American comics, I am becoming more and more like a clown

It was a sentence he wrote in the handwriting of -22 Clown:

"The world is becoming more and more beautiful. I am alone, but I am very comfortable. I have no other desire but to be drenched by the sun. I long to mature. I am ready to die and to be reborn."

("Klingsor's Last Summer")

Batman looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

"I'm not sure what it means exactly, but you get the idea. A little tug of fate. Remember I called myself the Joker? I suspect he... might be fighting for that identity? Or giving it up?"

In fact, this is just a passage that Lucian casually annotated while reading a philosophy book. It has no special meaning.

But coincidence always gives it some reason.

"But I think this has nothing to do with me. This should be left to you... Alone, it should refer to the days when the Gotham Joker is free without you. And rebirth, it should be... He saw you coming, so he let Catwoman's death herald his return?"

Batman seemed to be convinced by his reason and did not question it, but was thinking about it.

Lucian was also convinced by his own reason, and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

Chapter 157 Fairy Tale

Lucian's conflict with the Joker is more of a personal one. He knows that the Joker won't just sit there and rule or destroy the world.

Batman is different. The Batman in the dark multiverse can easily rule or destroy the world.

Lucien looked at him and suddenly realized... This Joker was targeting him, not Batman. He couldn't get any help from a Batman who couldn't be trusted.

But the words had already been spoken, so I just took it as a means of testing him.

……

"I can't rely on lies to provide a solution."

Lucian heard him say that and asked, "Why do you think this is a lie?"

Batman didn't explain: "You're testing me."

"...Indeed, you always make me a little suspicious." Lucian has been with the normal Batman. Although they are of different ages, their essence is the same.

"Did I do something to arouse your suspicion? Or do you think that physical torture alone can make me surrender?" Batman looked at him, his eyes calm, but like a question.

……

He should have questioned himself. He was imprisoned by a pervert for twenty-eight years, suffered immense physical and mental torture, and after being rescued with great difficulty, he was considered to be mentally twisted. Some people even tried to kill him because of unfounded suspicions.

Lucian realized his impertinence and rubbed his brow with his fingertips. He was about to say something when he was interrupted by a knock on the door:

"Tuk-tuk-"

The sound came from under the door panel, as if someone was tapping it with the bottom of a long stick.

Oswald?

Lucien's first thought was of his umbrella.

He looked at Batman, who didn't say anything, so he walked over.

"Thump." There was the dull sound of a stick-like object hitting the ground, followed by silence, as if someone was waiting quietly after hearing someone approaching.

—That's not what Oswald would do.

Maybe it's the inexplicable beating of my heart.

Lucien stopped and felt for no reason that the person outside was a clown.

……

The door panels are made of red oak, which has straight and even texture, hard texture and relatively low price.

Lucien opened the door anyway.

As expected, there was a man wearing a black cloak and holding a cane standing outside the door, looking like a wet crow.

Lucian saw his toes...black leather shoes, and from this position, they were probably touching the door panel just now.

So he looked up and sneered, "Eavesdropping is not a good habit."

"Don't say it so harshly. It's just a coincidence, and the coincidence made me hear you slandering me."

The last time Lucian heard the Joker's real voice was before he killed him. He didn't need to recall it for comparison, because what he heard now was old and hoarse, with occasional cracks, like gravel sprinkled on a record and the needle just sliding.

This made him frown.

"Have you also become an ordinary person who judges people by their appearance?" The clown noticed that he looked unusual, chuckled, pulled off his black cloak and threw it aside.

The cloaks were piled up softly and hidden in the corner.

Lucien saw the face beneath the cloak.

"you should……"

He looked at the bumps and wrinkles on it, unable to determine its age, only that it was disfigured. "You should peel off the skin, iron it, and then staple it back together."

This is what Jerome the Joker does in the TV series Gotham.

Lucien looked into the Joker's eyes—who was also smiling back into his.

"Did you fall into the chemical pool? You got yourself into this state."

……

"Although... the concept of a chemical pool isn't a physical representation, I'm not standing here to discuss this with you... Don't tell me you're so narcissistic as to think I'm here for you."

The Joker looked past him and at Batman inside, smiling broadly, then used his cane to tap Lucien's heel: "Get out of the way, baby, we'll talk later."

……

When the clown appeared in front of Lucian openly, Lucian knew that it was meaningless to find out the cause of everything.

He watched the clown go in, gripping the handle, feeling that he should leave, but in the end he closed the door and left himself in the room.

……

"Seeing you in such a mess, I feel really... I don't know how to put it, happy." The Joker stood in front of Batman. Although he was as skinny as a mummy, he was still gloating.

Batman looked at him and said, "It seems you haven't had a good life now. Have you been bullied by people outside since leaving Gotham?"

This was naturally not a word of concern, but a mockery.

Lucian felt a little uncomfortable listening to them talking back and forth at each other.

Batman is the Batman of this universe, and the Joker is the Joker of -22... Lucien thought of the rumors about the Joker in this universe.

Maybe he is dead, maybe he is missing, or maybe he has become an ordinary person.

He guessed that perhaps the -22 clown came out of the dream for reasons he didn't understand and merged with the clown in this universe.

Otherwise, how can we explain how a clown who is not young but definitely not old has become like the queen disguised as an old witch in the fairy tale of Snow White?

And there is also a sense of tension towards Batman as they are both old enemies.

……

Lucien listened to the exchange without any expression. He certainly didn't come to listen to any flirting, but they flirted endlessly.

Leaning against the door frame, he took out a cigarette from his pocket, pinched his head, and wondered whether he should light one to pass the time.

……

"Have you heard the story of Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother?" The Joker looked at Batman and said, "Guess why I can walk in here and talk to you openly?"

The fairy godmother refers to himself, and Cinderella naturally refers to Batman.

Just think simply: "You have a way to help me regain my fighting power." This is an affirmative sentence.

"Of course, I have, and it has been proven to be feasible... Before the clock strikes noon, I will let you wear crystal shoes, a blue princess dress, and I will let you have a beautiful pumpkin carriage..."

"Don't tell me your intention is just to make me recover and fight you."

"It's cooperation—you probably don't know this phrase, but I should tell you it's an unwritten rule. In short—Batman saves the world, and the Joker saves Batman."

The clown's smile was sinister, and his eyes looked down upon everyone.

"Ha!" Lucian couldn't help but laughed sarcastically, which earned him a sentence from the clown after he turned around:

"We'll deal with this later. This is the battlefield between the Joker and Batman. You should be quiet."

This was a bit rude, but the Joker's response to Lucien's reaction itself could be considered polite.

"Since it's a cooperation, then what do I have to pay for it?" Batman asked.

"Did the Fairy Godmother help Cinderella because she wanted to gain something from her? No, it was because of what Cinderella herself represents—a kind and pure heart in difficult situations, that kind of strength. Mainstream culture is now promoting this."

Could the Joker be because of this core?

Honestly, it is possible that in order to keep the game between the Joker and Batman going, he will help Batman.

……

Therefore, a detailed transformation plan based on Batman's current physical data was quickly launched under the experiment of the Assassin's League - God knows where the Joker got the specific physical data of Batman's current body from.

Tony seriously doubted that the data on the Angel of Death was not as detailed as the one he had, as if an identical Batman made into a human pig had once installed an exoskeleton armor in his shoes.

The clown stood aside, recording everything in detail, then copied a copy and handed it to them.

At the bottom of the plan, he said, "With your current state of technology, you can spend a year conducting research to transfer this exoskeleton armor to nanorobots."

During this detailed one-year period, Tone felt that there might be an undercover agent of the Joker in the Assassin's League, or an undercover agent in scientific research.

But after checking one by one, nothing was found.

……

"Are you really only doing this for the so-called love and peace, destiny and salvation?"

Lucien looked at the Joker sitting opposite him - the Joker had finally made an appointment to meet at this place after several excuses.

On a semi-public balcony, easy-to-grow spider plants, succulents, and green ivy are placed around, exuding an ordinary warmth.

The clown was very relaxed, with coffee in front of him and smoking a cigarette: "Do you believe it?"

"how is this possible?"

"So he won't believe it either. Who would? This is just a superficial excuse, you know, to silence everyone. Also, don't ask, don't guess, I won't tell you the real reason."

Lucien was not surprised at all. He didn't think the clown would tell him, or rather, it would be better to expect the clown to tell a more truthful lie than to expect him to tell the truth.