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

……

The bigger the wind and waves, the more expensive the fish.

Lucian suspected that they were taking advantage of the fact that Oberon Sexton was not a local, so even the guards joined in the deception.

The door closed behind him, and one wall of the room was made of a whole piece of transparent glass. In front of the glass was a table, next to the table were chairs, and the other side of the glass was the same arrangement... For a moment, it was difficult to tell which side was the normal person and which side was the mentally ill person.

Auberon Sexton sat down in a chair and waited for the person on the other side of the glass to arrive.

The transparent glass vaguely reflected the festering and ugly upper half of his face. Influenced by the regional discrimination that night, Oberon Sexton was very wise and took off the mask on his face before coming.

The people of Gotham don't have much anxiety about their appearance. It may also be that the successive super criminals have made them realize that anyone with a "unique" look is either an Arkham reserve or a current student.

But no matter what, it's hard not to laugh at a disfigured reporter standing in front of you and trying to interview him:

"I have no face, yet I can be recognized; I have a mouth, but I communicate more with my hands; who am I?"

"……who?"

"It's you—Auberon Sexton, my dear journalist."

The Riddler AKA Edward Nygma walked in from the other side and sat on the chair opposite, greeting him like this.

……

The people in this city have one weird thing in common - they like to make fun of other people's pain, and laugh even more happily when others are broken down by it.

Seeing through this, Oberon Sexton calmed down and didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "This is a refreshing way to say hello."

"No wonder you were able to get a job at Arkham. You know, if you don't leave a strong enough impression on the HR, it's hard to pass the interview."

Spicy reply.

The Riddler wasn't angry either. His lips were pulled to the sides, revealing a curved smile—a toothless smile. "Sharp-tongued," he commented.

When they met for the first time, they both formed a basic impression of each other. At least the Riddler knew that the man in front of him was not like those old-fashioned people who were obsessed with finding loopholes in the language and making a big fuss about it. Instead, he was a young man who could not control his emotions and was ready to retaliate at any time.

...Young guys are always more interesting than experienced guys.

The Riddler looked at Auberon Sexton with interest as he began to flip through his notebook and start asking a few questions from the ones he had prepared in advance.

"Edward, you used to be a police officer with a bright future. Why did you commit a crime?"

"Did you know that the police station's food is always one chicken drumstick short compared to the food in the mental hospital?"

"So, I've noticed in your criminal activities that you hide your solutions within the events you're dealing with, and you're not pursuing efficiency. Why is that?"

"The only person who seeks efficiency is a boss who wants to pay his employees $2,500 a month."

The Riddler did it on purpose, of course he did... Why should he answer the question honestly? Wouldn't it be more interesting to see Oberon Sexton looking frustrated?

But Lucian's real purpose wasn't to get the Riddler to answer these meaningless and unimportant questions. He asked a few more questions, and after getting more or less the same answers, he flipped through the notebook and found a photo. He looked at it himself first and said, "I have something here."

Then turn it around and stick it against the glass so the Riddler can see it too.

A photo of a clown, in which he looks haggard, tired and listless.

"Why are you showing me this?" The Riddler glanced at it and said, "Oh—I see, sir, why you didn't go interview the Joker at this time, but came to us instead."

"I have to admire your unique approach - 'The Clown in the Mouth of a Madman' should be a good angle to write about clowns."

"But I won't cooperate." The Riddler's smile didn't reveal his teeth, only stretched his skin. It looked like a fake smile, but it seemed to be his habit. "If you want to talk about clowns, why don't we guess riddles? It's more interesting."

Without waiting for a reply, he began to speak: "--I struck you while you lay, the gentle cousin of death..."

"It's sleep, Edward," interrupted Lucien. "And I don't want to talk about clowns."

"You should wait until the riddle is finished before you answer." The Riddler suddenly interrupted him, "You are so rude."

"...Then you interrupted me."

"Because I have no manners either."

"..."

After that, the Riddler didn't bother to argue anymore and sat back, leaning back in his chair. "Since we're not talking about clowns, what's the point of showing me this?"

"No intention." Lucien put it away slowly. "I just wanted to show it to you, in case you haven't seen the Joker's confession photo."

"Did I say I wanted to see it?" The Riddler found the man in front of him puzzling.

"I thought the asylum was isolated from the world. You might want to know that."

"I know much more than you think." The Riddler paused and said, "A stranger."

For example, he knew that Oberon Sexton was not from Gotham.

Lucian looked at him. This Riddler wasn't as patient as he remembered him. Perhaps he was too young? Or perhaps he was just being suspicious and acting this way?

He couldn't say for sure... After all, the Riddler was a rare and intelligent person.

But that didn't stop Lucien from continuing as planned: "A foreigner like me, from Santa Prisca, six feet eight inches tall, weighing two hundred and eighty pounds, injected intravenously with a compound called 'Venom', calling himself Bane."

"Do you know what he's doing?"

The Riddler's green eyes studied Auberon Sexton for a moment, then he let out a long, "Oh!" "Testing? That's too clumsy. I won't tell you."

"No, that's because you don't know." Lucian lowered his body, his shoulder blades raised like a crawling cat. "This guy is about to blow this place up and invite you to join the carnival in Gotham."

"So...thank you for bringing me this good news?"

"Good news? Edward, do you know what he's planning?"

"If you want to talk, I have to remind you of something." The Riddler said in a playful tone, "Don't talk too much. I might reveal it, or betray you. After all, there's not even basic trust between us."

Is trust required?

How does the saying go - "Smart people have a lot of tacit understanding."

So Lucien ignored his doubts and continued, "Bane will kill the man under the cloak after the revelry."

"I've interviewed the Joker—I know your agreement. You only play games with Batman... The rules of the game are not to find out who is under the cape, nor to target Batman when he's off duty."

"Honestly." Lucian suddenly changed the subject, his expression complicated. "During the days I've been in Gotham, I didn't understand a lot of the rules, broke a lot of taboos, and almost died... I don't really understand these rules."

"When no one is supervising me, I still won't comply... I think I'm not the only outsider who doesn't understand, doesn't comprehend, and doesn't comply, and the consequences caused by others are definitely not what we want to see."

"What do you think?"

Two pairs of green eyes stared at each other through the glass. No one knew what the Riddler was thinking at the moment, and time passed slowly.

"So do you know who Batman is?"

The Riddler suddenly asked this question.

Lucien didn't answer, but just closed the notebook and tapped the cover with a pen - the blue cover.

Blue is a homonym of blue, as for the remaining one.

The pen cap slowly slides out a curve.

The Riddler blinked his narrowed eyes briefly, his expression unchanged. Then he crossed his arms, leaned forward, and rested his chin on them.

"I am not a loner, nor am I part of the multitude; I am born between you and me, yet I am greater than the sum of their parts."

"I can bend steel and make minds meet."

"--who I am?"

……

Cooperation.

……

The timeline in Batman stories is very strange, and it is common for books to be changed, but popular settings will always be retained.

For example, "The Killing Joke" and "Death in the Family". Unfortunately, the culprit Joker has now been tried in court and there is no possibility of him committing any crime. So, for example -

Knightfall

Chapter 237 Good Omen

"Batman: Knight Fall", the famous be comic, is also the wonderful start and most glorious day of Bane, the super villain who caused the greatest physical damage to Batman.

He worked with the madmen of Arkham to first drain Batman's energy, and then attacked Batman when he returned to Wayne Manor at the end of his strength, and finally succeeded in defeating Batman and breaking his back.

Although Bane's character allowed his small head to control his big head due to excessive injection of venom in the later period, it is undeniable that he caused damage to Batman... There is one person in the dark multiverse Batman's blackened variant who is related to him:

Alfred Brokeback caused the death of a generation of butlers, which led to the birth of the killing machine, one of the Dark Knights.

...What if this is -44? We must be on guard.

But it would be too troublesome to prevent this in advance if a plot came. Lucian actually wanted to take advantage of the time when Batman and Bane were laning to kill these Arkham lunatics in one wave, so that there would be no need to worry that the problems of this universe would arise in Arkham.

As for whether I will be blacklisted by Batman...it's not like I haven't been blacklisted before, so what's the big deal?

But now, he is still very sincere and is here to discuss cooperation with the Riddler.

……

The Riddler was a smart man. He didn't ask stupid questions like "Why me?" or "What can I get?" He already knew what he should do without Lucian even elaborating.

Her slender fingers kept intertwining and fiddling, and she lowered her head as if pondering, or perhaps thinking: "...We will definitely leave here."

"I never expected you to stay in the asylum. After all, this is a madman's carnival..."

If we have a party, it's hard to say whether it will help the bats - it would be good if it can cause less trouble, but this is obviously not the desired effect.

So the Riddler asks, "So..."

"Everything will be arranged for the best. You will understand what you need to do when the time comes." Lucian interrupted him and smiled before the Riddler could say anything else: "Sorry, I'm rude."

This is a rare thing. The Riddler finally meets a Riddler who is even more of a Riddler than the Riddler himself.

So the Riddler pointed to the door, his face expressionless: "It's time for the meeting, Mr. Reporter."

The door was quickly opened. It was unclear what the guard had just been talking about with his companions. Perhaps he had taken Auberon Sexton as a joke, as there was still a hint of playfulness in his expression. "Do you need to renew the clock?"

Oberon Sexton nodded to the Riddler and left.

As the Riddler looked over, the guard closed the iron gate.

"What does it feel like?" The keys rattled in his hand.

Oberon Sexton looked uneasy. "No wonder he's so famous here... I remember the Riddler wasn't even one of the top guys. Above him there's... never mind."