"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."
- Mother Teresa
...
He was nearly two meters tall and had bulging muscles on his arms that looked bigger than a normal person's thighs. His tight black battle suit showed off his muscular body and made it clear that he was not someone to mess with.
"B-B-Bat... Batman!"
Henry screamed out in shock, his face turning pale as he stuttered, and his tongue seemed to be in knots.
"I... I haven't done anything bad! I'm a law-abiding citizen!"
Just as he finishes speaking, the bright light suddenly dims and blinds Henry.
"Tell me, where did you get this thing?"
Immediately after, Batman's hoarse voice echoes from behind him.
The two were so close that Henry could almost feel Batman's breath on his neck, sending shivers down his spine.
Henry is scared and turns around quickly. When he does, he sees Batman holding up a picture in front of him.
In the photo, there is a clear image of the 'Hope Diamond' kept in the exhibition hall!
But Batman is not pointing at the diamond or the ice block, he is pointing at the transparent box surrounding the diamond.
Yes, it was the same box that Henry claimed he brought out to calm people down after an employee was rumored to have died from a curse.
After seeing the photo, Henry's pupils immediately shrank, and he nervously asked, "Wh... Why are you asking about this?"
"Don't answer a question with another question!"
Batman's tone becomes even more aggressive, and his already hoarse and creepy voice gets even more serious.
"I bought it at a grocery store randomly."
Henry responded while trying to avoid the question.
"Are you sure?"
Batman asked coldly.
"I checked all the grocery stores around your home and the exhibition hall but couldn't find any boxes similar to yours."
Grabbing Henry's collar, Batman threatened, "If you don't tell the truth, I'll break your limbs and throw you into the sewers to keep you company with Killer Croc!"
At the same time, his massive right fist clenched tightly as if ready to hit Henry.
"No, no, please don't do that! I'll talk, I'll talk!"
Henry surrendered on the spot because he knew Batman's infamous reputation in Gotham and had no doubt at all that he would follow through on his threats.
"That box was actually given to me by Penguin's men. If I didn't do as they said, they would've destroyed my Exhibition Center!"
Henry blurted it out.
The Penguin?
Batman pondered silently why Penguin would be involved in this matter.
"Next question,"
Batman kept pretending while trying to figure out what the Penguin was up to.
"What's the deal with the diamond in the exhibition? It has been kept in the Smithsonian Museum for decades without anyone dying from its curse, but the moment it arrived in Gotham, it killed an employee at an exhibition hall who was close to it. Is it possible for such a thing to happen in this world?"
Batman stared at Henry, and his sharp eyes seemed to pierce right through his heart.
"I... I really can't say. If I tell you, I'll be killed..."
Henry hesitated, and struggle filled his eyes.
Seeing Henry beg desperately, Batman released his grip on the collar.
Just as Henry thought that Batman might be showing some mercy, he suddenly lost his balance when his right foot gave him strong pulling sensations.
Strangely, Henry did not fall to the ground but instead flipped over, with his head towards the ground and his feet in the air.
In his view, the ground was getting farther away, and he was getting higher and higher.
It was like someone had tied a rope to his foot and kept pulling him up. That's exactly what happened.
As the height continued to increase, Henry instinctively began to feel fear.
After about ten seconds, Henry was hanging in the air several meters high, with the rope around his feet secured to the railing on the rooftop.
Batman stood on the roof and spoke at Henry, who was hanging from a rope, "Answer my question!"
He crouched down and shook the rope, which made Henry feel lighter and scared at the same time.
"If you don't start talking, I'll cut the rope and let you fall."
Batman said calmly.
"No! You can't do that! You never kill anyone!"
Henry panicked and quickly reminded Batman.
"I don't want to kill, but if I accidentally slip and untie the rope, then it's just skill issues."
Batman's face remained calm.
"So, if you don't want that to happen, tell me what I want to know."
As Batman spoke, Henry felt the rope shake even more violently, as if it could break at any moment.
"I... I..."
Henry's thoughts started to waver.
When seeing this, Batman untied the rope from the railing and let go of his grip, and let Henry fall towards the ground.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Henry let out a terrified scream.
The rope quickly pulled down due to the weight of an adult, but thankfully Batman had left a long rope at the top, so it didn't run out in such a short time.
After a short moment of releasing the rope, Batman grabbed the rope again and tied it back to the railing again.
At this point, Henry is completely terrified, with a pale face and sweat pouring down.
Before Batman can even ask him, Henry immediately speaks up and spills all the information he knows voluntarily.
"Before the exhibition started, a dozen criminals from the Penguin Gang approached me and gave me a strange box. Inside the box was a stone that looked similar to a 'Hope Diamond.' They forced me to replace the 'Hope Diamond' in the hall with that stone! They warned me I shouldn't open the box."
"I don't know what that stone is, but it's definitely not a diamond or any kind of gem I recognize. But I'm sure it's a truly terrifying object! A real stone of misfortune! The employee died because he touched that stone because he opened the box at that time!"
"I know it sounds absurd, but I swear every word is true. That stone must be sealed inside the box to contain its evil power!"
Henry explained everything in one breath and then begged, "Batman! That's all I know; they didn't tell me any more information."
"They just asked you to replace the real diamond and nothing else?"
Batman asked with a hint of confusion.
"Absolutely!"
Henry spoke firmly.
"That's all they told me to do."
"Then where is the real 'Hope Diamond'?"
Batman continues to ask.
"I put it in..."
...
A/N: If we reach 400 power stones today, I will release an additional chapter tomorrow.
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