"Nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." - Rocky from Rocky Balboa (2006)
-Rocky Balboa (Rocky Balboa 2006)
...
"A rehearsal?"
Hearing the Phantom Thief's words, Bruce squinted his eyes slightly and asked, "What do you mean?"
"It's quite simple. Next, I will demonstrate the method of stealing the gem in front of everyone, but I won't actually take the gem today."
The Phantom Thief replied with a faint smile.
"Then, three days from now, at this exact time, I will use the same method to steal the gem."
"Oh?"
Bruce looked at the Phantom Thief with interest.
"Are you confident that your technique won't be revealed by us if you dare to demonstrate a heist in front of so many people and say that you'll use the same method to steal the gem next time?"
"Mr. Wayne, did you know? The greatest magic in the world is not something that surprises people just once, but something that surprises them every time they see it."
The Phantom Thief said it in a mysterious tone.
"I can see that you have an extraordinary pursuit of magic. It's no wonder some say that the Phantom Thief is a magician capable of creating miracles."
Bruce stared at the Phantom Thief closely.
"Hearing this title from you makes me a bit embarrassed. When compared to what you have accomplished, my abilities are far from being considered miracles."
The Phantom Thief replied with what seemed like a hidden meaning.
Only Bruce and Lucius in the present, who know Batman's secret, can understand the hidden meaning behind the Phantom Thief's words.
The other people present, whether they are journalists from major media outlets or Jim from the GCPD, are unaware of the fact that Batman is Bruce.
So, when Phantom Thief mentioned 'Bruce's accomplished,' they interpreted it as referring to his important role in the development and construction of Gotham through Wayne Enterprises over the years.
However, when it came to Bruce's personal abilities, like how he runs Wayne Enterprises while also socializing with a lot of women and going to events for the upper class, his ability to handle his time so well could also be seen as a kind of miracle.
If he also considers his time spent as Batman, it can be said that he has surpassed ordinary miracles.
'As expected, just like Dick and Alfred said, the Phantom Thief has discovered our identities...'
Bruce remained calm on the surface, but he started pondering on the inside.
'How did he find out my identity? If he knows, why is he helping us keep it a secret? Batman's real identity has always been the most valuable information in Gotham's underworld. The Phantom Thief could have easily exchanged this information for a huge amount of money, but he didn't.'
'Why? What is his real purpose?'
Bruce was used to using criminal psychology to understand the supervillain's motives.
But with Phantom Thief, it seemed like only the personality disorder of "performance-type" criminals fit with Phantom Thief's criminal logic.
If the person who pretended to be Batman in the Man-Bat incident is actually the Phantom Thief, then it is clear that he cannot understand a simple performance-type personality.
Secondly, after Bruce had studied all of Phantom Thief's past crime videos and every word and action during this time, he found Phantom Thief to be really strange.
In short, Phantom Thief's actions are all like those of those crazy people on the surface, but he doesn't have the same psychological personality as a crazy person.
"Don't joke around anymore, Phantom Thief!"
At this moment, Jim gets angry and starts yelling at the Phantom Thief.
"What rehearsal, what demonstration method? Do you think you're doing a magic show? Do you think that everyone will put up with your tricks?"
"No! No, you're just a criminal; everything you do is just to commit crimes!"
Jim points at the Phantom Thief and declares loudly.
"GCPD will never tolerate such obvious disrespect for the law, Phantom Thief! There's no crime rehearsal today, and you won't have another chance to commit a crime. I'm going to arrest you right here and now!"
After saying this, Jim ran toward the perimeter. He broke through and cleared a path by destroying the cameras blocking his way.
Lucius quickly goes up to stop him.
"Commissioner Gordon, calm down and think rationally."
"Rational? What do you want me to be rational about?"
Jim asks angrily with a dark expression.
"A criminal is in front of me saying he wants to demonstrate his criminal methods in front of everyone, and in a few days, he intends to commit the crime using the same method in the same place. Then you tell me to act rational?"
The Phantom Thief's actions are basically a slap in the face to Jim and the rest of the police force.
He is mocking them and indicating that they are useless by letting them see how the crime will be done but still not being able to catch him.
How could Jim tolerate this?
He couldn't tolerate it at all!
"Mr. Fox, the Phantom Thief, is currently directly in front of us and is in an open area. He can't fly from the ground, and there are no large crowds nearby for him to disguise himself and hide. He has nowhere to escape. This is the perfect opportunity to capture the Phantom Thief! You can't possibly tell me that he will disappear into the ground, right?"
Jim urgently asked Lucius to take a look at the environment around Phantom Thief.
"Do you know how he suddenly appeared there?"
Jim didn't know what to say at first when Lucius asked.
"Commissioner Gordon, calm down and think for a moment. The Bat-Signal is in the center of the football field, surrounded by a perimeter that no one can get through. We didn't see anything fall from the sky just now. In theory, Phantom Thief shouldn't have been able to get in there, but now he's already inside!"
Lucius explained.
"If we don't know how Phantom Thief got in, you running in to catch him will only make him leave quickly. We wouldn't even know where to chase him. It's better to see what tricks the Phantom Thief will show us. Maybe we can find some clues."
"Phantom Thief values his reputation. He said he wouldn't take the gem today, so the gem won't be stolen. Why don't we see what he's going to do next?"
Lucius' rational suggestion calmed Jim down a bit, and he stopped trying to break through the perimeter of the cameras.
"It seems like some of our viewers are very anxious, so I'll give them what they want."
The Phantom Thief noticed Jim's actions and suddenly chuckled.
He walked to the front of the huge Bat-Signal, with his back facing the front light bulb. Then he slowly raised his right hand.
He snapped his fingers.
Snap!
Thump.
Immediately after the snap, there was a sudden muffled noise from the sky.
All the people looked up in surprise.
From the thick white fog in the sky, a massive white cloth appeared out of nowhere and began drifting towards the Phantom Thief.
The cloth wasn't falling quickly, but it wasn't moving slowly either.
It took about three to four seconds to float down and perfectly cover the Bat-Signal behind the Phantom Thief.
The white cloth was quite large and completely covered every corner of the Bat Signal, with some extra fabric even spreading on the ground.
At this moment, no one outside could see any details of the Bat-Signal.
The Phantom Thief looked at everyone, and a faint smile curled on his lips.
"Just a friendly reminder, from now on, please don't blink because what's coming next will be a moment to witness a miracle!"
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