Bruce was not visiting Pamela for the sake of her projects, but because he knew she was a signatory of the contract with All Things Green, and she could communicate directly with it. Bruce wanted to get the intel on his soon-to-be enemies from All Things Green through Pamela.
However, he was truly astounded by Pamela's prowess in botany. Unbelievingly, he asked, "It's been only a few weeks since I left Gotham. How did you manage to produce so many, um, human-beating plants?"
"Isn't it astonishing?" Pamela retorted, annoyed. She strolled between the pots of plants she'd bred, with her arms crossed and chirped, "Thanks to this godforsaken City of Sin, I've decided to abandon farming plant breeding and venture into the new field of security plants. I'll invite you when I get my Nobel Prize, Mr. Wayne."
From Pamela's tone, Bruce didn't detect any anger or despair—only a concentrated dose of dark humor. Looking at the lively plants that filled the room, he sighed.
"How many of these plants do you have?"
"As many as you want." Pamela shrugged, "Crops need a ton of seeds, and I have kept all of them. With the power of All Things Green, I can make them grow instantly."
"So... how about their combat capabilities?"
"Do you want to try them out?"
Bruce hesitated slightly. The idea that plants could fight was absurd, and he had never encountered it before. He couldn't imagine how aggressive a small plant in a pot could be.
"How about you let out a weaker plant to demonstrate?" Bruce suggested.
Pamela sighed and fetched a potted fighting lettuce. As soon as she lifted the lid of the pot, the lettuce jumped right out.
"Wait a moment, this one hasn't been tranquilized, has it? Oh no, this is from the batch that wasn't tranquilized!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Crash! Crash!"
"Oh!"
Several seconds later, Bruce, clutching one cheek, dragged Pamela around a corner in the hallway and bolted in the opposite direction. While running, he shouted, "You have the power of All Things Green, don't you? How come you can't control them?"
"I asked All Things Green the same thing, but I got left on read!"
"Does this thing not differentiate between friend or foe?"
"Don't set your expectations too high for a single plant."
"My expectations are high for you!"
After several minutes, Victor and Nora arrived with freeze guns and found Bruce and Pamela panting on the ground, surrounded by frozen plants. Victor sighed deeply and said, "Bruce, you really should build a separate lab for Miss Pamela on that island. Even by Gotham standards, these experiments are extraordinarily dangerous."
"I'm just a botanist!" Pamela exclaimed in frustration, "Why in the world would I need a lab with security clearance?"
"You can thank this damned City of Sin for that," Bruce replied with a side glance.
Afterwards, Bruce paid a visit to Falcone Manor. Coincidentally, Gordon, Roy and Evans were discussing an upcoming concert. Upon hearing Bruce's story, Roy voiced his concerns first, "This isn't going to affect the concert next month, is it?"
"It's still early days." Evans shook his head, "We will get it resolved within three weeks if we start now. For now, let's think about how we can deal with the imminent invasion of magicians."
Bruce, on the other hand, was concerned about something else. He asked Gordon, "Have you or any of your subordinates heard about people causing trouble due to being controlled by Black Diamonds?"
"Don't even mention it. I was about to talk to you about that." Gordon sighed, "Do you remember that barbecue we had in East District? Jack told me that he saw your variety show and heard that a truck driver found a black diamond during a long-distance delivery."
Bruce slightly furrowed his brows and asked, "Has anyone been hurt?"
"That's the strange part. No insanity reported, and no wild violent incidents."
"So where's the diamond now?"
Gordon shook his head, "No idea. It seems the truck driver sold it. It's not surprising as these unusual gems could be worth some money, and the drivers could use the extra cash."
Sensing something was off, Bruce excused himself from the trio. He then dialed a familiar number from the phone in Falcone Manor's lobby.
"Hello, dear. Where are you right now?"
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Bruce!" Selina's lively voice came across the phone, flavored with a hint of complaint and coyness, "Even if you already know I'm back in Gotham, couldn't you at least pretend not to know and let me surprise you?"
"Where are you? I'm coming over now!"
"I'm home. Hurry over, I've got a surprise for you!"
Bruce dashed to Selina's new home as fast as he could. It was an apartment house he'd bought during Gotham's fifth-phase of renovation. With over eighty square meters of space, it was considered a mansion by Gotham's standards.
The moment Bruce stormed through the door, Selina leapt down from the top of the door frame, somersaulted onto him, and embraced him. After a quick kiss, just as Bruce was about to speak, Selina giggled and told him in a whisper.
"You won't believe what I've found - ta-da!"
Selina mimics a sound effect from her mouth, extends her fist to Bruce's face, then suddenly opens her palm. In the center of her palm lies a black diamond.
"It's been a long time since I've returned to Gotham, never expected to find such treasures here. I received this from a truck driver as a gift for you."
Bruce grabbed the diamond and rushed inside. Selina, standing behind him, said, "Hey, even if you're surprised, you shouldn't be that thrilled."
Bruce stands in front of the sofa while Selina is still at the door. Just as Selina was about to walk over, Bruce stretched out a hand and said, "Stay put, have you been hearing any strange sounds lately?"
"Uh, does the drilling noise from the renovation downstairs count?"
"I mean have you been hearing any voices in your head...nevermind, Sky Corrosion, are you there? Spirit of Wrath, come out and tell me what you did to Selina."
However, what Bruce heard was not the clear dialogue he had previously heard in London, but a series of fuzzy shouts. Listening carefully, he recognized the familiar voice shouting.
"No! No! Don't come here, you damned... Good heavens, who will save me? This is madness... I am dark, I am mad! I'm mad!"
Sky Corrosion kept repeating this phrase and no further useful messages came. Bruce stared at the diamond in his hand, uncertainly asking, "Has he... gone mad?"
Selina also noticed something was off. She walked over to Bruce's side and stared at the black diamond with curiosity, asking, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this thing?"
"Haven't you been watching the variety shows lately?"
"Don't you know? I've been filming on a movie set recently, playing a villainous thief in the latest "007" film. I had quite a few scenes as the second female lead, so I didn't have much time to watch TV."
"Well, here's the thing..."
Bruce began to tell Selina about the events that had happened recently, but surprisingly, her first response was to raise her eyebrows and glare at Bruce.
"You told the whole world that you are going to propose to me when you collect all the diamonds - if you don't propose, isn't that not good for my face?!"
However, Selina immediately reacted, she turned her toes and mumbled, "I'm not particularly saying you have to propose to me or anything..."
Bruce wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to sit on the sofa. He kissed her cheek and said, "Proposing with a cursed black diamond is not very romantic at all, you definitely deserve better."
Selina was not really angry in the first place, so she snorted and pouted. Suddenly, as if recalling something, she bounded up from the sofa, standing in front of Bruce she shook her head and said, "I have another surprise for you, but don't get angry when you see it."
"What is it?" Bruce asked.
Selina bent over and pulled out a box from under the coffee table, opening the lid.
It was a whole box of black diamonds.
With a "Crash," a full box of black diamonds spilled onto the coffee table, conservatively estimating there must be forty or fifty. Bruce once again was dumbfounded, he looked at Selina and asked, "Where did you get these?"
"I told you not to get mad, I stole them."
Selina blinked and said, "As soon as I saw the second identical diamond on the stall, I knew there had to be more than one or two of these things."
"I didn't know about your variety show, but I wanted to surprise you. So, these past few days since I've returned to Gotham, I've been doing nothing else but scouring the entire city. I'm confident that these are all of Gotham's black diamonds."
Selina seemed a little nervous as she knew Bruce never liked her stealing, but Bruce stood up and hugged her tightly as the two began to kiss again.
"You never cease to surprise me, dear." Bruce whispered in Selina's ear, "I don't know whether to be amazed at your love for me or at your exquisite thieving skills."
Selina's focus is clearly on the latter part, she hummed smugly, rested her chin on Bruce's shoulder and said, "You have no idea how skilled I am, the title of 'Super Thief of Gotham' is not just for show!"
Bruce gave her a thumbs-up in admiration. To get her hands on all of Gotham's black diamonds in just a few days was indeed very extraordinary. He then asked curiously, "I heard there are Four Great Thieves in Gotham, are all of them as efficient as you?"
"It's not that Gotham has Four Great Thieves, but each district has its Four Great Thieves, making a total of sixteen people... Don't look at me like that, you have no idea how intense the competition is in the thief industry in Gotham, filming "007" was actually considered relaxing for me!"
Selina sighed, counting on her fingers, "Flying Thieves are a subgroup in the thief industry, generally referring to those who use hooks and climbing skills to sneak into wealthy homes or museums at night to steal treasures."
"In addition, there are 'Three Hands,' pickpockets who steal money and bags in bustling commercial streets with dense crowds; 'Home Thieves,' who use crowbars to break into residences; 'Little Thieves,' who dress up as newspaper boys, flower boys, or smoking boys, frequenting train stations and hotels with many out-of-towners to steal money by invoking sympathy for children; 'Female Thieves,' who scam customers by posing as prostitutes; 'Gang Thieves,' a group of people who create distractions for one person to steal; and many others such as 'Accountant Thieves,' 'Hacker Thieves,' 'Sailor Thieves,' who use professional skills to steal money."
"Because there are too many thieves, competition is very intense. Add to this the fact that Gothamites have explosive tempers, once caught the thief is certain to be beaten to death, so those who can survive now are at least experienced veterans."
"Code names like 'Great Flying Thief,' 'Super Thief,' 'Ghost Hand,' 'Magician,' 'Old K,' 'Black 8,' etc., are the most skilled thieves in each district. I am just the leader of the Four Great Flying Thieves in the East District, merely one of the representatives of one subdivision in one district."
Looking at Selina's serious eyes and then at the pile of black diamonds on the table, a light bulb suddenly lit up above Bruce's head.
"Wait, I have a bold idea..."