Just as Harley Quinn, who was standing by the table, was about to speak, Batman gestured her into silence with one hand and then turned his finger towards Harley and said, "You, tell me, what exactly is going on here?"
Just as Harley was about to open her mouth, Batman interrupted her, saying, "If you're going to sidestep the issue or make up stories, I'm going to write a letter to Dr. Rodriguez right now and tell him the size of the mess you've created here."
Harley closed her mouth, pursed her lips, then shrugged somewhat helplessly, saying, "Okay, your threat works. Anyway, I can't understand lots of their ideas. If I get it wrong, you'll still find fault with me. So I'll tell you only what I know."
Batman slightly nodded, and Harley, hugging her arms, leaned against the edge of the table, sighed, and said, "Have you ever thought about which of the two, 'becoming Batman' and 'saving Gotham,' means more to your adopted sons? And which of the two you want them to believe in more?"
Batman didn't say anything, but from his look, he was deep in thought. In matters concerning his Robins, he was always particularly careful. Even when facing a young Harley Quinn, he couldn't give a hasty answer.
Before he could finish his thought, Harley spoke first, "A long time ago, at least before they came to our world, your Robins thought those two things were the same. As long as they inherited your mantle and became Batman, they could naturally save Gotham."
Batman pursed his lips but didn't want to say the negating answer, even if Robins wasn't present. Maybe Harley would go and tell them.
Did Batman want to save Gotham? Of course, he did. Had he taken the actual actions to save Gotham? Of course, he had. But did Batman truly know that Gotham was past saving?
We can only say, he held onto some hope when he was young. But as he understood Gotham's darkness more and more, he gradually realized that Gotham's darkness had deeper reasons that no one involved could solve.
There's one unchangeable topic in the Batman family: who could be the heir to Batman?
Batman was well aware of his Robins' obsession with this matter—over the years, in their companionship and dependence on each other, was their motive to become Batman inspired by the original heart of justice to save Gotham or by merely outdoing everyone else in gaining Batman's approval? It was no longer clear.
And then Harley added.
"I can see they treated those as the same, or they also knew that becoming Batman doesn't necessarily mean they could save Gotham because you didn't succeed either. But to live, you've always got to have hope, and there must be some faith that supports them to learn various criminal fighting skills from you."
"But after they've come to my universe, they discovered that Gotham in my universe doesn't have Batman but is in a much better condition than Gotham in their universe. Of course, they would wonder why."
"Why was Gotham saved without Batman? Who could save Gotham besides Batman? Is there a necessary connection between being the heir to Batman and saving Gotham?"
"When they separate becoming Batman and saving Gotham as two issues, it naturally brings about another question—if Gotham can be saved without becoming Batman, what exactly should we do?"
Batman slightly turned his head to look out of the window. From afar came the faint sound of gunfire. There were continuous shots on the midtown streets not far from here, Gotham hadn't seen this kind of spectacle for many years.
"This is their enlightenment? To create carnage?"
"Batman, I want to ask you, one person dies today or a thousand people die in the future, which would you choose?"
Batman turned his head back and stared at Harley with very Batman-like eyes. That guy who loved to give him multiple-choice questions was now snacking and watching the show in the Batcave, and another one here was posing philosophical questions.
"I choose to keep all 1,001 people alive."
"Yes, that's because you're Batman." Harley nodded, without questioning whether Batman could actually achieve that, but readily agreed, and then continued, "To save one today, a thousand tomorrow, ten thousand in the future — with your martial skills, wealth, and technology, there's nothing you can't do."
So, let me rephrase the question. Do you really believe there's someone among your Robins who can perfectly inherit your mantle? Can Dick with his heart of justice do it? Can Jason with his power do it? Can Tim with his intelligence do it? Can Damian with your bloodline do it? Is there a second you in this world?"
Batman silently watched Harley, not that he didn't want to answer, but he was waiting for her to continue. Soon Harley asked and answered her own question.
"I guess not. You must feel the same. If you could really pick a perfect heir, there wouldn't be a Batman family. All of them are only parts of you, there's no second Batman in this world."
"When they truly realize this, they'll understand, they can't walk this path because even you, the one and only Batman, can't save Gotham."
"They're probably planning to take another route."
Harley's voice was accompanied by a slight sigh, composed and wise beyond her years. Batman recognized that she was empathizing with someone—perhaps a unique talent of hers.
"Is this how the Joker behaves in your universe?" Harley Quinn tilts her head at Harley, a flash of recollection in her eyes. This confirms Batman's belief that it was precisely this unique gift that made Harley Quinn fall into madness.
"Which way do they want to go?" Unusually, Batman was really seeking answers. The Robins' tactics appeared disjointed from what he understood so far, lacking a cohesive logic. From his perspective, they were acting haphazardly. Batman was deeply anxious to know their strategy to save Gotham.
"That part I don't know." Harley touched her chin and continued, "I can only tell you their possible motivations. If I probe too deeply into their mindset, my own business-oriented, weapon-trading mindset might be endangered."
"It took me forever to melt the heart of Professor Shearer, just so I could step into his tower and borrow the mind of a specialist. If this suddenly backfires, he definitely would not allow me in again."
"If you've been to that tower, you must've been deeply impressed by him. His name is Greed..."
"You don't have to say anymore." Batman turned around at the sweep of his cape and left. He needed to personally discuss with the Robins, to bring clarity to their dangerously impulsive actions.
While those amateurs of merchants and politicians were incapable of assessing the battlefield, Batman was not. He only needed a birds-eye view from a tall building to identify the eye of the storm, which was tranquil at the moment.
A shadow frantically hopped between skyscrapers in Midtown. Spider Man, sticking to the wall of a building, released one hand and looked down at the intense gun warfare in the streets.
"Jesus, where did they get all these weapons? And why are they waging a war in their own city?"
Spider-Man was perplexed. He had seen gang fights in New York City, especially around Kingpin's territory in Hell's Kitchen, where small to medium-sized gangs often caused chaos fighting over territories.
At most, those were about a dozen gangsters hiding behind walls and shooting at each other. The most intense would be someone blasting an opponent's shop door with a shotgun.
But now, the large-scale gunfight—or rather, small-scale war erupting in the heart of Gotham—had entirely surpassed street battles. Amid skyscrapers, the modern city was brought back to the atmosphere of beachhead attacks and trench warfare.
People started to realize after the initial chaos, that they must first secure a position before they can start defense and offense.
To establish a foothold in such chaos, forces generally had to unite and leverage the advantageous terrain of certain streets. They would set up barriers on both sides of the streets, dig trenches at the ends, and transport resources internally with armed trucks.
Local inhabitants who had been trapped naturally hadn't been doing nothing. Although their weapons were not as advanced, locals obviously had more knowledge about the local terrain. Outsiders had to negotiate with locals if they wanted to enclose them within their territories.
Most people did not choose to resist to the death, as in the chaotic condition where every corner is a battleground, securing a powerful financial backer who could provide weapons and supplies was paramount. This assured them with the firepower to guard their property.
Thus, the collaboration between the paratroopers and the locals happened naturally. One provided funds and the other provided manpower. The dark forces behind the interest groups provided guns, ammunition, food, and supplies. Locals with fighting capabilities formed armed mobs to divide territories and seize profits.
As a result, Spider-Man, who was watching from a high point, saw one fortified position after another, and scenes of attack launched from these positions.
This made it impossible for him to prevent the fighting. Shopkeepers who were armed and defending their shops would turn around and lead a group of people to rob others' shops. Convoy leaders, who had just fought others because their supply trucks were looted, would set up roadblocks to rob cars.
Spider Man swung across the whole area, witnessing countless such scenes. Eventually, he located the origin of the storm: the central headquarters of the Naiwei Family, where he found the only one left behind, Red Robin.
When Spider Man walked in through the balcony door, Red Robin, who had been waiting on the couch for a long time, triggered his Spider-sense.
"I've heard a lot about you, Spider-Man."
Almost at the same time, Batman—who had arrived and stayed on the roof of the opposite building—even without the Spider-sense, felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the expression on Red Robin's face.