Stark Group's equipment has always been reliable, not to mention the assistance from JARVIS in customization, the projection popped up on the screen rapidly. Yet, its bizarre imagery was beyond everyone's wildest imagination.
The main view seemed to be inside a dreadfully desolate mental institution, the lights in the hallway were flickering, and the night sky outside the window was pitch-black. Some strange noises echoed from upstairs. As the view slightly turned, a fair hand was seen holding a large boning knife.
How did this scene, reminiscent of a premeditated murder, come about? The answer roots back to an argument a few hours earlier.
Constantine herded the children out of the cramped basement room like a flock of ducks. The room outside was slightly larger. However, it soon became apparent that not everyone likes having a bunch of children around them, like Batman, and not everyone can handle these children as Batman does.
People often blame Batman for communication failures with Robin, holding him responsible as the one in authority. Still, teenagers are emotionally unstable and lack self-control. Even from a professional psychologist's perspective, communicating with them is much harder than communicating with adult mental patients.
"Bruce Wayne, why did you summon that goddamn god? You snatched my victory!" Harley yelled at Little Bruce. "I could've chopped that back-stage mastermind into a thousand pieces!"
"What do you know." Little Bruce snorted. "I did this so they wouldn't succeed. Whether it's the knowledge in my head or that book, they are mine. How can we ensure safety if they are in other peoples' hands? So, of course, I had to find a way to take both the power and the book."
"But you should've let me kill the backstage mastermind first. I should've killed him. That damn fool, more repugnant than dog shit! I'll shred him!"
"Enough already, you two!" Barry yelled hysterically, "What on earth are you doing?! Why are you meddling with these mysterious matters?! If you had abided by the rules, we wouldn't be here!"
Immediately, Harley and Little Bruce's gazes focused on Barry. Harley crossed her arms, tapping the ground with one foot and narrowing her eyes. "How dare you speak, you foreigner. You voluntarily made a pact with the mastermind, and now you're here playing the righteous hero?!"
"Barry, what is this about? Why does the god who attacked those students exist within you?" Little Bruce, holding back his headache, asked seriously.
"All because I've been watching you guys!" Barry retorted grievously, "Besides, how was I to know he was…"
"Can't you smell his stench? Never mind, move aside. Let me give him a good stabbing. I must mince this style-less fool into minced meat!"
Harley walked towards Barry with her knife. However, Little Bruce blocked her path and said, "You might not be safe either. Didn't you gain your power from an unknown entity? How can you be sure you're the one in control?"
"Aren't the forbidden knowledge you study even less under your control?"
"This is all within the plan..."
"Does your plan involve sending you to a foreign universe?"
So, the three began bickering again. The previous problems that had occurred amongst Bruce, Clark, and Lex had now erupted amongst this trio. There were some similarities between Barry and Little Bruce when it came to their moral bottom line, while Little Bruce and Harley were both Gothamites, and both Barry and Harley opposed Little Bruce studying forbidden knowledge.
The trio were all young, the two boys had not even reached puberty. Their argument was thus particularly shrill, especially since two of them were eloquent speakers with agile thinking and rapid speech. Constantine promptly felt surrounded by thousands of squawking ducks.
"Stop! Stop arguing!" Constantine shouted.
"What's it to you? Get lost!" Harley bared her teeth at Constantine. Constantine rolled up his sleeves to intervene, but Harley flicked her knife out, leaving a cut on Constantine's arm that made him scream.
"Wait, aren't you guys arguing about magic? I think I can…"
"What do you know about magic?" Little Bruce sneered at Constantine.
"But at least you guys should unite…"
"Am I the one not wanting to unite?" Barry raised his voice again, "It's them two who are unreasonable!"
In the end, none of the three could out argue the others. Little Bruce flung his hand in exasperation and said, "I don't want to waste my time here with you. I need to find the next portal back to my universe, I still have plenty of knowledge to discover."
After saying this, he climbed up the ladder of the basement exit, leaving the room. Harley also angrily waved her knife about and said, "What an arrogant bastard; I don't have time to play with you guys. I must go chop something!"
Soon, she left as well, Barry kicked the ground in frustration, saying, "Who wants to stick with these lunatics? I can find my way home!"
When he also turned to leave, Constantine, Jason, and Tim, who had witnessed everything, all sighed in unison. They then turned their gazes to the equally exasperated Helen Stark.
Leaving the basement full of rage, Harley pulled out the piece of paper from her pocket. Soon, gray mist enveloped the paper, presenting the Necronomicon once again. Harley then spoke to the large black book, "Are you still there? I think those two have lost it, we have to do this on our own now."
"You need to calm down." A sentence like this appeared in the gray whirlpool.
"I know." Harley said, running her hands through her hair in frustration. A hint of pain was concealed between her furrowed brows, "But I can't control it!"
At the moment, she was being dominated by a morbid excitement and a violent desire that had been stirred up. This desire can easily flare up, but calming it down was almost impossible. The only solution Harley had found so far was to actually kill something, but she didn't want to waste her time on murder cases and avoiding Batman's hunts.
The crux was the latter. Harley, who had already encountered the Universe Batman, knew very well that Bruce Wayne of this world was not to be trifled with. One misstep and she'd end up behind bars, she had important things to do.
Harley seemed eager to get an answer from the Necronomicon, so she had to complete the tasks given by the book - namely, to investigate Nyarlathotep, who had bewitched Little Bruce. But now that the universe had shifted, all the clues were gone, she had to spend a lot of time starting the investigation from scratch. Who had the time for murder?
In the end, Harley chose to return to the hideout she had set up with Harley Quinn before entering this universe. And, sure enough, Harley Quinn was snoozing amidst a heap of banknotes.
"Wake up, wake up, I'm back!" Harley let out a deep sigh. Seeing Harley Quinn opening her eyes just a slit, glancing at her and then falling asleep again, Harley said helplessly, "Mom, get up. Your daughter has returned from her adventures!"
Harley Quinn suddenly sprang up, hugged Harley, and kept patting her head, saying, "Oh my god! You have no idea how worried I was when you were missing... wait, did you head back to your universe's Joker? I can feel your blood is feverishly hot. You must have smashed someone's head in, and he watched you do it, right?"
"Don't mention it." Harley said irritably, "I'm flooring the gas, but the wheels won't spin. I feel like I'm going crazy."
"Oh dearie, that does sound serious." Harley Quinn pushed Harley slightly away to look her up and down, then said, "I can feel your brain is about to burst into flames, that's not a good sign. But there was a bit of fun while you were gone, want to hear about it?"
Harley listlessly moved next to the pile of banknotes and sat down, saying lackadaisically, "Okay, talk. But I'm a bit foggy right now, I might not grasp it."
"I guarantee it'll catch your interest." Harley Quinn revealed a mysterious grin, then said, "You must know that the city's gone haywire, right? Guess who's the most angry about it?"
Harley cast a glance at Harley Quinn. Her cunning mind instantly found the answer, and she replied with a spark of interest, "Don't tell me it's the original gang of super-villains?"
"That's them." Harley Quinn giggled and said, "Especially the ones that Batman locked up in Arkham Asylum. They had been planning a jailbreak, and a few with a knack for escapes got away. For example, that mud face. Guess what happened? He plunged straight into Midtown and nearly got blown back into the crust!"
Harley herself couldn't help but chuckle, then felt her excitement intensifying. She promptly covered her mouth and made a face of discomfort.
"The escaped super-villains were all forced back, and the lunatics in Arkham Asylum lost it completely, even thinking that America was at war with China." Harley Quinn sneered.
"Now, they've organized some sort of 'united conference', aiming to take Gotham back from the mob. They think this city belongs to them and Batman, not some damn mop. Hugo came to see me a few days ago, but his clichés bored me, so I didn't agree."
Harley Quinn supported her chin on one hand, saying, "And also, you should know, Amanda, the head agent of the FBI, hasn't given up on Gotham. On the pretext of sanctioning Gotham, she probably wants to control the Gotham Villains. The fools in Arkham want to use her as well, and both sides hit it off."
"Boring, boring, boring!" Harley shouted, each time louder than the last. She jumped off the stack of money, waving her arms and saying, "Why do I always run into such boring stuff?!"
"I'm planning to blend in with them for some fun." Harley Quinn pulled Harley into her arms and said, "I think the image of a single mother will move these kind-hearted lunatics, don't you think?"
"Anyway, I don't have anything to do, let's go."
On the way for Harley and Harley Quinn to Arkham Asylum, Little Bruce, who had also left the basement, saw a robust figure swing down from mid air, landing neatly in front of him. Then, a voice filled with energy came.
"God! It's so late, why are you still wandering the streets? Where are your parents? How can they be so irresponsible to let such a small child stay in a dangerous city for such a long time?! They could be sentenced and stripped of their parental rights for this!"
"Come on, I'll give you a ride home. No, don't worry, New York... Gotham's friendly neighbor that you can trust!"