"Is the enclosure and filter system working properly now?" Tim was still not reassured and wanted to check the Batcave's control system. The other Robins all seemed puzzled and urgently needed someone to clear up their doubts.
So Dick stepped forward and said, "Did you see the fog just now outside the window? That faint gray fog."
The Robins looked at each other, some seeming to remember, some not. After all, such weather was too common in Gotham, a glance forgotten, never crossing their minds; who would bother to memorize it?
"It seems that there was something like that." declared the Nightwing from the Prime Universe. "I was just standing by the window and saw fog forming at the bottom of the window. Is there a problem with this fog?"
Jason sighed and said, "You guys travel between universes less often, so you might not know that recently there's been an interdimensional phenomenon known as 'Guest in the Fog' occurring in various universes."
"It manifests as a sudden burst of dense fog in a particular area. The space-time within the area begins to distort, and people who inhale the fog see all sorts of terrifying illusions. They might even face various dangers chasing the shadow deep in the fog."
The Robins were all very surprised, asking, "You mean every universe has it? Then why haven't we seen it before?"
"Are sudden oddities so uncommon?" Tim sighed and said, "I'm very interested in this phenomenon, so I've researched a lot of information. Most of those who've experienced it and witnesses say that they enter the thick fog in one place and come out in another. Many people see many terrifying eyes in the fog, it seems the longer they stay, the more anomalies occur."
"Then is there no way to deal with it?"
"The best solution is to go into a completely enclosed space with a comprehensive filtering system that prevents fog particles from penetrating. An alternative solution is to wear a gas mask as not breathing in the fog will prevent the illusions. Just stay in place until the fog dissipates," he explained.
"This is really troublesome," grumbled the Red Hood from the Prime Universe, who crossed his arms. "What's the purpose of this mysterious fog?"
The trio, including Jason, shook their heads, obviously not knowing, but Tim speculated based on his own research, "We suspect the master of the fog may be a member of the Dark Council."
"The Dark Council?"
"That's Barbados's organization. Hasn't Batman told you? The reason Gotham is like this is because of that so-called Dark God, Barbados. But Barbados doesn't act alone, he's formed the Dark Council with three other deities."
"The other two members of the Dark Council are unclear, but Dark God Barbados and 'Guest in the Fog' are two existences that have made their presence known several times. I suspect they share the same goal, which is to invade the Light Universe."
"And what about that guy who calls himself King Robin?"
"I think he's just a lackey," Jason interjected. "It seems for some reason these powerful deities can't invade directly, so they send their minions."
"But their minions aren't just scattered soldiers; they're organized. If there's an organization, there's sure to be generals and grunts. I guess King Robin is just one of the grunts."
The others exchanged glances as the Arkham Knight stepped forward, fixing his gaze on Jason and said, "You mean to say, King Robin, who nearly killed Batman and Superman and left a pile of superhero corpses, is just a front-line soldier in their organization?"
"Unfortunately, that's probably the case," Jason said gravely. "And most likely, he's not even an assault soldier, but a scout. He hasn't received any urgent combat missions, which is why he's had the time to put on a show for TV and claims to want to rule."
"Otherwise, if he could kill Batman and bring down Superman with one strike, couldn't he put in a little more effort and destroy Gotham outright? Wouldn't that be more efficient?"
This conversation weighed heavily on everyone's mood, and they decided not to wait any longer but to act immediately.
They knew Batman had gone to activate the protection devices near the portal, but if King Robin really intended to come, activating just those devices would not be enough.
After Scarecrow's scheme, Batman realized that protecting only key landmarks was useless. Barbara, pushing her wheelchair, came over and said, "These lunatics could take the Gothamites hostage at any moment, just a few bombings, and Batman would be overwhelmed."
"To avoid this situation happening again, Batman has set up thousands of secret chambers in Gotham's sewers for deploying protective devices throughout the city. Once a threat is detected, these devices will activate immediately."
"What's the exact principle behind it?" the Red Robin from the Prime Universe inquired.
"I'm not entirely sure, but from Batman's description, it might be an energy absorber. As everyone knows, whether it's explosives or fear gas dispensing equipment, they all need energy to operate. Without power, they can't function as intended. Even if they do explode, the impact would be minimal."
"So it's not activated yet?"
"That's the problem," Barbara said, stroking her chin. "I think it also poses some risks, and Batman is worried villains might find it and turn it into a weapon, which would be dreadful. So right now, they should be in a dormant state, not emitting signals and undetectable by anything."
"That means we need to activate it."
"Yes, but the most troublesome part is that fearing it could be targeted all at once, Batman may have created a very complex division network. It's not based on regions nor on power levels, so even if we find the switches, we won't know which devices we're activating."
Dick let out a deep sigh and said, "Sometimes I don't even know who Batman is trying to protect against."
"That's the one from your universe," Red Robin immediately said, "The rest are all about the same, I've gotten used to it by now. As long as you can find a way to get the switch, I think we have a chance to crack it. After all, we've got three Tim Drakes here."
The three Tims looked at each other, each seeing confidence in the others' eyes. Tim had always been heralded as the most like Batman of Batman's heirs. If there was one area he most resembled Batman, it was his well-roundedness; almost everything Batman knew, he knew too.
"But now this mysterious dense fog is blocking the door, how are we going to get out?" Dick asked anxiously, "I suspect Batman from this universe might still be trapped. For some reason, King Robin isn't in a hurry to kill him, but nobody knows when he'll change his mind. We need to figure out a way to rescue him quickly."
"I think we should consider why King Robin hasn't killed him," Jason said as he grabbed a chair and sat down, "Since we can't leave now anyway, let's discuss something useful. Why don't we think about why it's your universe he's targeted?"
"What do you mean?" Arkham Knight furrowed his brow.
"Look, in this world, there are so many universes, almost infinite. If there is a Batman in every universe, then there are too many Batmans to count."
"If he was just randomly choosing, how could he have gotten so lucky to pick yours? If he intentionally came to this universe, what was his purpose? What is so special about the Batman of this universe?"
The Robins from the Arkham Universe fell silent, they had never visited other universes, nor did they know what Batmans in other universes were like. Thus, they couldn't see what was special about their own universe's Batman.
"As far as I can see, they're pretty similar," Nightwing from the Prime Universe said, "If there are any differences, it's that he talks even less, and his armor looks different."
"Hold on, why did Batman from our universe come to this universe?" Red Robin keenly caught the crux of the matter, "He didn't come here because of a distress signal, it's after he came here that we received the distress signal. So, what was he doing here before King Robin came?"
The Robins looked at each other, clearly clueless, so the Nightwing from the Arkham Universe said, "Think back carefully, what was Batman from your universe doing before he came here?"
"At that time, a bunch of bizarre Batmans came to our place, the ones you saw before; that was it, nothing else," they said.
"Are they still in the garden now?" Nightwing intended to check the surveillance cameras.
It's not that they didn't plan to call this group of Batmans for refuge, it was mainly because they were too far away when the dense fog arrived. The group of strangely shaped Batmans were all in the garden, and judging by some of their sizes, it would be difficult for them to enter the Batcave completely.
"They should be fine," Red Hood said, "Most of them aren't human anymore, whether they need to breathe is a question. As long as they stay put, there shouldn't be any major problems."
"I hope so," Nightwing from the Prime Universe said, "I think later we could ask them to help look for the switch to the protective system."
"We haven't heard your full story yet," Tim suggested as he tried to find clues from the past, turning to the Arkham Knight.
The Arkham Knight pursed his lips, and in the end, the other two Robins of the Arkham Knight filled in the whole story with a mix of several overlapping voices.
After thinking it through, Tim said, "It doesn't seem particularly special, it looks like it's similar to other universes' experiences. But there's one point that concerns me, the Batman of this universe killed the Joker."
"I'll say it again, Joker wasn't killed by Batman, he was asking for it," the Arkham Knight emphasized, "Batman wanted to give him an antidote, but he refused. How can Batman be blamed for his death?"
"But you said that later, Batman was also troubled by this."
Barbara thought for a moment and then nodded, "Batman clearly indicated that he had lost control, I'm not sure exactly what type of control he meant. Could it mean a maniac was whispering in his mind."
"It seems we've found where the problem lies," everyone realized the anomaly, as the Robins from Shiller's universe exchanged opinions, then said, "We haven't heard of any Batman from any universe who killed the Joker, or even had anything to do with Joker's death, nor have we heard that a Batman went insane afterward."
"Batman and Joker…" Jason muttered to himself and continued, "Did you see that King Robin? He's Bruce Wayne, but he laughs like the Joker. Could it be that he is a fusion of Batman and Joker?"
As soon as this was said, everyone shivered. Dick rubbed his arms and said, "Don't tell ghost stories in broad daylight. Batman and Joker fused together, my goodness, just the thought of it gives me nightmares."
"It's hard to imagine that Joker's kind of smile would appear on Batman's face, what would that look like…"
"Stop it!" Arkham Knight shouted out in frustration to interrupt, but it was already too late. The image had been planted in everyone's minds, and they all disgustingly turned their heads away.
The exaggeration of Joker's smile already had a degree of the uncanny valley effect, but imposed on Batman's usually stoic and unsmiling face, the expression was truly as shocking as it could be.
"Could it be that King Robin is looking for his kind?" Jason brought the topic back and added, "He's looking for another Batman-Joker fusion, so that's why he picked Batman from your universe."