In the Bell Tower, the Prophet's base, Barbara looked at the computer screen where one protection device indicator after another lit up, revealing a faint smile. Now, 80% of the protective device energy had been activated, and in the event of danger, these devices would all come into play.
The Robins were also gradually making their way back, but they had long lost the excited zeal to compete they had when they left. Some frowned with concern, while others seemed lost in thought.
Once everyone was back, Barbara poured them hot tea and asked, "What's happened?"
"We encountered that mysterious fog again," Jason spoke first. "This time it showed many different properties. Dick, you talk first."
Clearly, they had already discussed the issue over the communication channel before, and Dick recounted the whole process as he had summarized it.
Barbara arrived at a similar conclusion, figuring out the rules within the fog, much like the Robins had.
"What worries me the most right now is, if Batman has already returned to Gotham and encounters this thick fog again, I'm afraid..."
The Arkham Universe's Nightwing said so, and everyone else also showed worried expressions. This wasn't unfounded speculation—since staying too long in the dense fog could trigger anomalies, the seriously injured Batman might not even have a chance to rest.
"Don't worry too much, Batman can handle it. If he can't, at least he will send us..."
Just as Barbara said this, the computer behind her beeped. She immediately wheeled over, typed on the keyboard with a stern face, and then said, "Our communication system captured a weak signal which came from somewhere in Gotham City, but the exact location is unclear."
All the Robins crowded around, and after Barbara did some analysis, they only obtained a bunch of binary symbols. The Robins took turns trying to decode it, having become quite accustomed to solving such puzzles.
During the decryption process, Barbara suggested, "I think this might be from Batman. He's currently unable to contact us directly and might be engaged in some secret mission."
Dick sighed and said, "I think our focus should be finding the source of the signal and then bringing him back. A living patient says they want to wander outside, and you just leave him be?"
"Don't say that, Dick," Red Robin shook his head. "It's not like we haven't tried before, but when have we ever succeeded? It's better to follow his plan, at least that way we can be somewhat effective."
Everyone fell silent. They all knew Red Robin was right; there was no one present who didn't recognize that Batman was, in his own way, a madman. Had they not tried to intervene? They simply couldn't.
Soon, the Arkham Universe's Robin exclaimed, and the previously chaotic binary symbols were arranged into a square by him, displaying an image.
"The cloak! Batman's cloak!"
Barbara was the first to recognize the pattern, which was clearly a cloak with Batman's emblem on it.
Why would it be a cloak? Everyone was a bit puzzled, but Red Hood, who had witnessed Batman in combat, took out the bottle containing the Fifth-dimensional Imp and shook it vigorously, asking, "Hey, do you know anything?"
The imp inside was shaken until he felt dizzy. He knocked on the inner wall of the bottle and said, "Stop shaking! How would I know anything about a cloak...wait, is the cloak you're talking about a long black piece of cloth that hangs off the back?"
The Robins crowded around again, staring at him with eager eyes. The Fifth-dimensional Imp cleared his throat and said, "Alright, I don't know what a cloak is, but if you're talking about that thing that's hard and black and hung off the back of a metal shell, someone took it."
"Batman's cloak was taken? By whom?"
"My former master, King Robin," the imp shrugged. "He showed up in front of Batman, they talked for a while, and then King Robin suddenly started shouting, snatched Batman's cloak, wrote something on it, and then tucked the cloak into his belt."
"King Robin took Batman's cloak, wrote something on it, and then took it away," Barbara processed the information from the Fifth-dimensional Imp and said with a sudden realization, "It seems that whatever was written is important. We'll need to take back Batman's cloak."
The situation had come full circle; they would have to confront King Robin, which meant they would have to attack Wayne Tower.
"I've always said relying solely on activating protective devices and then sitting ducks won't do," Red Hood scoffed. "Just take down the ringleader, and everyone is safe."
"I think we really can't delay any longer," said Nightwing from the Prime Universe, as he gathered his things. "I bet those are his crazy creatures all around. Too many people going there would tip him off, so I'll go first and scout."
Nightwing left quickly, and shortly after his departure, Barbara glanced at the computer and added, "Unless it's an extremely critical moment, Batman wouldn't message us. What could that cloak possibly contain?"
In Gotham underground, inside a Bat Safe House hidden in the lower sewer levels, the Prime Universe's Batman supported the Arkham Universe's Batman to lay him down and helped to peel off the remaining fragments of armor.
This was no simple task since the Arkham Universe's Batman had become a bloody figure, his body covered in congealed blood, with nearly all the skin stripped away, resembling a criminal who had just been tortured and was gasping for life.
The shattered armor was embedded in his flesh, and nearly every movement brought unimaginable, excruciating pain.
"I think you've been a bit too reckless," said the Prime Universe's Batman as diplomatically as possible. "Before dancing with snakes, you should at least be prepared with an antitoxin serum."
The Batman of the Arkham Universe shook his head slightly, remaining silent throughout the process of retrieving the fragments of his armor, as if even his pain reflexes had ceased to exist. He spoke in an extremely hoarse voice, "The only thing that caught me off guard was King Robin's use of the connection between the symbionts inside Jason's and my body."
"So, you finally stopped using the symbiont as well," Batman sighed deeply, while tending to the Arkham Universe Batman's wounds, he said, "Tell me about your plan."
"The equation..." The Arkham Batman uttered just that one word, continuing, "If it hadn't been for Jason's mishap, I would have already obtained the equation by now."
"What equation?"
"The Anti-Life Equation."
Batman furrowed his brow deeply; he had never heard of this name, but he knew that he also had an equation, which was the main reason Darkseid had attacked his Earth.
"Start from the beginning," Batman said.
"I need to change this nation," the Arkham Batman stated, "I have to change it because I know that darkness is coming soon."
"So... "
"I need to lure Darkseid here," said the Arkham Batman with his eyes closed. "This was what another Batman told me... no, he's not Batman anymore, another Bruce Wayne told me."
"Our original plan didn't include being critically injured," said the Arkham Batman, his voice as dry as a bone. "The Bruce from another universe also needed to change the condition of his universe's nation, so together we devised a plan."
"Earth needs external pressure, we chose Darkseid as our adversary, and for that, we needed bait, which is the Anti-Life Equation, but neither of us had the equation in our possession."
Batman's frown deepened; he knew which Bruce the Arkham Universe Batman was talking about, but he remembered that both he and the Bruce from the Schiller Universe had the equation.
The Arkham Batman seemed to realize what he was thinking and said, "The one you have is not... not the complete Anti-Life Equation, but a part of the Life Equation."
Batman nodded, having long since guessed that the equation in his possession was no ordinary object, and that it was because of this equation that the Darkseid of his universe had attacked Earth.
"How did you know King Robin had the Anti-Life Equation?"
"Bruce had been to many dark universes..." the Arkham Batman explained. "He had investigated the universe where King Robin was born, where a hero was killed by some anti-life entity, and the corpse of that being was left behind, discovered by Bruce."
"So, was this a trap you set for King Robin?"
"Not anymore," the Arkham Batman said with a light sigh. "Originally, I thought I had a symbiont in my body capable of healing my wounds, I had given it a lot of energy, just to withstand the first wave of King Robin's assault."
"I knew King Robin was strong, and I wasn't aiming to defeat him; as long as he appeared before me and I was still able to speak, I had a way to entice King Robin to write down his also incomplete Anti-Life Equation using the half of the Life Equation that Bruce had given me."
"You succeeded."
"Yes, it wasn't difficult," the Arkham Universe Batman said after a pause. "He knew that the Anti-Life Equation he had was also incomplete, otherwise it wouldn't have been useless for anything else other than modifying anti-life creatures."
"He thought that the half of the equation I had could help him complete it. I showed him my half first..."
"Wait, weren't you afraid he'd turn on you?"
The Arkham Batman snorted coldly, "As long as you devalue his inventions and creations to nothing and put him in a situation where he can't refute you, his primary goal will naturally become proving to you how brilliant he is."
Batman immediately understood; it was a trap the Arkham Batman had long set, so naturally, he had plenty of time to concoct exactly how to get King Robin ensnared.
Actually, if you think about it, it's not that hard; the complete Anti-Life Equation would likely be incredibly powerful that everyone would want, but if King Robin had such a thing, he wouldn't need to kill a superhero and create a bunch of anti-life entities.
There was definitely something wrong with the Anti-Life Equation that he held; striving to complete it was one thing, and the humiliation of his 'substandard' creation being exposed was another.
With both aspects combined, along with the eloquently crafted persuasions of Batman, it was easy for King Robin to get provoked during their conversation and breakdown, choosing to prove to the Arkham Batman that he was the one and only genius capable of creating the Anti-Life Equation.
So after the Arkham Batman displayed his half of the incomplete Life Equation, King Robin might have been inspired, and completed the Anti-Life Equation right in front of the Arkham Batman.
"Where is this Anti-Life Equation now?"
"On my cloak."