Lately, the most significant thing Bruce understood was that in this world there is only bad news and worse news and all the unfortunate things always lump together.
Batman nonetheless chose to find the Joker first as it was clear that any 'big surprises' from the lunatic normally yielded more shock than joy, and the shock tended to be quite staggering.
As expected, upon Batman's arrival, he discovered that the Joker had set a fire in the central business district of Gotham. Screams filled the air as crowds scurried for safety. A pile of cars drenched in gasoline had exploded, shards of metal smashing almost all of the window displays. Thick smoke blanketed the area in moments.
From his vantage point on a rooftop, Batman squinted in search of his target. At that moment, another plume of dark smoke rose in the distance, seeming to originate from the slums of the East District.
Just then, the sirens of the firetrucks wailed as firefighters rushed to the scene. With water hoses and equipment, they doused the flames and cleared the rubble, all while looking for trapped victims amidst the scorched buildings.
The Fire Department in Gotham wasn't especially efficient, but this district was the city's busiest commercial street. Most of the shops were owned by the Twelve Families. Regardless of who set the fire, they needed to respond.
In Batman's estimation, this commercial street was wide, and the fire had sparked before the explosion. The majority of people had likely fled when the smoke began to billow, making rescue operations more manageable.
But the slums were different, densely packed with buildings and clutter. A fire there could lead to significant casualties. So, once he saw the firefighters at the commercial street, Batman sped off to the East District.
The aftereffects of overexerting himself hadn't entirely faded, and Batman's head throbbed painfully. Because of that, he did not notice the journalist who had just arrived at the end of the commercial street and snapped a picture of Batman's retreating figure.
The fire in the East District slums was a significant problem. The densely packed residences had no fire protection measures or fire lanes. Many people were trapped in the blaze, and Batman had to exert considerable effort before the situation was under control.
By the time he arrived at the police station, Gordon appeared somewhat frazzled. Seeing Batman he expressed relief, exclaiming, "You're finally here!"
"What happened?" Batman's voice was rough, as if he had swallowed fire. Gordon had much to say, yet upon seeing the evident pallor of Batman's face, he hesitated, suggesting, "You look awful. Maybe you should rest first?"
"No matter, tell me, what happened?"
Gordon took a deep breath and led Batman to the morgue. Pulling a body from one of the coolers and revealing the face, Batman recognized it as the boss of the Lawerence Family, one of the Twelve Families.
Old Lawerence now had white hair, and his figure was slightly obese. His limbs and chest bore wounds. Batman squinted to examine them but was somewhat distracted, so he merely asked Gordon, "What was the scene like?"
Gordon paused, seeming unsure of how to describe it. He said, "This afternoon, young Lawerence called the Chief of Police to report his father's death."
"When I got there, Lawerence was dead in his study. He lay flat on his back, arms spread out, forming a cross with his body. His limbs, chest and head had been pierced with long stakes. The medical examiner determined his cause of death... his heart had been impaled…"
"And the murder weapon?"
"It's in the evidence room. If you'd like, I can bring it here. Also,the coroner informed me, they found traces of anesthetics in Old Lawrence's system. He was likely sedated before being staked."
"Crucifixion..." Batman murmured to himself. Gordon didn't quite catch it, asking, "What? Crucifixion?"
"It's a method of executing Christians. Crucifixion, or perhaps, upside down crucifixion."
"The first Pope, Saint Peter, one of Jesus's disciples, was killed in this manner… wait, Jesus? How many disciples did Jesus have? ...Twelve… the Twelve Families…"
Batman immediately told Gordon, "Get your Chief to contact the Twelve Families immediately. This could be a serial murder case…"
Just as he finished speaking, a young officer came rushing down the stairs, panting, "Chief, the younger of the Hawk brothers is dead, he..."
The young officer swallowed hard before continuing, "His head was chopped off... the Chief is already there..."
Gordon held his head in his hands, then explained to Batman, "The Hawk family is also one of the Twelve Families. They're run by a pair of brothers. The elder brother heads the family, while the younger helps manage it..."
Batman pulled the white cloth back over Old Lawerence's body, then asked Gordon, "Can we go to the crime scene now?"
"Um, yes we can, but we have to wait to avoid the Chief. Otherwise, I can't explain why you're with me… You know, the Chief is somewhat... "
"Okay, I understand." Batman was already at the window as he said, "They won't clean up the crime scene tonight, will they? Let's meet there at midnight, I have something else to do now..."
Finishing his words, Batman's figure disappeared from sight. Gordon rubbed his temples, his face drawn. He asked the young officer, "Are you a believer?"
"Oh, yes, why?"
"Do you know the story of Jesus and his Twelve Disciples? Could you tell me?"
The young officer choked up a bit, his expression uncomfortable. It was as if Gordon had expected this, saying, "Alright, everyone here claims to be a Believer, but not many actually know who Jesus is, let alone his disciples, I better go back and read the Bible again…"
Departing Batman activated the communicator on his wrist and asked: "How's the situation over there?"
Little Sly's voice came through, saying, "We're alright, we're trapped in an underground room which appears to be an abandoned wine cellar. They haven't found us yet, but you better hurry, Jason is hurt..."
Hearing Jason was hurt, Batman furrowed his brows, saying, "Why didn't you mention this earlier? I thought things weren't so serious with you..."
Little Sly's youthful voice continued to echo in the communicator: "Actually, it's not serious, he just sprained his foot. We jumped off from a very high place, he jumped first, and hit some debris below, now he can't move, there's no blood, so no serious danger..."
"Give me your location, I'm coming right now."
About twenty minutes later, in an underground room not far from Green Street in the East District, while Batman was securing Jason's ankle, he asked: "What happened? I only told you to investigate, how did you end up being chased?"
Perhaps to distract from the pain in his ankle, Jason began to speak: "At first, we just wanted to investigate. I and a friend of mine found a job selling cigarettes on Green Street. It was going smoothly at first, we got in touch with the little boss in charge of this block and his superiors, who act like 'mom and dad' for these kids..."
"That man is known as 'limping dad' by the local kids, he lives in a shack at the end of the first alley. As you know, I am pretty agile so at night, I would sneak onto his roof and eavesdrop on his conversations…"
"That time, it seemed like his superior came over, I heard them mention Big Boss. They said something about the Twelve Families facing some tension... then they talked about the Big Boss asking them to speed up fund collection, stuff like that…"
"But, 'limping dad's' superior was too vigilant. I only shifted slightly and he noticed there was someone on the roof. I had to run immediately, but that superior was a formal Mob member, who had bodyguards and shotguns. Fortunately, I am a small target, so they didn't hit me…"
Little Sly continued, "Initially, I was just stationed at the street corner as his backup, but those guys wouldn't stop the chase. The two of us could only run into the alley, thankfully there was an abandoned wine cellar here, otherwise they would have quickly caught up with us."
Jason mentioned a bit sullenly, "When I jumped down, I didn't notice the wooden boards and other objects below, otherwise I wouldn't have been injured so easily."
As Batman was setting his leg with a splint, Jason bit his own fist to keep from crying out. Batman glanced at him and said, "You've done well enough. We're going up now, and you should keep away from here for a while."
Jason attempted to stand with Little Sly's help, but Batman abruptly picked him up. Jason struggled, saying, "Put me down! Damn it!"
But his foot was swollen and painful, moving his leg made his ankle hurt. He cried out in pain but then bit his fist and kept quiet.
After reaching the surface, Batman asked them, "Did the people chasing you get a good look at your faces?"
"I'm not sure, but they had flashlights, so they probably saw Jason." replied Little Sly.
Batman carried Jason to the car, placed him in the back seat, and said, "You guys go hide out at my base for a few days, everything you need is there."
With that, he started the car, ignoring Jason's protests, and took Jason and Little Sly to a temporary hideout in the suburbs.
Batman's base of operations was equipped with everything, leaving the two kids amazed, especially Jason.
Initially, he was somewhat resistant to being carried like a child by Batman, but when he saw all the advanced equipment and ample supplies, his eyes widened. He quickly changed his reluctant attitude, excitedly touching and exploring everything.
However, Little Sly turned to Batman and asked, "Did our information prove useful?"
Batman nodded, saying, "At the very least, I now know that Big Boss isn't just some street thug, he's tied up with the Twelve Families and may even be a member of one of them."
"And just recently, high-ranking members of the Lawrence and Hawk Families within the Twelve Families were separately murdered..."
"In addition, as Jason claimed, he overheard that superior urging them to quickly collect funds for the Big Boss. The Big Boss might just know something…"
With this, Batman warned the boys, "Stay put for a few days, it may get very dangerous outside."
Having taken care of Jason and Little Sly, Batman returned to Wayne Manor unable to rest. He took out the Bible and the Gospel and started to look for stories related to the Twelve disciples.
If the tales of Jesus Christ and his Twelve Disciples are somewhat unknown, then the relationship between Jesus and Judas was household knowledge, and Judas was one of Jesus' disciples.
Reading until late into the night, Batman memorized all the information before dragging his exhausted body to bed.
After what seemed like ages in the dark, when he next opened his eyes, he found himself at the entrance of Wayne Manor again, with four familiar figures standing at the end of the alleyway outside the door.