在一个宽阔而光线昏暗的房间里,石墙上覆盖着潮湿的水滴.数以百计的蜡烛被固定在墙上,在地板上形成散落的阴影.
一张大会议桌被放置在房间的中央.此刻,几个蒙面人坐在圆桌的两侧,看着屏幕.
这是猫头鹰法庭的会议室.
猫头鹰法庭是DC漫画中的一个神秘组织.自成立以来,它就活跃在哥谭市.在一些漫画中,它被描述为一个由哥谭的创始人或其后代维护的组织,作为这座城市的黑暗之王统治着.
当然,还有许多其他漫画版本为这个组织设计了更多的阴谋论.例如,哥谭市的猫头鹰法庭实际上是全球猫头鹰法庭的一部分,这是一个由黑暗之神巴巴托斯指挥的组织.
但无论如何,这个组织在哥谭市存在了很长时间,并秘密操纵着这座城市.
猫头鹰法庭的成员只是为了与哥谭市有关的阴谋计划而聚集在一起,这次也不例外.
然而,现在情况发生了变化.当他们看到一个巨大的黑色怪物从利爪带的监控设备中跳出来时,整个故事的性质完全改变了.
这种变化的速度和影响超出了任何人的预期.
在哥谭市发生变化的时期,猫头鹰法庭并非完全不知道.然而,问题在于,任何议会组织在决定某事时都需要经过一系列的讨论和成员投票.猫头鹰法庭也不例外.为了应对哥谭市最近的变化,他们需要调查,收集证据,分析,然后投票.
是的,这个该死的邪恶组织也是该死的一丝不苟.他们处理案件的效率超过了哥谭市警察局.
但不管怎样,经过一段时间的回应,猫头鹰法庭终于从各种线索中找到了哥谭变化的幕后主谋.
猫头鹰法庭实际上并不关心哥谭的这些变化.因为这个城市实际上并没有朝着更好的方向发展,没有人愿意从根源上拯救这个城市.相反,它为这座城市带来了巨大的利益,这与猫头鹰法院的利益是一致的.
他们无法接受的是,有人可以在比他们更准确地操纵和影响这个在更黑暗的地方操纵和影响这座城市的人.一旦这样的人出现,猫头鹰法庭必须消灭他们.
因此,Talon将目光投向了自己的目标,看似普通的大学教授席勒·罗德里格斯.
本来,一切都很顺利.猫头鹰法庭相信他们仍然会像以前一样窒息一个又一个对手.但从那个黑色怪物的外表开始,一切都变了.
It isn't surprising for the Court of Owls to install monitoring devices on Talon. They are a conspiracy organization monitoring the entire city. But they never expect, the following scene will shatter everyone's worldview and fundamentally change the purpose of this meeting.
At this moment, Schiller is still entangled with the Venom Bat and finds it quite tricky. The battle between symbiotes is not like the giant monster brawls he has seen in movies.
As sentient organisms, their battles occur on a microscopic level, where they devour each other's symbiote factors. It is like shifting from a one-on-one duel to a legion-sized war.
Schiller isn't unfamiliar with this type of battle, but he is facing a mad Dark Bat. The Venom Bat doesn't care how many symbiote factors it will lose, it just launches a frenzied attack, trying to bite off more from the Grey Mist.
There is no talking tactics with such a crazed enemy, and defense only results in more losses. So Schiller has no choice but to launch a frenzied assault as well. The two symbiotes fearlessly devour each other.
The battle has no flashes of fire or sound; everything seems enveloped in a mysterious and silent atmosphere. Tangible things begin to gradually become intangible through the frenzied devouring. The pull of slime and mist makes it appear as if light and shadow are engaged in a conflict. And beneath the silent surface, there are screams, chaos, and an insane battle that ordinary people can't see directly.
And the Court of Owls is no ordinary group. They indeed possess certain dark powers that ordinary people do not have.
Therefore, when faced with this silent yet tumultuous battle, the Court of Owls, who have never met symbiotes like these creatures, can only interpret it within their own worldview as a manifestation of a higher level of mysticism.
This battle happening on an invisible level makes it easier for them to associate it with the source of some dark powers. Unlike ordinary people, the Court of Owls is aware that the world is not as simple and peaceful as it seems. They know ,there are greater and darker forces peering at everything in the universe.
The Venom Bat and the Mist Schiller's forms are easily reminiscent of extradimensional gods.
The colossal black bat, emanating terrifying dark power, can be seen even through the screen, its immense darkness pouring out from Batman's dark side. A mere glance at it would make one feel choked, suffocated, and fearful.
As for Schiller, the sun rising from the gray mist appears like a devouring black hole. The strange and peculiar patterns add a sense of solemnity that is full of religious rituals and an inexplicable mythical aura,which is difficult not to associate it with something
The infinite potential displayed by the symbiotes makes the transformations of these two individuals seem far from impulsive.
In fact, the Court of Owls' judgment is not wrong. The symbiote race itself originates from a cosmic god, and the two currently fighting are exceptional individuals within the symbiote race.
If possible, allow Schiller to enthusiastically introduce a special avid netizen to the Court of Owls:
The oldest existence of the Seventh Universe, the Cosmic Satan, Lord of the Abyss, the Black-Cloaked Emperor, wielder of the All-Black The Necrosword, the Becapitator of the Celestial, the stepfather of Gore, the God of Thunder's best friend, the Headache Inducer for Thanos, the ultimate nightmare of the Three Great Universal Empires--the Father of Symbiotes, Knull.
Alright, although the story about Knull mentioned earlier may sound a bit exaggerated, in reality, this god who forged the All Black Necrosword ranks quite high among the gods in the Marvel Universe and has an impressive record. Although his special descendants cannot be considered independent cosmic gods, they are still close relatives.
You know, in this era, most well-known villains haven't fully debut, let alone gods from beyond Earth's levels. But the battle between these two individuals, as if it suddenly skipped numerous levels of power, transforms the level of the fight from street fights to cosmic-level events.
Could the Court of Owls not be shocked by this?
As a result, the theme of this meeting changes from whether or not to interfere with Gotham to whether or not to evacuate from Gotham.
After all, they are completely unaware of these changes, and they don't even know why the Batman they closely monitor suddenly transforms like this. They also don't know what the outcome of this battle will be. Will Gotham be destroyed? Will the entire Earth be destroyed?
But at least, they have determined one thing. Before figuring out why Batman and this professor suddenly transform from ordinary people living on the surface to cosmic-level beings, it would be best not to take any big actions.
Moreover, what worries them even more is the suddenness of these individuals' transformations. There are no signs whatsoever. The Court of Owls has not discovered any mysterious forces infiltrating the city.
If these gods are organized and have infected many people in Gotham, who knows how many such people there would be in the city?
In case they send their Talons to kill their enemies, chop one and one change, chop one and one change. By the time they're done, Gotham will be filled with cosmic gods. Then what use would the Court of Owls have!
If every citizen in Gotham has this level of power, the Court of Owls wouldn't even have a chance to run home and cry to Barbatos.
Schiller originally brought the Venom to DC because he has seen in the comics how Venom fills the aging skeletal and nervous systems of his host, Eddie. He thinks perhaps the Venom can treat Mr. Freeze's wife in the same way. But before he can do that, Venom runs off and attaches itself to Batman.
Batman is not something just anyone can control. A sneaky outsider like you from Marvel, come to Gotham begging for scraps?
As he ponders this, Schiller notices that the attacks from the other side seem to weaken. The gray mist once again bypasses a building. Schiller straightens himself, standing on the edge of the highest point of the building, and looks down.
The black bat composed of slime suddenly begins to fly crookedly, as if it is fighting against itself, being influenced by an invisible force.
In the mind of the black bat, another battle grows even more intense.
Waves after waves of black torrents flood, and Bruce's own consciousness feels like a lone boat in a storm, teetering on the edge.
Even Bruce himself has never imagined that his own dark side could be so terrifying.
And joining him in battling their enemy is the pitiful consciousness of Venom. He still can't figure out why he has screwed up again.
After barely withstanding another wave of dark energy, Bruce yells to Venom, "You say you are alien, right?!! Why is the will of you alien so fragile?!!!"
Venom is almost furious, Is it its will weak?!!! Why are you humans crazy about creating so many storms in your minds?
Living on the edge of consciousness, huh??
Venom feels really wronged. The first host it encounters is Deadpool.
Deadpool's mind is like it has been stirred with a thousand egg beaters. Everything can recover on him except his brain.
Venom feels like doing butterfly strokes in a shitpool. Deadpool's mind isn't so dangerous , but it is disgusting,very disgusting.
Venom is driven a little crazy by him. After finally spending some time in the body of an ordinary person, he can't resist the temptation and ends up in Stark's body.
Although Stark's mind isn't as chaotic anymore, that damn messy brain experiences thunderstorms, tornadoes, and sandstorms over three thousand times a day. The continuous onslaught of tornadoes and sandstorms relentlessly ravage, almost blowing Venom's head wide open.
Venom feels a wave of relief when he escapes from Stark's body. It is as if he has escaped from death.
Later, when he manages to escape from the bottle unit after starving for a long time, Venom is happy. Because as soon as he enters Bruce's body, he discovers his host seems to be a wealthy man with a functioning brain, and it doesn't spin as fast as Stark's. Instead, it is filled with irrelevant data about hospital beds and prison cells.
Venom, who yearns for a happy life, thinks he has happily entered an egg. Just as he is salivating over the yolk, the egg cracks open and hatches a tyrannosaurus rex. Venom's head is almost bitten off.
From his genetic information, Venom knows there are more than just humans in this vast universe. Why is he so unlucky? How does he end up on Earth?
How can you humans be so unreasonable!! If one day he can create a genetic library for symbiotes, he will definitely warn all his kind: stay away from humans, safety first. Choosing the host improperly, leading tears for the symbiote.
But despite feeling aggrieved and complaining, they still have a battle to fight. Venom suggests to Bruce, "I can stimulate your emotions. You have to have an extreme emotion right now in order to suppress these dark feelings."
Thanks to Stark, Venom's logical system comes from this genius cursed by knowledge. His thinking is very clear now, even clearer than Bruce's. After all, Bruce is blinded by his own situation, but Venom is aware to defeat the dark emotions from the dark side, Bruce has to evoke enough positive emotions.
"So why are you still standing there? Let's get started," Bruce yells.
"The problem is I can't find your positive emotions!!!" Venom shouts,"You've hidden them somewhere?! Hurry up and bring them out!!! It's our lifeline!!!"
Venom stumbles after being hit by another wave of darkness. He yells with a hint of despair, "Why you hide them!! You foolish human!!!"
Bruce opens his mouth. He doesn't know how to answer Venom's question. It sounds absurd, but even an alien with the ability to read minds can't find his positive emotions.
"You have to hurry up!" Venom's tone now sounds like Stark, obviously influenced by the genius.
"In your dark emotions, it seems there is some other power. Once it fully erupts, your home, the city we are in right now, will be completely destroyed! Nothing will be left!"
Bruce presses his lips together, managing to evade the attack from the dark consciousness once again.
Destroy Gotham? It may sound crazy, but it also makes sense. This crazy city should have been destroyed a long time ago. What is there to hold onto here?
In his mind, Alfred's face appears. He remembers the expression of the butler sitting by the sickbed. He also remembers Alfred humming those joyful tunes while wiping off the old phone in the pitch-black living room.
It doesn't come as a surprise to Bruce. If there is one person he still has some attachment to in this city, it would definitely be his butler, Alfred. If there is one place that makes him feel attached, it is Wayne Manor with Alfred.
Soon, his memories start to blur, as if he has returned to Wayne Manor. He pushes open a door, just like any common morning.
But to his surprise, behind this door is Gotham's dark rainy alley. The first time,detective Gordon calls him the man in the tight. They work together, investigating and tracking. Then, the detective in a trench coat and the Batman in a cape, they chat about justice and the future of this city on the rooftop of Gotham's police headquarters.
As the night grows late, Batman turns and leaves. When he returns to the manor, in the dim candlelight, an old friend is waiting for him. Batman and Harvey sit on the couch, discussing many things, as if there are endless topics, conveying wisdom like a mentor and student. Bruce is starting to feel a bit fuzzy about the truths he speaks, but the telepathy between them remains crystal clear.
Soon, he finds himself traversing the lights of the towering buildings of Gotham, embracing Catwoman, falling into a romantic dream.
Those fluttering canopy curtains, the spilled wine glasses, the scattered liquid, each gentle and wild night, the passionate lover who gives a cold Batman fiery kisses, sharing stories of jewels and castles that Batman will never be interested in. In his memory, he listens attentively. But in his eyes, the eyes of Catwoman shine brighter than any gem she ever describes.
The sound of the pen scratching on the paper fills the air, and Bruce feels like he is back in exam. He watches his classmates scratching their heads in the classroom, some feeling surprised, and others feeling helpless.
Then, he paints murals with those guys, watching the dark paint flow down the walls, spontaneously forming intricate patterns he has never seen before, like the door of a time machine.
He passes through that door, and time rapidly travels forward. Memories in his dream-like memory slowly advance to the present, then start to rapidly retreat, with everyone and everything returning to their original positions, until he arrives at the place where the black sun rises. He hears a familiar voice greet to him, "Welcome to Gotham."
Venom watches as the consciousness space begins to tremble, and strong light radiates from the shattered cracks. He curses under his breath and quickly begins to connect the fragmented positive emotions within Bruce's mind, trying to guide these shattered positive emotions to converge.
Gradually, a glimmer of light rises, gathering into a brighter sphere.
The counterattack of the dark energy becomes even more intense, like black ink engulfing the entire world. A black ocean begins to spread within the consciousness space, with surging waves overwhelming the sky.
Bruce, who has detached from the memory space, floats above the black tide. Through the layers of black waves, he sees a curled-up little boy lying at the deepest part of the black ocean. That is him, Bruce Wayne.
Soon, Schiller sees the giant bat made of slime crash down to the ground. The slime starts to retract slowly, until it is completely sucked back into Bruce's body.
Schiller jumps off the rooftop and stands in front of Bruce. Bruce climbs up from the ground, or rather, it is Venom controlling his body now.
"How did you escape?"
"You should ask the woman who sneaked into your home and stole that jar."
The woman who stole the jar? Schiller thinks, there is only one female thief in all of Gotham capable of that. Could it be Catwoman?
"I shouldn't have believed Stark's nonsense." Schiller sighs, "He told me his symbiote needed to live in a mansion worthy of the world's richest man. So, he made a diamond jar with his strange device, guaranteeing me that it was both aesthetically pleasing and practical."
"Well, I should thank him later."
In an instant, the black slime erupts once again. This time, Venom reverts to its original form, with a gaping mouth full of sharp teeth and a bright red tongue.
"How did you go to Batman?"
"Don't you think human's communicating is too slow? Don't waste my time," Venom says.
"Your tone reminds me of an annoying bastard."
Venom shoots out a tentacle of slime, and the mist slowly dissipates into a fog. As soon as the symbiotic factor makes contact, countless pieces of information are exchanged.
In his mind, the fog says to Schiller, "...a woman with cat ears... like that car... the necessary process of human reproduction... not allowed to see... he couldn't figure it out either..."
"Alright, I understand..." Schiller covers his forehead; he knows what is going on. He continues, "You don't have to tell me the details. Bruce deserves it."
Then Venom grins, showing his big mouth full of teeth, and laughs, "You'll never catch me again! Hahahaha! I am free now!! I will eat everyone's brains here!! I-"
"I've mentioned,before you consider eating, you might have some trouble to deal with..."
Venom is about to reply, but suddenly feels his consciousness being suppressed once again. Defiantly, he roars, "No! Damn humans! You messy!!"
But in the end, the slime retreats back into his body. Bruce shakes his head and says, "Did it work? What happened?"
"You should ask the glutton in your body."
"I'm not talking about that. He already told me who he is and what he wants to do. I'm talking about..." Bruce painfully covers his head, "Why did I lose control? What are those terrifying negative emotions? Where do those dark feelings come from?"
"It seems you've discovered it." Schiller utters, "The darkness hidden within your body is extremely terrifying. Although it has never lost control before, once it does, it can destroy everything."
"What is it ?"
"It's Batman, you don't know?" Schiller questions.
"Batman? But who am I? No... it can't be!" Bruce covers his eyes and crouches down, half-kneeling on the ground, appearing very anguished. He murmurs, "It can't be... I am Batman... I am Batman..."
"You think you become a different version of yourself. But in reality, it's just an illusion."
Schiller's thoughts begin to drift away. He gradually recalls the Batman he knows from those comics, and his voice becomes increasingly ethereal. He claims, "Batman? You are different from him, indeed. He doesn't simply pursue darkness."
"He is the epitome of darkness, as well as the epitome of light. He wields the extreme darkness to rule over this irredeemable city, and then uses the light to prevent the destruction that the extreme darkness may bring."
It sounds more like a sigh from Schiller. Bruce's voice is weary as he says, "I thought I don't need any of those. I am the avenger of the night. I don't need any useless emotions that might shake my beliefs. I am not that funny Bruce, the helpless, incapable of saving or changing anything, little Bruce..."
It is the first time Schiller hears such noticeable tremor in his tone. Bruce's voice almost trembles to the point of being unable to finish the last complete word. Or perhaps, he doesn't want to say it.
It is the first time he speaks about the thing he has been avoiding—the night, the two gunshots, the two people lying in a pool of blood, and the weak little boy named Bruce Wayne.
He thinks that little Bruce is buried forever that night.
So when he realizes he is still like that little boy, holding onto the joyous and useless memories of that night's movie in this world, it feels like all the hatred and revenge-driven efforts of these years are nothing but self-deceptive escapism.
Confronting the boy who loses his parents brings more intense emotional fluctuations to Schiller than facing Batman. He no longer gives advice like an impartial observer; this time, he genuinely advises as a mentor, saying, "...Even in Gotham, there has sun."
Bruce's throat moves. He takes a deep breath, as if suddenly infused with vitality. He stands up, trembling slightly. The cold wind of Gotham night blows against his Bat-suit, causing an imperceptible shudder.
Limping, he slowly walks to the edge of the rooftop.
Standing there, he sees a glimmer on the skyline of Gotham City. A thin golden line, like a divine creation, slices through the dense darkness.
Bruce has never seen Gotham's sunrise before.
He suddenly realizes, even in such a dark and gloomy city, at the moment when the sun rises, that light breaking through the darkness is still a brilliant radiance he has never witnessed.
The darker it is, the more thrilling the light appears.
Bruce closes his eyes. He slowly curls the fingers of one hand, as if holding onto that light which kills the darkness.
Soon, Bruce takes a deep breath and opens his eyes. He holds the brilliance of the sun within his eyes. The arc of light on the horizon leaves a dazzling golden mark in his pupils.
No one knows, he briefly sees the little boy lying beneath the black tide in his realm of consciousness. It is only at that moment, seeing him, that Bruce understands he has always treated those joyous memories as the reward for his painful existence. And thus, whenever he obtains a moment of happiness, he always tries to repay it with tenfold pain.
He is so desperately avoiding these memories of joy, just as instinctively as avoiding pain.
He wants to be Batman, and what he has to accept is not just the pain and darkness. He also has to accept that he has always been that little boy. He has always looked forward to that movie and yearned for that light.
Just like that night many years ago, without expectations for the light, he would never have the desire to immerse in darkness.
"Who am I?"
He whispers softly, "Who am I?"
The dawning light won't answer him, but he already has an answer in his heart, announcing, "I am Bruce Wayne..."
"I am Batman..."
His tone becomes calm, "...I am Batman."
A solemn and heavy vow lands in his heart like a weighty stone monument, standing firm against the onslaught of the black tide.
From this day forward, there will only be one Batman in this dark city, Bruce Wayne, as well as the Batman.
From this day forward, he will bear the authority of darkness from this insane city, then wield the blade of dawn-like brightness.
He will stand above the living hell. The cold wind can't penetrate his armor, and the flames can't melt his heart.
He will defy all rules, fearless of any guilt. With dawn as the boundary, with aurora as the horn, he stands in the darkness, with his heart directed towards the lightness, forever towards the lightness.
Bruce thinks, he will be Gotham's dawn.
He will be—the Batman.