What bad thoughts can Batman have?

Chapter 976: Turn the Laughing Bat back to his pre-laughing form.
I am Batman, and my name is Chen Tao.

No one understands the true value of The Bat Who Laughs better than I do.

No matter how you look at it, Perpetua should be the biggest threat to the DC multiverse, and Batman Dragon, who is now being driven to the brink by Perpetua, should always prioritize defeating Perpetua.

The laughing bat thinks it knows me very well.

Yes, that's right. Creating a portrait of a person based on their past actions is a common and accurate method.

If you were to create a portrait of me through my past, just like the Batman Who Laughs, you would realize that in your portrait, Batman Dragon is an extreme character who has never known what compromise is.

When faced with problems, he might even subconsciously choose to use methods that could pose future risks to himself in order to practice and anchor his so-called heroic principles. In the end, he might even create a bigger mess to resolve the crisis he is currently facing, only to fall into even greater danger and end up exhausted and like a stray dog.

Once you've created this observational model of Batman Dragon, it becomes clear how to deal with him.

All you need to do is give him a seemingly great possibility, an option that might leave a tiny bit of hidden danger in the future, but can bring huge benefits in the present. I guarantee that Batman Dragon will take the bait. When he created something as big as Earth-15, didn't he realize what serious consequences Earth-15 would cause?
He had already anticipated this, but he still did it without hesitation, because if he hadn't done it, his home in the Dark Multiverse would have been destroyed by the mortal Möbius. So he acted without hesitation.

In his view, it is perfectly acceptable to give up a smaller threat in order to overcome a larger one.

And now it's the same. Without the Batman Who Laughs' help, Papetua would most likely win. Just based on that, the Batman Who Laughs is certain that Batman Dragon will cooperate with him.

But the Batman Who Laughs has always been wrong about one thing: I am Batman Dragon, but I am also Chen Tao.

His portrait of me is indeed incredibly accurate, but is it possible that, compared to you, the Bat Who Laughs, Perpetua is the smaller threat?
To be honest, the Batman Who Laughs has absolutely no idea how terrifying he is; his danger is practically meme-worthy.

Strictly speaking, after I transmigrated here, I wanted to kill the Batman Who Laughs countless times. I wanted to kill him whenever I had the chance, but now the Batman Who Laughs is still alive and well. Not only has he not stopped causing trouble, but he has also become stronger and stronger.

From being merely a leader of the Dark Knights under Barbatos with no superpowers to later gaining the power of Mandrak's Lair without any apparent threat, and then joining the Void Hand and gaining its power, I was getting stronger while the Bat Who Laughs was getting stronger in tandem, not even slower.

From the day I first transformed into the Batmobile after defeating the Ventriloquist, and from the moment I felt my hands and feet turn into wheels and shatter the glass of a building, I had a vague feeling that climbing would become an instinct etched into my very being. But I was too young then, and I thought I could defy the guidance of fate and the drive of instinct...

I thought Fiji wouldn't fall apart before my eyes.

Over time, I have become increasingly terrifying and inhuman.

Bane used to be able to keep up with me, and Clark Kent, the Superman of my universe, used to be able to keep up with me, but now, Bane has vanished into dust along with my universe, along with my Lex Luthor, my Justice League, my Alfred…

If I could reverse the history of Papetua's arrival in the DC multiverse reality, we would be able to bring them back, but even I cannot deny that they are no longer present in the DC multiverse reality at this moment.

And why are you, the Laughing Bat, always so confident? From the first day I saw you, you have never left my sight. You have always been so terrifying, so dangerous. No matter how strange I become, you can always threaten me, always make me fearful, trembling with anxiety in vain.

I'm so tired. No matter what enemy I face, I have to be wary of the Batman Who Laughs lurking nearby, shooting piercing arrows at me. Although I can drive the Batman Who Laughs to the brink of defeat time and time again, it seems that the Batman Who Laughs has never had the word "complete defeat" in his dictionary. He always comes back again and again.

Even at the height of my confrontation with Papetua, he would still interfere and carry out his plans.

I've always known the ultimate goal of the Batman Who Laughs, but I don't know how it achieves it, and that's what worries me the most.

But look at me, I not only know what the ultimate goal is, but I also know how terrifying the maniacal laughter will be after that ultimate goal is achieved.

The deeper level of fear lies in this: if I hadn't traveled through time, the Earth-15 incident would never have happened in the DC multiverse. My Dark Multiverse might have been like countless other parallel Dark Multiverses, directly controlled by the Anti-Monitor and devoured by the mortal Möbius like potato chips.

Then, the Anti-Monitor Batman, whether eaten by Barbatos or killed, will never appear before the heroes of the main universe. The Anti-Monitor's plan to use the Multiverse Fusion to resurrect himself will be successfully thwarted by P-Superman and Parallax Morhal. Then history proceeds smoothly until the Batman Who Laughs is forced into the End of the Universe and dies a gruesome death.

All of this will happen normally, as long as...

As long as I do not exist in the DC multiverse.

But I exist.

I orchestrated Earth-15, severely damaging the DC multiverse. Now, I've almost crippled the Justice League in the main universe. They should have stood up against Perpetua as they did in the original timeline and ultimately defeated the Mother of the Multiverse. But now they've all lost the protection of the DC multiverse's destiny—how could the Justice League lose? How could they possibly lose?

But they lost in a muddle, becoming the ones I needed to rescue, rather than the ones who sheltered me.

Then I realized the reason.

The DC multiverse has no power.

His power was used to repair the Earth-15 vulnerability I created. I opened a bloody hole in the heart of the DC multiverse, forcing the DC multiverse to devote more power to preventing itself from bleeding to death. It's all my fault.

I must fix this loophole, but first, I need to deal with the Laughing Bat.

I want to ensure that the other party can no longer follow me like a tiger lurking in the jungle, no longer be able to attack me at any time and place as before, and no longer constantly switch sides to create trouble and threats for me.

As a certain bald man once said, "To fight external enemies, one must first secure internal stability." If I have to constantly guard against the Laughing Bat, I will not be able to properly deal with Papetua.

But dealing with the Laughing Bat is no easy task.

A simple truth: The Bat Who Laughs is virtually invincible.

Literally speaking, even though I've read the comics, the exact amount of knowledge the Batman Who Laughs actually possesses remains a mystery to me.

If I have no idea what the Batman Who Laughs is capable of, then whatever plans I make against him will ultimately be within his plans.

Not only that, but the Batman Who Laughs might even say after he's eaten my bait, "I knew Batman Dragon would use this method to ambush me. To prevent him from doing so, I actually took precautions in advance... I can do this and that and that... Ta-da! Look, Batman Dragon's sneak attack on me has been dealt with! Not only that, I also ate the bait that Batman Dragon threw at me. A great success!"

Ordinary anglers have no chance against someone like the Laughing One; all their bait is like throwing good money after bad.

No one can defeat the Maniacal Laughter, not even me, unless someone can gather the entire DC multiverse like a future Wonder Woman and then generate the power of connection from within everyone's hearts...

Good heavens! I thought that five-dimensional magic, which requires neither incantations nor hand gestures and can modify reality simply by willpower, was already an abstract concept. But Wonder Woman's abstract power acquisition method of directly transforming through idealism is comparable to Superman's three-generation punch that shattered the baby's multiverse.

It's obvious that I can't possibly acquire the power to confront the Batman Who Laughs head-on like Wonder Woman does...

So, this is the plan.

I will do anything to complete this plan, even if it means sacrificing the Batman Who Laughs for a single finger of the Mother of the Multiverse.

A plan that could truly bring down the Batman Who Laughs, if successful, would yield enough profits to completely offset the loss of his finger.

My dearest friend, you foolish tyrant.

Emperor Clown, my slave.

Both of them have very important characteristics.

First, the Foolish Owl has three personalities, which I only discovered after I captured him alive.

Second, the Emperor Clown secretly took control of the Fool of the World.

He thought I didn't know.

third.

The Bat Who Laughs is fleeing, overjoyed at having obtained what he desired. He has succeeded; he has obtained a finger of the Mother of the Multiverse. With this finger, he can quickly activate the Manhattan Bat and successfully divert Dr. Manhattan's power before Dr. Manhattan leaves the DC Multiverse.

In this process, Doctor Manhattan wouldn't even realize that the Batman Who Laughs has this confidence, because Batman Manhattan and Doctor Manhattan are completely of the same origin and nature. It can be said that Batman Manhattan is a part of Doctor Manhattan. How could a person doubt that a part of himself has stolen his power?
The Batman Who Laughs knows it's time for him to leave. In the future, whether Papetour takes power or Batman: Dragon triumphs, it will have nothing to do with the Batman Who Laughs now. He has already taken the biggest piece of meat for him. Now he just needs to hide himself and digest everything he has gained.

But at the same time, he suddenly felt that many personalities that did not belong to him had appeared in his mind.

Hehehehe...

The laughing bat, who was holding that finger, turned grim.

He looked at the clown that appeared before him; it wasn't a creature of reality, but purely a product of his imagination.

He lowered his head, looking at the finger he held in his palm. Batman Dragon had concealed the other's body and spirit within that finger, and when the Maniac Laugh grasped it, the finger acted like a syringe, injecting everything within into his body.

The laughing bat stopped.

Is this the backup plan that Batman Dragon made against him?
"Damn clown, where have you put me?" Then, amidst the maniacal laughter, another voice was heard.

No, it's not just the Joker, is it? Just how many people did Batman Dragon crammed into his head?

The Laughing Bat looked in the direction of the sound, turned around, and saw the Foolish Owl walking out from beside him with a look of utter bewilderment on his face.

Oh, two?
The Bat of Laughter fully felt the influence the other person had on his mind. This personality had completely taken over his body. How the hell was that possible...? Was it some kind of physical fusion that he hadn't even had time to react to?
If he simply removes the physical body, would he be able to dispel the influence of these two personalities...? No, that's not right. Even if he removes the physical body, these two personalities are already attached to his body. It really was Batman Dragon's doing. Only he could make things so troublesome and catch him off guard.

He felt his mind was a mess, but not too bad. Batman Dragon had given him a difficult challenge, but that was all. With time, he was fully capable of eradicating these chaotic personalities. The Foolish Owl, the Emperor Joker—they were nothing but dregs before him, the Batman Who Laughs. This was his mental world, and he would soon make these intruders realize what cruelty truly meant. He believed in himself… If Batman Dragon's role was only this, then it would be laughable.

Then, laughing silently, he saw that, like a set of nesting dolls, Night Owl and Joker emerged from behind Foolish Owl, the four personalities standing in front of him in a row, as ridiculous and absurd as Russian nesting dolls.

The Laughing Bat's attention was completely drawn to the four personalities.

This kept him completely unaware that deep within his own mind, as he confronted the four personalities, a tiny seed was sprouting, within which a Batman was being conceived.

A Batman, Bruce Wayne.

He is what the Batman Who Laughs was like before, the Batman who hadn't yet become the Batman Who Laughs and killed his own Bat-family, Bruce Wayne.

(End of this chapter)