Laughing American comics, I am becoming more and more like a clown

...until there was suddenly no sound from the other side.

"Hello? Honey? Can you hear me?"

There was no response, but the computer screen went black just as Madeline was about to switch the communication channel.

This was followed by a long-drawn voice with a hint of laughter.

"Relax, ma'am... There's no need to be alert. Our conversation won't be eavesdropped on by others. The signal from the Saint is also blocked."

"...Who are you?" Madeline had never heard such a tone before.

"Good question, who am I?" The voice fell silent for a moment, and its owner seemed to be thinking:

"Let me think about who my age should be...Tornai, Damian...a son of Bane, a son of Batman."

"Perhaps you would like to call me Joker's Dad?"

Madeline:?

"It seems you're reluctant..." the voice said with some regret, "But I only accept this one name. If you don't want to call me that... let's get to the point. Honestly, I'm really sad."

Madeline knew that he couldn't be the so-called "Joker's father", but this also reminded her of the "new clown" who shot the Angel of Death in the arm, and then she realized that this was the act of the resistance.

"What's the point? If you're trying to turn me against your will... don't bother. It's a waste of effort."

"I'm not here to do this kind of thing. How could I do something so tasteless? Perhaps you don't know my other nickname—'Friend of Women.'" The tone of his voice then became as if he were reading a pre-written manuscript:

"First of all, I am a man, but I suffer from gender identity disorder, so I think I am a woman, but I am also a transvestite and homosexual, so I dress as a man and fall in love with women..."

Madeline frowned as she listened to him ramble on with a lot of useless nonsense.

"To sum it up..." There was the sound of shuffling papers: "I am a friend of women."

Madeline couldn't help but be deeply puzzled: "Are you? Reading from a script?"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked that question, but I'm sorry to say: I'm not reading from a script. I'm ventriloquizing."

Madeline:?

She sat back in the angel chair with amusement: "If you want to make me laugh with these words, then you succeeded."

"I'm glad you smiled. You know, I was really sad when I saw your sad face just now."

Madeleine:…

"Why do you say that?" The voice was a little soft.

"Of course it's Paul, dear... As an aside, don't you think it's particularly like the husband is away from home and the lover is flirting with his wife?"

"A man who relies on venom injections for his strength has spent over twenty years chasing Batman's approval, repeatedly clashing with his wife who advises him... Madeline."

Empathy and pity: "I even feel sad for you."

Madeline wanted to shake her head, but she couldn't seem to say anything. Finally, she folded her hands in her lap and said, "I will not betray him."

"Betrayal? Madeline, this is not betrayal." A greasy voice said: "Mrs. Hollow would never call her relationship with her black neighbor a betrayal."

"It's called comfort...it's just a mistake every woman makes."

Madeline frowned, not feeling that this was relevant, and wanted to get angry, but she was obviously predicted to do so:

"I'm sorry, I was so rude." He changed into a polite manner: "I will not question your feelings for Paul, ma'am."

"What I mean is... this is not betrayal." He covered the crime with a high-sounding cloak like a devil:

"You are saving him, ma'am. Don't you also want to see Paul being dragged between Venom, Batman, and Gotham, and eventually becoming half-human, half-ghost?"

"I..." Madeline wanted to say something, but was interrupted. "I'm sorry, this conversation ends here... My husband is coming home, you should at least give me a chance to hide under the bed."

As the last tone faded, the signal recovered quickly and contact with Paul returned to normal.

"…What's wrong, dear?" Madeline asked.

"Nothing, I was just attacked, my helmet was hit, and my signal transmitter was jammed, but I'm fine now." Paul said:

"I'm on my way to the cathedral."

……

From a distance, Lucian began to pack up the sniper rifle and radio around him.

He said into the headset, "You're really good at writing scripts, Bruce. If you get into group film, you'll be the next Frank Capra."

(Director of "It Happened One Night," the first film to win the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Actress simultaneously)

"That's assuming you're bisexual," Bruce's voice came. "And I haven't written about black neighbors and female friends."

“Of course you haven’t written it… but you understand.” Lucian went on: “An actor immersed in something will always have moments of improvisation.”

"Including the 'Joker's Dad' at the beginning?"

"Of course! That was the moment when I was most emotional!"

……

It is neither difficult nor easy to persuade Madeleine to defect. This lady who has been with Paul for more than 30 years has witnessed almost everything he has experienced.

She loves her husband deeply...but this love is normal love, the love of ordinary people, so she will be angry because of Paul's paranoia and violence, and create a gap between them.

Perhaps Paul went a little crazy the moment he transformed from the Angel of Death into the Holy Bat... Only a madman can truly love a madman.

Madeline has long resented Paul's pursuit of Bruce's approval.

……

In our next conversation a few days later, Madeleine got right to the point:

"what should I do?"

Damian, who also heard it, raised his eyebrows, his expression mixed with surprise and contempt.

When the call was disconnected, Lucien looked at his strange expression and smiled, "This is love, kid."

Chapter 123

After inciting Madeline to rebel, the resistance army's actions proceeded in an orderly manner...

Lucian occasionally went to snipe the two leaders, but more often he followed Bruce and watched the League of Assassins research how to assemble and disassemble the bat suit.

"It uses a bionic exoskeleton structure with a built-in micro-hydraulic servo system, and is equipped with inertial sensors and pressure feedback modules at the joints," the researcher explained.

"The signal originates from the neurons in Batman's brain... and the transmission between the neurons and the device relies on a chip—located in the back of his head. Upon request, spare chips have been installed behind his ears, on the top of his skull, and on the back of his neck."

"There is one main chip and four backup chips. If the main chip loses contact, they will be activated in sequence to serve as the connection again."

Lucian asked: "How do you ensure the speed of signal transmission?"

"Often, the body reacts before the brain even reacts. This is commonly known as an instinctive reaction... How do you address this issue?" He flipped to the previous page of his notes. "Energy issues... Where does his energy come from?"

The experimenter took him to the front of the Bat Armor and said: "The signal transmission speed is easily damaged. Even if we make a breakthrough in this area, it won't solve the second problem you mentioned."

"So many parts of his body are nanocomputers, sensing external stimuli and independently counterattacking... and energy." He pointed to the liquid in the jar:

"This is a mixture of Lazarus, Titan Venom, and Electrum... These substances all retain enormous amounts of energy. Besides prolonging life and strengthening the human body, they can also be used as compressed energy."

……

The Assassin's League's proposal is very reliable, and it is the best way to restore Bruce's fighting ability.

Over time, the Batsuit has gone from bulky to lightweight, from fragile to sturdy, and from heavy to flexible.

Bruce no longer existed as a defenseless human pig. He gradually got used to this new body, especially after he had to kill part of his nerve tissue because of phantom limb pain and epilepsy.

"They told me that you need to undergo limb recovery training and have the little cuties on your body remember your fighting habits." Lucian looked at him impatiently and smiled:

"So we need to fight... Yes, it's a fight between the two of us. Even though my fighting ability is only half that of a claw, I'm still the best punching bag for each other, right?"

……

They are indeed the best punching bags for each other. After half a year, Bruce's combat ability and adaptability to armor have become almost the same, and Lucian's physical skills have also been upgraded from half a claw to one and a half claws under his careful teaching.

As for the rebels, with Madeline's help, their advantage gradually expanded and they became evenly matched with the cult.

----

Today's fight ended, and Lucien pushed open the door of his room in a panic - he was the one who was in a panic a few months ago.

Then he turned on the light, put the dinner he brought back on the counter, and lowered his head to change his shoes.

The incandescent light hit his back, casting a shadow on the ground.

……

He looked up thoughtfully, his eyes searching the room... and stopped at the dining table.

There was an extra plate there, similar to the ones used in ancient Western European courts, covered by a silver semicircular cover.

Someone came and prepared gifts for him.

……

Lucien seemed to sigh, put his shoes back in place and walked over.

But as the distance got closer, an anticipation as if the movie had finally begun emerged on his solemn face.

He saw a warm yellow sticky note stuck on the semicircular cover.

[I clearly didn't cause any trouble to anyone, but just because I was a minority, everyone could easily rape my life.]

(Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood)

"So the name of this dungeon is 'Rape'?"

"This doesn't sound good...it's easy to fail the review."

Lucien glanced at it, flipped it off, and then opened the lid... It was like some kind of dining ritual.

But unfortunately, there was only a low-quality mask inside.

The clown mask that can be bought for two dollars was presented to Lucien in the form of a meal.

He recognized it - the mask worn by the crowd when they rioted in the 2019 Joker.

The round eyes and cheap green hair appeared in front of him, which was funny, exaggerated and a little ridiculous.

Lucian's sharp comment: "Plagiarism!"