American comics: What kind of evil intentions could Batman have?

Chapter 44 The Penguin's Terrifying Night

Chapter 44 The Penguin's Terrifying Night

Penguin returned to his office.

His expensively styled hair and monocle were undamaged, except for some dust on his body and a few drops of blood on his face, which he quickly wiped away discreetly.

He slowly sat back down in his office chair.

His female secretary pushed open the door and hurried into the room. Her high heels immediately and discreetly stopped making any noise when they touched the floor.

She quietly walked behind the penguin and gently massaged his shoulders.

"So...the boss?"

She said, "What do clowns always...want to say to you?"

She wanted to say, "What do the clowns want you to do?" but her survival instinct quickly stopped her.

"Same as always, Maiev." Penguin rubbed his temples. "It's another game waiting for Batman to get involved. You know, the same old three things: hostages, bombs, which one to save?"

"An amusement park in the suburbs, or that Ace chemical plant, who knows, the Joker always buys up some obscure spot. I have to say, these are all pretty unoriginal. I bet there might be piranhas there, but this time the hostages might be a bit heavyweight."

The Penguin sighed, picked up the half-finished milk, and sipped: "Mayor Caro, you know. Just a few hours ago, I received intelligence that he was leading 2 National Guard troops with great fanfare. And then? He just lost control of his bladder and bowels right in front of me."

He said sarcastically, "Like a dog."

"But even if Carlo is a dog, he's still the mayor," Maiev said. "Batman's gotta be busy again."

The penguin remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

He cursed and swore, "That damn clown, every time he goes to someone's house, he finds an excuse to go on a killing spree!"

But the anger quickly vanished from the Penguin's face; the lives of his slain underlings were worthless to him as well.

他 说:

"Go and dispose of those useless corpses that the clown killed in the restaurant. Make sure the blood is wiped clean. I don't want any customers saying there's some red on the floor when the restaurant opens tomorrow."

"Yes."

The Penguin finally relaxed after his secretary left.

To make up for the fright he had today, he decided to eat another 5... no, 10 cookies.

But just as he stood up to look for cookies, the gentle expression vanished from his face.

The reason for its disappearance is:

Someone was breathing behind him.

It's simply taking in air and then exhaling it.

The penguin could even hear the hissing sound of air flowing around his ears.

The sudden threat made his heart skip a beat. He instinctively took a deep breath and then forgot that he was still drinking milk.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

He loudly sprayed milk from his nose, then abruptly stood up. He knew who was behind him—

In Gotham, only one person is capable of using this level of intimidation techniques with such skill.

The Penguin said, "Enough, Klein. Whatever you came here specifically to tell me, trying to scare me with your ghostly tricks won't change the outcome of our conversation."

"Well, well, well, after all these years, you're still so perceptive, Copperpart."

The penguin turned around, but there was no one behind him. He turned his head back to face the sky and saw a tall, thin man with a slender build, like a bamboo pole, suddenly appear in a chair in his office.

The penguin simply wiped the milk off, revealing a familiar expression.

"Klein, my old friend, I thought you were as devoted to the Joker as I saw you."

"This is only a temporary collaboration, Copperfield. I didn't know you'd developed a taste for empty talk."

"Ha, does the Joker know you abandoned him and came back alone?"

The scarecrow stared intently into the penguin's eyes.

"The Joker and I are just business partners, Copperfield. This fragile alliance can crumble at any moment if our interests don't align."

"Yes, you're right, I understand completely now."

Seeing that the Penguin's threat to him had dissipated, the Scarecrow got straight to the point, stating his purpose directly: "I'm here for Bane."

He said, "He's a pretty scary guy, and we can both tell that he's the mastermind behind everything that's been going on lately."

"I don't doubt that Batman can stop him, but I think this is a good time to put an end to everything—as long as we can unite all of Arkham."

It took the penguin a lot of effort to prevent milk from spraying out of his nostrils again because of this plan.

He replied dismissively, "As a friend, Klein, I believe that trying to intimidate any of our colleagues will only backfire."

"And it's already difficult enough to keep these lunatics from crossing the line, but you're adding fuel to the fire by leading them on a big heist?"

"So what happens then? We just stand by and watch Batman defeat Bane? And let Batman once again use all his power to control Gotham?"

The penguin clicked its tongue.

"Then you should do the job you've taken for yourself and stop everyone."

"Bane, Batman, and those disobedient colleagues, you can try to take them all down by yourself and fulfill your ambitions."

The penguin said:

"If all you want is a piece of land in Gotham, I can give you one anytime. But you want the Arkham people to listen to you? What do you plan to use to control them?"

The Penguin said, "Is it money, loyalty, or pity? Or is it the conviction to take or defend this city, to fight for it?"

The penguin shook his head.

"My ancestor Nathan Copperfield protected Gotham during the Civil War. A man like him, who has nothing compared to you, would never cry like a woman when fighting for his city."

"But unfortunately, such integrity only exists in books, while fleeing is the nature of the Arkham people. You're as utterly insane as the Joker, you idiot in your Halloween costume."

"External forces," the scarecrow, who had been silent until now, said. "External forces. Otherwise, why do you think I'd hang out with the clown?"

……

……

……

Chen Tao silently withdrew his attention from the Alfred Agreement.

The transformation abilities granted to him by the agreement do not need to be realized immediately; he has plenty of time to study them.

"We should go back now," he said to the crowd.

"..."

"So when did I become your subordinate?" Poison Ivy looked at the Ventriloquist, then at the Cheshire Cat, and then at the Deathshooer who was helping Harley Quinn up from the ground.

She kicked the other person away: "Get lost! Only I can help Harley!"

"That's why you came with us," Chen Tao said.

He then ignored everyone else and dialed Alfred's number.

Three minutes later, he and Alfred were seated together in the stealth aircraft.

"Alfred, get me in touch with Lucius," he said.

The sight of Bane's laughing gas and his twisted smile made Chen Tao realize the presence of someone—something he had previously envisioned… now needed to be put on the manufacturing agenda, along with the plan to continue recovering usable combat power.

He will have many things to do and many plans to move forward.

(End of this chapter)