In American comics, all your teammates are the main characters and bosses

Chapter 109 Master, Young Master.

Gordon's heart skipped a beat when he heard Bruce's question.

As the sheriff, Gordon is no longer a young man. He started as an ordinary police officer in Gotham City. Gordon and Batman are not only old partners, but also close friends. He is also one of the few people in Gotham who knows Batman's true identity.

As a thoughtful person, Gordon naturally knew about Bruce's life.

His parents passed away at a young age. Under the great blow, he simply completed part of his studies and embarked on a wandering journey.

Of course, as the richest man in Gotham, even if he is homeless, Bruce cannot struggle to survive like other homeless people, without clothes to wear and without food to eat. He will not shout "It's time for dinner, family!" to express his joy just because of a little charity from others.

On the contrary, Bruce's wandering is more like a kind of spiritual practice, but it is not for the grand proposition of seeking the meaning of life. At least, in Gordon's view, Bruce chooses to wander because of hatred or because he wants to save...

To avenge the Gotham that killed his parents, to save the child who grew up in fear and died in sorrow in the alley without the power to cry out.

And now, having witnessed with his own eyes who had turned the police station into what it is today, Gordon didn't even know how to tell Bruce the cruel truth.

Will the dead be resurrected? Or will they be cloned or something like that?
While Gordon was still hesitating, Bruce also noticed the change in Gordon's brow. As an old friend, Bruce knew Gordon very well, so he didn't think Gordon would become an accomplice to the crime.

Thinking about it, Bruce also said: "If it is inconvenient to say it, you can speak directly."

"…I'm just worried about you."

Gordon guessed what Bruce meant and took off his hat. Ignoring the raindrops falling from the sky, Gordon said with a complicated look, "I suspect the murderer is a clone."

"Clone?"

Hearing this, Bruce was also stunned, and then a hint of solemnity appeared in his eyes.

Cloning technology is delicate and dangerous. If you are not careful, the lack of genetic engineering will cause the clone to become a pure monster. But if it is just a monster, it obviously won't make Gordon so solemn. A bad premonition emerged in his heart, which made Bruce immediately start the microcomputer in the wristband. With a burst of red light scanning, after confirming that there is no danger here, Bruce also came to the box fully armed.

He opened the box and saw a familiar head of green curly hair. His eyes revealed a bit of solemnity as he took out the head. Without any surprise, it was the head of the Joker... He had just escaped from Arkham Asylum. During this time, Bruce had been looking for the Joker's traces to prevent the Joker's next terrible plan.

And now, the Joker's head appeared here. The fatal wound came from a gunshot wound on the forehead. It was not a regular military or hunting pistol, and the power was very small. It can be seen that the wound was caused by a close-range shooting, but even so, it only left a small hole.

This can also be seen from the remaining expression on the Joker's face. It is obvious that the Joker was in extreme excitement and joy before his death. Just like the victims who died from inhaling his "laughing gas", his face also has a smile that is completely solidified on his face and made up of rigid muscles.

What kind of fun did he see that made him so excited that he even... wanted to kill himself?
Bruce knew very well how insane the Joker's weapons were. It was no exaggeration to say that this madman's favorite and best thing was to transform entertaining things into deadly weapons, and transform deadly weapons into frightening toys, such as a pistol that shoots flags.

but now……

Is it a breech-loading rifle? But what kind of thing would make him insanely attack the enemy with a breech-loading rifle...

or.

Looking at the stiff smile on the Joker's face, Bruce's heart sank.

What kind of farce and crime made the clown willingly use his own life to open a corner of the curtain?
On the side, Gordon saw the Joker's head and realized the seriousness of the problem.

That woman came here and just used a small amount of laughing gas to disperse all the irrelevant people... Martha was crazy, but she didn't think she was crazy. So Martha was very rational and didn't do those crazy things, even if it seemed crazy enough to others.

The Gotham City police were also very tactful. As soon as they saw Martha's 'familiar' makeup formed by the corners of her mouth split due to her smile, they realized that they would be part of the PLAY between the Joker and Batman.

Under the influence of a trace of laughing gas, they scattered like birds and beasts. And Mrs. Joker? She even expressed her gratitude to Gordon.
But Gordon did not feel relaxed at all for Martha's gratitude to him as a mother. Instead, he was filled with unspeakable fear... This woman, this Joker lady, really regarded herself as Bruce's mother.

"It's Martha."

I thought it was just part of the Joker's prank, but now the Joker's head has appeared here. I realized that the problem might not just be a simple "Batman's parents cloning plan" or a "joke", but a more shocking crime hidden. Gordon said solemnly:
"The guy who came here is your mother...but I can't tell if that Martha is a clone, or...something else."

After hearing Gordon's words, Bruce's body tensed up even though he was mentally prepared. Noticing something, Bruce took out another note from the gift box containing the clown's head. Looking at the familiar kiss mark on it, Bruce suddenly realized that this was definitely not as simple as Gordon imagined.

Maybe I should find Barry and ask him carefully!

That's right, it's Barry! Bruce thought; when Barry found him and delivered an envelope from another universe, his attention was completely drawn to the envelope, and he ignored Barry's condition. Looking back carefully, although Barry concealed it very well, whether it was the micro-expression at the corner of his mouth or the look in his eyes, he revealed a subtle unnaturalness, as if he was hiding something.

Without any pause or hesitation, Bruce turned around and jumped directly from the upstairs to the Batplane patrolling in mid-air: "Wait for my news."

After leaving behind a few cold words, the micro fighter jet flew away into the distance with the roar of its engine.

Entering the Batcave directly through the hidden entrance, Bruce quickly reestablished the signal with the Batcave, and walked through the passage quickly with a look of shock and anger. After noticing the traces of fighting left inside the passage, Bruce's eyes narrowed slightly. But he did not stop. After confirming that there were no traps around, Bruce quickly entered the ground, intending to go to Wayne Manor to confirm something.

"For example, make sure your parents' graves are intact? Have they been robbed or secretly used to extract DNA?"

Bruce had just arrived at the lobby through the hidden elevator hidden in the fireplace, and before he could take two steps, Ron's voice, who was eager to watch the fun, came from the side.

Hearing the stranger's voice, Bruce dodged almost immediately by rolling over, then a few bat darts appeared in his hand, leaving a few dim arcs of light in the gloomy, unlit room and flying towards the direction of the voice.

It was impossible for such an attack to hurt Ron. Ron caught the dart and threw it into the Infinite City happily.

"Haha, a few more local specialties! By the way, how much is this dart worth? It can't be three houses thrown over here, right?"

"It's not that expensive." Hearing this, Derek and Barbara naturally didn't dare to say anything more, but Todd, who had long since drifted apart from Bruce due to differences in ideas, didn't have so many concerns.

Hearing Ron's curious voice, Todd said with a bored look on his face: "Although this thing is not cheap, it only costs about fifty dollars on average. Of course, fine-crafted darts with detonators or EMP bombs attached are relatively more expensive. They range from hundreds to tens of thousands." "Well, Prime Minister Zhuge would be so amused if he knew about this. He became financially independent with just a straw boat borrowing arrows."

After staring at Ron for a few seconds and sensing the inexplicable amusement in his eyes, Bruce turned his gaze to Todd.

Although he was wearing the Red Hood, perhaps because of Bruce's "patriarchal aura", the former second-generation Robin looked away after looking at Bruce for a moment as if surrendering. However, Todd's reaction made Bruce feel even more solemn.
Bruce had actually sensed that Todd did not agree with his ideas a long time ago. In the Batcave, in front of Barbara and Derek, the two had argued over the issue of methods.

In the end, nothing came of it. Even in such a situation, Todd would not compromise with his own ideals... and now, why, just by simply looking at each other, could Todd, the "Red Hood" who was willing to bleed and take lives to maintain peace, no longer look at him?

Or……

Don’t dare to look yourself in the eye again?

Then...

"Barry, why are you hiding there?"

In response, Barry, who was squatting in the corner with his back to Bruce, chuckled awkwardly twice, his eyes wandering, obviously feeling extremely guilty. But before Bruce could continue asking, Ron said, "Don't worry, dear... eh?"

Originally, Ron wanted to call Thomas "Little Bat" based on his familiarity with him, but when he saw Bruce's chin, which looked at least thirty years old, Ron thought about it and decided to change the name.

"Little Deng Bat."

Bruce: "..."

Facing Bruce's cold gaze, Ron looked completely indifferent. He wanted to make more jokes, but Alfred couldn't help but walked up to him and handed Ron a glass of champagne.

"Sir, the master has been waiting for a long time..."

Listening to Alfred's somewhat helpless words, Ron picked up his wine glass and gently clinked it with another champagne glass on the tray.

"You've been waiting for a long time, haven't you?"

Hearing this, Alfred's face was stunned for a moment, and then he revealed a helpless smile.

"It looks like I have to drink this glass of wine."

As he spoke, Alfred took the initiative to pick up the wine glass and gestured to Ron, then drank it all in one gulp.

"Thank you for your understanding."

"You're welcome. I'm also looking forward to the next scene."

Looking at Alfred, who was having a great time talking to Ron and seemed vaguely grateful to him, Bruce's eyes also revealed a hint of solemnity.

Bruce didn't think Alfred would betray him, just as he would never doubt Alfred's fatherly love and motherly support for him.

Therefore, Bruce did not say anything, but just silently paid attention to the details of the conversation between Ron and Alfred, and quietly waited for Alfred to tell him the reason for all this.

As Bruce expected, after Alfred finished his glass of wine, he excused himself to Ron and walked towards Bruce.

It was exactly as he had guessed, but Bruce still felt relieved when he saw Alfred walking towards him with a familiar attitude, but he didn't show it.

"Alfred, what on earth is going on here?"

Hearing Bruce's low voice, Alfred's eyes flickered slightly.

If it were in the past, Alfred would have told Bruce everything about the manor. Even if he had missed some details, Bruce would have been able to find something wrong. But this time, after a moment of silence, Alfred's brows showed a hint of helplessness.

"I'm sorry, Master. I'm afraid you'll have to solve this problem yourself this time."

Master?

Bruce was sharp and sensitive, and although it was just a brief sentence, he quickly extracted the most important message from it.

Young Master… This is how Alfred addressed Bruce when he was young. After Bruce became an adult, he never used this term again. Instead, he addressed himself as Master.

According to Alfred, "Master" is a title exclusively for the head of the family. As long as the head of the family is still alive, even if the eldest son is already old, he can only be called "Young Master".

And now... I have become a young master?

Thinking of this, for some reason, Bruce's heart skipped a beat.

Noticing the change in Bruce's expression, Alfred sighed and turned around and said, "Please follow me. There are some things that you may have to decide for yourself."

This is the only thing I can't offer any advice on...

Alfred told himself silently in his heart.

(End of this chapter)