Hearing the other party's voice, Barbara finally confirmed it.
That's right, that voice was that man!
A painful memory, too terrible to recall, instantly appeared in her mind.
It was the painful nightmare Barbara most wanted to forget.
Barbara was tied to a chair in a secret room, her head covered with a hood, her vision completely dark.
She cried out for help in despair, "Is anyone there? Please… please help me? Dad, are you here? I can't see anything, Dad?"
The fragments were fragmented and incomplete; these were scenes her subconscious wanted to forget, hence their broken state.
Next came the next fragment.
This time her subconscious no longer avoided it, and the memory gradually began to become clearer.
She was tied to a chair, her hood was ripped off, revealing her terrified face, covered in blood and wounds.
The one who ripped off the hood was a Joker with painted makeup on his face, his green hair like a dangerous chemical, exuding a sinister smell.
A purple long trench coat and pants, a green tie, dark leather shoes, paired with his pale face, made people feel uncomfortable just by looking at him.
Joker, with his hands behind his back, quietly leaned his head close to Barbara's ear, "Batman won't come to save you, Barbara. And your father, he's busy with official duties now, busy arresting the criminals who disturb this city, busy experiencing his most special day, he doesn't have time to save you!"
Barbara struggled in panic, telling Joker, and seemingly herself, "No, he will definitely come! My dad will definitely come to save me!"
Joker showed a sad but serious expression, "It's been over twelve hours, Barbara, my girl, it's time to face reality."
"Go to hell!"
Joker seemed very satisfied with Barbara's reaction, letting out a chilling laugh and patting her shoulder heavily, "That's the spirit, you're really like a little Bat, but that won't do you any good!"
"Who are you, what do you want to do? Why are you doing this to me? Why are you hurting me?"
Barbara struggled, but the ropes binding her didn't budge. She took a deep breath and asked Joker.
Joker chatted as if with an old friend, touching his pale cheek before reaching for Barbara's delicate shoulder, using her as a support for his body.
"Don't be afraid, I won't kill you, girl. Do you know?"
Joker gently wiped Barbara's lips.
"My mother always taught me not to forget to smile, to put on a happy face. She said my life's mission was to bring joy to everyone. So, I took a dagger and gently traced the corners of my mouth. I wanted that intense pain to cover that little bit of sadness, nothing more. Look, for happiness, I cast away sadness. So, my girl, why not open your mouth and be happy."
As he spoke, Joker pulled out a dagger and gestured with it near Barbara's mouth.
"Slowly cutting through the muscle, blood dripping out drop by drop, this red, it's so lovely!"
"Shh! Shh!"
Seeing Barbara struggle violently, Joker immediately pinched Barbara's lips, leaning his face close to hers as if observing her subtle expressions.
"Don't move, or the place where the crimson blood drips out drop by drop won't be your mouth, but your throat."
He moved the dagger in his left hand near Barbara's neck.
The dagger gently pierced her snow-white skin, and beads of blood slowly seeped out.
Barbara could feel Death approaching, and she breathed heavily.
"Don't get agitated, girl, I won't kill you, at least not yet. You are my partner now. Imagine, you and I, walking down the street, starting brawls, making the weak not fight back, we'd be like an unbreakable dynamic duo."
Joker licked his lips and added, "Just like Batman and his new sidekick. But you don't have to worry about your father, maybe after you're gone, your father will have another daughter. You know, men are always hypocritical, even though sometimes they pretend to be very loyal."
Barbara felt the breath of fear, tears welled up in her eyes, but she held them back from falling.
She looked at Joker, who had kidnapped her twelve hours ago, and asked, "What exactly do you want?"
"What do I want?"
Joker, who had walked to the window, heard Barbara's question, walked in front of her, and as if by magic, produced a pistol from his sleeve, half-squatted slightly, leaned forward, and made a aiming and shooting motion.
"It's simple, I just want to prove an obvious truth that everyone ignores. That is, after an ordinary person experiences the worst day, he will go completely insane."
"Madness is like gravity, just a little push, and everything will spiral into the worst possible situation. Batman doesn't believe this, and I need to prove it to him."
Joker pressed the pistol against Barbara's stomach, his lips splitting into a chilling smile.
"What could be more painful than for a father to see his daughter become disabled, suffering more than if she were dead?"
Joker stated his purpose—he hoped to use Barbara to strike at Gordon, to make him suffer and walk the path of madness.
"Wh-why?"
Barbara's eyes were filled with terror, and after the onset of her phobia, a painful numbness spread throughout her body.
She could barely breathe, and with all her strength, her voice trembling, she questioned Joker.
It was both a question and an expression of incomprehensible pain.
"Why? There's no reason for it. I swung the kitten and threw it at the puppy in the road. I only stopped when it was a bloody mess, bones flying, brains splattered. As for why I swung the kitten to kill the puppy, I can't give you an answer."
No sooner had he spoken than Joker pulled the trigger of the gun in his hand.
Poof!
The bullet immediately shot from the muzzle, passed through Barbara's stomach, and struck her spine.
Barbara immediately felt a sharp pain assault her.
This pain was like a branding iron, penetrating her flesh and blood.
The pain in her spine made her unable to support her upper body, causing the chair to tip backward.
"Ugh!"
With a muffled groan, Barbara painfully fell backward.
The tearing pain of the muscles after being shot immediately caused her to lose consciousness.
And the instigator of it all—Joker—showed no expression, merely standing up and glancing at his pistol.
"Sorry, I'm always like this, I like to do unpopular things in cruelty, but sometimes, cruelty is kindness."
He seemed to be speaking to his pistol, and yet also to Barbara.
After putting away the pistol, Joker took out a camera and began taking pictures of Barbara lying in a pool of blood.
"Click! Click!"
The camera's shutter clicked, and Joker, like an artist, took pictures of Barbara from various angles.
He especially focused on her wounds and exposed skin.
The memory faded.
Taking a deep breath, Barbara in reality pulled her thoughts back.
This memory was one she had always wanted to forget but could never quite erase.
Joker had injured her spine, taken indecent photos of her, and given them to her father.
He had also stripped her father naked, locked him in a dog cage, and used every means to force him into madness.
He wanted to prove to Batman that anyone who experienced an incredibly bad day would inevitably go down the path of madness.
But her father ultimately persevered; he foiled Joker's plot.
He didn't go mad and still held onto his bottom line.
And although she was rescued, because her spine was hit by a bullet, she would have to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair.
She still remembered the painful and guilty expression on her father's face when he picked her up.
She remembered the angry and guilty look in Batman's eyes when she grabbed his clothes in the hospital and questioned, "Why me? Why did fate choose me and not someone else?"
Now, receiving a call again from Joker, the one who had shattered her spine and put her in a wheelchair, Barbara's emotions became incredibly complex.
She feared him, but she also longed for revenge.
"I know what you're doing, Barbara, hiding in your little room, sitting in front of the monitor, watching two aliens fight, thinking about how you should help. Oh, poor sweetheart, you're such a vigilant and resourceful girl, but you can't do anything."
Joker's voice was full of mockery.
"What do you want?" Barbara asked, enunciating each word.
"Too much. You cannot warn anyone. If you don't obey, you will never be able to contact your mother again, and then you will spend a lot of time collecting pieces of your mother."
"Alright, Barbara, next, I want you to calm down and go make a sandwich in the kitchen!"
Barbara angrily said to Joker on the other end of the phone, "Are you kidding me?!"
"I need you to calm down, Barbara, I need you to focus, so we can talk."
Joker's voice held a hint of smugness, "You do as I tell you, or your mother will die screaming. Do you understand, you spoiled, arrogant brat!"
Barbara took a deep breath and finally obeyed Joker's command, dutifully pushing her wheelchair to the kitchen to start making a sandwich.
There were ready-made ingredients in the kitchen, and she quickly got everything done.
"Very good, that's it, that's much better. As long as you obey, we still have hope. Now, a glass of milk, swallow it down."
Joker seemed to be able to see Barbara's every move, telling her to drink the glass of milk on her left.
She knew this was Joker warning her: I know your every move, so don't play tricks with me.
Barbara suppressed her anger, picked up the milk on her left, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one gulp.
"Very good, one more thing, Barbara, you tell me: Where is Batman?"
Joker finally revealed his purpose.
"Batman?" Barbara frowned, "He's dead, killed by Homelander!"
"I don't believe that, do you know, Barbara? I've come back to Gotham with beautiful expectations for the future, my dear little one, and that future can't be without that pointy-eared Batman."
"And one more thing I need to tell you in advance, Barbara, there's a five-pound spike bomb tied under the chair your mother is sitting on. If you're impolite and lie, your mother will be in danger."
"You—" Barbara gritted her teeth and asked him, "You dare to come back to Gotham? Don't you know Homelander is in Gotham right now? His army is gradually taking control here, and you'll have nowhere to run!"
"Of course I know what he's doing. He and Superman are having a brawl at City Hall. Whether it's a puppy biting a kitten to Death or a kitten swinging a puppy to Death, those are all joyous and memorable events. But, I also have a small gift for Homelander, he's going to love it!"
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"