In The DC World With Marvel Chat Group

Lately, Bruce has come to understand one of the biggest truths: in this world, there are only bad news and worse news, and all the unfortunate things always happen at once.

Batman chose to go after the Joker first. It was evident that the madman's surprises usually had more shock than delight and were incredibly astonishing.

Sure enough, when Batman arrived, he discovered that the Joker had set fire to the commercial street in the center of Gotham. At that moment, the crowd screamed and fled. A dozen cars, doused in gasoline, formed a pile, and the resulting explosion shattered nearly all the storefront windows, filling the air with thick smoke.

Batman stood on the rooftop, squinting his eyes in search of his target. Just then, in the distance, another thick plume of smoke rose, indicating a fire in the impoverished slums of the East District.

At that moment, the firetruck siren blared, and the firefighters arrived. They rushed to put out the fire, carrying hoses and clearing away the debris from the exploded vehicles. From the narrow gaps in the burning buildings, they searched for trapped individuals.

Gotham's fire department was not the most efficient, but this was the most prosperous commercial street in the city center, largely owned by the Twelve Families' industries. They had to respond when there was a fire.

According to Batman's assessment, the central commercial street was relatively spacious, and the fire had started before the explosion. Most people had managed to escape when the smoke first billowed, so the rescue operation was not overly difficult.

However, the slums were a different story. The buildings were densely packed, and there was a lot of clutter. Once a fire broke out, the casualties could be severe. Therefore, upon seeing the firefighters arrive to rescue the commercial street, Batman headed towards the East District.

The lingering effects of his energy depletion had not completely subsided, and Batman had a pounding headache. Consequently, he failed to notice that a journalist, who had just arrived, captured his departing figure at the end of the commercial street.

The fire in the East District slums presented a significant challenge. The residential areas were tightly packed, lacking fire safety measures or escape routes. Many people were trapped in the flames. Batman exerted great effort to resolve the situation.

When he finally arrived at the police station, Gordon was becoming increasingly worried. Seeing Batman was like spotting a savior. He exclaimed, "You're finally here!"

"What's going on?" Batman's voice was hoarse, as if scorched by fire. Gordon had many things he wanted to say, but noticing Batman's visibly pale complexion, he hesitated. He suggested, "Your complexion is really bad. Maybe you should go back and rest for a while?"

"No, it's fine. Just tell me, what happened?"

Gordon took a deep breath and led Batman to the morgue. From one of the compartments, he pulled out a body covered in a white sheet. When the sheet was lifted, Batman recognized the face—it was the leader of the Lawrence family from the Twelve Families.

Old Lawrence had already turned grey, and he was slightly overweight. His limbs and chest were wounded. Batman squinted as he observed, but his focus was somewhat scattered. He asked Gordon, "What did the scene look like?"

Gordon hesitated for a moment, struggling to find the right words to describe it. Finally, he said, "This afternoon, Lawrence Jr. called the police chief to inform him that his father had died."

"When I arrived, Lawrence was dead in the study room. He was lying flat on the ground, facing the window, with his arms outstretched, forming a cross. His limbs, chest, and head were impaled by long spikes. The forensic examiner determined that the cause of death was a pierced heart..."

"Where's the murder weapon?"

"It's in the evidence room. If you want, I can bring it. Also, the forensic examiner told me that traces of anesthesia were found in Lawrence's body. He was likely drugged before being impaled."

"Crucifixion..." Batman murmured to himself, but Gordon couldn't hear clearly. He asked, "What? What cross?"

"It's a method used to execute Christians, crucifixion, or more specifically, inverted crucifixion."

"The first pope, Saint Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, died in this way... Wait, Jesus? How many disciples did Jesus have?... Twelve... Twelve Families..."

Batman immediately said to Gordon, "Have your commissioner contact the Twelve Families immediately. This could be a series of murders..."

Just as he finished speaking, a young police officer rushed down the staircase and said loudly to Gordon, "Sheriff, the younger brother of the Hawk brothers is dead, he..."

The young police officer swallowed and continued, "His head has been severed. The commissioner has already gone over..."

Gordon covered his forehead and explained to Batman, "The Hawk family is also one of the Twelve Families. They are led by a pair of brothers, with the older brother as the head and the younger brother assisting in managing the family..."

Batman covered Lawrence's body with a white cloth and said to Gordon, "Can we go to the crime scene this time?"

"Well, yes, but we have to wait. We need to avoid the commissioner, otherwise, I can't explain why I brought you in... You know, the commissioner has some reservations about your presence..."

"Alright, I understand." Batman had already walked to the window and said to Gordon, "You won't be clearing the scene tonight, right? We'll meet there in the middle of the night. I have other things to attend to for now..."

Having said that, Batman disappeared. Gordon rubbed his temples, his face wrinkled. He asked the young police officer, "Are you a believer?"

"Yes, I am. Why?"

"Do you know the story of Jesus and his twelve disciples? Could you tell me about it?"

The young police officer hesitated, his expression somewhat uncertain. As Gordon had anticipated, he replied, "Well, everyone here claims to be a believer, but not many people are familiar with Jesus, let alone the disciples. I'd better go back and read the Bible..."

Batman, who had left, activated the communication device on his wrist and inquired, "How are things going there?"

Sliphead's voice came through, saying, "We're fine. We're trapped in a basement, seemingly an abandoned wine cellar. They haven't discovered it yet. But you should come here quickly. Jason is injured..."

Upon hearing that Jason was injured, Batman furrowed his brow and said, "Why didn't you mention it earlier? I thought everything was fine with you..."

Sliphead's immature voice continued to sound on the communication device: "Actually, the problem is not that serious. He just sprained his ankle. We jumped from a high place, and he was the first to jump. He landed on some debris and hurt his foot. He can't move now, but there's no risk of bleeding..."

"Tell me your address. I'll come over right away."

About twenty minutes later, in a basement not far from Green Street in the East District, Batman fixed Jason's ankle while asking them, "What happened? I just asked you to investigate. How did you end up being pursued?"

Trying to distract himself from the pain, Jason began to speak, "At first, we were just planning to investigate. A friend and I were doing a job selling cigarettes on Green Street. Everything was going smoothly. We made contact with the little boss in charge of this area and his superior, who are like the 'parents' of these kids..."

"The kids here call that guy 'Lame Dad.' He lives in a shack at the end of the alley. You know, I'm good at climbing, so one night I climbed on top of his shack to eavesdrop on his conversations..."

"On that occasion, someone from his superiors came here. I overheard them mention the big boss. They said that the situation with the Twelve Families has been tense lately... something like that. They also mentioned that the big boss wants them to raise funds quickly. Those were the main points..."

"But the boss of Lame Dad was too alert. As soon as I made a slight movement, he spotted someone on the roof. I had to make a quick escape. The boss seemed like a proper gang member, accompanied by bodyguards and a shotgun. Fortunately, I was a small target, so they didn't hit me..."

Sliphead continued, "Initially, I was supposed to meet him at the street intersection, but those people chased us relentlessly. The two of us had no choice but to run into the alley. Luckily, there was an abandoned wine cellar here, or else they would have caught up with us in no time."

Jason complained, "When I jumped down, I didn't see that there were boards or anything below. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten injured so easily."

While Batman was securing the splint, Jason clenched his fist and refused to make a sound. Batman glanced at him and said, "You did well. Now we're going up. You should avoid coming here for a while."

Jason tried to assist Sliphead in standing up, but Batman immediately picked him up. Jason struggled and said, "Put me down! Damn it!"

However, his foot was swollen, and every movement caused pain in his ankle. He let out a cry of pain, biting his fist and remaining silent.

After reaching the surface, Batman asked them, "Did the people chasing you get a good look at you?"

"I'm not sure, but they had flashlights. They probably saw Jason."

Batman carried Jason to the car, placed him in the back seat, and said, "You two go hide in my base for a couple of days. You'll find everything you need there."

Ignoring Jason's objection, he started the car and drove Jason and Sliphead to a temporary stronghold in the southern suburbs.

Batman's base can be said to have everything, which amazed the two children, especially Jason.

Originally, being held by Batman like a child felt a bit awkward, but after seeing the advanced equipment and abundant supplies, his eyes started to light up, and he changed his initial unwilling attitude and began to excitedly explore and touch everything.

Sliphead turned to Batman and asked, "Is our intelligence useful?"

Batman nodded and said, "At least I know that the big boss is not some street thug; he is associated with the Twelve Families, and he might even be a member of the Twelve Families."

"And just now, two high-ranking members of the Lawrence family and the Hawke family in the Twelve Families were murdered successively..."

"Furthermore, Jason mentioned that he overheard their boss urging them to gather funds for the big boss as soon as possible. The big boss might know something..."

Having said that, Batman told the two children, "Don't go out these few days, it might be very unsafe outside."

After settling Jason and Sliphead, Batman couldn't rest when he returned to Wayne Manor. He retrieved the Bible and Gospel books and started searching for stories about the Twelve Apostles.

While not many people may know the stories of Jesus and the twelve disciples, the story of Jesus and Judas is almost universally known, and Judas is one of the twelve disciples of Jesus.

As Batman read the book until late at night, he took notes of all the information. Exhausted, he dragged his weary body upstairs to sleep.

However, when he opened his eyes after a deep slumber, he found himself once again at the entrance of Wayne Manor. In the alley outside the gate stood four familiar figures.

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