At night, Gotham has been turned into a pot of porridge because of the ravages of supercriminals and clowns, and the whole city is like boiling water, full of smoke and looting, and all the police in the city are scurrying around like headless flies, but the situation has not improved in the slightest.

Merlin was standing at the top of the unfinished building, which no one was paying attention to, looking out over the chaotic city, and he hated the chaos, and the sight before him made him very, very unhappy.

Gotham, known as the crime capital of the East Coast, is home to 3% of the population and has the highest number of supercriminals in the world.

The issue of the city of Gotham is really complex, and it is definitely not something that can be clarified in a sentence or two.

"I thought I had turned you down, Merlin."

Behind Merlin, Bruce handcuffs the unconscious Joker, whose wounds had just healed under the effect of the Healing Charm, and who was still walking with some difficulty, said to Merlin:

"I'm not going to join your Super Circus, I've got my stuff to do."

"Your business?"

Merlin pursed his lips and said:

"Do you mean that you take your own son, disguise yourself in your city, put on a cape, and play with those ruthless supercriminals?"

“.....”

Bruce didn't answer, the previous few meetings between the two of them had broken up unhappily because of this question, and he was not in the mood or energy to quarrel with Merlin after a vicious fight tonight.

He just wanted to get the hard night over.

"You see Gotham as your hometown, your own battlefield, and you're going to stand up and fight for Gotham... But you refuse the help of other superheroes, and any foreign hero will be driven away by you, do you think you can fix this mess on your own? ”

Merlin asked again.

Bruce still didn't answer.

"I know you see everyone who wants to help as a nuisance, you don't want them to get involved in the bad things going on in Gotham, you don't want to be a babysitter while you're battling with super criminals."

"I can understand your thoughts, but my friend, you can also see that the situation in Gotham has been broken to the limit."

"You have your own rules, you have your own bottom line, you don't kill, you are very restrained, and you are afraid that you will fall into the abyss of violence."

Merlin turned around and said to Bruce:

"Maybe I should help you, maybe I should plan an operation to station S.H.I.E.L.D. demon hunters in this city, and use all the resources I have at hand to clean up the city, maybe I need 3 months, I think 3 months is enough, what do you say?"

"I don't doubt it."

Bruce replied:

"You have the power to sweep them all away, S. L.D.'s mobilization of forces is not something these supercriminals can fight, but Gotham's problem has never been with these supercriminals, they are just appearances, and the city's stubborn problems lie in the depths..."

"I know that corrupt governance, corruption, exaggerated disparity between the rich and the poor, repeated economic decline, extremely high unemployment, etc., these factors will continue to make people who are otherwise safe and secure take risks in order to make a living."

"After responding to the temptation of darkness and getting enough rewards, it is difficult for them to return to the world of normal people."

Merlin sighed, he looked at the clown at his feet, and he said:

"This is the result of the collapse of order, Gotham has fallen into chaos, and where order does not exist, such terrible people will be born. Your Arkham asylum obviously can't hold him, I'm going to take him back to the Lonely Island Prison, or maybe I'll kill him right here. ”

Merlin felt the change in expression under Bruce's mask, and he shrugged his shoulders and said with a hint of good-natured teaser:

"Of course it's a joke, but I'm a public official."

"But, I have to get an answer tonight, Bruce."

Raven's tone became serious:

"You should know, Bruce, I've been trying to protect you for the last few years, I see you as a benchmark for superheroes, and I encourage those new heroes to learn from you, learn from your tenacity, learn from your sanity, learn your tactics, learn your low profile, but you can't be so uncooperative with me all the time."

Merlin Says:

"People's attitudes towards superheroes are changing, and in New York, in other places, one civil society organization after another is being established to set some rules for superheroes, and as far as I know, the Sky Eye Association is also pushing for this."

"If this trend continues, maybe soon, the Superhero Registration Act that I showed you will be officially recognized."

"That's a good thing, I'm sure you can understand it, and with the current situation in Gotham, your city is in dire need of an organization that can bring together those who are alone and want to do good."

"But it needs your support, or rather, permission, after all, I'm going to let a bunch of outsiders into your 'hunting grounds', and it might make you unhappy."

Merlin patted Bruce on the shoulder, and he said in a mild tone:

"You are the symbol of Gotham, and you have almost become synonymous with Gotham, you fight crime in the dark, protect the innocent, many people in this city hate you, but many more people see you as a real hero, and they are also the source of your confidence to persevere..."

"Bruce, don't be so stubborn, you can't handle this gotham puddle alone, you need help."

"Just do me a favor, okay?"

Batman was silent for a moment, he looked at Merlin, and he said:

"The situation in Gotham is complicated, this is not New York, it is not anywhere else, the tricks you play don't work here, this is a place of sin, even the villains born here are more vicious than other places."

"If you don't try, how do you know?"

Merlin Says:

"I don't need you to join the Heroes Guild of Gotham, I just need you not to interfere with its operation, and I'll take care of the rest... The darker the place, the more people need confidence, and in a ghost place like Gotham, one Batman is not enough, because you always have limits, Bruce. ”

"What if you don't sleep every night and fight 20 crimes in one night?"

"It's a big city, and you can't do it alone. Of course, if the expansion of the Hero Guild here fails, then I will take more forceful measures, as I said earlier, 2,500 heavily armed demon hunters, plus some powerful heroes, to sweep away the leaves and sweep away those stubborn diseases. ”

Merlin reached out and put his hand on Bruce's shoulder, as the two had done on Stark Industries' cargo ship, and said:

"Besides, you need to rest too, Bruce, how long has it been since you had a good night's sleep? How long has it been since you and Damien have been on a trip? How long have you and Talia not been... Well, I mean, you should give yourself a vacation. ”

"Leave this trouble to someone else to deal with, the world doesn't revolve around you after all."

"I don't think you're here tonight just for that."

Bruce Says:

"You just said you had to ask for an answer..."

"yes."

Merlin took a step back and said to Bruce:

"Back to that question, Bruce, what's your answer to joining the Avengers?"

"I refuse."

Bruce replied without hesitation:

"You guys have a terrible idea, you can save the world together, I have no doubt, because I know how powerful you are, a group of people like you get together, and I shudder just thinking about it."

"A group of the world's most powerful superheroes sounds amazing, but what if you get out of control? What if a civil war breaks out between you? Who's going to stop you? Who can stop you? ”

"I think about it once in a while, you know, I'm an agent."

Merlin was not annoyed by Bruce's questioning, saying:

"I'm used to being prepared for any situation, so, that's why I'm coming to recruit you after being rejected so many times."

"You, like me, always plan ahead, a team needs someone like that, we need someone who is sane at all times, we need someone who can come up with a solution at any time."

"We need you, Bruce."

"You can do this job too!"

Bruce retorted:

"You are also aware of this problem, you are also making plans, my position with you in that team coincides, this is a waste of resources, not to mention, I don't think that with my ability, I can reach the category of the Avengers. Merlin, I'm just a stubborn normal person... I'm not a superhero. ”

"But what if I suddenly disappear?"

Merlin suddenly said:

"If one day... What if I don't exist anymore? At that point, you will be the last safeguard for this powerful and dangerous team, and you can stop others in my place when they are about to do something bad. ”

"You're right, Bruce, I've been thinking about what to do if the Avengers get out of control, and finally I finally came up with a final plan."

"You, you're my final solution."

"You..."

Bruce looked at Merlin in surprise, and the latter whispered:

"You know my story, Bruce, no one knows better than you... But you don't know everything, I can't tell you, but the future, who knows the future? ”

Merlin sighed, and in the midst of this cold night, in the wind blowing back and forth between the unfinished buildings, he said to his best friend:

"Bruce, I've been protecting you, and although you may not appreciate it, if you want to continue your job that requires ideal support, and have been stubbornly unwilling to cooperate with the officials who maintain order, one day, after the other superheroes are legalized, they will send those heroes against you..."

"Because at that time, you were a danger factor in the order."

"They'll even send me against you, Bruce... At that point, I may not refuse. Because a world of order and freedom is a balanced world, that's what I've always believed. ”

Merlin spoke out all his worries very calmly and unreservedly:

"I don't want things to come to this, Bruce... So, stop being stubborn, just do me a favor, for my sake, and join the Avengers, okay? ”

Bruce was silent.

There was silence in the whole unfinished building, and after a few seconds, an exaggerated and sharp voice sounded behind the two of them, and the clown, who had just been unconscious, had woken up at some point, and he sat cross-legged on the ground in a strange position, and he screamed:

"Don't promise him! Batman... He's just pulling you into that damn, pale, rotten system with rhetoric, and he's turning you from a truly shining treasure into a meaningless stone! ”

"Hell! Don't promise him... You and I are both monsters born out of chaos, and two monsters should be best friends, so get out of here, that bastard friend who smells of order all over your body! ”

The clown stared at Merlin viciously, and said:

"He's no different from those hypocrites, and I can smell lies from so far away."

"He's just more cunning, protecting himself with a disguise of order, I can smell it... Smell of conspiracy in him, he's planning something, something dangerous. ”

"Ha, protector of order, listening to him makes me almost sick, who will bring me some stomach acid tablets!"

Merlin stared at the clown, he stepped away and walked over to the clown, he crouched down and looked at the guy with scars on the sides of his mouth, who had painted his face messily with white and red paint.

On Icarus's lenses, the original cheeks restored from the Joker's face modeling were constantly searched and compared with the face in front of him in the S.H.I.E.L.D. database, and after a moment, Merlin suddenly said:

"Arthur... Over the years, you've gotten more and more crazy. ”

"Who's that?"

The smile on the Joker's face did not change, and he tilted his head to look at Merlin, and he said:

"Are you calling me? Arthur? What a weird silly name. ”

"Do me a favor, Arthur."

Merlin put his hand on the Joker's shoulder, and he whispered in the Joker's ear:

"There's something important going on between me and Batman, and he needs time to think, so, be quiet, okay?"

"Why should I listen to you?"

The clown pouted:

"We don't know each other."

"If you're quiet enough, then I'll put you in a place that's lively enough when it's time to choose a cell, and I can tell you like it, right?"

Merlin Says:

"Deal?"

"Hmm..."

The clown frowned in thought, and after a moment, he grinned and nodded:

"Okay, deal!"

"yes, okay."

Merlin smiled and stood up, and he turned to leave, but suddenly turned around, and said to the Joker:

"I almost forgot one thing... Come, look at my hands, I'll do a magic trick for you... You love magic, right? ”

"Huh"

The white light flashed away, Merlin took out his pocket watch, looked at the time, and then, in the clown's stupid smile, he turned to Bruce, and said:

"My friend, how are you thinking about it?"

"Do you really think you're going to disappear in the future? Merlin. ”

Bruce did not answer immediately, and in the shadow of the bat-like dark cloak, he was quiet like a sculpture in the dark, and he looked at Merlin, and he asked:

"Didn't you prepare for this?"

"I did."

Merlin chuckled and said:

"But I'm not sure if it's going to work, I want to win, but alas, I don't even know what it means to win..."

"If I can get through it, Bruce, you can quit at any time, but if one day you and the world forget about me, then you're going to do your duty in my place."

"Don't talk about it."

Bruce put his hand on Merlin's shoulder, and he said:

"I promise you that I will be Avenger 006, but I have a request..."

"I'm going to stay in hiding until something happens that requires me to come forward. It is only in the dark that more things that cannot be seen in sunlight can be observed. ”

"At all times, we have to hide our hole cards!"