At the home of Dr. Marlene Zahiri.

There was no light in the room, and the doctor sat at the desk in the study, looking particularly gloomy with his head bowed.

Roy and Barbara silently appeared in the room.

"Dr. Marlene Zahiri." Roy said, "You said you exposed the identity of the Joker?" ”

The doctor smiled softly.

"Yes."

"You think he's going to kill you for that?"

"Originally, yes." The doctor's voice sounded hollow and emotionless, like the walking dead, "But you're too late, and now I don't think he's going to kill me." ”

"What do you mean?"

Zahiri snorted as if self-deprecating.

"You know what? I've been studying clowns for a long time. She changed the subject and said, "Psychology has always been my strong point when I was a student, and I was always the best one. But when I saw the Joker, I knew that this was probably the biggest problem I'd ever faced in my life. I wanted to unravel him and figure out his mind, and for that I had to first try to figure out where he came from. ”

After a pause, she added, "I've been digging for a long time, and I haven't found anything. Also, even Batman hasn't been able to find out his background identity for so many years, so how can I? But things took a turn for the worse when Eric appeared. ”

"Eric? Eric Bode? Barbara asked, "A care for New Arkham?" I seem to have seen him on Arkham's duty schedule. ”

"Yes." Zahiri said softly, pushing a book forward along the desk, "And then, just two days ago, I finally achieved this final achievement. If nothing happens, I'll be ready to publish the book in two days. ”

Roy picked up the book and looked at it. On the cover is a few words "Prince of Clowns", and the subtitle is "The True Story Behind the Joker". The title page of the book reads:

“

Thanks

I would never have been able to finish this book without the help of my dearest friend and colleague Eric Bodø. It is thanks to his tireless research and investigation that I was able to piece together the story that I had been pursuing for many years. The night I first told him I was studying clowns, the way he looked at me is still fresh in my memory. At that moment, I didn't seem to understand him. But then, he smiled so brightly that my heart jumped.

That's the story that makes my heart skip a beat. He said. The story is here, dear, and I hope you will like it.

Yours sincerely, Marlene Zahiri"

Zahiri continued: "After four months of tracking, we confirmed his name – William Dister. When he was four years old, his sister disappeared, and his parents abandoned him out of fear. He had lived in six different foster homes, and I had spoken to those parents, and I could hear their fears. Since he was a child, he has only bullied people and seems to have no other way to communicate with other people. At the age of sixteen, he ran away, and after a few years of neighbors saying they could hear him whispering at the door in the middle of the night, they found the body of a Red Riding Hood member, who might be their leader. The body had traces of his blood on it, but the dental records did not. Eric told me that he faked his own death once to reinvent himself into something completely new."

At this point, she couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Roy and Barbara looked at each other.

"I didn't mean to pour cold water, doctor," Roy said, "but the story of the Joker, I've looked into it myself by all means, I'm pretty sure"

"yes, yes, I know." Zahiri laughed self-deprecatingly, "It's just a joke, isn't it?" All this, in the final analysis, is just one of his jokes. All he did was buy a few adoptive parents for some money and forge a few government documents, and then I believed it and rejoiced, thinking that I had finally found the story of my life's pursuit."

"Wait," Barbara interrupted, "who faked it?" ”

Dr. Zahiri looked up slowly.

"Eric Bodø." She said, "Just now, before you, he came. He is the Joker himself. ”

Abandoned Arkham Asylum.

Caught off guard, Batman, who was locked up in ward 801, grabbed the iron fence in disbelief: "Eric? Are you also being manipulated by him? ”

Eric Bode stood outside the door, sneered softly, and said, "You really didn't recognize me, did you?" I'll admit, I didn't think you'd recognize it. ”

As he spoke, he had already taken off his wig, revealing the strange green hair underneath, and with a wipe of his hand on his face, his skin suddenly turned back to pale.

"The muscle relaxant just didn't work, and I'll admit it's a bit difficult to keep this face and the pigment, do you know how much Afano tires I have to take every day? It's just makeup today, but it's still enough to choke. Of course, you must be curious about the name in terms of face, right? 'Eric' derives from the Old Norsean word for 'eternity', and the word 'Bod' is an old name for 'Bourder' for the reason "

"'Joker'." Batman has reacted.

"Hahahaha!" Crazy laughter echoed in the empty madhouse, "Did you miss me?" Bat? ”

The visible gas spread rapidly, filling the entire Ward 801 in the blink of an eye.

Batman's eyes had begun to blur, and his hand gripping the iron fence had begun to tremble.

"Hahaha! Did the gas work? I know you're already immune to a lot of gases, so this time it's a special edition! He leaned leisurely against the door and said, "The plastic package is one of them!" ”

"Look, it's sad." The Joker shook his head and said, "I've designed so many games for you before, and out of care, countless endings are comedy in the end!" But you just turn a blind eye. And now, I'm tired of playing, so let's jump right into the finale. As we speak now, the contagion of your beloved city has begun. It's happening, and you're here to move, haha! It's like a nightmare that you can't wake up from, isn't it? ”

He leaned on the doorrail, grinned and said, "Look, bat, I'm not playing games this time, I'm here to close the door!" I thought we were together and happy, just you and me, but no. I'm tired of it, I guess it's just because I know you too well. But what's interesting about me? You don't know anything about me. You can pretend to know me, but deep down, you understand that I am still just a stranger to you. ”

"So, let's break it off, 'old friend.'" He pulled a pistol from the inside of his jacket and pointed it at Batman, "There's only one thing I can promise." That's when you come out of it, everyone in Gotham City will laugh at you. ”

Gunshots rang out.

A flag popped out of the muzzle. (To be continued.) )