"Huh?"
Haino's words, combined with her frantic thrashing on the hospital bed, made Clark immediately turn around and grab her hospital gown before it slipped loose.
She struggled so violently that her clothes were nearly coming apart, and Clark could not simply stand by and watch, especially when Haino was supposedly involved with his friend.
Sensing his attempt to help, Haino paused briefly before a realization flashed across her face.
"You know Axel, don't you? Are you one of his people? Then save me!"
"I want to see Axel! I robbed people with him, and I even ate his... I want to see him!"
"Let me out! Please, let me out! Don't make me stay here anymore, I'm really going insane!"
"This asylum is full of lunatics! The place they transferred me from was much better! Let me go! Ahhh! Ahhh!"
Faced with her increasingly hysterical screams, Clark helplessly raised a hand.
Thunk.
Haino instantly fell silent.
With a sigh, Clark opened a communication channel.
"Batman, I've dealt with the more dangerous patients, but I found a woman here."
"She calls herself Haino Lawrence, daughter of a congressman and the Secretary of Defense, and... apparently Axel's woman."
"What should I do with her? Keep her locked up here? She looks like she's on the verge of completely losing her mind."
"Haino..."
Bruce paused briefly before replying.
"The reason she ended up in a psychiatric institution isn't simple. She injured several soldiers. She's probably already unstable, but she isn't a serious threat."
"Wait a moment. I'll contact the Dead Souls Gang and have them send her to Axel."
"Arkham isn't suitable for someone like her right now. The entire facility needs to be cleaned up."
"And I think Selina can handle her."
As he spoke, an amused thought crossed Bruce's mind.
Meanwhile, Clark nodded and set the matter aside before continuing his work throughout Arkham Asylum.
Not long afterward, the audio Bruce had temporarily restored echoed throughout the facility.
As the revised recording played through every corridor and ward, the patients gradually emerged from their unnaturally quiet state, finally shaking off the Mad Hatter's hypnosis.
Unfortunately, that only solved the problem inside Arkham.
Elsewhere, while Bruce was wrapping up matters at the asylum, chaos was unfolding at the Iceberg Lounge.
Victor slammed his phone onto the floor.
"Damn it!"
His face twisted with fury as he glared at Oswald.
"A lunatic killed my men. He deserves to die!"
"Victor."
Oswald interrupted him calmly.
"That isn't an ordinary lunatic."
"He controlled all of Arkham Asylum and slipped past Batman's surveillance. It's completely normal that our people got caught by him."
"But he shouldn't think he'll escape us."
"Gotham is a city ruled by lunatics, but compared to the truly dangerous ones, he's nowhere near the top."
Oswald took a sip of coffee and pulled out his phone.
Moments later, more than a dozen helicopters rose from the docks near the Iceberg Lounge and headed toward the location where the Mad Hatter's convoy had last been identified.
Earlier, under Jervis Tetch's orders, the convoy's remaining vehicles had driven into the ocean from multiple locations.
That left only a single car.
And that car almost certainly contained the Mad Hatter.
As the helicopters moved out, another figure prepared to act.
At the top of Gotham's Stock Exchange Building, now the tallest building in the city, Floyd adjusted the position of his sniper rifle.
After confirming his target's location through the scope, he licked a finger to check the wind before speaking to Geralt.
"Today's job is easy."
"They already found the target."
"I might not even need to fire. A lucky artillery shell could probably solve this problem."
"He's troublesome, but he's fragile. One attack from beyond visual range and he'll be in hell playing hide-and-seek with demons."
"You two guests just wait a bit. After this, I'll take you to the shooting range and test some weapons with you."
"Maybe Axel will even show up."
With that, Floyd returned to the scope and focused on his target.
Inside the speeding vehicle, Jervis Tetch stared gloomily at the helicopters gathering overhead.
Listening to the increasingly loud roar of rotor blades, he shook his head in disappointment.
"What barbarians."
"The world of stories should not be guided by fools."
"Stories built on brute force are worthless."
"Only stories with true depth can move people."
He sighed.
"What a shame. My little Alice became a dangerous Red Queen. Otherwise today's story could have been far more entertaining."
"As things stand, I won't be visiting the Wraith's home."
"It's too remote, and even barbarians can be troublesome."
He immediately waved toward the driver.
"Change course."
"The Wraith's location is too inconvenient."
"We're going to the Gotham News Broadcasting Building."
"If more people don't join my story, then the story will end."
"The common people reacted far faster than I expected."
"They're becoming very troublesome."
"Damn it, why are they reacting so quickly?"
"But no matter how troublesome they are, they still haven't seen what real trouble looks like."
The driver immediately turned the wheel.
The vehicle drifted sharply across the roadway.
Nearby drivers swerved in panic.
Within seconds, several cars collided and a minor traffic accident erupted.
At that exact moment, Floyd pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet struck.
One tire exploded.
The Mad Hatter's vehicle spun out of control and slammed sideways into the roadside barrier.
Inside Downton Manor, Lex glanced at a monitor before speaking indifferently.
"If Jervis still wants to come here, I wouldn't mind discussing hypnosis with him."
"His techniques interest me."
"But if he changes direction, he'll die even sooner."
"Even if Floyd somehow misses, I've already stationed people near every major broadcasting company."
"We can't allow a hypnotist capable of threatening an entire city to gain access to a live audience."
Lex sneered and shut off the monitor.
His attention returned to his research.
Over the communication channel, Floyd snorted.
"No need, Lex."
"I never miss."
"Maybe not."
"Neither do I."
Lex chuckled.
"The methods we use are different, but we're alike in one regard."
"We both refuse to miss."
"So don't worry about my backup plans."
"It isn't that I don't trust your ability."
"I simply trust my own plans more."
"Bruce is the same. Clark is too."
With that, Lex disconnected and fully immersed himself in his work.
The ideological clashes between him and Bruce had provided endless inspiration recently.
If Bruce were more concerned with practical results, Lex might have left the Mad Hatter to him.
Unfortunately for Jervis, he was facing an absurdly overwhelming lineup.
Bruce.
Clark.
Lex.
Any one of them would be a nightmare opponent.
Together, they were excessive force incarnate.
And unlike Bruce, Lex had no interest in leaving dangerous enemies alive.
Back atop the Stock Exchange Building, Floyd smirked after the channel closed.
"Damn it."
"Everyone's trying to sound cool."
"I need to watch more movies."
Then he pulled the trigger again.
Bang!
After the shot, Floyd calmly disassembled the rifle and packed it into its case.
He walked over to Geralt and Ciri.
Geralt raised an eyebrow.
"It's over?"
"Of course."
"That guy can't hypnotize me from three kilometers away."
"I already overestimated how dangerous he was."
"I never looked directly at him. I calculated the terrain from the vehicle's position and used a ricochet shot to hit his head."
Floyd shrugged.
"If I had to track him down alone, it wouldn't have been easy."
"But all I had to do was shoot."
"The Dead Souls Gang and Lex found him for me."
"My teammates are ridiculously capable now."
"If he survives that, then who exactly is supposed to die?"
Suddenly, Floyd paused.
"Wait."
He quickly raised his binoculars and looked toward the crash site.
After a careful inspection, he relaxed.
Dead Souls Gang members had arrived and were dragging Jervis Tetch's corpse from the vehicle.
One of them threw the body onto the pavement and let out a long breath.
"Damn it!"
"I was hypnotized and didn't even realize it."
"Good thing he's dead."
"This bastard made me look like an idiot."
"And the captain and all those brothers are dead too."
Filled with anger, he stomped down on the Mad Hatter's already shattered skull.
The impact burst what remained of the head apart.
Blood and brain matter splattered across the pavement.
Some even landed in his mouth.
Disgusted, he spat repeatedly before calling his superior.
Nearby, the driver exited the wrecked vehicle and stared at the corpse with lingering fear.
After arranging the body inside a bag, he turned toward the crowd gathering around the scene.
Raising his pistol, he fired a shot into the air.
"The Dead Souls Gang is conducting business!"
"Everyone not involved, get lost!"
"It's the Dead Souls Gang!"
"Run!"
"Those are Wraith's people!"
"What happened?"
"No idea, but something clearly went wrong."
Gotham's citizens rarely agreed on anything, but everyone knew better than to interfere with Axel's organization.
The crowd scattered almost instantly.
Only the two gangsters remained.
The driver shrugged.
"Don't look at me."
"The car's wrecked."
"We need another ride."
"Another ride?"
The other man rolled his eyes.
"There are reporters everywhere."
"We're backed by Wayne Enterprises and LexCorp."
"We work directly under Boss Wraith."
"If we embarrass those people, Boss Bat will skin us alive before Axel gets the chance."
He grabbed the body bag and looked around.
"Let's take a helicopter."
"The boys up there can give us a lift."
"Why not just call a taxi?"
"We're carrying a corpse, idiot."
"Our captain died."
"Can you at least pretend to care?"
"How else are you supposed to become the new captain?"
The driver grinned.
"You seem pretty enthusiastic."
"You sure you want to compete for the position?"
As they continued arguing, a nearby helicopter descended and lowered a rope ladder.
Working together, they hauled the Mad Hatter's corpse aboard and departed for the Iceberg Lounge.
Back at Arkham Asylum, Bruce and Clark had finished handling the most dangerous patients.
Clark left first.
Bruce then approached Commissioner Gordon.
Looking at the armored figure before him, Gordon unconsciously swallowed.
The timid child who once hid behind his coat had become this man.
The transformation was astonishing.
Seeing Gordon's expression, Bruce immediately understood what he was thinking.
Axel had become far too high-profile.
The man had practically moved into Wayne Manor.
At this point, Bruce's identity was almost an open secret.
After all, Wraith occupied Wayne Manor while the last surviving Wayne remained alive and active.
Anyone paying attention could connect the dots.
Suppressing his frustration, Bruce exhaled and spoke in his deep, altered voice.
"The remaining matters belong to the Gotham Police Department."
"But there's one patient I'll need to take with me."
Gordon frowned.
"What?"