Shadow trail of the beautiful world

Chapter 740 44. Avengers 006

Gotham at night has become a mess due to the rampage of super criminals and clowns. The whole city is like boiling water, with wars and looting everywhere, and all the police in the city are in chaos like headless chickens. , but the situation did not improve in the slightest.

On the top of the unfinished building that no one paid attention to, Merlin was standing there, looking at the chaotic city. He hated such chaos, and the sight in front of him made him very, very dissatisfied.

Gotham, known as the crime capital on the east coast, has 3% of the population engaged in criminal activities, and the number of super criminals in this city is also the highest in the entire world.

The problems of the city of Gotham are really complicated, and it is definitely not possible to explain clearly in one or two sentences.

"I thought I had already rejected you, Merlin."

Behind Merlin, Bruce put handcuffs on the unconscious clown. His wound had just healed under the healing spell, and it was still difficult to walk. He said to Merlin:

"I won't join your super circus, I have my own things to do."

"your business?"

Merlin curled his lips and said:

"You mean, you took your own son, dressed up in your city, put on a cape, and played house with those ruthless super criminals?"

“…”

Bruce didn't answer. The previous few meetings between the two of them broke up because of this question. After a fierce fight tonight, he was not in the mood and had no energy to quarrel with Merlin.

He just wanted to let this difficult night pass quickly.

"You see Gotham as your hometown, your own battlefield, you want to stand up and fight for Gotham... But you refuse the help of other superheroes, any foreign heroes will be driven away by you, you think you Can you fix this mess by yourself?"

Merlin asked again.

Bruce still didn't answer.

"I know, you see people who come to help as a nuisance, you don't want them to be involved in the bad things in Gotham, you don't want to be a babysitter while you are outwitted by super criminals."

"I can understand your thoughts, but my friend, you have also seen that the situation in Gotham has gone bad to the extreme."

"You have your own rules, you have your own bottom line, you don't kill people, 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 the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in this city, and use all the resources I have to clean up the city. Maybe I need three months. I think 3 months is enough, what do you think?"

"I don't doubt it."

Bruce replied:

"You have the ability to wipe them all out. The power mobilized by SDOLD is not something these super criminals can fight against. However, Gotham's problem has never been these super criminals. They are just appearances. The city's chronic illness lies in deeper places ..."

"I know that corrupt government, rampant corruption, exaggerated wealth gap, repeated economic downturns, high unemployment rate, etc., these factors will continue to make people who are originally peaceful take risks in order to live."

"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, looked at the clown at his feet, and said:

"This is the result of the collapse of order. Gotham has fallen into chaos. Where there is no order, such a terrible person will be born. Your Arkham Asylum obviously can't hold him. I want to take him back to the Island Prison Go, or, maybe I'll kill him right here."

Merlin felt the changing expression under Bruce's mask, he shrugged, and said with a hint of good-natured ridicule:

"Of course I'm joking. I'm a public servant."

"But, I must have an answer tonight, Bruce."

Raven's tone became serious:

"You should know, Bruce, for the past few years, I have been trying to protect you. I regard you as the benchmark for superheroes. I encourage those new heroes to learn from you, learn your tenacity, learn your sanity, Learn your tactics, learn your low profile, but you can't always be so uncooperative with me."

Merlin says:

"People's attitude towards superheroes is changing. In New York and other places, one after another civil organizations are being established to set some rules for superheroes. As far as I know, the Sky Eye Society is also promoting this matter. "

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

"This is a good thing, I believe you can understand, and judging from the current situation in Gotham, your city also urgently needs such an organization to bring together and unite those who are fighting alone and want to do good things. "

"But it needs your support, or permission. After all, I'm going to let a group of outsiders into your 'hunting ground', which may make you unhappy."

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

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

"Bruce, don't be so stubborn, you can't handle the muddy pit of Gotham by yourself, you need help."

"Just do me a favor, okay?"

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

"The situation in Gotham is very complicated. This is not New York, nor is it any other place. The tricks you play don't work here. This is a place of crime. Even the villains born here are stronger than other places. fierce."

"How do you know if you don't try?"

Merlin says:

"I don't need you to join Gotham's Hero Association, I just need you not to interfere with its operation, and I will take care of the rest... The darker the place, the more people need confidence, like Gotham Hell, one Batman isn't enough because you've got a limit, Bruce."

"Even if you don't sleep every night, what if you fight 20 crimes a night?"

"This city is huge, and you can't do it alone. Of course, if the expansion of the Heroes' Association here fails, then I will take more forceful measures, as I said just now, 2500 fully armed demon hunting agents , plus some powerful heroes, the autumn wind sweeps away the fallen leaves, and sweeps away those stubborn illnesses."

Merlin reached out and stopped Bruce's shoulder, just like the two were on the cargo ship of Stark Industries back then, and he said:

"Besides, you need rest too, Bruce, how long has it been since you had a good night's sleep? How long has it been since you and Damian have traveled? How long has it been since you and Thalia... well, I mean, You should give yourself a break."

"Leave this trouble to others, the world doesn't revolve around you after all."

"I think it's not just for this that you came here tonight."

Bruce said:

"You just said that you must have an answer..."

"Yes."

Merlin took a step back and said to Bruce:

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

"I reject."

Bruce replied without hesitation:

"Your idea is terrible. You can join forces to save the world. I have no doubts, because I know how powerful you are. When a group of people like you gather together, I will tremble just thinking about it."

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

"I think about it occasionally, you know, I'm a secret agent."

Merlin wasn't offended by Bruce's questioning, he said:

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

"You, like me, always plan ahead. We need someone like this in a team. We need someone who is rational all the time. 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. I and your positions in that team overlap. This is a waste of resources. What's more, I don't think my ability is enough to be an Avenger. category. Merlin, I'm just a stubborn normal guy...I'm not some superhero."

"But what if I suddenly disappeared?"

Merlin suddenly said:

"What if one day... I no longer exist? At that time, you will be the last guarantee of this powerful and dangerous team. When others are about to do bad things, you can stop them instead of me."

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

"You, you are my final plan."

"you..."

Bruce looked at Merlin in surprise, who said softly:

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

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

"Bruce, I have been protecting you. 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 officials who maintain order, one day, among other superheroes After it's all legalized, they'll send those heroes against you..."

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

"They'll even send me against you, Bruce... At that point, I might not say no. Because of a world where order and freedom are balanced, that's what I've always believed in."

Merlin was very frank, and expressed all his worries without reservation:

"I don't want it to go this far, Bruce...so stop being stubborn and just do me a favor and join the Avengers for my own sake, okay?"

Bruce was silent.

There was silence in the entire unfinished building. A few seconds later, a pompous and sharp voice sounded behind the two. The clown who had been unconscious just now woke up at some point. He sat cross-legged on the ground in a strange posture, and he screamed :

"Don't say yes to him! Batman... he's just trying to lure you into that damned, pale, rotten system with rhetoric, he's turning you from a real shiny gem to a meaningless rock !"

"Damn it! Don't promise him... You and I are monsters born of chaos, two monsters should be best friends, let your bastard friend who smells of order 'stink' get out of here !"

The clown stared at Merlin viciously, and said:

"He is no different from those hypocrites. I can smell lies from so far away."

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

"Ha, protector of order, listening to him makes me feel nauseous, someone bring me some acid tablets!"

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

On the lens of Icarus, the original cheeks restored by the clown's face modeling were continuously retrieved in the S.H.I.E.L.D. database and compared with the face in front of him. After a while, Merlin suddenly said:

"Arthur...you've become more and more crazy over the years."

"Who is that?"

The smile on the clown's face remained unchanged. He tilted his head, looked at Merlin, and said:

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

"Do me a favor, Arthur."

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

"Batman and I are discussing something important, and he needs time to think, so just be quiet, okay?"

"Why should I listen to you?"

The clown pouted:

"We don't know each other well."

"If you are quiet enough, then when choosing a cell, I will arrange you in a place that is lively enough. I can see that you like excitement, right?"

Merlin says:

"make a deal?"

"Um..."

The clown frowned and thought about it. After a while, he grinned and nodded:

"Okay, deal!"

"OK, all right."

Merlin stood up with a smile, he turned around to leave, but suddenly turned around, he said to the clown:

"I almost forgot one thing... Come on, look at my hands, I'll show you a trick... You like magic, don't you?"

"Swish"

The white light flashed away, and Merlin took out his pocket watch, looked at the time, and then, with the silly smile of the clown, he turned to Bruce, and he said:

"My friend, what are you thinking?"

"Do you really think you will disappear in the future, Merlin."

Bruce didn't answer right away. Under the cover of the bat-like dark cloak, he was quiet like a sculpture in the dark. He looked at Merlin, and he asked:

"Did you not prepare for this?"

"I did."

Merlin chuckled and said:

"But I'm not sure it's going to work, I want to win too, alas, I don't even know how to win..."

"If I can get through it, Bruce, you can quit at any time, but if one day you and the world forget me, then you have to perform my duties in my place."

"do not talk."

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

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

"Until something happens that requires me to come forward, I will remain hidden. Only in the dark can I observe more things that cannot be seen in the sun."

"At any time, we must hide our hole cards!"

(End of this chapter)