[Betterman] The Little Mermaid

After a whirlwind, Gotham returned to the sky above the city.Only a little more than a minute had passed since he left, which was not enough for other conscious bodies to notice this.

Gotham stretched out its tentacles one last time, coming to other urban consciousness with feigned calm emotion.He has kissed these cities one by one, some of them are salivating at the delicious food in the brightly lit streets, and some are quietly looking at the sky on the ruined walls.They might have sensed Gotham's arrival, but since he left only a moment later, they didn't ask.

Then Gotham dived into the depths of the earth where Gaia's mother was. He was thinking about something, maybe something Gotham couldn't understand.It's like He has always had a hard time understanding human thinking.Gotham gently hugged his mother, and his calm state of mind was transmitted from the tentacles, and the same feedback came from Gaia's body.

Gotham laughed again. He retracted his tentacles, curled up above the city as much as possible, and then uttered the spell; the moment he uttered the words, the meaning of these sentences was printed in his thinking logically:

I'm a betrayer, I'm on the damned way

sell my life

I am the master of betrayal.

In an instant, His tentacles seemed to be chopped off by a knife, and accompanied by heart-piercing pain, he gradually lost feeling from the tip.His body and mind were also tortured, folded and squeezed by invisible forces, invisible and intangible blood fell from his body, and was sucked hungrily by the land. This toy-sized city seemed to absorb nutrients , growing tall and big—a moment later, Gotham realized that it was his perspective that was shrinking.

In his last moments of sobriety, he saw Batman looking up into the sky from the gargoyle, his blood dripping into his moon-reflected eyes, and in the ripples, Gotham screamed in pain and no one was listening to the syllable, falling into darkness.

The human being woke up on a bench in the central city. He was naked, only wearing a worn-out and ill-fitting clothes that seemed to be kindly given by passers-by, with an empty head, after a few times of memory Only six letters were found, and he guessed it might be his own name: Hatmog.

He might be a gangster.When Hartmogo joined the gangs with ease, he was familiar with the rules without deliberately learning, and he dismissed the intimidation of these gangs, and even had the desire to guide him, he would think so.

He lived recklessly in Central City, but he couldn't stop the large void from infecting his heart.Most of the time, Hartmogo feels like a blank slate, the front and back of which were once filled with pictures but have been erased.Only in the middle of the night, when he jumped from the highest point in Central City, the feeling of falling made him twitch unconsciously, and the fast wind suffocated him, and Hartmogo was satisfied with it.

He landed on top of The Flash, and Speedster took him running to cushion the impact.Then put him on the ground.

"Are you alright?" the speedster asked softly.

Hartmogo shook his head, his heart was beating fast under the action of adrenaline, "Bat." He murmured, and the moment he jumped down, the image of the Chiroptera spreading its wings and gliding suddenly appeared in front of him in front of you.

The Flash didn't hear clearly: "Excuse me?"

"Thanks, Flash," Hartmogo said sincerely, "I've found what I need."

"You're welcome." Flash shrugged. "But please don't go to such a dangerous place. If you need it, you can always call Flash in Central City." He gave a big smile.

Hartmogo ended up in Gotham.A part of foreboding warned him that the city stinks of death, but his instinct blindly and frantically begged for a glimpse of it.

It was cold and damp.

The extravagant and dark Gothic and the heavy and angular Brutalist buildings are staggered without any sense of disobedience. The urban infrastructure built on a large scale in the last century is running tenaciously and silently. A newly built community for more than ten years.Most of the other public facilities were donated by the Wayne Group, such as the solar street lights on both sides of the road. When they were turned on before the sun went down, Hartmogo seemed to be stung by the sudden light and burst into tears.

The map of Gotham came to his mind almost immediately, clear and three-dimensional, as if Hartmogo had spent his entire life throwing it here.He danced to the dance music, obeying the instinctive anger, like a child returning home, swaying his emotions without scruples.

When Hartmogo woke up from the drug-like frenzy, he saw a raging fire in the hotel where he was temporarily staying. A dancing girl was blocked by the flames. Seeing that the tongue of fire was about to lick her soft body, a round A carbon dioxide bomb was thrown in, and then a black bat passed the window like a ghost, wrapping around the dancer's waist.

He stepped on the embers of the flames, in the scorched interior, the lights reflecting the sky and the sea outside were cast from the skylight, the dark knight raised his head, and the light fell on his only exposed chin, as if glowing .Batman then fires the grapple gun and disappears down the light path onto the roof.

Batman's eyes were hidden behind the white one-way transparent lens from beginning to end, but for some reason, Hartmogo felt as if he had seen the scenery behind the mask, like Lake Baikal in the depths of the Siberian snowfield, clear and deep , as long as a little daydream, Hartmogo has the illusion of drowning.

He deliberately encountered Batman again and again. Under the colorful flowers in the Diamond District and the chaos in the East End, the Dark Knight spread his bat wings to keep all ordinary people in Gotham City from evil.At the top, Bruce Wayne pulls the rescue rope to face open and dark arrows; at the bottom, he becomes one inconspicuous person after another, embracing the down-and-out people.

when i sink my eyes into yours

I glimpse the deep dawn

i see the old yesterday

see everything that i can't comprehend

I feel the universe is flowing

between your eyes and me

"I'm in love with you," Hartmogo-Gotham said, intense emotions washed away the shackles of memory, ancient and vast memories filled his brain, his head seemed to be pierced by a thousand needles, The body is also temporarily unable to move because of the re-establishment of connection with this land.

"Love has no definition, but I want to be able to look at you as long as I live. Every time I see you, I feel like I've fallen into a swamp, with countless vines pulling my limbs, and mud soaking my nose and mouth How I wish to escape from your eyes, but it is too big, even if I flee to the edge of death, there is no way to escape."

Gotham grabbed the dark knight's drooping cloak and confessed frankly, relying on his current weakness. "But maybe I'm a fish living in a swamp, and the clear water under the mud is the only place I can survive."

"So," the Dark Knight pulled him up, pushing Gotham against the wall, "who are you?"

"Laville, c'estmoi." The gorgeous-looking man pressed his index finger on his bright red lips and said in French with a low hoarse voice.

"Washington is determined to 'humanely destroy' Gotham City," said Gotham, who was allowed into the Batcave after a slew of checks, sitting on an armchair with a hot tub from Alfred. Milk, explained, "I thought about it and asked my mother and siblings, and they all thought I couldn't handle it."

Batman watched him silently.

"I really can't handle this, bats. Gotham is a highly modern city, not a self-sufficient city-state. I'm dying," he said lightly, "but don't worry, cities die differently from humans, as long as Gotham is still here, and when people move in again, I'll wake up. It's just not a human being anymore, but the state I used to be." He lowered his eyes, then laughed, A kiss fell on Batman's forehead: "Go away, get as many people out of Gotham as possible. I'm too bad to deserve anyone to die with me."

"I see." Batman said, pressing Gotham's hand.The corner of his mouth was slightly raised: "Trust me, okay?"

His dark blue irises were silent and sad, Gotham looked at him, and a sense of understanding rose from his heart.

"You guessed it..." Gotham said hoarsely, his eyes were a little sore, but his heart was extraordinarily calm, and even a little joyful - in an instant, he knew that this journey of thousands of miles had finally reached the end, and the worst was the end. The best ending he could have imagined.

He felt he wanted nothing more.

Not long after, the undersea tunnels and bridges between Gotham and the outside world were blocked, food could no longer be brought in, and hunger was spreading throughout Gotham City.Gotham experienced this feeling for the first time since he was born. His stomach was burning, his limbs didn't even have the strength to lift up, and even thinking became a kind of torment. He had the illusion that every time he used his brain, his body All of the protein is burned for this.

"This is just the beginning." Bruce huddled on the chair in the dining room. In order to maintain his strength, he basically reduced all his actions to a minimum in order to maintain his thinking. "It's only the second day, and normally most families would stock up on a week's worth of food at a time, and restaurants and other places have stockpiles. Immediately affected by the cutoff are those waiting for relief, which churches or other community organizations give daily. Food is handed out, but when supplies are cut off, other people are not in the mood to volunteer."

Gotham hummed weakly to signal himself to listen.

He has often guessed that he is going to die recently, Bodie in California, a town he has only seen a few times began to reappear in his dreams, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki with scars, Tawergha in Libya, Mandu in India, Ukraine Pripyat... After World War II, almost all the dead town consciousness died in his field of vision, and now it might be their turn to see him off.

He didn't know what they thought of him, an executioner with dirty and bloody hands, or a bright pearl of human generations.Or maybe the word "view" itself is very human-like. Consciousness bodies are born, communicate, and die. They do not have the needs of human beings to establish a society, and the judgment system in society cannot naturally develop—since their life and death are The laws of nature, so who can blame the laws?

The nearness of death cheered Gotham up, and he began writing letters in crooked notes that he intended to bury in his grave, along with his bones.When the land is forgiven again and people move into brand new cities, the new consciousness will be able to read these letters and tell Mother Gaia and other cities that still remember him.

He doesn't know how long they will remember him, their lives are so vast compared to human beings, so that a mortal's life is just like a shooting star across the night sky, just an embellishment; but he hopes that if one day in the future , when they think of him, they can feel the same heartfelt joy bursting from the bottom of their hearts as Central City talks about The Flash.

After day three, Batman reappears in Gotham.There's rarely a smile on his face when he doesn't have to pretend to be Brucey Baby, but Gotham senses a stormy rage under Bruce's calm expression.

"Eddie and the others give me two days," Batman said, "and then they're going to destroy Gotham."

He stared closely at the display screen in the Batcave, the program written in assembly language quickly slid by, and the white and blue light hit his leather armor, reflecting gloomy colors.

"I think it's good to die at their hands," Gotham said weakly, ignoring Batman's cold glance, "although I'd rather die for you, honey."

Then Gotham noticed the corner of Bruce's mouth curl up a little.

"Then live for me." Batman—Bruce said, he put on his helmet, injected a shot of nutrients, and jumped onto the flying machine without looking back, "A little trouble, you stay here. "

I don't know how long it took, maybe Gotham fell asleep for a while, and the communication in front of him was suddenly connected.

"Gotham," Bruce said, in the noise of the radio waves, his voice was a little erratic, but in the deliberately low tone, there was a peaceful and determined smile: "...it will get better"

"What?" Gotham asked while grabbing the microphone, but the call had already been cut off.He was holding the microphone blankly, his hands trembling involuntarily, and he was rarely flustered by the hint of this sentence.He jumped off the chair, stumbled almost to the dirt, and used his body to sense Gotham City.

He swept across the complex sewer system, across the streets and buildings, and pushed aside every white cloud.He heard the barriers being removed from the bridge, food trucks lined up outside, and helicopters hovering over Gotham, dropping sacks of biscuits.

He saw the coffee in James Gordon's hand spilled on the floor, and he fell asleep on the table, while Barbara Gordon sidled up and wrapped him in an old blanket.He saw Klein shaking his head regretfully, retreating into the shadow of Gotham, while Ivy retracted her hand controlling the growth of plants, and looked at Gotham with a smile.

He saw a sinful city and ordinary people rising from the abyss.Mr. Baldwin put down the gun in his hand, fell on the ground and wept, behind him the black police officer Jerry and some food he just got spilled on the floor; Tenesa tore off the rope hanging from the beam, knelt on the bed and wailed; Miss Rossi's mother watches the TV, worrying about whether the new rented house will be renewed.

Life turns over...but Gotham can't find his black bat.

The author has something to say:

1. The plot involved in this chapter is the main content of the main text of "Flowers of Gotham", so it took some time to write.After finishing writing on Qixi Festival, I am very happy to publish this chapter on Qixi Festival.

2. Laville, c'estmoi is adapted from Louis XIV's famous saying "I am the country", and the Chinese is the self-introduction of Gotham (character) in Batman v3.

3. The sources of the poems are all the works of Ali Isber.