("Oh my god!!! Rhino, tiger, rabbit, turtle, hedgehog, cat, gorilla, lion, elephant, monkey, beetle, dinosaur, watermelon, banana, apple, blueberry, gray clothes, robot, cowboy, police, construction worker, nurse, doctor—sir!")
("Stop fighting!!!")
("Stop, stop!")
Batman squatted casually nearby, watching the ventriloquist, who now wore a stuffed toy on each of his ten fingers—and even his ten toes. Each was arguing with the others, while a pile of extra plush toys surrounded him, joining in the great internal conflict.
Bruce could practically see green smoke puffing out of the man's bald head. Arnold had turned into a living speaker, a mess of screeching voices echoing from every part of his compact body.
"Aaaahhh!!!"
The ventriloquist screamed.
What had started as a harmless puppet fight was now spilling into reality. A bird puppet on his index finger seemed to have convinced the others of something, and suddenly his left hand formed a fist—then punched him in the eye.
"Help! Save me!"
Bruce stared at him with quiet contempt.
He's a complete maniac, Bruce thought. If not for the Batman code—and his potential usefulness—I wouldn't mind killing him. He's utterly hopeless.
Once, during his original invasion of the GCPD Evidence Room, Arnold had calmly created a "Police Officer" puppet to stabilize himself—because he had Mr. Socks as a dominant personality to keep order.
But now, Bruce had destroyed Mr. Socks.
Every new personality was born equally weak, and none could take control. The result? Total chaos. Dozens of personalities clashed like viruses in a computer trying to run all at once.
"Ahhh..."
Almost done, Bruce thought. 'I need to start the next phase of treatment—before his brain's CPU actually fries.'
He stepped into the pile of hand puppets and pulled out a plush Batman toy.
It was cartoonish: a tiny, babyish Batman with a pacifier, wearing a diaper and a black suit. The belt was sewn on, soft, almost cute—something a little girl might adore. But Bruce had embedded a radio module inside it, allowing him to remotely control the doll's voice.
"You'll do."
Bruce strode up to the ventriloquist and, in a flurry of rough movements, tore all the toys from his hands.
"Noooo!"
Arnold clung to Bruce's leg, rubbing his tear- and snot-covered face on the suit:
("Oh my god, what are you doing to Rhino, Tiger, Rabbit, Turtle, Hedgehog, Cat, Gorilla, Lion...")
"Get lost!"
Bruce unceremoniously stripped the bald old man completely naked—not even sparing him a pair of underwear—and then piled all the plush toys on top of him.
He pulled out a lighter.
"No! NO—!"
The ventriloquist flailed wildly, but Bruce clamped him beneath his ribs and lit the toys.
Boom!
Flames roared to life. The plush toys—highly flammable—went up instantly.
Even the toys that hadn't become personalities were not spared.
Bruce turned and torched the rest from the nearby bag.
"Nooo..."
Arnold collapsed, sobbing. Naked, he couldn't even tear off underwear to make a new puppet. He was helpless.
"Arnold? Arnold?"
No response.
Arnold wept like an oversized bald baby, slapping his face over and over.
"Take me away! Take me away!"
If Bruce hadn't stopped him, he would have jumped into the fire.
Bruce nodded, satisfied.
He took out a small vial and sprayed a thick mist into Arnold's face.
"Ack! Cough—cough—COUGH!!!"
This time, the screaming stopped. Arnold began to twitch and convulse like an epileptic.
Fear toxin. Scarecrow's special brew. It amplifies fear into an uncontrollable storm.
"See?" Bruce whispered as he grabbed Arnold by the neck, forcing eye contact.
"No matter how many new friends you make, I'll kill them all. Heh heh heh.
Arnold howled again. Bruce wondered if he'd cough up his throat next.
Through the ventriloquist's eyes, the world was probably on fire. Flames, Batman's terrifying figure, the collapse of his protectors, the drugged horror of the fear toxin—
A stew of complete psychological collapse.
"Only this one."
Bruce shoved the mini Batman plush into Arnold's hands.
"Only he is allowed to be your friend now."
"He carries my will. He watches you. You will obey him."
"Don't throw him away. Don't disobey. He'll stop you from killing like Scarface did. He'll make you listen to me. He won't hurt you. And I won't hurt you either. This is all for your own good!"
Bruce roared directly into Arnold's face, loud enough to shake his brain. Saliva sprayed across his blank expression.
Arnold cradled the mini Batman like a holy relic.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
Then... nothing.
Broken? Bruce thought, eyes narrowing.
He slapped him twice.
("Speak. Come on—smile.")
Still nothing.
Then a deep voice—low, controlled, eerily familiar—rose from Arnold's stomach:
("Arnold, don't be afraid. As long as you listen to Batman, you won't be hurt.")
Bruce smiled.
Success.
"Remember... from now on, you're Batman's dog."
"Woof!"
...Huh? Something's not right.
Ah, whatever.
His thoughts were interrupted by a burst of 'silver-white text flashing in his mind.'
---
[Warning! Warning! Anchored item detected!]
[Obtained: Ventriloquist's Tears of Personality Destruction]
[Description: The tears shed after total collapse of the ventriloquist's secondary personalities. Can only be obtained through extreme, immoral methods. May be used to summon a Batman from a parallel universe.]
[But... can something born from immorality summon a hero?]
["Yes. You have acquired him—but lost your morality."]
["Was it really worth it?"]
---
Bruce glanced at the slowly drying tear in his hand.
[Crisis Energy Units Converted: 10]
[Batman's Memory Synchronization Possible]
His heart jumped. 'The plug-in... it's working!'
---
[Agreement has been activated. Initialization complete...]
[A new Batman has been located...]
[Your number is: 52]
[Alfred Protocol Initialized]
---
[The mortal body is not inferior to a demon king.]
[With fear as power, you rival Satan himself.]
[In the world of shadows, you are the body of judgment.]
[The Shadow Knight still stands supreme.]
[All evil cowers before your divine presence.]
[Ghosts and monsters—unmoving before your light.]
[The lamp of shadow burns eternal.]
---
[Warning: Anchor Item "Ventriloquist's Tears of Personality Destruction" linked...]
[Target Batman found: Earth-99 Batman – The Broken Batman]
[Danger Level: E]
[Synchronization Complete.]
[Current Crisis Energy: 0]
[Warning! This Batman hails from the Dark Multiverse. Caution: His thoughts may corrupt your reason and morality.]
---