Chapter 154: Batman is Back
"Is he your boyfriend?"
Jake glanced at the disheveled man still drinking at the bar, a flash of displeasure crossing his face.
Was he about to be cheated on?
"I was just using him," Mia said with a casual shrug. "Trust me, darling, I haven't even touched his hand. Just letting him be seen with me was enough to make him happy."
"Your personality has changed..." Jake could already sense the subtle shift in Mia's demeanor.
The old Mia had been the epitome of kindness—she would have apologized profusely if she'd accidentally stepped on a dog's tail. Before becoming a princess, she'd been the quintessential awkward outcast.
Catwoman, on the other hand, was a little devil—self-centered, manipulative, and skilled at seduction.
One innocent, one cunning—the combination created a fascinating new dynamic.
For instance, the current Mia wasn't quite as kind-hearted, and her acting skills were impressively sharp, but she didn't possess the same shamelessness and cold ruthlessness as Selina Kyle.
"Just be more careful next time," Jake said, putting his arm around Mia's waist. Did this mean he'd successfully won over Catwoman?
And a younger version of Catwoman at that.
Her slender waist radiated coiled strength beneath the deceptively delicate appearance.
He pulled her close against him, then turned his attention to the short man who stood frozen in place, not daring to move.
"Go back and tell Bane I'm coming for him."
Jake raised his weapon slightly, gesturing for the man to leave.
The moment the gun lifted, the short man scrambled toward the exit without looking back.
"So what are you planning to do now?" Mia tilted her head, studying Jake with curiosity.
"Do you like this city?" He didn't answer directly, but asked instead.
"I'm both Selina and Mia now, so yes—I quite like this city."
"In that case, let's go save the world."
The drunk man at the bar, already terrified into silence, didn't dare speak up. No one paid him any attention anyway.
The couple embraced and walked out together, leaving behind a dozen thugs clutching their wounded wrists and groaning in agony. They wouldn't receive any medical attention until the police arrived several minutes later...
In the original timeline, Bruce Wayne had selflessly sacrificed his life for the entire city of Gotham. Although there was a brief scene at the end of the film showing Bruce and Selina on what appeared to be a date in Florence, Jake believed it was definitely meant to be ambiguous—possibly just Alfred's wishful hallucination.
Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy was an absolute classic, but Jake couldn't fully accept the idea of the Dark Knight simply faking his death and retiring.
A hero dying at their peak, leaving the world with no image of weakness or defeat—that was one valid interpretation, but Jake didn't particularly like it.
In The Dark Knight, Batman had been framed for Harvey Dent's crimes, and for that alone, Jake wanted to clear Batman's name.
Watching his favorite superhero be falsely accused—the frustration Jake had felt during that scene was almost unbearable.
Thankfully, Nolan had eventually allowed the truth to come out and Batman's name to be cleared by Commissioner Gordon.
For that redemptive moment alone, Jake was willing to give Bane a relatively quick death.
That night, Mia—still somewhat mentally adjusting to her merged personality—seduced Jake back to a hotel...
Gotham City had no shortage of luxurious nightlife and indulgent pleasures.
When Jake woke the next morning in the hotel's king-sized bed and saw the slightly shy expression on Mia's face, he knew with certainty that her personality had stabilized.
Just as Jake finally fulfilled one of his post-dimensional-travel ambitions by successfully winning over Catwoman, a massive event was unfolding on the other side of Gotham City.
Bane had finally made his move.
He'd led a team of mercenaries to attack the Gotham Stock Exchange, attempting to steal all the trading data and manipulate Bruce Wayne's holdings!
The sky over Gotham City was particularly prone to overcast conditions.
Whenever major crimes occurred, dark clouds seemed to automatically obscure the sun.
Police sirens wailed as squad cars surrounded the Stock Exchange building, the piercing alarms serving as a warning to the criminals inside: surrender—the GCPD was here!
These sirens had been remarkably effective for eight years, maintaining order and deterring crime countless times during that period, but this time, they seemed utterly useless.
"You need to take your men and storm the building!" the Exchange manager said frantically to a senior officer. "It's not just our money at stake—it's everyone's money!"
"Is that right?" Detective John Blake said with deliberate indifference. "Well, I keep my money under my mattress."
"If you don't take action immediately, once the entire economy collapses, the money under your mattress will only be worth enough to use as kindling!"
"Cut all signals to the building—landlines and cell service!" Blake finally relented and gave the order.
Though ambitious about his career, he wasn't stupid—the impact of complete economic collapse would be far more catastrophic than even dozens of hostage deaths.
Sirens continued blaring as police vehicles, one after another, converged on the area.
Street after street became completely gridlocked with black-and-white squad cars.
SWAT snipers were also setting up positions at various elevated vantage points and concealed locations throughout the financial district.
"Establish roadblocks, seal off all access routes—don't let anyone in or out..."
Orders were issued in rapid succession.
The GCPD was implementing the most stringent containment measures possible.
Soon, the doors of the Stock Exchange burst open, and the snipers immediately adjusted their scopes. Right in the center of their crosshairs were hostages with their hands raised high above their heads.
Hidden among the hostages were Bane's mercenaries!
"Hold your fire! They have hostages!"
These criminals were exceptionally shrewd—not only was each one riding a motorcycle for maximum mobility, but they'd also positioned a hostage in front of them as a human shield.
The motorcycles roared past the armed police cordon, and the officers were powerless to stop them, forced to watch as they disappeared into Gotham's streets.
"Pursuit units—after them!!"
Several patrol cars immediately executed sharp turns and gave chase.
The roadblocks, far from hindering the criminals' escape, actually impeded the police pursuit instead.
"Should we shoot out the tires?" a young officer asked as they successfully caught up to the fleeing motorcycles, glancing at the veteran cop in the passenger seat.
"Negative—too much risk of hitting the hostages."
The high-speed chase continued, several motorcycles racing in formation with police cars in hot pursuit.
They tore through several major thoroughfares in downtown Gotham.
As darkness fell, just as they approached a massive underpass tunnel, the pursuing officers suddenly noticed that the tunnel lights were shutting off in sequence—one section at a time!
"What the hell is going on?" the young officer asked in confusion.
In Gotham City, power outages were virtually unheard of.
"That's impossible..." the veteran officer murmured, then smiled as he spotted a dark silhouette ahead in the tunnel.
"Who is that?" the rookie asked, squinting at the shadow.
The older cop smiled knowingly but didn't answer immediately. After all, that vigilante had been gone for eight years, and the new recruits on the GCPD probably didn't even know he'd ever existed. He spoke mysteriously, building the suspense like a movie trailer: "Oh, kid... you're about to see one hell of a show tonight."
His black cape billowed like storm clouds, obscuring the remaining tunnel lights and bringing deeper darkness.
An indescribable feeling emanated from that darkness—something simultaneously intimidating yet strangely reassuring.
Finally, his entire figure emerged into view before everyone.
His black cape spread wide like bat wings catching the wind.
A cowl covered his head, revealing only his eyes and jawline.
He sat astride an incredibly sleek, aggressive-looking motorcycle—the Batpod.
Carving a dramatic dark arc through the tunnel, he swept in like a whirlwind, slamming into one of the fleeing motorcycles and sending it crashing.
The Batpod didn't slow down but instead executed a spectacular sideways roll, then spun around with precision to take down another mercenary!
As the motorcycle chase burst out of the underpass into open air, a news helicopter overhead had already captured the entire scene and was broadcasting it live across Gotham.
The on-screen caption read in bold letters:
BATMAN IS BACK!
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