On the edge of the battlefield, on the rooftop of another skyscraper, a black cat and a white cat stood side by side. The black cat spoke, "I've always thought there was a strange sll when I was with Bat Cat, but I've never kept a bird, so I didn't realise it was the sll of bird droppings."
He turned to look at the white cat. "Gordon Cat, you never told that Bat Cat was one of their impersonations too."
The white cat also showed a shocked expression. He said, "No, Bat Cat doesn't seem to be... my God! They even replaced him too! The situation is worse than I imagined."
Yes, this white cat was in fact the chief of the Cat City Gotham Police Departnt, Gordon Cat. Shiller's encounter with Gordon Cat was earlier than anyone could have imagined.
It's not hard to guess that when Shiller's Tower of Thought landed in the middle of Gotham City, the first people to arrive would be the investigators from the police departnt. Gordon Cat was the most trusted cat of Bat Cat. So, it makes sense that he would be fully responsible for investigating this peculiar building.
Shiller, who was thrown out by the Superego, found a hiding place imdiately and started observing the surroundings. As soon as he correctly identified that the cat was representing Gordon, he knew that this cat could be trusted.
In the vast majority of DC Universes, Gordon is one of the few symbols of hope in Gotham City. He might feel depressed, lost, encounter nurous hardships but in the end, he will always triumph over all the challenges to beco the final conscience of Gotham.
Another important reason that made Shiller contact Gordon Cat first was that Gordon Cat's investigations seed perfunctory. Often tracking so scent leads, but then not pursuing them halfway.
Command and coordination were whimsical, directing two people to wherever clues were seen, then diverting them after a while. After observing for a while, Shiller ca to a conclusion. Either Gordon Cat was being negligent, or he was doing this intentionally.
The first ti Shiller t Bat Cat, he was talking to Gordon Cat. Shiller noticed that Gordon Cat had plenty of leads, but only reported a tiny fraction, and not the important ones. Bat Cat trusted him very much, and hence did not pursue the matter in depth. That's how Shiller who was thrown out directly remained undiscovered.
Gordon and Batman were not on the sa side. This situation was not common. Even in the Gotham influenced by Shiller, Gordon and Batman would act in a concerted manner. If Batman was investigating sothing at night and caused a ruckus, the police would arrive at the scene first. If the police were performing dangerous tasks, Batman would be there to provide protection on the flank. They worked quite well in coordination. This was true for most universes.
If Shiller had to choose a trustworthy counterpart from Batman and Gordon, he would opt for Gordon. Hence, he approached Gordon and explained his intentions. As expected, Gordon Cat never really trusted Bat Cat. He was always in hiding, waiting for the right ti to take action.
"When Bat Cat initially intended to remodel this city, I realised that no one could prevent him. However, I observed his inexplicable paranoia, which might have been influenced by sothing else. Since he could not be stopped, the only other option was to take other asures to preserve important things."
In the glow of moonlight, Gordon Cat's white fur sparkled. His voice echoed through the night sky and vanished into the darkness as he reasoned with Shiller.
"When I realised his plans to couldn't be halted, I beca his first ally. I stepped out and led the Gotham Police Departnt to help implent these transformations. At that ti, there was significant dissent. I helped him iron out a lot of disputes with the assistance of my subordinates, so he trusted ."
"However, my efforts were aid at figuring out what was influencing Bat Cat, and preserving crucial evidence that could possibly reveal the truth. These could be used to stop him when he finally goes mad."
"To prove my loyalty, I entrusted the Gotham Police Departnt to him for remodeling. He did completely transform it. But after that, I secretly opened the basent that he had not yet modified and put the preserved files in there."
"Back then, the entire city was in chaos. He was busy maintaining law and order and fighting against those who resisted him. In this confusion, I managed to accomplish this task."
"But later, when he ca to his senses, he felt that the insurance asures previously taken were not sufficient. Thus, he transford the original Gotham Police Departnt into a bank, and sent a trusted general to guard it, who was the Banker Cat."
"When we first t, you suggested that I kill Banker Cat. Did you sll a rat?" Shiller asked, looking at Gordon Cat.
"Indeed, once he settled in the original Gotham Police Departnt, his surveillance was strict. I had to ensure that he did not find the files, so I sent so cats in as spies. However, my subordinates reported back to that the Banker Cat was acting extrely weird and seed uncatlike. He also had a strange sll."
"In order to figure out what was going on on, I sent my subordinates to patrol that area to maintain neighbourhood security while actually keeping an eye on him. Finally, one evening while I was on patrol, I saw his shadow outside the window. It was not a cat, but... a bird."
"Birds, a distant species, once appeared in our nu, but now, have been extinct for a long ti. Now only cats exist in this world."
"Having found out the true essence of Banker Cat, I began to doubt all those high-level contacts of Bat Cat. Soon, as I expected, birds were hiding among the mayor's staff, bank CEOs, financial tycoons, cargo ship owners, and mob bosses."
"I believe that they might have mastered a certain technology. They brainwashed Bat Cat and controlled him. The main reason I asked you to kill Banker Cat was because I had been keeping such a close watch on him that he had started to suspect . Once he complained to Bat Cat, or found another way to brainwash Bat Cat, I would be dood."
"But what I didn't expect was..." Gordon stared at the battlefield not far away: "It wasn't they who controlled Bat Cat, Bat Cat was not a cat, but..."
"...It's an owl." Shiller looked at the bird pinned under the black cat's paw, saying, "It's not a cat, it's an owl."
Gordon cat sighed, "I should have noticed it earlier. I know he imprisoned his butler, Alfred. If he really was the Bat Cat, he would never have tortured the old butler who grew up with him like that. It seems that the Bat Cat has already fallen into their evil hands."
"No..." Shiller suddenly contradicted, "Since they didn't kill Alfred, maybe... maybe the real Bat Cat is still alive."
Light sparked in Gordon's eyes. He asked, "Really? But... but where is he? Could he be imprisoned by them as well?"
Shiller looked up at the moon and stated, "Imprisoned? No... they cannot keep a bat caged."
Underneath the luminous moonlight, the delight scattered down like curtains. Bat Cat, pinned on the ground, was shocked to see feathers on his own body. He had shed his feline appearance and turned into a real owl. However, as if completely unaware, he cried out in astonishnt:
"How is this possible! What have you done to ? How can I possibly be...I am supposed to be Bat Cat! The cat that rules the city! The richest cat! How could I be a bird?!! This can't be happening!!!"
"Nothing is impossible." Another voice interjected. The green Joker Cat approached, his maniacal smile gradually disappearing. Squinting his eyes, he looked at the panicked owl on the ground and stated:
"Of course you would be a bird. Otherwise, how would the Court of Owls dare to let their feline predators rule the city?"
Batman turned to look at his arch-nesis, Joker Cat, and then rembered that whenever he encountered Joker in the past, that manic laughter would stir dark emotions within him, making him desperately want the laughter to stop, even sparking a violent urge to kill him.
Yet, since coming to Cat City, he heard the Joker Cat's laughter more than once, but did not feel the sa emotions.
He recalled the first ti he encountered Joker Jack, and the words Shiller had said to him. When that sound of manic laughter does not resonate in his heart, it indicates that the person across from him is not his predestined enemy.
Which ant, the cat opposite him, is not the Joker.
Information that Batman found in the Gotham Police Departnt aligned with this. The docunts didn't record much important information, except a terrifying nursery rhy. Yes, it was the Owl Nursery Rhy - the Court of Owls, watchful while you travel...
Batman was all too familiar with the Court of Owls. He rembered vividly Joker's execution of the owls.
Batman recalled the first ti he saw the Joker Cat, and his mad rambling. In their first eting, Joker Cat had warned Batman that he slt a bird odour on Bat Cat. Combining this with the familiar nursery rhy, Batman thought that Bat Cat might not be a cat, but an owl.
While the evidence wasn't ample, even if Bat Cat wasn't an owl, the situation Gotham was in showed the influence of owls. With many thoughts along the way to investigating, Batman wondered, if no one was pulling the strings, would he really drive Gotham City to this state?
The conclusion of his thoughts was, he wouldn't. Because his rationality told him that it wouldn't work.
There's no standard that could perfectly differentiate human nature, it is impossible to classify those who et this standard as good and those who do not as bad. Race, skin color, gender, personality, none of these can be used as a reliable criteria.
People's ntality and emotions are constantly changing. Setting a static standard to asure and differentiate, then forcibly separating others based on this standard is nothing new. A certain failed art student tried doing this before, and we all know how that ended.
As Batman suspected, his first strike was successful. The one on the other side wasn't a cat, but an owl. With that in mind, there was only one question left. Batman looked at the owl and asked:
"Where did you put the real Bat Cat?"
The Owl was still screaming crazily, repeating "Impossible!" and "I am a cat! I am not an owl!" over and over.
Just at that mont, an aging figure slowly walked forward. The mont Batman saw him, he knew it was Alfred.
And then, he saw the old Alfred Cat walk up to Joker Cat and rubbed his chin against Joker Cat's.
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