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"Ladies. Gentlemen. You have eaten well. You've eaten Gotham's wealth. Its spirit. Your feast is nearly over. From this moment on...none of you are safe."

- Batman, (Year One) 

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(Bruce Wayne POV)

'Oh man, these goddamn maniacs are everywhere now. *Sigh* Why the hell did I let Cortana go live on camera without a proper script?' I thought, regretting my earlier lapse in judgment as I went through the countless comments and posts on various social media platforms, all raving about how Black Mask's son, Black Hood might be able to establish a new safe haven for criminals in Gotham and give Gotham's criminal underbelly a "fresh" meaning. 

"Well, if you think those comments are bad, you should look at the online forums on the dark net. The anonymous comments left there are much more... uncensored than the ones on social media." Selina chuckled nervously as she browsed through a random online forum page. "I think you might have become the messiah of a lot of criminal psychos because of the stunt Cortana pulled." She giggled while glancing at Cortana's hologram, who just continued to silently stand beside me.

"... I am sorry." The AI assistant apologized for the thousandth time, keeping her head down in shame... which honestly looked so cute that I was actively struggling to keep being mad at her.

"No use in worrying about spoiled milk now. We should instead focus on keeping this city as crime-free as possible... Believe me, I cannot wait for the day when I can finally sell peace-keeping robot droids to the city government as support equipment for the GCPD. Just imagine me resting at home while sipping cocktails as the droids take care of all the common street-level lunatic thugs on their own. There can be a droid peacekeeper in every alley of this city to bring the city's crime rate to the lowest possible number, although, unlike Tony Stark's version, I will have to do my best to ensure that my project never goes rogue like Ultron." I muttered dreamily as I mentally envisioned the day when I wouldn't have to parade around in a bat costume anymore.

"I have a good idea. Why not just "recruit" these people under your gang and then have the dangerous ones... neutralized on the pretext of having a gang war against other gangs? I mean if they want to be murderous lunatics who take pleasure in spreading chaos and committing senseless crime, let them be lunatics, just make sure that the only ones getting hurt are they themselves and other bad guys." Selina advised, breaking me out of my pleasant dreams. "Or you could always have Cortana track down the real people behind these virtual accounts and take care of them even before they could commit a crime."

"You aren't wrong, Selina. But there are a few problems with both of those solutions. So, they will never work out in reality, even though they sound quite good in theory." I said while shaking my head. "For example, I cannot recruit each and every nutcase in Gotham into my new crime family because it will make the gang too... chaotic to handle. Besides, even if I were to agree to take all of those criminals under the new gang, it's not a given that they themselves will agree to join it.

They might be inspired by "Black Mask's" rise of crime speech, but they do not sympathize with Black Hood, nor do they care about helping the False Facers. All they really care about is spreading chaos and doing whatever they want while retaining their freedom in its most twisted sense." I replied with a shrug. "As for Cortana tracking down and 'taking care' of these deranged people, well, I am simply not going to allow it. A criminal isn't a criminal until they commit an actual crime. Sure, saying bad things on social media makes you a bad person, but it doesn't make you a criminal unless those posts or comments cause actual harm to someone else. 

After all, many people threaten or claim they will do harmful things, evil things, but never follow through. Therefore, regardless of how malicious their words may appear, they do not deserve punishment. Besides, I will not become one of those mentally unstable anti-heroes who kill innocent people before they can even attempt to commit a crime. Despite appearances, I have a moral code, and although it is quite ambiguous, it still exists," I explained with a small grin.

"I see. That does make sense. *Sigh* But does that mean you are just going to let these people remain as they are? What if they commit a crime before we even have the chance to stop them? What if we fail?" She inquired, glancing at one of the countless digital profiles that Cortana had begun monitoring as a result of this incident. This profile depicted an unusual-looking individual who appeared to be an adult male, wearing a long hat, and exhibiting frequent online activity that almost made him seem like some sort of pedophile. 

"We won't. Cortana has started to keep tabs on everyone in Gotham whose internet activity strikes her as weird... weird by Gotham's standards, that is. So, all those people who empathized with "Black Mask's" criminal speech are now under her watchlist. She has even grouped and categorized them based on the likelihood of their actually committing a serious crime. You can rest assured that she will be continuously tracking the ones who have the highest probability of turning to a life of crime." I revealed as I gestured at the carefully curated digital profiles of hundreds of people that slowly began to appear on the giant Bat Computer screen.

"However, this little stunt Cortana pulled does provide us with one single advantage: we now possess a comprehensive data record of most of Gotham's residents who may turn to crime in the future. This information will aid us immensely in monitoring potential threats moving forward... even if the threat is because Cortana simply oversold her Black Mask act." I chuckled, giving Cortana a knowing look.

"Again, I am so sorry. I just acted based on the different data I had collected online. I predicted that giving an inspiring speech would encourage young, small-time criminals to join your gang. I never even dreamed in my most horrifying simulations that actual psychopaths might get inspired to start committing crimes because of my speech... I guess I still have a long way to go when it comes to truly understanding the average human psyche." Her teary-eyed hologram cutely apologized once again with a bowed head.

Tch. Regardless of her understanding of the average human psyche, she is certainly intimately aware of my personality. She knows I cannot stay mad at her for long if she maintains that cute expression on her face.

However, this may not be entirely her fault. The city of Gotham is... weird to say the truth. The mentality of the average person in this accursed city is vastly different from that of individuals in other places. I mean, I cannot think of any other city where someone becomes a supervillain after merely being fired from their job or simply because they experienced rejection from someone they had a one-sided crush on.

Not only that, but even the ordinary citizens of this city seem too comfortable with the frequent crimes occurring here. Although most do not turn to a life of crime, they still do not make any additional effort to reduce crime rates or leave the city. Therefore, there is a good chance that Cortana's calculations about the average human psyche were accurate, and the actual problem was that Gotham's people just did not possess an average psyche.

Honestly, if I were an ordinary citizen in a crime-plagued city like Gotham, where a normal human has to dress as a bat and fight criminals every night to restore even the tiniest semblance of peace, my first action would be to sell all my belongings and permanently relocate to another place, probably an important government-protected capital city like Washington... or perhaps even the countryside.

Cities like Metropolis, Star City, Fawcett City, and Central City were twisted too, but none were on the level of Gotham. In front of Gotham City, all of them could be regarded as little children trying to imitate the "badassery" of their elder sibling.

"Have you finished working, Master Wayne?" Alfred's voice finally pulled me from my reverie as he stepped out of the elevator connecting the Batcave to Wayne Manor. "Dinner is ready, and I would rather you not subject yourself to another cold meal," he remarked with a smile as if harboring some particularly good news. "To mark your recent triumph over Gotham's criminal underworld, I took the liberty of preparing your favorite dishes—a perfectly seared, medium-rare steak, a hearty mulligatawny soup, and lobster thermidor, all accompanied by a rather exquisite 200-year-old wine." He paused briefly before adding, "And, of course, a special treat for Miss Selina—strawberry-flavored ice cream, imported directly from Italy." His words earned a smile from both Selina and me.

"Oh, and before I forget, Master Wayne, a letter arrived for you from Miss Diana earlier today," Alfred said, handing me an already-opened envelope. "I must apologize for having opened it beforehand, but in my defense, it bore the appearance of an official communiqué addressed to the Wayne Estate rather than a personal correspondence. She neglected to include her name on the envelope, leading me to believe it was either fan mail, an invitation, or—heaven forbid—yet another bill from the auction house." He said while giving me a pointed look.

"Anyway, it seems Miss Diana is perfectly safe and has nearly completed the quest she undertook from that prophetic dream of hers," he continued. "From what I gathered, her investigation led her to a rather peculiar mystery in Metropolis—reports of people vanishing from their homes, only for animals to be found in their place, a rather peculiar affair if I may say so. It appears she has made significant progress in uncovering the true cause of these strange occurrences. She should be back in a few days once she is done taking care of it."

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