It was 2 PM, only two hours left until 4 PM—just a few cigarettes' worth of time.
Half of Gotham City had been mobilized, yet Rachel and DA Harvey Dent were still nowhere to be found. If they weren't located in 120 minutes, all that would be left was their charred remains.
"It's not over yet." Liu A'dou's eyes were wide, his spirit unshaken. While no one was watching, he quietly slipped away.
Half an hour later, Liu A'dou, carrying everything he needed, sped into the Batcave on his white motorcycle.
Batman was focused on analyzing surveillance footage from the Traffic Department from the night before. After an hour of sifting through it, he had managed to narrow down the possible locations for Rachel and Harvey. But no footage showed their final destination, nor the cops who had taken them. All he could see was the vehicle they were in heading off in two different directions.
As expected, Joker's plan had no flaws. Batman had determined that Rachel was somewhere in the industrial zone, while Harvey was in the old district. But both areas were huge. Though he had already alerted Commissioner Gordon, Gordon couldn't identify the officers who led the teams that took them. Too many detectives had been injured. The GCPD was now headless, lacking even someone to organize the search, let alone do it efficiently.
Batman was just about to take the Batplane to search both sites himself when Kaitou Kid suddenly arrived.
"Batman." Liu A'dou parked his bike with a sharp slide.
"Kaitou Kid?" Batman hadn't expected him to show up here, in the Batcave.
"Let's cut the crap. I'm here to help save those two hostages the Joker took. I know how to find them—and the Joker too. But his firepower's too strong. I need your help."
Batman stared at him. "What kind of help?"
"I need your Supercomputer. And I need you to make me some gadgets." Liu A'dou dumped the stuff he brought onto the floor and walked straight to the Supercomputer. "We've got no more than an hour. You've got the tools here to help me finish this device, and I've got an hour to finish my program and find them."
Without waiting for a response, Kaitou Kid plopped down in front of the Supercomputer, plugged in his white USB drive, and started working.
"Batman, what are you waiting for?"
Batman didn't move, stunned. It wasn't every day someone barged into his base and started giving orders. Especially not someone who was, technically, a thief. And now, this guy was messing with his Supercomputer.
Suspicious as always, Batman stepped forward and grabbed Liu A'dou's shoulder. "Tell me exactly what you're doing."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Liu A'dou shot back. "Weren't you dying to know how I found the Joker? It's because I made a hacker program that monitors every online electronic device in Gotham City. If there's any electronic equipment near the Joker, I can pinpoint him."
"..." Batman was stunned. That kind of software was insanely unethical. But to make something like that work, you'd need a satellite to handle the huge amount of data, and not just any satellite. "You hacked military satellites?"
Liu A'dou gave him a thumbs up. "You really are Batman. My program's not finished yet. I need your Supercomputer to complete it and find all three of them. You don't mind, do you?"
Batman wanted to say no, but he knew they didn't have a better option. "And what about these things you want me to make? I'm not helping a thief make tools to steal with."
"A small device. The design's right there. If you won't make it, then just consider yourself owing me a favor."
Batman thought, might as well take a look first. If it wasn't something serious, helping him make it wouldn't be a big deal. But owing someone? That wasn't Batman's style.
Seeing Liu A'dou's fingers already flying over the keyboard, Batman went to check the pile of stuff Liu had brought. A lot of electronic components, even some batteries. He unfolded the design schematic—one glance, and he could tell this device was pretty simple. Looked like some kind of jamming device, probably for disabling cameras. Nothing lethal. So Batman packed everything up and headed to the equipment lab to start putting it together.
Faced with a madman like Joker who didn't play by any rules, Gotham's two strongest had no choice but to join forces this time.
For the first time since he came to this world, Liu A'dou felt real pressure. Hanging off a cliff or from a skyscraper? No big deal. But now, racing against time—this had him tense like never before.
As the program neared completion, results finally came in. Joker, Rachel, and Harvey's locations—all found.
Thank you, omnipresent modern tech. Thank you, city-wide wifi signals. Thank you, smartphone manufacturers everywhere.
"Batman, I've got them. Harvey's in the old district, not far from the police station. Rachel's in the industrial area, pretty close to here. Joker's downtown. You thought about how to split up?"
Batman walked over, holding a small box. "I'm done too."
"You didn't put any trackers on this, right?" Liu A'dou eyed him.
"I wish I had," Batman said. Meaning—he didn't.
Liu A'dou decided to trust him. He flicked his fingers, crossed his palms over the box, and with a smooth move, everything inside was gone.
"Nice sleight of hand," Batman noted as he watched Kaitou Kid's nimble fingers tuck the matchbox-sized cards up his sleeves. A twist, a flick—effortless.
"Occupational skill. Lots of practice," Liu A'dou replied modestly.
Under the cowl, Bruce's brow lifted slightly. This Kaitou Kid was... interesting. If only he didn't steal things, he might actually be a decent guy.
"Batman, today I'll follow your lead. Now that we know where they all are, you assign the jobs."
Batman nodded. "I'll contact Gordon to go after Harvey. You get Rachel."
And Joker? Batman would take care of him personally.
"Deal." Liu A'dou swung onto his white motorcycle and shot off like the wind.
Batman glanced at the Supercomputer—it had already been shut down. The white USB drive was gone. Let's just hope Kaitou Kid doesn't use it for anything bad. Honestly, Batman had the tech to create his own Eye of God, but that would be unethical, illegal. It wasn't that he couldn't—he wouldn't.
That's what made Batman great—his principles. And when he broke them, that's when he became truly dangerous.
No time to waste. It was already 3:06 PM. Only 54 minutes left until the bombs went off. Every second counted. Batman dashed into the hangar. A black jet roared to life and rose from beneath the Batcave.
Batman would contact Commissioner Gordon from the plane, ordering him to go save DA Harvey Dent.
Now, all three moved into action.