The trial wasn't until the afternoon, but reporters had already gathered at the courthouse by morning. Cameras of all sizes were set up at the entrance. Liu A'dou and Thomas had arrived early, so they managed to get an excellent spot.
"We're going live today. Make sure you don't mess up," Thomas reminded him. He knew Liu A'dou was steady, but Liu didn't have much live broadcast experience, so Thomas didn't want any surprises.
"No worries, I've got this."
Time ticked by. The reporters were all working hard. Some who couldn't stand any longer found spots to sit on the ground. Liu A'dou stayed at his post while Thomas went off to grab lunch and take a nap in the van.
Holding the spot was obviously a junior's job, so with nothing else to do, Liu A'dou struck up a conversation with a newspaper reporter nearby.
Though both worked in media, TV stations and newspapers were quite different. It was a rare chance, so Liu A'dou asked him about the legendary "Daily Planet."
It wasn't hard to catch the envy in the reporter's voice. "Superman's their golden goose. Have you seen that photo of Superman soaring into the sky? Just that first shot of Superman boosted the Daily Planet's sales tenfold. Ever since then, they've gone from a local paper to a nationwide giant, all thanks to Superman." He clearly wished Gotham City had a Superman of its own.
"Doesn't Gotham have Batman?" Liu A'dou thought, even if Batman wasn't as popular as Superman, surely as the city's hometown hero, he'd help the papers stay afloat.
"Batman? Tch, he's the reason our papers are going under." The reporter looked around to make sure no one was listening, then lowered his voice. "You probably don't know this, but unlike you guys at the TV station, there's no rich backers left willing to invest in print media anymore. So most of Gotham's newspapers have some black market money propping them up. But Batman's always going after those guys, and when they suffer, we suffer too. That's why we're stuck scraping up dirt on Bruce Wayne. Gossip still sells."
So that's how it was. Liu A'dou thought these guys really had it rough. Then the reporter added, "But things are looking up a bit."
"Oh? How's that?"
"Thanks to Kaitou Kid. Good or bad, at least he's flashy enough. Shame no one's managed to snap a photo of him yet. Our boss is offering top dollar for just one clear shot."
Well now, seems like his reputation was starting to grow. If he kept at it, maybe he really could reach the popularity he had in his old world. The thought of crowds of fans cheering him on at every heist gave Liu A'dou a little thrill of pride.
"Alright, enough chatting, it's almost time," Thomas interrupted. The hour had arrived.
Liu A'dou checked the equipment one last time. Everything was good. Ready for live broadcast. "Okay, we're set. Counting down from three."
Thomas straightened up a bit, smoothing his appearance. Couldn't look too sloppy on camera.
The heavy police van had just come into view.
They connected with the studio, and the broadcast began immediately.
"Three, two, one," Liu A'dou counted down. "Go!"
Thomas raised his mic and started his commentary, speaking off the cuff without a script.
The other reporters kicked into gear as well. The rapid clicks of camera shutters sounded like a storm. The Joker hadn't even stepped out yet, and the media was already buzzing at the police line.
Finally, the van door opened. Two armed officers stood at the sides, and two more escorted the Joker out of the vehicle.
At that moment, his hands and feet were all shackled with heavy chains, every step an effort. Yet even so, the four officers escorting him didn't dare relax. Harley Quinn was treated the same, and the rest of the Joker's gang were chained together like a line of livestock, driven into the courthouse by police.
The Joker was still laughing, turning his head to grin at the reporters, sending shivers down their spines.
"… Today's trial of the Joker will determine his fate…" Thomas narrated, his voice steady.
But everyone knew the Joker wouldn't get the death penalty. The infamous mob lawyers had already started pushing the insanity defense. The most likely outcome was a return to Arkham Asylum, because no matter how much the public hated him, the court would still judge him based on the law.
The trial wasn't public, so the reporters had no choice but to wait outside for it to end, hoping to catch some words from the DA, the judge, or the lawyers.
"The Joker and Harley Quinn are definitely heading to the asylum, but the others are all going to prison," Thomas said as the short live broadcast ended. "Too bad the Joker didn't give up the mobsters backing him."
The Joker was smart—he knew that only by keeping silent would the gangs continue to support him.
Anyone with insight could tell that the Joker's chaos in Gotham wasn't without backing. Someone was definitely helping him behind the scenes. But none of those mob bosses had been touched by this. If anything, the Joker's madness only emboldened them.
As for Gotham's darkness, Liu A'dou felt powerless. Better leave that to Batman.
Thomas stepped aside to smoke, trying to refresh himself. Once the trial ended, the reporters would no longer keep order. They would swarm anyone with information, desperate to get even a hint of news.
Even though the usual answer would be "no comment," sometimes someone slipped up. Reporters never let a chance go.
Liu A'dou leaned against the van and dozed off. He had planned to rest after finishing his training, but instead, he'd spent the night awake. Now he was exhausted.
Training wasn't play, and Liu A'dou's method was particularly grueling. Controlling his breathing was just the first step. Then came walking on water, climbing trees—basically like training chakra.
He wasn't fooling around. He believed that all training was essentially about mastering the use of energy. Whether it was chakra, Ripple, qi, nen, or cosmos, they all started with strengthening the body, then refining energy, and finally using it in similar ways: walking on water, surrounding the body in energy for defense, or projecting it to increase strength.
So Liu A'dou felt that mastering walking on water and climbing trees was important. Plus, those training methods didn't require much—any patch of wilderness would do. Cheap and effective, they were the perfect path for a broke guy.
Ripple training was best done climbing oil towers, to master both adhesion and repulsion. But water-walking and tree-climbing worked just as well. Only repulsion let you stand on water, while adhesion let you climb with just your fingertips.
Even in his dreams, Liu A'dou kept training. Proof of how hard he worked. What you think about by day, you dream about at night. In the detective world, he had trained his body to the peak, even dodging bullets, so Ripple came easier to him. Judging by how he handled the zombies yesterday, his training had really paid off.