The Mad Fiend's true identity was the Leader's brother, while Zazzax's true identity was an unlucky soldier from the New Mexico base.
The Absorbing Man was originally a S.H.I.E.L.D. member who had been secretly recruited by Hydra.
Every single guy Batman had encountered on that Helicarrier could have their identity clearly traced, but Double-Head was the sole exception.
No records, no clues—it was as though this guy had materialized out of thin air.
Batman hadn't even found any electronic tags or digital signatures inside his mechanical body, and after sampling and analyzing the materials that composed Double-Head's physical form, he came away with a bizarre conclusion:
Double-Head didn't originate from Earth at all; he came from the Moon.
The substances making up his body were derived from hundreds of years ago, with portions dating as far back as a millennium.
Amid a cluster of guesses involving aliens, Asgard, the Nine Realms spoken of by Thor, mutants, and mutatees, Batman chose to use "mutants" as a bluff to bait him.
"What is a mutant?" The top head remained silent, while the bottom head spoke up to counter with a question.
Batman naturally had no intention of explaining the concept of mutants to Double-Head; in truth, Batman himself knew very little about mutants.
He looked at Double-Head's lower head, contemplating briefly before asking another question:
"How long have you lived since your birth?"
Once again, it was the bottom head that spoke:
"By your human measurements, roughly six hundred years."
The timeline did not align with Batman's analysis of Double-Head's physical composition, but Batman merely gave a subtle nod without pressing further into the matter:
"Who created you?"
"Who created us? Batman, am I to understand that you are insulting me?" A flicker of anger flared across the bottom face.
Even the top head glared at Batman with wide eyes, chiming in:
"Our mother created us, of course!"
This answer caught Batman somewhat off guard; according to his calculations, Double-Head should have been artificially manufactured.
"Does your mother also possess two heads, just like you?" Batman asked again.
Double-Head's lower head smiled with pride:
"Of course. Our top head handles combat, while our bottom head stores knowledge... What are you trying to do!"
He had answered dutifully for quite a while before finally realizing something was off.
Batman asking left and right—could he be trying to find his kinsmen so he could capture the other Double-Heads and lock them in prison as well?
Instantly, the two pairs of eyes across Double-Head's two heads—one pair looking up, the other pair looking down—both flashed a quick signal to the other head.
The two seemed to reach some sort of consensus, and the bottom head looked at Batman guardedly:
"Don't even dream of finding out where my clan is!"
"Wait, didn't our people all die out already?" The top head asked in confusion, feeling as though the consensus they had just reached wasn't quite aligned.
The moment those words were spoken, the bottom head choked on its own words.
Batman could tell that if Double-Head still had his body, he definitely would have slammed a heavy fist right into the top head.
"You are the sole survivor of your species?" Batman looked at Double-Head's heads, his brow furrowing slightly.
"That's right, how did you know?" The top head continued to express its confusion, not recalling the bottom head disclosing that information just now.
"Damn it! Shut up! Stop talking!" The bottom head bellowed.
Seeing that the top head indeed shut its mouth after being barked at, the bottom head turned back to Batman, his voice laced with dissatisfaction:
"Don't believe a word he says. He's only in charge of fighting, while all the knowledge is held by me. But we are indeed the last member of our species."
Batman remained completely unbothered:
"How did you come to know the Enchantress, and how were you sent by her to fight me? Before going there, where were you?"
Batman had already analyzed the division of labor between the two heads back on the Helicarrier.
"In the arena," Double-Head said. "That woman is the Enchantress? I don't know her."
The moment the keyword "arena" was mentioned, the top head in charge of fighting instantly grew anxious:
"Oh, the arena! Damn it! We were only a few victories away from becoming the arena champions! Now look at us—no champion title, and not even a body left, leaving only a nuisance like you!"
Had a four-meter-tall Double-Head appeared in any arena or underground fighting ring on Earth, Batman was confident he would have received word immediately.
Yet Batman knew nothing about Double-Head's past experiences, and combined with parts of his body structure originating from hundreds of years ago, Batman subtly surmised that the so-called arena was not located on Earth.
"Since you don't know the Enchantress, why were you brought by her to face me?" Batman asked.
"She said that as long as we fought one battle, she would find us a female Double-Head so our species could continue," Double-Head said.
Batman didn't speak, fixing his gaze on Double-Head.
Double-Head spent a moment wallowing in distress, both heads sighing endlessly and quickly shifting into blaming each other.
"If I had been in charge of fighting, the power I unleashed would have far surpassed yours! Why end up a useless wreck with our heads chopped off, placed right here while this damned Bat interrogates us about everything!"
"Haven't you realized you're just a drag? What good is a head full of cultural knowledge? If you hadn't constantly interfered with my thoughts, I would have become the arena champion long ago!"
Double-Head traded accusations for several minutes while Batman didn't say a single word. Only when their bickering gradually subsided did Batman suddenly speak up:
"If you are already the last survivor of your species, where was the Enchantress supposed to find a female Double-Head for you?"
All four of Double-Head's eyes went blank, and the expressions on both faces froze simultaneously, clearly stumped by the question.
"You mean... we were tricked?" Double-Head asked, his voice bitter.
"It is difficult for me to give a definitive answer," Batman said. "However, as it stands, that appears to be the case."
"Damned pig-headed witch..." Double-Head gritted his teeth, his breathing growing heavy right along with it—even though he no longer had lungs.
Double-Head looked toward Batman, both mouths just about to speak, only to see Batman turn around, leaving them with nothing but the silhouette of his heavy cape.
Before they could even react, Batman had already vanished from the cell.
"...Why do I feel like he left before he even finished asking his questions?" A look of confusion appeared on the top head's face.
"Sigh..." The bottom head let out a sigh.
Along the banks of the Hudson River, Batman—unusually—was not rushing on his way, but walking slowly along the deserted riverbank.
"Master Wayne, your idea of extracting intelligence regarding the Enchantress through Double-Head appears to have fallen through."
Alfred's voice sounded:
"However, it seems we now have a new line of thought? Double-Head clearly originates from another planet."
"You're right, Alfred," Batman spoke slowly. "Of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s three major initiatives, Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.'s Tesseract is already in my hands, and Project Goliath's Ant-Man and Pym Particles have been secured by me."
"Now, only Project S.W.O.R.D. remains."
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)
