A month has passed since I last wrote in my journal, and what a month it has been!
We have snuck into so many houses of priests, some more lavishly furnished, others less so, and exposed their criminal acts to the police. This has led to the arrest of so many scoundrels, and, the more of them that we successfully put into a cellar, the happier my heart gets. It feels like, with every priest that is placed into the grips of justice, a tiny bit of the suffering I've endured at the hands of my parents' deaths slips away.
Obviously all of this vigilantism has had a vastly significant impact on Gotham as a whole, especially on the community of Miserysts that has plagued it for long enough. Every day there is a Miseryst in the news who pretends to be shocked at the heinous crimes of their priest, and therefore claims to renounce the religion. I have no doubt that they have renounced it, but not for the reasons the press thinks they have. They haven't renounced it out of shame, but out of fear. Fear for the Batman.
Still, I feel a sense of satisfaction every time I see another person renounce Miserysm. It means that my plan is working. It means that Miserysm's grasp on Gotham City is weakening. For every renunciation of the green robe and the mask, Gotham becomes a brighter place.
As we put more and more priests into the hands of the law, our mission becomes more and more difficult. The priests, having heard of their fellow colleagues being sentenced to jail, and having heard the circumstances in which it happened, having seen the faces of Batman and Catwoman on the screen, have increased the defences around their homes, hiring security guards, placing traps for us, installing their bedrooms with an alarm for when the door opens. This has indeed made our job more difficult than during the capture of our first priest, but Selina is a master burglar and can get through all of these problems fairly easily. I am eternally grateful for her help. Without her, I would have been caught a long time ago and been sentenced to prison for breaking and entering or for vigilantism. Furthermore, these challenges have only begun to arise recently, due to our high levels of speed in putting away the priests.
And indeed, Selina and I have revealed a lot of the corruption within Gotham society as a whole to the police, who are still too lazy to act upon it. In fact, in one interview, a cop was quoted saying that they'll just leave the job to us and pick up the remains, so their laziness hasn't improved with our introduction to the scene at all. But then again, I suppose I'm fine with that. I wouldn't want the police force to start hunting Selina and myself all of a sudden as well.
Batman and Catwoman have become the names of celebrities in Gotham. Our popularity and support is immense from the people who are threatened every day by Gotham's violence, the people who I've already described previously in this journal, who live their lives every day in fear of their fellow citizens. It fills me with even more joy that my idea about becoming a symbol turned out to have been right, and on both sides too. Many rumours have spread online about the crime bosses starting to feel threatened by our crusade. Since we're not targeting them yet, I suppose that Selina and I will not have trouble from them, at least not until we're done with the Miserysts.
I have managed to obtain a transcription from a particular news segment that I found to be quite interesting. Here it is.
Mildred: Breaking news tonight. The appearance of the masked vigilantes, popularly deemed the Catwoman and the Batman, has taken Gotham by storm. Their journey into the criminal underworld has uncovered shocking revelations about the heinous acts of members of, up until now, a relatively unknown religion. These people call themselves Miserysts, and their priests have been found with documents that contain confessions to terrible murders and kidnappings, among many other criminal acts, uncovered by Batman and Catwoman, who allegedly snuck into the house of these priests and tied them up before calling the police. The priests who have been captured all strangely confessed to these crimes. Watch as we take you through various people's opinions on the Miserysts, the vigilantes, and the impact this could have on Gotham as a whole. Over to you, Jemimah.
Jemimah: Thank you, Mildred. First, here I am with police officer J. Jenkins. Sir, what is your opinion on these two vigilantes?
Jenkins: Well, of course, these two individuals are clearly committing crimes. They're breaking and entering, they are forcefully restraining people against their will, and they are at times assaulting people. Now, I understand that they do all of this in order to catch criminals and deliver them to the courts and jails, but the fact remains that they are doing all of this without any warrants to do so. The fact remains that they are vigilantes disobeying the law. I disagree with what my fellow officer said about being fine with them doing their job for us. I, for one, am not. I think that this matter should be in the hands of the police, and it should stay that way. Gotham doesn't need unlicensed punishers of crime rampaging through its streets. What happens, I say, when they become too drunk on power and start abusing innocent civilians? I'm telling you, the thing about vigilantes is that you just can't trust them to follow the law. They're not a reliable way to bring justice to criminals.
Mildred: While we can understand Jenkins' sentiments, it appears that public opinion is generally very different. Support is sky-rocketing for these two, from other police officers to ordinary civilians, as we'll see in this next interview.
Civilian: Yeah, I think Batman and Catwoman are doing a really great job. Living in Gotham City and just trying to get by as a normal citizen is often very hard when you hear horror stories on the news about another crime every day, and when you see the statistics. Fear has really consumed me, every day, to the point where I don't feel safe going outdoors and I just have to live with that. What's even more frustrating is that the police don't seem to be doing anything! But now here we have two people who are doing something and making a change, and it just fills a gal with some hope for the future.
Mildred: And that seems to be a common opinion throughout Gotham, even with some of its more poorer citizens.
Jemimah: Here I am in one of the more poorer districts of Gotham, and the scene of Batman and Catwoman's first capture of a Miseryst priest. I'm now talking with Joe, a man who has been homeless and living in this district for five years. Joe, what are your opinions on Batman and Catwoman?
Joe: Well, they don't really seem to be doing much directly for us folks, like Thomas and Martha Wayne did, but I do like that they're finally putting the ones with the green robes to jail. I've had to live for years with them beating me up and stealing me food, so I'm glad to see that they're going away. Makes a man feel a bit more secure that his coins won't be taken from him while he's sleeping. And of course I've often heard of some of me mates being killed by the green robes, which luckily hasn't happened to me yet, but I was pretty sad to lose old Jerry. Glad that they're getting what they deserve.
Mildred: Clearly, these two figures have mainly positive opinions on their impact, but we've managed to track down a Miseryst priest and ask him what he thinks of all this.
Jemimah: Here I am with Father Cornelius, who seems to be claiming that the accusations against his fellow priests are not what they seem. Is that correct, Father?
Cornelius: Yes, Jemimah. That is indeed correct. We Miserysts are a noble people. We only seek to serve our noble and true God Ferdinand, and we do this by abstaining from the unfitting pleasures of the Earth in order to achieve the spiritual and everlasting pleasures up above. We mean no harm to anyone, and, indeed, if you join us, we will welcome you with grace and open arms. We accept everyone. So I do not appreciate this Batman and Catwoman painting such a negative light on our innocent religion, especially because of the harmful impact it has had with the defectors.
Jemimah: But the journals found with the priests indicate them committing unforgivable acts! I mean, they mention human sacrifice in there! How can you call your religion noble if there are so many priests in it who have done terrible things?
Cornelius: Firstly, the actions of a few members of a group, if they were indeed done, should not be the cause of abhorrence and prejudice towards the entire group. If these priests did indeed do as it is claimed, and this is only conjecture, it does not mean that myself, my fellow priests, and the other members of Miserysm did those acts as well. As I have already stated, we are a noble and true people with a very specific standard of morality.
Jemimah: I am not saying that you did these acts, but surely you cannot deny that your fellow priests did them? I mean, we have pretty clear-cut evidence with the existence of the journals and their confessions.
Cornelius: Well, forgive me if this may come across as objecting to the results of the police investigation, but I believe that all of that was a hoax! A hoax, I tell you! My religion has a figure of evil which we call Misery, and both Batman and Catwoman, but especially Batman, resemble this figure! Clearly, these attacks are specifically designed to eliminate and target our holy priests, and by default, our religion. If you look at how many defectors there have already been, this becomes even clearer! Batman and Catwoman clearly have a thing against us, and so therefore is it not unreasonable to propose that they are lying? Can it not be assumed that the journals are fake and that the confessions are forced? I certainly think it is possible.
Jemimah: But all of this is clearly conjecture. You have no proof, do you?
Cornelius: The proof is within my heart and soul, which both love our God Ferdinand. If you do not choose to accept the truth, then I can do nothing but weep. Weep for you and for the citizens of Gotham who also do not believe, for they will never see the light of our God Ferdinand. Instead, they are blinded by the lies of Misery and his evil servants, Batman and Catwoman. I hope and pray that you may one day see the truth, and that my fellow innocent priests may be one day released from the prison within which they have been unfairly confined. If they are watching this right now, all I can say to them and to my children is that the entire Earth is a prison, one that we must try to escape, and I hope that my brothers may not be disheartened by the narrower jail that they have been placed in.
This is Bruce Wayne writing to say that Selina and I shortly managed to convict Cornelius as well for his many terrible crimes.
Mildred: But while Father Cornelius may have this opinion of Miserysm, other fellow Miserysts don't seem to agree. Over to Jemimah.
Jemimah: Thank you, Mildred. Here I am with Sally, someone who used to be a Miseryst, but has decided to choose another path in life after hearing the shocking priest scandals.
Sally: That's exactly right. You know, when I first joined Miserysm, I thought it was a neat idea. I looked at their teachings and I thought to myself, "Well that's unlike any religion I've ever heard of before!", cause you see, I was kind of bouncing around, seeing what suited me, and most of them didn't, but when I found Miserysm I thought, "Well, that fits me like a hand fits a glove!" And I had a pretty good time for a while, right up until this Batman and Catwoman show up and open my eyes! I had no idea that the priests were such freaks! God, it's honestly disgusting to me to imagine I ever associated with those types of people. I'm telling you, that is one life choice I deeply regret taking. If only I had known about the sick stuff Miseryst priests did before I joined up. And to think I was a Miseryst for three years without ever getting a sniff of anything suspicious! Lord, I laugh at my younger self. How could she have been so gullible?
Mildred: Another fascinating perspective into this matter. But now we move on to an incredible story from a man who claims he was actually going to be a human sacrifice when the Batman and the Catwoman saved him. Here's Jemimah with more.
Jemimah: Thank you so much, Mildred. Here I am with Arthur McCoughlah, who has a fascinating story to tell. Arthur?
Arthur: Thank you. Now, about two and a half months ago, I was kidnapped by the priests of the Miserysts. You can verify that with the police, ma'am. I was a missing person for two whole days, and that's no lie. Well, there I was, stripped naked, thinking I was never going to see my family ever again, when here jump out Batman and Catwoman. I was so amazed at how they fought, beating up everyone in the church-place, and then saving me from my doom. Wow, that was a wild day. I didn't say anything about it to the press, though, because no one would ever believe me, but all of it is the truth, I'm telling you.
It's a slightly shortened version of events, but who can blame him?
Mildred: Our researchers have checked in with the police, and we can tell you that Arthur here did indeed go missing two and a half months ago. Whether or not his story is true is up to you to decide. Next, we were lucky to get an interview with the famous billionaire, Bruce Wayne, about his thoughts on the matter.
Jemimah: I'm here with the tragic hero of Gotham, Bruce Wayne. Mr Wayne, your family has a very big history with helping out the people of Gotham. What do you say about these two vigilantes, who are helping out in another way?
Bruce: I say, hats off to them. I mean, clearly it's working out. We now have some highly despicable men in jail thanks to them. Without their contribution, no doubt the priests would have continued their criminal acts. My parents have always complained about not being able to get rid of the crime in our great city, and I don't think I'm the one to do it either. I'm going to continue supporting the people of Gotham City in the way my parents supported it: financially and through activism, and I think I'll leave all the crime-fighting to Batman and Catwoman.
Jemimah: That's very interesting to hear. What's your reaction to hearing that one of these priests could have murdered your parents, what with the green robe and the mask that they all have? We all know how hard your parents' loss has been on you. My condolences, by the way.
Bruce Wayne: Oh, thank you very much. Yes, the death of my parents was, for a time, very difficult for me to deal with, as we all know, but I think I've moved on. My close relations and friends have really supported me through those difficult times, and I am eternally grateful for them and their presence in my life. I think that I have found solace and forgiveness through carrying on my parents' legacy by continuing to do what they did for Gotham, and the mystery of who killed my parents doesn't bother me as much as it used to. I guess I've learned to focus more on what they gave to me and to the world, rather than on what was taken from us.
Mildred: Truly inspiring words from Mr Wayne. Now, we head on to our final, and most esteemed, interviewee. We were so lucky to be able to obtain an interview with Mayor Garcia. Over to you, Jemimah.
Jemimah: Thanks. Mr Mayor, what are your thoughts on these two new vigilantes?
Mayor Garcia: Well, they certainly make a few choices that, legally speaking, would be questionable, but, as long as they do not step over a line, as long as they do not start leveraging their power over innocents, and as long as there aren't any murders, I am content with their existence. This is especially so because, as a Mayor, I consider it my duty to reduce the crime in this city, and any individual who wishes to help in that goal is an individual I can respect.
Seeing Mayor Garcia on that television, talking about what I had done in a positive light, gave me a feeling of joy I had never experienced before. It was like God himself had reached his hand out and patted me on the back. Whenever I even look at Mayor Garcia, my heart starts beating faster, but to have him compliment my work? Incredible. Simply incredible.
However, I must not be too joyous yet. Although Selina and I have made significant progress, Miserysm is far from being obliterated, and I have a long task ahead of me before I can relax and celebrate. It will be Christmas in about a month from now. Let's hope that by then Selina and I will have burned out the weed of Miserysm from Gotham for good by then.