Colt picked up Birdie, who was watching television again, made it perform acrobatic flips in the air, pinching the tips of its wings when the bird let out a startled "chirp."
Just like this.
Birdie tilted its little head and pecked his finger.
Today is a good day.
Colt placed the Red Robin's Mark into the Batarang display case, took a few steps back to admire it for a few seconds, then adjusted its position so that the signed Batarang would be closer to the Red Robin's Mark.
The Batarang was slightly larger than the Red Robin's Mark, looking like an adult standing next to a child.
Perfect!
Timothy Drake is not a control freak.
As a detective, it is only natural to never let a single clue slip by while searching for the truth.
Timothy collected Hyperdimension energy from Colt.
Colt was located in the temporal rift between two dimensions, his body overlapping with two worlds. He could see Colt because a Spiritual Connection had formed between them. As the connection grew tighter, he recalled memories of Colt, could even grasp Colt himself.
Timothy rubbed his fingers, recalling that moment.
It was different from the first time they overlapped. There was no sense of weightlessness, nor were there any stress responses like goosebumps or a tingling scalp.
The sensation of grasping the Colt was like passing through an invisible film of air; his entire being was pulled into a room with a high-powered ventilation system, where the mixed scent of sweat and perfume from the classroom was completely isolated, leaving his mind instantly refreshed.
And silence.
The space where Colt was extremely silent, even quieter than being lost in space where the entire world consists of only oneself.
Being in such a quiet environment for a long time can easily cause one's mind to break; how did Colt maintain his sanity?
What exactly happened nine years ago?
Timothy found the files from that year on the Batcomputer.
During the Arkham riot back then, the villains held a team-building event at Oak Tree Manor, where the Joker played a game of "choose strawberry jam or cherry juice" with the people of Gotham.
Choose strawberry jam, Gotham Elementary will blow up. Choose cherry juice, the Botanical Garden at Oak Tree Manor will turn into a lake.
Gotham Elementary has eight hundred seventy-three students and one hundred two faculty members. The mayor is holding a charity gathering at the Botanical Garden, which includes one hundred eighty-five political and business elites, seventy-three staff members, journalists.
There are two lists of deceased individuals in the Batcomputer files.
An explosion occurred at Gotham Elementary and the Botanical Garden simultaneously, leaving over a thousand dead, including about a dozen supervillains such as Joker and Scarecrow, along with their henchmen.
No one survived the Botanical Garden and Gotham Elementary.
Another death toll reached ninety-seven, including nineteen socialites and business leaders attending the event at the Botanical Garden, including the mayor, twenty-seven Botanical Garden staff and journalists, fifty-one Joker Gang members; Alisa Reed was one of those ninety-seven.
Batman's files contained no mention of Colt, but he definitely knew something. Therefore, he maintained Colt's identity and placed Joseph at Wayne Advanced Lab to observe him closely.
Timothy looked at his own right hand, as if the warmth of Colt's body still lingered on it.
Colt was still alive, trapped in the cracks of the dimension for nine years.
If the Spiritual Connection is a cry for help, Red Robin cannot ignore it.
If the Spiritual Connection wasn't a cry for help, Timothy would have even less reason to ignore it.
Colt's chair was a hoverboard, using Iron Man's Arc Reactor as a battery, its design style was more akin to the Mark Armor. Colt was reading the latest issue of "PRL," a high-end physics journal that laypeople generally couldn't understand. Furthermore, the parts Colt had drawn in the journal were stabilizers for a micro-thruster flyer.
Red Robin had seen a similar device on one of his brothers' boots.
Author's Note:
----------------------
Will be released on V tomorrow, followed by six chapters on V+1, with irregular double chapter drops on weekends.
==Upcoming: 《[Crossover US/UK] Married to Wayne, Me?》==
Sharprow was the last merman. After finally passing the civil service exam for the Heavenly Court, he thought he could spend ten thousand years living a laid-back life by relying on his innate talent for purifying water. Instead, the Heavenly Court sent him to frontier lands through an arranged marriage.
Sharprow closed and opened his eyes.
The butler in a tailcoat pulled open the curtains, while someone beside him hummed, "Five more minutes, Alfred."
Sharprow sprang up: "(,#Д) Ah!"
Wayne blinked sweetly: "Darling, do you have any complaints about our wedding night?"
Sharprow.. So handsome
Sharprow: Marriage isn't actually a bad idea either.
The husband is a handsome, wealthy man from another world, with a house full of children—a painless way to gain a massive family!
The fiefdom was a cursed land, where the river water was nothing short of a toxic mixture; even taking a bath there would earn one merit!
Beto Man encountered a magical accident and was inexplicably forced into an arranged marriage, which he firmly refused.
What? Getting married grants a Favorability Appraisal Skill? And even the souls of the parents as a dowry?
Beto Man: He is definitely getting married!
Beto Man found that he possessed a great deal of love.
Chapter 20
Timothy knocked on his new brother's door.
Duke was checking the boots of the Beacon uniform; his boots were equipped with flight devices, which was very un-Bat-like.
"Tim, is something the matter?" Duke asked.
Timothy leaned against the doorway, his gaze falling on Duke's combat boots.
Duke hurriedly said, "Come in, come in. Don't let Alfred see me bringing another uniform back upstairs."
Timothy closed the door. "I remember there's an equipment designer in the Teen Titans."
Duke scratched his head: "You mean Ghost?"
Timothy nodded. "Can you introduce him to me? I want to improve the kinetic system of my cape, he seems quite skilled in that area."
Uh, Ghost never shows his face in person. All the physical equipment for the transaction is left at a designated location for us to pick up. We have to wait for him to contact us, he uses a virtual communication number as well.
Duke thought for a moment. "I can give you his handle on the Vigilante Forum. He really likes Robin—I mean you, not Damian. If you use Red Robin's identity to send him a friend request, he will definitely accept it."
Timothy proactively helped Duke maintain his suit, focusing mainly on the flight system installed in the boots.
Can you tell me about him?
Sure! Ghost is incredible. Any high-tech equipment, as long as he takes one look at it, he can replicate it. That super-sticky grappling rope in the Teen Titans is actually a modified version of Spider-Man's webbing. Even the flight device on my boots was modified from Iron Man's armor..
Duke lowered his voice: "We all suspect that Ghost might be Iron Man's student. Because he once said he had to attend Mr. Stark's class and wouldn't be free."
Oak Tree Manor.
Cole Duck held Birdie on his head, using a Bat Lollipop as dessert, took some clothes out of the dryer to shake them out.
A button the size of a fingernail fell out.
No, it wasn't a button.
Colt picked up a small metal disc and rubbed the Chameleon Stealth Coating on it. It was a Micro Tracker that was still functioning.
A very familiar design style: waterproof, shockproof, long battery life, strong signal, anti-electromagnetic interference, capable of working in extreme environments.
One word: expensive!
Such a tiny little thing, even its cost price is in the five figures.
Who placed it? There's no need to guess; besides his father and Birdie, there is only one other person who can touch him.
Colt opened the laptop and reverse-traced the signal of the Micro Tracker, sending a three-second short video of a Cole Duck quacking as a gesture of thanks, before dismantling the tracker into its component parts.
A high-tech toy produced by Wayne Advanced Lab; from the outer casing to the chips, every single part can be recycled.
If you give it to me, it's mine.
Batcave.
The sound of a duck quacking suddenly echoed through the Batcave.
Red Robin, who was busy applying hair gel, clicked his tongue and mocked, "Drake, you've finally revealed your true colors."
Who's speaking?" Red Robin scanned the area, then slowly lowered his gaze, apologizing with gentle politeness, "Ah, sorry, Damian. I'm not used to looking down, I didn't see you.
Foolish Drake!" Red Robin roared, "Draw your weapon! You are a dead man tonight!
Red Robin yawned: "I don't fight kids."
Red Robin was even more annoyed.
Damian, quiet." Batman rubbed his forehead. "Tim..
Red Robin tapped on the keyboard of the laptop in his hands, without even looking up. "I'm fine, I'll follow up on the shooting at Gotham High. I sent you the intelligence regarding the cargo ship that exploded last night; the war between Black Mask and Penguin has only just begun. Knowing you'll be very busy lately, I'll find some time to talk to Red Hood. Besides wanting him to come home, is there anything else you need me to convey?"
Batman remained silent for two seconds: "The Outlaws' funding issues."
You want him to return Black Mask's black card?" Red Robin finally looked up. "The Armory failed to modify his car, his flying motorcycle crashed, a few days ago, they even blew up his safehouse. Jason spent all the money on renovating the East End, now he doesn't even have enough money to pay the final installment for Sting. Forget just being called an heir by Black Mask; if Black Mask were more generous, he could even move directly into Black Mask's base. I don't think he's going to spit out the money he's already gotten his hands on.
Batman had a headache: "What does he need Sting for?"
Either hitting people or hitting something else." Jester, who was putting on his uniform and preparing to head out, chimed in, "Bats, you could use your account to help him pay the balance, Jason would surely be happy enough to give you a hug!
Batman disagreed: Happy? Not a chance. He'll just use the Sting missiles intended for others against me!
Red Robin nodded: "I'll use your account to send him some money."
It was fine if he couldn't express his concern; according to the big shot's simple values, wherever the money is, there is love, Jason could understand that.