This is a dream.
Colt understood.
'Is it my dream? Or is it Red Robin's dream?'
Colt landed beside Red Robin.
Red Robin tilted her head slightly, looking at him with a quiet, unblinking gaze.
This is my dream," Colt thought. "Because I love being gazed at with such intense passion, whereas the Timothy in reality is gentler and more restrained. Only in dreams does Timothy act like this, like a blazing flame, where even the Domino Mask cannot contain the erupting heat.
Colt curled his lips into a smile, moved a step closer, sat down beside Red Robin, letting his legs dangle off to the side, swaying them gently.
Red Robin was still looking at him. The night wind, carrying Red Robin's scent, brushed against Colt's face. That faint, bitter aroma of coffee mixed with gunpowder and blood dyed Colt into a coffee bean being roasted over charcoal.
Red Robin's hand gently covered the back of Colt's hand, she leaned in to peck at the corner of his mouth, greeting him happily, "Good evening."
Colt turned his hand over to interlace his fingers with Timothy's, leaning in to peck at the corner of Timothy's mouth as well. "Good evening."
Colt spoke, his voice possessing a bit more magnetism than the Quantum AI's, still clear, but lacking a bit of that crispness.
Red Robin seemed a bit surprised. He cupped Colt's face and looked at him closely, his voice filled with wonder, "Cole, you spoke."
"Anything can happen in a dream—a mute speaking, a blind person regaining their sight. It's only natural that I can speak," Cole Duck nodded, rubbing his cheeks against Red Robin's palm repeatedly, while his legs occasionally kicked at Red Robin's feet.
Red Robin suddenly laughed, cupping Colt's face and kissing his lips again.
The kiss turned into a deep kiss.
The night breeze grew lingering as dazzling fireworks bloomed in the sky; if anyone were gazing from the buildings opposite, they would see the silhouette of the embrace upon the bell tower.
After a long time, they finally pulled apart.
Colt panted, touching Red Robin's moist and slightly swollen lips, his eyes shining as if he had captured all the dissipating fireworks within them.
“Is this also a kissing ritual?”
“No,” Red Robin said, grabbing Colt's hand and lightly pecking his fingertips. Then, she tilted her head slightly and kissed Colt again, her voice mingling between their pressed lips: “This is a kiss.”
Colt's heart felt as if it were blooming, then the concrete rooftop was truly covered in flowers. He asked in surprise, "Has Poison Ivy broken out of prison?"
Red Robin shook his head slightly. He plucked a blooming violet and tucked it behind Colt's ear. "This is a dream; anything can happen in a dream."
That makes a lot of sense.
Colt picked a blue rose, tucked it into Red Robin's crossed bandolier, then grabbed Red Robin's hand and jumped down.
They didn't land, but instead hovered in the air, strolling hand in hand.
Colt liked this dream.
“Tim.”
"You can't use names while in uniform." Red Robin reached out, adjusting her Violet eyes that had been blown askew by the wind.
Colt swung their joined hands, carrying Red Robin flying past the high-rises, "Duck Detective?"
You can call me by any codename you like, including Duck Detective," Red Robin smiled. "So, should I call you Ghost, or Mr. President?
Ghost is what others call me, I have no interest in being President either. You can call me.." Colt paused, then murmured in Chinese, "Du Zhe.
Reader?" Red Robin pronounced Colt's surname, the explorer of knowledge, whose Chinese translation was also "Reader.
Colt nodded slowly.
Chinese has many homophones, so it is quite normal for Red Robin to mistake Du Zhe for Reader; Colt also feels that Reader is a more suitable codename than Ghost. He is just a Reader, watching everything happen, yet unable to change anything. No, it's not that he can't change anything, it's just that the time hasn't come yet. When the time comes, he will.. he will what?
Colt's brain suddenly turned to mush, flashing with countless fragments of images, in the next second, his chaotic mind was formatted, returning to a state of blankness.
Red Robin stroked Colt's head like he was petting a cat, even gave the back of his neck a little squeeze, asking, "Mr. Reader, where are we going?"
Good question.
Colt's vacant eyes regained their luster. He looked around, spotted the Batmobile roaring past below, his eyes lit up. Two cameras appeared in his hands as he suggested, "Follow Batman?"
Red Robin took the old camera and saw a hand-drawn Cole Duck on the inside of it; he started laughing again.
“A nice activity.”
The Cole Duck duo has returned to the scene.
..
Colt was woken up by Joseph. He always felt that everything in his dreams was too wonderful to get enough sleep, he couldn't bear to spend time ***, instead wanting to skip straight to marriage.
Marriage?
Colt buried his head in the chest of the Cole Duck plushie, then his ear felt a sharp pain.
Joseph grabbed Colt's ear, pulled his head out, put a hearing aid on him: "Get up, we're going to the Watchtower today."
Colt looked at Joseph's thick, messy beard and instantly snapped back to reality. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out; it took him two seconds to change his method of expression from the dream's vocalization to thought-to-text and then text-to-speech.
Dad, can I take Cole Duck to the Watchtower?
Joseph had already finished getting himself ready; he paused at the doorway, turned his head, asked, "How old are you this year?"
There is no law saying adults can't like dolls." Colt looked at Joseph, his eyes widening slightly, "Dad, even if I live to be eighty, I'll still be your baby, right?
A reasonable explanation.
"You take it." Joseph strode out and slammed the door shut.
..
Watchtower.
The parents were in a meeting, so Colt dragged a pile of luggage and held Cole Duck, staying obediently in the common hall instead of floating around everywhere.
The doors of the sonic corridor slid open, Red Robin walked out.
Colt's eyes lit up as he quickly drifted over, offering a silent greeting.
A bust of Steel was projected in the center of the hall. "Hello, Red Robin. Batman and the others are currently in a meeting. The Teen Titans' routine briefing is expected to be delayed by half an hour. You can go to Batman's lounge to wait."
"Copy that, I'll just wander around the common area." Red Robin made an OK gesture toward Steel and tugged on Cole Duck's long, dangling legs.
Colt let Cole Duck go, letting the two-meter-long plush duck float behind him along with the luggage, while he landed by Red Robin's side and took Red Robin's hand.
Of course, it wasn't the kind of grip that would pull someone into a Ghost Field.
The Watchtower was filled with surveillance cameras and telepathic Martian hunters, so the two could only exchange glances; even the movement of holding hands couldn't be too large. Even so, Timothy managed to find a blind spot in the surveillance, allowing Colt to taste Wonder Woman's favorite ice cream.
The adults' meeting ended even faster than expected.
As soon as Joseph stepped out of the conference room, he saw his son holding hands with Red Robin, while his other hand held an ice cream. He couldn't help but frown, glaring with a murderous gaze at the bastard who dared to take any opportunity to harass his son.
Batman took two steps forward, blocking Joseph's line of sight.
Red Robin quickly stuffed an Oreo into Colt's hand, lightly traced a circle on the back of his hand with his thumb, then gently pushed him toward Joseph.
Joseph took a deep breath and nodded to Batman. He wrapped Colt's leash around his hand, ignored Red Robin greeting him, urged Steel.
Let's go.
Colt thought the Watchtower was the final destination for the two mad scientists, but after the Avengers finished their meeting with the Justice League, Joseph dragged him away.
Where are we going?
To the Moon.
To the Moon? How? By rocket?
Rockets are too slow; Iron Man flies himself, while Joseph rides in the Batwing.
Colt was still wearing a loss-prevention leash, being dragged along like a kite, managed to send Timothy a full-body photo of Earth while the satellite signal was still stable.
[139, 0, 255: Goodbye Earth, goodbye Duck Detective. When you miss me, look up; above the Moon, how many dreams are soaring freely..]
Colt sang it in his heart.
He was truly above the Moon, then, on the Moon, he boarded a spaceship and flew toward Mars.
The technology tree of this world is quite miraculous; while people in some places are still in primitive societies, others are already able to build bases on Mars. The Mars base is one of the defensive lines the Justice League built for Earth; the Justice League even has bases outside the solar system.
Colt floated on Mars, looking at the Earth, which had become a tiny speck among the stars, hugged the Cole Duck he carried with him tightly.
The satellite signal had been completely severed. The Quantum Terminal above his head was only a simplified version, the signal had become intermittent; it took several minutes for even a simple message to reach Earth.
Colt eyed the Virtual Helmet in Joseph's briefcase.
Joseph would not give it to him.
Joseph was like he was possessed by the Queen Mother of the West from "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl," wishing he could use the Milky Way to separate his son from Timothy, even imitating Tony by treating his son like an AI, hoping his son wouldn't have the time or energy to think about anything else.
His plan failed.
A few minutes of delay did not hinder the communication between Colt and Timothy; the distance seemed to become a catalyst, as Colt used his official position to communicate with Timothy.
[139, 0, 255: Tim, I've arrived on Mars. It turns out we were traveling on a public spacecraft between the Moon and Mars, it's surprising that we actually had to process a visa to leave Earth. However, Mars currently has no government; the actual administrators are the Justice League, they offer visa-free entry to Earthlings. A day on Mars averages 24 hours, 37 minutes, 22 seconds, which is 41 minutes and 18 seconds longer than Earth's. By the time I edited this message, it was already 9:00 PM in Gotham, while it is still daytime here. Our base is located near the Olympus Shield Volcanic Valley; it looks desolate and lonely from the outside, but the robot factory underneath is like a world of the future. My study list is growing longer again. Oh, Tony asked me to calculate the pressure the spacecraft's hull needs to withstand while passing through folded space; I'll talk to you about that in a bit.]
【185, 205, 246: Colt, have you arrived on Mars? Wayne has four relay satellites responsible for connecting Earth and Mars signals. There is supporting communication equipment and dedicated communication links within the base. The password for the communication protocol is..】
【 185, 205, 246: Colt, I have sent you an information packet regarding the Mars base. I just checked, the spacecraft you are traveling on has already arrived at the port. If communication is insecure, you can go to Marineris Valley, coordinates are..】
[139, 0, 255: Tim, the Martian storm caused the previous message to fail, so I'm resending it. I've connected to the communication link you provided, so this one should go through without a problem. We arrived safely at the Mars base, but I might not be able to reply to your messages instantly for a while. Dad is acting just like Tony, treating me like an AI and giving me no time to even catch my breath. At least I brought the Spiritual Power supplements you gave me; whenever my Spiritual Power runs low and I feel like my brain is being squeezed dry, one bottle is enough to bring me back to life. They're arguing again, so I'd better go check on them. Goodnight, Tim.]
【 139, 0, 255: I'm back, Tim. Tony and Dad are always arguing, this time it's because of the defense system. Tony leans toward offense, while Dad wants to balance it with defense; the self-destruct sequence must only be activated at the very last moment. Their spacecraft designs are cool, but both of them share the same trait: they are building highly intelligent unmanned spacecraft as if they were making expensive big toys. However, I feel that whether it's a combat starship or a long-distance warp transport ship, humans should still play a role within them. Only by involving more humans can technology truly change human life. It's already one in the morning, Gotham time—why aren't you asleep yet? Go to sleep! Tim! 】
185, 205, 246: I have sponsored a team of master alchemists in both the United States and the United Kingdom; in the future, the production and quality of Spiritual Power supplements will see a massive improvement. You don't need to worry about a shortage of Spiritual Power supplements; the Justice League has decided to increase the resupply frequency for the Mars base from once every two weeks to twice a week, I will ask Superman to deliver the medicine to you.
Spiritual Power depletion can be replenished with medicine, but rest is also very important. If you don't want to show weakness to your parents, I hope my fragmented sleep method can help you. You just need to.. then.. finally.. I used to be like this; I could work for half a day just by taking a half-hour nap.
Regarding your views on the spacecraft, I quite agree with your perspective. Technology is meant to serve the masses and make people's lives better, rather than serving only a select few.
Alright, I'll go to sleep after I finish reading this report.
Goodnight. I hope I dream of Duck Detective following Batman around alongside Mr. Reader.]
【 139, 0, 255: Tim, I took a rest using that fragmented sleep method you provided, it felt wonderful. It's not that I don't want to show weakness to my guardians, but rather that I wanted to test my own limits. Tony insists that I am a Quantum AI; I know I am not, but it is my special Spiritual Power that allows me to wander through the network world like an AI. A true AI, even one as human-like as Edwin, cannot experience human emotions the way I do.
I'm glad we're on the same page, but it's already 3:30 AM; have you still not finished reading your report? Mr. Reader has been waiting for you in his dreams until the roses have withered! Tim, if I don't hear that pleasant rustling sound within ten minutes, I will assemble a Quantum Teleportation Device to send myself back to Gotham and personally deliver you to the Dream Sovereign.
【 185, 205, 246: Good morning, Cole. It's getting colder in Gotham. Usually, it doesn't start snowing until December, but even though it's only mid-November, there are already grains of snow in the rain. Alfred insists that we wear thick coats when going out.
The storms on Mars have been very frequent lately. It must be nighttime at the base right now; are you asleep? No matter how good the polyphasic sleep method is, it's nothing compared to four hours of deep sleep every day; the fact that I'm in better condition than before is proof. You are certainly not an AI; after all, I'm really looking forward to becoming the Director of the FBI and waiting for you to appoint me after you become President.
It's a pity I didn't dream of Mr. Reader last night. Please give me the Dream Sovereign's complaint channel; I want to file a complaint. Why can you perceive my sleep state, but I cannot perceive yours?