Colt didn't feel the anger of having his mech weapons dismantled; his face only showed admiration. "Why is Dad here? Why are they dismantling our mech? Batman is too strong; he actually turned the mech's Ray Gun into a personal weapon."
Timothy muttered, "Red Robin can pick it up too."
Colt looked at him seriously.
Timothy turned his head away, his ears turning slightly red. "Dick got news that Barbara had stood up, so he urged Alfred to come to our house to celebrate the New Year, they discovered the Leap Mech in the garage while looking for tools. Bruce is quite sensitive to large-scale weapons of destruction. Joseph came over to drop off Damian, who got caught in a net while looking for a Robin Bird, after the two of them met, they demanded that I explain where the Leap Mech came from."
At the same time, facing pressure from two parents, Timothy regretted not catching up on sleep with Colt. Although he had plenty of ways to deal with Bruce, he had no way to use those same methods to deal with Colt's father.
Colt kissed Timothy's ear, "Red Robin can do more than just pick things up; Red Robin can also pilot a Leap Mech."
Timothy hugged him, his eyes shining just like his, whispered, "Pull me into your Ghost field."
Colt did as he was told.
“Colt, good morning, I love you; good afternoon, I love you; good night, I love you..” Timothy pecked at Colt's lips repeatedly, until the pecks finally turned into kisses.
Dick turned the corner from the hallway, looking left and right. "Strange, I clearly just heard Timmy's voice, but where is he?"
Jason sped through the hallway on a flying wheelchair, passing the two people kissing. "Don't get lazy, Dickie, this is all your idea that has us working so hard. Damn it, why am I the one responsible for sweeping the roof? This bit of snow isn't going to crush Birdie's roof."
If you let me ride the wheelchair, I can go up to the roof to sweep the snow," Dick negotiated. "I'm not just willing to sweep for Timmy, I'm willing to sweep the neighbor's too!
"Don't even think about it," Jason refused decisively.
Colt held Timothy's face and smiled, "Birdie."
"Yeah." Timothy didn't even blush, answering quite naturally as he bumped his nose against Colt's.
“Are you Schrödinger's cat?” Colt said, rubbing Timothy's face.
"Generally speaking, Batman is the one being cat-themed." Timothy held Colt and walked up the stairs, passing through the bustling hall.
“I mean your face,” Colt said, pulling away and looking Timothy's eyes seriously, “If I were called Birdie, I would definitely blush.”
Sorry, I'm just too thick-skinned." Timothy let go of Colt and locked the door. "If you lived in the Wayne household, you would know how much effort brothers and sisters put in just to make you blush. Being called Birdie is definitely one of the milder ones.
Chapter 57
"But Tim, I like seeing you blush," Colt said, staring directly at Timothy, being completely blunt.
Timothy's face slowly turned red.
Colt beamed, pressing his face against Timothy's face: "That's right, Tim, very beautiful."
Timothy sighed, running his fingers through Colt's hair: "Boys shouldn't be described as pretty."
You've described me like that too." Colt gave Timothy a loud kiss before running toward the bathroom. "You can sleep for a bit; I'll come down to help once I've finished my shower.
Timothy didn't want to sleep; he thought he needed to take a shower.
But Colt locked the door.
Why lock the door? Colt never used to lock the door when he bathed; he always let him come and go as he pleased. What was it that made him someone to be avoided during a bath?
Timothy stared at the locked door. Between knocking on the door and prying it open, he chose to hang Colt's clothes on the doorknob.
Timothy quietly opened the nightstand, there were no signs that the "equipment" inside had been moved. However, not being moved didn't prove it hadn't been discovered. Timothy moved the "equipment" to a different spot, but after thinking about it, he felt this would only draw more attention, so he put the "equipment" back, adjusting its angle to be exactly as it was before.
..
Oak Tree Manor hadn't been this lively in many years.
Colt went downstairs to help Alfred prepare dinner, using a holographic projection to greet and exchange names with every member of the Wayne family. Although he couldn't fully join in the intuitive, playful banter of the Waynes, Colt was happy to be an onlooker, enjoying the laughter and commotion of the Waynes.
Most of the stories in Du Zhe's memory were heavy, even dark; such scenes were extremely rare in his dreams. The boisterous Wayne Family was like a flock of birds huddling together for warmth in winter, chirping and fluttering their wings to peck at one another.
The real bird, clutching the sunflower seeds Damian had rewarded it with, landed on Colt's shoulder and rubbed its fuzzy little head against him.
Damian looked at the position of the holographic projection, then at the mid-air where Birdie had landed, scattered all the sunflower seeds in his hands toward Colt.
None of the sunflower seeds hit the ground; they were gathered in mid-air, drifted into Birdie's special dish, then were placed right in front of Damian along with the bird.
Damian was satisfied, using the sunflower seeds as matchsticks to teach Birdie how to solve puzzles.
Damian considered himself the heir to Batman and held the childish bickering of his siblings in contempt.
A piece of cilantro fell on Damian's head. He coldly brushed it off, glaring with a fierce gaze at whoever dared to offend him, making a mental note of it, then turned his head back to continue training the bird.
Birds have small brains to begin with, if they aren't used, they will degenerate even further. It was rare to find such a clever bird; as a Robin, he had a responsibility to train the bird into a true Robin Bird.
A dollop of mayonnaise flew onto Damian's head.
Damian endured it for a moment, but he couldn't hold back any longer. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up, using sunflower seeds as projectiles to join the fray, bringing his Robin along with him.
Robin Bird, go, peck her!
..
Six o'clock in the evening.
Commissioner Gordon arrived with Barbara, expressing his gratitude to Colt and giving him a bullet.
It is said to be the same bullet that injured Barbara.
Commissioner Gordon said, "Some say this bullet is quite unusual; perhaps it will be useful for your research."
Everyone gathered around to study the bloodstained bullet. The evidence bag was passed from person to person, finally reaching Timothy's hands, before it vanished into thin air.
Commissioner Gordon had to work the night shift tonight, so he didn't stay long; he took the food Alfred handed him and drove away.
Because Joseph, a stranger, was present, everyone was relatively restrained during dinner. No warfare broke out during the meal, though localized warfare under the table was a different story.
A small interlude occurred during the meal.
Timothy was in the habit of sharing food while eating; he subconsciously sliced up some of Alfred's signature creamy lobster and placed it into Colt's plate. This happened to collide with Joseph, who was also in the habit of serving his son. Red Robin's wrist strength was incomparable to that of a middle-aged man who spent most of his time in a laboratory; the fried fish fell outside of Colt's plate, while the lobster meat landed neatly inside the dish.
In an instant, everyone held their breath, leaving only the lingering echo of metal forks clashing in the air at the dining table.
Joseph remained expressionless, while Timothy looked as if his soul had already left his body.
Dick was so anxious that he kept winking and gesturing at Timothy, while the ever-capable Alfred wanted to stand up to resolve the deadlock.
Colt controlled the holographic projection to synchronize with himself, picking up the fish steak that had fallen off the plate to eat it.
The air resumed its flow.
Joseph lowered his head to cut his food, Timothy's soul also returned to his body.
Colt didn't think much of the little interlude just now; his father certainly wouldn't flip the table over such a trivial matter. The Bats had simply been vigilantes for too long, making them overly sensitive and prone to suspecting that everything would trigger a massive battle.
Colt's slowness saved the atmosphere at the dining table.
The Bat Family caught their breath and began to feel curious about the holographic projection being eaten. They used their respective methods to observe, thinking they were being subtle, while some even made excuses to pass behind Colt, attempting to find the missing food on the floor.
Did it vanish into another dimension? Or was it instant digestion?
The members of the Bat Family whispered among themselves, each one filled with curiosity. Some were quietly placing bets on how Colt ate his meals, while Timothy was not allowed to place any bets.
Colt sat next to Timothy, receiving the chaotic glances from the Bat Family, he nudged Timothy with his knee.
"Your family is so lively." He liked the liveliness of the Wayne family.
Timothy placed one hand under the table, tapping Morse code on his lap: 'This isn't even the liveliest part.'
Dick: "Who are you talking to?"
Barbara: 'Using passwords in public is prohibited.'
Jason: 'Watch out for 'Dad's shotgun, Birdie.'
Various long and short sounds began to emerge in the dining room, nearly causing Morse code to break out into a fight in mid-air.
After the meal ended, Joseph thanked Alfred and took Colt with him as he left.
Colt heard the commotion erupting behind him. He followed distantly behind Joseph, sending a voice message to Timothy: "Protect our Knowledge Explorer; don't let Batman confiscate it."
..
The basement.
The testing room on the -1 floor was littered with shattered targets, there was a large hole in the wall. The five-meter-thick metal layer had been pierced, exposing the reinforced concrete layer behind it.
The Ray Gun had been disassembled into several sets of parts and placed on the table.
Colt had gained a certain understanding of the Ray Gun's power, knowing that this hole was just the result of a standard shot; if it were set to maximum intensity, it would be enough to pierce through an Interstellar Warp Ship. What surprised him was that Batman had actually not taken this lethal weapon away.
Joseph seemed like he wanted to say something, but he hadn't quite figured out how to say it.
Colt did not rush him, but instead found some discarded materials and used his Spiritual Power to decompose them into basic particles and then fuse them back together to repair the large hole in the wall.
The wall was quickly restored to its original state, as if by a miracle.
Colt clapped his hands in satisfaction and looked toward Joseph.
Joseph was not surprised by this, he didn't even catch his son's boastful gaze seeking praise, as he was busy looking down and assembling the Ray Gun.
Colt scanned the surroundings.
Surveillance was a specialty of the Bat Family, yet no surveillance was found in the testing room where the patriarch, Batman, had appeared. Colt used his Spiritual Power to scan the area once more, confirming there were no rogue surveillance devices, then began assembling a Ray Gun with Joseph.
Dad, what do you want to ask me?
Timothy said you designed the Leap Mech and had someone build it, but I don't believe him," Joseph said in a heavy tone. "The power group isn't your design style. You love miniature reactors; you'd probably replace even a cell phone battery with a reactor if you could. Furthermore, the Leap Mech's FTL Module is far beyond your current level, the Treatment Pod you're researching is a combination of magic and technology.. What kind of contract have you signed?
Colt thought Joseph would at most ask him where the Leap Mech came from, so why did the question jump to some unknown contract?
Not a contract, it should be considered a blessing.
Bruce reminded me to keep an eye on you." Joseph patted the assembled Ray Gun and looked at his son. "He's a father, he's worried you'll drag Timothy into your grand plan, Colt.
"My big plan?" Colt's heart skipped a beat as he looked back, bewildered.
What do you mean? You know I have a grand plan?!
You still haven't remembered?" Joseph patted his son's head. "Your departure was only to change this world.
Colt thought for a moment, typed a few words and then deleted them, weighing his words, as he asked tentatively, "Does Batman know about my plan?"
Joseph nodded.
Colt asked again, "He has known from the very beginning?"
Joseph nodded. "He knows more than I do; he is the confidant you chose."