..
Timothy asked one question after another, finally asking, "Why did you let Red Robin go save the kitten in the tree? That cat only climbed the tree to escape the wild dogs, cats in Gotham can climb down trees on their own."
Colt said solemnly, "That pack of dogs has eaten corpses; they are already capable of posing a danger to ordinary people."
Timothy shook his head. "I was asking about the cats."
It's going to rain tonight, it'll be windy; the cat will freeze and be blown down from the tree, it will need rescue." Colt glared at the persistent Timothy. "Fine, I like watching Red Robin fly down from high up, like a beautiful red bird, is that so wrong?
Of course you can, I'd fly ten thousand times for you." Timothy kissed Colt, "Look, your Summary Report is finished; it's warm enough and very meaningful.
Colt checked the spelling and formatting, but hesitated again immediately after saving it.
Is it too wordy?
Batman will like it.
Colt was skeptical: "Really? I'm sending him to comfort a six-year-old child instead of fighting criminals and stopping crime. If the people on the forum found out, they'd go crazy cursing me for ruining Batman's image."
“You actually don't believe me,” Timothy sighed, “then let Batman answer you himself.”
A communication interface popped up on the Batcomputer, Batman appeared on the screen.
Ghost, you know very well that tonight is a test designed for you.
Batman looked seriously into the camera, Colt subconsciously jumped down from Timothy's lap and stood at attention.
No need to be nervous. As one of the examiners, I am willing to give you a perfect score. Because you considered not only our abilities and personalities, but also the feelings of the person being rescued. I am glad to be able to help a child; it is a good night. Also, thank you for your mission report.
Communication ended.
Colt froze in place for two seconds, submitted the report with an expression as calm as usual, turned around only to find Timothy staring intently at him.
Timothy said with a smile, "The video call has been archived and sent to your phone."
I didn't ask you that!
Colt suppressed the rising heat and returned to Timothy's room. He checked every corner, finding three monitors and four listening devices. He cut all the signals and then buried his head under the covers right in front of Timothy.
Colt understood why the fans mentioned by his idol would scream; he felt like screaming himself right now.
Batman gave him a perfect score! Batman is happy with his arrangements! Batman isn't cold at all! Batman is even better than he imagined!
Timothy sat down beside him, gave his exposed backside a light pat, huffed, "Colt, if you like Batman this much, I'm going to get jealous."
"Weren't you excited when Batman praised you for the first time?" Colt kicked off his shoes and wiggled his whole body into the quilt.
Timothy looked at his dirty clothes and felt too embarrassed to get into bed. He crouched by the bedside, poking at the bulging duvet with his finger.
“Excited, but mostly happy. I had been Red Robin for a year by then. One day, after a patrol, Batman suddenly took me out for burgers and praised me for doing a great job on a mission. I was so excited at the time that I didn't even know what to say; I could only lower my head and munch on the burger, I almost choked on it.”
Colt lifted a corner of the blanket, revealing sparkling eyes, "Is there a video?"
No." Timothy leaned in and kissed his eyes. "But I saved the burger wrapper from that day, that broken half of the Bat-antenna Batman damaged that night.
Bat-antennas are just bat ears, they're damaged ones at that!
“It's the RB010627E piece from your private collection!" Colt sat up under the covers, cupping Timothy's face in his hands.
“Yes.” Timothy smiled at him, sharing his past feelings, “I knew Batman had already accepted me in his heart, but the fact that he could say it out loud proves that his emotions have stabilized. He still suffers from the loss of his child, but he has moved past it; he won't fall again, he will continue to rise.. I am happy for Batman, I am happy that I have fulfilled the mission of Red Robin.”
Colt was also happy for Timothy's happiness, but even more so for Timothy's heartfelt sincerity. Colt hooked his arms around Timothy's neck and pressed his lips against his: "You're the best, Tim, I love you so much."
Timothy pulled Colt out from under the covers, hoisted him onto his shoulder, strode toward the bathroom.
On such a memorable night, a single kiss is not enough.
..
Are you happy today?
In a state between sleep and wakefulness, Colt heard Timothy's inquiry and nodded: happy.
He waited for a long time, but no follow-up sentence came, nor did he hear the rustling sound that signaled the onset of sleep.
Colt wanted to open his eyes, but his eyelids were still fighting against his will, so Timothy pressed his lips against his ear and let out a soft sigh, "Are you happy enough that you want to stay?"
Colt nodded again: Yes, I want to, every single day.
Timothy's breathing grew ragged as he muttered, "I'll just take that as your consent; I need a Plan B."
Colt also needed a Plan B.
After Dick's birthday, Colt's account on the Vigilante Forum gained dozens of new mutual followers. Perhaps because the news he shared that day regarding the Soul World had spread, he frequently received private messages inquiring about it.
Colt has become an unofficial member of the Bat Family.
When super villains cause trouble and Gotham is short-handed, Batman will assign tasks to Ghost. Most of the time, Ghost is responsible for intelligence support, but occasionally, in urgent situations, he is required to work alongside Red Robin to handle rescues.
This situation usually only happened once a week; Colt's main focus was still the New World Project.
They had already identified the [debuff] that needed to be eliminated; next, they needed to determine how to [strengthen and optimize] the New World.
The Dream Treasure Chest finally yielded a Universe Shuttle. Colt gave up observing the cold data and maps, instead heading off to study and investigate prosperous and powerful parallel worlds, searching for better legal systems to incorporate into the New World's code for testing.
The numbers on the countdown timer decreased day by day, changing from two-digit numbers starting with 2 to those starting with 1.
Dad came home for a visit, but left early the next day. He and Tony were completely immersed in their research on exploring high-dimensional space, no further signals were received from them within the Dimensional Rift.
Timothy also became busier, having to go with Colt to study and investigate parallel universes, handle Red Robin's urgent missions, join his father's research.
Colt suspected that what he heard that day was just sleep-talking; Timothy had never once told him to stay.
Colt wanted to talk to Timothy about Plan B, but every time he had just started, the topic was diverted into new exploration schemes for the High-Dimensional World, or the New World Project.
Perhaps staying behind is just my own wishful thinking.
Colt was filled with anxiety and uncertainty, even thinking darkly: Perhaps Timothy wants to go to the High-Dimensional World not for me, but for something else.
Love is possessive and exclusive.
Just as he didn't like Timothy smiling at others, nor did he like Timothy hugging or kissing others, even if it was just a hug or a kiss on the cheek between friends. He would be jealous of Superboy, who was at Red Robin's beck and call, he would be jealous of Red Hood, who could call Red Robin Big Red and Little Red and share such a close bond. He was even jealous of the secretary who had worked for Wayne for three years; Timothy even remembered the repayment date of her credit card..
Timothy's love for him, however, was very generous.
His world used to be so small that it only contained Timothy, yet Timothy insisted on pushing him toward a larger world, letting him see more people, letting more people know him, even letting him go.
Does this prove that Timothy doesn't love him enough?
Wait, one could argue that a rational Timothy isn't a love-brain, but one cannot doubt Timothy's love for him!
Timothy would encourage Blondie to go study in Germany just because he gave him a few extra looks, he would fantasize about them getting married before their relationship was even established. As for being jealous of Batman, that seems to be a two-way street.
Colt couldn't understand; Timothy clearly knew that letting him stay would be a hundred times easier than sending him away and then going to the High-Dimensional World to find him later, so why hadn't he ever considered letting him stay?
Most importantly, leaving was part of the plan, he wouldn't have to do anything; whereas staying would require relying on the uncertain power of idealism to gauge Timothy's intentions, which would cause Plan B to lose its greatest support.
Colt swept Plan B into the depths of his mind, opened his notebook for recording knowledge, began clearing out the technology that needed to be sent back.
The Intelligent Protection System issued a notification that Timothy was home, but Timothy did not enter. Instead, he stood outside for a long while and pressed the doorbell.
He rang the doorbell as if this weren't his home!
Colt slammed the laptop shut and stormed out in a rage.
Today, he was definitely going to find out exactly what Timothy was thinking!
Standing at the entrance was a Timothy who was only fifteen or sixteen years old, yet his gaze was as calm as a middle-aged man's.
It's Earth 50 Timothy Drake!
Colt stepped back and glanced at his positioning watch; Timothy was still at the North Pole. He donned a holographic projection avatar and walked out to open the gate.
Timothy Drake of Earth 50 put down his briefcase and reached out toward Colt: "Hello, Mr. Reed, it's a pleasure to meet you. To distinguish me from the Counterpart of this world, just call me Drake."
Hello, Mr. Drake, it is also a pleasure to meet you." Colt controlled the virtual avatar to shake his hand. "Tim, I mean, my Tim is at the Fortress of Solitude. Do I need to notify him to come back?
No, I'm here to deliver something," Drake said, picking up the bag from the floor. "The Justice Lords once fought against the gods; this is the information regarding True Love Magic that Batman compiled. I hope it helps with your goal of staying in this world.
True Love Magic? Staying in this world?
Colt's super brain worked at lightning speed. He didn't reach out to take it, but instead invited Drake inside: "It's a bit inconvenient for me right now, could I trouble you to bring it in for me?"
Drake did not refuse.
Colt asked him to put the bag on the coffee table and told Birdie to stop circling above the guest's head. Birdie tilted his head, looking at the person before him, who felt both familiar and strange, picked up his favorite sunflower seed to drop into Drake's hand.
"Thank you for bringing the materials. I didn't know Tim had asked for your help as well." Colt brewed a cup of Timothy's favorite coffee for Drake.
Drake blew on the coffee and shook his head slightly. "It seems I accidentally ruined his plan. Not only did he not tell you he asked me for help, but he also didn't tell you about his Plan B."
Detectives are terrifying! Just a single probing question, he could reach such a conclusion!
Colt didn't play mind games with the detective and asked directly, "What is Timothy's Plan B?"
"Theoretically, I shouldn't betray my Counterpart, but you saved my world, which is clearly more important than a Counterpart." Drake set down his coffee and looked at Colt with an expression far beyond his years, almost tenderly.
His Plan B was to use Idealistic [True Love Magic] to keep you here.
Chapter 69
Colt was overwhelmed with ecstasy.
Nothing is more exciting than having your lover be just as troubled as you are when you are feeling troubled!
"Colt, can I call you that?" Drake asked.
Colt nodded.
Drake looked at him and said seriously, "I looked into the experiences of the counterparts in this world. Aside from you, the choices we make when facing problems are the same, our personalities are also quite similar. At eighteen, I was in a stage of being so confident that it bordered on arrogance; I believed nothing could defeat me. Even if I called myself the World's Second Detective, that was only out of respect for Batman; in my heart, I was number one. At that stage, I had the problem that smart people often develop: constantly making decisions for others and believing I could be everyone's safety net. When I realized I was unable to meet those demands, I would become anxious, even making decisions that would make people feel terrified."
Colt thought Drake was being far too self-critical; his Timothy didn't have that problem at all.
Before the time rewind, I suddenly regained consciousness in Arkham sanatorium, God gave me a smartwatch. After the time rewind, the smartwatch came back with me, I also regained my memories a few days later," Drake paused, then continued, "Before coming to this world, I went to see our Joseph Reed; Mrs. Reed is pregnant. Please rest assured, their physical examinations show that their bodies are as healthy as they were at twenty, Mrs. Reed's prenatal checkups are covered by medical insurance.
“Please look after them for me in the future as well,” Colt requested earnestly.
Even if you don't say it, we will do so." Drake sipped his coffee, paused for a moment, asked with careful consideration, "Colt, I know you two are in love, but are you sure you want to become an ordinary person for the sake of love? I believe I can shoulder responsibility and never change my heart for a lifetime. But love is the most fickle thing. Perhaps one day when your feverish brain cools down and you find yourself without your powers, unable to ever return to the Divine Realm, you will regret your decision.
Colt did not explain that he had always been an ordinary person, that his special abilities came from the will of a High-Dimensional Reader. In a sense, a god was originally a high-dimensional being.
Thank you for the reminder, I have been waiting for him to ask me to stay.