Duck Detective looks so young without a formal suit, looking just like a high school student, how cute.
You are also very cute.
The two looked at each other with a smile, holding hands as they walked into the crowd, toward the future.
[End]
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Author's Note: The main story is complete. Next is an IF-line side story about growing up together.
Please add the upcoming book "【Crossover US/UK】Marrying into the Wayne Family, Me? " to your collection! It focuses on the lively daily life of the birds, fish, jumping members of the Wayne family!
Synopsis:
Sharprow is a merman. After finally passing the civil service exam for the Heavenly Court, he thought he could spend eternity living a life of leisure by relying on his talent for purifying water sources. Instead, the Heavenly Court sent him to frontier lands through an arranged marriage.
His first day in Gotham.
Sharprow lost his phone and suitcase, after reporting them, he was mistakenly detained by the police station. He had no choice but to pull out his marriage certificate with Wayne and move into the Wayne Manor ahead of schedule, beginning a life of living together where they would constantly run into one another.
The second day in Gotham.
Sharprow went out to collect hydrological intelligence for the new territory and discovered that Gotham's water was cursed; once purified, it would turn into a thick black liquid. To address the symptom, Sharprow dug up countless pieces of human tissue from the Gotham River, along the way, got to know Gotham's local specialties, bats and little birds.
The third day in Gotham.
Angels have come knocking, questioning if they are using a fake marriage to swindle benefits. In order to preserve their parents' souls, to ensure that the distribution of merit for their divine status goes without a hitch, the two of them, with perfect unspoken coordination, are pretending to be a newlywed couple! The Wayne family is forced to play the part of a loving, harmonious family!
..
Day N in Gotham.
The Wayne family held a fishing competition, Bruce mistakenly grabbed a fishing rod claimed to be 【Never Empty-Handed】. His first cast hooked the newly escaped Joker; his second cast pulled up a frozen Captain America; and his third cast reeled in Brainiac's Interstellar Warp Ship..
Some Water God: The Water God and the River God are one and the same; even the Milky Way is a river. So, tell me, was it a failure or not?
Sharprow was extremely satisfied with the marriage. Her husband was kind, handsome, wealthy, with a house full of children—a lively, large family without any of the usual struggles! His fiefdom was a cursed land where the river water was practically a mixture of venom; 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? Marriage comes with an Affection Appraisal Technique! And the other party even brings her parents' souls as a dowry!
Beto Man: He is definitely getting married!
Chapter 80
Ethiopia, a certain infamous warehouse that DC readers absolutely detest.
Joker is dead.
Colt sat in a pool of blood, opening the casing of the time bomb and looking at the complex structure inside. He wiped the blood splattered on his hands, pulled out his phone, pressed the power button.
The phone had just turned on when a call came in.
Great, that saves him the trouble of calling.
Colt answered the call from Duck Detective and held the phone a bit further away, to prevent his eardrums from being burst by the angry duck's quacking.
F*CK YOU, Colt! You said you were going to buy a burger! You were gone for three whole days! What kind of burger requires going to Africa to buy?! Thank God you at least knew to leave a note so I could cover for you; Alisa almost suspected you were on a date with a female classmate and that I had assassinated you! You even dared to turn off your phone and disconnect from the network—believe it or not, when you get back, I'm injecting you with an internal tracker!
I believe you." Colt set his phone aside on a relatively clean low crate, carefully inspecting the structure of the time bomb with only three minutes remaining, struggling to steady his breathing and calm his overheating brain to think clearly. "You just swore, Duck Detective. Calm down, I'm only twelve; Alisa wouldn't suspect a crime of passion. Just tell them I went to New York to chase Iron Man; they know how much I crave an Arc Reactor.
“I could FUCK a hundred times! Wait, your voice sounds wrong. What are you doing? What have you done now? As if Gotham wasn't enough for you to mess with, are you running off to Africa to be a savior? Are you in danger? Are you preparing to leave me a final message again? Listen, I'm not going to take care of your 'Holy See'! If you dare say you want me to shove a punctured condom into your parents' nightstand so they have a second child, I swear I'll make you pay.”
“Uh, I'm not, I'm fine, I'm checking in with you this time.” Colt carefully picked up a line, “And besides, the Classmate Mutual Aid Society isn't my Holy See. If you must describe it that way, then you are the Pope, you can't just ignore it.”
Shut up! We've known each other for six years, not six days! If you were actually checking in to say you're safe, the sun would be rising in the west! What's with that ticking sound over there? A time bomb? How much time is left? FU*K! Superman isn't on Earth lately! Now the Pope is ordering you to switch the call to video so I can connect with Joseph. Hurry up, now is not the time to be willful!
No need. I've practiced defusing this type of bomb many times; I just suddenly felt like talking to you." Colt put down the wire in his hand, switched to another one, let out a slow breath. "Tim, I have a major disagreement with your prophecy. You might not become Red Robin; perhaps you could just be Red Robin directly.
There was a second of silence on the phone, Timothy's voice sounded even more terrifying: "Lately, you've been focusing on Joker, keeping an eye on Red Robin, saying that a critical time is approaching, even seeking out Red Robin's biological mother. So, you chased Red Robin all the way to Africa and actively walked into a trap set by Joker for Batman?"
You guessed right, World's Second Detective, but there's no reward." Colt picked up a pair of scissors, glanced back at the Joker lying in a pool of blood, closed his eyes. "Tim, sometimes I wonder if fate is unchangeable. I clearly warned Red Robin, yet Red Robin still fell into the trap, Batman still couldn't arrive in time due to the accident. I even suspect whether the Joker is truly dead.
“.. You'd better untie these ropes, I haven't fallen yet..” Red Robin, tied up like a cocoon nearby, gritted his teeth and squirmed toward Colt.
"Don't come over here, stay away! The Joker's blood is toxic. I'm fine, but if you touch it and happen to catch the Joker toxin and become the new Joker, this world is finished!" Colt quickly snipped the most prominent red wire, seeing the timer stop and confirming he had cut the right one. He let out a breath, stood up, dragged Red Robin to a corner, placed him alongside his long-unconscious biological mother.
Red Robin cursed repeatedly, while Timothy roared into the phone.
Colt took off his coat to wipe the blood off the floor. Hearing the roar of a motorcycle growing closer, he opened the warehouse door and saw Batman speeding toward him from the distance. His tense nerves finally relaxed, he slumped to the ground as if drained of all strength. He grabbed his phone and reported the good news to the other side: "Batman is here, I won. Tim, I knew I would win because I am not alone; I have tens of thousands of Readers behind me, they all want to change the terrible.."
Batman rushed into the warehouse, before Colt could even finish his sentence, he lost consciousness, having finally let his guard down.
..
When Colt woke up, he had already returned to Gotham, lying on a bed in a single hospital room, while Timothy was doing homework by his side.
Fantastic, it's a double dose of homework; there are also two backpacks lying on the sofa.
Colt looked at Timothy, who was already beginning to exude the aura of an overbearing CEO, let out a groan to indicate that he had woken up and was ready for some attention and comfort.
Timothy did not react.
Colt snorted a bit loudly.
Timothy still showed no reaction.
“Cough, cough, cough..”
Colt began to clear his throat loudly, Timothy finally deigned to cast him a glance. Timothy did not offer any words of concern; instead, he dragged a small medical kit from under the bed and began putting on gloves, unscrewing a bottle of iodine, grabbing antiseptic swabs..
"Wait, wait, wait, what are you doing!" Colt tried to roll off the bed from the other side, only to find his hands and feet were tied up as tightly as an Arkham lunatic.
Timothy picked up the large syringe.
Colt looked at the needle, which looked big enough to inject an elephant, his face turning pale. His voice stammered as he quickly slid to his knees. "I was wrong! I was wrong, Timmy! I promise I won't run off again! I should have watched Jason get blown up by the Joker; after all, he can always crawl out of his grave anyway, instead of running off to kill.. the Joker.. Uh, the Joker hasn't resurrected, has he?"
"Stab him! He hasn't realized his mistake at all; he's just scared!" Jason Todd, wrapped like a mummy, rolled in on an electric wheelchair and locked the door.
Jason Todd! I'm your boss! I saved your life!" Colt watched as Timothy pulled his collar open, twisting his head frantically and refusing to cooperate with the disinfection, even biting down on Colt's hand with a muffled "Mmph, mmph, mmph!" "Timmy, Timmy, Timmy, I really know I was wrong, such a big needle could kill someone.
I just heard that. Even if I died, I could crawl out of my grave; you've only saved half of my life," Jason said, watching coldly. "Stab him. He's even biting people; he must have been poisoned by Joker. He needs more injections—give him every antidote and neutralizer you've got.
Colt quickly let go, looking at Timothy with a pitiful expression, tears welling up in his eyes: "I can inject the nano-trackers, but it has to be done by a professional. Using an elephant syringe is just too terrifying."
Timothy put down the prop he was using to intimidate Ghost and stared expressionlessly at the teary-eyed Colt. "You said it yourself—wait until Batman comes to interrogate you tonight, let him inject you."
Colt nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, can you let me go now?"
No, what if you've been infected with Joker toxin?" Timothy slowly removed his gloves, letting out a cold snort. "You're certainly getting more capable by the day. Was your recent obsession with target practice just so you could empty two magazines on Joker?
When a mental patient attacks others, this counts as self-defense. I fired a few extra shots just to be safe, in case the shots to the heart weren't fatal, so I had to shoot the head as well," Colt replied righteously, before adding with a pitiful plea, "I need to use the bathroom.
Timothy took out a catheter.
Colt shook his head frantically: "No, no, I suddenly don't want to do it anymore."
Jason let out a mocking "tch."
Timothy turned his face to look at him, scolding him without using any profanity but without any mercy: "What right do you have to mock him? How old are you? And how old is he? I told you it was a trap, a trap, but you insisted on not believing me and had to jump in yourself to see how deep it was! You could have clearly explained it to Bruce, but instead, you just leave people to guess. Is running away from home during your rebellious phase really that cool?"
Jason, having been scolded, turned his wheelchair around and headed back to the opposite hospital room, while Colt grinned widely, showing his teeth. Timothy watched the nurse safely deliver the mummy onto the hospital bed and confiscate the electric wheelchair; when he returned to the room and saw the white teeth Colt hadn't had time to hide, his expression instantly darkened even further.
I'm sorry, Timmy." Colt was able to adapt quickly, his expression shifting effortlessly as he tucked away his smile to stare at Timothy, his tone sounding incredibly sincere: "I've caused you to be unable to become Red Robin.
Timothy unfastened the restraints on Colt with a darkened face. "I never said I wanted to be Red Robin. Can you stop trying to force some character archetype you read somewhere onto me?"
"Alright, alright, I know you're my Timmy, the Duck Detective in the Cole Duck duo. Don't be angry." Colt hugged Timothy and rubbed his face against his.
"Don't move," Timothy commanded with a dark expression, but he did not push Colt away.
“I promise I won't take risks by hiding things from you again.” Colt swore an oath that he would no longer act alone, after finally coaxing Timothy's expression to soften, he asked cautiously, "What did you tell Alisa and the others? Did you help me with my homework?"
Timothy stared gloomily at Colt.
Colt looked left and right, refusing to make eye contact with Timothy. He climbed down from the other side of the hospital bed, stretched his limbs, crawled into the bathroom. After a while, he shouted from inside, "Tim, there are no clothes in here! Did you bring a change of clothes? I don't want this hospital gown!"
Timothy took out some clothes from his backpack and followed him into the bathroom.
Just hand it to me, it's not like I'm injured; I can wash myself." Colt turned around openly to show off his limbs, once Timothy had put the clothes away, he skillfully shoved a towel toward him, asking for help scrubbing his back, suggested, "Do you want to take a shower too? You look like you haven't slept well for a few days, like you're about to drop dead. It's not safe to wash alone.
“Who did it?” Timothy also took off his clothes and squeezed under the showerhead, scrubbing each other's backs just like when they were children.
I've already apologized." Colt stood on his tiptoes, changing the subject: "Have you been secretly taking calcium supplements behind my back? I've only missed drinking milk for a few days, so how are you already taller than me? Joseph is clearly taller than Jack, Alisa is also two centimeters taller than Janet. Theoretically, I should be taller than you..
"Are you afraid?" Timothy asked.
Colt fell silent.
"Are you afraid?" Timothy asked again.
"What was Batman's reaction?" Colt asked, changing the subject.
“It's the first time I've seen him so terrified, even more so than when he was hit by Scarecrow's Fear Toxin last time. Dick came to see you this morning; he said Batman has been like he's cursed by fate all along the way, as if the entire world is trying to stop him from reaching your location. He almost thought Jason would never wake up again, just as you predicted." Timothy asked again, "Are you afraid?"
That is a place where the law cannot reach, he has no Joker's gang by his side; I can't wait any longer. Joker has already seen us, this time his goal for breaking out isn't just Jason. Half a month ago, he sent an Ace of Spades to my house, the King of Spades that appeared in your drawer was also sent by him," Colt said as if talking to himself. "I don't think I'm afraid; I am prepared to kill Joker. I won't be killing a person; I am only killing Joker, the incarnation of darkness and chaos. Joker isn't human.
Timothy hugged him: "You can cry, no one is watching. I can't even tell if it's water or tears on your face."
Colt's nose tingled.
It was truly strange; even though he wasn't afraid, hearing Timothy say that made his eyes sting, tears began to well up.
Is the Joker really dead?" Colt's voice choked up. "How did Batman handle it? I tried so hard to clear his Joker toxin, wanting to completely erase his existence. But my ability is always hit-or-miss; what if it failed at that exact moment? Will he crawl out of his grave again?
“No, you really killed him, Jason can testify to that.” Timothy pressed his head against his shoulder. “Jason has always wanted to apologize to you. Don't forgive him; he deserved it. He's fifteen, not five; he was warned in advance, yet he still stepped into such an obvious trap. Can he please stop letting his emotions override his reason?”
You can't blame Jason either; fate really does exist, leading him like a puppet toward a predestined plot," Colt murmured. "When I fired, I felt resistance, as if I had to exhaust almost all of my Spiritual Power just to pull the trigger. Even after the Joker's head was pierced, it could still move, could still look at me and smile.. I heard many people cheering and rooting for me, then, as if aided by a divine power, the recoil of the gun seemed to vanish completely, every shot was incredibly precise..
Forget the satisfaction you felt at the Joker's death," Timothy said. "Forget all this, tell Batman that you were terrified, that your mind went blank. Cry to him, ask him for help, embrace him to draw courage from him.
Colt: "But.."
“You must do it,” Timothy warned. “In your eyes, Joker isn't human, but Batman treats madmen as human. He will stare at you with a look of disapproval, even if you do this just to save people. Think of your great plan, think of the Starry Society. You said that when we are weak, we must unite all forces that can be united; we need Bruce's support.”
Colt hugged Timothy tightly: "You'll stand by my side, right?"
Timothy hugged him back: "Yes, always."
Colt patted his back firmly, let him go, looked up into the water, wiped his face, flashed a wide smile: "That's good. As long as you are standing by my side, I'm not even afraid of even Batman's disapproving gaze."