Chapter 39 Chapter 39 That Time

After realizing he had indeed taken the car, Benjamin felt guilty and wanted to cry: "Um...how much is the Batmobile?"

How long would he have to work to pay it back... No, he could fly into the universe now and look for planets with high content of rare metals. He could dig some up and sell them to pay it back.

After figuring out a solution, Benjamin calmed down and said to Nightwing, "I'm sorry. I will definitely compensate you for the loss."

"Batman doesn't actually intend for you to pay for the Batmobile, really."

The Batmobile has broken down so many times, but this is the first time Nightwing has seen someone take the initiative to ask for compensation. To be more precise, he has rarely seen anyone take the initiative to ask for compensation for Batman's financial losses.

Batman didn't ask for financial compensation from the villains who damaged the Batmobile, so it's even less likely that he would ask for compensation from these two teenagers who admitted their mistakes and, most importantly, saved Jason.

"We're just curious why Ice Ghost suddenly ate a car at that time. By the way, what's your gender pronoun?"

The Ice Ghost's voice sounds male, but he obviously doesn't look like an Earthling. It would be so embarrassing if you called him by the wrong name.

Li Hua: "Um... they should be considered some men."

Jason: "His gender is male mother."

Benjamin: "Just treat me as a man. My psychological cognition is male."

Nightwing: "Okay."

Just think of it as a transgender person whose biological sex is female but whose psychological cognition is male.

Seeing the magic boy's awkward posture, Nightwing said in a slow tone, "Don't be nervous. I'm not here to scold you. I just want to know if you've encountered any difficulties. I will help you as much as I can."

Li Hua: "Thank you for your kindness, but we probably don't need any help right now."

Fourteen children are now shoulder to shoulder with the sun, and the difficult task of caring for the mothers is over!

Nightwing: "So why did Ice Ghost eat the Batmobile? Were you also responsible for the recent loss of abandoned containers in Blüdhaven?"

The previous conversation has shown that the Ice Ghost was out of control and had no memory while eating metal, but he himself is a very honest person.

Nightwing couldn't help but wonder what could have happened to him that could have caused him to lose control and start chewing on raw metal? Had the three children truly dealt with this? Would they really not relapse and hurt themselves?

"I ate it."

As Ice Ghost said this, the disc logo on his chest suddenly exploded with a dazzling green light that completely engulfed him. The incident happened so suddenly that Nightwing only had time to pull Jason behind him.

However, the green light did not cause any discomfort and soon faded away. When Nightwing opened his eyes, a tall, young, blonde "girl" in a skirt was standing in the Ice Ghost's original position, answering with a voice deeper than that of an ordinary girl.

"Nothing, I was just pregnant at the time, so I was influenced by the Ice Ghost's instincts and pounded metal like crazy. Now that I've given birth, nothing will happen again."

Nightwing: "...Are you an Ice Ghost? Are you human?"

Benjamin, who rushed out without taking off his disguise, nodded: "Yes, I can just turn into an alien, just like you just saw."

Nightwing looked back at Jason, then at Li Hua, and finally his gaze returned to Benjamin: "How old are you? 14? 15? 16?"

Benjamin: "I'm 15, the same age as Jason."

Jason: "Who said that? You're obviously younger than me."

Benjamin: “Just a few months!”

Jason: "A few months younger is still younger."

Li Hua: "Stop arguing. You two are no bigger than me anyway."

Jason: "You're only a few months older than us! I'll be 16 soon!"

Benjamin stretched out his voice and said sarcastically, "A few months younger is still younger. Who said that?"

As the only adult present, Nightwing's expression gradually became blank amid the joyful noises of teenagers playing and laughing.

In the end, Nightwing was certain that this was something more serious than having a child out of wedlock—underage childbirth! ! !

"Then..." Nightwing swallowed and asked, "What about the child...? Do you need help taking care of him?"

Benjamin: “Oh, no, I’ve already taken care of it.”

I don’t know if there is any difference in taste between stellar plasmas. After eating a few servings of solar plasma, I think I might take the kids to a slightly farther star next time to change the taste.

Seeing that Nightwing was still a little worried, Li Hua, the only one of the three present who had seen a human baby, stepped forward and explained:

"Don't worry, they are now in a warm, well-fed and safe place where they won't be disturbed or harmed by anyone."

What a perfect explanation, it answers the question without going into too much detail and increasing possible dangers.

Li Hua felt that he was really smart.

Nightwing: This describes... heaven... heaven?

Nightwing looked at Jason, "Really, Jason?"

Jason, who had been experiencing so much emotional ups and downs in such a short period of time and whose mind was not fully focused on this, answered casually after hearing the question, "Really."

He hadn't forgotten that the main purpose of today was to find out Bruce's attitude towards him: "You said Batman lost control after my death? What happened?"

Nightwing interpreted Jason's action as an attempt to divert attention from the sad topic, and stopped questioning the child. "After you died, Batman was taken away by US government officials for a warning. They even sent Superman to stop him because he wanted to kill the Joker to avenge you. The Joker had obtained himself the status of a special envoy of a certain country, enjoying diplomatic immunity. That country was in the midst of difficult negotiations with the United States at the time. If Batman had killed him, it would have likely caused a huge international dispute."

Jason: "But the Joker isn't dead... so the US government has no reason to target Batman."

Nightwing looked at Jason with a complicated look: "But you are dead."

Their families are dead, and the enemies who killed them even breathe the air in the same city as them. Who can be in a good mental state?

In a short period of time, Batman's mental state deteriorated sharply after losing his child, and he was losing his greatest advantage - calmness - every day.

His actions began to become more and more violent and extreme. It was no exaggeration to say that if things continued like that, it would only be a matter of time before Batman went on a killing spree or died accidentally in an operation.

Dick didn't know when Jason died. When he learned the news, Batman had already tried to assassinate the Joker and failed, but Dick didn't know that either. He rushed into the Batcave angrily, and when he saw Batman still sitting in front of the Batcomputer and working calmly, he immediately questioned Batman.

Then Dick realized that Batman at this moment was far from being "calm". Batman was an active volcano that could explode at any time! Because at that time, Batman's eyes were bloodshot and he roared and said nonsense that he could never say in the past, and he even took the initiative to fight with Dick.

Dick was also very upset at that time - isn't this nonsense? Who can remain calm after a family member dies? The relationship between the two became more strained than ever. Even though Dick tried to return to the manor several times after calming down to help Batman calm down, he himself could not accept this fact, so how could he persuade Batman?

So nothing changed, there were arguments, and both sides said a lot of inconsistent and nonsense during that period.

In the end, Dick left the manor and chose to calm himself down for a while. He could only persuade Batman after he had accepted the sad news and calmed down.

Even though that time had passed, and even though Jason had returned, Nightwing still felt down when he recalled those dark days: "...Then after a while, when I finally calmly accepted the fact that you had left us and wanted to go back to help B get over his grief, I found out that he had found the third generation of Robin, and then I went to confront him again."

After that, too many things happened... For example, there was a new villain named "Bane" in Gotham City, and Bruce had his spine broken and had to recuperate for several months before he returned recently... But

That wasn't something he could explain to Jason in just ten minutes standing on the roof today, so Nightwing decided not to mention it for now and talk about it later.

For the first time since his resurrection, Jason felt the impact of his departure on his family so directly: "...I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Nightwing laughed and rubbed Jason's head. "It's not your fault."

"That's right. I can tell it's that green-haired clown's fault." Benjamin was unusually calm at this moment. "From what you've said, that clown has escaped from prison many times?"

"Yes, but don't worry. He won't be able to get out in the short term, or even for a long time." Nightwing said, "Because he was beaten half to death by Batman and after recovering for a few days, he was beaten half to death by me again."

Jason sneered, "Based on the half-day recovery rate of that thing, it'll probably be out again soon. But it doesn't matter, because I'll be among those who beat him half to death soon."

Not killing the Joker is a respect for Bruce and legal procedures because he dared to cause him to be separated from his family forever. But if he doesn't break the Joker's bones, it would be purely because Jason Todd didn't have enough to eat!

Nightwing: "It's too dangerous for you to go alone. I'll go with you."

Benjamin asked, "So the clown is very resilient and can easily escape, right?"

Jason: "Yeah, like a cockroach, really disgusting. Sometimes I don't know how he survives. Do they take shifts?"

Benjamin: “Ah, that’s really hard to do.”

No. 666: ...something's wrong.

Was Benjamin this calm before when he mentioned the injuries of his family and friends?

No. 666 had just come up with this thought when he was interrupted by Li Hua's rarely used private message: "No. 666, I want to discuss something with you. If I have enough experience points to trade for cards, could you just tell me and not trade them? Save them first and trade them all at once later?"

No. 666: [Of course.]

Li Hua: [I remember you saying that the magic cards I use are essentially like shortcut keys. They use special magic to transform a certain spell into a card shape and store it. When needed, the cards can be used as a medium to use this type of magic, correct?]

Number 666: [Yes. However, if you want to convert magic shortcuts, you must be proficient in using that type of magic. We originally sought out a great magician like Clow Reed to save it for you. When you acquire new magic on your future journeys, you can save it there as well.]

Li Hua: [Is this magic similar to a sealing technique?]

No. 666: [Similar, but not quite. The magic cards themselves don't contain intelligent life forms capable of generating their own magical energy like the Clow Cards. Therefore, in essence, they are closer to transformation and conversion magic... similar to USB flash drives, USB adapters, and transformers.]

Li Hua: [Like turning a rabbit into a pigeon?]

No. 666: [Yes.]

"No. 666, you once told me that magic is a discipline of imagination," Li Hua said. "Then theoretically, if I understood the human body well enough, I could use that magic trick I've never had the chance to use to turn the clown into cards?"

No. 666: ...So this is what you were planning!

Finally! This kid is finally starting to think about how to put magic into practice! He's been waiting for this day for so long!

Filled with relief, No. 666 said, "No, because that's a sealing technique, a different kind. Look, Kinomoto Sakura didn't turn any ordinary passing creatures into cards. Just like you can't use a power bank or USB drive as a wardrobe."

The magic cards you have are already comprehensive enough to handle many situations. Finish them first. It's like thinking about getting into graduate school before completing nine years of compulsory education. It's unrealistic.

【oh……】

Hearing Li Hua's frustrated thoughts, No. 666 continued, "I don't care if you kill or not, but you'd better not act rashly based on one-sided statements. Otherwise, you'll definitely be used as a tool to kill yourself, or something else fatal will happen. You need to learn to think for yourself. For example, you can research the details of this clown, especially his strength, and then make a decision."

"I know, I'm not stupid," Li Hua said. "So I was just thinking about the situation where you encounter a clown on the street, try your best to escape but can't, and then you have to use your cane to save yourself and act bravely."

No. 666 was speechless: [You...]

Li Hua quickly added: [Use magic, of course I'll use magic! I won't fight him in hand-to-hand combat!]

No. 666 is satisfied.

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Author's Note: Benjamin/Li Hua: A clown, huh? I've got it in mind. When will you come out so we can see you?

The order of the three people's radical thoughts is: Jason (die to the scumbag), Li Hua (whatever), Benjamin (shows mercy most of the time, and in extreme situations it depends on his ability to fight to the death - having said that, it usually takes a lot of ability to piss him off to that extent).

No. 666 and other formal systems: As long as the host's physical and mental health is not affected, what does his life or death have to do with me?

【Catch a bug once】