38 · Chapter 38
The news that "Batman is Bruce Wayne" shocked Jason. Even before going to bed at night, when he read a bedtime story to Messiah, all he thought about was this.
"The Little Prince returned to his planet. Batman is Bruce Wayne, who..."
Jason said in a daze, "Rose told the little prince that Batman is Bruce Wayne... and Robin is Richard Grayson..."
Messiah looked at Jason who had been in a trance all day and regretted whether he should have told his brother the news.
Jason suddenly stopped halfway through reading, and then he realized what the hell he had been reading. He closed the book and climbed into bed.
"Go to bed." Jason forced a smile. "That's all for today's bedtime story."
Messiah closed his eyes obediently.
Jason and Messiah had barely entered a dream, while Batman and Robin were still staying up all night studying Messiah.
Gotham is peaceful tonight after a long time. Batman and Robin finish their night patrol early - of course, this is also due to Batman's injury, so they stay in the Batcave to study the Messiah's abilities.
"Traces of the Assassin's League, but with subtle differences."
Batman pointed out the Messiah's movements on the screen: "There are inconsistencies in the body movements. These movements are not suitable for his size and are more suitable for teenagers and adults."
Robin pushed aside the pile of documents in front of him in distress. "Given Messiah's previous autistic state, there's no way I could find any trace of him ever having any contact with the Assassin's League—"
"No, perhaps not directly. Even the Assassin's League didn't realize the Messiah had ever contacted them."
Batman thoughtfully called up a surveillance video. In the video, Messiah was clearly looking in one direction, and a few hundred meters away from where he was looking, the group of black-clad men who had turned into idiot good guys were hiding behind the bunker and tracking Messiah and Jason.
"Super vision."
Batman cut to another surveillance video, and it was obvious that Messiah was listening in a certain direction.
"Super hearing."
Combined with the fact that Messiah was able to blur Robin's memory before he found them, and the fact that Robin was captured by Messiah as soon as he appeared in Crime Alley, it can be basically confirmed that Messiah has abilities similar to super vision and super hearing.
Batman said confidently, "His vision and hearing are definitely far superior to those of ordinary people. The range of his vision and hearing is currently uncertain, but the League of Assassins has invaded Gotham more than once, and there are also traces of the League of Assassins in Crime Alley."
“Eliminate the impossible, and whatever remains, however improbable, is the truth.”
Robin raised an eyebrow and poked Batman's chest plate: "Man of Steel, Super Vision, Super Hearing..."
"So we have a little Superman?"
"A more dangerous Superman," Batman said.
Robin shrugged noncommittally, then suddenly approached Batman with a grin: "Exclude all the impossible, and whatever remains, even if it's still impossible, must be the truth, right?"
"You're also reading John Watson's blog?" Robin clicked his tongue twice. "That's incredible, Bruce. It turns out you like other detectives too."
“…”
Batman said expressionlessly, "It's just normal intelligence gathering. Holmes's cases are all very valuable for reference."
He changed the subject as if nothing had happened and continued, "The most likely possibility is that Messiah once witnessed the assassins of the Assassin's League fighting, and therefore learned physical techniques that were unsuitable for his body type."
"Hmm, Messiah's learning ability is indeed very strong."
Robin recalled his battle with Messiah. "At first, I could tell he wasn't good at physical combat, but after being locked in my joint technique, he mastered the core of it and broke free on his own."
"So what we're dealing with is a man who possesses the power of mind manipulation, object modification, time reversal, spatial shifting, super vision, super hearing, a body of steel, and an exceptional learning ability—in other words, a super brain, a smaller and more powerful version of Superman?"
Robin laughed dryly. "Besides, he doesn't have any weaknesses to kryptonite or red sunlight."
"One more thing." Batman's jaw tightened. "A twisted version of 'Superboy'."
Batman pulled up Messiah's medical reports. "Ms. Todd and his wife took Messiah to see a doctor. The reports showed that Messiah had no organic damage or neurodevelopmental disorders, but he was no different from a brain-damaged patient."
Robin's eyes widened suddenly, and a creepy thought came to his mind: "What if the Messiah has super hearing and super vision since birth..."
Even Superman only gradually awakened his super hearing and super vision after he was seven or eight years old.
"That explains Messiah's autism before the age of five..." Robin muttered. "His brain collected too much information that it couldn't process, which is why he showed no reaction to the outside world."
If a newborn baby knows nothing about the world and even its brain is not fully developed, but can hear a wide range of sounds and see a wide range of things... what will that baby become?
Batman said calmly, "We are currently unsure of the scope of the Messiah's abilities. To be conservative, we will tentatively define the coverage area as Crime Alley."
Crime Alley, after the death of the Waynes, became the most chaotic neighborhood in Gotham.
Batman looked at the lifeless ID photo of the Messiah on the screen and said in a low voice, "'Crime' and 'criminal'."
This is what Messiah can hear and see in Crime Alley.
"Filthy and filthy people..." Robin muttered, remembering what Messiah had called criminals. "That's why he's so obsessed with 'purification'."
Batman didn't say anything. All that could be seen was his tense expression, with a gloomy look lingering on his furrowed brow.
"Hey, Bruce." Robin noticed Batman's expression and his expression gradually became serious. "You know this is not your responsibility, right?"
Batman said nothing.
Alfred swallowed the sigh that rose in his throat and bent down to place two plates of cookies in front of Batman and Robin.
After a long moment, Batman finally spoke.
"They are my responsibility," Batman said calmly. "I will visit them tomorrow as Bruce Wayne."
Hoping to lighten the gloomy atmosphere in the Batcave, Robin smiled and said, "So I'll have two more brothers from now on? That's great! I want to experience what it's like to be a brother, too."
Batman remained noncommittal, but said, "The chances of success are low."
"Jason is the dominant one between the two, and given Jason's personality, he'll probably reject me." Batman rustled and stole the cookies from Robin's plate. "This is a long-term mission."
"If you can't do it, I'll take over."
Robin chuckled twice, did a backflip in front of the Batcomputer, put his hands on his hips and said, "I'm Jason's idol."
No, Batman is.
Batman protested in his mind, but he kept it to himself, instead taking the opportunity to steal more of Robin's cookies.
By the time Robin noticed, most of the cookies on his plate were gone.
"Hey, Bruce, you can't do this!" Robin yelled and rushed over, "Give me back my cookies--"
Batman's mouth curled up slightly, his small revenge for Robin's ridicule of his love of consulting detective Sherlock Holmes.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Early in the morning, Jason was frying eggs and Messiah was busy trying to help Jason, but in fact he was causing trouble. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Messiah glanced sideways at the door, and through the door panel, he saw Bruce Wayne's smiling face.
As if sensing Messiah's gaze, Bruce mouthed to the air, "Good morning, Messiah."
Bruce Wayne?
Messiah tugged at Jason's sleeve and whispered, "Bruce Wayne is here."
Jason was still confused about who came to see them so early in the morning. After hearing Messiah's words, he turned his head and looked outside the door: "Bat-Batman is here?"
"It's not Batman, it's Bruce Wayne." Messiah corrected Jason. "Confidentiality."
"Yes, yes, Bruce Wayne." Jason stuttered, "What is he doing here?"
Is he here to take revenge on them? Is Batman really that petty?
Messiah answered every question and shook his head obediently, "I don't know."
"But I know something else." Messiah pointed to the fried eggs in the pan. "Jason, the eggs are burnt."
“Ahhhhhhhhh!”
Jason hurriedly turned off the fire and served the fried eggs. Looking at the burnt eggs, he suddenly had an idea.
"Messiah, open the door for Wayne." Jason waved his spatula nonchalantly and fried another egg. "We'll treat him to breakfast."
Messiah ran out in his slippers, turned the doorknob, looked up at Bruce Wayne who had been waiting for a long time, and said seriously, "Mr. Wayne, can we buy you breakfast?"
Bruce blinked and said in surprise, "Of course, it's my honor."
Messiah led Bruce into the house. Bruce looked like a different person after taking off his mask. Jason set out three plates of fried eggs and bread, and pushed the burnt fried eggs in front of Bruce as if nothing had happened.
This was Jason's little revenge.
Bruce looked at the burnt fried eggs on the plate, then raised his eyes to Jason, his bright smile unchanged as he praised, "Kid, your cooking skills are perfect. You surprised me."
Jason's snicker at the success of his prank disappeared immediately, and listening to Bruce Wayne's "praise", he felt like he was being ridiculed.
Messiah, who was climbing onto the dining chair, paused and looked at Bruce in surprise.
I didn't expect Bruce Wayne to have such a strange taste. He actually likes to eat food that has turned into charcoal.
The Messiah does not understand, but respects.
Bruce gracefully cut the charred fried egg and took a bite without changing his expression: "Mmm, delicious."
Messiah is even more convinced of Bruce Wayne's strange tastes.
"Huh." Jason nodded expressionlessly, his embarrassment evident only by the way his toes dug into the floor under the table. "Eat more if you like."
Bruce finished eating the burnt fried egg without changing his expression, then took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth with dignity before finishing his meal.
He looked at Jason and Messiah with a smile. Jason felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, but only Messiah was still concentrating on eating.
After knowing that Bruce Wayne was Batman, Jason couldn't help but project Bruce Wayne's actions onto Batman. When he thought of Batman eating his burnt eggs and still smiling as he watched him and Messiah eat, Jason felt uncomfortable all over.
Jason couldn't stand Bruce's smiling gaze any longer, so he took the initiative and asked, "Mr. Wayne, what do you want to talk to us about?"
Baji, baji.
Bruce suppressed the bright smile on his face, his expression became serious, and he looked seriously at Jason and Messiah's faces: "Yes, it is a very important matter."
Jason couldn't help but hold his breath. Could it be that Batman wanted to warn them to keep his true identity a secret?
Does Batman need to warn them? They will definitely keep it a secret for him. Jason thought indignantly, who on earth does Batman think they are?
Baji, baji.
Bruce Wayne took a deep breath and said solemnly: "I want to adopt you and become a family with you."
Bajiba...
ah?
Messiah dropped his half-eaten fried egg on the table. He looked up blankly, thinking he had misheard.
Jason exclaimed, "Adoption?!!"
【Author’s words】
①: Quoted from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
No prize guessing game, can Buwayne succeed? [dog head]
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