Chapter 59 Chapter 59 They are going to fight!
Batman is in the office where Tim "disappeared".
The school immediately sealed off the area upon discovering the incident, awaiting the arrival of the police. They whispered about the incident in the hallway, shirking their responsibilities in contacting students and faculty members' families. No one noticed that a giant black cat with pointy ears had quietly infiltrated the crime scene and begun investigating before the police arrived.
"There was a third person present," Batman lowered his voice, "and he took the boy away."
"It must be because they investigated that file," the Oracle lost all interest in joking, his voice tense, "about the car accident eight years ago. Someone wants something to be completely forgotten, and these two boys..."
"That's the only thing they missed," Batman said. "We have to find the other boy, Elio, as soon as possible. He's in danger."
Batman opened the cabinet door under his desk. Inside, a grown man, his life or death unknown, was tucked away. It was the teacher the school had thought was missing. The back of his head rested against the cabinet wall, stained with a deep red stain. Batman held his carotid artery and remained silent for a moment.
"...Great danger." Batman said in a deep voice.
"Actually, I've been looking for him," Oracle said quickly. "The kid's good at hiding, but I still managed to find a few of his images on the surveillance. I'll send you his last known location. Do you want to go find him, or track down Timothy first? I'll send another location to Robin—"
Batman, who was about to climb out of the window, suddenly stopped.
"No, don't send it to Robin." Batman held onto the window frame. "I can handle it myself."
"Are you serious?"
In the hallway, a clatter of footsteps approached. Batman had spotted the police car parked downstairs, and before they could see him, he launched his grappling hook upwards. His cape soared, breaking through the air currents, and Batman leaped high into the air.
"I'm serious." He spoke, and the cold air rushed in. "I'm going to find Elio now."
The Oracle sighed, "I understand. Leave Timothy to me."
With a ding, she received the information Batman had sent her, including his findings from the scene and his speculation about Timothy's whereabouts. Oracle opened it and took a look. It was enough for her to find Timothy's whereabouts, as long as she gave him enough time.
Batman's coordinates were rapidly moving toward Elio's last known location. Oracle didn't doubt Batman's words, "I can handle it myself," but excluding Robin? That was another matter.
Oracle continued searching for Timothy. That was her primary concern, but a part of her mind was still occupied with this whole situation, and Robin. Batman trusted her, so she wouldn't tell Robin about this...
Unless Robin discovered something, in which case she would have to tell the truth.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
There was a rumble of thunder. Oracle, absorbed in his work, didn't waste time looking out the window, nor did he notice the figure flying overhead.
To be more precise, it is a figure "flying down".
Ten years later, Elliot Smith had just completed a leap of faith from a bell tower. Dusty and dusty, he emerged from the alley. He habitually brushed off the "dust" on his body, but his hands were wet with rain. Elliot looked at his palms, then looked up at the dark sky.
This wasn't the right weather for traveling. But if the weather hadn't been so bad, almost like night, he probably wouldn't have jumped from such a high altitude in broad daylight. So in a sense, this bad weather was actually a good option.
Elio thought about it and pulled up his hood. He lifted the cover of a nearby manhole and skillfully crawled into the sewer.
Elliot, who was only ten years old, was still waiting at the "old place".
After Timothy went to school as usual, he returned there, waiting for the next night to arrive, and for the continuation of their investigation. The bonfire was still burning, and the sound of water in the sewer rose and fell with the thunderstorm, like the roaring song of the tide; the firelight danced on the wall behind him. Elio, who had been active on the streets of Gotham all night, sat there, unconsciously squinting his eyes, his head unable to resist gravity and nodding downwards repeatedly.
He didn't know that Tim, who had checked the file, had just been kidnapped, nor did he know how many forces were looking for him now.
Elio fell asleep like this, completely unaware. He was too tired and too accustomed to the environment he was in. The movement of ordinary homeless people would not wake him up at all. This also led to Elio not reacting at all when footsteps approached.
Shadows moved closer to the sleeping child. Elio heard a faint rustling sound, but he simply turned over and went back to sleep.
He didn't move until the hand gently patted his arms that were folded across his chest.
"Elio, wake up." It was Smith's voice. "You can't stay here anymore."
Elio pried open one eye and glanced at him gloomily. "Why not?"
"Your guess is correct." Smith squatted down beside him and answered patiently in a low voice, "There's a hidden story behind your parents' death. I'm investigating it. But in the meantime, you can't stay here, because anyone can find you and get close to you if they want to. That would put you in danger."
Elio didn't answer. He was fully awake, but still reluctant to follow Smith. He lay on his side, his back to Smith, staring at the shadows moving on the wall.
"I've been here for the better part of six months," he said. "If the danger you're talking about is the rats that scurry around at night, well, no thanks. I can handle it."
"Things are different now." Smith patted his arm again.
"What's the difference?"
"I just—"
Smith stopped talking mid-sentence. Elio wanted to ask what he was about to say, but he was still angry about Smith not following up on the action last night, so he held back.
From the other end of the passage came a rustling sound, like heavy boots treading water as quietly as possible. Smith slowly rose from his crouching position, rising silently on the spot. The dancing shadows on the wall suddenly grew taller, and Elio rubbed his eyes in surprise at the sight.
"Elio," Smith whispered, "if you don't want to die, stand up right now and get behind me."
If Smith's voice hadn't been so serious, Elio would have definitely asked what the heck he was doing. But Elio recognized the seriousness of the situation and was only slightly stunned. He immediately jumped up and tucked himself in behind Smith.
The rustling sound was getting closer. Elliot was nervous but also a little curious. He grabbed Smith's clothes and couldn't help but stick his head out to see what was going on ahead. But Smith seemed to have eyes behind him. The hand that reached for his waist quickly turned and pushed his head back.
“Whatever happens,” he whispered, “don’t look outside.”
Elio had no choice but to do as he was told. He watched Smith pull something out from his waist and raise his hand. Just as the rustling sound was about to turn into the passage, Elio heard a very light "pop" sound.
Then, there was a loud thud. The heavy object fell to the ground.
What on earth had happened? Elio wondered. What were those noises? But he dared not speak. Smith gave no hint, but simply turned around, covered his eyes, and pushed his shoulder, then inexplicably pushed him behind the pile of barrels burning on the bonfire.
"Stay there and don't come out," Smith said.
Elio still didn't know what had happened. He pricked up his ears and heard the sound of Smith's footsteps and the sound of water rushing. He turned his head and looked at the shadows on the wall. There was no shadow of Smith there, but the next second, he heard a cry of pain.
Elio's pupils trembled. He suddenly understood what had just happened.
He looked out tremblingly and saw Smith picking up a man who had fallen into the water and leaning him against the wall. The man who had cried out in pain was sitting weakly against the wall, with Smith stepping on his wound and whispering something.
Elio's eyes moved and fell on one of Smith's hands. A gun was hanging from that hand.
The whirlwind of thoughts suddenly rose from the ground, sweeping away all of Elio's attention. He forgot to retract his head and to observe the situation around him until another hand fell on his shoulder. Elio came back to his senses and was quite literally startled - literally.
"Whoa!" he cried, jumping up. "Who is it——"
He swallowed the rest of the words. A dark shadow with pointed horns stood there, looking at him grimly.
"Elliot Shelt?" the shadow said hoarsely.
Elio stared at him blankly.
From behind them, Smith, hearing the noise, fired his rifle reflexively without turning. Another soft snap rang out, and the tall figure, realizing his intention the moment he raised his hand, unfurled his cloak, covering Elio's head and carrying the child into the darkness.
With a few whooshing sounds, batarangs shot out. Frozen mist exploded over the bonfires, plunging the sewers into darkness. A normal person couldn't see immediately after suddenly losing their sight. Even if they walked into a dark sewer with their eyes closed, it would take them a while to adjust to the intense darkness when they opened them again.
But Batman doesn't need it. He has night vision goggles.
He gently placed the boy in the corner and covered him with his cape. Elio fumbled frantically under the cape and finally freed a hand from it, but found that Batman had already left.
It's over! Elio's vision darkened. They were going to fight!
In a place where he couldn't see, Batman really was like a bat, gliding lightly and silently across the ground, almost flying in front of the gunman - he had to seize the time and knock him down with a punch before the gunman could react - but just as he arrived in front of the gunman, Batman suddenly found that the gunman's normally open eyes flashed a ray of light, and he looked accurately at the place where he was attacking.
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Author's words: Oreo: (Hearing the child screaming, I thought there was danger) (Fired a shot without even looking) Wait, that voice sounds familiar
Batman: Can you see me?
Little Oreo: Stop fighting!
Tim: Someone's going to take care of me... my life or death...
Barbara: I'll take care of it [sunglasses]
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