Chapter 47 Chapter 47 Repent!
"Did you have fun last night?"
Bruce asked at breakfast the next day.
Jason: "I'm quite happy, but those black gang members probably aren't too happy."
Tim was also very excited when talking about last night's action. "That's right, they would never have thought that the people who brought them to justice were a group of teenagers on a team building trip. Dick didn't do anything yesterday."
"It's fun to be out here with everyone." Benjamin's reaction was rather indifferent. It wasn't that he didn't like hanging out with the others, but more because he had no experience beating up weaklings. "Bruce, do you know where I can beat up some weirdos? Beating up ordinary people feels like bullying, not like training at all."
He still remembers that there is a crisis in his universe.
Bruce: "Don't rush it. I think what Azmis wants you to learn here isn't just combat prowess, but combat thinking."
According to Azmis's narration and preliminary observations during this period, Benjamin's problem is not his fighting ability itself, but that he is sometimes too impatient and uses the wrong form of change at the wrong time, thus falling into a disadvantage. In other words, he is too reckless.
Considering that Benjamin is now acting recklessly with 14 kids, Bruce can't imagine how reckless he used to be.
I still can't figure out Benjamin's personality, and I'm not sure if he will listen to me... For now, I'll just do as Azmis said and stay out of the way unless Benjamin asks questions.
Bruce asked again: "What about Li Hua, how is it?"
Li Hua: "That was super cool! It was my first time using magic to hit someone. It was so cool!... Even though it worked, it was still physical damage."
Bruce: "Take your time, it will be fine."
Li Hua is the opposite of Benjamin. He is too unclear about what he can do, so he is a little hesitant to do things. But fortunately, he listens to advice and lacks confidence, which is a typical problem for novices. He just needs to practice a few more times to solve it.
Bruce looked towards the empty seat, "Where's Dick? Didn't he come back with you?"
Tim swallowed his fried egg and replied, "Dick said he had an interview with the police today."
Oh, the interview.
To this day, Bruce is still a little depressed about his eldest son's determination to go to Blüdhaven to work as a social animal.
He'd been to Dick's apartment in Bludhaven; it was so small and poorly equipped. He'd asked about the lack of money, and Bruce had said he could pay for a better place to live, but Dick wasn't happy, insisting on being self-sufficient.
Now Dick was going to be a police officer again. The Bludhaven Police Department was rotten from the chief down. He worked as a police officer during the day, and sometimes had to work overtime. After overtime, he had to go on night patrol. Night patrols not only prevented criminals but also prevented police officers...
Alfred, the old butler standing in the corner, was the man who raised Batman and was very clear about Bruce's depressed mood at the moment, but he did not show any reaction and did not even step forward to remind Bruce that he had sprinkled too much salt.
Alfred: Master, I believe you can finally understand how I felt when I saw you tormenting yourself all these years.
Li Hua watched Bruce absentmindedly sprinkle a large amount of salt on a slice of bread covered in jam, then chew it nonchalantly. Although he didn't understand, he was deeply shocked.
Is this how rich people eat, or is this some uniquely Gotham style?
After taking a bite of bread, Bruce realized that he had sprinkled too much salt on it. Just as he was about to spit it out quietly, he looked up and saw Li Hua looking at him with wide eyes. He had no choice but to swallow the food in his mouth: "What's wrong?"
"Ah...it's okay." Li Hua withdrew his gaze and moved his inquiring eyes to the salt shaker at hand.
How about... give it a try?
Tim, who was sitting nearby, completely misunderstood what Li Hua meant.
Tim had originally tried to feed his Robin Dart to Ice Ghost cub number 3, but unexpectedly the cub suddenly turned translucent. Li Hua happened to look over, so Tim had to awkwardly raise his hand holding the Robin Dart: "Sorry, I just saw Bruce secretly feeding bat darts, and I thought the Robin Darts were of similar material..."
"It's okay, it's just that the third one is a bit picky about food and shy, so you give it to the fifth one, as he can't keep his mouth shut," Benjamin said. "But you must not touch the intangible cubs. We strictly forbid them from using intangibility to penetrate living things."
Ice Ghosts can turn intangible and pass through objects, freezing them completely from the inside out. However, turning intangible is one of the species' survival instincts. In their hometown, they use turning intangible to avoid enemies or to bring edible metals out of the permafrost.
Therefore, in infancy, using intangibility to penetrate objects is also a way for ice ghost cubs to perceive the world. Just like human infants like to throw and smash things, it is a manifestation of their desire to explore the materials of objects and space.
Even if the opponent is not frozen, he will still feel cold and uncomfortable.
Jason, who had previously been awakened by a cub that had its feet pierced by an invisible force, has a lot to say about this. He is also the most powerful promoter of this regulation.
Jason's reasoning was also very valid - of course, it was not about his foot that was almost frozen:
"No one can guarantee whether a baby can precisely control their abilities. If they are accidentally frozen during invisible play, the consequences could range from amputation to life rewriting."
After hearing this, Tim looked at the adorable Stitch-like creature and couldn't help but smack his lips. "Nakfugi... it really lives up to its pronunciation, just like the Finnish word for 'dead ice'. It's a very fitting name."
Benjamin proudly stroked the cub's head. "So, I call them Ice Ghosts. It's fitting, right?"
While no one was paying attention, Bruce crumpled the piece of bread, salty enough to dehydrate someone, into a napkin and pretended nothing had happened. When Benjamin and Li Hua were carrying the net bag to take the children out to the yard of the manor, he called out to Jason, "Jason, what are your plans from now on?"
Will you come back and be my Robin?
Although he really wanted to ask this, the current Robin Tim Drake was sitting at the dining table, so Bruce couldn't say this even if he sewed his mouth shut.
This question is very important, and Bruce is not the only one who thinks about it. Tim, for example,
Long before Jason was resurrected and before Dick completed his police course, Tim went to Blüdhaven to find Nightwing. At that time, he mentioned that he had realized that he could not be Robin forever, and that one day he would have to step down and find his own way.
In addition, Tim applied for the job on his own initiative. He always knew that he was appointed because of Jason's absence. If Jason wanted to come back, he would definitely return the position of Robin to Jason without any hesitation or dissatisfaction.
But it was precisely because of Tim's awkward situation that he obviously could not ask the question, "Should Jason come back to be Robin?" It was inappropriate, and now this question has finally been brought to the surface.
"If you mean being Robin? Forget it. I've only been doing it for three years, so it's time to step down," Jason said, winking at the uneasy Tim. "Besides, I already have a talented junior, right?"
Jason admitted that at first he had some issues with Tim, the junior who had replaced him. But after meeting Dick and talking to him about it, and after observing him yesterday, Jason realized that Tim saw him the same way he once saw Dick.
He admires the other person, is afraid of being rejected by the other person, and knows that the clothes he wears are "abandoned" by the other person - considering that his way of resigning is different from Dick's voluntary resignation, Tim's uneasiness about the identity of Robin may be no less than his own back then.
So Jason decided to nip this stomach-wrenching misunderstanding of tradition in the bud.
Maybe there's a little bit of a desire to win at work.
Look at me, Dick Head. Not only can I be your Robin perfectly, I can be a better brother than you ever were. I'm way better than you!
Seeing that the relationship between Jason and Tim after they first met was not as tense as the relationship between Dick and Jason after they first met, Bruce and Alfred both breathed a sigh of relief.
Bruce: "Do you still plan to pursue a career as a vigilante after that?"
Jason: "Of course, I already have a new code name. But let me make it clear, I'm going to rent a place out there too. I heard that Tim also has his own place out there, so it doesn't make sense that I can't, right?"
In fact, he also planned to discuss with Dr. Contradiction Azmis whether he could go to Benjamin's universe to help Benjamin and Li Hua, but this matter... he would not tell Bruce for the time being, as he was not sure about it yet.
Bruce took a deep breath to stop himself from blurting out "No!", and after calming down, he said, "You just got back."
"It's because I just got back that you listened to what I said instead of contradicting me the moment I said I was moving out and starting another argument with me. Don't forget, I was also at the Wayne Residence when Dick and you were arguing before, and we've had our fair share of arguments. So I need a distance where we can both talk calmly."
Jason said calmly before Bruce could say anything in rebuttal.
"Bruce, I've experienced firsthand what happens when you act foolishly in anger after an argument. I don't want to make the same mistake again that causes pain to my family because of my momentary anger and stupidity.
Bruce looked deeply at his second son who had returned from the dead, with complex emotions flowing in his eyes. Finally, he closed his eyes and exhaled heavily: "...So am I, Jason."
“Remember to come back often.”
"Of course I will, Dad."
Jason took out his net bag from under the dining table, put it on his shoulder and said with a smile.
"Besides, I have to go back to school in September."
After Jason's back disappeared from the restaurant, Tim asked, "Has Jason's identity, which was cancelled due to his death, been restored? And what about Benjamin and Li Hua's identities in this world?"
Bruce: "I'm working on it, but Jason's side is a bit troublesome. After all, I was the one who brought his body back. I need a reasonable reason to convince the relevant departments and make them believe that Jason was not dead at that time, and not resurrected."
Tim: "Have you done the PR plan for Wayne Enterprises regarding the return of their second deceased son? And the press conference?"
Bruce: “…Not yet.”
He originally wanted to restore Jason's legal status as a living person before doing these things.
"Got it, I'll take care of this."
Tim drank his iced American coffee in one gulp and stood up to tidy his clothes.
"Afu, please help me prepare my clothes. I have to go to Wayne Enterprises for a meeting later."
Nothing could stop his brother from coming home, nothing.
…
Jason walked into Wei's courtyard carrying a scoop net, ready to join the Ice Ghost cubs' daily playtime, but he found that Li Hua and Benjamin, who were supposed to be retrieving the children, were sitting by the flower bed, their hands crossed to cover the lower half of their faces, their brows furrowed.
Jason glanced cautiously at the edge of the flower bed. "Did you sit on wet paint?"
Li Hua sighed: "...No."
Jason cautiously walked over and mopped the flower bed before sitting down. "What's going on?"
Benjamin sighed, and it sounded like he had stayed up all night to finish his homework but accidentally spilled the ink bottle at hand, messing up all the homework. After cleaning up the mess all night, he looked up to see two pale collapses in the sky.
Jason: "No. 666, can you scan him? Ben and Li Hua seem a little dead."
The cold, inhuman AI replied, "It's okay. They get used to being dead after a while."
After hearing what No. 666 said, Jason knew that his two friends were fine. He immediately felt relieved and prepared to eat some melons. "What's going on? You two are like seeing Batman doing a striptease at the Iceberg Tavern. You're full of doubts about the reality of the world."
"...About the same." Li Hua, his face faded, handed over his phone. "I was thinking of searching online to see how I looked like, so I did the same..."
Jason took the phone and clicked on the post. It was full of discussions about the new superhero [Magic Boy].
The strangely dressed Meng Yi police officer is already a hot topic in itself, and the masked magical boy who calls himself a magic boy but beats people with physical skills is even more popular. People from Brudhaven and not have joined in the discussion enthusiastically.
Among them, someone mentioned Li Hua's superb story telling when Jason first took him to learn interrogation.
It was this story that led the public discussion about Li Hua to a very... strange, or perhaps inappropriate for children, direction.
"I expected them to say I was a cross-dresser or transgender or something like that... I thought I was prepared."
Li Hua, who underestimated the filthiness of the adult world, was filled with grief and blamed himself for searching himself.
"But why do they say I'm a sadistic perverted gay? Why!"
He's still a kid! How can you say that to him? If he has any opinions, go tell Sea-O! That story wasn't his idea!
No. 666: "...I think their misunderstanding has a lot to do with your last sentence."
"The last words?" Jason recalled that Li Hua had indeed whispered something into the little leader's ear that completely destroyed his psychological defenses, but he didn't hear it. When asked later, Li Hua wouldn't mention it. "What was your last word?"
"I say... although we don't have four big guys wearing very little fabric here..." Li Hua choked, "but we do have a big guy wearing nothing and playing with tentacles. If you don't say anything, he definitely wouldn't mind coming in and hugging you..."
Jason: “…”
"What's wrong with this sentence? Isn't it true?" Benjamin paused in his frustration and looked up to ask.
He was kicked out of the warehouse at the time and did not hear Li Hua's story. He did not understand the impact of this sentence from its literal meaning.
Benjamin's favorite game is called "Burst Sumo." It's not like he hasn't used vines or muscle arms to give his opponent a strong hug that can strangle them (literally), and he thinks this is completely normal behavior.
"…Nothing, just the residual power of Gotham Poison Ivy's killer vines."
Jason returned the phone to Li Hua and patted his shoulder meaningfully, his eyes undoubtedly saying -
And you, my brother, you deserve it.
Li Hua let out a voice with a changed tone, like a soft scream mixed with some collapse and regret, and buried his face in his hands again, shutting himself off.
If he had known this would happen... he wouldn't have done that!
Today, the young Li Hua, who is still inexperienced in the world, understands the truth that "you will have to pay for what you have done sooner or later."
"What about you? Those people are using Li Hua and you to create gossip?" Jason consoled him. "The media is like that. When Batman and Robin debuted a few years ago, some people questioned whether Batman was a pedophile for letting children run around in shorts. They never considered that this was the result of the insistence of some child with a distorted sense of taste. Look on the bright side; at least they're just using gossip to spread rumors, not to disparage your character."
"No." Benjamin sighed deeply and handed over his phone.
Jason took it and looked at it. It was a forum interface with a very blurry photo of Nightwing's back with small ice ghosts flying around him.
The post was titled "Shocking, the first Robin and current Nightwing are suspected to be non-human and have multiple illegitimate children."
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Give the children of all ages a little shock from the superhero senior discussion area (thumbs up)
【Catch the bug three times】
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
