Moses had little to say about his subsequent exchange with Talia.
It's not because there is any content that is not suitable for children, although the content and method of their communication are not very "all-age".
In short, Talia's proposal to have a baby was completely rejected, but the woman left with a satisfied look, and even Batman was not sure whether she really got what she wanted.
The fire in Arkham continued to burn until 2 a.m. before it was completely extinguished. For this disaster beyond personal control, all Moses could do was to ensure that no criminals escaped during the chaos. More and more injured people were taken to the hospital. The sirens of ambulances and fire trucks became the main theme of the night. In the early morning, when the radio and TV were turned on, all the news channels continued to pay attention to this incident.
There was a brief confrontation between the Assassin's League's subordinates, Death Clock, and Nightwing. In the middle, he threw a grenade at Red Hood, which had no substantial effect. It only collapsed half of the load-bearing column, almost tripping Tim who was passing by, causing the first bloody incident. The two also had a quarrel over whether or not to use small hand-thrown ammunition indoors, until both were held on the head by Nightwing and apologized.
But Deathstroke did not stay in the Wayne Group for too long. After saying hello to Talia, he destroyed more than a dozen panes of glass in the Wayne Building, jumped onto the rooftop helicopter and fled away.
"Have you read today's newspaper?" Red Hood asked.
It is half a month after the Arkham fire and the Wayne Group terrorist attack. Dick and Jason are huddled in a small safe house in the Red Hood's territory. Dick's phone is on the table next to him, and he is using it to video chat with Timothy Drake. Jason calls this behavior similar to putting a photo on a tombstone, and calls it "the voice and face are still there". Unfortunately, Tim is far away and cannot fight him.
Nightwing asked: "What's the news?"
His tone was very reluctant.
There is a reason for this.
Since Thanksgiving, time has entered December and the Christmas holiday is getting closer. At the end of the year, the office workers in the newspaper are still competing for performance and making devilish remarks, sparing no expense to attract attention.
They exchanged contact information with Tim during the incident at Wayne Tower, and formed a small group of teenagers with Batman's tacit approval. Among them, Nightwing is the best and most mature. Red Hood knows all about Gotham and his action mode is unconventional. As for Tim... In the beginning, neither of them actually took him seriously.
After all, a young master who looks docile and well-mannered, no matter how talented he is, has nothing in common with them.
It wasn't until the kid took out a notebook with three-digit information about Batman listed on it, and he himself summarized the possible true identities of Gotan's vigilante mask - Bruce Wayne was prominently listed, and ranked not low, that both Nightwing and Red Hood felt their scalps tingling.
This is very embarrassing.
As a result, Tim's status in the discussion group rose suddenly, from an insignificant follower to a behind-the-scenes planner.
There was a tacit understanding between them, and no one revealed the identity of Batman.
However, Drake's parents were alive and their business was thriving, so they couldn't allow their son to fool around. So the team's communication method had to be changed to two parties offline and one party online.
"I saw it." Tim's voice was deliberately lowered from the phone. "I've been following the recent media trends. Which one are you referring to?"
Red Hood shook the newspaper in his hand and read: "'Police spokesman intends to investigate Batman's identity: saying that the public can no longer tolerate the safety of citizens being placed in the hands of thugs.' Below is the specific content, do you want to continue reading?"
Nightwing curled his lips and urged: "Summarize it."
"It's a combination of a rebound in crime, retaliatory attacks and internal police factionalism," Red Hood said. "This rubbish paper said it interviewed 95 percent of the people in Gotham, and 80 percent of them boycotted. I don't know how I was excluded from that 95 percent."
"I haven't seen it either," Tim said, "but this topic has been very popular recently, not just targeting Batman. As far as I know, the Green Arrow and Iron Man teams in Star City are also targets of attack. Only the situation with the Flash in Central City is better."
Ye Yi took out his phone and said, "I'll check the forum."
He lowered his head, glanced at the titles of the popular posts, put down his phone and cursed.
Tim asked: "Nightwing, how is your foster father doing lately?"
"It's pretty good. There haven't been any major events in the past half month, and Chairman Wayne has started to come to work on time." Although he seemed quite reluctant.
During the video call, the black-haired boy couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, holding up another newspaper, pointing at the headline and saying, "His way of being serious about his job is to say in a media interview that he doesn't like Batman?"
Well.
"…Maybe this is a strategy?"
"But I think he's quite serious." Tim looked at the news again. The paper had traces of being folded repeatedly, and it was obvious that it had been read many times. "Is there anything important you haven't told me? Did I miss something?"
He glanced at his new friends with a puzzled look.
"We don't know much, actually." Jason, who often quarreled with Tim, did not mean that they had a bad relationship with each other, answered cautiously, "But you know, Batman is very familiar with this."
Nightwing looked from him to Tim, feeling that only when they were arguing would others realize the age of these two children.
This is quite sad.
Just like Bruce.
Perhaps anyone who has experienced too much or seen too much cannot have a complete and carefree youth.
"He might have experienced it," Nightwing said vaguely, "something about being accused, wanted by the police, being treated as a criminal." Chou even said that the Batman of another world took the blame for Two-Face because the self-destructive madman was the one who was most likely to bring change to Gotham.
While others fiercely debate whether vigilantes should exist, the people they are denouncing know it well - Batman is the one holding the rope to prevent the city from falling, but even he can't get himself off the edge of the cliff.
The judicial system, people's concepts, etc. require people to make changes spontaneously after believing in the hope brought by Batman.
"So don't worry, Batman has a plan."
Tim twisted uncomfortably in his chair. Behind him was a bedroom with a clearly classy décor.
"I think... this is not a good idea."
"Um?"
"I mean, even if he's prepared, should people just sit there and wait for him to figure it out?"
Nightwing and he looked at each other across the Internet.
Tim sometimes makes people feel that he is a bit like Batman. But most of the time, Nightwing thinks it is his own illusion. Batman walks in the gray area and is ambiguous about many behaviors. Timothy Drake is like the detective in traditional literature, who looks at things wisely and in black and white.
This is also the difference between Tim and the other two people on the team.
Nightwing and Red Hood both believed that Batman could solve the problem and chose not to intervene for various reasons.
Tim would tell them 'what we should do'.
"What do you want to do?"
**
"Is this your 'plan'?" Red Hood sat cross-legged on the sofa with a Coke cup in his hand, his voice gnashing his teeth, "Timothy Drake, there is at least a stack of Nightwings between you and Batman."
"Hey!" Nightwing protested.
"What's the problem?" Tim raised his chin proudly, "The small program I made can generate four-digit robot accounts in one minute - it depends on the processing speed of your system."
"Aha! Genius! Then we became Batman's free trolls, fighting with superhero haters on the Internet."
"You have to admit that this plan is very effective. Most people have admitted that they made inappropriate remarks, and only 30% are still resisting."
"I have this time..."
"Wait," Nightwing pulled Red Hood to show him his computer screen, on which was a blogger who was passionately insulting Batman and was complacent and unrepentant, "I want the high-powered account in your hand. This guy's words are too rude."
Red Hood's eyes froze for a moment.
Then he completely forgot what he was going to say.
"I'll do it myself." He moved Nightwing's computer into his arms.
**
There were less than forty-eight hours left until Christmas.
Moses got up early to help Alfred clean up Wayne Manor. This was the first time they had faced such a grand festival since they moved in, and since there was no precedent, they had to give it their all. In addition to preparing snacks and gifts for the children, all kinds of Christmas decorations, new furniture and new equipment were available, and all they needed to do was to put these miscellaneous items in the right place.
"Where's Dick?" The Wayne Group was finally on holiday, and both the boss and employees felt relieved. Moses didn't have to deal with reports, observe the stock market, and make various decisions for more than a month. He finally realized that his adopted son was running around too much during the day.
It's not like I didn't know that Nightwing, Red Hood and Tim Drake had set up something like a teenage superhero team.
But with the holidays approaching and even Batman's nightly patrols reduced, what are they up to?
"To his friends," Alfred said without looking up from his shopping list. "You know, no matter how much a home-loving child loves his family, there will come a day when he abandons his parents and sets up his own business."
Moses:"……"
Do I have to think about such heavy things when I am not even thirty years old?
He still felt a little dazed about becoming a father, but when he looked at Dick, he did feel strangely relieved.
Maybe this is the difference between ideal and reality.
After overcoming his obsessive-compulsive disorder and trying his best to allow young people to have their own little secrets, Batman followed the butler and made trouble, like a person who had been busy for half his life and suddenly became idle and bored to the point of having nothing to do. In the end, he was sprayed out of the kitchen by Alfred without any swear words.
Finally, Moses came to the back garden of Wayne Manor with a bouquet of flowers. He brushed away the snow on the two tombstones that were mainly symbolic. He stared at the two familiar yet unfamiliar names for a while, and then whispered, "I'm sorry."
He didn't know why he should apologize.
Perhaps it's because Thomas and Martha don't exist in this world, but Batman's grief has not dissipated.
This is the comfort that the deceased leaves for the living.
"I may not have time in two days. I wish you a merry Christmas in advance," he said.
Alfred watched him quietly from a distance.
The evening meal was exceptionally sumptuous, and Nightwing hurried back when the lights came on. His shoulders were covered with wet marks from melted snow, and even his not-so-short black hair was hanging down in clumps.
"I didn't miss dinner, Bruce." He asked with a tired voice but a smile.
"No, we are still waiting for you." Moses looked at him. "What's the good news?"
"Well, it's not very important." The young man's eyes sparkled, and he walked over quickly and pulled out a chair to sit down. Alfred handed him a towel to wipe his hair. "I didn't mean to hide it from you. You'll know it soon."
'Immediately'?
With a vague guess in mind, but not quite sure, the man shook his head and said to Dick, "Let's eat first."
They clinked their glasses together, even though no one at the long table was drinking.
"I heard Alfred asked you to invite Jason Todd to come to Wayne Manor for Christmas."
"Oh yeah! He agreed," Dick said, "but, you know, he has some... little activities, so he might be late anyway."
"The boss prepared a gift for him." It was a helmet - Batman tried his best to make the red cowl look better, at least not like a super villain, but the results were not satisfactory.
Dick: "He'll love it. And Tim asked me to say Merry Christmas to you guys."
Moses said, "I heard that his parents were on a business trip and couldn't come back in time."
"That's right, but he has a lot of bodyguards and can't just leave. Otherwise, I would have invited him. Sorry, I didn't have time to ask if you guys mind."
"It's Christmas." The young man sitting at the top seat answered briefly.
Dick couldn't help smiling again.
A gentle yet lasting emotion enveloped him. Even though his arms were so heavy that he could hardly lift them, his heart seemed to be floating on the clouds.
The world is slowly getting better.
He thought happily.
Dick couldn't hold back his excitement at this positive thought, and said to Batman, "We have a surprise for you."