In front of the new Arkham Psychiatric Hospital, Red Robin grabbed Bruce's arm and said: "Batman, it's so late, why are you going to Arkham? Is there another madman running out?" while the Red Hood said On the sidelines, he kicked the stones beside the wall with some boredom and said, "It's useless to ask him. Anyway, he will only tell you that this is part of the plan... Hey, Batman! Don't expect me to follow you like a follower." You'll be at your command later, I'm leaving!" After the Red Hood said that, he turned around and walked out along the wall. Red Robin hurriedly rushed to pull him. The two heard Bruce say behind them: "I'm here to pick up my teacher before I leave. The letter you left me before, if you really don’t want to come, I’ll call Jack and ask him to turn around and take you back to Wayne Manor.” The two of them.
"Zeng" stood behind Bruce and stood at attention. Red Robin shook his head like a rattle: "No need!" Bruce pushed open the door of the new Arkham Psychiatric Hospital, and the two Robins didi gurgled. Following behind him, Red Robin lowered his voice and said, "Let me just say that this Batman is not normal."
"The clown is not normal! I spent every second in the car guessing where the bomb remote control was, but Damian was still able to sleep?!"
"You should say that he actually let Batman hug him." Red Robin grinned, quickened his pace, and brought the head of Red Hood together. The two of them looked at Damian who was held in Bruce's arms at the same time. .
Damian's hands were wrapped around Bruce's neck, his body pressed against his chest, and his chin rested on his shoulder. He grinned when he saw the disapproving looks cast by the two Robins behind him. He showed a wicked and proud smile.
Misfortunes are all based on comparison. If he is the only one who is frightened by the clown, then he will indeed be very depressed. If two unlucky people are also frightened by the clown, then his depression will be greatly alleviated. If Not only were these two unlucky guys frightened by the clown, they didn't sleep or eat most of the night, and they had to wait behind Batman to work. Then this depression would turn into happiness.
Damian is indeed very happy now. He will not let his biological father from the main universe hug him until he dies. He firmly believes that they are not that close, but if it is a younger version of Batman from another universe, there is room for negotiation, and this Batman only hugs him, and even He didn't spare a glance at the other two Robins.
Feelings of pride kept sprouting in Damian's heart, gradually breaking through the calm, peaceful and far-reaching mental training he had received. The psychological defenses provided by those killer trainings that should not belong to this age group were weakening, but he himself did not. Realize this.
Damian knew that every Robin had dreamed of being hugged by Batman. Although their instinctive reaction must be shock and rejection, the heat provided by that brief moment of hug was enough for them to leap across the endless vastness. Snowfield.
And now he was being held by Batman, hugging him very tightly and for a long time. Damian convinced himself in his heart that this was not his biological father anyway. This Batman was still young anyway, and he was waiting for their universe. He'll leave once that's resolved, and they'll probably never see each other again anyway.
These were all the reasons he found for himself to put down all his defenses and stay quietly in Bruce's arms. After convincing himself, he could feel the great safety that he could get by staying in Batman's arms. feel.
If he's in Batman's arms, no one in the world can hurt him because he's Batman.
After the killer instinct relaxed, when Bruce's hand patted his back, Damian only felt a solid and powerful support, which even made him feel sleepy in a strange environment.
"Are you sleepy?" Bruce's low voice was like a lullaby. Damian had never heard Batman speak at such a close distance. The low vibrato echoed in the empty and dark corridor, and the sound field was clear and near. And hazy.
"You can go back to sleep. I'll ask Alfred to pick us up after we get our things." Bruce said. Damian narrowed his eyes slightly. He was not asleep. He just rested his head on Bruce's shoulder and asked, "Will we go back to your manor?"
"certainly."
"And you'll take me back to my room?"
"
"Not necessarily. Elsa just learned to sleep on her own in February last year. She slept with Selena when Selena was here, and then me and Dick."
"Why is this happening?"
"Because she is a child." Bruce carried Damian and walked forward without looking at him. He just said as if telling a common sense: "Children should sleep with adults when they are young. You didn't sleep with yours?" Have your parents ever lived in the same room?”
"The two of them haven't even lived in the same room." Damian deliberately blew the air out of his pursed lips, making a series of strange noises, and then said: "And I don't sleep much, most of the time. All the time is in class." Damian thought Bruce would ask him what was going on, but Bruce didn't ask him anything. He just hugged him up a little more and said, "Then you can sleep in my room when you go back tonight. But don’t let Elsa know, otherwise you will be bitten by her.”
"What's going on with her? I mean those fangs..." Damian regretted it after asking. He shouldn't have asked such a sensitive question to a strange Batman he had just met. Damian A panic suddenly arose in his heart. Batman had just agreed to sleep together tonight. Will he regret his offense?
Damian felt disappointed when he thought of this possibility, but he didn't understand why he was like this. This was obviously not his biological father. The relationship between them was destined to be short-lived. So what if they slept in the same room?
But he couldn't help but secretly wonder, was he the only Robin who could sleep in Batman's room?
If it is true that he is the only one who gets this kind of special treatment, is it because he is excellent or because he is obedient?
"Aisha is my daughter." There was no fluctuation in Bruce's tone, as if he was stating a fact: "But her life experience may indeed be a bit bizarre, and it won't be clear for a while."
"Oh, that's what Batman said when I first went to the Batcave." Damian changed his head and leaned on Bruce's shoulder, and then realized that he had rubbed his cheek against Bruce before leaning forward. shoulders.
This action was so intimate that Damian broke into a cold sweat in his sleepiness, but soon he was immersed in Bruce's words again.
"It doesn't mean that there is nothing to explain. It's just that if I say it but it's not comprehensive, people may misunderstand her. A hasty and narrow explanation that may have omissions is better than no explanation at all."
"Is that what you think?" Damian couldn't help asking.
"Yes, if it's not for this reason, what else could it be for? To escape reality and not want to explain? To be ashamed of your appearance and my own behavior and refuse to explain?" Damian laughed a little lowly, no Instead of the sharp and evil tone before, it was filled with a childish naivety. He laughed and said, "Of course not. Batman will not escape reality, nor will he feel ashamed, because he is Batman."
"Then maybe that's the case. If I want you to understand Aisha, then I will find a formal occasion and use ample time to explain the matter, instead of hastily explaining a few sentences and causing many unnecessary misunderstandings." Mian fell silent, as if he was recalling something. When he came to his senses, he patted the side of Bruce's arm and said, "When did the two of them disappear?"
"When we entered the hospital and walked through the second intersection." Bruce shook his head slightly and said, "They didn't follow."
"Then why don't you go find them?"
"I have my own things to do." Bruce took Damian to the elevator and said, "If I want to find them, I have to send you back first, otherwise I will be busy."
"That's too exaggerated!" Damian propped up his body, looked sideways at him and said, "Or do you think I'm a drag on you? Let me go!"
"You'd better stay calm." Bruce frowned slightly, and Batman's common expression flashed across his face. This made Damian stiff for a moment, but he soon discovered that this seriousness The look wasn't directed at him.
Damian heard the footsteps of high heels coming from far away. Before he could react, Bruce held him in his arms and opened a door in the corridor at a very fast speed and hid inside.
Bruce leaned his back against the door and raised his head, making a silent gesture to Damian. In the silent space, Damian could clearly hear the heartbeats of the two people.
Suddenly, Damian shrugged his nose, opened his eyes and gestured to Bruce, and then remembered that this was not the Batman he knew, and he might not be able to understand the codes of their universe.
But Bruce understood. He nodded to Damian, still signaling him to be silent. After a while, the footsteps completely disappeared, and Bruce gently opened the door.
There were no high-heeled footprints on the corridor outside the door, but there was a long trail of fresh blood. Damian's gesture meant that he smelled blood, and someone had just died.
Standing outside the door, Bruce looked around, and then he hugged Damian and continued walking forward as if he was relieved. However, Damian couldn't stay any longer. He struggled twice, and then Look Bruce in the face and say, "Someone died, and the murderer just walked by!"
"I know."
"Then why don't you investigate?"
"That's what I would do if I didn't have you with me."
"I'm not a burden to you!" Damian struggled even harder.
"I didn't say you were." Bruce wrapped his arms tightly around Damian to prevent him from jumping off his body, while stroking his back with his hand.
"It's dangerous here."
"You just feel..."
"I mean, you have to save your strength to protect me from the dangers we may encounter later." Damian broke out in a cold sweat. He grabbed Bruce's sleeves and turned to look. To him, that serious look told him he wasn't joking.
Batman needs protection? It was the funniest joke he had ever heard, but he soon stopped laughing.
The lights were on in the last room they passed in the corridor. Damian, who was held in Bruce's arms, was just high enough to see the scene in the ward through the window - three human limbs hanging on hooks. The silhouettes were clearly visible, two male legs and a female arm, which were still dripping with blood. A burly figure faced the hospital bed with his back to the window, as if he was cutting something.
The strong smell of blood almost made Damian lose his sense of smell. The dual stimulation of vision and smell made his heart beat faster and faster. At this time, Bruce's arms became his only source of security.
Contrary to the previous struggle to break away, Damian hugged Bruce's arm tightly, leaned against his ear and asked in a trembling tone: "...What's going on here?"
"Don't be afraid. We'll leave as soon as we get our things. Nothing will happen."
