"Your story may not have such a happy beginning but that does not make you who you are, it is the rest of it- who you choose to be"
-Soothsayer (Kun Fu Panda 2)
...
Gotham Academy.
After watching the entire Wayne press conference, Dean fell into deep contemplation.
'Bruce is Batman, so Bruce's challenge can be seen as Batman's challenge.'
'So, does that mean... I've been challenged by Batman?'
Dean suddenly felt a bit pressured.
In a previous life, there was a popular unspoken rule in the DC world, which was to never fight Batman.
Even people who had never read DC comics might have heard that saying.
After crossing over, although this saying wasn't popular in Gotham, everyone knew that provoking Batman would not end well.
From what Dean had learned about feats from Batman fans in the past, the best way to handle this situation was to ignore it and pretend he didn't know.
Batman always wins when fighting.
Then it's best if I don't fight him at all!
Dean couldn't help but think he was a genius.
But sometimes, he can't just look at the pros and cons; they are not as simple as they seem.
If Dean really chose to ignore Bruce's public challenge to him, it meant he admitted to fearing Batman deep down, and the damage to his mental health was difficult to estimate.
Moreover, the fearless and romantic image of the Phantom Thief he had worked so hard to create would also be ruined.
All the efforts at magic he had put in over the years would become a joke.
Dean couldn't accept such a result, no matter what.
Since he had chosen to cause trouble in Gotham as the Phantom Thief, he was prepared to be tracked by Batman.
How could he back down because of this?
Bruce, no, Batman's challenge, Dean accepted it!
He not only had to accept this challenge, but he also planned to defeat Batman!
Ahem, of course, not defeat in a physical fight, but successfully stealing the Ocean Gem from Atlantis under the eyes of the public and then successfully escaping.
However, to say that Dean wasn't nervous at all would be deceiving himself.
From the moment he watched the live broadcast of the press conference, his brain had been thinking about what kind of plan he could use to steal the gem while Batman was watching.
Time passed slowly, and it was soon time to finish school.
Ding Ling Ling
The bell rang, and the students in the classroom began to pack up their school bags and leave.
"Yawn~"
At this moment, Dean, who was pondering deeply, heard a yawn behind him.
Dick woke up from his deep sleep at the desk behind Dean. He stretched and yawned.
'Wow, he slept from the start of school until now.'
Dean thought to himself.
Dean then remembered that Dick had fallen asleep during the first class because he was busy thinking about Batman's challenge and didn't notice that Dick had been sleeping all this time.
With so much noise from multiple classes, the ringing of bells, and the sound of teachers' lectures and classmates chatting, Dick managed to sleep through it all.
Dean couldn't help but wonder how Dick had mastered the skill of sleeping through anything.
"Is class over, Dean? Why is the classroom suddenly empty?"
A still-groggy Dick asked as he looked around at the empty classroom.
".... Well, the class schedule was changed at the last minute, and it's now time for basketball class. I was just about to wake you up."
Dean explained earnestly.
"Um, can you explain why you brought your backpack for basketball class?"
Dick looked skeptically at the freshly packed backpack on Dean's desk.
"I'm a good student."
Dick couldn't help but roll his eyes and say, "Come on, don't think you can trick me with these childish tricks. I have a watch, you know... Wait, what?"
When Dick looked at his own watch, he was surprised to see that the hour and minute hands showed 8:20, and it was clearly daytime.
It couldn't be 8:00 p.m. at this time since it was morning, and it could only be 8:00 a.m.
"See, I told you the first class was changed to basketball."
Dean said with an "I told you so" expression.
At that moment, Dick almost doubted whether what Dean said was true—that the class had been changed to basketball.
Luckily, Dick quickly regained his senses, and the grogginess from just waking up disappeared. He immediately noticed something fishy.
"Wait! Look at the direction of the sun and the lighting outside. It's clearly around 4 in the afternoon."
Thinking this, Dick gave Dean a disapproving look and said, "Are you bored or something? Why did you mess with my watch just to trick me?"
"I'm not bored, it's quite funny."
Dean chuckled.
"By the way, I slept the entire day, and not a single teacher came to wake me up?"
Dick scratched his head and asked.
"Heh, which teacher would dare wake you up? If you violate any other school rule, maybe someone will say something, but sleeping? They'd probably be glad you're asleep."
Dean rolled his eyes with disdain.
"Alright, you talk too much, so let's just go."
Since Dick hadn't opened his backpack all day, Dean didn't need to wait for him to pack up. He just slung his bag over his shoulder and left.
The two of them said their goodbyes and went back home.
When night came, they both left their homes.
A few hours later, as the night grew deeper...
Gotham City Stadium
In the center of the lush football field stood a huge, towering spotlight larger than a person.
The center of the spotlight had a pitch-black bat symbol.
When the spotlight turned on, a part of the light would be blocked, and when it shone toward the sky, it would project a famous bat symbol.
This was the most fascinating and iconic symbol of Gotham—the Bat-Signal.
At this very moment, a circle of cameras is encircling Bat Signal, capturing all angles without any blind spots.
The footage was being streamed in real-time on Wayne Enterprises' newly launched live-streaming website.
This process has been ongoing since Bruce placed the Ocean Gem into the Bat Signal during his press conference.
It was his promise to ensure a 24/7 live stream until the Phantom Thief arrived to accept the challenge and steal the ocean gem.
It would remain in the Bat-Signal until then.
Behind the cameras, a group of reporters and paparazzi are eagerly waiting for the Phantom Thief's appearance. They took turns watching the scene.
Outside of this area is a football field, and there were many security personnel and police officers stationed around the perimeter.
To make room for the normal audience that is here to witness Bruce's challenge to Phantom Thief, they have been seated in the stands outside the sports field.
This setup stops Phantom Thief from taking advantage of the crowds and makes sure that the audience can watch Phantom Thief's show without any problems.
But maybe because of the recent press conference and the short amount of time for word to spread, there aren't that many usual audience members here tonight—just a few more than there are reporters.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, a row of sounds echoed from the sky.
Everyone looks up and sees dozens of white triangular gliders gliding through the sky.
They recognize these gliders all too well, as they are Phantom Thief's often-used props!
This time, what was different was that there were no dummies or the Phantom Thief himself beneath these dozens of gliders.
They were just empty flying freely.
As for the purpose of these gliders, only Phantom Thief himself can answer that question.
These dozens of gliders start flying randomly above the stadium, stunning the people watching.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Without any warning, all the gliders explode at the same time, engulfing the entire sky in rising white smoke.
Then, an elegant and charming voice echoed from all directions—the voice of the Phantom Thief.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I have come here as invited..."
...
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