At the dining table, Gordon quickly grabbed Barbara's hand, glancing at her sideways. He looked her up and down, then asked, "How are you so adept with a gun? Did you go to police school?"
Startled, Barbara's thoughts stalled for a moment, then instinctively she replied, "No, Batman trained me."
Gordon's brows furrowed even more, and he raised his voice, "Batman wants you to be a police officer? What is your relationship with him?!"
"I... No, hold on, why is Joker here? Isn't that the biggest issue right now?!"
"The biggest issue is your relationship with Batman!"
Gordon turned his head to glare at the bewildered Bruce, then in a hushed voice, asked Barbara, "Did that damn Playboy deceive you?!"
"Of course not!" Barbara turned her head to glare at Gordon. She wouldn't allow anyone to smear Batman's name. She raised her voice, "Batman has never deceived anyone in the Batman Family! I know him!"
"You think you know him because you know a few things?! How do you know he doesn't have ulterior motives?" Gordon glanced at Bruce, who was now seated, lowered his voice even more, growling through gritted teeth, "Silly girl, surely you know when a man asks you to wear tight clothes, it's inappropriate?"
"I chose to wear it myself!"
"You just think you chose it yourself!"
Gordon looked around and yanked Barbara's arm so that she was away from the dining table, especially away from Bruce. They stepped completely away from the table before Gordon finally spoke.
"Bruce Wayne graduated under Shiller! He is fully capable of scrambling your mind, making you devoted to him. Don't tell me you're truly smitten with him?!"
Just as Barbara was about to utter a response, Gordon stared into her eyes and said, "Even if we reject that, he hasn't broken up with Selina. The last time Harley came here, she complained that he has to call Selina for at least two hours every day... absence makes the heart grow fonder!"
"Barbara, don't joke around. Seriously, are you fascinated by Batman even just a little bit? Not at all?"
Barbara opened her mouth to respond, but suddenly fell silent.
The red-haired girl averted her gaze, biting her lips. Gordon looked at her face, betrayed a 'just as I thought' expression. He took a deep breath, filled with frustration.
Just then, he heard Bruce across the table, holding Damian, saying, "If you are my son in that universe, then who's your mother? Selina?"
"Catwoman? My mother isn't Catwoman, have you seen her promiscuous ways? Do you think she would bear your child? Though my mom isn't any better." Damian picked up a skewer of meat, pulling off the meat with his teeth, and spoke indignantly.
"Then who exactly is she?"
"Talya, Talia·Sakgu, the daughter of your sworn enemy Ray·Shakgu. I don't know if you've met her yet, but if you haven't, remember to carry a condom."
Gordon spurted out his beer, clutching Barbara's arm, "In that universe, is Bruce Wayne married? Does he even have a kid?! You still.."
"You don't understand." Barbara sighed heavily, picking up her pint and downing several swigs of beer. She said, "His relationship with Talya is complicated. It's not appropriate to describe it as love."
"So describing your relationship with him as love is appropriate then?"
"We're not in love either!"
"But you are still into him?"
"That's just admiration!"
Then they heard Damian from across the table saying, "However, Batman did intend to marry Catwoman before, but they didn't end up getting married."
"You're not even his second choice?!" Gordon raised his voice.
"Can't you just shut up and eat your skewer?"
"I am your father!"
"Not anymore! You're like an abandoned stray dog flailing desperately!"
Gordon was about to lose it.
Bruce gave Damian a small stool. Damian sat on it devouring his meat whilst reaching for the pint.
Bruce smoothly took away the pint before his hand could touch it, offering him a glass of iced juice instead.
"I can drink alcohol!" Damian glared at him and said.
Damian had already prepared a retort in his mind for Batman's lecture. He knew Batman would likely say something along the lines of "Minors should not drink alcohol from either a legal or moral standpoint", "Drinking is harmful to health", "Alcohol numbs the brain". Damian had seen Batman cautioning the young Titans at parties before.
But Bruce said, "If you get drunk, I'm throwing you to the Joker."
Damian retracted his hand so quickly that it left a trail.
"What's going on there?" The Gordons, now seated so far away they were nearly at a separate table, both held skewers and pints, Barbara glanced at the green-haired figure at the nearby table and asked.
"That's Jack, a mentally ill man. But the mental hospital's director can't handle him, so they let him stay outside."
"My God, he killed so many people, don't you arrest him?"
"Arrest him, then what? Trial, diagnosis of mental problems, sent to mental hospital and expelled by a doctor, his truck is stolen by others, he runs out of money for food, and takes revenge on society by killing more people?"