Several groups of people quickly gathered at Barbara's Clock Tower Base. Nightwing arrived in uniform, holding a weapon case in his hand. Robin did not wear his Robin costume, but he brought a computer he had obtained from Batman earlier.
Jason and company rushed over from Wayne Manor, not only wielding their own gadgets but also driving the Batmobile, and even brought along desserts freshly made by Alfred.
The only outlier was Arkham Knight, still clad in his extremely cool Armor, but incongruously holding a Batman puppet almost half his size.
How big was this puppet? A 200-pound giant Robin bird that you had to hug with both hands and even lean backward to keep it from dragging on the ground.
Arkham Knight tossed the puppet onto the sofa behind Barbara, let out a sigh, and with hands on his hips, looked at the puppet and said, "I knew Batman wasn't being nice for no reason. It took me half an hour just to get this thing down from the attic."
Just now, it was he who was talking. Jason, somewhat surprised, moved closer but found nothing unusual about the Batman puppet.
This large toy was just a very cartoonish bat shape; an elongated ellipse with two pointy ears in the center, round eyes in the middle of the ellipse, and two large bat wings on either side. The whole puppet was made of shaggy material with glossy satin fur, stitched delicately and soft to the touch, very suitable for hugging while sleeping.
The only problem was its size; it was so large that it could kick a person off a double bed, and up to now, no one in the house could see where they were going while hugging it.
The others also gathered around, touching the puppet here and there, though really there wasn't much to touch. The Arkham Knight's last birthday was celebrated at Wayne Manor, where Alfred insisted on taking it back, and he made a table full of delicious dishes.
The atmosphere during the meal was rather heavy but not surprisingly so, considering that the two protagonists on the table didn't have mouths. However, the climax of the entire banquet was when Batman pulled out the puppet from nowhere—and his move wasn't exactly graceful—everyone was stunned.
Because the thing looked too soft to touch, everyone gave it a big hug, but upon embracing it, they found it was just a larger-than-average toy with nothing special about it.
Arkham Knight waved his hand at Jason and the others to step aside, wound up his fist, and gave the Batman puppet a punch right in the center, making a 'thud' sound as he made a large indentation.
But obviously, that was not the sound a simple toy should make; indeed, something about one-fifth the size of the puppet flew out from it, holding its head and squeaking in distress.
When the little creature holding its head let go, everyone discovered that it indeed somewhat resembled the puppet, especially the head.
The creature was structured like Batman, with ears on its head and wings on its back, but with a big head and a small body; its head was an elongated ellipse, with two big eyes in the middle and a mouth below, baring two big front teeth.
"Oh! I said I was preparing a grand entrance. Why the rush?"
Arkham Knight looked intensely irritated as he replied, "What time is it now for grand entrances? Just hurry up and tell us what's going on. What in the world happened to Batman?"
"Say it again, call me Bat-Mite." The little creature rubbed its head and added, "Rude brat. If I'd known, I wouldn't have sung you a lullaby. If it weren't for Batman, I wouldn't bother with you at all..."
"Alright, Mr. Bat-Mite, um, Mister, right?" Dick looked at him and said, "We are really concerned about Batman's condition, and I suppose you are too. So why don't you talk about it now and we can figure out a solution together."
Bat-Mite immediately zipped over and hugged Dick, planting a big kiss on his cheek, exclaiming, "Sure thing, my sweet little darling."
He then glared at Arkham Knight and said, "You're not like that brat—hiding a whole collection of Batman's photos, postcards, and keychains, but still insisting on claiming yourself..."
"Shut up!!!"
The overly strong Robin, in a fit of anger, even swung the gigantic Batman puppet, sending Bat-Mite flying against the opposite wall with a bang.
The dazed Bat-Mite stuck out its tongue, seeing stars before finally getting back up and shaking its head, commenting, "No one loves a thuggish child; Batman will never like you."
Barbara also glared at Arkham Knight and sat down, catching the falling Bat-Mite in mid-air and stroking its head, saying, "Sorry, sir. Did you bump your head? Maybe you'd like to sit in the puppet for a while. That way, that guy won't be able to use it as a weapon."
"Good idea." Bat-Mite nodded. It made the giant Batman puppet levitate and dug a hole between the two ears to lie down in, turning the large toy into his throne and sitting upon it with a smug look, condescendingly peering down at everyone.
"I'm not joking. Batman is in danger right now, but probably only you can save him. Because an old nemesis of mine, actually also a friend, has been following me around. If the two of us start fighting, it would destroy all the cosmos."
"Actually, if Batman were in ordinary danger, I would not have appeared, but this time the trouble is a bit tricky. It's one of my kind, meaning a five-dimensional being. You know what that is, right?"
The group exchanged glances, the word was somewhat unfamiliar to them. Jason repeated the word and said, "Does 'dimensional' mean dimension? I think I've heard some spaceship pilots mention this before, some spaceships can jump between dimensions. It's a very magical technology."
"You're only partly right," Bat Mite said. "Indeed, there are creatures that can traverse dimensions, but they actually just briefly stop in the dimensional passages. We, the beings from different dimensions, are like natural-born fairies and demons existing in various dimensions. We are the indigenous inhabitants, not mere tourists."
"So, Batman is facing a dimensional fairy this time?"
"To be precise, a fifth-dimensional imp, like me, but not quite as saving."
"Not as powerful as me, but troublesome enough for Batman to deal with." Bat Mite shook his big head somewhat helplessly and said, "Humans are too fragile. Forget five-dimensional beings; even those from the fourth dimension, just one higher than yours, can devastate you."
Robin got a bit restless, standing up and walking over to Bat Mite to ask, "So what do we do? Will you help us? Or is there a way to defeat creatures like you?"
"Don't even think about defeating us," Bat Mite said, crossing his legs. "With the difference in dimensions, it's very hard for you to fundamentally defeat us. However, because we're not beings from this dimension and our connection to it isn't that deep, there are ways to expel us from your cosmos and prevent us from returning for a while. I suggest you use that method."
"Okay, then how can we expel the interdimensional creature threatening Batman?"
"I don't know," Bat Mite shook his head.
Arkham Knight grabbed a cushion and threw it at Bat Mite, who waved his hand and said, "I'm not fooling you. Each microbe has different rules, and their weaknesses are also not identical. Generally speaking, the more powerful the five-dimensional creature, the more difficult it is to expel them. But the one Batman is dealing with now is not that strong."
"Is there a pattern to it then?" Tim sharply focused on the key point and said, "Since it's the same kind of creature, there must be similarities in the expulsion methods, right?"
"Oh, clever little baby, you're spot on. The key to expelling five-dimensional beings lies in their names. You can consider this angle."
The group looked at each other, uncertain whether to trust this mysterious suit. But Bat Mite soon added, "Oh, I forgot to remind you of something earlier. You were wrong about one thing. It's not just the fifth-dimensional imp threatening Batman. I've heard of another poor sod who got caught a long time ago."
"Caught by whom?"
"It's hard to say because that might attract the attention of another troublesome character. I risked coming here just to inform you for Batman's sake. The rest is up to you. And I've got to stop my old nemesis from troubling Superman. That big guy isn't doing so well either."
After saying this, Bat Mite was about to fly away, but Dick suddenly stopped him and said, "Um, thanks for your help. It looks like you're fond of this puppet. We thought we might give it to you as a thank-you gift. But could you answer one last question for us?"
Bat Mite, who had been about to leave, stopped immediately. He flew back and circled around Dick a few times, then said, "My god, I'm so envious of Batman in your universe. You really are a sweetheart. Okay, what do you want to ask?"
"Is Superman still alive?"
"Of course, at least his soul is still alive."
Having said this, Bat Mite wrapped the giant Batman puppet with his suddenly enlarged cape and disappeared into thin air with it.
Arkham Knight immediately glared at Dick but was first mocked by Robin, "Didn't you say you didn't like this thing? Sending it away as a favor, and you even save on the disposal fee."
Arkham Knight turned to glare at him and even took off his mask to intensify the aggressiveness of his gaze.
"Come on, you should think about where that thing came from. There must be a factory that made it, right? So, guess where the factory is?" Dick said nonchalantly, "After this is over, I'll get you a bigger one."
Then their conversation finally got back on track. Robin speculated, "That little guy just mentioned, the five-dimensional creature threatening Batman is actually a poor devil who got caught. That means the criminal behind all this is the one who caught him."
"It looks like we are going to have to deal with..."
While they were analyzing the situation, Barbara suddenly screamed. Robin immediately went over to her, only to see Barbara staring at the tablet in her hands with disbelief.
"The latest, latest news, our great nation... will welcome the greatest... president in history... He is... Bruce Wayne!"
The pale-faced, frightened news anchor stuttered through the prepared script, but the face that appeared on the screen behind him was not the familiar face of President Wayne, rather it was a pale, evil-smiling face wearing a crown of thorns.