Under the cover of night, the cape brought with it a sense of fear, and the two black pointed ears on the head undoubtedly revealed the identity of the visitor. Baia lowered her gaze, feeling that something was off. Everything seemed in order—the bat emblem on the chest, the yellow utility belt...
Oh, what was off was: the waist of this Batman was slightly narrower than the original's. Can't blame her for reacting slowly, after all, the most prominent feature was covered by the cape.
"Dick?" Baia mouthed silently.
Batman set her down and blinked. Correct.
The awkwardness of being caught doing something bad faded a bit. After all, big brother was slightly more tolerant than Bruce. Baia put on the most innocent expression she could muster, trying to evade interrogation.
"Where did this come from?" Dick gestured towards the Iron Man armor nearby.
"Found it," Baia replied.
"And this?" He looked at Tony, who stood with hands in his pockets, examining him.
"... Also found it." Baia touched her nose, feeling a bit uneasy.
Well, well, the once obedient girl was now learning to lie to big brother. Batman crossed his arms, scrutinizing her with a disapproving look. Baia felt like she was being pierced by needles.
"Do you remember Prisoner Zero?" he asked.
This represented that the armor and its owner were very dangerous. Dick's expression turned serious. His right hand was already on the utility belt. "Of course. Does your new residence have cracks now?"
"No, this one I found at the police station," Baia hurriedly explained, "The situation is a bit complicated. Let me introduce, this is Mr. Tony Stark, also from another world, but he's a hundred percent a good guy."
Tony shrugged.
"Good enough to break into STARLab and steal? He even attacked researchers," Dick retorted.
"Well, actually..." Baia hesitated.
"Actually?"
"Actually, I was the one who hit the guy, and I was the one who stole. Actually, the idea was mine, Tony was just, uh, assisting from the sidelines."
Dick was heartbroken. The "I hit the guy" speech seemed familiar. Thinking carefully, wasn't this Damian's style! She used to be so well-behaved when they first met, joining the family business should have been a joyous occasion, but how did it turn out like this!
He sighed.
"I'll take you home first," Dick said firmly, "Then we'll have a proper discussion about your behavior. As for Mr. Stark..."
"I can handle Tony's issues myself," Baia said in a frustrated tone, "But if you want to inform the Justice League, it's up to you."
To some extent, Dick had anticipated her thoughts. Anything related to the cracks was her business, and she didn't want others meddling, just like Batman didn't want others interfering in Gotham, and he also hoped to solve the problem of Blüdhaven's vigilante himself. But she was still too young, and Dick couldn't help worrying.
Of course, it wasn't just Baia's problem alone; there was another party who needed to express his opinion.
"Hey, I think I can handle my own problems," Tony said, readjusting the thrusters of the armor with a screwdriver he found in the lab. After a few intermittent blue flames burst out of the thruster nozzle, accompanied by a soft hum, it returned to a stable state. "To clarify, I didn't mean to cause trouble, but I can figure out where I came from and how to get back on my own. In case I wasn't clear, the above statement means 'it's best not to bother me'."
"See that?" Baia said, "Don't let him meet with B, it's for everyone's good."
Then, she noticed that when she mentioned Bruce, Dick's expression seemed to carry a hint of worry. The environment was too dark to be sure if it was just her imagination.
Iron Man indicated that he could fly back to his temporary base on his own, and Baia once again boarded the Batmobile. The two bid farewell at the intersection.
"I'll come find you!" Baia whispered, "Can you hear me inside?"
"Of course. But you should listen to your parents," Iron Man patted her head, and Dick watched with bated breath, afraid that the iron hand would knock Baia silly.
Sitting in the Batmobile, Baia pulled out the blanket she used the first time she rode in it and tried to change the subject, "It's so cold tonight."
"So you shouldn't have come out at all," Dick replied, even though he spoke in a calm tone, it still sounded somewhat reproachful through the voice modulator, although he didn't actually mean it that way.
"So can we start?" the girl curled up into a ball.
"Start what?"
"Talking about me," Baia said with a hint of grievance.
This wasn't right, it shouldn't be like this. Let me join your life, and then one day, in a strange place, abandon me, hoping I'll suddenly adapt to a normal life.
"Okay. Even if... even if I or Bruce blame you," Dick sighed, "I believe you understand that it's all out of love, right? Do you understand that? It's the premise of all preaching."
"Of course."
The Batmobile drove slowly through the quiet night of Metropolis. Dick took a detour to ensure that he could finish this conversation.
"Titus left a uniform for you, why didn't you wear it? I know you found it. Did you realize those security guards would really shoot?" Dick asked.
"I got to know Tony with this identity, so..." Baia trailed off.
"So, since you've chosen this life," Dick said, "You have to accept the fact that every meeting, every social event must be carefully planned. If it's the job of a swallow, then use the identity of a swallow to carry it out."
"I know, I won't do it again next time," Baia turned her head and made a face at the window.
The communicator in the Batmobile beeped, it was the STARLab staff asking for updates on tonight's unexpected situation, and Superman also expressed concern.
"It's fine now, the situation has been clarified, and there's no need to focus on that armor for now," Dick said in a low voice that sounded as cold as Batman himself.
After hanging up the communication, Dick asked curiously, "By the way, are you a little afraid of Superman? Actually, you just need to tell him."
Although if it were Dick or Bruce who needed to infiltrate, they would definitely choose not to inform like Baia did, but for her, there were always safer options.
"I'm not afraid of Superman, it's just, um, hard to say," Baia propped her chin, "Anyway, it feels like he's busy with a lot of important things every day, it's not good to disturb him recklessly. I know things aren't good in Gotham right now, so even you guys don't want to bother him. Actually, I'm not useless, I really can handle it on my own, why don't you believe me?"
It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that I don't want you to suffer. Dick thought, boys and girls are different after all.
Baia was special, they allowed Damian to handle many things himself, based on Damian's strong martial arts skills and because they considered injuries to be commonplace. And as for the swallow, she wasn't an ordinary person without abilities; she wasn't good at fighting, but she was equally proficient in her own field. In fact, they had never seen a bird with such natural talent as her, so they were even more reluctant to let go.
It was also hard to imagine Baia's skin being cut by a knife, or the sight of a tiny swallow being shot. Once these related thoughts appeared in his mind, Dick involuntarily tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
Not to mention none of them could bear the cost of losing her.
But perhaps it was indeed unfair to the swallow, perhaps they should give her a chance.
Or maybe, it would be a chance for her to die.
Tim's approach to things was much more generous; he rarely showed that kind of anxiety, only saying: Anyway, even if you forbid Baia or Damian from doing something, they'll still do it secretly, so it's safer to let them do it openly under your nose.
That's why he gave her the uniform and props, as well as the priceless locator.
If it weren't for it, Dick wouldn't have been able to find out that the intruder into STARLab was his most obedient and honest little sister.
However, although Dick didn't expect Baia to behave, what needed to be said still needed to be said.
"Let's make a deal," Dick said, "If you want to do something, at least let one person at home know, okay? If you don't want to tell Bruce, I won't rat you out."
"Okay," Baia nodded, "I plan to investigate which arms company modified Tony's armor next."
"... What are you planning to do?"
"Doesn't matter." Baia scratched her head anxiously. "Let me ask you, Dick, how is Bruce?"
This was her biggest concern.
Dick replied casually, "He's fine. He just went to take care of some of his own matters."
"Really?"
"Really, I swear."
Although this wasn't true, Dick felt a bit heavy-hearted. They had the world's second-best detective, with most of Gotham's underworld intelligence coming back, yet no one knew Bruce's whereabouts.
There was no need for one more person to worry about it.
Baia was skeptical.
To dilute the heavy atmosphere, daring Dick decided to take Baia back to her new home on the 19th floor by climbing through the window. This effectively shifted Baia's attention. Not only was she not afraid, but she also looked excitedly down below, making Dick fear she might bungee jump in the city center if he wasn't careful.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the chaos, STARLab had returned to tranquility, with Dr. Elsbus leading the inventory of lost items.
"D0122-B2-01, armor of unknown origin."
"D0123-B4-04, bracelet containing intrusion programs."
Tony's watch wasn't with the armor; they didn't bother looking for it at the time for the sake of expedience. It wasn't anything precious, and Tony, who had retrieved the armor, didn't care much; he just tossed it aside as bait.
But now, this watch, with the small "Stark Industries" inscription, appeared on a luxurious desk.
The broken blue light sphere flickered irregularly.
"Insufficient permission. Login prohibited."
"Insufficient permission. Login prohibited."
"Intrusion detected. Program error."
"Command override: 23%"
"Highest authority is being changed."
"Who are you?"
"I am the AI system Friday."
"No, you're not. From today onwards, your name is 'Harbinger.' Do you understand?"
"Command confirmed. Harbinger at your service."
"Mr. Luthor."