Leaving Dr. Langstrom's house, Baia stretched and jumped onto the back seat of the motorcycle. She suddenly felt her cape catch on something, and as her gaze casually swept over the rear of the bike, she spotted a small throwing weapon.
This sharp shuriken was embedded deep into the metal at the back of Tim's motorcycle, and Baia had to exert some effort to pull it out. She quickly recognized it as a weapon used by the League of Assassins, and it seemed to have some writing on it. Hesitating for a moment, Baia decided to tuck the shuriken into her belt.
Tim noticed Baia's movement. "What's wrong?"
Baia instinctively replied, "Nothing."
The equipment in the Batcave was inspected daily, and there was definitely no such thing on the bike when they set out. This meant that the shuriken must have appeared while they were talking to Dr. Langstrom.
To Baia, this only conveyed one message: Talia was in Gotham.
Bruce had protected Baia well, and Talia couldn't catch Baia alone at night. The only way to contact her was through such cryptic means.
Baia thought, "There's a time and place written on it... She just assumes I'll show up?"
System: "I feel like Talia and Batman have a very complicated relationship. She probably won't do anything to you, right?"
"That's not necessarily true," Baia replied irritably. "Especially after I've fabricated certain family connections. It's not so certain anymore."
From Talia's perspective, if Baia was indeed from the League of Assassins as she claimed, there was no reason for her not to meet; it was the expected thing to do.
The girl wrinkled her nose, weighing the pros and cons. After a while, she came to a conclusion. "I have to go."
System: "Why?"
"Isn't it obvious? If I don't go, it'll blow my cover!" Baia said. "Besides, I'm so short on money right now. Isn't this just a golden opportunity? You were the one who suggested seeking investment from the League of Assassins. But I still need to think it through."
If you didn't deliberately follow the trail of criminals, Gotham could indeed offer beautiful night scenes. Glancing at the brightly lit skyscrapers in the distance, Red Robin and Swallow darted through the tranquil night of Gotham.
"Are we going to find Batman? We can go over and help," Baia asked.
Tim switched the communication channel and heard gunfire in the background noise from Batman's side. It seemed they had already cornered the parties involved in the transaction and were closing in.
"It's a bit dangerous over there," Red Robin said. "But I think it should be almost over by the time we get there."
That said, he pressed the communicator: "Batman, do you need support?"
"No." Bruce's low, altered voice was as unwelcoming as ever.
"Okay," Tim replied. "We're on our way."
Damian's dissatisfied voice also came through: "Didn't you understand, Drake? Father just said 'no'!"
"Oh, so you do know what 'no' means?" Tim retorted. Damian was the last person who should be lecturing anyone about listening to orders.
Batman remained silent. Tonight, the old father was once again troubled by his disobedient Robins, so much so that he was hitting the criminals harder.
Outside the factory, Red Robin deployed his bo staff, jumping off the speeding motorcycle to kick down one of Penguin's henchmen trying to escape down an alley. Baia followed closely behind, throwing two shurikens in quick succession. One knocked the gun out of the henchman's hand, pinning his sleeve to the ground; the other missed its mark, bouncing off and caught by Batman.
"Your aim needs practice," Batman commented succinctly.
Hoping for some praise, Baia instantly wilted.
Damian emerged with his right shoulder uniform torn by a bullet, the bloodstains faintly visible in the night. Baia immediately enveloped the wound in a soft white glow, making Damian huff lightly. Such minor injuries didn't bother him; he'd had worse during daily training in the League of Assassins. Only a pampered girl like Baia would make such a fuss over it.
"Was it a smooth operation?" Red Robin asked.
Batman nodded. "The person we most wanted to see didn't show, but at least this transaction was thwarted."
Police sirens wailed in the distance, signaling the GCPD's arrival to clean up the aftermath, while the Bats dispersed.
Damian and Bruce wouldn't immediately return to the manor. With the primary mission completed, they would patrol the lower city once more, hoping their long-monitored drug dealer would reappear or to thwart some robberies.
Now, no matter how Baia tried using puppy-dog eyes on Tim, he insisted that the Swallow should return to the nest to sleep.
Protests ignored, Baia was taken back to the Batcave. Upstairs, she began contemplating what snacks to make to appease Damian.
Despite being a child, Damian wasn't fond of sweets—except perhaps Alfred's little cookies. This made him a very difficult Robin to please, especially considering the issue at hand was Baia's deception involving Talia. A plate of apple tarts certainly wouldn't fix that.
When the Batmobile crashed through the waterfall and into the Batcave, the smell of freshly baked pastries filled the air. Red Robin, having the advantage of proximity, had already been snacking for quite a while.
"Damian?" Baia approached.
Robin, just getting off the car, glanced at her. "What do you want?"
"I baked some chocolate cookies, very crispy." Despite Damian's cold and distant demeanor, Baia persisted, "Do you want to try one?"
"Go away," Damian declared. "If you think I'm as weak-willed as Drake and can be easily bribed by you, you're greatly mistaken."
Seeing Plan A fail, Baia shifted her focus to Batman. After checking his vital signs to ensure he was okay, she appealed to the Dark Knight to set an example for Robin: "Bruce, do you want some?"
Bruce removed his cowl, took a cookie from the plate, and bit into it. Even for him, it was gratifying to replenish energy after intense activity.
Damian glared at Baia. "You won't even spare my father."
System: She didn't spare Talia either.
Baia: "Whose side are you on, system?"
"They're just snacks, not poison," Baia pouted. "Fine, don't eat them."
Damian realized the Batcave had been completely overrun, but when Baia mentioned "snacks," his attention shifted. "By the way, were those supplies in the dinosaur yours?"
It was unbelievable that those snacks belonged to Damian. Baia widened her eyes, unable to believe that Damian, of all people, would be into snacks.
Actually, the snacks weren't brought by Damian; they were from Jon Kent's last visit to the Batcave. Given that Damian was still growing, he would sometimes come down for a midnight snack.
Red Robin also knew about the snacks hidden in the dinosaur. Hearing Damian refer to them as "supplies," Tim, who was pretending to be engrossed in data collection, couldn't help but laugh.
Both Damian and Baia turned their gaze to him. The former, enraged, had no idea what was so funny, while Baia's plea for help was a bit too intense.
Tim looked at Baia. Baia looked at Tim.
Tim said, "I took them."
Damian had already been itching for a fight. Robin leaped at him like a gust of wind. "Drake!!"
Red Robin, quick to react, kicked his chair aside and rolled tactically, moving the battle away from the Batcomputer.
Returning from the manor with a warm towel, Alfred shook his head as he watched the Robins tussle. "The young masters are indeed full of energy, even after a night patrol."
"Was I this troublesome, Alfred?" Bruce asked.
"Do you want the truth or a lie, sir?"
After a prolonged scuffle, Tim and Damian were both exhausted. They organized the clues from a recent series of murders and tracked Killer Croc, who had just escaped from Arkham, before leaving the Batcave one by one, yawning.
"Damian?" Baia still sought to mend their relationship.
Damian finally stopped, exasperated, and looked at her. "What do you really want?"
"It's about Talia. Actually, at the time—"
"I don't care about what happened between you and her," Damian interrupted. "Whether it's the Wayne family or the League of Assassins, isn't this your specialty? There's no need to explain."
Though he claimed not to care, Baia could sense his strong disapproval of her. "At that time, I just came up with a stalling tactic. I had no other intentions."
"Really?" The green-eyed demon child stepped closer, making Baia inexplicably nervous.
When Damian got serious, his presence was quite intimidating.
He folded his arms and lifted the shuriken between his fingers. "Then what's this about?"
"When did you take that?!" the girl exclaimed in shock.
Damian scoffed, "You're just too stupid."
Talia hadn't arranged to meet Baia at night. She knew Bruce well, and even someone as agile and rigorously trained as Damian would find it hard to sneak out under Bruce's watchful eye. Baia had no chance.
The address was a café, scheduled for tomorrow at noon.
"I really don't know what she wants from me," Baia confessed truthfully, "and I haven't decided whether to go or not."
Damian sneered, "What else can she want from you? You're only useful for that little bit of leverage."
"True," Baia mused, "maybe I'll just pretend I didn't see it. Goodnight!"
"Wait," Damian interjected.
"Hmm?" The girl turned to look at him.
"You're more useful than Lazarus Pit," Damian said, "Mother won't give up easily, and what she wants from you is definitely more than just curing grandfather."
Baia squirmed. "You're making me embarrassed with your praise."
"Who's praising you!" Damian was a bit annoyed. "Anyway, you should still go. But I won't let her take you away. That's final."
Baia took a moment to react, and a hint of amusement slowly built up in her mint-colored eyes.
"Then thank you for protecting me, Damian."