"Don't forget, we still don't know who is after the Iron Man armor."
The girl, wearing Bluetooth earphones, pedaled her bike while talking to Tony. Her voice was a bit muffled because she had a waffle in her mouth. Her black hair fluttered in the breeze, making her a picturesque scene for passersby.
It was the epitome of youthful exuberance on a morning in Metropolis.
Though reality wasn't as beautiful as it seemed.
Baia couldn't remember what time Alfred woke her up. She only vaguely recalled the old man asking if she wanted to take a day off. Half-asleep, she turned over, covered her head with the blanket, and mumbled, "No..."
"Then you better hurry, or you'll be late."
Next thing she knew, she was being hurriedly dressed, her hair quickly styled, and then she was bundled into a helicopter, still a bit bewildered.
She had meant to say she didn't want to go to school at all.
Returning home in the morning, she found that her place had transformed due to the presence of Caroline, Max, and Chestnut. Now everyone in the building knew that Miss Wayne not only kept a horse but also had two servants to walk it every day.
Max was almost in love with Baia's bathtub at first sight. Feeling a bit of sympathy for the sleep-deprived Baia, she made her a big cup of instant coffee.
Baia drank it all in one go, inadvertently following in someone's footsteps. She then biked to school, her mind occupied with thoughts of Batman and Stark Industries' product lines.
Tony's voice was lazy: "Don't worry, the bait is set. We'll soon find out who's interested in my inventions."
"By the way, what did you have Dr. Langston's lab research? I don't recall us setting any genetic engineering projects," Baia asked curiously.
"Something I didn't have time to study in my world. We call it the Extremis virus."
"Extremis virus?" Baia repeated, the name sounding ominous. "Doesn't sound like a good thing."
"I've always had a knack for turning bad into good. Now, be a good student and go to class."
At school, after greeting Jasmine and Casey, Baia opened her laptop and started emailing everyone she could think of. Stark Industries needed to carefully choose their first product; they couldn't get involved in the commercial battles between LexCorp and Wayne Enterprises too soon. Medical devices seemed like a good choice, and Baia had connections in that field.
She got contacts for Vice Principal Harold and Professor Valerie from Professor Green and detailed her products in an email, then hit send.
Finally, she felt a bit relieved and decided to catch up on some sleep during literature class. Even with a canary, humans can't resist the lure of sleep—not even Bruce could, though maybe Tim could.
Before laying her head down, she felt something under her desk—a thin envelope.
Frowning, Baia carefully examined the envelope. Her brain, still half in Bat-mode, noted that it had no markings and felt different from Gotham paper, likely from Metropolis.
She opened the envelope and glanced at the letter inside, immediately freezing.
"What are you looking at?" Jasmine peered over her shoulder, curious.
"Nothing!" Baia quickly shoved the letter to the back of her desk, not caring that it got crumpled. Jasmine seemed to notice but didn't press: "We're going to the drama club tonight. Your friend Megan will be there. She's amazing at acting!"
No kidding, Baia thought, she's a Martian girl after all.
System: Woohoo, a love letter! Open it!
Baia: "Nothing interesting, it's boring."
Once Jasmine returned to her seat, Baia cautiously pulled the letter out and read it. It was just an invitation to a comic convention on Thursday, mentioning that many fans would be cosplaying as movie characters or superheroes. It also included a few compliments about her being kind and beautiful.
Honestly, besides being surprised, Baia didn't feel much else.
After literature class, Baia took the reading logs her classmates had written from Jasmine Yang. "I'll help you send them out."
Using this opportunity, she quickly scanned everyone's handwriting and soon identified the suspect.
His name was Edmund, the quarterback of the school football team. He had striking blonde hair and blue eyes, making him very popular with the girls, especially those who weren't too fond of Baia.
Baia hardly had any interaction with him, so she couldn't help but suspect it was either a prank or a mistake. But there were no other girls with black hair and green eyes in their class.
Another odd thing was that American high school students usually aren't so subtle about expressing their feelings. Given Edmund's popularity, he could probably just walk up to a girl and say, "Be my girlfriend," and have a good chance of success.
Sometimes, what you dread most happens.
Baia, carrying a stack of books, found herself cornered in the hallway. To Edmund, Baia seemed like an Asian girl—low-key, quiet, artistic, and mysterious.
"Be my girlfriend," Edmund said.
He glanced at the stack of books Baia was holding. He had imagined they'd be poetry collections, but the top one was Walras' "Elements of Pure Economics," which turned half his fantasy into confusion.
Next, in his imagination, Baia would shyly lower her head and hesitantly say—
"No." Baia looked up at him, then flatly rejected him.
The other half of his fantasy shattered.
"To be honest, you're a bit different from what I imagined," Edmund said.
"You didn't stick to your plan, did you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The... letter."
"That was my friend's idea. I figured I'd do better my own way."
"Don't follow any way," Baia sighed, deciding to be blunt to leave no room for false hope. "I'm not interested. Find someone else."
Edmund was persistent: "No, no one else can replace you."
"Do we even know each other well?"
"...No, but you're one of a kind!"
Baia was tired of the conversation and, not wanting to argue further, started to leave. Edmund tried to block her, but Baia's sidestep against the wall was more agile than many of his opponents on the football field. When he attempted to grab her shoulder, she deftly caught his wrist. They locked eyes for a second before Baia let go and walked away.
At that moment, Edmund felt as if Cupid, armed with a Gatling gun, had hit his heart at 5,000 rounds per minute.
"Why?" he asked.
"...Because I have a boyfriend," Baia lied. "At least give me a chance?" Edmund called after her retreating figure.
"No chance," Baia said without looking back.
"That's okay," Edmund leaned against the hallway wall, feigning depth. "I love you, even if it has nothing to do with you."
The girls passing by started to squeal.
No matter how Edmund felt, Baia just felt exasperated. She had enough headaches thinking about Stark Industries' future during the day and fighting alongside the caped crusaders at night. She had no time for high school romantic drama.
But instinctively, she felt she was getting dragged into some weird school rivalry.
After all, being pestered by Edmund would surely make those girls dislike her even more.
Rubbing her temples, Baia felt a strong urge to skip class. She now deeply understood and agreed with Damian's firm refusal to attend elementary school.
System: Why do you always want to escape? Can't you just face it for once?
Baia: "What's the point of facing it in matters like this?"
Saying this, Baia pushed open the classroom door. As she entered, the previously chattering girls went silent, sneaking glances at her. Ignoring them, she calmly sat down, planning to destroy the troublesome love letter. But after a quick search, her heart sank.
The letter was gone.
"Whatever," Baia closed her book with a snap. "I'll just see what tricks they want to play."
Despite her words, Baia's mood was dampened by the series of events until she saw Megan after school, which cheered her up a bit.
The drama club's rehearsal space was a large, well-lit dance studio with a piano in the corner, a genuinely nice place.
"Hey there, Megan!" a redhead girl exclaimed from behind Baia, lifting her up and spinning her around. "What do you think of our activity room here?"
"It's absolutely amazing!" Baia exclaimed softly as she was spun around. "I heard you guys are rehearsing a new play?"
Megan wagged her finger. "It's not 'you guys', it's 'we guys'. I remember you promised Jasmine to join us?"
"Well," Baia hesitated, "but I don't know anything."
"I think you have talent," Megan said, looking at her, then briskly walked over to show Baia the script. "Since the female lead needs to dance, we recruited some help for that role! You should know her!"
"I should know her?" Baia had a bad feeling.
The door to the drama club's activity room opened, and in walked a tall girl with fair skin, her expression proud and aloof. When their eyes met, both Baia and the girl froze.
It was Vanessa, Baia's somewhat disliked desk mate.
Vanessa only talked about Baia when she wasn't around, and when Baia was present, Vanessa treated her as if she were invisible.
Being invisible was fine with Baia; she liked being invisible. But now, she had to force herself to greet Vanessa. "Hi."
Kathy and Jasmine looked a bit surprised, but of course, the drama club wasn't just the three of them. Megan wasn't entirely clear on the situation, but the perceptive Martian girl quickly caught on, smiling to smooth things over.
Although Vanessa didn't like her, Baia couldn't deny that this campus beauty, with her cold demeanor, was indeed a sight to behold, like a swan gracefully lifting its neck. Soon, the boys in the drama club were also drawn to her because of Vanessa's aloofness, becoming even more attentive. High school boys were just strange that way; the more rejection they faced, the more they pursued.
Vanessa was very serious during rehearsals.
"Have you studied ballet?" Baia asked during a break.
Vanessa took a sip of water. "I studied for a while."
Seeing her demeanor, Baia didn't ask further and turned to play with Kathy and Jasmine.
"By the way, have you ever thought... of joining us?" Megan leaned in beside Baia, secretly, while watching Jasmine rehearse.
Of course, this "joining" didn't refer to the drama club; it referred to the Teen Titans, where Tim was.
Baia rested her chin on her hand. "I'm worried he wouldn't agree."
"It's okay," Megan said mysteriously. "He doesn't come to Metropolis often, and we can just limit our activities to Metropolis. He won't find out. Besides, the current Robin has been quite active lately!"
Because they were still in public, Megan spoke very discreetly.
Hide it from Red Robin? Baia thought, that was impossible, absolutely impossible.
But Megan's suggestion was indeed constructive. After all, Baia wanted to learn more skills during her time in Metropolis for future use in Gotham.
"Okay," Baia nodded. "I'll try to participate—But isn't Metropolis that person's territory? Will there really be any events here?"
"You've been here for too short a time," Megan patted her, standing up. "Alright, let's rehearse one more time, and then everyone can go home!"
Baia's role only appeared in the second act, so she just had to sit and watch them rehearse.
After the rehearsal, Baia said goodbye to Kathy, Jasmine, and the others. However, because she was chatting with Caroline about the assembly line, she left later, and the activity hall was now empty except for Vanessa. Baia slung her backpack over her shoulder, thinking it would have been better if she had left earlier.
"You should have left earlier," Vanessa said suddenly, changing out of her dance skirt. But she didn't explain further.
Baia couldn't understand. "Why?"
"I heard you rejected Edmund today," Vanessa said without further elaboration.
In Baia's impression, although Edmund frequently changed girlfriends and behaved like an immature idiot, he wasn't a bad person. Rejecting him shouldn't pose any risk.
That is... except to them.
Baia couldn't help but ask, "Why are you telling me this?"
"Just felt sorry for you," Vanessa said.
Baia and Vanessa parted ways at the school gate, neither of them saying a word. As Baia unlocked her bike, ready to leave as soon as possible, trouble finally showed up.
"Miss Wayne rides this to school?" a condescending voice rang out. "Could it be that you just happen to share the same surname as that Wayne?"
Vanessa stopped a little distance away, thinking Jennifer would just lead a group of girls to taunt and maybe threaten Baia a little, just to teach her a lesson. But she didn't expect them to bring along a few boys as well.
"Didn't she say she could have the butler fly her to Metropolis in a helicopter?" another girl chimed in, even imitating Baia's tone, "'Sure, but there's no need'? Who says stuff like that?"
This morning, Baia had indeed been flown to Metropolis in a helicopter...
"If you're done, I'm going home," Baia said, steadying her bike, looking at the girls and boys in front of her. "Don't push it too far."
"You're the one pushing it too far!" Jennifer, clutching her shoulders, stepped closer, pointing fiercely at Baia's chest. "Stay away from Edmund, got it?"
"I'm not interested," Baia said wearily. "I just want to go to class peacefully. Let's not make this any harder than it has to be."
"If you want this to be over, let's go grab a drink," one of the boys beside Jennifer said with a smirk.
"Sorry, not interested."
The girl's expression remained calm, but it infuriated the others. Just as one of them was about to forcibly grab Baia, Vanessa couldn't sit still any longer.
This was getting serious. She knew what would happen if they took Baia away.
"Let her go," Vanessa stepped forward briskly, disgust evident in her voice.
"Let her go."
Amidst the sound of horse hooves, a boy's clear voice and Vanessa's voice were heard simultaneously. This black-haired, green-eyed boy was different from the low-key Baia; he had held numerous press conferences.
Damian proudly held the reins, and Chestnut raised its front hooves, neighing.
"Damian!" Baia said helplessly. "Get down from Chestnut!"