"Patrol together?" Baia repeated softly, lowering her head and gazing aimlessly at the floor.
After listening to the system's not very vivid but nonetheless shame-inducing account, Baia finally understood her actions in Metropolis that day. It had been two days already, and it was too late for a pink magic wand to erase the embarrassment.
Moreover, with Tim's semi-playful inquiry about whether she remembered what she had said before, Baia just wanted to find a crack to crawl into. Perhaps Tim, in consideration of her remaining dignity, kindly refrained from further teasing, now acting as if everything was normal.
"I do want to go," Baia swallowed, then slowly said, "but..."
"Then let's go." Red Robin didn't even finish listening to her words. He turned and leaped into the garden below, turning his head to look up at her in the moonlight, silently waiting. Baia leaned over the window sill, meeting his gaze briefly before retracting her head, then eventually climbed out of the window and jumped down.
"Are we taking Bruce's usual route?" Baia asked, "Or do you have another plan?"
The most Batman-like Robin, the one dubbed the world's second-best detective, the one with the keenest mind, although Baia had already witnessed his meticulous thinking, she had yet to see his particularly "detective" side.
She was somewhat intrigued.
"You did mention wanting to catch Francine, didn't you?"
"You even know about that?" Baia was surprised for a moment, then realized that nothing happening in the manor could escape Bruce and his watchful eyes.
Tim smiled but didn't say anything.
Damian had already outlined his deduction about the woman-bat's hiding place, and at Baia's suggestion, they decided to check it out first. Since they were going to the outskirts, Red Robin still rode his motorcycle. However, this time, for some reason, neither side engaged in the same kind of probing conversation as before.
The desolation of Gotham's outskirts contrasted sharply with the splendor of the city center. Due to the lack of infrastructure and occasional use as locations for illicit transactions by the underworld, almost no one lived in the far outskirts of Gotham.
In the thick darkness, with no streetlights or passing vehicles, only the two bright beams of Red Robin's motorcycle illuminated the way ahead.
At this time, the only vehicles one might encounter on the road were those of the Penguin's convoy transporting illicit arms.
As they sped along, scattered white bones could faintly be seen in the roadside weeds. As they approached, the appearance of skeletons became more frequent and dense. Red Robin stopped to inspect them. These bones were relatively small and all belonged to animals. It would take a very long time for corpses to be eroded to the point where only skeletons remained. The dense appearance of these bones indeed indicated that they were getting closer to the main culprit.
Of course, Francine, who had completely descended into madness, didn't actually eat animals. Humans were her prey.
"Dami's marked this place."
With Tim by her side, Baia remained calm. She got off the bike, called out to Friday to double-check, and indeed, this was the place. In front of her was a deep abyss of darkness, a cave peeking out from the steep mountains with a dimly lit opening. The situation inside was completely unclear. To avoid alarming anyone, Tim turned off the headlights, and suddenly, they could only vaguely see each other's figures.
"Do you know why Dami chose today?" Tim asked.
Baia shook her head.
"Most of the bats will be out hunting tonight, although not all," Tim explained, "so it's much safer."
Baia's senses were not particularly strong, but after Tim's training, his hearing was astonishing. Closing his eyes and listening carefully, he could immediately detect the sound of countless flapping wings of animals in the cave. With a little mental processing, he could imagine the scene of numerous bats crowded together above the cave, slowly wriggling.
However, for them, this scene was almost routine.
After all, there were many bats in bat caves, and although those little ones only ate fruits and insects, at first glance, it was still very frightening.
Therefore, Tim wasn't worried about the bats scaring Baia.
Tim turned on his flashlight, grabbed Baia's hand, and joked, "If we get separated, can you get out on your own?"
"You'll find me, won't you?" Baia shivered. It wasn't cold at night, but the chilly, damp, slightly bloody-smelling breeze blowing out of the cave, combined with the darkness, made her feel a bit cold.
Tim observed the surroundings.
Human bones.
He picked up a thigh bone and then found a hip bone on the other side of the ground, which was full of bite marks. Although it was already unrecognizable, it could still vaguely be identified as belonging to an adult male. Red Robin thought for a moment but didn't find any matching missing person records, so it was probably a homeless person or something similar.
"It seems Damian's speculation was correct."
"That statement should be in the past tense," Tim said, squatting down to examine the ground for a while, then finding deep, terrifying claw marks on the surrounding rocks. "She's not here anymore."
"How can you tell?"
"Do you think, given how deep we've come, she wouldn't appear to defend her territory? Does that make sense?"
"The most recent traces here are from a week ago. Either she went out traveling, or Miss Francine has moved away long ago," Tim brushed off the dust from his gloves. "Let's contact Dr. Langstrom and see if he has any clues."
"Kirk?"
Baia was now very familiar with calling Dr. Langstrom, as they had been in contact frequently in recent months due to the presence of Stark Industries. She even wanted to find time to ask him to explain the Extremis virus to her. Now, she immediately contacted him.
Dr. Langstrom was unlikely to be asleep at this hour, but the communication rang several times without anyone answering.
Swallowing and Red Robin exchanged glances, seeing a hint of unease in each other's eyes.
They didn't have to wait long. After the phone rang five times, someone finally answered, but the identity of this person surprised them.
"Talia," Tim said solemnly.
Talia's voice was very cold and didn't show any anger due to Red Robin's disrespect. "Sparrow, come see me."
Tim hung up the phone and turned to look at Baia. "You're both quite familiar?"
Baia awkwardly touched her nose. At the time, calling an assassin "Mom" was just a playful move by the system, but now, by chance, it seemed to have become a reality. She realized that recognizing this relationship would benefit Talia rather than herself, but for now, she could only take it one step at a time.
"When Talia took me away back then, it was the woman bat who brought me over," Baia began to recall, sensing a hint of unusual meaning in the whole affair. It seemed that they were not dealing with just a wild beast.
Tim added, "And there's the overwhelming army of man-bats. At the time, the League of Assassins spread a kind of man-bat virus in Gotham, causing many citizens to become man-bats."
"Talia wants man-bats?"
"Talia wants a flying army," Tim said, "and we'd better not let her succeed. Since she wants to see you, let's go. Maybe we can rescue Dr. Langstrom."
Baia worriedly said, "Kirk can't get into trouble."
"Don't worry, he's still useful to Talia for now. Nothing will happen to him for the time being."
Before leaving, Tim looked back at the dark cave and shone his flashlight at the cave entrance. Countless bats immediately became restless and made chirping noises.
These alien species were not only invaders but also genetically engineered products. Now that they had learned to hunt humans for food, letting them continue to proliferate would be harmful and useless.
Tim lit a flare and threw it into the cave, enough to bring disaster to them, then he and Baia left without looking back.
Baia was a little anxious. Every time she returned to Gotham, Talia would come knocking non-stop. Even though she was a beautiful and well-built big sister, this endless pestering was a bit annoying. Although her role as a medical worker was invaluable, it was worth Talia's repeated visits. At this rate, she would be kidnapped by Talia sooner or later.
Talia was also Damian's biological mother. There was no permanent solution to this, and it was impossible to have Tim and the doctor lock her up in the Shadow's Embrace.
Even Batman was occasionally troubled by Talia, after all, feelings were one thing, and the ruthless actions of the League of Assassins were another.
"I really want to part with Talia on good terms subconsciously. Why don't I have the corresponding skill?" Baia lamented.
System: This is just surface consciousness... Oh, what kind of skill do you think could fulfill your wish? Erasing the entire timeline where you meet Talia? Or maybe a cognitive weapon? Oh, and Damian's favorability is maxed out, unlocking a natural talent.
[Young Genius]: Each time this skill is used, randomly copy a skill or trait from Damian Wayne or Talia al Ghul. Duration depends on the host's mental strength, and the skill disappears after use. Cooldown time is 60 minutes.
Baia: "Copy a skill? Isn't that too random? What if I end up with something like '[100 Ways to Seduce Batman]' during combat?"
System: With such a short cooldown, just use it for fun when you're free. Damian is still a big druid; you might end up with a skill to communicate with bat-people and have a chat with Francine.
Baia: "That's absurd... Even if it's Damian, he only shows relative affection and tolerance towards small animals. Communicating with animals is a Disney princess skill, isn't it?"
System: That's what I'm saying, but for some reason, I'm showing a skill possibility called "[Corylia]" that can communicate with bat-people...
Baia: Ridiculous.
Talia didn't leave a meeting address over the phone, so they decided to check Kirk's residence first. Kirk currently works at Stark Industries, so if he suddenly disappeared, Carolyn or Tony would definitely notice.
In other words, there's a good chance he was abducted by Talia from his home tonight.
On the way, Baia used [Young Genius] to draw a skill, and it was Damian's.
[Mother's Love, Filial Piety]: Deepens understanding of Talia to a blood kinship level. During the skill's duration, Talia's favorability towards you decreases by 100%, and the probability of triggering combat increases by 300%.
Baia: ? Why does Damian have a skill that can decrease Talia's favorability towards him?