563. Calamity…
Hoo—ha—!!
Hoo—ha—
The blurry vision gradually cleared, and the familiar scene of the Batcave reappeared before Old Bruce Wayne's eyes.
He looked down at himself; his gray shirt had sohow beco drenched in sweat, making him feel sticky and uncomfortable all over.
Slowly raising his hand, he wiped his forehead, feeling the dampness. He let out a long breath as his pounding heart began to calm down.
"Mr. Wayne, are you okay?"
At that mont, a male voice entered Old Bruce Wayne's ears.
Turning around, he saw Tim, holding a laptop, looking concerned as he walked into the Batcave from the castle's passage. "I saw you were exhausted and didn't want to disturb you, so I took the laptop upstairs first. But you... are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Old Bruce Wayne shook his head, rubbing his temples.
"Are you sure? I think I heard sothing from the surveillance caras just now," Tim asked, looking worried.
For so reason, ever since that Alex left, Mr. Wayne had seed like a different person.
Originally, Old Bruce Wayne had fully retired and planned to hand over Gotham's affairs to Tim. But since that day, Bruce Wayne had put on the uniform again and rejoined the fight against cri as Batman.
At the sa ti, Bruce Wayne's attitude toward Congress and the military had drastically changed. In the past, Bruce Wayne had been more relaxed, adhering to the philosophy of cooperation for mutual benefit and working together to protect the peace of the world.
But since Alex's departure, Bruce Wayne had hardened. He now faced military interrogations with an unquestionable attitude and even took over the command of the Justice Society, to the point where even the president no longer had the authority to deploy the Society.
This move had directly positioned the Justice Society against the country, creating many enemies. However, Bruce Wayne was unfazed. Before Congress could act, he had already revealed the list of Task Force X operatives.
By exposing Congress' ugly plans to the public, the military's side was severely impacted. The Suicide Squad's plan was announced bankrupt before it could even be executed.
Many people said Batman had gone mad. Without Congress and the president's support, the Justice Society couldn't possibly survive. These people wouldn't just sit back and watch these superpowered individuals slip out of their control.
However, the developnt of events had surprised everyone.
First, Black Adam announced his allegiance to the Justice Society, and his overwhelming power, comparable to General Zod, imdiately drew attention. Then, a man who claid to be Shazam stepped forward, causing many people to calm down.
Even the military fell silent at this mont. Although they knew the fight wasn't over, Bruce Wayne didn't seem to care at all about those people.
Moreover, even Tim's daily training had changed drastically. In the past, Bruce Wayne had gradually built up Tim's combat training because he knew Tim's physical abilities were sowhat lacking.
But now, Bruce Wayne had beco ruthless, pushing Tim to the point of exhaustion every day in the training room.
If Tim hadn't known Bruce Wayne for so long and understood so of his personality traits, he would have seriously wondered if Batman had been possessed by an evil spirit.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. It was just a bad dream," Old Bruce Wayne said as he stood up from the chair and stretched his body before continuing.
"Have you found that kid nad Victor Stone?"
"The one who was a high school football player and had to retire due to an injury? I couldn't find any treatnt information about him online, but I can contact his father," Tim said while holding the laptop.
"With that kid's abilities, if he doesn't want to be found, you won't be able to locate him no matter what." After a brief pause, Bruce Wayne spoke. "Start with his father."
"Got it."
Tim nodded thoughtfully, then curiously asked, "Once I find him, should I introduce him to the Justice Society?"
Hearing this, Old Bruce Wayne fell into thought. After a brief mont, he shook his head. "No need. Let him join the Teen Titans. Your team needs to be established quickly. You and your little girlfriend can't do it alone."
"Fair enough, but I already have a special candidate in mind for my team. You haven't given your approval yet," Tim replied.
"You an the amnesiac girl fished up from the Gotham port? Her na is Tula, right?" Old Bruce Wayne thought for a mont, a ntal image forming in his mind.
Fishing boats at the Gotham port would occasionally go out during their downti. Just a few days ago, they had mysteriously hauled up a young girl. She had pale skin and was wearing strange clothes.
As soon as this event was revealed, it made headlines in Gotham's evening news and newspapers. Many people turned their attention to the girl. Unfortunately, she had lost her mory and couldn't communicate properly.
However, this caught the interest of so Gotham elites. They abducted the girl from the hospital with plans to auction her on the black market. Thankfully, Tim appeared in ti and rescued her from the gangsters.
It was then that Tim learned the girl's na—Tula.
That was the only piece of mory the girl still had. Afterward, Tim sent Tula to Stephanie's house so that the two girls could take care of each other.
After a few days of interaction, Stephanie noticed that Tula had extraordinary physical abilities, far stronger than the average person. She secretly collected a sample of Tula's hair and sent it to Tim for analysis.
Using the Batcave's professional equipnt, Tim confird that Tula wasn't human but belonged to so other special race, adding more mystery to her unknown origins.
Nevertheless, Tim chose to trust her. In this era, there were neither too few nor too many people with superpowers.
Tim himself had encountered beings from other parallel universes, so he wasn't afraid of non-human entities. He didn't reject Tula; instead, he encouraged Stephanie to look after her and began training her in combat, hoping she could eventually join his team.
Bruce Wayne thought for a mont before patting Tim on the shoulder.
"The Teen Titans are your team to build. If you want anyone to join, I won't interfere. You're a talented kid, and I believe you'll do better than I ever could."
Feeling Bruce Wayne's approval, Tim nodded firmly.
"Don't worry, Mr. Wayne. I won't disappoint you. No matter what setbacks we face, I'll make sure our enemies understand how strong the mbers of the Bat family truly are."
"Mm."
Staring at Tim, Bruce Wayne's face suddenly darkened as the image of that unresolved face, the one that wouldn't rest, seed to reappear before him. His expression turned grim.
He cleared his throat and headed toward the washroom. He was drenched in sweat and just wanted to clean up and wash away the troubling thoughts in his mind.
Watching Bruce Wayne leave, Tim pursed his lips, his expression complex.
Although he wasn't a naturally gifted fighter, Tim had a remarkable ability to observe details and strategize. He had absorbed the world-class detective skills of Batman and put them to use himself.
Because of this, no one understood Bruce Wayne's troubled expression better than Tim.
Tim was sure that Mr. Wayne's changes stemd from a deep sense of urgency.
He was anxious, but Tim didn't know what exactly Mr. Wayne was anxious about. Right now, Bruce Wayne was like a tightly coiled spring, incredibly tense and impatient, as if a knife was hanging over his head.
If they couldn't develop more superheroes quickly, if they couldn't unite more forces, that knife would fall, destroying the world.
But what Tim really wanted to understand was what that knife symbolized. What enemy was Batman so fearful of—or rather, who was he so cautious about, to the point of causing such a dramatic change in him?
At first, Tim suspected that Alex had said sothing to Bruce Wayne before leaving. Later, he wondered if Bruce Wayne had received so other critical information. Tim had seen Mr. Wayne staring blankly at his phone more than once.
He knew that phone only had one number saved in it—the number left by Alex.
It was clear that this issue was closely tied to Alex, but Alex had already left this universe. Not only could Tim not contact him, but neither could Bruce Wayne.
As more and more clues erged, the entire situation grew more confusing. Sotis, Tim really wanted to step in front of Bruce Wayne and say, "If you have sothing to say, just say it. No matter what happens, I'll stand by you."
But even now, Tim hadn't been able to say those words.
Because he knew his own abilities. Right now, he couldn't help Bruce Wayne. He couldn't even imagine what kind of calamity could make Batman prepare so thoroughly.
So for now, all he could do was complete every task Bruce Wayne assigned and speed up the formation of the Teen Titans.
Watching Bruce Wayne disappear around the corner, Tim snapped back to reality and sighed deeply.
"Whatever disaster it is...
Please, co slowly."
.....
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