568. The Amnesiac Girl, Tula.
"Mr. Wayne."
The black-clad girl leading the group spotted an old man standing at the entrance of Wayne Manor from afar. Despite the heavy downpour obscuring much of her vision, she recognized him imdiately.
Old Bruce Wayne heard her call and gave a silent nod in response.
In the dim night, the girl's outfit appeared black, but as she approached, it beca clear that she was actually wearing a deep purple hooded cloak. A full-face mask concealed her features.
If not for her curvaceous figure, sleek and serpentine like a silver snake, an ordinary person might have had trouble distinguishing her gender.
"Not bad, you got here quickly."
Bruce Wayne's gaze shifted between the two girls, eventually settling on the leader. He was already quite familiar with this young woman.
Stephanie Brown, who called herself "The Spoiler," was the daughter of the criminal Cluemaster. She was also the girlfriend of his apprentice, Tim.
Bruce had told Tim more than once to avoid relationships, but clearly, young hearts in love weren't so easily swayed.
In the two years since Alex had left, Tim and Stephanie had only grown closer, practically inseparable. Seeing how things were going, Bruce had given up trying to break them apart and let them be.
After the formation of the Teen Titans, Tim—now leading the group—could no longer use the "Robin" title, which was traditionally Batman's sidekick. Instead, he took on the na "Red Robin" and passed the "Robin" mantle to Stephanie.
If Alex were here, he'd probably remark on how the tiline was neatly aligning itself. In a universe without Dick, Jason, or Damian, Batman's third and fourth Robins had still erged as if by fate.
With Tim busy managing the Teen Titans, Gotham was left in Stephanie's hands. Though the city was chaotic as ever, it remained under control.
"As soon as we got your ssage, we rushed over. What's going on?" Stephanie asked curiously. Having taken over the Robin mantle for so ti now, she had barely interacted with Bruce Wayne.
"Where's Tim?" Bruce didn't answer imdiately and instead asked about his apprentice.
"Tim went to find Victor Stone's father. He said he already told you," Stephanie replied casually.
Bruce nodded in realization—he did recall that conversation.
During their clashes with the Court of Owls, Batman and Red Robin had stumbled upon so classified intelligence. Among those secrets was information on Victor Stone—the so-called "cybernetic experint."
It seed the Court of Owls was also searching for him. No one knew exactly what kind of powers Victor possessed.
According to the intel, he had the ability to interface with computers. The Court suspected his father had secretly modified him, as their investigation showed that his father had been conducting classified work for a military lab.
After intercepting this intelligence, Batman had set his sights on recruiting the young cyborg. With the Titans in need of new mbers, Bruce hoped Tim could reach Victor before the Court of Owls did.
Tim had ntioned this to him before, Bruce recalled. He shifted his attention to the girl standing beside Stephanie.
She had fiery red hair and wore a form-fitting yellow bodysuit adorned with blue patterns. The outfit accentuated her well-toned figure, revealing her slim waist—though the scars on her lower back disrupted the otherwise striking look.
"This must be Miss Tula," Bruce said with a faint smile, his composed expression betraying no hint of his thoughts.
"Yes, Mr. Wayne. It's a pleasure to et you." The girl known as Tula bowed respectfully.
She was the strange girl who had been found drifting near Gotham's harbor. Having lost most of her mories, she had been living with Stephanie. Over ti, Stephanie had also discovered that Tula possessed the ability to manipulate water.
Since both Tim and Stephanie were already superheroes, Tula had gradually been drawn into their world.
With nowhere else to go and her mories missing, she had nowhere to return to. Besides, she owed her rescue to the two Robins, so she quickly integrated into the Titans.
Bruce Wayne had only heard about her in passing—this was their first ti eting in person.
"Mr. Wayne, why did you call us here so late? Did sothing happen?" Stephanie asked, puzzled.
Though she was technically Batman's sidekick, Bruce had given her a great deal of independence. Most of her missions were handled alongside Tim. It was rare for the old Batman to reach out to her directly.
It wasn't that Bruce had anything against her—it was simply that he had too much on his plate. Many of the challenges he faced were beyond what Stephanie could handle.
That's why she was particularly curious about why Bruce had summoned her, especially when he specifically asked her to bring Tula.
"This ti… we're facing a rather serious problem. Let's talk while we walk."
Old Bruce Wayne cast a aningful glance at Tula before turning around and stepping inside.
The two girls exchanged a quick look before hurrying after him.
As they walked, Bruce gave them a brief explanation about the Mother Box.
Normally, he wouldn't share sothing of this magnitude with young heroes who lacked experience and perspective. But in this case, there was no choice—this matter was directly tied to them.
Besides, compared to the Justice Society, the Teen Titans were Bruce Wayne's true "children."
Taking the elevator down, they arrived at the Batcave, where Hippolyta had already finished explaining the situation to Doctor Fate.
Upon learning that an enemy from the shadows was making moves—one that sought to ignite a catastrophic war threatening all of humanity—Doctor Fate fell silent.
Seated in a chair, he clutched his helt tightly, his face dark and solemn.
He couldn't understand why Nabu, the mystical entity within the Helt of Fate, had given him no warning about such a grave crisis. Even worse, his prophetic abilities, which had never failed before, were now completely useless.
At that mont, Bruce Wayne entered the room with Stephanie and Tula.
"Kent, you should have the full picture by now."
Hearing this, Kent Nelson lifted his head and sighed. "I just attempted to glimpse into the future, but all I saw was darkness. I couldn't see anything. I fear that…"
Bruce reached out and patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"The future is never set in stone, old friend. No need to burden yourself with what hasn't happened yet. Things haven't reached that point—at least, not yet."
Stephanie nudged Tula lightly with her shoulder, whispering excitedly, "Look, it's Doctor Fate! He's one of the greatest heroes in the world! I've been here for so long, but this is the first ti I've seen him in person!"
Tula, however, only responded with a polite smile. Without her mories, she had no idea who Doctor Fate was. Besides, she wasn't particularly outgoing, so she didn't react much.
Instead, her attention was drawn to the woman who had been staring at her ever since she walked in.
"Excuse … have we t before?"
Tula hesitated for a mont before speaking up to Hippolyta.
"You don't know ?" Hippolyta was visibly surprised by the question.
"Have we… t?" Tula asked, confused.
"I forgot to introduce her," Bruce Wayne interjected, noticing the exchange and stepping forward to address the room.
"This young woman's na is Tula. Due to certain circumstances, she has lost most of her mories. I had soone examine her condition—it's a pathological issue, beyond the reach of dical treatnt."
"She is…" Hippolyta pointed at Tula, about to say sothing.
But before she could finish, Bruce raised a hand to cut her off and continued, "I know what you're about to say—Tula is from Atlantis."
"Atlantis?!"
The room fell silent for a mont before everyone turned their gaze toward Tula. Even she looked surprised.
"To be honest… I only just confird this myself."
Bruce Wayne gave a slight smile before turning to Hippolyta.
"If it weren't for your presence, I wouldn't have been able to verify it. Whether it's Atlantis or Themyscira, both are places nearly impossible for humans to reach."
"Tula's origins aren't too difficult to deduce—she was mysteriously found by a fishing boat, possesses the ability to control water, and grows weak if she doesn't stay hydrated for long periods. Tim gathered these details, and they were enough to put the pieces together."
Bruce shifted his gaze before continuing.
"But what puzzled all this ti was—why would an Atlantean, a people who never interact with the human world, suddenly appear at Gotham's port?
Now, I finally have a reasonable explanation. Your presence, Queen Hippolyta, is the answer. Just like Themyscira, sothing must have happened in Atlantis as well."
"You an—!" Hippolyta took a step back, her expression dark and uncertain as she looked at Tula.
"This is just a theory," Bruce said calmly. "The real answer lies in the mories that Tula has lost—those crucial pieces of information."
With that, he patted Doctor Fate's shoulder.
"And that… is the real reason I called you back from Kahndaq."
.....
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