Chapter 1449: Birds Returning (Part 10)

In front of the New Arkham Psychiatric Hospital, Red Robin grabbed Bruce's arm and said, "Batman, it's so late, why are you going to Arkham? Did another lunatic break out?"

Red Hood, standing to the side, kicked a pebble near the wall with boredom and said, "It's useless to ask him. He'll only tell you it's part of the plan anyway... Hey, Batman! Don't expect me to follow you around like a tagalong listening to your orders. I'm leaving!"

Red Hood turned to walk along the wall, and Red Robin hurried to catch up and pull him back. They heard Bruce say from behind, "I'm here to pick up a letter my teacher left for me before he departed. If you truly don't want to come, I'll call Jack and have him turn around to take you back to Wayne Manor."

The two of them stood at attention behind Bruce in a flash. Red Robin shook his head like a rattle: "That won't be necessary!"

Bruce pushed open the gates of New Arkham Psychiatric Hospital, and the two Robins followed him, whispering. Red Robin lowered his voice: "I told you this Batman wasn't normal."

"The Joker is the one who isn't normal! Every second in the car, I was guessing where the bomb remote was. How could Damian even sleep?!"

"You should say, how could he let Batman hold him." Red Robin grinned, quickened his pace, and leaned his head in with Red Hood's to look at Damian, who was being held in Bruce's arms.

Damian's arms were wrapped around Bruce's neck, his body pressed tightly against his chest, his chin resting on his shoulder. Seeing the disapproving gazes cast by the two Robins behind them, he grinned and revealed a wicked, triumphant smile.

Misfortune is always relative. If he were the only one frightened by the Joker, he would indeed be depressed. But if two other unlucky fellows were also frightened by the Joker, his depression would be greatly alleviated. If these two unlucky fellows were not only frightened by the Joker, but also hadn't slept or eaten in the middle of the night, and still had to follow behind Batman waiting for work, then this depression would turn into joy.

Damian was truly happy now.

He would never let his biological father from the main universe hold him; he firmly believed they weren't that close. But if it were a younger version of Batman from another universe, there was room for negotiation. Moreover, this Batman only held him and didn't even spare a glance for the other two Robins.

A sense of triumph kept sprouting in Damian's heart, gradually breaking through the mental training of calmness and serenity he had received. The psychological defenses provided by his assassin training, which shouldn't belong to his age, were weakening, and he himself was unaware of this.

Damian knew that every Robin had dreamed of being hugged by Batman. Although their instinctive reaction would be shock and rejection, the warmth provided by that brief moment of hugging was enough for them to fly across endless, vast snowfields.

And now he was being held by Batman, held tightly and for a long time. Damian convinced himself in his heart: anyway, this wasn't his biological father; anyway, this Batman was still young; anyway, he would leave once the affairs of their universe were resolved; anyway, they might never see each other again.

These were all reasons he found for himself to let down all his defenses and stay quietly in Bruce's arms. And after convincing himself, he could feel the immense sense of security that could be obtained by staying in Batman's arms.

If he was held in Batman's arms, then it was impossible for anyone in this world to hurt him, because he was Batman.

After his assassin instincts relaxed, when Bruce's hand patted his back, Damian only felt a solid and powerful support, which even made him feel sleepy in this strange environment.

"Are you sleepy?" Bruce's low voice was almost like a lullaby. Damian had never heard Batman speak from such a close distance. The low, trembling sound echoed in the empty, dark corridor, the sound field near and far, clear yet hazy.

"You can keep sleeping. After I get the things, I'll have Alfred come to pick us up." Bruce said.

Damian narrowed his eyes slightly. He wasn't asleep, just leaned his head on Bruce's shoulder and asked, "Will we go back to your manor?"

"Of course."

"And then you will send me back to my room?"

"Not necessarily. Aisha only learned to sleep by herself last February. When Selina is here, she sleeps with Selina, and then it's me and Dick."

"Why do it like that?"

"Because she is a child." Bruce held Damian and walked forward, not looking at him, just speaking as if stating common sense: "Children should sleep with adults when they are young. Haven't you lived in the same room as your parents?"

"The two of them haven't even lived in the same room." Damian deliberately blew air out from his pursed lips, making a series of strange noises, then said: "And I don't have much time to sleep. Most of the time is spent in class."

Damian originally thought Bruce would ask him what was going on, but Bruce didn't ask anything, just held him a bit higher and said: "Then you can sleep in my room tonight, but don't let Aisha know, otherwise you'll be bitten by her."

"What's the matter with her? I mean those fangs..."

Damian regretted it after asking. He shouldn't have asked such a sensitive question to a strange Batman he had just met. A sense of panic rose in Damian's heart again. Batman had just agreed to sleep together tonight; would he go back on his word because of his offense?

Damian felt a sense of loss at the thought of this possibility, but he didn't understand why he was like this. This clearly wasn't his biological father, their relationship was destined to be short-lived, so what could sleeping in one room matter?

But he couldn't help secretly thinking, was he the only Robin who could sleep in Batman's room? If he truly was the only one who received this special treatment, was it because he was excellent, or because he was obedient?

"Aisha is my daughter." Bruce's tone had no fluctuations, as if stating a fact: "But her background might indeed be a bit bizarre, and it can't be explained in a short while."

"Heh, that's what Batman said when I first went to the Batcave." Damian changed the direction of his head, leaning on Bruce's shoulder, and then realized he had rubbed his cheek against Bruce's shoulder before leaning on it.

This action was too intimate, making Damian break into a cold sweat in his sleepiness, but soon he was immersed in Bruce's words again.

"This doesn't mean there's nothing to explain, just that if I said it, but not comprehensively, it might cause people to misunderstand her. A hasty, narrow explanation with omissions is better left unexplained."

"Is that what you think?" Damian couldn't help asking.

"Yes, if not for this reason, what else could it be? Escaping reality and not wanting to explain? Refusing to explain because I feel ashamed of your appearance and my own behavior?"

Damian laughed somewhat lowly, without the sharp, evil tone from before, but with a kind of naive innocence. He said while laughing: "Of course not. Batman wouldn't escape reality, nor would he feel ashamed, because he is Batman."

"Then perhaps that is it. If I want you to understand Aisha, I will find a formal occasion and use ample time to explain this matter, rather than hastily giving two sentences and causing many unnecessary misunderstandings."

Damian fell silent, as if recalling something. When he reacted, he patted the side of Bruce's arm with his hand and said: "When did those two disappear?"

"When we entered the hospital and passed the second intersection." Bruce shook his head slightly and said: "They didn't keep up."

"Then aren't you going to look for them?"

"I have my own things to do." Bruce took Damian onto the elevator and said: "To find them, I have to send you back first, otherwise I'll be spread too thin."

"That's too exaggerated!" Damian braced his body, turned his head to look at him and said: "Or do you think I'm a burden to you? Let me go, let me down!"

"You'd better stay put." Bruce frowned slightly, a common expression of Batman flashed across his face, which made Damian stiffen for a moment, but soon he realized that this serious expression wasn't directed at him.

Damian heard the sound of high heels approaching from far to near. Before he could react, Bruce held him and pulled open a door in the corridor at high speed to hide inside.

Bruce leaned his back against the door and tilted his head up, making a shushing gesture at Damian. In the silent space, Damian could clearly hear the heartbeats of two people.

Suddenly, Damian twitched his nose. He widened his eyes and made a gesture at Bruce, only then remembering that this wasn't the Batman he knew and might not understand the secret signals of their universe.

But Bruce understood. He nodded at Damian, still signaling him not to make a sound. After a while, the footsteps disappeared completely, and Bruce gently opened the door.

There were no footprints of high heels in the corridor outside, but there was a long trail of fresh blood. Damian's gesture meant he smelled blood; someone had just died not long ago.

Standing outside the door, Bruce looked left and right, looking as if he had let out a sigh of relief, and continued to walk forward holding Damian. But Damian couldn't stay still anymore. He struggled hard twice, then looked at Bruce's face and said: "Someone is dead, the murderer just walked past!"

"I know."

"Then aren't you going to investigate?"

"If I weren't carrying you, I would do that."

"I am not your burden!" Damian struggled even harder.

"I didn't say you were." Bruce held Damian tightly with his arm, making him unable to jump off his body, while stroking his back with his hand.

"It's dangerous here."

"You just think..."

"I mean, you must keep your strength to protect me from the dangers we might encounter later."

Damian broke into a cold sweat. He gripped Bruce's sleeve tightly and turned to look at him; the serious expression on his face showed he was not joking.

Batman needing protection? This was simply the most ridiculous joke he had ever heard, but he soon found he couldn't laugh.

The light was on in the last room they passed in the corridor. Held in Bruce's arms, Damian was just tall enough to see the scene inside the ward through the window—

The silhouettes of three human limbs hanging on hooks were clearly visible: two male legs and one female arm, still dripping blood. A burly figure stood with their back to the window, facing the hospital bed, as if cutting something.

The thick, bloody stench almost made Damian's sense of smell fail. The dual stimulation of sight and smell made his heart beat faster and faster; at this moment, Bruce's embrace became his only source of security.

In stark contrast to his previous struggle to break free, Damian held onto Bruce's arm tightly. He asked in a trembling tone, close to his ear: "... What is going on here?"

"Don't be afraid. We'll leave once we get what we came for. Everything will be fine."