Chapter 2412

The main universe Cat Getan finally returned to the sky above the land of Cat Getan. The reason was simple: after a series of geographical modifications, the new houses on the ground were about to start construction, and as the largest real estate investors in ground-level Cat Getan, Martha and Thomas had to return in person to oversee the work.

However, because the children were also there, they couldn't just leave their home and the houses behind, so they simply brought the entire floating Cat Getan back with them.

In truth, it was also because the supplies on floating Cat Getan were limited. The citizens needed food, water, and electricity. Although Batman, fearing his city might be attacked, had prepared enough food, clean water, and backup power for the entire city to last a year—and successfully put them to use—they were running low after such a long time.

Batman was not happy to hear this news, because he knew that even if his city returned to its original position, his life was unlikely to return to its original rhythm. He was currently leading a bunch of bizarre Batmen while waiting for the bus home.

That's right, the ground and the sky, which had undergone partial development, had opened a transport line. Batman should have been happy about the creativity shown in the land-to-air connecting bus powered by the Batmobile, which the Robins had built, but he had no time to think about that now. His mind was entirely occupied with how to explain to Martha and Thomas exactly what this group of monsters behind him was.

Yes, Thomas and Martha were very unhappy that Batman was Batman, but their attitude toward Batman couldn't be called bad; it was more of a sense of helplessness, akin to: "Since you insist on choosing this path, what else can we say?"

Batman was very accustomed to this. He was well aware of his actions. Even setting aside the clash of paternal authority, the fact that he was engaged in the extremely dangerous profession of fighting crime behind their backs—and refused to change despite several warnings—meant he could hardly be called a good son.

But Batman thought, even if I'm not a dutiful family member, at least I'm a human being, and I've insisted on being a human for so many years. Although I might look a bit unlike one, at least biologically speaking, I am still human.

But calling this whole bunch behind him "human" was a bit of a stretch. They were at best "anthropomorphic." Some had chosen to stop being human, while others had tried to remain human but failed. Regardless of the reason, Martha and Thomas probably wouldn't be able to accept them very well.

Maybe I should call Bruce, Batman thought. Only his brain could come up with a reasonable excuse to fool Thomas and Martha in a situation like this.

Unfortunately, Bruce was currently on a business trip and had sent a message to everyone saying he couldn't take calls. Batman had to give up and resignedly led this group of monsters onto the bus.

Fortunately, the driver was Nightwing. He only showed a slight hint of surprise and even politely greeted the Bat-Rex and the Bat-Monster-Car, who were the least like Batmen. Most gratifyingly, Nightwing didn't show any inappropriate curiosity, as if he were just seeing a few normal Batmen.

What a polite child, Batman thought to himself. Although Nightwing could no longer be called a child, considering there were now three generations in the house, he should still be allowed to be a child for a few more years.

This bus train was not yet open to the public, so there weren't many people on board. Completely ignoring Batman's distress, this bunch of bizarre Batmen were very excited. Even the Mechanical Batman, whose emotional modules were still being installed, asked Batman several times about Martha and Thomas.

Batman remained silent. All the other Batmen thought Batman didn't want to spoil their surprise. Only Batman knew that it wasn't that he didn't want to speak; he just didn't know how to say it.

He hadn't read the financial report for this quarter that Thomas had sent him a week ago, nor had he replied to the messages from his real estate investment consultant. That bald guy must have gone to complain to Thomas again. In short, this was definitely not a good time to open a private chat channel.

These thoughts swirled in Batman's mind, making him think once again that the Joker's words back then were truly prophetic. Ever since he said that, he had been trapped in the predicament of "the clothes aren't washed, the dishes aren't done, the meat isn't thawed, but the parents will be home in two minutes." What a damn jinx.

Batman didn't know where Thomas and Martha got so many tasks. The characters in the video games Red Hood and Red Robin played every day didn't have as much to do as them. It was as if their time would be wasted if every member of the family didn't have something to do every second.

Now, if the Bat-family were to add so many members, and everyone had to have something to do under Thomas and Martha's arrangements, Wayne Manor and the Batcave would never have a moment of peace.

Alfred would be very happy, Batman thought with a sigh. That was the only good news.

These thoughts flashed by quickly, and the train soon arrived at the station. Everyone grabbed their things and got off. Batman stood at the very end of the line, with Batwoman second to last.

"Are you really not planning to find a girlfriend?" Her tone became lighthearted. She was clearly happy to be able to see Thomas and Martha, and even had time to gossip about the male version of herself.

"I know that in many universes, my girlfriend is Catwoman. Actually, I'm very curious about what they think. I don't think I would be with a thief..."

"Heh, if logic were useful, would other Batmen be with thieves? Feelings don't follow logic."

Batman shook his head and said, "You can't use them to define me. I think I..."

"God, you're finally back." The Robins, who had been waiting at the station, greeted them. But this wasn't unexpected. What cut off Batman's sentence was the Arkham team, who were holding banners to welcome Batman on the other side.

And standing next to them was Gordon.

"Don't look at me like that, Batman, as if I'm a dog that just stumbled into a mud pit," Gordon said, looking slightly dissatisfied. "Let me reintroduce them to you. This is the chemical consultant for the Roden Group, Scarecrow; this is the psychologist for the Kane family, Hugo; this is the security captain for the Prolan Company, Killer Croc; this is the image spokesperson for the Jiakai Real Estate Development Company, Catwoman..."

In truth, what really cut off Batman's sentence was the last person Gordon pointed to.

Perhaps because it wasn't a workday for criminals, this group of villains wasn't wearing their uniforms. Some wore symbolic masks, while others didn't even wear masks at all. Catwoman was the latter.

She was a woman with cold, pale skin, simply wearing a hoodie and jeans, with her hair tied into a high ponytail. If one had to use words to describe her, they would be beautiful, sexy, and hot.

Then Batman exercised his proud detective skills, perfectly perceiving Catwoman's beauty, sexiness, and hotness, and after the thinking process of the smartest brain in the world, accurately analyzed Catwoman's beauty, sexiness, and hotness.

"Heh, men." Batwoman strode out of the station without looking at Batman again.

Gordon walked over helplessly and said, "After the war, this city really didn't have the conditions for these people to commit crimes. To continue their criminal careers, they had to rebuild the city first. So now, most of them are consultants for various companies and gang families."

"Strangely enough, their motivation to revive this city is much stronger than anyone else's. It didn't take long for them to become key employees in various companies. I heard they were all coming to the station to welcome you. All the bosses called me for months, demanding I come and keep an eye on things."

"Of course, it's not to keep an eye on them so they don't hurt you, but to keep an eye on you so you don't hurt them. I advise you not to do that either. If they all end up in the hospital, the city's GDP this year will probably drop by 60%. By then, Thomas and Martha will go crazy."

"Of course, the Robins are doing fine. There are no criminals for them to fight. Recently, they've been obsessed with building sky and land transportation networks, inventing dozens of devices. After testing, a few are actually usable. We're preparing to build the material transport lines first."

"By the way, I thought you were coming back alone. I didn't expect you to bring so many partners and luggage. What's up with these two big dinosaurs? I say, is your love for dinosaurs a bit too deep? Batman... Batman? Batman, are you listening?"

Batman wasn't listening at all.

The Arkham team walked up to welcome him. Actually, it couldn't be called a welcome; it was more like a form of American-style bullying to complain about Batman's long absence.

"Isn't this our busybody Batman?" Harley Quinn walked up first, resting her hammer on her shoulder with both hands on the ends of the handle. "If you don't come back, my cute Puddin' is going to cry into his pillow at home."

"Hmph, hmph, probably because there's nothing in this city worthy of this great hero's attention," Scarecrow said gloomily. "The destruction of the city doesn't mean anything to him anyway. He never considered this place his home."

Normally, this would hit Batman's sore spot, and everyone in the Arkham team knew it. Usually, at this time, Batman's eyes would become sharper than knives, and he would say in that low voice, "Scarecrow, you have a criminal record of at least 300 large-scale poison gas attacks on the city. Are you trying to say you consider this place your home?"

Yes, Batman usually didn't argue with them, but he wouldn't forget to maintain his dignity and wouldn't let others provoke him.

But today, Batman was unusually quiet.

Everyone noticed the eerie atmosphere.

"Long time no see, Catwoman," Batman said. "I heard that the Jiakai Real Estate Company has built two new residential projects in the eastern part of Cat Getan, and their newest branch office is located there. Are you the spokesperson for that branch?"

With a clatter, the crowd dispersed. Most of them muttered like Harley Quinn, having almost forgotten that Batman was also a man. "How boring!"

"Wait, what's over there? Don't tell me those are all Batmen... Oh wow! Come over here! Look at these! There are so many brand-new Batmen here!"