20 A New Beginning

BVS Universe.

Almost suddenly, the three figures before him—along with Doomsday and a spaceship—vanished without a trace.

It was as if they came and went at will, just like when they had previously swapped places with their counterparts and then switched back, without any warning.

Batman sincerely hoped never to encounter those counterparts again—surprises were not guaranteed, but shocks were plentiful.

Fortunately, there were no casualties tonight, and everything concluded somewhat satisfactorily.

Of course, before shedding his Bat-armor and becoming Bruce again, he had one last thing to do.

“I think we all did pretty well today.”

Batman turned proactively and spoke dryly to the other two, earning two pairs of shocked eyes that seemed ready to pry his mouth open.

Damn it! Couldn’t he borrow some of Bruce’s charm? Or was it just that he hadn’t spoken with accepted comrades in far too long?

But he forced himself to continue.

“If we could form an alliance, perhaps incidents like today could be resolved smoothly through our collective efforts.”

After the initial surprise, Superman smiled.

“Hearing that from you is really unexpected—oh, of course, I mean no offense; it’s just that you don’t strike me as the type to propose teaming up.”

The Man of Steel blinked at him, and miraculously, Batman sensed the goodwill and tolerance flowing beneath those words, soothing his previously anxious heart.

He realized that he had longed for comradeship once more.

And he wasn’t the only one yearning for it.

“Count me in,” Wonder Woman said with a smile as the atmosphere began to lighten.

“I’m curious, Batman—I thought you wouldn’t come around so quickly.”

Batman summoned every ounce of strength to finally reveal his true feelings.

He was no longer adept at this, but he was willing to try to share his thoughts with his teammates.

“The Batman from another universe unsettles me. The one who once tried to kill Superman unsettles me as well.”

“I believe that if we form an alliance, we can serve as checks and balances on each other.”

“Batman’s right,” Superman agreed.

“Though I would still feel hurt by others’ distrust, I must admit that I can’t guarantee I won’t lose control in the future. Having teammates to supervise me would be a safeguard.”

Batman glanced at him, then quickly looked away, seeming a bit embarrassed about what he was about to say next.

“Based on my observations, I think that possibility is quite slim—don’t be swayed by the other Batman’s words.”

This caused both Superman and Wonder Woman to widen their eyes.

“Hey! B, are you trying to comfort me? That’s incredible!”

“B? No need to adopt other Supes’ nicknames, but I do think you could learn how he lands.”

“I promise, if you could fly less dramatically like he does, the negative public opinion about Superman would lessen considerably.”

“Wonder Woman! Did you hear that? B was joking, right?!”

Their voices gradually faded into the night breeze.

On the horizon, dawn was breaking with the first rays of light.

...

In this universe of peaceful years, in a parallel universe where certain superheroes rely entirely on scripted plots and random chance...

Bruce had been somewhat distracted these past few days. Others in the Bat-family noticed and discreetly inquired several times, but to no avail.

Finally, one day, while dressed in his dark bat-suit and crouching atop Gotham’s largest gargoyle, a large red-and-blue-clad scout silently “landed” behind him.

“Superman, what brings you to Gotham?”

Bruce turned to look at Clark hovering in midair, revealing no emotion on his face, though his spirits were soaring.

He had been busy uploading new scripts lately, nearly to the point of losing his hair.

Although Tim, the boy at home, and Dick, who came over on weekends to hang out and play several games (and strangely left with tears of gratitude saying “Old-school Bat is the best”), Bruce didn’t know them well and never truly relaxed while playing.

He had to admit, only when Clark was by his side did he feel completely at ease.

Clark wore his characteristic Superman smile, teasing lightly, while their mental link was filled with concern and support for the childhood friend and director.

[What’s wrong? Still struggling with the new script?]

Bruce confessed honestly.

[I realized that one important character was missing from the storyline. Without him, something feels incomplete.]

[Who?]

[Spider-Man.]

Clark slowly typed a question mark.

...

Was he kidding? Where would DC get a Spider-Man from?!

[I know.] Bruce stated seriously, [but I really like Spider-Man.]

Since they’re all superheroes anyway, couldn’t he just fulfill this dream?

These conversations were broadcast over their mental link, so the rest of the Bat-family soon caught wind and enthusiastically offered suggestions to their patriarch.

[Hey, B! I think Tim fits the little Spider-Man role pretty well.] This was a certain large blue bird, currently far away in Blüdhaven but still very enthusiastic.

[Shut up, Dick-bird! I’m Robin now! Batman can’t be without Robin.]

[Anyway, our little brother will be here soon. Can’t you go solo for a bit and make room?]

Dick and Tim bickered gleefully over the mental link, and rather than finding it noisy, Bruce’s eyes lit up as he suddenly remembered.

If he recalled correctly, among the Bat-family actors, there was a child who had been wilderness training in the Middle East and hadn’t yet joined the main team.

He pulled up Damian’s profile, skimmed it quickly, then smiled in satisfaction.

[A boy trained as an assassin from childhood, who chose to escape the organization out of kindness and a desire to help others, wandering while searching for his biological father, and finally finding a home as a good neighbor in Gotham… How does that script sound?]

[?!]

Kind? Wanting to help others?

Who was he describing? Surely not Damian, heir to the Assassin League?

The mental link fell silent once more.

Everyone felt as if they suddenly didn’t understand English—or perhaps Bruce wasn’t describing Damian at all.

But the “assassin” reference was far too clear!

Clark nearly lost his balance and fell headlong at the thought.

Seeing Bruce’s puzzled gaze, he was genuinely terrified into speechlessness.

Though he hadn’t read most Batman comics, he knew that Mi Ao Tian and Spider-Man had nothing in common!

Besides, was the “good neighbor in Gotham” supposed to be the Robin Batman worried would go on a nightly killing spree?

He truly couldn’t picture Damian helping an old lady cross the street—it was too horrifying!