Red Hood looked utterly bewildered.

While Bruce was busy restructuring his worldview, Red Hood stood nearby, equally bewildered, waiting for the "director" to clarify things.

He hadn’t exchanged intelligence with his colleagues for a month, so he truly had no idea that the director knew nothing about DC lore. This realization sparked a strange sense of competitiveness in Bruce: admitting he had no clue about the dynamics of the Bat-family would be pathetic.

After all, it was just acting. He had been improvising without a script for a month, even taking two side trips to an alternate dimension! Besides, hadn’t Red Hood already given him the general setup?

Known facts: the other party is a member of the Bat-family, calls Batman "the old man," used to fight Batman to the death, and is now presumably in a "honeymoon phase" (?).

Bruce: Got it! Red Hood’s character is that of a rebellious youth who had conflicts with his family early on. But after a bitter, life-and-death struggle and a successful resurrection, they’ve reconciled—to the point where he’d even complain about the old man not coming to find him for a whole month!

He recalled the surveillance footage of Gotham’s East End on the Batcomputer. Although Red Hood was the boss of that sector, he effectively controlled the criminal underbelly and even protected the local youth from harm to a great extent. Clearly, Red Hood and Batman were two sides of the same coin: one infiltrating enemy lines to divide and conquer, the other openly cracking down on crime. They weren't working at cross-purposes; they were both fighting for the soul of Gotham!

Bruce felt he had grasped the essence of their relationship. So, as Red Hood hesitated and prepared to take his leave, Bruce stepped forward decisively and pressed his hand onto his shoulder.

Red Hood: ?!
A nerve-pinching strike? Was he about to start a fight?
After a brief moment of shock, his hand reflexively reached for his holster—come on, this was a chance to brawl with Batman! What Bat-brat could resist such a temptation?

However, before his hand could even lift, he found himself pulled into a firm, solid embrace by Batman.

Red Hood: Brain crash.
What’s happening? Who am I? Where am I—in Batman’s arms? Oh, okay, never mind.
Wait! No, this is a problem! What’s with this scene, so heartwarming it makes one feel physically uncomfortable? While Batman had moments of showing affection to his little birds, this was way too much for the Bat-family! It was so wholesome it was practically out of character!

He couldn't help but let his imagination run wild: rumor had it a psychologist named Lecter had recently arrived in Gotham. Could the old bat have finally realized his family dynamic wasn't healthy and gone to seek counseling?

The hug lasted only two seconds before Bruce finally let go.

He lowered his voice, making it sound deliberately gentle: "Jason..." The tone was so soft it didn't sound like he had just looked up the name. "We haven't seen each other at home for a long time. Let's have a family party this weekend? Just us, you know."

Since he didn't know how to explain why he’d forgotten about him for a month, he simply skipped the explanation and issued an invitation. Plan successful!

Red Hood stood there as if in a dream, nodding in a daze, and watched as the black cape drifted away, having completely forgotten about the fight. He had only one thought in his heart: Is this the power of the Bat-family’s honeymoon phase?
By the twin guns of Jesus! The old bat actually learned how to use his mouth!

High above in the Gotham night, a figure in a red cape, hiding behind the clouds, witnessed this scene with his super-vision and felt a surge of excitement. It was Clark, whom Bruce had been chatting with by a gargoyle earlier.

Because of a temporary emergency in Gotham’s East End, Bruce had hurried off, warning him not to interfere with the night patrol (Clark thought there was no need to mimic the real Batman’s personality, but he was overruled). Bored for once, with no one calling for the Man of Steel, Clark had hidden above the clouds to watch his best friend’s patrol. He was incredibly glad he had, or how else would he have seen a plot development so heartwarming it couldn't have been written by the DC editorial department?

Director Bruce is the GOAT!

Thus, as Bruce sped home in the Batmobile, he suddenly received a string of incomprehensible nonsense from his best friend.

【Bruce! Please, you have to keep this up!】
Bruce: ...
He felt everyone he met today was acting weird. It definitely wasn't his problem. Having spent over a decade with Clark, he understood that one shouldn't force oneself to understand brain circuits on a different frequency, so he decisively changed the subject.

【Forget that nonsense. Did you finish the task I gave you?】
Clark immediately straightened up.
【Don't worry. I've already contacted Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter. They've all joined our channel, though they don't say much...】
【Hey, I guess it’s my turn to speak? Is this channel finally going from the Bat-channel to the Justice League channel?】

A vibrant male voice chimed in. It was Barry Allen, the Flash. The cosplayer playing him had a lively personality; he spoke quickly but was mindful of his listeners, ensuring he was easy to understand. Bruce even felt a twinge of regret—if he had appeared earlier, he might have been a better fit for the Spider-Man role than Damian.

The next second, Wonder Woman Diana’s teasing voice joined the channel.
【I should have said hello sooner, but I saw that Bruce’s boys were always chattering away, so I didn't want to disturb you.】

Bruce caught the subtle implication and immediately indicated that he would strive to explore ways to create multiple channels to separate different groups of people. After all, as more actors joined, if everyone spoke at once, it would drive him mad. Creating different channel groups based on script categories would be much better.

【By the way, wasn't there supposed to be a "Big Seven" when the Justice League was founded? Who is the last one?】

Clark struggled to recall the barren settings in his mind.
【I remember that the members of the Big Seven changed subtly over different eras... sometimes the seventh is Aquaman, sometimes Hawkgirl, and the new version seems to have Cyborg...】

Bruce thought of the waters off the Gotham harbor and made a swift decision.
【Let’s go with Aquaman. I’ve already worked out the script: he’ll burst out to support us while we’re in the heat of battle.】

Through his nightly patrols, he had already successfully contacted all the supervillain actors in Gotham under the guise of Batman, and all the scripts had been delivered.

Now, everything was ready, save for one problem—
Red Hood, whom he had originally positioned as a morally gray character who might become a supervillain, had suddenly become a member of the Bat-family, and a heavy-hitter at that... How was he supposed to arrange his script?

Bruce racked his brains, recalling everything he knew about Red Hood’s character.
Originally very close to the superheroes, but later faked his death and left the Bat-family; after returning from the dead for some reason, he fought his former loved ones to the death, only to reconcile and become a member of the righteous again...

This character arc felt strangely familiar...
Isn't this the script for Captain America’s best friend, the Winter Soldier?!