Ding-dong…
Alan politely rang the doorbell of Wayne Manor.
The butler, Alfred, came to the door and said very gentlemanly, "Sir, the young masters and young ladies have been waiting for you for some time."
As soon as Bruce had returned home the previous night, he had looked up Alan's information from Arkham Asylum and specifically told Alfred not to neglect him. However, the information was sparse; Alan seemed to have appeared out of thin air, with no record of his existence before his recent stay at the asylum. There were many things that didn't add up. But because they had known each other before and Bruce felt that Alan had no bad intentions, he hadn't investigated further, being busy with other matters.
"Alfred, this is my first visit," Alan said, pulling a crushed piece of strawberry cake from his coat. "I prepared a gift for you. I killed some monsters on the way and got some free supplies."
Alfred accepted the deformed cake with an expression of awkward politeness.
It had to be said that Wayne Manor was incredibly grand, built on the scale of a European aristocratic castle. Led by Alfred, they took an elevator deep into the Batcave.
Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Damian, and Batgirl were already waiting. There were, in fact, many more members of the Bat Family, but Bruce hadn't felt it necessary to call them all. After all, a few escaped criminals wasn't a world-ending event.
Damian was not in a good mood. He had been thoroughly fooled the previous night, and the memory of the armpit-warmed hamburger still made his stomach churn.
"Everyone's here. Let's analyze the master's movements first," Nightwing said, taking off his mask to reveal a strong, handsome face. His real name was Dick Grayson, Bruce's adopted son. His wings had long grown strong, and he had joined the Teen Titans, spending his days punishing evil in other cities. In his civilian life, Dick was a police officer; he had taken annual leave to come and help.
Dick began working at the console, calling up Bruce's travel route from the previous night to analyze it for useful clues.
"You guys go ahead and do your work. Tell me if you find anything," Alan said. He knew nothing about encrypted computer systems and began to wander around the Batcave on his own. Bruce was a cautious man; the electronic equipment in his base camp was specially encrypted, with details down to a non-standard keyboard to prevent outsiders from breaking in and stealing information.
"Starting at 1:30 in the morning, the master's tracker coordinates stayed between several high-rise buildings in the city for ten to thirty minutes at a time. It seems he made some important discovery. Then, it disappeared at the location of the Wayne Enterprises building…" Dick sorted through the data, finally locking onto the suspicious location. The problem was, the Wayne Building was Bruce's own property. It was like being kidnapped in your own home.
Justice League requesting connection…
A pop-up window appeared on the main screen. Everyone looked at each other, hesitating. Usually, it was Bruce who answered calls for league meetings.
"Put it through. It might be something important," Damian said. When the master was not present, the son was qualified to make the decision.
The video connected, showing the faces of several people: Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter—the core members of the Justice League.
"Bruce isn't here?" Clark asked, looking at the group of teenage heroes in confusion.
"My father…"
"I am here."
Just as Damian was about to explain, a low, gravelly voice responded from the side. The familiar silhouette of Batman walked to the main seat, and Nightwing instinctively stood up to give him his place.
"What do you want from me?" Batman asked, his hands steepled under his chin, his face a mask of seriousness.
The members of the Bat Family on the side breathed a collective sigh of relief, their hearts easing at their master's sudden, safe return. But since a Justice League meeting was in progress, they couldn't ask for details.
Clark briefly described the situation: "We've detected special energy fluctuations in the southern hemisphere. A shielding magnetic field has formed in the Kenya region. We're preparing to gather and investigate."
"I'm sorry, I can't come."
"Why?" Clark asked with a slight frown.
"I'm not feeling well. Men always feel a little uncomfortable for a few days every month."
Suddenly, everyone—in both the Justice League and the Bat Family—felt the corners of their mouths twitch uncontrollably. You're a grown man, why do you feel uncomfortable?
No, he's not the master… Dick suddenly looked around and saw that there was no sign of Alan. Looking back at the person sitting in the chair, he immediately realized it was Alan in disguise. A Batsuit was missing from the equipment display in the corner. Dick leaned in to cover for him. "The criminals from Arkham and Blackgate have escaped. We're temporarily unable to get away from Gotham. The master was poisoned by gas when he was chasing the Joker, and his mind hasn't yet returned to normal."
After such a forced explanation, the Justice League members had no time to verify its authenticity. To be honest, Batman was just an ordinary person. He relied on his equipment to be invulnerable, but a sudden poison gas attack was certainly plausible.
"Rest well. You don't need to participate in this operation."
The members of the Justice League hung up their video links one by one, until only Green Arrow remained.
"You're not Bruce." Oliver and Bruce were friends forged in fire. They had trained together in the League of Assassins and had a friendship so strong they could guard each other's backs without question.
"Green Arrow, I will never admit that I am Alan," Alan said, crossing his arms, a smug smile on his face.
"Alan?" Oliver lifted his green hood, his face a mask of shock. "It's great that you're not dead. I've been using my connections to look for you for more than ten years."
"What do you want from me?" Alan said warily. "I don't owe you any money."
"…"
Yes, that's him. This incurable mental state felt so right.
"Where's Bruce?" Oliver asked, rationally avoiding Alan's rhythm to get to the key question.
"When you say that, I get angry," Alan said indignantly. "He eloped with Catwoman without telling me and left five burdens behind. Tell me, aren't you angry?"
"…"
Do you hear what you're saying? Batman and Catwoman elope. And they were supposed to take you?
Nightwing couldn't bear to watch anymore and explained the real reason for their call. Oliver didn't know if he could help; he had his own regional crisis to solve, one that involved the lives of tens of millions of people. Besides, the Bat Family had already taken action, so there was no need for him to get involved personally for the time being.
He ended the video call.
The five members of the Bat Family glared at Alan in unison.
"We're a burden, are we?" Batgirl Stephanie said angrily.
"Oh, my dears, you are all my good babies. How could Daddy dislike you?"
Seeing Alan's sly smile, his gums showing, the five young heroes couldn't stand it anymore. They drew their weapons and prepared to attack him.
Avengers requesting connection…
Just as things were about to get chaotic, another prompt popped up on the screen. The scene returned to calm in an instant. In recent years, the world's superhero teams had developed explosively, among which the Justice League and the Avengers were the most prominent. It was inevitable that there would be some friction and cooperation between them. Of course, they were only rivals, not enemies.
The screen connected. The image of Captain America appeared.
"Bat Sissy, I heard you're in trouble. Do you need us to help you?" Steve greeted.
(TL: Either something happened to Cap in his era before now or there is something wrong with the author's head. As you all know Alan can travel timeline.)
Alan was startled, then stood up and shot back, "Old boy with a big butt, who are you calling a sissy? I'll untie the python from my waist and give you a set of my Lightning Five Whips."
As he spoke, Alan began to unbuckle his tactical belt, preparing to unleash disaster. Seeing this, the five young heroes rushed forward to stop him. This will not pass the review board!
The call was disconnected.
At the same time, in the Avengers Tower, Steve's eyes were wide, as if he had seen something horrible.
Tony, who was debugging his mecha's arm armor, asked in confusion, "What's wrong, man? Look how scared you are."
"Tony… I saw your uncle."
Bang!
The next second, Tony dropped his screwdriver in shock.
***********
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