Chapter 344 You Can Never Find What You Want

When Tim Drake walked into the Titans Tower, it was exactly 2:25 in the afternoon. This is the best time of the day. The sun is not as hot as at noon, but it is just right with warm wind, which makes people feel intoxicated.

People always want to be drowsy at this time. They often yawn at this time, wantonly venting the fatigue and laziness of the whole day, curling up their tails like cats.

This is the time when people are least vigilant during the day, and it is often...

When a possible attack will happen.

"Batman, are you here?" Tim asked in a low voice.

The Titans Tower was quiet, without any sound.

There was no Nightwing, no Starfire, no member of the Teen Titans, everything was dead and terrible.

Tim looked down at the ground.

Some green blood, which obviously belonged to Beast Boy. As one of the most skilled detectives among all the Robins in history, even though he had been unemployed and studying at home for a long time, Tim had never lost this skill.

He could easily imagine... Beast Boy turning into some large animal, maybe a lion, maybe a leopard, anyway, a cat.

His eyes wandered on the bloody claw marks on the ground.

He rushed straight towards a possible, um, smaller enemy, and then...

He was electrocuted in mid-air, and then his abdomen was chopped open by a knife, and blood flew everywhere.

"Ahhhhh..."

The violent scream seemed to still echo in his ears.

Tim narrowed his eyes.

He turned his head and looked to the side again.

Some kind of powerful plasma bombardment, this is not an attack launched by Blue Beetle because he can't control the scarab armor.

Instead, Blue Beetle is actively attacking the enemy. This is unusual, Blue Beetle rarely uses plasma cannons easily.

He has always been reluctant to use the powerful weapons of the Scarab Armor, because these weapons were designed to kill people, and using them would remind Jaime (Blue Beetle's real name) all the time that the armor on his body is a killing machine.

But Blue Beetle does not think that he is a killing machine, at least not when he is awake. To prove this point, Blue Beetle never wants to use powerful attack methods, so much so that on many occasions, he is paranoid to only use the cold weapon knife of the armor to fight.

Only when he is completely in a state of losing his combat effectiveness will he be forced to...

Wait, Tim took a breath. He quickly discovered through a scorch mark on the wall that Blue Beetle's powerful attack was not against the short enemy, but a heavy punch to his good brother Beast Boy.

This bad reasoning means that Blue Beetle is likely to be controlled by someone's mind, or his armor has been hacked. It also means that if he wants to thoroughly investigate the whole thing, he is very likely to face Blue Beetle next.

This is very important information. Once this is ignored, and Blue Beetle is mistaken for a victim who needs help instead of an enemy that needs to be defeated, it may be the difference between life and death.

Tim touched his universal belt.

Although he was not familiar with Blue Beetle, in the past years, when Nightwing introduced his new teammate to him, Tim also collected intelligence about the other party.

This preparation for a rainy day, well, maybe it can be said that the bad habits of the Bat Family cubs may be the only thing to be thankful for.

And the worst thing is not just that.

Tim thought. Through the traces left on the field, he quickly deduced the reasons for the defeat of Raven and Starfire.

Whether it is a clean and tidy sonic attack followed by cutting the magician's neck to create tracheal trauma to prevent the opponent from performing powerful magic, or a direct pressure of powerful fear gas entering the brain, these methods seem too bat-like, making Tim's judgment of the nature of the enemy fall into a fog.

Damn, it won't be Batman, right?

In such a dangerous situation, Tim's mind suddenly recalled the image of Batman laughing.

Since a certain moment, the serious, cold and hard Batman has gone forever. Tim Drake once told his classmates that the former Batman had a heart as hard as iron and a character as hard as bronze, and then they took out a piece of Batman laughing peripherals in front of him.

Even the restaurant that Tim Drake often went to launched the Crazy Thursday Batman Laughing Meal. They sprinkled green bell pepper sauce and red ketchup on rye bread, called it laughing, and called the whole burger the Laughing Bat Meal.

I don't know when Batman laughing became a universally recognized normal phenomenon and even became a part of popular culture.

Okay, listen, Tim, you may still be facing a dangerous opponent who is still in the Titans Tower and is attacking the entire Teen Titans. You shouldn't be distracted by thinking about Batman at this time.

Tim shook his head and pulled his mind back to the current situation.

But no matter what Batman becomes, there are some things that will not change. For example, he is still as scary as before, or even more scary. He can still solve various problems as easily as before, and you will know that Batman can always be relied on, no matter when and where you lend a hand.

Although Batman has been calling for retirement, in fact, it is Robin Tim who retired completely first. And for Tim...

The reason why Tim became Robin was that after Batman lost Jason Todd, he began to lose control and began to go on the road of self-destruction. Tim's determination to save Batman and replace Jason Todd was exactly what Tim wanted to become Robin.

However, now... Batman is no longer thinking about self-destruction, or he is happier than anyone else with his laughter.

Again, although Batman has been talking about retirement, Tim feels that he has begun to enjoy the process of saving the world, which is a huge improvement for Batman.

In Batman, there is no longer any trace of his past self-torture and self-destruction. At least there is one thing that the old butler Alfred said is very correct: for the past few decades, Batman has always been the child who died with his parents in the alley.

Although his body has become stronger and his age is growing, he has never walked out of that night. He has always been trapped in a vicious circle of self-contradiction.

But one day, snap! Like a bubble that once surrounded him, it suddenly extinguished.

He is now...

Uh... no longer destroying himself, but destroying others instead?

Well, bad news: Batman's bottom line has been lowered. Good news: Batman still has a bottom line.

In fact, as the old butler said, this Batman may not be a bad thing, at least it is better than him who is full of hatred and hatred.

At least Batman now only makes others suffer, not himself. This is good, Tim means that Batman's life is too dark.

He...

He may deserve some happiness and joy.

Tim Drake had to admit that, as Alfred thought, the personality of the former Batman had already been wiped out at some point, but in fact... this might not be a bad thing?

Those psychological traumas, endless pain, the cycle of torture every night, wailing and screaming, endless groans, the heavy burden that should not be carried on the shoulders...

All destroyed along with the destruction of the former personality.

So one day, Batman became Bruce, and he was no longer sad.

Happy, crazy, who says this is not the last bit of tenderness of the cruel mother of Gotham to her young son?

As for the external performance... forget it, let him go.

Tim also knew that Batman really wanted to retire, but how could such a thing happen?

Everything in this world is always rolling forward, like a storm, and the waves hitting the shore.

And everyone's world is like a ship sailing in a storm.

Tim Drake can retire because he is just an insignificant accessory on the ship. Clark Kent can retire because he is already a broken mast. The Flash, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, and even the entire Rogues, anyone can retire because they are all important parts of the ship, but they are not irreplaceable.

But Batman cannot. He is the main mast that supports the entire ship. Once it breaks, the ship is in danger of capsizing. If the world is calm, it is natural to look for good talents and slowly update the mast, but now the world outside is stormy, where is the time for such leisure?

Even if the wind is calm, a main mast that can withstand wind and rain is not built in a day. Wanting to dismantle yourself before the new mast is cast, is this a joke?

Sometimes... Tim always feels that Batman can never escape the fate of Sisyphus. That is the stone pusher in Greek mythology. He keeps trying to push the boulder up the hill, but every time he slides into the abyss again. He can never catch what he wants, so he is trapped for life.

And the same is true for Batman. He had begged to end crime forever, but was always disappointed. Now he wanted to let go of everything, but he was always unable to do so.

But perhaps it is better now than in the past. At least despite the disappointment, Batman will be happier and happier than before. Just a little... is enough.

Compared with the Batman who once trapped himself in the quagmire of Gotham and was obsessed with eradicating evil instead of treating the symptoms, Batman can only not retire now, which is much better than in the past.

In short, Tim chose to send a message to Batman quietly.

He should ask Batman for help. No matter what is now entrenched in the Titans Tower, it is dangerous enough and not something he should touch.

Unlike Jason Todd, the second-generation Robin, who is impulsive and irritable, Tim, the third-generation Robin, has always been clear that he should do what he can. The loss of the second-generation Robin almost drove Batman crazy. If something goes wrong with him, it will undoubtedly be a heavy blow to Batman.

He would not do stupid things blindly. He loves Batman, and like Alfred, he wants Batman to be happy, and that is why he should cherish his life.

However, just when he was about to leave Titan Tower, he heard someone standing in the deep shadows, whispering to him:

"Who are you? Why are you wearing Robin's uniform? Why... are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Tim turned his head.

His heart beat violently, and he looked at the enemy who existed...

Wait. A five or six-year-old kid?

Tim never looked down on the other person because of his appearance. The other person held a long knife in his hand, which was stained with green blood. It was obviously Beast Boy's.

A smile appeared on his face, which made people feel a chill rushing from the soles of their feet to their cervical spine.

Then the smile on the child's face disappeared abruptly, just like a painting erased from a blackboard.

"Isn't it my father who came?"

Tim heard the child say, and he keenly noticed that the other party's current situation was not right. It felt completely different from a normal state, but it seemed that they could communicate.

"Why hasn't my father come to see me yet? Did I fail the trial? I have obviously completed the trial, why don't you come to recognize me? Why haven't I been praised? Is my trial not over yet? Is there a new goal? I..."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Tim Drake felt his heart beating very fast. He was now trapped in the opponent's home court, which was definitely a very disadvantageous situation.

"What's your name?"

He immediately interrupted the other party's continued thinking. If he let the other party think about it, he was not sure what the other party would say.

Then he successfully got the name of the other party, Damian Wayne.

"Listen to me, I am here to supervise your trial on behalf of Batman."

While talking to stabilize the other party, Tim secretly prepared various protective equipment in his universal belt.

Without knowing what arrangements the young man who called himself Damian Wayne had made in Titan Tower, it was undoubtedly a huge disadvantage to fight him here.

This kid was obviously controlled by someone and was in a state of confusion. Tim Drake had seen victims hypnotized by the Mad Hatter (Note: DC villain, who used a hat to control others mentally, and appeared in the previous article).

Tetch (the original name of the Mad Hatter) was a super master who was proficient in forced puppet control with a hat and strengthening a person's thoughts through hypnosis for control.

Thanks to the training of the other party, Tim still had some experience in analyzing those who were in a state of mental control.

The child in front of him was obviously strengthened with some ideas about getting Batman's approval. The controller behind the scenes drove the child to do things that he would not do normally through mental control.

At this time, you should not say something different from his thinking to stimulate the other party's brain, but follow him, and then...

Squeak!

Tim Drake rolled and jumped away from the place where he had just stood. The sudden electric shock made Tim's heart pound. He threw out the barrier to prevent himself from getting a heart attack due to stepping on the ground.

This was a current that was completely enough to kill him. The child in front of him was no longer careful about his attack and was more controlled.

"Listen to me, you..."

"Woo woo woo woo - why doesn't Dad come to recognize my success?!"

As Damian cried like a deformed voice, his voice began to gradually mix with a voice like a rough-voiced adult and resonate with him.

Tim threw out three yellow bat darts, but they were smashed on the stand raised on Damian's body, and the fear gas attached to them was also blocked outside by the protective stand, so Damian was not hit at all.

However, this also prevented Damian's subsequent attacks. Tim quickly left the coverage area of ​​the motor device and moved to a safe place.

It seemed that Damian and Tim Drake were fighting evenly, but Tim was alarmed.

"Damn it... This kid is too well prepared, and he's still killing people. What's worse is that if he has defeated the entire Teen Titans, given that he is now in a state of mental control, then what is most likely to happen is..."

Boom!!!

A beam of light like lightning directly melted the steel beam under Tim's feet.

He fell to the ground in a mess. If he hadn't shot out the bat claw in time and jumped onto another beam, he would have fallen into the electric shock zone again. Tim had no doubt that he would be electrocuted to death as long as he stepped on it.

"Damn it, why hasn't Batman arrived yet? I've sent him a message."

Looking at the expressionless Blue Beetle next to Damian, Tim was secretly anxious.

"Did he get tripped?"

But soon Tim didn't have the heart to think about it. Starfire, Beast Boy, and the other two members of the Teen Titans who appeared beside Damian made his heart sink. Although Raven did not appear and Beast Boy was covered in wounds, the force here was absolutely beyond...

Swish!

Tim shrank his head and dodged the attack with the strong wind behind him.

He turned his head and saw Killer Croc opened the door of the Red of All Living Things and appeared beside Damian with an expressionless face.

"Damn, even Killer Croc was controlled... Then..."

Tim looked down at his feet. Fortunately, the situation he was worried about did not happen. It seems that Mudface did not...

But it was useless. The next second Tim was knocked unconscious by Starfire. This was not the speed he could react at all. This was a huge gap between humans and superhumans.

"Must... Must complete the trial... to get my father's approval..."

Damian looked at Tim lying on the ground, and his eyes were full of purple and red colors, and then became deeper.

He walked towards the other party and pulled out a knife from his waist.

"I have to..."

He struggled, but still raised the knife to the fallen Tim.

Then... Damian heard a sigh.

"Stop it."

He turned his head and saw Batman appeared behind him at some point.

He stretched out a hand and pressed it on his shoulder.

"Father..." Damian turned his head, the struggle in his eyes became more intense, and his pupils kept shaking.

"Father..." He couldn't say anything, but just shouted again.

"It's okay... Be good."

Chen Tao said:

"Because I'm here."