Chapter 9 Review (Third Revision)

...

Jack hadn't been to the manor for the past few days. He was busy rehearsing a new play at the theater, preparing for a large-scale public performance. Bruce knew that Jack often stayed up all night during rehearsals; it was his passion, and he wouldn't miss it easily.

Bruce himself had never opened the camera again.

For some very complicated reasons, he had only kept the bracelet's monitoring permissions minimal, recording only basic sounds: running water, conversations, the occasional turning of a body...

He had also successfully persuaded the housekeeper to resume night patrols.

During his rare free days, he had reviewed his previous patrol routes and updated his uniform.

As night fell, Batman quietly blended into the shadows of Gotham.

Jason Todd, as usual, accompanied him as Robin. He was swift and fierce. Just now, he had helped Batman subdue a group of robbers attempting to rob the vault, tying up the last struggling criminal with a rope. Then two shadows passed by and landed on the roof of an apartment building.

Sirens echoed in the street below. Batman and Robin stood on the roof, overlooking the flashing police lights.

"All cleaned up," Jason said, pulling a small scanner from his belt and tossing it to him. "No bombs, just petty thieves."

Bruce caught it and nodded.

Jason gathered the remaining rope and whispered, "Where are we going next?"

Bruce gazed at the tower in the distance and replied,

"I have another case to investigate."

"A new one?" Jason followed him. "What do you need me to do?"

Bruce paused.

"No. You don't need to be involved this time."

Jason frowned, his tone immediately tense.

"You're at it again."

Bruce checked his equipment and ordered,

"Go back to the manor. I'll contact you."

"Let me guess. Is this another case I'm 'unqualified' for? Another one of those 'insane asylum regulars' you never let me deal with?"

He smiled sarcastically and said,

"Riddler? Clayface? Or some new super criminal?"

Bruce finally turned to look at him, his eyes calm and steady.

"You did well today, but that wasn't your mission."

Jason sneered, his voice beneath his mask indignant.

"I'm no longer a kid in training. You asked me to be Robin, then repeatedly blocked me out—what exactly do you want me to do?"

"I trained you to get you back alive. Not to get yourself killed by your own bravery."

"Of course, of course. You only trust that Dick-head—"

"Jason! Language!"

Jason choked. A moment later, he turned, launched his zipline, and stormed off the rooftop.

He plummeted into the neon lights of the city.

Bruce recalibrated his position.

...

The wind was strong tonight.

He leaped over the tower and landed on the iron frame of an abandoned clock tower.

This was where he and Selina Kyle used to meet. He remembered them sneaking into the Queen's Theatre side by side from here; he remembered her standing on this very beam, smiling and handing him a stolen sapphire.

He stood still, waiting for a moment.

Soon, a familiar figure leaped from the edge of the clock face behind him.

Catwoman, clad in a form-fitting black outfit, landed lightly beside him.

She stood ten steps away, not approaching, observing him from afar.

"How strange," she said, her voice tinged with a lazy smile. "I thought you only hung out with your Robin these days. Where is he?"

"I came to see you,"

Selina raised an eyebrow, delicately provocative.

"You still remember where I live? I'm flattered."

"You haven't moved," he replied calmly.

She chuckled and tucked her hair behind her ear. "You haven't been here in two years. I thought you'd given up on me."

Bruce took a few restrained steps closer.

Faced with his aggressive approach, Selina didn't retreat.

"So?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why did you come to me? Do you have a lead you need? Or is there a safe you can't open and you need my help showing off your skills?"

"It's not a mission," Bruce muttered. "I just... need to see you."

His tone was a touch strained.

Selina's smile froze at the corners of her lips, and her eyes flickered slightly, as if trying to see through the expression beneath his mask.

"Did you miss me?" she asked lazily, tilting her head. "If you're planning on recreating the classic tonight, I have to warn you: I've got a new lipstick, and I'm not sure it'll match your old taste."

The atmosphere was lighthearted, but Bat couldn't smile.

A strong sense of obsession weighed on him.

Selina dropped her joking tone and frowned at him.

"Bat?"

Bruce tried to recapture the excitement he'd once felt.

Selina took a slow half-step closer. Her fingertips brushed the edge of his cape, her eyes growing serious.

"You don't seem like someone who'd suddenly 'miss an old flame.'"

"I could be."

Bruce stared at her and slowly extended his hand.

His fingertips first touched the edge of her glove, then her wrist. He lowered his head, trying to recapture a feeling of memory in her breath.

Selina's eyes held suspicion, but she didn't refuse. They were old friends, and even more so, old lovers. Even though the passion between them had long since faded under the wear and tear of reality, she still gave him the space to get closer.

Bruce took her hand and pulled her close.

Selina looked up at him, her eyes filled with doubt as they wandered over his face. They were very close, their noses touching, and only half an inch of darkness separated their lips.

He lowered his head and kissed her.

The kiss started out lightly, like a feather falling, and her response was gentle.

She hooked her fingers around the edge of his breastplate, obediently adapting to Batman's rhythm.

His other hand slid up the back of her neck, trying to deepen the kiss.

But at this moment -

the moment her tongue tip brushed against the inside of his lips, a picture suddenly rushed into Bruce's mind.

- Jack, lying on his side in bed that night, his deep red lips slightly parted.

"...Bat..."

The words in his dream came flooding back like a tide.

The next moment, he heard that panting murmur again:

"...Kiss me..."

The image suddenly pierced his mind, yanking him from the warmth of the moment.

Bruce froze, his eyes wide with shock.

It felt like a laughing clown was playing with his nerves; he could almost hear the abominable mockery.

She noticed the change.

"...Bat?" she whispered.

He closed his eyes, suppressing the churning within him, and then kissed her again, trying to regain control.

This time, the image disappeared, but a certain hallucination suddenly appeared in his mind, shouting wantonly:

"You're so skilled, Bat. Do you do this to every girl?"

"..."

A vein popped in Bruce's forehead.

He couldn't bear to have such a scene playing in his mind while he kissed...

Bruce had to pull away, pressing his forehead against Selina's, panting.

He took a step back, retracting his hand.

"...I'm sorry," he said.

Selina was stunned, but her eyes weren't sad, instead, as if she understood something.

"You're strange tonight," she said slowly. "But also very real."

Bruce said nothing.

Selina tilted her head, a subtle expression on her face.

"You came to me before because you loved me, but tonight you came to me as if you were running from something."

"But no matter what... between us, it's already the past," she said softly. "We both know that."

Bruce stood before her, silent for a long moment.

The spark between them no longer lingered, the remaining warmth now completely gone, leaving only memories worn away by time.

Selina smiled, as if talking to herself, "But I wouldn't mind reliving it."

Then she leaned in closer to him.

They were so close, so close that her lips brushed the edge of his mask.

"What's wrong?" she whispered. "Do I need to be more proactive?"

She still wanted him to be close.

Bruce froze in place, fingertips rubbing against each other.

He hesitated.

But he didn't hesitate for long, because the next second—

a soft sound of metal rubbing against each other, almost muffled by the night wind—came from behind them.

They both turned their heads.

Jason, standing on a steel beam below the clock tower, stepped out of the shadows, his masked eyes fixed on them.

He didn't say a word, but his movements spoke volumes.

——He followed me.

Bruce's pupils constricted for a moment, and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Robin?"

he questioned.

Jason didn't move, but looked down at him, his tone too calm:

"You told me to go back, but you walked around more than a dozen streets, switched signals many times, and came all the way here."

"You followed me." Bruce whispered, with obvious anger in his voice.

Jason sneered: "I was tracking the behavior pattern of a bat 'deliberately getting rid of its partner' during its night patrol."

Bruce took a step forward, his tone even lower: "You shouldn't come here."

"I thought so too." Jason's tone finally revealed a bit of the resentment and sarcasm unique to teenagers, "Especially when I saw you so close to Catwoman.

The atmosphere was very subtle.

Selina stood there, her eyes swept between the two of them, then slowly took a step back and shrugged.

"Hey," she sighed, "I thought it was just the two of us tonight. It seems I underestimated the drama of your family dispute. "

Bruce didn't look at her. He stared at Jason, his jawline tense.

"You go back." He lowered his tone, but couldn't hide his anger, "Immediately."

Jason didn't move, and was silent for two seconds before he sneered: "Yes, Mr. Bat."

He pressed the grappling hook button, his cloak rolled up, and he jumped into the darkness.

The ambiguous atmosphere, which was not much to begin with, completely disappeared.

Selina took a step back, raised her hand to tidy up her hair, as if nothing had happened.

"I'm leaving. It seems you came at the wrong time today." She winked at Bruce, elegant and charming, "See you next time, Bat."

She turned over and jumped off the clock tower, and soon disappeared.

The wind was getting stronger.