Gotham Playing House (Part Two)

When Selene took Aisha from Bruce, it was already a bit of a struggle. Aisha wasn't a baby after all; it was already a bit strenuous to hold a three- or four-year-old. Selene wasn't as tall as Bruce, so it was naturally even more difficult for her to control Aisha's excited state.

But just then, after a short break, the aerial acrobatics performance reached its climax again. The dazzling aerial maneuvers completely excited Aisha, and she leaped forward with all her might, leaving Selene unable to catch her.

Aisha darted to the front row of seats, then crawled down the chairs to the floor, and then went under the chairs in the next row. Selene followed the same route.

But to everyone's surprise, Aisha seemed to have awakened some kind of superpower, moving incredibly fast and disappearing almost instantly among the layers of seats in the audience.

Selene completely lost track of them and had to search row by row.

At the same time, backstage, a small dark figure darted past. The circus boss sensed something was amiss and turned around sharply, but found nothing.

At that moment, the circus boss was holding a saw and approaching the wooden stakes that secured the ropes for the aerial acrobatics performance.

In the trapeze act, the ropes used to swing are all attached to a higher rope, while the circus boss, grinning maliciously, approaches the stake that holds the highest rope in place with a saw.

The circus boss gripped a saw and began sawing the thick rope, cursing with satisfaction as he did so. But just as the rope was about to be cut, a small figure suddenly appeared and bit his arm.

Aisha wasn't there to uphold justice; she was always interested in things that moved. When the circus boss was sawing something, his arm moved up and down, and in the dark backstage area, only his arm was moving. Of course, Aisha bit it without thinking.

Unfortunately, Aisha was too light and her bite wasn't hard, just like when she usually bit Bruce and Selene's arms. Apart from leaving a row of teeth marks, it didn't cause any real damage and only made the circus boss's arm pause for a moment.

The thick rope, already sawed to its limit, was held together by only one last thread, but it finally snapped.

But it was precisely those few seconds of delay that allowed Bruce to get closer to the stage as he emerged from the bathroom.

The moment the rope snapped, the two people hanging on it began to fall. But with such a long rope, it would take several seconds to completely pull it off the other end. It was during these few seconds that Bruce rushed onto the stage and, in the shadow of the curtain, grabbed the flying rope.

But he was just one person, while two people were hanging down at the other end of the rope. His weight wasn't enough to stop the two people on the rope from falling. Bruce had considered this problem before he grabbed the rope, so he grabbed the rope with one hand and wrapped his arm around it twice, and then quickly grabbed the curtain next to him with the One Hand.

Once the rope was secured, it stopped pulling away, leaving the Grayson at the other end suspended in mid-air.

Suddenly, Bruce heard a gasp. He turned around and saw the little boy who claimed to be the heir of the Grayson Family standing behind the curtain.

He stared at Bruce with wide eyes and an open mouth, his face filled with shock.

There was still some distance between the audience seats and the stage. There were several rows of seats in front of Bruce's position, and the stage was higher than the audience seats. There were also three steps on the side. In just a few seconds, Bruce completed a series of actions: flipping over the seats, rushing up the steps, grabbing the rope, and grabbing the curtain.

Bruce's quick reaction, fluid movements, and precise handling made it seem less like a heroic rescue and more like an artistic performance. To Grayson, an onlooker, Bruce was practically glowing.

Bruce sighed and said, "Don't just stand there, come and help pull the rope."

Recovering from his shock, young Grayson realized his parents had almost fallen. His shock turned to anger as he helped Bruce pull the rope down, shouting, "It must have been that circus boss! He's been wanting to take a liking to my father for ages!!"

After a while, the rope was pulled back to its original position, and the two actors returned to the platform. They came down and thanked Bruce.

Mrs. Grayson was already in tears, and little Grayson said angrily, "It must be him! Let's go find him and settle the score!"

"Don't go! Dick! Come back!" Mrs. Grayson called to him. The boy named Dick had already rushed out, but was eventually called back by his mother.

"Can you tell me what exactly happened?"

At this moment, Mrs. Grayson was on the verge of a mental breakdown. She hugged her husband and cried incessantly, while Mr. Grayson also somewhat dejected. The couple were just ordinary people who had just experienced a life-or-death crisis. The fear of being suspended in mid-air and not knowing when they would fall had completely broken their spirits.

As if seeking an outlet for his frustration, Mr. Grayson said to Bruce, "... I know it was him, the circus boss. We don't want to work here either, but we have no choice."

"There should be quite a few circuses on the East Coast, why don't you go there?"

Mr. Grayson sighed and said, "You probably don't follow this kind of thing, do you? My father, Old Grayson, the previous generation's trapeze artist, made a major mistake during his performance. He not only fell from mid-air, but also crashed right into the edge of the stage props..."

"Alright, I know, you don't need to go into details. Please accept my condolences."

"It was a performance at a high-profile charity gala, attended by many dignitaries who had never seen blood before. This gruesome death terrified many of them. The Grayson Family's reputation was ruined, and even the big circus refused to hire us, fearing we would cause such trouble again..."

"Only this circus is willing to take us in because this is Gotham, and people aren't afraid we'll fall to our deaths..."

The reason was both absurd and reasonable, and Bruce couldn't find any way to refute it. He asked the Grayson, "You're not from Gotham, are you?"

"Actually, we've been here for a long time and even bought our own house, so we're practically locals now. But our hometown is Bludhaven."

"Let's go back, back to Bludhaven!" Mrs. Grayson sobbed. "Let's give up. We can't let little Dick live in this constant fear..."

Mr. Grayson pursed his lips, his face haggard. Mrs. Grayson continued, weeping, "I know, I know you've always wanted to revive the family business, but this really can't go on. You have to think about it, what will happen to poor little Dick if we die? In Gotham, orphans without parents are likely to be sent to that horrible foster school, and then..."

Mrs. Grayson started crying again. Bruce understood some of the information in her words, but he didn't press her for details. Little Grayson went over to comfort his mother, and the three of them hugged each other.

When Bruce walked backstage, Selene had just finished tying the last knot. The person she tied up was the circus boss, and Aisha was still biting his arm and refusing to let go.

When Bruce went to hug Aisha, he thought he was going to have to fight with her again, but to his surprise, Aisha let go of his mouth very easily.

Seeing the saw next to him, Bruce knew what was going on. He called Gordon, then picked up Aisha and left the circus with Selene.

Just as they got into their sports car and were about to drive home, a figure appeared in front of his car. Bruce released the steering wheel, turned his head, and looked at the figure. He asked, "... Dick? What's wrong? What do you want?"

Dick walked around the front of the car and stood next to Bruce's driver's side door, saying, "My parents are planning to go back to Bludhaven."

"Then congratulations to them. It's much better there than Gotham. You should be able to live a peaceful life there."

"But I don't want to go back..."

"Why?"

Dick pursed his lips. Although he was young, he had a resolute expression. He said, "My grandfather's death was not an accident at all."

How did you know?

"I investigated," Dick said firmly. "The crossbar used for his final bow had been tampered with. I examined the rope; the marks on it show it was a wrong knot. The knot used to secure the crossbar shouldn't be like that at all..."

Bruce squinted and asked him, "So?"

"You're not an ordinary person, are you?" Dick grabbed Bruce's car door with One Hand and said to him, "I've been learning acrobatic skills from my father for a long time. I know very well how difficult your routine is. Those muscle-powering techniques can't be improvised. You must have practiced for a long time..."

Dick kept his lips pursed. He said to Bruce, "My parents gave up, but I won't. I'm going to stay here to restore the Grayson Family's reputation and avenge my grandfather."

"More importantly, if we cannot find out the cause of my grandfather's death and find the murderer who killed him, then my parents will not be safe either."

"But..." Dick said with a helpless expression, "I know what kind of place Gotham is. The skills I learned from my father are simply not enough for me to survive here, and I can't convince my parents to leave me here, so..."

Dick took a deep breath, a melancholy beyond his years appearing on his face. He looked at Bruce and said, "If you would allow me to study with you, I think one day I can fulfill my dream. Besides, you saved my parents, and if I follow you, I don't think they would object..."

Before Bruce could answer, Dick said, "... Okay, I know it sounds ridiculous, how could I expect a rich guy to..."

Dick released his grip, sighed, and then waved his arm, signaling Bruce to drive.

He knew that he was just acting on impulse. He didn't leave with his parents and stayed in Gotham alone, thinking he could learn from the world's richest man? That was simply a pipe dream.

Bruce looked at Dick and had a strange feeling. People always see themselves in another person at some point. In fact, Dick's appearance was completely different from his own, and he was just a seven or eight-year-old boy with no particular personality. But the way he spoke made Bruce feel that he was very special.

Perhaps there are just two people in this world whose personalities are naturally compatible. In any case, Dick finds Bruce very pleasing to the eye, Bruce finds Dick very pleasing to the eye as well.

But as pleasing to the eye as he may be, Bruce has no intention of adopting a son; his daughter is already driving him and Selene crazy.

Wait, daughter...

Bruce looked back at Aisha, who was fully secured in her child safety seat but was still restless, and then at Dick, who looked much more mature than his peers. Just as Dick turned to leave, Bruce called out to him.

Half an hour later, at the Wayne Manor, Bruce held Aisha under his armpits, showing her to Dick like a pet dog, and said to him, "This is your sister."

"Wait, are you planning to adopt me? I..."

Before he could finish speaking, Aisha grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth that startled Dick. He asked in shock, "What happened??? How come her teeth are like this...?"

"I was born with deformed teeth and was too young to have them corrected," Bruce replied without hesitation.

"Uh, okay... wait, her eyes seem to be..." Dick pointed at Aisha's eyes and said.

"Heterochromia iridis, inherited from her mother," Bruce replied casually.

"Is... is that so? But... why can't she speak?"

"Childhood autism, we've already made an appointment with Doctor Psychiatry Department," Bruce answered fluently.

"But..."

At that moment, Alfred came downstairs, his face full of hope, and asked Bruce, "Sir, this must be the Young Master, right? Have the legal issues been resolved? I think we can..."

There should be another 10,000 words later tonight, and then there won't be any more from the 16th.