A low, raspy voice came from the corner, and Miaomiao, Jason, and Tim all turned in alarm.
The figure who had appeared soundlessly in the shadows, wearing a black cape-who else could it have been but Batman?
"B... Bruce, why are you back?"
The three of them had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't noticed Bruce and the others returning from patrol.
Tim sneaked a glance at the screen and quickly checked it over-it hadn't been a mistake on his part. Bruce and the others really hadn't sent any signals, as though... they had been waiting specifically to catch them red-handed.
Damian was exasperated with them. He had wanted to tip off these three idiots, but Batman had been watching him too closely, practically with eyes in the back of his head. He simply hadn't found an opening.
Bruce took off his cowl and set it aside, his steel-blue eyes sweeping over the children's faces one by one-
Hmm, there really was something going on, and something big at that. Probably whatever the children had been secretly getting together to discuss lately.
With Bruce's need for control, he should have investigated this down to the last detail. Anything slipping beyond his control made him deeply uneasy.
But, as Alfred and the others had said, the children were growing up. They needed some space of their own. He ought to give them room to grow and trust them to make certain decisions and carry them out themselves.
Besides, Bruce wasn't entirely in the dark. He knew about some of the children's activities and had his suspicions. He simply needed direct evidence to confirm them.
Although Batman was the "world's greatest detective," he never put his faith in mere deduction. Only evidence counted.
In any case, Bruce had received