Secret Recipe Cookies

Miaomiao had no particular feelings about who carried her upstairs.

Wasn't it perfectly normal to help a companion when they couldn't manage something themselves? She had carried Bruce before, too.

So when Dick offered to carry her upstairs, Miaomiao felt neither shy nor embarrassed. She simply held out her arms.

Ahhh, how could she be so sweet!

Dick screamed inwardly while forcing his expression to stay composed, carefully reaching out to gather the girl into his arms.

Hmm, she's heavier than I expected.

Miaomiao looked small and slender. Apart from the adorable baby fat on her cheeks, she barely had an ounce of extra flesh, yet she weighed a little more than Dick's tall, long-legged ex-girlfriends. Dick figured most of that weight had to come from her beautiful, sweeping tail. The little girl herself was still a bit too thin.

According to Bruce, Miaomiao had thoroughly enjoyed even a grilled fish without any seasoning. With such a limited diet back in the sea, she surely couldn't have had much good food.

Dick was already planning what delicious things he could ask Alfred to make to help nourish her.

They took the Batcave Elevator and soon arrived in Wayne Manor's Secret Room. Once the code was entered, the bookcase slid aside, revealing the study. Only after they opened the study door did the interior of Wayne Manor come into view.

Cradled bridal-style in Dick's arms, Miaomiao looked around at all the fascinating things she had never seen before. The tip of her tail seemed to have a mind of its own, flapping merrily. Whenever it smacked against Dick's legs, it made a loud slapping sound.

Dick was having a little trouble keeping his smile in place.

They already knew Miaomiao was responsible for the Batsuit that had been torn to pieces, but hearing about it was one thing. Her appearance was simply too deceptive. She was so sweet and soft that they couldn't help feeling protective of her.

But when that tail, like a veil of iridescent gauze, slapped against his legs, Dick finally experienced the little mermaid's strength firsthand.

Wait, aren't little mermaids in fairy tales supposed to be beautiful and delicate? Nobody told me they were this strong!

Dick felt certain his legs were bruised.

In the living room, Alfred had already prepared a soft, comfortable beanbag chair lined with a fluffy blanket, along with water and juice. Naturally, there were also the delicious cookies Bruce had mentioned earlier.

"Hello, lovely Miss Miaomiao. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Master Bruce's butler, Alfred. You may call me Alf."

Dick settled Miaomiao into the cozy little nest, which looked more like an oversized cat bed than a chair. Miaomiao adjusted her position, thoroughly pleased with her seat. When she noticed the fragrant refreshments on the little table beside her, she was even more delighted.

"Hello, Alf. I'm Miaomiao. Did you prepare all this just for me? Thank you so much. I love it."

Beyond the sweetness and softness unique to a young girl, her voice carried a wondrous cadence, like an ethereal whale song or the rolling waves of the sea.

Alfred fell into a momentary daze. Fragments of bygone days seemed to flash before his eyes, memories he had buried deep in his heart for years.

Miaomiao had already eagerly picked up the juice. At her first sip, her eyes went round with wonder.

"What is this?"

"Just ordinary orange juice, Miss Miaomiao."

"Orange juice? I've never had water like this before. It's delicious!"

Miaomiao then tried a bite of one of the cookies beside her. This time, the amazement in her eyes was about to overflow.

No, it really did overflow!

As Miaomiao ate the cookie, her big, luminous eyes instantly filled with tears. She blinked, and they came tumbling down.

Oh no!

Having dealt with this before, Bruce reacted immediately, snatching up the fruit tray from the table and holding it beneath the girl's chin.

"Bruce, what are you doing? And Miaomiao, isn't this a bit much? It's just a plate of cookies. Sure, Alf's baking really is one of a kind, but..."

The rest of Dick's words caught in his throat when he saw Miaomiao's tears turn into Blue-Violet Pearls and drop into the tray one by one.

"Dami, pinch me. I'm not dreaming, am I? Bruce didn't mention this!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Damian pinched Dick's arm hard enough to make him jump in pain.

"God, guess I'm not dreaming." Dick rubbed his poor arm, still unable to tear his eyes away from the extraordinary sight. "This is unbelievable! It's like a fairy tale come to life! A little mermaid whose tears turn into pearls!"

"Strictly speaking, in fairy tales, it isn't the little mermaid whose tears turn into pearls."

Tim was deeply torn. His reason told him that if he didn't get some sleep soon, he was going to drop dead. His brain, however, was wildly excited, constantly urging him to collect information and thoroughly investigate the principles behind this phenomenon.

How could tears possibly turn into pearls? Tears are mostly water with a small amount of inorganic salts, along with trace amounts of proteins and metabolic waste. Pearls are mostly calcium carbonate, with small amounts of organic matter and traces of water...

How could those two substances possibly transform into each other?

It simply doesn't work!

Tim Drake-the highly intelligent teenage CEO who always preferred to let scientific data speak for itself, the young hero codenamed Red Robin-felt as though the worldview and understanding of science he had built since childhood were about to collapse.

Damian, on the other hand, took it in stride. "You're making a fuss over nothing. There are plenty of things in this world that current science can't explain. What's so strange about it?"

He had seen plenty of strange things like this during his time in the League of Assassins. His grandfather, Ra's al Ghul, alone possessed a spring that could bring people back from the dead and restore their youth-the Lazarus Pit.

Whenever Damian's grandfather felt his bodily functions declining, he had used the Lazarus Pit to prolong his life, and had done so many times. After the Wayne Family's second son, Jason Todd, unexpectedly returned from the dead, he had also regained his sanity through the Lazarus Pit.

Other spirits, ghosts, and mysterious powers from myths and legends were hardly uncommon in the League of Assassins, either.

Still, this was Damian's first time seeing a little mermaid with a human upper body and a fish tail who shed actual little pearls. Already an animal lover, the young boy had been screaming with excitement inside countless times beneath his impassive exterior.

"All right, all right, Miaomiao. Your tears are about to fill the whole tray."

Bruce truly felt rather helpless. He wasn't very good at comforting people. Eight out of ten heart-to-heart talks with his sons turned into arguments, while the remaining two escalated straight into all-out fights-the kind involving weapons.

"Alf, I'll leave this to you."