Bomb collars

Where had Miaomiao gone?

The Television Station Building.

Bruce had changed into his Batsuit and gone out to fight crime without taking Miaomiao's pearl, so she couldn't sense his exact location. But just now, she had heard fists striking flesh above her in the building, along with a strange laugh that sent chills down her spine, as though the person laughing couldn't catch his breath.

That laugh was so distinctive that, even though Miaomiao had only heard it once, she recognized it immediately. It belonged to the man in a dress and wig whose grin stretched all the way to his ears. He was the one who had taken hostages on television and demanded that Batman come find him.

Then Bruce must be up there too!

Oh no! Bruce was so frail. He was bound to get bullied!

Miaomiao couldn't spare another moment to listen to whatever the police commissioner in front of her was saying. She summoned mist to conceal herself and headed straight up the building.

Miaomiao had never even been ashore before, let alone inside a television station building. She had no concept of stairs or elevators. No one in the Wayne Family had imagined that she could freely switch between a fish tail and legs, so naturally, it had never occurred to them to teach her about such things.

And so, Miaomiao climbed by digging her sharp little claws into the building's outer wall and scrambling upward like a gecko. She wasn't much slower than the boy who had recently appeared in New York calling himself a "friendly neighbor."

As Miaomiao climbed, she carefully tried to pinpoint where the sounds were coming from. The Merfolk had the best hearing in the sea, but without water to carry the sound, she could only listen as hard as she could.

Hmm, all she could hear was that man shrieking in his piercing voice. Bruce seemed to be forcing him to hand over the remote control for something? Hmm, it sounded like Bruce hadn't suffered too much yet?

Huh? Why was someone crying too?

At this new sound, Miaomiao hesitated for half a second. Since Bruce seemed to have the situation under control, she decided to check where the crying was coming from first.

She curled her slender, pale hand into a fist and punched the comparatively fragile window. The glass shattered, and the crying inside seemed to stop in fright, whoever it was desperately trying to hold it in.

Miaomiao jumped through the window into a room filled with things she had never seen before, but there was no one there.

Had she heard wrong? Impossible.

Miaomiao carefully surveyed her surroundings. Looking up, she spotted a small, square, dark opening in the ceiling.

Miaomiao didn't know what an air vent was. She only knew that the crying had come from there. Tools? She didn't need any. The Little Merfolk leaped up and grabbed the vent grille with both hands. Suppressed cries immediately came from inside.

This was the place!

With a hard tug, Miaomiao ripped the grille clean off. Bracing her hands against the sides of the opening, she pushed herself up and poked her little head inside.

"Mmph, mmph..."

The people inside kicked their legs in terror and tried to retreat, but with their hands and feet bound, they had no way to escape. Just as despair overtook them, they saw that the person appearing at the vent wasn't Joker, as they had feared, but a young girl.

She looked very young, and a piece of white silk covered her face. She wasn't Joker, Batman, or Robin, nor was she a police officer. She was a girl they had never seen before.

Miaomiao saw several young women crammed into the narrow space. Their hands and feet were bound, their mouths gagged, and their bodies twisted into awkward positions. They clearly hadn't come in willingly.

Frowning, Miaomiao extended her sharp little claws. With two quick slashes, she cut through the ropes binding the women, then reached out to lift them down.

"No, no! Don't!"

A brown-haired woman wearing glasses peeled the tape off her mouth and hurriedly stopped Miaomiao.

Seeing the girl's puzzled look, the brown-haired woman gave a bitter smile and pointed at the "collars" around their necks, their lights flashing red.

"Joker put bombs on us. Besides the remote control in his hand, if any of us move more than a meter apart, the bombs will detonate automatically. If one person's bomb is removed and disabled, everyone else's bombs will detonate too."

How far was a meter? For an adult holding out an arm, the distance from shoulder to fingertips was roughly that far. If two people walked side by side and one fell just a step behind or veered a little to the side, they would be more than a meter apart.

Clearly, this was exactly the outcome Joker wanted-even if someone came to rescue them, that person could only watch helplessly.

Who could defuse everyone's bombs at once in such a cramped space? No one. And if they tried to move the women somewhere more spacious to work, they would inevitably end up more than a meter apart while getting out of the ventilation duct.

Who could save them?

Batman?

No. This wasn't the only location Joker had rigged. This time, even Batman couldn't save everyone...

There was nothing they could do but cry.

"Bombs?"

Miaomiao took a look. Sure enough, each woman wore a leather collar around her neck, fitted with a square device that was still flashing red.

"Child, hurry and leave. Even Batman can't save everyone. We're already doomed. Don't get yourself killed too..."

The collar bombs were small and portable, and they were strapped to the neck, a vulnerable part of the body. Each individual bomb wasn't particularly powerful. But if several detonated at once as Joker intended, in a space as confined as a ventilation duct, they would be enough to kill everyone nearby.

Miaomiao found it strange. They were so frightened, still crying, their voices trembling as they spoke, yet they were telling her-the only person who might be able to save them-to hurry and leave. Even the girl who had collapsed against the woman beside her in terror didn't ask her to stay.

Once they believed they had no hope of survival, they had all chosen to let their would-be rescuer live.

Miaomiao thought she was beginning to understand why Bruce and the others wanted to help these people, to help this city.

"Child, if you can, please take this necklace to my daughter. Tell her that Mommy will always love her."

Miaomiao didn't take the necklace. "I don't know your daughter," she said sullenly. "Give it to her yourself."

Without wasting another word, Miaomiao moved her fingers, and one colorful bubble after another appeared, gently enveloping each woman. Once she was certain everyone was protected inside a bubble, Miaomiao swung her little claws and tore the ceiling apart.

Some of the women couldn't help screaming, only to discover that the seemingly fragile bubbles had lifted them into the air. They floated there without suffering any harm at all.

"Heavens, this is a miracle!"

Miaomiao brought everyone down to the floor, took aim at the collar bombs, and slashed her little claws through the air. The collars came off simultaneously, dropping into the bubbles she had prepared, and were almost immediately flung out the window.

Boom-

A much quieter explosion sounded, and the bubbles, their task complete, vanished with the blast.

Against Gotham's night sky, the dissolving fragments of the bubbles almost looked like fireworks, dazzlingly brilliant.