Chapter Summaries

Damian took Miaomiao shopping in Gotham after Bruce arranged a room and clothes for her at Wayne Manor. The outing began with Miaomiao marveling at the city and the mall, while Damian grew increasingly exasperated by her questions.

• Alfred prepared a room near Damian's with a balcony overlooking the pool, but Miaomiao struggled to dress herself because she had never learned how to wear human clothes.
• Damian found Miaomiao helpless before the wardrobe, set a dressing tutorial to loop for her, then waited outside and tied her shoelaces when she emerged.
• Bruce sent Damian and Miaomiao to shop, gave Miaomiao a Black Card, and left for Wayne Tower in his carefree playboy persona.
• Damian led Miaomiao through a sunny Gotham to its largest shopping mall.
• Miaomiao excitedly asked Damian about the mall's wool tapestry and flowers, and Damian regretted taking her shopping.

Damian took Miaomiao on a food-filled walk through Gotham and brought her to the Iceberg Lounge for lunch. After Damian got her past the doormen, Miaomiao became fascinated by the restaurant’s pool and its penguins and seals.

• Damian bought Miaomiao a succession of snacks, and they wandered from their planned route toward the street food stalls.
• At noon, Damian chose the Iceberg Lounge for lunch and explained that its owner was the Penguin, Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot.
• The Iceberg Lounge’s doormen tried to turn Miaomiao away for wearing informal clothes, but Damian insisted she could enter with him.
• A doorman recognized Damian as a Wayne and let them into the lounge.
• Miaomiao saw the pool, penguins, and seals inside the restaurant and eagerly watched the animals.

Damian brought Miaomiao to the Iceberg Lounge, kept her away from its penguin pool, and learned about the Penguin’s business while they ate. Their meal ended abruptly when Red Hood burst into the lounge on a motorcycle.

• Miaomiao wanted to swim with the penguins, but Damian stopped her and chose a secluded table with the pool out of sight.
• Damian ordered quick dishes and watched the lounge, recalling how Oswald Cobblepot used the Iceberg Lounge as a front for gambling and gangland deals.
• Damian and Miaomiao finished their meal without finding any useful leads.
• A black motorcycle smashed through the lounge’s display windows and skidded to a stop in the main hall.
• The guards confronted the rider, then recognized him as Red Hood.

Red Hood stormed into the Iceberg Lounge to confront Penguin, forcing the customers to flee before battling the gang’s guards. While Damian kept Miaomiao hidden, a frightened penguin chick took shelter between her feet, and she delighted in petting it.

• Red Hood arrived at the Iceberg Lounge and announced that he had come for Penguin, while Damian recognized him as Jason Todd.
• The customers evacuated, and the squad leader challenged Red Hood for attacking the lounge.
• Red Hood taunted the guards, charged them with a crowbar, and a gunfight broke out.
• Damian kept Miaomiao in cover as the penguins and seals scattered in panic.
• A tiny penguin chick fled the chaos and hid between Miaomiao’s feet, where she stroked it eagerly.

Miaomiao asked Damian if she could keep the baby penguin, and Damian agreed after Red Hood defeated the mercenaries at the Iceberg Lounge. While they waited outside, two scavengers tried to rob them, but Damian quickly beat them down.

• Miaomiao cupped the baby penguin and asked Damian if she could keep it, and Damian agreed.
• Red Hood defeated the mercenaries at the Iceberg Lounge, taunted them, and headed upstairs.
• Damian took Miaomiao and the penguin outside instead of greeting Red Hood, then waited with her in a nearby alley.
• Two scavengers spotted Miaomiao and Damian and approached them, hoping to rob the children.
• Damian beat the scavengers down and decided not to take them to the police station.

Miaomiao and Damian encountered Jason Todd after Damian chased off two robbers, and Miaomiao tried to introduce herself to the guarded Red Hood. Jason rejected Alfred’s invitation to a Wayne family dinner and rode away, leaving Damian to decide that Batman should explain Jason’s past to Miaomiao.

• Damian kicked away two would-be robbers after they surrendered their valuables, and Miaomiao found a shiny crystal charm among the leftovers.
• Jason Todd arrived, mocked Damian about Bruce Wayne bringing home another child, and studied Miaomiao as the newcomer who had helped rescue hostages.
• Miaomiao introduced herself to Jason, but he only laughed and turned away without giving his name.
• Damian passed along Alfred’s invitation to a Wayne family dinner, but Jason refused and rode off on his motorcycle.
• Damian fell silent when Miaomiao asked why Jason did not live with them, then decided she should ask Batman about him.
• Miaomiao put aside her questions and named the penguin chick Jiujio.

Bruce struggled through Wayne Enterprises paperwork while the family gathered for dinner at Wayne Manor, where Dick and Damian’s roughhousing ended in disaster. The chapter left Tim watching as Alfred’s treasured porcelain teapot and Tim’s teacup shattered, with tea spilling onto the carpet.

• Alfred examined Jiujio after Bruce and Miaomiao brought the penguin chick back to Wayne Manor, and Miaomiao played with it in the outdoor pool.
• Lucius kept Bruce at Wayne Enterprises and gave him more paperwork while Tim recovered at the manor.
• Dick returned for the family dinner and chased Damian around the room after hugging and teasing him.
• Tim told Miaomiao that Dick and Damian’s antics were a way for the brothers to bond.
• Dick knocked Alfred’s gold-trimmed teapot, and Damian’s sword strike shattered it and Tim’s teacup, spilling tea across the table and carpet.

After Dick and Damian damaged the sitting room, Alfred disciplined them and the rest of the Wayne family. Bruce then offered Miaomiao a human identity and adoption into the Wayne family, leaving her to decide whether to become his daughter.

• Alfred found Dick and Damian amid the wreckage and took them away to explain themselves.
• Alfred divided the cookie punishments among Dick, Damian, and Bruce while Miaomiao and Tim received cookies.
• Bruce gave Miaomiao documents establishing a human identity with Hua Country ancestry.
• Bruce explained that the adoption papers would make Miaomiao his daughter and told her the family would accept her either way.
• Damian urged Miaomiao not to refuse, saying he had reluctantly agreed to let her be his older sister.

Miaomiao explained that she was in her fifties but still a child by Merfolk standards, startling the Wayne family with the difference between human and Merfolk lifespans. After realizing Alfred was far younger than she had assumed, she prepared a drink from her tear pearls and urged him to drink it.

• Miaomiao told Bruce and the others that she was already in her fifties, while Merfolk did not become adults until eighty.
• Damian, Dick, Tim, and Bruce struggled to process Miaomiao’s age and the possibility that Merfolk lifespans differed from humans’.
• Miaomiao explained that Merfolk could live for centuries, while Alfred clarified that he was an ordinary human in his fifties.
• Miaomiao realized Alfred might be nearing the end of his life by Merfolk standards and asked whether he still had the pearls made from her tears.
• Alfred brought the pearls, and Miaomiao ground two into powder, mixed them with tea, and urged him to drink it.

Miaomiao explained that Merfolk pearls could prolong life and strengthen the body when given willingly, and Alfred drank tea mixed with her pearls. The Bat-family confirmed the pearls' gentle effects and learned that pearls created through a Merfolk's pain would be deadly to anyone who consumed them.

• Tim cited a legend about mermaid flesh and immortality, but Miaomiao explained that Merfolk pearls could prolong life without restoring youth or granting immortality.
• Miaomiao urged Alfred to drink pearl tea, and he felt warm, relaxed, and free of fatigue afterward.
• Bruce took everyone to the Batcave, where examinations found gentle, unknown energy nourishing Alfred's body, and Bruce recorded its fluctuations.
• Dick asked whether Merfolk could be captured for their tears, and Miaomiao said Merfolk could defend themselves and that their pearls required willing tears to help humans.
• Miaomiao explained that pearls formed from tears of pain carried chaotic energy that would poison a human and cause rapid organ failure.

Miaomiao explained that merfolk pearls had rejuvenated Alfred but could only benefit the person whose tears created them, so Dick could not use them. With everyone busy on Monday, Miaomiao decided to visit the kind woman who had helped her a few days earlier.

• Alfred served the family soup, and Dick, Damian, and Tim noticed that Alfred looked younger after being nourished by Miaomiao's pearl.
• Miaomiao explained that the pearl could restore Alfred's body but could not make him young forever, and she recalled that Bruce had refused to swallow his own pearl.
• Dick asked Miaomiao for pearls to protect his looks, but she said merfolk tears only worked for the person they were shed for.
• Dick left for Blüdhaven after stealing cookies from Tim's plate, and Tim privately planned to show Miaomiao Dick's cross-dressing photo.
• Miaomiao wondered how to spend Monday and decided to take a gift to visit the kind woman who had helped her.

Miaomiao prepared an afternoon tea gift for her new friend and followed the fish’s directions into Gotham’s sewers to find the red-haired woman. She reached a hidden underground space, where an unseen resident angrily challenged her for trespassing.

• Alfred helped Miaomiao prepare cookies, sandwiches, fruit tarts, and tea for her new friend, then realized the woman was likely Poison Ivy, Pamela Isley.
• Miaomiao asked fish near the Gotham River where to find the red-haired woman and learned she was somewhere in the sewers.
• Miaomiao entered the sewers, followed the fish’s vague directions, and eventually found a spacious underground chamber with a pool and a flowering plant.
• A furious voice demanded to know who had trespassed on its territory as heavy footsteps shook dust from the walls.

Killer Croc confronted Miaomiao after she wandered into his underground lair, but her kindness and food turned their encounter into an uneasy tea party. Miaomiao considered bringing the lonely, hungry Croc home to Damian as a pet, while Croc asked what she was doing in the sewers.

• Killer Croc returned to his lair and found Miaomiao inside, mistaking her for a threat before realizing she was a little girl.
• Killer Croc tried to frighten Miaomiao into leaving, but she calmly asked if he was hungry.
• Killer Croc's growling stomach betrayed his hunger, and Miaomiao offered him snacks from her food carrier.
• Killer Croc ate the treats and drank the tea while Miaomiao pitied him and wondered whether Damian would take him in as a pet.
• Killer Croc, feeling less hostile after sharing the food, asked Miaomiao what she was doing in the sewers.

Miaomiao searched the sewers for Poison Ivy and instead befriended Killer Croc, whom she called Little Croc. After she left money behind, Killer Croc hurried after her, worried that Gotham’s dangers might hurt her.

• Miaomiao described Poison Ivy to Killer Croc, who warned her that the plant-controlling woman was dangerous.
• Miaomiao reassured Killer Croc that she had not run away and gently stroked his head, startling him into falling off the sofa.
• Miaomiao invited Killer Croc to live with her, but he refused and insisted he was the free king of the sewers.
• Miaomiao said goodbye and left a neatly stacked pile of banknotes on the table.
• Killer Croc found the money and hurried after Miaomiao to make sure she stayed safe.

Miaomiao followed Bruce’s watch through the sewers and met Bruce, then told him and the Wayne family about befriending Killer Croc. After Miaomiao fell asleep, the Bat Family discussed her encounters with villains and the dangers they posed in Gotham City.

• Bruce’s watch guided Miaomiao through the sewers to a manhole near Bruce, who picked her up and drove her home.
• Miaomiao told Bruce about her new friend, Little Croc, and Bruce subtly prompted her to recount her earlier encounter with Poison Ivy.
• At Wayne Manor, Miaomiao told Tim and Damian about Killer Croc and said Damian could keep him, prompting Damian and Tim to argue over whether Killer Croc was cute.
• The chapter recounted how Damian befriended and named Goliath after the young Dragon Bat licked his nose.
• After Miaomiao fell asleep, the Bat Family held a meeting about her knack for befriending supervillains and discussed the risks posed by Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and Gotham’s other villains.

The Wayne Family made Miaomiao study Gotham City's villains after her encounters with Joker and Pamela, giving her thick files and videos to protect her. She learned about several dangerous criminals and ended the chapter delighted to learn Pamela's name.

• The Wayne Family gave Miaomiao an encyclopedia of Gotham villains, videos, and a laptop, while Alfred explained that the lessons were meant to keep her safe.
• Miaomiao read Joker's file and recalled his deadly traps, deciding she would not kill him because she had promised Bruce.
• Miaomiao studied Two-Face's profile but did not learn that he had once been Bruce Wayne's friend, Harvey Dent.
• Miaomiao read about Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, Riddler, Bane, and many other Gotham villains, marveling at the city's criminal talent.
• After struggling through the files, Miaomiao was pleased to learn that the pretty lady's name was Pamela.

Miaomiao returned to Gotham’s Robinson Park to visit Poison Ivy, and her friendly manner persuaded Ivy’s plants to open a path into the Emerald Kingdom. Batman secretly followed her but was left outside when the plants closed behind her.

• Bruce told Alfred he wanted to verify that supervillains acted more gently around Miaomiao, while Alfred noticed Bruce preparing to follow her in the Batsuit.
• Miaomiao rode to Robinson Park with tea and snacks and walked into the overgrown area where Poison Ivy lived.
• Miaomiao asked a vine to tell Pamela she had arrived, and the plants opened a path for her.
• Batman watched the plants welcome Miaomiao and realized he could not enter the Emerald Kingdom unnoticed.
• The plants sealed the path behind Miaomiao, leaving Batman outside and unsure how to get in.

Miaomiao visited Pamela Isley with afternoon tea and met Harley Quinn, who was pleading to leave and reunite with Joker. Pamela welcomed Miaomiao into her cottage, and Harley grew suspicious and jealous of her new visitor.

• Miaomiao followed a plant-cleared path to Pamela Isley's cottage and overheard Harley Quinn begging Pamela to let her go find Joker.
• Pamela refused Harley, recalling how Joker used and abandoned her, while Harley insisted that he loved her and blamed Batman.
• Pamela's plants alerted her that Miaomiao had arrived, so she invited the girl inside to distract Harley.
• Miaomiao thanked Pamela for helping her before and brought her afternoon tea.
• Harley stopped pleading and eyed Miaomiao with jealousy after Pamela warmly called her an adorable little cupcake.

Miaomiao shared afternoon tea with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, who quickly warmed to her and promised to introduce her to Selina. Batman watched her leave safely, and Miaomiao later excitedly told her family about her new friends.

• Harley Quinn questioned Miaomiao about her relationship with Pamela before giving her the nicknames Meow-Meow and Cupcake.
• Miaomiao served afternoon tea, and Harley and Pamela enjoyed the treats and affectionately welcomed her.
• Harley admitted she had drunk some of Selina's alcohol and asked Pamela not to tell Kitty.
• Batman saw Miaomiao leave Poison Ivy's hideout unharmed and carrying a basket of fruit.
• Miaomiao told her family about Pamela and Harley and their promise to introduce her to Selina.

Miaomiao left the Batcave to help Batman, who was fighting Bane, while Tim stayed behind to provide technical support. As Batman faced Bane’s strength and skill, the chapter recounted how Bane survived prison and experiments to become a formidable enemy, and Bane declared his determination to defeat Batman.

• Miaomiao visited her friends more often, and Selina joined the gatherings at Poison Ivy’s place.
• An alarm alerted Tim that Batman and the others were in trouble, so Miaomiao insisted on going while Tim stayed to provide technical support.
• Miaomiao took Tim’s communicator and raced toward the fight, and Tim told Batman that Quan Ke was on her way.
• Batman lost focus after hearing Miaomiao was coming and took a punch from Bane the Destroyer.
• The chapter recounted how Bane endured a brutal childhood, prison, and biochemical experiments before becoming a mercenary and Batman’s enemy.
• Bane praised Batman as a worthy opponent and said that he wanted more than ever to defeat him.