Homecoming

Alfred paused, then shook his head. There was nothing he could do about the young mistress's superpowered friend.

Though his expression was doubtful, he was actually quite pleased. After all, he had seen countless people in tights in Gotham, but aside from Bliss, every last one of them had been antisocial lunatics.

They seemed like weeds, endlessly sprouting from Gotham's darkness. Every one of them had some novel idea, all aimed at destroying Gotham or destroying Bliss.

There had been one who wanted to befriend Bliss, but that person was a lunatic among lunatics.

But the person who had appeared a month ago not only possessed a strong sense of justice, but was cheerful and exceptionally friendly. Just looking at him, one could tell that he treated others sincerely and was not a bad person.

Alfred felt that perhaps Bliss had found a companion. This person's performance over the past month could even be said to have been more heroic than the young mistress herself.

However, he had also brought bad news when he appeared. Their world was supposedly in danger, with a terrifying force steadily closing in.

Bliss had ultimately believed it, because she had witnessed the changes in the world with her own eyes. Clues constantly suggested that something was coming. To prevent the world from being destroyed, they had been busy for a month. Alfred had it easier; all he had to do was stay on this little island and cook.

Bliss, on the other hand, had traveled all over the world, but seemed to have found nothing.

"Bananas really don't provide enough calories. I feel like I might start losing hair."

The Cloaked Figure devoured all the bananas that had been prepared, but even so, he still felt utterly drained.

"We can eat once we get back to Wayne Manor. I remember there should still be some food at home?"

Bliss took off her mask and wiped away her sweat. Even though they had been within the Speed Force along the way and did not need to consider air resistance or anything like that, she still felt that her face was covered in fine sea spray.

Alfred immediately rejected her idea. He removed his apron and straightened his tailcoat, though his outfit was extremely out of place on the beach.

"I should point out, Miss, that if there is any food left at home, it would be what remained when we left nearly a month ago."

"I have confidence in our refrigerator." Bliss put her mask back on, regaining Batwoman's imposing air.

"Eating food that has been refrigerated for a month is exceedingly unhealthy, Miss," Alfred said dutifully. He put out the stove and began packing up the things at the Observation Post.

"But it's turkey. I was planning to have turkey sandwiches for breakfast the next day." Bliss finally remembered what was in her refrigerator. They had passed near Gotham an hour ago, and the weather there was nowhere near as good as it was here. They could just grab something to eat.

Alfred did not yield in the slightest. He carefully shut the Observation Post's door, locked the Nuclear Weapons marked with radiation symbols inside, then stood upright with his hands behind his back and refused in a tone full of European classical elegance.

"I believe that even if it were phoenix, you should not eat it anymore. Perhaps we could stop by a supermarket and purchase supplies."

"Hah, we'll talk about it later. I don't know how much time we have right now." Bliss finally gave up on the idea of eating turkey, but this was clearly not a good time for shopping.

The Cloaked Figure cut in, waving a hand as though trying to get their attention. "Ahem. Has anyone noticed that I'm actually very good at racing against time?"

Five minutes later, they returned to Wayne Manor.

More than four of those minutes had been spent by Alfred shopping.

As soon as they returned to the city, Bliss discovered that Gotham had suffered a massive power outage. Even she had no solution to that, because nobody knew which lines had malfunctioned, and there was no hope of repairing them in this weather.

The standing water in the city had already risen past their knees, and the torrential rain showed no sign of stopping. Fortunately, within the Bullet Time field, they could completely avoid the raindrops.

No supermarkets or convenience stores would be open in this weather. Bliss directly pried open a shop's lock, took what she needed, and left twice the amount in US dollars on the counter.

When they returned to the manor, its independent power system was running, supplied by the underground geothermal generator in the Batcave. The house had welcomed back its owners, and every room in the manor was brightly lit.

Alfred went to the kitchen to prepare food. Bliss placed her helmet at her side and lazily leaned against the sofa in the sitting room. Watching the flames twist in the fireplace, she relaxed. She had even brought out some of the house's treasured liquor to entertain the Cloaked Figure.

Their previous meetings had all been at Wayne Tower. This was the first time the Cloaked Figure had visited Bliss's home as a guest.

"You really don't need to wear that huge cloak. Nobody in this world knows you."

The Cloaked Figure naturally knew that. He simply wanted to experience doing things in a black uniform. It felt very Bat-like.

"Does that mean I count as a member of the Bat-Family now? I can come up with a Bat codename in this world! Flash Bat, Bat Johnny Quick, something like that—"

"..." Bliss stared at him expressionlessly.

"Fine, I was just saying." He shrugged in disappointment. His body blurred, and the tightly wrapped cloak instantly vanished. Before her stood a very young, bashful man who looked to be only in his twenties.

His dark brown hair hung in loose curls over his head. He had fair skin, a body that did not look particularly strong, and a shy smile on his face, like a grown-up boy. He wore a red-and-white short-sleeved T-shirt printed with "STAR Labs," along with ordinary jeans, though he was barefoot.

"Um, I found your guest slippers. They're even in the same place as in our world, but I thought it would be more polite to ask. Can I wear them?"

The corner of Bliss's mouth twitched. She nodded and gave a quiet "Mm."

In a flash of lightning, Barry was seated beside her, wearing dark satin slippers and lifting his wineglass to toast her.

"Thanks. The material is very comfortable."

Bliss was becoming a little numb to it all. Fortunately, the person before her was not a threat for the time being, and showed no signs of madness. Otherwise, she really did not know how she would deal with someone possessing this kind of ability.

But Bliss did not say it aloud. She merely smiled and clinked glasses with him.

"You can use the bathroom in the second-floor guest room too. However you get along with that Batman in your world, you can do the same here."

"Actually, I don't get many chances to visit Wayne Manor, and most of the time, I'm underground. You know what I mean, right?"

Barry scratched his hair and took a small sip of wine, but the spicy taste made him shake his head repeatedly. As a scientist, he had always felt that hard liquor was more harmful to the brain than the Speed Force.

Bliss naturally knew what lay beneath her home. Presumably, the other Batman's manor was the same. "Then would you like to see my base and compare it with yours? See whose is better?"

Just as the two drank and chatted, Alfred pushed open the door and entered.

"My apologies, Miss, but I fear thieves visited our home during the month we were away."

"Oh? The home alarm system didn't activate?" This was Bliss's first time being robbed. So this was what it felt like to have one's home burglarized? Her heart felt sour, along with a trace of anger.

"The security system did not react in any way. I suspect a military-grade EMP was responsible. They have all been burned out." Alfred nodded, still maintaining his elegant composure.

Bliss touched her neck, seeming to consider something. "Then what are our losses?"

"I have inspected every room. Thus far, we have lost one roast turkey, approximately two kilograms of carrots and potatoes, lettuce, and roughly two hundred grams of various seasonings, including the Southeast Asian nutmeg you like to add to your coffee." Alfred needed no notes; he knew every item in the manor by heart, and now recited them smoothly. "Oh, we are also missing a large pot, a long spoon, five plates, and the matching cutlery."

Barry had once been a forensic scientist with the police department. What he did most often was run and identify crime scenes, but upon hearing that list of missing items, a question mark seemed to appear above his head.

"It sounds like someone held a camping trip at your house? Did you sponsor the Gotham Scouts? Robin?"

"We don't have any Scouts here."

Bliss understood something. Her eyes narrowed, taking on the Bat's most classic expression—suspicion.