That question mark of Chen Mo's had yet to fully disperse in Gotham's night breeze.
Batman stood at the edge of the rooftop in silence for a long time-so long that Chen Mo began to wonder whether he had misunderstood that earlier "don't act alone."
Judging by the look on his face, didn't the downward curve of the bat's mouth seem a little off?
-How do you judge whether something is right?
-By the look on your face.
"No, wait."
Unable to bear the silence, Chen Mo pointed at himself, then at Batman. "You sound like a homeroom teacher catching a student skipping evening study hall and telling them to bring their parents to school tomorrow. The problem is, I don't have any parents left to call. So who are you planning to call? Gordon?"
Batman didn't answer.
That was the biggest problem.
If he had said "no," that would have been fine. If he had said "cut the crap," that would have been fine too. But he stayed silent.
Chen Mo's Spider-Sense didn't go off, but a poor minor's wariness of sudden concern from an adult rang deafeningly loud.
Batman finally spoke. "You need a safe house."
Chen Mo blinked.
"I have one," he said. "Sure, it's drafty, people downstairs get into fights all the time, and the guy next door makes peace with the world using a power drill in the middle of the night, but technically, it's a house. Really."
Batman looked at him.
Under that stare, Chen Mo's voice grew quieter and quieter. "Okay, maybe the safety really is a little lacking. Mostly, the rent's cheap. In a place like Gotham, you usually have to choose between cheap and safe. Sometimes you get neither."
Besides, it was free.
Free!
Not just rent-free-even the utilities were free!