Barbara, carrying the incredibly soft-feeling Tuotuo, walked up to the main unit of the Batcomputer.
She gently placed the small black object on the central bio-scanning platform.
Tuotuo seemed a little curious and rubbed its tiny bat ears against the cool countertop.
"Alright, little guy, let's see what you really are." Barbara said as she sat down at the control panel, her fingers flying across the keyboard.
Jason and Damian finally stopped fighting for the time being, but they were still several meters apart, exchanging deadly glances.
Seeing Barbara begin her analysis, they all gathered around, staring at the rapidly scrolling data stream on the main screen.
Damian crossed his arms, chin held high, his face displaying undisguised arrogance.
"Hmph, don't waste your energy, Gordon. You mortals simply cannot comprehend its greatness."
That man, his grandfather, clearly possessed extraordinary insight.
He saw it all at a glance: of all these so-called " Robin," only he, Damian Wayne, was the most outstanding and legitimate successor to his father, Bruce Wayne!
Dick is too weak, Jason is a madman, Tim... Tim is nowhere near as good as him!
He is the future, he is the next Batman!
This amazing creature is proof of his abilities!
"The data is in." Barbara's voice interrupted Damian's self-absorbed reverie.
On the screen, complex structural diagrams and analysis reports filled the entire interface.
But the most eye-catching part was a series of bright red "ERROR" and "UNKNOWN".
"No carbon-based life characteristics," Barbara frowned, zooming in on a portion of the data. "No, it doesn't fit into any known classification of life forms. Its body... seems to be composed of pure energy, but the structure of this energy..."
She paused, as if searching for the right words.
"... its energy structure is so complex that even the Batcomputer's database cannot decipher it; it's a higher-dimensional energy, and it's even... evolving itself."
Dick and Jason exchanged a glance, both seeing seriousness in each other's eyes.
The Batcomputer is one of the most advanced technological achievements on Earth; the fact that even it cannot analyze something is beyond their comprehension.
Barbara's expression grew more serious as she tried to isolate the unknown energy. "I'm trying to build an energy firewall, temporarily locking it within the scanning station..."
Before she could finish speaking, Tuotuo on the scanning table suddenly sniffed, and then--
"Choo--snee!"
It sneezed a little, cutely.
The moment the sneeze ended, all the lights in the entire Batcave went out with a "snap," plunging it into a deathly silence and darkness.
Immediately afterwards, a piercing alarm blared throughout the cave, and all the screens were instantly stained blood red.
A huge, ominous Greek letter "Ω" occupies the very center of the main screen.
A cold, emotionless synthesized voice echoed through the cave:
" Omega-level Protocol... activated."
"Warning: The final threat has been confirmed."
" Wayne Manor self-destruct program... Countdown begins..."
Dick's face turned deathly pale in an instant.
He understood better than anyone what the " Omega Protocol " meant.
That was Bruce's last resort, prepared for the worst-case scenario where the entire world, and even the Justice League, would spiral out of control.
There is only one condition for activating it—the identification of a threat capable of destroying Earth's civilization.
The things capable of unlocking this protocol are extremely rare on Earth; they are either the Mother Box or... those terrifying beings from the multiverse.
" Barbara! Stop it immediately!" Dick's voice was distorted with tension.
"I can't do it!" Barbara's hands flew across the keyboard, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. "This permission... once activated, even Bruce can't turn it off!"
All eyes were on the culprit.
Tuotuo seemed startled by the sudden alarm. It looked around blankly, then tilted its head innocently.
"Chirp?"
Jason's patience had completely run out.
He no longer cared what the thing was; all he knew was that it had triggered the Batcave's self-destruct program.
He suddenly pulled two specially made pistols from his leg holsters, the dark muzzles pointed directly at the small thing on the scanning table.
"Don't move," his voice was laced with suppressed rage. "I don't care who you are, now, right now, stop all of this."
Damian instinctively wanted to rush forward, but Dick grabbed him.
Tuotuo looked at the gun in Jason's hand, and its small body swayed.
It showed no fear whatsoever; instead, it seemed as if it had seen some novel toy.
It opened its little mouth and blew gently.
A pink, shimmering, heart-shaped bubble slowly floated out of its mouth.
The bubble swayed gently and drifted towards Jason at an extremely slow speed.
Jason was stunned.
What's going on? Are they mocking him again?
He watched helplessly as the heart-shaped bubble floated in front of him and then gently, tenderly, enveloped the two guns in his hands.
The next second, he felt a lightness in his hand.
The gun... is gone.
Two heavy, specially made pistols were taken from his hands by a heart-shaped bubble that looked as fragile as if it could be popped at any moment.
Bubble, carrying a gun, floated shakily to the ceiling and disappeared with a soft "pop."
The two guns also vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.
Jason stood there, his hands empty, frozen in place.
The only sounds in the entire Batcave, besides the piercing alarm, were his heavy breathing.
The scene became both comical and Shocker at one point.
Meanwhile, at the Wayne Manor.
In the ancient corridor, only the sound of two people's footsteps, one in front of the other, could be heard.
Thor walked ahead, dressed in a well-fitting tailcoat, his steps unhurried, as if he were the true master of the manor.
Alfred followed half a step behind him, holding a freshly brewed Earl Grey tea, his expression somewhat wary.
Thor stopped in front of a huge oil painting.
The painting depicts Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, smiling and in their prime.
"This painting," Thor said calmly without turning around, "Is hung a little off-center, three millimeters to the left."
Alfred's hand holding the teacup didn't move, but his eyes narrowed slightly.
Thor reached out and gently touched the frame, then, as if lost in thought, whispered:
"I remember when Bruce was five years old, right here, he broke your favorite Ming Dynasty vase. He was holding a baseball bat and told me he was practicing his swing so he could become a strong man like me someday."
He paused, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Later, I told you it was the new Persian cat in the house that did it, didn't I, Alfred?"
"Clang--"
A crisp sound of porcelain clashing rang out in the quiet corridor.
Alfred's hand holding the tea tray trembled violently, and the teacup rattled on the tray.
He stared intently at the man's back, the color draining from his face.
This matter... this matter is known only to him and Mr. Thomas.
This is a little secret between them, a secret about how to "cover up" for the naughty young master.
He never mentioned it to anyone, and young Master Bruce had long forgotten it because he was too young.
How could this person know about something like this?
Could he really be the master who has been dead for so long?!
Thor slowly turned around, a gentle, slightly weary smile on his face, much like Thomas Wayne's.
He looked at the old butler, who was frozen in shock, and sighed softly.
That sigh, that familiar tone, seemed to travel through decades, echoing from the depths of that cold alley.
"You've taken good care of him, Alfred."
His voice was soft, yet it struck the old butler's heart with the precision of a heavy hammer, hitting the softest and most painful spot in his heart.
"But you and I both know that Bruce... hasn't really laughed since he walked out of that alley, has he?"