"You should be grateful you didn't show any killing intent. Otherwise, this wouldn't have ended so easily."
Damian smirked arrogantly as he looked at the masked man in front of him.
Immediately after, Nightwing smacked the back of Damian's head. "Alright, put your weapon away. He's not an enemy."
"Hey!" Damian was furious that Nightwing had embarrassed him like that.
Nightwing, however, simply looked at him calmly. "Your technique is getting rusty. I saw a few openings just now—you almost got caught. You haven't been slacking off at the Watchtower, have you?"
"…" Damian opened his mouth but ultimately turned away in frustration, angrily sliding his short staff back into his belt.
As much as he hated to admit it, Nightwing wasn't wrong. During their brief exchange, he had indeed almost been hit by a sneak attack.
Even though he was at a disadvantage due to poor visibility, as the current leader of the League of Assassins, such a mistake was unacceptable. Fortunately, his muscle memory had kicked in—otherwise, getting struck would have been humiliating.
After settling Damian down, Dick turned to the masked man. "You must be Tim. I'm Nightwing, but you can call me Dick."
As he spoke, Dick handed the black staff he had taken back to Tim.
Despite having his weapon taken and being restrained, Tim didn't make any excuses. He simply removed his mask and reached out to take his staff.
"I know who you are. Pietro told me about you—you were the first Robin, and the only one to graduate."
"There's no need to call it 'graduating.' I just found my own path." Dick smiled and continued, "This here is Damian, and over there is Jason—our so-called 'Captain Federation.'"
"I go by Red Hood," Jason corrected coldly.
The title "Captain Federation" was too embarrassing for him. Jason had always seen himself as an emotionless killer, one who should operate from the shadows. What kind of assassin had a title like that?
If it weren't for Luthor tricking and coercing him into accepting this role, Jason would never have agreed to it. Now that he was in a different world, he had no intention of letting such an embarrassing title follow him.
"I'm Stephanie, the current Robin." The masked girl in front of Jason removed her mask and extended a hand toward him.
"I don't care."
Jason ignored her completely, slinging his shield onto his back and walking over to stand beside Damian.
On a distant stone pillar, Tony Stark nudged Batman. "You're not going over there?"
"No need." Batman shook his head. "They'll communicate better without me. They're peers, and they share similar experiences."
Tony Stark smirked. "I have my doubts about that…"
Back at the battlefield, seeing Stephanie's awkward expression, Dick shot Jason a disapproving look before smiling and explaining.
"Sorry about that. Jason didn't mean anything by it—he's just cold on the outside but warm once you get to know him."
"It's fine. People with real skill tend to have a bit of a temper." Stephanie didn't seem to mind and instead looked curiously at the three of them. "You guys really live up to your reputations. Your skills are incredible."
"We just have more experience." Dick remained humble.
Damian, however, snorted. "You two have only been training for a few years. We've been following our father since childhood. If we couldn't beat you, we wouldn't even be worthy of being in Gotham."
"Father?" Tim frowned slightly.
"Oh." Seeing his confusion, Dick chuckled and explained, "Damian is Bruce's biological son."
That revelation changed the way Tim and Stephanie looked at Damian.
In their universe, the old Bruce Wayne had never left behind any heirs. After photographer Vicki Vale and Catwoman Selina Kyle left, Bruce completely shut his heart off from relationships.
Forget having a child—he didn't even leave behind a clone.
"So he's Batman's son… No wonder he's so strong at such a young age," Stephanie remarked.
"What do you mean by that?" Damian scoffed. "I earned my strength through hard work, not just genetics."
Despite his words, he stole a quick glance at his father. Then, he turned back to Tim, scrutinizing him. "You're pretty bold—fighting while injured. Aren't you afraid of your wounds reopening?"
Damian had noticed Tim's injuries the moment they started fighting. That was why he had been holding back, which almost cost him the fight.
Though Tim had initially launched a surprise attack, once it was clear he didn't intend to harm them, the three had quickly figured out their attackers' identities.
It was obvious that the locals were testing their combat skills—using this as an excuse to spar and get to know them.
Once he realized that, Damian had made a conscious effort to suppress his usual lethality.
Others might not have noticed, but Damian had been restraining his killing intent the entire time. As someone raised as a weapon by the League of Assassins, he had never been taught to hold back—every move he made was intended to kill.
It was only under Batman's guidance that he had gradually learned to control his instincts and rein in his arrogance and recklessness.
Hearing Damian's remark, Tim gave a complicated smile. "That's on me. I don't know… I just felt like I needed to let off some steam."
Seeing Tim's expression, Dick understood.
As a former Robin himself, he had gone through similar struggles. He could empathize.
Patting Tim's shoulder, Dick said, "I get it. Right now, we're all strangers to each other. But don't worry—we're not here to replace anyone."
"I know."
Tim nodded slightly. Then, his gaze shifted from Dick's face to a distant stone pillar.
There, standing tall, was a figure that seemed to embody the night itself. He exuded an overwhelming presence, his very posture radiating authority.
That was…
The Batman from another universe?
Tim's expression grew complicated.
Truthfully, the one he most wanted to fight was Batman himself. Even though he knew he wasn't a match, he still wanted to test himself.
But to his surprise, the moment the battle began, Batman had vanished from the battlefield—leaving behind no trace, as if he had teleported.
That alone made Tim reevaluate his perception of Batman's abilities.
As Tim stared toward Batman, Damian leaned in and muttered, "At first, I thought you had night-vision goggles or some other trick. Turns out, you were just using sound to find your way too?"
"Isn't that basic knowledge?" Tim replied. "Mr. Wayne once told me—if you rely solely on your eyes, you're leaving yourself a massive weakness."
"You're quite interesting. Once you've recovered, I'll spar with you again. But next time, I won't hold back like I did today," Damian said with a smirk.
"Sounds great, I'd love that," Tim immediately nodded. Right now, the thing he needed most was to improve his combat skills, so Damian's offer was exactly what he was hoping for.
Tim could tell that Damian wasn't the type to say empty words just for show. If he said something, he meant it.
"It's a deal," Damian confirmed, proving he was serious about testing Tim's abilities.
"Hey…"
Jason, who had been mostly silent until now, finally spoke up.
"Are we just going to stand around outside all day?"
Hearing this, Tim and Stephanie immediately snapped out of their thoughts and quickly stepped aside. "Sorry for the lack of hospitality. Please, come in."
From a distance, atop a stone pillar…
Watching as the five Robins walked into Wayne Manor, chatting like old friends, Tony Stark couldn't help but smile.
"This is great. It's like watching five rising stars in the making."
Batman allowed himself a small, subtle smile. "They'll get along just fine."
"Hey," Tony turned to Batman. "Now that you've taken over the Batcave, how do you plan to handle Tim and Stephanie?"
"Their paths were set long ago. My job is simply to help them reach the next level," Batman replied calmly.
"As long as you know what you're doing. But I should remind you—this isn't our turf. If you stir up any trouble, it won't just be the Justice Society you'll have to answer to… Alex will want answers too."
Batman gave Tony a strange look. "It's odd hearing that from you."
"I'm serious," Tony said, dropping his usual playful tone. His expression turned serious as he locked eyes with Batman.
"When I was heading back, I ran into Alex. He told me that this universe isn't as simple as it seems.
I don't know exactly what he meant by that… but I do know one thing—if Alex is this cautious, then whatever he's worried about isn't something small."
Batman's expression darkened. He stayed silent for a moment, then gave a slight nod. "I understand. I'll look into it."
"As long as you're aware. No need to let the others know about this just yet," Tony said casually.
The atmosphere grew heavy. Neither of them spoke further, standing quietly on the stone pillar, gazing toward Wayne Manor.
After what felt like an eternity, Batman finally broke the silence.
"…I heard the Batman of this universe killed every last criminal?"
.....
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