Chapter 13: Big Trouble
[Cat's Dance]: Enter stealth mode outside of combat, undetectable by earthly organisms for 5 minutes, cooldown 1 minute. Using the skill will cancel stealth mode.
She entered a marvelous state.
It seemed she became a part of this city, a shadow itself, a predator born and bred here, surviving in this environment as naturally as breathing.
No living being could see the girl strolling in the shadows, although cameras could— but who would be so bored as to watch people walking the streets at night through cameras? The delicate heels trod on the ground, leaving the fallen leaves intact.
Baia whispered, "By the way, is this 'Bluebird' a person or a protected animal?"
The system was momentarily at a loss for words. "Uh, it should be both, I guess. It's a specialty of Bludhaven, I think."
Five minutes.
Maybe I'll just lie down for five minutes and let Nightwing ponder, or half an hour until I can stand up and continue the fight, or just leave.
They hadn't figured out yet why someone would want to help Scarecrow leave Arkham, although this kind of thing wasn't unprecedented; in order to deal with Red Hood, Black Mask had once helped the Joker escape from Arkham. Recent events reeked of conspiracy.
Sometimes the emotionally distant Batman would rather fight alone than ask for help from him or provide it to him, and next time he should just return to Bludhaven— nothing good ever seemed to happen when he came back to Gotham.
Nightwing speculated that Scarecrow had updated his formula. It was hard for him to think clearly about all this, though not entirely unprepared; villains always had new tricks up their sleeves. The antidote for the fear gas wasn't fully effective, but despite that, he still clung to Scarecrow with an angry three-point perspective adjustment.
His communicator was hanging there, and if he wished, he could notify Alfred that he was injured and might need a little help... or he could act like nothing had happened.
Although Batman, who was tracking the mastermind, would certainly be happy to drive over and pick up his eldest son, who had already established himself but was easily knocked down by Scarecrow.
Nightwing knew the urgency of the situation. His breathing wasn't steady, as if he constantly had hallucinations in front of him, with his temples thumping as if in competition with him. He just felt that he wasn't particularly serious.
The shadow flowed in from the alleyway. The closer it got, the more violent it became, like the surging blood wave in "The Shining"— why did he agree to watch horror movies with little Babs? A roaring, ferocious darkness, enveloped in eerie green flames, solidified in front of him— there seemed to be only a few millimeters between his slightly blurred, ocean-blue pupils and the emerald green flames.
He straightened up, every muscle in his body ready for attack.
"Heaven, are you okay?" the slightly immature girl's voice sounded worried, dispelling the darkness before him.
A pair of light green eyes shimmered in the dark night.
Tonight, Baia's biggest regret was not bringing a flashlight. She hesitated at the dark alley entrance, which was only a dozen meters from the task location indicated by the system. She wasn't sure what state the "distressed Bluebird" was in, hesitating for a long time before sneaking over in stealth mode.
This so-called distressed Bluebird looked like it weighed over a hundred and eighty pounds no matter how you looked at it, Baia muttered to herself, I'm starting to wonder if you have a strange fetish for adjectives, System.
The system: I don't—! Isn't that Bludhaven's Nightwing?
"Um, as you can see," Nightwing said, although he wore a domino mask, his facial contours still truthfully revealed that he was a handsome and charming young man, not to mention the tight-fitting bodysuit perfectly outlining his muscular figure, "not too good."
The system began to crow skillfully, but Baia didn't look away, disdainfully rebuking the system's casualness: what are you crowing about again? How embarrassing.
The system said: If you're not tempted, I am. This is a perfect script for a tragedy. What's not to like?
Baia clenched her fist firmly: Dick is not in this!
This brief exchange happened within one or two seconds. She tentatively reached out her hand to check the other person's physical condition, deliberately using slow movements to show that she meant no harm, but the other person still avoided her touch.
"Don't be afraid." It was actually Baia whose voice trembled slightly. This was Gotham, and she had run out in the middle of the night to save a stranger, although upon the system's reminder, she remembered he was also one of the vigilantes seen in the news. "I'm just here to help."
Honestly, this surreal situation made Nightwing feel like the hallucinations caused by fear toxin might be worse than he imagined. He couldn't quite connect the images of "the lost girl in Bludhaven," "the cute girl who invited him to lunch today," and "the elusive girl in Gotham at night." Perhaps the toxin had dulled his senses too much, and he really should contact Alfred.
"Baia," his voice was slightly hoarse but low and steady, not wanting to startle her. However, Nightwing immediately realized he had made a mistake by calling her name.
Baia was surprised that he knew her name.
System: "I've noticed that most superheroes have reasons for hiding their identities. It's awkward now. What if he complains to Dick? They're old acquaintances."
Baia, annoyed: "Why would my late-night efforts to save lives be reported? Only your thought process could be so strange!"
System: "You've hidden a lot from Dick."
Ignoring the system, Baia squatted down to carefully examine his wound. "Don't move."
Her tone was unusually serious, and her slightly furrowed brows added to her solemn demeanor.
"Thank you," he said, struggling and cautious, "but..." He couldn't bring himself to say the second half of the sentence when he saw the hopeful sparkle in the girl's eyes.
Finally, her slightly cold hand pressed against Nightwing's wound, and a row of blue letters immediately appeared.
[Nightwing] 66.9% Debuff: Bleeding, Poisoned (Fear Toxin)
Observing her expression, Nightwing initially intended to evade her touch but then decided against it. "Actually, it doesn't look as serious as it seems."
His pronunciation was somewhat unclear, and his speech was slightly strained, but he made light of the situation. In truth, he didn't feel how painful the wound was. He thought to himself, I really should have rested for five minutes.
"You shouldn't be out so late," Nightwing lectured. "Gotham nights are dangerous."
"Indeed, I can see that," Baia said as she stopped his bleeding with the first aid kit. Baia focused on her own skills. Unlike in online games, she couldn't just press a shortcut key to complete the treatment. In a sense, although she didn't need to chant any spells, she still had to concentrate.
Nightwing's health stopped decreasing, and it even immediately returned to over 75%.
People weren't game characters; they couldn't continue fighting in perfect physical condition under various negative influences.
Nevertheless, the physical condition of superheroes seemed completely different from that of ordinary people. Baia had no doubt that he would be able to bounce back and continue jumping around after a short rest.
The second aid kit.
Sudden Mission: Rescue the Stranded Bluebird [Mission Completed]
The golden particles were particularly conspicuous in the darkness, and Dick silently watched how they took effect on him.
[Nightwing] 87.2% Reducing Loneliness
Mutants? Witches?
That didn't surprise him at all. On the contrary, many anomalies were explained by this.
"Are you..." Nightwing tentatively asked.
Without lifting her head, Baia replied, "Didn't you just say? I'm Baia."
She seemed a bit angry at being recognized, but Nightwing smiled. "Okay, Baia. Thank you."
When he smiled, it gave people a refreshing feeling.
Suddenly, the system said: "Looks like someone's coming."
Although Nightwing was more sensitive to unusual noises, he didn't react much to this one, because the familiar and powerful engine rumble only meant one thing—a Batmobile.
What surprised him was that Baia jumped up.
"It seems like your enemies are coming after you," Baia said urgently. "We need to hurry and leave!"
After observing the surroundings, she fixed her gaze on a car parked in the alley.
"You'll need this one day," she remembered Holly saying.
Too many skills won't burden the body, as the ancients said.
Nightwing watched in amazement as Baia skillfully opened the car door and, at the same time, sent a message to Bruce telling him not to come. Then she shoved Nightwing into the driver's seat.
"Drive!" Baia fastened her seatbelt and manually started the car by removing the ignition coil.
"Where to?" Nightwing asked somewhat helplessly.
Baia tilted her head and smoothly recited her home address, then urged, "Hurry, we might have someone on our tail."
Nightwing started the car.
"Firstly," he cleared his throat, "you shouldn't be out so late, and wait... did you walk here?"
Baia nodded.
"How did you know where I was?"
"Star signs," she improvised, embodying the witch persona implanted by Holly, "the stars told me."
A real witch. Maybe he should consult Zatanna? Dick thought.
"Secondly," he continued, "you should be more discreet. Anyone could recognize you, and you might get yourself into trouble. It's dangerous."
The girl had a strong ability to grasp key points. "So how did you recognize me?"
Dick was momentarily at a loss for words. He couldn't just say he was hallucinating from the toxin and accidentally let it slip.
"Uh... Dick told me."
"You know him?" Baia immediately perked up.
One lie begets countless others. He nodded. "Yes."
"What did he say about me?"
"He said you're cute."
"Is that all?"
"Uh..."
Dick felt like Baia's ears drooped again.
"Thirdly," he sighed, "when there's danger, don't just rush home unless you don't care about your hideout."
"Then why did you still take me home?"
"Because you need to sleep. Be careful not to stunt your growth," Dick asserted.
The car had already stopped steadily in front of the apartment. He opened the car door and carried Baia out, taking her to the doorstep—because she didn't seem particularly willing.
"Thank you for taking me home," she said softly. "You should stay a while longer and have some ginger tea because I'm almost done healing you."
[Nightwing] 95.7%
It really hurts to see someone's health bar not fully filled.
Dick squatted down and looked at her, reaching out to touch her nose. "I'm already healed. Thank you for your help."
System: "No, you're not. You're even better than a doctor, aren't you?"
Baia found the system's remarks very untimely and immediately silenced it.
"Also," the young vigilante remembered something else, "you shouldn't steal other people's cars."
"I didn't steal anyone's car," Baia declared. "I just opened someone's car door and sat inside. You're the one driving."
Dick: "?"
Fine.
Facing the girl whose eyes were brighter than the stars in the sky, he couldn't say anything harsh.
"Well, goodnight?" Dick said softly.
"Goodnight." Baia gave him a quick hug and then closed the door.
He couldn't shake off the feeling that the little girl didn't like his other identity as much as Nightwing. He touched his nose.
"So, the situation is, we have a magical kid on our side."
Dick, now unmasked, was undergoing examination in the Batcave. The residual energy fluctuations on him continued for about 15 minutes after parting with Baia, ultimately healing most of his wounds.
Batman was studying the energy fluctuations, unfamiliar energies peaking every minute, while also improving Dick's physical condition. "If there are any side effects, come back to the Batcave immediately."
It felt like he was giving him a dismissal.
"Um, I'm feeling pretty good now. More urgently, though," Dick said, "we really can't let her stay with Catwoman. It's a big problem, a really big one."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone