บท 15: Something Seems Off
Tim's recovery was going well, but his leg still hurt a bit. So Bruce had decided that he should fully recuperate before resuming his vigilante activities. As for Damian, Bruce temporarily disagreed with him doing anything related to fighting criminals. Given Damian's temperament, the likelihood of him killing criminals was too high. His bloodthirsty nature made him unfit to be a vigilante.
Perhaps he would change in the future, but that was uncertain. Bruce just hoped that Damian wouldn't kill indiscriminately in the future.
After lunch, Bruce browsed through today's Gotham Gazette but found nothing noteworthy.
Tim checked his phone and notebook. He was almost fully recovered now, but Bruce didn't think he was ready for nighttime patrols yet. However, he was still capable of handling company affairs. He just ignored Damian's insistence that he was the rightful heir to the Batman mantle.
Tim: If possible, he would hand over all the company affairs to this "rightful heir" right now.
There wasn't anything urgent at the company this early in the morning, but there were some events that required the presence of company executives—
"Bruce, you must attend today's company meeting," Tim said, but then saw Bruce unfold the newspaper and shake it, raising it to block his line of sight.
Tim: ...
Alfred timely intervened, "Master Bruce, Master Tim is not suitable for long trips at the moment, after all, it is the family company. Please have some snacks, Master, don't burden Master Tim with everything."
Bruce cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Alright, Alfred."
Who else could demand Bruce to go to the company? Only the butler at the top of the Bat family.
Tim shot Alfred an admiring and grateful look.
Suddenly, a news alert popped up on Tim's phone: "Is the Gotham haunting incident real or fake..."
Tim's gaze froze as he remembered the strange woman he had seen not long ago. He clicked on it and, after reading a few glances, said, "Bruce, someone captured the image of that woman crawling on the wall. The rumors of hauntings are spreading."
Comments in the forum were mostly polarized, with some agreeing that the woman in the photo was a ghost, some disagreeing and calling it a setup, and many others remaining silent.
Bruce frowned slightly as he looked at it. Rumors like these didn't affect them much. When Batman first appeared, he was also considered a legend, and even turned into a scary story to scare children.
The photo wasn't very clear, quite blurry, as if the pixels were bad, or perhaps the person taking it had shaken, causing the image to blur.
The first female ghost didn't appear last night, Bruce believes it's the one with the little boy from last night, because in the bottom right corner of the photo, there's a small faint shadow. Without careful scrutiny, one wouldn't associate it with a ghost.
Bruce suddenly remembered the little girl who was scared by the ghost last night, and there were many people in the comments section claiming to have seen a little boy's ghost at home last night. The number of people who believe is not small.
"Contact Barbara, let her control the public opinion," Tim nodded.
Damian didn't think Gotham was that boring. Ghosts? He didn't believe they were real. Even if they were similar, they would only be a peculiar species. As long as they could be killed, there was no need to worry.
Jantees, who doesn't often play with her phone, only saw those news stories under Jason's reminder. She squeezed next to Jason, still able to recognize the figures from the blurry photo.
"It's them, it's them," the little girl said to Jason, as if accusing them of scaring her.
Jason absentmindedly patted her head to reassure her. "I'll get revenge on them next time."
Jantees nodded eagerly, completely disregarding whether Jason could handle them or not.
The fact that the girl was afraid of ghosts, Jason had experienced firsthand. As long as she didn't see them, it was fine. But for some reason, one or two of these female ghosts were targeting her, including the little boy Jantees had mentioned.
Jason wondered if the church manages these kinds of ghosts? Is holy water effective? He was thinking about where to get some mysterious stuff to protect her.
Just as he was thinking, Jason furrowed his brows slightly, feeling that something was off. "You said they came in? But that guy wouldn't come in even if he scratched the window outside, right?"
Jantees froze.
Jason squinted at her, staring at her subtle movements, not letting her off easily. "Oh? So you didn't think to tell me?"
Jantees avoided his gaze, her expression tinged with guilt. She weakly said, "I opened the window to let her in."
Jason: ...
Jason suddenly didn't know what to say. When that guy arrived, the doors and windows were closed, yet he didn't come in. Maybe he was considering something, like in some stories where monsters need the homeowner's invitation and consent to enter the house.
He only asked her to keep the doors and windows secure at night, but he never told her not to invite these guys in.
Observing his expression, Jantees asked anxiously, "Did I do something wrong?"
Jason wanted to say yes, but then he thought, Jantees was already afraid of those guys, so why would she open the window to let them in?
"What do you want to do?" Jason asked.
Jantees nodded, exuding a sense of dejection, as she explained why she wanted to let her in.
Jason: ...
Jason was dumbfounded. He felt like he had failed in educating Jantees. How did she come up with the idea to dress up as the scary ghosts she was afraid of? Why did she think that changing her appearance would make her less scared?
"Silly girl," he affectionately patted her head, "Read more books."
Jantees angrily slapped his hand away. "You're the silly one."
Jason chuckled, "Only a silly girl would argue like that."
Jantees: ...
"Let's go, I'll take you to school," Jason decided where to go after dropping the girl off.
Jantees glared at him but obediently grabbed her backpack and followed him downstairs.
So, in the evening, Jantees received a gift. She looked at the cross that Jason handed her, full of question marks in her mind.
She now knew what it was, but she didn't understand why Jason was giving it to her.
Faced with the girl's confusion, Jason coughed awkwardly and said, "It's for you to play with. It may or may not be useful."
Jason went to various churches in Gotham because of the rumors online. Many people went to churches, and some even claimed to have seen ghosts and sought holy water for protection.
He didn't really believe it, but since ghosts were appearing, this stuff should be useful, right? If not, then it would be just a toy for the girl.
"Oh," Jantees didn't quite understand the religious beliefs in this country, but she understood that this was something Jason had found for her, and she liked it even if it didn't ward off ghosts.
Jason actually thought most things in Gotham's churches were fake, but this time, he just wanted to give her some peace of mind so she could sleep better at night.
Of course, he would still look for something useful. He had a place to go, perhaps he could find something helpful for Jantees there.
"I'm going on a trip," Jason told Jantees, "But I won't leave you alone here—"
Jantees's eyes lit up, as if asking if he was taking her with him.
Jason continued, "I've arranged for someone to take care of you."
Jantees: ???
"You're not taking me?"
"No, you need to focus on your studies," Jason said firmly, implying there was no room for negotiation.
Jantees quietly acknowledged, not insisting on going with him. Jason was obviously going to do something important, not suitable for taking along a child like her. "I'll become very capable in the future, so I can help you then."
"Okay, I'll be waiting," Jason acknowledged Jantees's talent. Given a good teacher and enough time, she would achieve everything she said. He glanced at his phone. Why hadn't that guy arrived yet?
While Jason prepared dinner and Jantees read her book, they heard a knock on the door. Jantees wasn't planning to answer, but Jason poked his head out from the kitchen. "Jenny, someone's knocking, go see who it is."
Only then did Jantees get off her chair, slipped on her slippers, and walked over to the door. She cracked it open a bit and looked at the person outside, sizing them up without saying anything.
"A child?! Is it really a genuine child?!" the person outside exclaimed.
Jantees: ...
She quickly closed the door and walked back inside. When Jason asked who it was, she replied, "Don't know, but they seem mentally unstable."
Jason: ???
The door continued to be knocked on loudly, but Jantees had no intention of checking again. Puzzled, Jason went to open the door and fell into silence when he saw Roy.
"Hey! Jay! You really adopted a child! A real, living child!"
With a snap, Jason also closed the door.
In Jantees's puzzled gaze, he said, "You're right, he's not normal."
Roy outside the door: ???
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