At the same time, deep beneath Wayne Manor, inside the Batcave.
Dick arrived through the hidden entrance with Alfred, a briefcase in hand. The moment he stepped inside, he sensed something was off.
Someone was already here.
But it wasn't Batman.
The figure seated in front of the massive Bat-Computer was neither tall nor male.
A red-haired girl sat confidently in the glowing blue light. She wore a Bat-themed helmet, a sleek black bodysuit that hugged her figure perfectly, and a sharp Bat emblem across her chest. Her posture was relaxed yet focused as lines of data scrolled rapidly across the screen in front of her.
Compared to Robin's bright red, green, and yellow color scheme, she actually looked more like Batman's true partner.
She was the newest vigilante to appear in Gotham over the past few months.
Batgirl.
Although, truth be told, she didn't like that name at all.
She preferred Batwoman. After all, she had already turned eighteen two months ago.
Unfortunately, the newspapers hadn't asked for her opinion.
From the very first report, the media had unanimously called her Batgirl, and the name stuck.
"Hi! Alfred—and Pixie Boots. You're back."
Batgirl turned slightly in her chair and greeted them cheerfully.
"Hey!" Dick protested immediately. "We agreed you wouldn't call me Pixie Boots anymore."
He puffed his cheeks in clear dissatisfaction.
"Did we?" Batgirl tilted her head innocently. "I don't remember agreeing to anything. Maybe when you finally give up those childish green boots, I'll consider it."
She spread her hands, smiling with deliberate provocation.
"Everyone in the circus wears these," Dick shot back. "I'm not changing them. Fine, maybe they look a little funny—but that's their charm."
Batgirl raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.
"It's good to see you, Miss Gordon," Alfred said warmly.
If any officer from the GCPD heard that title, they would immediately grow suspicious. After all, Commissioner Gordon's daughter had just turned eighteen—the exact same age as Batgirl.
Yes.
Batgirl's true identity was Barbara Gordon, daughter of the GCPD Commissioner.
"You both look busy tonight," Barbara said, glancing between them. "Would you like some supper?"
Judging by the dense analysis running on the Bat-Computer, it was clear she planned to be here for quite a while.
"That would be wonderful, Alfred," Barbara said gratefully. "Because of a certain jerk, I didn't even have time for dinner. I'm starving."
"You're welcome," Alfred replied calmly. "It's my duty."
He turned and headed toward the kitchen area to prepare food and coffee.
Meanwhile, Dick carried the briefcase to a large cabinet embedded into the cave wall. The cabinet was divided into hundreds of small compartments, each sealed behind ultra-high-strength transparent glass.
More than half of them were already filled.
Inside were bizarre and ominous items.
Two-Face's coin.
Riddler's cane.
Killer Croc's teeth.
Scarecrow's mask.
Harley Quinn's baseball bat.
These were trophies collected over the years by Batman and Robin. Some were kept purely due to a questionable collecting habit. Others were genuinely dangerous artifacts that Batman didn't trust leaving in the GCPD evidence room.
Dick opened the briefcase and took out a white cape, neatly folded.
He placed it carefully into an empty compartment.
Barbara noticed and raised an eyebrow.
"I heard you've been getting along pretty well with that popular phantom thief lately," she said with interest. "Is that Kaito Kid's cape?"
"What kind of weird phrasing is that?" Dick shot back.
"I just heard Alfred say you seem to have a good impression of him," Barbara shrugged. "Aren't you afraid Bruce will get angry if he hears that?"
"You know he hates it when we judge criminals based on personal feelings," she added casually.
"Ha," Dick let out a dry laugh. "Before I learned about his history with Catwoman, I really believed that."
Barbara chuckled. "You know what? I actually agree with you."
Then her tone shifted.
"Honestly, after meeting Catwoman once, I totally get why Bruce always goes easy on her. I mean—wow. She's ridiculously attractive."
Dick narrowed his eyes. "And Kaito Kid?"
Barbara smiled mischievously.
Something about her tone made Dick uneasy.
"What are you implying?" he asked cautiously.
"Nothing," she said lightly. "I was just wondering whether your girlfriend at Titan Tower would believe it if I told her what you just said."
Dick's eyelids twitched violently.
"I'm kidding," Barbara laughed, clearly satisfied with his reaction. "Relax."
She waved it off and returned her attention to the Bat-Computer.
"Anyway," she continued, "did you run into any serious trouble tonight? Need my help?"
Dick hesitated for a moment before asking, "Actually… I was worried you might need help dealing with Kaito Kid."
Barbara didn't turn around.
"No," she replied calmly. "I can handle myself. If anything, I was more concerned about you."
She tapped a few keys, bringing up a blank file.
"You've encountered him twice now and still have nothing solid. His real name, age, appearance, job, life history—everything is empty. The Bat-Computer already has one criminal file like this. We don't need a second."
"That's because you haven't fought him yourself," Dick said seriously. "If you had, you'd know how troublesome he really is."
He crossed his arms, expression grim.
"He's extremely smart. Maybe not as obsessively brilliant as Riddler, but unlike Riddler, he doesn't feel the need to leave clues. That makes predicting his actions much harder."
"And his disguise skills…" Dick shook his head. "They're insane. If I hadn't personally seen him tear off Grayle Tartard Ethan's mask, I'd swear he had Clayface's powers."
"But even Clayface can't act like that," Dick continued. "Unless you know someone inside and out, every tiny detail, you'll never spot the flaw. Direct identification is basically impossible."
"Kaito Kid is also incredibly cautious," he said. "He understands police deployment and surveillance systems perfectly. He leaves no traces at all—sometimes he even avoids every camera in the area."
He paused.
"The only lead we have is that he might be a magician. But Gotham is full of magicians. We don't even know his age, so narrowing suspects is pointless."
Dick sighed and gave a wry smile.
"I even consulted a professional to shortlist suspects based on magic skill. I got twenty names. After investigating them one by one… none of them could possibly be Kaito Kid."
Barbara listened quietly, interest growing in her eyes.
"…Is he really that dangerous?" she asked at last.
Her tone wasn't fearful.
It was excited.
-----------------------------
Visit our Patreon for more:
Get membership in patreon to read more chapters
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31
----------------------------------------------------- .