I'm in an American comic book, and all my teammates are main characters and bosses.

Chapter 105: The Old Master and the Bat Family

Hearing Barbara's words, the Bat Team perked up.

As members of the Bat-Family, the Bat-Team rarely operates as a group. This is especially true for tech-savvy superheroes like Barbara and Tim the Third Robin. Rather than engaging in direct combat, they provide Bruce with maximum support through the Batmobile and Gotham City's ubiquitous but often malfunctioning surveillance cameras.

For example, getting all the green lights – so that after each act of punishing evil and promoting good, you don't make much money and still have to deal with the traffic tickets that the police stick on the Batmobile.

Okay, just kidding—after all, everyone knows that Gotham's richest man, Bruce Wayne, is very interested in Batman and has already paid $30 million in fines in advance, with the extra money going towards the construction of the Gotham Traffic Police Department.

Although Thomas turned off the alarm system at the secret door of the Batcave, it was clear that the three little ones inside the Batcave had also detected the alarm message.

Without much thought, the two men and one woman immediately set out. Leading the group was Jason Todd, wearing a red hood, a former Second Robin, codenamed Red Hood, also known as "Two Hoods." He was the resurrected Second Robin who had sought revenge on Batman, but ultimately succumbed to Bruce Wayne's deep, resonant voice and became an unofficial member of the Bat-Family.

Although they sometimes work together, Todd is now drifting apart from Bruce due to ideological differences.

Following behind was Tim Drake, the third Robin. A bright young genius, he deduced the relationship and true identity between Batman and Robin, and volunteered to become the third Robin. Calm, rational, and a computer whiz.

Barbara, needless to say, is a senior member of the Bat-Girl family, a member of the Bat-Family. By seniority, even the second and third-generation Robins would have to respectfully call her "senior." The fact that Barbara can still run and jump shows that this world's cruel joke has clearly gone awry. After all, if things hadn't gone wrong, Barbara would probably be competing with Stephen Hawking to see whose wheelchair is faster.

Thomas's eyes reflected the image of the three people rushing towards him, but his expression didn't change much; he simply shook his head listlessly.

"Too inexperienced, even as an assistant."

Hearing Thomas's assessment, Ron, standing to the side, seemed speechless and defended Bruce with a look of disdain:

"That's not right of you. How old are they? Do you think Bruce is like you, tolerating whatever they do as long as they're useful? Even a villain like the Penguin became your henchman and butler. Aren't you afraid of getting shot in the back while you're in the bathroom?"

"And Mr. Freeze and the others." Barry nodded as well. Having entered Speed ​​Force mode early on, Barry could sense three small bats heading this way.

But how to put it? Barry's eyes were filled with regret and self-reproach—it was foreseeable that Thomas would severely punish these unripe fruits.

There's no need to worry about any danger, after all, they are indeed Bruce's partners and assistants. Even if Thomas were incredibly reckless, he probably wouldn't destroy Bruce's hard-won family, right?

...Noticing Barry's fantasy, Ron chuckled indifferently.

Seeing this, Barry's expression also darkened: "Is that possible?"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Ron shrugged, his little face full of resignation.

"You know the Wayne family has something wrong with their heads. The mother turned into the Joker after a mental breakdown, so smoothly that she didn't even need nitrous oxide as a medium. The father transformed into the Dark Knight on the spot after his son died, and his ruthless actions were definitely not suitable for children. After his parents died, the son wasn't much better off. Everyone else treats being a superhero as a side job, but he treats being the richest man in Gotham as a side job, risking his life to punish evil and promote good, yet still deliberately leaving behind future troubles."

Ron shrugged: "Even the Bat-family members can't stand this kind of relentless, grueling life. Now that Thomas's back, I can't say what might happen."

While Ron was still chatting casually with Barry, the Bat Team had quickly arrived. They hadn't seen Ron and Thomas before, but they recognized Barry. Now, seeing Barry, a hint of doubt appeared in their eyes. Then, Todd, still wearing his red hood, said:

"Mr. Flash, I heard from the butler that you had left this place. Why are you in the Batcave now?"

"Uh...would you believe me if I said I was lost?"

"I don't believe it."

Todd said coldly, "The butler invited you to enter through the main gate, but now you've sneaked in quietly... I don't think Batman authorized this."

Upon hearing this, Barry wanted to say something more. But before Barry could open his mouth, Thomas shook his head, flexed his hands, and walked towards the three of them while saying this.

"Enough with the nonsense, Todd. You should pin him to the ground before you start questioning him."

As he said this, Thomas turned his gaze to Barbara and Drake on the side:

"Don't tell me you can't do it. The moment Barry entered here, Bruce's anti-Speed ​​Force sensor combat system, which was designed to counter the Flash, was already activated. You can definitely do it."

"what?"

Barry was taken aback.

Upon hearing Thomas's words, the three little ones beside him narrowed their eyes with a serious expression.

The somber mood stemmed not only from Thomas's discovery of the anti-Speed ​​Force sensor combat system targeting the Flash, but more importantly, from the fact that the man in the suit with a white flower pinned to his chest had immediately recognized Todd and Bruce's names.

Thinking about it, the three of them subconsciously looked at Barry beside them, their thoughts clearly conveyed in their eyes.

Barry shook his head innocently and said, "I absolutely did not violate the League's agreement... Well, to be honest, even if I did, Bruce probably wouldn't say anything. Once you know this guy's name, you might think it's no big deal."

"But the fact is you are the prime suspect."

Todd said coldly.

For any superhero, their true identity is a closely guarded secret. Because if it were revealed, the superhero would face relentless retaliation from criminals targeting their family and friends. And it's not just criminals; governments around the world might also extend their inappropriate thoughts towards their family and friends.

Therefore, even within the Justice League, only a few members know the identities of the others, in order to serve as a check and balance.

Now, regardless of the circumstances, Barry is the prime suspect.

"I'll talk to Batman." Todd drew a samurai sword from behind him—his weapon alone showed that Todd's style of doing things was clearly different from Batman's.

"After dealing with you."

Barbara, standing nearby, shouted, "Mr. Flash, you'd better not move! The Anti-Speed ​​Force device has locked onto you!"

"Perhaps you should worry about yourselves instead," Barry said, rubbing his temples helplessly.

Meanwhile, although Thomas drew his longsword, he had come with Barry. Todd knew the Flash's personality well, and although he appeared alongside the Flash, he didn't choose to kill him. Instead, he deflected his blade, intending to test the Flash's skills before deciding how to fight.

Realizing Todd's intentions, a cold glint appeared in Thomas's eyes. Although Todd had launched the attack first, and his skillful slash had missed the vital areas, it was still aimed at Thomas's abdomen, intending to completely incapacitate him.

From Todd's perspective, all he saw was Thomas's gaze turn cold, and then Thomas transformed into a blur, appearing before him like a ghost. His crisp suit bulged from his muscles. Realizing something was wrong, Todd immediately went to defense, but before he could react, a powerful kick struck him squarely in the abdomen.

In that instant, Todd felt as if a solid cannonball had struck his abdomen, the immense pressure causing him to cough up blood. But before Todd could react, Thomas's large hand grabbed Todd's ankle as he was lifted off the ground. With a flick of his wrist, he slammed Todd's foot against the wall.

He felt a buzzing in his head and fell to the ground. Although his limbs were intact, Todd was so shocked that he was unable to stand up.

After loosening Todd's leg, Thomas looked up at Barbara and Tim Drake.

"Next up are you."

"Barbara! Don't hold back!"

Tim's eyes widened as he felt Thomas's overwhelming power. Without hesitation, he drew his extendable staff from his waist and charged towards Thomas before Barbara could react. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Barbara followed suit, her whip flashing out in a blur, accompanied by the whooshing sound of wind.

Grabbing the whip, Thomas sidestepped and punched Tim squarely in the abdomen. Tim gritted his teeth in pain, but didn't flinch. Instead, he immediately activated the high-voltage current on his battle staff. Unfortunately, accompanied by a crackling sound, Thomas's body remained completely unaffected. Instead, he grabbed Tim's face with his other hand. With a surge of electricity, Tim's body trembled, then he lost consciousness, emitting blue smoke.

Just as Jason Todd got up, before he could even stand up, Tim was thrown directly onto Todd. He landed heavily on Todd, who was already struggling to get up from the shock, only to be knocked down again before he could even stand.

Thomas looked up and gazed at Barbara, his face calm.

"Should we continue, Barbara Gordon?"

"..."

Hearing Thomas call her name directly, Barbara couldn't help but take a deep breath. But with that deep breath, Barbara's gaze quickly hardened again.

Despite Thomas controlling the whip, Barbara refused to give up. As a world-class gymnast, since becoming Batgirl, Barbara had consciously studied combat extensively. Relying on her near-perfect flexibility, Barbara was confident that if she could find a way to entangle this guy's joints, even if he was stronger and had more endurance, she could still turn the tide!

Barbara charged forward!

Barbara has the upper hand!

Barbara has secured the victory!

Barbara sent it.

Piled up together, Thomas simply shook his head indifferently, then looked towards the far end to one side and said, "Come out, I see you."

Upon hearing Thomas's words, all that could be seen at the other end of the passage was an armored figure completely encased in special alloy, accompanied by the cold sound of mechanical operation, slowly emerging.

He raised the machine gun in his hand and looked at Thomas, but Alfred did not launch an attack immediately.

Instead, looking at the electronic screen inside the armor's display, Alfred felt an unprecedented sense of confusion.

"Who are you!"

Alfred questioned.

Thomas calmly straightened his clothes. He then looked at Alfred, who saw a flash of red light before realizing his suit had slipped from his control. The cockpit glowed red, and finally, with the engine shutting down, white steam billowed from his body as his helmet rose, revealing Alfred's face, filled with astonishment and uncertainty.

Looking at Alfred's face, Thomas's gaze also revealed a long-lost sense of relaxation.

"You've gotten old, Alfred. I remember the last time I saw you, your hair was still very thick."

Hearing Thomas's words to Alfred, Jason and Tim, who were pondering how to help Butler deal with this guy, stopped what they were doing. They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with confusion—it seemed this guy was quite familiar with the butler?

Upon hearing Thomas's words, Alfred stared in disbelief—although Thomas had aged considerably, he possessed a powerful physique honed through years of fighting criminals. While time had left its mark on Thomas, his features still retained the traces of his youth.

Alfred instinctively felt disbelief, but the specially made combat suit had completely shut down. Although the helmet was raised, the completely stationary cockpit was like an iron coffin, making it impossible for Alfred to move an inch.

Sensing the disbelief in Alfred's expression, Thomas didn't mind and walked towards him unhurriedly.

As the distance closed, Thomas's face became clearer in Alfred's sight. But the clearer it became, the more silent Alfred became. Finally, when they were almost touching, Alfred's expression grew increasingly serious, and he questioned:

"Who are you?!"

(End of this chapter)