Nobody can stop me from drawing cards in Gotham!

Chapter 78 The Gears of Fate Are Turning Again

Is there anything more embarrassing than being caught cosplaying someone and then being caught red-handed by the person in the photos?

—Barbara Gordon, the newly minted Batgirl (who eventually compromised on her codename), thinks…no.

What's even more terrifying than running into the real Batman while cosplaying is being faced with his disapproving gaze at such close range.

As expected of Gotham City's bat legend, the silent gaze cast from behind the white goggles alone is enough to put immense pressure on one and cause one to break out in a cold sweat.

Barbara: "..."

Help.

She instinctively cast a pleading look at Jaeger beside her.

As for Jason... asking for help was useless, not to mention the way that kid looked at Batman, he was more like a fanatic than Jason himself.

Upon receiving Barbara's signal, Jaeger also felt that this stalemate couldn't continue, so he coughed and broke the eerie silence: "Um, Batman, this is the new vigilante who recently appeared in Gotham City."

"Hmm." Batman finally looked away from the pressure that had been weighing on Barbara.

"You just hummed in response?" Jaeger asked. "Didn't you have anything else to say?"

Batman didn't comment on Jaeger's words, but the two minors next to him were filled with respect and cast admiring glances at Jaeger in unison.

Wow, he actually dared to talk to Batman like that!

Upon hearing this, Batman glanced at Jaeger before turning to Barbara: "Being a vigilante isn't some new game for seeking thrills, teenager."

"I don't see being a vigilante as a game." Even when facing Batman, Barbara remained unyielding on this issue. "I'm serious."

"Really?" Batman crossed his arms. "Do you know the risks of being a vigilante in Gotham City?"

"Perhaps you've been lucky; in the previous operations, you subdued the criminals very smoothly without getting injured."

"But luck doesn't always work in one person's favor, and fate is always unpredictable," Batman said coldly. "There will always be a time when you encounter situations you can't predict, risks you can't withstand, and enemies you can't fight."

"And in those times, you might face more than just the risk of injury or disability... you might die."

"I'm not afraid to die." Barbara looked directly at Batman.

But Batman looked at Barbara and said, "You're not afraid of death, but what about your parents?"

This question surprised Barbara.

"Yes, you're not afraid of death, you're willing to face death for this cause—but what about your parents? Can they calmly accept your death?" Batman said sternly.

"I..." Barbara wanted to say something more.

But Batman interrupted her: "Stop talking impulsively, teenager. Being a vigilante isn't a one-person show. It's not a decision to be made on a whim; it's a curse."

"A curse?" Jason, who had been silently listening to their conversation, couldn't help but repeat it.

“Yes, the curse.” This time it was Jaeger who spoke. He looked at Barbara. “Batman is right. Whether it’s you or Jason, I know you both admire Batman, even harbor the idea of ​​learning from him—so I want you to know that he’s right.”

"This curse is invisible, representing that you will pay with your time, health, courage and life, with all your might, with everything you have, to fight against the darkness and criminals of the entire city."

"Your lives are too short," Jaeger sighed, "but this curse will stay with you for the next ten, twenty years... until death, never to be dispelled."

"—Because those afflicted by this curse will never be able to ignore darkness, injustice, pain, bullying... nor will they be able to remain indifferent to all injustices."

"Isn't this a kind of curse upon justice?"

These words silenced the two minors present.

After a long silence, Barbara finally spoke: "I understand."

"But," she couldn't help but look at Batman, "Batman... how did you make this decision?"

What were you thinking when you chose to become Batman?

Regarding Barbara's situation, Batman only left this message before departing:

"Because I had already decided to dedicate my life to avenging the criminals in this city."

"Already deeply entangled, how can one speak of being cursed?"

------

On the same night, at a later time.

"Squeak—"

Outside a bedroom window in an apartment building, a dark figure peeked out, peered into the room through the glass, and after confirming that no one was moving around, cautiously pushed open the window, rolled over, and landed safely.

And this dark figure was none other than Barbara.

She quickly removed her uniform, mask, and belt, put them in a seemingly ordinary box, and then covered it with several miscellaneous magazines before pushing it under the bed to hide it.

After doing all that, Barbara finally breathed a sigh of relief and smoothed out her hair, which had been made a mess like a bird's nest by the mask.

Having concealed her secret identity, Barbara walked to the door again, gently pushed it open, and looked out of the room.

It was pitch black outside the room, with only the light from the living room television flickering.

Apart from that, there was no one else there.

Clearly, her father, James Gordon, has not returned home yet.

"Sigh." Barbara sighed, but she was already used to it.

She went to the kitchen, intending to heat up some instant noodles in the microwave for a late-night snack. As she closed the refrigerator door, her gaze naturally drifted over the photo fixed to the door with a refrigerator magnet.

That photo was taken last year, during the state gymnastics competition.

In the photo, James Gordon, who rarely smiles, is seen with his daughter Barbara holding her state championship medal, his face radiating a pride that only a father could understand.

In fact, Barbara showed unparalleled gymnastics talent from a young age, and Gordon has always encouraged her to pursue an Olympic-oriented career.

Barbara has also been moving in this direction.

But... when did she stop being so interested in gymnastics, which she was good at?

She began to notice her father, who was often out chasing criminals and staying out all night.

I started to notice the daily crime news in Gotham City.

I started noticing Gordon's daily fatigue, the dark circles under his eyes, and how he would change the subject when Barbara asked, saying, "Don't worry about me, focus on your gymnastics. Don't you have a competition next month?"

And, notice the figure moving through the city sky, lighting up a bat-shaped lamp... just like now.

Barbara was standing by the window, looking up at the bat projection hanging in the sky in the distance.

"Batman, he's probably up to something again." Looking at the symbol, Barbara's green eyes gradually hardened with determination. "But whatever the case—I've made up my mind."

"A mere curse can't stop the bat girl!"

At this moment, the bat logo is reflected not only in a pair of green eyes of a young girl, but also in another corner of the city, in another pair of blue eyes belonging to a boy.

Jason, who had been driven home by Jaeger, looked up at the bat symbol in the sky and couldn't help but recall the words he had just heard in the narrow alley.

"A curse..." Jason clenched his fist. "If this is a curse, then isn't everything in Crime Alley a curse too?"

"I can survive in Crime Alley."

"I can do that too, just like them," Jason said in a low voice.

"Jason?"

Just then, Catherine opened the door and looked at Jason standing there, somewhat surprised: "Where have you been? Why are you back so late?"

But since Jason was alright, the worry on Catherine's face vanished in an instant, and she quickly breathed a sigh of relief, jokingly asking, "Did the Red Hood kidnap you, Jason?"

Jason's eyes flickered.

—Red Hood, this is actually a common slang term in Gotham slums.

"Damn it, it must be the Red Hood's doing!" "It wasn't me, it was the Red Hood!" "It's all the Red Hood's fault!"... Such usages are countless.

The red hood is more of a pronoun, referring to someone who does bad things, a villain hiding in the shadows.

Even when Jason was a child, when he played tag with other kids around him, he would automatically divide the participants into "Red Hood" and "ordinary people"—Red Hood was the guy who was responsible for hunting down the others.

So Jason finally smiled at Catherine's joke.

He said, "Yes, Mom—it was all done by the Red Hood."