Chapter 97

Dio has only simple defense spells in his room; they aren't even worthy of being considered defense spells.

A curse or two might be in order to keep people from coming in.

"Hmmm."

Dio heard Roy's growl on the other end of the line; that's the most he'd get from him as a welcome.

"Welcome back, my friend; I hope you had a good adventure."

It seems like Kaldur'ahm is always like a monk about things.

"Thank you, Aqualad. Isn't Raven with you guys?"

Raven doesn't speak much, but she wouldn't miss a greeting.

"She's using astral projection to watch over something."

Aqualad replied.

"Have you found those responsible for the disappearances?"

"We thought so at first, but we ended up stumbling upon a different case of slave labor trafficking."

He explained.

"Do you need help? I can be there in two hours flying."

"If all goes well, we'll be heading back home in two hours."

"Understood, Aqualad. Good luck."

Dio said while removing the communicator before Koriand'r loses patience and attacks him with more questions.

Dio got up from the chair and headed to the elevator.

He went to the floor where the bathrooms were to take a good shower, and he hadn't done so since entering the underworld.

In the underworld, Dio's body seemed frozen in time, so showers weren't necessary, but he was no longer in the underworld.

...

After a long and satisfying shower and an even better dinner, Dio sat on the couch with the Tower's laptop while looking into the file about the disappearances in all cities.

After being in the underworld for a long time, Dio thought he deserved a few days off and isn't doing anything.

However, there are plenty of things to do.

Dio was no expert in investigations, but anyone reading the detailed file on the disappearances knows that something is very wrong.

First, they all disappeared in different situations, indicating that the abductor doesn't have a unique way of taking them.

Second, all disappearances happened at night.

Third, age, gender, or race didn't matter to those behind it.

Dio implied that everything seems to be happening by chance, with no plan or purpose.

This is because people who abduct people to sell them always go after a certain type of person.

This feels like the supernatural; only supernatural beings leave such a strange trail after their deeds.

It's hard for normal humans to solve these mysteries because they always try to think in the most logical way while ignoring magic.

Batman himself has to seek outside sources for guidance on matters of the supernatural.

Dio is sitting on the big and long sofa in the living room.

The TV beeps, and the Robin logo, a red bird with its wings spread out, shows up on the screen.

Dio took the remote and pressed a button. The picture soon changes to show Robin wearing his mask and sitting in a chair.

From the darkness behind him, he must be in the Batcave.

"How are you, Robin?"

Dio asked Robin.

"Kírix, you're back."

Robin responded without emotion.

Robin has always been a very serious boy, but when he's alone with them, he tends to relax a bit.

In addition, he tried very hard to imitate his mentor or father when he was with him.

"I just got back and was updating myself."

Dio said while raising the notebook for him to see, then placing it next to him on the couch.

"How can I help you?"

Robin wouldn't call from the Batcave if there wasn't a problem.

"An hour ago, during the investigation of a location, Batman and Catwoman were captured. So far, I have no news or clues about them."

"Does this have anything to do with the disappearances?"

"I don't know, but very likely."

Batman is not the most communicative person, so he always keeps the details of his investigation until it's over.

"Normally, I and our team would handle situations like this, but with the magic, I'm asking for help."

Robin continued.

"So you two figured out it might be magic."

"Correct, Batman sent a message to Zatanna, but she seemed to be unreachable at the moment."

"Batman disappearing isn't a surprise, but why Catwoman too?"

Dio didn't have any information about whether she and Batman had any kind of relationship in this universe.

They've been playing a cat-and-mouse game since she first showed up, but no one has ever caught her, and her identity is still a secret.

The news stories about them on the Internet don't say much.

"Catwoman was at the location trying to steal something—wrong place, wrong time."

"I'm coming; I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Dio said this and stood up.

"Do you need me to prepare anything?"

"A map of Gotham and something Batman uses—the more personal, the better."

Dio replied while walking to the window on the floor.

Magicians and witches are the only ones who can block tracking spells, which makes them very useful.

"Understood, meet me at the Bat-Signal."

Dio jumped out of the window and flew at high speed toward Gotham. It's not far at his maximum speed.

It's been years since Dio has been to Gotham.

He only entered the city's outskirts the last time, where Zatanna's house is located. That was a long time ago, and it might sound crazy, but he really missed the city.

Robin didn't know this, but saving Catwoman is also in his plans.

Dio has a code that says one should always repay kindness with kindness. She did that for him once, and it's time to return the favor.

Dio's armor appeared in midair as he had that thought while breaking the sound barrier.

...

Gotham

There were black clouds shooting up from different parts of the city, lit up by lightning, and a slowly flying Blimp.

There were a lot of people going around the city at night and watching out for their own safety.

They were mostly looking for an easy target to steal from or a client to make money from.

A beautiful black city with the sound of police car sirens as its soundtrack.

The darkness of this city is ten times greater than in any other.

In the sky, Dio is flying while no one can see him because, not even using his camouflage device, there's no need.

The Gotham City Police Department is on the lower east side of the city, almost in the center.

When Dio came here for the first time, he used the stairs to reach the roof.

Today, he simply landed on it.

The roof hasn't changed; it's still a big place with only the entrance and the large projector with the bat logo pointing upwards.

It wasn't turned on.

"You arrived right on time."

Robin simply appears from the shadow on the left, as if he had always been there.

Batman's stealth technology is getting better and better; Dio only managed to see him because he's not Batman, but it won't be long before he can't see Robin either.

Robin was still in the same style of suit, with a red outfit with a yellow belt and green pants, a short black cape, and his hair styled upwards with his black mask and white eyes.

"As promised."

"Here!"

Robin tossed a folded sheet of paper to him, which Dio caught in the air and unfolded.

A map of Gotham with a toothbrush inside.

"A toothbrush? Seriously?"

Dio asked him while lifting the toothbrush.

"You said the closer, the better. I was undecided between this or Batsuit."

'I don't know if he was joking or not, but knowing him, he definitely wasn't.'

"All right, let's get this done."

Dio knelt on the dirty roof and opened the map. He held the toothbrush with both hands and cast the spell.

"Στο όνομα όλων των θεών, δείξε μου τι ψάχνω!"

(In the name of all the gods, show me what I seek!)

The brush between his hands ignites while disappearing, and the map also catches fire at a specific point.

The fire extinguishes while leaving only a black spot on it.

Robin approached him and looked at the spot.

"There must have been a problem; there is another witch interfering with me."

Dio said

The black spot on the map was right above the Gotham River, which should be frozen in the winter, so there are no ships on it.

"No, it's not."

Robin said.

"Care to share?"

"You've heard of Wonder City?"

Robin asked.

"Only legends, a city beneath the city."

"Well, it exists. There are tunnels throughout the city that lead to it, and one of them passes under the Gotham River."

Robin explained.

"If you're right, it means it's on the move. Where's the nearest entrance to this city?"

Dio asked.

"Here."

Robin replied and pointed to the north of the city.

"Hmmm, this is clearly a trap. Can you tell me what lead you were following?"

"There was a strange activity at the location. Batman thought the building was a stop before those who were kidnapped were moved."

Robin explained.

"Has any known villain escaped from the asylum lately?"

"No, but several of them have not been recaptured since the last escape."

Dio also likes to have an opinion about an issue and criticize it.

How has Batman, one of the richest men in the world with both money and connections, never thought of improving Arkham Asylum?

Imagine how many would escape if he asked Zatanna for a little help to enchant the place.

"What happened to your hands?"

Robin asked with shock.

...

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