15 Dick Grayson

Looking at the guy in colorful attire in front of him, Jero recognized him at a glance. The yellow with green combination, along with a lot of red - and no pants.

This outfit was even more conspicuous in the dark than Superman.

Robin... Batman's sidekick. But Jero couldn't quite figure out which generation of Robin this was.

"Hello there, kid. What brings you here all of a sudden?" Superman greeted the Robin in front of him as if they had known each other for a long time, completely unfazed by how this kid seemed to have knowledge of his whereabouts.

The Robin in front of them seemed a bit displeased upon hearing this. He responded, "I've had a little disagreement with Batman recently, and now I'm not sure where to go."

"Run away from home and come to Superman?" Jero guessed who this Robin was after hearing that.

Dick Grayson, the first Robin of Batman. He had started as a child growing up in a circus but at the age of eight, his parents were murdered in front of him. Batman adopted him and, after rigorous training, he became Robin, fighting alongside Batman for justice in Gotham City.

"Is that so?" Superman probably understood why this kid had come to him. He looked at Robin and then said to Jero, "Ultraman, you might have seen him in the newspapers. His name is Robin."

"Nice to meet you, Robin." Jero, eyeing Dick's outfit with no pants, left Utopia and walked up to Dick, extending his hand for a friendly handshake.

"I'm also glad to meet you, Ultraman." Dick shook hands with Jero as Superman chimed in, "I hope you two young people will have a pleasant time during this period."

"I think we will," Dick Grayson smiled faintly and then turned his gaze toward Jero.

"Well, how about we head back to Metropolis first?" Jero responded to Dick's gaze, "I heard from Superman that Batman is a master of all martial arts. So, as Batman's sidekick, you must be good at combat too, right?"

"Oh?" Hearing the name 'Batman,' Dick's expression suddenly became interesting. He stared at Jero and said, "It looks like you want to attend a combat class. That's fine, but I have something to say... Screw Batman!"

"Uh..."

Afterward, Dick tossed a locator to Jero and instructed him to open it at four o'clock tomorrow afternoon.

The next day, in the afternoon, after finishing a day of classes, Jero followed the locator Dick had given him to an old warehouse. A young man wearing sunglasses, a black coat, and black jeans had been waiting there for a long time.

"You finally made it." Disguised as Dick, he looked at Jero appearing so candidly, teasingly saying, "Why aren't you wearing any disguise? Aren't you worried I might have ulterior motives?"

"You're Batman's sidekick; that's enough for me to trust you," Jero smiled as he looked at Dick.

The level of trust this person was showing Jero, even though they had just met, made Dick quite happy. But when Jero brought up Batman, it made Dick a little uncomfortable.

"Don't mention Batman in front of me," Dick frowned. He pulled out a wooden short staff from behind and threw it towards Jero, then said, "No need for superpowers. Let me see your basics."

Jero raised his hand and caught the staff Dick had thrown at him. Then he assumed a comfortable stance and said to Dick, "Don't worry, Superman gave me a gravity watch. It can suppress my powers, making me similar to an ordinary person."

"That's good." The eyes beneath Dick's sunglasses narrowed, and he pulled out another short staff. He rushed at Jero.

With the nerves he had developed during this period, Jero managed to block Dick's attack with the staff, but despite his quick reaction, his body couldn't keep up.

After about four hours, with his body covered in marks from the staff, Jero called a halt. This high-intensity concentration was quite exhausting.

At this point, Dick also appeared to be quite tired. Although he had received training, his essence was still that of an ordinary human.

"You held up better than I expected." Dick threw away the staff in his hand and produced two energy drinks from somewhere.

"Have one of these; it'll help replenish your energy more effectively, if it still works for you."

"Thanks." Jero accepted the drink and drank it greedily. While he could replenish his energy with rest, he wouldn't refuse something that was essentially free.

By now, it was late at night in Metropolis. Dots of starlight shone through the warehouse ceiling, casting light on the two young men.

After finishing the drinks, Jero looked at Dick and suggested, "Do you want to see the Metropolis night? I can be your guide."

"Is there still crime in Metropolis under Superman's protection?" Dick asked, puzzled.

"We can send those scoundrels to jail," Jero looked at Dick and said in a tone similar to Superman's, "but we can't control the growth of evil in people's hearts."

Dick fell silent for a moment. His disagreements with Batman were partly due to this. He couldn't quite understand Batman's approach of simply sending criminals to jail or an asylum.

Especially after that incident half a year ago, the rift between Dick and Batman had grown larger. Although Batman had found a new Robin afterward, it had also made Dick want to strike out on his own. After months of contemplation, Dick had finally decided to embark on his journey and find his own place.

"Interested in coming with me?" Jero took out a pair of red-framed, orange-lensed glasses. He put them on his face, and with a flash of light, crimson armor covered his body.

"Perfect timing to explore Metropolis with you," Dick smiled slightly, "but you'll have to wait a bit. I can't change as quickly as you."

"Of course, as long as it's not the outfit without pants."

(End of this chapter)

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