But the criminals won't do

"Have you heard about the ghost haunting Gotham?" Dick asked as he returned to Wayne Manor, barely containing his excitement.

Tim replied with a lack of enthusiasm, "Seen the news?"

"Oh, of course," Dick asked eagerly, "Tell me everything. Is it really a ghost? The photos online are so blurry, you can't see anything."

Recently, news of ghost sightings in Gotham had been circulating online, causing quite a stir. Many people had examined the photos and found no traces of manipulation, indicating that they were genuine. But whether or not someone was disguising themselves as ghosts was hard to say.

Dick was curious to know. After all, Gotham had never experienced anything like this before. He wondered if highly intelligent criminals were more difficult to deal with, or if ghosts were. It was hard to say.

"Check the Batcomputer for information. See for yourself," Tim replied with closed eyes, sounding tired and uninterested.

It was clear he didn't want to tell Dick himself, so Dick didn't mind and went down to the Batcave to find answers.

Batman hadn't encrypted the strange files on the Batcomputer. There were two female ghosts and a little boy ghost. Dick temporarily classified them as ghosts, although Batman also doubted whether they were ghosts or not. They seemed to lean more towards being products of some laboratory experiment.

Because they couldn't speak, they looked like humans but were significantly different. The sharpness of their nails was something no human would possess, not to mention their ability to climb walls without any tools.

They also seemed to have the ability to affect magnetic fields and technology signals, causing surveillance to fail and power to disappear.

After Dick finished reading the data, Tim came down with a cup of coffee. Seeing Dick staring at the part where the female ghosts were killing people in the malfunctioning video, Tim pulled up a chair and sat down, taking a sip of coffee. "In some ways, they're indeed similar to ghosts. The locator quickly loses track of them."

"Has Bruce considered contacting Zatanna or Constantine to take a look?" Dick asked. "At least to confirm if they're human or ghosts."

Tim blinked tiredly. "Don't know."

Dick made a sound of acknowledgment. "Do they only have this one murder record? What's the motive?"

"Not clear. They suddenly appeared there, and those guys investigated, but found no connection with them."

"Why would those two guys fight them then?" Dick pulled up another text record from Batman, since there was no video.

"Are they enemies? Or fighting for territory? Any information on the woman with the child?"

"You can tell they're both of Asian descent, but there's no information on them in Gotham's database, and they don't speak," Tim replied with a sigh. "The one with the child has appeared more frequently. The little boy is mischievous and has scared quite a few people."

"So, are they mother and son?" Dick looked at the blurry photos and guessed.

Tim nodded. "Possibly."

Dick stared at the two blurry figures in the photo, looking nothing short of ghosts, with eyes devoid of any whites. "Do you find these two guys familiar? Like you've seen them somewhere?"

"Are you talking about the famous horror movie, 'Curse O'?" Tim raised his eyes, pondering for a moment. Dick was reminded, and he suddenly realized.

He took out his phone and searched for the horror movie, comparing the photos. Excitedly, he said, "Look! Aren't they similar?"

Tim nodded. "Some people online have speculated the same, but this is reality, not a movie. Do you really think the guys from the movie tore through the screen and came out?"

"Maybe it's a horror movie enthusiast? Creating these things?" Dick suggested. "What about the other one? If it's a horror movie, where did it come from?"

Tim replied wearily, "No clue."

"Dick nodded, but at least it was a direction to pursue. They had encountered extreme enthusiasts before.

"Where's Bruce's son? Haven't seen him around," Dick asked, raising another question of concern.

Dick had been away at Blüdhaven and only returned recently, unaware of all the events that had transpired in his absence. Each revelation shocked him, especially the news of Bruce having a biological son. Bruce always preached about being prepared, yet here he was, unexpectedly becoming a father himself.

Thinking about Damian, Tim couldn't help feeling conflicted. Dick patted his shoulder, knowing full well what Damian had done to Tim upon his return. Dick hadn't seen Damian yet, so he assumed it was just an accident during one of their sparring sessions. Alfred and Bruce hadn't revealed any other details.

On the day of his return, he hadn't seen Damian.

"Bruce took him with him," Tim replied.

Whoever thought, Damian was inherently a bloodthirsty, temperamental, arrogant, and cruel child. Bruce hoped he would change, be exposed to ordinary life, and experience the life of an ordinary child.

Dick exclaimed with anticipation, "So he'll be an adorable little brother, right?"

Faced with Dick's expectation, Tim replied listlessly, "Maybe."

"He does look like Bruce though, doesn't he?" Dick said gleefully, envisioning a mini version of Bruce.

"That's all we've got," Tim replied indifferently, not wanting to interact with Damian.

Tim didn't shatter Dick's fantasy, because when he saw Damian, that fantasy shattered. The moment he laid eyes on Damian, he knew that, apart from their faces, Damian didn't resemble Bruce in any way.

With Damian's disdainful gaze, Dick's illusion shattered upon seeing Damian. Maybe Damian had never seen him before, never interacted with him, so he looked at him with such disdain.

Facing Dick's almost tearful expression, Tim slowly raised his coffee cup to conceal his smirk.

That night, Dick, who hadn't received a warm reception from Damian, went on patrol with a sense of indignation. Nightwing vented his frustrations on the criminals he encountered.

The criminals who had been sent home to visit their families were severely beaten by Nightwing: ...Who did we piss off?

Nightwing felt that he had had a fulfilling night. Not only had he taken down several criminals, but he had also encountered Red Hood.

Nightwing: Wow! I heard Batman and Robin hadn't run into Red Hood in half a month.

"Nightwing," Red Hood said, seeing the obstacle in front of him, his voice masked to conceal his emotions.

Nightwing smiled. "Red Hood, can I know what you're up to?"

They started fighting again, and it was particularly intense.

Nightwing blocked Red Hood's escape route, waiting for Batman to arrive. And he did.

The two injured combatants stopped when Batman and Nightwing blocked Red Hood's path.

Red Hood: ...FML.

Batman questioned Red Hood, as he always did, but Red Hood couldn't answer his questions. Not now, not ever.

So, the two started fighting again.

Just when the two seemed evenly matched, Nightwing suddenly looked behind Batman and said over the comms, "B, behind you."

Batman abruptly turned around, and not far behind him, about three or four meters away on a billboard, was a child. It was impossible to see the face clearly, but judging by the size, it was definitely a child.

Wearing a snug uniform and a white mask, the child's hood obscured his eyes, but Batman felt him staring at him.

The child on the billboard didn't move, and Batman couldn't recall seeing this child before. A child with considerable abilities who appeared silently. If Nightwing hadn't reminded him, he wouldn't have noticed.

Batman and Nightwing didn't know who this child was, and Red Hood, at first glance, didn't recognize him either. But the longer he looked, the more familiar he seemed.

Red Hood: ?!"

"She's out to do what?! He can run away!!!"

He asked Roy to help with these things not for... well, he actually did have that in mind, but he wasn't prepared for it to happen so soon!

Jantiss pointed at the Red Hood behind Batman, breaking the eerie silence.

Nightwing spoke first, "Kid, are you here to find Red Hood? That's not gonna happen, we found him first."

Jantiss didn't speak but silently drew out a knife, indicating her opposition.

Red Hood just wanted to cover his face, but he ended up encountering the cold mask, how could he not misunderstand her like this?

He pressed the comm earpiece, about to call out her name, then remembered he couldn't, so he said, "Sparrow, go back."

Jantiss knew Jason was calling her, she wanted to speak, but recalling Jason's warning not to expose her original voice, she remained silent, unmoving, and naturally didn't heed his words.

The four of them stood still for a moment, mainly because, apart from the Red Hood, the other two didn't know who the newcomer was, whether they were male or female, and from which faction, so they were very wary.

Jantiss had seen Batman fight Red Hood more than once, and this time they were even ganging up on him, so she didn't want to listen to Jason's objections now.

With a swift motion, she dashed out, but she didn't use the knife, she put it away and relied solely on her fists and feet.

The girl's strength wasn't enough, but she was fast enough and agile enough, with fierce yet flexible moves.

Batman didn't go all out against a child, and he also saw her put away the knife, so while dealing with her attacks, he asked, "What's your relationship with the Red Hood?"

Jantiss didn't answer, if Batman hadn't helped her before, she definitely would have used the knife, even if she couldn't beat him.

Red Hood couldn't stand seeing his own kid being bullied, just as he was about to go help, Nightwing stopped him.

"So, is that kid your sidekick?" Nightwing frowned.

Batman also furrowed his brow.

Red Hood chuckled coldly a few times, "I'm not Batman."

Nightwing was speechless.

Because Batman was only defending, and Jantiss didn't want to continue the fight, she stepped on Batman and jumped towards Red Hood, tossing down a smoke bomb as she did so.

Jason understood this and immediately followed Jantiss out of here.

When the smoke cleared and they saw the empty surroundings, they weren't surprised.

Nightwing looked silently at Batman, "This is your fault, B. You recruited a kid as your sidekick first."

Batman turned and left, "But a criminal won't do, and a kid shouldn't follow him into crime."