Inside the Mirror Dimension, after watching it all, Bruce gave Fang Yuan a thumbs-up.
"Orc and Carlson are both gone, but the crisis between the Parliament and the King continues. Their dispute will last long enough for us to reap the rewards next year," Batman praised.
"You're… more professional than I imagined," Bruce paused, hunting for a less insulting word.
Fang Yuan ignored the nuance and took it as a genuine compliment.
"Anything to add?" he asked.
Bruce thought for a moment. "Carlson—she needs to shut up fast, so the clash between the Crown and Parliament gets even hotter."
Batman's pretty professional at doing bad things too.
Talking about it reminded Fang Yuan of something else.
"Right—you've got memories of Batmen from countless Universes, even Dawnbreaker. So… what about the Drowned Dead?" he asked curiously.
…
Bruce stayed silent, then forced out through clenched teeth, "I never turned into a woman."
Fang Yuan pounced on the slip. "I never said how you knew the Drowned Dead is female?"
"Dawnbreaker and the Drowned Dead are both Dark Knights," Bruce reminded him.
The Dark Knights are a famous villain group in DC comics, made up of corrupted Batmen from different Universes.
Fang Yuan already knew they were teammates; he was just gossiping.
A Gender-swapped Batman whose love interest is Catman—imagine how many Jokers would drool over that scoop.
But mentioning the Dark Knights sparked another idea. "Right, you've never been the Drowned Dead—so have you ever been The Batman Who Laughs?"
"No," Bruce answered flatly.
Fang Yuan wasn't surprised. "Makes sense. The Batman Who Laughs is pretty overpowered; Darkseid's multiverse omega Effect might not even finish him off."
"I spoke with Arthur's parents; every weekend he'll come to Gotham for training. I'm making him Robin," Bruce said, changing the subject.
"Oh?" Fang Yuan perked up. "Looks like the title of first Robin in this World is switching hands."
"Not really," Bruce rubbed his nose. "Dick still became Robin."
"Huh?" Fang Yuan blinked. "How come I haven't seen him around Wayne Manor?"
"I've been away; Dick's back living with his parents," Bruce replied.
Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes, studying him playfully.
"Shame on you, Batman—still can't let go of Dick's perky butt. Quit being Batman, go become Pope!"
"Priests love little boys; with your skills you'd be management material."
Bruce's forehead darkened; he knew Fang Yuan wouldn't say anything decent.
"Ever since I saved them that night, Dick's been hunting for clues about Batman, even copying me to fight crime. If I left him alone he'd get hurt," Bruce justified.
But Fang Yuan cared more about jokes than facts.
"You just can't give up Dick's butt," he summarized.
Actually, Fang Yuan wasn't surprised at all that Dick Grayson became Robin again.
He was Batman's first official partner across many worlds—comrade, junior—not so easy to abandon.
Alfred doesn't count; Alfred is the one and only butler.
"So Arthur's the second Robin, huh," Fang Yuan nodded. "Not bad; raises Dick's safety factor."
Yet Bruce still shook his head.
"No—I adopted Jason too."
Fang Yuan was startled. This Jason clearly wasn't Professor X's wheelchair-bound student, but the second Robin, Red Hood.
"Jason Todd?"
Bruce nodded.
"You wrestled custody from his parents?" Fang Yuan asked.
Everyone knows every Robin gets adopted by Batman, but each story is different.
The first, Dick, lost his parents in an accident witnessed by Bruce, who took him in out of pity—becoming Robin was a happy bonus.
Becoming Robin was a happy bonus.
The second, Jason, had it worse. At first he was a carbon copy: acrobat, dead parents, looked like Dick—just a replacement after Dick grew up and flew solo. Post-reboot he got his own backstory, but Fang Yuan wondered if a dad in jail, a dead mom, life as a street kid, then a birth mother who turned out to be Joker Gang was really better.
And in this World Jason's origin leaned toward the latter version.
With foster-parents who were Gotham's standard scumbags, Jason's life was misery—beatings, hunger, constant fear—turning him aggressive.
Beatings, hunger, constant fear—turning him aggressive.
"Jason's parents already died in a Gang clash, so I adopted him," Bruce summarized.
"They're definitely dead?"
"They're definitely dead?"
"Don't want another 'Jason's real mom' popping up to mess things up."
Hearing that, Bruce's face dimmed.
Fang Yuan was referring to Jason's Death: his mother suddenly reappeared, coerced by Joker, tricked Jason, and Joker killed him.
Though Jason later resurrected, there was no more second Robin—only the vengeful, brutal Red Hood.
Blame lay with DC Editorial: they ran a Fan Vote—5,343 to 5,271—letting Joker beat him with a crowbar and blow him up.
In-story, Batman suffered the most, treating every Robin as his child, seeing Jason's Death as his own failure.
Because of Batman's No-Kill Rule he couldn't avenge Jason, deepening their rift.
In-story, Batman's stubborn obsession might be his charm, but those close to him paid the price.
"That won't happen again," Bruce vowed, as though taking an oath.
"Telling me is useless," Fang Yuan shrugged. "Depends whether Jason has a so-called birth-mom."
Dying in Gotham isn't strange; resurrecting is even less strange.
"I watched them die myself," Batman said calmly. "Jason's foster parents and birth parents are all dead."
"Huh?"
Fang Yuan's casual expression snapped away.
He personally watched Jason's parents die—and then adopted their son?
At best that meant standing by and doing nothing; at worst… why was Batman around every time Jason's parents died?
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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