"Wait until they get back," Batman said.
"Oh."
Gwen nodded, pondering deeply for a long while as she looked around. Just as Batman was about to ask if she had any reservations and no longer wished to join his ranks, Gwen finally blurted out what was on her mind:
"Can I ask what time it is right now?"
"?" Batman didn't speak, casting a glance at Gwen.
"I need to be back before three in the morning," Gwen said. "My dad leaves the house at four in the morning, and I'm worried he'll find out I'm not in bed."
She had been looking around for a clock for a long time just now, but unfortunately, no such thing existed inside the Batcave.
"Robin and Spider-Man will be back within ten minutes," Batman said, pausing before adding, "Don't worry."
It had just passed midnight, leaving plenty of time before Gwen needed to head back.
True to Batman's word, within ten minutes, both Spider-Man and Venom Robin—having dropped off Kraven the Hunter and the serial killer Cletus at the psychiatric hospital and the Manhattan Police Department, respectively—had returned.
Gwen had been relatively relaxed at first; after all, she had already interacted with Batman once before, and he had even handed her an unknown life-saving gadget.
This kept her under minimal pressure around Batman, and even though Batman remained silent for the most part, Gwen still wandered inquisitively all over the Batcave.
However, as Spider-Man Benjamin Reilly returned—having "unintentionally" learned that Batman's true identity was Peter Parker—the atmosphere inside the Batcave gradually shifted.
Benjamin Reilly tried his utmost to mask his shock and bewilderment, yet he still couldn't help stealing several furtive glances at Batman.
Because Gwen was present, Benjamin Reilly kept his Spider-Man mask on, which made his frequent sidelong glances at Batman look exceptionally obvious.
His hesitation and desire to speak left Gwen somewhat baffled, drawing her into the silence as well.
Venom Robin was the last to return. The moment he stepped inside and saw the three of them sitting in silence, he sensibly refrained from screaming and shouting things like "Old Bat."
Of course, this also had to do with the old butler Alfred manifesting a projection the second Venom Robin stepped in and giving him a shake of the head.
This silent atmosphere didn't last long. Summoning the three of them here was not a power play meant to intimidate or pressure them.
Otherwise, Batman wouldn't have let Gwen wander freely around the Batcave in the first place.
"Gwen, do you know why, when I first met you, I said I didn't want you stepping into the world of superheroes?" Batman spoke up, keeping his tone as unforced as possible.
"Uh, you said this world is too dangerous?" Gwen said hesitantly.
A thought stirred in Venom Robin's heart, his mouth parting to blurt out the real reason.
However, Alfred shot Venom Robin a look, causing the sharp-tongued youngster to snap his mouth shut once more.
"I once knew a girl whose father was also a police commissioner. She was smart, impulsive, and formidable," Batman said. "She was also a superhero once."
Gwen's eyes lit up:
"And then? Who was she?"
Gwen didn't believe Batman had fabricated this story just to make conversation; there was simply no need for that.
"She eventually encountered the Joker, a cunning villain," Batman said. "She was shot through the lumbar spine and left paralyzed from the waist down. It took her a very long time to stand back up and continue fighting under a different identity."
"Paralyzed?" Gwen's tone lost its previous lightness.
"That's right. Fortunately, she survived, but her father cried in the hospital hallway that night—that was the first time I ever saw that man shed a tear," Batman's voice grew lower as well. "She almost died."
Venom Robin lowered his head, mentally recalling that crazy night in Gotham, and quietly sprouted a thick tangle of microscopic tentacles to meticulously count how many of the Riddler's puzzles Batman had unraveled in a single night.
Spider-Man Benjamin Reilly stood to the side, at a loss for what to say. He had lost everyone; if not for Batman and Professor Warren the Jackal, there would no longer be any "Benjamin" left in this world.
If an accident happens to me...
Benjamin Reilly asked himself in his mind, but he had barely formulated the thought before he realized there was no need to pursue it further.
Tonight, Batman had mobilized a massive group and rushed to the scene the very instant he faced danger. Spider-Man Benjamin Reilly knew full well who Batman was doing it for.
"If someone went so far to save me that they summoned nearly everyone who could get there instantly, thereby exposing their true identity, then as someone who now knows that true identity, is it really right for me to be sitting here so anxious and restless?"
Spider-Man Benjamin Reilly posed the question to himself in his heart, then shook his head.
There was no way in hell he was going to leak the news that Peter Parker was Batman.
Having clarified his thoughts, a weight lifted from Benjamin Reilly's chest.
Though he still maintained his silence, the self-imposed pressure he had been carrying was completely gone.
The exact moment Spider-Man Benjamin Reilly figured it out, Venom Robin, Alfred, and Batman all glanced at him simultaneously.
That single glance made Reilly realize that he hadn't been abandoned after all—so many people had been quietly keeping watch over him all along.
And so he grinned broadly, regardless of whether his masked smile would be seen by them or not.
Spider-Man Benjamin Reilly's train of thought spanned merely a fraction of a second. Batman gave him a subtle nod, withdrew his gaze, and turned back toward Gwen:
"Gwen, I'm not trying to scare you. I'm telling you that if you choose to walk this path, you must accept training."
"Some people will kill you just for fun, some will break your bones to prove they're stronger than you, and others will use you to threaten your father."
"...or vice versa."
Gwen shrunk her neck back in fright at Batman's words, her mind conjuring up what the scene would have looked like had Batman not arrived in the nick of time tonight.
The three of them likely would have had their heads hacked off by Kraven the Hunter and strapped to his waist, eventually ended up mounted on a wall like trophies after some time.
At the mere thought of that potential fate, Gwen couldn't help shuddering.
Gwen had no inkling of Venom Robin's true strength; much like Professor Lizard, Venom Robin rarely cut loose in front of ordinary people, and his actual combat capability remained an enigma.
Even when the dinosaur invasion broke out and Venom Robin threw down in a fury because he was in a bad mood, he had still maintained his standard baseline appearance without transforming into Venom or the Eclipse Knight.
"So... Batman, can you train me? To make me a warrior like you?" Even if Gwen weren't the brightest, she knew what she ought to say right now—and besides, she wasn't foolish at all.
"Like me?" Batman shook his head. "I won't teach you how to kill, nor will I teach you how to exact vengeance. I will only teach you how to stay alive, and then how to make this city reach a point where it no longer needs you."
--
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