Was the Batfamily Misunderstood Again Today?

Blurb:

What should you do when you discover strange bruises on a classmate adopted by Gotham's richest man?

Theodore, who grew up in an orphanage, decided to contact Gotham's child protection agency.

Three days later, Theodore received two pieces of terrible news.

First, the agency's investigation found that Gotham's richest man had done nothing wrong.

Second, the orphanage informed Theodore that the very same man had adopted him.

Theodore: “...”

His eyes widened in shock.

Question: What are the chances that a powerful man you just reported has suddenly adopted you to get revenge? Please answer ASAP!!!

*

Bruce thought his newly adopted son was acting a little strange.

He would tie bedsheets together in the middle of the night and try to sneak out of Wayne Manor.

He would also look horrified, as though he'd walked in on something, whenever he saw Bruce tending to the injuries Tim had gotten on patrol.

Then one day, in the Justice League's meeting hall, the Gotham Knight heard him tell his story.

“My former adoptive father was a pervert who liked abusing little boys.”

“He had black hair, was a playboy, and had witnessed his parents being shot to death when he was a child. He had an English butler named Fred, was skilled in martial arts and weapons, and had adopted three underage boys before me. Every one of them had black hair and blue eyes.”

“Though I was lucky enough not to be touched, that gloomy, old-fashioned manor of his, with the savage cries of the bats he kept, still haunts every one of my nightmares.”

“...”

With every added detail, another glance shifted toward the League's consultant.

After listening, Superman in the red cape ventured, “Uh, I think there may be a bit of a misunderstanding here. As far as I know, Bruce isn't that kind of...”

“Bruce? Who's talking about Bruce?” Theodore stared at him, eyes wide.

“My former adoptive father was called Stanley. He also had an ex-boyfriend named Constantine*.”

“...”

The Dark Knight of Gotham had nothing to say.

But at last he understood why Theodore had acted so very strangely when he first moved into Wayne Manor.

*

When the meeting ended, the Dark Knight was not happy, despite having been cleared of all suspicion.

Even now, remembering what had happened at Wayne Manor, how his new son had begged him, promised to be a good boy and obediently accept any punishment, and asked him to go easy on him, made him want to die of embarrassment.

The Man of Tomorrow tentatively offered, “Maybe... I could take him in? After all, he's awakened half of his Kryptonian heritage.”

The Dark Knight rejected the idea without hesitation.

“Denied.”

Even if you are the strongest Kryptonian in the world, you cannot take the Bat's bird away from Gotham.

Even if the new bird is a Kryptonian himself.

Reading Notes:

1. Note: Stanley, Constantine's ex-boyfriend, really does exist in the official comics. I didn't make him up.

His character details: black hair, a billionaire, both parents dead, witnessed them being shot when he was a child, inherited his family manor, had an English butler, was skilled in martial arts and weapons, adopted three boys named Dick, Jason, and Timothy, and tortured two of them to death...

When it comes to stirring up trouble, the official comics do it best.

2. To protect his good name, the male lead spends every day outwitting an imaginary enemy.

3. A story of misunderstandings and shenanigans, where every character who appears gets picked on equally.

4. The pairing is with the Red Robin. The romance is a slow burn and won't appear until near the end. In accordance with Jinjiang rules, the adoption will be dissolved before the romance develops.

5. The timeline of events is somewhat random and doesn't entirely follow the original work. There are some original settings.

Advance Preview: Cultivator of the Acacia Sect Becomes a God in an Infinite Game. Click the author's page to save it.

Chu Hong Su has been in the cultivation world for eighteen years.

While everyone else starts out as a sword cultivator or demon cultivator, she became a cultivator of the Acacia Sect, and even came with a copy of the Great Acacia Canon.

The text recorded all kinds of cultivation techniques: hypnosis, invisibility, altered perception, beast transformation, shared sensations... There were countless variations, even ABO.

Chu Hong Su's eyes widened in shock. No wonder it's the Acacia Sect. These cultivation methods are truly one of a kind!

The sect had a notorious reputation, so the moment she showed her face, everyone would come after her. Chu Hong Su kept to herself for eighteen years and never had a chance to put her skills to the test.

Until one day, she was pulled into an infinite game.

On the first day, everyone saw Chu Hong Su in traditional clothes, delicate and timid, as frail as a willow in the wind. They thought she was a pretty ornament who'd cling to someone powerful and wouldn't last three days in a dungeon.

Back then, no one could have imagined that the skill revered as god-tier in infinite games, Time Stop, was as easy for her as breathing.

A player asked, “Time Stop usually lasts at least five seconds. Anyone who can keep it going for ten minutes is considered a top talent. How long can you maintain it?”

Chu Hong Su replied, “I can use it seven times in one night, for at least two hours each time.”

The player was stunned. “How can you last that long?!”

Chu Hong Su waved modestly. “It's standard, nothing special.”

Rule-based horror games are always among the most dangerous dungeons, because the rules are only partly true and every one of them has to be tested at the cost of a human life.

When Chu Hong Su was pulled into an SSS-rank rule-based horror game, everyone thought she was done for.

Yet within her first hour inside, she calmly used her move, “Altered Perception.”

After the first rule, “All cold, writhing creatures are your masters,” she added, “A master is supposed to lie on the ground and bark.”

Ten days later, the Lovecraftian creatures lined up reluctantly to bid Chu Hong Su farewell.

Everyone watched, dumbfounded, as a crowd of ferocious sea creatures crawled gloomily along the ground, whimpering, “Gurgle, gurgle... Please... don't go... woof, woof, woof... We can bark... gurgle, gurgle, woof...”

Everyone: “!!!”

What a way to turn the tables! How on earth did you do that?

Year after year, statues of Chu Hong Su sprang up all over the infinite world.

A newcomer asked, “She looks so pretty and timid. Is she just a pretty ornament?”

A dozen people rushed forward at once and clapped a hand over the newcomer's mouth.

“Don't you dare say that!”

“She is the god of this infinite world!”

Theme: Trust is the most precious treasure.