With his excellent memory, Theodore quickly recalled that he seemed to have seen the names of the Wayne family's adopted children in the Gotham tabloids.
The third one was, of course, Timothy Drake, who shared the same name as someone Theodore had known before.
The second adopted son who passed away was named… Jason?
Theodore: Damn it!
As for the first adopted son who ran away as soon as he came of age, his full name seemed to be Richard.
Theodore wasn't sure if he had truly breathed a sigh of relief.
It was certainly good that the first adopted son didn't have a repeated name.
But the deaths of two Jasons inevitably made him paranoid.
He could only say that it was fortunate Richard Grayson's full name wasn't Dicky or Dick; otherwise, Theodore would have jumped up on the spot in his bedroom.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Theodore chuckled dryly, comforting himself.
—Dick, Jason, Tim—these are all common names.
Even if they're repeated… even if their order is repeated, it doesn't mean anything!
Unless there was also a butler named Alfred at Wayne Manor, Theodore wouldn't believe he was once again trapped in an inescapable nightmare.
But that was impossible.
Theodore thought to himself, absolutely certain.
From the manor to the butler, to the adopted sons, and even the story of both parents dying, inheriting a fortune, and witnessing their parents being shot in childhood—all exactly the same… Hahahaha, how could there be such a coincidence in the world?
Impossible, absolutely impossible.
If even these objective conditions were identical, rather than believing such a coincidence truly existed, Theodore would rather believe that Stanley W. Menar had snuck into Wayne Manor in the middle of the night, murdered Bruce Wayne, and then put on his skin.
Watching the old alarm clock until midnight, Theodore finally pushed open the window, slung his backpack on, and leaped from the windowsill.
No one noticed his escape.
The black-haired, blue-eyed young man effortlessly melted into the deep night.
No one noticed his escape.
—Just kidding.
Theodore thought expressionlessly: I should have known that in Gotham, nothing ever goes smoothly.
Who could tell him why he would encounter Batman in an alley?!
Even in Gotham, Batman was already like a randomly spawned tourist attraction, right?
But why tonight, and why him, of all people?
Theodore's face was dark. He leaned against the alley wall with one hand, his eyes tightly shut, as if he could escape reality this way.
He really didn't want to turn around and face the pointed ears on the Dark Knight's helmet.
The story had to start with Theodore escaping the orphanage.
He had hastily learned of his adoption by Wayne after dinner that day and had been forced to leave in a hurry, without enough time to properly prepare.
Therefore, how to leave Gotham before Wayne found out became Theodore's top priority.
The intercity bus wouldn't depart until 9 AM the next morning.
And the orphanage's collective wake-up bell was at 6:30 AM.
He couldn't take such a big risk, foolishly waiting to leave Gotham through official channels.
If possible, Theodore wouldn't mind using some less-than-legal methods.
Last time, when he delivered an anonymous letter, he met Lina and learned she had connections with the Big Wolf Gang.
A gang skilled at concealing their own identities for delivering messages might also be skilled at concealing a person's identity and transporting them to another city.
Theodore didn't have a phone, and Lina hadn't left him any contact information.
Left with no choice, he could only go to the alley where they had met last time and try his luck.
But God knows what was going on; this alley had some kind of magic, it could even spawn Batman!
Theodore swore he had only been there for less than fifteen minutes.
And he hadn't (yet) broken any laws or (yet) committed any crimes, so why was the Dark Knight blocking him at the alley entrance instead of going on patrol?
Under Theodore's nervous gaze, Batman took a step forward.
Recalling some rumors about "Batman disappearing when you turn your head," Theodore closed his eyes, full of anticipation, and silently counted to three.
Three, two, one.
Open eyes.
Theodore: "!!!"
Liar! Rumors are unreliable!
Batman hadn't disappeared at all; on the contrary, he was walking towards Theodore.