DC: A Cop in Gotham

Chapter 10: Robin, but which Robin

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With the sharp blade pressed against his throat and his life in danger, Dean still remained remarkably calm. He even took a moment to mentally reassure Manaphy not to act impulsively.

(Calm down, don't move.)

Dean had already deduced who his assailant was. This was Gotham, after all. The batarang, the stealth, and the voice, it could only be Batman. And everyone in Gotham knew one thing: Batman doesn't kill.

But Dean also knew that if Batman deemed someone resistant, he wouldn't hesitate to land a punch strong enough to make them regret their decisions.

Typically, Batman would pin a suspect against the wall or drag them into a shadowy corner for questioning. The fact that Dean was being held at knifepoint in a vulnerable position was, ironically, a sign of respect—likely due to his connection with Commissioner Gordon.

The catch is…

"Batman? Are you also investigating Black Mask? It seems that we have thought of the same thing." Dean said in a familiar tone, slowly turned around, and what he saw when he looked back was a childish face.

"Robin?"

Dean broke into a cold sweat as his mind raced. The first two Robins were manageable; the eldest was diplomatic, and the second had a reputation for being reckless but wasn't an immediate threat. However, if this was Damian Wayne...

This naughty boy really has no issue in killing Dean!

Batman has had a total of five Robins. After the New 52, the history of Batgirl was erased. Damian became the fifth generation Robin and the most rebellious generation. He received a strict teachings from the Assassin's League since he was a child. He has all kinds of assassination and killing techniques. At a young age, the number of lives lost to him has exceeded double digits. Killing people has no psychological pressure on him at all.

Robin withdrew the batarang and smirked arrogantly, dropping his gruff, Batman-esque tone. "So much for the fearsome Dark Knight. His whole 'embodiment of fear' act is pretty overrated if it doesn't even scare a cop."

Both Dick and Tim respect Batman very much. The way Robin dismissed Batman's reputation with such disdain made it obvious to Dean who he was dealing with. Only Damian could display such a blatant lack of respect.

Well, it seems like every Robin… never mind, this naughty kid deserves to be beaten anyway.

'Well' Dean thought grimly, 'it's always the youngest that's the most troublesome.'

Dean later realized just how close he'd been to danger. If he'd known it was Damian behind him, he wouldn't have dared to turn his back so casually.

Dean said with a sullen face: "Who taught you to point a knife at others casually, I think it's definitely not Batman."

Damian didn't have the slightest sense of making a mistake, and Dean's obvious differential treatment aroused his arrogance: "Batman does it all the time, why cant I? Anyway, it doesn't matter who taught me—I'm still better than you. Want me to hang you up and prove it?"

Dean pulled out Hoshikudaki from behind.

"Batman earned Gordon's trust through his actions, and I trust Gordon, which means I trust him. But you, Robin? Threatening a cop with an illegal weapon? That's a crime. And in Gotham, we take crimes seriously."

Dean's answer was a batarang that came at a rapid speed. Dean deflected it with a sword, and it bounced off and shattered the medicine cabinet window.

"Now the evidence is gone."

Damian showed a wicked smile and clapped his hands: "Come on, let's see if you are qualified to let me use weapons. Gotham is very boring recently, and I am almost sleepy to death."

"Alright, kid. You asked for it,"

His arrogant tone successfully angered Dean, who took two steps back and began to dance with his sword.

Seeing Dean holding a wooden sword in a coquettish manner, Damian raised his eyebrows: "Is this an oriental dance purely for viewing? Listen, I want to compete with you, not dance with you."

Here Damian deliberately said it in Chinese. He was provoking Dean.

After completing the sword dance, Dean's whole body and Hoshikudaki were covered in a layer of translucent white light. His attack increased by 2 levels, and he could feel the power contained in his body.

"I'll show you if it's just for show," Dean replied, tossing his Glock to the floor. "Let's settle this."

After speaking, Dean rushed towards Damian, so fast that Damian had no time to dodge and was forced to draw the sword from his waist to block.

The wooden sword and the steel sword collided together, causing little sparks from the friction.

Not bad," Damian admitted begrudgingly, his tone still laced with arrogance. "You're better than most cops I've met. I have changed my view of the police. I thought that except Gordon, they were all deadbeats."

Damian belittled the police in a cold tone, which made Dean furious, because he knew very well how much the Gotham police had done to maintain the existing order.

"Hey, brat, don't comment on the work of adults casually. Don't think that I won't dare to beat you up because you have Batman as your backer!"

Dean suddenly exerted his strength, and Hoshikudaki pressed towards Damian. Damian was shocked to find that he actually lost to in terms of strength.

Damian immediately realized that Dean was not as simple as he seemed. He put away his contempt and began to deal with this battle seriously.

Turning sideways, Damian pressed the falling sword to the ground. Damian turned over and performed a Roundhouse kick. Dean ducked down and the two of them switched places.

"Are you really a cop?" Damian doubted Dean's identity.

"Come back to the police station with me so you'll know if I am."

After a disagreement, the two men once again fought together with knives, with swords flashing and sparks flying.

Such a big movement forced the detective who was investigating underground to return to the ground. He lowered his body and watched the battle from the edge of the secret passage. Neither of them noticed him.

Batman recognized Dean. He didn't know why Damian wanted to fight a policeman. When he was about to step forward to stop the fight, he gave up on that and decided to watch them.

Judging from the performance of the battle, Damian, who showed his full strength, pinned Dean down and beat him. Dean was almost caught by Damian several times.

"His fighting skills are completely different from yesterday. Well, it seems to be the effect of that sword." Batman analyzed calmly.

When the wooden sword lights up with silver light, he will become a master with top swordsmanship, and now he is purely relying on his own skills to fight Damian.

He's adapting mid-fight," Batman thought, noting how Dean's defense grew more efficient with every exchange. "He's using the fight to hone his skills... almost like he's learning in real time."

For Damian, this was becoming frustratingly apparent. Dean's counters became sharper, his strikes more precise.

"I'm not your practice dummy," Damian growled, his irritation boiling over. He decided to break Batman's rule and utilize techniques from the League of Assassins—lethal techniques.

Dean smirked, unbothered. "Go ahead, kid. But don't cry when you lose."

Dean is not afraid at all. He still has at least two trump cards to reveal, the second stage sword dance and the soul of the warrior. Just when the battle was about to turn into a real fight, two batarangs accurately hit their weapons, and a black figure fell between the two, separating the two restless little guys.

"Batman?" Dean rolled over and picked up the pistol on the ground.

"Batman! Get out of the way, he's mine!"

Damian clamored to teach Dean a lesson, but Batman gave him a look of disapproval, and Damian immediately stopped.

Batman calmly stated: "Robin, I asked you to stay up there and notify me when someone comes in. I'm not asking you to fight with the police."

"But…"

Damian still wanted to argue, but faced Batman's stern gaze and reluctantly shut his mouth.

"Go back now, we don't need you here for the time being."

Damien reluctantly left the clinic.

Batman turned around and saw a gun pointed at him.

Once the boy was gone, Dean turned to Batman, his Glock drawn. "So, are we at war with the police now, or is this just your protégé being a brat?"

Batman had no consciousness of being pointed at a gun. He covered his lower abdomen: "You're upset about a kid? I thought you were as generous as me. Someone almost stabbed me in the abdomen yesterday and I didn't even hold him accountable. "

Dean scoffed but lowered his weapon. "Fair enough. Let's just call it 'training.'"

Batman looked at the sword marks on the surrounding walls, the broken glass, and the pill boxes scattered everywhere. These were all the consequences of the two people's sparring.

"Fortunately, I have already investigated in advance, and Black Mask did not leave any clues in the clinic."

Batman turned and walked towards the secret passage: "I'm going down to continue investigating. Do you want to come with your secret partner?"

"What kind of secret partner? I just have the habit of talking to myself, so don't misunderstand me." Dean denied it.

Batman turned on the infrared lens in his hood, looked at Manaphy hovering above him, and nodded to Dean, indicating that you should continue making it up, he is listening.

Dean kept silent. If he didn't say anything, he wouldn't say anything.

The two kept silent and went underground. There were two floors below the clinic. The underground floor was an arsenal, and the weapons inside were still there.

"Black Mask left here after yesterday's earthquake. He was short of time and only transported part of it."

"But the weapons are still there, which means that what he transported is much more important than arms." Dean looked at the dazzling array of firearms in front of him.

"What is more important to the gang than arms?"

Batman silently recounted his wonderful daily routine yesterday: "I followed the Black Mask transport convoy and had a fight with him. He fell into the river and the goods were sent away."

The two entered the elevator, and Batman pressed the button for the negative second floor. This time the elevator ran for a long time.

"Although I didn't see what he was transporting, he shouted out his ambitious goal as he fell from the bridge."

Dean couldn't help but complain after hearing this: "Would anyone really say his or her own plan?"

Batman continued: "He said…"

The elevator door opened, and an underground space ten meters high and covering an area of more than 500 square meters appeared in front of Dean.

"I will fall towards the new Gotham."