Beyond Talia's line of sight, across the vast snowfield, a red light was racing rapidly over the thick snow.
Countless piles of snow were thrown high, shooting straight up into the sky like a celestial maiden scattering flowers. However, before they could land, the person who stirred them up had long disappeared. If one focused their gaze at the forefront of that light, they could see the cloaked man, with Briss on one shoulder, his legs moving frantically.
Time seemed to freeze around them because they were moving too fast, while the world was too slow.
"How is it? What do you feel? I've never run with anyone in the Arctic Circle before."
The cloaked man asked with concern, while his feet didn't stop. The snowflakes couldn't even touch him, and both were enveloped in a golden lightning.
Briss just stared coldly at the road that didn't exist ahead. The pitch-black polar night endlessly spread in her view, with the horizon of the snowfield nowhere in sight, but she knew she was rapidly approaching the coastline:
"If you know another me, then you should know I have my ways of enduring pain."
"Uh, I mean, unless it's necessary, you don't have to endure anything, Batwoman. Uh, it still feels awkward saying that." The cloaked man's cape fluttered with his strides, revealing the red uniform underneath.
"Actually, your so-called Divine Speed wraps us in a special force field, and just like all those previous times, I don't feel anything." Briss answered softly, feeling the world had become strange, things she never thought possible were happening to her. If it weren't for the evidence this cloaked man presented, she wouldn't believe what others called the future.
"This environment, where relative time to the outside world is still, is called the 'Bullet Time' zone. I've temporarily shared a bit of the Divine Speed with you, so our conversation is synchronized. When our speed and acceleration align with the Divine Speed field... uh, you don't seem to care...."
The cloaked man immediately began to passionately lecture Briss on the theory of Divine Speed, sharing the insights he had accumulated over years of ability application.
But he found Briss completely absent-minded, as if she was traveling the cosmos and wasn't interested in what he said. Here, she was different from Batman; Bruce would never zone out around others.
"Alright, stop your dissertation on relativity. We have serious matters to attend to. Once everything's settled, I can pay for you to give a full lecture at Gotham City's stadium. I can hire as many spectators as you want."
"Emmm... Why would I reveal my abilities to unrelated people?" The cloaked man was a bit puzzled.
"Then you didn't have to tell me either." Briss shook her head. If she wanted to know, she trusted only her own investigation, not someone volunteering information: "So take me back to Gotham, back home first."
The cloaked man sighed. It's always like this, isn't it? Are all the Batmen in all worlds so awkward in their relationships with people?
"Alright, the Bat is always the boss. We need to cross the sea now."
He carried Briss on his shoulder and had already reached the end of the snowfield, his footsteps running directly into the sea. The floating ice and waves in the sea around them were completely still in their vision. He ran directly across the sea surface, kicking up huge splashes behind them.
In the dark, they seemed to be constantly running towards the sunrise.
"Is it really okay to leave the butler on the island?"
The cloaked man kept running, just like his feet, his mouth couldn't stop. He asked another question. Briss rolled her eyes; though, it was precisely this chatterbox behavior that convinced her of his words.
No one would send someone this chatty to deceive her, because the more you say, the more you err. A conman must be careful with every sentence to avoid mistakes, especially with her as the target. A person who talks this much simply can't pay attention to every word they say, so what he says can only be true.
"I'll say it again, it's Station 7, not some deserted island. Alfred is safest there." Briss corrected his statement: "If I'm not mistaken, your Batman should also take a liking to that place."
"Yes, Miss Briss, as an old man, a tropical island near the Equator might really be beneficial for my legs, but we can't have coconuts and bananas for breakfast again tomorrow. You might need to upgrade the menu."
In the pointed ears of Briss's head, Alfred's voice came through, the ears serving as both a walkie-talkie and a Bat radar.
"Don't worry, Ah Fu, I know what I'm doing."
Briss accepted his goodwill but habitually expressed her capability. The cloaked man had taken her around the world several times in a month, visiting many places, making various preparations, yet generally, they would return to the island for dinner.
Alfred insisted on being responsible for a balanced diet.
The island's specialties were coconuts and bananas. In this month, they had tried all seafood and coconut-banana combinations available. Despite Ah Fu's excellent culinary skills, people are not gorillas; no matter how delicious bananas are, one would tire of them eventually.
"So, Miss, can you come to the observatory station to pick me up first? The mansion hasn't been cleaned for nearly a month, and as a butler, this is a serious dereliction of duty."
"The situation in Gotham is still uncertain."
Briss planned to decline; she hadn't approached her home to avoid sensitive areas. Although an hour ago she had knocked down Bane and seized his nuclear bomb, it was done underground in the city.
For her, unless she filled in this month's city surveillance footage and understood what had happened in the city, the situation in Gotham remained unclear.
That's why she intended to return to Vayne Mansion this time.
But the butler wasn't in a hurry, continuing with his elegant and appropriate tone: "But Miss, don't you already have a plan? Things will be resolved, just like before."
Briss was silent for a moment, her blue eyes reflecting a thoughtful gleam.
"Yes, you're right. Preparations are almost complete." She patted the cloaked man's shoulder: "Let's go to the island first, then to Gotham."
"Then we need to speed up a bit, give me ten seconds." The cloaked man calculated quickly and, with a smile, gave a time: "This time, I really feel like this trip is a weight loss journey. I've lost too much weight already."
Even while saying so, the cloaked man accelerated his pace, moving so fast that his steps became invisible.
His body emitted more lightning, completely enveloping the two, like a golden comet gouging a deep wave over the ocean, turning towards the Equator.
No creature could see their passage because their time was so brief that they couldn't even form an image on the retina. Perhaps only a god could know what happened.
As if the words had just been spoken, they appeared on a tropical island where the sun hadn't yet set, and Alfred was beside a barbecue grill preparing butter-roasted bananas.
The cloaked man took a breath, picked up a roasted banana, and stuffed it into his mouth. He felt if he didn't eat something, he would faint, even though bananas reminded him of gorillas, and he once fought against a kingdom founded by a gorilla.
"Allow me to remind you, Mr. Allen, you didn't wash your hands."
However, the cloaked man shrugged, with his mouth full of golden banana, and the heat causing him to turn the food around in his mouth, he mumbled: "Actually, I did, just too fast."