Don't Blink

The hotel in Brooklyn didn't provide breakfast, which wasn't unexpected for Baia. The chaos here rivaled that of Gotham's streets, and as she passed through the immigrant district, she saw many thugs and junkies sitting by the roadside. Baia had grown used to this during her time running around the East End with Holly.

They were the most unsightly wounds of a city, the darkest shadows, and the most mundane reality. Even Wayne Enterprises couldn't save them. She used to feel fear, then sympathy, and now she just sighed as she walked by. It wasn't that her blood had turned cold or that she had become one of those predators at the top of the social ladder observing them from above; she just realized that giving them money or a meal wouldn't change anything.

"If you're willing to step aside, I can give you $50." Baia looked up at the tall, rough-looking man with tattered clothes in front of her and pulled out her wallet from her backpack.

He licked his lips. "What if I want something else?"

"Then I can give you all my cash if you're willing to walk away."

The girl was very calm, showing no fear, which made the robber even more excited.

"No, I won't…" His scruffy face twisted with greed and became somewhat ferocious.

"Hey! Dude," a voice came from behind Baia. She glanced back and saw the two clerks from last night. The one speaking was the busty beauty with black curls, Max, holding up some cash. "You want money, take the money and leave. Don't cause trouble around here. You know someone's got this place covered. It's good for all of us, OK?"

Caroline, the blonde, tried to look composed as she held up her phone and added, "By the way, we've already called the cops, so you better leave before they get here."

Caroline's voice was a bit tense, not as composed as Max's, but she still bravely stood her ground, suppressing the urge to run away.

Girls helping girls, Baia sighed.

The big man hesitated. He knew this area was controlled by an Italian gang. He usually didn't strike here, but the green-eyed girl was a new face, dressed well, looking like a rich little lamb from the affluent district.

"Alright, give me the wallet," he said, pulling out a small knife and waving it inches from Baia's face. His rat-like eyes, incongruous with his large frame, roamed over her. "And that, the thing on your head, and your bag. Hand them all over!"

He was sure this haul would be big.

The white blade flashed in front of Baia's eyes, and she felt a wave of boredom. She reminisced about how thrilling it was when the tall, exotic beauty Talia had pointed a knife at her. If only she had a knife now, but it couldn't pass airport security.

"I've changed my mind," Baia said. "Be it New York or Metropolis, if people like you are around, it's all Gotham. I'm not giving you anything because this way you might still have a chance to run for Outstanding Citizen at the end of the year."

Baia was petite, just like Damian. Black Canary didn't weigh as much as the male heroes, but she had her own way of fighting.

The robber didn't stand idly by to listen to Baia's monologue. He lost his patience and reached for her collar. Baia seized the opportunity to grab his wrist and twist it. If you used the right upper body muscles, you didn't need much strength to dislocate a joint.

She heard Caroline scream, as if she were the one being dislocated.

Before he could wave the knife, Baia leaped up and struck his chin. With a crack of bone and an off-key scream, he knelt on the ground.

Baia pressed the advantage, and Max swore she heard the sound of a nose breaking.

"Don't be afraid." The mint-green-eyed girl looked seriously at the thug in front of her, not sure whom she was talking to. "Fear isn't my weapon. I'm not some justice-seeking caped crusader. I'm just a poor girl trying to protect herself. Everything I do is to ensure my safety. So, bear with it; it'll be over soon."

Max didn't see what Baia did. Everything happened in a flash. One second the mugger was threatening the tiny girl with a knife; the next, she was squatting on the ground, comforting the weeping man.

"Cool," Max muttered.

She saw Baia do something again, and the man let out a groan before passing out.

"Did you kill him?" They both ran over, with Caroline's legs still a bit shaky, and she asked tentatively.

Baia kicked the unconscious man on the ground. "No life-threatening injuries, no severe bleeding, no permanent damage—perhaps except for psychological ones. He'll wake up before the garbage truck comes to pick him up. I just wanted to find a place to have breakfast."

"So we just leave him by the roadside?" Max glanced at the guy on the ground.

"It's not a big deal. My family does this all the time. You know, just occasionally stepping in to help when encountering bad guys." Baia said.

She hadn't intended to do this if he hadn't gone for the necklace Tim gave her. Baia put the Batarang she had hidden back into her wallet and then slung her backpack over her shoulder.

"Come on, cool girl." Max put an arm around Baia. "I know a place that serves breakfast that won't kill you."

"At least most people who ate there didn't die," Caroline added.

"Welcome!" A short Asian man stepped out of the restaurant. "Good morning, Max. Good morning, Caroline. I hope you brought a guest out of kindness and not Max's creditors following her."

"Relax, I just got a new identity," Max joked as she wiped the counter.

Baia flipped through the menu, randomly ordered some breakfast, and then opened her laptop to check the company's documents one last time. Caroline brought over some bacon and eggs just in time to hear Baia sigh.

"From a small diner to Starbucks, it's quite a leap," Caroline remarked. She never thought she'd see someone working in her humble diner.

She swore she wasn't trying to peek at Baia's screen or steal any trade secrets; she just glanced out of curiosity.

"Oh, you're starting a company?" She sounded quite interested.

"Yeah, but this stuff is a real headache," Baia didn't mind too much. If it was something crucial, Friday would've blacked out the screen when she detected Caroline through the front camera. Besides, she wouldn't handle patent-related matters in public.

The girl rubbed her temples.

Thankfully, she didn't need to pay the registered capital upfront. Otherwise, she wouldn't know where to get the money—it didn't grow on trees. But subsequent product development and production would cost money, and Baia had to find a way to, well, get a bit of sponsorship from Tim or Bruce. Tony had promised it wouldn't be a loss, so she wanted to keep the benefits within the family.

Caroline set the tray aside and sat down across from Baia, tidying her beautiful milk-blonde hair a bit. Her posture was straight and elegant, with her hands folded, looking every bit the business professional.

When she spoke, her tone also changed slightly, sounding more confident, "Well, I think I might be able to give you some small advice."

Baia's spirits lifted, feeling like a benefactor had arrived.

She comfortably pushed the laptop towards Caroline. Friday would handle any confidential encrypted sections.

Caroline occasionally scrolled through the documents, reading the relevant agreements and contracts, and some of the company structure and philosophy were already written. When she saw the board members, her eyes widened.

"Anthony" was obviously a male name, so—

"You are a—" Caroline raised her voice in disbelief, but Baia put a finger to her lips, signaling her to be quiet.

"Okay, okay," Caroline patted her chest to calm down, "you're a Wayne?"

"In a way, yes." Baia said vaguely. She didn't want to rely solely on her surname to solve everything, nor did she want to directly ask her family for money. Instead, she wanted to use her project to convince them. This was a task she planned to accomplish on her own.

"Alright, Max!" Caroline called out while still looking at the laptop. "Max, come here, big news!"

"Did Kim Kardashian get elected president?" Max peeked over.

"No," Caroline sounded breathless with excitement, "she is—"

Baia almost wanted to leap over the table to cover Caroline's mouth, but thankfully, Caroline restrained herself.

"What?!" Max shouted in shock. "You're saying the little elf is Go—mmph…"

Baia jumped up to cover Max's mouth.

"Well, this explains a lot," Max said, sitting down across from Baia with her face propped on one hand, "but you don't seem like the kind of rich person Caroline described."

"What kind of rich person did I describe?" Caroline asked.

"Shameless bitches."

"Although that wasn't my exact wording, but, okay, you got the gist," Caroline said. "But Gotham's wealthy are different. It's Gotham!"

Max leaned in close to Caroline's ear. "Wasn't it you who called Bruce's baby mama a shameless bitch last time?"

"It's different now!" Caroline said, tapping on the keyboard. "She completely changed my perception, I'm talking about this morning's incident. Although I've also studied karate, you can't generalize!"

"No one said you're on par with the little elf," Max mocked. "You're only playing 'rock-paper-scissors' with robbers."

"Anyway?" Baia coughed lightly.

"Anyway," Caroline quickly chimed in, "if you need any cake delivery business, please do consider us. And yes, I can help you with the company stuff, just a little... um, fee."

"If you can convince me, I can offer you a five-figure salary," Baia began painting rosy pictures. Adjusting her posture, she looked at Caroline seriously. "So, interested in an interview?"

"What? Really?" They could use this money, Caroline was nervous and fidgety. "Can we start later? I feel a bit sick now."

Caroline rushed to the restroom for an emergency makeover, while Max was in stitches.

Meanwhile, Baia had gathered some reinforcements during this time, mainly wanting to summon a certain future chairman of Stark Industries, online.

"How should I know? Pepper's the one handling HR," Tony said. "Don't you have any kind of gut feeling or intuition?"

Baia sighed, "Are you sure you want to leave everything to intuition?"

"For now, let's do that. Got some stuff to take care of, talk later," Tony ruthlessly hung up.

He wasn't idle either.

He was just trying to figure out one thing: to what extent this world resembled his own. For example, were there... Hydra?

Tony glanced at the yellow sign above the apartment building, "Winter Harbor".

In his original world's New York, this was a Hydra base, but here, it seemed to be just a simple apartment building. Cold, desolate, surrounded by numerous classical statues.

But, there was something... eerie about it.

New York, the city of legends, the city of tall tales. Half of the rumors about it were true, and the other half had yet to happen.

"Friday, do you feel anything unusual nearby?" Tony asked, sporting a new wristband. "I don't remember Manhattan having this many statues, and for some reason, I feel like they're all staring at me... Scan the energy intensity around."

The annoying girl buzzed in again, communication requests chirping.

"Hey listen, Tony, this is extremely urgent," Baia's voice sounded urgent, "leave where you are right now, stay in the sunlight, and if you feel anything strange, fly back. I know you have the Iron Man suit with you. Are there many statues around you? Don't observe them, don't look back, and most importantly, don't blink."

[Emergency Task] Angels Occupy Manhattan

When the time is right, the statues moving in the dark can become hunters who feed on time. When you stare at them, they are harmless, but when you look away, that's when you lose everything, and the weeping angels will show their fangs.

Stop these cunning and ancient immortals from continuing to invade this world.

Don't blink.

Reward: One seed.

Note: Repeat, don't blink.