Giovanni and Zatanna had been out of the city with their team for some time.
Gwen's life remained simple and routine, immersed daily in a sea of learning.
In contrast, Brucey was having a tough time.
As Bruce Wayne's alternate-World counterpart, Brucey was undoubtedly a genius, with a brilliant mind and astonishing willpower.
However, in this family, the only person she could compare herself to was her sister, Gwen.
Current Gwen not only possessed Tian Xiao Min's incredible learning talent but also had the mental maturity of an adult.
Therefore, her learning speed was extremely fast.
Even so, Brucey struggled immensely to keep up with Gwen's learning progress.
Well, in reality, she couldn't even see her taillights.
Of course, this wasn't Brucey's fault; Gwen was simply too extraordinary.
But the problem was Brucey didn't know her sister was cheating.
Even though the early education teachers would patiently reassure Brucey, saying, 'You're already doing great.'
To Brucey, these comforts were just perfunctory pleasantries from the teachers. The teachers were merely trying to spare her feelings, not genuinely acknowledging her progress.
Of course, Brucey didn't betray the teachers' good intentions and didn't voice her true thoughts.
Otherwise, the teachers would only cry and admit that they didn't even know the things her sister was learning!
The ultimate result was that Brucey's stubborn streak was fully ignited.
She began studying day and night, trying to catch up to Gwen's pace.
However, despite her many efforts, the gap between her and Gwen didn't shrink at all, which made Brucey increasingly frustrated and somewhat withdrawn.
While Brucey was sinking into despair over the learning gap, Gwen was in a hidden safe house under the Wayne Group.
This safe house was very secluded, established by the Wayne Family a long time ago, and there were many such safe houses in Gotham.
If not for the existence of these safe houses, Batman would never have been able to set up so many Batcaves throughout the city.
How does the saying go? You can touch any wall in Gotham, and it's probably Wayne Group property.
Inside this hidden safe house, a child was firmly tied to a chair.
It was a girl, her eyes and mouth tightly sealed with tape.
Gwen turned and closed the safe house door, holding a strangely shaped helmet.
She walked directly to the girl, and with a pull of her finger, 'shhh-lah' she tore off the tape from the girl's face, revealing a face identical to Brucey's.
The girl looked panicked, her voice trembling as she asked in terror, 'Sister, why are you doing this to me?'
Gwen had a gentle smile on her face, reaching out to softly rub the girl's cheek, and whispered, 'Be good, little sister, I'll let you out very soon.'
With that, Gwen firmly placed the helmet on the girl's head, gently fastening its straps to prevent it from falling off, then walked to the side.
Gwen's smile was kind and gentle as she stared at the girl and asked, 'Who are you?'
The girl blinked, looking at Gwen with a wronged expression, and responded without hesitation in a soft voice, 'I told you, it's Brucey Wayne.'
As soon as her voice fell, a current instantly surged through the helmet, and the girl trembled, letting out a piercing scream.
Seeing this, Gwen nodded slightly, let the other party recover for a while, and then asked again, 'Who exactly are you?'
This time, the girl kept her lips tightly sealed, not making a sound, just putting on a pitiful act, gazing eagerly at Gwen.
However, ten seconds later, another current struck through the helmet, and the girl screamed repeatedly again from the shock.
After letting the other party rest for a while, seeing her terrified expression, Gwen's lips curved into a smile, and she asked for the third time, 'Who are you?'
The girl was scared pale, no longer daring to hide anything, and said tearfully, 'I... I really don't know!'
After waiting a moment, no current fell.
This indicated that she wasn't lying this time.
But what did 'I don't know' mean?
Gwen's brows furrowed, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes, and her tone unconsciously deepened: 'You don't even know who you are?'
The girl's body trembled slightly, and she sobbed, explaining, 'They... they only taught me to impersonate Brucey Wayne; I don't know my name...'
Gwen paced in thought, then looked up and continued to ask, 'Where are you from?'
'We've always lived and studied in one place, and our eyes are covered every time we enter or leave.'
This made Gwen think of Agent training organizations, like Marvel's Red Room or something similar.
Or perhaps the Court of Owls.
But the Court of Owls shouldn't appear so early, right?
After some thought, Gwen pressed on, 'What do the people who sent you look like? What are their features?'
The girl struggled to recall, her brows knitting together: 'Every time we meet, they wear masks, and their voices are altered by a voice changer...'
'Then why did they want you to replace Brucey? To assassinate the Wayne Couple and seize control of the company early?'
'They just wanted me to replace Brucey; as long as the impersonation succeeded, I could gradually take control of the future Wayne Group... And after I inherited the Wayne Group, they would contact me directly.'
Gwen relentlessly questioned the girl tied to the chair, but unfortunately, apart from what she had already said, the only useful information the girl gave her was that 'her original appearance did not resemble Brucey Wayne,' and she remained clueless about all other questions.
Gwen threw out several questions, only to get 'I don't know,' but the lie detector told her that the girl wasn't lying.
Gwen realized that asking further was futile and could only reluctantly give up.
She let out a long sigh and turned to walk out of the safe house.
Outside, Alfred stood tall and straight, having been waiting for a long time.
Looking at the old butler, Gwen instructed, 'Alfred, please find a place for the girl inside to settle down.'
Alfred nodded, but still spoke in his usual serious tone, 'Thank you, Miss, for allowing me to relive my early career experiences. Before I came to the U.S., I didn't realize that helping to detain prisoners was within a butler's scope of duties.'
Gwen, of course, knew that Alfred had been an Agent of MI6; this complaint was purely a British specialty—complaining about America.
However, Alfred merely mentioned it in passing and quickly walked into the safe house to settle the girl.
The evening breeze carried a strange scent, and Gwen looked at Alfred's back, a sense of indescribable melancholy rising in her heart.
Giovanni's magic trick back then wasn't meant to kill people.
Although she didn't know if her teacher was the one who had joined the All-Star Squadron, he was a hero nonetheless.
Of course, Gwen hadn't intended to kill anyone either.
She had planned to keep the fake Brucey and then unearth the forces behind her, perhaps even catching the mastermind and finding some long-renowned old friends by following the clues.
But she hadn't expected to find out nothing at all.
What a melancholy feeling.