"Batman, I want to venture out and hone my skills."
On the second day after Batman began constructing the Adamantium Bat-tank, Dane Whitman, the Black Knight, sought him out and uttered those words.
Previously, Venom Robin had sparred with him to help him improve, but now Robin was busy doing who-knows-what, and the Black Knight wasn't particularly acquainted with that group of superheroes in the Avengers.
Dane, the Black Knight, had decided to ride his Pegasus, Strider, and set out like the protagonist of an adventure novel, honing his skills to grow stronger.
"Honing your skills?" Batman asked. "From your tone, you don't seem to have a clear destination in mind."
The Black Knight nodded.
His Pegasus, Strider, was currently submerged at the estuary where the Hudson River flowed into the Atlantic Ocean, and his Ebony Blade had been stashed away as well.
He wasn't even wearing his armor at the moment, looking like nothing more than an ordinary, presentable young man.
"I do know of a place that could serve as part of your journey."
As Batman spoke, he pulled up a map, swiping from New York in the United States all the way to a mountain range in Great Britain:
"Garrett Castle is located here. The matter of the curse on your Ebony Blade, as well as your doubts regarding the Lady of the Lake bestowing the Pegasus upon you, might be answered there."
This was one of the achievements from Alfred's busy work all through last night; prior to yesterday, neither Batman nor Dane Whitman was aware of this castle's existence.
"I didn't expect you to actually remember my affairs?" Dane Whitman was somewhat surprised; he had assumed Batman had long forgotten about the curse embedded within his Ebony Blade.
"It wasn't entirely my doing," Batman refrained from elaborating further, retrieving a Batarang from his utility belt and handing it to the Black Knight. "If you encounter overwhelming opponents or dire straits during your journey, remember to contact me in time."
"Thank..." Before Dane Whitman could finish his "Thank you," he saw Batman flip his palm, handing over a card as well.
This object appearing in Batman's hand seemed quite bizarre, as the Black Knight saw zero connection between the two.
It was a bank card.
"There is one million US dollars inside; the PIN is your birthday. If you don't remember it, I've written it on the back as well," Batman said.
The Black Knight was struck speechless. According to his expectations, the perpetually mysterious and cold Batman ought to have booted him out immediately, rather than suddenly tossing over a bank card—and even knowing a birthday he himself had long forgotten during his four years of wandering.
He accepted the bank card, yet his eyes didn't look at the item at all, fixing instead on Batman's jaw, which, despite remaining expressionless, seemed slightly less icy than before.
"While I'm deeply moved, I am going out to hone my skills, not to go on vacation." The Black Knight put down the bank card, offered a medieval knight's salute to Batman, and turned to depart.
Only after he had left did Alfred finally reveal himself as a projection. The old butler nodded to Batman:
"The Black Knight? He seems like a good lad."
"Mm." Batman stowed the bank card away once more. "If he calls for aid while I am heading to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, remember to help coordinate Iron Man for me."
"Of course," Alfred said. "By the way, the sensors deployed underwater across the East River and the Hudson River failed to detect this so-called 'Lady of the Lake.' She appears to be an entity of the mystical side."
Flipping through the fruits of Alfred's labor from last night, Batman commented casually:
"In our world, the Lady of the Lake is deeply bound to the era of King Arthur, alongside figures like Morgan le Fay and Etrigan."
"In the legends of this world, there are likewise tales of Morgan le Fay and her son Mordred, and even that dark sorcerer Faust."
Alfred chimed in:
"Master Wayne, since you were able to consider this, I have naturally gathered relevant materials for you in advance."
"Regrettably, aside from Garrett Castle, which was parsed from an audio recording, we have yielded zero findings regarding the Middle Ages."
Batman nodded. He had already discovered as much when he previously investigated the forge fragment left behind by Merlin when crafting the Ebony Blade—that stone slab fragment in the Metropolis Museum.
"He has a Pegasus to preserve his life, the Ebony Blade for self-defense, a personal tie to the Middle Ages, and happened to request to venture out to hone his skills at this precise moment."
Alfred didn't look at Batman, yet his smile was unsuppressible:
"Master Wayne, you subtly orchestrated the Black Knight's journey long ago, didn't you?"
"Alfie, I need the data on the Tesseract." Batman steered the topic away.
With a wave of his hand, Alfred pulled up the data.
Right now, Batman held two sets of data regarding the Tesseract simultaneously: one researched by the Hydra scientists at the Adirondack Mountains base, and one researched by Alfred.
The former had been handed over to South Brother Island, led by Dr. Banner.
The latter Batman handled personally.
Alfred said:
"Though the scope of research remains crude, the primary function of the Tesseract is not infinite energy or weapon manufacturing; rather, it can be utilized to open gateways leading to other worlds."
Having said this, he quietly observed Batman's expression, though regrettably, nothing could be read from it.
"Master Wayne, your previous plan to return to Gotham via the Tesseract was sound in theory, but extremely risky," Alfred said. "Using a certain amount of energy work can stimulate the Tesseract to create a portal, which is very simple."
"However, none of us can say for sure where the portal leads, correct?" Batman asked.
"I calculated it; the probability of opening a portal that leads back to Gotham is slightly lower than that of a second Earth appearing within the solar system," Alfred said. "If it were prior to today, we could have given it a try even with a one-in-ten-million chance, but right now, I strongly advise against it."
"I will not take such a risk until I am sufficiently certain," Batman said.
Neither the old man nor the young man articulated why out loud, yet both were tacitly aware:
Because Batman had a loving aunt in this world, he would not take a risk with such astronomically low odds.
"By the way, Master Wayne, did you mention earlier that you are about to depart for S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters?" Alfred asked.
"Yes, I will set off as soon as the construction of the Batwing is completed," Batman said.
"I have a suggestion: bring Captain America along," Alfred said. "He will be a reliable ally to you."
"I suspect there's more to it than just that?"
"Your insight is as sharp as ever, Master Wayne. In truth, there is another reason: I compiled the records and files you left behind from your previous hacks into S.H.I.E.L.D., and combined with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current state, I believe they may be preparing to execute a plan."
"What kind of plan?"
"Project Insight."
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