"Is she provoking me?" The Lizard asked, a huff of hot air escaping his snout as he watched Lunella hopping and skipping in the distance, refusing to come a single step closer.
"No, she's afraid of you," Batman said, glancing at him.
Although Devil Dinosaur was massive and deep red—certainly living up to the name "Devil"—he had, after all, protected Lunella in the Savage Land. By contrast, the hideous bone spurs, razor-sharp claws, thick tail, and the golden glint reflecting from the vertical slits of the Lizard's pupils in the pitch-black night made him look far more terrifying than the dinosaur.
The Lizard turned his head helplessly to meet Batman's grim expression. "I know. I was just joking."
The Lizard had been to the Savage Land and had worked with Batman to save Lunella, though the two of them hadn't exchanged a single word the entire time. In the Lizard's eyes, Lunella was just a clever little girl; he had originally intended to tease her the way he would his own daughter. But now, it seemed that idea was a non-starter.
"Lunella, this is the Lizard. Don't be afraid," Batman said to Lunella via an encrypted channel. She was still seven or eight hundred meters away.
In the distance, Lunella received the message and looked up toward Batman's direction. When she saw the Lizard raise his front claws in a gesture of surrender, she couldn't help but let out a giggle. Based on her trust in Batman, she didn't hesitate any longer and continued to hop toward them on her spring-loaded shoes.
"You came alone?" Batman asked as soon as Lunella stood before him.
There was no one behind her. Batman had assumed Reed Richards would follow, but to his surprise, the man was nowhere to be seen.
"I ditched him," Lunella said with a hint of pride. "Reed wanted to tail me. I bet he wanted to get the Omni-Wave Projector back from you, so I lost him."
Batman didn't press further, his gaze shifting to the various gadgets on Lunella's person. "You made all of these yourself?"
"Of course!" Lunella hurried to show off her inventions. "Look, these shoes don't just give me enough spring to leap long distances like the Hulk; they can also do this—"
As she spoke, a blue light flickered beneath her feet. A blast of concussive force surged downward from the soles, the recoil lifting Lunella's body until she was wobbling in mid-air.
"Hey, Big Guy! Did you miss me?" Lunella called out to Devil Dinosaur.
Devil Dinosaur snorted in response and lowered his head toward her, his massive maw full of fangs swinging open.
Lunella's heart skipped a beat, but her telepathic link told her that the dinosaur harbored no ill intent. Even the Lizard and Batman stood by, indifferent to the gaping maw hovering over her.
Once again, she chose to trust Batman. She watched as Devil Dinosaur's mouth drew closer and closer... until he gently gripped her denim jacket and tossed her upward.
With a soft thud, Lunella was tossed onto the dinosaur's head, landing steadily right between his two broken horns.
"Woo-hoo!" Lunella cheered, gripping the base of the horns as Devil Dinosaur spun in a joyful circle.
Under the influence of the Lizard's pheromones, Devil Dinosaur viewed the Lizard as a father figure, so he obviously wouldn't engage in this kind of play with him. But in the dinosaur's eyes, Lunella was a playmate; he felt no pressure at all tossing her around.
"Heh heh heh." The Lizard stood to the side, watching Lunella—who wasn't even as big as the dinosaur's arm—and chuckled to himself.
Batman remained expressionless, his eyes scanning Lunella's equipment through the white lenses of his Arkham suit. The gadgets Lunella made had a strong personal flair—a "toy-like" aesthetic that was a far cry from Batman's utilitarianism and entirely different from Reed Richards' style.
Batman scanned her from head to toe, confirming that Reed hadn't planted any bugs or tracking devices on her and that he truly hadn't followed. Only then did he speak.
"Lunella, Devil Dinosaur is too large. Have you thought about how to handle that once you take him with you?"
"Devil Dinosaur? I like that name." Lunella hugged the dinosaur's head and pushed her round glasses up her nose, thinking for a moment before answering. "Reed said he had a way to help me, but he wanted the Omni-Wave Projector in exchange..."
Batman said nothing.
"But Reed had the Projector for less than a day and he already caused a disaster like a dinosaur invasion," Lunella continued. "Sure, it let me meet my partner here, but who knows what else would happen if the Projector stayed in his hands."
Lunella looked at Batman's cowl. "So, I turned him down."
"What was his method?" the Lizard asked curiously.
"He said there's a miraculous substance in the Pym Technologies building in Manhattan called Pym Particles. He said he could get some for me to use on Devil Dinosaur," Lunella explained.
Batman still remained silent.
Reed's idea coincided with Batman's. Among the various plans Batman had prepared for Lunella, there was building a large private zoo for her, buying a private island on the East River, and, naturally, a plan involving Pym Particles.
But since Lunella had rejected Reed's offer, Batman was curious to see what the girl intended to do instead.
"I plan to take Devil Dinosaur home," Lunella said. "Back to Samarkand."
Samarkand was a city in Uzbekistan. Batman wasn't surprised to hear the name. Unlike Dane Whitman, who had vanished completely after a fire, there were records regarding Lunella's arrival in New York—she had been sent here for school but had played truant because she felt the teachers only taught things she already knew.
Unfortunately, her days of freedom after skipping school didn't last long. She was spotted by Dr. Helen Cho, who was handling Professor Miles Warren's case. Seeing that the girl was exceptionally brilliant, Dr. Cho had sent her to her classmate and friend, Reed Richards.
"Judging by your gear, it seems you prepared for a long journey before you even left the house," Batman noted.
When he had scanned Lunella earlier, he noticed that besides being a rocket booster, her backpack contained a significant amount of food and a stack of cash.
"Yep!" Lunella nodded, refusing to climb down from Devil Dinosaur's head.
"New York is over ten thousand kilometers from Samarkand. Your idea seems a bit naive," the Lizard couldn't help but comment. "Batman, can the Omni-Wave Projector send her back?"
"No," Batman and Lunella said simultaneously.
"I never said I was going to ride him back. I'm actually planning to take a plane, and I've already handled the tickets and the pet transport procedures," Lunella said with a grin.
The Lizard looked up at Devil Dinosaur, whose size was comparable to a small aircraft. "Are you sure?"
"I'm very sure, because I stole the Pym Particles from the Pym Technologies building~" Lunella giggled, raising a fist clad in her spring-loaded glove. "Actually, looking at the time, Ant-Man and the Wasp should be catching up right about now."
Batman frowned. Before he could speak, a sudden chill ran down his spine, and his Spider-Sense surged outward like a flood.
Ding!
Batman's left arm snapped up to shield his face. Almost simultaneously, a massive force slammed into his arm guards.
"Uh, why aren't they attacking me? Why go after Batman first?" Lunella blinked, watching Batman as he weathered an invisible assault.
"Professor, take Lunella and leave," Batman commanded, his fists clenched and held in a defensive stance. "I'll hold them off."
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