Catherine's voice appeared so abruptly that Saber himself was startled.
He turned his head abruptly, and the next moment, the wall lamp was turned on. He saw the little girl standing next to the wall lamp. She was wearing pajamas and standing at the stairs. She looked like she was suffering from insomnia. There was a trace of panic in her big eyes that was not easy to notice.
Saber breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps because he was too focused on the problem just now, he did not notice the little girl approaching. He waved at Catherine, and the little girl walked to his side and sat on the sofa next to him. She secretly looked at Saber's expression from the corner of her eyes. She did not find anything unusual, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
But in the next moment, a large hand landed on her head and messed up her neatly combed hair. Catherine's hair stood on end like a kitten. Then, she heard Seiber's teasing question.
"Why are you looking at me secretly? Little Catherine, what do you want to tell me? "
The little girl scratched her fingers in confusion. She did not even care that Saber had messed up her hair just now. She looked at Saber timidly and secretly summoned up her courage. But when she spoke, she lowered her voice again, like a small animal that was being bullied.
"Saber, do you believe in superpowers in this world?"
"Huh?"
Saber was stunned. What kind of question was this?
But when he thought of the little girl's age, he suddenly realized that children of this age liked to let their imaginations run wild. Maybe the little girl had watched a movie and had asked this question?
Thinking of this, Saber suddenly felt that he had a great responsibility. He had to instill some good thoughts in the little girl, so he showed a very gentle smile and nodded.
"Yes, I believe in superpowers."
"Then do you hate people with superpowers?"
The little girl's expression became richer. She grabbed her fingers and asked more seriously, "Do you like them?"
"Uh …"
This question stumped Saber again. He scratched his head.
"How should I put it? If they don't provoke me, I don't care. If their superpowers are interesting and they aren't bad guys, I might like them."
The expression on Catherine's face became richer. She stood up from the sofa and looked at Saber expectantly.
"Then do you hate me? Saber. "
This question made Saber laugh involuntarily. He reached out his hand and grabbed the little girl's slightly chubby face. His left hand gently pulled outwards.
"Did you say you hate me? Little girl, what's wrong with you tonight? Why are you always talking about such nonsense … "
Buzz!
Saber felt his hands, which were holding onto Catherine's little face, tremble slightly. Then, Catherine, who was standing in front of him, disappeared with a naughty smile.
No... she didn't disappear. Instead, her entire body fell into the ground... she truly 'melted' into the ground. It was as if she had fallen into black water. He could even see Catherine's face and her hair below the ground.
It was as if she was playing a game with him!
However, this game made Saber's hair stand on end. He stood up from the sofa and pinched the back of his hand to confirm the pain. After confirming that this was not a dream, he nervously began to look around for Catherine. Under the dim light, everything seemed so unreal.
The three questions from the little girl suddenly connected together. All of Saber's doubts suddenly disappeared at this moment.
Catherine … She is the "superpower" she mentioned. This girl … She is a mutant!
Saber turned his head. There was no smile on his face, no relaxation. His expression fell into the eyes of Catherine who appeared from the other side of the wall. The originally happy little girl saw this expression. Her eyes reddened and tears flowed out from her eyes.
She had seen this expression many times. Perhaps it was because of this reason that her parents did not care about her disappearance. When she fell into Gotham, in the first days of panic, after she was sent to the orphanage, she remembered being abused by the caretaker. In her incomplete mind, she subconsciously thought that it was this "superpower" that caused her to be disliked by everyone.
She never used it again. Unless it was a critical moment, otherwise, how did a nine-year-old girl climb over the tall wall of the orphanage on a cold and rainy night? How did she manage to survive for almost a year on this narrow island that was fraught with danger?
Catherine felt that Saber would be like the others. He would give up on her because of her "uniqueness". Her dad would not accept a monster. She felt the cold. Even in the warm room, she hugged her body with her arms and slowly squatted down. She squatted in the corner, shivering like an abandoned animal.
Saber saw this scene and could not help but sigh. Before he received the gift from Coulson, he also thought that he was a monster. He was almost the same as Catherine now. He could almost imagine how much pressure this little girl had to endure to confess this "secret" that she had carefully protected.
Perhaps it was because of Fatty Jon, Catherine's dependence on him was much stronger than he thought. He walked forward and squatted down in front of Catherine. He reached out his hand and tried to pat her head like before, but the little girl dodged.
The way she dodged was very strange. When Saber's hand reached out, half of her body retreated and merged into the wall. Obviously, Saber's expression just now hurt her.
Seeing this scene, Saber was a little helpless. He thought about it and simply sat cross-legged in front of Catherine who was crying with her head down. His left hand dug in his pocket and took out a dagger. He waved it in front of the little girl and then slashed down. The sharp blade cut through his skin. It was not a terrible wound, but red blood still flowed out.
Saber bared his teeth, and the dormant heat in his body was awakened. Under Catherine's stunned gaze, the small wound slowly stopped bleeding and healed. After a short minute, it completely disappeared. The silent hall seemed to have nothing happened, but the dozens of drops of blood on the floor proved that what Catherine saw was not an illusion.
Seiber waved his sleek arm in front of Catherine who had stopped crying. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. Then, he propped himself up with his arms and puffed a smoke ring towards the sky. Then, he lowered his head to look at the little girl.
"Fufu … Are you relieved now? You clever little girl, why didn't you tell me earlier? "
"I … I was scared."
Catherine slowly "walked" out from the wall. Her face was still tear-stained. She sniffled and said seriously to Saber.
"Saber, are you also a person with superpowers?"
"It's not a superpower. It's a very bad name, okay … "
Saber reached out and hugged Catherine gently. He rubbed his stubble on her forehead.
"We have a name, we are called mutants. Uh, it sounds even worse than that, but you have to remember, Catherine …"
The little girl sat on Saber's lap and looked at him. Saber raised his head and looked at the night sky outside the window.
"We are not freaks, we are normal people! Normal people who are stronger than them! By the way, when did you have this ability? "
"About a few years ago. Once, after I fell asleep, I dreamed that I could pass through the bed, the wall, and even the ground. When I woke up, I found myself lying in the basement of my house …"
Catherine scratched her head. "Maybe it was because of that dream. At that time, my mother was scared. She repeatedly told me not to tell anyone about this."
"And then?"
Saber blew out a mouthful of smoke. This was the first time in half a month that the little girl took the initiative to talk about her past. His question seemed to remind Catherine of some bad memories. But after a few seconds of silence, she continued.
"For the next half a year, I pretended that nothing happened. Until half a year later, my kitten fell into the sewer. When I rescued it, the neighbors saw me and they said that I was a witch. Then we moved to Brooklyn. From that day on, my parents, who were so good to me, changed. I always locked myself in the house. I was afraid that I was really the witch that people were pointing fingers at. Once, I heard them crying in the bedroom in the middle of the night. I knew that they still loved me."
Catherine's eyes reddened again. Saber grinned and revealed a mocking smile.
"Those people who point fingers at you are the real idiots. Ignore them. Then, how did you come to Gotham?"
Catherine's body trembled. Saber patted her back with his left hand, probably because she remembered Fatty Jon's abuse of her. Only then did she calm down.
"It was a trip, from New York to Toronto. It was a trip that my parents wanted to make me happier. Before my birthday, we went to many places. Gotham was our third last stop. Then, at the station, I got lost with my parents. After that … I never saw them again."
"Saber, do they not love me anymore? Did I make them angry? "
The little girl threw herself into Seiber's arms. He could feel the fear in her heart, the fear of being abandoned by her loved ones. Seiber was familiar with this feeling as well. He had grown up as an orphan, and this was not the first time he had thought about this in the middle of the night.
Why did they abandon him?
Was it because they were forced by life, or was it because of some strange reason?
Saber hoped that it was the former. However, after he grew up, he no longer thought about these questions. Let bygones be bygones. The most important thing for a person was to live well in the present. Only then would they have the right to look forward to the future.
He extinguished the pipe on the floor and gave Catherine a hug. He comforted her.
"No, they must be worried about you. Silly girl, don't cry. Didn't you want to go to New York with me? Let's go find them and give them a surprise, okay? "
"Yes! Will you abandon me? Saber? "
"No … I won't. Because we are the same kind of people. Aren't we the freaks that they call us? How can a freak abandon another freak? "
Saber held Catherine's shoulders with both hands. He sat on the floor and looked at the sobbing little girl. He revealed an ugly smile and reached out to wipe her tears. He said to her in a very serious tone, "You have to learn to be strong.
"You, you have to learn to be strong. Tears can't stop bullets. Otherwise, this would be such a gentle world … Oh, right! I said I would give you a gift. "
With that, Saber took out a black pistol from the inside of his clothes and made an exaggerated grimace.
"Dang, dang, dang, dang!"
He solemnly placed it in Catherine's palm and reached out for the little girl to hold the ice-cold toy that was too big for her. He spoke earnestly to the little girl with a face full of confusion.
"Weapon? This is probably the most loyal partner in this world. Look, as long as you hold it tightly, even if the entire world abandons you, it will still silently protect your safety. You're still too young. Although its ability is very powerful, at least it's much more useful than mine, it's still not enough to protect you. Hold it tightly, Catherine. When others try to hurt you …"
Saber narrowed his eyes and smiled. He smoothed the little girl's messy hair and whispered in her ear.
"When they try to hurt you, kill them … You can't give them the right to hurt you a second time. You have to know that this world is too dangerous and too cruel. It doesn't even want to give us a little more love. So we have to learn to love ourselves more. Remember?"
"Just like how I treated Fatty Jon?"
"Yes! Just like that! "
"Yes, I remember!"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
