Chapter 78 Reunion in the Sky: A Physical Reunion in the Sky

Thomas Wayne, a rather magical creature.

He is familiar with cutting-edge technology, has made significant achievements in invention, and his intelligence is clearly not an issue...

But he never seems to learn how to answer the phone.

This time too.

Okay, this time Thomas didn't seem to have vanished as completely as last time. Although he still didn't have his phone or communicator, at least he sent a short message using the communicator Batman gave him:

"I'm alive, not dead yet, don't worry about me."

Then there's the positioning of the Venn Tower.

Thanks, Thomas. Actually, I know where the Venta is.

"How are you?"

“Alive, not dead yet, don’t worry about me,” Thomas added. “You can stay here. I’ll have someone take care of the bombs at the sugar factory.”

Thomas's abilities are quite trustworthy (others may be different), but...

“Don’t tell me this is your Halloween present,” Batman replied to Thomas, “or I’ll tear your freezer apart with Alfred.”

"I'm alive, not dead yet, don't worry about me."

...It turns out to be an automatic reply.

Batman took a deep breath and drove the Batmobile toward Wayne Tower.

He then received another text message from Thomas:

"There's a problem at the sugar factory, don't come here yet, go there."

That sounds really suspicious.

“I’m sorry, but I just received news,” Alfred’s voice came through the car radio just in time, “the bombs at the sugar factory have been destroyed, including the bombs that were implanted inside the victims.”

“Thank you, Alfred,” Batman replied.

Then he frantically asked Thomas on the communicator what had happened.

"I'm alive, not dead yet, don't worry about me."

It's that same automated reply again.

“Alfred, access the surveillance footage from Wayne Tower.” Batman slammed on the gas. “Especially the footage of Thomas. We need to pinpoint his location.”

“Yes, Captain,” Alfred maintained his identity meticulously, “but the surveillance inside the Venta has been deliberately blocked/locked. Since this morning, we have lost the key to access the Venta’s internal surveillance.”

Batman doesn't even need to think to know who did it.

Who else could it be?

That's hard to guess.

"Can we view the surveillance footage outside the Venn Tower?"

“Yes, Captain,” Alfred replied. “Just now, a gentleman dressed as Batman and a lady dressed as the Joker entered Wayne Tower… well, and Night Owl too.”

It's owls again.

Batman arrived at the underground parking garage of Wayne Tower in a fit of rage. Detective mode did not show Thomas's image, only a few corpses... only one living person remained.

Batman reached for the elevator button, but then saw the floor number displayed on the electronic screen.

The elevator finally stopped on the fourteenth floor.

He also remembered that the thirteenth floor was the base of an owl court.

"Is there any CCTV footage of them leaving the Venn Tower, Alfred?"

I think not.

“Very good,” Batman pressed the elevator button. “I’ll go take care of things here first.”

Then they immediately went to catch Thomas.

-

“I should have known,” Thomas said calmly, having grown accustomed to the feeling of plans being thwarted today. “I should have known that even this wouldn’t hold him off for long… just get rid of him.”

Claw looked at Thomas, who always gave orders before Night Owl, with a puzzled expression.

So who is the Supreme Court of the Owls?

Why is the owl so good-tempered today?

“Listen to him,” Night Owl ordered, his words tinged with unease. He strongly suspected that Thomas wanted to expose him and then use the power of these claws to get rid of him. “Batman is a crucial part of my plan; he must live unharmed.”

Don't ask about the plan or any part of it; I don't know either.

"yes."

Watching Claw's departing figure, Thomas Jr. thought for a moment, then casually opened a hidden door in the room and waved for Thomas Sr. and Martha to follow.

"Night Owl" also noticed his movements and walked towards the secret door: "How do you know the Court of Owls so well?"

"If you're going to steal something, you have to memorize the map first. It's the most basic thing." Thomas reached out to stop him.

Where are you going?

“The three of us are going home,” Thomas said, “and I’m sure you won’t turn a blind eye to the predicament Batman is facing, will you?”

"So you're planning to leave me here to save your Batman?"

“That’s right, because you can’t ignore the crisis Batman faces. Those claws are killers by profession, and they never hold back.” Thomas Jr. was the first to crawl in. “Luckily, you’re a very obvious good guy who would even care about human flesh, otherwise I would have been very busy.”

A normal person would react to seeing the corpse of another person, right?

“I reserve the opinion that he should have a room reserved for him in Arkham,” Red Hood said. “Honestly, I think he should go see him.”

"Night Owl" didn't want to be manipulated by Isaiah Thomas like that: "I'm not a..."

“You mean you’re ‘not a good person’? Fine, if you insist on saying that, then let’s look at it from another angle,” Thomas turned around, revealing a strange smile, staring straight at him, his light blue eyes shining brightly. “You want to investigate Night Owl, isn’t this a perfect opportunity? You can even negotiate with Batman to cooperate in stopping Night Owl. It all fits your requirements.”

“I don’t know why, but I always feel like he has ulterior motives,” Red Hood said suspiciously.

“I agree,” Night Owl said, closing the hidden door. “But this is indeed a good opportunity, and a good opportunity to cause some trouble for the Night Owls of this world.”

-

Red Hood and "Night Owl's" intuition was absolutely right; Isaiah Thomas had malicious intentions and planned to use them.

He had just come up with another plan that would allow him to shake off any possible suspicions, regain his freedom, and eliminate the Joker... but it would require him to waste something, not much, just a little.

Thomas Jr. led the Wayne couple through the maze-like paths, pondering how to fool the others.

His steps were even somewhat light.

“Tommy,” Martha called Thomas’ nickname somewhat awkwardly, “I have something I want to ask you.”

“Okay,” Thomas said, pulling his thoughts away from his plans and turning to how to explain why he insisted they kill the Joker and why he fabricated their origins in front of “Night Owl.” “I’ll try to explain it clearly.”

Can you tell me about your situation?

"Me?" Thomas paused in confusion, all the prepared remarks he had just made now rendered useless. "Is there anything noteworthy about me?"

You can't exactly tell us that he's about your age, that his first fortune came from killing his parents and brother, that he was a mistress, that his colleagues are idiots and lunatics, that his subordinates are a bunch of stolen hitmen, that his profession is a supervillain who also serves as chairman, and that his life's ambition is to destroy the world.

Lying in such an insignificant place seems a bit tiring, so it's better not to say anything at all.

“I want to know more about you brothers,” Martha said with a touch of sadness. “We missed out on your growth, and I’m worried…”

“Worried that Bruce won’t accept you?” Thomas chuckled. “Don’t worry, he will definitely love you, and even if you whip him, it won’t change that (1).”

?

The somewhat somber atmosphere was dispelled by this inexplicable remark.

Martha was silent for a moment, then extracted the key words.

“So when we weren’t here,” Martha lowered her voice, letting the small knife hidden in her sleeve slide out and firmly gripping the handle, “someone whipped you?”

“No,” Thomas replied. “The last person who dared to do that was killed by my men. It’s a pity I couldn’t do it myself.”

"Is there anyone else causing you trouble?" Old Thomas joined the conversation. "I still remember those board members..."

“I’ve dealt with most of the disobedient ones,” Thomas said nonchalantly. “A bunch of idiots who can’t see the situation.”

“That’s good,” Martha concluded, a mixture of joy and wistfulness in her voice, “You can protect yourselves even when we’re not around.”

If the Wayne couple had heard Thomas's words in the past, they might have tried to teach him to be good.

But after the tragedy of their child's death, their demands have changed.

As long as Bruce and Thomas are happy and healthy, that's all that matters; nothing else matters.

“I thought you were going to ask me other questions,” Thomas quickened his pace slightly, “like why I insisted you kill the Joker.”

“We believe you have your reasons,” Martha said with a touch of kindness in her voice.

"And that clown really does want to harm you," old Thomas added.

It's strange, Thomas continued to quicken his pace, which is really strange.

If I had known, I wouldn't have gone for visual impact; maybe it would have been better to just bring over those two pieces of trash from Earth III.

He pushed open a door forcefully, revealing a modified small airplane inside.

This plane is similar in function to the one he usually flies, only a bit bigger, and can carry more people.

“This is Night Owl’s plane. His planes are always very good,” Thomas said absentmindedly, “and I happen to have had his key before, and I guess he hasn’t changed it.”

He opened the hatch, invited the Waynes inside, and then sat in the driver's seat.

"You can fly a plane, Tommy?" Martha exclaimed in admiration.

“...Actually, this plane has an automatic cruise function,” Thomas said, abandoning manual operation and pressing several buttons instead, “I don’t need to drive it.”

The atmosphere became slightly awkward, but then Thomas quickly realized that his tone seemed different from the persona he had just created: "Sorry, I..."

“It’s alright, my child,” Martha said quickly, “I know you just…”

A cloud of smoke enveloped the plane.

Thomas gritted his teeth and gripped the control stick tightly.

Batman!

I clearly turned on stealth mode!

-----------------------

Author's note: (1) Although it sounds strange, Xiao Zong really did not mean to ruin Cup Noodles' reputation... because the two brothers of Ball Three were indeed slapped by Martha, and Little Bruce did indeed choose his parents.

-

I'm about to get a rat; after exercising, my whole body aches terribly...