Chapter 35 Honesty is an excuse for laziness; lies
“A few years ago, I discovered traces of the Court of Owls.” Thomas’s gaze remained fixed on the computer screen. “My brother was once locked in an old house when he was a child. There was a Court of Owls outpost there, and I even discovered some of their little secrets.”
Batman didn't comment on this, but simply pulled his cape tighter, making him almost disappear into the shadows.
“Most of their members are from the upper echelons of Gotham,” Thomas said. “They are all Gotham natives.”
"Can you tell me what secret you've discovered?"
"These lunatics are followers of some evil god. They want to use a member of the Wayne family to summon the evil god to rule the world. The ritual is to infect a Wayne, specifically a Wayne native to Gotham, with five metals. Is this the kind of thinking that well-educated modern people should have? What era are we living in, and they're still indulging in these feudal superstitions?"
Batman somewhat agreed. Even if there really were evil gods, why would they care about Wayne? It seemed completely illogical, like a story from a third-rate horror novel.
"They attacked you?" Batman continued to ask.
It is clear that Thomas Wayne is also a Gotham native Wayne.
“Yes, they even used their undead underlings, but I have ways to protect myself. They have to keep me alive,” Thomas replied casually, still typing on the keyboard.
Batman tossed him a communicator: "Contact me if you need anything. You can't handle everything alone."
Batman heard Alfred's voice in his ear: "I must tell you, to ensure that no important information is lost, I have recorded all of this."
...except for me.
Batman mentally patched up his own feelings.
“Thank you for sending me a Wayne Enterprises Bat-Communicator… I even know some of its specifications.” Thomas casually put it in his pants pocket. “Is there anything else you want to ask?”
“I’m sorry, but…” Batman paused for a moment, then finally asked Thomas, “Is the Court of Owls related to your parents’ deaths?”
"Are you asking for my brother?" Thomas stopped what he was doing. "I knew there was someone on the other end of your communicator."
“That’s right, I am Bruce Wayne,” Alfred said to Batman through the communicator. “Unfortunately, the astute young Thomas discovered me, so I have no choice but to log off.”
Now only Batman is facing the truth.
“I’ve turned off the communicator. You can tell me, or tell him yourself.”
Thomas can't avoid it anyway. Even if he doesn't talk about it now, he'll face Bruce's relentless questioning when he gets home.
“You’re not even a little ashamed of this, Batman.” Thomas continued typing. “Putting that aside, I have something I’d like to ask your opinion on.”
"What's up?"
"Do you think I should tell the truth or lie?" Thomas asked expressionlessly.
The light from the computer screen shone on his face, making him look like a pale ghost.
“The truth,” Batman said. “He should know the truth.”
Thomas seems to have a morbid aversion to the truth, and even though they grew up together, Batman can't find the source of this aversion.
“Do you think telling the truth is good? I used to think so too.” Thomas didn’t answer directly. “But I’ve found that reckless honesty is irresponsible, a virtue that’s closest to sin. The truth is beyond our control; it can lead things to situations we don’t want to see. Only lies are reliable.”
Batman remained silent.
“I’ll ask you one more time, what kind of answer do you think Bruce wants?” Thomas looked at Batman in the darkness. “I can’t see through him, I’ve never seen through him, I don’t know what he really wants.”
"the truth."
“Everyone thinks they want the truth, but there are always people who can’t bear the weight of the truth.” Thomas sighed. “The Court of Owls had nothing to do with that tragedy, although they did kill a lot of my ancestors. At least that time, the brain was just an accident caused by a thug trying to rob someone.”
Is what you're saying now the truth?
Thomas sneered, "You subconsciously think the Court of Owls is the mastermind? They have a bunch of undead assassins under their command. Do you think they need to use a thug who could be killed by a four-year-old to carry out a mission?"
"Is there any other information?"
Thomas leaned over to look at Batman: "Of course I have some, but I won't tell a masked guy I've only met twice. The ones I just gave you were a favor to Bruce."
Thomas was clearly refusing to cooperate, but what could Batman do? Batman couldn't just grab Thomas by the collar, threaten to break every bone in his body, and then give him a headbutt.
“Thank you, Thomas,” Batman said to Thomas in a deep voice.
“You’re welcome. I just got a message from the Court of Owls,” Thomas said, picking up his phone with feigned nonchalance. “They’ll put Dick at the nearest courthouse that I’ve located.”
Where?
"Under your feet."
?
Batman took a step back. He could tell there was a hidden door in the office, but the sound confirmed that the floor beneath his feet was normal.
“There’s a hidden level on the thirteenth floor, and there’s a base inside, probably built by my ancestors.” Thomas stood up. “Choosing this location will give both of us peace of mind.”
What's going on, Thomas? Are you just going to let the owls build their nests in the Tower of Wayne?
I really should assess your mental state.
“For the sake of that communicator, Batman, I’ll tell you something else.” Thomas turned to him and said, “If you have nothing better to do sometime, you can explore the sewers of Gotham City; there are plenty of surprises.”
It seems the Court of Owls has quite a few dens.
Is that an owl? Or is it a cockroach? You can find them in the sewers.
Do you have any at home?
This is Batman's last stand... No matter what, there absolutely cannot be a Court of Owls stronghold in Wayne Manor, just as Alfred insisted there can be no rats in the kitchen.
“No, why would you think that?” Thomas denied it righteously, as if he were not the leader of the owls and Wayne Manor was not his nest.
The two entered the elevator one after the other, and then Thomas took out an ID card and swiped it in the elevator.
"Did the Court of Owls give it to you?"
"I modified the elevator myself after I found this location. I didn't like the way to get in from the fourteenth floor, so I modified the elevator."
"Did the Court of Owls know when you were doing the renovations?"
“I know. I specifically warned them that if they didn’t leave in time, Wayne Corporation would sue them for infringing on other people’s property rights, so this place has actually been abandoned for a long time.”
"..."
The elevator was moving quickly, and they soon saw Dick. Thomas rushed over and hugged him, and very deliberately kicked Zucker, seemingly breaking his other hand.
Batman, holding a batarang, cautiously looked around, but there were no other living beings present besides Thomas, Dick, and Zuk.
Instead, he narrowed his eyes. Batman remembered Thomas saying that the Court of Owls had undead assassins on its side.
“Don’t worry, there’s no one else here.” Thomas seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. “I’m absolutely sure.”
Batman was used to Thomas's keen insight into others, so he lowered his grip on the batarang but didn't let go of it.
What did you exchange?
“I don’t need to tell you, sir. You can leave now.”
“Wait, Thomas.” Dick peeked out from Thomas’s embrace and rested his chin on Thomas’s shoulder, which was a little difficult, as Thomas was still too tall for him. “I have something to say to Batman.”
When Zuk was collecting protection money, Batman had helped them, and Dick decided to trust the man.
"What is it?" Batman walked over to Zuk and lifted him up. "Let's talk somewhere else."
“It’s related, it’s related…” Dick nodded toward Thomas.
"It's about me and the Court of Owls," Thomas suddenly said, startling Dick.
Can you read minds?
“No, but it’s not difficult. With enough information, even a fool can predict the future.” Thomas picked him up. “The two of you combined don’t know as much information as I do. But for safety’s sake, I will listen in on your information exchange the whole time.”
Well, they were forced to return to Thomas's office, where Dick recounted his kidnapping to Thomas's face.
“I retract my opinion,” Thomas said, feigning seriousness. “It seems they might have a base at Wayne Manor as well.”
Batman... Batman has become numb.
From Wayne Enterprises to Wayne Manor, everything seems to be leaking like a sieve. Isn't Gotham's daytime supposed to belong to Wayne? Thomas, how come you're living so carelessly?
In fact, to put it mildly, the biggest mole, Thomas himself, is in control of Wayne Enterprises' lifeline.
Bad news: even the chairman of Wayne Enterprises is a traitor to the enemy.
Good news, the Chief Justice of the Owl Court is also a double agent.
Knowing that there might be an owl hiding in his house, Batman didn't show any outward reaction, only reminding Thomas and Dick to be careful. In reality, he was already feeling the same way as the person who found a cockroach in a bag of potato chips.
While he was disgusted, he tried his best to analyze the intelligence. What Dick said could indeed be corroborated with the intelligence Thomas gave him. He was actually not lying.
One more thing worth noting...
"You ate cake too?" Batman asked Dick.
"No!" Dick straightened up abruptly. "I didn't eat!"
Batman cast an disapproving glance his way.
Having witnessed Thomas's natural and unadorned acting so many times, it becomes remarkably easy to see through this kind of purely fabricated, unnatural lie.
“You can’t lie like that. You’re overreacting. Lower your head and say this,” Thomas was trying to teach him, “‘My…’ never mind, I won’t say it.”
Okay, now Batman's disapproving gaze has shifted to Thomas.
“The cake should be fine,” Dick said cautiously. “Night Owl ate some too, and the Claws spent a long time sharing it. Even Zuk got a few bites.”
Upon hearing Zucker's name, Thomas jumped to his feet.
“I almost forgot,” Thomas tilted his head to look at Dick, “Do you need me to kill him for you?”
-----------------------
Author's note: In my personal interpretation, after Clawwings' death, Night Owl's various beliefs will definitely be greatly distorted.
After being a villain his whole life, he finally confessed for once, and as a result, he died. It tasted really good (not really).
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I found a Batman graffiti with super long ears in Arkham Knight today, but unfortunately I can't post pictures on JJ.
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