Chapter 39 Fear Stumbles into a Horror Movie Scene
"Wow, that's amazing... So you're actually Batman, Bruce? Did Thomas know? Were the three of you deliberately keeping this from me? Did I pass the test...?"
Dick curiously observed the bat cave, which was filled with all sorts of high-tech gadgets and looked even more impressive than the sets in science fiction movies.
He spoke faster than a machine gun, and Bruce could only answer the questions one by one.
“That’s right, Thomas is unaware of it, and I still intend to keep this secret from him…”
"So...can I dress up as Batman next Halloween?" Dick turned his head and asked excitedly.
“Then you have to pay me royalties,” Bruce said, crossing his arms.
“I misjudged you, Batman.” Dick scoffed, standing next to the Batcomputer, scrutinizing the buttons and massive screen. “So you heard everything Thomas and I said?”
"Actually, it was Alfred who told me. He only heard part of it, like the part where you wanted to dress up as Batman to scare me."
Dick looked away, somewhat embarrassed.
"So what's this mysterious secret base called?" He abruptly changed the subject.
"Bat Cave".
"Are there any other bats here?" Dick looked around, seemingly trying to find a bat as tall as a person.
“Yes, we have many of these Chiroptera neighbors,” Alfred replied (emphasizing Chiroptera, probably to highlight that the Bat Cave also has Hominidae species), “They bravely protect Wayne Manor from certain mosquitoes, and by the way, in a little while the real bats will be going to sleep.”
The meaning is quite obvious.
Bruce and Dick immediately headed for the elevator.
“Thomas also said you’re afraid of bats, Bruce.” Dick shrugged. “Looks like I’ll have to change my costume for Halloween.”
“Thomas wasn’t lying,” Bruce told him. “I was really afraid of bats when I was a kid.”
“Oh, so you must have bravely overcome that fear!” Dick jumped out of the hole behind the clock and asked quickly, “Do you know what Thomas is afraid of? Let me see if I can scare him once.”
“…I think young Thomas has been exceptionally brave since childhood,” Alfred said. “I really can’t think of anything he’s afraid of.”
“I do know a little… Thomas seems to have a phobia of gift boxes,” Bruce replied. “But he seems even more afraid of owls?”
"I had no idea!" Alfred stopped in his tracks, which allowed Dick and Bruce to go to bed a little later.
“Great, does that mean there’s another Night Owl in this house?” Dick quipped. “Or maybe a Gift Box Man?”
Bruce pursed his lips.
He's not keen on mentioning the night owl at Wayne Manor (aside from the Batcave).
“It’s perfectly normal that you haven’t noticed, Alfred. After all, we all know that Thomas rarely receives gifts. I’m the only one who puts gifts in gift boxes for him, while you usually just give him the gifts directly.” Alfred was thinking seriously, and Bruce took the opportunity to sit on the sofa by the fireplace. “Besides, he doesn’t react at all to other people’s gift boxes, except when someone gives him a gift box, he gets a little anxious.”
“Great, looks like I can find a huge gift box, crawl inside, and give him a fright?” Dick really wanted to scare Thomas, definitely not because he was scared by Thomas. “What about owls? They look so fluffy.”
Thomas wasn't afraid of all owls; in fact, he was probably only afraid of the owl that scratched his face.
"Was Thomas scratched on the face by an owl?"
"Yes, it was just Thomas and me at home that day. I don't know which window wasn't closed properly, but an owl flew in... It's ridiculous, an owl flew in around noon. The owl flew in and scratched at Thomas's eye, but luckily it didn't hurt his eye."
"Then he covered his face and sat on the ground for a long time. I was terrified at that time and only thought about prying his hand open to see the wound. Later I realized that he was also shaking at that time."
“God…” Alfred shook his head, “I thought young Thomas was scratched outside the manor… Why didn’t you tell me? I should have chased those birds away sooner.”
“Because I couldn’t say, and I was scared too.” Bruce looked away. “Because a few minutes later Thomas recovered, and he somehow found a gun and spent the whole afternoon killing every owl he could find in Wayne Manor. I know it’s not normal, but at that time the newspapers were full of news about psychiatrists and mental hospitals abusing patients. I was worried that if we talked about these things, someone would overhear us, and our enemies would sabotage us by sending Thomas to a mental hospital too… I couldn’t take that risk.”
“I remember now,” Alfred said. “Around that time, someone had just broken into Wayne Manor to steal documents.”
“So here’s the thing. When I was studying psychology and psychiatry, I tried to analyze Thomas, but I couldn’t see whether he was still troubled by these shadows, nor could I find the source of his gift box shadow in his past life,” Bruce continued. “However, I believe what he is really afraid of is something hidden behind the gift box and the owl… an abstract concept or symbol.”
The three of them remained silent for a while.
"...Then I'd better not scare Thomas?" Dick said hesitantly.
“Thank you, Dick.” A voice sounded from behind them.
"Thomas...?"
Startled, Dick took a step back, nearly knocking the fire out of the fireplace with the blanket, but Bruce reacted quickly and grabbed him.
The three people who hadn't slept all night turned around and found Thomas standing at the door.
Thomas, unusually dressed in a gaudy nightgown, stood there expressionless, staring straight at the fireplace, the firelight dancing in his eyes.
"Want to warm up by the fire, Tommy?" Bruce seemed a little guilty about exposing Thomas's secrets earlier. "This sofa is very comfortable."
"Thank you, Bruce, but no need."
Thomas politely declined Bruce's offer.
He then threw the axe in his hand to the ground.
With a loud thud, Dick flinched in fright.
"Do you want me to punish you by making you wax the floor, young Thomas?" Alfred said with displeasure. "Even with carpet, these fragile wooden floors can't withstand such torture."
Dick looked at Alfred in shock.
Alfred, you're not simple either!
“I’m sorry, Alfred, I won’t do that again,” Thomas quickly apologized. “But you might need to change some sheets and mattresses tomorrow.”
What happened to the bed sheet?
“…I accidentally got them dirty,” Thomas lowered his eyes, turned to face Dick, and softened his voice, “I’m sorry, Dick, I think I startled you.”
When Thomas lowered his eyes, he really softened up a lot, and that terrifying aura disappeared from him instantly.
“It’s okay, Thomas,” Dick quickly recovered. “Actually, you didn’t scare me.”
“I need to talk to Alfred and Bruce about something. Could you please stay here by yourself for a while?”
"What's wrong?" Bruce got up from the sofa.
“There’s something in my room, and I’m scared.” Thomas bent down, his face grim, picked up the axe, and turned to walk down the dark corridor, with Bruce and Alfred close behind him.
Dick peered curiously in the direction they had left, but could only see the backs of the three people.
Thomas's pajamas seem to be very fashionable; they look flashy from the front but are completely solid color from the back.
The three of them walked together down the dark corridor. After Bruce carefully made sure that Dick couldn't possibly hear them, he whispered to Thomas, "Are you hurt? Who broke in? How did you get all bloody?"
“The Penguin assassins have broken in,” Thomas said through gritted teeth. “I was worried about you guys, so I’ve been wandering around looking for you.”
"That assassin also..."
“He won’t die. New Jersey’s castle law requires a reasonable threat of death before the use of lethal force, so I had to restrain him.” Thomas answered casually, swinging the axe nimbly in his hand. “I’ve strapped him to the bed. It’s a bit inappropriate for children, so Dick can’t see it.”
Bruce hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
Finally, he quietly followed behind Thomas, waiting for Thomas to open the door.
Thomas hesitated for a moment before opening the door, but finally asked Bruce, "Would you like to leave too?"
“I’ve become much bolder over the years, so don’t worry about me.”
"Okay, I can never figure out other people's fear thresholds."
Thomas pushed open the door, and a strong smell of blood wafted out.
Thomas had pinned the assassin's hands to the mattress with a dagger, while the sheets and blankets were piled haphazardly on the floor.
Bruce frowned. Judging from the wounds on the assassin's body, there shouldn't be such a strong smell of blood in the room.
“One of them ran away, and I accidentally cut his leg.” Thomas pointed to the window, “leaving a trail of blood.”
Bruce opened the window, leaned half his body out, and squinted as he looked outside.
"...A car picked him up, you deliberately let him go?"
“I put a tracker on him,” Thomas said. “GCPD is generally not very reliable in these kinds of situations, so I plan to track him down myself.”
Bruce climbed down from the windowsill.
“I remember Batman gave you a communicator, do you want to contact him?” Bruce suggested.
Alfred coughed slightly, and Thomas took a coat from the closet and draped it over Alfred's back.
"Thank you, Mr. Thomas."
-----------------------
Author's note: The things Thomas fears in this story are more... abstract, really abstract.
-
I'm not updating tomorrow, I need to fix the typos (I'm going to die).
-
I've finished the Batman storyline... I don't recommend it; it was too cruel to Batman and Alfred. Some of the adaptations were unbearable, and the Penguin was really annoying—he smashed the graduation gift Alfred gave Bruce.
The gameplay is rather average; if you're really curious, you can check out a live stream.
(By the way, there's a scene where the Penguin deliberately changed Bruce's degree to Sociology. What's the joke behind that? I don't understand.)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
