Chapter 50: Educational Role Models ( )
Bruce changed the perspective of the surveillance again.
He was not seen in any of the nearby surveillance cameras.
"And then? Where did he go?" Dick tried to find Thomas's figure in the surveillance footage.
"...They climbed out the window and also changed the security cameras." Bruce began to think, "Perhaps we should separate the security keys for Wayne Manor and Wayne Corporation."
"Don't you trust young master Thomas?"
"I don't want to say this, but Wayne Group seems to have a major security vulnerability."
Bruce didn't repeat the "destroy the world" statement that the three of them had overheard a few days earlier. Instead, he changed the subject: "Don't forget, Thomas always likes to put moles in for him to work on."
After saying that, he turned off the surveillance camera, stood up, and went to the underground parking garage.
-
"So what are you planning to do?" Thomas asked Jason with his eyes closed, as if to avoid further annoyance. "Have you thought it through?"
He sat idly in the car the whole time, without even getting out, just waiting for Kelvin to easily find the two drug addicts. He only frowned and turned his face away when the two of them screamed and cursed.
It would be easier for Kelvin to catch the two of them than for a cat to catch a mouse, especially since Jason had "kindly" reminded them of some of their places of the day.
Now, Kelvin tied the two men up and threw them on the ground.
Jason thought he would feel somewhat conflicted, but he was actually unusually calm.
“Let them fend for themselves.” Jason turned his head away. “They never treated me like their own child, so I won’t treat them like my parents either.”
"Okay, let them sign."
"That's it?" Jason asked incredulously.
“Of course not, there’s still a ton of paperwork to go through,” Thomas replied, glancing at his phone. “Optimistically, you can start school next week. Get in the car.”
Jason carefully climbed back into the back seat.
He shouldn't have climbed out of the back seat!
Thomas almost thought he misheard when he mentioned the price; who would have thought this car could be so expensive!
“It’s not expensive, you can leave a few footprints on it and it won’t matter.” Thomas seemed to know what he was thinking. “The most expensive car in my house, its most important job every day is to roll around in the mud and take some unimportant mental patients with it.”
Yes, that's right, we're talking about the Batmobile, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build.
Next to board the bus was the absent-minded Kelvin.
He was acting strangely today, not even saying a word to Thomas, even though Thomas had called him here from Wayne Enterprises to be his driver with just a text message.
This made Thomas take a second look at him, and then he realized that this unusual behavior was probably because the owl hadn't appeared for several days.
Thomas nonchalantly looked away.
That's really strange.
-
"So young Thomas really did go to do charity work?" Alfred's tone was slightly surprised.
“That’s true. Thomas is quite trustworthy,” Bruce replied. He had spent a lot of time finally finding Thomas’s sports car. “Generally speaking, he will do what he explicitly promises. If he wanted to go back on his word from the beginning, he would play word games with people.”
“To be honest, I’m a little surprised.” Alfred lowered his voice, trying to make sure Dick couldn’t hear him. “I always thought young Thomas was aloof, but I didn’t expect him to be so friendly with children. It seems I can hope that Wayne Manor will have another lovely baby?”
"...I really can't imagine what it would be like for Thomas to form a close relationship with a human."
Especially now, for various reasons, that evil owl keeps popping into his head.
“To be honest, I’m not so sure either.” Dick heard them talking and quickly moved to the middle of the conversation, grabbing Bruce’s chair back to prop himself up. “So Thomas really went to get the money to help that kid go to school? I knew Gotham people had a lot of misconceptions about him! I’m going to tell my classmates.”
Bruce tilted his head, his feelings a mix of emotions.
Actually, it's not necessarily all a misunderstanding.
“He’ll probably be back soon,” Bruce changed the subject. “I think we can have a good talk.”
"Okay, best of luck."
However, the communication plan ran into obstacles from the very beginning.
Because Thomas brought home a child.
Of course, it's impossible to ask Thomas questions like whether he has schizophrenia or whether he really wants to destroy the world in front of the children he just sponsored.
"Welcome!" Dick was the first to step forward, looking at the thin child with curiosity.
Clearly, few people can remain wary in front of Dick, and the two quickly exchanged names and huddled together to speak in hushed tones.
Next was Alfred, who had been preparing dinner and only now realized that a little guest had arrived at Wayne Manor.
He went over to Thomas and asked casually, "Good evening. Would you like me to take your phone to charge or repair it?"
“No need, Alfred.”
Thomas appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, he was frantically thinking of a solution.
Whether it was illness that disrupted Thomas's thinking or his domineering nature that prevailed, Thomas forgot to inform the other members of the family about the matter.
So, shouldn't an ideal family consist of only two people? Too many people are really troublesome.
"That's good. I thought some unforeseen event prevented you from calling Wayne Manor to ask your butler to add an extra dinner."
“Sorry, Alfred,” Thomas tried to make amends, but was interrupted by Jason standing beside him.
"Thank you, I've already had dinner."
Good, you have a good eye.
"So you've had dinner too, young master Thomas?"
"No," Thomas replied to Alfred, then paused to think about what to say next, deciding to start by mentioning his unpopular and universally disliked personality...
"Do you know where my wallet went, Thomas?" Bruce asked casually as he leaned closer.
Thomas didn't say anything, but silently took out his wallet from the inside pocket of his clothes.
This gesture allowed Bruce to catch a glimpse of the documents in Thomas's hand. He lowered his voice and said, "I have something I'd like to discuss with you."
"good."
-
"Do we really have to talk in the dark like this?" Thomas's voice broke the silence first.
He and Bruce stood in a dark room, with only the moonlight providing them with faint illumination.
They stood side by side in tacit agreement, seemingly aware that eye contact would only make the atmosphere more somber.
"The switch is on your left."
Thomas reached out and turned on the light.
The dim light made the atmosphere between the two brothers even more awkward, as if the scene of their last private conversation followed by a big argument was still fresh in their minds.
Bruce regretted telling them the location of the switch; actually, talking in the dark was fine.
He took a deep breath and asked first, "How is your condition?"
“That’s good. I took my temperature when I went to the hospital, and the fever has gone down.” Thomas tried to change the subject. “I also saw your friend Elliott; he’s a doctor now.”
“Thomas Elliott?” Bruce was somewhat surprised, but he remembered what he really wanted to ask. “Putting him aside, your schizophrenia…”
"I'm not sick, I'm a normal person."
Have you had a follow-up check-up recently?
"……No."
"Go to the hospital for a follow-up check-up during this period."
"All right."
If this can prove that I am not sick.
The atmosphere in the room fell silent once again.
"You adopted that child?"
Thomas didn't say anything, but simply handed the documents in his hand to Bruce.
Bruce didn't even look at it, but simply asked, "Are you really ready to take on this responsibility?"
"What responsibility?"
...I knew you didn't.
“I’ve looked into Jason’s background,” Bruce said. “Unlike Dick, his family and upbringing clearly haven’t been able to help him develop a sound and mature set of values. As his guardian, you should help him…”
As he spoke, Bruce himself began to hesitate.
Thomas himself doesn't seem to have a sound and mature set of values. What's the difference between having him teach Jason and having the worst student teach the second-to-last student?
In terms of values, Jason might actually be a bit better than Thomas now.
“That makes sense,” Thomas nodded. “I hadn’t thought about these things before.”
You haven't even thought about that yet!
"...You know this is a child, not a puppy, right?"
“Yes, a human.” Thomas nodded again, deliberately adding, “Don’t you think humans are easier to raise than puppies? They can talk, take care of themselves, play by themselves, and find their own food…”
"Didn't you get along well with Dick?"
"You mean when I instigated him to kill?" Thomas crossed his arms. "I've been trying very hard to avoid talking to him about my thoughts."
Bruce weakly raised his hand, gesturing for Thomas to stop: "You can't do this, Thomas. You need to put yourself in your father's position. You need to be his role model, just like our father..."
Parents... role models...
Upon hearing these words, Thomas clenched his sleeves.
“Isn’t that what I’ve done?” Thomas retorted. “It’s just about giving money, isn’t it? I’m already contacting the best private elementary schools in Gotham.”
How could that be?
Bruce wanted to argue, but he realized it was impossible to make Thomas, who had become an orphan at the age of four, understand that "parents are a child's first teachers."
"If all else fails, I'll take care of him," Bruce thought speechlessly.
It would be strange if Thomas's values didn't get warped if he was put in charge of Jason's training.
"That means Alfred has probably already prepared dinner."
“I have no appetite,” Thomas said, lowering his arm and opening the door for Bruce. “You can go down now.”
Bruce left the room and went downstairs.
A loud crash came from the room, sounding like a lamp being smashed.
-----------------------
The author's note: What broke Thomas's resolve was that he despised and disliked his parents, yet they were indeed his role models, teaching him cold-bloodedness, greed, and cruelty... and it was Bruce who said these things...
Bruce has now acted as a catalyst. It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, as Thomas was focused on the quantum bomb and didn't have much time for the two kids. But now that he's brought it up, Thomas really needs to pay attention to children's education. What follows is a clash of Wayne family educational philosophies.
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