Chapter 64 The Bat's Reputation is False, the Evil Owl Lies ( )...
"So, under the influence of the fear gas, this unknown person mistook you for the resurrected Thomas Wayne and beat you up?" the Oracle concluded after reviewing the video recording.
“This guy was using deadly moves just now,” Robin added, frowning. “So he was trying to kill the ‘Thomas Wayne’ he saw.”
"Is he connected to Joe Cher, or is he someone from the Court of Owls?"
The atmosphere on the intercom grew heavier at the thought that this person might be connected to the Wayne couple's deaths.
“Actually, the hallucination he saw might not necessarily be Thomas Wayne,” Red Robin explained over the intercom, clutching his back as he sat in the passenger seat of Batman’s car. “He claimed to be Bruce Wayne’s younger brother, Thomas Wayne Jr., and I suspect he might have been seeing himself.”
“That’s what he said,” the troublemaker said from the back of the Batmobile, “but it’s possible he’s lying.”
"So what exactly happened?" Nightwing's voice came through. "Lincoln March is back, and he teamed up with Scarecrow to kidnap you and then send you back?"
"No, no, no, it's Thomas from the multiverse. According to him, he traveled here to test a new invention, and then he unfortunately ran into us, and we were also unlucky enough to be taken away by him..." The troublemaker tried to explain everything that happened that night.
This night was absolutely the worst.
“But I don’t think Bruce and Alfred could raise someone like that,” Red Robin insisted. “He must be hiding something.”
"What kind of person?" Nightwing asked, sounding somewhat curious. "Could he be a serial killer?"
“No, that’s not it,” Red Robin replied. “It’s complicated. I think you’ll understand once you hear him say a few words.”
“I’ll do a genetic test on him when we get back to the Batcave, but whatever the result, I want everyone to remember that this isn’t my brother,” Batman said as he drove. “You underestimated him.”
"I'll be careful, Batman."
A somewhat sinister laugh came over the intercom, probably from some unknown Red Hood.
“These visitors from the multiverse are quite dangerous,” Batman continued. “We don’t know enough about them. I will remind the Justice League to be wary of extraterrestrial enemies. You should also be vigilant and not mistake people from the multiverse for familiar individuals, especially me and Bruce Wayne. I’m not sure which universe he’s landed in…”
"His characteristics include a talent for sophistry and manipulating people, the ability to use firearms, the use of high-performance power armor, and the frequent use of owl motifs," Nightwing added. "We've got it all covered, don't worry, Batman."
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The Batmobile was extremely powerful, and the four of them quickly arrived at one of Batman's bases.
Of course, Batman couldn't take him directly to the Batcave, which is another base where all the remaining members, except for Oracle in the Clock Tower and Alfred in the Batcave, are gathered.
The black bat approached the Batmobile and gently hugged the troublemaker.
"I haven't showered yet," the troublemaker whispered, then hugged her back.
Batman then attempted to move the unconscious Thomas to the isolation room. The restraints on the back seat of the Batmobile automatically lifted, and Thomas's body slid down slightly.
Nightwing wanted to help, but Batman refused.
Batman crouched down to pick him up, but Thomas, who was pretending to be unconscious, grabbed his wrist.
Batman broke free from Thomas's grip before his wrist was twisted, and threw a punch in an attempt to subdue Thomas again.
But to his surprise, Thomas didn't try to dodge or defend. Fortunately, Batman stopped his attack before hitting him.
"Batman... Bruce?" Thomas asked, somewhat confused. "Did you come to kill me?"
?
Several vigilantes around them turned their attention to them.
Batman took two steps back.
What happened? I feel like I've been scammed.
"You mustn't tarnish Father's reputation!" Robin raised his knife, but Nightwing stopped him.
"Hey! Don't bother arguing with someone who's not thinking straight after being poisoned."
"So he knew Batman was Bruce?" Red Robin whispered. "Looks like he was telling the truth."
“...It’s me, Thomas.” To keep this guy, who was infected with the fear virus and was prone to violent outbursts, Batman “endured the humiliation” and began to play his role, “How could I possibly kill you? You’re poisoned now, I’m going to draw a vial of blood from you and give you an injection.”
What's the deal with that Batman from that universe? If what Thomas is saying is true, then all of this sounds a bit suspicious.
“Okay, but you have to give me sweets if I go to the doctor.” Thomas held out his hand to him.
"Was he really poisoned by the Fear Gas? He seems pretty normal." Nightwing was puzzled.
“I suspect he did it on purpose,” Red Robin said angrily. “Otherwise, why would he only hit me, and even go so far as to kill me?”
Batman hesitated for a moment, then pulled a candy from his magic belt.
"Stingy," Thomas muttered, but still rolled up his sleeves.
Everything that followed went incredibly smoothly. Batman easily obtained Thomas's blood sample, and as he injected Thomas with the serum, he casually asked, "How's Wayne Manor doing lately?"
Batman plans to take advantage of Thomas's lapse in judgment to extract some information about the multiverse.
“It doesn’t seem good. I saw your ghosts,” Thomas said, somewhat dejectedly. “It’s terrifying. If people have consciousness after they die, wouldn’t they have to endure torment forever? What’s the point of me trying so hard to die?”
"...Whose ghost?" Bruce gave him a shot of serum.
“Everyone except me,” Thomas said slowly. “You’re lying on the ground with a bullet hole in your body, complaining that I almost stepped on you; Dick is trying to play catch with Jason using his head; Alfred is following me around, stuffing pickle sandwiches into my mouth whenever I want a sweet treat… What time is it now!”
Thomas snapped out of the fear of the gas's effects and jumped up, frantically rummaging through his pockets under the watchful eyes of a group of vigilant guards.
So they're all dead?
“They’re all alive, and they look like they’re much more alive than I am (“Hey! That’s not necessarily true,” Red Hood said quietly). Thomas turned the pockets of his suit trousers inside out to make sure there wasn’t a single extra piece of furniture. “Does anyone have a watch? What time is it? I have to get to Wayne Corporation before I get to work.”
“It’s eight o’clock in the morning,” Batman said. “The multiverse…”
“Damn multiverse,” Thomas said, somewhat exasperated, as he slumped back into the back of the Batmobile. “It’s too late now.”
"What's too late?" Seeing that Thomas wasn't behaving drastically, Batman began examining Thomas's blood while also trying to gather information.
“Alfred promised me that if I could get home unharmed, he would stop my sugar reduction plan for a day,” Thomas said, unwrapping the candy Batman had given him and popping it into his mouth. “But if I don’t get to Wayne Enterprises on time, Lucius will definitely call the police, and once they find out I’m doing such a dangerous experiment, unless I suddenly get a terminal illness, I probably won’t be able to eat dessert again.”
...That sounds really important.
"so?"
"So I have to get back as soon as possible. Maybe I can still fool them. Has any of you seen my teleporter?"
"They might have fallen into the area where the riot just happened," Red Robin suggested.
Thomas stopped what he was doing and stared straight at him.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t let you leave until we’re sure you pose no threat to our universe,” Batman said, diverting Thomas’s attention.
Thomas didn't object, but asked him, "Can I have some dessert first? I haven't eaten anything since last night."
"……Can."
-
Honestly, it's really hard to be wary of someone like that.
Thomas Wayne Jr. is 99.99% genetically likely to be Bruce Wayne's full brother. In particular, he is mostly non-aggressive, fully cooperates with Batman's investigation, answers questions from vigilantes, and is generally quite normal.
"How old are you this year?"
"Want to know the time difference between the two universes?" Thomas said while eating a donut. "I'm twenty-one years old this year, and by the way, I'm four years younger than Bruce, which should be the same in both universes."
How did you develop your skills?
“There were always people trying to kill me, so Alfred and Bruce had to teach me some self-defense techniques.”
"You've killed someone."
This is an affirmative statement.
“Yeah,” Thomas replied with a laugh after taking a sip of his Coke, “I’ve killed people.”
Batman gripped the pen tightly in his hand.
He wanted to observe the Batman of that multiverse through Thomas Wayne Jr.
The result now seems unsatisfactory.
What is Bruce Wayne's attitude towards this?
“Keep quiet. After all, I only killed someone, not committed a crime,” Thomas said, looking at Batman. “Bruce, you’re a good brother.”
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The author says: Don't take owls' words too seriously ( ) They lie a lot.
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This chapter is an additional word count; I forgot about it yesterday.
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I'd be beaten to death in the Holy Land [crying emoji] Come back, White King! Come back, Void Matter! Come back, my Abundant Holy Nest! Come back, my Invincible Frame!
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