Chapter 79 Please floor the gas pedal and accelerate!
"Very good," Thomas thought expressionlessly. He used smoke to conceal his position to avoid being shot by the pilot. The next step should be to use props to move to a safe spot on the plane where he would not be attacked.
Sure enough, shortly after the smoke enveloped the plane, they heard the sound of a heavy object falling onto it from above.
The plane dipped slightly, and old Thomas and Martha immediately became alert, gripping their weapons tightly.
...Why do they all like to jump onto my plane?
“It’s okay, he’s someone I know,” Thomas explained. “Besides, this plane uses state-of-the-art technology, so there’s no need to worry about it crashing.”
"Is it someone we know?" Martha keenly noticed the problem. "You said you and Night Owl are enemies, and we're flying his plane right now."
"Are they really not going to take action against this plane?" Old Thomas had the same thought. "Or did you send a message to him to come and meet you?"
“Don’t worry about that. I trust his moral bottom line. He would never shoot down the plane and let us die here.” Thomas took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and adjusted the autopilot’s destination to the helipad at the top of Wayne Tower.
I heard a knocking sound coming from above.
“Stop knocking,” Thomas took another deep breath and turned on the loudspeaker (a function he had never used since the plane rolled off the assembly line), “Let me park the plane first.”
The sound of hammering on the airplane's exterior stopped.
That's good, at least Bruce is still...
An even more intense banging sound immediately came from above.
What's going on, Bruce? How can you be like this too!
Thomas Jr. refrained from speaking up to stop Batman's childish act of banging on the plane's exterior; he simply silently increased the plane's speed.
The knocking stopped; Batman seemed to think that knocking on the plane's exterior wasn't interesting enough, and now a screeching sound came from above.
Don't scratch the special stealth coating on the exterior of my aircraft!
Thomas Jr. forcefully suppressed the urge to barrel roll the plane. He simply turned on the loudspeaker again: "Collecting samples isn't urgent. I think it will be more efficient to collect these coatings when I stop later."
Batman didn't stop; he just kept shaving.
“Stop,” Thomas said in a very serious tone, with an unprecedented earnestness. “If you scrape it again, I’ll hang myself on the Roman rod by your window tonight, right above your bed.”
The scraping sound stopped immediately.
The world has returned to peace.
...Actually, dying like this isn't so bad, little Thomas thought.
If the Wayne couple were to recognize Batman, they would immediately realize that the real protagonist of Thomas's statement about "letting Batman see Martha kill the Joker" was Bruce.
Then he won't be able to hide it anymore.
Thomas Jr. unbuckled his seatbelt somewhat dejectedly, stood up, and rummaged around in the corner of the cabin.
"What are you looking for?" Old Thomas also unbuckled his seatbelt.
“Looking for clothes, I think the Court of Owls might have hidden a couple of decent outfits here.” Sure enough, he pulled out several brand-new, inexpensive suits from a box in the corner of the cabin. These were probably disguises and spare clothes he'd prepared to use while torturing the gangsters, but hadn't had a chance to use yet. “We’re meeting someone important in a bit, just in case. It’d be best to remember the story I just made up…”
“Change into these,” Thomas Jr. handed the clothes to Thomas Sr. and Martha. “There’s a Batman here that isn’t yours, and the Joker is a bad symbol. I think you dressing like this might arouse unnecessary suspicion or attention from others.”
Let's not shatter Bruce's illusions about his parents; this should be his last act of kindness.
Although the unfinished quantum bomb doesn't have that much power, it should be able to destroy at least half of the Earth.
...I simply don't believe that humans could evolve on half of the Earth.
"Shall I change here?" Old Thomas asked, taking the clothes from him.
“Mother can just drape it over herself,” Thomas said absentmindedly, “but you have to change it all off. The Batman suit is too conspicuous, Father. I can turn around.”
After saying that, he actually turned around and sat back in the driver's seat.
"Is there a Batman here too?"
“Of course, he’s clinging to our plane right now, and,” Thomas replied, “you can wait for him to tell you his real identity; I won’t presume to do it for you.”
"So what are you being shy about?" Martha draped her suit jacket over her shoulders. "Do you need me to whistle for you? Or do you really want me to help you?"
"……No."
-
The Night Owl's plane was incredibly fast, and they came to a smooth stop at the top of the Tower of Venn.
Footsteps, barely audible, could be heard from the plane. It seemed someone was genuinely worried that the first thing they'd see upon waking wasn't a warm sunrise (well, he usually doesn't see the sunrise when he wakes up), but rather a corpse swaying gently from a Roman pole.
Thomas Jr. opened the door, took a deep breath, and was the first to leave the plane.
Batman stood solemnly outside the hatch, looking somewhat like a stern disciplinarian... provided one could ignore his childish antics of banging on the plane and scraping off the coating earlier.
Batman seemed to have a lot of questions for Thomas, but considering Thomas's indescribable mental state today, he ultimately chose a question that was less pointed than those about vanishing into thin air, infiltrating enemy territory, automatic regeneration, and the bunch of abstract stories told to him by the fake Night Owl who claimed to be a vigilante from the multiverse.
"Today is almost over," Batman said sternly. "What about the Halloween present you promised me, and the VIP guest you were supposed to receive?"
...
When it comes to Halloween gifts, Thomas Jr. is reminded of his meticulously planned but unfortunate scheme that went awry at every step.
“I forgot.” Thomas Jr. met Batman’s gaze firmly.
Stop asking. If you ask me again, I'll jump off this cliff right now.
Batman understood what he meant and cautiously stopped asking questions.
Just then, the two remaining people on the plane came out of the cabin door. It seemed that old Thomas had finally taken off his bodysuit and put on a suit.
"Tommy?" Old Thomas called out Thomas's nickname somewhat awkwardly. "How are you? Do you need our help?"
Batman gripped Thomas's wrist tightly.
Thomas Jr. was completely blanking out, showing no reaction to Batman's force. Compared to his doomed plan, Batman's reaction at this moment was utterly insignificant.
"So you are?" Martha and old Thomas stood side by side warily, staring intently at Batman.
“No, wait,” Batman said, somewhat flustered. He grabbed Thomas Jr. to prevent him from suddenly running away. “I have something to say to Mr. Thomas Wayne Jr. alone.”
“Tommy?” Martha looked at Thomas, knowing they would pull him back if her son shook his head.
"Thomas Jr." Batman called him in a deep voice, trying to bring him back to his senses.
"Okay," Thomas replied reluctantly. In reality, he just wanted to be alone for a while before detonating the bomb.
Batman pulled the man to a corner and put his hands on Thomas's shoulders.
“If you say you’re joking,” Batman threatened in a low voice, but the slight tremor in his voice betrayed his true feelings, “if you’re just joking with me, Thomas… I’ll make you eat three pickle sandwiches prepared by Alfred every day for a whole year. I’ll be at Wayne Enterprises every noon to watch you finish them, I swear!”
“I’m not kidding,” Thomas said calmly, his tone revealing nothing of his impending breakdown. “I think you’ve seen the fake owl, haven’t you?”
"...So parallel worlds really do exist."
“Yes,” Thomas said, turning his head to look at the door at the top of the Tower of Wayne that led directly to his office. “This is them from another timeline…the ones who survived.”
Batman lowered his hand, tilted his head slightly, and looked up at the Gotham night sky.
"Thank you... thank you for the gift."
“The rest of the night is yours,” Thomas said, gesturing towards the office. “I bet you have a lot to say to them… I can go back to my office now.”
Go back to the office first, quickly put on the Night Owl armor, take the quantum starter he left in the office to his unfinished quantum state bomb, and detonate it after heading to the Origin Earth.
It was a very flawed plan, but after reviewing it all, Thomas realized that acting impulsively and improvising were the hardest things to stop, so he decided to give it a try.
“No,” Batman said, looking away from the Bat-light logo reflected in Gotham’s thick clouds, “…You guys go back to Wayne Manor first, I have other things to do.”
Thomas looked at Batman as if he were a rare species.
"You...you need to calm me down," Batman whispered. "I still don't know how to face them."
What the hell! I went through so much trouble to bring this person here!
Thomas Jr. tried to force Batman to appear before the Wayne couple and reveal his identity, but thankfully he still had a calm and rational mind.
Batman's current lack of intention to reveal his hand is clearly very advantageous for Isaiah Thomas.
"So when do you plan to tell them your identity?"
“Tomorrow?” Batman said hesitantly, then immediately overturned his decision. “No, tomorrow won’t work either… We should wait until Gotham is calmer…”
Great, that means Batman probably won't confront the Wayne couple until the end of this year.
This means Isaiah Thomas can remain hidden for another year.
"So what are you hesitating about?" Thomas interrupted him curiously.
“I swore an oath to them,” Batman said, “that I would eradicate the evil that has taken their lives from this city.”
?
So that's what you were worried about?
“And I obviously haven’t done that yet,” Batman walked to the edge of the rooftop and spread his cape. “I’m afraid they’ll be disappointed. I hope I can be honest with them when Gotham is more stable.”
Thomas frowned, looking somewhat exasperated.
What's disappointing? Who's disappointed?
Is it Martha, who's even a little relieved to see me press the airplane button, or old Thomas, who'll give me an excuse to borrow their knife to kill the Joker? Can you be a little clearer?
"Wait! You..."
Thomas Jr. tried to call out to Batman, but Batman simply vanished into the night sky.
Thomas Jr. reluctantly let go of the hand he was about to hold onto Batman.
...Does it really have to drag things out like this?
Otherwise, you can recognize each other tonight, and then I'll just blow up the original Earth.
-----------------------
Author's note: Imagine this is a training vehicle.
òvó: It's over, the plan has failed.
òvó: (attempting to step on the gas pedal to accelerate).
Meanwhile, in the passenger seat, Cup Noodles: (slams on the brakes in a melancholy mood).
òvó: (Although it seems to be in the best interest of his plan, it is still very uncomfortable) Can you loosen your feet? I'm in a hurry to die.
Cup noodles: (stomped even harder).
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