Chapter 80, Reunion, should be placed on the Mid-Autumn Festival?
The crisis passed by inexplicably.
Although the way he weathered the crisis was hard to describe, at least he could wait a little longer...
And then what? What's the point of waiting a while longer? The longer the time is wasted, the greater the chance of being exposed.
By the end of this year, or at the latest by this time, everything must be settled; we can't wait any longer.
"Are you done, Tommy?"
Martha's voice brought Thomas back to his senses.
Thomas Jr. stepped out from the corner and looked at Martha and Thomas Sr. with a calm expression: "The plan has changed. I think we can go straight back to Wayne Manor now."
-
“Have you noticed something?” Jason whispered to Dick, “Alfred has seemed a bit off lately. Is something wrong with Thomas?”
Because of the sudden change at Venta's place, Thomas was missing. The two minors had no mood to ask the neighbors for candy or go to sleep, so they sat side by side on the sofa, waiting for the two adults to return.
“Something’s not right?” Dick asked confidently, mimicking Thomas’s lying manner. “Isn’t Alfred usually like this?”
This was the first tip Thomas told him: in this situation, you must not panic, but be more assertive than the questioner.
Jason squinted.
Dick met Jason's gaze without a hint of guilt; he had now fully mastered the lying techniques Thomas had taught him.
“Are you really sure? I’ve never seen Alfred do this before.” Jason produced his evidence. “Look, he just spilled milk outside the mug. Do you think that’s normal?”
Something was definitely not right. Dick guessed that something had gone wrong with the Wayne Tower incident... but he had promised Batman to cover up his true identity, so this could only be normal.
“That’s perfectly normal,” Dick replied quite seriously, even intending to bring up some embarrassing moments from Thomas to get Jason’s attention. “In fact, everyone makes mistakes, like Thomas once tried to…”
"cough."
A soft cough came from behind the two minors, startling them so much that they jumped up from the sofa.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation about young Thomas, young master Dick and young master Jason. If you would like to know more about the ‘funny stories’ about young master Thomas, I think young master Bruce would be happy to help,” Alfred said deliberately behind them. “But the situation is urgent, and I need your help with something.”
"What is it, Alfred?" the two asked in unison, their hands behind their backs.
“Join me in welcoming the masters of Wayne Manor,” Alfred said softly. “Master Thomas and Mrs. Martha are returning.”
Alfred deliberately and vaguely informed the two young masters of this good news, then turned and walked happily toward the kitchen, guessing that no one would be in the mood to sleep tonight.
By the way, thanks to Bruce, his timely notification saved the poor old butler from being caught off guard by Thomas's dramatic Halloween gift, and also let Alfred know that there was a Wayne in the house who was skilled at making phone calls.
The two minors stood there for a short while, thinking.
“Did you hear me?” Dick asked Jason, “the two names Alfred just mentioned?”
“I think I heard that?” Jason rubbed his ears uncertainly. “It should be ‘Thomas’ and ‘Martha’?”
The two looked at each other in surprise.
Today is not April Fool's Day, and Alfred certainly wouldn't joke about something like this.
"Wait, Alfred!" Dick jumped off the sofa and grabbed Alfred's sleeve. "Who? Who's back?"
“Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Martha, the two we know well,” Alfred repeated, “the parents of young Bruce and young Thomas, the former owners of Wayne Manor…”
This news is quite shocking.
"So we all traveled through time, Jason?" Dick released his grip and looked at Jason.
Jason was flipping through the calendar, looking quite puzzled.
“I guess not,” Alfred said cautiously, thinking of one of Thomas’s little secrets, and revealed a bit of information he had gotten from Batman. “I think we should still be on the right timeline. As for how it happened, you’ll probably have to ask Master Thomas. Master Bruce said it was him who did it.”
"Is Thomas really that good?" Dick's mind went blank. "How did he do that...?"
At that moment, Thomas, the super scientist in the white coat, successfully defeated the other Thomases and firmly occupied Dick's mind.
“Little Thomas, Mr. Dick, or you can call him 'Tommy,' I think Mr. Thomas would be very pleased,” Alfred corrected him meticulously. “In fact, I don’t know how Mr. Thomas managed to do it.”
Batman seemed to know what had happened, but he didn't explain it clearly.
When Alfred received the internal communication from Batman, the first thing he heard was the whistling of the wind.
"Where are you, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked in a low voice as he stopped doing his chores. To prevent his identity as Batman from being exposed, Jason would try to avoid staying in the Batcave for long periods of time while he was still awake.
This caused him to miss the moment when the Wayne couple appeared in front of Batman.
Batman said something, his voice muffled like a child with his mouth full of hard candy, and his words were so disorganized that even Alfred couldn't decipher what he was saying.
But Alfred was relieved. He knew very well that Batman only spoke so vaguely when there was no crisis.
“Let me assume you haven’t suddenly forgotten how to speak English?” Alfred said while pouring milk. “Actually, you don’t need to accommodate me; I can understand American English to a reasonable degree.”
There was a brief silence on the other end of the communicator.
"What's wrong, Master Bruce?"
“Thomas…Tommy…Thomas Wayne Jr.,” Batman hesitated before choosing a more appropriate title for the current situation, “He’s with M…with Bruce Wayne’s parents…I’ll be back at Wayne Manor soon.”
The milk spilled.
“No, don’t misunderstand!” Batman realized the ambiguity in the statement and quickly added, “Thomas is fine. He’s perfectly normal except for his mental state. Tommy brought them back, and the three of them are on the plane now, about to arrive at Wayne Manor.”
...That's a bit scary.
Considering Thomas Jr.'s awe-inspiring views on life and death, it seems he might actually be capable of doing something like this.
“I understand, Master Bruce,” Alfred said somewhat seriously. “Although I’m reluctant to admit it, it seems that young Master Thomas’s mental problems have indeed reached a point that cannot be ignored. I will find a suitable sanatorium, and then…”
“No, Penny One,” Batman interrupted him, defending Thomas, “he didn’t go to the Wayne family cemetery either, and I can confirm that all three of them are alive—damn it (Alfred heard this, but didn’t speak out of consideration for Batman’s mood), what am I talking about—I’m sorry I didn’t make myself clear.”
“I’m also very sorry that I misunderstood you, Master Thomas, Master Bruce,” Alfred said, wiping the milk off the counter. “Although I’d love to know what happened, I think you should perhaps calm down a bit.”
“They’re back. I saw them with my own eyes.” Batman reorganized his words. “They’re slightly different from the ones I remember, but I’m sure it’s them.”
In order to conceal his identity, Batman still didn't make things too clear.
“So,” Alfred tried to understand what had happened, “you mean, young Master Thomas successfully resurrected Master Thomas and Mrs. Martha?”
Is there actually a wizard in this family?
However, considering the numerous superhumans that have emerged in recent years and the new people Batman has come into contact with, it doesn't seem entirely impossible that young Thomas might suddenly awaken his wizarding talents.
“Yes and no, Alfred,” Batman explained, “there is a scientific basis for this.”
Then came some rather complex theoretical knowledge, involving a large number of cutting-edge technological achievements, interspersed with stories of the Court of Owls and the fake Night Owl. Due to his emotional state, Batman was somewhat distracted while explaining, which caused Alfred to not understand at all.
But it didn't matter; Alfred guessed it was probably related to a secret that young Thomas had told him when he was a child.
“…In conclusion,” Batman concluded, “I suspect that Thomas Wayne Jr. used these technologies.”
"What do you think?" Alfred countered.
"I?"
Batman remained silent for a moment.
"I feel good."
-
The plane landed on Alfred's meticulously manicured lawn, leaving a huge dent in it.
Because Isaiah Thomas didn't turn off stealth mode when he landed the plane, it looked somewhat strange when Thomas and the Wayne couple got off.
But no one present really cared about that, especially Bruce. He hurriedly took off his Batman suit, quickly changed into his most formal suit, and ran out of the study under Jason's horrified gaze, ready to greet the plane at any moment.
“This place is exactly the same as Wayne Manor in my memory,” Martha, who was the first to disembark, smiled nervously. She hadn’t seen Wayne Manor so well-maintained in a long time. “We’ve been away from here for too long.”
“Yes,” old Thomas said, taking her hand and watching a group of people approaching from afar and a rather tall figure rushing towards them. “We’ve been away for too long.”
-----------------------
Author's note: I wanted to stay up all night, but then I suddenly remembered that tomorrow isn't Saturday...
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