Chapter 95 Whose fault is it that information exchange has yielded no results? ...
No matter how you look at it, something just doesn't seem right about that manor next door!
“Yeah, that’s what I think too,” Jason said, sitting down next to the kid next door with his book (now it was his turn to call someone else’s kid). “Or to put it another way, how could any Gothamite think this is normal?”
The sheer amount of abnormality in Thomas Wayne alone is astonishing.
This isn't meant to say anything bad about Isaiah Thomas; it's just an obvious fact that no one (except the Waynes) can deny.
"So you really didn't see a single person yesterday?" Tim mimicked a detective on TV, his face stern, a pencil pressed against his chin, a small notebook in his hand. "Not a single person?"
“Strictly speaking, I wasn’t sure if Bruce and Thomas were there at the time. Their bedroom doors were locked very tightly and couldn’t be opened at all. It wasn’t until this morning that I was sure no one was there, not even Alfred,” Jason said, while holding a book and reviewing tomorrow’s lessons. “Then I ran out.”
"So did they explain this morning why they weren't at Wayne Manor in the middle of the night?"
“He said,” Jason turned a page, “Bruce said that Thomas Jr., Grandma Martha, and Grandpa Thomas Sr. are going to prepare a Christmas surprise for us.”
So do you believe this claim?
“I’ve decided not to doubt this claim,” Jason said, scribbling in his textbook with the pen Tim had kindly provided. “As it stands, Thomas is just a little off; he’s good to his family, at least he won’t get up in the middle of the night and eat us all up, and that’s enough.”
Ultimately, what does it matter if Thomas is an alien invading Earth, a follower of an evil god who crawled up from the seabed, or a fake man lurking in Gotham?
"Have you noticed anything unusual about Isaiah Thomas?"
“There are so many, it would take days to tell,” Jason said in a low voice, his eyes wide, exaggerating in a very exaggerated tone, “from every angle.”
He was like an evil adult telling a ghost story to a child, successfully arousing Tim's curiosity.
"For example?"
“Sorry,” Jason said, suppressing his laughter and composure. “I can’t tell you that I’m hoping to work in Thomas Jr.’s lab to pay off my student loans, so I absolutely can’t afford to offend him.”
"They won't pay your tuition?"
“No, that’s not it. It’s just an exaggeration, mainly to quickly show you how financially dependent I am on Isaiah Thomas,” Jason replied, clearly having made great progress in his liberal arts studies recently. “But Isaiah Thomas holds grudges. If you offend him, he might be standing at your bedside in the middle of the night with a sharp axe…”
Tim wasn't intimidated at all; he just stared at Jason quietly.
“…Make noise, wake people up.” Jason shrugged. “What else? Chop someone up?”
"Then what are you worried about? Since he won't kill anyone."
“I’m worried that I won’t get enough sleep and that will affect my learning efficiency,” Jason said with a straight face. “And I have to grow taller than Dick.”
That guy always takes advantage of his superior position and puts his hands on his head!
“Okay, let’s change the subject,” Tim scribbled in his notebook, then turned the page. “About Batman’s identity?”
“Bruce idolizes Batman, that’s it,” Jason tried to pass on the Batman brainwashing package that Thomas had told him, whether he believed it or not was another matter, “I really saw it, he even has a pair of Batman underwear.”
“No, I’m talking about something completely different, though it’s quite interesting,” Tim shook his head, then continued, “I’m talking about that Batman who suddenly appeared a while ago, the one with the gun.”
“I don’t know about that. Thomas said Batman hasn’t caught him yet,” Jason put down his book and warned Tim seriously, “So don’t go out at night lately. Something big is about to happen in Gotham.”
"You actually have the nerve to say that to me?" Tim curled his lip. "Of all the people in this neighborhood, probably only the people at Wayne Manor enjoy taking nighttime walks."
“You’re no different,” Jason retorted, somewhat disgruntled. “Weren’t you wandering around outside last night too?”
“Hey, this is all about getting to the bottom of things, and you promised last night you’d help me gather evidence, right before you broke into my house,” Tim muttered, “How unprofessional.”
“Then perhaps I should show you the wickedness of human nature?” Jason revealed a wicked smile. “Look, you and I don’t have a contract, you’re not my boss, so I don’t need to cooperate with you, right?”
"Okay, okay, do you have any news to share?"
“Of course,” Jason answered without hesitation. “I even asked some of my acquaintances about it. The Penguin said he and Night Owl are in cahoots.”
"Penguin? Where did you get that information?"
“Hey, the source is completely unimportant. As is customary, I should protect the information of intelligence personnel,” Jason shook his head. “Besides, I’m not finished yet.”
"Then continue?"
“‘Night Owl has gone completely mad,’” Jason continued. “‘He has a nuclear bomb and he’s going to destroy the whole of Gotham.’”
"Was that also said by the Penguin?"
“That’s right, it’s all over the Penguin gang.” Jason shrugged. “So I suspect it’s fake. There must be a bigger secret behind this. You can’t trust information coming from the Penguin’s men.”
“Thanks, I can approach it from the opposite direction,” Tim said thoughtfully, “but what does that have to do with Batman with a gun?”
“It’s a huge deal. The Batman with the gun can’t possibly be under Night Owl’s control, otherwise, in my understanding, he would be plastered on the asphalt by Night Owl right now,” Jason explained. “In that case, if neither Batman nor Night Owl catches the 'Batman' with the gun, Gotham will definitely descend into chaos.”
This incident damaged the authority and credibility of both individuals.
Especially the night owl.
-
"Do you really have to sit here, Thomas? The Batcave is a very large area."
Batman is checking the accounts of Wayne Enterprises and Thomas Jr. in front of the Batcomputer, while Thomas Jr. is sitting in another chair next to him. This chair was moved down by Alfred and placed there by Thomas Jr. himself, probably to let Batman experience what it means to be in the way.
“Of course,” Thomas Jr. perfectly blocked the button on Batman’s left, “because I’m unhappy that you questioned my actions.”
“And I realized I was too late to suspect anything,” Batman circled a strange expense with his mouse. “What is this?”
Thomas glanced at it: "Making a secret room in the office and stuffing money into a freezer, this isn't a simple renovation... Sorry, Alfred."
Alfred, holding a coffee cup, stood to Batman's right.
“And here? This year you suddenly purchased a large amount of materials in the name of the lab,” Batman pulled up another file, which contained his experimental records from the past few years, “far exceeding the amount you needed.”
"To cover my tracks, I'm researching some weapons and devices that can counter Night Owl."
“It’s a very abrupt move,” Alfred commented. “We all know that you were prepared for a long-term antagonism with the Night Owls years ago, so it’s unlikely that you would suddenly start increasing your involvement.”
"I suspect you're just unhappy that I added a Coke smoothie machine to the office, Alfred."
“This is typical behavior of the indisputable,” Batman said, “relying on defaming the opponent to undermine their credibility.”
“That’s right, young master Thomas, the more you talk, the worse things will be for you…”
A mysterious communication interrupted their conversation.
“This wasn’t me,” Thomas Jr. said, raising his hands. “It has nothing to do with me.”
“I know it has nothing to do with you, but it’s part of today’s investigation.” Batman answered the communicator, and another Batman’s face appeared on it.
“You didn’t keep our agreement. I remember reminding you to take communications when Thomas Wayne isn’t around.”
“And you have more than one person on your side as well,” the younger Batman replied. “If you were Batman, you would understand why I wouldn’t readily give my complete trust to someone who claims to be another Batman… I don’t even trust Thomas Jr. or Alfred.”
“That sounds interesting,” Thomas turned to Alfred and asked, “So what did you do to him, Alfred?”
“Ever since I didn’t give him the katana he wanted, but instead gave him a wakizashi that was more suitable for a child his age, he’s been like this.” Alfred retorted, “And what have you done now, young Master Thomas?”
"I think it's probably because of the time I tricked him when I was four years old? I remember I tricked him into thinking the Turkish delight was strawberry flavored, and it was going to work, but you tricked me."
The sound of rustling came from the older Batman's side, probably a mix of playful fighting and laughter.
The young Batman's lips curled downwards again.
You liar, you're actually smearing me.
“Okay, I understand,” the older Batman accepted the younger Batman’s explanation. “There’s a fugitive who’s trying to destroy the world hiding in your Gotham, and as far as I know, that little Thomas Wayne next to you has a close relationship with him.”
"Do you have anything to say about this accusation, young master Thomas?" Alfred asked in a businesslike tone.
“Me and Night Owl?” Thomas frowned. “We’ve become enemies. That’s completely untrue.”
The older Batman seemed to want to continue, but an urgent communication interrupted him.
The Batgirl's face appeared on another screen.
"Batman, are you there?"
The older Batman cautiously turned off the communication.
"exist."
“That’s great,” Batgirl breathed a sigh of relief. “There was an armed attack on the Penguin gang tonight, resulting in numerous casualties.”
"Who is the suspect?" Batman stood up and left the computer.
"...It's Batman."
-----------------------
Author's Note: This is a short, irresponsible skit.
Tell me about your plan.
òvó: 咕咕咕，咕咕咕咕咕唔咕，咕咕。
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