Chapter 1241: The Farm of Justice (40)

Thomas looked at the face of Aisha, which resembled Bruce by seventy or eighty percent and himself by fifty or sixty percent, and opened his mouth, unable to say anything.

As a relatively orthodox Batman, it was impossible for Thomas to imagine the convoluted and bizarre process of Aisha's birth.

Since everyone insisted that she was born to Bruce, Thomas could only interpret it as his son indeed having done something outrageous, resulting in the premature arrival of a little daughter.

After accepting this fact, Thomas couldn't help but recall the phone call Schiller had made to him. He had to admit that he had paid the price for his gullibility and recklessness, and this deception did not begin with the Joker, but most likely with Professor Zoom.

In the world where Thomas resided, the Flash, Barry, had found Thomas in order to pursue Professor Zoom. Thomas had wounded Professor Zoom, but Professor Zoom had turned around and taken him out of the universe.

While being coerced and kidnapped by Professor Zoom, Thomas discovered that Professor Zoom had encountered some trouble; it seemed the destination he intended to go to could not be found for some reason, and he had been affected by a mysterious force, accidentally landing in this current universe.

Batman Thomas had long known that none of these villains did things reliably, but the harsh words Professor Zoom left behind before leaving still made him feel worried. This guy, who was always at odds with the Flash, threatened to let Thomas see the fate of Bruce after his resurrection.

When he had previously sought help from the Flash, Barry, Thomas knew that if Bruce were resurrected, he would also become Batman, and Thomas desperately did not want his son to walk down this path.

Professor Zoom's implication was that Bruce had still walked down this path, and according to him, the universe Thomas resided in was the exception; in the vast majority of universes, the one who became Batman was Bruce Wei En.

This was simply a devastating fact for Thomas, because his wife, who had become the Joker-Martha, had just collapsed and died because of this terrible prophecy.

Consequently, after landing, Thomas was somewhat distraught. He followed Batman's instincts and found Schiller, who was still in prison. What Thomas was thinking was not a difficult question; any father's worry for his son would be written all over his face.

Schiller hadn't actually lied to Thomas; he had just acted as a black-hearted tour guide, emphasizing that Bruce's range of activities was mainly in Wei En Tower and Wei En Manor, perfectly avoiding the East End and North End where Cat Getan had undergone the greatest changes.

Thus, as soon as Thomas arrived in Cat Getan, he headed straight for Wei En Tower, and sure enough, he saw Batman acting as a tourist attraction there.

Thomas didn't know that Bruce was there to take photos for people. He associated it with his own experience, thinking that his son must be like him, standing on the top of a building, pondering when this sinful city could be saved.

Immediately after, he met Dick. Dick had run out because he had argued with Bruce, and there was inevitably some emotional venting in his words.

The Bruce in Thomas's world had died young; he didn't even have any chance to enjoy family happiness with his child, while the Bruce in this world had just given up such a great opportunity, which made Thomas heartbroken.

This led him to make the most wrong decision in the whole affair, which was to go back and find Schiller.

Precisely because Thomas knew Schiller was the Joker, he felt that Schiller must have a way to deal with the Batman of this world, to make him stop being Batman, and not to walk down this path that had no hope at all.

Thomas didn't know Bruce well enough, but Schiller knew Bruce too well. He accurately grasped that after Bruce met Thomas, he would definitely experience emotional fluctuations and was very likely to lose control of his emotions. Sure enough, his prediction was correct.

In general, this matter was a huge blunder for the Wei En father and son, but the bigger problem now was that Bruce had left without looking back, without making any preparations, without any arrangements, and without any precautions against Thomas, just walking away like that, leaving Thomas completely bewildered.

According to his logic, if Bruce had become Batman, he would never have allowed another stranger to enter Wei En Manor like this, regardless of whether he was Thomas or not.

By analogy, Thomas knew that if one day the Bruce of his world were resurrected, he would never allow his son to approach his family, or even his teammates and acquaintances, without monitoring. There was no special reason; it was because he was Batman.

But Bruce had left too quickly, like a tornado. If it wasn't his long-lost lover who took him away, then it might be that the Batman of this world had completely given up.

Thomas hadn't yet thought deeply about this problem when Alfred's voice came from the side of the door: "Master Thomas, a guest has come to visit. It is the Mayor of Cat Getan, Luo Yi. May I ask if you would like to let him in?"

Thomas instinctively narrowed his eyes. He subconsciously reached out to touch his face, and then touched Batman's mask. He hadn't changed his clothes and was still in his Batman attire.

So when Alfred invited Luo Yi in, Luo Yi was stunned for a moment. He looked Thomas up and down, and then said: "Bruce, what's wrong with you? Why do you seem to have aged so much?... Hey, wait a minute, you are not Bruce."

Luo Yi subconsciously took two steps back and vigilantly reached for the pistol behind his waist. Alfred placed the towel aside and explained: "Mr. Mayor, this is another Batman. No need to worry."

Luo Yi slowly widened his eyes. He said in disbelief: "So, Batman is not an identity, but a profession? There is more than one of you?!"

Thomas had just wanted to answer when the expression on the face of the Italian-descended man in front of him instantly turned into surprise, his face covered in wrinkles derived from smiles, clearly overjoyed.

Luo Yi walked up very enthusiastically, shook Thomas's hands vigorously, shook them hard, and said: "Welcome, new Batman. How many of you are there? Are there ten?"

"Really, Bruce didn't tell me earlier. If I had known you were a group, would I still have to chase him every day?" Luo Yi pretended to complain.

"Uh, I say, this gentleman, I see that you are also close to retirement age, so you should be relatively free. Then tonight at 7 o'clock, we will wait for our superstar to appear on the roof of Wei En Tower. Don't be late!"

Luo Yi made an OK gesture and turned to leave, his footsteps cheerful, while Thomas was still stunned on the spot, trying to understand the words he had just said.

After Luo Yi left, Alfred, while cleaning a vase with a feather duster, said:

"Master Bruce, there is a public welfare part-time job from the city government, mainly to improve the tourism image of Cat Getan City with a personal image, making an outstanding contribution to the land price and rent near Wei En Tower..."

"Wait a minute, Alf." Thomas stretched out a hand to interrupt him and said: "This is the United States. Speak American English."

"Very well, Master. Simply put, every weekend at 8 PM, Batman will go to the roof of Wei En Tower on time, allowing tourists who come here to experience the charm of Cat Getan's urban legends in person."

"You mean, his part-time job is a model?" Thomas frowned deeply and said: "The job is to stand on the roof of Wei En Tower and let tourists take pictures???"

"In general, that is the case, Master."

"What does he take Batman for?" Thomas held his forehead, but the next second he was stunned again. Wasn't this exactly his goal? Standing guard on the roof was safer than flying down to fight crime, right?

But why did he feel that something was wrong?

Shouldn't Batman's image be one that everyone fears, the kind that makes people want to run away when they see it? Could it be that the Bruce of this universe designed a ridiculous image for Batman???

This wasn't because Thomas had strong associative ability; it was mainly because, in his era, the more popular stars and entertainers were mostly relatively funny and approachable figures.

The cultural trend at that time was still relatively inclined towards mainstream culture; some subcultures and punk cultures had not yet fully developed, and the country's cultural propaganda orientation was also mainly positive.

However, in the era where Bruce was, punk was prevalent, and the desperate process of the gradual collapse of the Golden Age made people have deeper thoughts about non-mainstream art that tended towards death and darkness.

Rap mixed with various profanities and slang was prevalent, and Hollywood stars who frequented nightclubs and lived a life of dissipation were more popular. Batman's dark tone, on the contrary, could show the unique aesthetics of young people, thus being sought after.

Although Thomas was also Batman, he was limited by age and vision, and he really couldn't understand why anyone would pursue a dark hero.

This was also the reason why he was very pessimistic about Batman's future. In his view, a hero in the dark was not a hero and would never be understood by anyone.

So he shook his head helplessly, looked at Alf, and said: "Can I go to the manor basement to take a look?"

Thomas wanted to go to the Batcave to see what kind of strange shape his son had made the Batman uniform into. When Bruce chased him that day, he was only busy running and didn't look carefully.

What Thomas didn't expect was that Alfred didn't show any intention of refusing, but readily agreed, nodded, and took the initiative to lead the way.

On the way down the stairs, Thomas thought that perhaps the Batcave underground had some difficult-to-crack password lock, which was why Bruce was so confident in throwing such an important place to someone he had just met.

As a result, the stairs leading to the basement had no mechanisms or traps, and there weren't even many cameras. The stairs were in disrepair, and the ground was somewhat damp. It didn't look like it could stop an enemy at all.

After the basement door opened, Thomas was stunned.

He looked at the very ordinary laboratory with only a few experimental benches, and a voice full of doubt sounded in front of the door.

"... Where is the Batcave???" ===== CHAPTER 1242 =====