Chapter 1642

Batman was struck as if by lightning.

He had indeed heard the Flash speak of the Flashpoint universe, and in the dead of night, he had often thought of the day he might see his parents again, but he truly never expected this day to come so quickly, so suddenly.

And it wasn't just seeing his father; that loving face that had appeared in his dreams countless times—his dear mother Martha, whom he could never forget—was standing in the room right now.

How could Batman remain calm? His chest heaved like the core of the sun, his exhaled breaths felt as if they could blow away the moon, the chaotic thoughts in his mind were like a sky full of stars, and the indescribable, intense emotions suddenly gathering in his eyes were like the winds of March, the rains of April, and the storms that linger over the polar regions in the dead of winter.

But before he could fully sink into his sentimentality, the situation inside the room was like the ruthless iron fist of reality, shattering the beautiful fantasy of a family reunion held by this little boy who had never truly grown up since his parents' passing.

Hearing Martha's voice from inside the room, it wasn't the loving and kind tone Batman remembered, but rather one of anger and a hint of irritability.

"Thomas, I truly don't know how you became the stubborn person you are today! No, that can no longer be called stubbornness; it should be called paranoia. Your negligence in education is shocking, yet you have no desire to repent."

"I think you should be more practical, Martha. The children cannot be trapped in the family forever playing those games of brotherly affection. They must eventually walk their own life paths step by step. So, what is wrong with what I am doing?"

"Don't use 'reality' and 'practicality' to cover up your favoritism. In my view, you are only biased toward Damian because of his blood relationship with Bruce, focusing your education on him. I think the other children must see it this way too. This is absolutely not what a good father should do!"

"But in terms of comprehensive ability, Damian is indeed the most suitable person to inherit the core industries of the Wei En Group. It's not that the other children aren't excellent, just not as well-rounded. So, what is the problem with educating him early and grooming him as the successor?"

"You will hurt the others' hearts!"

"You can see it too: Dick has no patience for learning business, Jason yearns for freedom, Tim has the Drake family business to manage, and Barbara wants to inherit her father's responsibilities. So, counting them all up, isn't Damian the most suitable?"

"But if you only focus your attention on Damian, the other children will feel neglected. In a family, a father's attention represents a great deal; it cannot be compensated for by a mother's doubled affection. You know this better than I do."

Thomas sighed deeply. Martha crossed her arms, turned her head away, and said in a tone tinged with sadness: "I never thought time could bring us so many changes, Thomas. I don't want to say anything hurtful, but everything now is vastly different from the scenes of mutual understanding we shared in our youth."

"People always change, Martha, but my love for you and the children will never change."

"Love isn't just in words. How many times have I urged you? I understand you wandered alone for a long time and the responsibility on your shoulders is too heavy, making you feel immense pressure, which is why you have to smoke, drink, and have an irregular schedule."

"But since everything has gotten better in that universe, why aren't you willing to make some changes for me, the children, and our family, and return to the robust, witty, and vibrant person you were when you were young? This would also be good for your health!"

Thomas pursed his lips and remained silent. Not until the atmosphere of silence had left its mark on the walls did he say in a hoarse tone: "The harm that suffering brings to a person is difficult to erase. The wear and tear that time has inflicted upon the two of us has made those gears that once fit perfectly no longer turn smoothly. Looking back at the past is of no benefit to us."

Martha turned her back, sat on the bed, and wept silently, then said: "I really don't know why things turned out this way. Didn't we agree that returning to this universe would allow us to cast aside those differences and start over?"

"Perhaps we both need to calm down," Thomas said, lowering his head. "Since that accident, I have never had the time to stop and think carefully. I'm sorry; I had thought that revisiting the old place would make us better."

"I'm going home," Martha stood up, took a handkerchief from the bag she was carrying to wipe her tears, and then said: "I'm going back to the Kane estate, and then we should both calm down and think about whether there is any need for this relationship to continue. Goodbye, Thomas."

Thomas did not say goodbye, only silently watching Martha's departing back, which seemed to have aged a few years.

And Batman, standing on the windowsill silently watching all of this, was in a state of not daring to make a sound.

The good news is, Mom and Dad are back.

The bad news is, they're getting a divorce as soon as they're back.

Batman was very certain that if he had walked out just now, appearing before his parents in this spandex-clad freak image, the divorce would have been a done deal today.

Middle-aged, parents causing a scene with a divorce—what should one do? Waiting online, quite urgent.

But Batman had an even more urgent matter now. He first found the Flash, stared at Barry's face with a death glare, and asked: "What is going on with Thomas and Martha?"

"What Thomas? I... alright, they were the ones who wanted to come back. After all, this is their home too, right?"

The Flash, Barry, sighed and said: "I told you about the Flashpoint universe before. Thomas went to another universe; you should know that too. Some time ago, the young Batman of that universe found a way to resurrect Martha, and they have been staying in the young Batman's universe."

"Before, the Robins were there too. They were busy educating the children, so they had no time to look back at those past disasters. But once the children left, they felt a bit empty, and both of their moods weren't very good."

"One day, Thomas found me and said they wanted to come home. Perhaps revisiting the old place would remind them of the beautiful feelings of the past, so I brought them back here."

"Of course, I was afraid they would have a mental breakdown, which is why I sent them to the Robins. When facing children, adults are always restrained. But I actually knew that this method wouldn't be of much use; their experiences were truly too terrible."

"Professor Rodriguez also said that this level of psychological trauma requires long-term adjustment. I thought returning to their own home would be better for them. Sorry, I didn't notify you in advance because I knew this might not be a surprise."

Barry had expected to see Batman's sentimental expression, but he hadn't really hoped for too much, because the young Batman from the other universe had already given him a huge shock. Now, Barry wouldn't be surprised by any expression Batman made.

But in the end, he was still shocked, because what appeared on Batman's face wasn't sadness, nor anger, but an indescribable anxiety and a trace of... panic.

Barry's feeling right now was: I woke up too fast, I saw Batman panic!

Batman, who is always wise and prepared for everything, would actually panic? Even more magically, he would actually write this emotion on his face, and even let Barry understand it?!

Then just how panicked was he? Is the world about to be destroyed? Barry panicked along with him.

Ignoring the golden lightning that vanished in an instant, Batman flew back to the Batcave at the fastest speed like a real bat, and then began to check the surveillance screens.

The Joker, who had been thrown into the Batcave's cell, leaned against the railing with his arms crossed, rolled his bloodshot eyes, and then sniffed hard, saying: "What do I smell? A hint of family affection. You and that group of little birds... no, no, no, you are hesitating like a little boy. Did you see your parents? Not in a dream?"

The Joker suddenly had a gloomy expression, as if he had thought of another plan to make Batman's heart ache, but soon his expression relaxed, even becoming more naively happy than before.

"Let me guess, could it be that our poor little boy's parents suddenly returned, but his homework hasn't been finished yet?"

"Oh, oh, oh! Look at what I'm saying. The situation now should be that not only is the homework not done at all, but he also set the house on fire, set an entire building on fire, blew up an entire street, and killed the U. S. President who happened to be passing by on this street, and there are only ten minutes left until your parents get home."

With a "bang," the Joker's nose hit the railing. Batman grabbed the Joker's collar tightly, looked at him, and said: "Shut up, or I'll throw you into the basement."

The Joker laughed wildly, almost out of breath, and Batman, whose thoughts were often disrupted by the madness in the Joker's laughter, now didn't even have the time to make the Joker shut up, because he actually knew in his heart that the Joker's summary was damn right.

Batman discovered that he had been cursing in his heart more and more often lately. This was not a good sign; it meant his emotions were gradually spiraling out of control. But he really didn't have the time to worry about this; he had to put out fires, rebuild buildings, reorganize streets, and resurrect the U. S. President, and he had to complete all these things within ten minutes.

Why couldn't Thomas and Martha have come back at any other time, instead of coming back when Cat Getan was a complete mess!

As mentioned before, Batman lived at the end of the gangster era, so Thomas and Martha were actually living in the golden age of gangsters. Cat Getan was chaotic back then, but at least it still looked a bit like a city.

But now, looking around, the Midtown district was painted red with fire, the Uptown district was full of red flags and crowds, and the entire Cat Getan was filled with the sound of gongs, drums, and firecrackers; there wasn't a single good piece of land left.

These two people looked like their mental state wasn't very good, and they weren't robust young people anymore. If they were stimulated again and their psychological state deteriorated, where would he find a psychiatrist like Dr. Rodriguez for emergency treatment?

Thus, Batman formulated a plan.

The content of the plan was roughly to scold the Robins bloody, drag all the families to the negotiating table for talks, quickly sign a ceasefire agreement, quickly clean up the battlefield, and finally quickly restore peace to Cat Getan.

But Batman forgot one point: which child of a big family living in the golden age of gangsters is easy to mess with?

About half an hour later, Batman received the "good news"—the Kane family had declared war on the Wei En family.