Chapter 26
THOMAS WAYNE
It had been a week since he had woken up, and though he had yet to complete his recovery, Thomas was getting frustrated because he didn't like hospitals and so after a week of oversight, he had finally managed to convince the doctors that he could sufficiently finish his recovery at Wayne manor.
"I still believe you should stay in the hospital for a bit longer," Rahcel's voice cut in from behind as Alfred helped him settle down in a motorized wheelchair, and he rolled his eyes.
This was the second time Rachel was visiting him, and had volunteered to chaperone his trip back home and he hadn't missed how the assistant DA had been avoiding visiting the hospital, especially when Bruce would be there.
"And I still believe you would make a much better mayor than that 'Anthony' guy over there," he said, pointing towards the TV screen, making Alfred chuckle as she frowned.
"What do you have against the guy? He is pretty popular in our office," she said as she picked up the remote and raised the volume as the new Mayor of the city ranted on and on against him.
"Yeah, and that's the whole problem. The dude's replacing me at your office," he said in a mocking, devastated tone, gripped his heart, and wiped away fake tears.
"And one of the first things I plan to do is launch an investigation into rich and powerful corporations like Wayne Enterprises and crack down on their illegal chokehold on city resources!" the man on the screen declared before ending the press conference.
"That idiot," Rachel whispered as she turned off the TV, before turning towards him.
"But why is he so against you?" she questioned.
"I do not know, I even donated to the man's campaign, but for some reason, he has been positioning himself against Wayne Enterprises for some damn time," he said as he pushed the controls on the arm of the chair and began to move out of the room slowly.
"Well, it won't matter, Wayne Enterprises, and you are rather popular at the moment; if he goes against you, he will simply kill himself off in the next election cycle," she suggested, and he nodded.
"Yeah, hopefully, the guy learns his lesson," he said, and he hoped he did. The man was an okayish person with little to no involvement in any kind of scandals, but his recent tirade against Wayne Enterprises had been a surprise.
Either he had always held a grudge against the company for some odd reason, or there was something much more fishy going on here.
But he would deal with that later. Right now, he had a much more personal matter to deal with.
And he turned up to look at Rachel walking by his side as he whispered.
"So, you have been rather stingy in your visits," he finally decided to confront her about it and saw her slow down as she looked down, before replying to him.
"I have just had a lot on my mind," she answered, and he was aware of just what it was.
She had figured out who Batman was and hadn't reacted well to the news.
"I know, Bruce told me," He said and saw her eyes shift towards him as she uttered.
"And what do you think of all that?" she questioned, and he shrugged.
"What's there to think," he began, making her frown as he continued.
"He is family, and you stand behind your family for as long as you can. You may disagree with them and worry for them, yet in the end, you must be behind them," and he looked towards her.
"And to him, you are even more than family, have no doubt about that," he said. Honestly, he could understand her conflicted thoughts, but she was being too stubborn, denying her heart like this.
And so, as the good brother he was, it was his duty to help patch things up.
"So, you are fine with what he does?" she questioned, and he shrugged.
"This city was a hellhole before I began to act against the mobs, and it was only after spending billions that I was able to make a dent in the mob's chokehold on the city. He is a symbol of hope for the city, a symbol that there is hope, that even if all else fails, he will be there to face off against evil when all else fails," he began.
The last month or so had seen a rise in crime after the mass breakouts from Prisons during the attack on the city, and in these dark times, Bruce had managed to turn Batman into what he had envisioned it to be.
A symbol of hope. Hope against tyranny, fear, and corruption.
"You are a symbol. What he does is...."
"Dangerous," he cut in.
"Very dangerous; he puts his life at risk every day in the hope of seeing this city turn a new side. He has abandoned much for what he does, given up quite a lot, his life, a part of his humanity, he gave it all up without a question," he said, and his tone softened as he turned to face her, as they wheeled out of the hospital and towards the half a dozen cars waiting for them.
The media was there as well, but he had little wish to make a statement at the moment so he gave them a wave as he continued.
"Yet he couldn't give you up because he cared for you. A lot, so please give him a chance," he said and saw her eyes soften as she nodded her head.
"Thank you. I will think about it," she said with a smile, and he returned the smile.
"That's all I can ask. And as far as his publicity stunts are confirmed, you can blame me for that; it was my advice that he does those things, not exactly those things, though, but still, it was to protect him," he said, and her eyes narrowed.
"I know that...." and suddenly, they were surrounded by his men, as they formed a protective cocoon around them.
"Master Wayne!" Alfred's voice cut in, as both of him and Rachel were pulled back by his men who had them surrounded.
"What's happening!" she shrieked as they were all showered with pamphlets, even as the guards pushed them down and covered them with bulletproof shields from all sides.
"I don't know," he said as he was pushed back into the hospital under the cover of his men.
"What was that?" he questioned the captain of the guards as they eased up, and the man handed him one of the pamphlets held with a piece of cloth.
"We are still confirming, but from initial reports, it seems like someone dropped off these papers from the sky," the man said. Thomas picked it up, and on the paper was a picture of him alongside Selina with a joker face drawn on their faces and two arrows pointing towards her face.
"Who is she!"
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At the same time, under the light of the shining Sun, the three Kings of Gotham's underworld met each other, their refuge of darkness now long destroyed by the caped crusader that now ruled over the streets.
"It seems we have the same problem," the Chechen began with his long hair and greasy fingers, his accent having hints of a Russian tint to it.
"The Batman," snarled Gambol, the leader of the city's most ferocious gangs, and there was some commotion upon the mention of the boogeymen that had been eating away at them.
"It's not just him, though, is it," came a much smoother voice of the most powerful man amongst the three. Despite their various losses, the Falcones were still the biggest and the worst of them all but had undergone a change in administration.
"This has been going on for much longer than this Batman showed up. All of this began with him," said the man who had now taken over the Falcone empire, Salvator Maroni.
"We don't talk about him. He is too powerful, we have all tried going after him, yet have always failed. What do you think will happen this time," the Chechen asked as he leaned back in his chair, as Maroni added.
"We went for him on our own. But what if we were to go after him as one, together with all our might...."
But before he could finish, a laugh stopped him, as they were invaded by an uninvited party.
"Hahaha! You can try, but you will still lose!"
And then, from the door erupted an uninvited man. Clad in a purple suit, white and red makeup covering his face. No hint of anxiety or fear, even as a dozen guns were aimed at him, as he bowed like a performer and said in a cheery tone.
"Tadaaa!"
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Nathan1234· Apr 3, 2024
