Chapter 28

THOMAS WAYNE

Thomas was once more outside the Wayne Tower, the building and its surroundings had changed somewhat over the months, new security systems had been installed and it seemed the number of security personnel had been increased as well.

The periphery was once more filled with a throng of journalists heckling him for a quote. He would ignore them most of the time, yet the recent attacks on him and his family by the mayor had prompted him to give a small statement yesterday, something which went against his usual norms as he had his sources dig into why the man had turned on him like this.

Thomas had donated to the man's campaign, and though he wasn't the ideal person to lead Gotham, he was astute enough that he would do. Or so he had thought.

But he would deal with him when the time comes, as he pushed up the control stick and ascended the ramp to the gates, which were swung open as the man around them greeted him warmly.

"It is good to see you back, Master Wayne," and Thomas nodded, a smile appearing on his lips as he took in the all too familiar smell of the Wayne tower.

"It is good to be back," he said and could see the staff smiling and greeting him as he moved past them, though unlike most of them, he didn't miss how the person he was waiting for didn't have such a festive expression on their face.

"You don't look happy to see me. Should I fear for my future in this company," he joked, and the man's lips turned up, yet the tightness in his eyes didn't vanish.

"I am elated to see you, though I believe you owe me some answers," the man began, and Thomas nodded as he let the man lead him to the private elevator, and as the doors closed, he put in his own keycard.

"I had always known that you were smart when you walked into the board room as a mere teenager. Your eyes had held a certain glint of knowledge and maturity that I have seen in few men in my lifetime," the black man began as the elevator began to descend slowly.

"And then I was proven right when you formed the new division and made the leaps and bounds you made, transforming the very landscape of several industries," he said as he finally turned to face him.

"Yet even I didn't know that you were holding back this much, Master Wayne," he said, and Thomas smiled as the doors of the elevator swung open to reveal the hidden basement underneath the Applied Physics inventory, only accessible right now to two individuals in the entire world.

"If you knew about it, it wouldn't have been called holding back," Thomas replied as he moved out of the chair, the cybernetic exoskeleton spread over his legs and back, supporting his weight as he stepped up beside Fox, as they walked towards the massive case erupting out of the ground housing none other than his suit of armor.

"A motorized exoskeleton, machined with a special bulletproof, fire-proof ally, the cybernetics, the machining, and most importantly, the power source," the man began to list off as he looked at the shining piece of beauty.

"This is decades ahead of anything I have ever seen," the man began, and Thomas nodded.

"It is," he confirmed.

"I must ask you, why did you build such a thing?" Fox asked, and Thomas sighed as he looked the man in the eye.

"The short answer is because I could because the lives of people I care about were at stake, and I decided that enough was enough, that we needed a deterrent in the

face of such threats, one which would help me face enemies of scale you cannot even imagine," he answered.

"Enemies like the League of Shadows?" he followed on, surprising him with that name.

His curiosity and surprise must have shown as he raised a brow.

"Once doesn't live as long as I and not know a thing or two about such thing," he said, and Thomas nodded, yet still, the man was being naive if he thought the league was the end of things.

"May the Gods prove me wrong, but if my fears were to come through, these threats would make the League look like simpletons," he replied as he looked at the shining logo of the white knight, as fears he had long buried erupted in his heart.

This world was dangerous, he had always known that, yet he had tampered with his expectations about the extent of this danger, yet the incident with the league had opened his eyes. He had been caught unaware.

While his actions in the transformation of Gotham were good and virtuous, he had forgotten about just the nature of this world and what threats it could eventually pose.

There was silence as Fox thought over his words.

"I believe you," he replied, surprising him, as he frowned, for he was surprised. He had thought the man would ask for more, maybe even resign, not that he would let him.

"I have watched you grow up over the years, Master Wayne, and while I may not agree with you over certain things, but I have not known you to lie," he began as he took off his glasses and rubbed his temple.

"So, if you say such threats do exist, then I believe you," he began, and Thomas was relieved by the man's trust as he nodded.

"And yes, I had the software division patch up the vulnerability you used to remove all data related to the sighting of your precious suit," he said with a raised brow.

It was one of the most important things, any information about the sighting of his suit had been scrubbed off, most of it had been digital and all it had taken was a simple software to delete it all.

"And I still can not believe you left such a vulnerability on purpose," he sighed, and Thomas's lips turned up, making him stop as his eyes narrowed.

"That wasn't the only one, was it?" he questioned, and Thomas shrugged.

"What can I say?"

"Master Thomas, if such a thing is found out, the press and the government...." but before he could say more, Thoams cut in.

"Will do nothing," he replied, making the man frown.

"Every government, every competitor does the same. However, while they use the data for nefarious purposes, I only use it for the betterment of society, and if you are still at odds with this, have the software team look through the code and begin repairing it. They will catch up to me in..." and he pretended to look at a watch as he said.

"...decades perhaps," he challenged.

"I hope you know wh...." but his words were cut off once more as his cell phone began to ring, making him frown as he put it to his ear.

"What is it, Miss Heather?" he questioned.

"Sir, there are some people here demanding to see Master Wayne?" she remarked.

"For the murder of Carmine Falcone!"

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Back in Wayne Tower, a groggy Selina Kyle sat in the kitchen eating a healthy breakfast for the first time in months as suddenly a breaking news began airing on the TV, and she heard a voice she had thought she would never hear again.

"...and the person responsible for my death was none other than Thomas Wayne!"

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Have a fun day!