Chapter 9-Does it come in Black?
Chapter 9
BRUCE WAYNE
The attack on Rachel had been a surprise for him, and it worried him that a man like Falcone had placed a bounty on her head. However, whether it was because of her role as an assistant DA or because of her closeness with Thomas, who had been targeting the man with his business ventures, was still unclear.
Though, the bigger surprise had been the SOS alert he had received on his phone when Rachel had used the SOS function on her phone, and the way Thomas's eyes had glinted towards him when he had explained it to Rachel had unsettled him.
Did he know already? And if so, what could Bruce to do?
The two brothers hadn't had the chance to talk ever since, and now, as the next day rose, Bruce found himself walking through the gates of his family's company, Wayne Enterprises.
The massive Wayne Tower, iconic to the city of Gotham stood in the center, with its high-speed rail passing right through it. The lobby seemed somewhat busy. He could see people in suits walking in and out of the building, a massive structure stood tall in the center of the lobby, it was a round screen, with a foundation around it that rose through the floors, displaying the various products of their company, including his brother's latest venture into the mobile computing industry.
The technology seemed rather interesting, but he could not let himself get distracted, and he walked towards the reception, as a rather petite brunette with her hair tied in a pony tail, chewed gum, while lazily tapping away at her keyboard.
"AKHM!" he coughed, trying to get her attention, yet the woman didn't even bother to look up as she spoke up.
"Uhuh! Yes, how may I help you," said Susan, in a disinterested tone. Her name was written on the nameplate pinned to her suit jacket.
"I believe I have an appointment," he began with a smile and leaned forward yet the young lady still didn't glance up.
"May I have your name?" she asked, again eyes focused on the computer screen.
"Bruce Wayne," he replied a bit cheekily, and the young woman stilled as soon as she heard that name, and glanced up finally, her face pale as a sheet.
"Mr. Wayn…." She said, as she rushed to stand up, though he watched as her eyes moved beyond him, as a third person cut into his fun.
"I believe I will take it from here, Miss Susan," came the thick and unhurried voice of an aged man, a rather familiar one at that. And he glanced back, and found himself staring at the man who was now the CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox.
The man had a smile on his face as they shook hands, he was dressed rather casually for a CEO, though it didn't matter for even in a horde of company excecs one wouldn't miss the man. He just had that kind of presence as the man looked him over with a piercing gaze.
"Mr. Fox, it is good to finally put a face to the voice," he said, and the man nodded.
"The feeling is mutual, Mr. Wayne. Come let us take this to my office," and then the man led him to what seemed to be a private elevator, and as they entered the closed space Bruce cut in.
"How about instead of your office we take it to the department that has piqued my mind," he began and saw the man turn to face him.
"Applied Physics?" he questioned, and Bruce nodded, not surprised that the man knew of it.
He had been scrubbing through Wayne Enterprises files, searching for technology that could help him, and in that sense, he had found what he needed in Applied Physics. This interesting department had once been headed by the Lucius himself.
"Why not?" he said as he hit what appeared to be a level below the basement, and the doors to the elevator closed.
They descended quietly, only the soft hum of the elevator to keep them company until they reached the said floor, and the doors opened to reveal a massive basement filled with crates and other objects wrapped in sheets.
"Ahh! This brings back memories!" said the man as they walked in, and the lights began to turn on automatically, lighting up the whole space as both of them began to walk through the rows and rows of projects.
"I am not surprised that this department caught your eye," the man began as he gave him a pointed stare and continued.
"….especially given your unique needs," he said with a smile that told Bruce that the man had not bought his excuses.
Well, who would when you would ask for a Kevlar plated suit and military grade memory cloth for spelunking and base jumping. Though, if the man was suspicious and had a problem with this.
"Akhm, if you have a problem with thi…." And the man was quick to cut him off.
"Not at all, Mr. Wayne, all this is yours and you are free to do whatever you please with this. Though I would like it if you do not treat me like a fool," he said, and then stared at him with an ominous gaze as he said in a soft tone.
"What you do with your days…." The man began and Bruce felt himself halt, as the man continued with an intone,"…or nights is none of my concern." and Bruce stilled at that.
The man knew. Both of them stared into each other's eyes, and the man could have blackmailed him, or threatened him to use the knowledge of his secret identity. Yet he hadn't.
Bruce had researched the man of course, he was one of his father's companions, a genius, according to many, and he had mentored Thomas when he had stepped into the company. The man had little to no greed and had an integrity that few could boast of in the country.
"Duly noted," he replied after a moment of silence, and the man smiled as they reached an unsaid agreement of not making undue excuses.
Fox nodded as they reached what appeared to be a relatively new addition to the space, this object appeared as though it had been recently reeled in.
"Aha, here it is," said Mr. Fox as he moved closer to it, and began to fiddle around what was a small screen on it.
"Is this the machine you wished to show me?" he questioned, already having an idea of what it was.
"Yes," came the reply as Fox turned to face him.
"This is the perfect solution for you. The latest technology in 3-D printing, this machine helps you build and construct anything from the size of a nail to full body armor, and this time you could machine ten in a simple basement rather than order ten thousand pieces," Mr. Fox said as he gave him another small smile. He raised a brow. The man was somehow aware of the failed order from Singapore.
Just how much did the man know? He examined the machine and reached what appeared to be the control screen.
"Who designed this?" he questioned as he began to fiddle with the controls.
"Your brother did," and the answer surprised him, as he pressed the wrong button, making the machine halt as alarm sounds began to ring.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
He looked towards Fox, who stopped the noise with a push of a button.
"I do believe it comes with a manual," he replied while he still reeled from the shock of his earlier words.
"Thomas built this," he questioned, and Fox nodded.
"Indeed, your brother has varied interests. He came up with the idea weeks before your return. He had a prototype built. A rather simpler version of this is right now in use by him for his next project," the man told him, and that sent all kinds of mixed signals.
From how Rachel's location had appeared on his phone, and now this. Did Thomas already know? And if so, why hadn't he said anything?
"About the things I initially commissioned out of this, did you tell Thomas about them?" he questioned again.
The man shook his head as he replied to him.
"As I said before, I will not tell Thomas of what you are doing here Mr. Wayne. However, I will not lie to him about it if he were to ask me as well," and that had been what Alfred had told him as well.
And it was reasonable enough.
"Though, I must caution you," the man began cryptically as he stared into his eyes.
"There is little in Gotham that Thomas remains oblivious to. Your brother is a very well-informed person, so don't insult his intelligence," he warned him, and those words raised his suspicion that Thomas was already aware of his nightly crusades.
Yet why hadn't he said anything? Perhaps it was time both of them had a chat of their own?
"What is that?" he questioned, as he pointed towards the other package lying beside the printer, it appeared as if something had been dismantled and broken down deliberately.
"Let me see," said Mr. Fox, as he read the label.
"Ah! This is a microwave emitter. It was invented during the Cold War, and it could be used to vaporize an enemy's water supply. A weapon which your father refused to sell despite considerable pressure," replied Mr. Fox.
"What's it doing here?" he questioned.
"I don't know, but I will try and find out," came the reply as the man turned to face him again.
"Now that you have your printer, is there anything else you might need?" Bruce thought for a second before he answered.
"Do you have any vehicle that I could use?" he questioned and saw the man's mind race before he replied with a grin.
"I believe I have just the thing." The man then led him to an empty section of the place, where a single large vehicle stood imperiously, with its gigantic wheels and what seemed to be guns at the side.
It was as if he was looking at an unholy fusion between a tank and a sports car.
"This shall serve your adventurous needs quite well."
"What even is this?" he questioned as he looked around the gigantic vehicle.
"This was conceived as a bridging vehicle, though we could never get them to work as that, but otherwise," the man continued as he looked at the thing with with twinkling eyes.
"This is a masterpiece in itself. Let's take it out for a spin," said the man as he pressed a button, and the doors began to open, revealing the elaborate interior that seemed as if it belonged to a fighter jet rather than a car.
"Why not?" he said as he jumped in.
And minutes after driving the damn thing, Bruce only had a single question.
"Does it come in Black?"
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