Chapter 70: Bruce Wayne’s Breakdown

"Are you okay, John?"

Peter quickly approached, kneeling down to look at the dazed, blood-covered Azu.

"Dad?!"

Azu's expression shifted as he recognized Peter, his familiar face pulling him out of his stupor.

"I…"

He glanced down at the bodies sprawled on the ground, then at his blood-stained hands. A whirlpool of fear, confusion, guilt, and sorrow engulfed him.

While he had fought zombies before, this was nothing like it.

The weight of it pressed down on him, as if he were trapped in a dark, freezing ocean, unable to breathe.

"Dad, I… I didn't mean to do it."

The anger that had driven Azu moments ago had completely dissipated. Staring at the carnage around him, his helpless gaze turned toward Peter.

"They killed that orphan… I couldn't control my emotions."

"I know, John. I know."

Peter removed his jacket and gently wiped the blood from Azu's face.

"Dad believes you. It's okay. It's all over now."

"But, Dad…"

Peter interrupted softly, "Look at me, John. Look into my eyes. Do you trust me?"

"Yes… yes, I trust you, Dad."

"Good. Then trust me when I say everything will be fine. I promise."

Once Azu's emotions had calmed down, Peter cast a glance at the scene of carnage and then made a quick call to the Martian Manhunter.

"Mr. Jones?"

The telepathic voice replied, "You don't need the phone, sir. We can use telepathy."

"I don't appreciate people in my head. Let's stick to the phone. John had an incident. Can you come over?"

"Not immediately. I'm handling a situation myself."

From his location, Martian Manhunter observed Bruce Wayne being chased down the street by a speeding jeep.

"Can you manage it?"

"Of course. Two minutes tops."

Meanwhile, Bruce was desperately trying to evade his pursuers. He sighed in relief when he spotted the Martian Manhunter approaching—only for that relief to morph into panic when Jones calmly walked directly into the path of the speeding jeep.

"Watch out, Mr. Jones! Move!" Bruce yelled.

Unfazed, the Martian Manhunter kept walking.

Just as Bruce thought disaster was inevitable, the jeep screeched to a halt with an ear-piercing noise, crashing into a safety barrier and flipping onto its side.

The Martian Manhunter removed his sunglasses and said to the stunned Bruce, "Looks like they didn't have the guts to hit me."

Bruce stared at the overturned jeep, then back at Jones, who exuded an aura of calm invincibility. His mind reeled.

Who exactly is Mr. Podrick?

Even his butler seem more extraordinary than Alfred?!

Two minutes later, with the Bruce situation resolved, the Martian Manhunter arrived at the scene of Azu's outburst. After assigning cleanup duties to Jones, Peter escorted Azu back to the hotel.

Once Azu had showered, he still seemed lost in thought.

"Dad… Am I Evil John?" Azu asked.

Peter shook his head. "No, of course not. Why would you think that?"

"'Break free from sin, escape despair; the devil will claim you without hesitation.' That's from Evil Polly. I feel like Polly."

Azu was wrestling with serious self-doubt after his first violent rampage.

Although death and killing didn't horrify him, a lingering sense of guilt gnawed at his heart.

"No, you're not evil, John. You saved those orphans and stopped those bad men from hurting others."

From Azu's brief explanation, Peter understood the events that had unfolded.

"You have no reason to feel guilty, John," he said, ruffling his son's hair. "Sometimes, when facing something you've never dealt with, you're forced to make difficult choices. And I think the choice you made was the right one."

Though he silently added, Even if that choice came with a cost.

Peter didn't want Azu to experience such bloodshed at his age, but now that it had happened, he had to guide him through it.

Azu blinked a few times, exhaling softly.

"So, you don't think I'm Evil John, Dad?"

"Absolutely not," Peter reassured.

"It's like cancer. Sometimes, to save a life, you have to remove the tumor—cut out an organ, or even amputate a limb. Those gunmen? They were malignant tumors that needed to be excised."

"…With an axe?" Azu quipped.

Peter smiled, relief washing over him. The boy's spirit was already on the mend.

After a few more words of encouragement, Peter urged Azu to rest and moved to the next room.

Bruce was there, speaking with the Martian Manhunter. When Peter entered, Bruce stood awkwardly, visibly uncomfortable. He knew he'd caused trouble today.

If not for Podrick's "butler" intervening, he might've fallen into the hands of the mysterious organization pursuing him. And a child had died because of his plans.

Bruce didn't yet know Azu had neutralized the attackers. He assumed Peter had arrived in time to save Azu.

"I… I'm sorry, sir," Bruce muttered, head lowered.

"Today, Jones and I visited Gotham," Peter began calmly. "And guess who we found? A young master Wayne, living in Wayne Manor. Yet here you are, also claiming to be Bruce Wayne. So… which one is the truth?"

Peter's gaze bore into Bruce. "We agreed before: no more lies."

Under the weight of Peter's scrutiny, Bruce bit his lip. "I… I'm sorry, Mr. Podrick. I didn't tell you because I didn't want—"

"To involve others? To handle it yourself?" Peter interjected.

He had already pieced it together: a Gotham-based group had swapped out the real Bruce with a fake, likely planning to imprison the real one. But something had gone wrong, allowing Bruce to escape to Metropolis, where he'd crossed paths with Peter.

"You used those orphans for intel while investigating the impostor and the organization behind them. You thought you could handle it alone. But you forgot—you're just a child."

Peter's tone sharpened. "And because of that arrogance, an innocent orphan is dead."

"No!" Bruce shouted, his face flushed with anguish. "No! That's not how it is! I… I can handle it! I didn't want this to happen!"

Martian Manhunter shook his head slightly, pity in his eyes. "Peter…"

Peter ignored him, pressing on. "No, you can't. You think you've hidden your feelings well, but deep down, you're consumed by regret over your own inadequacy. Bruce—you're not as strong as you think."