Chapter 2460: The Bizarre Ancient Bat Family (Part Three)

Regardless, these memorabilia did an excellent job of placating the Batmen, and the mood-improved Batmen didn't seem to mind leaving a part of themselves with the madmen as collectibles.

It seems somewhat inconsistent with Batman's character, but it's hard to say who's crazier, the Batmen from the dark universe or the Arkham Band from the Light Universe.

During the fight with Gravita and that giant Spider, Doomsday Batman evolved a thick shell and could renew his skin and spikes in no time, so he quickly produced a lot of spikes and gave them away to the madmen.

Mechanical Batman had some spare parts; nothing high-tech, mainly replacement wear layers for arm guards, cloak fastening buckles, and stuff like that. He had replaced those used up in battle, and the rest, which he didn't need for the time being, he also threw their way.

The Batmonster Vehicle actually had a pretty explosive souvenir—it handed over the spare tire from its trunk to them. That was also a massive tire, taller than a human, and judging by the look in Red Hood's eyes, it wouldn't be long before the Arkham Band's current headquarters would be raided by a righteous superhero.

Little Bruce received almost no attention because he was wearing a mask, and madmen generally couldn't be bothered with a child that would typically just be a new Robin accompanying any usual Batman.

But Little Bruce left the madmen the most practical memorabilia—a mark from him, lest another insurance investigator emerge from their ranks.

After the madmen had left, members of the Batman Family and a group of Batmen could finally set off for Wayne Manor. They landed not far from the manor and soon arrived at its gates.

The first problem arose—the gates of Wayne Manor were large, but that was merely in relation to human beings. No manor would be built with the possibility of a Tyrannosaurus Rex passing through one day. The Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Batmonster Vehicle, and the larger-bodied Doomsday Batman couldn't fit through.

Alfred stood inside the gate looking very troubled, saying, "Perhaps we could dismantle a section of the wall to let you in, but when the master and mistress return later, they probably won't be pleased to see the ruined gates. It would remind them of the unpleasant memories when they used artillery to destroy each other's family gates during their arguments…"

"What about the garden, Alfred?" Batman offered a suggestion, "Taking down the garden wall won't affect the aesthetic appearance of the building."

Alfred pondered for a moment before replying, "That is possible, but you must be extra careful since the utensils for eating have already been set up. A little carelessness could lead to shattered pieces all over, and the garden..."

"The garden is your painstaking effort," Nightwing immediately added, "It's spring, the peak season for the plants to pollinate. If the garden is destroyed now, there will be no flowers to enjoy for the whole year."

"I'm glad you remember that so clearly," Alfred said as he led them toward the garden. After circling the entire manor, they finally reached the backside, the garden wall.

It turned out they didn't need to go through the trouble of dismantling the wall. The two Dinosaurs charged at it, toppling the wall in large sections, and the group followed the only main path inside the back garden.

To say they walked might be a misnomer; it was more like they carefully tiptoed, with their massive sizes making it quite hard to avoid the surrounding plants. Doomsday Batman moved stealthily, the Batmonster Vehicle performed a spectacular one-side wheelie in place, and even the Tyrannosaurus Rex tread as lightly as a cat.

Arriving at the garden, they couldn't move freely, as Alfred said, because it was full of delicate jars and vases. One heavy step and today's breakfast would include fragments of glass.

The two Tyrannosaurus Rexes lay coiled under the largest tree in the back garden for a nap, the Batmonster Vehicle parked on the gazebo's outer square, shutting down and ignoring the Robins climbing over it. Doomsday Batman was slightly better off; he squatted on the grass amongst the bushes, watching Alfred prepare food.

Alfred was getting the charcoal fire ready for the toaster. As he picked up a piece of charcoal with a pair of tongs and shoved it into the oven, a mechanical hand also grabbed a piece of charcoal and threw it into the oven. Alfred turned and looked at Mechanical Batman, smiled, and said, "Thank you."

Mechanical Batman's eyes flashed, seemingly content, pleased that Alfred hadn't told him to wait on the side like a guest.

Batman went to the living room, preparing to welcome Thomas and Martha. Their entrance was stormy, like a tempest whirling through the calm manor.

"Trusting that old fox Lainos will absolutely be the most foolish thing you've ever done," Martha briskly walked ahead, not looking back as she spoke, "His fanciful plans are nothing but boastful bluster. He's always been a fraudster; you're utterly mad, Thomas."

"But his investment plan does have some merits," Thomas said, "And his two development groups really can help us secure more advantageous plots. I don't think that an appropriate partnership with him is an action without benefit."

"But you've trusted him too much, blinded by his smooth talk," Martha stopped and turned to look at Thomas, "You've lost the caution of a businessman and are heading over a cliff."

"I've said it's only a limited partnership, and I've said it many times," Thomas spread his hands and said, "We recognize the dangers of the Jackal, but that doesn't mean we can't let it take a bite out of the opponent. You always mix too much personal emotion into your judgment."

"But this kind of emotion has saved us more than once!" Martha raised her voice, "It's not the so-called unreasonable female intuition you speak of, but rather an accurate judgment based on emotions. That damned Italian is simply unreliable, and any cooperation with him ends up a complete mess!"

"No, I think you should calm down a bit, Martha..."

Batman had grown accustomed to such scenes.

Most of the time, Thomas and Martha were a loving couple, but anyone with experience in marital life would understand that love and arguments are two different things.

It is great to find a couple that never argued from the beginning of their marriage to their dying days, but that requires a very simple relationship between them, solely based on pure love and kinship, where both parties only provide emotional support and make no judgments of interests.

Once the relationship gets complicated, it is really hard to avoid disputes, especially when both parties have significant entangled interests, such as doing business together, or being business partners, or even competitors on the business field; arguing is simply part of daily life.

Thomas and Martha were not the type to argue over emotional issues, as they both understood very rationally that matters of the heart could neither be argued out nor clarified through debate.

Who loves whom and who loves the other more may be favorite topics of passionate young lovers, but not a common subject among mature married couples.

At their age and stage of emotional development, responsibility and the future are what they would often discuss, and talking about these matters would make their relationship better under shared responsibilities and a common vision for the future, which is also the spiritual pillar for many middle-aged couples.

However, the issue was that Thomas and Martha had another kind of relationship: they were business partners, the staunchest allies in the business world, and representatives of a union between two families.

Business is different from emotions, where things must be clear and distinct, and every decision made must be careful, traceable, and where truth brightens with debate.

This meant that any disagreement was bound to lead to an argument until a mutually acceptable outcome emerged, no different from a business negotiation.

So, the various heated arguments occurring throughout Wayne Manor had become a routine occurrence.

As for what Batman thought of the matter, he could only say that both of them talked big but accomplished little.

Actually, Thomas and Martha's business sensibilities were quite good amongst ordinary people, but they were still ordinary humans, and far from Batman's level.

Wayne Enterprises was just a local business in Thomas's era, and it was under Batman's management that it grew to its current size. The issues they argued and worried about daily had long been resolved by Batman.

But could Batman say this? Of course, he couldn't. As soon as the argument reached the "give us your opinion" stage, anyone with basic understanding of psychology would know that it was not really about "give us your opinion," but rather that they had argued enough and were ready to jointly find a scapegoat.

Batman always marveled at how his habit of speaking less was useful in these situations, because by remaining silent during such discussions, he appeared quite reasonable. Not only did this save him from misfortune, but it also helped train Robin's emotional intelligence, should the unlucky sidekick be caught up in the drama.

However, today was a bit tricky, Batman thought. If Thomas and Martha were in the heat of their argument and saw the bunch of odd-shaped Batmen he had brought back, a disaster was about to unfold.

Even though he had anticipated this in advance, Batman didn't know how to prevent it. The intensity of interpersonal interactions had been a bit too much for him lately. He wasn't especially good at this part of his brain to begin with, and now he had completely given up struggling, and his mind had been smoking for quite some time.

Perhaps considering that there might be children nearby, Thomas and Martha temporarily ceased their debate and headed towards the garden. As they passed the sofa, Thomas patted Batman on the shoulder, signaling him to follow.

In the past, Batman would have felt warmth from this gesture, but now he found the fireplace next to the sofa even warmer.

But there was no choice, he had to stand up and walk with Thomas and Martha towards the back garden. After passing through a long corridor, the scene in front of them suddenly brightened, and the sunshine room was filled with perfect light.

When their eyes adjusted to the sudden influx of light, the scene that unfolded before Thomas and Martha left them dumbfounded.