Chapter 1462: Birds and Return (VII)

After calling Dick's name reflexively, Thomas was stunned. How could Dick grow so big overnight? What did he miss?

Then he realized that this couldn't be Dick, at least it was definitely not the Dick he knew.

Thomas took two steps back at a very fast speed, opened the hem of his suit with one hand, took out the bat dart from his waist, stared at Nightwing coldly, and asked: "Who are you? Why are you in Wayne Manor?"

After seeing Thomas' familiar reaction, Nightwing reflexively stepped back, stretched out his hands in front of him and said: "Wait a minute, Batman, I am..."

Nightwing's voice stopped abruptly, and he realized what he said, and then he looked at Thomas' face in front of him in shock. Thomas looked too much like the Batman he knew.

People who know the Flashpoint universe should know that in fact, the old man Thomas in the Flashpoint universe is the biological father of the main universe Batman. Their appearance, height, and body shape are very similar, so Nightwing recognized him as the familiar main universe Batman for a while.

Although Nightwing felt that the previous Batman who was about the same age as himself was a little difficult to accept, the Batman in front of him was a little too old.

Two Batmen in one Gotham City?

Nightwing felt his head buzzing just thinking about this.

Thomas had already clenched the bat dart in his hand. When Nightwing saw him posing an attacking posture, he immediately wanted to explain, but Thomas was obviously the kind of Batman who would not listen to explanations. Just before he was about to throw the dart, another figure staggered out of the room.

Thomas looked at his familiar Dick, who was half-closed his eyes and leaned against the guardrail with a sleepy look. His hand holding the weapon loosened for a moment, and then he heard Dick, who was holding the pillow, say: "Didn't Bruce tell you? This is the Bat Family of another universe, that is, us in another universe."

"Oh, by the way, I read the letter written by the professor. He said that the Batman of that universe is your biological son, and these people are his good helpers and good partners."

Thomas paused for a moment, and he recalled the cause of the Flashpoint world that Barry Allen told him and the completely different story in another universe.

Are they from the universe where little Bruce became Batman?

Thomas's expression did not change, and he still stared at Nightwing seriously, but he put away the weapon in his hand, reorganized his suit, walked quickly to the sofa, and sat down on the side.

He waved to Dick first and said: "Go back to sleep first, you have to get up for class tomorrow morning. By the way, put your French homework on the table, I will check it later."

Dick suddenly stiffened all over, his sleepiness flew away, and he rushed back to the room in a panic.

Then he pointed at Nightwing and said, "You, come here and sit down."

"But I'm going to..."

"You can't go anywhere." Thomas looked at his face and said calmly, "The moment I touched the bat dart, all the airports, train stations, and bus stations in Gotham were shut down, and you couldn't go anywhere."

Nightwing stood there and looked at him, and after more than ten seconds, he reluctantly walked over and sat on the sofa.

"Name."

"Are you interrogating the prisoner?"

"Answer my questions, or it will be."

"Dick Grayson."

"Legal name."

"Richard Grayson."

"Your last name is not Wayne?"

Dick pursed his lips, turned his head aside and said, "In memory of my deceased parents, I kept my last name."

"Are you Batman's adopted son?"

"I guess so."

"Is he or isn't he?"

"I'm his Robin."

"Okay, let me ask it another way. Is he your legal guardian?" Thomas asked, staring into Nightwing's eyes.

"We don't have any legal relationship, and we don't need that."

"Why doesn't he adopt you in the legal sense?"

Nightwing opened his mouth, but still emphasized: "That doesn't make sense, and the conditions are not met. According to New Jersey law..."

"His last name is Wayne, why does he care about New Jersey law?"

Nightwing could have refuted him firmly, but some chaotic thoughts troubled his heart.

He looked back at Thomas' eyes and couldn't help asking: "Dick in this world... I mean, his parents are still alive, why would Batman adopt him? And why did he change his last name to Wayne?"

"Of course it's to give Dick a better education. Bruce, the Graysons and I all agree on this. Where are the good schools and teachers in Blüdhaven?"

"Of course there are!" Nightwing instinctively wanted to defend his hometown, but then he said a little unconfidently: "Although it may not be as good as Gotham, it is definitely not a bad school. The children there are very sensible and the teachers are very friendly."

"Happy education, huh?" Thomas snorted coldly from his nose.

Nightwing was about to ask again when Thomas leaned back on the sofa and said to Dick, "Do you care about your last name?"

Although Nightwing felt a little ashamed for being exposed so quickly, he still asked anxiously, "Batman changed Dick's last name. Do his parents agree?"

"I had this question when I first came here." Thomas turned around and took the hot tea from Alfred. He looked down and found that some medicinal herbs he didn't recognize were soaked in it.

But he still took a sip and continued, "I don't want Bruce to steal other people's children, but he convinced me."

"What did he say?" Nightwing leaned forward and asked.

"Whether it's Grayson or Wayne, it won't shake the relationship between the two of them, but it will change other people's views of Dick."

"If Dick can't make a connection with Bruce Wayne in appearance, surname and legal sense, then everyone will only regard Dick as a poor little guy picked up by Master Wayne, and will feel that he is not valued and may be kicked out one day."

"But if his name is Richard Wayne, then no matter whether he is related to Bruce by blood, as long as his surname is Wayne, others must give him the respect that Wayne deserves, otherwise it is contempt for the Wayne family, and few people in the world can afford such a price."

Thomas put down the teacup, sighed and said: "Dick is not a Gotham native. Outsiders will not be accepted at the first time in any environment. If he wants to quickly gain his due status in an unfamiliar circle, Dick needs help and guidance."

Thomas keenly discovered that when he finished his last sentence, Nightwing's hands clenched suddenly, but soon loosened again.

"Tell me about you." Thomas said at the right time.

"Me? What can I say?" Nightwing seemed a little nervous. This was obviously a casual chat, but his tense facial expression and stiff body language made it look like an exam.

Thomas felt that this state was not conducive to conversation. He was too defensive and it was likely that the conversation would not produce any results. So, he planned to ease the tension and start with daily life.

Thomas looked Nightwing up and down, estimated his age based on the size difference between him and Dick, and chose a topic that a boy of this age might be most receptive to, and asked.

"How is college life? Do you have a girlfriend?"

Nightwing blinked and answered instinctively: "I didn't go to college and I don't have a girlfriend."

Thomas frowned immediately, but he tried to restrain his emotions and didn't show it too obviously. Instead, he pretended to be unintentional and said: "Oh? Did Batman hire a tutor for you?"

"Well, he has been tutoring me..."

"About the Wayne family's business?" Thomas' expression eased a little, and he asked with some concern: "When did you first take over the Wayne family's business management? Bruce is still relatively conservative in business strategy, so I guess... fourteen years old?"

Nightwing seemed a little surprised, but Thomas still asked himself: "What industry did he first let you practice in? Chemical industry? Construction industry or logistics industry? It can't be the military industry, right?"

Looking at Nightwing's expression, Thomas' eyebrows slowly frowned again, and he used a rather unhappy tone "Don't tell me he asked you to work in finance with those young men on Wall Street? I remember when he was a kid, I repeatedly emphasized to him that industry is the foundation of Wayne Group. He didn't listen at all, did he?"

"No." Nightwing answered instinctively. He hurriedly wanted to explain and said: "He didn't teach me these, but some, some means of fighting crime, just like Batman. I am his assistant, do you understand?"

Thomas didn't seem to understand, so he asked more specifically: "Then what did he teach you? How many languages ​​do you know? How are your Latin and Arabic grades?"

Nightwing suddenly felt a headache, he whispered: "Arabic??? Tim doesn't know this, right? My God, spare me!"

Thomas finally felt that something was wrong, his face sank, and Nightwing immediately felt that Batman's dark atmosphere enveloped the entire Wayne Manor.

"Let's start from the beginning." Thomas said, "Did you go to a church school or a grammar school?"

"I think you may have misunderstood something. Before I was adopted, I had been performing with my parents in various places..."

"I'm asking about you after you were adopted!"

"Uh." Nightwing also keenly noticed that Thomas' tone was a little wrong. He woke up a little from this series of questions. He looked at Thomas and asked, "Who are you? Why should I tell you?"

"I am Bruce Wayne's father!"

Nightwing opened his eyes wide in surprise, his mouth opened so wide that it seemed like he could fit an egg. Thomas leaned forward with an aggressive aura.

Nightwing looked at his face that was very similar to Batman, and he didn't even have the courage to run away. He explained with a dejected look, "Batman adopted family education..."

"Who is your tutor? Professor Rodriguez? Dr. Freese? Is he a professor at Gotham University? Or a full-time tutor at the seminary?"

"Batman." Nightwing replied.

"So what did Batman teach you?"

"I've already said it, he taught me the means to fight crime!"

"So what are those means?!" Thomas put one hand on his knee and asked puzzledly: "A healthy adult needs someone to teach him to pull the trigger?"

"Batman doesn't use a gun." Nightwing defended in a low voice.

"You can't even use a gun?!"

"I haven't used it much, but I can pull the trigger..." Nightwing's tone became less and less confident: "He also taught me close combat, driving and rope techniques, balance, and tracking skills."

Thomas stared at him and asked: "What about criminal investigation? Reasoning? Information and data collection technology? Communication science? Mechanical engineering? Medicine? Law?"

Looking at the clear stupidity revealed in Nightwing's expression, Thomas's fist hardened.