White Knight-Batman SI (Patreon)

Chapter 30

ALFRED PENNYWORTH

The Wayne family had been under much turmoil since the return of Master Bruce, though he didn’t believe him to be the cause of it all. It was just circumstances.

He had thought it all ended after Master Thomas had woken up in the hospital. The time he had been in the coma had been tumultuous, for a while it didn’t feel as such, but only in his absence did it become clear how Master Thomas was at the center of nearly everything.

Even now, as the garden of Wayne manor entertained a small gathering, it wasn’t much only old friends and families, and some new ones, he thought as he glanced towards Miss Katherine Spencer.

An accomplished lawyer he had heard and a not-so-simple person he had guessed as she sat alongside Miss Dawes as both ladies whispered conspiratorially to each other. From what he had managed to glean, the older woman was somewhat of a role model for Miss Dawes, not that she herself was any less impressive.

Miss Kyle Senior, for her little sister, had found the gathering too boring and had already left to go to a friend’s house. She sat alongside Master Thomas as the lovebirds remained attached at the hip, with Master Bruce still yet to arrive.

It was a small affair, unlike what the manor would host when the young Masters were yet to grace the world, but still a rather lovely one and a much-needed improvement on the dreariness that had overtaken the home when the young Master was in the Hospital.

He approached the young Master, handing him his glass as Miss Kyle slid away from his lap.

“You seem rather spry for someone who has just been to jail,” he added. The young Master smirked as he took his drink from him, a simple negroni, his drink of choice on special occasions.

“Ahh, I am, and it's all thanks to my dear friend here,” he answered as he pointed towards Miss Spencer, who rolled her eyes.

“He was there for less than an hour, don’t make him into a hero for this,” she said and he saw Miss Rachel shift nervously a bit at that.

“And it was a second too long,” Miss Kyle suddenly added from the side as she wrapped her arm around Master Thomas.

“He is innocent, and yet they had the audacity to arrest him over a damned video,” she snarled in rage, and Miss Spencer nodded.

“Indeed, the attorney was being heavy-handed. The video needs to undergo a forensic to verify its voracity. He made a mistake when he overreached, and he will suffer for it if he decided to take this to trial,” she added and Miss Dawes cut in.

“I might resign if he does,” she added, and Miss Spencer cut rather quickly as she shook her head at Miss Dawes.

“Why should you? Just recluse yourself, and that will be enough.”

“Yeah, she is right. There is no need to jeopardize your career over this. It will all blow over soon,” added Master Thomas.

“But what of the media? They will make a scandal out of this. The whole city knows about us...” Miss Dawes said, sounding worried, but her words were cut short as Master Thomas chimed in.

“I will handle the media, as I have done so for all these years. There is no need to worry,” he waved away her concern as he sipped his drink, as Miss Dawes smiled.

“A month ago, this city sang praises of him and called him an angel for what he had done to save them. And now they arrest him, and for what...” began Miss Kyle as they looked towards young Master.

“Even if he didn’t kill Falcone, they should be thankful to whomever d...”

“Selina!” Master Thomas cut in, stopping her from finishing the sentence. He saw her grip her hand as the mood of the atmosphere turned sour. Thankfully, Master Bruce's arrival provided a much-needed break.

“I am sorry for being late,” Master Bruce began as he walked in dressed in a fine suit.

“I had just heard that my brother had been arrested,” he said with a smirk towards Master Thomas, who rolled his eyes as Miss Spencer and Miss Dawes laughed at the small joke.

He saw his eyes locked with Miss Rachel as the two of them hugged each other before he was introduced to Miss Spencer.

“I believe I have you to thank for getting him out of the prison,” he said, and the woman smirked.

“It's a mistake I may come to rue,” and with that, he joined them, and the garden became lively, and Alfred smiled at the simplicity of it all.

It was beautiful and intimate if the constant lapse of gazes between Master Bruce and Miss Dawes was anything to go by, and he wasn’t the only one who had noticed that as Miss Spence’s gaze continued to shift between the two.

“Ohh, speaking of that. For some reason, our little Master Thomas has some rather interesting slew of admirers,” suddenly Miss Spencer cut in.

“Ohh, anyone I should be worried about,” questioned Miss Kyle as she tightened her arms around Master Thomas’s neck..

Miss Spencer seemed to stew on it for a second before she shook her head.

“Not that I can think of, though there was this one person.” She suddenly began as everyone leaned in at those words.

“She was a rather interesting character; she somehow knew a bit about his investment in my firm. An ex army-woman, Diana Prince, I believe her name was, she could be a little challenge,” she said with a smirk towards Miss Kyle, whom she was somehow already aware of. Alfred could guess why, though.

Miss Kyle’s troublesome past was known to him, and he was also aware that Master Thomas had all that cleared away so that it would not trouble her anymore. He believed that he had employed Miss Spencer's services in that regard.

“I would like to see her try,” spoke Miss Kyle as she made a face at that, and everyone chuckled except Master Thomas, who seemed to be in a daze.

“Are you sure that her name was...” but Master Thomas’s words were cut short as his phone rang, and his wasn’t the only one as the sound of various ringtones erupted across the table as everyone turned towards the phone. As for Alfred himself he was still not used to carrying a phone with him, though he did have one and even he felt it vibrate in his breast pocket.

However, he didn’t need to reach for it as the sound of a cackle of a voice erupted through the ceiling as Master Thomas’s phone began to play a video.

“Hello there, Gotham. It's your very own source of entertainment here, and today I am here to tell you about the two biggest frauds of this city.” He moved a bit and found himself staring at the face of the same man who had brought Miss Spencer to them.

His face was covered with white makeup, his hair green though he couldn’t tell through the black and white quality of the video. This was the man in the video that had aired a day ago, accusing Master Thomas.

This was the infamous Joker.

“I showed you one of them when we met previously as I showed you the true nature of the benevolent overlord Thomas Wayne and what a face it was. A murderer,” he began to laugh as pictures of Falcone flashed on the screen.

“And you will be surprised to know that despite everything, your overlord runs free even today despite everything. The police, the criminal justice system, hopeless to prosecute him as they would do to you and me for stealing a loaf of bread,” he continued, and he watched Master Thomas’s lips thin.

All of them had their eyes glued to the screen now, faces tense as they heard him continue.

“And as for the second fraud, it is none other than the overlord of the night. The protector of the weak, the guardian of the poor. And what does he call himself,” he frowned as he tapped his head comically.

“The Batman!” he finished his tone severe and cold and he watched Master Bruce’s lips thin at those words.

“Ohhh! He is a hero, he catches criminals, protects the weak. I say lies! Lies! ALL OF THEM LIES!” the joker shouted, the video shook violently as he continued.

“He will go after the small-time crooks and criminals. The ones he can afford to go after, yet when it comes to true criminals, the overlords, and the rich bastards like Thomas Wayne, he will stand by and let them rape this city! He is no hero! What he is complicit!” the Joker announced, and he sounded ominous.

“Or he could prove otherwise, bring to justice the criminal mastermind that is Thomas Wayne, and show the city how he truly stands for justice,” he continued rather nonchalantly.

“And just for motivation, every day that the criminal named Thomas Wayne walks free, I will unalive a random employee from his criminal enterprise. Hahahaha,” and then he began to laugh as Master Thomas’s expression turned grim.

“That will be all! Tadaa!” and with that, the screen turned gray as silence hung in the air. Everyone’s face was ashen, and he watched as the eyes of the two brothers met before suddenly Master Thomas turned away and forced himself out of the chair.

“Thomas!” Miss Dawes spoke worriedly, for he was yet to heal completely, and even he was worried, much like everyone else who reached forward to help him but was forced back by Master Thomas’s gesture as he stood up and picked up the cane from the side.

“I am fine,” he said as he began to walk away.

“I need to make a call!”

And Alfred prayed to the Gods that they may take mercy on the Wayne family for hadn’t they suffered enough?

And that was not the only call that would happen as the assistant commissioner of Gotham, J. Gordon, would receive a call from the DA’s office.

“We need to talk!”

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The Joker was hard to write. I couldn't rehash the movie's plot but yeah that character is as much a hassle as a blessing to write.