Batman felt like he had been struck by lightning.
He indeed had heard The Flash speak of the Flashpoint Universe, and he had dreamed of the day when father and son would meet. However, he never expected this day to come so suddenly and so quickly.
And it was not just a meeting between father and son. The beloved face that had appeared in his dreams countless times, his dear mother Martha, whom he could never forget, was also standing in the room.
How could Batman stay calm? His chest heaved like the core of the sun, his heavy breathing seemed to blow away the moon, the chaotic thoughts in his mind were as numerous as the stars in the sky, and the overwhelming emotions that suddenly welled up in his eyes were like the storms in March, the rains in April, and the chilling winter of November that lingered over the Arctic.
But before he could fully immerse himself in sadness, the situation in the room shattered his beautiful dream of a family reunion. It was like a fist of harsh reality smashing the illusion of this little boy who had never grown up since his parents died.
The voice of Martha that came from the room was not as loving and kind as Batman remembered but angry and somewhat annoyed.
"Thomas, I really don't know how you've become so stubborn! No, it's more than stubbornness now, it's obduracy. Your negligence in educating our children shocks me, yet you have no intention of repenting."
"I think you should be more practical, Martha. The children can't always be trapped at home playing games of brotherly courtesy, they must eventually step onto their own life paths, so what's wrong with what I'm doing?"
"Don't use so-called reality and practicality to cover up your favoritism. From my point of view, you favor Damian due to his blood relations with Bruce, and you focus on his education. I believe the other children see it the same way. This is not what a good father should do!"
"But in general, Damian is indeed the most suitable person to inherit the core industry of Wayne Enterprises. It's not that the other children aren't good enough, they just aren't as comprehensive. So what's the problem with me educating him early and cultivating him as a successor?"
"You're going to break the hearts of others!"
"Even you see Dick is not interested in learning business, Jason desires freedom, Tim has Drake industry to manage, and Barbara wishes to inherit her father's responsibility. So in conclusion, isn't Damian the most suitable?"
"But if you only focus on Damian, other children will feel neglected. A father's attention represents much in a family and cannot be compensated by the mother's doubled love. You know this better than I."
Thomas sighed deeply. Martha turned away, crossing her arms, and spoke with a somewhat sad tone, "I never thought time could bring us so many changes, Thomas. I don't want to say painful words, but everything now differs greatly from when we were young and shared mutual understanding."
"People change, Martha, but my love for you and our children will never change."
"Love is not just about words. How many times have I tried to convince you? I understand that being alone for so long with heavy responsibilities has made you feel tremendous pressure, leading you to smoke and drink heavily and disrupt your regular schedules."
"But since everything has gotten better in that universe, why won't you change for me, our children, and our family? Why won't you go back to the robust, humorous, and vivacious you? It's better for your health!"
Thomas stayed silent. Not until the silence left marks on the wall did he say in a husky voice, "The harm caused by suffering is hard to erase. The wear and tear between us over time makes the previously perfect gears no longer turn smoothly. Reflecting on the past benefits nothing."
Martha turned her back to him, sat down on the bed, and started to cry silently. She then said, "I really don't know why things have become like this. Didn't we agree that once we returned to this universe, we could put aside our differences and start anew?"
"Maybe we both need to calm down," said Thomas, lowering his head. "Since that accident, I never had time to stop and think. I'm sorry. I thought revisiting old grounds may improve things."
"I'm going home," Martha got up, took a handkerchief from her bag, and wiped her tears away. "I will go back to the Kane's. We need to think about whether this relationship is worth continuing. Goodbye, Thomas."
Thomas didn't say goodbye. All he did was watch Martha's silhouette quietly, seeming to age just a bit more.
Meanwhile, Batman, who had been quietly observing everything from the window sill, didn't dare utter a word.
The good news was, his parents were back.
The bad news was, they were on the verge of divorce right after their return.
Batman was sure he'd finalise the divorce today if he'd just shown up in front of his parents in his superhero suit.
What should you do if your parents are about to divorce when you are middle-aged? He needed advice, and he needed it fast.
But Batman had something more urgent to do. He first found The Flash, gave him the Death Stare, and asked, "What's going on with Thomas and Martha?"
"What, Thomas? I ... well, they're the ones who wanted to return. After all, this is their home too, right?"
Flash Barry sighed and said, "I've told you before about the Flashpoint Universe, Thomas went to another cosmos, you should know, recently the young Batman from that universe found a way to revive Martha, they've been staying in the young Batman's universe ever since."
"The Robins were there too, they were busy raising the kids, so they didn't have time to dwell on past disasters. But once the kids left, they felt a bit empty, both of them weren't in the best of moods."
"One day, Thomas came to me, said they wanted to come home, thought maybe revisiting old places could bring back some good memories, so I brought them back here."
"Of course, fearing a meltdown, I took them to Robin. Facing the kids, adults are always restrained, but I knew this approach wouldn't really help, their experiences have been too terrible."
"Professor Rodriguez said this level of psychological trauma requires long-term adjustment, I thought coming back to their own home might be better for them, sorry for not letting you know beforehand, I knew this might not be a joyful surprise."
Barry thought he'd see a sentimental expression on Batman's face, but he wasn't too hopeful, because the young Batman from the other universe had already given him quite a shock. He wouldn't find Batman's expressions surprising now, whatever they may be.
But in the end, he was shocked because what showed on Batman's face wasn't sadness, wasn't anger, it was an indescribable anxiety and a hint of... panic.
Barry's feeling now was, holy cow, Batman was panicked!
The ever-prepared, prophetic Batman was losing composure, but more surprisingly, he wore this on his face, even the point where Barry could see through it?!
Just how panicky did he get? Was the world about to end? Now Barry started to panic too.
Ignoring the instantly vanished golden Flash, Batman returned to the Bat-cave with the speed of a real bat, then started to check the surveillance screens.
The Joker, being kept in the Batcave dungeon, leaned against the bars, rolled his bloodshot eyeballs, and sniffed: "What's that I smell? A hint of familial affection, between you and the little birds... no no no, you hesitated like a little boy, you saw your parents? Not in a dream?"
The Joker suddenly wore a somber expression, as if he thought of another plan to torment Batman, but his face quickly relaxed, and even appeared more authentically happy than before.
"Let me guess, could it be that our poor little boy's parents suddenly came back, and he hasn't finished his homework yet?"
"Oh, oh, oh! Listen to what I'm saying, the current situation should be not only the homework weren't done, but also the house was set on fire, the entire building was ablaze, the whole street exploded, even the US President passing this street was killed, and your parents will be home in ten minutes."
With a "bang", the Joker's nose hit the bars, Batman gripped his collar tightly and said: "Shut up, or I'll throw you in the basement."
The Joker burst into uncontrollable laughter, gasping for air, and Batman who was often disturbed by the Joker's craziness, didn't even have time to quiet him down, because deep down, he knew, damn it, the Joker got it right.
Batman found himself swearing more frequently internally. This wasn't a good sign, it meant his emotions were gradually spiraling. But he didn't have time to worry about that now, he needs to extinguish the fire, rebuild buildings, reorganize streets, even resurrect the US President, and must accomplish all these within ten minutes.
Why did Thomas and Martha have to return when Gotham was a total mess?!
The Batman lives at the tail end of the Gangster era, whereas Thomas and Martha lived in the Gangster's Golden Age. Gotham was in chaos during that time, yet it still seemed like a city.
But now, all he saw was Midtown covered in red, the upper city area swarming with people, all of Gotham was noisy and filled with the sound of firecrackers, everywhere was in turmoil.
Both of them are not in the best mental condition, and they are no longer young. A little bit more stimulation could worsen their mental states. Where is he going to find a psychiatrist like Dr. Rodriguez for an emergency rescue?
So, Batman made a plan.
The content of the plan roughly involved scolding all the Robins harshly, pulling all the families to the negotiation table for urgent talks, arranging an immediate ceasefire, cleaning up the battlefield quickly, and restoring Gotham's peace as soon as possible.
However, Batman forgot one thing, none of the descendants of the families who lived in the Golden Age of gangsters were easy to deal with.
About half an hour later, Batman received a piece of good news — the Kane family declared war on the Wayne family.