The situation grew awkward—
The Life Factor recycling plan sparked by the recycling might actually be a misunderstanding, meaning the Life Factor replenishment plan and the recycling plan are two separate initiatives. The real Life Factor replenishment plan was actually Mr. and Mrs. Wayne taking the previous generation of superheroes on vacation.
Since they were in a rush at the time, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne only had time to ask Alfred, the butler, to help care for their child, while they went to look after the superheroes of the previous generation.
It's no surprise that the Waynes made this decision. If Gotham's stability was indeed maintained by the previous generation of superheroes, then this kind-hearted couple might prefer to sacrifice their family life to help the superheroes who gave their all for Gotham's safety to recover.
But it wasn't really sacrificing family life, considering how wealthy the Wayne family was, and given communication technology in the 20th century had advanced to such an extent that video calls were not a problem, having such a diligent and responsible butler meant it was merely as if the parents were on a long business trip.
The issue was with Batman, who never gave Alfred a chance to explain, so he never knew his parents were actually on vacation. This might sound ridiculous, but it wasn't impossible in this universe.
If it had remained this way, it would have been okay since Shiller advised Batman to change his ways of communicating, and soon he would have learned the truth from Alfred. However, the problem was that Mr. and Mrs. Wayne had now returned.
This made Batman extremely uncomfortable, as he truly believed his parents were dead, and he had also led the members of the Justice League to believe so. If he now admitted he had known all along that his parents were not dead, it would be tantamount to deceiving his teammates, something Superman and Wonder Woman wouldn't easily accept.
If he claimed he really thought his parents were dead, then Mr. and Mrs. Wayne would certainly ask him why he hadn't found out the truth from Alfred, and then he would realize he had never really communicated properly with the butler over the years, and the Waynes might break his legs.
Batman started frantically giving Shiller eye signals.
Batman figured that this psychologist might be the only one who could resolve this dire situation.
Shiller gestured a "money" sign to him.
Batman intentionally fell back in the group, lowered his voice, and said to Shiller, "I've collected a lot of rare sculptures in the Batcave; they're all yours if you can help me resolve this."
Shiller snapped his fingers and said, "Mission guaranteed, just listen to me."
He whispered in Batman's ear, causing Batman to nod incessantly. Soon, he approached the Primary Universe Batman, discussing something with him in a low voice for a long time. Their conversation was a bit intense and seemed to involve bargaining.
Soon Batman spoke out, "With so many people going to the manor, we probably won't have enough drinks and alcohol; I'll go buy some."
Without waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Wayne to respond, he pulled the Primary Universe Batman away and disappeared into the crowd. The two of them changed clothes in the storage room of a convenience store near the airport.
When they returned, the Batman of the Prime Universe was wearing the local Batman's outfit, while the local Batman put on the clothes of the Primary Universe Batman, completely swapping their identities.
The two rejoined the group, with the Primary Universe Batman, now disguised as the local Batman, voluntarily got into a car with Mr. and Mrs. Wayne.
"You don't look so good," Thomas started, "Is there a misunderstanding with your friends?"
Batman was silent, his mouth corners downturned, embodying a somber and dark air to perfection. After a while, he spoke, "I fully respect your choices, father and mother. Was the vacation pleasant?"
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne exchanged a look, Martha grasped Batman's hand and said, "I am truly sorry, Little Bruce, please believe that at that time, the situation was so dire that we had no choice but to leave."
"I'm sorry I couldn't answer your calls," said the Primary Universe Batman on his own account, "because I've been really busy. This city is as dangerous as when I was a child, and I don't have enough help."
"But we already told Barbara…"
"No, what I'm dealing with is no longer the Mob," Batman explained. "The city is getting crazier, serial killers, sociopaths, and mad scientists keep emerging. I have to dedicate all my time to equipping myself to be a weapon against evil."
Martha and Thomas both saw the surprise in each other's eyes. Tears immediately welled up in Martha's eyes, and she said, "I'm sorry, we really didn't know… We had a few good friends on the brink of death. When we first arrived on the island, we were busy saving them, and later, as a few friends reached the end of their lives, we were searching all around the world for ways to prolong their lives…"
Batman sighed deeply and said, "I understand you, and I never regret my choices, but I don't expect my friends to understand me. I know how sad they were when I turned down their party invitations."
Martha immediately went over and hugged Batman, saying, "It's okay, we can help you explain to them. Carrying a city on your shoulders alone, no one can say you haven't done well enough, my child."
Meanwhile, the Primary Universe Batman was thinking to himself how effective this damned good trick was.
Thomas also nodded and said, "That's right, Little Bruce, don't worry. If you were too busy even to answer your own parents' calls, they certainly won't blame you for not attending the party."
"They all thought you were dead,because that's what the media reported," Batman said. "I don't want them to think I'm lying to them, but I indeed haven't told them the truth, because only the motive of avenging my parents could explain why I'm so busy I have no personal time. I really don't want to lose them."
Martha hugged him, tears streaming down her face, then said, "Don't worry, I will personally explain to them. After all, we left in too much haste back then."
As he got out of the car, the Primary Universe Batman gestured to the local Batman that everything was under control, and the local Batman widened his eyes.
Just as they stepped out of the car, Martha and Thomas warmly grabbed Superman's hands and said, "We are truly sorry; we deceived you back then. We couldn't let more people know that the previous generation of superheroes was still alive, otherwise they would definitely have been targeted."
"As for Little Bruce not telling you, it was at my request, not because we don't trust you, but because the fewer people who know about this, the better. Keep in mind that back then, several people were already severely injured and on the brink of death; moving the wounded was too difficult..."
Upon hearing this, Superman, no longer concerned with how Batman had originally explained it to them, furrowed his brow and said, "My God, are they alright? Had the situation become so dire back then?"
"Don't even mention it," Thomas said. "It was all because we rushed that raw material recycling plan back then..."
"Hold on, I'm a bit confused," Wonder Woman said. "So the Life Factor replenishment plan and the raw material recycling plan are not the same plan?"
"Of course not," Thomas shook his head and said, "Why would you think they were the same plan? Of course, the research for both plans was basically conducted concurrently, but that doesn't mean they have any direct connection."
"Then what exactly is the raw material recycling plan all about?"
"This is a new technology," Thomas said. "Generally speaking, the building materials we use need to be manufactured from synthetic plastic raw materials, but through my research, I discovered a method to chemically reconstitute old, worn building materials."
"It's obvious that whoever controls this recycling technology controls the future market, unfortunately, an insider from a group leaked my research."
"Almost all the families and Mob in Gotham rely on the chemical industry for sustenance; synthesizing plastic raw materials is the lifeblood of their industry, so they are resolutely unwilling to let go, and thus they sent many people to assassinate us."
"With no other choice, we went to Justice Headquarters in New York to seek support. The superheroes believed that this was a technology that could completely change society, one that could greatly relieve our resource strain, so they have been protecting us while we conducted secret experiments in the ACE Chemical Factory."
As he said this, Thomas sighed and said, "But it was also around that time that I noticed the recuperative speed of my companions' bodies starting to slow down because they were constantly getting hurt; old injuries hadn't healed before new ones were added, and from this, I discovered the existence of the Life Factor."
"Martha and I conducted research and found that if injured repeatedly in a short time, the body's repair speed would significantly decrease, and it was irreversible. If this continued, all the superheroes would die."
"To divert people's attention and also to save the recycling technology, we staged a fake death incident. We hadn't planned to leave in such a hurry, but those heartless bastards organized an attack that left the heroes protecting us in a critical condition."
"To treat them, we had to move them that very night, but relocation wasn't easy. We made great sacrifices until they finally believed that we and the previous generation of superheroes were all dead."
Superman heaved a long sigh and said, "I can imagine how difficult it was, and your child had to bear the security of this city alone, he was even too busy to attend parties."
"We also feel very guilty about this, but we had no other choice at that time. If these superheroes had really all died, then this city would have been doomed."
"So the chemical tanks in the ACE Chemical Factory are the real outcome of the raw material recycling plan?" Primary Universe Batman seized the opportunity to ask.
Thomas nodded and said, "Exactly, we disguised it as a regular chemical raw material tank, but in fact, as long as those severely worn architectural components are thrown into it, they can be converted into chemical raw materials indistinguishable from synthetically produced plastic raw materials."
"For decades, we've continuously carried out experimental deployments through Alfred's staff, and the results have been very gratifying; the recycling rate of raw materials can reach 100%."
Everyone was astounded by this conclusion. Superman asked, "Does that mean we are almost no longer dependent on synthetic plastic raw materials, and everything in the world can be 100% recycled?"
"Exactly, the era of real environmental conservation has arrived."
Meanwhile, Shiller was contemplating something else. He said, "But if you combine this with synthetic plastic raw materials, you would possess double the production resources?"
"Exactly, everything currently existing in the world can undergo complete reconstitution, and synthetic plastic raw materials are only used to supplement the negligible wear and tear."
Finally, Shiller smiled and said, "Then I think we can strike a deal—we are in dire need of a large amount of building materials. Name your price."
Thomas and Martha exchanged looks, and Shiller turned to the local Batman, saying, "Also, we need to go back and ask Alfred if he has recently received a special invitation."
"What invitation?"
"An absolutely unmissable, super cool party."