ALL NOVEL Chapter 33 – Wayne Financial Building
“Do you know how surprising it is that you just suddenly visited my place in Metropolis.”
“Hmmm? Didn’t I tell you that I would visit already?”
“Yep~ you did, YESTERDAY. And you never specified the When, only that you said you’re visiting “This week.”.”
“Hahaha, alright~ I’m sorry, Matthias.”
“Is Alfred around? I kinda missed him.”
“He’s nearby, but I didn’t bring him with me because I need him to handle something. You’ll meet him soon enough.”
After the banter of the two Wayne brothers, the both of them gave each other a warm hug.
The two brothers were now inside Matthias’ house in Metropolis. Bruce was looking around the interior of the house, while Matthias just silently watch.
‘I hope I did not leave anything that could cause suspicion to him, especially considering how thorough my brother can be.’ Thought Matthias.
Matthias had locked the entrance to his secret room that which currently looking more and more like a command center; complete with its supercomputer, racks of weapons and armors, tools and gears, blueprints and classified documents, and the list goes on.
The entrance, as well as the control panel that which acts as the ‘key’ to open the entrance, have been secured and hid. And then, as an additional extra, Matthias also put his luck stats to full maximum.
‘May Lady Luck be with me…’
After several minutes looking around, Bruce stops and then sat down at the sofa in the living room.
“I’ve heard how Lucius helped you set up this place as your home for when you’re studying at M.U. (Metropolis University), but I can see how he’s done such a great job here.”
“Well, I mean it’s Lucius we’re talking about… of course he’s done a great job at literally anything he’s ever done.” ‘*Phew* he just barely missed the panel behind that picture frame.’
Matthias was sweating a bit from panicking that Bruce would discover the secret room, but since the danger has already passed, he calms down.
The brothers then chatted for a while, talking about how they missed each other’s company, how they remember the silly past Matthias has done, and so on.
And then, during one of the silence after ending the topics, Bruce suddenly told his younger brother,
“Matthias, I’m about to open a new subsidiary company at Metropolis.”
“Huh? Wow, business is booming, yeah?”
“I did speed up the progress, but we’re on the finishing phase now, and will soon have a grand opening.”
“Ooohh~ don’t forget to invite me then… I’m sure you’ll provide some nice brands of liquors.”
“Well even if I did provide those, you’re not legally allowed to drink, Matthias.”
“Sucks to be an American citizen, then…”
“Hahaha~”
After this exchange, Matthias let his mind wander to recall his knowledge of the Wayne Enterprises’ branches.
‘I don’t know if it’s a general knowledge that Bruce would have a company in Metropolis, but perhaps it’s a given that one of his company would be at Metropolis…wait-wait-, I feel like I’ve seen one of the movies showing that Bruce had a building in Metropolis, but…’
As if on cue after Matthias’ wandering thoughts, Bruce then asks him,
“You aren’t going to ask what subsidiary company it is?”
“Huh? Oh- uh, what’s the name of the company?”
“It’s the Wayne Financial Building.”
! ! !
Matthias’s eyes went wide, but he quickly composed himself.
“The Wayne Financial Building? Here in Metropolis?”
“Yes. We will soon open, and I’ll make sure to tell you when after I finished scheduling.”
Matthias nods.
After that, the atmosphere somehow became gloomier, as Bruce’s expression shows what can be described as brooding and paranoid.
“…Matthias, if possible, I want you to always be extremely careful around this city.”
Matthias did not predict this sudden change to happen, and was confused. But then it hits him on why his brother said something like this.
“Uh, is this because of the incident in the Slum? In Southside?”
“Listen Matthias, there are so many deranged individuals that are harmful to others, just as they are to themselves. You may have been a vigilante when you were younger, and you have the ability to protect yourself, but I’m still extremely worried. The slaughter in Southside, and the appearance of a Man of Steel who can fly around… Metropolis does not seem like a safe place nowadays.”
‘Uh big bro, your younger brother possesses a tremendous amount of power, enough to escape even Superman.’ Thought Matthias. But he can’t say this out loud. He can’t imagine how destructive it would be if his brother were to find out that his younger brother is actually the culprit of the slaughter.
‘I’m not justifying my action… nor do I want to repeat such barbaric act.’
“Don’t worry, brother… I mean, you forgot that I’m actually “Batman’s Younger Brother” right?
After saying this, Bruce shows a small smile towards Matthias.
“Well, that is true…”
…
After one hour, Bruce returns via his business car. He said to Matthias that he’s going to be on the new Wayne building in Metropolis should he wants to visit.
Matthias waved goodbye, but his mind is somewhere far away. He first thought about his brother’s worries ever since the Southside Area’s incident, which may perhaps hinder some of his movement, especially on the fact that his brother, who’s literally The Batman is in town. But his one major thought that's still lingering in his head remains...
‘Wayne Financial Building… here in Metropolis… oh god, I have to prepare!’
New variables and problems have been popping up on Matthias’ silver platter, lately. He needs to sort his priorities more. He needs to quickly finish his visit on the black market auction, as well as visiting the crime syndicate bases in Metropolis to give them some pummeling.
“Oh yeah, I also have to be wary of whoever is watching me a couple hours ago.” He inwardly mumbled.
With that, he entered his secret room, and prepared himself.
…
In the silent yet blaringly loud and cold night of Metropolis, a shadow flew past several buildings and streets.
“Whoever was watching me at that time is no simple person.”
Matthias, in his full Wraith gear, is currently flying with the help of his grappler and his black mist ability that has been fully advanced from his rampage at Suicide Slum.
Matthias then stopped at one of the building roofs, and scouted his surroundings. He’s currently on his scheduled nightly patrol, but this time it was not to find local thugs to beat. This time he needs to find the observer who spied on him.
“Dammit… does this person who spied on me did it because I’m a Wayne, or is it because they already know my identity as the Wraith?”
If this observer spied on Matthias because he knows his identity as a Wraith, or perhaps even as Remy LeBeau, then he’s already been compromised.
“No… let’s calm down, so far nobody has approached me yet. Let’s have my luck stat help me resolve this problem.”
With that, Matthias shot his grappler and flew above the buildings, and continued his night patrol.