Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics-Chapter 4596 - 3677: Bat Night Banquet (Part 2)

"Oh God, Alfred, I really don't know what I'd do without you!" Thomas hugged Alfred tightly, then said, "This is indeed a great place, perfectly replicating Wayne Manor shortly after Bruce was born. But it's just an empty shell, there's so much to do."

Martha also came down from upstairs and said, "There are no servants here, we have to do everything ourselves. I've just chosen my outfit for the banquet, but I remembered the flowers on the banquet table haven't been taken care of. Hopefully, the moisture won't wrinkle my silk blouse."

"Leave it to me, ma'am," Alfred said with a smile.

"We originally contacted a few people to come early and help out. But those little rascals are nowhere to be seen..."

"I'm here! Dad!" Bruce walked in through the manor's front door and said, "And I've brought some huge news!"

Thomas and Martha both looked at him. Bruce proudly extended his hand and shook it, saying, "Take a look at this!"

Martha was dazzled by his shaking and couldn't see any change in his hand. He had to walk up and grab Bruce's arm to see the silver ring on his middle finger clearly.

"Jesus, no way!" Martha exaggeratedly drew out a note and said, "If you dare say this is a Christmas joke, I'll plant you in the Christmas tree pot!"

"Of course not, Mom. Selina agreed to my proposal! We're engaged! You know where I came from? A vacation home in Canada! We spent most of the day together, it was terrific!"

Thomas, also somewhat interested, leaned over and said, "Where did you propose? Wayne Manor?"

"I'm not that old-fashioned. I specifically went to the theater where she works and even bribed her colleagues in advance..."

Martha encouragingly patted his shoulder and then glared at Thomas, saying, "You wouldn't want to know where your dad proposed. Oh my God, that was the biggest farce of the century..."

Thomas touched his nose. His gaze lingered on the ring on Bruce's hand, then he said, "Why did you choose a ring like that? It looks like silver. Even if it's an engagement ring, it should be platinum, right?"

"I think this is just fine," Bruce waved his hand again and said, "But I secretly kept two diamonds of perfect quality and cut, embedded in our wedding rings. Selina will definitely love it."

"So are you planning to have kids? Have you talked with Aisha?" Martha got straight to the point.

"Of course. Before we set off for Canada, we asked her. She said she's fine with it. I think she's more concerned about sneaking the Christmas candy we gave her under Alfred's nose and finishing it within three days."

"Don't say that, sometimes children say they don't mind and act like they don't understand anything, but actually, they have their thoughts, they just don't want to tell you. I think you still need to observe for a while," Thomas cautioned.

"If it's a boy, you absolutely cannot name him Little Thomas," Martha said, pulling Bruce's arm, "Thomas represents the eldest son, which might make Aisha unhappy. Maybe you could name him Bruce II..."

"Gosh, that sounds like a British name," Bruce frowned in distaste and then said, "Besides, I'm sure we won't have a boy. There was a prophecy once that said we'd have a lovely daughter. When she is born, Queen Hera will be her godmother and bless her..."

"Talking nonsense again," Martha shook her head helplessly but seemed already used to it, patting his back, "Now go sprinkle some water on the petals and put the bottles on the table. Go on."

Next came Zan. He took off his coat, rubbed his hands together, and said, "This is the first time I've known it snows here. Mom, it's summer over by us."

Martha walked up to hug him, rubbed cheeks, and then said, "Your immediate task is to warm up by the fire and shave your beard. You know what? I just found out about one of you getting engaged, and yet I don't see a ring on your hand..."

Zan helplessly looked at Bruce walking towards the garden. He knew it would be like this. Yesterday, Bruce was ranting all night on the Batman channel, even the Batmen who prioritized gathering information had mostly blocked him.

When Bruce said he'd be the first to arrive today, they knew he was up to no good. Especially those Batmen without Damian. If they don't even have girlfriends, things are even worse.

Zan felt he was as early as he could be, yet he was still a step late. But only a step late. Zan quickly slipped to the fireplace, ready to watch the others' antics while warming up.

Unfortunately, the next one to arrive was Batman from the Wayne Family Adventure World. He also went up to hug Martha and shook the bag in his hand, saying, "Look what I brought?"

Martha took the bag, opened it, and found a pair of socks. Big Adventure Batman laughed and said, "Every Christmas, you all put gifts in stockings. Even when you weren't around, gifts would arrive as expected. But I know, those years' Santas either had the last name Kent or Prince—it's time for the Wayne Family Santa to return."

Martha immediately laughed and said, "Yes, but what you might not know is that most of the time, the Wayne Family Santa's last name is Pennyworth. We only handle preparing the gifts."

"Alfred? Has he come?"

"Yes, he's in the garden. Go say hello to him. I assure you, he's as nimble now as he was when climbing into your room to leave presents."

Next came the somewhat silent Primary Universe Batman. He gave both Martha and Thomas a hug and handed them each a gift. For Martha, it was a beautiful crystal necklace, and for Thomas, a bottle of red wine.

The quiet, harmonious atmosphere came to a halt when the roar of car engines and the howl of a Tyrannosaurus Rex simultaneously sounded at the manor's gate.

Martha couldn't spare more words with her own son and hurriedly rushed to the gate, shouting, "Wait a minute! You two don't come in yet!"

If he'd shouted a second later, Bat Tyrant Dragon's nose would have broken through Wayne Manor's gate. Behind it was another Tyrannosaurus Rex—with one of David's personalities, a female T-Rex capable of manipulating time—clearly, they also had good news to announce.

"Alright, alright. My one and only dinosaur baby boy," Martha said helplessly, patting its nose. "I'll have Alfred take you to the garden, okay? No matter how hard you try, you can't come through the main entrance. When building Wayne Manor, we didn't account for accommodating a T-Rex!"

Thomas, on the other hand, went to greet the Batmonster Vehicle, complimenting its newly painted Christmas-themed paint job, then directed it to the garden from another side.

Thomas returned to the manor's foyer, looking somewhat helplessly at Martha and saying, "Honey, are you sure those two can be of any help?"

"Of course, they can. At least they can act as a scaffold. Alfred is so old, it's inhumane to make him carry a three-meter ladder and then climb it himself!" Martha quickly headed to the back garden, leaving the banquet hall arrangements to Thomas.

The Batmen invited early didn't offer much help. Bruce merely helped place a vase, Beihan went to the restroom to tidy up his personal appearance after toasting himself by the fire, and Big Adventure Batman toured Wayne Manor. Surprisingly, the most useful was Bat Tyrant Dragon, who used its height to help Alfred trim the leaves up high.

The vast majority of tasks were completed by Alfred. Luckily, in the Battleworld, most things were exchanged using points, and once exchanged, they could appear directly in the designated spot, avoiding cumbersome transportation tasks. This made everything less difficult.

The entire Wayne Manor was tidied up and could also be described as restored to its original state, returning entirely to the era shortly after Thomas and Martha's marriage. A giant Christmas tree stood in the center of the living room, surrounded by piles of gift boxes. Christmas wreaths adorned the doors, windows, and walls, and the carpet was swapped for a Christmas-themed design. Decorations featuring reindeer and Santa Claus appeared on every table.

The Batmen arrived one after another. No one wore the pitch-black bat suits; most wore formal attire with meticulously groomed hair, though some wore Christmas sweaters for a unique touch. Each and every one greeted and hugged both Thomas and Martha.

Although everything looked peaceful and warm, stuffing dozens of Batmen into one room, each sharing a set of parents, ensured things wouldn't proceed as smoothly as one might imagine.

Thomas and Martha sat at the head table. Just as Thomas raised his glass to make a toast, Martha squinted and said, "Wait a minute. There must be minors among you, right? Any minors need to put their glasses down!"

No Batman moved; they all believed themselves to be adults, but clearly, that wasn't true. So Martha began naming names: "You. Yes, you, don't think your size fools me. I can tell from your eyes that you're definitely not an adult. Go replace his drink with juice!"

"And you. You're surely not of age either. I'm your mom, don't think you can fool me... And this car, even though you've come of age as Batman, as a vehicle, you're probably only a few years old, right? What do you want to do, pour alcohol into your fuel tank? Drunk driving is illegal! Put that glass down!"

Faced with Martha's authoritative presence, the named Batmen reluctantly put down their glasses, while the adult Batmen raised their glasses even higher. Although most Batmen had already entered middle age, drinking legally in front of their parents was still a matter of pride.

"Alright," Thomas cleared his throat and said, "Martha and I invited you here, not to preach any great truths. We just felt that celebrating Christmas with any one of you alone wasn't right, so we decided to spend it together. Thank God, and Merry Christmas to all!"

"Merry Christmas!" the Batmen raised their glasses and said.