[Comprehensive British and American] Family Matters

When Bruce lightly asked Afu to help him go to the city to do errands, Jason had a premonition that Bruce wanted to talk to him about what happened in the maze that day.

Ever since Jason came back from the dead, Ah Fu has been protecting him tightly.Of course, Ah Fu is always impeccable in his work, and he never gives special treatment to Jason in daily life and daily communication, which will not make other people feel that "Ah Fu just prefers Jason".

However, once Bruce raised objections to Jason's overly aggressive approach in fighting crime, and when the two of them were about to quarrel, Ah Fu would always bring tea and supper at such a good time, or find something that needs to make Jason Or Bruce's urgent business with him.

Jason knew very well that this was Ah Fu trying to maintain the relationship between him and Bruce, and he didn't want them to say something that would make him regret when they were arguing.He had also heard Ah Fu discussing with Bruce in private (mostly Ah Fu was talking and Bruce was listening) to tell Bruce not to pinch himself too tightly—"Master Jason knows what he is doing." This is Ah Fu. Fu's original words.

Perhaps he can attribute Ah Fu's behavior to the fact that grandparents are always very tolerant of their grandchildren.But no matter what the reason behind it is, from the conclusion, Bruce does not intend to let Afu come to the rescue again today.

So when Jason and Bruce were locked in the office facing each other, before Bruce's concerns about Jason's mood tactfully cut to the point, he confessed directly: "Yes, I killed you. Him. If you don't stop me, I'm going to kill the other bunch too. And I don't regret that decision. That's it, period."

Bruce, who had a stomach full of drafts and prepared to use different lines according to the wind direction, was speechless for a while when faced with such an upright Jason.

"Then you should know that I don't agree with this kind of behavior." Bruce, who finally chose to go straight to the point, looked at the stubborn expression of Jason sitting opposite him, and sighed deeply, "You know it, but you still do it gone."

"Yes, I did. And I have no regrets." Jason said calmly. His expression, his voice, and his sitting posture all told Bruce that this was not bragging, but that he really thought he was Doing nothing wrong is like saying that the sky is blue and the grass is green.

Bruce looked at Jason like this, with mixed feelings in his heart.A part of him was because Jason didn't slap the table and yell at him at the moment he was denied. Compared with his explosion when he was a child, Jason now has the demeanor that a calm and calm adult should have.But another part, deep down inside Bruce, just feels like his worst fears all along have come true.

He had always been worried that Jason would be too aggressive and that one day he would cross that final bottom line.

When Jason didn't kill the Joker, Bruce thought for a moment that Jason had finally got his temper under control, but he soon realized that he was reassuring too soon.Although Jason didn't kill the criminals, almost every one of those people had disabilities, big or small. Jim complained to him many times in private and asked him to take care of the Red Hood.

The existence of the vigilante is in a gray area no matter what. Injuring the prisoner during the pursuit can be interpreted as the courageous citizens assisting law enforcement. The purpose of injuring the other party is to stop the other party from continuing to commit violence. It was a legitimate defense, but every time the Red Hood made a shot, the prisoners were seriously injured and lying in the hospital. In many cases, they were only a breathing tube away from death.

Such a "vigilante" makes it difficult for Jim, as the director, to keep turning a blind eye.

Bruce wanted to talk to Jason about his tactics several times, but he was stopped by Afu almost every time, and Afu told him again and again that Jason knew what he was doing.Bruce also wants to believe that Jason will really stick to the bottom line, so he bears the pressure from Jim. Except for a few times when Jason's subdued criminals almost couldn't get off the operating table, Bruce warns him. Sen means to turn a blind eye.

But hearing Jason admit that he killed someone of his own volition, even if it was a member of the Court of Owls, Bruce felt like a knife cut his heart-the damn court and their claws, their blood stained Jay Sen's hands, making his son a murderer.

"I... I'll pretend that none of this happened in the maze." Bruce struggled for a long time, rubbing his eyebrows in a defeated tone and slowly said the solution that he thought would least irritate Jason, "But Jason, you have to know that this kind of thing can't happen again..."

"Sorry, that can't be done." Jason interrupted Bruce, making him look up angrily.

He originally thought he would see a young man who was laughing and looking like he wanted to argue, but Jason frowned and rubbed his forehead with one hand. It didn't look like he was trying to contradict Bruce, but he was full of frustration.

"I know this kind of conversation will happen sooner or later..." Jason mumbled, buried his face in his palms and took two breaths, before letting out a long "ha--".When his hands were released from his face, Jason looked like he had finally decided to take on the impossible.

"I can't promise what I can't do, Bruce." Jason looked at Bruce with a big apology in his eyes, "I...I knew that one day we would disagree on this point, I just...didn't expect This day came so fast. I guess it's called good days are not long."

Bruce gritted his teeth, reminding himself not to be too quick to criticize, and to be honest, his wounds didn't allow him to do too much action, including shouting loudly.Bruce has a high tolerance for pain, yes, but he doesn't want to be louder than his son while the freshly stitched gash on his stomach opens.

"Don't say that, Jason." Bruce frowned, he didn't like Jason's last words, "I know you can. You've been doing fine before...you just—"

"What? Dazed by anger?" Jason smiled wryly, seeing that Bruce didn't speak out to refute, Jason knew he had guessed right, "It's not what you think, I'm really angry, seeing them treat you like this You...and don't think I didn't notice the pictures on the wall, I know those are victims of the past, but that's not why I killed him, and I plan to kill the rest of them."

"Otherwise why? Don't tell me you enjoy punishing criminals, you know what that sounds like!" Bruce bit his lower lip to stop himself, the last thing he needed right now was for Jason to think he was It implies that Jason is the same as the group of lunatics who think they are doing justice for the sky.

"Oh, trust me, old man, I don't enjoy it at all." Jason thumped the sofa, "But there's no other way!"

"No, Jason, there's always a better way." Bruce said wearily, feeling the gash in his stomach protest. "You're only feeling this way because you haven't found that way yet."

"Yeah, yeah, it's like before there were no trains, no one knew how to shorten the journey time, but when this iron monster appeared—hey, the ten-day journey was shortened to two days, and now it even only takes two days. Hours." Jason began to give examples like an endorsement, "I can give you another hundred examples to prove your theory, but we don't have time to foolishly wait for someone to invent this new method."

Jason stood up and paced around to calm his irritation.

"If you are worried that I will become a murderer, you can rest assured about this, Bruce." Jason raised his hands flat, as if to show himself, "This is not the first time I have killed... Killed, whatever Well, I believe that killing other intelligent life is considered killing in the universe as a whole."

Bruce stares at Jason like his son has suddenly grown two heads.

"Why? This is the universe, not the earth of baby civilization. Don't take that laxative if you don't have that ass, and don't even try to walk around the galaxy if you don't dare to cut people. This is common sense." Jason waved his hand indifferently. , the law of galactic survival is not the focus of his discussion today, "and please don't refute me with the cosmic experience of the Green Lantern Corps, because to be honest, I think they are not very good cosmic police... I really rarely watch To this kind of group with more numbers and weaker combat power."

"But we're on Earth, Jason, so we have to abide by the rules of Earth." Bruce wanted more and more to rush back and beat up the blue-skinned self-proclaimed godfather, knowing that it would be no good to hang out with this stinky hooligan Influence!

"How long have the rules of the earth been there? Has it stopped the lunatics in Arkham from escaping to make trouble? Has it stopped the gangsters from continuing to deal in drugs, arms, and people? Has it stopped people like the Court of Owls from wreaking havoc on this city? Is it? No! Because the people who make the rules are these villains!" Jason knew that his voice was getting louder, and he also knew that he sounded like he was looking for someone to quarrel, but he really needed Bruce to understand What he does, he doesn't want a Batman sticking to the back of his neck every day, panting, "These people are different from the lunatics in Arkham and the gangsters. The most negative thing is that the group of lunatics will be unable to move one day Well, as long as the underworld’s business is going well, it’s not likely to cause trouble, but the court of owls? No, they are the tumors of this city, and they will consume more good people and people who are beneficial to the city.”

"You think I don't know? I've been through that goddamned psychiatric court trick myself, twice! As Bruce Wayne and Batman, and if anyone knows the evil of the courtroom best, it's me But I don’t think killing them all is a good way, it will only make you fall to the same level as them, and use killing to eliminate dissidents!” Bruce punched the coffee table, and the shaking fruits rolled out of the fruit plate fall out.

After taking a few breaths, Bruce slowed down again: "Have you forgotten your teacher... Daquela, have you forgotten what she said? You said that she taught you that taking a life is like giving you a life." A new life is just as intimate, and you'd rather let those beasts of the owl court leave their marks on you?"

Jason laughed, firstly because Bruce actually used the teachings of Daquela—a woman who trained countless killers—to persuade him to change his mind, and secondly because Bruce hadn't used the "You're wrong, my Standards are the only rules" attitude to force him.

Everything Bruce said was because he wanted Jason to be the kind of person that all parents want their children to be: carefree (in a heroic sense) full of confidence and hope for life and for the future.And the shadow of murder will destroy this beautiful blueprint. It has nothing to do with whether the person Jason kills is a good person or a bad person. Knowing that he will take one life, he still uses his own will to kill another person's future. This kind of thing will always leave an indelible mark on a person's heart, or some would say on his soul.

"Sorry, Dad." Jason rubbed his nose in embarrassment, "But, uh...you forgot that Da Kela came here to help the League of Assassins train assassins."

Bruce's face darkened little by little at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"What she said was to make me not be driven by anger to make a decision." Jason sat back on the sofa, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his head as if staring at the coffee table, but in fact he was staring at the coffee table. The glass reflected Bruce's reflection, "At that time... I was very angry, angry that you found a new Robin, and also angry that the clown was still alive and harming people everywhere. So I said in front of her more than once that when I get out of there, I must To get revenge on the clown. To be honest, I don't think she objected to the proposal of 'kill the clown', she just hoped that the decision I made was based on careful consideration, not purely acting on anger."

"She knew that if I was driven by anger to make the decision to kill the clown, even if I killed the clown to get revenge, to some extent I would still let the clown dominate my life." Jason carefully confirmed the reflection of Bruce's expression There was not much change, so I continued, "So I thought about it a lot. Besides clowns, there are Arkham lunatics, street punks, and organized gangsters."

"What do you think?" Bruce asked calmly.Just like when Jason was a child after reading a book, Bruce would ask him the same way, with the same tone and the same question.And he will work hard to piece together words in his mind, how can he express his thoughts more completely and accurately.

Bruce was very patient at that time, he made sure that Jason knew that he would not be reprimanded no matter what he said, there was no standard answer, and he was completely free to speak freely-even if his interpretation of the content of the book was deviant.

It was an exercise in Bruce's attempt to build Jason's self-confidence that life in Crime Alley had hobbled to the point of non-existence.In a way, the exercise was successful, even a little too successful.For a long time after that, Batman had to face double and triple rage attacks from criminals because of Robin's cheap mouth.

"I don't think crime can be eradicated, it can only be controlled." Jason replied without hesitation. As he said, he has been thinking about this issue for a long time, "As long as there are enough interests, anyone may take risks. It will exist. Just like you don't know when normal cells in your body will turn into cancer cells. Your approach can control some people, those who are afraid of you, but for those who are not afraid of you, such as Arkham's The psychos, and the old gangsters who know how to launder their income with legitimate corporations, even this court of owls who train kids to be undead killers, they are not afraid of you, Batman is just a hindrance to them, not them Object of fear. They will challenge you again and again, trying to bring you down, of course we can recreate a Batman, Dick, I... Teebo can grow up, hell, da Mian can go into battle now, he would love to! But have you ever thought about how many innocent people will be sacrificed in the coming and going?"

"Of course I thought about it, that's why I hope every time I can get these people back as soon as possible. That's why I'm going to fight those smuggling deals." Bruce sounded a little hurt that his son would think he didn't care about those people. Ordinary people who were hurt?

"I'm sure you care, Dad." Jason raised his head slightly and gave Bruce a comforting look, then lowered his head again, "But you know, on the road they said they would rather meet Batman than run into the red hood. Because they know that they will be injured under your hands, but after ten days and a half months they can go back to their old jobs alive and kicking, but if they meet me? They have to be careful. The red hood deals with rapists | The scum who sell drugs to the kid is not so gentle, they may lose the rest of their lives if they make a wrong choice. Don't tell me you are not monitoring the crime rate around Crime Alley, it has dropped significantly, hasn't it?"

"Isn't this just proving that you can achieve your goal without killing people?" Bruce raised his brows, with the meaning of using the spear of the son and attacking the shield of the son.

Jason is not such a person who is easily slapped in the face by himself.

"Okay, do the same thing with the members of the court—not to mention how long it takes to find out who they are under the mask, assuming we find each of them, how are we going to bring them to court? Dear Your Honor, the defendants and others are the "Owl Court" mentioned in Gotham's century-old nursery rhyme. For hundreds of years, they have illegally occupied the underground land of this city to build a maze, and killed citizens in the maze. At the same time, they are involved in child abuse and child abuse. Illegal acts such as physical and mental development, illegal human experimentation, etc., request the court to be convicted in accordance with the criminal law of New Jersey?"

Bruce was silent.

"I personally doubt whether the prosecutors will accept this case, even if they take them to the maze. Not to mention that the court of owls has been hidden for so long, and their source of funds will not come from charitable donations, right? "Jason sneered, even he couldn't believe that he would say such a funny idea, "Rich, powerful, and powerful. Even if they go to jail, they won't be in prison for long. Even if I use my method, put them every A person can't take care of themselves, with the depth of their pockets, what kind of advanced medical technology can't be bought?"

Jason squeezed his eyes shut, knowing that Bruce would be disappointed that his son was a murderer and - to paraphrase Bruce - sink deeper and deeper.He knew that he had discredited Wayne's surname. Every generation of Wayne was a kind and good person. Thomas Wayne himself was a doctor who saved lives and healed the wounded. His grandson even publicly declared in Thomas's former office that he going to kill.

Well, maybe he should be the heir of Ao Gu, and Lei Xiao must be very happy.They still have a common topic of how to engage in the massacre to share.

"I'm sorry, Dad." Jason didn't dare to look up at Bruce, not even to look at Bruce's reflection on the glass, "I'm sorry, I can't be the son you want."

Jason lowered his head, waiting for Bruce to yell at him, tell him to get out, or simply get up and leave, in short, he didn't want to be in the same space with himself (the murderer).

A hand touched Jason's head and patted it lightly, and then he felt the owner of that hand bury his fingers further into his hair, grabbing them one by one, and the feeling of rubbing his fingertips over his scalp was crisp. ｜The itching made Jason couldn't help moving himself closer to that hand.

"Jason, son..." Bruce began, sounding tired and teenage older.

Jason didn't have a chance to hear what Bruce wanted to say to him, because the door of the office was forcefully opened at this time, and behind the door was Clark Kent in his daily attire.

Completely out of reflex, Bruce stood up vigilantly the moment the door opened, and this action caused his hand on Jason's head to force downward, and Jason's forehead directly hit the reinforcement of the coffee table. Glass top.

The sound made Bruce feel a pain in his head.

"Bruce! Look at you! What are you doing!" Clark looked at Bruce with a sad face, his best friend and most trusted partner, at the moment is violent to his son, because the two people have different ideas , when Tim explained the situation, Clark didn't believe that Bruce would lose control because of this, but the scene in front of him made him unable to deceive himself anymore, "Is there anything you can't say properly? You are a family!"

Bruce Wayne, who is not wearing a bat suit, is the beloved Gotham sweetheart. Today, he wore his nightgown to look like a bat armor in his office.

"Get out of my Gotham City!"

***

Damian, who was entrusted with the job of "childcare" when the Kent family arrived, reluctantly took Jonathan Kent Jr. who was "too young to see violent scenes" back to his room.

Damian, who had no intention of being a nanny at all, was determined to leave this silly Kryptonian alone, and took out his doodle book and started drawing.

However, little Jonathan sticks to his mother's teachings: when you are a guest at someone's house, you must remember to praise the host (for example, praise the food and drinks served), unless the other party is really too much, don't show your face to the host.Very polite and with a big smile, he approached Damian to praise his paintings, and at the same time was really shocked by Damian's painting skills.

"Wow! You are not much older than me, but you are already Robin, and you are so good at drawing..." Xiao Qiao looked enviously at the existing graffiti in Damian's drawing book, "I even wear my uniform None... I can’t even draw stick figures well.”

Damian squinted his eyes and looked at the little Kryptonian. It didn't take long for another brand new sketchbook and pencils to be stuffed into Little Joe's arms. The latter opened the notebook stupidly under Damian's instructions and started to face the room. One of the decorations in it is used as a sketch.

"Although this sculpture is all white, if you look closely, there are still differences in the shades of white. You need to express this layered sense of light and shade!"

"But what to do, as soon as it is blacked out..."

"I'll do it just once and you'll be fine! Pay attention, Kent! I'll only do it once!"

"Oh, good!"

It was a very harmonious afternoon.