Chapter 132: An Informative Car Ride
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"You have to do the opposite of what people expect. How else will you surprise them? That's my motto."
- Victor Nikiforov, (Yuri!!! on Ice)
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<(Bruce Wayne POV)>
"So, will you finally tell me where we are going and what type of carriage we are riding on? And how long till we meet your family? By the way, how many people are there in your family? You never told me anything about them." Diana threw a volley of questions towards me with an eager expression on her face as she continued probing for information.
After we arrived at the mainland through Piraeus harbor in the city of Athens, Diana suddenly had a change of personality. Her calm silent visage disappeared as she became an over-chatterer, questioning almost everything she laid her eyes on, her curiosity bubbling out like lava. I understood that this was a new world for her and that her child-like curiosity should be normal but honestly, her constant questions about everything she saw were getting a little annoying. After all, this was already her 100th query for the day.
But still, I didn't let the annoyance show on my face as I patiently tried to answer all her questions, no matter how many there were, "We are going to the hotel where my family is supposed to be staying and this carriage here is called a car. We will be reaching our destination in about half an hour. As for my family, I haven't told you a lot about them, have I? Well, I guess our conversations were seldom about my life and more about the general world... You see, both my parents died when I was young, so I have been raised by my butler, Alfred. He is an honest old man whom I trust with my life.
But besides that, I also have a lot of good... friends whom I consider family as well. You will meet them soon enough. Oh, and there is also Cortana, my trusted AI confidante and assistant. She handles almost all the machines I create including the drones that helped protect your homeland from the recent invasion. But again, you have already met her, haven't you?" I added after noticing my bracelet lightly blinking with a cyan-blue hue, proof that Cortana was actively listening to us.
Of course, this wasn't the original bracelet that I had lost in the storm but a new copy that I had as backup stored in my lab. Cortana just delivered it to me in Themyscira after the war.
"Indeed, I have. My mother and I had a conversation with her when you were resting after the battle. She is quite cheerful and worries about you a lot. Also, she sounded extremely loyal since she mentioned that you created her from something called code, much like how my mother created me from clay with the help of Zeus' last miracle." Diana stated with a wise look on her face. "Anyway, what do you mean by your butler, Bruce? You have a manservant?"
"He is not a servant, Diana. He is family." I instantly replied with a slightly more assertive voice than I would have liked.
"I-I apologize. I didn't mean to demean you or this Alfred. I was simply curious because Lady Helena had once told us that the rich and powerful in man's world hired servants for all their work. I simply thought that Alfred was one such person. I am sorry." Diana quickly apologized in a hurry with a slightly troubled face.
"It's okay, Diana. You wouldn't have known. A lot of people make fun of the fact that a rich orphan who has everything in the world is being raised by his "manservant" but unfortunately nobody understands that Alfred is much more than just a servant or a caretaker to me. He is someone who has always been with me in this life, someone I never thought I would care much for, but I still do. To speak the truth..., he is the parent I never asked for, but one I needed to be what I am... After all, Batman is incomplete without an Alfred." I muttered with a chuckle as I continued to drive the car in silence.
By the way, it was quite interesting to know that Diana doesn't have an actual biological father in this universe. Seems like the Olympian God king just handed over some of his divine godly power to the Queen to help create Diana before he disappeared to God knows where... Wait a fucking minute, don't tell me that Hippolyta sculpted Diana from clay using Zeus' magical jizz or something!
"Good, you are the best girl ever, Cortana, a real bro." I nodded in appreciation.
"Are you two discussing some sort of inside joke that I am not privy to?" Diana, who seemed to be too innocent to understand what was happening, curiously tilted her head.
'Hippolyta did me a huge favor by never allowing her daughter in the orgy, otherwise, this would have been extremely awkward. But I do wonder why she never takes part in it herself despite being their absolute ruler for so many centuries. Is it just because she treasures her dignity as a Queen or is there some other deeper reason?' I wondered to myself.
"Sir, I have been trying to give you some privacy and keep work-related stuff away from you as much as possible, but there are a couple of things that really need your attention right now. I don't think it can wait any longer especially since it involves the decision of whether to kill Edward Nashton or not." Cortana suddenly interrupted my thoughts as she displayed small holograms of a stack of documents from my bracelet.
"What? I am driving Cortana; I can't look at any files or documents right now. Is this so important that it can't even wait till we get to the hotel? It is only a fifteen-minute drive from here, you know." I retorted swiping away the hologram that was blocking my vision.
"Negative sir. We must handle this matter now unless, of course, you agree to let Edward blow up the Gotham police HQ." Cortana calmly argued as she displayed a single image of a couple of cars being driven by a bunch of gangsters wearing green jackets and weird masks with weird patterns of question marks drawn all over them. The vehicles were heading at full speed straight towards the direction of the city center where the GCPD HQ was supposed to be located. "Edward Nashton or according to his original birth name, Edward Nygma seems to have just raised the stakes of his game, sir."
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(A/N: Heya guys, I am back after finally being done with my semester exams. And the best thing is I passed them as well... hopefully... I think...)
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