When Batman finally reached the top floor, the moment the elevator doors began to open, he rushed out almost immediately:
"Where is the Joker?!"
Originally, he had planned to meet Thomas in another identity beneath the mask, just as Thomas expected—but that was before he realized who the Joker was.
Faced with the demand, Thomas leaned back in his chair behind the desk, slowly lighting a cigar, every bit the image of a mafia godfather.
"That's none of your business."
"It absolutely is my business!"
Bruce had no intention of tolerating him this time. He strode forward, grabbed Thomas by the collar, and lifted him off the desk in an instant—just as he had done to countless criminals before.
"You should've told me about this!"
At first, Thomas had harbored the same naive hope as Bruce—that the two of them could communicate like normal people.
That it could be that simple. What was there that a father and son couldn't talk through?
Until Bruce charged in and immediately brought up Martha.
"Tell you what? That your father is Batman—a bloodstained vigilante? And your mother is the Joker—a deranged serial killer?"
The ones who died that night in Crime Alley weren't just Bruce.
The kind doctor Thomas Wayne, and his gentle, loving wife Martha Wayne—they died as well.
What remained was a Batman who vented his hatred through killing, and a twisted, psychopathic Joker.
No one from the Wayne family truly survived.
Bruce had never imagined he would grab Thomas by the collar like a criminal, interrogating him word by word:
"I'll ask you one last time. Where. Is. She?"
Thomas didn't take the threat seriously at all.
"And if I don't tell you? What are you going to do—throw me out the window?"
After the initial surge of anger, Bruce slowly let go.
"I'm sorry."
His anger had been childish. Martha had become the Joker, and Thomas—who had fought her for decades—must be suffering far more than he was now.
Standing behind Bruce, the Penguin finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The conversation between father and son had revealed a lot—but he didn't care. As long as it didn't turn into a full-blown fight during such a moment, it was already a good start.
Before the two could truly begin talking, the phone rang again.
With impeccable timing, the Penguin waddled over and picked it up:
"Mr. Wayne isn't available right now… what?! Get him up here—no, wait, don't let him come up!"
After hanging up, the Penguin noticed both of them staring at him, and suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"Uh, I… my wife is having a baby, I need to step out for a moment…"
"Just say it, Penguin."
Thomas stopped him with a glance. That excuse was embarrassingly bad.
"If you don't tell him, he'll figure it out himself."
Forced, the Penguin reluctantly called the reception downstairs again.
"Send him up."
Bruce recognized the name.
Jim Gordon—Commissioner of the Gotham Police Department, one of Batman's most reliable allies.
Given everything he had already seen, Bruce kept an open mind about whoever was coming. Even if Gordon turned out to be a corrupt cop, he wouldn't be too surprised anymore.
The elevator light lit up, and a somewhat absent-minded Gordon stepped into the office.
The moment Bruce saw him, he couldn't help but feel a small sense of relief.
A worn, almost tattered trench coat. Unkempt stubble. Permanently furrowed brows. And most importantly—those tired yet alert eyes.
In those eyes, Bruce saw something familiar.
Justice.
Gordon, looking troubled, didn't even glance at Bruce. He walked straight past the three of them.
He picked up a cigarette from Thomas's desk, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled heavily.
"She escaped again."
Every visit from Gordon brought bad news. This time was no exception.
The Joker had escaped from Arkham Asylum once more. No one knew what horrific crime she was planning next.
"Thomas, I know I shouldn't ask this… but I have to."
Smoke obscured most of Gordon's face, making his expression unreadable.
But his next words sent a chill down Bruce's spine:
"I'm not asking for myself—I'm asking for Oracle. Why is that monster still alive?"
Oracle—another of Batman's closest allies.
Her real name was Barbara Gordon.
Commissioner Gordon's daughter.
In Batman's universe, she once fought crime alongside Batman as Batgirl.
That life continued until she was shot in the spine by the Joker, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. From then on, she could only rely on a wheelchair for mobility.
After that, she operated under the name Oracle, providing Batman with technological and hacking support.
Now it seems that in this universe, that killing joke never failed to happen either.
Unlike Bruce himself—who, after all his years as Batman, only lost control once and killed someone close to him—old Thomas had spent years as Batman slaughtering nearly every villain in Gotham… except for the Joker.
No wonder Gordon would question him like this.
Bruce couldn't help but speak up, asking the older Gordon:
"How is your daughter, Barbara?"
Only then did Gordon realize there was a third person in the room. He looked up—and nearly had a heart attack at the sight of Bruce's face:
"You...!"
Gordon had worked alongside the older Batman for decades, from the militarization of the Gotham police to the establishment of Arkham Asylum. He knew exactly what Thomas Wayne had looked like after losing his son.
And the face in front of him now was identical.
If Thomas weren't standing right there, he might have thought the old Batman had somehow regained his youth.
Trusting that face instinctively, Gordon answered the unexpected question:
"Daughter? When would I even have had time to get married, let alone have a child?"
In this universe, Commissioner Gordon had devoted his entire life to Gotham. He had never built a family. Barbara Gordon had never existed.
Then… who was this Oracle?
"My son, I can tell—you seem to know almost every important person I've encountered in my life as Batman."
Old Thomas placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder. He knew that what he was about to say might hurt Bruce even more:
"Then I'll assume you also know Oracle. She is my adopted daughter. Her name is Selina Kyle."
Thomas Wayne's path as Batman hadn't always been soaked in blood. There had been a time when he softened.
He had met Selina Kyle—the masked thief known as Catwoman.
Perhaps it was her orphaned background, or her age, so close to Bruce's, that moved him. In the end, he spared her life.
Like Batman and Robin—mentor and student, father and child—they fought side by side for a time.
There was even a period when their crime-fighting involved no killing at all.
Back then, Thomas had foolishly believed he could grow old like this, and one day pass both Wayne Enterprises and the mantle of Batman onto that strong young woman.
Until Martha—the Joker—put a bullet into Selina.
That killing joke from Martha instantly erased what little warmth remained in Thomas's heart.
"That's impossible…"
Bruce had barely managed to hold himself together after learning that his mother had become the Joker and killed Alfred.
But Selina meant something even more unique to him.
Hearing this now, it felt like his entire world was spinning apart.
This cold, merciless universe had left his father with nothing—not even the smallest fragment of happiness. No wonder this version of Batman was so brutal and merciless.
At that moment, Bruce finally began to understand what Joey meant.
And then—the spinning didn't stop.
Something was wrong.
Bruce realized he could barely stand. This wasn't psychological—he was losing consciousness.
"Go to sleep, my son."
Thomas dropped the sedative he had hidden and caught Bruce as he collapsed.
Every parent wants to give their child the best they can. Thomas was no exception.
"When you wake up, I'll leave you a brand-new Gotham."
Bruce's eyelids felt impossibly heavy. He should never have let his guard down around Thomas.
"What… are you going to do?"
After killing nearly every supervillain in Gotham, Thomas had been asked the same question again and again by those the Joker had hurt—
Why is the Joker still alive?
Thomas smiled faintly, as if he had already made up his mind.
"What I should have done a long time ago."