NOVEL NEXT Ch: 21 [Party]
The party was in full swing as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm orange glow over Wayne Manor's grand garden. Guests milled about, sipping on fine wine and engaging in lively conversations.
Thomas Wayne, with a warm smile and a glass of champagne in hand, guided Bruce through the elegant gathering. The guests, a mix of Gotham's social elite and business moguls, greeted them with enthusiasm and polite conversation.
"Let me introduce you to some esteemed colleagues from Wayne Enterprises," Thomas said, leading Bruce to a small group of individuals.
"Everyone, this is my son, Bruce," he announced, and the group turned their attention to Bruce.
Bruce extended his hand in a friendly gesture, shaking hands and engaging in introductions. He listened attentively to their accolades and stories about his father's leadership and contributions to the company.
'Oh, I know you money fucking bastards,' He thought putting up a fake smile while mingling with them, 'Given a chance, you all would stab your own father to climb higher.' He knows about the internal situation of the Wayne Enterprise, thanks to the comics he read back in his past life. He knows how corrupt these people are.
He had some conflicts with this kind of people back when he was Tony Stark. People who pretend to be nice to you but actually plotting to stab you in the back. Not all are bad, but the shareholders who only care about profits and dividends are indeed annoying. They always pressure CEOs to cut corners and increase productivity. They are greedy pieces of shit.
Bruce's eyes went toward a middle-aged man holding a glass of champagne.
"That's Lucious Fox, financial and stock management expert of Wayne Enterprise," Thomas whispered to Bruce, "He has been helping me manage the finances of the company for years now. My second in command if you may. Come on, let me introduce you to him."
He followed his father.
"Lucious, it's great to see you here. I'm glad you could make it," Thomas greeted the man with a firm handshake.
Lucius Fox, dressed in a sharp suit, returned the handshake with a warm smile, "Of course, Mr. Wayne. I wouldn't miss this celebration. And this must be your son, Bruce."
Bruce nodded and extended his hand, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Fox."
Lucius shook his hand firmly, "The pleasure is mine, Bruce. I've heard a lot about you, and I'm excited to see what the future holds for Wayne Enterprises with you on board."
"Oh, it's too early to talk about that, Mr. Fox," He brushed it off humbly.
After Bruce's brief interaction with Lucius Fox, Thomas excused himself and made his way through the gathering, heading towards another familiar face in the crowd. He spotted Commissioner Gordon, a respected figure in Gotham's law enforcement, along with his daughter, Barbara. Barbara was a young girl of 14.
"Jim, it's good to see you," He greeted the commissioner with a warm smile as he approached. "Barbara, it's nice to see you again."
Jim Gordon smiled, "Mayor, it's great to see you again. Congratulations on Bruce's recovery."
Barbara Gordon, wearing a beautiful green dress, politely replied, "It's nice to see you too, Mr. Wayne."
Thomas nodded, "Thank you both for coming. And Jim, stop with the Mayor. I am off duty today. Just call me Thomas."
Jim laughed, "Alright, Thomas. Well then, Bruce looks quite grown up now. It feels like yesterday when he used to sneak out of school...and get caught by yours truly."
He chuckled, "Yeah... Good old days, huh?"
"Ten years in a coma is a long time," Jim mused.
He sighed, "Yes... Ten years. Sometimes I feel like I missed so much of Bruce's life."
Jim put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, Thomas. You have plenty of time now to spend with Bruce."
He nodded, "Thanks, Jim. Anyway, enough with the serious talk. Enjoy the party!"
Back to Bruce and Lucious Fox
"You know I saw the designs you made. Your father showed me your sketchbook," Lucius said after taking a sip of his champagne, "They are impressive."
'So, did he get what I hid in that sketchbook? If he had somehow deciphered it and made the first Arc Reactor, it would make my job easier,' He thought before replying, "Did you make it?" He asked casually.
"Version 0.1, yes. But version 1.0, no," Lucius replied.
"Why not?" He inquired.
"Because your father stopped me," Lucious Fox sighed.
'Damn...' He cursed internally.
"You do know what it can do, right?" He asked.
Lucius nodded, "Absolutely. Energy generation, unlimited energy source capable of powering anything, and even clean energy weapons."
"Then why didn't you convince my father?" He frowned, "This could change the world."
"It's difficult right now. It took us 6 years to build the prototype 0.1 and test it successfully. But as you know the board members caught a whiff of it and tried to mass produce it," Fox explained with a serious expression.
"Ah! That would have been impossible," Bruce commented. "The giant size of it and the resources needed aren't easily available."
Lucius nodded, "Exactly. Even we couldn't keep up with its resource requirement. The board members didn't listen and decided to go ahead with mass production. It cost Wayne enterprise millions of dollars and wasted resources. Due to a malfunction, the arc reactors stopped working during the testing phase."
"Not a malfunction. I made the blueprint that way to prevent anyone from copying or reverse engineering it," Bruce corrected him, "I know how greedy people work. Mass producing it is hard and costly, so obviously they would try to replace the parts with something cheaper. I specifically designed it such that it won't work under inferior conditions. And even if they managed to follow it perfectly, the reactor would have run out of power within a few weeks."
Fox raised an eyebrow, "Impressive. So that's why."
Bruce's eyes went toward Selina who was enjoying a platter of cupcakes with her sister, Maggie.
"Have you ever wondered how it feels to hold the power of the sun in your palm, Mr. Fox?" He asked absentmindedly.
"Power of sun in my palm?" Fox repeated Bruce's words with intrigue.
"Well, let's have a nice chat somewhere private later," He gave a slight nod before walking away.
'Power of the sun, huh?' Fox mused silently before glancing at Bruce leaving.
Selina watched Bruce walking towards her. She abandoned Maggie midway through their cupcake feast and walked to greet Bruce.
"Having fun?" She asked teasingly.
"Loads of fun..." Bruce rolled his eyes, "My dad introduced me to a bunch of boring people. And I am hungry..."
She giggled, "Bruce Wayne hates parties? Who knew?"
"Parties are alright. But these kinds of parties are just a display of wealth and power," He shrugged, "Nothing new."
"Here you go," She handed him a cupcake.
"Thanks," Bruce thanked her and took a bite of the delicious cupcake. He walked over to Maggie, and saw the empty plate, "Don't eat too many cupcakes, or you won't be able to eat dinner."
"Oh, this is her plate," She pointed at Selina, "She finished everything."
'Oh, god, how can someone eat so many cakes?' He shuddered inwardly.
Selina blushed slightly upon Bruce's glance and punched Maggie lightly on the shoulder, "Shut up..."
"Just save some space for the dinner," He said with a sigh before walking away.
Bruce glanced around the garden. Alfred was busy serving the guests while his mother was busy conversing with the ladies. His father was talking with his colleagues. Everyone looked happy. He felt happy seeing everyone happy. This peaceful scene brought a genuine smile to his lips.
'How long will this peace last?' He pondered silently as his mind went toward the Batman comic he read back in his past life.
Bruce has a new goal. He will learn different fighting techniques from the best and then he will move on to create his first suit and weapons. And when the time comes, he will be ready...
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