"Is it really impossible?"
Not long after, Reid drove bato Thomas Bridge.
The versation with Fale had ended, and the answer was clear.
Out of gratitude to Thomas Wayhe Fale family was willing to help Wayerprises fend off external threats at this time. However, regarding the internal affairs of Wayerprises, they refused to interve least not until the dust had settled.
Reid couldn't dis what exactly the Fale family knew. Perhaps it was due to pressure from other families in Gotham, or perhaps it was reted to the Court of Owls, a shadowy entity that even Reid knew little about.
But the Fale family had made their stance abundantly clear: they were powerless in this matter.
And with even the Fale family uo offer assistance, Reid found himself utterly alone in this Gotham he had summoned ience.
'I've never seen a transmigrator start off this badly—even with a system in tow. Let's just head back to Wayne Manor for now.'
Reid had more or less anticipated the ck of support from Gotham.
In fact, the moment he realized he didn't hold any real power otham, he knew he would have to take matters into his own hands.
How the real Alfred in the ics mao safeguard the Wayne family's assets during Bruce Wayne's seven-year absence remained a mystery to Reid.
He wasn't a die-hard ic book fan who had read every issue, but after seeing the stances of Earle and Fale, he had e up with his own pn—a high-stakes gamble. If he won, it would break the deadlotirely. If he lost, he might as well kill himself and start over.
Calming himself, Reid began to el the intelligence of Alfred—an intellect that rivaled both Batman and the Joker in its own way. The Alfred he portrayed was a blend of the cssic guardian and the darker iteration who once pyed the Joker, joining his young master in a twisted Dark Knight game.
Summing up everything he had experienced since arriving in the Marvel universe, Reid realized that to break the stalemate, he wo things: a guest and a transformation of his own.
"The guest should already be here."
…...
When Reid drove back to Wayne Manor, he indeed found a visitor waiting at the manates.
A smile appeared on Reid's face.
Given the current situation, it was impossible for ahin Gotham to visit Wayne Manor, especially when only a butler resided there. The only pusible visitor had to be someone from outside Gotham with a e to Reid.
"Good day, sir. May I ask what brings you here?"
Without directly revealing his identity, Reid assumed the role of a butler and approached the visitor.
Opposite him, Tony Stark studied the elderly gentleman before him, paring him to the photo in his hand. After firming it was the person he was looking for, he smirked.
"Good day, Mr. Pennyworth. Have you ever sidered ging jobs?"
"What?"
Tony's pletely unventional remark caught Reid off guard, shattering the previously enigmatic atmosphere into pieces.
…...
Inside Wayne Manor, To out a deep sigh.
"To think that Alfred would be so loyal to the Wayne family. But do you really believe that Bruce Wayne will return someday?"
It took Reid some time to viony that he wouldn't leave the Wayne family—at least not as Alfred. Whether Reid himself might leave iure was another matter entirely.
As for Tony's skepticism about Bruce Wayne's return, whether due to the role he ying or his own fidence, Reid had only one response.
"Of course. I have always believed in Master Wayne."
Ding!
[gratutions to the host for raising the role-py card's performance level to 40%. Reward: one direct system notification.]
The system's voice echoed in Reid's mind, but by now, he was used to it. At this point, even if the system cimed it had an upset stomach the previous night, Reid wouldn't bat an eye.
Oher hand, realizing that Alfred had no iion of being the Stark family's butler—and that money alone wasn't enough to win him over—Tony finally got down to business.
"Alfred, could you please tell me who was responsible for attag my parents? Even if you don't know their names anization, describing their appearance or aails would help."
At this moment, Reid khat if he revealed the truth about the Winter Soldier, he could likely gain Tony's help. With Stark Industries bag him, stabilizing the Wayerprises' situation through external assistance would be far easier.
However, Reid didn't pn to reveal the truth so directly.
Simply describing the killer's appearance might indeed secure Tony's assistance, but it wouldn't earn his gratitude. Without Tony's heartfelt gratitude, any help from Stark Industries would e with strings attached. In the worst-case sario, Wayerprises might quietly bee "Stark Industries Gotham Division" before he even realized it.
The best approach wasn't for Reid to personally disclose the truth about the Winter Soldier and Hydra. Instead, it was to guide Tony toward reg with his father, Howard Stark, so he could learruth directly from him.
Only this way could a strong friendship be fed with Tony Stark. And only this way would Reid feel fident in relying on Tony to help fulfill the role-pying mission.
With that thought in mind, Reid adopted Alfred's signature calm and reassuring tone as he began to speak.
"Your father… likely didn't want you to know this answer."
Before Reid could finish his senteony smmed his fist onto the nearby table with a resounding thud.
"Again with this! Why do you all care so much about that bastard's opinion? My mother is dead! I want revenge—what's s with that?!"
Tony gred furiously at Reid. At that moment, the old gentleman before him seemed just as infuriating as Howard had been.
"I see that you loved your mother deeply." Reid said calmly.
"Of course I did! My mother—"
Before Tony could finish, Reid bsp;him off.
"And your father… didn't he love your mother too?"
Tony froze. For a moment, he was speechless. Reid tinued without hesitation.
"You might cim that your father didn't love you—that's your feeling, your perspective. But look into your heart and recall what you've seen. Did your father love your mother?"
Under Alfred's steady, measured words, memories from Tony's childhood began to resurface.
The moments he had buried, unwilling to revisit because of Howard's striess, started to repy in his mind.
He remembered a time when he was very young—before his genius began to shine. A time when his father held him in one arm and his mother iher, smiling warmly in front of the camera.
The se shifted. That happy family moment was ed by fmes, leaving only ashes in its wake. What came was the look in his father's eyes after losing his wife—a look of profound sorrow when he saw Tony, and the lifeless pain whenever her name was mentioned.
Tony stood in silehe anger in his eyes dimming as the weight of those memories pressed down on him.
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