NOVEL WEB Chapter 14 – Planning The Next Step
A few months after the incident in the Ace Chemicals, Matthias planned to meet with Lucius Fox. He called him and made an arrangement for a meeting in private, away from Bruce's notice. This took a couple of weeks to set up the precise date of meeting, making sure it's scheduled away from Bruce.
Then, came the time for Matthias to meet; this time, it's not inside Wayne Tower, but rather in a bookstore cafe. This place was chosen since it was relatively closer to the school where Matthias was studying, so he can just walk there after school's end. All Matthias needs was just to call Alfred saying that he's going home late to go with his school friends, and just head to the location.
The bookstore was not a large store; just a small, two floor building where the first floor was used as the cafe with the walls covered with bookshelves, and the second floor as the place to read with several bookshelves and reading desks.
Matthias walked inside the bookstore cafe and saw Lucius Fox sipping a cup of coffee with a plate of pie on his table.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fox. I hope I don't disrupt whatever plans you originally have for today."
"Worry not, Matthias, I have no other plans for today... now, let's hear what requests you have." Lucius put his cup on his table, and gestures Matthias to sit down opposite his chair.
Matthias sat down, and took his backpack on to his lap. He opened his bag and took out a plastic folder. This prompts Lucius to raise his eyebrows.
"Mr. Fox, this folder contains a planning I have been compiling quite a long while ago. I want you to help me achieve this goal I have in mind." Matthias said as he gave the folder to Lucius.
Lucius took the folder, opened it, and took out several papers of documents listing Matthias' plans. It consists of some construction projects, development projects, several technological ideas, and more.
The construction projects includes the rebuilding of the Gotham Underground, the abandoned chemical plants, and several other point of interests around Gotham.
The development projects includes several expansion schemes for the Wayne Enterprises and cooperation plans.
The technological ideas are for future ideas for WayneTech.
Lucius was astonished, and appalled by Matthias capability of listing and summarizing these plans for Lucius. As of now, Matthias is just a fourteen years old boy, and one would never expect such ideas to come from a young boy that age. This made Lucius' view of Matthias to increase as he thinks that such genius and intelligent young boy like him were perhaps still hiding his fullest capabilities.
Lucius put the document back inside the folder, and put them into his briefcase. He took a sip of his coffee, and then looks at Matthias.
"Mr. Wayne, may I ask why you have compiled these plans?"
"You stopped calling me 'Matthias', Mr. Fox?" Lucius smiled.
"Please do not avoid the question, Mr. Wayne. These plans are mostly in large scale, and I don't think I can secretly put them into progress without Mr. Bruce knowing."
"Then just tell him of the plan."
"But I thought you don't want him to know, Mr. Wayne?"
"Then tell my brother that you were the one coming out with the plans, Mr. Fox."
Lucius was processing what Matthias just said, and then nodded as he understood what the latter wants.
But before the talk ends, Lucius need to ask something...
"Well, before I end things here, Mr. Wayne, I have a question for you."
"Sure, go ahead."
"... do you already know of what Mr. Bruce has been doing?" Lucius was of course talking about Bruce becoming Batman. Though Lucius did not have the official info from the man himself, he already have some idea that perhaps his employer is also the mythical guardian of Gotham himself, to which Matthias replied with a simple--
--"Yes."
"I see." Lucius finished his coffee, stood up, and gave a firm handshake to Matthias. "Thank you Mr. Wayne."
"I'd prefer if you weren't so formal with me, Mr. Fox."
"No can do, Mr. Wayne, for soon you'll be an outstanding young man, and this is my way of respecting that."
Matthias smiled, "Then, thank you, Mr. Fox."
The two then went separate ways. Lucius offered Matthias to send him home via his car to the Wayne Manor, but Matthias told Lucius to go back to the Wayne Tower as Matthias can call Alfred to give him a ride from the bookstore.
...
Lucius returned to the Wayne Tower. He went to his private office, took Matthias' folder, took out the document, and started inspecting it detail. Hours upon hours were spent to review the plans, and one of those plans intrigues Lucius. It was a plan of buying a place in Metropolis, and building a personal business for Matthias.
This plan intrigues Lucius since, of all the things Matthias has been compiling within the document, this one seems mild in comparison. But then he found out from the last lines that Matthias wants the building to have a secret room not included in the blueprint should one be made.
Lucius has then been thinking the whys Matthias want to have some secret room within his own building, and why he wants it within Metropolis.
'The Wayne Brothers are good people, but interestingly secretive.' Lucius thought. His employer and his little brother were being secretive, either to the people around them or even to each other.
'Well, no point in thinking all of these. Let's start the project right away.'
Lucius then starts rewriting the plans he then wants to give to Bruce.
The Wayne Enterprises is in good hands; not only Lucius Fox and Bruce Wayne, but Matthias Wayne is also included.
~
It’s now been about four years since the incident in the Ace Chemicals Gotham. Matthias is now an eighteen years old young man; very handsome, very tall, extremely rich... an every man’s personal life goal and every woman’s future dream man.
During the course of these four years, Batman’s vigilante act has been recognized even by the GCPD. The list of enemies he made also increases throughout the years.
In these course of four years, Matthias did not continue his vigilante act, and instead, planning for some other thing; increasing his relevancy in the world.
To do this, Matthias has been busy slowly creating his base of operations, one of which was in one of the abandoned chemical plant he had ‘vindicated’ during his first vigilante act. The base was made in a secret room underneath the chemical plant he found when looking at the original blueprint of the factory.
He requests Lucius’ help to create the base without Bruce noticing. The process took a very long time; about three years is needed to slowly earn sufficient budget not recorded in the Wayne Enterprises financial records to avoid Bruce’s suspicions.
After finishing the establishment of the base, Matthias then stocks the base with the scraps and junks from the WayneTech, which are actually failed gadgets and tools.
Matthias has been stocking these scraps for him to tinker and fiddle around, and with the help of Lucius’ teaching and his increased relevancy where the world consider Matthias as an intelligent young boy, he’s able to fix and even craft his own gear of his own design.
Of course all of these are in secret, away from Bruce's notice. Matthias plans to fully use these resources to expand his reach and powers. He plans so that he can one day go toe to toe with superpowered villains.
'I need power so that I can help defeati-- no, Killing persistent and overpowered villains that always returns because the heroes refuse to kill.' Matthias thought at some point.
... And now...
Matthias is dealing with something troublesome,
"Master Matthias, you need not to be late in the graduation." Alfred hurries Matthias. "Please put on these clothes quickly as I prepare the vehicle."
"Please do, Alfred." Matthias orders as he hurriedly puts on his graduation garbs.
"... I mean, who would've thought you would overslept on the day of your graduation?"
"Please shut up, brother. Let me finish changing first, then you can scold me after."
Bruce was standing by the door and laughed at his younger brother's silliness.
Matthias overslept because he spent the last night thinking on his next step after the graduation, not knowing that hours were spent in his deep thought.
Properly clothed now, Matthias went to the car Alfred has prepared.
Next destination? Gotham Private High School...
