Holding Bruce's report card, Thomas sat on the sofa at Wayne Manor, covering his forehead. He was no longer angry; he was genuinely worried.
He realized he had fallen into a misconception before. Professor Zoom's words had led him to believe that his son Bruce had still gone down Batman's path, and Batman was an omniscient, omnipotent genius capable of doing everything well.
In fact, even if Bruce was not Batman, with the enormous inheritance Thomas and Martha had left him, the stable Wayne Enterprises, the old butler who looked after his daily needs, and his genetically inherited handsome appearance, theoretically speaking, as long as his abilities were roughly on par with an ordinary person's, he should have been able to live a much happier life than most people.
But now it seemed that during the time Bruce had not been Batman, he had not made a good life for himself either. On the contrary, it could be called a complete mess.
It was not that Thomas had excessively high expectations. Mainly, Thomas himself was old-fashioned. Before he became Batman, he had been a fairly traditional Catholic who placed great importance on family. Even after becoming Batman, he had not forgotten to try to save Martha when she became the Joker.
Judging by the logic behind his actions, everything he did had been to save his family. He simply had not succeeded.
So, Bruce producing a lively illegitimate daughter right after graduating college was already a little beyond Thomas's comprehension.
The United States was not as open as many people imagined. At least in Thomas's era, Catholics on the East Coast had still been quite conservative. If word got out about an illegitimate son or daughter, it would bring shame upon an entire family.
But Thomas could still comfort himself.