Author's Introduction
Hello Batman fans! Recently i have read Batman:Earth One Vol 1 & 2 and I really enjoyed them both. I liked them so much I decided to write a FanFiction based off the Earth One Batman (Kinda) I'm sticking with the theme of him just starting out and meeting the villains for the first time. This story is taking place about a year in his career. Oh and i may throw in some other hero's later on and give them I Earth One type twist, well i hope you enjoy and please review and follow/favorite.
It is a normal 'pre-show' night for Haley's Circus. All the shows performers are prepping there stunts to please the large crowd of guest. The circus does consist of many acts but Mr. Haley is relying only on one to impress tomorrow night's guest, The Flying Graysons. The acrobatic family of three has been the headline for Haley for a few years now. Mr. Haley needs the Grayson family to entertain the crowd but he needs them to impress the shows benefactor, Gotham's Prince, Bruce Wayne. Wayne is throwing a fundraiser to help improve schools in Gotham and he is counting on Haley's Circus to keep the attendees happy. In Haley's mind, if this all works out he would be at the top of Wayne's recommendation list to other sponsors. Then he will be rolling in the dough he has always dreamed of having.
While Mr. Haley is just in it for the money, the Graysons are in it because of their passion. Mary and John Grayson started out as just a small duo traveling on their own, but now with their fifteen-year-old son Richard they have found their fame. Richard, more commonly known as Dick, is called the 'Boy Wonder' for his amazing grace in the air. The family cannot be any happier doing what they are doing.
The grounds were bustling with performers. Dick casually strode through them to the large tent, which would soon house a crowd of people. The boy pushed back his black hair before walking though the flaps. Instantly he was blinded by a light, he shielded his eyes. A voice crackled over the speakers "Now presenting...The Boy Wonder!"
Dick removed his hand and laughed in approve at the man behind the light. After the short laugh, the spotlight moved on, it was being prepared for tonight like everything else. The Boy Wonder stood at the entrance to take in the sights. He loved the pre-show preparations. However, his gaze was interrupted. His father, John, was calling Dick to the center of the tent. As Dick approached, he saw his father was joined by another man. This man was an inch or two taller than his dad was and had strong build on him. When Dick joined them, his father grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face the other man.
"This son is Bruce Wayne.," his father said proudly.
Gotham's Prince was already here! Dick Grayson could not believe he would actually have a close encounter with the billionaire. Even though the Grayson's did not spend much time in Gotham through their years of performing, they had tremendous respect for Wayne and his actions in Gotham.
Wayne smiled at Dick and held out his hand, "Nice to finally meet you Richard."
"Please call me, Dick." the boy said while taking his hand. The two shook firmly for a brief moment before splitting. Bruce smiled again at Dick's father.
"You sure have raised a boy here John."
"Thank you Mr. Wayne.," his father replied with his own smile.
Then a ringing went off. Quickly Bruce pulled out a cell phone. Someone was speaking very fast on the other end from what Dick could hear. Wayne's face became stern. "I'm on my way." Bruce stashed his phone back in his pocket then clasped his hands together.
"Sorry but I must be going," he frowned, "I'm looking forward to the performance Grayson's," he added before he walked out of the tent.
Not a second later did Dick turn to his father. "THAT was freaking Bruce Wayne!"
His father began to laugh, Dick's face lost its smile. "He is only human Dick."
"But a powerful human!" he son quickly fired back. This time both father and son laughed. His father checked the watch on his wrist. "Time for dinner sport, let's go see what your mother cooked up eh?" his father wraps his arm over his shoulder and they both walk for the exit.
Inside the trailer of the Grayson's the family quietly eats their meal. Mary prepared a ham and macaroni and cheese. Two of Dick's favorite things to eat in the whole world. He quickly finished his plate. As always, he finishes first. Before he could ask to be excused, he caught a glimpse of something in the sky. With another look, he saw that a giant light was being shined in the night. It pictured a bat. Dick knew what the symbol meant. The Batman was being called to save Gotham. Dick and his family hear about Batman throughout their travels with the circus. Dick wishes to meet him as well. He is another hero of Gotham, right alongside Bruce Wayne.
The symbol means something else for Gotham's nightlife. Someone is being tracked by the bat.
Two trucks are travelling through Gotham. Each one believed to be carrying weapons. Lately more and more illegal guns have been appearing on Gotham's streets. Captain James Gordon of the GCPD contacted The Batman about a week ago to inform him of the moving weapon trade. Batman accepted the challenge and has been gathering street intel on when the next trip is happening.
The trucks were in single file, stopped at a red light when Batman caught up to them. He placed himself on a towering building right next to their intersection. The light switched to green. It is go time. Batman grappled across to the other building to follow them. On this current path, he guessed they were heading to the harbor. As they continued down his estimated route, the traffic started thinning out. It was almost time to strike. Just as he was about to leap down from his current perch above them, one of them broke off right, as the other stayed in its current position.
"Dammit" he cursed to himself.
Quickly he chose the one staying still. Before it pulled forward, Batman leaped off his perch and landed on the roof of the van. "It's the bat!" someone yelled from inside. Then the van peeled off with Batman unsteadily staying on top of it. Thinking fast he jammed his side blades on the roof, this instantly gave him more balance on top.
Inside the driver and passenger were arguing about how to handle the situation. Finally, the passenger agreed to the driver's insane plan. The thug rolled down his window and drew his pistol then started to crawl out of it. With wind blowing against him he lost his balance but regained it by placing his hand on the roof, he turned his waist then sat in the window. Quickly he turned to face the bat on the roof. Sure enough, there he was sprawled on the roof.
"Oh my god it's really you!" he said while aiming his pistol. Batman knew he had only seconds until the thugs aim was steadied. His only idea was very insane, but it was the only one he had. He removed his right arm from the roof of the van and swung his body far to the right, causing massive strang on his left arm as he did it. As he swung, his now free arm smacked the gun away just as it fired a round. The thug followed up by bring the handle of the gun down hard on Batman's face, he tried to hit him again but this time Batman caught the thugs arm and yanked him mostly out of the window. In response, the thug dropped the gun and focused on pulling himself up, but it was too late Batman had brought his leg halfway up and brought it back down on him. In an instant, the goon rolled out of the window. Luckily the van was only going around thirty miles per hour by Batman's estimate.
The Batman took a short breather and then opened the right door. He then got a sturdy grip and slid himself inside the van. "Die Batman!" the driver said as he pulled up a pistol. He fired a round that connected with Batman's left shoulder but still Batman threw a hard right at the driver. With the contact of Batman's fist the driver swayed left, which caused the van to sway left on in to the other lane. Both the driver and Batman were stunned as oncoming cars flew past them. Batman's focus rejoined him though, and he quickly yanked the wheel to the right bringing the van back in the right lane. Then he punched the driver again, this time sending his head in to the window causing a crack to form. To the bat's surprise, this rendered the driver unconscious. Batman controlled the steering as his left leg kicked the thugs off the accelerator.
Slowly the van came to a roaring stop in an ally. Batman was sure the police were not far behind so he had little time to search the back. Quickly he strode to the back and flung open the doors. Gordon was right, this trick was transporting a good amount of weapons. After a small examination, Batman couldn't find the suppliers mark. Nevertheless, to his luck the thug was waking. So he dragged him out of the van began to ask questions.
"Who do you work for?!" he asked pulling at his collar.
"He'll kill me if I rat!"
"Then I'll get him started!" Batman yells before breaking the man's wrist.
"AAAAHHH!"
"Talk!"
"No! I-I can't!"
Batman lifted up the thugs other wrist but quickly he is urged not to continue with his torture.
"I'll spill!"
"Start. Now!"
"I work for Cobblepot!"
"Who is he?!"
The thug looked away then back to Batman, pain was written all over him.
"I don't know m-man some new guy from E-England."
"Give me a location!" Batman snarled.
"All I-I have is where we shipped out of...The warehouse by the abandon clothing factory.."
Just as Batman was going to ask for more information, the police showed up. Batman shot his grapple up and exited the scene. As he continued along the rooftops, he reflected on the information he has gathered. A new weapon trader from England has taken up shop in Gotham, and one of his possible workshops is by the old clothing factory.
Captain Gordon strode past the Bat Symbol and over to the building ledge, an unlit cigarette in his mouth. Aggressively he dived around in his pocket to find his matches. "Thought you quit Jim."
Gordon jumped causing his cigarette to fly out his mouth. He put his hand on his forehead and turned to face The Batman. "Why do you do that?"
"I have information on the weapon trader."
The cop leaned back on the ledge and smirked, "I thought you were the one who roughed up the driver."
Batman stepped forward to leave to the shadows. "I got a name, Cobblepot, and a location."
Gordon rubbed his chin, "Cobblepot hm? Never heard of him."
"I thought as much."
"You said you have a location?"
"A warehouse across from the old clothing factory."
Gordon kept rubbing his chin, and then turned around to face the city. "You go check it out, let me know what you find."
The cop waited for a smart-ass response. "Batman?" he asked looking behind him. The figure had disappeared on Gordon again. "I hate it when he does that..."
The bat had retired back to his cave, where the Butler Alfred was waiting for him. Alfred had a medical kit grasped in his hands. After helping him out of the suit Alfred treated Bruce's bullet wound. "It went straight through...You are lucky Master Bruce."
"There were two trucks Alfred, one got away." Bruce admitted sadly.
"You're only one man sir."
"More weapons are out there now, on the streets being used to wrong the people of Gotham."
Alfred sighed and fixed his glasses. "Like I said, one man Bruce."
Wayne remained silent. He knew Alfred was right, there was no way he could have stopped both on his own. He was barely able to stop one anyhow. "I'm just going to have to be better."
Alfred brought out the needle and thread from the kit. "No matter how good you are, you can't be in two places at once sir."
Bruce took a walk through his mansion yards after that talk. He thought of the new player in Gotham's underworld and how he has to become faster to stop him. Wayne sat on the fountain wall while he pondered. His eyes were captured by the moon. It was huge this particular night. Both the billionaire Bruce Wayne and the acrobat Dick Grayson were staring at the same big moon.
The moon soon disappeared and the bright sun rose in its place. Bruce spent most of the time out keeping up his appearances with the board of his company while Dick rehearsed his act with his parents for the show. Both men were looking forward to the coming night.
Dick Grayson, Boy Wonder, was flying through the air ever so gracefully until his father swung and caught his son's open hands. They both were smiling as they returned to their feet on the beam. Just as Dick was going for another swing, Mr. Haley yelled up to him and his father.
"Showtime Graysons!"
John smiled at his son, and he smiled back. It was time for The Flying Grayson's to amaze once again. Being in this spotlight was natural for Dick but he felt as if this performance was more important. One of his idol's Bruce Wayne was going to be watching him and his family. If he does well maybe another visit from Wayne could happen and he could get his autograph. Nevertheless, Dick Grayson knew this would be a night to remember.
The show was ten minutes from starting when Gotham's Prince arrived. He stepped out of the black limo and gave a wave to all the photographers. Bruce continued down the carpet to the large tent where tonight's entertainment will be commencing. The seats were filled up but Mr. Haley left spots open for Bruce. After the ticket collector pointed out his row, Bruce sat and waited for a good night.
As the shows raged on Bruce was impressed but not wowed, he assured himself the Grayson's would be filling that hole. Mr. Haley took center, a huge smile on his face as the audience clapped.
"Now for our final performance, The Flying Graysons!" he exclaimed throwing his arms up. The lights went out a second later. Bruce leaned forward in his seat. This was it.
"Say hello to John Grayson!" an ominous voice called.
Then a spotlight appeared on one side of the tent, a figure emerged in a red shirt and black pants. Wayne made out that the gold symbol on the sides were of bird wings.
"Say hello to Mary Grayson!"
Another figure emerged but on the other side of the tent and was of female stature, she downed the same black and red suit with golden bird wings.
"And finally their son...Richard Grayson!"
From the left side of the tent a boy stepped from behind his father. A proud smile was spread on his face. The crowd clapped in harmony again. All the lights rose but they were dimmed.
Quickly the Dick leaped off the beam and on to the swing. He applied his upper body strength and flipped up backwards right in to his mother's hands, which then transitioned on to the beam ledge. The audience was instantly captivated by the stunt. This family did not use a net in their stunts so if one of them messed up it was a fatal mistake. Bruce studied the family's moves in the air. If he could apply this grace to Batman on the rooftops, it would be amazing.
Dick waited for his turn to jump off the right beam, right now his father and mother were exchanging in the air. His mother was flying towards the beam to switch off to Dick. However, the speed died off before then. In this art speed it key to keep the momentum flowing. So his mother swung back to meet back up with his father. Again, these two switched bars, and again the crowd clapped. Now his father was swinging towards him. Just as Dick reached for his father, the rope holding the bar's his parents were holding snapped. Both of his parents fell down to the ground in front of their son. It happened so fast even the audience could not realize the event that had occurred. Dick erupted in to a cry that brought the crowd to realize the horror. John and Mary Grayson lie dead on the ground.
Bruce acted quickly. He called an ambulance but it was already too late. Then he examined how to get to Dick. The deceased's son. Wayne found the route and quickly ascended to comfort Dick.
Dick was on his knees, tears streaming down his face. In his head, all he could see was his father falling down in front of him. When arms came around Dick, he spazed out, causing his arms to flail out.
Bruce grasped both of Dick's wrists with precision. "Dick it's Bruce." he said to reassure him. Dick turned his head and saw Bruce, the billionaire. He was the one that came to his aid. All he could do was collapse in Bruce's shoulder. Wayne wrapped his arms around him "I know how it feels..."
Both of them had witnessed the killing of their parents. The billionaire now could relate to something that had happened to Dick. After a long time of sobbing and comfort from Bruce they both got back on solid ground. James Gordon was in the center of the ring. His eyes caught Dick and Bruce, he started over to them.
"Mr. Wayne." Gordon said with a nod.
Bruce looked down to Dick, "I'll be outside."
After Bruce left Gordon started. "Sorry Richard...Your parents...We think they were murdered."
Dick could hear Gordon but he only focused on the spot where his parent's bodies lay. Then the word murder entered his ears. Someone killed his parents.
"Mr. Haley... Said he saw your father arguing with some man in all black. Haley heard the word... 'Protection' and the final words by the stranger 'You'll regret it.," Gordon sighed heavily.
"Can you find them?" Dick asked in a stern voice.
"We have Haley's description but that's not much."
"Tsk." Dick looked away.
"But now we need to talk about where you are going to... go."
"What do you mean?"
"You're homeless now...Sorry again...We can put you in a home but..."
Dick shook his head. "No homes."
"Then who can take you in?"
Bruce suddenly showed back up next to Gordon. He had been listening for some time.
"Am I able?" the billionaire asked.
Dick looked was shocked. Too much had transpired in the past hour. His parent's death, the chance of it being a murder, then now...Bruce Wayne making him his ward.
"I think so..." Gordon said pushing up his glasses, "But it's up to Richard here."
"Dick?" Bruce asked calmly, "Would you like to be my ward?"
The Boy Wonder was taking from the real world. He could live with his idol. However, the cost of that was his parent's death. He unconsciously nodded at Bruce. Bruce wanted to smile. However, in the light of the situation it was not the correct time. The billionaire wrapped his arm around the distraught boy, he gave a nod to Gordon then ushered Dick out and to the limo. It was quite ride to Wayne Manor. Dick had his head on the window and only kept his eyes on the passing buildings.
Gotham had taken another family. Even with Batman, the city is still in bad shape. The new weapons trader, the person who killed the Graysons, both of them were now on Batman's most wanted list. He silently made a promise to Dick that his parents are going to be avenged unlike his own.
AN: Sorry if some words were misspelled or just wacky, I probably missed them when I did my read over.. Anyway stay tuned for another update coming soon!