Chapter 1
A huge mansion stood in the middle of a grass-filled land, dark in the night. Coloured brown, laid with a plenty of windows, was the house, with all the lights off. In one room was awake a candle, and a lamp. It was the middle of night, twelve, as the clock struck.
Thomas Wayne was standing outside his bedroom, waiting, tensed. He was sweating and was wiping his face instantly. Inside, his wife, Martha Wayne, was undergoing delivery. Since there was no time, she was being operated in the house itself.
Five minutes of screams and silent prayers from Martha and Thomas followed. Then there was silence. Alfred Pennyworth, the house butler, came by.
"Master Wayne, you will be succeeded by your son" he said.
A metaphor to the saying that Martha had given birth to a baby boy.
Thomas was happy and hugged Alfred, with excitement. He wiped his eyes and went inside the room. He saw his wife, holding a baby in her hands, with tears in her eyes. He ran to her at once and held the baby in his hands, looking at him cheerily. He slightly touched the boy's forehead.
"Bruce Wayne" he said.
Six years passed by, as Bruce Wayne started growing mature and getting introduced to the world. He was a kind boy, and liked to solve jigsaw puzzles and brain games, which was appreciated by his parents. Alfred became his best friend, roaming with him wherever he went.
As he grew, he had developed a fear of bats, as he considered them to be extremely strange and ugly creatures, who wandered around the night just to frighten people with their groans.
On a fine Saturday, Bruce and his parents went to a movie hall, and after watching a three-hour-movie, they came out of the hall, only to be mugged by a burglar.
"Hey you, your money and jewels, now!" he demanded.
He had a revolver in his hand. Thomas, afraid of the consequences, handed over his wallet. Martha, plucked the silver necklace from her neck, and passed it on.
But the burglar did not give up. He pointed his gun towards Martha, and before he could shoot, Thomas came in the way and took the bullet for his wife. He fell to the ground, bleeding. The burglar kicked Thomas out of the way and pressed the trigger, with Martha as the victim. The Wayne couple was collapsed on the ground, with their last breath. Bruce Wayne was left alone, both in the scene and as an orphan.
The bodies of Bruce's parents were buried in the cemetery, and Bruce was left to be taken care of by Alfred, who developed an affection towards Bruce. He was left dumbstruck and tearful the day on and had the habit to cry at least once a day. He never gave up and decided to bring justice to his city.
Twenty years later, he saw himself as an adult Bruce. He was the head of Wayne Enterprises, a conglomerate located in Gotham City.
Bruce Wayne was walking on the road, wearing a half-jacket over his favourite blue shirt with white stripes, kicking stones on the way. It was ten at night and he had decided not to chose his vehicle for the day, opting to walk the path to the Wayne Manor.
As he was walking, he heard a strange noise. He stopped, throwing his ears towards the sound. He heard it once more, deepening his curiosity, who then cut his way into a local road, which headed towards a garbage dumpyard. As he went forward, the sound grew louder. On further movement, the sound introduced itself as a call for help, from a young man.
"Please, I have a family" said the man.
"Why the hell do you keep telling me that?" said the listener.
Bruce understood the scene. A group of kidnappers were threatening a young man.
"Tell me where the gold is" the man demanded.
"Please, I don't know" came the reply.
The kidnapper was fed up of the man. He slowly got up from the dustbin he was sitting on and untucked his shirt. He then shot a bullet on the man's heart with his revolver. The latter fell back, bleeding, eyes still. He had died.
Bruce Wayne, who had watched the scene, stood quiet. He slowly backed a little. He was completely shocked by the forbidding incident. This man was the third person to die before his eyes. He started walking back, not making a slight noise. As he reached the main street, he picked up his cell phone and dialled Alfred.
"Alfred, send the Lamborghini, now" he said.
He was anxious, worried about the poor man, his family and future problems. Ten minutes later Alfred arrived in the car and Bruce stepped into the backseat and addressed Alfred to head to the Wayne Manor.
After his arrival, Bruce took a shower bath and freshened himself. As he sat in the living room, Alfred arrived.
"Your lemonade, Master Wayne" he said.
Bruce took the lemonade and stood up.
"You know, Alfred?" he began. "Today, I saw my parents die. Again, after twenty years"
Alfred stood quiet, thinking.
"When I was six, a son of a bitch killed my parents in front of me, I couldn't do anything then. And now, a mugger killed my co-citizen, and the adult and mature me, could do nothing. What's this, Alfred? Aren't things gonna change?"
"Master Wayne, as you said, you could do nothing. What would you plan to do, if this repeats?" Alfred asked with curiosity.
Bruce was silent and took a sip of his lemonade.
"That would be my job from now on. Plan what to do" he said, finishing his drink, placing it on the table and leaving the room.
The next night, Bruce Wayne decided to go on another walk and reached the same avenue. He was wearing a full-sleeve jacket this time, with a hood. He went in, silently, ensuring no indication of arrival. He reached the same dumpyard, only to watch the same mugger threatening another person.
"Well, your husband died without providing anything, would you like the same to happen to you?" he asked.
"Please, don't kill me, I don't know where the gold is" said the lady, who was the wife of the dead victim.
The mugger got up from his dustbin seat, and again untucked his jacket. He loaded his revolver and pointed it towards the woman.
"Last chance"
There was no reply. Before he could shoot, a man with a hood charged towards him, pushing him, throwing him into a large garbage can. It was Bruce Wayne, with a hood over his head.
"Hey" said one of the persons present there. "Who do you think you are?"
Bruce punched him on his face and kicked him, making him fall to the river nearby, getting washed away. Another two men pointer their pistols on Bruce, but he was not scared. As they began shooting, Bruce took the cap of the dustbin nearby, and covered himself with it. Two after two bullets began failing to attack him. When they were reloading their guns, Bruce seized the opportunity and threw the cap on one of them. He air-kicked the other person.
The leader of the group stood up. He began charging towards Bruce, who in turn was running, too. As they came closer, Bruce dodged him and slid past him, and from behind, he twisted his face. That was it, the man had died.
"Help!" cried the woman was present there.
"Hey you" said one of the men. "Show me your face, else you'll see her dead"
Bruce gasped. He couldn't watch a fourth innocent to die before him. He slowly unveiled his hood, but before the men could see his face, the woman slapped the guy who held her captive.
"How dare you!" said the other man and slapped the woman.
Bruce raced forward and threw himself on the man. He began to simultaneously punch the man on his cheek, until finally he punched hard on his nose, which immediately began to bleed, and left him for dead.
One man was left, who charged against Bruce with complete stamina, but Bruce remained still. As the man approached nearer, Bruce pushed his hand forward to slam his neck. His insides were disturbed and he died on the spot.
He gasped.
"Are you okay?" he asked, lifting the fallen woman.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Your protector" he said. "Head back home safely"
Bruce reached the Wayne Manor. He entered his bedroom and removed his jacket. Alfred arrived with another lemonade.
"Are you okay, Master Wayne?" he asked.
"Not completely" he said. "I killed three people tonight"
Alfred dropped the plate, and the lemonade drink splashed onto the floor, accompanied by the glass.
"Yes, and now I've decided to fight crime in Gotham" he said.
"What do you mean by fight crime?" Alfred asked.
"Just go around the city in the night and bring down injustice"
"Master Wayne, you cannot do this, I mean you –"
"I know Alfred, I'm Bruce Wayne, billionaire. But things got me into this. And I won't go in the open. I would wear a mask, and remember, only in the night"
"Well" began Alfred, clearing the broken glass and the splattered lemonade. "Necessary requirements could be brought by your butler"
Bruce Wayne smiled.
