***AN: I do not own any of the characters mentioned in this story. Based off of the characters od DC. Based off of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Hope you enjoy this story. Happy Holidays to all of you. -FF12***
Dick was downstairs getting the manor ready for Christmas. He had the whole living room decorated. He wanted to start on the tree, but wanted to wait for Bruce before he did so. Bruce came down the stairs in a suit and tie. He was carrying a briefcase.
"Where are you going?" asked Dick.
"The office," said Bruce.
Dick stood up from what he was doing and stepped in front of Bruce.
"It's Christmas Eve, you said you were gonna take the day off," said Dick.
"I know," said Bruce, "but you know how busy Wayne Enterprises gets, especially around the holidays."
Dick hung his head, he didn't want to look at Bruce. Bruce put a hand on the boys' shoulder.
"Look, it's just overnight," explained Bruce. "I'll try to make it back for the team Christmas Party at the cave. Ok."
"You say that every year," replied Dick, taking his arm away. Bruce could see the hurt in the boys' eyes. He knew he should take the day off, but Christmas was such a difficult time for him. He wanted to avoid it if he could.
"It's fine," said Dick. "Go, I'll finish up here by myself."
Bruce watched Dick as he continued to decorate. He walked passed Alfred, who had witnessed the whole thing, to the doors, Bruce closed the main doors behind him.
After Bruce had gone, Alfred walked over to the boy. Holding out his coat.
"What's this?" asked Dick.
"It's your coat," said Alfred. "We must get going."
"It's time already, huh?" replied Dick. Dick grabbed his coat and followed Alfred to the car.
It was a beautiful day in downtown Gotham. It had just snowed; it was chilly but not to chilly. Alfred and Dick were walking through the town enjoying the nice day.
"It's nice just to get out and relax for a while," said Alfred. "Get away from all the craziness."
"You know, sometimes I forget just how beautiful Gotham is," said Dick, looking around at the buildings and street covered with snow.
"Yes," said Alfred. "Gotham is a beautiful city, and there are some good people left in it."
As Alfred said this, Dick and him spotted at old woman ringing a bell. She was standing beside a charity kettle, probably looking for donations. Without hesitating, Dick ran over and put 100$ into the kettle. The woman grabbed his hand and smiled at him. Dick smiled back. Alfred walked up behind him.
"See," said Alfred. "What did I tell you." Dick smiled at Alfred. "Come on, we've still got a busy schedule ahead of us."
Bruce was sitting at his desk. It was almost midnight and he was still doing paperwork. He was nowhere near being done. All the rest of his staff had gone home for the holidays so he was alone. Bruce felt uneasy, almost as if someone was watching him. He knew there was no one here, except of course the security guards, but they never left their posts. All of a sudden, a window blew open and a fierce wind came into the office. Bruce turned and looked at the window. He didn't remember opening it, but he closed it and latched it locked. The power suddenly went out.
"Great," said Bruce.
Something like this had happened before, so Bruce was prepared. He had a lighter and some candles in his desk. He lit them and set up them around his office. He didn't have much light, but it was enough to get his work done. Bruce kept working, he felt a cold breeze on his shoulders and he turned, to the window again, but it was still latched. None of the windows were open. Bruce tried to brush it off, he was finally starting to calm down.
"Bruuuuuucceeee,". Bruce heard the voice and turned immediately. He stood up and looked around his office, fists up.
"Who's there?" said Bruce. "Show yourself."
There was no response. Bruce was looking around, he couldn't see anything that resembled a person, but he had definitely heard his name.
"I must be losing my mind," said Bruce, sitting back down. Bruce's paper flew off his desk, he bent down under his desk to get it. He peeked back up.
"Bruuuuceee." Bruce screamed and jumped back as he saw the sight in front of him. It was Two-Face, no not Two-Face, Harvey Dent, but it wasn't really him. This Harvey Dent, was transparent and had chains dangling from his body. Bruce ran passed him to the office doors. They were locked. He tried to pry them open, but they wouldn't budge. Bruce looked back and saw Harvey's ghost flying towards him. Bruce rubbed his eyes and looked back, he still saw Harvey Dent.
"Bruucee," said Harvey. "You can't escaaapppe."
"Harvey?" asked Bruce. "How…what do you want? What are you doing here? How is this possible. You're supposed to be in Arkham. You're not dead."
"Oh, but I aaaaaam," replied Harvey. "Harvey Dent dieeeeed the day Two-Face was booooorn."
Bruce still couldn't believe his eyes. He had to stay calm.
"What do you want from me?" asked Bruce.
Harvey's ghost flew closer. He stared at Bruce, who was still pinned against the door.
"Much," wails Harvey. "You don't believe in meeeee, do youuuu?"
"Well, no," said Bruce. "Obviously I'm dreaming; I'm just figuring out how to wake myself up."
"Fooooolish," screamed Harvey.
"Why are you covered in chains?" asked Bruce. His voice now shaking.
"I'm wearing the chains that I formed in life," replied Harvey.
"What does all this mean?" asked Bruce. "Tell me, please."
"I maaade mistakeeess in liiiiife," said Harvey. "And because of thiiiissss, I am forced to caaarrryy theeseee chains for the rest of eeteeeeerrnity. And the same thing will happen to youuuu Bruuuuucee Waayyyne."
"What?" said Bruce. "No, that's crazy...I…. can't. Help me Harvey please, what do I do?"
"Tonight, you will be visited byyyyyyy three spirrriits," said Harvey. "Obbbeyyy them, or the chains you burden will be heavier than miinnne."
All of the office windows blew open. The winds came raging through the office and the candles were blown out. Bruce put his arms up to shield his face. All of his papers went flying. He put them down as the wind stopped. His papers were scattered across the office. Bruce sat down at his desk to ponder what he had just seen. He slouched back in his chair, he felt his eyes drifting, as he fell asleep.
Bruce awoke startled as the clock in his office struck 1am. He stretched and looked around. He saw the silhouette of someone sitting on one of his office windowsills, staring out the window. He got up and walked slowly towards the figure. He was able to make out who it was when he got closer.
"Selina?" asked Bruce.
"Hey handsome," replied Selina. "Not quite, I am the ghost of Christmas past."
Selina was in her cat woman suit. This was the first spirit. He knew it wasn't the real Cat woman.
"What are you going to do to me?" asked Bruce.
"Relax," said cat woman. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to show you something. Take my hand."
Selina stretched out her hand and Bruce took it. They flew up and zoomed out of the open window. Bruce's eyes were sealed shut. He slowly opened them and saw that he was flying along with Selina, still holding her hand. They were high above the city. They kept flying straight on. They soon slowed down and landed in the front of Wayne manor. As they landed, he let go of Selina's hand. Bruce was confused.
"This is what you wanted to show me?" laughed Bruce.
"Not this," said Selina. "I want to show you what's inside."
Selina started walking towards the front door. Bruce followed behind her. The door wasn't locked, she pushed in open and walked in. She stopped in the living room, and so did Bruce as he caught up to her. Bruce's eyes grew wide.
"That's me," said Bruce.
He saw a small boy sitting on the couch, decorations were hung up all around and the tree was lit with lights. It seemed so cheerful. But the boy was not. He was sad. And Bruce knew why.
"This was my first Christmas without my parents," said Bruce.
Just then Alfred walked into the room. He looked much younger than he did now. He had a plate of cookies in his hand. He walked over and sat down on the couch, next to the young Bruce.
"Would you like a cookie, Master Wayne?" asked Alfred.
"No, thank you," replied Bruce.
Alfred set the tray of cookies down on the table. He looked at Bruce.
"Well, then why don't we watch a Christmas movie," asked Alfred.
"No thanks Alfred," said Bruce. "I think I would just like to go to my room."
"Very well," said Alfred frowning.
He watched the boy as he got up off the couch and walked upstairs. Selina looked at Bruce. She could see how upset he was.
"Why did you bring me here, I want to leave," said Bruce angrily.
"We can't," said Selina. "Not yet."
"Do you know how painful this was for me?" asked Bruce.
"Yes, I do," said Selina.
Selina grabs Bruce's hand and they appear in Bruce's old room. The younger Bruce is on his bed. He had his head down and his was crying into his curled up knees.
"I hate Christmas," said young Bruce. "It's not fair."
The boy continued to cry. Bruce watched him and felt a pain in his stomach. Selina walked up beside him. They both looked at him. Bruce walked over to the boy and tried to comfort him.
"That won't work," said Selina. "Nobody can hear or see us."
"I was in so much pain," said Bruce clenching his fists.
"I can see that," said Selina.
"I never celebrated Christmas after that," said Bruce sadly. "I wanted to avoid the holiday, as much as I could."
"But you didn't have to," replied Selina. "You could've been happy, like you were before."
Bruce looked at her. She walked up close to him and placed a hand on Bruce's shoulder. They appeared in the dining room of Wayne manor. It was decorated nicely with Christmas lights and there was a tree in the corner, with many presents under it. Bruce could smell the turkey in the air. A little boy ran out and sat down on one of the big chairs. He was in a suit and tie. He reached for one of the snacks on the table. A woman than came over and moved the plate away.
"Not yet Bruce," said the women laughing. "We need to wait for our guests first."
"Ok mommy," said Bruce.
"Mom" said Bruce. "That's my mother, she's so beautiful."
Martha Wayne was wearing a sparkly red dress. She walked over to the tree and placed another ornament on it. A man walked up behind her. He was also in a suit and tie. He held out a small box in front of her, she turned to look at him.
"Thomas," she smiled. "You didn't have too."
"I wanted to," the man replied back.
Martha opened the box and it was a beautiful pearl necklace. Thomas took it and put it around her neck.
"It's beautiful," she said.
"Not as beautiful as you," replied Thomas.
They both smiled as the man pulled her in for a kiss. Alfred covered Bruce's eyes as they did. The doorbell rang and the couple broke away. Thomas left to get the door. Bruce watched him as he did.
"Christmas was always their favorite time of year," said Bruce.
"It was yours too, wasn't it?" asked Selina.
"Yes, it was," replied Bruce. "But that was before…"
Bruce couldn't finish his sentence. Selina stepped in.
"You were wrong to stop celebrating it," she said.
"I had too," said Bruce. "It hurt too much."
"And you thought spending it alone would help that hurt go away?" she asked.
Bruce looked at her. She saw the realization forming in his eyes.
"All these years you spent Christmas hurting, so you chose to spend it alone," she started. "You didn't want to let anyone in. And even now, this is how you choose to remember Christmas. You don't choose to remember the good ones, the good times you used to have with friends and family. You could have those again, you could've had them every year after this, but you chose not to. You choose to avoid Christmas because it's too painful and in doing so, you ignore the one thing that can make it better for you."
"I understand," said Bruce.
"I'm glad," replied Selina. "But this is far from over."
"What do you mean?" asked Bruce.
"I was only the first," she replied. "The next one isn't going to be so nice."
Before Bruce could reply Selina snapped her fingers.
Bruce woke up in his office chair, as if he had never left. It was almost 2am. Bruce looked around. He knew another spirit was probably on its way. It wasn't long before Bruce felt the cold air again. He heard laughter echo throughout the room. Laughter that he was all too familiar with.
"Joker," said Bruce.
"Hello, Brucy," said Joker bowing. "The ghost of Christmas present at your service."
Bruce stood still. He didn't want to approach the clown. Joker saw this and walked closer.
"Look, I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted too," said Joker. "And I have other places to be so let's get this over with."
The Joker grabbed Bruce and they appeared in a dark room. Bruce didn't recognize it.
"What is this place?" asked Bruce.
"You need to learn to be patient," said Joker. "Just wait and see."
The Joker led Bruce down a hall with several rooms. They walked into a big mess hall. A Christmas tree was standing in the center of the room. Many small children were gathered around it. Bruce realized where they were.
"This is the Gotham City orphanage," said Bruce.
"Very good," said Joker smiling.
"Why are we here?" asked Bruce.
"So you can see what you're missing," replied Joker.
Before Batman could respond, there was a knock on the orphanage door. A woman answered and on the other side was Alfred and Dick. Bruce didn't yet understand. He watched them closely.
"Dick, Alfred, it's so good to see you," said the woman hugging them both. "Come in, please."
"DICK!" screamed all the children happily.
"Hey guys, how's it going?" asked Dick. Dick knelt down to face all the children.
"I heard that all of you were very good this year, so Santa told me to bring you all some presents."
All of the children cheered, Dick opened a sack and started handing out presents to all of the children. Bruce watched closely with pride in his eyes.
"I didn't even know he did this," said Bruce.
"Of course you didn't," replied Joker. "He does it every year."
"Really?" asked Bruce.
"Yes, he does," said Joker. "He visits the orphanage, the hospital, the library. Everywhere. All the places that you were supposed to go, but you cancelled because you had to "work".
Bruce frowned. He turned his attention back to Dick and Alfred. A little boy limped into the room. He was a small boy, he had a crutch under his arm. Dick and him locked eyes. Bruce watched as the biggest smile came across the boy's face. He limped quickly over to Dick, who ran up to him and picked him up. The young boy wrapped his arms around Dick's neck.
"How are you Timmy?" asked Dick.
"Better now that you're here to visit us again," said Timmy.
Dick put the boy on a chair in the center of the room. All of the kids were playing with their toys. Dick had something behind his back.
"I brought you a special present," said Dick.
"Really, what is it, what is it?" asked the boy bouncing in his chair.
Dick pulled out the Batarang from behind his back. The boys jaw dropped and his eyes lit up.
"Woooooww," said Tim. "How did you get this?"
"I ran into Batman the other day," said Dick softly. "He told me how big of a fan you were of his, and since he couldn't come himself because he's so busy, he wanted me to give you this special gift."
"Woah, cool," said the boy. "I wish I could meet Batman."
"I'm sure you will someday," said Dick, placing his hand on the boy's knee.
"You really think so?" asked Tim.
"I'm counting on it," replied Dick.
"That would be a Christmas dream come true," said the boy. "Batman is the greatest, he is always looking out for us, always there when we need him, to protect us."
"Yes," said Joker sarcastically. "Always there when we need him. It's funny how he is always willing to be there for complete strangers, but yet abandons his own family on the most important day of the year."
"Stop it," said Bruce.
"I'm only telling you what's true," said Joker. "You don't want to spend time with your new family because it's too painful. Yet, you can't seem to realize that your son is going through the exact same thing.
"I…I never thought of…" started Bruce.
"Of course you didn't," said Joker. "You never once stopped to think about how he was feeling. He is hurting too, but instead of choosing to spend Christmas alone, he chooses to spend his Christmas bringing joy and happiness to children who aren't as lucky as him, no matter how much pain he's in."
Bruce frowned. Joker was right. How could he not have seen it?
"It's sad really," said Joker, "he can no longer spend Christmas with his old family, and now his new one doesn't even want to spend Christmas with him."
"No, that's not true," shouts Bruce. "I do want to spend it with them, it's just…"
"Just what," said Joker. "Too painful. Too painful to spend Christmas with people who care about you. You know I'm not one for a sob story, but life is short. You should spend as much time with the people you love as you can before time runs out. Because some of us aren't so lucky."
Bruce and Joker both look to the tiny boy, examining his Batarang in his hands.
"He's not going to die, is he?" asked Bruce. "Please…please tell me he lives."
"Only time will tell," said Joker.
Bruce fixed his eyes back on Dick. He was sitting at a table eating a cookie that the woman had made him. He watched as the children played with their toys. Alfred sat down next to him.
"I brought you some hot chocolate," said Alfred. "Its candy cane."
"Thanks," said Dick. He took a sip. "I wish Bruce was here."
Alfred smiled at the boy. "He'd be very proud of you. But he is a very busy man."
"I know," said Dick," but it's almost like he does it on purpose. Like he doesn't want to spend time with us."
"He does," said Alfred. "I promise you, it's just that Christmas has always been hard for him. Ever since his parents died."
"I know how he feels," replied Dick. "When I lost my parents, I felt the exact same way. But you, and the team, the league, you guys made it better for me. You gave me a real family to spend Christmas with. You made Christmas feel special again, and I'm so grateful. You guys have given me so much; I just wish there was some way for me to return the favor. Give Bruce the Christmas you always give me. Make him see that he's not alone, that he doesn't have to be anymore."
"You will," said Alfred. "I promise you, one day, he will learn to love Christmas again, and when he does, we will spend it together, every year."
Bruce felt tears forming in his eyes. Alfred and Dick both smiled and Bruce watched as they hugged each other.
"How sweet," said Joker. "Such a shame it'll never happen."
"What, why?" asked Bruce.
"Oops," said Joker. "I said too much, time to go."
"No wait, what does that mean?!" shouts Bruce. But it was too late.
Bruce woke again, in the same place.
"NOOOO," cried Bruce, slamming his fist on his desk. He stood up from his desk and stared looking for the last ghost.
"I'm ready," said Bruce. "Come on now."
Silence. Bruce kept looking around. He couldn't see anything. He looked at his watch, it was one minute away from 3am. He knew it was coming. His watch started to beep and he knew it was time. Bruce felt an eerie presence behind him. He turned around and he saw a dark figure in the shadows. He walked towards it.
"Hello," he said.
The spirit did not answer back. The figure stepped out from the shadows. Bruce was shocked, He was face to face with Batman, who was looming over him, silently. Bruce backed away.
"Let me guess," said Bruce. "You're the ghost of Christmas yet to come."
The spirit didn't respond.
"Take me," Bruce said. "I'm ready."
Batman gestured for Bruce to follow him. He did so. They were back at Wayne manor. Only this time, it was different, it didn't feel like Christmas, there were no lights, no decorations. It was dark and gloomy. The only light was from the TV. It was playing a Christmas movie and there was someone sitting on the couch in front of it. It took Bruce a minute, but he saw that it was Dick. He looked a little bit older now, maybe 18. Bruce watched, not fully understanding what was happening. Suddenly a phone rang, it was Dick's cell phone.
"Hey dude," said Wally, as his face pops up on Dick's phone screen.
"Hi Wally," said Dick unamused.
"The party is already started, where are you?" asked Wally.
"I'm not coming," replied Dick.
"Seriously," said Wally. "You're busy again?"
"Yea," said Dick. "Someone has to take care of the manor while Bruce is away."
"So he's still working, huh," said Wally.
"As usual," said Dick. "Overseas again, so he won't be back for Christmas, which I'm sure is how he planned it."
"It sucks that you're there all alone," said Wally. "Why don't you come spend Christmas with Artemis and me, you know you're always welcome."
"Thanks," said Dick." But I'll pass. I have to go."
"Merry Christmas, Dick," said Wally.
"Thanks," replied Dick as he hung up the phone. "Nothing to merry about it," Dick said to himself.
Bruce turned to look at The Batman spirit with panic in his eyes.
"No," said Bruce. "This is wrong, he loves Christmas."
The Batman spirit didn't say anything. He just stared at Bruce, who turned back to the scene that was unfolding. Dick came back into the living room. He sipped a coffee as he stood near the fire place. He looked up to the hearth and saw an urn sitting there. He ran his finger across the smooth surface of the urn.
"Merry Christmas Alfred," said Dick sadly. "Wish you were here."
Bruce was fazed, there was no way this was happening. He watched as Dick grabbed his coat and walked out the front door. The Batman spirit brought Bruce to a street. They watched as Dick stood outside of the Gotham City orphanage. Bruce was waiting for him to go in, but he walked passed it instead. Bruce was shocked.
"Why didn't he go in?" asked Bruce. "Why doesn't he have toys for the kids, where is Timmy?"
Bruce was asking all these questions, but he knew by now that he wasn't going to get an answer, so he just kept watching. They followed Dick to a graveyard. They watched as he stood in front of a grave. Bruce could see tears forming in Dick's eyes. Dick took out a Batarang from his pocket and began to speak.
"Hey Tim," started Dick. "I…uh… I found this at my place. I thought you might like to have it."
Dick placed the Batarang on top of the gravestone. He continued.
"I know how much Batman meant to you," continued Dick. "Don't be too mad at him, ok."
Dick left the graveyard as tears rolled down his face. Bruce watched Dick as he left. Bruce turned to the Batman spirit.
"I don't understand," said Bruce.
Batman was pointing to the ground. Bruce looked down and saw a newspaper near his foot. On the front page was a news article about a house fire that had happened in Gotham on Christmas Eve a few years back. The headline read: Family perishes in house fire started by Firefly. Bruce looked at the picture of the family and recognized the boy who had died. It was Tim with his adopted family. Bruce kept reading and his eyes grew wide as he realized what was happening.
"Oh my god," said Bruce. "Batman never showed. Batman never showed because Bruce Wayne wasn't there. I was working, far away, wasn't I? I wasn't there for my family or my city when they needed me. What was I thinking?
Bruce looked at The Batman spirit who just stared back at him, but Bruce could tell, even by his faint expression, that he was right. Bruce fell to his knees.
"Spirit," pleads Bruce. "Please, stop this. Please, I understand now, I'll do better, stop, please stop. I can make this right."
The spirit said nothing. It just watched as Bruce pleaded on the ground. The spirit brought his hands up as Bruce watched.
"No, no, no wait! Don't go!" shouted Bruce before he blacked out.
Bruce opened his eyes. He looked around and saw that he was on the floor of his office. He stood up and looked out his window. It was daytime, the light was shining into his office. There was freshly fallen snow in the city below. Bruce turned as he heard his door open.
"Mr. Wayne, are you alright?" asked the secretary.
"Yes, I'm fine," said Bruce. "Sorry, what day is it today?" he asked.
"It's Christmas Day," she says.
Bruce's eyes grew wide and he looked at her with a smile.
"What did you say?" asked Bruce.
"I said it's Christmas day," replied the secretary confused.
"It's Christmas day," said Bruce. "It's Christmas DAY! And what a wonderful day it is."
Bruce raced over to his secretary and hugged her tightly. There was still time.
"I want you to take the day off," said Bruce smiling. "All of you, tell everyone."
"Right away, Mr. Wayne," said the secretary walking away.
Bruce looked at his watch. It was 8 am. He had just enough time.
Bruce raced home to Wayne manor, he wanted to get home before Dick and Alfred woke up.
Dick came downstairs an hour later. Dick stopped and looked around the living room of the manor. More decorations had been added, there was a magnificent star on top of the tree, and there was Christmas music blaring. Dick looked around and stopped when he saw Bruce in a Christmas sweater, putting some presents under the tree. Bruce smiled when he saw Dick.
"Good morning, son", said Bruce.
"What's all this?" asked Dick curiously.
"It's Christmas," said Bruce. "I took the day off, and I'm all yours. So what do you want to do first?"
"Um, I don't know," replied Dick.
"How about we start with a cookie?" asked Alfred who had just came in holding a tray of cookies. The cookies were shaped like presents and Christmas trees.
"You first," said Dick to Bruce.
Bruce takes a tree and Dick takes a present. The all sit together on the couch, eating their cookies and watching TV.
Bruce had taken Dick back to the orphanage that morning. He never went with him before and decided he wanted to start going with him in the future. Dick introduced Bruce to all of the children, including Timmy. Bruce and Timmy instantly grew close, as they both shared a love for Batman. Bruce had even brought them a fresh turkey to eat. The children were overjoyed. Bruce picked up Tim in his arms and gave him a huge hug.
"God bless us, everyone," said Timmy.
Later, Batman and Robin arrived at Mount Justice for the team party. They were announced as they come through the zeta tube. The whole team and the league were there, talking and sipping drinks. Wally saw Robin and raced over to him.
"Merry Christmas," said Wally handing Robin a present.
"Aww, thanks," said Robin. He started to unwrap the present. It was a picture of him and Wally. Robin smiled back at him.
"That's awesome dude," said Robin. "Let's go put it on my bedside table."
Robin walked with Wally down to his quarters, waving to his teammates as he did so. Batman watched him with a smile on his face.
"Wasn't expecting to see you here. It's good to see you."
Batman turns to see Superman standing behind him.
"You too," replied Batman.
"What changed your mind?" asked Clark.
"Family," said Batman.
And for the first time in a very long time, Bruce Wayne was happy. He smiled as he was surrounded by friends and family and as he finally discovered the Christmas spirit that had been buried deep inside him for many many years.