Beware the Bats
Prologue
The air was cold on the dark evening and shadows danced eerily on the walls of the gloomy alley. The surrounding area was filled with dark corners perfect for concealing menacing figures, which earned the area its nickname of Crime Alley. The number of antagonistic persons that were typically found there, combined with the creepy and dangerous feel of the place caused most people to avoid it. But on that fateful night, a family of three dared to venture through it on their way home from the movies. Young Bruce Wayne laughed and ran through dark alley, with his parents following behind him, shaking their heads fondly at his antics. Suddenly, a dark figure emerged from the shadows; blocking their path and pointing a gun at the Wayne family. Mr. Wayne stepped in front of his wife as she grabbed her son in an attempt to shield them from the danger. Mrs. Wayne pulled her son into her arms and covered his eyes. A gunshot rang out, followed by another, loud in the quiet Gotham night. When police arrived, they found a young boy sobbing over the bloodied corpses of his parents. After a long night of painful questioning, the family's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, came to pick up his young master. As the boy looked up at him, the man was struck by the hauntedness of his charge's eyes.
Time passed, and the haunted stare was replaced by the hard gaze of someone who had sworn revenge. The innocent child that Bruce once was turned into a boy desperately seeking retribution. The boy grew into a man, but his thirst for vengeance never abated. Bruce trained himself to become strong, and swore that he would destroy the corruption, crime, and evil that killed innocent people like his parents. In order to do this, he became a vigilante whose name would strike fear into the hearts of men and women everywhere- the Batman. But then, he met four little boys. Each one of these boys was as lost as he had been. So he took them under his wing, and began to train them. They became his pupils, his partners, and most importantly, his sons. This is their story.
The brightly lit tent was full of people, talking and laughing energetically. In the front row of the audience, a certain Mr. Bruce Wayne sat waiting for the show to begin with his date of the evening, Vicki Vale. Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and a spotlight appeared in the center of the stage. "Welcome, one and all, to Haley's Circus. We have an exciting show in store for you tonight, and I'm sure that it will be completely unforgettable." With that, the man stepped out of the ring, and the show began.
The audience sat, spellbound, as one mesmerizing act occurred after another. The night passed quickly, until it was finally time for the ringmaster to introduce the concluding act. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great joy that I present to you... The Fantastic Flying Graysons!"At his words, the spotlight shot upward to highlight a man dropping toward the ground. Suddenly, he grabbed a trapeze bar and swung up back towards the platform. He then swung back down, only to be joined by his wife. The audience sat rapt as the man and woman performed incredible feats of daring in the air. Then, a young boy about ten years of age jumped down from the platform. The audience gasped as the child swung up on the bar, let go, did a flip, and was caught by his mother. The family of three acrobats twisted and turned gracefully in the air, leaving the audience in a state of awe. As the boy reached the platform again, he heard an odd sound. He looked up to see the rope holding his parents break, and they plummeted toward the ground. Gunshots rang out, and ten year old Richard Grayson raced down to his mother's side as she lay bleeding in a heap on the floor next to her husband.
"NOOO! Mommy! Daddy! NO!"
The audience raced around in a panic as the boy sobbed over the broken bodies of his parents. In the midst of the chaos, Bruce Wayne managed to find his way over to the scene, where he got his first good look at the boy. Bruce was struck by the look in the child's eyes, a look that reminded him of himself. The police arrived, and pulled the screaming boy away from the bloody scene. Plans were quickly made for the boy to be taken from the circus and put in Gotham City Orphanage until a suitable guardian could be found for the boy. Grayson was moved to the orphanage, and he was miserable. The other children picked on the small boy, and he missed her parents. Then one day, his fate charged. A man showed up at the orphanage.
"Hello Richard. My name is Bruce Wayne, and I would like to adopt you."
A young boy, all alone, ran down the dark streets of Gotham. He carefully examined the street to make sure that it really was empty, then darted toward a nearby car. He removed the tires from the car, and then dragged them into the shadows and began the trek to find someone who would buy them from him. He took the money and dashed home to get it to his mother, a woman by the name of Catherine Todd. She then took the money and used it to buy herself drugs. The lonely boy did this every night, trying desperately to get the money for drugs to care for his mother. His father, had been a petty criminal, and was now locked away in jail. The boy had to take care of his mother, because he would otherwise end up alone. However, it appeared that there was another fate in store for him. His mother soon died of an overdose, making the boy an orphan. He then took to the streets, continuing to scavenge car parts for a bit of cash. One night, as he was searching for car parts, he came across the Batmobile. The boy paused for a moment, then dashed over to the famed crime fighter's car. He quickly removed one tire, then dragged it away. He returned to get another, not noticing the dark shadow looming over him. After he removed the tire, he turned, and paused. Standing right in front of him was the Batman, cape, cowl and scowl. The vigilante stood in front of the boy with his arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. "Well?" The boy looked up at him, confused. "Who are you, and is there a reason that you are stealing my tires?" He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again and began to speak.
"My name is Jason. Jason Todd, not that it's any of your business. Goodbye." Jason started to walk away. Batman just watched as the boy walked away, already making plans for the boy. The next day, a few police officers showed up and took the nine year old into their custody. He was sent to the Gotham Juvenile Detention center. The boy fought back as much as he could, but still ended up there. He lived there for a while, until one day, he had a visitor.
"Hello Jason. My name is Bruce, and I had a very important question for you. Do you want to get out of this place and come live with me?"
A small boy cowered in the back of a dark room. His father had just come home, and was drunk. That never ended well for Tim, so he hid in the closet, praying to whatever God there was that they wouldn't find him. Most of the time, Jack Drake would just ignore his son's existence, but after he had been drinking…that was another story. Janet Drake then appeared with another bottle of wine for her and her husband. Once the tall man was occupied by the tall glass of alcohol, Tim attempted to take the chance to escape from the room to find safety. However, he wasn't quite fast enough, and the movement caught the attention of the man. "TIMOTHY!" After that, everything faded to black.
The next morning, the boy regained consciousness on the floor of the kitchen. The boy was sore, and having trouble moving, but he managed to drag himself up the stairs to the bathroom. He collapsed against the door, then slid to the floor. He sat there for a minute, and then pulled himself up to get a look at himself. He had a black eye, and was covered in bruises. He reached a tentative hand up to his eye and winced. Tim then opened the door, and moved to his room as quickly and quietly as he could. The small boy crawled into is bed, and fell into a dreamless sleep. When he awoke, it was dark outside, and the house was silent. He stood, and limped downstairs, checking cautiously for Jack and Janet. He checked the whole house, but they were nowhere to be found. There was no note, no food left for him, no money, no explanation, nothing. He curled up on the couch and fell asleep, trying to enjoy the peace and safety as long as he could. He had no idea how long he stayed there, but he didn't move. Finally, he was awakened one morning by the sound of fists pounding on the front door. The boy jumped up and hid under the dining room table as the door was bashed in. Three police officers came running into the room. They seemed to be looking for something…or someone. One of them walked into the dining room. As he walked in, he knocked over a glass from the table, and it crashed onto the floor right next to Tim, causing him to let out an involuntary noise. The officer turned and looked under the table. He reached toward Tim, who shied away and tried to run out of the room. As he tried to leave, he crashed into one of the other officers, a nice-looking lady. She grabbed him, and the officers took him down to the station. They asked him questions, trying to determine his parents' location. After they decided that the six year old had no knowledge of where the two had disappeared to, he was sent to the orphanage, where he was ignored by the children and teachers, except for when they were bullying them. Tim sat there silently through their cruelty just as he always had, until one day, the matron with the false smile brought in a tall man with a big smile and black hair. "Timothy, this is Mr. Wayne. He has been nice enough to make arrangements for you to come live with him." She then walked off, leaving the silent boy with the tall man. As soon as she was gone, the man turned toward Tim.
"Thank goodness she's gone. She was getting on my nerves with that fake smile. But that's beside the point. I would love it if you wanted to come live with me. I have two other boys, and they like it at my house, so I think you would like it too. I promise that I won't hurt you, and I will take care of you. But if you don't want to come, that's fine too." Tim stayed silent and looked down at his feet. The man's smile fell. "Alright. Well, it was nice to meet you." Then man turned and slowly walked toward the door. All of the sudden, Tim scrambled out of his seat and dashed after the man, who turned to the boy with a huge smile. "Well then, if you're sure you want to come…" Tim nodded. "Alright then! Let's go home."
It was one in the morning, and the Gotham sky was already pitch black. A young boy padded silently after his mother as she walked through the trees. As they neared the edge of the forest, the trees suddenly disappeared, leaving the five year old with a view of the full moon shedding its light on a huge mansion. Neither mother nor child spoke a word, but she urged the boy toward the house. He walked up to the front door, paused, and turned, but there was no one there. His mother was gone. He had no choice. He rang the bell, and waited, but no one came. The lonely child laid down on the step, clutching a note in his hand. The next morning, a properly dressed man with white hair came to the door. 'Oh my,' he thought. "MASTER BRUCE!" A man with black hair came racing down the stairs. The white haired man gestured to the sleeping boy.
"What is it, Alfred?" Then the man's eyes widened. The boy sat up and gave the man a note.
"My name is Damian Wayne, and I am your son."