Disclaimer: I do not own Batman Begins (film/comic etc.) or any of the characters (from the movie/comics and otherwise). It would be amazing if I did though! I only own my OC Juliet.

Foreword: Okay! First Batman fanfiction, so, I do apologize if it sucks horribly XD Just to point something out, this starts off with the memory of Joe Chill being shot at the courthouse and my OC, Juliet, will probably come in in the next chapter, this is just a prologue. Just a heads up for a lot of just movie stuff ahead. Anyway, enjoy!

Allons-y!

Prologue: Filled With The Past

" I gather there is a member of the Wayne family here today. Does he have anything to say?" High Court Judge Faden asked. Bruce Wayne wasn't aware of what he was doing currently as he kept his eyes on Joe Chill, the man who killed his parents fourteen years prior to this hearing. Bruce stood, eyes glassy, and the entire courtroom was silent. Eyes were trained on him expectantly. The most prominent of those eyes were those of his childhood friend Rachel Dawes.

Bruce merely turned on his heel and left the courtroom. He waited off to the side to the exit of the courtroom and courthouse, the cold air biting harshly at his skin. He removed what he had in his pocket. A small silver revolver. Bruce's pulse raced as he thought of what he was probably about to do. He hid the gun in the sleeve of his thick, long coat just as a door opened and reporters yelled,

" He's coming out the side!"

" He's coming out the side, guys!"

Cameras began to flash and film crews lifted their cameras as they began to follow the crowd that surrounded Joe Chill as they left the courtroom, attempting to ask him questions. Bruce began to make his way towards the group as well, deep brown hair falling onto his forehead. His jaw was set defiantly and his brown eyes glared, hand twitching against the gun.

" Mr. Wayne!" One person called out. Just then, as Bruce stopped walking, a woman rushed before Chill.

" Joe! Hey, Joe! Falcone says hi," She stated before lifting a gun and shooting the murder. Screams and shouts echoed out as the woman was restrained and Chill fell to the floor, dying.

Rachel rushed towards her friend, taking him by the arm.

" Come on, Bruce. We don't need to see this," She said quietly, her bone straight shiny brown hair falling over her shoulders. Bruce didn't budge as Rachel attempted to pull her friend away. His eyes were trained on the man on the floor.

" I do…" He whispered, knowing that the gun in his hand didn't need to be fired at Joe Chill, who now lay dead on the courthouse floor.

Rachel and Bruce sat in her car as she maneuvered the traffic in Gotham's streets. Bruce was quiet as he stared distantly out the window and Rachel exhaled a small sigh, straightening the sleeve of her sweater.

" The DA couldn't understand why Judge Faden insisted on making the hearing public. Falcone paid him off to get Chill in the open," Rachel began to piece together, glancing slightly at her childhood friend, who looked lost. He'd been away at Princeton and had only returned for the hearing, and she tried to convince him not to go, but he'd insisted on coming. She thought it wouldn't be beneficial for him, and now he looked even more distracted than before.

" Maybe I should be thanking them," Bruce mused, speaking for the first time since Chill had been shot. Rachel couldn't believe what she just heard. He was in shock; he didn't know what he was saying.

" You don't mean that," She told him.

" What if I do, Rachel?" Bruce asked seriously. " My parents deserved justice."

" Well, you're not talking about justice, you're talking about revenge."

" Well, sometimes they're the same," Bruce said quietly, eyes still cast off to the distance.

" No, they're never the same, Bruce. Justice is about harmony. Revenge is about you making yourself feel better, which is why we have an impartial system," Rachel attempted to explain, impatience creeping into her voice.

" You're system is broken," Bruce almost spat as he turned his head to stare out his window, watching the buildings speed past.

That was the last straw for Rachel. She swerved severely to the left, tires screeching so she took a side road that went through a tunnel. As they drove into the dank darkness of the cement underpass, Rachel sent a small glare to Bruce as she began to speak again.

" You care about justice? Look beyond your own pain, Bruce," Rachel insisted as they drove past tons of people who sat huddled against the cold cement among trash bags and loose garbage. " This city is rotting! They talk about the depression like its history, but it's not. Things are worse than ever down here! Falcone floods our streets with crime and drugs, praying on the desperate, creating new Joe Chills every day. Falcone may not have killed your parents, Bruce," Rachel turned to look at him, " but he's destroying everything they stood for."

They pulled up outside what looked like to be a rather scuzzy looking bar or restaurant. Rachel parked the car and looked at Bruce.

" You want to thank him for that? Here you go. We all know where to find him. As long as he keeps the bad people rich and the good people scared, no one will touch him. Good people like your parents who'll stand against injustice, they're gone. What chance does Gotham have when the good people do nothing?" Rachel asked as Bruce stared down at his hands. He looked up and stared through the windshield, not wanting to meet her eyes.

" I'm not one of your good people, Rachel," He whispered.

" What do you mean?" She asked in a tone that sounded like he'd just asked the most stupid question in the world. Bruce paused before continuing.

" All these years I wanted to kill him… Now I can't," He whispered again, pulling out the gun, letting it rest in his lap. Rachel stared at him in shock. He had been planning on killing Chill? Bruce had officially turned into the biggest idiot in Gotham!

Rachel reached out and smacked him hard across his left cheek. After a beat she did it again. Bruce's face didn't change. He didn't flinch. He just sat still as his cheek reddened.

" Your father would be ashamed of you," She said in a whisper that almost came off like a hiss. Bruce stared at her, almost not believing what she said… but that was probably true. He saw the tears gathering in her eyes and then opened the door, stepping out of the car. He could smell the waterfront and made his way towards it, stopping in the darkening light of the day to stare out at the water before him. He stared at the gun he held and then back up at the water, horrible memories echoing through his head.

He remembered that night at the opera house when he had to ask to leave early. A short while before that day he'd fallen down a well and been attacked by bats, causing him to gain a fear of the winged creatures. So, when actors dressed as bats had appeared on stage, the eight year-old Bruce Wayne asked to leave. So, understanding his son's fear, Thomas Wayne agreed and along with his wife, Martha Wayne, the three left out the back door. Soon after they left, a man, Joe Chill had shown up, asking for money and jewelry, pulling a gun… a gun… a gun, which killed his parents.

Bruce grit his teeth and hurled his gun to the chilly water below, suddenly not believing that he'd been considering killing someone…

The rest of the night went by in a blur. Bruce had entered the sketchy restaurant, talked to Falcone after almost being beat up by a bodyguard. He tried to tell Falcone that not everyone in Gotham was afraid of him, but was only shot down by the man, and that was almost literal when he held a gun to Bruce's head. He only revealed seconds later that it wasn't loaded as he told Bruce that he still had things to loose. Rachel. Alfred Pennyworth, his family butler, but also a close friend

Before leaving he was given a parting gift. A strong punch to the face that ended up splitting his lip accompanied with an insult to his parents and then being tossed into the street. At that moment he knew what he had to do. After Falcone had told him he was afraid of what he didn't know, he'd have to make all that what he did know. He could no longer be afraid.

Afterword: Sorry if it was boring, but I figured it would be good just to have some background. I hope you'll read the next chapter where my OC comes in and will hopefully be interested in continuing to read!