Hey guys this is my new story The True Prince, it depicts the life of Joshua White, better known as Josh or J, and his life similar growing up that shows what could have been Bruce Wayne's life had he not been so blessed. The Bat-Universe isn't going to be normal, hope everyone's okay with my version. Thanks please read and review, I'll do the same. Rated T for not nice words and violence.
The streets of Gotham were rank from the trash that was slowly filling the back alleys, both the literal trash and the human type. Vile acts were done in the darkness of night, and no one could do anything to stop it. The police were either paid off by the different crime lords, or turned a cold shoulder to those people beneath them. Alongside the shady low-time criminals were the poor victims they preyed upon. No one left the safety of their homes after the sun had set, but there were some who didn't have the safety of a locked door to shelter them. Jenna Cole was amongst this group, and she was late.
She had been held up in the grocery store and was sprinting down the back streets that led to her very humble shelter where her six year old son waited; she hoped. If she had a choice she would never take her eyes off of him, but today had been his first day at school. After she had dropped him off she had went to do the little work she could find. She had washed and dried a few people's cloths, but many of them were just as poor as her, but were blessed to be working in a full time job, she couldn't accept the extra money they offered, they had their own children to provide for. Next she had went to the elderly Mrs. Whatt's to buy her, her weekly groceries, but was disappointed to find that Mrs. Whatt's children were visiting and had already done her job for her. That was tough news, Mrs. Whatt's always tipped well, and had enough it didn't bother Jenna to accept her generosity.
After that disappointing blow Jenna went off to the Bruce Wayne Charity. The teenage billionaire had opened a few of these up to help both house the homeless and give money to the poor for food. Jenna had seen these charities and had never wanted to accept, it seemed like an easy out. She wanted to believe that if she worked hard enough she could raise her sweet Joshua and he would be able to make a difference in others' lives, and also she didn't want to live off of charity because she had seen too many people give up working and just accept the small amount they could from Bruce's kind give outs. But she had no money, except the little she had gotten for the cloths she had done today. Paying for Joshua's school had exhausted her savings, and she had to feed her son tonight. Looking towards Wayne tower she saw it was almost 2. School would be out in a little over an hour, so she jumped in line to see how much she could get. After 45 minutes she could see the front door of the building, but then the worst thing happened, the people began closing the doors shouting that they had run out of today's funds.
Jenna wanted to cry but wouldn't do so here for everyone to see. So instead she hurried towards the grocery store to buy what she could. As she walked she remembered how life had been before she had had Joshua. She had been working a comfortable job at the hospital and making a good living. She went on dates and was even falling in love, but that was when things changed. She got pregnant, her boyfriend left, not wanting that responsibility, the hospital laid her off, promising her job back after the child was born. The delivery had almost killed her and Joshua, the doctors had to perform multiple surgeries to save the two, but those surgeries didn't come cheap. At some of the lowest times in life she had often wished that she could have died, Joshua might have gotten a better life, maybe been adopted by a rich family and lived in comfort, but she had loved Joshua with all her heart the second she laid eyes on him. He was a healthy baby about 8 pounds and 11 inches long. She remembered counting his fingers; all ten were there, then the toes, all there as well. He was brought to her asleep so she didn't know what color his eyes were, but his hair was a dark blonde, after her own, but with a slight curl from his father. Then as she was taking in her son, just looking at the beauty that she had created he woke up looking around, with bright blue eyes, they caught hers and they stared into each other's souls and in hers she promised to never let him get hurt and that she would love him always. As if the child had heard all of this he smiled, before drifting back to sleep. Jenna had never regretted having Joshua, and never would.
All of this went through her mind as she hurried to the grocery store; there she picked up two cans of generic ravioli. They could eat it cold; they had before, and went to check out. However, before she could pay a man in a dirty trench coat walked into the store and pulled out a small 9mm handgun and began shouting, "Everyone on the floor now and maybe you all will live." Jenna jumped at his cruel voice and the shock of the unexpected, but quickly did as he said. He began with the clerk and soon the register was emptied, but apparently the goon wasn't satisfied, he moved onto the man who was at the front of the line and demanded his wallet, the man gave it up without hesitation. The criminal kept going down the line and finally arrived at Jenna. "Hand over your cash, sweetheart," he demanded aiming the gun at her chest. "N-no ple-ease, this is all I have I have to feed my child," she begged. Upon hearing some defiance the man raised his gun and clubbed her with the small barrel of it laying her onto the ground. He began to try searching her pockets, but she took the ravioli in her hand and slammed it as hard into his temple as she could. He staggered back, and was tackled by the first man whose wallet he had taken. The clerk pulled out a hidden shotgun and came from behind the counter and used it like a baseball bat to get rid of the crooks gun, also breaking his hand in the process. Jenna dove for the pistol and stood with it pointed to the injured crook. The two men then went on to tie him up and call the cops. Jenna looked at the clock on the wall and saw that Joshua must have made it back to their shelter by now, asked the clerk if she could have the ravioli. The clerk, who was very grateful for her help, allowed her to take it and a few hundred from the register, everyone who was there thanked her for rescuing them as she bolted out the door. It wasn't until she crossed the next corner she realized she still had the gun, so she slipped it into her shopping bag and continued running back to Joshua.
It was about 4:30 before she reached the hung up blanket that was her front door, she could hear Joshua crying inside and rushed in to see what was wrong. He had a black eye and was in a little pain, but some good motherly love soon had him telling her what had happened. It turned out that kids were meaner than she remembered. Some older kids had seen his cheap cloths and had made fun of him; Joshua had tried to find a way to leave the mean kids' company when they began to beat him up. Being kids they couldn't do much damage, but one had gotten a lucky swing and hit Joshua's left eye, almost immediately causing it to swell and blacken. The boys told him not to tell and ran off.
He had walked home after that, missing the rest of school and had been home alone longer than Jenna had known. She was about to tell him that he should have told the teacher, but was interrupted by a yell from outside their shack. "Hey, slut, get out here." Jenna rose from her beside Joshua and stepped outside, this was normal. The man was another homeless that lived down their alley, and seemed to be always drunk. "Get that kid of yours to shut the hell up, will ya, I'm trying to sleep," the belligerent man slurred. "I'm sorry if he has bothered you sir," Jenna replied. "You're not sorry yet, but you will be blondie," he screamed in a drunken rage and began to beat on Jenna, from his pants pocket he pulled out a small knife and began to inch bring it closer to her neck. Jenna grabbed his hand with both of hers and tried to push it away. "Please leave me alone, please," Jenna sobbed through the fear and pain she felt from the drunken man's actions. Then the man used his other hand and punched her in the kidney, she instinctively reached for her sides in pain, and it was enough for the man to finish her. She felt the cold steel slip easily through her neck and then the feeling was replaced by white hot pain as the man slashed to the other side of her neck. Blood was pouring from her body, she was soon lying in a red pool and before she lost consciousness she gurgled out one final word, that only she knew, "Joshua." And her life was at an end.
BAAAAANG, the drunken man collapsed without a word and died before he hit the ground. The small barrel of the gun then pushed the rest of the curtain open and out stepped Joshua. He dropped the gun and grabbed his mom, shaking her trying to wake her, but to no avail. A strong pair of hands lifted him up and he tried to fight them, but the arms held him tightly, though not painfully. He heard the man whisper, "It'll be alright sonny, just go to sleep." With that the stranger quickly knocked out the small child and grabbed the gun and slid it into his jacket. He then carried the boy to his apartment right above Joshua's former shack.