Disclaimer: I do not own anything. DC & Warner Bros. does. I only own this story.
Let Me Tell You A Story
On the outskirts of Gotham City, there was a humongous, castle-liked mansion on top of a hill that overlooks the sea. Two-story tall concrete fences that stop at a gate with the letter 'W' inscribed that surrounds the mansion. A driveway that will take five to ten minutes to just arrived at a courtyard that has a fountain in the middle and a roundabout that surrounds the courtyard for guest to park their cars. The roundabout also goes off in one end to go to a huge garage. The unnecessary amount of stairs leads to two tall mahogany wooded double doors. The amount of grass that the mansion has could make you think you were in Gotham Park. There is a basketball court on the backyard as well as a Jacuzzi that forms into a waterfall that flows into the outdoor pool in a sub-level.
The beautiful blonde socialite Martha Wayne is currently preparing her son, Bruce Wayne, for the party they are hosting downstairs.
Bruce always hates attending to these kinds of parties. The kind of parties that is intended for grown-ups and a complete dull to the children they bring along with them. How he wishes his best friend in the whole wide world, Tommy Elliot, would be in the party as well. Then the party might be fun, but unfortunately Tommy went to Florida with his family for vacation. Now he has to go to his parent's event without any friends to hang around with. He understands that his mother and father love to show him off towards their friends, but other than making his parents happy, Bruce finds it the most boring and excruciating thing imaginable.
Martha was getting Bruce suited up in the master bedroom for half an hour while she combs his hair into a slicked-back hairstyle. When she turns away from him, he took the opportunity to mess with his hair. He hates how it makes him feel whenever his mother style his hair like she always does. It feels restrictive and contained. So when he starts messing with his hair and let it fall in waves over his forehead, he feels free. He stops messing with his hair when his Mom turns back to him and gives him The Look. The Look can be described as the narrowing of Martha Wayne's icy blue eyes, the same shade of blue eyes he has, and directing that glare into an individual. The Look is the scariest thing Bruce has ever seen. Every time Bruce does something wrong, his Mom gives him The Look, and he tells the truth, fess up, or stops what he is currently doing and freeze up. He sees his mother give The Look to his father whenever Thomas Wayne decides to spoil him a little bit. Even though both Martha and Thomas Wayne were both very wealthy individuals before they were married, Martha always believes in humbling her son in hopes that Bruce doesn't end up like most of the other rich boys: future playboys.
Bruce just wishes that his mother would finally let him get dressed by himself. He's a big boy now. Although his Mom says four years old is not yet old enough, he thinks it should be. He can tie his shoes by himself without Alfred's help now. The only problem is that the 'bunny ears' knot is kind of turning sideways instead.
Just as Martha finally finish dressing Bruce up in his tiny suit, Thomas walks inside the bedroom.
"Come on, Martha! John is waiting for us downstairs." Thomas Wayne says. Giovanni "John" Zatara was finally coming back to Gotham after almost four years. Thomas invited John and his daughter Zatanna over to the Valentine's Day gala they are hosting at the Mansion. Coincidentally, Valentine's Day is also Thomas and Martha Wayne's anniversary. They always invite a lot of friends over for a gathering at the Mansion to celebrate Valentine's Day with them. And this is a very great opportunity for them to catch up to what is happening in John's life and to finally meet his daughter John always talks about. The Wayne family, including Alfred, were vacationing in England, when Zatanna was born and by the time they came back to Gotham, John and Zatanna were on a jet heading to Italy to start John's magic show tour in Europe.
"Just about done." Martha replied back to her husband as she finishes straightening Bruce's bow tie. Standing up to admire her work, she smiles. She can live with Bruce's messy hair for now because it actually makes him look more adorable. She was glad that his hair doesn't go in different directions whenever he messes with his hair but falls on waves around his forehead instead. She also wants Bruce to meet John's daughter on a good note so he can play with someone else instead of the Elliot's kid. There was just too much drama with that kid's family that she always tenses up whenever Tommy ask Bruce to come over to his house or whenever Tommy's parents come by to pick Tommy up. Lord knows how many times she pray for the kid to just come out of that household intact and unbruised. Either way, Martha wants Bruce to be closer to somebody else that doesn't have a dysfunctional, horrible parents. Which made her thoughts go straight to John's daughter, Zatanna.
Who knows? John's little girl might end up marrying Bruce one day. Martha Wayne thought.
She has already seen John's little girl from the pictures he send Thomas and her. She was a very beautiful girl, with crystal blue eyes, long black wavy hair with a bangs hairstyle, and from what she heard from John himself, a very energetic and witty personality. Now that is a girl Martha can see Bruce growing up with and tying the proverbial knot as well. Technically, Martha already has plans in mind for the day Bruce gets married. Even though Bruce is still very young, she can't wait for the day she sees her baby boy turn into a man and stand in the front of the aisle, watching as his bride-to-be walk towards him in a pretty white gown, and unite each others lives forever in holy matrimony. She can already hear the preacher saying, "We are gather here today…" Martha was interrupted from her thoughts when her son waves his small hands in front of her face.
"Mom?" Bruce was looking at his Mom curiously. He has seen that dream-like look Martha had on moments ago before. Usually, he just has to get her attention to snap her out of it.
"Oh," Smoothing out any imaginative wrinkles on Bruce's shoulders, Martha complimented on her son's appearance, "Look at you. As handsome as ever." Bruce made a funny face at that compliment and Martha just laughs at her son's antics. She taps on his shoulder, signaling he is free to go downstairs to the party. Bruce immediately runs off to the door and past his father. Turning around, with a natural grace, Martha face her husband Thomas, who was leaning on the doorway, with a grin that could only be described as playful.
"Hey there beautiful, come here often?" Thomas deep voice drops a couple of octaves for the effect. If he were still a single man, he wouldn't have any problems finding women who are willing. Handsome, smart, compassionate, rich, tall, strong, giving, and a jawline that is completely masculine and completely his own. If she has to figure out her own husband's jawline in a thousand other men's jawline, she would be able to pick it out quickly. But there's a reason why he choose and married Martha out of all the women that came to his life. She was his spitfire and their first encounter with each other made a memorable first impression upon Thomas during their college years.
"Yeah," She chuckled, "I come here often. I kind of live here." She locked arms with Thomas as they start walking towards the party that was occurring downstairs at the moment. Looking at his beautiful wife, Thomas wonders what she was thinking.
"So, what were you thinking back there? You look like you were having one of your daydreams you usually have when Bruce accomplish something." Thomas asks. Martha looks back at him and tilts her head as if she was thinking something over.
"Nothing. I can just see how our son will grow up to be a great man one day." Martha replied. Thomas nodded in agreement as they turn to face the grand stairs. They both start descending and everybody at the party look up at them and hollered.
"HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!" The crowd shouted. Martha and Thomas Wayne smile in front of everyone and started greeting the friends that came over to congratulate him or her on their anniversary. They work through the crowd until both finally came across John Zatara, wearing a formal suit, with his iconic black top hat, and a cane in his right hand for balance. And standing right next to him, was his four year-old daughter, Zatanna, who was wearing a lovely yellow sundress.
"Happy Anniversary you two." John congratulated. Hugging them one by one.
"Thanks John. Glad you can make it. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Thomas asked, clasping his hands in John's shoulder as a greeting.
"Yeah, it has." John replied. While Thomas and John were talking, Martha, who was facing John's little girl, bend down to shake the little girl's hand.
"Hey," With a sweet, welcoming voice, "What's your name?"
"Zatanna." The little girl replied with an almost shy voice.
"Zatanna," Martha says slowly, as if testing the sound of her name, "That's a very unique name. What does it mean?" Shrugging her little shoulders, Zatanna shakes her head before replying.
"I don't know." Zatanna answered. Martha laughed at her answer. Zatanna doesn't know what her name actually means. She asked her father why she was named Zatanna and he replied carefully that her mother wanted to name her Zatanna. She ask her father why her mother wasn't with them and he just replied that she was ill and died shortly after her birth. The news made Zatanna cried and she blame herself for her own mothers death, which her father rebutted and told sternly, while hugging her tight, that she didn't cause her mother's death but because it was just her time to leave, but she will always love Zatanna even from the beyond.
Martha sees how the little girl's demeanor started changing, so she looks for her son. She turns her head to the right then left when she spots Bruce stuffing his mouth with a giant chocolate cupcake. She can see little chocolate crumbles falling on his formal suit. Not too thrill to have John and Zatanna first impressions of Bruce being bad, she signals to Alfred to take care of the problem. Alfred, seeing that familiar signal, went straight to Bruce and starts to clean him up. With his handkerchief, paper towels and baby wipes that look like it appear out of nowhere, Bruce was as clean as he first came out of the master bedroom.
Alfred brings Bruce over to Martha, as she turns Bruce to meet John's little girl.
"Bruce, I would like you to meet someone." Bruce smiles kindly and waves at Zatanna as she shyly waves back at him and look at anything else besides the boy standing in front of her.
"Hi, I'm Bruce. What's your name?" Bruce enthusiastically ask. He always like making new friends.
"Zatanna." She softly replied. Bruce couldn't quite hear her right through her whisper that he thought she said something else.
"Hi Zanna." Bruce says. To Bruce, Zatanna's name was weird. Like all the foreign business people his father introduce him to.
"It's Zatanna." Zatanna corrected him, more vocal this time so he hears her better. Bruce tries again to say her name correctly, but still couldn't say it right after a few tries. Zatanna seems to be getting annoyed by Bruce's inability to say her name right.
"Za... Zaa... Zaat... You know what, I like Zanna better." Bruce says. Zatanna's nose wrinkled up at this as she starts getting mad.
"Okay… Brucie." Zatanna wittingly replied, which got her a glare from Bruce.
"It's Bruce."
"No… I like Brucie better." Zatanna smiled in a way that signals she is a definitive winner in this conversation. Bruce picks this up as a challenge and he comes back the only way he knows how.
"Zanna."
"Brucie."
"Zanna."
"Brucie."
This is not how I planned this meeting. Martha thought. Not wanting this back-and-forth to go on any longer, she decides to break it up. She looks down at her son and encourages him.
"Go play with her." Bruce look back at her in surprise. Leaning toward his mother ear, Bruce whispered.
"But Mom. She's a girl!" Hearing what Bruce has said, Zatanna annoyed look completely disappears as a sudden temper comes over to replace it instead.
"What's wrong with being a girl?!" She exclaimed. Martha, surprised by the sudden outburst from the little girl, raised her eyebrows at this. Zatanna definitely reminds Martha of herself when she was at that age. Heck, she was like that throughout her whole life which only made her like John's little girl more. Turning to face Zatanna, with a calm demeanor, Bruce elaborated.
"Girls have cooties. Duh! Everybody knows that. It's proven science."
"Well, boys are stupid!"
"Nah-huh. I'm the smartest kid in my class. So…" Bruce follows this up by sticking his tongue out. Just as he sticks his tongue out, his mother put her hands in his shoulder and he looks up at her. Martha was giving him "The Look" and Bruce immediately realize he did something wrong. Looking like he was ashamed, Bruce looks back at Zatanna with an apologetic look in his face. "I'm sorry."
Zatanna, hearing him say he was sorry was enough for her. But then a witty thought came to her and she put on a mischievous grin in her face. Suddenly, she springs forward to Bruce and envelops him in a hug. Bruce's mind completely went into haywire and he tries to ply himself out of Zatanna's hug.
"COOTIES!" Bruce yelled. Zatanna just laughs and points at him.
"Got you!" She triumphantly declared. Glaring at her, Bruce starts to chase her and Zatanna runs. The two little kids were running and weaving around all the adults that were dancing and chatting with one another. Causing a small commotion during the anniversary party.
Meanwhile, Thomas, Martha, and John looked from the distance as they watch their kids chase each other.
"You have a very beautiful daughter, John." Thomas commented.
"Smart too." Martha added.
"Thank you, my friends. Your son seems like the chip off the old block as well." John complimented as he look pointedly at Thomas, who Bruce share a resemblance of when he was a kid.
"Oh no, Bruce is way ahead of where I or Martha was when we were his age." Thomas replied.
"How so?"
"He's a prodigy."
"A prodigy?" John questioned in astonishment.
"He excels at everything he does. From sports to academics, he can master a subject in a matter of a month when it takes years for others to. The doctors, professors, and experts are also saying that his mind is the mind of a genius. And you know his mind won't stop developing till his mid twenties. They predict that he has the potential to be one of the smartest men when he grows up… or a professional or Olympian athlete if he so chooses. They also show me evidence of Bruce having photographic memory."
"Does he?" John asked.
"Yeah, you should have seen the look on his art teacher's face when she asks him to draw our house and the family. He got all the details, all the way down to the texture of my mustache, without even looking at any pictures."
"So he's not just a genius. He's an artist?" John laughed.
"He's also a pretty good singer." Martha proudly added.
"Is there anything he can't do?" John asked. The boy seemed to have the greatest genes a human being can have. And looking at Thomas tall six foot and two inch height, he can tell Bruce would grow up to be as tall or even taller than his own father.
"He can't cook." Martha deadpanned. But the smile on her face makes it look like she is fonder of that one flaw in her son than anything else.
"Yeah, but Martha, you can't expect a four year old to know how to make fine cuisine." John stated.
"Oh no, he can't cook or make himself even the most simplest kinds of food. From peanut butter sandwiches to microwaving a couple of Pizza Rolls." Thomas remarks.
"Don't forget the cookies he tried to bake." Martha laughingly added. Just then, Alfred passed by, carrying a silver tray full of empty glasses of wine.
"I thought we made a deal to never speak of that dreadful day ever again, Miss Wayne." Alfred says with a face that can only describe a person remembering something horrible from the past.
"I'm sorry, Alfred." Martha laughed as Alfred walk away towards the kitchen section of the mansion. Just then, they heard tables crashing and sees Bruce and Zatanna covered in food. Shaking her head, Martha started walking towards them, "I'll get them before they get into any more trouble."
"So what happened that day?" John curiously asked Thomas as his wife leave their vicinity.
"He accidentally put the whole kitchen on fire… Including Alfred's hair." Thomas answered. They both laugh at the image of Alfred Pennyworth rolling on the floor, trying to save his hair from destruction.
"Besides cooking, it seems like you have a very special son."
"I just have to keep him on the right path." Thomas whole speech started to change. Like his happy and laughing tone was replaced by one fill with dread.
"I'm sure he will grow up to be a good man, Thomas."
"Will he?" Thomas incredulously asked, "They are asking me for a progress report on him! They want him, John. And I won't let him become one of them! I will rather die than let that happen." John fully knows what Thomas is talking about. The association Thomas has tied himself into.
"Why not just leave and bring your family with you, Thomas? They are only rooted in Gotham. Your family could come with my family and go to Italy. Just leave the Court…" Thomas abruptly interrupted him.
"My father tried leaving and where did that got him? They took out the whole family and spare me in return for my services. There is no way out." Thomas looked down in defeat as John Zatara laid a hand on his shoulder and speaks with wisdom and determination.
"There is always a way, Thomas. Remember that."
Meanwhile, Bruce and Zatanna are sitting in kitchen stools as Alfred finish cleaning out the last remaining foods that were stuck in their hair and clothing and Martha was finished scolding them on their actions, which lead to her saying that they can't eat the giant bowl of ice cream filled with M&M's and gummy bears she had saved up for them. Which also leads to Bruce and Zatanna's disappointed sighs.
Now they are sitting alone in the kitchen and not really saying anything to each other, until…
"You know this is your fault." Zatanna claimed.
"Nah-huh," Bruce smiles while shaking his head dramatically, "It's your fault. You gave me cooties. So the rules say I have to give it back."
"Sorry, no refunds." Zatanna laughingly replied. Which also got Bruce to laugh.
"Zanna, you sure are a fun person." Bruce commented.
"The funnest. And don't you forget it, Brucie." Zatanna smugly replied.
"We are going to be best friends forever, aren't we?" Bruce asks but it was more of a statement than a question. Like he knows the answer to the question already. He just looks at Zatanna's face and knows that they are going to be best friends for the rest of their lives. When Zatanna's lips started turning into a smile, she answered:
"Always."