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: I skipped all the training scenes, just an FYI. I might do a few flashbacks to it if I feel like it, but it picks up when he's on the plane home to Gotham. The first real chapter! Enjoy!
Allons-y!
One: New Beginnings
Seven Years Later
Bruce Wayne had spent seven years trying to learn how criminals… ticked so to say. He had most recently been trained to be a member of the League of Shadows, learned to face his fears. As he was about to be accepted, he learned their goal was to rid all the evils in Gotham by destroying the city, he refused to join. Instead, he burned their temple down and watched as the League of Shadow's leader, Ra's al Ghul, was killed from a set of burning rafters that fell upon him. He saved the man who had brought him there, Henri Ducard, and left to return home. He was ready to return home.
He walked down a private plane runway, back facing the mountains, covered in mud, hair swept from his face, eyes trained on the private jet that waited for him. The door opened and a set of stairs unfolded, Alfred Pennyworth emerging in the doorway. Spotting the familiar face of Bruce a small smile lit the old man's face.
" Master Wayne, you've been gone a long time," Alfred said as Bruce came closer. He smiled at the familiar British accented voice, and lifted his eyebrows once and looked up at Alfred's familiar face.
" Yes, I have," He agreed.
" You look very fashionable," Alfred told him as he took in the wool coat, ragged bag and knee-high boots Bruce wore. Bruce laughed quietly, looking down at his own clothes. " Apart from the mud."
Once on the jet and after Bruce had cleaned up, the two men sat across from each other in comfortable leather chairs. Bruce had his face turned towards the windows and he watched the heavenly white clouds.
" Are you coming back to Gotham for long, Sir?" Alfred asked curiously.
" As long as it takes. I want to show the people of Gotham that their city doesn't belong to the criminals and the corrupt," Bruce said quietly, plans and ideas running through his head. He'd have to figure out the specifics very soon.
" In the depression, your father nearly bankrupted Wayne Enterprises combating poverty. He believed his example could… inspire the wealthy of Gotham to save their city," Alfred began to explain, meeting Bruce's eyes.
" Did it?"
" In a way… their murder shocked the wealthy and the powerful into action."
Bruce stayed quiet for a few moments before lifting his brown eyes to meet Alfred's. A different look crossed his face as he spoke again.
" People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy and I can't do that as Bruce Wayne. As a man I'm flesh and blood… I can be ignored, I can be destroyed. But as a symbol… as a symbol I can be incorruptible. I can be everlasting," Bruce explained remembering the things Henri had taught him.
" What symbol?" Asked the old butler with interest.
" Something elemental. Something terrifying," Bruce said in a contemplative tone.
" I assume that as you're taking on the underworld this symbol is a persona to protect those you care about from reprisals?" Alfred inquired with an eyebrow raised. Understanding crossed Bruce's face.
" You're taking about Rachel?"
" Actually, Sir, I was thinking of myself," He admitted with a laugh and a smile. A smile pulled on Bruce's lips before he asked,
" Have you told anyone I'm coming back?"
" I couldn't figure the legal ramifications of bringing you back from the dead," Alfred explained with a laugh. Bruce's eyes widened in shock. So, everyone in Gotham thought he was dead?
" Dead?" He whispered.
" You've been gone for seven years."
" You had me declared dead?"
" Well, actually, it was Mr. Earle. He's thinking of taking the company public," He said, referring to Wayne Enterprises. " He wanted to liquidate your majority shareholding. Those shares are worth quite a bit of money."
" Well, it's a good thing I left everything to you then," Bruce said with a tight smile.
" Quite so, Sir." Alfred leaned back into his seat, shutting his eyes. " And you can borrow the Rolls if you like. Just bring it back with a full tank."
Bruce smiled at him and then looked back at the window, knowing they were swiftly approaching Gotham. He was finally home.
OOO
" In my opinion, Mr. Zsaz is as much a danger to himself as to others. And prison is probably not the best environment for his rehabilitation," Said a man with thick deep brown hair and startling blue eyes as he sat in the Gotham Court House, trying to convince the judge to let Mr. Zsaz not go to jail, but to instead be sent to Arkham Asylum. Rachel Dawes sighed as she watched the private hearing, collecting her papers.
After the hearing, the tall brunette haired man was walking to exit the courthouse, glasses still in place, briefcase in hand.
" Dr. Crane," Rachel called as she jogged up to him, jacket slung over her arm. Dr. Jonathan Crane glanced back at the woman and then looked back ahead.
" Ah, Miss Dawes," He replied, already knowing what was coming.
" You think a man who butchers people for the mob doesn't belong in jail?" She asked incredulously as they continued to walk.
" I would have hardly testified to that otherwise, would I, Miss Dawes?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He would have kept walking had the woman not stepped in front of him, blocking his path. Rachel's brown hair had been pulled back into a tight ponytail and her brown eyes had a confident look in them.
" This is the third of Carmine Falcone's thugs you've had declared insane and moved into your Asylum," Rachel stated strongly, suspicion creeping into his voice. Crane smirked at her.
" Well, the work offered by organized crime must have an attraction to the insane," Crane practically spat before the smirk faded to a grimace and he turned and walked around her, leaving her staring after him in shock. She followed him swiftly.
" Or the corrupt," She stated, stopping him in his tracks. Crane's eyebrow twitched, this woman truly never gave up did she? He'd have to find a way to fix that… His jaw clenched in the slightest as he spotted someone.
" Mr. Finch," He called, causing the lawyer to turn. " You should check with Miss Dawes here just what implications your office has authorized her to make. If any." And with that, Crane began to march past him, clearly thinking he was above everyone else.
Carl Finch walked over to Rachel and looked at her confused.
" What are you doing, Rachel?" He asked.
" What are you doing, Carl?" She responded, sounding a bit surprised.
" Looking out for you!" He pulled her off to the side and glanced around. " Falcone has half the city bought and paid for. Drop it."
" How can you say that?"
" Because as much as I care about catching Falcone, I care more about you," Finch told her.
" That's sweet," Rachel told him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. " We've been through all that."
OOO
Bruce sat on the floor of his room in Wayne Manor, newspaper articles and pictures spread out around him. He was taking notes on things that happened over the last seven years, namely things related to Falcone. Among the pictures were ones of Sergeant James Gordon and Rachel. Picking up another article, he began to read it. He'd been sitting there a while and had a glass of half empty orange juice by his foot.
He heard a chirping sound and looked up. Nothing. Looking back down, he began to write and heard the sound again. He looked up once more and stood, walking out to the hall. He saw a small bat flapping in the corner up by the ceiling.
" Blessed bat again, Sir," Alfred told him as he walked down the hall, holding a silver tray with a teapot and a cup on it. " They nest somewhere on the grounds."
Bruce stared at it for a moment longer before an idea came to him. Somewhere on the grounds… somewhere it could actually get into the house… Well, he now had a plan for the day. He go dressed and headed down to the infamous well he'd fallen down where he'd gain his fear of bats. He yanked at the vines that had grown over it, revealing splintered wood. He wrenched up most of the boards as well and then grabbed the cable he'd brought with him and tied it off tightly to a nearby tree, beginning to lower himself down the well. He stared around at everything and remembered that day so long ago when he'd fallen. He heard running water and as he peered into the dark that was an opening to a cave-like area, he decided he had to go further.
Bruce squeezed through the small opening and lowered himself down a rocky slope, landing on his feet in a massive cave. There were dark and damp jagged rocks protruding from the walls and cave floor, a waterfall gushed downwards nearby and a river seemed to flow throughout the cave. As he took cautious steps, he looked upwards as he heard familiar chirping. Bruce carefully reached into his pocket and extracted a hand held light, switching it on and lifting it up, light illuminating his face.
Dozens, if not hundreds, of bats descended upon him, flying around him as he dropped to the ground, eyes closed. After a beat he slowly began to stand, feeling little fear. He had to face what fears he had if his plan was going to work.
OOO
Wayne Tower stood proud and tall over the city of Gotham, windows shining, the name WAYNE displayed on the side. The board was holding a meeting discussing the very probably possibility to take the company public, but they didn't know that they were about to be visited by a very special surprise guest.
Bruce casually strolled into an office wearing a pristine suit and with his hair brushed back. His brown eyes scanned the room and landed on a secretary who was answering the phone.
" Good morning, Mr. Earle's office. Yes, he's confirmed for the dinner tomorrow evening," She told them before jotting something down and hanging up. Bruce walked over and stopped in front of the desk, the woman not looking up.
" Good morning. I'm here to see Mr. Earle," He said, hands in his pockets.
" Name?"
" Bruce Wayne."
The woman looked up in shock.
Inside the meeting, they all were debating what Thomas Wayne would have done.
" Thomas would probably not have taken the company public. But that is what we, as responsible managers, are going to do," Mr. Earle said before pressing a button on the intercom. " Jessica?" A pause of silence. " Jessica, where are you?" Getting fed up with his secretary not picking up, he stood and went to the door. " Why is no one answering the phone?" He demanded, cutting off when all the board members saw a man teaching Jessica how to hold a golf club.
" It's Wayne Enterprises, Mr. Earle. I'm sure they'll call back," Bruce told him with a smirk, turning to face him. Everyone was shocked.
" Bruce. You're supposed to be dead!"
" I'm sorry to disappoint," Bruce teased.
Mr. Earle took Bruce into his office after dismissing the board, ready to talk to him. He offered Thomas Wayne's son a glass of champagne as he took one for himself.
" I'm sure you realize I can't stop the big machine. Too many wheels turning," Mr. Earle said. " We're going public."
" I understand. And I'll be handsomely rewarded for my shares," He stated, sitting straight in his chair. " I'm not looking to interfere. I am looking for a job."
" Oh?"
" I just want to get to know the company that my family built."
" Any idea of where you'd like to start?" Mr. Earle asked with curiosity.
" Applied Sciences caught my eye," Bruce admitted and saw the man's face immediately change.
" Fox's department. I'll let him know your coming. We'll also give you his old PA, he doesn't really have a need for one," Mr. Earle informed. " You look like him, your dad. You're the only one left of the Wayne family. This is where you belong. Welcome home."
Mr. Fox's department ended up being the lowest floor, well, let's face it, it was sort of in the basement of Wayne Tower, seeing as it wasn't considered an important department as well as the fact it had the most space for all the technology.
" Environmental procedures, defense projects, consumer products. All prototypes. None in production on any level whatsoever," Mr. Fox told Bruce as he sat at his desk, leaning back in his chair.
" None?" Bruce asked.
" What did they tell you this place was?" Mr. Fox asked curiously as he stood, brow creasing.
" They didn't tell me anything," Bruce admitted. Mr. Fox flicked a switch and lights switched on around them.
" Mr. Earle told me exactly what it was when he sent me down here. Dead end. A place to keep me from causing the board any more trouble," Mr. Fox said with a smirk.
" Mr. Fox, do you have…" A female voice began to say, but immediately trailed off as a woman stepped into the room. She saw the two men and froze. " Was I interrupting a meeting? Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" She asked, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
" Juliet…"
" I can just come back later, it isn't really important," Juliet said, gesturing back to the door. Mr. Fox laughed.
" Juliet. It's not a meeting. I was just telling Mr. Wayne here about the department," He said. Juliet looked over at Bruce, deep blue eyes widening.
" Wayne…? Bruce Wayne?" She asked. Bruce smiled and stepped forward extending a hand.
" Apparently back from the dead," He said as she shyly took his hand, shaking it. " And your name?"
" Juliet Williams."
" A pleasure to meet you," Bruce told her with a grin. Juliet had thick brown hair that had been pulled back into a bun, a single strand falling into her face. She had fair skin that contrasted well with the pink in her blouse and the black of her skirt and heels. She wore very little make up and she seemed to be a year or two younger than he was. The pale blush on her cheeks was still apparent and she couldn't seem to meet Bruce's eyes.
" Mr. Wayne I believe they said they were reassigning my personal assistant to you?" Bruce confirmed that with a nod. " Miss Williams will now be working for you then." Juliet let out a laugh and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.
" Mr. Earle reassigned me again? Of course… Well, I assume it will be a pleasure to work for you, Mr. Wayne," Juliet said to Bruce before turning to Mr. Fox. " Have you showed him around yet?" She asked. Mr. Fox chuckled.
" Not yet, I was waiting for you. Come on," Mr. Fox told them, nodding down the long hall. Juliet gestured for Bruce to follow the older man, who was already walking. Bruce's face was formed into a look of curiosity as the three began to walk along together.
" Mr. Fox, you said that you were on the board?" Bruce asked curiously. Mr. Fox nodded, smiling a bit.
" When your father ran things."
" You knew my father?"
" Oh yeah, helped him build his train!" Mr. Fox said. They were passing piles of cases and boxes, the majority of them locked and dusty, haven't having been opened in months and years. " Ah! Here we are!" Mr. Fox exclaimed as he stopped at one box, un did the locks and flipped it open. Inside it were a majority of items, and Mr. Fox lifted up a small harness. " Kevlar utility harness, gas powered magnetic grapple gun, the three hundred fifty pound test monofilament."
Bruce stepped over to the open box as Mr. Fox stepped away, picking up one of the items, which flipped open. He set it down and Juliet could see the interest washing over his face as he looked it all over. She raised an eyebrow as they began to follow Mr. Fox again, who was talking again.
" Wonderful project, your dad's train. Routed it right into Wayne Tower, along with the water and power utilities. Kind of made Wayne Tower the unofficial center of Gotham City. Of course, Earle let it go to rot. Here we are," He said as they stopped in front of a large black box that contained a few rows of large drawers. He pulled one open to reveal a body suit. He lifted it up a bit, the entire thing completely solid. " Nomex survival suit for the advanced infantry. Kevlar biweave, reinforced joints." He knocked against the chest, proving that it wasn't made of just some flimsy fabric.
" Tear resistant?" Bruce asked.
" This thing can stop a knife. Any kind, all kinds, we've tested it out," Juliet explained with a small smile. She'd been working with Fox for the past two and a half years and helped him test things; the survival suit had been one of the things they had retested for a while, hoping that maybe one day it would go into production, but it seemed highly unlikely.
Bruce looked up at her, a bit surprised that she had been the one to respond. She merely gave him a smile.
" Bullet proof?"
" Anything but a straight shot," Mr. Fox confirmed, setting it back down.
" Why didn't they put it into production?"
" Bean counters didn't think a soldier's life was worth three hundred grand," Was the reply from Mr. Fox as he slid the drawer back inside. Bruce seemed a bit surprised.
" I really hope one day they get it into their thick heads that these suits can save lives, but till then, it'll sit here in this drawer getting dusty," Juliet muttered with a shake of her head, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
" So… what's your interest in it, Mr. Wayne?" Fox asked, leaning against the container. As Bruce looked up, Juliet looked at him curiously. Come to think of it, she hadn't thought to ask why he was looking around.
" I wanna borrow it," Came Bruce's reply. " For uh… spelunking." There was a long pause as Fox and Juliet stared at him, brows furrowed.
" Spelunking?" Both asked in unison, tones of their voices clearly a tad confused.
" Yeah, you know, cave diving?" Bruce clarified, brows furrowing, the look on his face seeming to say that the two should know what spelunking was. Juliet's first thought was, Why would he need a practically bulletproof suit for cave diving? The second thought that ran through her head was something around the lines of; Of course he's going cave diving… He's Bruce Wayne. And he better not be stuck up because I'll have some problems working with him…That had apparently been Fox's thoughts as well.
" You expecting to run into much gun fire in these caves?" The older man asked. There was a pause as Bruce swiftly changed subject.
" Look, I'd rather Mr. Earle didn't know about me borrowing-"
" Mr. Wayne… The way I see it… All this stuff is yours anyway," Mr. Fox told him with a smile. Mr. Fox turned to Juliet. " Do you think you could bring everything that Mr. Wayne needs to where he needs it to be?"
" Of course!" She turned to Bruce. " I'll just need an address and I'll bring it over later today," She told him. Bruce smiled at her with a nod.
" I can do that. If I could get a pen…" He trailed off looking around. She blushed suddenly and lamely gestured back towards the entrance to the floor.
" Um… sorry, sometimes I forget that not everyone can read minds. If we go back to the uh… desks, I can get you a pen," She stuttered, beginning to walk away, head bent down in embarrassment. Bruce suppressed a lighthearted laugh as the two men watched her walk off.
" Juliet gets embarrassed easy and is… a bit awkward around new people. But don't worry, Mr. Wayne, once she feels she knows you better all that should dissipate," Mr. Fox assured him with a smirk.
" Any reason I should need to worry about her?" Bruce asked jokingly as they began to walk back towards the desks. Mr. Fox shook his head, sliding his hands into his pockets.
" No, she's a really nice woman. Once you get to know her she's strong willed and will voice her opinions whether someone likes it or not, which is probably one of the reasons she was reassigned so often. No one seemed to know what to do with her so they sent her down here with me where we'd both be no trouble to anyone. Oh, but a small warning, don't get on her bad side, she can have a bit of a temper some times," Mr. Fox said as they finally approached Juliet again, who was quickly rummaging through a tin of pencils. She yanked out one, discovered the tip was broken and then finally snatched a mechanical pencil and a post-it note.
Bruce walked over and took the two items from her hands, scribbling down the address to Wayne Manor and handing it back to her.
" There you go," He said.
" Thank you, I'll make sure to drop things by later today," Juliet told him, making note of the address.
" That'll be great." Juliet crouched down and began to rummage through a brown bag on the floor and Bruce leaned against the desk, watching her. " So, uh, how long have you worked at Wayne Industries?" He asked. If she's going to be his new PA (whether he really needed one or not) he might as well get to know her, right.
" Um… three years. First half year I was bounced around all over the place by Mr. Earle till I was sent down here, and I've got to say it's kind of the best place to be," She told him with a smile. He smiled back, chuckling a bit.
" Guess it's good I'm here then, isn't it?" He asked. Juliet laughed and nodded as well, straightening up from putting the address in her bag. She realized she found herself staring at Bruce and she quickly looked off, trying to convince herself his smile, which was the most charming smile she'd ever seen, wasn't that charming. Bruce looked down at his watch and then stood straight again.
" Well, I think I should be going, need to make sure Alfred doesn't chastise me for being gone for so long," He said before turning to Juliet. " Guess I'll see you again later, Miss Williams." And with one last charming smile, Bruce left the room.
Juliet blew out a breath as she leaned a hand on the desk and then looked over at Mr. Fox, who just happened to be smirking at her. Another embarrassed blush spread across her face.
" Oh, shut up," She muttered.
" I didn't say anything," Mr. Fox told her, still smirking.
" You're face says it all, Mr. Fox. And if he ends up being a stuck up little rich boy, you know there's gonna be problems," She muttered. Fox smiled and walked over, placing a hand on her shoulder.
" I promise you that everything will be fine."
Afterword: Sorry if this chapter was suckish! The next one should be better, I promise! I really hope some of you will give this a chance 'cause I'm gonna make it better I promise! So, I hope Juliet is an okay OC so far, more character development to come. Anyway, I'd love some good ol' positive reviews to keep me motivated! Next chapter we find out what Juliet actually wanted to do with her life, because I think it would be a tad odd if she'd always dreamed of being a Personal Assistant XD Reviews please! Thanks again!
~Mary
