Okay so I have a lot to address in this A/N. First off, I wanted to address updates to this story. If it hasn't been obvious enough, updates have been incredibly inconsistent because it's taken me two years to finish it. But I plan on finishing this before I leave for college (August 18th is my move in day) and then when it comes to the sequel, I'll try to update weekly and have a set day that will depend on my schedule for classes.
Secondly. I was writing this last night and then when I thought about it, my timeline I started with makes no sense. For some reason I was under the impression that Bruce was out of the country twice. Once before Chill's trial and then again after the trial. I don't know why, because I've always known that Bruce went to Princeton for what I think is a year. It was never specified in the movie how long he was at Princeton University and I have scoured the internet for an answer. I think he was only there for a year because when he comes back to the trial, Alfred asks Bruce how he likes Princeton, that leads me to believe he had to be in his first year or something. Oh well, if I'm wrong, then I'm taking the L. All in all, I don't know why I thought what I thought, but it's been fixed. So now Ans is nine when Bruce comes back. I gave about two years to account for college, and then the seven years he was away with the League of Shadows,
Lastly, I know that Bruce is not in the manor during TDK because the movie is technically set about a few months to a year after Batman Begins. But the way that time fits my AU TDK is set eight years after Batman Begins, and I mean come on it doesn't take eight years to rebuild a man like that. ALSO, I changed it to where the whole manor doesn't burn down, only a portion of it does, you'll understand later in the chapter. I think that's all I wanted to address with my readers, so enjoy!
THIS CHAPTER WAS UPDATED AND PROOFREAD FOR TYPOS, GRAMMAR, AND PLOT/TIMELINE ISSUES AS OF 7/18/2020
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A good three hours had passed since Jim Gordon's visit. In those three hours, Anslee did her best to calm herself down and take it easy so the nurses didn't have any reason to keep her longer. Eventually they had discharged her and Alfred had come as fast as he could with a change of clothes for Anslee and a cup of subpar coffee for Bruce.
When Anslee walked out of the bathroom in her normal clothes, she looked to Bruce, "What time is it?" she asked groggily.
Bruce glanced at the watch on his wrist, "Bright and early 4 AM."
"Great," Ans groaned.
"Are you okay to walk out?" Bruce raised an eyebrow at her.
She nodded as she sat down on the edge of the hospital bed to put on her sneakers, "I'll be okay."
"I'll be outside of the room with Alfred, take your time," the father turned to leave the room while Ans finished putting on her shoes. He figured he needed to talk to Alfred before he officially showed Anslee his double life.
When he walked out, he saw Alfred standing up straight with a tired look in his eyes.
"I will have you know, the young Miss has caught some attention of the media...they're having a field day with the story of Miss Dawes and Mr. Dent," the older man spoke.
Bruce sighed, this was the last thing Anslee needed, "They're gathered outside the hospital aren't they?"
"It seems someone here may have tipped off that she was being discharged," Alfred nodded.
"I hate to overwhelm her," Bruce glanced back into the room, "I'm telling her about Batman."
Alfred looked into the room as well as he watched the seventeen year old stand up from the hospital bed. The man saw the somber look on her face and how she could only look at the ground as she walked.
"I'll go pull the car around," Alfred spoke as he stalked off towards the elevators.
The door to the room opened and Anslee walked out, "Can we go home?"
"Yes," Bruce gave her a small smile.
Bruce led the way while Anslee followed timidly behind him. She was so paranoid that anyone could be around her that was against her. That night at the police precinct was scarring to her. She didn't want to be attacked out of the blue again because of where it landed her last time.
When they made it to the front entrance leading out of the ER, Bruce could already see there were a few people standing on the steps, some with voice recorders while there were two or three people with large broadcasting cameras accompanied by people with large microphones. Bruce clenched his fists just seeing them.
Anslee caught sight of the people when she looked past Bruce and Alfred. She slowed her pace as they approached the doors to leave.
"What are they doing here?"
Bruce stopped and turned to look at her, "I don't know...but if they try and talk to you or ask you things, ignore them and just keep walking. I'll be with you the whole time. Alfred's got the car pulled up."
Anslee kept her eyes locked on the people outside of the hospital with that same look of disdain she used to give Bruce. She really didn't feel like dealing with people that were going to bombard her about the Joker, Harvey, and her dead mother.
Ans took a shaky breath and nodded her head, "Let's go."
Bruce could tell she didn't want to do it, but if she wanted to go home, it was really her only option. He continued forward at a slower pace to make sure his daughter was close behind him. Once he was close enough that the automatic doors opened, it seemed like chaos broke out.
The media people stormed the entrance, barely allowing enough room for Bruce and Anslee to walk down the steps and to the car. Flashes of light went off every other second from people trying to snatch pictures of them leaving
"Mister Wayne, Mister Wayne!" one man called out as he tried to shove a recorder in Bruce's face.
"Can you give us a statement about the Joker, Anslee?" Another woman tried to put a microphone close to her face.
"How's Harvey Dent?" someone yelled.
Bruce shielded Anslee from the people while also shoving aside the ones that decided to stand in their path of the car. Anslee reached out to take hold of Bruce's hand so she wouldn't be cut off by one of the media people and separated from him.
Eventually they were able to push through the small crowd of people that had formed around them and made it to the back passenger side door. Bruce reached out to open the door with one hand and kept ahold of Anslee with the other.
"Any comment on the murder of Rachel Dawes? Who do you blame?" one man who was standing less than a foot behind Anslee asked.
The girl froze where she stood trying to process what the man had just said. She had to be hearing things. Of all people to ask, he asked her. Anslee's blood boiled and she clenched her free hand into a fist while the other one squeezed Bruce's tighty. Bruce had noticed the pressure on his hand increase.
Anslee hadn't ever whipped around to face someone so fast in her entire life. She especially had never done it while connecting her fist with someone's jaw. It all happened in a split second. Bruce had looked over his shoulder to see Anslee swing her fist at the man that had asked her the questions about Rachel. A powerful crack sounded when her fist hit the man square in the jaw. He doubled over with a grunt, making the crowd back away a few inches from the girl and her father.
"Ok, Ans, come on," Bruce pulled her towards the car as she glared at the man she had just punched in the face.
The teen didn't even argue when Bruce pulled her back. She got in the car without a struggle. Bruce shut the door and quickly walked around to the other side to get in. When he got in the car and looked to the teen, she looked to the ground and breathed steadily as if she had been holding her breath whilst punching the man. He was awestruck at what just happened. He didn't think Anslee had a single violent bone in her body. Nor did he even think she was capable of taking a guy of his stature out with just one swing.
Alfred began to drive the car away from the hospital and Anslee leaned her head against the car door. Even though she had slept for a little over a day on top of the few hours after she first woke up, Anslee was absolutely exhausted. She didn't know why, but she felt like she was going to pass out again.
Meanwhile, Bruce looked down at his hands that were folded in his lap. He didn't think he'd ever see the day he'd be revealing Batman to Anslee, let alone the fact that he WAS The Batman. It made him nervous. It made him think about if what he was about to do was going to defeat everything that him and Anslee had built up over the past few weeks. He loved having her depend on him. He loved being able to be there for her without being constantly pushed away. He didn't want to throw away all of that.
By now it was too late to change his mind. Alfred was pulling up to Wayne Manor and Bruce couldn't go back on his word now.
Anslee picked up her head when she heard the car shift its gears into park. When she looked out the window and saw the manor, she frowned.
"I thought we were going to the penthouse…"
Bruce looked up at the manor, "I have something I need to show you."
His ominous words made Anslee look over at him.
"Come on," Bruce instructed as he got out of the car.
Anslee opened her own door and stepped into the early morning air. She was pretty sure the car's clock had read almost 5 AM when they had pulled up to the manor. Bruce had walked around the car and headed towards the manor steps. Upon not hearing footsteps behind him, he stopped and turned.
Anslee stared up at the manor. She looked intimidated as she eyed the home. It made Bruce feel like he had failed her again. A place he knew she secretly loved had now become a place that made her feel timid. That was just a hint she had lost a bit of that security.
The teen had noticed that Bruce had stopped and waited for her. She didn't even need him to ask her if she was coming, she moved away from the car and followed Bruce up the manor steps.
The two entered the house and moved silently through it. The manor seemed unfamiliar to Anslee. She kept her arms hugged around her like someone might try and jump out at her like she were walking through a haunted house.
They walked through the home for a minute or two, until Bruce stopped outside of a door Anslee had never been able to enter since she started staying in the manor. It was Thomas Wayne's study.
"Do you remember what I told you when you first started staying here when I showed you around and we came to this door?" Bruce spoke as he stared up at the large oak door.
Anslee almost cracked a smile, "How could I forget?" she shrugged, "You told me that this room was a hundred percent off limits."
"There's a reason for that.." Bruce looked over at her.
Anslee looked back at him, an eyebrow was quirked as she stared at her father.
"Anslee, I never explained to you where I went for nine years, and I think you deserve more than anything else in this world to know," he explained before he reached out to open the door to the study.
The door slowly pushed open and Ans was able to peer inside. Bruce was lucky this side of the manor hadn't been touched when it had caught fire all those years ago, this was the last thing Bruce really had to hold onto that memorialized Thomas Wayne. It looked like a large library with a few little antique vases and busts neatly arranged on some of the shelves. She didn't wait for an invitation before she walked inside to see a large dark oak wood desk that was neatly arranged with stationary, a fancy desk lamp, and a few other things that Anslee presumed belonged to Bruce...or maybe even Thomas Wayne himself. Another detail the teen noticed was that there was not a speck of dust anywhere. Ans really had to hand it to Alfred on that one, he had quite the knack for cleaning even the most aged rooms in the manor. Her eyes scanned the rest of the room and she noticed an aged grande piano in the corner.
Bruce followed in after her and gazed around at the room he'd probably been in a million times.
"After my parents died...it wasn't a secret that I was incredibly distraught," the man started, "I was able to handle Gotham for a few years until the crime and the corruption became too much for me to handle. You see when something happens like that with the circumstances it had, it leaves you very...confused to say the least."
Anslee didn't speak. She merely listened as she studied the room closer.
"I came home from Princeton University when I heard Joe Chill was having a probation hearing. I wish I was lying to you when I admit that I was going to kill him," The man spoke guiltily.
Anslee froze in her spot and turned to look at Bruce with a frown, "You were going to...kill Joe Chill?"
"Yeah…" Bruce looked back at her, "You would've been a little over a year old if I recall correctly."
"What happened?"
"As I went to approach Chill after the hearing, someone ended up shooting him...probably one of Falcone's men undoubtedly because he was testifying against Carmine Falcone in return for shorter probation," the father spoke in a low tone. He wasn't proud of his decision in the past.
"But you left again," Anslee narrowed her eyes at the man.
"Your mom pulled me out of the courthouse after the hearing, and after a heated conversation where your mother rightfully berated me for undermining the Justice System, she left me in the narrows to confront Carmine Falcone myself. And I did. He told me something I still hold onto today. He told me the way he gained power was through fear. And that statement is exactly what drove me to leave again."
"I decided to travel the world in order to learn how to confront justice, training myself in combat and helping myself to better understand the minds of criminals. Unfortunately, I was thrown in a Bhutan prison for theft. There I met a man named Henri Ducard, who got me out of the prison and took me to a sanctuary of a sort in the mountains," he explained.
By now he had Anslee's full attention. She stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed over her chest, a quizzical yet confused look on her face, and her eyes locked on Bruce as he drew her in with his story.
"Ducard trained me in ninja methods as a member of an elite group called The League of Shadows, led by a man named Ra's Al Ghul, who in the end turned out to be Henri Ducard. He used Ducard as an alias."
Anslee's eyes widened, recognizing the name, "You mean the guy that worked with Jonathan Crane all those years ago?"
Bruce nodded, "After I completed my training and what they called the purging of my fears, I learned that the league was intending to destroy Gotham. They believed it to be corrupt, decadent, hypocritical, and beyond saving."
"They wanted me to lead them after my final test…" his voice trailed off.
Anslee now looked sympathetically at Bruce, "What was it?"
"They wanted me to take the life of a criminal," he looked back at her, "I was quick to reject the League's cause and its edict that killing is necessary. So I burned down their temple and narrowly escaped."
"So where are you going with this?" Anslee spoke, "You came home before I saw that article about the manor catching on fire. What were you doing in the meantime?"
Bruce looked back at the seventeen year old. He really didn't think there would be a day where he was going to tell her his secret. Especially not with Rachel around. But it was time she knew.
"Follow me," Bruce spoke as he walked towards the grand piano.
Anslee followed him closely, watching his every movement very closely. When he approached the piano, she quirked a brow as he pressed three very sharp chords and waited. After a few seconds of waiting, a hidden door within the bookshelves opened. Ans tilted her head at the entrance. While she stared, Bruce had entered the small room and gestured for her to join him.
The teen walked forward timidly and joined her father through the little passageway. To her surprise, it was actually a platform of an old elevator that she stepped into. Bruce reached out and latched the entrance shut before he pressed a button. The elevator creaked to life and the two slowly began their descent into wherever the elevator led to. Ans looked around at the darkness that seemed to swallow them, noticing Bruce looked completely emotionless whenever a light would pass over his face, bringing out the contours of his face with the shadows they cast.
Eventually the elevator came to a halt and goosebumps ran up Anslee's spine. It was obvious they were in a cave, surrounded by dampened walls and the occasional screech of animals that inhabited the cave. The air was heavy and cold. But ahead of them, she barely made out what looked to be a military grade vehicle. Wait...that looked familiar. And was that a computer? A weapons arsenal? What was this place?
Anslee stepped out of the elevator before Bruce and looked around her, trying to take in the environment as much as she could.
And then she saw it.
It was...Batman's suit.
"No way…" Anslee muttered.
Bruce stepped out of the elevator and followed behind Anslee. He stopped and watched the girl curiously. She seemed to be too awestruck to really get it. The man walked around the girl and looked down at her.
"I'm The Batman."