Sword Art Online:
Retroactive Continuity
Prologue
Oct. 6th, 2022 - Wayne Manor, Gotham City, USA
Bruce leaned back in his office chair with a sigh. It was past midnight and he still wasn't done with the day's paperwork. It was at times like these that he seriously considered stepping back and naming someone else Wayne Enterprise's CEO to take care of the day-to-day headaches, like paperwork. As it was, he barely had any time to spend with his adopted sons, and even less time to spend on himself. That last thought made his thoughts focus on the latest addition to the household. A couple of weeks ago Bruce received a phone call from social services, informing him that a distant cousin he barely knew was killed in a car crash. This left their teenage son, Alec Rey, with nowhere to go. Due to his age, if Bruce couldn't take him in, his only other option would be a foster home for the next couple of years. Naturally, Bruce was more than willing to open his home to the young man. The first few days after his arrival were, admittedly, a little awkward. The undoubtedly overwhelmed teen seemed to not know how to act in his new home, but had thankfully begun showing signs of getting more comfortable in the mansion. This was, it seemed, in large part thanks to his new brothers. Dick Grayson was a natural big brother figure, understanding and supportive to a fault and always willing to offer some much-needed advice. Tim Drake, by contrast, was a well of curiosity. Always asking questions and trying to get to know his newest older brother.
However, this left Bruce with a bit of a conundrum. While Alec was slowly growing closer to his new siblings, Bruce's long work hours, both at Wayne Tower and at home in his office, meant little time for any sort of family bonding. The teen had said he had understood, that it was something that he was used too, but that just made Bruce feel worse. While he didn't know what Alec's previous home life was like, though he was starting to get a somewhat clear picture, it did seem like his parents were mostly absent from it. It wasn't a trend that Bruce wanted to continue. Finding someone to name as CEO could take months or even over a year, but perhaps an extended vacation was long overdue.
Trying to take a sip of coffee proved the mug to be empty. Bruce sighed once again before leaving his study for the kitchen. While a total disaster in that particular room, coffee was something he was perfectly capable of making.
He arrived, however, to an already occupied kitchen. Alec sat at the kitchen table, focused on a magazine in front of him with a steaming mug and his phone off to the side. Bruce could tell the oven was on with several shapes sitting on a pan inside. He appeared to be focused on the magazine, but his cloudy gaze told a different story.
"Couldn't sleep?"
The teen looked up at Bruce's voice before giving a sheepish grin. "Yeah. Figured some hot chocolate and a midnight snack might help a bit. Hope that's not a problem."
Bruce smiled gently. "Of course. This is your home now. You're welcome to use anything here. Surprised you know how to cook though." He said, gesturing towards the oven and moving towards the coffee pot.
Alec's smile grew a bit more eager at the new subject. "One of my babysitters started teaching me when I was younger. Just simple stuff like mac and cheese, but I really liked doing it. Started doing actual cooking a few years ago. And those are just some spinach puffs, nothing complicated." He explained. A second later an alarm sounded from Alec's phone, which the teen quickly shut off. He grabbed a towel on his way to the oven before removing the golden brown pastries and placing them on the counter. Bruce could feel his mouth water from the scent as Alec moved them to a plate. The teen chuckled when he noticed Bruce's stare. "Give these a bit of time before you tear into them. They're hot as hell." He said, taking the plate with him to the table.
Bruce blushed in embarrassment at his behavior, but chuckled regardless as he finished up his coffee. It seemed to have raised the teens spirit, if only for the moment. Returning to the table saw Alec having moved back to his magazine, though he actually seemed to be reading it this time. It was at this point that Bruce noticed that the magazine wasn't written in English. "You can read Japanese?" He asked in surprise.
"For the most part. I still have trouble here and there, especially with kanji, but I get most of it. The vocal part of the language seems easier for me though. Again, I still have trouble, but I can hold a conversation, at least." Alec explained. "I'm mostly learning so I can keep up with this."
Alec turned the magazine around so Bruce could see. Thankfully Japanese was one of the languages the man knew. On the page was some kind of headset. "It's called the Nerve Gear, just came out of its final testing phase. This thing is supposed to be able to project the user's consciousness into a virtual environment. The game the company made, Sword Art Online, was built specifically for the Nerve Gear. The game, along with the hardware, will be available for purchase next month and the game goes live a few days after. So far, though, there's been no info on it coming to the rest of the world yet. Really makes me wish I was born in Japan."
Bruce noticed the excitement in Alec's voice rise as he spoke. Seems he was as much a gamer as he was a budding chef. The man found himself going over the article, vaguely noting Alec grab one of the now cooled puffs. There was little information on the device itself other than what it did. He would have to look into some things, but a rough plan was already beginning to form in his head. A plan that was nearly knocked out of his head as he took a distracted bite of the pastry he hadn't even realized he had picked up. Though he considered the laughter of the teen across from him to be a good sign.
To those who have found this story, I bid you welcome. I considered many of my ideas for my first story here, but this is the one that got finished first so it's what I'm goin with. I know it's a bit of an odd combination, but I can promise you it will only get stranger from here on out. If you expected a reassurance in place of that promise then you should probably reassess your expectations as we go forward. I hope this prologue was enough to keep you interested in keeping up with the rest of the story. I also hope to hear what you think of what's here so far and to see you in the official first chapter. I hope to see you soon.