The city was falling apart once more. Gone were the days of prosperity. Everything is slowly falling into ruins again. Bit by bit it's crumbling, like a tower of cards just waiting to be blown by the winds. The very pillars of this city's foundation had are now old and gray. Two of those pillars are my grandfathers, the other one is their good friend who had long since passed.

My dad's dad, the former commissioner of Gotham, is now retired. When he became commissioner, he changed the police department. No more rogue cops, no more bribery, no more dishonesty. He turned the Gotham Police Department back to its prestigious standing. He kept the job until my grandmother became sick. He retired and spent six years with her until she passed on.

My mom's dad, the owner of the biggest corporation in the whole country, is also getting older. He still works at Wayne Enterprise, but I can see that he is slowly getting weaker. He can't carry the burden of the city all to himself. When he took over Wayne Enterprise, he changed the whole business. He made it a private company again, and once more, it belongs officially to our family. He also invested a lot in military defense, which the US government bought, lowering the death rate of soldiers. The company also made breakthroughs in medicine research in his watch and made billions.

Harvey Dent, their friend, he ran for senate some time after my birth. He, along with my grandfather Jim Gordon's help, uncovered a lot of bribery in the city's office. He was killed ten years ago during one of his speeches. Rachel was devastated for years; it took her almost seven years to even consider pursuing a relationship with my grandfather Bruce.

Harvey's death was the start. Since then, things started going downhill. The new mayor was the almost the complete opposite of Dent. Dent was honest, to the point, determined, and did not take corruption lightly. The new guy was bullshit on a suit. He was all talk and no do. Every time he would say things like 'this city is going to change' or 'we're going to create a new world' I wanted to puke. He was changing the city, just not in a good way. He also appointed a seedy man who had family in the higher ups to replace my grandfather as commissioner and passing my dad off as the new commissioner despite outstanding recommendations.

"Mr. Wayne?" said a soft voice, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I turned away from the view. It was raining again; the rats were scurrying back to their holes. I'm standing here, in the largest structure of the city, thinking about rats, how strange is that? I looked at the source of the voice and saw the new secretary; I admired her petite frame for a moment before I nodded for her to continue.

"Mr. Wayne said he'll be up shortly," she informed me before leaving me again.

I looked around in my grandfather's office. It was on the highest floor in Wayne building and it towered on top of the whole city. His office was so big; it practically occupied a quarter of the floor. I faintly recalled a small corner dedicated to us for when we stayed here. There were toys cars scattered around the area, cars, dolls, action figures, robots. Over time, those changed to video games and computers. Then when we grew older, even those faded away. All that was left were faint marks on the wall from our mischievousness as kids; my grandfather didn't want cleaned it up.

I sat on his chair. I remembered many times when I sat on his lap on this chair. I spun around and looked at the view of the city ones more. I can still recall how he would point out buildings and tell me which one we owned. We now own a lot more; the city has expanded vastly since then. If I take out a binocular, I would be able to spot Wayne Manor just around the edge of the city.

"I'm gone five minutes and you're already planning on taking over the company," said a gruff voice. I turned and saw my grandfather with a faint smile on his face.

"You were gone more than five minutes, grandda. I've been waiting for ten," I replied light heartedly. I got up and offered him his seat back.

He shook his head and motioned me to sit back down. I slowly did, but frowned at him confusedly. He stood next to me before leaning on his desk, watching me closely. I was starting to get nervous, I mentally listed down things I might have done, I couldn't think of anything, well, anything that would upset him. He turned a bit and took one of the frames displayed on his table. I didn't even need to look at the picture, I knew what it was just from the design of the frame. It was a picture of when mom was just thirteen; father and daughter in an amusement park riding a Ferris wheel.

"You look a lot younger then," I jested. It was very true though. His once dark brown hair was now white, his face had obvious wrinkles and he had to wear glasses now.

"Yes," he chuckled, "Well I'll have you know that many people still commend me for aging gracefully," He got up from the table and watched the city like I did minutes ago, the picture still in his hand. "Time sure does fly fast," he paused and looked at me. "Soon, that'll be your seat,"

I smiled. I won't deny it. I mean, who else was going to take over? Certainly not anyone outside the family. I was practically born for this job. I was the only one amongst my siblings with the name Gordon omitted. I was named after Thomas Wayne Sr. founder of Wayne Enterprise. My mother wanted the Wayne name to go on, and being the only child of Bruce she decided it to be one of her children instead to continue the lineage. In respect to my father, their first born son was called James Gordon III. So when I was born, I was given the name Thomas Wayne Jr. When my younger sister followed, they named her Amber Barbara Gordon after my grandmothers.

Ever since I was a kid, I would usually sit in the office pretending to be the boss. When I grew older, after finishing a degree in combined business and science and many years of experience, I became head of Wayne Biotech, Wayne Electronic and Wayne Entertainment. So yeah, I wanted my grandfather's job.

"Are you ready for your brother's wedding?" he asked me.

I blinked. I had forgotten that tomorrow was my brother's wedding. He was two years older than I was and I thought of him extremely lucky to have found his other half at the mere age of twenty eight. His fiancée was a child advocate; they met in a child abuse case that Jay had to handle. It was love at first sight. Amber was also not far along; she was in a long term relationship with a co-teacher at Gotham Public High. I was the only child who was not in any kind of relationship, except for the occasional girl on the side.

"Can't believe he's getting married," grandda continued when I nodded. "Seemed just like yesterday that I was bringing your mom to the hospital."

I grinned. "That was yesterday grandda, you dropped her off remember? Her car broke down," Mom was head of the Pediatrics department at Gotham General Hospital.

He snorted. "Funny," he said sarcastically. He walked in front of the desk and sat on one of the chairs. "So what brings you here?" he inquired.

"Mom told me to tell you that your tux is ready to be picked up," I answered. Mom was very hands on in raising us, we never had a nanny. Also, she liked keeping us close with the extended family, and would often leave us with grandma, grandpa (dad's dad), grandda (mom's dad), grands (Grandfather Alfred), before his passing, or aunt Barbs whenever she or dad was busy. So it was only natural that she was hands on in planning the wedding. It was going to be a small wedding; the ceremony was going to be held in our lake house.

Grandda crossed his arms, "Normally you would have just texted that. There's something else you want to talk to me about."

One of the things I loved and hated about my grandda was that he could read me like a book. There was nothing I could hide from him, from almost failing my math class, to trying to ask out a girl, he knew if something was wrong with me. I know he loved all of us, his grand kids, equally but I always noticed there was a special bond between us. Maybe it was because we shared the same last name, maybe because it was the fact that I was the only one who really looked like a Wayne, maybe it was because I was the only one who wanted to enter the family business, or maybe there was just something between us that no one else can understand.

My brother was the golden boy; he followed the footsteps of the Gordons and became a police officer. My sister, the angel, became a teacher. I on the other hand was the rebellious trouble maker when I was younger. Don't get me wrong, I had a fantastic childhood, but as an immature teen I was always testing the limit. Even as I got into loads of fights with my parents, my grandda was there for me. When I got into fights, he taught me martial art and instructed me to never use my fists unless to defend. When I got suspended for running a business in school where I did home works for other student, he commended my initiative to run a business and taught me to study the rules so I know how far I can bend them. Whatever trouble I found myself in he bailed me out and made sure I learned my lesson. Without him, I think I would be a jackass.

"Well?" he asked patiently as I contemplated on whether I should tell him or not.

I rested my head on the table and looked at the assortment of pictures scattered on it. The one of him and mom in the Ferris wheel has been placed back. I also saw one of mine, Jay's and Amber's respective college graduations. But the one that caught my eye was a picture of grandda, grandpa and Harvey. I glanced at my grandda, who was giving me an inquisitive stare. "There has been something I've been meaning to ask you for some time now," I revealed. He nodded for me to continue. "What do you know," I said slowly, "about the Batman?"

I saw his eyes widen slightly, I knew he knew something. I could barely hold my curiosity as I sat up straight.

"Why are you asking me? Isn't your other grandfather more capable of answering this?" he raised an eyebrow.

"As much as I love grandpa, he's not very reliable on information. 'Sides, mom asked me to ask you," I was trying to not get too excited. When I asked mom about Batman, since I heard in passing how he had saved her life a few times, she had an odd look in her eyes before telling me to ask her dad.

He smiled. "What do you know about Batman?" I expected this; he had a way of turning the question around.

I shrugged. What did I know? Nothing. Batman was practically just a myth, a tale passed on from kid to kid in school. If I hadn't researched through old newspapers, I would have just thought he was just city folklore. "Nothing much. I asked grandpa about him, he said that Batman was a vigilante who gave Gotham the push to become better. I asked Rachel, she said Batman was a man struggling to make a difference. I asked dad, he said Batman was a dark knight. I asked mom, she said Batman was her hero and to ask you," I decided to tell him everything. "That's why I'm asking you now. What do you know about Batman?"

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Based on what you've heard, what do you think about Batman?"

I sighed, grandda was always cryptic. "I- I think he was all of those, and so much more. I think he just wanted to make Gotham better,"

"What made you curious about him? I mean, it's not like Batman was a secret or anything but why are you asking now?" Grandda asked.

I rubbed the back of my neck as I organized my thoughts. "The city's falling apart. It's not the same as when grandpa was commissioner and Harvey was the mayor. It's like we're going back to years ago, when crime rate was at its highest and the mob controlled the city." Grandda nodded in agreement. "Anyway, I was looking for a way on how to turn it all around. I decided to look through the old files to figure out what had caused Gotham to turn around the first time. The pillars of Gotham were you, grandpa and Harvey, but then I realized there was another one, the one who pulled all of you together, and that was Batman. He was the one who started to revolutionize the way Gotham worked."

Grandda stood up and paced when I finished. He was contemplating on something, I don't know what about but I knew him enough that he was thinking very hard. "What do you want to know about the Batman?"

I was disbelieved when he asked me. I expected a vague answer like all the others I've been given. "What happened to him? I know he disappeared after a confrontation between him and this lunatic who called himself the Joker."

He sighed. "I first saw the Joker when he crashed into one of the fundraisers I held in honor of Harvey, thankfully Batman appeared and saved the day,"

"So, you met Batman?" I was eager to know more.

He smirked. "You can say that," he said evasively. I knew he knew more than he let on. Grandda had ways of knowing things that made my work seem like child's play.

"What's he like?" I insisted. I really wanted to know.

"Why do you want to know?" He peered at me through his glasses like I was an experiment. "What would you do with the information? How is knowing the Batman supposed to help you?"

My mind was on overdrive, I couldn't even think of a proper reply. No one asked me those questions. I had no idea what to answer. I messed up my hair in confusion as I tried thinking of anything to say. Nothing was coming in my head. I was like a fish out of the water, opening and closing my mouth like an idiot.

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, we were interrupted. I was supposed to be in a meeting with the entertainment department about a new video game they were developing. I wanted grandda to answer me though.

"We'll talk again at home, after your brother's big day. In the meantime, you think about what your answer would be," he told me before I left.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"The wedding was wonderful, you did a good job," I complimented my mother as I arrived at home. The wedding was absolutely magnificent. It was simple yet elegant. The décor was tasteful and the bride was stunning. My brother was a lucky man. I was jealous of him because he managed to find someone to share his life with, but also because he got two weeks off to go on a honeymoon in the Japan.

"You weren't a bad best man yourself," she said tiredly. I knew she was exhausted, planning a wedding while managing a hospital wasn't an easy job. Sometime I considered asking her to quit her job, but she would probably just scold me for calling her old. "I can't believe that my son is married," she groaned.

I wondered if grandda was here or in our other home. I decided to try my luck in this home first, the house my mom and dad purchased when they got married. I saw grandpa and dad sharing a brandy, I saw Rachel and Amber talking about the wedding, and I saw mom about to pass out in the couch. I smiled at my family. I liked that we had two worlds. One, the big rich extravagant world of Wayne and the other, the simple, close knit world of Gordons. When we were kids we would divide our time at home, at grandpa and grandma's home and at granddad's home at Wayne Manor. It was quite fun.

"Rach, where's grandda?" I asked her. Amber frowned at me for interrupting what seemed to be juicy gossip.

"He's at the manor," she replied before turning to Amber again.

I rolled my eyes at them and avoided a punch from Amber for being caught rolling my eyes.

By the time I reached the manor, it was getting late. I wondered if grandda even remembered the questions he asked me. He avoided me throughout most of the wedding… I think, or maybe it was just because many people wanted to talk to me and others wanted to talk to him.

I saw that the lights in his office were turned on. So I approached the room and knocked loudly before entering. Still dressed in the same tuxedo as the wedding like I was, he stood with a glass of scotch in his hands staring at the fireplace. It was like watching a scene from a movie, a mafia movie or a James Bond one. "About time you got here," he greeted warmly as he turned towards me. "Have you thought of an answer?" he asked as I made my way to him.

I nodded. He waited for an answer, but I needed something to push me. I went over to his desk and poured myself a glass of the same drink he had. I took a big gulp of the liquid and let it burn down my throat. "The reason I want to know more about the Batman is because I want to follow his example," I said truthfully. I waited for him to laugh, but he didn't.

"Follow his example?" he repeated slowly.

I paced around the room. "I want to be able to bring Gotham out of this mess like he did. I want to show the people of this city that there's someone out there protecting them. I want the works of Harvey Dent to not go to waste. I want to help the city and all its people," I ranted on. I probably sounded crazy.

"So in other words, you want to be the new Batman?" I was half expecting the question to be his way of mocking me, but he had a serious face on. He wasn't laughing, he wasn't even smiling. His face was like a stone.

I took a deep breath. "I want to be the new Batman,"

I expected him to laugh. I expected him to think I was crazy. I expected him to tell me that I needed professional help. I didn't expect him to nod. I didn't expect him to pull a series of levers from the mantle of the fireplace. I didn't expect the fireplace to spin and reveal a secret passage. I was speechless and stunned. I couldn't move.

"You said you wanted to know Batman right? Well, I'll tell you everything there is to know,"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Alice Carson was pissed. One of the consumers in the bar pulled another move on her, and her boss reprimanded her for getting angry at said customer. Damn this city.

She trudged along the dodgy streets of the Narrows. The garbage was piling up at the corner because the city thought it was too good to offer proper garbage disposals for the poor people. Rats were running here and there trying to get away from the rain. She heard a fighting couple from one of the buildings she passed and someone else yelling at them to shut it.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" said a beefy man. There were a few others next to him whom Alice assumed where his goons.

Alice wasn't stupid; she knew how dangerous it was to be in this side of town in this time of the night. But what choice did she have? She had to work three jobs to support her kid since the kid's father had run off refusing to pay for child support.

"I don't have anything on me," she called. She hid a small knife in her hand, preparing for an attack. She readied herself for the offense when a dark figure jumped on the men and knocked them all out in about five seconds. The figure was menacing to look at. It had a black cloak and mask. It was barely visible under all the shadows.

"Are you alright?" the thing asked in a raspy voice. Alice could tell it was a man, a strange man. She nodded nonetheless.

"Who- Who are you?" she asked nervously.

He grinned, his teeth shining in contrast to the darkness of his figure. "I'm Batman,"

- END-

A message from TemperedRose:

Hello dear readers,

First off I'd like to thank all the reviewers. It's really nice to read them ones in a while and feel good about my writing. A special thanks to wtchcool. Thanks mate! Also to everyone who placed this story in their fav, etc.

Second… well, there's really no second. This is it. I'm finished with this story. It's weird really, I kinda feel sad. It feels as if I'm parting with Charlie. I mean, I know she's just a figment of my imagination but as I wrote about her I actually got to know her personality. Shit, I think I'm going bonkers here. Hmm, maybe authors are people who can't let go of their imaginary friend so they write about them. hehehe.

I had fun, I honestly did and I hope you guys had fun reading this story too.

Until then.

Sincerely yours,

TemperedRose