I. Own. Nothing. At. All :(

.::Memorable::.

Chapter II

Alfred remained still as he heard footsteps approach the kitchen, where he was preparing breakfast. As soon as he heard the footsteps enter the kitchen he turned around to face Natalie and greeted her with a gentle smile. She responded by smiling back to the aged butler, her dimples slightly peeking through her skin. For the first time in a long time, Alfred was content; his master was happy and healthy and his current girlfriend Natalie was the perfect fit for him. That was more than he could ever ask for. He sighed quietly as he touched upon the events from the past few years. Master Bruce could've had more than one happy ending, but this one was definitely the most suitable for him. It was cruel in a way, but it was better that he kept some things from Bruce.

As soon as Alfred put the thoughts away, Bruce quietly entered the kitchen with a huge grin plastered on his face as he spotted Natalie by the island. He sneakily slips his arms around her from behind and whispers something inaudible in her ear which causes her to laugh. Alfred turned back to the stove and shook his head with a knowing grin painted on his lips. He heard some shuffling as Bruce scooted a stool over to Natalie's side and took a seat next to her.

"Morning Alfred," Bruce greeted his smile evident in his voice, "let me guess…blueberry?"
"Right on- as always, sir," Alfred replied as he flipped the pancake on the fry pan,

"I'll have to eat quickly, something came up at work," Bruce explained as he took a bite out of the red apple Natalie held up to him.

"Do you need me to drop you off at work?" She asked as he turned to face him. She took a bite out of the same apple and looked up at him expectantly.

Bruce shook his head as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and lightly caressed her cheek with his fingers.

"I'll have Alfred take me, in the meantime you have to get ready for work," she pursed her lips in a show of disappointment before she flashed him a quick grin to reassure him that she understood.

"I'll see you tonight then,"

"Dinner at 7," he reminded her as she started to get off her seat with the apple still in her hand.

"I wouldn't miss it for a thing," she replied with a bright smile as he leaned down and lightly kissed her. She tapped him playfully on the tip of his nose before making her way out of the kitchen and towards the staircase.

Bruce turned back to his butler,

"Alfred, hope you don't mind…"

"Not at all sir," He replied curtly as he handed Bruce a glass of orange juice,

"I'm always giving you the most trivial of tasks, sorry," Bruce apologized as he absent-mindedly swooshed the orange liquid around in the glass.

"Master Wayne, you seem to be forgetful of my role as your butler. Even the most tedious tasks will be considered of my honor to fulfill, please keep that in mind," Alfred crossed his arms to emphasize his disapproval of his masters apology, a smirk revealing itself on his lips, "never feel indebted to me,"

"Even so…" Bruce tried to argue against his butler's remark. Alfred strode over toward the island across the seat in which Bruce sat and placed a plate full of pancakes and blueberries in front of him.

"Do not feel indebted to me," this time it wasn't a request, but rather a command. His tone was serious and Bruce finally seemed to understand. It had Bruce wondering why his butler would deny himself of any sort of appreciation and apology he deserved.

"I understand," Bruce replied quietly as he nodded slowly to emphasize that he understood what the elder man wanted of him. He picked up a silver fork in one hand and a knife in another and began to cut into his pancakes. Alfred returned to the stove and began finishing preparations for Natalie's breakfast. Bruce chewed his food thoughtfully as he tried to figure out his butler. It intrigued him that perhaps there was an underlying reason why Alfred had said what he said in the manner he said it.

"Master Wayne, I will be waiting in the car," Alfred notified Bruce as his master waited for the miss to come down by the foot of the staircase.

"I'll be right there," Bruce replied as he put on his suit jacket and straightened it out. Alfred fled the room to leave Bruce to say his goodbye. After waiting a few moments for Natalie to come down, a knowing grin found its way to his lips.

"I ate an apple today… is that what's keeping you away?" Bruce smirked as he heard her curse lightly under her breathe behind the door to his left.

"How do you do that?" She playfully pouted as she walked over towards him. Her long black hair was tied loosely and swept over one shoulder. She was already dressed in her white lab coat with her stethoscope placed around her neck.

"Do what, Dr. Greene?" He held out his arm to her as she inched closer. She gratefully walked into his arms and wrapped her own arms around his broad shoulders. He slowly leaned down and laid a soft kiss on his lips and held it for a few moments as he savored the taste of her. As he leaned back to get a look at her face, she whispered,

"That…"

A boyish smile formed on his lips as he prepared to make a smart retort, but she was a step ahead of him as she gently but quickly placed a finger on his lips to hush him. Bruce childishly pouted into her finger in response to her denial of his comments, but replaced the pout with a smile as soon as she started to giggle at his expression. He kept their eyes locked onto each other as he sought something through her vibrant green eyes. Could she possibly love him as much as he loved her? Did she think about him as much as he did of her?

She freed herself of his gaze as she averted her attention to the trail of her hand as she slowly traced her hands down from his jaw to his chest and began to play with his undone tie. She absent-mindedly played with the silk clothe as he began to playfully tousle her hair.

"May I?" She asked as she slowly lifted her eyes to look into his steel blue ones,

"If you promise not to choke me," his words were playful but his voice husky and deep,

"It would be my pleasure," she replied jokingly as a coy smile played on her lips. She dropped her gaze to the tie and began to skillfully tie it into a neat knot at the base of his collar. She lightly tugged on it to tighten it before looking up at Bruce.

"You should go, don't keep Alfred waiting," she whispered as she laid kisses on his jaw, chin and finally his lips. She gave him a light push on his broad chest with her delicate hands.

"Seven, don't be late," he grinned at her as he picked up his leather briefcase and strode out of the front door without looking back.

"Master Wayne, may I ask what possibly might be the urgent business you must address so early in the morning?" Alfred asked as he glanced at Bruce through the rear view mirror. Bruce was skimming through the paper with the news channel on TV and the news on the radio low. He looked up from his paper and returned Alfred's gaze through the mirror.

"There was a break in on the accounting floor, they want to check on the files to make sure nothing essential is missing but they'll need my permissions to access them," Bruce replied as he went back to busying himself with the paper.

"How unfortunate,"

"mm…" Bruce replied before he placed the paper down and looked through the side window thoughtfully, "Why do you think they would target accounting though? All banking information is extracted from the files so they're just records…"

"Perhaps they were after something less materialistic," Alfred threw his penny in. Bruce combed his fingers through his hair in an act of frustration and confusion.

"We'll have to wait and see,"

"Master Wayne, is something troubling your mind? Something other than this incident with the break-in?" Alfred asked, his voice characteristically showing barely any sense of worry. He noted how his master's expression seemed to darken and a hint of his past self barely skimmed the surface of his skin. There was definitely something wrong, now to get his master to tell him what the problem was…

"What was it like?" Bruce began, his voice trembling slightly at the tension he was attempting to restrain, "Before my accident?"

"Pardon?" Alfred pretended to act confused. In reality he knew exactly what his master was asking, and exactly where it would lead to if he told his master what he wanted to know. He would save Bruce from having to tread those waters once more. He wouldn't allow it.

"Is there something I don't know?" This time his voice was tainted with more frustration than confusion, "Something I should know?"

"You've read all the files and records from the previous years, if there's something that's amiss it is something that was hardly mentionable in your files sir," Only the files of Bruce Wayne that is…

"I'm missing something… those have to be files that someone else recorded, or something I used to record for habitual purposes. They don't represent who I am, who I used to be… there has to be more, I-"

"You are Bruce Wayne, sole son to Thomas and Martha Wayne… Now at the prime age of 30, you represent and own Wayne Enterprises," Alfred sternly stated as he slowed the car down to a stop right in front of the main entrance, "That is who you are,"

"Orphaned child at the age of eight due to a drunk driving accident, living it a eight plus room mansion with only one other than myself, master of multiple martial arts, multiple degrees from a number of universities and colleges worldwide and a soon-to-be fiancé," Bruce stated barely letting Alfred let the last part sink in before he concluded, "Those are only a few parts of who I am,"

"Master Wayne… could you possibly be implying that…" the sentence hung as Alfred forcibly turned around in his seat to look directly at Bruce,

"Yes, I plan on doing exactly that," Bruce grinned boyishly at his Butler before he exited the vehicle with his suitcase and casually walked up the stairs as if he had not just told his butler about his plans to propose to his girlfriend of two years.

Alfred just slumped a bit in his car as the reality of his Master's proclamation settled into his mind. He rubbed his wrinkled forehead carelessly as he closed his eyes and smiled the biggest smile he had since the day his master returned to the manor from his stay at the hospital two years ago. It was perfect. It was as if the Karma had just piled up and finally presented itself into the darkness that had surrounded his master since that night in the alley over 20 years ago.

Alfred started the car once more as he began the short drive back to the manor, there would be a number of phone calls to be made and perhaps a bottle of champagne with Leslie. Alfred paused in midst of his thoughts of celebration, maybe he should keep it on the 'DL'… at least until Bruce made it public and official. He wriggled his nose as he contemplated what he should do. Eventually, Alfred sighed as he came to the conclusion he would have to just have some aged wine by himself as he waited for Bruce to return from his dinner with Natalie. Perhaps his master would need a shoulder to cry on after a harsh unexpected rejection. Alfred found himself laughing the entire way home.

"So, all in all there seems to be no real damage but at the same time we can't really tell unless you get the rest of the files open for us," for a man in his mid-40s-50s Gordon seemed to be a relatively fit man. He tried to keep in shape, but lately the late night drinking was getting to him. He was slowly growing a gut and his daughter never missed a step. He got an earful last night after coming back from a visit to a pub with a few members of his squad. Today though, he couldn't help but slump his shoulders and let his gut hang over his belt. He was exhausted from the past few months and he was in no mood to be putting up with the handsome-dimwitted- playboy prince of Gotham. It pissed him off enough that his daughter was going through a phase, primarily with the man in front of him being the star of his daughter's wall posters.

"Of course," Bruce complied and walked over to a computer on a desk that looked as though a miniature hurricane had a fiesta on. He turned on the screen before turning back towards the detective and his group of men, "could there possibly have been a motive?"

"You're rich?" One of the officers retorted smugly, gaining a few chuckles from the group. Gordon sharply turned his head to the side, demanding silence and respect.

"As of right now, we don't have a clue as to who it might be or why they would choose here of all places," he pulled his hand out of his trench coat pocket and shrugged his sleeve up to get a glimpse of his watch for the time, "Mr. Wayne, do you have anybody in mind who has a possible motive against you? Public rivals? Ex's? Perhaps anything in particular we might need to discuss in private?"

"No, not that I know of," Bruce slowly replied as he thought of anybody who might possibly have a grudge against him. It still didn't make sense though… why here at the corporation? Why not his manor?

"Well the forensics team didn't find anything out of the ordinary, they'll be running the fingerprints, but hundreds of people came in and out of here yesterday so it might take awhile to pick up anything unusual if anything at all,"

"Thank you,"

"It's our job,"

"It's more than that," Bruce casually replied as he typed a few things on the keyboard, "for you at least,"

Gordon simply rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he took in what Bruce had just said. There was something different about the snobby rich boy. The last time he talked to him was a few years back when the Joker thought it'd be nice to pay the young man a visit at charity event. Wayne wasn't the most compatible witness to work with.

"Do you need to take a look at the files? Or…" Bruce trailed off. Gordon just shook his head as he returned from his thoughts,

"Just look them over and make sure nothing's missing. If something seems a bit suspicious, contact the department and we'll look into it," He shoved his hand back into his coat pocket and look one last look around the floor. There was absolutely no forcible entry; windows and doors were intact. So how did the person get in?

"Looks as though I'll have to hand in the security tapes and records of personal," Bruce stated as he continued to scroll through the records on the computer screen. Gordon looked over to him with a questioning look on his face.

"Why's that?"

"It wasn't an outsider, it was somebody from within the building," Bruce replied in an eerily calm manner. Gordon scrunched his eyebrows as he tried to think of how Wayne could've possibly come to that conclusion.

"Explain," He took a few steps closer,

"There's no break-in-entry and they knew exactly where to find specific files. The only files that were touched were the ones regarding charity events, fund-ings and all other events/situations that required a possible transaction between more than three companies. For example, files and records that involved company expenses were not even grazed over, most likely because we do that directly through the accounting here in this building," Bruce looked up from his task on t he computer to gaze directly into Gordon's eyes, "Who ever did it, was looking to create an excuse of 'lost – connection' and miscommunication between companies. Most likely to take that money and disappear, leaving the companies and their middle-men to deal with the issue regarding the money, but there had to be another motive involved,"

Gordon and his men remained frozen as they tried to scrutinize Bruce's logic in any possible way, but they were lost for words as they realized that he was most likely spot on with his assumptions.

"Why must there be another motive involved?" Gordon asked as he tried to unravel the reasoning in his own mind.

"Of all the hundreds of files that would go under the category of what I mentioned earlier, the only one that's missing is the one from the charity ball I attended a number of years ago," Bruce stated, his words a bit distant as he said them. Gordon quickly caught onto the little detail and narrowed his eyes as he carefully observed him.

"Which?"

"The one in Paris," Bruce replied, this time his voice was unsure and his eyes unfocused,

"And?" Gordon asked, knowing Bruce would realize that Gordon recognized the uncertainty behind his voice.

"I don't remember it," Bruce replied as he lowered his head in slight frustration. Of all the things he could possibly recollect his memories from, he doesn't remember the one that could possibly help the detective figure out who might have committed this crime. He felt a strong and reassuring pat on his shoulder as Gordon tried to reassure him.

"I know, just promise to at least try to remember. You gave us enough for now though, thank you," Gordon hinted a grin at the younger man as he turned to his men and shuffled around his coat pocket for his phone as it rang.

"Gordon here," He replied in a gruff voice, "I see… we have a decent lead, but it'll require forensics to hurry up the process of identification. I received some more information that'll minimize efforts, but I'll need to discuss it with the sergeant first,"

As Gordon continued to discuss matters over the phone and bark some commands to his squad to do a few tasks around the building, Bruce continued to go through the files. He was currently at the files that dated all the way back to three years ago. Every year had at least a thousand private files and records that were only available for him to see. But as he went back further, there were pockets here and there. The number of files continued to decline and sometimes no records were written down for an entire month. He narrowed his eyes as he tried to find a reason for the inconsistencies. He was now in the section that held files from around six years ago and his eyes suddenly widened as he found one particular file that stood out.

"Mr. Wayne, we're done here, so we'll take our leave. Thanks again for all the information, we'll contact you once we get more information regarding this case," Gordon turned to Bruce before he started to head out.

"Thank you for everything," Bruce replied absentmindedly, barely turning his head to watch them leave as he turned back to the screen. He reread the file that had him wide-eyed just seconds before and read out loud the title of the file,

"JSTC LG: DEPOSIT: $200,000,000.00,"

"Natalie?" Bruce spoke into the phone of his office as he stood and packed his suitcase with a few folders and papers,

"Yeah, I'm calling because I'll be running a little late," he glanced at his watch, "in about an hour,"

He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a manila folder labeled 'reports' and gently stuffed it into his briefcase.

"No, I don't think that'll be a problem," Bruce spun around and pressed a few buttons on a tablet that automatically lowered the blinds in the entire office, "I'll have Alfred make us something for dinner,"

Bruce opened his office door and motioned for his secretary to quickly come into the room with a hand gesture. The young woman fled into the office and waited for Bruce to give her commands. He quickly lifted the phone from his ear and told her,

"I'll need a cab in about five minutes, could you ask Gerald to pull one over for me? Also, call Lucius and request that we hold a meeting with the security guys ASAP, that'll be all," Bruce dismissed her as he held his phone up to his ear once again,

"Natalie, I have to go, but I'll see you in a bit," he shoved his arms into his suit jacket and closed his suitcase as he began to make his way out of the office, "Love you too… bye,"

He hung up the phone and fled towards the private express elevator that was made exclusively for him, so that he didn't have to wait for the ones stuffed with 30 people every morning.

"Have a good night, Mr. Wayne," his secretary Amanda said, just as the elevator doors were closing. Bruce flashed a quick grin that got her to blush instantly, as the doors closed and the elevator took him away.

As Bruce exited the building he looked around for Gerald and spotted him not to far away, leaning over the side of the car having a conversation with a cab driver, most likely his cab driver. He strode towards him with a small grin on his face. Gerald wasn't the brightest man with the best history. He was a former drug addict with a long history with the law, but he was a genuinely kind and caring man in the inside. Bruce took him in as his bell-hop-sort-of-man because he felt he owed Gerald a favor after he helped him bust a few workers dealing on company grounds.

"Good evening Gerald," Bruce started as he now stood directly besides him next to the cab, "is this my cab?"

"Sure is, Mr. Wayne," Gerald threw him a toothy grin that made Bruce smile outwardly. The man had one of the sweetest and most genuine smiles Bruce had ever seen.

"Thanks, I owe you one," Bruce patted him once on the back as he opened the back door of the cab and greeted the driver with a hello,

"Aw shucks, you owe me nothing at all Mr. Wayne," Gerald replied as he waved to the cab driver and gently shut the door for Bruce,

"You keep telling yourself that,"

"After all that you've done for me? I can't even repay you with my life," Gerald grinned as he patted the cab, "You have a good night Mr. Wayne,"

"You too Gerald," Bruce waved him goodbye as the cab began to merge with the traffic on the main road.

"Where to?" the cab driver asked. His voice was gruff and raspy, a clear indication he was a smoker. Bruce produced a piece of paper from his jacket pocket and unraveled it. On the piece of paper was an address written in messy red ink.

"Um, 45-67 Washington Avenue," He read slowly as he tried to make out his own messy handwriting. He had rushed writing down the address and quickly regretted doing so.

"Sorry," The cab driver responded,

"Pardon?" Bruce asked as he looked up just in time to see the cab driver pull a hideous mask over his face, one that resembled a scarecrow's face.

"We have some other places to be," the man with the mask laughed cynically as he pressed a button releasing some kind of green vapor throughout the car. Bruce's head quickly became fuzzy and blurry. Everything began to spin and his temples throbbed uncontrollably. He coughed a few times as he felt the gas fill his lungs. He tried to call out for help but found he had no voice to do so. The last thing he remembered doing was tightly gripping the small velvet case placed inside the inner coat pocket as he began to silently apologize to Natalie. He would try make it up to her somehow, if he ever comes back that is...

Author's Note:

Wheww, it's been a little over a week, but it feels like it's been months since I last touched upon this story. It might be a bit confusing and I might actually end up tidying it up a bit and making a few things more blunt and clear for convenience sake. But hopefully you guys understand what's happening. I'm actually speeding up the story and I can promise you we'll be seeing more of the original characters real soon.

I'm really trying my best to stay with the character's and their original personalities and such, but my story has a twist and makes it hard to stay parallel with the original depiction of the DCU characters. I'll try not to stray too far though :)!

Now for the responses:

Jana Girl123:

I wrote OOC for out of character, but I guess OC would also fit as a description for this story. As for the choice of female character: I tend to be very cliche at times and I thought about using Lois, but never Selina. I don't like the whole Selina/Bruce idea, she just irks me as a character in general. My favorite coupling for Bruce would be Diana and then maybe Zatanna or Lois.

DaisyJane:

Thanks for the review! we'll all just have to wait and see where this'll go (As of now I only have a basic idea as to where this might be going), but as I promised in the descriptions there will be tons of angst and let's just say not-everyone will end up happy.

& to everybody else: Thanks for commenting & reading! :)

Comments And Reviews? They'll be much appreciated~