A Fair Price
by TwinEnigma
Nota Bene: Slight references to Batman Begins.
2.
Without the king and queen, the kingdom fell to its enemies and the little prince was forced to flee. He travelled for many days, without so much as seeing a living thing until one day.
On the road, the prince came upon an old man. The old man was bent and hobbled, struggling with a basket.
"What ho, old man? Be you well?" the boy prince asked.
"I am a traveler, as yourself, but I am weary and my bones are brittle and my house at the top of the mountain is ever so far," the old man said.
"Then I shall help you," the prince said and picked up the old man and his basket. They were as light as feathers, but the closer he got to the house, the heavier they both became. Still, he did not complain and pushed on, until they arrived at last.
The old man thanked the boy prince profusely and offered him anything within his power to give.
"I want justice for my parents and my kingdom," the prince said.
The old man said, "And justice you shall have, if you but live with me for these seven years and do all that I say."
The prince agreed and the bargain was struck.
Bruce is overseas when he learns that Joe Chill has been released from jail in exchange for testimony against the Marconi Crime Family. It drives him mad with a black fury unlike anything he's ever known and he heads out into the night, recklessly searching for a fight.
He finds one in a bar in Dubai.
And at the end, when it has taken ten cops to subdue him and he sits in a sweltering jail, an older man appears.
"I'm impressed. You fight very well," the man says, "But you could fight better."
Bruce glares at him.
"The problem is that you lack a purpose," the man says.
Bruce grunts, growls, and when he finds his voice, it's a scratchy mess: "I have a purpose."
"Oh?" the man asks. "And what is that?"
"Justice," he breathes, though the word feels and tastes slick-black with vengeance.
The older man, if he senses it, does not seem to care and smiles at him, pressing a slip of paper through the bars. "Tell you what, young man, when you get out of here, come to the top of this mountain. I'll teach you how to get your justice."
Bruce takes the paper, pocketing it, and turns away. "I'll think about it."
They both already know he's accepted.