Chapter Eleven: The League
LXVI
Green Peppered Omelets
Bruce Wayne was awoken by his old alarm, who preferred to be called 'Alfred', at 6:00 AM sharp.
"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Wayne. I trust you slept well? Breakfast shall be on the table in one hour. Your clothes have been laid out."
"… Thank you, Alfred." Bruce glanced at Raven who was still snuggled next to him. He could feel her happiness when she held him, even though she slept. Neither he nor his wife were morning people, but today was the day... Richard's funeral.
Just over ten years ago, Bruce had been ready to exact the terrible revenge he felt his parents and the people of Gotham deserved. He had secretly developed the nanotech technology to take the lives of all citizens of Kahndaq; the good, the bad, the young, the old, the guilty and the innocent. All through the particles that powered his wi-screens, the greatest Trojan horse in history.
But he had gone to the circus. One last time...
To watch the Flying Graysons and their feats of high-altitude daring on the aerial hoops, part of the touring Circular Circus. How spectacular they had been… Feats of daring that thrilled the crowd. But one young man's life had come crashing down that night… And somehow it had landed into his own.
Dick's case had led him to direct involvement with the Gotham police, to investigate the murder of the boy's parents, to give Richard Grayson the justice Bruce had been denied. Bruce continued his relationship with the police department… and the boy. As Dick had no other family, Bruce made the decision to become his legal guardian. He had never called himself Dick's father, but the boy felt like he had a son.
People believed that Bruce Wayne had saved Richard. It had been the other way around. Bruce had been hours away from pushing the button and murdering millions of people the night Tim lost his parents. The boy's grief, sorrow and rage matched his own too well. He needed to give the boy closure before he exacted his own revenge.
And somewhere along the journey, Bruce Wayne had learned to love again.
And yesterday, he had learned to love all over again. Just as Richard Grayson had pulled him from the brink ten years ago, so too had his wife only hours ago. He leaned over and kissed the bravest woman he knew on the cheek while she curled herself in blankets.
"Mmmm…"
"Time to get up. Today's the day."
"…I love you... I have decided that I will begin each day by telling you this, Bruce Wayne."
"I love you too, Raven Wayne. Alfred will have breakfast ready in… fifty-nine minutes. I'm going to jump in the shower next door after a quick workout." Bruce knew that after last night, it would be best if they took separate showers again. But perhaps one day…
When Raven reappeared, now clothed, fifty minutes later, Bruce's heart skipped a beat.
Alfred's taste in clothing was impeccable. He marveled at his beautiful young wife, how different it was to see her in normal clothes, and yet the old man had still managed to maintain her own unique styling. Her mysterious hood had been replaced with a lacy, black shawl. The Italian black dress still had slits, but ended just above the knees. It was the first time he had ever seen her wear nylons and he wanted to see more.
"You look… phenomenal." He stammered.
"Is it appropriate, my love? I have never attended a funeral."
"It is… I think even Dick would approve."
"I would have liked that…very much. You look very handsome as well. Shall we?"
Downstairs, the aroma of breakfast made Bruce smile. Turkey-link sausages with a green pepper and mushroom omelet… Dick's favorite. And there would be tea. Alfred and Dick both loved tea. There had been many Saturday mornings before Richard enlisted that Bruce would walk down the stairs to these exact aromas.
"You're smiling, my love." She could feel him reminiscing.
"Good memories. This was Dick's favorite breakfast."
They greeted Alfred in the dining room. Raven went over to hold him and thank him. And then Bruce did the same.
"Oh.. thank you, sir. I'll wager there will be much more of that before the day is over. I'm afraid our late night guests have departed. They left a very nice note saying that they were going to save Clark. Someone you know, sir?"
"Someone I hope to meet." Bruce was surprised when he looked past Alfred to see Arella at the table staring up at him.
"Good morning, Arella. I wanted to apologize for yesterday. Can you forgive me?"
"It is my daughter who should forgive me. All these years… Raven, we were always so worried your demon-half would… bring him. How could we know? What we did… I'm so sorry… I should have trusted you."
"You were correct mother. My demon-half would side with my father." Raven calmly sat at the table as Bruce held her chair for her.
"Then… I don't understand. Were you able to overcome your dark side?" There was a glimmer of hope in Arella's countenance.
"Alas…no. My father's dark will had transferred to my husband. I believe Trigon wanted to extract revenge on this planet through my husband. This is why you should forgive him, mother. He was not himself."
"I'm sorry, Bruce. After a lifetime of protecting my daughter… it was difficult to witness what you did... But I do forgive you. We have spent our lives in Azarath training to resist the evil will of Trigon. I would gladly show you some emoting techniques…"
"Thank you, Arella. My wife has already offered."
"Of course," offered Arella. "But why would Trigon use your husband, Raven? Was it to anger you, to bring about your change?" Arella watched her daughter as she sipped her tea and then gently placed the cup back down.
"Bruce has developed technology that can exterminate all humans on the planet."
CRASH!
Everyone looked at Alfred who had just dropped the tray of condiments he had been carrying to the table. The old gentleman stood there… stunned, immobilized. Bruce arose immediately and went over to Alfred…
"Alfred. Look at me... Alfred, it was ten years ago. I couldn't hand it over… it's just too dangerous. It's been in the bunker since then." Alfred slowly looked back at him.
"The day that Master Richard died… you went to the caves. You were going to…" He didn't have to finish the sentence.
"…Yes." Bruce steadied himself. "On Kahndaq… it was to be today."
"Bruce… How could you? This is never what your parents wanted. Your father was a doctor... your mother only wanted to protect people. Master Richard would never have wanted this. An entire country for one man… no matter how much we loved him, nothing could ever justify that."
"No… nothing could." Bruce stood in silence. It was Raven who broke the quiet.
"Alfred, you love Bruce. You have known him all his life. You know there is a demon of vengeance residing in his heart. You have seen a shadow of it… the bat. It was through this, and also through myself, that my father was able to manipulate my husband. His will stretches across dimensions."
"… He made this weapon ten years ago."
"Yes, he did. But you saved him, Alfred. You and Richard. Your constant love allowed Bruce to replace the hate that filled his soul."
"Master Bruce, is this true?"
"… It is, Alfred. You have saved me more times than I can count… I never meant it be the ultimate weapon. I didn't even think it was possible. I originally intended it to target small areas, for the caves terrorists use.… And then I realized how powerful it was… And there was you, and Richard. And I couldn't…"
Alfred took his young charge into his arms as the tears began to fall from the estate's master, the greatest of the Wayne lineage.
"There, there Master Bruce. Your parents left you much too soon and I haven't always been the role model a man of your abilities requires…"
"You've always been there. That's all I need."
The two men embraced with Alfred feeling much more like a father than he ever had… to fulfill the trust that Thomas and Martha had placed in him.
"Let's all finish breakfast, shall we?" Alfred smiled. "We can discuss decommissioning your weapon after the funeral. I believe Richard would have liked that. That his memory would have saved people, not claimed more lives."
"Yes, of course… Although I suppose I should re-write my eulogy now." Wayne grinned. "Besides, with Luthor as president, I highly doubt we'll have control of Wayne Industries much longer. And I want to go over the escape plan…"