As the night shrouded Gotham City in a sea of shadows, a sense of unease hung in the air. The alleys whispered secrets, and the towering skyscrapers watched over the city like ancient sentinels. It was a city that knew darkness intimately, a place where heroes and villains danced a never-ending tango.
In one of the affluent suburbs, nestled within the Wayne Manor, a stirring silence was broken by the piercing cry of a newborn. The cries echoed through the grand halls, announcing the arrival of a child into the world. But this child was not a usual addition to the Wayne family; this child was Jack Lance, or so he remembered himself.
Jack's eyes fluttered open, his newborn gaze scanning the room with a curiosity beyond his years. He lay in a cradle, swaddled in soft blankets, his tiny fingers reaching out as if grasping for something he couldn't quite remember.
The room was dimly lit, bathed in the soft glow of a nightlight. The moon's pale beams seeped through the curtains, casting ethereal patterns on the nursery walls. Jack could feel the unfamiliar weight of the moment, as if he were watching his own birth from the perspective of a stranger.
'Waynes!' He heard the voices of the nurses. Although it was faint, he was sure he had heard the word Wayne.
As he gazed at the room, something profound struck him—a fusion of memories, a merging of identities. He remembered being Tony Stark, who had battled against the likes of Ultron and Thanos. But now, he is about to take over a new identity, probably one of the Waynes, maybe Bruce Wayne, the young heir to the Wayne fortune.
"Who am I?" Jack muttered to himself, his voice barely more than a whisper. It was a question that resonated in the deepest recesses of his mind. Was he Jack Lance, Tony Stark, or a Wayne? Or some amalgamation of all three?
His journey was just beginning, and the layers of his existence were as complex as Gotham's dark history. In this new chapter of his life, he knew one thing for sure: he had to discover the truth about himself and find his place in this intricate tapestry of multiverse existence.
[3 years later]
Life in the Wayne Manor had settled into a semblance of normalcy—or at least, as normal as life could be in the sprawling mansion that housed secrets as old as Gotham itself. Jack, or rather, the amalgamation of Jack and his past identities, had grown in this enigmatic world.
As the days turned into years, Jack's personality began to take on a unique blend of characteristics from his former selves. He retained Tony Stark's sharp wit and penchant for inventing gadgets that bordered on the edge of science fiction. Yet, he also embraced his identity as Jack Lance, a physiology student, from Earth where Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark are nothing but famous comic book characters.
And, of course, there was Bruce Wayne, the true owner of the body that Jack had inherited. He knows about Batman and his vigilante stories. He made up his mind to become the new Batman, but to do so, he needed to start as soon as possible.
"Oh, well, what the hell I am just a three-year-old child," He thought to himself as he played with the remote-control Batmobile that he had built using some spare parts from Alfred's toolkit. "I can't be Batman yet. Let's think about that later, right now, I have to stop my parents' death. I have five years to prepare for that."
"Bruce?" A voice called out, breaking him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see his parents, Martha and Thomas Wayne, standing in the doorway.
"What are you doing, sweetie?" Martha asked, her voice soft and warm.
"Playing with my Batmobile," He replied with his usual serious expression that's too serious for a kid of three years old. 'They are early and look jolly today. Something good must have happened...' He wondered.
Bruce wasn't like other kids. He is stronger and smarter than what one would expect from a little kid. He would spend all his day reading books that were too big and complicated for someone his age and he liked to watch the news and Science shows instead of cartoons. This amazed Thomas and Martha.
Thomas walked in and sat on the floor beside him while Martha stood by the door with a smile on her face.
"You got it working?" He asked, peering over to get a closer look at the toy car.
"Yes," He replied, his eyes shining with excitement. "I added a few improvements too!"
Martha watched the scene with a smile, her heart warmed by the sight of her son playing so happily. She felt a sense of pride, knowing that her son was already showing signs of a brilliant mind.
"You know, Bruce, if you keep this up, you might become a great inventor one day," Thomas said, his voice filled with pride. "But remember, there are other things in life besides inventing, and your education is very important too. You'll have to work hard and study very diligently if you want to succeed in life."
"I am a great inventor," Bruce said pointing at the Batmobile. "I invented this! How many three-year-old kids can do that?"
Thomas laughed and ruffled his son's hair affectionately, "Yes, you are a great inventor, Bruce, but I meant more like... building things that will change the world for the better."
"You have some time to spare, Dad?" He asked. "I have some ideas I'd like to share with you."
"Sure, Bruce. What do you have in mind?" Thomas replied.
"You can talk all you want after dinner," Martha interrupted, her voice firm but gentle. "It's time for a meal. I made your favorite, spaghetti and meatballs."
"Oh boy! Spaghetti and meatballs! My favorite!" Bruce exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He ran to Martha and hugged her tightly.
Martha smiled and wrapped her arms around her son, hugging him close, "Come on now, let's go eat before it gets cold."
'Sometimes I forget, he is just a child. Three years old is still three years old,' Thomas thought, watching the scene with a smile.
After dinner, Thomas and Bruce sat down to talk while Martha went to the kitchen to clean up. Bruce took out a sketchbook and showed his father the designs of several inventions that he had been working on.
"These are the car models I have been working on," He said as he pointed to the drawings. "The first one is the Batmobile 1.0, the second one is the Batmobile 2.0, and the rest are all supercars."
"Hmmm, these are impressive, Bruce," Thomas remarked as he examined the drawings.
'Did he draw all these? Such details and creativity...' He mused in his thoughts as he studied the drawings intently. 'He must have spent a lot of time on these. He really is a remarkable child. All of these techs are too advanced for his age! Some of them don't even exist yet!'
"I know right? They are going to be awesome when I build them," Jack said with a grin. "The Batmobile 2.0 is going to be so fast, no one can catch up to it. But first I have to make the Batmobile 1.0 work properly."
"I am sure... Huh?" Thomas's eyes fell on a folded paper inside the drawing book. He unfolded it. It was some sort of blueprint of something. His brow furrowed in confusion. The blueprint contained scribblings, drawings, and formulas that were unlike anything he had ever seen before. Equations and symbols danced across the page, their purpose shrouded in mystery.
"Bruce, brush your teeth and go to bed," Martha's voice came from the kitchen.
"On it," He ran...
...brushing his teeth with a vigor that matched his youthful enthusiasm. As he stood on a stool in front of the bathroom mirror, he couldn't help but think how little he was. Who would have known that he would get another chance to live?
"I wonder how big this multiverse is? But since the Multiverse is real and I was reborn two times in a row, then there must be a way to travel between DC and Marvel universe and someone other than me might also have experienced this rebirth thingy," He mumbled to himself after washing his face. "If I can just figure out a way to travel between different dimensions... I might just be able to find my way back home..."