(3rd Person POV)
As time passed. 7 years to be precise. Bruce used the information he gained from his unwilling helper the Talon, to get the board of Wayne Enterprises in line. He didn't do it officially as Bruce Wayne, but unofficially as Philip Kane. He wanted to strike fear in the criminal's hearts and he would start with his own company.
They fell in line and stopped the selling of weapons and other things on the black market. Even the first problem that Batman had to face was thanks to his uncle and the man called Nygma who used the weapons from Wayne Enterprises. But he wouldn't let his company be used that way.
Bruce also came up with a new and improved Wayne foundation that helped children in Gotham. He made an effort to help those who couldn't help themselves. And children were at the top of his list. Not only would they be forced to become criminals if they had no options, but they were also helpless and Bruce sympathised with them. And if they would become criminals ... it would make his job harder. That's what's called working smarter and not harder. Although he wasn't sure whether it even mattered in Gotham.
Now intentions mean jackshit in Gotham. If you wanted to get things done, you had to make sure to hire the right people or take care of it yourself. And Bruce was not going to allow some greedy asshole to take the money that was intended to help children. So he created robots. Yeah, it was almost funny how him solving a problem was taking the 'human'-factor out of the equation.
He placed them in strategic places so that they could eventually work themselves up the ladder and get better jobs and more influence. Which would in turn give him more influence and control over the city and all its legal and illegal activities.
Bruce was playing on different fronts at the same time and it was all long-term planning. He was playing 3D chess while everyone else was still trying to figure out how to win at Tic-Tac-Toe
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On Bruce's technological front, he was currently working on creating his security/information network. At first, he wanted to create nanobots that infiltrate wherever he wished but put that off for the moment. He also decided against creating Artificial Intelligence, since he had other interests for now. For now ... meaning that he was surely going to do it.
He settled for tiny robots that had multiple purposes. He wanted to have them infiltrate wherever he wished or settle somewhere and camouflage themselves to give him eyes all over the city.
In turn, he also began to create the Batcomputer. But this one was different. He would not make such a weak one as the original made.
His computer was going to be beyond the Quantum level. He was going to use the best materials and create something out of this world. He took time to do that. He had time.
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As for school, well 'Bruce' or rather his decoy finished school normally and without much difficulty ... haha ok, he never read a single page in a schoolbook or did any of his homework. He concentrated on reading on university-level topics and then throwing them away to do his own research. He stayed in the range of smart but normal so that he wouldn't gain any attention.
He decided that after high school, he wasn't going to go to University. Bruce knew all of the things he learned anyway. The only reason why he even made his decoy go to high school was to make friends. This might sound strange, but it is always better to put up a persona for his Bruce Wayne act. So when he would eventually become Batman, there would always be another person that was Bruce Wayne. Bruce would have gotten lonely ... if he cared about something like that.
Bruce stayed an outsider. Friendly but distant. He had no interest in getting to know most of the children. He had however given the decoy the job of observing every child and person he meets closely, but without getting caught. It was something he had taken as a hobby to help him with his early training. What he then did in the afternoon when the decoy returned, was to see all the data and create profiles of them. At least he tried. It wasn't as easy as he thought in the beginning. In the future, he would have to be a people person and judge people's characters. That's what a detective was all about.
It took him all of one week to get this down. And if you think that this is a lot, well he only spent one or so hours every day doing that. He was not the one who went to school after all. But after that one week, he got so good that he could look someone in the face and at their posture to get a very good grasp of their character and some other personal information. What was he looking at? Everything. Clothes, shoes, hairstyle, how well their skin was taken care of, the colour of their skin (and he wasn't talking about the amounts of their melanin), posture, gait, way of speaking, the tone of their voice, the things they spoke about, their breath ... everything.
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There was a girl called Vicky Vale at his school, and Bruce tried to see whether he could use his acquired skills to get a good grasp of her character. He observed her and created a profile of her.
He saw that Vicky was a determined girl and knew exactly what she wanted. He could also see that she was smart. She understood that her beauty was something she could take advantage of to get what she wanted but also to have fun. That was why she took her time to dress well and do her hair and makeup.
All in all, Vicky Vale wasn't that complicated of a character. Bruce was happy when he finally finished high school and was now finally about to start his training trip all over the world. Well ... that might be a bit much, to call it a 'training'-trip. But we'll see about that. He had the plan to just download the knowledge of all the different masters but then discarded that plan. Nothing beats experience.
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(Sebas POV)
"Are you sure about this Master Bruce?", I ask as I watch him finish packing his things. He has surprisingly little that he takes with him, but that is only on the outside.
In truth he takes a lot of things with him, he has improved on his Portal Gun and added it to his watch. The Watch can't be removed, unless he cuts off his hand he says. But I don't think anyone would do that, or even think about that. The watch had a very old and run down appearance. But even if someone was still interested in stealing it, he or she wouldn't be able to. Because if someone other than Bruce and me, were to just touch the watch when it is not connected to Master Bruce ... it explodes.
Master Bruce has stated his wish to travel and go on a ... training journey all over the world. I am happy with his decision of course but as an 18-year-old, I can understand that someone with his intellect wishes to travel and grow stronger in his life as ... a vigilante. As a future simbol of vengeance and justice, he had to have the strength to back it up. But I knew that he was strong enough, he had created these ... things after all. I don't know their names.
"I'm sure Sebas. You know that I haven't trained one day in my life up to this point and I need to start now, if I want to strike fear in the hearts of villains.", he tells me. He told me the same answer many times but I still can't help but ask him whether he's sure. It is not something that he programmed into my brain, but I couldn't help but see him as my son. He knew that and also saw me as someone very close ... I think. He told me so. Even if he just appreciates my service, I am happy.
I wish Master Bruce all the best, but this trip still holds some danger. He told me about some of the things he might have to face. He is not concerned about them and I have full trust in his intellect and abilities. Even if I wanted, I wound't be able to stop him now. Once Master Bruce has made a decision, there is no turning back from that.
"I see ... Would you then consider taking a phone with you? How else am I going to contact you?", I ask him.
"Sebas I have my watch. We can still talk over the phone. But I just don't want anyone to know that it's me who is training himself. I'll call you whenever I have time. That's mostly in between trainers. It might not take as long as I thought, since I am really talented in ... most things."
"Ever so humble Master Bruce. But I can't refute that. You are indeed very talented in everything you touch. I wonder what you can't do."
"I wouldn't be able to live with myself that's for sure. I just don't like cooking. Well ... I guess I could ... no. Let's not talk about that now.", he says and looks me in the eyes. I know what he means. He's saying that he needs me and I appreciate it.
"I appreciate that Master Bruce. But you know that you won't ever get rid of me.", I say and he smiles ... slightly.
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Over the years Master Bruce hasn't changed much. His personality stayed the same rather cool and calculated one he had when he made me. He didn't become someone else but he matured a bit more. Not much, since I always knew him as a very mature young man. I don't know how he did it, but the experience with his parents, must have accelerated his maturation.
When I asked him what his wish was in the future, he told me about his plans to become a symbol of vengence and justice. The Batman. He wished to strike fear into the hearts of criminals and that's why he wanted to go on this trip. I knew some of his plans already but not the finer details. Master Bruce was certain that with the appearance of powers, humans will result to crime and make it impossible for the normal police to deal with them.
He also told me that he would not kill if it could be avoided. It was a vow he made that day, all those years ago. Should he see an option, then he would take the non-lethal option. But should he decide that it wasn't possible and the person was not redeemable, then he would take drastic measures. I was all for that option.
I was very proud of him that day. All in all, he has truly grown up and I was proud of him. So when he told me about his wish to go on this training trip across the world, I was happy for him but also a bit worried. I understand his capabilities however, so I don't think about it anymore.
Now that day had arrived and I must say it was hard for me to let him go. But it is his wish and I have to respect that.
"Take care, Master Bruce. And make sure to call me whenever you have time.", I tell him and we hug a final time.
"I will Sebas, you can count on me coming back in one piece and much stronger ... or at least more skilled.", he says and smiles.
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(Bruce POV)
Well, it is finally time for me to go on my training journey. It was a somewhat complicated time for me. It was hard in the way that I understood what it meant to be myself. I was already fully fused with all of my templates and had become a new person alltogether. But what did it mean to be this new Bruce Wayne? Was I fated to become Batman? Did I want to do that?
And the answer to all of that came slowly over time. I was indeed going to become Batman. It felt right. I could also see minor changes in myself over the years. It was like my intellect was also a power and the more I used it over the years the better I became at using it ... if that made sense.
My intelligence skyrocketed, if you can believe that. Like beyond imagination. It was not just an addition of these characters' intelligence and minds. It was a multiplication. I don't think there is a way to measure my IQ right now. I might have to create a device for that in the future. But it doesn't matter anyway.
My cognitive abilities are through the roof.
Thought Process, Learning/Mind, Brain Capacity, Calculation, Creativity, Intelligence, Intuition, Memory/Panmnesia, Perception, Response, Hypercognition, Parallel Processing ... all of these things were enhanced to ridiculous degrees. It was beyond impressive.
I'm sure that I could develop psychic abilities if I trained in it. Although, I guess I could develop that with time even without training.
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Now I was finally going on my training trip. I hadn't trained a day since the moment I woke up. But I wasn't worried. The Super Soldier Serum was of course already recreated and improved upon. Why do I say improved? Because I added something else to the mix. I knew that peak human was good, but in the end, it wasn't something that was impressive in DC.
So I created something that fit me perfectly and went well together with the SSS. I made a serum that mimicked something along the lines of Luther Strode's power, from Image Comics.
Luther Strode was a human who had the power of the 'Killer Method'. What he did to achieve that was to: "...focus the mind, body, and spirit towards one goal. By aligning all three, the physical enthusiast can bring all of them under conscious control."
And what did I do? I created a serum that 'aligned' mind, body and spirit and then combined it with the Super Soldier Serum. That way I had the best of both worlds. Why was that? Because I had to make sure to remove the negative need for killing that Luther Strode suffered from.
After combining the two, I used it on myself and therefore reached peak human level. Although I might as well say I am on the threshold of surpassing peak-human levels.