Conversation

Bruce POV

I had finished cleaning up and now it was time to have dinner with Alfred. I made my way down stairs. I knew that this would be a hard talk. Frankly it would be obvious that Alfred would be hesitant to tell me about my father's more shady dealings.

In many timelines Thomas Wayne wasn't perfect. But in almost all of them he had a heart of gold. That's why even though he may be a criminal he always will have my respect. Plus there is a part of me or maybe all of me that still morns him and my mother. As for my mother that is also a point of concern. 

A lot of times Martha Wayne had severe mental health issues. Those same issues also spread through her family which obviously includes me. So I most likely will have some mental issues myself. Which my best the root cause of Bruce's obsession with justice and bats. Even so what does sanity mean to me? I want to be a man who dresses like a bat and beats up mentally ill criminals. Clearly leaving sanity behind is the best choice for me. 

However more importantly this time I cannot afford to abandon my humanity. I maybe have done so in my previous life but this time I need to be better. Which brings me to the main problem. The no kill rule everyone can agree that the most enjoyable versions of Batman. Plus it's the core of his character as a whole. Batman at his root is about saving people. Vengeance and justice are good and all but what the people need is someone who lifts them up. What the symbol of Batman first represents vengeance eventually it becomes hope, justice, and the appreciation of life.

I hadn't noticed but I had already reached the dinning room doors. Needless to say they were quite large. I took a few moments to appreciate the craftsmanship. They were large wooden doors with carved patterns and a metal handles. 

Opening the door I was meet by a the sight of a large plate of food.  On the opposite end of the table was Alfred who had a grim look on his face. Thinking about it now it felt like they were repeating the conversation from a week ago. So I sat down said grace and began to eat. 

For a while I tried to simple eat in silence. The food was quite good but the lingering silence only made things more awkward. Eventually I new I had to say something so I put down my utensils. 

"Sigh… So tell me everything you know about my father and Carmine Falcone."

Alfred stopped eating and set down his sliver wear. Then he also let out a long sigh. He began to explain to me.

"Sigh Carmine and Thomas had been working together for many years. Though Thomas was a good man it's very hard for a good man to make real change." He sighed and folded his hands together. 

" I see continue please." I said I tried to sound reassuring but it came off colder than I thought it would. I picked my fork back up and eating a bit of mashed potato. 

Alfred continued still looking ashamed. "Sigh… So he unlike your ancestors decided that if he couldn't root out the evil in Gotham city he would control it. So he and Falcone conspired to take down his old boss. " He no longer looked at me but just looked downwards. 

"Unfortunately instead of becoming the head of all crime in Gotham his boss was. It was split into multiple factions. Eventually the city became split between Falcone and Salvatore Maroni."

I began to think about what I should do. If this was true then both Falcone and Maroni would need to go down. 

"Your father wanted to make a power play by becoming mayor. Unfortunately a reporter was hired by Maroni to discredit your father. He had been researching your parents and came across a secret your mother had." He said hands clenching tighter.

His voice began to shake as he continued. "By the time your father caught on about it the reporter was already going to the police. So he asked F-Falcone to… threaten him. Sigh… but Falcone decided to kill that poor man. Thomas, bless his heart was going to turn himself in and admit to their crimes."

Tears began to enter Alfred's eyes and his voice was trembling. " H-He just w-wanted to have o-one more happy night with his family before he would go to jail." Alfred shook with grief. I got up and walked over to him. Placing my hand on his shoulder I spoke calmly. 

" Alfred look at me." His gaze slowly shifted to meet mine. 

"I don't blame you or dad the only people at fault here are Falcone and Maroni. So here is what we're going to do." The conclusion was a simple one and it was clear from everything that I know about Thomas Wayne he may not be pure but is a good man at heart. Along side this he had more things to worry about and plans to make.

"Don't worry Alfred we're going to make this right I promise. We'll take them down both of them. Then we'll strike fear into every criminal in Gotham. This I vow to you on my parents graves." Alfred looked up to me shock on his face. 

"Master Bruce I… we… how can we possibly?"

"Because I'm going to become something so much more than I am. But I can't do it alone and I need you to help me achieve that. I need to become faster, stronger, and I need the right tools for the job. So Alfred will you join me on this path?" 

He hesitated for just a while before giving me the answer I hoped for.

 "Yes Master Bruce I will join you." He said but still I needed to warn him about the dangers of this path. More so I need to warn him about the potential fate that could await him. A fate that I under no circumstances would allow to happen.

"Alfred before you accept you need to know the dangers that await us. We don't know what is to come and this fight isn't just to take down Falcone and Maroni. This is a war on crime itself a crusade that will never end. We may very well die in this fight or be injured beyond repair. You may die! I might die! But once we start we cannot stop moving forward. Even if we die. Even after we die. Knowing all this will you still join me? You don't have to accept nor do I don't expect you to. But you do need to know I will do this with or without you. I don't know who I am or what fate awaits us. But I do no one thing join me or not you will always be my family Alfred." He began to shed tears uncontrollably it made sense that he would. 

He was still grieving the death of my parents. It hurt me so much that I could barely stand it at all. It was a pain so deep that young Bruce had even tried to take his own life at just 10 years old. Still I had a conviction stronger than that of a child. Plus from what I can remember of my last life I also  felt this feeling of loss and depression. 

More than that instead of letting that pain consume him he would turn into the armor around his very soul. Besides that he also had a few side quests he would like to achieve. More specifically the Olympics were coming up this year. Dimitros Loundras, who was a Greek gymnast, participated in the Athens Olympics of 1896, for the first time, at the age of just 10 years, to set the record of being the youngest ever athlete to feature in the Olympic Games. So obviously I had a record to break and less than a year to do it. Easy peezy right?