[Third person POV]
[Location: Gotham City, Wayne manor, New Jersey]
[Date / Time: Monday, July 15th 1988, 5:30 PM]
Bruce had made a promise to himself: he wouldn't hold his parents' funeral until Joe Chill was dead. Of course, it took a while for Alfred to send out all the invites. Bruce made sure that everyone considered a family friend was invited. Lo and behold, one of those people was Carmine Falcone himself. Bruce was aware that in plenty of timelines, his father was not always a good man. In most timelines, he had close ties with Falcone. Bruce even had a memory similar to the Batman movie: Falcone, who had been shot, came to Wayne Manor where Thomas treated him. The main thing that pissed Bruce off about this was that Carmine had no problem ordering the death of someone who saved his life.
But Carmine actually having the gall to show up to his parents' funeral? That nearly made Bruce fly into a rage. Although he controlled himself while giving his parents' eulogy, afterward, when he was meeting the attendees, the real shock came.
Sure, there were some people who were unexpected but explainable. For example, John Zatara and his daughter Zatanna Zatara. There were also potential villains like Thomas Elliot, aka Hush. Killing Carmine Falcone was Bruce's number one priority, even if he couldn't take the opportunity to do it here. That would have to take a backseat to this. He started to consider who and what villains to prevent from existing at all. Then he thought about what villains he could or should save.
'Hell, which villains do I want to save? After all, there are multiple versions of each character. There is no guarantee it will be the more popular versions of the characters. Not to mention the Joker himself, who has the most diverse backstories.'
Thinking about Joker and all his different backgrounds brought forth a memory in Bruce. He remembered meeting a strange man at the manor gate once—a man he now recognized as Arthur Fleck. The main problem with him being the Joker, though, was the complete lack of Joker riots occurring.
Bruce kept walking around; most people didn't talk to him. Some out of pity offered condolences. As for Alfred beside him, he did most of the talking, especially when Carmine came to speak with them. Of course, they tried to keep it brief, but when Carmine kept speaking of his and Thomas's great friendship, Alfred almost struck him, but Bruce grabbed and squeezed his hand. It was enough to stop him long enough for Carmine and his people to leave.
But that wasn't all—the main man who threw a wrench into Bruce's plans appeared right after Carmine. That was Howard Stark, as in SHIELD founder Howard Stark. Which meant that this world was not purely DC. Worse than that, Tony was with his father. Tony wasn't just with his dad and mom, but just looking at him, it was easy to see one glaring issue: Tony was 18, whereas Bruce was only 8, which he was sure would be very annoying in the future.
Still, the main problem was that most of Bruce's knowledge was of DC, not Marvel. Plus, who knows if Marvel would be his only problem? Not to mention that if Howard Stark and SHIELD are real, Hydra might be real. If Hydra was real, AIM might be real. If AIM was real, MODOK or Aldrich Killian might be as well. The rabbit hole just kept going.
Either way, lucky for Bruce, Howard was a close business partner to Bruce's parents. Apparently, Tony had even babysat Bruce once, which begs the question of how Bruce was still alive. Even so, Howard, his wife Maria, and Tony himself were polite enough.
The next group of people he met were the Kanes. There was his uncle Jacob Kane and his other uncle Philip Kane. There was also his aunt Gabrielle Kane and her twin daughters with Jacob Kane, Elizabeth Kane and Katherine Kane. Both were potential supers—Katherine, or Kate, would later become Batwoman, sometimes Bright-Bat as well. Elizabeth, however, would become a member of the Religion of Crime known as Alice, later Red Alice, also the Mother of War. Saving her was a pretty quick decision to try to save her from that fate. She was family, after all, and becoming a villain wasn't her choice. Rather, she was abducted by them and lost her memories.
Luckily, for now, they're toddlers, so Bruce has time. He has more important things to worry about, more particularly what other universes he had to worry about. Also, he had yet to spend any of the 100 Bat points gained from his last quest. However, when he vowed vengeance against Falcone before his parents' graves, he had been given a new quest.
[Quest available: Battle Against the Falcon
Task: Take down the Falcone crime family
Time limit: None
Reward: 5 A-rank skills]
When he asked the system AI what the difference between high and regular skills was, it responded with:
"Skills are classified by their cost in the system. 5-point skills are F skills, 10-point skills are E skills, 15-point skills are D skills, 20-point skills are C skills. Each increment goes up until A at 30 points. After that, each rank of skill costs exponentially more points. S-rank skills are 40 points, SS are 50, SSS are 100 points. The highest rank skill is ZZZ rank."
"I see, thank you."
"No problem, Bruce. Anytime you need me, just ask."
After that, Bruce walked away from the funeral, mainly because he wanted to find a certain place. It didn't take too long. There was an old barn on the property with a well. At the bottom was what became part of the future Batcave. From what Bruce could tell, the basement that led to the caves was somehow connected to the cave underneath the well. There is a vast cave network under Wayne Manor. Those caves were once an iron mine. Bruce planned to use all of that space as efficiently as possible. He would expand it as well if he had to.
Soon, Alfred came to find him. After Alfred got over his initial worry about Bruce's sudden disappearance, Bruce told him about the plan to make the true Batcave. After that, Bruce confronted Alfred about Falcone.
"Alfred, I know that Dad had dealings with Falcone. I also know that if he would have trusted anyone with it, it's you. I need you to tell me everything you know."
Alfred sighed. He had hoped Bruce wouldn't have known or guessed, but this was Bruce he was thinking about. If the boy wanted something bad enough, nothing could stop him at all. He had Alfred go on ahead to the house.
He had a promise to make. He walked slowly but meaningfully over to the graveyard. At this point, he was the only one there. All the guests, even family, were quick to leave. Yet he stayed; after all, this is his home.
He walked past grave after grave. Names that sparked memories passed by him. Names like Anthony Wayne, Herkimer Wayne, Alan Wayne. There were many more, but Bruce's walk ended only when he reached the newest pair: his parents' newly made graves. They are cold stone that shine with the slightest glint of lightning.
Soon, rain pours—it always rains when emotions swell. At least, that's how it seems in a world like this. Bruce stands there for a while. He stares at the names upon the stone. He speaks at first in a whisper, then a sterner voice.
"I'm sorry I don't know who I am. I don't know how I got here. It's been weeks since I've changed. Perhaps I am your son, perhaps not. Maybe I have become something else. Though I like to believe I am both. However, there's one thing I promise to this world: that by the spirits of my parents, I will avenge their deaths by spending the rest of my life warring on all criminals. I will evolve, I will protect the innocent, and I will not rest until I've made this world a better place. Not until I've become the hero Bruce Wayne is supposed to be. I'm sorry and thank you."
Bruce turned, walked away, and headed inside. Alfred was waiting at the door for him. He had a worried look on his face.
"Master Bruce, you shouldn't stay out in the rain like that. You'll catch a cold. Come, I'll run a bath for you." Alfred's tone was full of concern and care for Bruce. But Bruce didn't speak a single word.
Still, he nodded and walked toward his room. He was covered in rainwater, and his shoes were caked with mud. It seemed he had stood before his parents' graves a lot longer than he thought. The sky was pitch black now, although he had seen Alfred watching him out the window long before he returned.
Even so, he had business to deal with. He hadn't forgotten the conversation he needed to have with Alfred. He still needed all the details on Falcone, and maybe even some information about Selina Kyle. What should he do about her anyway? In the future, she would be a problem. Although she was also a lover of Batman, she caused him great strife—not to mention her leaving Bruce at the altar. Sure, it was due to Bane's manipulations, but it was still her decision. Plus, if we're talking lovers, many of them would be a problem in the future.
Love was something Bruce hadn't even considered—not in his past life, and certainly not now. Although in his last life, he had been with his fair share of women, he had never truly loved someone. He wasn't even sure if anyone had truly loved him. He had no wife, no parents, and probably no children. He wasn't too sure about that one—he hadn't always been the most careful when it came to that. Still, he wouldn't mind giving fatherhood a try. It would be interesting, he supposed. But as for a committed relationship with a wife and kids? No, that wasn't going to happen. He would make sure of it. Those things would only make him weaker.
Sure, he still planned on letting characters like Damian Wayne exist. He might even have more kids than the original Bruce did. After all, every good Batman needs a Bat-family. He would even need to ponder the idea of rather or not he should pass on the mantle one day. Perhaps Damian should be the next? The run of Dceased showed enough to make that judgment. Maybe Terry Mcginnis? Batman beyond seemed to be the most mentally stable of all Batman versions. Certainly not Dick, Tim, or even Jason. There all destined to become their own men. Their own heroes of great renown and skill.
Still when it came to biological connections there were some he wanted to make. Ones that didn't exist already. Others he weren't so sure about at all. But in this case, he would put down a stern rule: both Bruce Wayne and Batman don't do relationships. That was a promise—a promise he intended to keep for life.