Powerhouse ~ TDK Trilogy

- MR WAYNE

5 YEARS LATER

Alfred and I have been working together as partners for a while now. A mutual trust has been established between the two of us, even though he is my boss. We've grown rather close, I almost view him as the father I never had. Laughing and joking together, him showing me the way, socialising openly and valuing each other' opinions.

The two of us had most recently taken a flight to Nepal. He'd asked me to organise a lot of legal documents, documents that would prove that Bruce Wayne was alive and that his assets still belonged to him. He was the man we were meeting near the Himalayas.

I finished reading over the last of the files, analysing them to check for loopholes and unclear areas. The plane touched down, and I put all of the pieces of paper together and stapled them.

I heard muffled voices from behind the door and then opened it to reveal two men sitting there. One, Alfred, the other with his back to me, who I presumed to be Mr Wayne.

"Have you told anyone I'm coming back?" Asked the man with his back to me.

"I just couldn't figure the legal ramifications of bringing you back from the dead, so I let your assistant take care of that." He nods for me to come over.

I begin to walk over, and the man, who I could now definitely tell, was Bruce Wayne, turned to look at me.

"Dead? And you got me an assistant?" He asked quizzically.

I stopped beside the two of them and looked at Alfred, equally confused.

"Ah, yes, sorry Katherine, I believe I forgot to discuss this with you. You'll now be working for Master Bruce, I have a feeling he'll be needing your expertise a lot more than I will. On that note, Master Bruce, meet Katherine Wright, Katherine, meet Bruce Wayne."

I shake his hand with a firm grip and say, "I've heard a lot about you, Mr Wayne. Sorry to interrupt, but I'll require both of your signatures on these papers to confirm you are, in fact, not dead."

As the two take the documents and begin skimming over the words, Mr Wayne, more thoroughly than Alfred, they continue their conversation. "You've been gone seven years."

"You had me declared dead?"

Alfred took the pen I was holding outstreched and signed the paper. "Well, actually, it was Mr Earl. He's taken the company public. He wanted to liquidate your majority shareholding. Those shares are worth quite a bit of money."

He finishes and slides the pen over to Mr Wayne. He begins to sign his name. "Well, it's a good thing I left everything to you then."

He hands me back the pen and gives me a half smile. "I'll have these processed, I'll leave you two to it. Nice to meet you, Mr Wayne."

I take the papers and walk away, back to the room I was in before, at the back of the jet.

----------------

Some time has passed, and after sending off a lot of the paperwork via email, the door opens, and I turn round to look at Bruce Wayne.

"Alfred went to the bathroom, so I figured I should probably get to know you, seeing as we'll be seeing each other a lot. So, why did Alfred hire you?" He asked.

"I agree. Alfred hired me because I know what I'm doing. I don't have any connections  that require me anywhere else and have a list of specific skills that not many people can match. However, my... how should I put this? Human communication isn't the best, but mostly I think, because when we met, he said I reminded him of you."

He chuckled slightly at this before speaking, "Like me, huh? Not many people are like me, I'm stubborn, probably too confident for my own good, and keep a lot of stuff to myself, but Alfred-"

"Always seems to know. Wow, it's like looking in a mirror. If I was a guy and looked nothing like myself. So what's kept you occupied for the last seven years, then Mr Wayne? If you don't mind me asking."

He scoffs slightly, a smile on his face, "Call me Bruce, Mr Wayne makes me feel old. I was training, with a group of elite assasins, I wanted to do something with my life. Something that would matter, of course, they weren't as noble as I thought they were. So I left, I wouldn't kill a man. Once I get back to Gotham, I'm gonna use what I have, what I've learnt, and protect people. Show the people that their city doesn't belong to the criminals."

"How noble of you. I can see now why Alfred put the two of us together now, Bruce. I'm an ex-mercenary, used to be called Sparrowhawk, that's the name I made for myself. I had a preference for sharp objects, or as they were called 'my talons'. Swift and deadly, just like a bird of prey. I was 14 when I had my first kill, I'd been training since before I can remember. When I was 23, I ran, away from a life of crime, trying to do some good, make up for what I'd done. A year later, I landed a job with the old butler of a dead billionaire, and here I am. So, I think I may be able to help you in your... crime fighting."

"I think so, too. We should all use our second chances in life to do some good. We'll talk more when we land, I haven't had a good sleep in years, Italian leather is rather different than damp, rotting wood."

He steps out and begins to close the door. "Welcome back, Bruce," I say, turning around my chair to face my desk, continuing with my work.