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Bruce Wayne was eight years old when Joe Chill shot his parents in the alley behind the Gotham Opera House. A mugging gone wrong, a random act that would define the man he became, even decades later.

Of course, to Bruce, it would never seem random and he would always blame himself. If only he hadn’t told his mother to wear the pearls, if he hadn’t asked to leave before the performance had ended, if only… it would be a life from that point on that was consumed by the if only – never ending and relentless and only partially dulled by a life of excessive stimulation and endless partying.

After their death Bruce would be taken to NYC to live with Norman and Emily Osborn and their young son, Harry. Bruce was a quiet child, bright and precocious, preferring the company of adults to other children. He spent much of his time with Norman during this period, impressing Norman with his aptitude and his interest in science and technology. He liked Norman, they bonded easily and, strangely, as Norman had not a lot of patience for children in general, they seemed to enjoy each other’s company. He spoke Norman’s language – a thing few people seemed able to do. What Norman didn’t realise was that Bruce had a strange capacity which made him able to speak any language fluently, ingratiating himself with anyone while identifying with no one. Even years later Norman would not realise this, but would still believe that Bruce and he had shared a special connection, a likeness that only they understood.
After Emily died Norman’s cruelty began to surface. At first it was focused on Harry who it seemed could irritate Norman just by the way he sat in a chair or said good morning – but Bruce, whatever his other faults, did not accept the status quo and leave Harry to fend for himself. He would defend the younger boy by actively intervening when Norman was in a rage or by taking the blame for things Norman blamed his son for whenever possible. When the abuse turned physical, Bruce didn’t tend towards becoming apologetic or afraid, quite the opposite, one time laughing as he said – ‘Was that the best you could do, old man?’ He was fifteen and it wouldn’t be long before he could hit back twice as hard – though Norman didn’t need a physical advantage to control his boys.

This is not to say Bruce was a saint, he had a temper of his own which Harry bore the brunt of when Bruce was frustrated. Bruce wasn’t a bully, but he had a quick and sometimes irrational temper. He also had an inability to apologise after the fact. Mostly, however, Bruce did the best he could to take care of the younger boy and to protect him from Norman.

After graduation from High School Bruce attended Princeton but although his academic results were more than satisfactory his behaviour on campus, excessive partying and complete disregard for those in authority resulted in his being asked to leave before he graduated. He knew Norman would not take this news well, but it didn’t worry him as he had no intention of being around by the time Norman realised. After attending Joe Chill’s parole hearing in Gotham Bruce got on a plane to Asia and left the States. He would not return for three years.

For the first few months of his travels he lived the lifestyle he was accustomed to – each day partying harder than the next – however on his 21st birthday Norman had organised a well timed surprise. His accounts were frozen and his cards were cut, he was stranded in Shanghai with only the cash in his pockets and debts mounted within a few weeks. The one phone call to Norman did not end well, if Norman had thought it would be easy to get the prodigal son to return, he was soon disappointed, Bruce proved to be even more resourceful (and less moral) than Norman had believed him to be.

For the next two years Bruce engaged in variety of activities ranging in degrees of criminality and recklessness before he landed in prison. After a few weeks he was more than ready to leave and when Norman appeared Bruce was relieved to see him. If he had expected a fond reunion, however, Bruce was about to be, also, disappointed. Norman only saw him briefly, for less than a few minutes and left with no word of when he’d return.

Six months later, Norman did return, and this time took Bruce back to the States with him. Bruce couldn’t help but think that he had substituted one prison for another, but at the least this had a fully stocked bar and cable.

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