11 Chapter 11: The Funeral (1)
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"The world isn't perfect. But it's there for us, doing the best it can….that's what makes it so damn beautiful."
– Roy Mustang, (Full Metal Alchemist)
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"Are you sure you want to do this, young master?" Alfred asked as he fixed Bruce's tie on his new tuxedo.
"Yes Alfred, I am sure. We need to make a public statement showing that the Wayne family is still going strong and this funeral is the best way to do that. It will help me in both paying respect to my parents as well as using this opportunity to tell the world that the Wayne line hasn't ended yet." Bruce said as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
He looked cuter than even the most famous child actors, probably an effect of the body belonging to one of the most important and central characters in DC.
"I see. By the way, you look good. I think your parents would be really happy seeing you in that suit today, after all, you always hated wearing suits." Alfred said with a small smirk on his face.
"Thanks, Alfred. Let's go, I don't want to be late for my own parents' funeral." Bruce said as his butler just sighed and followed behind him.
Selina also joined them in the living room. She was wearing a plain black dress, looking like a grieving princess.
"Are you alright Bruce?" She asked worried about her friend.
"Yeah, I am alright." Bruce gave her a small smile to ease her worries. He could not tell her that he was not at all affected by the death of Bruce Wayne's parents, so he had to act a little to keep everyone's suspicion off him. A constant stoic look was doing wonders in that regard.
The trio went to the part of the manor grounds that was hosting the funeral and saw that there were many guests already there as well as some reporters under disguise.
Bruce and Alfred readied themselves for the conversations, favors, and questions they would have to face from everyone here. Selina although had little idea of the importance of this funeral was still warned by Bruce and Alfred beforehand to stay close to them at all times and to only respond to people after thinking carefully while not revealing anything sensitive about their family like Bruce's secret cave or his inventions.
Bruce was approached by many people at the funeral to tell him how sorry they were for his loss, how much of a good relationship they had with his parents, and how much they would love to help him if he ever needed it.
Most were just trying to establish good relations with him, some even trying to get him to sell some of his companies or properties to them or pitch him their business ideas and try to get investment from him.
Some looked genuinely sorry for him but those were a minority who could be counted in a single hand. Most were just sharks, who had come here to try their luck to get a piece of him.
About twenty minutes into the funeral, he had almost gone crazy with the number of people trying to somehow lynch some benefit from him.
The announcement of the officiant for Bruce to say some words in the memory of his parents was the only thing that gave him some temporary relief from the headache that Bruce was getting.
He went to the stage and gave a very good speech in his parents' memory, a speech that was written by a professional writer commissioned by Alfred. After giving the speech and shedding some tears which Bruce brought to his eyes thinking about his dead dog in his last life, he was again approached by a volley of people expressing how sorry they were with tears in their eyes, tears which were as genuine as his own.
"Bruce Wayne. You have grown, haven't you?" A voice interrupted a conversation that Bruce was having with one of his uncles, Jacob Kane.
Looking in the direction of the voice, Bruce saw that it was a crooked-looking man in his mid-forties wearing a black suit and black glasses with a rose in his hand. He had about half a dozen men behind him standing still with stoic faces like his bodyguards, all dressed in black.
"I'll talk to you later Uncle Kane. Tell Aunt and Kate that I said hello." Bruce ended his conversation with Jacob. He had already learned most of the names of his relatives and other important people using newspapers and photo albums. So he at least knew the names of his close relatives. There were very few of them and they were probably the only ones at the funeral who were genuinely sad about the death of his parents.
"Do I know you?" Bruce asked as he looked at the man with curious eyes.
"Maybe. I was your father's friend and associate. My name is Carmine Falcone. I have a little business of my own, nothing comparable to that of the Wayne family but enough to bring food on the table. Listen, kid, I was just here to tell you that I am sorry for what happened to your parents. It was an undesirable tragedy.
But I am here for you. If you ever need anything, call me. I have a lot of ways to make people's problems go away, permanently. I hope that the Wayne and Carmine families can continue to work together even in the future." He said giving Bruce a crooked smile as he glanced in the direction of Alfred and nodded to the butler who was observing all this with frowning eyes.
"Thank you for your worries and sympathy. But I do not need any help for now. But if I do, I know whom to contact." Bruce gave a fake smile to the head of the Falcone crime family of Gotham.
"So be it kid. And again, nice to meet you. Hope I'll see you by." Carmine said as he turned around and left with his men.
For some reason, Selina had come beside him sometime during the conversation and was looking at Carmine Falcone with cold angry eyes. Carmine however didn't notice it and didn't even give the little girl a second look after he was done talking with Bruce.
"What happened kitty? You don't like underworld kingpins or something?" Bruce asked her.
"No, I just don't like liars and assholes," She said cryptically as she continued looking at Carmine's leaving back.
'Does she know Carmine or something? Wait, wasn't she Carmine Falcone's daughter in the last Batman film that he watched in his last life? Shit, does that mean I am in a way 'sleeping' with Carmine Falcone's daughter?' Bruce thought as he for some reason felt proud of himself.
But before he could continue thinking about this, he was pulled off his thoughts by a girlish voice coming from behind him.
"Bruce? How are you?" A small girl with a head full of red hair, about the same age as him asked as she looked at him with worried and concerned eyes.
"Hmm? Do I know you?" Bruce asked confused. He wondered if this girl was some distant cousin or relative of his. He hadn't seen her photo in the albums, so he didn't recognize her.
"What? Are you still angry with me about that day? I told you I am sorry. I didn't mean to push you into that cave. I didn't even know that you were afraid of bats, otherwise, I would have made sure that we don't play anywhere even near the cave. Just, please forgive me." The girl said with teary eyes, showing that she really did feel sorry.
'What the hell is she even talking about? Am I supposed to know her? Is this some canon event? Wait didn't something like this happen in the 'Batman Begins' film at the start of the movie? Is this girl that future reporter named Rachel or something?
"Rachel?" He questioned doubtfully.
"What are you talking about? It's me, Vicki Vale." The girl said, annoyed that he couldn't remember her name.
"Did you forget your old friend just because you got a new one?" She asked with childish anger leaking into her voice as she looked at Selina standing beside him.
"What? Of course not Vicki, I would never forget my friends. It's just that after the incident, I started to suffer from mild memory loss also known as amnesia. I have trouble remembering parts of my life from before the incident with me and my parents." He quickly tried to shift the blame away from him.
Bruce couldn't believe that he was just nine years old and he was already suffering from girl problems. 'Billionaires seriously do get it all, don't they?' He thought.
"Oh, is that true?" Vicki said as she looked at him in pity.
"Yep, you can ask Alfred if you want, otherwise who would forget a beautiful-looking friend like you," Bruce said in a gentlemanly manner.
A huff came from Selina standing beside Bruce, who had a frown on her face with barely hidden annoyance.
"And who is your new friend Bruce?" Vicki said as she looked at Selina.
"Hmm? Oh, this is Selina Kyle, my friend, and Alfred's adopted daughter," Bruce said as he smiled and introduced Selina.
"Hello, nice to meet you. Vicki right? Quite a boyish name for a girl?" Selina threw a quip at Vicki for some reason, completely forgetting the anger she had for Carmine Falcone some time ago.
"Really? That's a surprise because you look like one of those gold diggers my father talks about who steals other people's friends." Vicki smirked at Selina looking like she was proud of her argument.
Bruce at this time wanted to get out of here. He was in no mood to come in between their argument although the argument was caused because of him.
"You know what? I think Alfred is calling me, so I'll have to go. But Vicki please do visit us sometime. I and Selina will both love it if you come and play with us." Bruce said as he smiled at Vicki.
He was not gonna miss a chance to get some early connections with a famous future reporter early on in his life. Also, Vicki Vale was reportedly quite hot in the comics. So, she could at least be his eye candy growing up.
Selina was annoyed at Bruce for inviting Vicki to their home but she didn't say anything. She knew that even though she was Bruce's friend, she didn't have authority over him. It was quite the opposite actually since she always listened to him as she knew that he was not only smarter than her but also the real reason why she was even able to stay with them.
"Of course Bruce. We will play together just like old times." Vicki said acting like a grown-up.
Bruce just smile and turned to leave. He really was bored at the funeral and needed a drink, a non-alcoholic one since Alfred would never allow him to touch any sort of alcoholic drink at this age.
As he went towards the table with the drinks, he saw another person whom he knew was an important character from the comics and shows. A small girl about half his age with red hair was standing with her father looking at everyone with curious eyes.
Bruce would not be able to realize her identity just from her looks but he recognized the man she was standing with. It was the same detective who was working on Bruce's parents' case, James Gordon.
The girl standing with him was most probably the detective's daughter, Barbara Gordon.
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