It is morning, days after the events. Commissioner Gordon just arrives at the Wayne manor as the first beams of sunlight tear the morning fog and light the sky.

The car stops and Gordon slowly steps out. He is alone. His memory suddenly starts to reproduce flashbacks of the time he first met Bruce. It was when his parents died. "Bruce was just a little boy then", he thinks to himself. "A lot has happened since."

Today is his first time visiting the Wayne residence. As he approaches the entrance he cannot comprehend the scale of the building. To his surprise, door opens before he could ring the bell. It was Alfred Pennyworth, a personal butler. "Did not know people still have them."

"Commissioner Gordon? What brings you so far out of the city? "

"Work, Mr. Pennyworth. Is Mr. Wayne here? "

Alfred gestures the way through the corridor on the right from the main stairway "He is breakfasting in the gardens. …right through there, the first door on the left. You cannot miss it." Minding his own business he disappears behind the corner.

The house has large ceilings, windows, doors… everything is on grand scale. Gordon walks through the corridor gazing at its enormous walls covered with portraits of the Wayne family. His memory once again jumps back through time to the night when they tracked down Joe Chill, the lunatic murderer of one of Gotham's most exemplary citizens. Gordon remembers the events as if it were yesterday.

Few hours went by since the killings. It was already late, but he and his partner were still driving through the city. Rain was pouring, when they were called in about a suspicious male in a diner down town. As they arrived to the front of that small restaurant, he could immediately identify the man seating at the window. He fit the profile. Long coat, slouching body, and an empty yet scared look in his eyes… He was just seating there steering at the table and in his hand he was holding Martha's pearl necklace.

All the sudden, as Gordon arrives to the atrium he becomes aware of the present. On the left he sees the glassed doors that lead out into the gardens at the back of the house. He could see Bruce from far away sitting at a small table, riding newspaper and sipping coffee. He slowly approaches trying to figure out who is the man behind the table, set to be one of the richest and most influential people in the world. He wonders if that is still the same boy from that night, seating in commissioner's office… "I guess not. Judging by his reputation that boy is gone. He is nothing like his parents."

With the corner of his eye Bruce notices Gordon coming nearer. He looks up, "Commissioner Gordon, Gotham's legend according to some newspapers."

"Wouldn't know about that, Mr. Wayne" Gordon seems to be slightly embarrassed.

Bruce is trying to figure out what brings Gordon here, "Long time no see." Commissioner was the last man Bruce expected to get a visit from.

"Yeah, well I was just wondering if you even remember me from that night when your parents…" Gordon realizes the sensitivity of the subject.

Bruce looks down at the newspaper trying to avoid the answer, "Barely… you have to understand the circumstances weren't exactly… memory worthy."

Gordon tries to apologize, "I understand. I didn't want to bring up those memories. "

"That's all right. Pleas, take a seat. What can I do for you?" Bruce cuts to the case.

Gordon slowly takes a seat trying to make himself comfortable, "There is something on my mind. Although Reese's case is closed, yet something is still bothering me." He seems to get Bruce's attention as he gets defensive, "The company gave the official statement about that…"

Gordon not getting distracted continues, "Reese must have got the information from inside the firm. Maybe he found some irregularities, some old files, perhaps he saw something… Anyway, I guess since he was murdered before the trials, we might never know. "

Bruce fills uncomfortable about the direction this conversation is going and ignores Gordon by sinking into his work. He puts the newspaper aside and starts to go through some balance sheets. Pretending to work, he leaves Gordon to continue.

"Wayne's Enterprise was building weapon prototypes for the army, Applied Sciences if I'm not mistaken. All those sophisticated gadgets he has… I don't think it was a coincidence that one of your employees discovered his identity, besides we have strong reasons to believe those gadgets had something to do with your company."

Bruce starts to smile sarcastically as he sees what Gordon is implying, "I hope you aren't trying to say Batman is one of my employees? It would have been even impossible to remove any objects without someone noticing. And as for the Applied Sciences nothing has been produced there in years. That department has been a dead end long before I took over the company. You are fishing on dry land commissioner."

"Maybe… yet something doesn't seem to fit the story. You have renewed the military contract. Why?"

Bruce tries to sound smart, "Good business, commissioner. Military always is. It might have been a bad year, but current indicators show good recovery already. I recommend Mr. Fox for more information on this. He is in charge of the Telecommunication Department."

The answer seems to put aside some of Gordon's suspicion about the involvement of Wayne Enterprises. "Always looking for a way to make more money, this people strictly mean business." Gordon thinks to himself and looks around the property. "It is a park not a garden. Kings and queens have lived like this." He thinks of Bruce, the boy billionaire sitting across the table. "There is no way a man like that would risk it all by jumping around the rooftops, putting his life on the line. He probably doesn't even see through his piles of money at the street across, the real world. The struggle every citizen must go through every day. Who can blame him? This was a terrible idea. Thinking he might have something to do…"

Bruce is going over some numbers, looking overtaken with work, as commissioner slowly stands up preparing to leave, "Well then Mr. Wayne, I've already taken much of your time. I'll see myself out."

Bruce looks at him and puts away his work. "Wait, I'll walk you to your car, this way," he gestures direction through the backyard behind the mansion. A path surrounded by trees and statues of some Greek god like figures lead the way to the right wing of the Wayne manor. They have not spoken for a few moments when Bruce tries to find out Gordon's stand on the Batman situation: "So, what's the deal with your knight going rough? I hear he killed that Roman Sionis guy."

"It's complicated. Looks like, he is losing himself inside his monster. I mean, it's not like Sionis didn't have his hands covered in blood, but…" Gordon stops as if he forgot what he is trying to say.

"He's a vigilante; it's a surprise he managed to stay straight till now. Yet what can you expect from a man wearing tights? "

Sensing a sarcastic attitude Gordon takes defense, "I don't know. All I can say is that I made this decision, when I didn't stop him. I still don't know if it was right or not and that thought is hunting me every day. Anyway, tights or no tights, he has started something. With his help we did something we otherwise never would. We exposed corruption, got close enough to the mob to take them out; with his help we have arrested half of the crooks in the city… There were some setbacks along the way of course. Attracting mad psychopaths to the city was one of them, yet Batman has also inspired good among people. He showed us to stand up against unrighteousness and gave us hope."

Gordon pauses when he finally sees his car parked just around the corner. Bruce stays quiet as if his thoughts are somewhere else. They are getting near the front of the house, when Gordon whishes to explain, "He broke his one rule and if he's smart he'll stay in the shadows for now. I mean who knows, with things the way they are, there might be no need for him to return."

Relieved to be able to share some thoughts that were scratching inside his head, Gordon tries to find his car keys. Bruce is looking almost amusingly at commissioner walking ahead, going through his pockets, "It sounds like you have no intentions to arrest him?"

Feeling like nothing has left to hide, Gordon lays it all out: "Officially he is still a criminal, but personally, I'd just like to thank the guy."

Finding his keys he tries to unlock the door, when suddenly a reassuring voice slowly moves near from behind. "Well I'm sure you'll never have to."

Gordon looks up, as if an unexpected revelation crossed his mind. His face became pail, as if all the blood was instantly drained from his body. The words are still echoing in his ears. "You'll never have to… those words so familiar, I've heard them before. Eventually there is no doubt on his mind. He sees it clearly now. It was there all the time, if I only bothered to notice. The man who has it all, a young boy that lost everything… became the protector of the city; of the ones who cannot protect themselves. I was wrong. He is like his parents. You couldn't expect anything less than a father's son, fulfilling his family's legacy by becoming a true …


…LEGEND OF GOTHAM"





The End