Ghost King Meets Batman

A Peak Inside

The Press: A Snake by Any Other Name

"Mr. Wayne! Mr. Wayne!" A microphone was shoved, unapologetically, in his face. When he had stepped out of the car in front of Wayne Enterprises, he just had time to think, 'it's too early for this' before he had found himself surrounded by people.

 The woman behind this particular microphone was one of about a dozen reporters who had cornered him on the way into Wayne Enterprises that morning. The news had broke about Nico's disappearance and they were eating it up. They could smell the blood in the water and it had worked them up into a frenzy.

  "Mr. Wayne! Do the police have any new leads on Nico di Angelo?" This question came from a fairly new reporter, Gloria Marks. She typically covered business-related news but it seems that she had decided to branch out. Or, perhaps she considered this business-related. When it came to billionaires, it was hard to keep a work/home balance so the two often mixed. He hated to think what was happening to Wayne Enterprise stock at the moment.

  "None at this--" he was cut off.

  "This is the second child you have lost, Mr. Wayne. Is there something more to these cases than you've shared with the police? Are these incidents connected?" This came from a more seasoned reporter who handled crimes against children. It was clear why she was here. She had been wanting to crucify him for years now. She probably saw this as her big break.

  "What? Of--" Before he could properly address the question he was interrupted again. In a normal press conference, Bruce was in control and could easily answer or redirect questions they threw at him. This was anything but normal.

  "Is it true that Nico had a history of running away?" A male reporter didn't recognize called from the back. He could hardly see him with the sun in his eyes. It had just started to peak over the parking garages. It would disappear into the cloud cover once the factories started working. He'd come in early to try and avoid this sort of third degree. And faile miserably.

  "Yes, that's true." He said simply. He wasn't going to offer more information for them to take out of context and hang around his neck. He wouldn't put it past them to twist his words around in pursuit of the story. The group scribbled furiously on their notepads.

  "Mr. Wayne! What is your response to allegations that suggest abuse in the household may have caused Nico to run away?" This was a reporter who worked at the Gotham Gazette, a newspaper chain that also owned the Daily Planet. Rage boiled up beneath his skin but he squashed it down before he could say something he would regret.

  "I've never abused my boys," Bruce shot back, indignant, "This interview is over." He pushed his way through the crowd to the doors of his office. He scanned his keycard and let himself in. His security team held off the piranhas as he got inside. He was out of their reach, but the damage had been done.

This wasn't the first time he had been accused of abuse, and it likely wouldn't be the last. People were always so quick to shout abuse before they had all the facts. In some cases, victims were saved. In others, innocent families were torn apart. Good people hurting good people. 

People were even more sure that Bruce was an abuser because of his money. They believed that he had bought off the police, threatened his children, and charmed the CPS worker. Any story that involved him getting away with a crime was more palatable to the public than the truth. It was a no-win scenario. So far his children's statements to the press-- usually taken while they were trying to leave school-- had been enough to convince most people that he wasn't a monster. He wasn't sure how much longer that story would hold off the press.

 It was worse because, in a way, the accusation made sense. His boys were constantly getting injuries or marks from their vigilante work that just couldn't be explained away. They were often tired and unfocused in their civilian lives from staying up late to patrol or finish homework. His children eere also prone to behavioral issues or attitude problems from sleep deprivation and trauma. Well- adjusted wasn't a term he would use to describe them.