White Knight-Batman SI (Bruce x Rachel)(OC x Selina Kyle)

Part 2

Chapter 2

ALFRED PENNYWORTH

Alfred smiled as he saw the elder Wayne brother sitting to his right. He had showered and now wore simple trousers and a white shirt, the smell gone and replaced by a simple floral scent.

He could see his eyes taking in the surroundings as the car moved through the City slums. A route which the man had insisted on taking for his own reasons. His eyes scanned the city slums, and Alfred could see his mind racing, especially as they entered parts of the city away from the Narrows where major construction seemed to be taking place.

"What is all that construction?" he questioned her with a frown, and Alfred smiled as he proudly answered.

"That would be your brother's work, Master Bruce," he told him with no little sense of pride.

Gotham City was rotting. The death of Thomas and Martha Wayne had shaken the very foundation of the city, and the wave of fear that had followed had nearly swallowed up all that was good in this city.

The death of Thomas Wayne also brought an end to various charities run by the man, all of them shut down by the new administration of the Wayne Enterprises for profit.

"That was a school and a shelter," he told him, and Master Bruce raised a brow.

"After your father's death, Mr. Earle and the management shut down most of the charities and grants offered by Wayne Enterprises, and they had remained shut until a couple of years ago when young Master Thomas took his seat on the Board and forced them to revive them all. Those two are the first of his two projects, a school for the children and a shelter for the homeless," he said, and he saw that Master Bruce was impressed.

"And what of the gangs? I don't believe they will have taken this lightly," Master Bruce inquired, and his lips thinned at that. They had not. Alfred was aware of a number of threats that the young Master had received for this and was sure that there were many more he was in the dark about.

"They have now, threats have been made against him. Thankfully, Master Thomas takes his safety rather seriously, unlike someone else in his family," he said in a pained tone.

He was aware of the years spent by Master Bruce undercover, acting as a criminal in his efforts to understand the criminal mind. Alfred could never understand the reason behind his actions, yet he had no right to stop the man.

He saw his lips thin at his words, as the car left the slums and entered the main road headed to Wayne manor.

"What do you plan to do, Master Bruce?" he questioned, already having an inkling of the man's intentions.

"Gotham is my city. It has been good to our family. It is time I do my part in saving this city from the rot that has infested it," the man answered, and though Alfred had expected so, the words and conviction in the man's tone surprised him.

"The city has fallen enough that it needs someone more than a man to save it, a symbol. An everlasting, unkillable, incorruptible symbol. Something elemental that would strike fear into the hearts of the scum of this city," he said in a cold tone as he stared into eh palm of his hand.

"And I cannot do that as Bruce Wayne," the man whispered, and Alfred realized his intentions or at least part of it. And was saddened by it, yet also proud of what the young Master had grown up to be.

"And I believe you plan to keep Master Thomas in the dark about this endeavor of yours," he questioned, and Master Bruce nodded.

"Yes, he seems interested in the running of the business. I will encourage him to take over it. He will do right by our family's legacy," Master Bruce said with a smile, and he nodded.