Thomas and Martha Wayne, Gotham's richest couple, walked out of the classic theatre holding hands with their 8 year old son, Bruce. They had just seen the remake of The Mask of Zorro and Bruce had been pumped up because of all the action. When they started to walk down the street, a man with a gun cornered them and forced them to enter a dark alleyway.

“Hand over yer wallet, pal!” The gunman said and waved his gun threateningly.

Thomas was a brave man and he thought about tackling the crook, until he saw the pleading eyes of his wife. He resigned himself to losing the confrontation and took out his billfold with several hundred dollars in it. It a fit of annoyance for not getting to fight, he flung the thing at the criminal and it bounced off the robber's chest and fell to the ground.

“Take it and go.” Thomas spat.

The gunman squinted his eyes and glanced at Martha. “The broad's purse, too.”

Thomas barely restrained his anger at the man's audacity. “She doesn't have any money.”

“The purse.” The gunman said and cocked his gun.

*CRACK!*

“AHH!” The gunman yelled when something slammed into him and he pulled the trigger. The prepped gun went off with another crack.

“AHH!” Thomas yelled as the bullet hit him in the arm, right above his son's head. “You bastard!”

The gunman and a boy fell to the ground in a pile and Thomas didn't ignore the opportunity this gave him. He ran forward and shoved the boy out of the way and quickly kicked and stomped the hell out of their robber.

“How dare you aim a gun at my wife and son!” Thomas shouted and bloodied the robber's face with his expensive shoes several times before the gunman was knocked unconscious.

“Thomas!” Martha shouted and grabbed his injured arm.

“AHH!” Thomas yelled and saw who had grabbed him. “Yes, right. I forgot about that. I'm sorry, darling.” He said in a calm voice and took off his suit coat.

“Are you all right?” Bruce asked.

Thomas smiled at him. “I'm fine, son.”

Bruce looked at his mother tending to the bleeding wound and nodded, then he walked around him to kneel by the boy. “Are you all right?”

Thomas and Martha both looked at the boy as well and they saw a small and poor boy. He was thin and wore overlarge and ragged clothes and his cheap sneakers looked held together with clear tape.

“I'm fine.” Harry Potter said with a distinct English accent, which surprised the Waynes.

“Are you sure? You hit that bag guy pretty hard.” Martha said and finished binding her husband's arm with bandages. “We're heading to the hospital after we call the police anyway. It won't hurt to get you checked out, too.”

Harry looked at the other boy's encouraging smile and up at the man's matching smile. “O-okay.”

“Wonderful.” Martha said. “Bruce, help him up. He saved our lives and a Wayne always takes care of those that care for us.”

Bruce held a hand out to Harry and he hesitated only for a moment before he accepted it. “I'm Bruce Wayne.” He said and pulled Harry up to his feet and saw he was a head shorter. “What's your name?”

“Harry.” Harry said. “Harry Potter.”

Bruce shook his hand and let it go. “That's my dad, Thomas.” He said and pointed to the man, then to the woman. “That's my mom, Martha.”

“H-hello.” Harry said. He was a little nervous around the adults, now that the excitement was over.

As if they knew that, Martha smiled warmly at him and Thomas nodded with his own smile.

“We best get a move on.” Thomas said. “The theatre should have a telephone to use.”

*

Harry got to ride in a police car and not in the back! That was a shock, because he thought everyone knew him as a delinquent because of all the lies his aunt and uncle spread about him.

“Do you want to try the siren? We are chasing an ambulance.” The officer driving the car said and pointed to the button on the dash.

Harry blinked his eyes at the man and moved his head from him to the button and back to his face.

“Yes, you really can. Go ahead.” The officer said with a smile.

Harry smiled back as he reached forward and his little finger pushed the button.

*WEE-OOO-WEE-OOO!*

*WEE-OOO-WEE-OOO!*

Harry couldn't stop the giggle that escaped and the officer laughed.

*

“He's suffering from severe malnutrition, has taken several recent beatings, has a slight skull fracture, and a barely healed broken right arm.” Their friend Doctor Giles Nelson told the Waynes. “If you can believe it, he's seven years old.”

“What?” Martha gasped. “That can't be true! He's so tiny.”

“I'm sure we've caught it soon enough.” Giles said. “He just needs some regular meals to stretch his stomach out and that will let his body get the nutrition it needs to correct most of the damage.”

“Oh, dear.” Martha said and gave her husband pleading eyes. “Thomas...”

Thomas sighed and waved towards the door with his good arm. “Go tell the boys the good news. I'm sure Alfred will enjoy having someone else in the house that speaks like him.”

Martha gave him a kiss before she gave him a look that told him she would be getting frisky with him later that night. “I love you.”

Thomas smiled widely at her and watched her leave with a sway to her hips.

Giles chuckled when the door shut and then coughed. “Yes, well... try to not do too much... ah... strenuous activity with your arm. Keep the sling on for as long as possible, even in bed.”

Thomas gave his friend a glare and dared him to make a joke about being tied up for his wife.

Giles laughed and slapped his friend's good shoulder. “It was a through and through flesh wound, so you'll be sore for a while as the muscles heal. You know that.”

Thomas nodded. “At least it won't hamper me and the police destroying the crime bosses of Gotham.”

“What do you mean?” Giles asked.

“Joe Chill was the name of the small time thug that shot me. He was hired to give me a messy unsolved murder during a pretend robbery.”

“He wasn't after your money?” Giles asked, surprised.

“No, he was going to make a statement. No one in Gotham is safe. If the famous Wayne Family could be killed, anyone can be.” Thomas said, angrily.

“But, you didn't die.” Giles pointed out needlessly.

“No, I didn't.” Thomas said. “Thanks to a scruffy homeless boy dropping in at the perfect time.”

Giles smiled. “It was perfect timing, wasn't it? He hit the gunman's arm when he landed, so the bullet didn't hit your heart where the gun was aimed.”

“No!” Bruce gasped and the two men turned to see Bruce standing there in the doorway. “You really could have died?”

Thomas wasn't a coward and he didn't want his son to be, so he admitted the truth. “Your mother wasn't lying when she said Harry saved our lives. We were supposed to be killed.”

The look of horror on Bruce's face faded slightly and changed to determination. “Thanks for telling me, dad.”

Thomas nodded. That's my boy. He thought. “Let's go home, son.”

Bruce smiled and nodded back. He knew that look on his father's face. Pride.

*

The front door of the large mansion opened when the family of four approached it.

“Welcome home, Master Thomas, Mistress Martha, Master Bruce, and Master Harry.” Alfred said in a distinct British accent before he stepped back and let them inside.

Harry stared at the only person he had heard all night that sounded like him.

“I believe you an I have a few things in common.” Alfred said and smiled briefly at the boy.

Harry nodded and tried to not feel embarrassed at being spoken to nicely and not being hollered at.

“The room near Bruce's, Alfred. Please.” Martha said.

“Of course.” Alfred responded. “Since I do not see any luggage, I assume a shopping trip will be in order after the paperwork is filed?”

Thomas and Bruce groaned and quickly made themselves scarce.

Martha softly laughed and lightly touched Alfred's arm. “You're mean to tease them like that.”

Alfred smiled briefly. “One does need to find the little joys in life when they appear, Mistress.”

Martha laughed again and turned to look down at Harry. “I want you to ignore anyone that says Alfred is just a butler. He is our trusted friend and he maintains the house and the family. I doubt our busy lives would run as smoothly without his expertise.”

Harry's eyes widened and he looked at Alfred.

“But, I am just the butler, Mistress.” Alfred said with another quick smile.

Martha laughed and lightly touched Harry's shoulder. “Please make yourself at home. I have some phone calls to make and important business to take care of.”

Harry nodded and couldn't quite hide his disappointment that she didn't want him around.

“I'm not dismissing you, Harry.” Martha said at the look on his face and she knelt on the floor to put her head at Harry's level. “I'm going to make sure you can legally stay here and that no one can ever take you away from us.”

Harry's heart fluttered. “R-really? You mean I... I can stay? Here? With you?”

“That is usually what being a family means.” Martha said with a warm smile that Harry was really starting to like.

Harry wasn't sure what came over him as he leaned forward and put his arms around her. “Th-thank you.” He whispered and gave her a squeeze, let her go, did his best to hide his sudden tears, and ran up the grand staircase. He missed the looks of surprise on Martha's and Alfred's faces.

“Alfred.” Martha whispered.

“Understood, Mistress.” Alfred said and followed the young man.

Martha had been motivated to help Harry before that little bit of a breakdown. Afterwards, she knew that she would do everything she possibly could to make sure that little boy was loved and appreciated.

*

A year later, Harry was out of breath as he rested against the brick wall of the school near the kitchens. His bullies had finally cornered him and he was glad that none of them were as big as Dudley.

“A street rat like you doesn't deserve to be here with the real students.” The boy in front said and made his hand into a fist.

“Yeah! Go back to the gutter where you belong!” One of the others taunted.

Harry didn't taunt them back, even though he wanted to. Alfred had taught him that he couldn't let them get to him or let them anger him, because then they would win by getting a reaction out of him. All he could do was close his eyes in resignation and take the beating like usual and then lie about it when he went home. He wasn't allowed to fight back against the rich kids, because he would be expelled.

There was a meaty thump, then another, and Harry was surprised he wasn't feeling their fists again. He opened his eyes and saw his big brother Bruce exchange punches with the first boy and he had a bloody lip. The first boy let out a yell and went down, clutching at his cheek. Only one of the four boys was left standing and he looked scared. Bruce took a step towards him and he bolted.

When the boy was out of sight, Bruce walked over to Harry and held a hand out to him. “You really need to learn to defend yourself, Harry.”

Harry took the hand and stood up, despite his exhaustion. “I'm not allowed to fight, Bruce. The principal said he will kick me out.”

Bruce looked down at the first boy and saw that he was the principal's son. “Yeah, don't worry about that. Dad will sort this out.”

Harry looked down at the boy as well and somehow knew it wasn't going to be so easy to deal with.

By the end of the school day and after a bunch of lies from the rich kids against the street rat, despite Bruce being the one to smack them down, Harry was suspended for a week for fighting and his case would be reviewed to see if his previous behaviour would be enough to have him expelled.

Thomas had told both of his sons to be proud of their accomplishments and that the both of them would be staying home for the week. When the week was over, they didn't go back to school, despite having some of the highest grades in the school.

The newspapers reported the principal's encouragement of bullying and covering it up. It surprised everyone when they read that all Wayne funding would be pulled from the school, as would the two students in question. The Waynes did not pay high tuition fees or make donations for their children to be bullied.

With Harry's example to follow, several other students came forward and told their parents that the principal's son and his friends bullied them, too. It caused quite the stir to have ten rich families remove their children from the school to send them somewhere else. They also stopped funding the school.

It was a huge scandal and the principal was thoroughly embarrassed for trying to make Harry a scapegoat for his son's behavior. He had believed his son when he said it was all Harry's fault and had fought him, so he had backed his son's claim and suspended Harry and refused to listen to any more lies from the Waynes. He would pay for that decision, as would the school.

A week later, the school's reputation was publicly trashed in the newspapers for raising future mobsters and caused a mass exodus by the student population. None of them wanted to be the new targets or become delinquents by joining the mobsters-in-training to bully others. Also, if the school wasn't good enough for the Wayne boys to attend, it wasn't good enough for them, either.

Thomas Wayne sued for the tuition he paid for his sons and to get back his most recent donation, which had most of the other families join in on the suit. They had assumed that money was gone and they would also be out of pocket for everything a new school would entail. Thanks to public opinion and the outrage everyone felt when it was all brought to light, they won the case by a landslide.

What ended up being ironic was that the previously prodigious exclusive school had to convert into a public school to get enough government funding to remain open. They had to become the very thing they denied being, a school used to raise future mobsters, in order to make any money at all.

*

Harry loved his new school. He had never had so many others want to be his friend before. Bruce and his dad had warned him about 'hangers on' and he was careful about who he accepted as a friend. He even made it known that he wasn't rich like Bruce and that was enough to weed out those that thought they could get in good with the family.

Both boys started training with Alfred on the weekends, just in case anything else happened. Neither Thomas nor his wife Martha wanted their sons to be put into a similar situation and not know how to deal with it. Both children took to the extensive and harsh discipline like ducks to water and soaked up combat training like sponges.

*

By the time they were teenagers and had entered high school, Bruce and Harry were practically the same height and quite strong with toned bodies. They excelled in any sport they participated in and were unrivalled in the classroom. Both had become quite intelligent growing up with a brilliant medical doctor for a father, a financial whiz for a mother, and a combat specialist in a butler that was like a second father to them.

The boys had also realized that the rampant crime was eating away at the city they loved. They secretly resolved to do something about it and came up with several plans to try and deal with the problem. With their decision made, they split their focuses for the first time in their lives. Bruce went for the political sciences and Harry went for the legal sciences.

They would create a two-pronged attack and strike at the crime bosses in both politics and legally. Gotham was their city and they would do everything to protect it.

*

Harry and Bruce graduated from college, with full marks in their prospective fields, at the tender ages of 20 and 21 respectively. Bruce had taken a year off to wait for Harry to join him at college so they could experience it and get through it together. Both immediately went into their chosen fields with bright eyes and bushy tails, their hidden claws poised to attack anything that got in their way.

*

At the age of 25, Harry knew their plan had failed. He was still only a junior lawyer in the District Attorney's Office and he had finally tracked down why. Several of the crime bosses in the city were bribing various people the DA, police department, and the mayor's office. The corruption was so high that he thought there was nothing he could do to change things.

Bruce agreed with him. He was also only a voting member of their political party, despite being there for years and doing everything he could to gain support and followers. Despite the unofficial numbers that he religiously polled on his own, the voting block always went against him and they chose another candidate. An easily bribed one.

Something had to be done about the blatant corruption and they didn't know how to deal with it. It wasn't until a late night talk with their father about the mob bosses and how they ran things, that both young men realized that if the legal way was going to be kept from them, then they needed to fight fire with fire and take a lesson from the mob bosses.

They needed to break the law in order to enforce it.

It took weeks of behind the scenes planning on both of their parts to create a viable and working model of what they had to do to start disrupting the mobs and their criminal activities. Since they couldn't rely on the police force or the lawyers to handle the crimes or the criminals themselves, they needed to create something that everyone would focus on. Something to catch people's eye.

They needed a vigilante to serve justice to the city's underworld and create fear in those that had no fear from the law. An icon had to be created. Something scary and showy. Something theatrical.

Bruce had caught his breath at the old memory that popped into his head at that remembered moment, the moment his parents could have died. The moment he had seen Harry appear out of nowhere and tackled the gunman that shot his father. The movie he had seen that night was The Mask of Zorro and he told Harry all about it.

They couldn't copy Zorro as a figure, though. His costume didn't strike fear in anyone, not even the desperadoes Zorro had fought and defeated with his sword. The two of them sat there in the darkened room at the mansion and thought about how they could change it enough to do what they wanted to do.

Right at that moment, there was a thump on the window and both young men jumped from their chairs and lunged at the window to investigate. There, collapsed on the windowsill, was a twitching bat. Bruce and Harry stared at it for several moments before they lifted their eyes and their gazes locked onto each other. That was it. That was what they needed. Their icon.

The Batman was born that night and he would change the face of Gotham's underworld forever. They just had one major hurdle to overcome to put their plan into action...

...trying to convince their mother to let them.

*

A year later, the Batman had smashed three major crime families and exposed their corruption publicly. He also appeared at the side of Junior DA Harry Wayne at a press conference where all the charges were laid out. Several major political figures, including the mayor and the District Attorney, were implicated and there was solid evidence of their crimes.

It was a huge scandal and the people ate it up. The only thing they loved more than a hero that brought justice to those that deserved it, was seeing those same heroes fall. The DA and mayor didn't last in office for more than a week before the public protests drove them out.

Thanks to Batman's support, Harry Wayne became the interim DA until an emergency election could be called. That was when Batman also threw in his support for Bruce Wayne as mayoral candidate. If one Wayne looking after the public was good, then two of them could only be better for everyone.

Surprisingly, no one came forward with the theory that they had conspired together to bring down all of their competition in their fields. That was the best thing about having solid evidence. Absolutely none of it involved either of the Wayne boys, their parents, or any of their friends.

Everyone remembered what happened when they were kids and the mobsters ruining their schooling. The two Wayne boys had integrity in spades and no one questioned them. The best part, Batman showed up at Bruce Wayne's first campaign rally.

A month later, Harry and Bruce won their offices officially with landslide victories.

*

Harry and Bruce worked tirelessly during the day at their jobs and would switch out at night to patrol as the vigilante Batman. They were comparable in size and only Harry had to wear a height booster wedge in his boots to keep up the ruse that Batman was a single person.

With the two of them attacking crime on three fronts, legally, politically, and criminally, it took barely another year for them to clean up the city of the worst of the worst. Even when powered villains showed up to try and take out the Batman to prove themselves, his cunning, intelligence, and fierceness dealt with them quickly.

Unlike them, this Batman never made mistakes for them to capitalize on. They were also pushed through the legal system when they were caught. New legislation dealing with them and a new facility donated by the Wayne Foundation, kept them under control and also advanced medical science. Most of them had their accidents reversed and they were eventually released as normal humans.

*

Fifteen years and countless villains and mobsters later, Gotham was nearly a utopia. There were no homeless people, barely any crime, and the unemployed were either shipped out to another city or hired at another job. There was always work for those that wanted it.

Thomas Wayne laid on his death bed and looked upon his aged wife that was just as regal as when they were teenagers. “Don't make me wait... for too long, my dear.”

Martha shook her head at him. “I'll come along as soon as my boys tell me they don't need their mother anymore.”

“Don't tell me... you're never coming!” Thomas laughed and then coughed.

Martha took his wrinkled old hand and held it until he stopped coughing. “I figure another decade or two, when I'm just skin and bones and too old to move anymore, they will finally admit I should probably join you.”

Thomas nodded and closed his eyes. “That's acceptable. You've always... loved them equally.”

Martha poked his belly and he grunted. “So did you, you old curmudgeon.”

“No, no. I have always maintained... my lofty position.” Thomas denied. “Couldn't give them... big heads.”

Martha softly laughed. “You failed at that, where you're concerned. They adore me, true. However, they utterly respect you.”

“You've mistaken me... for Alfred.” Thomas said with a smile. They had lost the man to old age barely a year previously and now he was following his old friend.

Martha lightly pet his cheek. “Their second father love them equally, too. Tell him I'll see you both soon.”

“No, you promised me... a decade or two. I need that long... to prepare Heaven for you.”

Martha laughed and leaned down to lightly kiss his lips. “Thomas, you fool. They will never be ready for me.”

“Ha!” Thomas barked, coughed several times, then his breath wheezed out. His chest barely rose.

“Goodbye, dearest.” Martha whispered.

“D-d-dear...” Thomas stopped mid-word and his chest stopped moving.

Martha felt two strong hands on her shoulders and she let silent tears roll down her cheeks. She let her husband's hand go and her hands reached up to hold the hands of her two boys. Harry and Bruce hugged her and their own silent tears joined hers.

*

Bruce Wayne and Harry Wayne retired from their jobs when it was time. They were old and still in great shape; but, they did not stand in the way of progress. They had spend years training their replacements and the population of the most prosperous city in the country relaxed, knowing that it would always be taken care of with the best DA and mayor in the world.

Little did they know that the Batman that still patrolled the city streets at night, was the tenth one. Well, the tenth pair. They always adopted and trained them in pairs, to always be able to provide an alibi for the other. It was a system that had always worked and it always would, even years after their deaths.