Vicki will get that exclusive (valevicki) wrote in sog_ic, @ 2012-09-13 17:05:00 |
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It was the murder that captivated the city. An entire metropolis seemed to stop all at once when news of Bruce Wayne’s death was reported. Word spread fast, as expected when a much beloved and intriguing figure such as Bruce Wayne is, of the tragedy. While nearly a month has passed since his death, the absence of Bruce Wayne still affects those around town. Who will guide Wayne Enterprises now? Wayne Tower sits as a majestic edifice in the breathtaking skyline of Gotham City. It shines as a beacon of hope to a city that has long seen Wayne Enterprises as the heartbeat that keeps Gotham alive. Within the walls of this magnificent skyscraper resides an office which overlooks the impressive cityscape, a clear view of the sun dipping behind the horizon at the close of each day. The office once belonged to Bruce Wayne, but now belongs to his heir, Richard Grayson. As Richard sat behind his desk for this interview, he painted a striking silhouette against the vivid blue of the August sky. While not related by blood to Wayne, Grayson seems to carry himself in a similar manner. Dignity and respect. Bruce was known as many things. Primarily as the notorious playboy and heir to the Wayne fortune. While he left a string of lovers, some confirmed, others rumored, behind, the question that remains is...who was Bruce Wayne? The one man who could have given us the deepest of insights into so complex of a figure passed a year before Wayne was murdered. Alfred Pennyworth would know Bruce Wayne better than anyone, seeing as the young orphaned boy developed into the man that Gotham knew him to be. But what was he like behind closed doors? Did his lovers really see the real Bruce? Did he really appear as superficial as many tabloids accused him of being? With Pennyworth gone, the only person who could offer true insight into Wayne would be the very person who sits in the chair that he once sat in. The same man who returned from a year-long sojourn to bury his father-figure and mentor. Richard Grayson. But who is Richard Grayson? What happened a year before that led him to leave so suddenly from Gotham, resigning from the Gotham City Police Department? What can he share with us about Gotham’s most beloved, and also most elusive, figure? And how has the passing of Wayne affected him? | ||
V: You’ve been gone a year, many say that you took that time to travel the world. I take it that your extended holiday was enjoyable? G: Very. Enjoyable and informative. I was sent to learn about our overseas holdings, but also to look for new opportunities. As you may or may not be aware, Wayne Enterprises seeks to expand the infrastructure in countries with emerging markets and create self-sustaining economies in volatile regions - a pathway to lasting peace and prosperity, as our mission statement goes. Also, the skiing in the Himalayas was quite a fun challenge. V: Did the death of Mr. Wayne’s family butler spur the sudden need to travel, or was this already part of your plans at the time? I understand that might be a difficult question for you to answer, but your departure is believed to be in relation to that. G: We were close to Alfred. He was family. It was... difficult when he died, though he’d suffered a few strokes in the last few years and we knew it was coming eventually. Bruce took it real hard. That man helped raise me as a teenager, but he was there for Bruce since he was ten, and... I guess you could say he’s the reason I didn’t leave sooner. Bruce didn’t want anyone around after that. I think Alfred’s loss hit him harder than anyone close to him realized. We thought we were there for him, but I also thought he needed time to... work things out. So I left. V: Losing someone you care about affects you deeply, I’m sure Mr. Pennyworth and yourself saw a side to Mr. Wayne that the public never knew. So there was friction between you and Mr. Wayne before your departure? G: We had a pretty - strong - disagreement about my choice in careers. I wasn’t following closely enough in his footsteps, I guess. I went through a lot of places to get where I am now, which is to say that in a way, Bruce was right to be upset. Maybe not at me, but at what my choices might inadvertently do. He feared a Wayne Enterprises - and through that a Gotham City - that might slowly move away from his primary vision. We have great men and women that work for us, that understand our desire to build up the people of Gotham. Lucius Fox, especially, has been a stalwart friend and ally in helping us with this vision, something that was inherited directly from Thomas and Martha Wayne. I would have been happy not to be sitting at his desk talking with you for another forty years. Bruce and I didn’t always see eye to eye... but he took me in from a very bad place. My parents were dead, the state institution for orphaned children was incredibly archaic and in need of reform, and he saw in me the same... path he’d taken. I wish I’d left under better terms with him, but... well, here we are, sitting at his desk, a few decades early. V: Did you discover what he was trying to teach you here? Or was it something you learned upon your return? Do you feel as if you’re ready to take on the mantle? Wayne left a legacy, you have a large space to fill within the city’s heart. G: I think what is needed of me - by the company and by Gotham - is not to fill my father’s shoes, but to be a stabilizing presence in uncertain times. I’m sure you’ve seen the stock market’s reaction to his death. I’m here to show everyone that we have nothing to fear. The wheel in the sky keeps on turning, Wayne Enterprises remains a strong company with people-centered initiatives, and we aren’t going anywhere. I am simply the face on that promise. Bruce Wayne can never be replaced, but I’ll work hard to live up to his example. | V: You describe a very different Bruce Wayne that what was familiar to the public, was there always such a contrast between his private life and public image? G: I wouldn't call it a contrast so much as a bigger picture. People only got to see the very public side of him, but all you have to do is look at what Wayne Enterprises has been doing, the initiatives that came into being during his many years of running it, to know where Bruce's passion was. He was always devoted to Gotham. V: Do you feel that you have the same duality as he did when it comes to separating his private life from everything else? G: I think it's a matter of survival. Some part of you needs to remain private and out of sight of the public. It's not so much a duality as - you know how a person is who they are at home, and then they come to work - at any job, really - and out of necessity act differently? You have your professional life, and then you get to be yourself at home and with friends. And when you have very few friends, you cherish that time and privacy even more. It's not a new phenomenon. Every public figure has to be able to balance this. Otherwise, it can destroy a person. We see those incidents all the time in the news, whether it's a self-destructive actor or a politician swept up in controversy created when their personal lives are under the microscope. V: It is believed that Mr. Wayne was going to the same alley that his own parents were tragically killed in when he met his end. Do you think that someone may have been watching him and knew he would be there at that time? Or do you believe that it is merely just bad timing like the police have suggested? G: I don't know. I don't want to comment on what the facts may be yet, when we just don't have enough information. It's my understanding the police are still investigating all avenues as to what happened. Whether or not it was premeditated or he was targeted... remains to be seen. I have faith that the GCPD is doing everything in its power to find his killer and bring that person to justice. V: Usually when one spirals into a depression after the loss of a loved one, there is some chronicle or written record. Did Mr. Wayne perhaps leave anything behind for you to find? Was there anything of note that you found amongst his personal items that had great significance to you or perhaps how he felt about you after your departure? G: "I... don't know. I haven't found anything. He did have a Last Will and Testament drawn, but... V: Are you intending on hiring some private investigators to look into the death of Mr. Wayne or are you intending to have the Gotham Police Department take full control over the investigation? G: Myself and those who knew Bruce personally are cooperating fully with the police, but we have also contracted some third parties to assist the police in the investigation as well. I will not be disclosing the names of the private investigators; they wish to keep out of the spotlight of the public eye while they do their jobs. V: How do you feel you are handling the passing of Mr. Wayne? Losing a mentor and guardian would be hard as a child, but do you feel you can handle it better now as an adult? G: As well as can be expected. There's a lot of work to be done in his absence. I don't think it's ever easy to lose a parent, and Bruce is a father to me. Was. Was a father. | |
Many of Gotham’s citizens only could catch a glimpse of Wayne through the numerous articles written about him and the few interviews he gave. But within all of them in comparison to what Richard Grayson shared, it shows that the supposed ladies’ man was much more than meets the eye. He was complex. An enigma, if you will. We saw the surface, he saw deeper layers and perhaps there was some that not even Grayson saw. What will the investigation into the murder of Bruce Wayne reveal? Was it just a crime of circumstance as the police believe? Or perhaps there are more notorious motives at work. Regardless of that, Bruce Wayne has left a legacy behind, and one that will be difficult to follow. A large shadow cast over the city for so long and now seems visibly absent. Will Richard Grayson be able to continue the legacy that Bruce and his father before him left behind? One can only hope. |