Bruce rubbed his blurry eyes until they ached. He wondered cynically if all those late nights reading page after page of legalese was what had forced his father to don his iconic glasses. When he said he wanted to take a more active role in running Wayne Enterprises, this was not what he had in mind. How had Thomas Wayne kept up with everything going on in the company while maintaining his medical practice? Bruce would never know. It was probably the reason his father never had much energy to play when Bruce was young.

He reached for the cream colored coffee cup emblazoned with a golden script "W" only to find it empty. He considered having Alfred brew more, but realized his butler had probably gone to sleep hours ago. Bruce was more than capable of making his own coffee but suddenly the kitchen felt miles away. That was definitely a downside of living in a house this large: one had to be prepared to walk a distance to get anywhere. His bedroom, only twenty yards away, seemed the better option. TPS reports would have to wait until morning.

Just as he resigned himself to bed, Bruce noticed the unopened manilla envelope partly hidden under a stack of assorted files. Curiosity won out over the promise of sleep. The envelope was addressed to "Mr. Bruce Wayne" and bore no return address. It had been stamped at the Gotham City central post office so Bruce deduced that it must have originated from someone in the city. He cautiously slid the point of his letter opener under its flap and deftly sliced it open. The contents spilled out onto his desk. Inside was a photocopied slip of paper.

Bruce's eyes blurred as he scanned the page. "State of California Certificate of Vital Record" was written in gothic script across the top of the page. Further down was written, "Certificate of Live Birth." After a moment of confusion his eyes focused on one line. It read "Name of Mother: Selina Marie Kyle. Name of Father: Unknown."

Author's note:

To be continued as "Baby Bat Cat" (working title)