Money. Some people believed it solved all problems. Others believed it starts all problems.

Power. It's what everyone strives for. They think it makes them untouchable, and helps them get whatever they want.

Respect. It's essential to have to get both the previous things. Or at the very least it makes getting the aforementioned two easier.

Combining the three should make one have a life on so called easy street. It should mean that a family with wealth, in a position of power, and who was respected and beloved by the city that they gave their all to, should revere them, and they should have everything they want and no worries about much of anything right?

One of the last remaining member of such a Gotham family, will tell you nothing could be further from the truth.

The Wayne family, Gotham's most beloved family and one of the most richest families of the world, had ruled the city in a multitude of different ways for generations. Some chose to be city leaders, others city benefactors, even a few tried their hand at controlling the underworld. Each always made sure to play their part to the city, and each always gave the city and their family name something. And each was always remembered.

For Thomas and Martha Wayne, they helped to rejuvenate the city. Spending millions and millions of dollars to make Gotham better. It was said so much it was almost a damn slogan. Thomas was a doctor, doing a service by not only donating money and putting the right people in place to run the business the family owned, but also taking care of Gotham's hurt and sick. His wife, Martha kept the books to the family empire, Wayne Enterprises, and also was heavy into the philanthropic work. She made it her business to find places to donate to and parts of the city to fix. She pointed out to her husband and he'd write the check. She was the brains and he was the money.

The good work they had done, is what they would be remembered for. It would take just one night in an alleyway to change all that. Two flashes from an old revolver, from a man who looked like he could be a bum or a drug addict, would take all the good the Wayne's had done for Gotham, and turn it on it's head. But it would also prove to the young Bruce Wayne, son of Martha and Thomas Wayne, that money, power, respect, the things that people spend their whole lives chasing, doesn't stop bullets.

All the money, power and respect, didn't save young Bruce from growing up an orphan. All the money, power, and respect didn't save all the damned pity and sympathy that Bruce received in nauseating amounts for his early life. All the money, power, and respect wouldn't bring his parents back from the dead. 

At the age of 8, Bruce lost the most important things and people in his life, and all the money, power, and respect couldn't do a damned thing about that. He would tell himself this for most of his early years. For a few years after the death of his parents, he didn't know what to do, just felt like life itself meant nothing.

He would eventually make a vow to his parents. One that may have seemed childish. He wanted to make sure no one suffered the same fate he did once he had the power to do something about it. There was one of those three again. Power. Power to stop others from killing others? Yeah right, people die all the time. At the time he wouldn't be discouraged. Not by his more realistic mind, not by his guardian, butler, and friend Alfred, not by anyone.

He was so determined to his vow, that once he reached the age of 16, he begged and pleaded to travel around with a magic show troupe so he could learn some of their performance techniques. Not how to pull rabbits out of hats or tricks with cards, though he did learn how those went too. Bruce was interested in escape techniques, and how to make people see and believe in illusions.

He didn't stop there. He had learned fighting. He believed that fighting was the way to give him the power that he needed to keep his vow to his parents. It took him a few years to realize he still wasn't ready. It was Alfred that pointed out that power wasn't just brute strength.

"Knowledge is power Master Bruce." was what the wise man would say.

And so Bruce decided to dedicate a few years to master knowledge of things he would need in life. Science, business, strategy, psychology, all these things would be crucial to know for his plans for the future. It was during these studies, that Bruce found out he needed to learn about something else in order to be one step closer to fulfilling his promise. Or rather what he needed to learn to conqueror. 

Fear.

Something that upset the balance of money, power and respect. Fear. It was fear that had whoever killed Bruce's parents call for it. It was fear that led Joe Chill to pull the trigger. Fear was one of the biggest factors of the mind when one makes a decision. So fear was something that Bruce needed to learn and needed to conqueror. He wasn't going to do that in the comfort of his own home. Step one to conquering fear, was to step out of his own comfort zone. 

Which led him to find out another important thing he'd need to learn about.

Survival.

Those two put together would help him get further along than any amount of money, power, or respect. So with that he firmly said to hell with money, power, and respect. He was off to go learn fear and survival. He was gladly leaving behind the money, and the power. He would learn how to survive without it in order to conqueror his fear of failure.

With that, he would leave his home. Never to be seen again for 5 years. It would only take about 2 of those, for the second last Wayne to be pronounced dead, when in fact he was anything but.