Okay, so, here is volume two of the Bat. The first part will chronicle the final case of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson as Batman and Robin, leading into Dick's appearance in my Teen Titans fic, followed by some other parts which I won't reveal yet.

...

Bruce sat in the batcave. It had been a year and a half since the incident with Darkseid and the Justice League, just over three years since he had taken Dick on as his partner. To say their partnership was rocky would be an understatement; the 19 year old was prone to arrogance and impatience, neither being qualities Bruce could deal with very well.

He keyed a few commands into the computer. He was doing research. Commissioner Gordon had called Batman and Robin to GCPD two days ago to speak about a collection of killings recently. Each of the victims had been apparently unrelated, and found horrifically mutilated. Robin had suggested it was the Joker's handy work, but Bruce couldn't help but question that.

Granted, Joker had been in hiding for about a year, and, based on how he first appeared after the accident that had left him 'the Clown Prince of Crime,' as the papers had called him, something big would be coming from him. However, Bruce had spent the last two days looking at the reports from Joker's previous arrests when he had been Jack Napier. Needless to say, there was one case he hadn't needed to bother looking at. The one he knew best. His parents' murder.

Bruce rubbed his eyes. He'd been awake since before Gordon had contacted him and Dick, and had been refusing Alfred's constant heckling for him to get some sleep. He'd do that when he was sure it wasn't the Joker.

He looked at the clock. It was 11PM. He pressed a few commands, bringing up the next file. The killings Joker had enacted during his escape from Arkham. He'd murdered twenty-seven people that night, but none of them were mutilated, at least, not to the extent this killer had been doing so.

As he flicked to the next page, alarms began blaring. A half second later, words flashed up on the display.

'System Compromised. Hack Detected.'

"Computer, lockdown system." Bruce said "Authorisation, Batman. Pass code, Thomas."

"Authorisation not recognised." The computer replied "Access denied."

"Under whose authority?" Bruce asked, beginning to type.

"Authorisation, Oracle." The computer said "Access to computer systems denied until remote uplink terminates."

"Damn." Bruce said, standing up and picking up his cowl from it's position on the terminal, putting it on, pressing a control on his gauntlet "Activate secondary computer systems and isolate them to the Batmobile. Authorisation, Batman. Pass code, Martha."

"Secondary systems engaged and isolated." Came a second computer voice, this one in the ear piece in his cowl "Good evening, Mr. Wayne."

"Trace the hacker." Bruce said "Then get all information on any users with sufficient computer skills using the screen name Oracle."

Bruce got into the Batmobile, beginning to engage the pre-start systems. As he did, he flipped the switch for communications, contacting Dick, who was out on patrol.

"Robin, someone's hacked the batcave." He said "Don't go back there until I report in."

"Need back up?" Dick asked "It's a quiet night."

"No, this hack could be a diversion." Bruce said, looking at the display in front of him "I've traced the hack. It was bounced through a dozen different relays, but the source looks to be somewhere in the Gotham University halls of residence. I'll check in soon."

Bruce didn't bother waiting for Dick's response, instead cutting the line and hitting the cave door controls, firing up the afterburner and accelerating rapidly out of the cave.

As he sped out of the cave exit, an image came up on his display, of a green, animated female face, a large brain visible on top of the head.

"Batman, please believe me, I don't mean you any harm." Came a synthesised female voice "I just had to see your investigation notes on the killings so I could inform the police of anything they might've missed. You're not exactly known for sharing."

"Get off this channel!" Bruce responded in the usual, gravelly tone he affected whilst in the costume "How did you hack the batcomputer?!"

"It helps when you've had physical access." Came the reply "I'm sending you some co-ordinates. Meet me there."

Bruce looked at the display. The co-ordinates were in Park Row, the Monarch Theatre. Bruce spun the batmobile around, before firing the booster again, beginning to speed towards the theatre.

...

Bruce walked into the theatre. It had closed down years ago. Shortly after his parents' murder outside it. He knew which room in the building this 'Oracle' would want to meet in, if they'd been in the cave like they claimed. The last one he'd been in.

He walked into the main room, pressing a control on his gauntlet, engaging a passive sonar scan, the readout being displayed on the gauntlet. Two people in the room, him and a woman, athletic build, five foot ten approximately, hiding up on the balcony.

"Might as well come out." He said, showing his gauntlet "I scanned the room. You're in row H, hiding behind seats 34 and 35."

"So you're as good as my dad says." Came a familiar voice, before Barbara Gordon stood up from her position "Hello, Batman. Or do you prefer Bruce?"

"You tell me." Bruce replied, raising his grapple gun and firing it to just above Barbara, quickly accelerating to a position just in front of her, putting the grapple back in his belt before pressing a control on it, his cowl loosening before her put his hands to it, removing it "How long have you known?"

"Since I stayed at the manor as Dick's tutor." She replied "He kept trying to keep me away from the study, so I figured there had to be something worth seeing in there. Didn't take a genius with an eidetic memory to notice every book on the shelf except Moby Dick was covered in dust."

"Still doesn't explain how you hacked the computer." Bruce said, folding his arms "Lowjacking wouldn't work, and you would've been detected on an unauthorised signal."

"I used an authorised carrier." Barbara said "Alfred liaises with me for hacking expertise."

"Alfred knows about this?" Bruce said, cocking an eyebrow "When were you two planning to tell me this?"

"The tenth of never." She said, smirking "I want to help you, Bruce. Train me, let me be your partner, like Dick."

Bruce turned around, running his hands through his hair. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She knew too much for him to let her just walk away, but she was the Comissioner's daughter, Jim's daughter. He'd known her since she was a kid, could he really let her put herself on the line.

Finally, he turned back to her.

"Here's the deal." He said "I'll give you a series of tests. The same tests my mentor gave me when he trained me. First, you'll have to give me everything you've got. Then, you'll have to give me more."

"And then I can come out with you two?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. Then I'll think about-" Bruce began, stopping as he heard a sound, putting the cowl back on, saying to her in a hushed tone "Someone else is here. Get down and stay down until I tell you."

Barbara complied as Bruce pressed the control to trigger the sonar again. He'd been wrong. There wasn't another person there. There were multiple people. He pressed a control to get a readout.

'System compromised. Anti-Tracking shields disabled.'

Bruce grimaced. Whoever it was had shown up, they were there for him. They'd piggybacked his communication with Barbara and used the signal as a way in to the Batmobile, disabling it's Anti-Tracking shields. He pressed a control on his belt, the eyes of his cowl lighting up as a display of the sonar came up on a HUD.

Six guards, all armed with submachine guns. They looked to be lightly armoured; they had a rich benefactor, but not one who cared particularly for their wellbeing. He tried to consider who might want him dead, and found himself considering a list too long to even consider, without including the ones who wanted Bruce Wayne as well as Batman dead.

"Boss said he wants the bat." Bruce heard one of the men say "He never specified dead or alive."

Bruce pressed the control again, switching the HUD to thermal imaging. He reached into his belt, pulling a small silver ball and tossing it into the centre of the room, watching as the lower area quickly filled with smoke, hearing the men choking.

He leapt off of the balcony, landing on one of the goons and punching him, knocking the man out. He spun, punching another goon in the face, before receiving a hit to the face back, the HUD flickering and cutting out. He was fighting blind.

Bruce hit the deck as he heard guns begin to fire, sweeping a leg under a thug before hitting him with his own gun. As he did, he flinched, feeling several bullets impacting the armoured parts of his suit. He watched as the smoke cleared, noting the three remaining men stood over him.

"Nothing personal, bats." One of the men said, aiming at him "Just business."

As the man went to pull the trigger, the skylight shattered, Dick descending into the room, flipping off of the railing he landed on, bouncing off of the edge of the balcony and kicking the man who had aimed at Bruce in the face, dazing the man as he hit the floor.

"This a private party or can anyone join in?" Dick said, pulling his Escrima Sticks and throwing them both at the two remaining men, knocking them out "Guess I crashed this party."

"You were reckless." Bruce said, standing, observing the heavily damaged armour he was wearing "You could've got yourself killed with those tricks on the way down!"

"'Thanks for saving my ass again, Robin.' Oh, no problem, Batman." Dick said to himself "Seriously, it's fine, I didn't get myself killed and saved you in the process!"

"Are you two always this bad?" Barbara said, rising from where she was hidden "You're like a pair of children!"

"Are not!" Bruce and Dick said in unison.

"Point proven..." Barbara said, rolling her eyes "Who sent those guys?"

"I don't know." Bruce said, turning to Dick "Alert Commissioner Gordon, tell him to come down and collect these men."

"How many are here this time?" Dick asked.

"Five." Bruce said, picking up the leader "Their leader got away."

Bruce didn't say another word as he fired a grapple line up. He could deal with Barbara shortly, first, he needed information. When they were on the roof, he pulled a small container of smelling salts from his belt, using them to bring the man around before grabbing him by the throat and hanging him over the edge.

"Who sent you!" Bruce yelled at the man.

"I'm not telling you that." The man said "He'd kill me!"

"Wrong answer." Bruce said, tossing the man down, firing a grapple line down and through the man's ankle, pulling him back up "Who sent you! Give me a name!"

"I don't have one!" The man said "We only spoke on the phone, he just said he wanted you brought to him."

"I don't believe that." Bruce said, hitting the man in the groin "Give. Me. A. Name."

"Okay, okay." The man said "He sticks to the shadows, tall guy, wears a trench coat, works with a guy called Pyg. That's all I know, I swear!"

"Thanks." Bruce said, before knocking the man out, lowering both himself and the man back into the main theatre "I found the leader. Robin, wait here. Barbara, with me."

Bruce walked away, Barbara running down to catch Bruce up as Dick watched on, confused. As Bruce and Barbara got outside, Bruce pressed a control on his belt, unlocking the Batmobile and opening the canopy, Bruce getting into the driver's seat and gesturing for Barbara to get in the passenger seat.

Once Barbara was inside, Bruce fired the afterburner, the car speeding off into the night. He didn't even look away from the road as he flipped a switch, opening a glove compartment with a candy bar inside.

"You're stressed. Eat that. The sugar will help." He said simply "Trust me, I know. It's the same advice your father gave me when..."

He trailed off, not bothering to finish the sentence. They both knew where it was going. Barbara pulled out the candy bar, unwrapping it and wolfing it down quickly. Bruce pressed another control, an image of Alfred appearing on the windshield in front of Barbara.

"Alfred, get me everything in the database on someone who calls themselves 'Pyg.' He, or someone he works with, sent a group of mercs after me tonight." Bruce said, before adding "We can discuss your recent behind the scenes partner when she and I get back to the cave."

Bruce cut the channel, grimacing. He was about to get the same argument from two sides.

He should've let Robin handle it.

...

Okay, so there's chapter one. I'm going to start by saying; Professor Pyg is only to be a supporting antagonist. His partner and the person he recruits later will be the two main antagonists of the first arc. However, it's always nice to get these characters in, especially when they fit so well with the story arc I have planned over the first half dozen – dozen chapters. R&R, please, no flames. B.