Chapter 1

EDIT: This chapter was revised 22/01/2014

Edit: This chapter was kidnapped 8/4/14

The scene seemed to slow down in an instant as the six figures tumbled towards the ground. The faces among the crowd turned to shock and horror. Cheerful music of the circus bellowed out, un-wavered by the sickening crunch that followed their downfall.

Pain. That's all he could recognize. It hurt so much. What had he just been doing? He couldn't remember. Wasn't his trapeze debut with his parents today? That's right, if he didn't get up soon he'd be late. If he didn't get up soon, mom would scold him and threaten to not let him perform. He'd waited for this for so long, he'd get up soon. He only wanted five more minutes. Just five more, then he'd get up…

Police Commissioner Jim Gordon arrived home late that night. It had been a long and tiring shift and he desperately needed some sleep to clear his head.

He flung his coat over the back of a chair at the kitchen table before opening the small fridge and peered in, unable to raise any type of appetite for the food it contained. It just felt wrong.

Especially after tonight.

A shadow swept across the far corner of the room near the window. Gordon swiftly pulled his gun out and aimed it at the shadowed figure.

"Show yourself!" he ordered to the darkness. The figure glided into view. Batman. Gordon let out an annoyed grunt, still holding up his gun. "Can't you use normal office hours? Or call? This ismy house in case you hadn't noticed."

"The Graysons," Batman said, ignoring Gordon. "What do you know?"

Jim Gordon lowered his gun, but kept it at his side, ready to use if necessary.

"Not much." he said "Ropes were unstable and they snapped. Karla Grayson and her son John died instantly. Her husband Rick was in Intensive Care, in a coma last I heard. John and Mary Grayson died on impact. Their kid, Richard, died not too soon after. An accident … or at least I thought it was."

"The ropes." the vigilante stated. "There was acid on them, sabotage."

The commissioner stared for a second in disbelief "How'd you-" he began, but then stopped "Never mind. But that's not the weirdest part." Gordon loosened his hold on his gun and raised a hand to his face rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses, a grim expression crossing his features.

He looked up at Batman, locking his gaze on the white lenses "The kid's body, it's missing."

Batman's glare sharpened. "How?" he said, the anger clear in his voice.

"That's the thing," Gordon began, dropping his hands from his face "We don't know. The bodies were delivered to the Police Department's morgue after the crime scene was cleared. The cameras cut for five minutes, an hour after delivery, and the body was gone. Not a trace of it ever being there except for the camera footage from beforehand. Nobody was seen entering or leaving, it just-" Gordon looked up to find Batman no longer there "-disappeared…"

Gordon grabbed the nearest kitchen chair and collapsed into it, placing his gun back in its holster. He placed his head in his hands, thinking things through. Why did this have to happen along with everything else? Who goes to so much trouble to steal one kid's body? He grimaced, realizing there was probably some freak or another in Gotham capable of it. Was it the saboteur? Did the kid's body contain some evidence they'd missed?

"Dad?" a small voice called out, ending his train of thought.

Gordon looked up to find his daughter in the doorway of the kitchen, "Barbara." his voice softened, "What are you doing out of bed? Have a bad dream?"

"No!" she said defiantly "I'm too old for nightmares, you just woke me up!" the ten year old red head crossed her arms and pouted at her father.

He chuckled softly before walking over to her and sweeping her up in his arms "Come on sweet heart, I'll tuck you in again."

Batman kept looking long after the Gotham Police Department called off the case. He came up with no leads to the murderer or the case of the missing body of Richard Grayson. Soon the family's case was overshadowed by larger events and placed to one side, but never forgotten. Batman carried the guilt on his shoulders. Another family torn apart and there was nothing to show for it. History likes to repeat itself.

Whelp here it is. My co-writer on this story chocolate-sugar can't keep writing so I adopted the story. I have the second chapter on the way and should be getting the rest up soon. Happy Reading!