Okay, so I know it's been a while. Actually, months since I've posted anything. One, I was on vacation. Two, I was grounded for a month right after I got home and could finally use my computer again. But now all I have to complain about are the bruises I've been getting from hockey practice. Oh, well.

Anyway, this is a sequel to "Every Hero Needs A Sidekick". Yes, it involves Will Dawes, though now his name is Will Wayne. But it can also stand alone, so you don't need to go back and read it if you haven't already. Be warned, it does contain spoilers for my other story, which I haven't finished writing yet. Right after I post this, I will post chapter 4 of that, so don't worry, I am working on it.

Well, on with the story. By the way, I know I posted this as Bruce/Rachel. But I figured since this is about their son, I could get away with it.

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Focus. I need focus. Erase everything around me. Only then will I be completely in control. Will Wayne opened his eyes to face his father.

"All right," he said. "I think I'm ready." Bruce raised his eyebrows and wiped his sweaty forehead.

"And what makes you think that?" Will sighed and threw himself down onto the couch.

"I don't know, maybe the fact that I'm fifteen years old, and you've been training me like I'm three?" he asked angrily. "Dad, I'm not a little kid anymore!"

"Will," Bruce tried. "Hey, listen to me, all right?" Will nodded, his eyes still staring at the wall of the cave. "I'm sorry. I know you're not exactly a little boy anymore. It's just..."

"Dad, you're not going to lose me, okay? I've had training from the master," he said slyly. Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Flattery does wonders," he said sarcastically. "Will, something else has been bothering you," he noticed. "What is it?" Will avoided his father's gaze.

"Nothing," he said quietly. "Nothing, I'm fine." He looked at his watch. "Damn," he muttered.

"What?" Will was already running out the door.

"I'm late for school!"

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Saithe sighed as she sat in her ship, making her way towards Earth. I'm really going to miss home, she thought. She ran her hand through her long dark hair, wondering what she would do once she arrived on the foreign planet. I mean, I know that this is something I have to do, but I've never been this far away from home before. Come to think of it, I've never left my planet before.

Just then, the screen on her comlink lit up, and here sister, Kailey, appeared.

"Hey, sis," she said. "How's your trip to Earth going so far?"

Saithe smiled as she replied, "Well, so far, it's going pretty well. How are things back home?"

"Oh, same old stuff going around here. Just people flying around."

Saithe let out a small laugh. "Too bad I won't be able to fly around once I land on Earth," she said.

"Well, you could," Kailey replied. "But then people would suspect that you weren't from around there. And maybe I'm wrong, but isn't that the whole point of you going in the first place?"

"Yeah, that is the point," Saithe replied with a chuckle.

"Well, I would hate it if something were to happen to you while you were there."

Just as Kailey had finished her sentence, Saithe's emergency lights started flashing, signaling her that something wasn't right with the engine.

"Speaking of which," she said. "I think I'll have to call you back." Before Kailey could respond, Saithe turned off her comlink. She checked all of her screens in relation to her engine, all of them saying the same thing: ENGINE DOWN. Well, that can't be good, she thought.

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"Are you all right, Master Will?" asked Alfred Pennyworth. "You seem quiet." Startled, Will turned to face the elderly butler. He smiled slightly.

"It's nothing," the teenager responded. "Just…thinking." Alfred frowned.

"You should know to trust me," he said gently. "I know this is rough for you…but-" Will's eyes blazed.

"Don't say you know what I'm going through," the boy said angrily. "Because you don't." Alfred sighed sadly. He turned around to look at his young master and saw a young Bruce Wayne staring back at him.

"No, you're right," Alfred agreed. "I don't. But Master Bruce does." Will's eyes widened as he realized that the butler was right.

A few months ago, Will had been living with his mother, Rachel Dawes, in suburban Gotham. He attended East Gotham High School, along with his friends Jacob Gordon and Connor Queen, who he had been with since kindergarten. No one paid any attention to Will Dawes, the only son of Gotham's Assistant District Attorney. But all of that changed once he found an advertisement for a job with Bruce Wayne. Will got more than he was looking for. Bruce Wayne, it was revealed, patrolled the streets at night as the vigilante Batman. The teenager soon became Batman's trustworthy sidekick and closest confidant. His pay was considerable, and for the first time in his life, Will felt comfortable with himself and everyone around him.

All that changed when, one fateful night, Will's mother was coming home late from work, while the teen was out with Batman. It was dark, and she didn't see the gun pointed at her back. Bruce and Will were a few streets away and heard the gunshot. They raced over, and the boy saw his mother laying down, a pool of blood beneath her. They heard footsteps running away from the brutal scene, and before Bruce had the chance to hold him back, Will chased after the man, revenge in his eyes. Will was fast, but the man was faster. Stopping to catch his breath, the teenager let out an anguished scream. Once he had returned, he saw Batman kneeling over his mother's body, tears evident in his eyes.

Bruce adopted him, and after the funeral, Will moved into Wayne Manor and received a surprise. He was the only son of his employer…a Wayne by birthright. Not wanting to dishonor it, the teenager changed his last name to Wayne, knowing it was what his mother would have wanted.

Though he was glad to have found his father, Will missed his mother terribly and had nightmares about her. He blamed himself for not saving her in time and swore to always protect the citizens of Gotham from a fate similar to that which separated his family.

That's right, he thought. Dad lost his parents as well.

"I'm sorry, Alfred," Will said quietly. Alfred smiled at him.

"That's quite all right, Master Will," he said kindly. He looked out the window of the car he had been driving. "And I believe…we have arrived." Will copied the butler's actions and smiled.

"Yeah, this is it," he said, getting out of the car. "See you later, Al-"

At that moment, Will felt a rumbling from the ground. His instincts gave him a split second warning and-

"Alfred, get out of the car!" He did so, quickly, and together they looked up at the sky. No less than eight meteors we headed straight at them. Will dived and covered his head, hoping that Alfred had done the same. He couldn't lose someone else…

The teenager barely had time to see the butler's unconscious figure and register it into his brain before he too faded into the darkness.
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Well, what did you think? Please let me know. And the idea of Saithe and her sister isn't mine. It all belongs to my friend. But Will is, of course, my character. (And a damn good one at that!) Just kidding. Anyway, just tell me what you thought of it. And of course, ideas are always welcome.

Jason