"Hey, Flash!" Ron said cheerfully as he materialized on the watchtower.

"Ferret?" The Flash asked, looking him over.

"I gained some weight in college, so I had to improvise a costume," Ron admitted.

"Dread Pirate Roberts?" The Flash guessed with a grin, having liked that movie.

"Bingo," Ron agreed.

"So what was the favor you needed?" The Flash asked.

"I've got a number of things I gotta check up on," Ron replied. "Something screwed with destiny and I've already discovered one person that I gotta put back on track, but first I have to find him. Not to mention seeing if any of the others have also gone walkabout."

"I'm going to pretend I understood that," The Flash decided. "So what can I do to help?"

"Is The Question available?" Ron asked, thinking of the eccentric detective.

"Never heard of him," The Flash admitted, making Ron sigh.

"Okay two people to look for and set right," Ron grumbled. "Got an open terminal I can run some searches on?"

"Not at the moment," Batman said as he stalked into the monitor room. "We're dealing with a situation that required all available computer resources and even if that wasn't occurring, you aren't authorized to use League Resources. Before I'd allow you access, you'd have to be a League member and there aren't any openings at this time."

"Plan C it is then," Ron said. "Can you 'Port me down to Wayne Manor?" Ron asked The Flash.

Batman stiffened, but it was so brief that only the The Flash caught it.

"What's at Wayne Manor?" The Flash asked, trying and failing to sound casual.

"Alfred Pennyworth, who is looking for the secret to Martha Wayne's Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies," Ron explained. "Or at least he should be."

"And you know the secret?" The Flash guessed.

"I know the secret," Ron agreed as he recalled a Christmas one shot on Alfred he'd read in another life.

"And how will that allow you access to our files?" Batman asked, his tone giving away nothing.

"Alfred's looking for the secret for Bruce Wayne, the heir to Wayne Industries who finances the League," Ron pointed out. "Plus, I'm trying to track down and assist two orphans. Getting Wayne to help me is a shoe in. He may be a bit of a party boy, but as far as I know he's not a heartless dick."

"You've got a point there," The Flash agreed, trying not to laugh.

"Besides I don't need League resources specifically, everything I want should be a matter of public record," Ron replied with a shrug. "I was going to use the League computers because they were faster, not because they held anything special."

"To the Manor it is then," The Flash said cheerfully, as Batman gave him a covert signal and he teleported Ron down. "I was almost sure he knew," The Flash said with a laugh.

"He probably does," Batman replied. "In fact I'd bet on it; his tone of voice and body language say he knows."

"And the reason you look so laid back about it?" The Flash asked, surprised. "I mean shouldn't you be figuring out a way to convince him he's wrong?"

"When I investigated Batgirl, I also did a thorough job investigating her close friends and family," Batman explained. "Ferret isn't a threat."

The Flash regarded Batman for a moment, his mind flying through various trains of thought at the speed of light. "By having him use Wayne resources you also get to track what he's doing," he said as he figured out Batman's angle.

"And I get to share my Mother's cookies with my family," Batman admitted, his eyes looking into the past.

Knowing how rare it was for Batman to share anything of a personal nature, The Flash wisely kept silent…. for a whole two seconds. "You'll share with me, right?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"But seriously, who knows what the other timeline was like?" Kim said as she dug into her ice cream, Zatanna having gotten Kim a bowl so her own would be safe from Kim's raiding.

"We could peek," Zatanna suggested thoughtfully.

"Seriously?" Kim asked. "You actually have a spell for that?"

"Of course not," Zatanna said, shaking her head. "We have a scrying pool and he left traces of his mystical aura all over the kitchen," Zatanna explained, waving her hand towards the fridge.

"An aura from a magical artifact that he's connected to in Japan?" Kim asked. "How does that help?"

"He claims he was always connected to it, but this is the first time we've seen him use those powers, so I'm pretty sure he connected to it in the other timeline," Zatanna explained. "Thus it provides a link I can use so we can catch a glimpse of the timeline it originated in."

"That's so far beyond me, you could just say Care Bear Stare Power and I'd believe it," Kim admitted.

Zatanna laughed. "You just grab a piece of crystal and move it through where he used that mystical aura of his and it'll hoover it up," Zatanna replied, walking to the kitchen and retrieving a shot glass.

"I thought you'd need something special," Kim said.

"Glass is a form of crystal," Zatanna replied. " LACITSYM ARUA EMOCEB ELBISIV!" she intoned, causing bright blue trails of light to become visible in front of the fridge.

"He really sprayed it around," Kim noted as Zatanna waved the glass through the trails, the shot glass sucking in the leftover energy.

"Yes, but which one of us caused such an energetic reaction?" Zatanna teased as she soaked up the last of the energy, making the glass look like it was on fire as blue flames danced across the surface.

"You're the one who immediately tried to see if he was into bondage," Kim sang before giggling.

"This from the woman dressed in a full body latex outfit?" Zatanna fired back.

The pair lost it and laughed till tears came to their eyes.

"Come on," Zatanna said, "let's see what we can see."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I can't believe I missed that," Alfred said, shaking his head as he pulled a tray full of cookies out of the oven, inhaling the aroma and smiling.

"Most people are unaware that the bananas they are eating are not the ones their grandparents ate," Ron replied. "Adding banana extract to the recipe will help, but to truly recreate the cookies you'll need to import Gros-Michel bananas rather than the Cavendish variety you get in the store these days."

Alfred nodded. "Importing bananas is not a problem," he said happily. "Now you said you just wanted the use of the Wayne Family Security Service to do some research for you?"

"Well, I'm assuming you either have a detective on your payroll or can get one," Ron admitted. "I am trying to locate one hand-sized piece of jewelry and two missing kids."

"How long have they been missing? Have you notified the police?" Alfred asked.

"No idea and no," Ron replied. "It's a complicated story, but an artifact was supposed to be discovered by one of the kids and it's been laying untouched for years. It's possible the kids don't even exist, but I have to be sure. For all I know they are safe at home and their parents never vanished, but considering their age, I need to know as soon as possible."

"Sensible," Alfred agreed not asking any of a dozen questions that sprang to mind as he figured out precisely what to ask. "May I ask how you know of people who may not exist?"

"I've got a slight bit of protection from changes to the timeline, not much, but just enough to retain my memories," Ron explained.

"And you were a hero?" Alfred asked.

"I was a chef," Ron replied. "But even a chef has friends."

"Oh," Alfred said, a bit surprised, before smiling. "So most of what you know is about your friends I presume."

"And friends of friends," Ron said. "A few are even things I know of by rumor, but since I'm the only one who knows, I feel obligated to at least check on things."

"That is quite the task," Alfred said.

"Maybe," Ron admitted with a shrug, "but someone has to do it."

"Well, if you'll give me the names and a description of the item in question, I'll have out house … detective look into the matter," Alfred said, hiding his amusement.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"This is all of it?" Batgirl asked as she carefully placed a metallic ring into the box with a gloved hand.

"SECEIP TCELLOC NI EHT XOB!" Zatanna intoned as she waved her hand. A second later two small pins flew into the box. "That should be everything," she said. "RIAPER!" she intoned, causing the pieces to shake, but nothing else occurred.

"Didn't work?" Batgirl asked.

"I don't have a clear enough picture of what it would look like repaired," Zatanna explained. "Magic only goes so far without knowledge to back it up."

"That's almost poetic," Batgirl said, closing the box. "We done here?"

"ETIROETEM STNEMGARF EMOC OT YM DNAH!" Zatanna intoned, collecting a handful of what seemed like small rocks that she dumped into a small pouch. "Done," Zatanna agreed, before opening a Door to the mansion. "And the viewing pool should be ready too."

"Good, the curiosity is killing me," Batgirl said, entering Shadowcrest and setting the box on the kitchen table.

"Right this way then," Zatanna said, leading her upstairs.

They climbed five flights of stairs and walked through two hallways that Batgirl would have sworn were the same one except for their placement, before reaching a solarium with a pool of mercury five feet wide, ringed with white stones, that were engraved with softly glowing runes. "J. K. Rowling based Hogwarts on this place, didn't she?"

Zatanna laughed. "No, but there are similarities." She retrieved the shot glass from a side table and set it on the rim of the pool, the glow of Ron's aura draining from the shot glass and coloring the runes blue, as images began to flicker in the mercury. "WOHS SU S'NOR EFIL EROFEB SIHT ENO!" Zatanna intoned softly.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I have the preliminary reports," Alfred told Ron as Ron experimented with a different recipe. Being rich, Martha didn't do much of her own cooking, but she'd amassed an impressive collection of recipe books for her staff to use, including those with dishes from around the world, some of which were no longer possible to prepare as one or two of the ingredients had gone extinct.

"May I?" Alfred asked as he looked over a pot of soup Ron had on the stove.

"Go right ahead," Ron said, accepting the folder from Alfred and sitting at the table.

"This is quite good," Alfred complimented him. "I was unaware we had any rabbit on hand."

"It's chicken with fish stock added," Ron replied absently. "It's a good substitute for rabbit in case someone is allergic."

"A very good substitute," Alfred agreed, trying another spoonful to see if he could tell the difference now that he know it wasn't rabbit. "Something the matter?" he asked Ron, seeing the younger man was upset.

"The dial was easy enough to find, though completely non-functional, which I expected, but the two kids I'm looking for…." Ron said, his voice trailing off at the end.

"Bad?" Alfred guessed.

"Very," Ron agreed. "Ben and Gwen Tennyson were supposed to be taken on a road trip by their Grandfather Max when they were ten, but according to this, their Grandfather was caught in one of the Joker's little parties and died. The two were turned over to Gotham's Children's Protection Services when their families were unable to be located. They were shuffled around the system and somehow Ben was killed in a fire that is still under investigation, while Gwen is now listed as 17 despite the fact that earlier records show she is really 15 and at Lady Tristan's Finishing School for Young Women, having been there for a year."

"Lady Tristan's?" Alfred asked, looking concerned.

"Let me guess, more bad news?" Ron sighed.

"Lady Tristan's takes young woman and turns out high class escorts," Alfred explained. "It's mostly ignored because they pay a large amount in bribes and never take in girls younger than 16."

Ron was as still as a statue for a moment, before he closed his eyes and silently took and released a deep breath. "I don't suppose you have any spare Molotov Cocktails lying around? Because apparently I'm going to be committing arson."

"Might I suggest securing her release first?" Alfred suggested. "I doubt very much she'd appreciate dying in a fire like her cousin while you try and rescue her."

Ron sighed and nodded. "Good point. I'll retrieve the dial, giving me time to cool down, then I'll rescue the girl, and after she's safe, I'll see to torching the place."

Alfred opened his mouth, closed it and considered what to say. "That would seem to be a more workable plan, sir. I suggest we eat lunch first however. I'll call you a cab after we've eaten."

"Thanks Alfred, I appreciate it," Ron said gratefully.

"Happy to help, sir," Alfred said, knowing Master Bruce had been monitoring them and wondering what his response would be.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Help or hinder?" Nightwing asked over his comlink, as he watched the video footage of the kitchen.

"Provide assistance, but don't let him burn the place down," Batman ordered.

"So… a reasonable amount of arson?" he asked.

"Enough to make a point. Use your best judgement," Batman agreed. "Batman out!"

"You get all the fun jobs," Robin complained, as he watched the bank of monitors over Nightwing's shoulder.

Typed By – Sitheus Maximus / Ipsith