Chapter 2

Hi guys.

In case you don't know, in every chapter I thank everyone that followed, favorited, and respond to reviews. You don't want to read that, you can go ahead and skip to the story.

Thanks to MarvelHero1610 for following and reviewing this story. Glad you're liking the story. As for Damian being Jason's Robin...we'll see.

Thanks to Guest for reviewing. Appreciate it.

Thanks to souldarkstar for favoriting and following.

Thanks to Jake.K for following and favoriting.

Thanks to MarthaJonesp2 for following.

Thanks to Chooch77 for following and favoriting.

Thanks to Savy160 for following and reviewing. Glad you loved it, hope you keep reading.

Thanks to Mireilles3 for following.

Thanks to jasminetiger for following.

Thanks to spiderman1fan for reviewing. Nice to see you again, my friend. Glad you're reading.

Thanks to blackcat1806 for following and favoriting.

Thanks to flameflyer500 for favoriting, following, and reviewing. Thanks for the kind words, hope you like Chapter 2.

And now, back to the story.

Police Commissioner James Gordon walked into the psych ward, a little agitated. He didn't really know what was going on, and he didn't trust it.

He walked to the secretary at the front desk and showed her his badge.

"Ah," she said. "You must be here for the 'special' patient."

"There's nothing 'special' about him," Gordon said with a serious tone. "He's just worse than the others."

"Right. Right this way, sir."

James followed the woman down a long hallway with no nurses in it and one big door at the end.

Ominous, he thought to himself.

"Is it okay to smoke?" James asked, holding a pack of cigarettes.

"I'm afraid not officer," the woman said. "This is a hospital, you know."

"Right. Sorry."

The woman put her keys into the door and turned. Before opening it however, she turned to the old cop.

"Just a fair warning," she said. "It's a little...surprising at first."

"Open it."

And she did. And when she did, he saw him. Just sitting there. In the middle of the room, in a straight jacket.

The Joker. Madman. Criminal mastermind. The nemesis of Batman.

The man who shot his daughter.

James sat in the chair in front of Joker's. The Joker looked...off. His trademark smile was gone, leaving nothing but a dead expression. His hair was shorter and more trimmed. He looked thinner, maybe he hadn't been eating. And James knew that this wasn't the Joker. This was some man in his body.

"Joker," he said. "Do you know who I am?"

No reaction.

"Do you remember," he said. "Do you remember what you did to me? To my daughter?"

Nothing.

This isn't getting me anywhere.

"Did you kill Batman?" he asked.

He then finally saw a reaction. A small one. A flinch in the eyes. Then nothing.

"If you didn't kill Batman, who did?" James asked.

Nothing.

"Answer me!" James demanded, grabbing the Joker by his straight jacket.

"Gordon!" a voice said behind him. "I think it's time for you to leave."

Gordon turned to see the face of his friend Harvey Bullock behind him.

"Now," he said.

Gordon stormed out the room, leaving Bullock and the Joker behind.

"Are you ready, sir?" the voice of Alfred Pennyworth said over the intercom.

"Ready as I'll ever be Alfred," Jason Todd said from behind the wheel.

So this is it, huh? he thought. This is it. This is real.

I am Batman.

Five Hours Ago...

"Do you have the design ready, Jason?" Alfred asked the young man.

"A rough draft, anyway," Jason said.

"This is a rough draft, sir?" Alfred asked seeing the paper. On the paper were designs and schematics, more than he expected Jason Todd to do.

"If I'm gonna be Batman, I have to do it right," Jason said.

"I see you still kept the red helmet design."

"I wear the red hood for a reason, Alfred," Jason said. "So I don't forget what I am. So I don't forget what I've done. So I don't forget him."

"The Joker, sir?"

"Yeah," Jason said grimly. "Yeah, him."

"I'll get to work on the suit right away, sir."

"Thank you, Alfred."

Alfred walked away with the designs, apparently giving them to Lucius Fox.

Jason put his hands together and looked into the shadows of the wall, brooding. He did a few seconds before quitting.

God, this boring as hell, he thought.

It was then he became aware of someone looking at him.

"I know you're there," he said.

Damian Wayne fell from the ceiling and landed in front of Jason.

"Hi," Jason said. "You wanna get some pizza?"

"Pizza?"

"Yeah, you know. The food of the gods," Jason said. "Kids like pizza, right?"

"I am not a kid."

"How old are you again?"

"...twelve."

"Yeah, you're a kid. Come on."

"Why are we here?" Damian asked.

They sat, costumes off, in a small pizza cafe that sat in downtown Gotham called Lil' Eddies.

"I just wanted to talk," Jason responded.

"We're not friends."

"Oh, I know that," Jason said. "But we're family."

"We are not blood."

"It takes more than blood," Jason said. "There's a difference between relatives and family."

"...I guess so," Damian said as he took a bite of pepperoni. "This is...magnificent."

"Your dad never took you out for pizza?"

"..."

"Oh man, I'm sorry," Jason said. "I'm sorry, I..."

"A couple of times," Damian said, wiping his eyes. "We got pizza a couple of times."

They sat in silence for a moment, remember the man who was like a father to the both of them.

"So," Damian asked, breaking the silence. "What did you want to talk about?"

"It's...I know you don't like me..."

"Understatement."

"Noted," Jason said. "But...I guess I'm gonna be around for a while. And I...(this is so awkward)...and I don't want any bad blood between us. Me and Bruce settled things between the two of us. I just want us to get along."

"...," Damian contemplated for a few moments. "Once a month, we go out for pizza. Then, I might learn to forgive you."

"Deal," Jason said with a smile.

"So...," Damian wondered. "Do you...want me to be your Robin?"

"No," Jason stated without hesitation.

"No?"

"It's nothing against you, trust me," Jason said. "But...going through...what I went through..."

Jason was then flooded with memories. A warehouse. A laugh. A smile.

And a crowbar.

"...I don't think I could put a kid's life in danger like that."

"...understood," Damian said, taking another bite of pizza.

Vrooooommmmm! The engine of the batmobile called back to Jason's ears.

"Hell yeah," Jason said.

"Ready when you are, sir."

"Does this thing have radio, Alfred?" Jason asked. "I need some theme music."

"Of course, sir."

Just then, the batmobile started playing Thunderstruck by AC/DC.

"What the hell?" Jason asked. "Alfred, when'd you learn how to rock?"

"With all due respect sir," the British man responded. "I've been rocking since before your parents even met."

Jason smiled under his mask.

And pushed the gas.

"Whoa, careful with that!" Dick called to Jason, who was carrying a box.

They were walking through Wayne Manor, where Jason and Tim were helping Dick move in.

"What's in this box anyway?" Jason asked.

"It's...my Robin suit," Dick admitted.

"You guys still have yours?" Jason asked the two.

"Mine's in my apartment," Tim said, carrying another box. "I guess yours is..."

"Right," Jason said. "In the memorial."

There was an awakened silence for a few moments, before Tim broke the silence.

"So Dick," he said. "What do you think of your new place?"

"It's...great," Dick said. "It hasn't changed since I was a kid...except smaller maybe."

"Ha. Yeah," Jason said.

"Feels the same to me," Tim said.

"That's because you're still small," Dick said.

"Go to hell you guys," Tim said with a small smirk, while Jason and Dick laughed.

"Hey," Dick asked. "What do you want me to do about the bookshelf?"

"Huh?" Jason asked.

"There's a tunnel to the Batcave behind it," Tim said. "Should we block it off, or...?"

"Oh yeah," Jason realized. "I guess you can keep it there. Just knock before you come in, though. I might have some...company, y'know."

"Oh lord," Dick said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, somebody might want to say thank you for saving them," Jason said.

"Dude," Tim said. "You never take girls back to your house."

They both looked at him for a few moments.

"What?" Tim asked. "I'm sixteen, not dead."

"Come on, are you seriously telling me you never brought a girl to the Cave?" Jason asked Dick. "And Barbara doesn't count."

"Um..." Dick pondered.

"Dude, I was sneaking girls in there left and right when Bruce wasn't there," Jason said. "I think Bruce even got Selina in there a couple of times..."

"Okay, now it's uncomfortable," Tim said. "Hey Dick, what do you wanna do with...Bruce's stuff?"

"I...don't know," Dick said. "I know Barbara is taking the books, she said she'll be here later to get them."

"Yeah, where is she?" Jason asked. "She didn't want to join the effort?"

"I asked her not to come," Dick said. "I wanted us to hang out for a while."

"She didn't want to see me, did she?"

"Not even a little bit," Dick said. "But as far as Bruce's stuff...maybe we should...I don't know, put it in storage?"

"We could find somewhere to put it in the Batcave," Jason suggested. "Maybe have it as some kind of memorial...or something."

"It's a nice thought," Tim said. "But I don't think having some guy's sheets is gonna help you get some."

Dick and Jason stood there.

"Guys...I know it's hard, but maybe we should...I don't know, get rid of it."

"Get rid of it?" Dick asked.

"It's not like we can sell it," Tim said. "You know Bruce planned for everything. How much of his stuff do you think has some kind of bobby trap or something."

"I...wouldn't put it past him," Jason said.

"Exactly," Tim said. "I think...I think we should..."

"Yeah," Dick said. "I get it."

An hour and a half later, they had a big pile of all of Bruce's worlds possessions (except for the books) in the backyard. They all stood around it, taking a moment to take it it. Then, each of them held up a match, and struck it at the same time. Then threw it on the pile. They stood there a few moments, watching it all burn.

"Do you guys...hear something?" Dick asked.

"Yeah...," Tim said. "It sounds like..."

"Oh shit!" they all yelled out.

They all ran away from the pile as it exploded, and fire, gel, and ropes rained from the sky.

"Well," Jason said. "I guess you were right about the booby traps."

The batmobile pulled out of the cave, and flew out onto the street. It was the same batmobile, except the top was now dark red. The black and red car drove through the streets of Gotham, quickly.

"Sir, I think you might want to slow down."

"Come on, I've been wanting to drive one of these things since I was a kid!" Jason exclaimed into the intercom. "I just want to have a little...damn!"

Walking in the middle of the street was a blonde teenage girl, holding groceries. Jason quickly turned the wheel of the car, avoiding her. Seeing that she was okay, Jason kept going, not wanting to face this situation.

"Batman?" the girl asked out loud.

The girl took out her phone and put it to her ear.

"Harp? It's Steph. I think Batman almost hit me with his car," she said to her friend on the phone. "No, I'm not going to follow him...!"

"You wanted to see me Alfred?" Jason asked as he walked to the back room of the Batcave. "Whoa..."

Sitting behind the butler, was Jason's new suit.

It was a mostly black armor with a red helmet that resembled his Red Hood, except it was only red in the front and black in the back. The suit neck down was mostly a black Kevlar suit with armor plating over it. On the black armor in the chest was a red bat symbol. The waist down were what looked to be black army pants with a belt, similar to the one Bruce wore, except black and more militaristic in appearance. On his arms were two gauntlets with a button on the side. There was no armor on his fists, however, just the Kevlar.

[AN: I'm terrible at describing things. If you want to see Jason's costume, you can see the cover of this story.]

"I...love it," Jason said.

"Yes, it's very...badass, sir," Alfred said. "But there's something that worries me. In the gauntlets..."

"Air soft bullets Alfred," Jason said. "Not enough to kill, but they sting like a bitch."

"...of course, sir."

"Alfred, I swear to you," Jason said. "I'm done killing. I have a legacy to keep intact."

"Are you going to slow down now, sir?"

"Yeah, slowing down," Jason Todd said. "Anything coming up on the police scanner?"

"Nothing sir," Alfred said. "It appears to be a quiet night in Gotham, for once."

"Just my luck," Jason said. "Although that's weird...with Bruce...gone, you'd think there'd be a huge crime wave."

"Maybe they're celebrating sir."

"Yeah," Jason said. "Or maybe they're all together, planning something big."

"Woohooooo!" the penguin exclaimed.

The Iceberg Lounge filled with joy and laughter as almost every criminal in Gotham celebrated the death of The Batman. Drinks were shared. Fun was had. For once, all the crime families of Gotham came together to celebrate the death of a mutual foe.

"To the death of The Batman!" The Penguin yelled, causing everyone to cheer.

"Cobblepot, what the hell is going on here?!" the voice of Carmine Falcone yelled out to to the short man.

"Celebrating, Falcone," the Penguin said. "The Batman is dead."

"So you're great idea was to get every criminal in Gotham in one place?!" Falcone demanded. "That'll just make it easier to..."

Boom!

Just then, various explosions filled the Iceberg Lounge. People tried to leave, but the doors were blocked by debris. Then, the lights went out. Everything was quiet. Until it was heard.

"Ding dong...the bat is dead..." a silent voice rang out. "Ding dong...the bat is dead..."

Chills went down the spines of every hardened criminal in the Lounge.

"...ding dong...ding dong..."

Suddenly, a spotlight came on at the front of the Lounge, where a single man stood.

The man was pale white. His eyes were pink. He had on no shirt. On his body was various tattoos. One large cross down his chest and stomach. Various crosses on his body. Also on his body, were various bodies of text. Upon closer inspection, it was various verses from the Bible in cursive. On his forehead, in small stringy letters, was one word: God.

"'And Jesus said to her,'" the man said. "'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'"

Nobody spoke. It was too...strange.

"Do you believe this?!" the man demanded, his quiet voice now replaced with with a deep and loud growl.

"Yo man, fuck this shit!" a big black man with an assault riffle said, standing up. "Let's waste this..."

Then, the big man doubled over in pain as the man pointed to him. He spit up blood.

"Ple...please...help me..." the big man stammered out. His body started growing skinnier, and his dark brown skin started turning pale white. His pupils started turning pink, and he fell to the ground, dead, as his body was nothing left but a shriveled white husk.

"'Thou shalt not kill,'" the man at the front said. "But even God flooded the earth when man became too corrupt."

"Who the hell are you?!" The Penguin demanded. "What did you do to him?!"

"Me? You can call me...Church," the man said. "And I put little nanobots in the champagne of every single person here. Nanobots that I can use to kill every single person here, on will alone. They are now multiplying in your bloodstream. They will be there until you die. Only you can decide how soon that date is."

On that, every person started to panic. They started to walk around, talk, and try to figure something out.

"Shut up!" Church said, holding out his hands, making everyone fall to the ground. "You are all...too damn loud."

"What the hell do you want?!" Penguin demanded.

"What do I want?" Church asked. "It's not about what I want. It is about what the Lord wants."

"And what, pray tell, does the Lord want us to do?"

"Repent."

Crash!

Everyone looked up to see an armored black and red figure standing in a high window.

"I swear to fucking God, if another person breaks something in my Lounge...!" Penguin yelled.

It was then he too started coughing and shriveling up.

"No...!" he yelled.

"Do not say thou's lord name in vain," Church said, before a red batarang stabbed into his hand. "Agh!"

"Sorry," the armored figure said as he jumped from the window and two red metal wings sprouted from his back, allowing him to glide in front of Church. "I didn't mean to crash your party."

"And who are you supposed to be?" Church asked the figure.

"Me?" the figure said. "I'm the goddamned Batman."

This caused the criminals to once again stir.

"Interesting," Church said, before dropping a smoke bomb to the floor.

"Penny-one?" Batman asked to his intercom.

"Gone, sir."

"And I thought the Joker was freaky."

Batman turned to see the criminals all turned, looking at him.

"Looks like you were right about the celebration, penny-one," Batman said. "I see champagne on the floor and strippers."

"Are you going to take them all out alone, sir?"

"I guess I'll have to," Batman said. "Radio the police. I'll hold them as long as I can."

"Yes, sir."

Batman jumped and landed among the criminals as the lights turned back on.

"Man," Batman said. "If idiots could fly, this place would be an airport."

"You're not Batman," the Penguin said as he walked to the armored vigilante. "He doesn't make jokes."

"Who's making jokes?" Batman said. "I know the last Batman let your activities slide because you have people in the police department and would be out in a matter of hours."

"And I still do," Penguin said as he pointed at Batman. "So don't even think of..."

Batman grabbed Penguin's finger.

"I don't care," Batman said before pulling Cobblepot's finger backwards, breaking them. "By the time I'm down with you, you'll be begging to be sent to prison."

"Arghhhhhh!" Penguin exclaimed as he saw his fingers that were still facing the wrong way. "What are you waiting for? Kill him!"

The people rushed Batman. He dropped a smoke bomb to the ground, causing them all to stop.

"I...I can't see him!"

"I told you Batman wasn't dead!"

A red batarang flew out from the smoke and hit a man in the eye. Then, a foot came out and kicked the same man in the side of the leg, breaking it.

He took the batarang out of the man's eyes and stabbed it in another's shoulder. He then punched the man in the face, breaking his nose.

He got another man and RKO'd him, them kicked another in the nuts.

"This dude's fucking crazy!" a guy said. "Let's get out of here!"

All the criminals ran to the door and worked together to move the debris out of the way. They all pushed and shoved their way out...

Only to be greeted by rows of police cars, lights flashing.

As all that was going on outside, Batman walked to Penguin, who was holding his hand. He aimed his umbrella at Batman.

"Ha! Got you..." Cobblepot yelled out before Batman slammed his hand on the umbrella, breaking it.

"Ha," Batman said. "Got you."

With that, Batman slammed Penguin's head into a counter, not hard enough to kill him, but enough to leave a bloody gash in his head. Plus a concussion.

"If you remember this," Batman said, looking down at the crime lord. "Just remember: don't cross me."

Afterwards, he held his hand out and a grappling hook extended from his forearm, dragging him through the air, away.

Batman drove through Gotham, a small smile on his face. He pushed a button on the side of his helmet, causing it to pull back, revealing Jason Todd.

"So, that went rather well."

"Yeah," Jason said, too excited to say much else. The adrenalin was insane.

"The public is already talking of a new Batman."

"Are they saying nice things?"

"So far."

"Good, I just hope..."

"Sir?"

"Sorry Alfred," Jason said. "It's just...the Bat-Signal."

Jason looked up into the sky and saw the symbol of The Batman, shining in the sky.

"I guess you'd better get going then."

Jason smiled.

James Gordon stood on the top of the roof of the Gotham City Police Department. He'd done this many times before, but now he didn't know what to expect. Or who.

"Commissioner," a voice said behind him.

He turned around to see the new Batman, standing behind him.

"Well," Gordon said. "At least you got the scaring the shit out of me down."

Gordon pulled out a large box and wheels and rolled it to Batman.

"What is...?"

"It's his body," Gordon said. "We found the Joker with it. I made sure nobody took off the mask, not even me."

"I...appreciate it, Commissioner."

"And so...did you just decide to become Batman, or did..."

"I knew him," Batman said. "He asked me in his will to replace him."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"I'm sorry for yours."

"Thank you," Gordon said. "...can I trust you?"

"What?"

"I trusted the original Batman. I knew him, sort of. I don't know you," Gordon said. "Are you going to pick up where the original left off, or am I gonna have to arrest you?"

"With all do respect Commissioner," Batman said. "I'm not the original. I can't promise he would do everything I'll do. As for will I turn on you, or Gotham, or anything, you don't have to worry. I will be the new Batman, and I will protect my city."

"Good answer," Gordon said. "...any chance you could tell me who he was?"

"I...don't know if I..."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Gordon said. "That would...humanize him too much. Make the loss even worse to bear,"

Gordon turned around, facing away from Batman, and looked out over the city.

"Good job tonight at the Iceberg Lounge. A lot of people on our wanted lists got taken down. You really know how to make a bang."

Gordon turned around and saw that Batman was still there.

"Hm," Gordon said. "I'm not used to someone still being there when I turn around."

"I told you," Batman said. "I'm not the same Batman."

"Yeah," Gordon said as Batman took the box and jumped from the roof. "I guess not."

Harvey Bullock walked out onto the roof.

"So, what's ya think?" Bullock asked.

"I don't trust him," Gordon said as he lit a cigarette. "Not yet, anyway."

"I like him," Bullock said. "Apparently, he stabbed a guy in the eye with one of those bat things. The guy had previously raped a woman, then killed their children when they were born."

"You think he knew that when he did it?" Gordon asked.

"Who cares?" Bullock asked. "I'm telling you Gordon, this is the Batman Gotham needs."

Barbara Gordon, in her Batgirl costume, sat across on the roof across from the Police Department, with binoculars.

"Nice legs," a voice said behind her.

"Jeez!" she yelled as she turned to see Jason Todd in his Batman armor.

"Hey Red."

"When'd you know I was watching you?" Batgirl asked.

"Before I ever came here," Batman said. "I knew you'd run over here as soon as that light went up."

"I had to make sure," Batgirl said. "I had to make sure you wouldn't hurt him."

"Jeez, what kind of guy do you think I am?"

"I don't know what kind of guy you are, Jason!"

Batman sighed, before taking off his helmet.

"Barbara," Jason said. "Do you honestly think I would hurt your father?"

"You've hurt people before."

"So have you."

"That's different."

"It's not."

"You tired to kill Bruce!"

"I...I was never really gonna hurt Bruce," Jason said. "I was. At first. But, you gotta understand. The Joker killed me. And Bruce...he didn't kill him. And I kept thinking...that maybe if it had been Dick that had been killed, maybe he would've done it."

"Jason, Bruce loved you..."

"He loved you too," Jason said. "He told me. After you were...after the Joker took your legs."

Barbara didn't say anything.

"The Joker ruined both our lives I guess," Jason said.

"Yeah maybe," Barbara said. "But that doesn't mean we can't keep living."

"Yeah."

"Jason, I'm sorry," Batgirl said. "But it's gonna take me a while to forgive you. But I'll try."

"Thanks Barbara," Jason said. "I appreciate it."

Batman drove down the street.

"It's getting late sir," Alfred said. "Do you think it's time to come back."

"I'm gonna drive around for a bit," Jason said. "Go ahead and sleep."

"Sir..."

"Alfred," Jason said. "I'll be fine."

"Sir..."

"Are you worried I might get hurt," Jason said. "Or that I'll hurt somebody else?"

"...goodnight, sir."

Then there was a click, and Jason turned his intercom off. And suddenly turned.

He drove until he was parked outside a large building. He pushed a button and he was shot high into the air, then flew through a window sigh a crash. He saw four people pull guns on him, but he threw batarangs that disarmed them. He landed on the desk that sat the one he came to see...

Black Mask.

"Guns down my friends," Mask said to his henchmen.

"Yeah," Batman said. "Don't you know how to treat a guest?"

"And you must be the new Batman," Black Mask said. "What can I do for you?"

"Isabel Ardila," Batman said. "I've got Intel that says she was sold to your sex trafficking ring."

"You can't expect me to know the name of every single..."

Batman threw a picture to the front of Black Mask. On it was a picture of a young woman with short blonde hair.

"I guess I can see what I can do," Black Mask said. "Now...what is in this for me?"

"If you find her, and only if," Batman said. "Then I'll owe you one favor. Anything you want."

"Wow," Black Mask said. "You really are a new Batman, aren't you?"

"Find her," Batman said. "And if I find out she's dead..."

"Of course," Black Mask said. "We have a deal."

"Good," Batman said as he jumped out the way he came. "Don't make me regret it."

Black Mask turned back to the guards that looked at him.

"Well, that was fascinating."

The Joker sat in his room, still quiet and unmoving. They had put a television in his room, in hopes to get him to talk, or something. Nothing was really one.

Then he saw the news.

"This is reporter Vicki Vale with the latest," the voice of the red head reporter said. "Recent reports and eye witnesses tell me that there might already be a new Batman in Gotham City. We have word that..."

The Joker sat up and looked at the screen a few moments before responding.

"Batsy," he said, a wide smile slowly spreading across his face. "Darling."