Chapter 2

No ones POV

The ten woke gradually. Sitting up the looked around. It was the border of Gotham.

"Of course Batman's mindscape would be Gotham," Hawkwoman said while rolling her eyes.

There were a few sounds of agreement, before the sounds of bats drew their attention. A large swarm of bats was coming out of the city towards them. They flew through their group causing them to lift their arms to protect their eyes. When the swarm cleared they could see Batman, though he was a little different than the one that they normally saw. This one was bigger, his fingers shaped like claws, and his teeth like fangs. It was terrifying.

"Batman?!" Green Lantern exclaimed.

"In a way," The Bat replied in a deep gravely voice.

Even that single sentence was intimidating.

"We are here for the information that was left in your mind," Superman said after he gathered enough courage.

"I know, and I am here to give you a warning. Turn back now and you can still get out of here in one piece," the Bat seemed to growl.

"We can't, we need that information," Wonder Woman said definitely, back straight, and her head held high.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," the Bat said. "It is my job to explain some things to you. You will meet two other guides inside the city. Each guide is shaped by the opinions of those around. I, for example, am what most people imagine when they think of the Batman. The three of us are to guide you to the inner part of our mindscape," he explained.

With that he turned around and started walking into the city, uncaring of the others were following or not. The others looked at each other then scrambled to keep up with the Bats long gait.

"Your powers do work here, but they are half as efficient as they are outside of this mind. Joker, Two-Face, and Catwoman are they only ones not effected because like us/me they have no powers," the Bat finished.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before the Bat stopped. Turning his head he gave them a piece of advice, "Don't wander off the path the guides show you. If you do then I make no guarantees that you will be found in time."

With that he vanished in a swarm of bats, leaving as quickly as he came. Looking around they saw that they were infront of a banquet hall. It was lit up, so much so that it almost seemed to glow, a great contrast to the dark and gloomy city around it. There was a soft melody that drifted from the building that grew louder as the door opened and Bruce Wayne stepped out into the gloomy streets.

He looked relatively similar to the one that you saw on television, with a few differences. His hair was wild in a way that increased his charm, he was wearing a suit with the first few buttons on the shirt open and traces of lipstick on the collar, in his hand was a glass that's contents seemed to change every few seconds. All in all he looked like he just walked out of a wild party and looked all the better for it.

"Bruce Wayne?!" Two-Face exclaimed.

Said man smiled, "Hey Harvey. Been awhile hasn't it?"

"What are you doing here?" Harvey (Two-Face) asked, confused.

"Isn't it obvious? He's Batman," Joker almost sighed.

"Why was everyone so dense?" He thought.

"Got it in one Joker," Bruce said, smile still firmly in place without the slightest waver despite the fact that they were talking about his deepest secret. If anything the smile grew wider.

"You're the second guide," Martian Manhunter guessed.

"Right again," Bruce confirmed.

"Why are you giving your secret identity away so easily?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Because it's not like your not gonna find out anyway. It is hard to keep that kind of secret when you are in my mind. Most of you all already know it as well. All of the heroes know as does the Joker," Bruce answered.

The Joker looked shocked that Batman had known that he knew his secret identity.

"It's not really all that hard to find out. There are very few people in Gotham that have enough money to build all the gadgets Batman has. Cross out the ones involved in illegal activities and all you have left is me," Bruce continued.

"Aren't you worried about them knowing your identity?" Hawkwoman asked looking at the villains.

"Bruce Wayne is nothing more than a mask, of a playboy billionaire. It's as easy to remove as Batman's cowl," he said smile never once leaving his face. "It's a good thing I like alcohol though, it would be rather hard to pull off being a playboy without being able to drink. My personal favorite is Gin."

As he said this the glass in his hand stopped shifting, leaving a cylinder glass of Gin with ice and a lime.

"Well let's get going," Bruce said with a clap of his hands.

He started walking in the same direction the Bat had led them.

"Where are we going?" Superman asked.

"To Arkham," he replied in a cheery voice, not pausing in his stride.

"Why are we going there?" Poison Ivy asked.

"That's where all the Crazies go, don't ya know?" He replied turning around to face us, eyes wide and innocent as he looked at them with a questioning expression.

"Ha! Are you admitting you're crazy, Bats?" The Joker asked gleefully.

"Certifiable," Bruce said as a devilish smirk spread across his face.

That wiped the smile from the Joker's face and sent a wave of unease through everyone.

"Now let's not linger," he said, smile going back to normal as he turned back around and continued walking.

The rest of the journey was spent in a heavy silence. The unease Bruce's smile had given them had not faded in the least bit. It was starting to dawn on them just how dangerous a situation they're in. An insane mind, after all, is much less predictable than a sane one.

"This is your stop. I wish you the best of luck, you'll need it," the last part was muttered under his breath as he walked away, but was heard by everyone none the less.

They were standing infront of Arkham Asylum. Its metal gates firmly closed. A grey fog covered the building making it appear more sinister than it did in real life. Eerie howls and crazed laughter could be heard from inside.

"Hehehe," an innocent voice giggled from behind them. "You don't want to go in there."

They turned around and saw a child with pitch black hair and piercing blue eyes. The child's hands were covered in blood, his shirt and pants were covered in dirt and splattered with blood. His face was smudged with dirt and stained with tears. It looked like he just came from a brutal murder scene.

"Bruce?" Two-Face asked uncertain.

"Yup, that's me," the little boy replied with a bright smile that didn't belong with the gory image that he made.

"Why do you look like that?" Wonder Woman asked with concern.

"This is what most of the police officers remember when they think about my parents murder," little Bruce replied, his smile seemed eerie in the gloom.

"You were there when they were killed?" Superman asked unbelieving that such a small boy had to witness such an event.

"Yup, I was there from beginning to end. They say the man was a robber you know. They were wrong, though. He had no intention of leaving any of us alive. His eyes were filled with a childish glee as he lifted his gun," little Bruce mimicked a gun with his hands and took aim at Superman, "one," he pretended to shoot the gun then aimed at Wonder Woman, "two" he fired again jerking his hand back like he just fired a gun, then to everyone's surprise aimed one last time at the Joker his smile gone in its place a blank unreadable expression, "three." His voice deepened as he fired one last time straight at the Joker's heart with such seriousness that the Joker actually dodged away like an actual gun was fired, eyes wide and adrenaline pumping.

"It's a good thing I dodged out of the way causing the bullet to miss me and hit the wall behind me."

There was an impact on the brick wall behind the Joker causing everyone to jump. It looked exactly like a bullet had buried itself into the wall.

"When I landed, though, I landed right on my parents cooling corpses, drenching me in their blood. The shooter tried to fire at me again but their gun misfired, and they ran off. That's how the police found me, laying on my parents body, covered in their blood, with tears flowing down my face," little Bruce finished smile returning to his face.

Everyone looked at him in horror. To have to experience something like that at such a young age, it's no wonder he goes out dressed as a bat.

"Are you going in there?" The boy asked pointing at Arkham, interrupting any comments they might have had.

"Yes we are," Green Lantern stated, and the people behind him nodded in agreement.

"And I can't persuade you not to go in?" Little Bruce continued.

"No," It was Hawkwoman who answered this time.

"Then before you go in I should warn you that the people you meet in there will be completely different then the man you know. We were reincarnated into this world, memories intact, sanity not as held together," the boy warned.

The others looked at him in shock. Batman was reincarnated? Is that even possible?

"Don't look at me like that. In this group alone we have three aliens, a person whose power comes from a ring fueled by willpower, and a woman made out of clay and given life to by the gods. Is reincarnation from another world really all that unbelievable?" He deadpaned.

The heroes and villains thought about it and realized that no it's not all that unbelievable.

"Good luck on your journey, and remember don't go off the beaten path," the little boy warned before running into the gray fog.

Taking a deep breath Wonder Woman said with the same graveness of a commander ordering their troops to charge into battle, "Lets go."

With that Wonder Woman and Superman pushed open the gates of Arkham and walked through the fog to whatever may lay behind it. The others followed one by one. When the last person had walked through, the gates closed with a creak and a strange sense of finality.