The next morning I woke up and looked around my room. My window was closed and there were no footprints or anyother weird signs that Batman had been here. Was I possibly dreaming? I got up and walked to the kitchen, remembering I had nothing to eat. Still, I wanted to see if I by some miracle had some coffee left.

When I got into the kitchen though, there was already a pot of coffee ready and there was a post-it note on the fridge. I grabbed the note and read it.

Amber,

I noticed that you were out of food, so I stocked your pantry and fridge. And don't even think about trying to repay me or get mad at me. You needed the food, just accept this as a gift. Remember, be at the Cave at 6.

Bats

I let out a sigh. I was thankful for the food, but I wasn't used to or liked it when other people tried helping me out with stuff like this. It made me feel like I couldn't support myself. But it's not like I could get mad at Batman or anything. He was just trying to be nice (or bribe me into getting back into the hero world). Still, I was going to kick his ass for it later.

After pouring myself a cup of coffee, I opened up the fridge to see what exactly he had bought. I saw the contents of the fridge and stood there staring. When he said that he 'stocked my fridge', he wasn't kidding. I had two cartons of eggs, two packs of bacon, a lot of cheese, a gallon of milk, a few loaves of bread,a full vegetable drawer, a bunch of other meats, and some other things I couldnt' see right away. I grabbed a loaf of bread, the eggs, and one pack of bacon. I cracked an egg and put it in a pan while frying some bacon in another. Then I grabbed two pieces of bread and put them in my toaster. While waiting for the food to cook, I went to the fridge and grabbed a jar of strawberry jam and then grabbed myself a plate, fork, and knife. The toast popped up, the bacon finished cooking, and the egg was cooked to my liking. I slid the egg and bacon onto my plate before spreading jam on my toast and putting it on my plate as well.

I took my plate and sat down on my couch, taking a bite out of my toast. I leaned over and turned on my stereo, the one thing I was able to save from Central City. As the music started playing, I relaxed a little bit. Music calmed me down, and right now, I needed to calm down and think.

First, did I really want to go back into the hero buisness? Granted, I had missed being a hero and I had been tempted to go back into the hero world, but at the same time, I didn't think I could do it again. After the Central City incident, which I still wasn't willing to bring up, I hadn't been the same. I had tried a few times to be a hero still, but since Central City, I had been off my game. And to be honest, I don't think I was ever going to be the same. That, is what scared me the most. The fact that I would never be the same made me think twice about being a hero again.

Another thing I had to think about was if I could trust Batman. Now, my first thought is 'Of course I can trust him!' but at the same time, I have my doubts. He is very secretive and rarely works with anyone else (Robin was the only exception). When he did work with someone, it was usually for his own personal gain and he had a bit of a reputation of stabbing them in the back afterwards. But that was not what worried me. I was worried about trusting someone else with ME. My life, my secrets, my past; basically everything that made me who I was and everything I hid from the world. I wasn't expecting to come out and tell Batman all of my deep dark secrets, but you never know if or when it could come up. This, out of everything else, is what I worried about. I was worried about Batman stil being able to trust me or even be near me if he found out what exactly happened in Central City.

And with all of this swirling through my head, I still had a decision to make.

After a long time of thinking, I got up from the couch and went back into my bedroom. There was a chest at the foot of my bed that I sworn to myself that I was going to keep shut. But right now, I was going to have to break that promise.

I opened up the chest and placed my hand on the scanner. It scanned my hand and flashed a bright green, a lively chirp sounding from the scanner. I pulled my hand away and there was a metalic CLICK. I lifted up the metal slab holding the scanner and took out the folded black suit on the inside. Part of me was starting to have seconds thoughts and wanted to shove the suit back inside and slam the chest chest shut, never opening it up again. But it was too late to turn back now. I had made my choice.

Ace was back.

I stood at the entrance of the Bat Cave, waiting for Batman to notice that I had arrived. A few more minutes passed and I was starting to get impatient. Where could he be? His cameras and sensors should have at least detected me by now, and Batman wasn't one for delays-

"Amber?" a voice asked from behind me.

Instintively, I pulled out my gun and whipped around, holding it out in front of my chest, finger ready to pull the trigger. A familiar guy with a mask and spikey hair held up his green gloved hands defensively and said, "Hey, take it easy! It's just me."

I let out a sigh and put my gun away. "Don't sneak up on me like that! You scared the crap out of me Robin," I said.

He smirked and said, "Yeah, I kind up picked that up from Bats. So what are you doing out here?"

"Waiting for someone to open up the door," I say casually.

"He's probably busy," Robin says, walking towards the door. "Come on in, he's been expecting you."

I nodded and followed Robin in. We walked through the long passageway in silence for awhile before Robin asked, "So what are you doing here exactly?"

"Batman asked me for some help and I agreed to help," I told him.

"You realize you can call him Bruce, right?" he said.

I smiled a little and said, "I thought you had to be on 'certain terms' with him to call him that?"

Robin laughed a little. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said. "But you've worked with him before and he obviously trusts you enough to ask you for help."

"You have a point Robin," I say. "But for now, it's Batman or Bats."

Robin chuckled and shook his head a little. "Whatever," he said.

I rolled my eyes and continued walking. We soon made it to the heart of the Cave and of course, Batman was typing away furiously at the computer, oblivious to what was going on. Robin opened his mouth to say something, but Batman, without looking away from the computer, said, "I was starting to think you'd never show up Amber."

"Well it wouldn't hurt for you to open the door," I say, not showing my surprise of him knowing I was right behind him.

He smiled a little and said, "I was busy."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Batman finished up whatever he was doing on the computer and got up from his chair, walking over to Robin and I. It was at that moment when I realized that he wasn't wearing his mask. I quickly turned my head, so I wasn't looking at him. Both he and Robin noticed this and Batman asked, "Is there something wrong Amber?"

I shook my head and said, "It's nothing. It's just that the last time I saw a hero without his mask or anything, I...well, let's just say I learned to make sure I never saw a hero without his mask unless I had permission."

Batman raised an eyebrow, but then said, "Well, we're allies. I think you're allowed to see what's underneath the mask."

I nod and look up, giving him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, it's just...it's been awhile."

"I understand," he said. "You still have to get back into the old routine."

I nod again. I really did need get back into the swing of things, along of get over old habits and fears...

"So are you ready to work?" Batman asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I nod and say, "I am. So what is it exactly you need help with Batman?"

"I'll show you," he said, turning around and motioning for me to follow. "One other thing," he said, "you don't have to call me 'Batman' all the time, it makes me a little uncomfortable."

"Yes sir," I say quietly.

"And you can drop the sir part," he added. "Just call me Bruce."

I nod and don't say anything else. Usually, I wasn't one to keep so quiet or be this shy, but when if you were in my shoes a few months ago, you wouldn't be surprised by my actions. Besides that, I was a little nervous to be working with Batma- I mean Bruce.

Bruce walks over to a large table with many files, pictures, and other things scattered across it. He picked up a file and handed it to me. "Recently," he said, "there have been several incidents that have made me suspicious of a few things. I decided to do some digging around and at first, I thought Joker was at it again, but after digging deeper, I realized that this is not the work of Joker or any other villain I've worked with before."

"A new villain?" I ask, opening up the file.

Bruce nodded. "His name is Jervis Tetch, but he goes by The Mad Hatter. In a way, his methods are similar to Joker's, but Tetch's methods are a little bit more...drastic."

I skimmed through the file and said, "I think this guy has a Lewis Carrol obsession."

"Obsession might be an understatement," Bruce said, handing me a few photos. I looked at the photos and raised an eyebrow. Wow, this guy was nuts. There were poisoned tea cups, people with no head, and there was even a girl dressed up as Alice from Carrol's story.

"Wow," I said, putting the pictures down. "This guy is obviously whack."

"I think that is why he is called 'The Mad Hatter'," Robin said, picking up the pictures I put down. Bruce gave him a bit of a look, but continued the discussion.

"Anyway," Bruce said, "I was hoping that you could help me track him."

"I can," I say, "but one question though."

"What?" Bruce asked.

"Why do you need me to track some overly obsessed mad man? You are more than capable of tracking someone like him, in fact, it's almost TOO easy to track him, especially for you. His methods are similar to Joker's."

"You're a better tracker," he said shrugging.

"In other words," Robin muttered, "he's asking for your help after he failed on tracking this guy."

Bruce shot Robin a death glare while I stifled a laugh. "Your abilities are also very unique to this situation anyway," Bruce said, looking back at me.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Is this going where I think it's going?" I ask cautiously.

"You're an extremely gifted person," Bruce said. "That, and your file says that you were great with undercover jobs-"

I groaned and said, "Are you seriously wanting me to pretend to be this mad man's victim?!"

"Well-"

"That would be a yes," Robin said.

"Will you shut up Robin?" Bruce hissed.

"I'm not going to be a freaking hostage!" I say. "That is NOT what we agreed on. You said we'd be working together, there was nothing about me being a damsel in distress!"

"I wouldn't exactly call it being a damsel in distress per say," Bruce began, but I cut him off.

"That's exaclty what it is Bruce!" I yell, crossing my arms. "And if this all that we're going to be doing, then I'm out. I'm a hero, not some stupid airhead waiting for the Dark Knight to save me."

Bruce's eye's narrowed and we both stood there, glaring at each other. We stood there for several minutes before I say, "I'm out."

I turn sharply on my heels and start walking away from Bruce. I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder and I jump slightly. How the hell did he do that?

I turned around and faced Bruce, who was no longer looked angry. "Look," he said, "I wasn't planning on having you as Mad Hatter's victim-"

"Bullshit!" Robin coughed.

"-but I need someone on the inside," Bruce finished. "I need to know more about Mad Hatter, and what game he's playing. And I know that you can take care of yourself and and that you can get out the situation if it gets ugly. That's why I need YOU on the inside."

I raise an eyebrow. "So it's not just because I'm just another girl? You actually need me to gather intel?"

Bruce nods. "If I just needed a girl to be a victim, I would have asked Kara or maybe even Barbra," he said.

"I'm finding it hard to take that as a compliment," I say.

Bruce smiles a little and said, "It was more of a statement."

"Of course it was," I tell him.

"Do we still have a deal?" Bruce asked. "You're not always going to be playing victim. I also need some help with other things."

I nod and say, "We still have a deal."

"Good," Bruce said. "Now for the other things I need help with..."