A/N: Thanks to all the readers who have made this story a favorite! I'd love some reviews and criticisms but at least I know people are reading! The pace will begin to pick up a bit so hang tight!

-Bat Cave-

Bruce had to admit it; Tim had been right about Peter.

He was an extremely quick study.

The first few sessions with him had been brutal, for all of his reflexes and agility, Peter was erratic and clumsy in his movements. Bruce learned that Peter had some sort of "danger sense" which allowed him to avoid getting hit. But the way he would dodge often left him open to a follow up attack if you planned correctly.

Initially, if Bruce feinted one way and went the other Peter was unable to avoid the blow. By the third week, Peter was completely untouchable, unless Batman was prepared to use lethal tactics. Peter's senses relied purely on intent; if you meant to do him harm, he would know. Through training Peter was able to develop his senses to the point that even if Batman was merely thinking about attacking Peter was able to know it.

Satisfied at his ability to evade, he moved Peter to the next phase which was hand to hand combat techniques. With his speed and strength this was potentially dangerous, but Peter seemed to understand restraint almost intuitively, controlling the force of his blows easily. The way he picked up on the various techniques Bruce would swear he'd had some type of previous combat experience.

Perhaps he did, after all his amnesia seemed to completely erase the first eighteen years of his life. Not even leaving behind trace elements of that former life. Batman through all his resources had not been able to find anything more on Peter than that newspaper article and his school records. No record of any living relatives whatsoever, which more than anything else bothered Batman.

He'd done the same thing for Alfred, wiping out most of his past to protect his identity; but this didn't feel the same. It was as if Peter had never existed at all.

For now Batman puts those thoughts aside as he sips his coffee going over the notes he'd been compiling on Peter's progress. He needed to determine if Peter was indeed ready for the field test that Batman had prepared for tonight.

"I take it you are happy with your new protégé?"

"Spectre," Batman grunts without turning from his logs. "You're the second magical being to visit me in the last few months... I don't know whether to be honored or annoyed."

"By your voice Bruce, I imagine you've already decided to be annoyed." Batman had previous interactions with the man once known as Jim Corrigan, the Spectre wanted Batman to become an agent of vengeance. An instrument to be used to cleanse the world of evil and injustice. Several times Batman had declined.

Since the death of his parents, he had tried hard to avoid going down the path of simple revenge. He thought of himself as a protector of justice, not as someone simply out for vengeance.

Even when the Spectre gave him the chance to kill the man who murdered his parents, Batman resisted him.

There existed an uneasy respect between the two, Batman though, was still wary of the nearly omnipotent being. That much power given to a mortal man like Corrigan didn't sit well with the Dark Knight.

Batman turns to face the Spectre standing from his seat. "Why are you here?"

"To mark a moment of significance..." Spectre answers simply, floating slightly above the ground. Batman to his credit recognizes almost immediately what he is referring to.

"You know who he really is... why he's really here..." Batman states simply.

"Of course I do..." Spectre replies fading from view. "Don't you?"

After he fades completely from the Bat Cave, Batman opens a line on his communicator. "J'onn is Fate aboard the Watchtower?"

"No, Batman he is Indonesia helping to recover some lost mystical items. Shall I have him contact you once he returns?"

Batman thinks about it for a moment, before responding. "No, I'll be coming up to the 'Tower later. I'll grab some face time with him then... Batman out."

There was no way that the sudden appearance of Peter into his life and the recent visits of two mystical beings were unrelated. This took precedence over Peter's field test. As much as he wanted to be there for this himself, Nightwing would have to handle it for him.

-Wayne Tower-

"We're pretty high up..." Peter muses looking down. He's dressed in all black and has a ski mask over his face. Beside him Nightwing and Robin turn to him.

"Scared of heights?" Robin asks curiously. Over the course of the last few months their relationship has become more of a friendly rivalry. Peter and Tim actually had a great deal in common leading to an eventual friendship between the two of them. Tim still let Peter have it whenever he could, but now Peter was comfortable giving back as good as he got.

"Actually not really," Peter answers surprised at himself. He found there really wasn't much that he was afraid of, except the fact that he was completely calm in this absurd situation. "So what's my objective?"

"Apprehension and prevention." Nightwing answers smiling. Peter thought Nightwing was like a "Batman Light"; just as much skill but half the anger and brooding. "You're going to try and tag both of us as we run through the city while keeping an eye out for any crimes in progress. If you come across one, you are to stop it but not loose track of us."

"When do we-" Peter starts but both Dick and Tim have already leaped from the building, disappearing into the night. "Great..."

-Two hours earlier-

"What the heck are those?" Robin asks, pointing to the gauntlets on Peter's wrists.

"Well I took your typical grappling array and modified it... I had this idea..."

"Idea?"

"Yeah, see uh... Batman figured out that my DNA contained elements of an arachnid, which is why I have the agility and all the rest..."

"Uh... Ew..."

"So I thought I should have some webs of my own..." Peter then depresses a tab on the gauntlet and thin stream fires from it. He then pulls on it to show the strength of the fibers.

"How'd you even come up with something like that?"

"Well I started looking up artificial polymers online and then I came across an article about suspension bridge repair written by Professor Curt-"

"Never mind." Tim interrupts making a face. "Chemistry is not my thing..." Tim then takes a closer look at the gauntlets activation nodule. "Won't you accidentally set it off every time you make a fist?"

Peter then shows Tim that in order to activate it he needs to reach back in a certain way and that he can ball his fist without setting it off. Peter is pleased to show them off, it was difficult making them.

"What else can it do?" Tim asks wondering if Peter would make one for him.

"You'll find out tonight little birdie..."

-Gotham city skies-

Alright, here's where I either end up a stain on a skyscraper or a genius…

Peter fires a line on the nearest building and leaps off Wayne Tower.

"Ohhhhhh sh-" Peter is surprised by how fast he is pulled towards the building, but he fires a secondary line, changing direction quickly. By pulling himself along, he is able to catch up to Robin easily.

Inches away from tagging Robin he's interrupted by a gun wielding mugger chasing a woman down an alley.

Seriously, Gotham you is one jacked up town…

Flipping mid-air he lands quietly behind the assailant and taps him on the shoulder.

"Dude, how are you gonna mug someone with the safety on…?" In the second of distraction as the thug looks at his gun, Peter disarms him and knocks him out cold.

The woman hugs Peter unexpectedly, thanking him for saving her.

You would think people would be less quick to hug masked guys who drop in from the sky, but I guess this counts as normal around here…

In his best Clint Eastwood voice, Peter puts two fingers to the top of his ski mask as if tipping his cap. "Shucks, Ma'am think nothing of it. Just glad I can help."

Leaping twenty feet in the air he swings at full speed to catch back up to Robin.

Unfortunately Robin has made it to his cycle and now is flooring it down North Main.

I just gotta tag his bike with a line and…

Peter's aim is true and Robin doesn't seem to notice he's picked up the extra weight. Using another line to stabilize himself Peter launches himself at Robin.

Peter lands gracefully on the back of the cycle, balancing on the small space behind Robin.

"Ahh!" Robin shouts, surprised at the sudden appearance of Peter. "No free rides!" Robin then guns the bike to try and shake Peter off, but Peter tags Robin's helmet easily.

"Sorry, little birdie you lose!" Peter leaps off the bike onto a nearby lamp post as Robin skids to a halt a few feet away. "But we have some lovely parting gifts for you! Tell him what he's won, Bob! Humiliation and the feeling one gets when they are utterly pwned!"

Robin promptly flips Peter off with a smirk. "You might have caught me, but you've lost sight of Nightwing, which makes you the real loser tonight!"

Crap!

-Watchtower-

Batman strides through the recently renovated Watchtower and sighs heavily.

Even though he funded the building of both Watchtower's through Wayne Enterprises, set up the computer systems and pretty much knew every inch of the place; he never felt comfortable here. Hovering high above the people of Earth, felt a bit too grandiose for his tastes.

The irony is; this was his idea.

To have a station to monitor extraterrestrial threats before they landed on earth. And for a lot of heroes this was a place where they could be themselves, let down their guard. A home of sorts for quite a few, but he knew never feel that way.

His home, as crazy as it seemed to some, was on the streets of Gotham.

"Batman, you are early for your shift..." Martian Manhunter typically spends all of his time in the monitoring station, Superman had suggested the idea of shifts in case J'onn ever wanted to have time to himself. Slowly they managed to get him to take time for himself; Superman argued the League only had room for one obsessive personality.

Batman agreed.

"Yes, I was hoping to catch Fate before he headed back to his isolation..." Batman replies taking note of the Martian before him. Superman would never understand the pain that J'onn carried or sympathize with J'onn's need to throw himself into his work. In Batman's eyes, Superman grew up sheltered, hidden away from the true evil in the hearts of man. He could never comprehend what it was like to walk in the shoes of men like them.

"Nope, the good doctor is not in," Zatanna's pleasant voice comes in from the doorway. Batman acknowledges her with a nod and turns back to J'onn.

"What about Midnite, J'onn, can you reach him?" Batman asks, thinking of other mystics he could consult.

"I'm afraid-"

"-that he is also unavailable Bruce." Zatanna interrupts flashing a smile. "But if you need assistance of a magical nature, I'm available."

Batman turns to J'onn hoping that he can offer someone else.

Picking up on his thoughts, J'onn shakes his head slowly allowing a small smirk. "Zatanna would be your best option right now, Batman."

Zatanna to her credit didn't say anything further and Batman was grateful. He was agitated enough. If he could help it he preferred not to involve her in things that could be potentially dangerous. He felt protective of her, after being so close to her father, he tried to spare her as much as he could.

Now he had a situation in front of him with all the early markings of trouble; how much trouble was what he needed help in finding out.

He began to pace thinking.

What do I really know? Zatanna came to me months ago talking about mystical static in Gotham. She has not mentioned anything since then, so that blip could be completely unrelated to the Spectre's visit today. Nothing has shown up unusual, my running into Peter while strange was inevitable. Eventually he would have done something to garner my attention…

Batman can tell Zatanna's getting anxious watching him, J'onn is curious as well, but in his typical way remains stoic.

When I asked Spectre if he knew the truth about Peter, he seemed to know something more than me. Yet he is an omnipotent force given flesh, so that's not a surprise… still I need to know what he does. Fate would be the best one to give Peter a look. Zatanna, though very skilled is not as sensitive as he is to mystical tampering. Although she did know that something was wrong in Gotham. A fact none of the other mystics in the Justice League brought to my attention…

"Bruuuuuuucccceee…."

"Zee," Batman rubs his temple, slightly irritated. "I need your help with something…"

Zatanna's face lit with surprise, manages to nod. "Of course, Bruce."

Batman nods still thinking.

And I'll need one more person's help, although that will be even more complicated…

-Arkham Asylum-

Lying in his bed he's himself unable to sleep.

Tomorrow…

It's a word that holds so much promise, so much uncertainty.

The sun'll come out Tomorrow…

He's always lived each moment of his life to the fullest. At least the moments he remembers, he doesn't remember much about his life before the accident that brought out his true self. Made him the man he'd always longed to be.

Bet cha bottom dollar that Tomorrow…

Maybe that's why he was so drawn to him. Their dynamic probably didn't make sense to the casual observer. After all one was trying to save the world from darkness, the other trying to plunge it further into the abyss. But he knew the truth. He knew that each man had a "day". A day that changed the course of every single subsequent "tomorrow" that would follow. A day neither man would ever forget.

There'll be sun…

Besides that, one couldn't exist without the other. Without evil to rail against, what would Batman be? Just a Cosplay enthusiast with a lot of gadgets. By that same token though, he himself would be nothing without him.

Just thinking' about… Tomorrow

Oh sure he'd still have his share of fun; he had plenty of others to play with, but there was only one Batman. One man he wanted to see beaten and broken within an inch of his life.

Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow…

People always assumed he wanted the man dead, but that was so far from the truth. If anything it was too much fun having him around. It was why he couldn't sleep; because he knew tomorrow he'd be seeing him again.

In the darkness of his cell, a smile that seems permanently etched on his face; grows wider.

'Til there's none!

-Gotham city rooftops-

"Nice job kid,"

"Thanks," Peter acknowledges slightly out of breath. By the time he caught up to Nightwing he'd stopped three assaults, a convenience store robbery and freed a family from wrecked SUV. If this was indicative of a normal night's patrol; he may have bitten off more than he can chew.

He then cornered Nightwing in an abandoned warehouse and all he had to do was touch him.

For all his speed and agility it took him nearly thirty minutes just to land two fingers on the man. If Peter didn't know better he'd think Nightwing was faster than him. Every time he made a move, Dick countered it. He was two or three steps ahead of him, frustrating Peter to no end.

"I got lucky…" Peter groans, quietly. For all his training he was still no where near Nightwing's level. He guessed it was unreasonable to think he would be, but it was still disappointing to know how far behind he was.

Nightwing shook his head, tossing him a bottle of water. "Nonsense, you adapted and you used your environment to your advantage. That shows real promise. You're not always going to be able to out duel your opponent, despite your abilities, so sometimes you're going to have to out think and out maneuver them…"

Peter had used his webs to set up a couple of sticky traps on the floor while they fought. He kept Nightwing's attention focused on his attacks while trying to position him on one. It took some time, but Dick finally stepped into a trap and Peter used his immobility to tag him.

"Yeah Pete," Robin agrees. "If you sucked; I'd be the first to tell you…"

Peter smiled at Robin nodding. "Well that's oddly comforting…"

Nightwing stands and fires a line across to the adjacent building. "Come on, let's head in… the sun's due up in a few minutes, Batman will be wondering about how you did…"

-Watchtower training room-

"Ugh! You don't pull your punches do you Shayera?"

"Never learned how…" Hawkgirl swings her mace again only to have her blow redirected by Diana's bracelets. "Just what are those things made of anyway?" She asks, as her arms vibrate after each deflected blow.

"Feminum, a metal not found naturally occurring in the world. At least not man's world, right Princess?"

Both women turn at the voice at the doorway wearing equal expressions of surprise. Although for different reasons.

Diana knows for a fact that Batman has been purposely avoiding Shayera, making sure their schedules never coincide. So for him to be here now when in just another hour Shayera would be off duty, was strange.

In addition to that, he never sought Diana out. She'd ran into him a few times and he'd been pleasant enough. Which for Batman only meant that he used full sentences and scowled slightly less. But it had always been her bumping into him, never the other way around.

If the man wanted to avoid you, you would never lay eyes on him… so why is he here?

Her eyes ran over his tight frame, accentuated by the black form fitting material of his costume and wondered for the thousandth time how a mortal with no special abilities could be so fit. Kal was a incredibly built man, but Diana knew it was more due to his Kryptonian heritage and not due to any training. Bruce made himself into the man he is.

"Yes… of course you're right Batman…" Diana manages, she's given up trying to figure out how he knew the things he did. She just accepted that he knew things, even things he had no business knowing.

Batman, nods and continues turning to face Hawkgirl. "I need a moment with the Amazonian, Hawkgirl."

Hawkgirl shrugs her shoulders, dropping her mace slightly. "Not like I was ever going to get through her defenses any way…" Shayera walks past Batman, slightly nervous and stops when she hears his voice.

"Given time, I think you would've found success, you are nothing if not determined…"

Beaming slightly at the rare compliment, she turns to see him facing her. "Thank you, Batman." He nods simply and Wonder Woman hopes against all hope that she sees the beginnings of forgiveness in his attitude. It had been a long road for Shayera to regain Diana's trust, but she had always been more willing to trust than him.

Not that she blamed him for his attitude. The world he knew taught him that no one's intensions were completely pure.

She wished she could change his mind.

"It is good to see you Batman," Wonder Woman states, wiping the sweat from her face with a towel. She manages to keep her voice level when she asks. "Did you have something you wanted to discuss with me?" Wanting to see her alone, was also a surprise. They hadn't been alone since the night she'd joined him on patrol.

Though she'd never tell him so, that night had been extremely special to her. Especially given all he'd done to return her to her true form. It was then she realized the feelings she had for him were justified, even if he would never express it. At least she got to see a glimpse of his heart.

Batman steps further into the room his presence making her acutely aware of her own accelerated heart beat.

"I need you…"