Part I - Pilot

"When I told Marie that she could come check in, I didn't think she would send her husband," Bruce Wayne said, back facing Mark's.

"Ah well, she could be full of surprises."

The bat turned and looked at him intensely. "There's no way you're here because you want to check in on me. What's your motive Changling?"

Mark cringed at his superhero alias. He knew the Dark Knight was going to be a pain this evening, but he didn't exactly expect him to start so early. "I guess neutrality is out the window then," he sighed. Bruce only turned narrowed his eyes in response. "Fine. You win. I'm here for a few reasons. For my own gain of course."

"I'm all ears."

"The fire nation. There's some rumor that the mad bastards are looking for you. I want to know why."

"I can assure you, the fire nation is not on my tail, I can confirm that."

"How could you possibly know that?"

Bruce resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he gave Mark the daily paper with the latest news.

"According to what I've gotten from my source, the fire nation is very busy dealing with the Avatar right now. In fact, apparently they know where the kid is right now as we speak."

"That doesn't mean anything. After all, there are tons of reports saying that the fire nation was seen at our border a few days ago."

"It's the Avatar of all people. If they know where he is, then I'm not important. Even if they did send fire nation soldiers after me, it wouldn't be enough."

"You sound very suggestive with your word choices Bruce."

"If I'm wrong, then it shouldn't concern you. You have no quarrel with them, so I don't see a reason for you to be here."

The bat stared at Mark for an answer. Mark wasn't being 100% honest with his intentions, and it left Bruce a bit, curious, for lack of better words.

"Sorry Bruce, but I can't leave just yet," Mark finally replied. "The possibility of the fire nation attacking is still a decent probability. Can't risk you dyin."

"I can handle myself. I don't need your help."

"You never know. There could be an entire army here in just an hour, and you'd be surrounded."

"That's a very unlikely scenario that I am well prepared for."

"Pfft. Yeah right. Maybe a couple of thugs, I could see you being completely fine. But we're talking about warriors of the same caliber as you and I."

"Don't put me on your level."

"Ouch."

"Just leave. I don't need nor want your help. You can relay the same message to Marie."

Mark childishly rolled his eyes at the petty behavior of the bat. In all honesty, Mark didn't really want to stick around all too much longer. In fact, he'd rather be anywhere else the moment. But Bruce's survival is essential to the survival of the village. He is their knight in dark armor. With Mark and Marie being retired, Batman was their only hope left.

XXX

"This conversation is boring," Garfield whispered. Both Robin and Megan rolled their eyes at the same time. They had finally made it to the actual bat cave and managed to listen in on Bruce and Mark's conversation. They were hiding behind a huge machine that looked awfully like a giant metal bat. They were watching Bruce and Mark talk and as usual, they were just bickering and it ultimately got them nowhere. Garfield, Megan and Robin Gained no more information than from what they already knew. "Honestly, I'd rather be in school right now," Garfield sighed. Robin sneered at Beastboy's remark and said, "please, by all means. See yourself out." Garfield, currently not capable of thinking of a comeback, simply glared at Robin. Megan chipped in and said, "He's right though. We didn't really learn anything new compared to our prior knowledge of entering the cave. If only mom were here. She'd have Bruce talking up a storm."

It was clear to the teens that they weren't going to get very far with the conversation. They ultimately wanted to see if the fire nation was indeed after the dark knight. It is apparent that the answer to that wouldn't be coming anytime soon if both men didn't put aside their differences and work together. Maybe Bruce was right; it is entirely possible that the fire nation wouldn't be attacking him anytime soon. But the possibility of that happening is significantly unexplored, thanks to Bruce's arrogance.

XXX

"How long will you be here to annoy me?" Batman asked, turning around to work on some new gadget of his. "As long as I need to be," Mark replied.

"How would you even suggest going about this 'problem?' There is nothing we can do except wait," Batman said.

"Maybe so."

"And how long do you expect to wait?"

"Till later tonight."

"Your wife won't be happy about that. I'm sure of it."

"You're right. But your safety is more important than my wife's temporary frustration."

"Oh?"

"If you die, we can kiss this village goodbye. Ravagers and bandits will raid and destroy this place within days. You are our beacon. We would all be dead if it weren't for you."

"Maybe I'd live a little longer if you made it easier for me. For starters, you can fix that kid of yours."

"He's not an object, there is no 'fixing' him."

"Whatever."

"And you're one to talk. That know-it-all brat will be death of you. He's real good at making enemies. Even his best friends."

"And your son has a nasty habit of getting into trouble with the law."

"He's only 13."

"A 13 year old who steals on a daily basis."

"All in good fun."

"Call it what you want, regardless, he is still a nuisance to our society. Let me train him. I'll discipline him and teach him how to fight. One day he could be the protector of this village."

"Not interested."

"It should be in your best interest. You always give the boy chance after chance. One day, he's going to take advantage of that in the worst way possible. You spoil him far too much."

"Please, I know how to raise my own kid. I've had this same influence on my daughter and look how she came out. She is far brighter than you were at her age."

"Her And Garfield are very different people with two completely different interests. Sibling relationships can only go so far in terms of identity. The path Garfield is on now will only lead to villiany. I can change that. Deep down, you know I'm right."

"Maybe. But I'd much rather see what path my son walks on his own right. He's becoming mature and he's starting to take more responsibility for his actions, even if this growth of maturity is at a slow rate. I was just like him at his age. And I turned out just fine."

"You were quite the hero. You would sacrifice your life every single day. At least until you had a child. Sometimes I wish you never retired. Not only would I be able to tolerate you better, but you would be a decent partner to have."

"The feeling is mutual."

XXX

"Nope. I don't see a thing Marie," said the border head security. "Hmm, that's a good thing, but we shouldn't lower our guard," Marie responded.

Marie's job was working border security, seeing as she was a hero at one point in time. She couldn't do the things she used too because of her new responsibilities that is her children. The least she could do was make sure no enemies were able to enter the village.

Currently, she was speaking with the head of security of the border patrollers, Vulenia. She was pretty useful as she has an ark in her eyes that allow her to see at great distances. She could see a tiny ant from thousands of miles away. That's why she's the captain.

Marie stood up anxiously as she stared out in vast forest outside of the border.

"Hey captain, are sure you don't want me to go check things out?"

"There is no need. If there truly is an enemy waiting out there, then they'll be waiting for a while. I'm not going anywhere."

"Maybe their not waiting. They could be preparing for an attack as we speak."

"If that's true, the last thing I want is you going out there on your own."

"Let me grab some of our guys then-"

"They wouldn't stand a chance against the fire nation. You would practically be sending them to their deaths. Trust me Marie, no one is going to attack us today. I'll make sure of it."

"Are you sure Captain?"

"Absolutely."

"Fine. If you say so then."

Marie sat back down reluctantly. Hopefully her husband was having better luck than she was at the moment.

XXX

"You know, you don't have to stare me all day right?" Batman said, clearly annoyed with Mark. "I'm just interested it what you do in your spare time," Mark shrugged.

"I'm usually out stopping thugs, but unfortunately, I'm stuck with you for the rest of the day."

"By all means, don't let me stop you from doing your job. I'll just stay here and hold down the fort."

"First of all, this isn't a fort, it's a cave. Second of all, I don't trust you to be here alone. You have a habit of ruining any and everything you touch."

"So what happens if I touch you?"

"You wouldn't get the chance."

Mark gave Bruce a sly smile as Bruce slowly turned around to face him.

"I swear to you, if you even try I won't hesitate to break your arm."

"Is that a challenge Mr. Wayne?"

"Only if you wish to die."

Bruce entered a fight stance as Mark extended the claws on his hands, entering a fight stance of his own.

"You asked for it," the changling said with a primitive smirk on his face.

The two combatants rushed each other, striking with explosive force.

XXX

"Your dad is such an idiot," Robin said as he facepalmed. Garfield only smirked in response.

Megan sighed and said, "This was obviously a waste of time. We should just head back home and hope our grades won't suffer too much from our absence."

"Whatever," Garfield said as he put his hands in his pockets and began to walk back to the broken bat cave door.

All three teens dejectedly headed outside of the bat cave.

XXX

Mark slashed fiercely at the dark knight, keeping him on the defense. His only objective was to at least touch him. Easier said than done. The bat was effortlessly dodging his attacks, his expression never changing. Mark was going to have to put a bit more effort into his attacks.

Faster than a blink of an eye, Mark transformed into a cobra snake with a sperm whale's skin and wings of a vulture. In quick succession, he striked the armored forearms of the Dark Knight. The bat had to choice but to block. There was no way he could continue dodging. Luckily, Bruce's armor is far too tough for the fangs of a snake to break through. However, because of his exposed face, it was always possible for Mark to strike there at any moment.

Realizing this, Batman dropped a smoke pellet, disorienting Mark in the process. Wasting no time, Batman swooped in And kicked Mark square in the chest with so much force that he flying into the giant bat that his kids were formerly located. His reverted to his human form as Batman planted a firm foot over chest, preventing him from making any violent movements.

"Well that was quick," Mark laughed. "But I still won though. I touched you."

Batman turned and said, "what a pitiful excuse for a victory."

"Hey, you're just mad that I'm the winner," Mark laughed again as he got up.

"I wouldn't recommend attacking me again. Next time, I'll use my sword."

"You and I both know I wouldn't give you the chance."

"Even after losing to me in a fight, your hubris remains."

"What can I say, I'm a optimist."

"I'm a realist."

"And you're both idiots," came a voice from the front entrance of the cave. It was Alfred with a tray of tea. "I would like to inform you master Bruce that Barbara And Richard have returned home. And word from Maria, Garfield, Megan and herself have returned home as well. It is currently 5:00 by the way. It's nearly time for your patrol master Wayne."

"Thanks Alfred," Bruce And Mark said in unison. Mark turned to Bruce and said, "If anything happens, you call me, got it?" Bruce only nodded in response. "Good. I'll be on my home then. Take care Alfred."

"And you as well sir."

And with that, Mark took off out of the door located in the waterfall. He quickly returned and told Bruce and Alfred, "I'm saying it now, I'm not the one who broke the door the down."

He then left after.

XXX

With the entire Logan family at their residence, it was obvious both Mark and Marie were nervous. Garfield and Megan were as well, but they could hide it better than their parents. Or at least they thought they could.

At the dinner table, both of the children barely touched their food, let alone speak to one another.

"You two are rather quiet tonight," Marie spoke up, not looking at anyone in particular.

"Long day at school," they both said in synch. Mark raised a brow but decided not to say anything.

"Tell me about it," their mother said. "It must've been a pretty exciting day seeing as your teacher said he didn't even see you at all today. I thought I'd come to pick you two up, but instead I was surprised to learn that there was no one to pick up. Weird right?"

"I decided to stay home," Garfield said. "After the big breakfast I had, my stomach started to hurt, so I end to lay down for a bit, but I guess I slept most of the day away."

"But you walked in the door with your sister with your book bag still on you," Marie continued.

"I was trying to make it seem like I was at school all day. I guess that didn't work."

"Fair enough. What about you Megan?" Their mother said, finally looking at her daughter.

"I skipped class because there was a hero training program happening down south of the village. I thought it would be interesting."

"Funny. You never told me you were interested in heroics," Marie eyed Megan suspiciously.

"I wasn't until I heard you dad talking about the fire nation coming to our village to capture the Batman."

Both Marie and Mark visibly paled. They didn't think that Megan would actually know about their recent conversation on the matter.

Garfield, being the actor that he is, said, "The fire nation is coming?"

"No of course not," Mark quickly said. "I already talked to Bruce today, and he made it pretty clear that the fire nation is not actually looking for him."

"But I heard that some reporters found some fire nation spies on the edge of our border," Megan pushed.

Garfield understood exactly what his sister was doing. She was baiting their mother. Both teens virtually got nothing from listening in to their father at the cave, so maybe they could gather some information that their mother may have.

"I checking in with the reporters and talked to the captain on my team," Megan said. "There is no fire nation in this village."

As if on cue, a loud explosion could be heard ringing through the village. It was loud enough for Garfield and Mark to hear it tenfold.

"What the hell was that," Mark said loudly.

"The fire nation!" Marie gasped. "Go to Bruce's house immediately and inform him that we are under attack! Go!"

Mark shifted into a cheetah and sprinted at full speed towards the manor of the Dark Knight.

"You two," Marie said, looking at her kids. "Stay here don't go anywhere. Do you understand me?"

They both nodded.

"I'm serious you two. Don't. Move."

And with that, she phased through the roof and flew off towards the border.

Without wasting any time, Garfield got up from the table and walked over to the front door to leave.

"Gar, what are you doing?" Megan asked him as she followed.

"I'm going over to Bruce's house."

"Why?"

"Because that's where Barbara is."

"Why do you care about that now?"

"I..."

Megan rolled her eyes and said, "listen closely: Barbara doesn't like you nor does she need your help. She can protect herself."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do."

"Listen here okay. Either you move out of my way, or you're coming with me."

"That's not a choice, that's an ultimatum."

"We both know I don't know what word means."

"I'm not going with you."

"Then move outta my way."

"Make me."

"We are not doing this right now."

"Then how about you stay put, and don't do a thing."

Suddenly, a loud boom could be heard coming from the kitchen. The two teens could hear whispers coming from that direction. They both immediately knew who it was; The Fire Nation.

I know I'm late. Don't judge me. I'll update again, so don't worry.

Later.