After showing Catwoman to a room so she can take a nap, Alfred made his way back to the batcave to await his master's arrival. He walked in and saw Nightwing standing next to a man dressed in a white overcoat with a red hood that was now pulled down. Alfred scowled when he saw the two forty-five caliber pistols that Jason Todd holstered on his belt at all times. Jason also wore black leather pants with matching combat boots. When he turned to face Alfred the butler was horrified to see a bleeding bat symbol with bullet holes in it designed on the black shirt the young man was wearing.

"What can I do for you, Master Jason?" Alfred asked curiously as he approached Jason and Nightwing.

"Why does he keep this enshrined?" Jason asked in disgust as he pointed to the case where his old Robin costume was displayed.

"Bruce feels terrible about what happened to you Jason. He always has and I believe it still haunts him." Alfred pointed out. "He will be overjoyed to find out you're still alive." Jason started to laugh and Nightwing glanced at him worriedly.

"If Bruce gave a damn about me then why in the hell did he leave me with that monster? He gave up on me at the first opportunity." Jason shouted.

"We discussed what happened, Jason." Nightwing pointed out.

"You talked and I listened. It doesn't make sense that Batman couldn't find me and gave up without finding a corpse." Jason snarled irritably. "I do have to thank the old man though. If it weren't for the training he gave me I wouldn't have been able to kill Black Mask."

"I'm sorry but did you say kill?" Alfred asked in shock. Jason grinned at him.

"I told Bruce he was too soft on criminals." Jason said as he turned away from the display and walked towards the center of the cave. "If he had killed the Joker when he had the chance then I never would have suffered from him."

"Killing is what separates heroes from villains." Alfred pointed out. Jason shook his head.

"I disagree. I think that by not killing the villains when we can then we are complicit in the crimes that they commit." Jason replied. Alfred was about to say something, but Jason quickly continued. "How much blood is on Bruce Wayne's hands? How much blood is on yours Nightwing?" Jason asked. "Every death that you could have prevented if you had the courage to take action is on you."

"That's enough Jason!" While they were arguing they didn't hear the entrance to the Batcave open. The three men turned towards the voice and were surprised to see Selina standing at the entrance to the cave. "I can hear you all bickering from inside the house."

"Stay out of this Cat. You're a villain and by all rights I should put you down right now." Jason snapped at her. Selina laughed at that.

"You took out a thug like Black Mask and now you think you're a big man, huh? Well, you're welcome to try anytime." Selina laughed. "Can't you see that I am the reason why you can't simply write off the villains you encounter?"

"You still steal." Jason pointed out. Selina sighed and shook her head.

"Yes, sometimes I do for a thrill, but I do not kill and I mostly do it because the dance between the Bat and I is so much fun." Selina winked at him. "I also help him from time to time in case you missed that." Jason glanced at Nightwing and Alfred in surprise and they simply nodded in response.

"You're telling me that you honestly believe the Joker can be saved?" Jason asked shocked by what he was hearing.

"Well…" Selina began and cleared her throat.

"I won't kill him, but yes it would be my pleasure to make him suffer to the point he will wish I had." Bruce replied to Andrea's request. Andrea reached up and pulled Bruce's head down so she could kiss him passionately. Bruce returned the kiss and for several moments he felt like he was younger and they were back in the mansion oblivious to everything else in the world. Reluctantly, Andrea slowly stepped away from the kiss.

"I would like to help you." Andrea said. "I promise not to kill him, but I can't imagine a more fearsome team then you and I."

"I don't typically work with people I am in love with." Batman pointed out as he put his mask back on. Andrea smiled at his admission.

"So, we'll keep it separate. Out there we'll be Batman and as I've been nicknamed the Phantasm and together we will strike fear in the criminals and terrorize them for a change."

"If I agree to this then you will have to understand that I will put the safety of Gotham ahead of myself and my partners." Batman pointed out. "I expect for my partners to do the same."

"Very well, I understand." Andrea said with a grin.

"Meet me at the water tower overlooking the courthouse tonight, and we will try a test run." Batman said as he turned to walk away.

"You believe I need to be tested?" Andrea asked curiously. Batman turned his head slightly to the left.

"I know you're capable, but now we need to see if we can work together." Batman pointed out. "Do you need a lift home?"

"No, I have it covered. I'll see tonight." Andrea said. Bruce nodded and walked towards the Batmobile and leapt into it. He stared at Andrea for a moment and sighed before he drove away. "I'll prove that I am a much better partner than that Cat bitch." Andrea muttered as she got in her lime green Chevy Camaro and drove away.

"It'll take me over a week to complete this." Poison Ivy muttered to herself as she poured a green liquid into a large cauldron followed by a blue liquid. "I hope he decides to come with me willingly but if he does not then this potion should convince him to make the right choice." One of Ivy's flowers leaned closer to her and vibrated three times. "I know darling, but I need a human male for what comes next, but don't worry I will always love you." The flowers petals turned red and the vines began to wrap around her arm. "Don't worry, I won't let that happen. Batman will do precisely what we want him to." Ivy grinned as she finished stirring the contents of the cauldron.

Barbara woke to the sounds of someone pounding on her door and she sat up in bed before she put her jeans and t-shirt on and quickly made her way to the door to her apartment. She opened it and was surprised to see that her father Commissioner Gordon was about to knock again.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Barbara asked as she rubbed her eyes and tried to wake up. Jim smiled at her and lifted a Styrofoam container that held two cups of what smelled like caramel cappuccinos and in his other hand he had a box from Barbara's favorite bagel stand.

"I thought I would bring you breakfast after the late night you had last night." Jim said in a disapproving tone as Barbara let him in and he set the food on her dining room table.

"Late night…What do you mean?" Barbara asked curiously. Gordon stopped what he was doing and stared at his daughter for a moment in the way he always did when he caught her in a lie.

"I know you have been working with Batman. You didn't think that I was fooled by that ridiculous costume, did you?" Jim chuckled as he spread cream cheese on a bagel as Barbara stared at him in shock.

"I don't know what you're…" Barbara began but Jim raised up his butter knife to signal for her to stop.

"Don't insult my intelligence. You are Batgirl and I can only guess that your boyfriend is Robin… No, I will not ask you to tell me who Batman is or how this started, but I will ask you to not treat me like an idiot."

"Yes, I admit that I have been Batgirl for some time. I wanted to tell you but we thought it was best that as few people as possible knew." Barbara said slowly as she grabbed one of the cups.

"It would appear that we may have more in common than I thought." Jim said as he motioned for her to sit down. "When I was a little younger than you I joined the police force in secret and I successfully kept him from finding out for several years."

"So… did you finally tell him that you joined?" Barbara asked curiously. Jim chuckled.

"In a matter of speaking." Jim sighed and rubbed the bridge between his nose and adjusted his glasses. "I pulled him over." Barbara spit out her coffee as she began to laugh. "He didn't find that quite as amusing as you do."

"I can imagine." Barbara said as she began to wipe up the mess that she had made.

"It took a long time and several wasted years, but we finally began talking again." Jim said as he got up and sat next to her. He reached out and grabbed her hands in his own. "I don't want what you decide to do with your life to come between us."

"Thank you, I appreciate your understanding." Barbara said as she hugged him.

"Any other secrets I should know about?" Jim asked. Barbara was about to tell him about the engagement but hid her hands behind her back and removed the ring from her hand before she shook her head.

"No, that's pretty much the only secret that I've had to keep. In a way I'm relieved to no longer have to keep that secret." Barbara answered.

"Good, well… I must be going now. I have duty. Please take care of yourself." Jim said as he got up and walked to the door.

"I will." Barbara replied as she walked him out.

Jason Cale sat inside his apartment reading a book when he heard a thud at his penthouse door.

"Gregory, what's going on out there?" Jason asked as he rose to his full six and a half foot height. Jason reached inside of his grey suit jacket and pulled out a fifty caliber handgun that he had specially made and approached the door as he peered through the peep hole he saw a big green eyeball staring back at him.

"Yoo-hoo, Missterr Caale." Joker said from the other side of the door as he stepped back from the door. "Special delivery, just for you-ooh." Joker said as he kicked the door in causing Jason to fall to the ground. The man's reflexes were good however and Jason quickly rolled to his feet and fired two rounds that struck one of Joker's men in the chest as he ran through the door killing him instantly. Jason rose to his feet and Joker pulled his own gun and pointed it at Jason's head. "That was rather rude. I hate rude people." Joker lowered the gun and fired.

"You damn maniac." Jason shouted. "I paid your goons off this month. What the hell are you doing here!" Jason said as Joker put the red and yellow bang flag back into his gun.

"Oh Batman, do you really think I would kill you that easily. I admit that your setup here is brilliant." Joker laughed maniacally as he backhanded Jason so hard the slap busted the man's lip. "This is going to be soo much fun."

"When Joker returns I want him dead." Clayface said as he walked around the penthouse that he and Joker were hiding out in.

"He's our partner." A man in a black suit and tie said as Clayface walked by him.

"No, he's out for himself. Once he's killed the bat we will put a bullet in his head before he does it to us." Clayface replied with a wide grin.

"If that's what you order then that is what I will do." The man said as he stood up and buttoned his coat before walking to the door.

"Oh, find the Catwoman. I have a job for her and if she wants to keep her nine lives you better convince her to accept it." Clayface ordered.

….

Hello Readers, I have setup a poll on my profile that asks who Batman's bride will be. I hope to hear from all of you and am still deciding myself where the story will go. Thank you for taking the time to read my story and please answer the poll and leave reviews.