"Alfred!" I yelled as I saw him when I arrived in Gotham. I limp-ran over to him, and gave him a hug.

"Good god, master Daniel, what did you do to yourself? You look like you've been in a war!" He said as I let go.

"Not quite, but close. How's Bruce?"

"Master Bruce has been well enough. He's been overly stressed, but I understand that you aren't here to, ahem... Traverse rooftops and the like?

"No." I said as we both got in the good old Cadillac, "What's he stressed about?"

"He and Miss Barbara both, actually. I worry about her, it's affecting her schoolwork. They have spent the last few weeks trying to find a serial killer."

"What's his MO?"

"Really Master Daniel, you don't have to-"

"I want to know, Alfred. If I can help any, I will."

"I don't want you to. You're on vacation. What you told me over the phone, well that's horrifying. I don't want you to be worse than you are."

"Alfred, please. Bruce and Babs, they're my family. You all are my family. If I can help any, I need to."

After a moment of silent driving, Alfred nodded. "I suppose if I were in your position, I would want to do the same. He has been nicknamed 'The Burner' by the GCPD. He kills using a type of incendiary explosive made of wax, kerosene, matches, and black powder. Enough black powder to fire a blunderbuss."

"Not the best way to build a bomb."

"I know. That is why he's a serial killer and not a terrorist."

"Right. Who does he target?"

"People between the ages of 15 and 30. Generally wealthy, upper class people. He sets off bombs and social gatherings, such as parties. No one has ever seen him though."

"He's probably in his twenties then, but he looks young. He has to be able to blend in so he can place the bombs, and a 15 year old can't really blend in with adults."

"Master Bruce speculated the same thing. Most of his victims are white, but that's probably because most upper class people are white."

"Does he seem to be targeting anyone in particular? Jobs? Families? Areas of residence?"

"No. The only thing all the victims have in common are that they are upper class people. Business owners, rich children, etcetera. He also doesn't seem to be targeting anyone in particular. He places the bombs in a place where lots of people will be gathered."

"Hm... So he has something against the upper class? What about government officials? Have any of them been killed."

"A New Jersey senator, but that's it. He was just at one of the parties. Master Bruce has been to about 5 of these parties to try and catch the culprit in the act, but he hasn't seen anyone place the bombs. He just sees them blow up."

We pulled into Wayne Manor's garage. It felt like forever since I'd been there, but it felt like home. Not much seemed to have changed.

"Where's Bruce? At the office?" I asked Alfred as we got out of the car.

"Yes, I do believe so. Are you going to go visit him?"

"No. I think I'll head to the cemetery first."

"Oh... I see. Well, I shan't stop you. Take any car you'd like. Master Bruce has acquired a few more since you left." Alfred said, hanging up the keys to the Cadillac. I finally settled on an old classic, a 1969 Dodge Challenger. This wasn't one of Bruce's new cars, but it was one of my favorites.

"Master Daniel?" Alfred asked before I left.

"Yeah Alfred?"

"It is... It's good to see you. I'm glad you're home."

"It's good be home, Alfred. I needed this." I said to him, smiling. I waved goodbye, then drove off.

Kam's grave was right next to my mother's. They were both simple headstones. They said their names, their birth dates, their death dates, and Rest in Peace. I wished that they had said more, or been more ornamental, but my mom never wanted a fancy headstone and most people thought that Kam didn't deserve a headstone at all, least of all a nice one. There were fresh flowers at both of their graves, which means my father, Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke, had been there. I hoped I wouldn't run into him, although I wouldn't fight him if I saw him. Not here.

I stood there for about 10 minutes, when Barbara Gordon came up beside me.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" I asked her, smiling.

"I'm almost graduated. I can afford to skip half a day. "She laughed. We hugged. "How are you Danny?"

"I've been better. I'm guessing you know about the whole beating people worse than they deserve thing?"

"Yeah. There was a whole article about it. People are calling you psychotic. Is any of that stuff true?"

I just nodded. "Was there another article or anything yesterday? Or today?"

"No, why? What the hell did you do?"

I told her about yesterday night, when I cut the man's fingers off. She rubbed her temples with the thumb and forefinger of her right hand.

"Danny... You can't do that. What the hell were you thinking?" She said. Her voice faltered at the end of her sentence. "Bruce will kill you."

"I know. I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't. I lost patience. I am just... I'm just sick of feeling bad about Kam and my mom."

Barbara looked at me for a second. She looked even better than she did a year ago, if that was possible. She took my hand in hers, then gave me a hug.

"Danny... You need to stop." She whispered in my ear as she hugged me, "It's not your fault, ok? Don't do this to yourself."

"Babs, I can't. I feel like I could've stopped Kam's death. I let her down, Babs. I let my mom down."

She broke her hug, and touched my cheek below my floor burn. I was taller than her now, so she was looking up at me. "Danny... You didn't. You're letting her down now by being so cruel, but you didn't let Kam die, he chose to. Promise me you'll stop this. Stop feeling so guilty. It's not your fault."

I pulled my face away slowly and avoided eye contact.

"Tell me about this serial killer." I asked her quietly, changing the subject quickly.

"Alfred told you?" She asked. She was clearly pissed that I didn't promise her, but I couldn't lie. Not to Babs. I nodded. "What did he tell you?"

"M.O., targets, never been seen, relative age, etcetera."

"I don't have much else to tell you. I am 99% sure he's going to attacks the prom."

"Well, that's where we can get him then. It won't look strange that we are there, and he might not blend in as well as he thinks. Have you already been asked?"

"Yeah, by a couple of guys. I am not sure which one I am going to go with yet."

"None of them. You and I are going together. That way we won't be distracted by any dates and we can devote more time to watching for the Burner." I said simply.

"Oh my god..." She said quietly, "You sound just like him."

I almost asked who, but then I realized. Batman. I sounded just like Batman. Oh god... I was becoming just like him.

"Ok... Look. I will go to prom with you, but we can't just look for the Burner. We have to dance and stuff. And you have to get me a corsage. And get a nice tux. It's my last prom, and I want it to be special."

With those last words, she left. I was confused and left there wondering what the hell a corsage was.