Ladies and gentlemen, the final chapter of this three part event is officially here. Sorry I didn't post last week, there was simply too much on my plate that has to be dealt with for me to have any time to really write. I'm certain that I've been pissing all of you off a fair amount with the frequent cliffhangers, but don't worry, you won't get any of those in this chapter. Also, we'll be seeing how Barbara is going to manage after this all said and done as well. Of course we're going to open up with the Joker and Naruto's big confrontation, and believe me, it's going to get intense! Why tell you about it when I could just show you? Thanks for reading and be sure to review!

Chapter Soundtrack-Johnny Cash: I Hung My Head

"Why? Why did you do it?" The Red Fox asked as the entire room watched him hold the Joker up in the air by the throat. Moments after he'd burst into the room, the boy had grabbed the clown's neck, nearly cutting off his air supply, "He'd done nothing to you!"

Batman tried to calm his son down, running over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder, "Put him down! What did he do Red Fox? Is it Gordon? Is he okay?"

Rather than putting him down, the Red Fox pulled his arm back and threw the Joker into the concrete wall a few feet away. He turned to his father with the Kyuubi's chakra flaring and watery eyes, "It's not Gordon! It's Robin...he killed Robin!"

"No," Batman whispered, barely able to make himself speak, "Oh god no. How? When? Where?"

The Joker laughed as he shakily started to stand up, "So, you failed to reach the boy in time, eh Foxy?The bomb went off the boy wonder is worm food for all eternity. That is hilarious! Hahaha!"

Those words got the Red Fox right back up in the villain's face, slamming him back into the wall behind him, "How can you laugh at this? He was just a kid! For god's sake, he'd never even had a first kiss! You're a mad dog Joker, and you deserve to be put down!"

"Oh, do I know?" The clown said, his grinning growing wider by the second, "Well then, they're going to have to put you down someday too!"

A small click went off and the Red Fox felt a sharp prick go into his side. He looked down to see that the Joker had used some kind of injector on him. The hero needed to know right away what had just been forced into his system, "What was that? I'm not laughing, so it can't be your laughing gas. Is it some kind of poison? Are you trying to kill me too?"

The Joker threw the injector off to the side, having now completed the last phase of his plan, "That my boy is the second thing I created from those bulbs I got from Ivy's plants. It's a small bit my own DNA, with a special part of those plants added in that does something that's real fun! The chemical coursing through your veins right now is what's going to make Batman lose his oh so precious sanity!"

"What did you shoot into me Joker?" The Red Fox growled as his grip on the man tightened, "Talk, or I'll break every bone in your body!"

There was no need to intimidate the clown, he was going to explain no matter what happened, "I'll put it to you in the simplest way I can. What I shot into you is a sort of virus, one that affects your DNA. I don't really understand it entirely myself, but the jist of it is that it'll slowly turn off aspects of your own DNA and replace them with mine. After awhile, you'll start to notice changes in your personality. It'll slowly warp your mind to the point where it's just like mine! How do you feel about that Batsy? Is it devastating to think that the person you despise most in the world is what Foxy boy here is about to become?"

Batman was one who got infuriated this time. He pushed the Red Fox out of the way grabbed the Joker himself, "You're going to take that stuff out of his body right now, or I'll,"

"You'll what? Pour on more threats?" The Joker cut him off with a taunt, "Face it, the only thing you can do if you want to end all this. Come on, do it! Kill me!"

"Be careful what you wish for you son of a bitch," A dark voice growled as something ripped the Joker from Batman's hand the threw him onto the ground, "My father may have put up with your nonsense for far too long, but I won't! I was considering killing you when you took out Robin, but now you're trying to make me as crazy as you? I'd sooner cut off my own hands than let that happen!"

Batman soon saw that it was his son who'd been saying all those things, but his voice wasn't his own. It was deep, gruff, and filed with killer intent. The way he was talking and the fact that the red cloud around him was going insane could only mean one thing: Kurama had started to effect this mind. He ran over and threw his arms around his son from behind, trying to stop him from doing anything stupid, "Don't do this Kurama! I don't want him to suffer for something that you're going to do!"

With virtually no effort, the Red Fox threw his father off from him, continuing in his deep twisted voice, "Get off from me! I'm still in control here! I think that you'll be very pleased with my actions once I'm finished. Stay over there father, and let me do my work."

"Batsy, are you gonna explain why your sidekick is trying to act more cold blooded than me?" The Joker asked as he felt the boy's foot step onto his chest, "What's the big idea? There's no way my little gift took you over that fast. Are you trying to scare me or something?"

The next thing the Joker knew, the Red Fox fist was buried in his gut so deep, it almost felt like it was going to go through. Then he brought his foot down to the villain's leg, stomping on it so hard that it snapped in a clean break, causing the Joker to cry out in pain, "No clown, what I'm trying to do is put you through the pain you've put your victims through. I know I won't be able to get it all, because frankly we'd be here all night if I tried to do that. You have no idea how badly I want to kill you right now! If it weren't for the fact that I've learned to restrain my powers, I already would have!"

The Red Fox continued his round of torture, grabbing the Joker's arm and yanking it so hard that it came right out of it's socket. At first the man screamed in agony, but that soon turned into a demented laugh, "Ahhhhhhh, hahahaha! Would you look at that, Batman finally got a sidekick with some backbone. I love it! What are you gonna do next? Pull out my teeth? Cut off my fingers? Rip off my face? Oh, wait…"

"Shut up you sick fuck," The Red Fox spat and punched the Joker directly in the face, "What I'm going to do next is ruin your big night. You spent so much time planning all this, so I can't wait to see your face when you watch your last hope to drive the Batman insane turn to shit!"

Joker didn't understand what the boy was talking about, "You know people say that my jokes are bad, but that one was plain awful. My DNA is already coursing through you. There's nothing you can do that'll,"

A sharp batarang being pulled out of the Red Fox's belt made him stop talking. He watched as the hero stabbed it into his side where the Joker had injected his chemical cocktail and made a deep cut along his abdomen. Blackish ooze began to pour out of the wound, which the red chakra actually seemed to be forcing out, "You were saying clown? Aw, don't you find this funny? Come on, laugh for me!"

"No," The Joker screamed, whipping a knife out of his pocket with his good arm, "You don't get to take this from me!"

The Red Fox didn't have time to get his hands up before the villain began stabbing him in the side. Instinctively, the hero grabbed the Joker's head and tried to push it away, but the clown was fighting hard. Without realizing it, the Red Fox started to apply too much pressure, causing the Joker's neck to turn at an odd angle. A snap came from the madman's neck, one that sounded almost as sickening as the one in his leg had been, and he fell limp to the ground. This was what finally got the Red Fox to shoot back into reality, "Oh no...please tell me I didn't just…"

A faint moaning could be heard, letting them know the Joker was alive, "Hehehe...calm down kid, you just broke my neck a little. It might take a couple of years, but I'll get back on my feet. Haha-ow! Oh, it even hurts to laugh…"

"Oh thank god," The Red Fox said, breathing a huge sigh of relief, "I thought I really lost it for a second there. It's just, he was saying all that stuff about Robin, and then there was that stuff with his DNA taking me over! I was just so,"

Batman walked over to his son and put his arm around him to comfort the boy, "It's okay, I understand. Did you get all of whatever the Joker put into your system out?"

The boy felt like he did, though he was nervous that might have just been wishful thinking, "I'm pretty sure I did. I don't feel it inside me or anything I mean, but it's really hard to tell. Damn, look at how bad I'm bleeding."

"It's quite a bit. We're gonna need to get you medical attention," Batman said, looking at the boy's profusely bleeding side, "The adrenaline should keep you going for a few more minutes, which we'll use to wrap up your wound. The Joker didn't get any good hits on your vital organs, so we got lucky there. Don't worry about everything you did before. You got control of yourself before you did something awful, and that's what's important."

There was no way the Joker was going to let this whole night go to waste, so there was only one thing left for him to do. It was time to throw some true chaos into the situation, "What's important is that I made him lose control. I saw it in your eyes boy, you're a killer, just like me! If there's even an ounce of my DNA left inside of you, it'll make it's way to your brain and turn you into something worse than I ever was!"

The Red Fox was getting tired of constant taunting from the clown, "I told you to shut up! What does it take to make you close your mouth for once?"

"Calm down before you end up passing out from blood loss," Batman scolded his son, trying to keep the boy from losing it, "He's just doing this to get to you like he always does."

The ninjas one the sidelines had begun to wonder what was going on, to the point where Sasuke actually yelled out, "What are you waiting for? Kill him already! Make him pay for killing your brother!"

There was no way the Red Fox was going give in to his baser urges, "We already lost Robin, I'm not going to make this night any worse. He's completely immobilized, so the only one who'd get in trouble for killing him is me. All I wanna do right now is go home and grieve. Killing Joker won't bring my brother back."

"Tch, and here I thought I'd finally met someone who understood," Sasuke scoffed, turning back to his team, "Do whatever you want with him, but you'll wished you'd ended him later. I know it."

The Red Fox shook his head and said to his father in English, "Let's get the Joker into his cell and then go check up on Gordon and his daughter. He did a lot of damage to the both of them tonight."

"I'm not going back to my cell. I already told you how this night is going to end," The Joker did his best to yell though his pain, "One of has to die to end the cycle. It's the only way to bring chaos back into Gotham. Hm...you know, it's kinda funny. Even after everything that I've done and all the people I've hurt, you still couldn't bring yourself to do it. In the end, you had to make me drive your brat to this point. Actually, it's downright hilarious when I think about it, haha! Your little prodigie there has more of a killer instinct than you ever have. Don't worry kiddo, I'll save you spot right next to mine in hell! Haha...hahahaha...hahahahahahahahahaha!"

As the mad laughter echoed through the pit, the Joker began to twist his neck back further, irritating the small break in his neck. Batman tried to run to stop him, but it was too late for that. A loud snap was heard as the clown snapped his neck, severing his spinal cord and killing him instantly. Everyone stood in place silently, simply looking at the now dead body. No sound was heard until a loud female cry called out, "NOOO!"

Harley appeared almost out of nowhere, jumping off from the balcony and onto the ground beside her lover. She picked up his limp form and started to coddle him like you would a small child. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she turned to the Red Fox, "You did this! I watched you break his neck you little monster! You're going to pay for this in ways you can't even imagine. I'm going to take away what you love, just like you did to me! I hate you! HATE YOU!"

"Quinn, you'd best shut your mouth right now. The Red Fox didn't kill the Joker, he did that to himself," Batman said, walking over to the woman with a hard glare on his face, "Stop trying to blame an innocent boy for something that he didn't do."

There was no chance Harley was letting this go, "Oh he did it! Maybe not with his own hands, but he did it! You took him away from me, and you're gonna regret it!"

Batman was not going to let his son be subjected to any more of this, "I've heard out of you. You can dream about your love if you wanna see him so bad."

"What are you talking about?" Harley asked, before he Dark Knight's fist connected with her face. It knocked her out instantly, letting The Red Fox have a little bit of piece.

After the woman hit the ground, Batman heard another body land on the concert. He turned to see his son unconscious on the ground. Everyone else in the room remained silent, all of them still uncertain of what to do right now. Only Batman moved, running over to check on his son, "I can't tell if it was the blood loss or the shock that made him pass out. Dammit, we need to get him medical attention, now!"

They had a split second to focus on that before the ceiling began to shake as something burst through it. It was a man dressed all in blue wearing a red cape, which was of course the legendary Superman. All of the ninjas watch in awe as he floated in the air and tried to get a grasp on what was happening, "Sorry we're late, Despero took longer than we thought. The others should be here soon, so what do you need us to...Jesus, what in the hell happened here? Is that the Joker? Is he dead?"

"Clark, I wouldn't have any idea where to start telling you about what all happened tonight," Batman said, fighting to keep his voice from cracking, "Please, just help me get him to the Batcave. I don't wanna lose anybody else tonight."

In side by side beds in the Batcave's medical wing, Naruto and Barbara found themselves lying in hospital beds wondering what the future held for them. Only a curtain separated them, one they could talk right through if they'd been in the mood. Naturally, no such thing was going to occur.

In a moment of pure rage, Naruto had almost lost control of himself and let Kurama's chakra get him into some major problems. If he'd killed the Joker back at the Asylum, there was no telling what kind of repercussions that would have had for both him and the rest of the team. They weren't supposed to take a life, that was part of the deal. It was why they had such a good relationship with both the public and the police. With even the little bit that had gone down as it was, there was still more than likely going to be some issues raised. That was just the issues Naruto had to deal with. There was an entirely other set of problems facing Barbara, once that were going change the way she would look at her life forever.

"I don't understand, I thought you said you'd made sure I was able to walk," Barbara questioned Tsunade from her hospital bed, "There was a lot of nerve damage with my spine and all, but you fixed it. Why wouldn't I be able to be Batgirl anymore?"

The only other people in the room with her were Tsunade and Shizune, as she'd wanted to know exactly what the damage to her body would be before she faced anyone else. Barbara thought she might need time to compose herself, and she was about to find out she was right, "We were able to keep your ability to walk intact, that's true, but there was no way for us to eliminate the residual pain you're undoubtedly going to feel. Any strenuous activity that you might do is only going to make it worse. Quite frankly Barbara, you'd more than likely end up dead if you tried to continue being Batgirl. I'm truly sorry, but there's nothing more we can do for you."

Those words were enough to cut Barbara deep, though she did her best not to show it. Batgirl had been a part of her life for a long time now, and while she'd always intended on giving it up one day, she'd wanted it to be on her own terms. Now, she didn't really know what was to become of her, "I see...will the pain ever go away? Is there physical therapy I can do to at least reduce it somewhat?"

"There's plenty of things we'll try, but nothing that'll fix the problem completely," Tsunade replied honestly, "Bruce wants to have a quick a word with you, then drop you off at the hospital where your father can visit you. He's been stuck getting physical and psychiatric tests of his own, so he won't even get the chance to know you were here. Everythings going to be fine."

Barbara knew that wasn't true, "I don't think things are going to be 'fine' for a very long time Tsunade, but thank you for trying to comfort me. Please, send him in."

The blonde haired healer gave a small nod, then opened the curtain that was separating Barbara from the visitor waiting outside. Bruce was already in view by the time the girl looked up, a great amount of worry clear on his face, "Thank god you're alive. After what happened with your father, I was so worried the Joker had just decided to kill you. Are you alright?"

"As alright as I can be I guess," Barbara said, though she didn't sound all that convincing, "What about Jason? Is he really dead?"

Bruce flinched at the very mention of the boy's name, "We haven't been able to find a body, but I'm not going to use that to try and kid myself. He's gone Barb...He's gone and it's all my fault. I couldn't protect him, I couldn't protect you, and I couldn't protect Naruto. How in god's name did I ever become the hero of Gotham city?"

The curtain on the other side of Barbara shot open, revealing an angry looking Naruto, "Don't say that about yourself dad. None of this was your fault. If it was anybody's fault, it was the Joker's. He's the one who set this whole thing up."

"The boy's got a point there Bruce," Barbara agreed, feeling that the clown was the one who really deserved the credit for all the pain they'd been through, "Is it bad that I honestly don't feel even the slightest bit bad about him being dead? I'm kind of relieved that I'll never have to see that twisted grin plastered on his face ever again."

There was no one who understood that better than Bruce, "Don't worry, it's not just you. If there's one good thing that came out of tonight, it's the fact that I get to know the Joker can never torture Gotham again. Naruto, now that you're up, how are you feeling? I know the night must have been rough for you."

"No offense dad, but I watched my brother die a few hours ago," Naruto pointed out, his tone sounding almost dead, "Is Kakashi and the rest of his team still here? I don't know if I'll be in any shape to work out with them tomorrow."

Bruce had already taken care of that, "Kakashi said that his students were exhausted after last night, so he's giving them a day to rest. Naruto, do you think you can keep it together or should we should send them home. With Tsunade's help and the Kyuubi's chakra, you should be healed up by tomorrow, but you might still need some time to deal with Jason's passing."

Training actually didn't sound like a half bad idea to Naruto, "If they wanna work with me tomorrow, then I'm all for it. It'll keep my mind off Jason for at least a couple of hours. Are we gonna have a funeral for him?"

Now that the boy brought it up, that had indeed been one of the many things on Bruce's mind, "Of course we will, I'm just not sure when yet. I have to think of a way that Jason died that we can realse to the press. After that, I'll start getting all of the details themselves straighten out. This whole thing's going to be a real mess."

"Then perhaps you should let me handle it Master Bruce," An English voice said, making everyone jerk their head in the direction it had come from instantly, "I hope you don't mind, but I still had keys to the manor, so I let myself in."

Bruce could hardly contain his joy at seeing his butler Alfred had returned home, "Alfred, you're back. I thought you said that you needed some time to go off and think about whether or not you could keep helping me with the cause."

The older man walked up to Bruce and smiled, hugging him like father would, "I haven't even been gone a week Master Bruce, and yet all of this has happened. There was simply no way I could let you go through a time like without lending a hand. I'm so sorry to hear about Master Todd sir. You did everything you could to save him I'm sure."

"You know about Jason already?" Naruto asked, uncertain of how that was possible, "How'd you hear about that? I don't think it's even been on the news yet."

Alfred pulled away from Bruce so that he could address the boy, "Ah, young Master Naruto, it's wonderful to see you again as well. I kept very close tabs on you during my short little trip through the camera's in your vizors. The moment I saw what kind of situation you were in, I rushed back here in order to make sure that all of you were safe. The only things I know about for sure are the activities that took place while you were in your suits, so you'll have to fill me on anything else I missed later. Right now, I'm just glad that you're all alive. Oh, Miss Gordon, I haven't asked you how you're holding up yet. How rude of me."

The butler's obsession with being polite was enough to make the injured girl giggle, "It's alright Alfred, I'm doing a whole lot better know that you're here. You had no idea how much all of us missed you while we were gonna. So what was it that made you come back? Was it this mess with the Joker or was it something else?"

"The Joker was certainly part of it, but it's a touch more complex than that," Alfred admitted, walking over back over to Bruce, "After I'd heard the crazed clown had at last passed on, I made sure to get back to the mansion post haste. For the longest time, the Joker was one of the only consistent things in Master Bruce's life. Horrible as it may sound, it's the truth. No matter what happened in Gotham, the Joker was always there. I wanted to come home to remind him that monster was not the only person who will always be there for him. I'm here to stay this time Master Bruce, and that's a promise. I do hope you can forgive me for leaving like I did."

There was not an ounce of anger over this in the man's body, "I should be the one apologizing Alfred. For far too long, I ignored the amount of stress I was putting you under by being the Batman. I'm sorry for that, I'll try to be more considerate of it from now on. Now if you'll all excuse me, though it may not be the best time, I have a meeting to get to."

Naruto could only think of one meeting his father would need to be going to, "So, the League still wanted to meet with you after everything that happened, huh?"

"Especially after everything that happened," Bruce replied, "Not to mention I told them about my plan to get married. That reminds me, I need to go and pick up Mei so that she can meet the rest of them as well. Again, it's not an opportune time to leave, I know, but I've put this up long enough. Both of you get plenty of rest, and Barbara, tell your dad I said to stay strong. Well, tell him Bruce said to stay strong. You know what I mean."

With that said, Bruce walked began to leave the cave, allowing Alfred to turn to the others, "Now, there is a guest who has stopped by for the night, and he and I ran into Tsunade on the way down here. Once he found out Miss Gordon needed to be driven to the hospital, he volunteered to do it instantly. I do believe both of you know Master Grayson."

Naruto perked right up at hearing that his brother was visiting, "Dick's here? Really?"

"You know it bro," Came the young man's voice as he popped out from behind Alfred. He grabbed his brother's hand and pulled him into a brief hug, "Hey man, heard you had a rough day. I've got other Titans holding down the fort in Jump City. No way was I gonna let the two of you do this without coming down to help out a bit."

Barbara was glad to see her old flame once again as well, "Hey Dick, so you're gonna be the one driving me back to see my dad? Hehe, kinda feels like back when we were dating, huh?"

The similarities were there, Dick had to admit, "Maybe, but this time I don't have to worry about your dad threatening me to make sure that we don't fool around too much. I think he would've killed me if I told him some of the things we did when we were alone."

"That's a distinct possibility," Barbara agreed, looking down at a wheelchair that sat beside her bed, "I guess we'd better go. Tsunade told me to use that wheelchair for at least the first few days, just to be safe. I can get in it myself in it, you just go and start the car."

Dick didn't mind putting her in the chair if he needed to, "Let me put you in there Barb. We don't want you to hurt yourself or anything."

This was when the girl become a little more forceful, "I told you, I can do it myself! Please, go start the car so that we can leave already."

"I...I um...sure," Dick replied, not sure what he'd said to make the girl so upset, "There's a switch on wall that turns the stairs into a ramp, but you probably already knew that. I'll be right back."

He walked away like a dog with his tail between his legs. Naruto watched Barbara climb out of bed, unable to not notice the embarrassment present on her face, "Why'd you yell at him like that? So you have to use a wheelchair for a few days, it's not a big deal."

Barbara admired the boy's optimism as she wheeled herself way away from Naruto and Alfred, "It's not just the wheelchair buddy. After what the Joker's done to me, my life's never gonna be the same. I was the Batgirl, someone people looked up to and saw a strong symbol of Justice. Do you know how many times I used to hear little girls I say that they looked up to me? They felt like they could be heroes too because of what I was doing. Now there won't' be a Batgirl, and the only thing people will see me as is another victim of the Joker. It's just so hard…"

"Miss Gordon, it's going to be okay," Alfred said, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder as she began to cry, "You don't need to be Batgirl for people to know how strong of a person you are. No matter what, you're one of Gotham's greatest heroes."

The girl gave the man a little smile, but didn't actually respond. She just wheeled away to meet Dick at the car. Naruto was starting wonder if any of them would be the same after everything the Joker had done to them, "You know, I had some pretty bad days back in the hidden Leaf, but I think this one tops them all. Hey Alfred, can I ask you something?"

Alfred was always glad to answer a question for the boy, "Naturally Master Naruto, what's on your mind?"

"What do you think happens to us after we die?" Naruto asked, startling the butler quite a bit, "I've heard a bunch of different stuff when I was in the hidden Leaf, but I never asked about it much. I'm just wondering, you know, with Jason…"

There was no need for the boy to explain to himself, "I understand why you're asking Master Naruto. Well, that's a complicated question. There are lots of different beliefs on that, most of which are based on a person's religion. Though Master Bruce's mother was an Episcopal and his father was a Catholic, chose to be non denominational himself, much like me."

Naruto clearly didn't understand what any of that meant, "That doesn't really answer my question Alfred. Are those all different religions or something?"

"Those three are all slightly different forms of the same religion, Christianity," Alfred explained, "There are many others, like Buddhism, Islamism, Judaism, just to name a few. Some people choose not to have a religion at all, and those people are what's known as an Atheist."

That still left Naruto with some questions, "So, since dad believes the Christianity one, does that mean it's what I'm supposed to believe too? And what does that mean about when people die?"

Alfred could see that he was only confusing the boy more, "No Naruto, you don't have to be a Christian. You can choose to believe whatever you like. Why don't we shelve this conversation until Master Bruce get's home, hm? We can discuss this matter with him and then go from there."

"This is all sounding pretty complicated, so that's probably a good idea," Naruto said, feeling his abdomen a little bit, "I'm feeling kinda hungry. Think I'm good to get up and go get a little food?"

Based on what Tsunade had told him, that would be just fine, "Our resident healer said that all you need to do is make sure you don't aggravate the wound too much. You should be more than alright to head upstairs so that I can make you some ramen."

Naruto nearly shot right out of his bed, "Ramen? That's all you had to say! I haven't had your ramen in over a week. I'm gonna eat as many bowls as you'll make me!"

"Then I'll make you as many bowls as we have noodles," Alfred said, carefully watching the boy as he left his bed and went up stairs, "It really is wonderful to be home."

Less than half hour later, orbiting high above earth's atmosphere in the headquarters known as the Watchtower, the Justice League was preparing for a meeting regarding the recent events with the Batman. Almost everyone had gathered up in the main hall, except for the guest of honor, Bruce Wayne, who had stopped in the training hall with his bride to be Mei. As for why they were there, that was something the woman had no idea about, "Bruce, why are we in here? We're already late, so we should probably head to the meeting."

"In a second sweetheart," Bruce said, standing in front of robotic sparring partner, "I just need to do one thing before we go."

With a great burst of speed, Bruce did a small jump and kicked in his head, knocking it to the ground. He jumped on top of it and began to beat it relentlessly, crushing it beneath the weight of his fists with a series of angry grunts. Mei was taken very aback by the action, as it had been so unexpected. She began to look closer and could see that Bruce's eyes were watering as well. This action was clearly meant to try and vent out Bruce's frustration over everything that'd happened that night. He'd lost his son, which was something that most people couldn't even imagine. The man needed some way to deal with his pain, and Mei intended to help him.

She threw her arms around him, trying to stop his rampage on the robot. Once he felt her skin against his, he began to slow down. Bruce could hear Mei all but yelling into his ear, "Bruce, stop! You don't have to do this. It's okay, I'm here. Please, just talk to me."

Bruce could hardly even speak he was panting so hard. A few brief tears rolled down his cheeks, though his face still seemed to one of anger, "I'm sorry Mei. I needed to get some of this out before we got in there. I know the next hour is going to filled with my friends probing into every aspect of what has turned out to be one of the worst nights of my life. Then of course they'll be sitting, picking at you because you agreed to spend the rest of your life with me. It feels like I'm hurting everyone I care about today."

"Look at me Bruce," Mei demanded, which quickly made the man comply. Her eyes were filled with the utmost certainty, "You're hurting right now, and you have every right to be. The things you went through tonight were horrible, and it's equally as horrible that you're going to have to go in there and relive them, but it will be okay. You're strong enough to get through this, and even if you're weren't, I'll be there with you the whole time. Whenever things start to hurt, you just squeeze my hand. I know you Bruce, and I know what a great hero you are. I'm not going to let the Joker take that away from you."

It was moments like this that made it so clear to Bruce why he'd chosen to marry this girl, "Thank you, just for being here. I don't know if I could do this without you. Come on, let's get to the meeting hall before the others start to worry."

"It's a little late for that," Said a feminine voice, making them both turn around to see Superman and Wonder Woman behind them, "I must say Bruce, you did quite a number on a very expensive robot. Given the circumstances though, I'm sure we can let it slide."

Bruce took a deep breath and stood up tall, trying to act his normal self, "Clark, Diana, it's good to see both of you. Is everyone here for the meeting today?"

The next one to speak was Superman, who kept a cool head as always, "All of the core members, yes. That means the two of us, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Martian Manhunter. We're still trying to convince Aquaman to go core, but he's still reluctant due to his involvement with Atlantis. I'm guessing this lovely woman beside you is your new fiance?"

"That's right," Mei said, reaching out to shake both of their hands, "I'm Mei Terumi, the Mizukage of the hidden Mist Village. Has Bruce told you what the means yet?"

Wonder Woman nodded, "Oh yes, he was very proud of your achievement. It was one of the things that he stressed about when he sent us his report on you a few weeks ago. Of course, we didn't know you were going to be marrying him then."

It was easy enough for Bruce to hear the shock in her voice when Wonder Woman said that last part, "I know I've always said that I'm opposed to the idea of marrying while I'm still the Batman, and I'm sure this shocks Diana even more given the brief time that she and I dated, but I'd really like to explain myself. The problem is, I'm not sure I can. There's no way I can put into words what this woman has done to me. She could wipe the floor with me, and yet, somehow, I feel stronger when I stand next to her. Even when we don't see eye to eye, I can't imagine life without her. None of this is making sense, is it?"

"Believe it or not Bruce, it makes perfect sense," Wonder Woman assured him, an approving smile on her face, "You can't explain why you love someone. Sure, you can list off the things you love about them, but you can never make someone understand that feeling if they haven't felt it themself. Mei Terumi, you must be one hell of a woman to finally make Bruce feel this way. We didn't think it was even possible for a long time.

The red haired woman smiled back gratefully, "Thank you, I think I bagged a pretty good prize with him too. Does that mean I'll have your support for approving our marriage?"

"I'm sure you'll have everyone's support," Superman pointed out, "We all know if Bruce has his mind set on something, you can't really stop him from doing it. Although, I'm not sure even that'll help him when he tries to explain why he hid the Red Fox's full power from us. That's what some of the other members feel he did anyways."

Bruce hadn't hidden anything, "I told you all when Naruto first joined our team that I was uncertain of his power level. Frankly, the things the boy's been able to do is starting to even impress me. The other day I was running some tests, and Naruto's chakra, especially that of it that has been influenced by the Kyuubi, has an effect on Clark that might be even stronger than magic is on him. I could easily see Naruto surpassing Clark's power level one day."

That was enough get Superman's eyes wide, "You're kidding me? Bruce, you're going to have a really hard time convincing certain people that you should be training that kind of power. You have my support, but not everyone else will be so certain."

"I already lost one son tonight, so they'll have to pry the other from my cold dead hands," Bruce told them with gravel in his voice, "And that's assuming they can kill me at all."

Wonder Woman wanted to stay off the topic of Jason for now, as it would be hard enough to talk about it when the time came, "How about we head towards the meeting hall and have this conversation there? Things will move much smoother that way."

All of them silently nodded and walked out of the training room. Mei soon did her best to break the uncomfortable silence, "You know, I've been trying to think up a name I could use when I wanted to run around the rooftops of Gotham with Bruce. I was considering something like The Phoenix…"