Here it is! The real 100! I'm not entirely sure where this is in the timeline (which really needs editing again), but it's definitely after Tolo, maybe after the Titans visit and make him an honorary Titan. Haven't decided. Either way, we have a new factor in Wayne Manor. Enjoy!

Dick-17 Jason-13 Cass-12 Tim-9 Damian-3

Ace

It had been a rough month, with plenty of ups and downs. Dick wasn't really supposed to be outside, not with the last threat on his life, but he couldn't stay cooped up anymore. He needed some alone time, in nature. He needed to calm down and think. Wayne Manor had plenty of land attached to it, and much of it was not developed. His anklet let him travel anywhere he wanted on the grounds, and under it, but the grounds weren't always in view of the house.

When he was little he got lost in these woods. Now he used them to get lost for a bit.

It was evening, maybe an hour before dinner that summer day, when, thoroughly lost, he heard a sound not normally heard on the grounds. The whining of a dog. Not once in all his years at Wayne Manor had he ever heard a dog, wolf, or fox (believe it or not, they bark) on the premises. There wasn't a lot of wildlife there, period.

So where was the whining coming from?

Curious, Dick quietly maneuvered around trees and bushes (thank you Slade for such wonderful skills) to get closer to the dog without startling it. Slowly yet surely, he spotted a fairly large one trying to walk through the woods. Trying and failing. One of its front paws was badly injured and there was a gash down one side. Its muzzle was scratched, probably clawed at by some other dog. And judging by the way it moved, there were other injuries he couldn't see. Blood matted its fur but it wasn't dripping on the ground. Poor guy really needed some help.

Slowly the teen came into the dog's view, instantly getting a growl and glare from it. He raised his hands and knelt down, trying to remember what he learned from a police K-9 unit that visited school when he was little. Come to think of it, the dog looked like a police dog. But where was its handler? Or collar? "Easy boy, easy... I'm a friend. I'm not gonna hurt you."

The dog kept growling, glaring at him. He really had to take this slowly. Strangely, the whole scenario reminded him of when they found Jason. Both knees on the ground, Dick kept his hands at eye level, and made eye contact with the injured soul. He kept his voice level and slow, as soothing as humanly possible. Poor guy was just scared after all. "It's alright. I'm not gonna hurt you buddy. I just want to make sure you're alright. Easy there... easy..."

The blood covered dog stopped growling, but not glaring. They just stared at each other for a good long minute, stone still, before the dog inched its nose forward and started sniffing. It still didn't trust him, but the guy was giving him a chance. Dick gave him a smile as it limped forward and let itself be petted. "There's a good boy. You're safe here. Now let me take a look at that paw."

It was a smart dog, recognizing the word and limping forward one more time to sit closer, extending the injured paw. Taking out a handkerchief Alfred insisted he always carry, he lifted the paw and started checking it out, analyzing the dog from all angles. "Well, you're male. And well trained. Groomed too. But where's your collar? Ooo... looks like you sprained your leg-" The dog whined when he touched the leg, startling him. "More than sprained. Sorry about that boy."

Gingerly he wrapped the leg up, wishing he had something better to work with. The dog watched him carefully, every move he made, shrewdly judging him. He didn't just remind Dick of Jason anymore. He was also like Bruce. Leg wrapped up best he could, the teen looked back into the dog's eyes. "That better?"

The dog gave a small 'ruff' then looked away, getting back up to walk. The limp wasn't as bad, but he was still badly hurt. He could see it in the dog's eyes. Sighing heavily, Dick voiced his concerns. "You're really hurt boy. I don't think you'll be able to get anywhere on your own."

He was answered with a growly ruff, and the dog soldiered on, dismissing what he said. Shaking his head, he tried to figure out how much it weighed. Wasn't a small dog, bigger than Damian easily, but not as big as Tim. Maybe... fifty pounds? He could handle the weight easily enough. He hoped. What would make the difference is if the dog let himself be carried by a stranger. If it struggled or bit him, there would be problems.

Well it was a smart dog. He could probably talk it into coming along peacefully.

"Oh dear..." Alfred watched from the kitchen's open door for Master Richard to return from his walk for the past half hour, and was rewarded with being the first to see him carrying a blood covered German Shepard towards the house. Quickly the man grabbed his apron and came towards the two to help him with the dog. "What have we here Master Richard?"

"I found him in the east woods." Some of the blood managed to stain the lad's clothes and face, but in all appearances, it didn't look like he was... no, his shirt was torn, and from a near bite and not a snagged twig. The beast growled a bit at the butler, but made no move to harm him. His ears laid flat against his head, sign enough the dog was more scared than angry. "He's injured."

"I can see that." Carefully, the dutiful butler wrapped the apron around the dog's torso and lifted him from the lad's arms. No doubt they were sore, but he would never admit it. "Please tell me the blood is his and not yours."

"Neither." Worry plagued the teen's face as he tried to soothe the dog's whines after the exchange. "It's alright. Alfred's a friend. He won't hurt you." The dog quieted, stilling in the man's arms, allowing Master Richard to explain. "His wounds stopped bleeding a long time ago. I think the blood belongs to either another animal or his owner. He's really smart. I think he was trying to find help or something."

"We'll have to take a few hair samples before cleaning then." Alfred looked at the dog's muzzle and frowned. "And take scrapings from his teeth. Are you certain he's tame?"

"Very. He only nipped at me earlier when he was uncomfortable. He's a really smart dog. I only had to talk to him and he let me pick him up." They hurried into the house, eager to help the poor creature. "Think he'll be alright?"

"If we act quickly then yes, he will be just fine." 'His owner on the other hand...' remained unspoken. There was a lot of blood in the dog's fur.

Bruce was more than surprised to find a van leaving his property when he arrived home. Curiosity got the better of him when he left his garage and headed over to the kitchen for answers. "Alfred, who was just here? I don't recall you saying there'd be deliveries today."

When he didn't hear a response coming in, the billionaire looked around. No one was in the room. Dinner was ready, but it was on a low heat to keep it warm. Plates were out for eating, but nothing was dirty. It was as if Alfred was interrupted before he could start serving the evening meal. But the meeting was running late and he told the butler to serve dinner without him. What happened? "Alfred?"

"They're upstairs." Bruce jerked around at his daughter's voice, spotting her not too far from one of their lesser known stairwells. Cassandra inclined her head so he could follow her. "Dick found something in the woods you really need to take a look at."

"Found something?" Quickly he followed her upwards, abandoning his briefcase and mentally preparing himself for the odd. What happened this time? Last time they found something in the woods, it turned out to be a piece of alien tech. The time before that, a dead squirrel. Little boys picked up the strangest things when adults weren't looking.

Cass shrugged, leading towards one of the lesser used guest rooms. From inside he could hear a lot of chatter, including Damian's excited squeels. No wonder she was the one to fetch him. The rest were too distracted by whatever Dick brought home. "Possibly a case. We waited for you before calling the police or the League."

"Case?" This picked up his speed and he almost barreled into the room, now expecting the worst. The guest room was well occupied, but a bit of a mess now. A pile of pillows was in the center of the room, with Dick, Damian, and a large dog sitting on top of it. Tim was pouring through a pile of books nearby, mostly on canines. Jason was helping Alfred out, cleaning the place up and putting bloodied items into plastic bags. Looking once more at the dog, it was clear it was laying down with a cone around its neck because it had no choice. It was injured, and as such was being doted on and cared for by his children.

"What happened?"

Instantly he had everyone's attention, including the dog's. And was thus bombarded by several voices at the same time. "DAD! Dick found a dog!" "Wook Daddy! Doggie!" "Can we keep it?" "It's a German Shepard! Maybe it's a police dog!" "I can totally explain." Grrr... "There was blood all over it but-" "A vet came by and-" "My doggie!"

"One at a time!" Bruce put up a hand, staying in the doorway while he quieted them down. Sighing heavily, he looked straight at his oldest for answers. "What happened?"

"I was taking a walk in the east woods and found him. He's injured and he was covered in blood." Dick gingerly petted the dog, calming it down. All the people plus the new presence must have put it on edge. "He's a pretty smart dog. I talked him into letting me carry him to the house and Alfred called in a vet for a house call. Tough guy took treatment pretty well. The vet said he has a chip, but he didn't have his scanner on him to ID him. You got anything?"

"Maybe..." He eyeballed the dog carefully, watching it trying to stay awake from its sedative in order to protect himself. There was a white patch on his forehead resembling a star and he seemed well groomed. Maybe Tim's theory of a police dog was accurate, or for any kind of service. He wasn't trying to nip at Damian and didn't seem to mind Dick petting him. It was remarkably tame, or maybe it was the drugs.

"If we can't find the owner, can we keep it?" Jason seemed overly eager to claim the dog before they even tried finding the person who owned him. His dad just gave him a look before turning to Alfred.

"What's that?" He pointed to the bloodstained clothes and bags of bloodied material. Swabs were sealed away in ziplock bags, along with hair samples. They did say the canine was covered in blood.

"Evidence I dare say." Alfred finished collecting the items as they talked. "We took photographs and collected samples as the doctor worked to find out what happened to him later. We would have let the doctor take him to his clinic for further treatment and X-rays, but he would not let it happen. I believe the dog hates hospitals more than you do."

Bruce nodded, thinking quickly. His eyes connected with the dog once again, trying to figure out what to do with it. Sighing slightly, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I see. We'll have to take him down to the cave. Jason, Tim, samples. Dick, I need you to convince him to let me carry him down there. Alfred can run the X-ray and teach you how to scan for the chip. Cassandra, Damian."

The girl rolled her eyes, stuck on baby duty while all the boys got the cool jobs. Jason and Tim grinned and jumped at the orders, almost racing to get them done. Dick only nodded and started to coax the dog into letting Bruce handle him now. The beast was already tired, bound, and weak; it didn't put up a single fight when the large, new man picked him up and started carrying him. There was some sniffing of course, but it didn't last long. They could only guess his sent was on everyone and everything. A sure sign he would be alight with this strange new man. That or he was just too drugged now to care.

Either way, Bruce was stuck carrying the dog down two flights of stairs while five kids ran around begging him to let them keep the dog. Oh joy.

Five minutes after Dick learned to use the chip scanner, they learned the name of the dog and the identity of his owner. Ace was the service dog of former Marine Corporal John Wilker, someone who survived a major explosion in the Gulf War. His entire left side was badly damaged, requiring both a hip replacement and his leg and arm being amputated. He lost all vision in his left eye and 30% in his right, not to mention half his hearing was shot. Ace was his second service dog after leaving the VA hospital, the first dying of old age three years ago. Ace wasn't that old either, but still well trained.

Alfred was just collecting the dinner plates around the cave when the computer finished analyzing the blood and soil samples from their new guest. Ace fell asleep during his X-rays on the hospital bed there, but his eyes would often flicker open at new sounds. Damian was the only one who didn't look up when the computer beeped and started giving its results. Dick was the first to make it to Bruce's side, anxious to see what they were.

The results weren't good. "Oh crap..."

"My sentiments exactly." From their earlier analysis, they identified three different types of blood: human, bovine, and canine. They could only assume Ace ate a slice of beef before having a fight with a dog and human. The dog turned out to be an American Akita, which Tim quickly informed them was actually one of the more violent breeds, but also much rarer. The human blood though came from three men, each found on different locations. The ones under his nails and in his teeth were from known criminals. The blood that once covered his fur came from his owner.

Sighing to himself, Bruce gathered up the samples and headed upstairs. "I need to inform Commissioner Gordon. Ace is staying here until we can find his owner, hopefully in one piece. We'll need him to verify who these men are later."

"There was a lot of blood Bruce." Dick followed him upstairs while the others lingered, not sure what else to do. "Wilker may not even be-"

"We have a starting point Dick. The sun's still up and it's a full moon tonight. After you show them where you found the dog and where he came from, they can backtrack his movements to wherever the event happened." The man raised the bag holding Dick's bloodied shirt. "The blood you found wasn't dry yet. Ace's wounds may have stopped bleeding, but your shirt was still stained. He must have gone for help maybe half an hour before you found him, no more.

"The attackers have nearly three hours on us. We can't delay a search much longer."

"But the commissioner's gonna have to test everything again," the teen reminded him. "It'll take forever for them to-"

"Who says he's the only one I'm going to call?" A small smirk crossed the man's face. "Kent must have learned tracking at one point or another, and if not him, I know a few others who can get here fast enough to help."

Smirking to himself, the detective continued upstairs to get a better reception. Once the calls were made and the evidence better situated, he'd have to take the dog back upstairs. He really hoped they found the owner soon. The last thing he and Alfred needed was a dog they'd be eventually stuck cleaning after. It was the only reason they didn't give in years ago and brought one home before.

Twelve hours later John Wilker was found and taken to Gotham General Hospital. This captors were 'unlucky' and caught by one Green Lantern who 'happened' to be in the area. Despite calls and requests to his parole officer, Dick was not allowed to visit the man after surgery. Bruce ended up bringing Ace to the hospital alone. Neither of them was happy about this, and the nurses were even more upset about it.

"Look, Ace is Mr. Wilker's service dog. He's highly trained and Commissioner Gordon specifically said he asked about his dog when he gained consciousness." The way the nurses and doctors fought him on this one thing really peeved him off. Ace sat on his haunches at his feet, but looked like he would rabbit at any moment out of the place. He had to get the animal back to his owner. Damian and Dick were getting too attached to it, not to mention Jason was sneaking him food and Tim kept talking about all the things dogs could do. Cass seemed to be the only one leaving the creature alone at home, and that was probably out of sympathy. The dog had to go before they grew so attached they'd try to steal him back.

The woman at the desk sighed heavily, trying not to lose her temper after a long shift. "We have a very strict policy about pets sir. Only if it's a visitor's service dog, is it allowed past the lobby. Your dog will have to wait-"

"He's not my dog! I'm trying to return him to his owner!"

"Well then I'd advise waiting until after he's out of the hospital to do that sir."

Frustrated, Bruce looked long and hard at the woman's nametag and the signs around him. After a minute of just staring at everything, he whipped out his phone and made a very important call, glaring at the woman. "Hello, Dr. Parken? This is Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Enterprises. I made a rather substantial donation to Gotham General a few months back. ... Yes, that's me. I know I'm interrupting your day off, but you see, there's this nurse and her cohorts not allowing me to return a recent inpatient's dog to him. ... Yes it's a service dog. An injured service dog. ... I only require a few minutes with the patient. The man was involved in a police case and- ... Thank you."

He paused in his phone call, looking straight over to the woman before him. She seemed shocked that he'd go over her head. How little she knew. Smirking cheekily, he passed her his cell. "Dr. Parken wants to talk to you."

Three minutes later, the three of them were walking towards intensive care, with Ace limping at Bruce's heels. When a whine somehow escaped the dog, the man relented and picked the guy up, carrying him the rest of the way. "Anything you can tell me about Wilker's condition?"

"Not a thing, Mr. Wayne." The young lady was very spiteful towards him, knowing very well that it was a choice not to expose her name earlier, thus allowing her to keep her job. One word from her and she was on the streets.

Sighing to himself, Bruce focused on not looking around as they went. Ace sure didn't, staying very still in his arms. When they were about two meters from the patient's door, he started to squirm, catching his owner's scent no doubt. Carefully he placed the dog back on the ground and let it limp inside with some dignity. It was only a cheerful bark that gave them any sign they made it to the right place.

"Hey there buddy..." They could barely make out the man's voice through the doorway, but it was enough to let them know they had the right man. "Careful on the bed Ace. I'm not doing so hot."

The two human visitors came in to see a charming sight. Ace was on the man's good side, accepting an ear scratching and gleefully licking the man's hand when he could. John Wilker could hardly lift his hand, but he still did his best to reassure his best friend.

"Were you the one who found my boy?" The CEO was surprised the man saw him at all in the doorway, let alone that soon. He was supposed to be mostly blind and deaf. Bruce had to remind himself of the monks he trained with who required neither hearing nor sight to know he was there. Wilker had to have learned a similar trick.

Coming into the room fully, he shook his head. "No. My son did. He would be here too, but there are excruciating circumstances surrounding him at the moment."

"Thank him for saving my baby okay?" A bitter smile played on the man's face as his hand dropped back onto the bed. Ace's head fell next to it, as if begging for more petting, yet made no moves to cover his master in wet kisses. "When Jones kicked him out of the van and onto the road, I wasn't sure he'd survive. Ace is all I've got."

Bruce slipped over to the man's charts as the nurse told them 'five minutes' and stared flipping through it. "No family in the area to visit you?"

"No family at all." Wilker gave off some heavy coughs, his voice weakening by the second. "Mom died when I was a kid and Dad... let's say AA couldn't fix him fast enough. And after what the war did to me... well, I've had more no's than yes' at bars. Ace and... Tyrone... they were the only ones who stayed with me. Those charts mean anything to ya?"

The man stopped, grimacing a bit. Between them and what he could see on his own, things were not going well. "Some."

"Care to say what the doctors won't?" The weak sarcasm only made the situation worse to him.

Bruce shook his head, replacing the charts. "Not really."

"Then I will. The stuff they got me with is killing me." A weak, bitter laugh escaped his mouth. "Coupled with my missed meds, I've only got a few days to live, if I'm lucky. Hours if I'm not. Doctors can mend bones, replace blood, and sew up organs, but they can't stop what's happening to me. Bungling fools ruined their best chess piece."

"What did they want?"

A louder, bitter laugh escaped the man's lips. "Does it matter? Idiots bungled, I'm dying, and the only thing I tried to stay alive for is right here, being cared for by a rich guy."

"How do you-"

"How else could you get him in here?" A smirk stayed on the man's lips, but soon saddened. He stared seriously at his visitor for a minute before elaborating. "I used to be an MP. I can tell from the way you're standing, talking, even how you smell, that you're not only rich but a fighter too. A soldier, maybe even a general."

"I'm not military."

"You're something close though. Ace wouldn't respect you if you weren't." He reached out and ran his hand down the uninjured part of the dog's muzzle. "He likes soldiers and kids. And loves a beef diet. He can fetch people by name too. Got a few friends to come back to me because of this guy. Loyal and protective, a real friend."

"Why are you-"

"When I die, please take him home."

The request was less of a shock than he thought it'd be, but it still was one. Bruce could sense it was coming when he read the chart. Even if John was supplied with the chemical's antidote, its effects plus the consequences of not taking other medication had done its damage. If all there was left for him was this dog, he'd have to find some way to settle this affair before he breathed his last.

"He's a good dog. Smart, great with kids, and unless he feels threatened, very tame. Loves frizzbies and won't eat your furniture. And he's paper trained. Shouldn't take much to make him go in a yard. Does like to sleep in beds though. Guy's very protective."

"By bed's already crowded." The man pinched the bridge of his nose, not happy about this. Did he want this dog in his house? No. Did his kids? Oh yes. Did Alfred? Highly doubt it. But the man was dying, and unless a new, talented handler took him, he sincerely doubted the dog would transition well to a new environment. "Don't you have a friend who would-"

"One was bit and another's allergic. The last friend I thought I had kidnapped me and kicked him out of a moving van." The man looked at him imploringly. "Please. I need to know he's in good hands. I can't see Tyrone with a clear conscience unless Ace is cared for."

Bruce watched the two of them carefully, not really sure what to do. A dog at Wayne Manor. This was going to be a disaster. Well, Ace liked kids and soldiers right? If they could train him not to break anything and use one of the currently sealed doggie doors, he may fit right in. Pretty soon he'd be orphaned too.

Yeah, Ace was going to fit right into their mishmash family.

A/N: Before you say anything, I have to say, I know next to nothing about dogs. My family stopped having them around our house before i was born, and the one in my house now is a chihuahua. And it's not mine. I had to look up a lot of things to get Ace right, and I rewrote his silverage origin to suit the world here. Ace from my research and people's comments was originally a German Shepard with a white star patch on his forehead. his owner was John Wilker, and Robin/Dick found him shortly after the man was kidnapped. The man didn't die, have a disability, was military (according to what I read), or hand over complete custody to Batman or Bruce Wayne. That was all me. This is the Ace of the DNBverse, and he is now officially part of the Wayne household. Selina's gonna be so happy. And honestly, I'm a cat person.

And before you ask about Titus, remember, Titus came around when Damian was 10. He's currently 3. Ace from Batman Beyond is in Terry's time, and therefore can also exist in the far future. Give it time. Alfred can only handle one doggie at a time.

I place Ace here at two human years old, and like I said before I know nothing about dogs. German Shepherds are very popular in the US, with around 50,000 registered around the country. My third grade teacher was half blind and had one to help her through the day. It was very well behaved. From my research, this breed can be very good with kids and protect them very well. They're great guard dogs and are very smart. Since Ace was trained already to help people out, plus already got attached to the Wayne kids, I think he'll do just fine.

Now for other things, happy 100! was this special enough? I know people wanted Steph or Colin, but Ace was next on my list. I was reviewing reviews too so I might be doing one of them soon as a name drop, but it's too soon for the other. I wasn't intending to make Ace's appearance so serious but after reading his story, I didn't find another way. I need to do an overly happy one soon. So many deaths lately... Suggestions?

Anywho, gotta go, get some sleep, and do some overdue homework. This just wouldn't stop bugging me and let me do it... XP Laters.