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"Oh my God!"

That was all Bruce could say when he saw what had just happened. He got out of the Batmobile and raced towards the edge of the water. He couldn't see anything, no movement, no air bubbles, nothing. He quickly went back to the Batmobile to call the police. Batman had met him there.

"I'm calling the police. They'll handle it from here. We had better get back. Did you see anything up there?"

"Yeah, another nutcase in a costume. He got away though. It was like he was waiting for me or something."

"Yes, Commissioner Gordon please. Yes, I'll hold." Bruce put his hand over the phone. "Go back up there and see what you can find. Anything that can get us closer to Tim's killer."

"Yeah, sure..."

Batman once again took flight and headed for the rooftop. He didn't like being told what to do, but this time was different. He certainly didn't want Bruce to be angry with him. He saved Tim's life, only to lose it now...just a year after the "accident". The psychopath's words still echo in his mind....

"Tim Drake doesn't even realize that I'm using him as a timeshare! Soon, I'll have taken over his body permanently! HA HA HA HA HA!"

....Batman just shook his head and started to look around. He saw a remote control and two pieces of a laser gun lying around. He took them and placed them in a bag. He turned around to see that the Batmobile was waiting for him at the far end of the roof.

"I found these. It looks as though Tim tried to put up a fight."

"Good, we can run tests on them when we get home."

"Bruce...."

"Save it. Tim knew what the risks were of being a part of this team, even long after he left. Just take us home."

The Batmobile flew away from the scene. Within a couple of minutes, the sound of sirens could be heard. The police had arrived, searching everywhere for signs of a struggle. They couldn't find anything. Even worse, they couldn't find the body of Tim Drake. Hours passed and nothing was found. They gave up their search, leaving behind a very confused commissioner. Not to mention the rest of the police.

Meanwhile, back at the Batcave, Bruce was running tests on the remains of the gun. The remote turned up nothing except for Tim's fingerprints. The results of the test were finally ready when Terry showed up. Bruce was reading them, not paying any attention to the boy.

"So, what have we got?"

"There was some kind of dense long-chain polymer residue on the gun. Tell me again exactly what it was you saw on the rooftop."

"Well, there was a person in a costume. It was black, it had a gray cape, and..."

"Was there a sickle on the right hand?"

"Uh, yeah......how did you know?"

"I've seen this costume before."

"Really? When?"

"When I was Batman. It seems that my past has caught up to me again."

"What?!?! You're kidding, right? It's bad enough that I have my own enemies to deal with, but why do yours have to come back? First Mr. Freeze, then Bane, then Talia, then..."

"I know." Bruce said coldly.

"Who is he?"

"The name SHE went by was Phantasm."

"Ok, and?"

"And I want you to do everything in your power to stop this menace. The real Phantasm is around my age. This is obviously an imposter."

"That's it? Is there anything else I should know about her?"

"Yes, that's it."

"I demand to know what's going on here!"

Both men turned around to see Barbara walking down the steps. She was furious. She didn't like the fact that she had wasted so much manpower to find absolutely nothing.

"Well, that makes two of us." said Terry.

"Barbara, come in. Let me explain."

"Please, go ahead," she sarcastically replied.

"Earlier tonight, I had gotten a call from Tim saying that someone was trying to kill him. We got there as soon as we could, but we were too late. Tim had hit the water when we arrived. Terry"

"Batman," Terry stated.

"...Batman, had gone up to the rooftop to see if he could catch the killer, but the killer just disappeared. We found this...."

Bruce pointed to the gun that was sliced in half.

"You do realize that you could be charged here for tampering with evidence from a crime scene...if you want to call it that." said Barbara.

"What do you mean?" said Batman.

"Well, after Bruce called me, I went over there right away. The police were already searching the rooftop, and the inside of the building. A dive team had just started to search the waters when I arrived. We spent hours there. No evidence of a struggle was found. The only thing that we did find was one of the elevators in shambles. Apparently, the cables had been cut. There was no body in the elevator though. We searched all around, but couldn't find Tim's body anywhere. Hopefully, Tim actually survived the fall. If not, I don't know if we'll ever be able to find the body."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see if there are any more victims." replied Bruce.

"You and the kid had better make sure that there AREN'T any more. I can't have this city running in fear every time night falls. I'll be taking the gun now. Call me if you find anything else."

......meanwhile......

J-man and his gang had just gotten out of prison again and had found a new hideout near the bay. They were scoping the place out when one of the Jokerz started to scream. The others rushed over to the edge and saw it. A body.

"Well, it looks like time for some fishing!" J-man said. "Don't just stand around; pull him up out of the water! Maybe he has a wallet full of creds!"

They pulled the unfortunate person out of the water and dragged him towards the entrance of their new-found hideout. When they turned the body over, they realized why the girl screamed. His hair was a dark shade of green, his body was ghastly white, and there was this hideous grin on his face.

"This guy's one of us? Unbelievable! Quick, Happy, try to revive this guy!" J-man ordered.

Happy, the tall, black guy leaned over to try to revive him when......

"BOO!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!" they all screamed.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Oh what fun! The looks on your faces! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Once the man stopped cackling, he frowned.

"Well??? Show a little respect for your elders! Help me up!"

They did, but they were still amazed at this guy. The man turned towards J-man. He chuckled slightly.

"You look great! I see we have the same tailor."

"What? Wh--who are you?" asked J-man.

"Oh how quickly they forget! What a yutz you are! I'm you...in a sense. I am THE Joker."

"No way!"

"Way, kiddo! Now, you're gonna tell me everything I want to know. And if I still think you look good in that suit as much as I did, I just might let you live! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"