"We have a problem," said Batman.

"Tell me something I don't know," replied Bruce.

"That Phantasm guy almost killed Barbra. I took her to the hospital. They're not sure if she'll make it."

"What happened out there?"

"Phantasm said that he was going to destroy my whole legacy."

"She knows."

"Knows what?"

"She knows who we are, all of Batman's helpers years ago. She probably knows about me too. She may know about you also."

"How could she know?"

"The original Phantasm must have told her."

"Ok, I got to know who this Phantasm was."

"Just another costumed criminal."

"But don't you know her identity? You knew everyone else's..."

"Like I said before, just another criminal."

"Fine, don't tell me. I'll get my answers somewhere else. You going to look after Barbra?"

"Yes, I'll be there soon."

A half hour later, Bruce pulls out of his driveway and heads towards the hospital. Just as his car turns the corner, the Joker and a couple of his cronies emerge from the bushes.

"My timing couldn't be any better! Heh Heh!"

"What do you plan to do now?" asked DeeDee.

"Ghoul, hand me the data scanner."

Ghoul hands him a souped up metal detector.

"Stay out here and keep watch in case he comes back."

The Joker heads towards the manor seeking out his prize. Surprisingly, he finds only a little resistance in the form of Ace the dog. The dog starts to bark like there's no tomorrow. He positions himself in front of the Joker's way. The Joker viciously kicks him aside.

"Out of my way, mutt!"

The dog yelps in pain as he collides with the wall and slumps unconscious.

"Bruce, you really need a better security system."

The Joker makes his way down into the Batcave and sees what he has been searching for. The giant card. He smiles knowing what secrets are stored within, with Batman again not able to comprehend his plan. He finds a ladder, places it next to the card, and begins to climb. He stops when he reaches the eyes. He lifts the scanner to the right eye first. Inside the eye, there is a disc. He moves the scanner over the left eye, finding the other disc.

"Excellent! Still in place after all these years! Old Batsy never had a clue! HA HA HA HA HA!"

He checks the scanner to make sure that he has all of the info from both of the discs. It shows all of the info on how the Joker created a duplicate of himself in Tim and the info on what would have been his next master plan.

"This is gonna get interesting..." he said as he climbed down the ladder.

"YOU'RE TELLING ME...." replied the Phantasm.

"You! After all of these years, you've come back!" Joker said turning to Phantasm.

"I'M TOUCHED THAT YOU REMEMBER. I KNOW I'LL NEVER FORGET WHAT YOU DID."

"Lady, I don't know how you can still be alive, but I don't really have time for this now."

"THEN I SUGGEST YOU MAKE TIME."

"Sorry, but I've got better things to do. Toodles!"

The Joker waved his hand and ran back upstairs. Phantasm followed him all the way to the gate outside of the manor, but there were other Jokerz waiting. The Joker hopped onto one of the motorcycles and sped off with his gang. Phantasm could only watch in disbelief, wondering how the Joker could have survived for so long himself.



::the next day::


"Dick! What a pleasant surprise!" Andrea said as she sat up to greet her beau.

"Hello Andrea, I've come to talk to you about something."

"Sit down! Sit down! What's up?"

"It's all over the news. Your mystery assassin. I thought you had finally put the past behind you!"

"Dick, what are you talking about?"

"Don't lie to me. I know you used to be the Phantasm. Now there's a guy running around town, killing people fitting the exact description. What's going on Andrea?"

"I did put the past behind me! I have nothing to do with this new person. If I did, it would be me out there instead of some imposter. Dick, you have to believe me!"

"What about your granddaughter?"

"She has nothing to do with this. Keep her out of it!"

"She doesn't know anything?"

"No, the only ones that know are you, Bruce, and the Joker....and I know that the third one will never tell. I assume that either Bruce or you will."

"If it's not you or your granddaughter, then who is it?"

"I don't know! If I did, I would tell you! I have put the past behind me, and I would hate to know that someone is using my identity and killing people!"

"This other Phantasm isn't just killing ordinary people, Andrea. First, he attacks and kills Tim Drake. Then, he tries to kill Barbra. I think he knows who we all were."

"Impossible! How could he know? He could just be covering his tracks by trying to get rid of Barbra."

"I hope that's what happened, because if it isn't, I could be next.....or even.......Bruce...."

"Dick...are you alright? Dick? Dick!!!!!"

The room started to spin. Dick fought to keep his balance, but to no avail. He dropped to the floor, his breathing becoming shallower. He could faintly hear the sound of Andrea screaming at the top of her lungs for a doctor. As the sounds of footsteps rushed towards him, his world went black.