When Dick Grayson made his return home, he was greeted by his beautiful fiancée.

"Ehy." he greeted her with a sweet kiss as he closed the door of Wayne Manor with a gentle kick.

She murmured contentedly as she rested her hands on his muscular chest. "Ehy to you too." she greeted back after the kiss, even though they were still holding each other. "How was work?"

"Boring as usual." he rolled his eyes in frustration. "Now I understand why Bruce used to have a frown on his face. This job is the worst torture in the world." he muttered good-naturedly, getting a chuckle from the blonde.

"I'm glad you can talk about Bruce without having emotional breakdowns." Dinah half-joked.

"Time more or less is helping, but the void he left is bigger than my parents'." he admitted after a few seconds of silence.

Dinah was not surprised.

"Come on Dick, let's go see what Alfred has cooked." she emphasized his name in an attempt to lighten the mood and, noticing the amused twinkle in his beautiful blue eyes, her attempt was successful and she patted herself mentally in congratulations.

"We wouldn't want to let the others kill each other." Dick added with a chuckle.

Five minutes later Richard was sitting at the head of the table with his family.

When they learned of Bruce's death the seat at the head of the table remained empty for a while until, days later, Alfred told his first grandson that it was now his time to sit at the head of the table.

Dick firmly objected.

It was enough to take Batman's cowl, now to take the head of the family's seat as well?

But Alfred told him something he could never forget.

"You may not realize it yet, Master Dick, but you have always been the heart of this family."

Although those beautiful words had been said by Alfred, and the British butler was rarely (actually, never) wrong, Dick believed little in those words.

He was firmly convinced that Bruce was the heart of this family.

After all, without Bruce none of them would be here.

When he had expressed his thought aloud, Alfred sighed and muttered: "Someday you'll probably figure it out, Master Dick."

Then when Dinah and his sibling insisted together with Alfred to persuade him to sit at the head of the table, Dick yielded to their request.

It was difficult to express his mixed emotions about this.

Dick was torn from his thoughts when Alfred handed them the food and, with a smile of thanks, began to eat the butler's fantastic food.

Eating as it were, since his mouth was more busy scolding his siblings not to kill each other than chewing the food.

But this was his family and he wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

"So how is school going?" asked Dick to his family after he finished swallowing some of his food.

"Still the same shit." replied Jason with a snort.

"Language."

The second-born rolled his eyes.

"It could be worse." stated Cassandra with a shrug and Stephanie, sitting next to her, nodded.

"It's pretty boring when you already know everything the teachers say." Tim said with a sigh.

"Yes, I understand." nodded Dick sympathetically, remembering when he went to school and had to force himself not to fall asleep in class because he already knew everything.

After all, he himself had skipped a grade because he was a smarter than average kid, even before Bruce taught him basically everything.

Add the fact that no one (except Barbara Gordon but that's another story) would want to be his friend because he was a "charity case" and you've completed the equation.

Yes, his time at Gotham Academy sucked, to say the least.

"And you, Little D?" posed the question to the youngest Wayne.

"I hate to agree with them," he gestured vaguely to his siblings. "but they're right: school is completely a waste of time and I don't see why I have to go."

Dick opened his mouth to reply but was preceded by his girlfriend. "To improve your social relationships and how to behave in public." Dinah noticed her boyfriend's gaze on her. "What? I know those are the same reasons Bruce used to give you when you asked him."

"Even for how to behave in public?" asked Stephanie with a mischievous smirk.

"No, just to improve my social relations." Dick cast a dirty look at Stephanie, who bit her tongue to keep from laughing.

"Also because Dick did not and does not have homicidal tendencies like the Demon Child." smiled Tim mockingly and Jason chuckled.

"Shut up Drake!" snapped Talia's son.

"Dami, I know you had an American literature test last week. How did it go?" the eldest son changed the subject, hoping to stop Damian from killing Timothy.

Fortunately, he succeeded.

"Obviously I got straight A's." snorted Damian haughtily, as if that question shouldn't have even escaped the acrobat's lips.

"Very good, Dami!" Dick smiled radiantly.

"-tt. That was a very trivial test."

Dick's smile never wavered.

No one missed the blush that was spreading across the cheeks of the youngest member of the family.

"The two of them are absolutely father and son." whispered Stephanie in the most conspiratorial way possible to Cass, who chuckled and nodded.

For the second time in that lunch Stephanie got a dirty look from the eldest Wayne.


Jason, dressed in his Red Hood suit except for the red helmet, fired his guns at Tim who in turn was dressed as Red Robin except for the mask.

With impressive speed Tim deflected the rubber bullets with his bo-staff and was slowly closing in on his opponent.

All the other vigilantes were watching with fascination the sparring match between the two bats.

A fight between members of the Bat Family was always exceptional to watch and they would not miss it for the world either.

Sensing that shooting the third Robin was accomplishing nothing, the former antihero changed tactics and launched himself at his enemy.

Tim tried to hit him with a lunge of his bo-staff but Jason ducked as he slid to his knees and, passing by his side, shot him.

Again Red Robin deflected the rubber bullets aimed at his head and ran toward the second Robin.

Red Hood crossed his arms in an x-shape to defend himself from the lunging staff bo and, ignoring the pain in his arms (Tim's weapon hurt a lot), with a knee strike struck his successor's solar plexus.

It felt to Tim as if all his oxygen had been stolen from him to breathe, and the sensation of pain was amplified when a hard fist connected with his right cheek.

He fell to the ground with a grunt and suddenly found a gun pointed at his forehead with Jason grinning madly

"Bang. You're dead, little bird."

He reluctantly accepted his predecessor's hand and rose to his feet, hating the feeling of dizziness and nausea that was overwhelming him.

"Are you all right, replacement?"

Tim had to suppress a smile that threatened to appear. Despite his rebellious appearance, Jason really hated it when one of his family members got hurt, especially if it was because of him.

Yeah, he was very protective too.

"I'm fine, Jay. I've been through worse."

Jason nodded abruptly and gave him a cheeky, predatory smile.

"You both did a good job."

All heads snapped toward Dick, fully dressed as Batman with his cowl down. The last of the Flying Graysons was practically flying on the trapeze bars as he performed his usual acrobat routine.

"Tim, you still have to learn to leave no side uncovered after your attack and" he began as he circled the bar three times. "try to predict your opponent's moves."

"Easy for you to say when the only ones in this family who can effectively read and predict the opponent's moves are you and Cass!" pouted Tim.

Dick laughed as he jumped from bar to bar.

His typical creepy laugh spread throughout the Batcave, making the other vigilantes shudder and waking up some of the bats that fluttered in the frigid cavern.

His laughter characterized him as Robin and scared all criminals, including those in Arkham Asylum (except the Joker for obvious reasons). His laughter did not abandon him even during his years as Nightwing, although it became a little rarer.

Apparently it has not abandoned him even now that he has inherited the cowl.

"Too creepy that laugh." shuddered Cass.

"I was saying," resumed the acrobat as he paused with one hand clinging to the bar and his head pointing downward, his feet facing the ceiling while his entire body was easily above the trapeze bar. "Tim, you need to improve your defense.

"I know you use that little brain of yours to analyze all the opponents around you to find the right solution in a matter of seconds, but that's not always enough.

"You need the right balance of brain and muscle."

Tim nodded in understanding.

"Jason" the second son's attention focused on his only older brother. "good job for defeating Timmy but there is still room for improvement. When you slipped on your knees you were completely exposed and Tim could have not only disarmed you but also inflicted serious damage."

Jason wrinkled his nose and was about to retort angrily but the eldest Wayne beat him to it.

"Otherwise good job. You fought well." he stated as he launched himself toward the previous bar with a backflip.

Impressed gasps were raised at this jump.

"Every time he does that I get a heart attack." muttered Dinah as she could not take her attention away from her boyfriend.

Seeing him practically fly on the trapeze was always amazing and she wouldn't miss it for the world. Dick had such charm and naturalness that it seemed as if he had been born exclusively to fly.

Not for nothing he was the best acrobat in the whole world.

They all knew that Dick actually preferred being up high rather than having his feet stuck to the ground (besides the fact that he could barely stand still for more than five minutes).

Richard finished his routine by launching himself to the lower bar and, from there, he launched himself by performing an extraordinary quadruple somersault and landed with his feet on the ground but he did not stop there: as soon as his feet were planted on the ground, his hands followed him as he did several handstands that then turned into several backflips and then jumped and landed without any problems in a split.

There was a long silence that was interrupted by a sudden dry cough from Stephanie.

"Show-off." muttered Jason.

"What? No applause?" asked falsely offended Dick.

"Seeing Batman so acrobatic traumatized me." stated Dinah in a flat voice.

"-tt. Your performance was completely useless. However, I am impressed that you managed to perform a quadruple somersault with all that Kevlar on you." stated Damian with a frown.

"I know, I'm full of surprises." the major winked at him in a conspiratorial manner to which Robin responded with an exasperated roll of his eyes to the sky.

"You know, I'm curious about a fight between Dick and Cass. I don't think I've ever seen one." Tim reflected.

Cass and Dick looked at each other. "In fact, I don't think we've ever fought each other." said the former with a slight smile.

"There's always a first time for everything." returned Dick's smile as the two moved toward the fighting area. "Don't hold back for a second, Cass." he advised her as he prepared himself in a fighting stance.

Cass nodded as she did the same. "The same goes for you, big brother."

The rest of the vigilantes were excited to see the two best fighters in their family, as well as two of the best in the whole world, fighting each other.

They were aware that Cass was well capable of defeating Bruce in hand-to-hand combat but they did not know if this was also true against Dick.

Everyone knew that Richard was a better fighter than Bruce.

The two looked into each other's eyes for a couple of seconds before Cass, with almost superhuman speed, launched herself at the major.

Dick flinched and narrowly managed to block a well-aimed blow to the throat. He tried a kick to her chest but she easily blocked it and violently flipped him over.

With a grunt Dick turned the fall on his back into a backward somersault before launching himself toward his sister.

Cass blocked his fist with one arm and tried to hit his left knee cap with a well-aimed kick.

Dick avoided it and moved his body to the right.

Cass threw a targeted punch to his face but Dick ducked, so she tried a lethal knee strike but he foresaw this and dropped to place his hands on the ground and sprinted with speed toward her and managed to hit her face with a hard roundhouse kick.

She took a step back as blood began to pour from her nose and managed by a whisker to block his next punch aimed at her shoulder. The girl threw a punch aimed at the right side of his abdomen but he blocked it.

Cassandra managed to catch a glimpse of the left side left slightly uncovered by her opponent and gave a mental smirk, deciding to make the most of her chance. She aimed with a kick right aimed at that area but, instead of the grunt (or scream) of pain she expected, she was greeted by a solid arm.

Immediately thereafter, Batman's kick connected hard with her other leg, which caused her to lose balance and fall. The vigilante had very little time to get up and walk away after the other vigilante's hard blow.

Black Bat saw Batman smile cheekily at her and she could do nothing but smile back.

He screwed me over.

Besides Lady Shiva and David Cain no one was able to fool her and anticipate her like that.

It had been a long time since she had faced a tough opponent, and Dick Grayson was proving to be a real challenge.

And she was ready to win it.

Tens of minutes of fighting passed in which the other vigilantes practically gasped at the confrontation.

Dick and Cass exchanged violent, lethal and potentially deadly punches and kicks but, even so, most of them were blocked or avoided.

To the other vigilantes they were nothing more than a blur that they could hardly follow because of the speed and brutality with which they were facing each other.

It was practically a fight to the death, and although it may have been a little overdone, it was still a beautiful fight to watch.

The battle took a turn finally when Cass pretended to hit the major's head and, with impressive speed, turned 360 degrees and delivered a lethal kick to Dick's stomach.

Dick grunted in pain and, despite the Kevlar covering Batman's suit, the sound of cracked ribs rang through the air.

Without even giving him time to realize what was happening, Cass pinned him to the ground holding him in a lethal grip, her arm holding Dick's right arm in place while she pushed her own knee into Batman's back.

Cass could easily have broken his arm painfully as she twisted it backwards.

Silence resounded in the cave and it was broken by the acrobat whose face was planted on the ground (although he was smiling proudly at his sister). "I give up."

Those two words awakened the audience who began to applaud madly for the two contenders.

"That was great!" shouted Stephanie with an excited smile.

"Damned if I want to see him again soon." nodded Jason with a smirk.

"-tt." Damian made no comment, although it was obvious from his frown that he wished Grayson would have won instead of Cain.

"Come on, lighten up Demon Child! That was a beautiful fight! Don't have your usual frown just because Dick lost!" Tim gave him a gentle shove, earning a death glare.

Even Dinah admitted to herself that the fight was outstanding, despite being a bit violent.

Cass got off Dick, who got back up with a grunt.

Both of them could already feel the bruises spreading over their bodies.

"We should practice more often." Dick told her with a smile. He frowned in confusion when Cass did not speak, merely looking at him blankly. "Are you okay, sis?" he asked slightly concerned.

"You should be jumping for joy at kicking the golden boy's ass." smirked Jason.

Cass ignored him, focusing only on his older brother. "You held back."

A stunned silence filled the cave. "What?" it was Dinah who asked the question they all had in mind.

"There's no fucking way Dickhead held back!" exclaimed the second Robin with gaping jaw but they all had one thought on their minds.

How dangerous could a Dick Grayson be without limits and morals?

"Why did you hold back?" Cass narrowed eyes on Richard who was now no longer smiling.

Dick turned away, his cape following him dramatically. He spoke without looking back, his back turned to his family. "I cannot and will never truly fight to the full extent of my abilities."

"Why?" asked Cass, indignant that Dick had not used all his best against her.

Dick walked to the Batcomputer and rested his hands on the keyboard. "Because I wouldn't be able to hold myself back once I start. I'm afraid that the darkest part of me will come out uncontrolled and hurt my friends and family, even if it's just sparring.

"I know you're one of the few people who are actually capable of defeating me in hand-to-hand combat" he followed his speech as he turned and returned to Cass resting a hand on her shoulder, his blue eyes as serious as ever. "but I'm afraid.

"I know you may think I'm overreacting, that this is just training. But I wouldn't use all my skills even against criminals for fear that I might cross that line: so I wouldn't even dream of using them against you, no matter how good you are, Cass. I would never forgive myself if I hurt you." he finished his speech.

Without waiting for a response, Dick pulled on the cowl. "In half an hour we start with the patrol. Cass, go to Alfred's to get your nose fixed." he ordered with a Batman growl as he turned to head back to the Batcomputer, leaving behind his completely stunned family.


Batman and Robin were flying over from rooftop to rooftop when their communications lit up.

"Guys, there's a fire in an apartment building that houses a lot of civilians. I'm sending you the coordinates." came Oracle's voice.

"Who do you want to take care of it, Batman?" asked Batwoman.

"All of us. We should do teamwork to save all the civilians." stated Batman stoically as he and his partner headed toward the fire site.

"Is Firefly involved in the fire?" asked Robin.

"No, he's still locked up in Arkham Asylum."

"Good." murmured the Boy Wonder.


The Dynamic Duo arrived at the scene of the fire. Immediately after them came the other vigilantes.

Batman walked briskly toward one of the firemen. "What's the situation?" his rough voice scared the fireman who gasped.

He swallowed when he saw who he was talking to but took courage. "About forty people live in this apartment building. The reason for the fire seems to be a gas leak. I have sent a team of best rescuers inside and so far we have managed to save eight." he pointed with his head to the civilians who had been rescued.

The Caped Crusader nodded, quickly absorbing all the information. "Good work." he began, catching him off guard. "We will lend a hand in rescuing the citizens." it was basically a statement that could not be countered.

"Yes, sir."

"Damn, you here too." came a plaintive mutter and all the vigilante heads turned toward Detective Bullock, accompanied by Gordon and Yin. "Always in the middle they are."

"If only you would do a better job!" snapped Robin with a snarl aimed at Bullock, who was surprised but not frightened. The detective was about to retort sharply but was forestalled.

"Stop it. Both of you." growled Batman. Without waiting for a reply, he turned to the fireman. "How many floors does the building consist of?"

"Five floors, sir."

The Caped Crusader nodded at him and turned to everyone else. "Batwoman and Canary on the first floor, Red Robin and Robin second floor, Red Hood and Batgirl third floor, Black Bat fourth floor, and I'll take the last one. Gordon, Bullock, Yin, the police force will have to keep curious civilians as far away from here as possible." he ordered with a slight growl.

Yin and Gordon nodded at him, and Bullock grumbled but nevertheless obeyed and, along with other police officers, began to clear away the curious crowd.

"Why do I have to be on his team?" the current Robin pointed angrily at the third Robin.

"Not now Robin." asserted Batman in a slightly friendlier voice before he grabbed his grappling hook and shot toward the burning building, and entered it by smashing one of the top floor windows.

"Dramatic and reckless." muttered Red Robin.

All the vigilantes noted that Batman had taken the riskiest and most dangerous plan to save the citizens and did it to prevent his family from getting hurt.

Self-sacrificing idiot.


Batman held an elderly gentleman in a firm grip as he climbed out of a window and glided toward the mainland. He gently helped him down. "Go to the ambulance and they'll help you." he said in a rather kind and caring voice.

The elderly man first looked at him with wide eyes, still shaken from their flight, then his eyes brightened slightly and he nodded gratefully. "Thank you Batman." and walked toward the ambulance.

Batman, ignoring Detective Yin who was looking at him surprised at his gentle tone with the civilian, walked toward his family. "Are those all?"

"It should be everyone." confirmed Black Bat with a nod of his head.

"Good." he cast a glance at the building when he saw part of the roof collapsing noisily. "The local authorities will take care of it from here on out." he declared, wiping off the soot.

As soon as he finished his sentence, a woman and a man ran screaming toward the apartment building when they were stopped by some policemen.

They were desperately shouting a name: Zoey.

"What's going on here?" he suddenly appeared, scaring the couple and the policemen.

It was the man who spoke first. "Our daughter is stuck inside the building and the cops won't let us in!" he shouted with eyes full of anger and fear.

"Please Batman! Save her!" implored the woman.

Batman simply nodded. "Which floor?"

"F-fifth."

As soon as the answer came from the man, immediately afterward some of the beams of the apartment building fell as the flames continued to expand more and more.

The couple let out a desperate cry, and that sound filled Dick's heart with anguish and pain.

Parents should never, ever bury their children.

And vice versa.

He would have done anything to save the child, Zoey.

He made to turn around to head toward the burning building but a strong hand grabbed him by the arm.

"You're not planning to go there alone, are you?" hissed Black Canary angrily, her blue eyes reflecting fear at the mere thought of her fiancé running toward a building that at any moment could permanently collapse or explode.

"Don't you dare do that, Gr-Batman." scowled Robin, looking determinedly at his mentor, as well as the other vigilantes.

Gently and firmly The Batman detached Canary's arm. "You will stay here. Don't you dare come in with me. That's an order." he growled, masking concern that his family might enter the building with him.

He was not going to allow that.

He would not have allowed them to take this unnecessary risk.

He would not have been able to forgive himself if one of them was injured, or worse.

He mentally shuddered at the mere thought of losing another member of his family.

Surprisingly, it was Red Hood who intervened on his behalf. "You have seven minutes, or we'll come and save your sorry ass."

Everyone looked at the second Robin as if he had grown a second head but he ignored them, concentrating exclusively on his older brother.

A brief conversation passed between the two brothers.

Thank you Jason.

Don't thank me you idiot.

You know why I have to do this. I would never forgive myself if one of you got hurt.

I know, you sacrificial idiot. If you make me Batman, I swear I will resurrect you and kill you.

An amused smile appeared on the Caped Crusader's face before he re-entered the building through the same window as before.

Meanwhile, the other vigilantes looked angrily at Red Hood, who fiercely returned the gaze.


Batman landed in a crouch and quickly got up, running toward one of the corridors. while wearing a rebreather.

He ignored the terrible feeling of too much heat. Avoiding fallen pieces of the building, he entered the first dwelling and searched the entire house for the little girl.

It was empty.

He exited and headed toward a second dwelling, his steps more shaky and slow.

After all, it had been about an hour since he and his family had been in and out of the building rescuing civilians.

But he had to be strong.

He had to save Zoey, no matter what.

As soon as he entered a third dwelling, he noticed a little girl about twelve years old and red hair sitting leaning against a wall still standing.

A terrible feeling entered the vigilante's heart.

She did not seem to be breathing.

Ignoring the pain of seeing little girl reduced to this state and making his way through the flames that were gradually destroying his suit, he approached Zoey and rested two fingers on her neck.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard a heartbeat.

Weak but it was there.

It occurred to him the terrible thought of how much smoke the child had channeled and, without a second thought, he took off the rebreather and connected it to Zoey's face.

The little girl slowly began to blink, and he noticed that her eyes were a wonderful emerald green.

They reminded him of Damian's and Talia Al Ghul's.

"B-Batman?" he heard her mutter faintly.

He nodded with as reassuring a smile as possible. "Yes. Don't worry, I will save you and take you to your parents. I promise."

He regretted having spoken so much when he began to cough violently from all the smoke inhaled, in addition to the previous smoke.

Shaking off the feeling of dizziness, he easily picked up Zoey, who immediately rested her head on the Dark Knight's chest, just above the bat symbol.

He looked around for some window to climb out of and mentally exulted when he found one. He ran toward his path of salvation but, when he was about five feet away from it, a large piece of the house fell right in front of the hero, blocking his passage.

He mentally imprecated and his white eyes fell on the little girl in his arms who was looking at him with a sad, resigned face.

"Will I die?"

He was stunned by the question. "No Zoey. I promised you that I will save you and I never break a promise." he affirmed as he went in search of another way out. "Why did you ask if you alone will die?"

"Because Batman never dies." he heard her mutter softly.

A bittersweet smile appeared on Batman's face.

Suddenly, however, the Caped Crusader found himself literally surrounded by flames that blocked his passage in every direction.

He covered the little girl with his dark cloak to protect her and, with a determined growl, dashed headlong in one direction.

An explosion of heat blazed throughout his body and he grunted in pain at the burning sensation but did not stop: he kept running until he was in an area of the building where the flames were in lesser quantity.

Batman staggered in pain and leaned momentarily against a wall. He looked down and removed his cape from Zoey to see her condition.

He gave a sigh of relief when he realized that the cloak had protected her effectively.

He looked at his own aching body and was not surprised when part of his armor was destroyed.

He could take it no more.

He was tired, sore, had channeled too much smoke and could already feel burns on his body that painfully stung his skin.

He had to get Zoey to safety, though.

Suddenly Batman felt a bad feeling, one you get after years and years of working with the world's most paranoid man and working with the best superheroes, as well as training with top assassins and the world's deadliest mercenary.

Following his instincts, he pulled Zoey even tighter to his chest, threw himself to the ground and wrapped both of them (but especially Zoey) in his cape, hoping that no matter what happened, it would be enough to protect them.

The next second the entire building exploded.


Red Hood tapped his feet impatiently on the ground.

Come on Dickhead, get out of that fucking building!

"The seven minutes are up." asserted Black Canary harshly. "I'm going in."

"We're following you." declared Batwoman solemnly, followed by nods from the other vigilantes.

Red Hood released a snarl, worried about his idiot older brother.

Before the vigilantes could grab their grappling hooks, the building exploded, sending chunks of concrete and its foundation flying through the air.

Horrible dread and fear filled the bowels of Gotham's heroes, already assuming the worst.

Couldn't die another Batman.

Dick Grayson, the glue that holds their messy, dysfunctional family together, could not die.

An agonized, pain-filled scream came out of Zoey's parents as tears of despair streamed like torrents down their faces.

Gordon closed his eyes, hoping Gotham did not take away another Batman, one of the world's brightest heroes.

Yin did not know how to react. All she could do was stare open-mouthed at the building that had just exploded and imagine Batman's death.

No one could survive that kind of explosion.

Even Bullock gasped at the possible death of the masked vigilante.

Robin was the first to awaken from his terror and ran without a word toward what remained of the apartment building. His run awakened the other vigilantes who followed suit.

Choruses of "Batman!" filled the frigid air of Gotham, the silence and shock also dawning on the citizens.

Was it possible that Batman was dead?

The heroes began digging and angrily tossing rubble to the side, desperately searching for some sign of Batman.

Sheer desperation was the predominant feeling of the Bat Family, as well as fear.

Without Dick Grayson, also the Justice League would have suffered a severe blow.

It seemed like centuries had passed since they started looking for Batman when a loud grunt sounded in the air followed by the shifting of some rubble.

All eyes were on the cause of this noise only to see a very familiar dark shape.

Batman staggered to his feet. Most of his suit was destroyed, revealing his burned skin full of scratches and bruises that were bleeding heavily.

It was obvious from the way he walked that his right ankle was sprained, besides the fact that every time he took a step he grunted in pain, as if he had many fractured ribs.

Blood was spurting from his lips and he spat, partially getting rid of the metallic taste in his mouth.

The most surprising thing, however, was that he was holding a little girl.

Silence reigned in the area as the Dark Knight walked solemnly toward the couple. He gave Zoey to her father, who hugged her fiercely.

After they had showered her with kisses and hugs, and after more tears (this time of joy), the two parents turned to the vigilante who, despite the severity of his injuries, was smiling for the family reunion. "Thank you so much Batman! We don't know how to thank you!" stated the woman with a watery smile.

"Take good care of Zoey. She's a great little girl." he stated only as he cast a glance at the little girl who had fallen asleep from all the catastrophic events in her father's arms.

Black Canary was the first to help him stand. "You're in for a long talk, Dick." she hissed with a growl in his ear.

Batman almost swallowed.

An emotionally compromised and frightened (as well as pissed off) Dinah was never a good thing.

And from the looks he was getting from the other vigilantes, he seemed to be expecting a similar fate from them as well.

Before driving off toward the Batmobile, he heard Gordon shout to the crowd along the lines of: "Did you see that, folks? Batman never dies!" earning him a slight smile before darkness claimed him as soon as he got into his car.

And once he woke up in the Batcave he received a great deal of cuddling from his family and a multitude of kisses with DInah waiting for him in their bedroom.