It was nearly two AM in Gotham, when Batman noted something out of the ordinary; a Mack truck parked in front of Gotham National Bank. Besides there being another entry for trucks around the back, the bank was closed for another three hours yet. Pulling the Bat mobile into an alley, he made his way to the rooftop of the building across the street and looked down at the scene. Inside the truck's cab he saw one man, smoking a cigarette, tapping his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel.

Moving silently, Batman made his way down to the street, waiting. As the man brought the cigarette to his mouth, he flicked his wrist, sending a razor wing into the cab, knocking the cigarette out of the man's hand. He screamed as Batman jumped up onto the hood, glaring down at him. He managed to get out of the cab and took off down the street. Looking over at the bank, he noted that the glass doors had an oval hole in them, the edges melted. Inside, he saw two more men, both with Uzi's. They were starting to come to the door, to see what the screaming was all about.

As Batman was about to rush into the bank, the sound of screeching car wheels halted him. Hoping up onto the curb was a black car, with a large red stripe down the side. Out of the car came two figures. The first was a male, just shorter than himself, wearing a more modern style of the Robin outfit he had seen in the Bat cave. From the other door came a decidedly female figure, all in deep purple and black. He frowned as the two ran forward. This Robin ran in, taking out the two men with Uzis easily, as the Batgirl took to the air, her cape housing a small rocket beneath it. Batman managed to throw a smoke pellet to disguise their entry, as she made her way to the back, where three more men waited. Two had guns, and the other was working on the vault door with a flamethrower. She took out one man, and Robin took out the other, leaving the man with the flamethrower for Batman. It didn't take him very long to dispatch of the last one, and the three of them were left standing in the bank.

"It's really you," Batgirl said. "You're the Batman. I can't believe it."

"Relax, it might be an imposter," Robin replied.

"Are you kidding? Did you see how he moved? You are Batman, aren't you?"

He looked at the two of them. They were much slighter than he had at first thought, and their voices were somewhat immature. They were kids, probably no older than fifteen or sixteen. "Yes. We shouldn't be having this discussion here."

"Where then?" Robin asked.

Batman turned and walked out, pointing up to the roof of the building across the street. As he began to climb up, he saw two projectiles whiz past, as the two shot grappling hooks out, riding the retractable lines up to the roof. They were waiting for him by the time he got there.

"Those are some interesting toys you have there," he said. "Where did you get them from?"

"I built them," Batgirl said.

"I built the Red Wing," Robin said.

She turned to him with a sneer. "Yeah, and who told you that you had the engine in backwards, and that the spark plugs were in wrong, and that you needed to calibrate the brakes before we took it out?"

There was a moment of silence. "Mom always liked you better," he muttered. So, brother and sister Batman thought to himself.

"Regardless, aren't you both a little young to be out here doing this?" he asked.

Batgirl waved her hand dismissively. "Young is only as old as you act," she said. "If a kid loses his family when he's six, is he really young anymore?" Batman just looked at her. "Besides, with you being in the Justice League, someone had to make certain that Gotham stayed safe."

"Batman has a lot of influence here, so we figured we'd use that image to keep the city safe," Robin said. "We live here, too."

"How long have you been patrolling the city?" he asked.

Batgirl shrugged. "Probably no more than a few months."

"Thanks. I'll make certain to spend a little more time here, then. You two ought to get home. It's getting late, and it's a school night."

Robin glared at him. "We can take care of ourselves," he said.

"We're not as young as you might think," Batgirl said. "Especially living here. Besides, we're your sidekicks now, whether you like it or not."

"Who made you leader?" Robin asked.

"I'm older."

"By three minutes!"

"This is interesting and all, but the city needs me." He walked over to the side of the building, dropping off. He was out of sight by the time the two of them could look over the side, making his way back to the mansion. Twins who lived in Gotham and had lost their parents at age six; it wasn't going to be difficult to find out who they were. When he returned to the cave, he checked on the bullet; nothing. The gun was either new, or had not been used in a crime before. That was at least something to start with.

Putting that information aside, he began to search through the obituaries of the past ten years. After only forty minutes of searching, he managed to come across something promising. It was a listing of a prominent scientific couple, Dr.'s Callahan, who had lived in Gotham. They had both been killed in a lab accident ten years ago, and were survived by twins, Kate and Kevin. They had gone to live with an aunt in Gotham, and had fallen out of the papers since. It was simple to get the aunt's name and address.

He was back out in a little bit, on his way across town. It took little more than fifteen minutes to find the penthouse that they were living in. Through the window, he saw the two of them. The boy, Kevin was sitting at the television, playing some video game. From the kitchen came Kate, reading a Popular Mechanics magazine. She shook her head and made her way into her room, where she sat down on her bed. He made his way to the windowsill, where he tapped gently. She looked up, her eyes going wide and she threw the magazine down, opening the window. He stepped in, as she backed up.

"Batman! Wh-what are you doing here?"

"It wasn't hard to find twins orphaned at six living in Gotham," he said.

She frowned. "How did you know I wasn't making that up?" she asked.

"Your face."

"Oh." By then, Kevin had torn himself away from the video game and came in. Batman nodded to him, as Kate moved out of the way. "So, why are you here?"

"I've got a case I'm working here in Gotham," he said. "The break in and murder at the SPCA. I'm giving you two a chance to show me what you've got, besides toys."

"They aren't toys!" Kevin exclaimed.

"What can we do to help?" Kate said quickly. Her cheeks were slightly red. Perfect. A minor with a crush.

"There were animals taken from the shelter, all cats and dogs. And two people were murdered. What's the next step?"

"Well, animals are usually used for dermatological testing," Kevin said. "We could check pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies, to see if they test on animals."

"Or, we could check the docks and the truck depots," Kate suggested. "We can see if there are any sales of animals going out. They might try to smuggle them through on a shipment that already has live cargo, since they'll already have the needed permits. We see if there are any shipments running over weight. That way, we can see where they're being sold."

Batman made certain that his approval was not shown on his face. Neither of them was stupid, and it seemed they both had a head on their shoulders. That was something, at least. He turned to Kate. "Get ready. We'll go check the docks. Kev- Robin, check out the pharmaceutical companies, see how many test on animals. We'll be back soon."

"Let me get my cape!" Kate ran off, coming back in only a minute as Batgirl again, a smile plastered to her face. "I'm ready!"

He made his way down to the street, Batgirl right behind him, and the two of them got into the Bat mobile. Her eyes were wide as she looked around. "I can't believe it," she whispered. "I'm actually in the Bat mobile. This is amazing! What's this?"

"It's a link to the Bat computer," he said.

She pulled back slowly. "So, don't touch it, right?"

"Not yet," he said. He pulled away faster than he needed to, pushing Batgirl back into the seat. She lifted herself out of the soft leather, her eyes wide as the buildings shot past quickly. As he was nearing the docks, a call came through, from Minshi.

"Sir, I think you should know, there's been a death at Arkham asylum," Minshi said. "The victim was Dr. Jonathan Crane."

"Thank you," he said, turning the Bat mobile quickly, so quickly that Batgirl grabbed onto the dashboard, closing her eyes. "Change of plans."

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Crane used to be known as the Scarecrow," Batman explained. "If he's dead, I have to find out who did it. It's not easy to get into Arkham. To get in and murder a patient is almost impossible." It was only a few minutes before they arrived at Arkham. There were already police in the area, which was cordoned off. They both got out, making their way around back. It was a simple matter of sneaking past the police barricade and getting up onto the roof, then into the attic. There was old medical apparatus everywhere, and Batgirl wrinkled her nose.

"So barbaric," she whispered. "Where was Crane being held? I might be able to find out something if I can get a look at the body."

"This way," Batman said. They made their way silently through the halls, until they paused in a hallway. Down the hall was a small room where police were questioning two orderlies. They both sat and waited, listening to the questions, and watched as Crane's body was wheeled out in a body bag. After the police had left, one of the orderlies followed, while one remained. After a moment, Batman dropped a pellet of knockout gas, and the orderly was unconscious in a moment. Slipping past the unconscious man, they made their way to the cell where Crane had been. Beyond the police tape was a padded cell with a small cot, a sink and toilet, and a rocking chair, the walls covered with a dozen degrees from various institutions.

"Wow, this guy was pretty smart," Batgirl said, as she went over to the body outline, in the corner. "There's blood here, probably consistent with a blow to the back of the head." She leaned over, looking down, talking out her rationale as she walked. "That means we have a murder weapon. The blood trails down here, into the hall….." She passed him, and finally stopped, halfway down the hall. "And here we have a partial footprint. Looks like it's from a sports sneaker."

Batman looked at it carefully. "Let's go pay the orderly another visit, hmm?" he went back into the room, where the man was still unconscious. On the edge of his sneaker was a small bloodstain. Batgirl had gone to the desk, and was on her back underneath it. He heard a ripping sound, and she sat up, holding a bloody billy club in her hand.

"We have a weapon."

Batman lifted the man and carried him up to the attic, attaching him to one of the abandoned gurneys. Once he was secured, he woke him none too gently. "Why?" he demanded. The man screamed as he opened his eyes. "I asked you a question."

"The money!" he managed to cry, his face pale and covered in sweat. "H-h-he's going to pay me five million, if I killed the doc!"

"When and where?"

"T-t-tomorrow night, the Rose. Eight PM!"

"Who is he?"

"I-I-I dunno his name!" the man stuttered. "He's tall, w-with a big mustache."

He got close and held a finger to his lips. "Shhh. Be silent until I come back." The man nodded, biting his lip. "Let's go. We've gotten all we can get from here."