A Nobody

by Jebest4781

Living a new life in another reality, Naruto now must handle a lot of complications of him interacting with various heroes, villains and anti-heroes. How will things go with them interacting with a Nobody. NarutoXHarem Rated M for language, violence and lemons. NarutoXDC ComicsXKingdom Hearts Please leave reviews. On Hiatus.

54. It's a Wonderful Life

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Naruto, Disney, Square Enix or Detective Comics. They rightfully belong to their respective owners.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Radio/TV

"Headset/Flashback"

-Scene Shift-

Chapter 54: It's a Wonderful Life

"...Are you serious?"

"Why would I lie about this?"

The Phantom Stranger then saw the Batman pace back and forth -on the rooftop- as he spoke incoherent thoughts. "I must be dreaming again." Came the muttering. "Either from the stress and I fell asleep at my parents' grave again or Tetch must've escaped and put me into his dream device-"

"I assure you, Bruce Wayne, neither has happened."

"Then how do you explain that?!" Batman snapped as he pointed towards his parents and younger self at the crime scene below, who were now entering their car to get back to Wayne Manor. "I already dealt with an all too real dream before and I almost fell for it." The vigilante tightened his fists. "It felt too damn real and believable to the point of me being trapped inside my own dreams for the rest of my life." The costumed Wayne then gave the Phantom Stranger the fiercest Batglare he could ever muster. "So tell me: how is this possible? And you better give me a straight answer or by God I'll-"

"Threats hold and mean little when directed towards me, Bruce Wayne." Shrugged off the fedora wearing man. "There is no way you could ever be able to harm me with what you currently possess." His pale white eyes bore into Batman to make his statement clear. "And if you think I'm fooling you in any form, you're quite mistaken."

"Then how do you explain on where we are?"

"Like I told you, we're in a world where you are not the Batman. And as to how we're here, I've used one of the skills I've picked up on in my long existence."

All Batman could really do was narrow his eyes upon the Grey Walker. There was much mystery towards the fedora, victorian cloak wearing man and the Bat didn't know if he could be trusted. Truly feeling put on the edge as this Stranger knew of his identity and taking him here of all places, despite his wish from earlier.

All the costumed Wayne could do was see as to where this was going.

Suddenly the Batman's vision started to shift around them as he heard the Phantom Stranger speak. "Now to get back into the matter at hand, the Bruce Wayne of this timeline grew up in the warmth of his parents' love. Where he was protected from the harsh realities of the world around them, almost sheltered."

As everything settled down in his vision, the costumed Wayne saw he was in his home's dining room. It was there that his younger counterpart was eating breakfast with his parents, who sat on opposite sides of the collapsable/expandable wooden table.

"Listen to this, Martha." Thomas growled from reading the newspaper. "There was another murder in downtown Gotham last night." He sighed before looking at their son. "Maybe we should think about sending Bruce to a private school."

Martha looked uncertain as she too looked at Bruce. "I... I suppose. I just hate the idea of him growing up so removed from the rest of society. I don't even know what that'll do to him, Thomas." She looked back at her husband. "Maybe have him attend a school that isn't private. Like the one his cousin, Kate, goes to."

Off to the side, Batman remembered about his only living relative from his mother's side: Katherine Rebecca Kane. Her parents were in the military for years with her father -Jake- being a colonel while her mother -Gabriele- was a captain. Things were truly happy in the Kane household until one day while Jake was on deployment; Kate, her mother and twin sister Beth were abducted by terrorists. Her father was able to come in and save the day -with an army squad- but this ended badly as Kate was the only survival of the raid as her mother and twin sister perished.

As far as he knows, Kate graduated from the Air Assault and U.S. Airborne schools before getting into West Point so she could be much like her father. And in that time, her father remarried a wealthy weapon's heiress, which makes Kate a wealthy socialite as a result.

Other than that, the Bat hasn't really kept in touch with his cousin and uncle all that well for some years now, despite Kate's stepmother currently living in Gotham.

But now? Batman doesn't know what's going on with the Kate of this timeline. Was everything the same or not? Did her mother and sister survive as well? Is Kate not in the military? It could be possible with the theoretical butterfly effect that one small change could cause massive ones later on.

The older Bruce snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his father speak. "Well this society's going to Hell in a handbasket!" Thomas growled out. "And I don't want to lose my child in it." The Wayne Patriarch then left the dining room with a huff. "He's going to a private school and that's final."

As Thomas Wayne walked out, he ended up walking right through the Batman and the Phantom Stranger. The vigilante looked back and forth on what just happened and looked at his companion for an explanation.

"On this journey of ours, Bruce Wayne, we will not be able to interact with anyone. For we cannot be touched, heard, felt and seen by anyone."

The Bat could only nod in understanding as he possibly thought he was in a situation similar to 'A Christmas Carol' with him only seeing the events unfold and could not do a thing about it.

Looking back, Batman saw Martha was left in the dining room with both Alfred and her son. Said child looked towards his mother with a worried expression. "Is… Is daddy mad?"

His mother let out a small sigh and held his hand. "No, Bruce. He just worries because he loves you very much. Not just that, but family means everything to him."

Off to the side, Batman was amazed on what he was seeing. Turning to his companion, he asked the Stranger the next questions that popped in his mind. "Mind telling me how it all turns out? Who do I grow up to be?"

The scene shifted around the Dark Knight's vision again as he heard the Grey Walker speak. "A good man, a happy man."

Batman then regained his bearings and saw he was at the airport. Standing in front of a private jet, the vigilante saw Summer Gleeson speak in front of the camera. "We're here at Gotham International Airport, where any moment now we expect to see billionaire-industrialist Bruce Wayne making his return to the city where he was born…"

The Bat gazed at the scene with a surprised expression. "I... I don't live in Gotham?"

The fedora, victorian cloaked man nodded his head for a responsive 'yes'. "Your mother eventually agreed with your father as your birthplace slowly became too dangerous. Thus your counterpart was raised in Europe until now." The pair then saw the plane hatch open up where Batman's counterpart stepped out with camera flashes hitting his form. "You do -however- still run your family's business. Yet you're not alone."

Batman was going to question this when he saw a pair of boys coming out of the jet with- "Selina?! What's going on?!"

"Yes, Selina Kyle." Said the Grey Walker. "Your wife and mother of your two sons: Thomas and Bruce Jr."

This was a tad hard for Bruce to process and he didn't know what to say. Yet a curious thought graced his mind. "I know I met her back in Gotham in my timeline, but... but if I wasn't raised there, then how on Earth did I meet Selina?"

Batman heard a small chuckle escaping the Stranger's lips. "It's actually an amusing story." The scene shifted as the Bat ended up seeing Selina breaking into a darkened home. "It was roughly a decade ago, in Paris France."

The pair saw the Catwoman traverse through the loft in order to find a safe. She eventually did by moving over a painting before Selina started cracking it. Just when the thief pried open the safe door, the room's entrance was opened.

"Hello?" Batman's counterpart called out with a flashlight and a fireplace poker on hand. "Is... Is someone there?"

The light shined upon the cat-themed thief as she narrowed his glance at Batman's counterpart. "Well~ Look what the cat dragged in."

"Who are you? I'm warning you..."

Off to the side, Batman tilted his head. "This... is going to go badly." He muttered. "I mean a fireplace poker of all things." The Bat blinked and turned to his companion. "Question? Does my counterpart have any combat training at all?"

"Two judo classes when you were barely a teenager." Was the answer.

The Dark Knight groaned soon after. "This is going to end very badly."

Sure enough, the Bat was right as his counterpart was the first to attack. Yet he wasn't expecting Selina's quick reflexes before kicking him across the room; thus resulting in the other Wayne to be soundly defeated.

Quickly grabbing what she could from the safe, the thief made her way towards the window. "It's been fun, but I'm afraid I must say adieu." Batman's counterpart quickly got onto his feet and snagged Selina's arm before pulling back her mask. "What?!" She said in shock. "How could you-?" Once her mask was off, Bruce could only dumbfoundingly look at the thief. "Well, you're a quick one, I give you that. But this really ruins everything, doesn't it? And luckily for you, I'm just not a killer."

"No... it's just that... you're... you're beautiful."

Selina blinked several times before a grin formed from her lips. "Tell me more, Mr. Wayne." She said in a flirtatious tone. "This could just go to a girl's head."

Batman could only gape while being completely weirded out on this encounter. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me." He groaned out. "It was as simple as unmasking her?"

The Grey Walker shook his head. "Oh don't be silly. That was just the first meeting." Batman let out a sigh of relief while muttering 'oh thank god'. "Your counterpart spent months reforming her... not to mention paying lots of money for items she stole during that time."

Once more, the scenery slowly changed as the Phantom continued to talk as the pair now appeared in a chapel... for Bruce and Selina's wedding. "Eventually, Selina came around to your way of thinking. And it probably didn't hurt that Bruce Wayne was a billionaire."

Batman sat in the audience as he watched the wedding proceed before him. Walking down the aisle was Selina in a beautiful wedding gown with a woman hooked up with her arm. She was a brunette wearing a pixie haircut as she had similar features as the bride to be.

"Who is she? The one with Selina?"

Looking over, the Grey Walker soon answered. "That would be Maggie Kyle, her sister. Their mother died when they were young while their father died some years later while hiding from his mob rivals." The pair saw Maggie hug her older sister and kissed her cheek before standing a foot away. "And both sisters promised to be at each other's weddings in order to give each other away towards their respective grooms and be their maids of honor."

The Bat looked over and saw his parents were there to attend the very special event in their son's life. "So my parents are here as well." He said with a small grin. "That would have made them happy, I'm sure."

"It did take some time for them to warm up to Selina. After all, nothing is quite that simple in relationships."

"That's quite understandable."

Batman soon noticed someone sitting right next to them. Much like he was a close carbon copy of Thomas Wayne back in his prime, the woman sitting next to his parents looked much like his mother with several differences. Her brown hair seemed more rich and defined which almost made it look like it was black in color. And opposed to Martha's green eyes was the signature Wayne blue.

Things started to click in the Caped Crusader's mind. With widened eyes, the Bat spoke in utmost surprise. "Is… Is that-?"

"Your sister, Rochelle Wayne." Said the Stranger as they saw the wedding continue where Bruce and Selina said their vows. "She was born a year after your counterpart's family moved out of the United States. Your sister exceeded through her lessons and was at the top of her class. More so to the point where she co-runs Wayne Enterprises alongside your counterpart, much like the Luthor siblings in this timeline."

Batman rose a brow on that particular detail. He distinctly remembers that Lex Luthor is an only child. And even if he were to have a sibling, the Bat had a hard time envisioning the bald corporate head co-running the company with someone else.

'Remember,' he thought to himself, 'this is a different timeline. Things are bound to be different in some manner.'

Just as Batman's counterpart and his bride kissed, the witnesses cheered for the newlyweds just as the Phantom Stranger spoke once more. "For most of your life, your family were happy about everything you did," the scenery changed to a conversation between Batman's counterpart and his father, "until this night."

"I just don't agree with you, Bruce. I don't think you should go back to Gotham of all places." Thomas said in disdain. "Lucius is still fine with running the company back in the states. You don't have to go, son."

"Well, I'm going, Dad. I want the boys to grow up in America! And I want to fully bring the Wayne Corporation back to its homeland!" Bruce argued. "Let Rochelle handle the company here. She's better than me and does better management on the other countries the business has connected with over the years than I ever could."

"But America isn't really safe anymore, Bruce! Especially not in Gotham!" Thomas then looked very worried. "I fear for the safety of Selina and your children."

Bruce could only glare before walking out of the room. "I can protect my family, Dad. We're going and that's final!"

Batman could only look over at the Grey Walker as the scene changed once more to where the costumed billionaire recognized as part of Wayne Manor. "So... does everything go well once we return to the States?" He asked. "Please tell me nothing goes wrong."

All the fedora, victorian cloaked man did was point towards Bruce and Selina as they walked down the hallway. "See for yourself, Bruce Wayne. For it's a Wonderful Life."

Upon hearing this, Batman looked on while feeling something in the pit of his stomach that something was off.

"You think it'll be okay, Bruce?" Selina asked as the married couple peaked inside of their sons' shared bedroom.

"Sure, with all your cat-burglar skills, do you really think we'll wake them if we peek in just one more time?"

"I just want them to get a good night's rest. They've been so excited since we came back to America."

Bruce placed a hand on his wife's shoulders and gave her a reaffirmed squeeze. "It'll all be fine. We're going to build a good life here in Gotham, Selina."

All she did was give him a smile. "I know, Bruce, I know."

As the married couple left, the Stranger turned to Batman. "So now you see what your life could have been. Though is it better for you to know of the happiness that escaped you?"

"I... I honestly don't know." Said the Bat as he rubbed his arm. "Maybe it is." The vigilante then turned and peered outside of the window. "But something... something just doesn't feel right."

"I assure you, I have played no tricks upon you, Bruce Wayne." Batman's companion calmly said. "Now, would you like to return to your home?"

The Dark Knight turned and faced the Phantom. "No, not yet. I want you to take me to the city. To Gotham. I want to see what happened to everyone else."

When the Phantom Stranger said that it was a Wonderful Life earlier, the disguised Wayne thought back of that movie he usually watches at every other Christmas. Where the main character -George Bailey- sees the alternate life if he was never really born and everything had gone to Hell as a result.

Batman needed to see what happened to the others in this alternate timeline.

The Stranger merely nodded. "Good~ You did not disappoint me in requesting such a thing."

The scenery soon changed to the Gotham Cemetery, causing the Bat to look around in confusion. "Why are we here, Stranger? I thought you were going to show me the others, not bring me back home."

"Oh, but I am doing your request." He spread his arms all over. "See anything different, Bruce Wayne?"

The Bat looked and walked around before he saw nothing was different at all. Upon reaching the spot of his parents' grave marker, the vigilante was about to call out on the Phantom's bluff when he stood there in shock.

"No... No... It... It can't be!" The Bat whispered in horror.

"But it is." The Phantom Stranger walked up to the costumed Wayne, who was now shaking like a leaf. "Say hello to John, Mary and Richard Grayson."

Batman's eyes kept focus towards Dick's name and of the date of his ward's death. "How… How could this have happened?"

"You must remember, if you aren't Batman, you can't be there to guide him and to help him get through the pain of his parents' death... much less save him." Batman didn't say anything as the Grey Walker continued talking. "You see, this Dick Grayson doesn't become the ward of Bruce Wayne shortly after that tragic event. Wanting to bring his parents' killer to justice, Dick ran off and searched for Tony Zucco. He succeeded and was going to stop him from leaving Gotham." The cloaked man sighed. "Yet your ward's counterpart ended taking Tony over the waterfall to their deaths."

Batman kept staring at the Grayson family gravemarker as he remembered that day all those years ago. He was able to save Dick that day from falling to his demise over the spillway, courtesy of Tony Zucco. But if he indeed wasn't there to save him then such an innocent life perished in such away.

Other thoughts ran through his mind on who else was affected by his counterpart's absence. One person quickly came to mind and worried for what became of her. 'Zanna.' Thought the Bat before speaking to the Stranger. "What happened to Zatanna Zatara?"

The scenery around Batman shifted again. The pair transported from his family home to what appeared to be a nightclub with Zatanna up on stage. It was mostly a full house with people looking on in interest.

"...And what's your name, sir?" Zatanna asked towards a nearby table as she stood in front of a cloth covered table.

"It's Doug ma'am."

"And, Doug, do you believe in magic?"

The club attendee looked sheepish. "I mean... I don't not believe in magic."

Zatanna nodded before addressing the rest of the audience. "Do we think Doug should believe, ladies and gentlemen?!"

Much of the nightclubbers applauded and cheered on. Yet there was one person drinking several cups of alcohol that thought the show was a complete waste.

After Zatanna placed the cloth over Doug's body, she spoke towards the attendees. "Say it with me now, people! Abra-" She said before aiming her arms at the volunteer.

"Cadabra!"

Soon after the words were said, Doug levitated off of the table. The audience applauded and cheered on towards the illusionary act…

"FAKE!"

Yet one person yelled out as the applause died down.

Back up on stage, Zatanna groaned before muttering to herself. "There's always one at every show." She turned her attention towards the drunkard, who was walking towards the stage. "And what's your name, sir?"

"I am a sayer of truths!" The patron growled out.

"I bet you are."

Getting close to the stage, he pointed towards the ravenette magician before addressing his fellow nightclubbers. "It's a lie! Magic isn't real. She isn't real. It's all a fucking rig with filaments that light doesn't catch."

Zatanna rubbed the bridge of her nose before pulling out a knife from her coat pocket. "Right you are, sir." She said before quickly swiping the air above the volunteer, causing Doug onto the stage. "There are filaments."

The nightclubbers started to boo at her as a result.

"Give us our money back!" Yelled out one woman.

"Con-artist!"

"Phoney!"

"Charlatan!"

Feeling frustrated, Zatanna aimed her eyes at the drunkard and spoke. "Etativel. (Levitate.)" Suddenly, 'the sayer of truths' started to float in the air with a magical aura surrounding him. The man started to freak out as others looked on in wonder and disbelief. "Won nips. (Now spin.)"

Batman and the Grey Walker eventually saw the drunkard spin around and cry out for help. But everyone else was enjoying the act too much to see the cruel grin grown on the magician's face… all except for the vigilante and his companion.

"Like the Zatanna you knew in your timeline, she has become quite the magician and performer."

"I'm sensing a 'but' coming along."

"...But she became closed off and reclusive while growing up. Without you being in her life, she wasn't able to open up to others. Not to mention stopped an unfortunate event in her life."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Tell me, do you remember a man John Zatara referred to as 'The Hypnotist'?"

"How could I forget." Muttered the Bat.

The costumed Wayne meet the man during his time studying under John Zatara in his years away from Gotham. The Hypnotist was Zatara's illusionist rival and the man was primarily a con-artist. Sure the hypnotist acts he did were indeed real, but he used his skills for more nefarious acts as he stole money from many audience members.

One night, Bruce was able to stop The Hypnotist from stealing priceless amulets the Zatara family kept in their possession for years. The Wayne back then didn't believe in magic, so he only thought the items were just family heirlooms that would have costed a fortune. But after learning more about magic from Naruto, Zatanna and Rachel; Bruce came to the conclusion they were magical amplifying relics.

The young Wayne was able to track the hypnotist down -after said man stole them once putting Bruce and Zatanna into a hypnotic trance- as the disgraced illusionist was in the middle of a robbery. The Bruce from back then was able to stop him and got the amulets back to John Zatara while the Hypnotist was arrested for his crimes.

"What's he got to do with whatever happened with Zatanna?"

"You remember when The Hypnotist was in the middle of that robbery that you got in and put most of your training to good use?" Batman nodded before the Grey Walker continued. "Replace your past self with Zatanna. For she wanted to make things right for her father as The Hypnotist used his skills on her before getting away. Zatanna was able to track him down and a fight ensued.

Yet she was inexperienced in the magic arts so she didn't know how to fully counteract his advances. Her father -however- was able to find her as she disappeared without a trace. Zatara and his bitter rival fought and at the end of the confrontation, Zatanna's father died due to a hypnotised officer shooting at him while protecting her."

"No… John…" Batman muttered in grief.

"Because of having her father die in her arms, Zatanna awakened her latent magical powers and killed the Hypnotist for what he'd done to her and her father. And since then, the Zatanna Zatara you knew became bitter and harsh while carrying on her father's legacy as a performer."

The costumed Wayne swallowed a lump in his throat before looking at one of his oldest friends on stage take a bow before performing another act.

From there, the Bat of Gotham started thinking on who else got affected by a simple change of his past. Yet his longtime friend, Harvey Dent quickly came across his mind. "What about Harvey, who… goes by Two Face now? Something good must've happened to him?"

The Phantom sighed. "I'm afraid it's not as you would've hoped, Bruce Wayne." The pair quickly appeared in Harvey's office as the DA was currently going over various forms and documents. "Even though in this world, he was spared the acid that brought his personality disorder to the public eye. But still, the disorder is there as a split in his personality." The Stranger grimly said as Dent was sweating a pool while suddenly calling someone up. "A good man turned against himself as his darker half is connected to the mob."

Batman felt a bad twist in his gut while watching his old friend speak into the phone.

"No, I don't remember calling you about this before. And no, I haven't been drinking at all!... I don't think I like the tone you're taking with me, either." Harvey sighed while patting his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief. "Listen, my informants tell me that Thorne is going to try to move in on your territory tonight... No, you're on your own on this one, boss... After all, I handled Maroni for you... but I'm staying out of the way here so the heat won't go down on me!... That's what I said, I-"

The Batman then saw Harvey's eyes dilate and recede before he suddenly got scared with his posture dramatically changed. "Who... Who is this?!... Boss Sionis! How'd you get this number?!" The DA yelled into his phone. "Listen to me, you cheap bastard!- What?! No, I'm not crazy! You are!"

Just as the DA ended the call -by slamming the phone down onto the receiver- Batman could only look on with pity. "Harvey... I had no idea how bad it had been for him."

"He fought it for a long time, but as you clearly know now the other half won out."

"...Crazy?" Harvey muttered as he paced back and forth in his office. "What on earth would he say that for?" The speaker on Dent's desk sounded off before the DA answered. "Yes, what is it?"

"Commissioner Gordon is here to see you, Mr. Dent." Spoke the secretary. "Should I send him in?"

Harvey looked nervous before responding back. "Uh... Yes, of course."

Batman widened his eyes and turned to the Phantom. "Please, for the love of God, tell me that Jim Gordon isn't corrupt too."

"Just watch and see." Came the vague response.

Gordon soon walked into the DA's office before marching right towards Harvey. "Hello, Commissioner. What can I do for you?" Asked the nervous DA.

"Harvey, what the hell is going on?!" Gordon growled out. "Have you been taking payoffs?!"

Harvey reared back in shock. "What?! Jim... Where is this coming from?"

"I have surveillance photos of you with Black Mask, so don't bother to deny it!" The GCPD captain balled his fists as if he wanted to punch Harvey real badly. "I thought you were different, Harvey! I thought it was us against them! We trusted you for God's sakes!" Jim then pointed an accusing finger at the frightened DA. "But you've been part of them all along! You're just as corrupt as most of this city!"

Harvey was shaking like a leaf at this point and tried to explain. "I... I really don't know what you're talking about, Jim... I'm completely honest."

Gordon gritted his teeth and stormed out of the office. "The next time we meet, it won't be as friends, Harvey!"

"Jim Gordon never realized that his friend is not in control of his actions." Sighed the Grey Walker as he and the Batman soon walked through the walls -as if like spirits- before ending up outside. "Perhaps if he weren't under so much pressure, he would put the pieces together. But alas, he and his daughter are two of the only honest officers in Gotham."

Upon exiting City Hall, Jim was confronted by his daughter; who was currently wearing an officer's uniform. "How'd it go, Dad?"

"Not good, Barb." Jim sighed while rubbing the back of his head. "I... just got so angry when I got in there. There's something really wrong with this world when a good man like Harvey Dent turns bad."

"I know, Dad, I'm sorry." Barbara said as she hugged her father. "I somewhat wished Naruto didn't show you those photos so this might not have happened."

Jim merely shook his head. "No. Naruto did the right thing in showing me those." The police commissioner said with a small smile. "At least he's one of the good people in this city I can truly count on these days. With him publicly disgracing Loeb -after his death- to saving you a good number of times, I don't know why I haven't truly befriend him sooner."

His redhead daughter smiled as she fiddled around with the ring on her finger. "You're right, Dad."

Off to the side, Batman rose a brow on what he's currently seeing. "How is Barbara a police officer already? Shouldn't she still be in school."

"Since you were never here in helping out her father, Barbara decided to take it upon herself to become an officer of the law a whole lot sooner." Stated the Stranger as they saw the Gordon father/daughter pair get into their police car before driving off. "Being quite the college student towards the degree you already knew in your timeline while interning at the GCPD. And after much dedication, Barbara was able to graduate early and work under her father."

Batman nodded before asking his next question. "And I couldn't help but notice two things. But first off, what did Jim Gordon mean of Gillian Loeb's death before his public disgrace?"

"As you remember, Commissioner Gillian Loeb was a corrupt officer of the law as he was involved with extortion and being in the mob's pocket. And similar to your timeline, Gordon soon became Commissioner some months after Loeb was removed from his position. Yet there was one final difference was with how he was finally taken down and when."

"Which was what exactly?"

"It wasn't just his public disgrace and when the reveal took place, but his death by the hands of the resident clown of Gotham months ago."

"The Joker." Batman said with a narrowed glance as he knew there was only one criminal clown in this city.

"Yes. She has been one Gotham's biggest criminals in recent years."

"...She?"

The Phantom Stranger lifted up his victorian styled cloak and covered the Bat before they were transported to an abandoned warehouse. The Batman didn't know why they were here, but didn't fully question it as it was apart of the Grey Walker's explanations. And before the costumed Wayne made the attempt to enter the warehouse, a darkened shadow flew above him.

He looked up and paused with widened eyes as his gaze locked on the flying figure coming towards them. Once it landed, the Bat glared at his temporary companion. "I thought you said there was no Batman in this timeline."

"Correction: I said that in this timeline, your Batman doesn't exist."

The disguised Wayne looked back and took in the detail of what this timeline's Batman looked like. He wore a bat-themed suit that apparently had retractable wings once the man landed on the ground. It was primarily black with it having silvery white placed around the wrists along with a pair of stripes on each side of his leg. The same color wrapped around the collar and went down both his the chest and back towards the man's utility belt, which was also silvery white. There were a pair of red lenses placed over the eyes on the pointy cowl and the only visible part of the man's flesh was around the mouth, which was deathly pale.

As the Batman of this timeline entered the warehouse, the costumed Wayne spoke the recently formed question in his mind. "Who is he?"

"That… would be Dr. Kirk Langstrom."

The disguised Wayne widened his eyes upon the realization as he kept focus on the scientist that was once the Man-Bat. Even wondering how this came to be.

The pair soon followed Langstrom down the warehouse steps. Coming at its bottom, they walked forward with the Grey Walker giving his companion the current Bat's story. "You see, Kirk Langstrom's origins originate when he graduated university. He was attempting to cure his own lymphoma -which was killing him- and he was using bat venom as a baseline in his antidote. Kirk has had some success in this regard, but has not yet cracked it as his formulas keep breaking down too soon and he eventually required the help of his best friend and roommate, Will Magnus. And in your timeline, they weren't roommates and Langstrom hasn't suffered lymphoma."

Bruce Wayne remembered hearing about William Magnus from his old electronics mentor, Karl Rossum, as they both studied under one T.O. Morrow -well known futurist and robotics engineer- and worked together for a time before going their separate ways. The Wayne even read several of the scientist's written papers showing his genius level intellect. Will Magnus is considered one of the foremost experts in the fields of robotics with his multiple doctorates in the diverse fields of Electronics, Mechanics and Computer science. And to many in the scientific community, he's also considered a radical by many.

During his college years, Magnus had given rise to a theory were he stated that the upcoming science of artificial intelligence was flawed. He assumed that things were already intelligent and that 'personality traits' might indicate the presence of certain metals in the human body. Magnus hoped he could find a way to draw out this intelligence and personality, yet Bruce Wayne hasn't really heard more about this since.

As the (L) Batman searched through one part of the warehouse, the fedora continued his tale. "Once brought into his roommate's project, Magnus suggested theoretical nanobots of his own design to help perform tasks. Langstrom reasons that if Magnus' nano-robots can be programmed to build organic materials to help stabilize his formula and cure his illness. And from there, his nanobots could possibly cure other diseases like cancer or any other disease out there."

The costumed Wayne pondere on this and spoke his thoughts. "That could be true. Medical solutions can only go so far as a true stabilizing agent needs to hold things together."

The Phantom nodded while seeing Langstrom give up searching the one room and entered through a doorway to a much lower level. "After many trials and errors, they succeeded in finding a solution via lab rats and adjusted the formula for human DNA. Despite the formula curing him of his lymphoma, there were... side-effects."

"Mind explaining what you meant by that?"

"You will see soon enough…"

The (W) Batman could only look on as his costumed counterpart entered what appeared to be a butcher's shop with various tools and wares with various places covered in dried up blood. At the one end of the room, the (L) Batman came across a refrigerator and decided to inspect the contents inside.

Yet neither Batmen were prepared to see the severed, bagged body parts -mostly severed heads- stuffed into clear plastic bags in order to preserve them; causing both vigilantes to recoile and widen their eyes in disgust surprise.

"My god…" Muttered the disguised Wayne. "Who… Who would do such a thing?"

"The Joker of this reality." Reminded the Stranger. "Much like your adversary, she has committed various crimes ever since her debut and has done what your Joker did within a smaller time frame of recent years." The pair saw the Langstrom Batman close the refrigerator door and exit the room in order to continue investigating. "Yet she was never had a chemist's mindset in order to create the Joker Gas and Toxin. So she went into kidnappings and murder for her own… beliefs…"

The Batman of this reality made it down another flight of stairs to enter the warehouse's deepest basement. There he found it filled with various crates and many clown themed items. Coming across some across a wall, Langstrom barely touched the lid of an identifiable jack-in-the-box before it bursted opened to spring out 'Jack'. The inanimate object merely bobbed about on it's coiled spring as the box's harness wasn't kept in check.

Upon checking the neighboring container -which was another jack-in-the-box- that instead of seeing another toy, the vigilante saw 'Jack' was one of the Joker's victims. For the man was severed right above the hips and was dressed up as a clown. And to finish off his appearance, a ghastly smile was spread out from cheek to cheek.

"I forgot to mention the mutilation with her taxidermying her victims into toys or works of art with freakish grins." Came the Grey Walker's remark.

"...The Joker I know hasn't become that deranged." Muttered the costumed Wayne.

"Be lucky he hasn't… yet."

Soon the sounds of a muffled cry could be heard from the last jack-in-the-box. The (L) Batman quickly opened the container and saw one of the Joker's latest captive as she was tied up with a gag put into her mouth. And the woman inside was an all too familiar person to the Wayne.

Reaching inside, Langstrom pulled the woman up and removed the gag. "Veronica Vreeland?" The red haired heiress nodded with tears running down her cheeks. "I'm here to get you out of here."

"Th-Thank god." Veronica cried out, shaking like a leaf. "I… I thought you were-"

The red goggled Batman took notice of her sudden pause and asked. "What is it?"

"Sh-She's behind you!"

The vigilante whirled around and saw the Joker coming right towards them with a weapon in her grasp. Tackling the captive towards the ground, the pair were able to dodge the attack as it struck the mutilated corpse right next to them. Rolling close to the wall, the Batman of this reality soon brought Veronica behind him as the Joker stalked towards them.

With what light the costumed Wayne had in the room, he walked towards the Joker of this reality in order to inspect her.

She was a woman in her late twenties and was in a torn up red/black themed attire with various playing card diamonds tattooed onto her exposed flesh… among other wordings and symbols. Dragging behind her was a large sledgehammer with dried up blood caked along it's surface. Her hair was dyed red and black and put into high ponytails to match her colored attire. Wrapping around her neck were a series of stitches as it separated the normal flesh from the ivory white, which had a lot of smeared black makeup. And to finish things off were the glasgow scars to make her current smile even more deranged.

There was a double take for disguised billionaire in order to realize who this Joker really was as he was in a shocked state of disbelief: Harleen Quinzel.

"Wh-What happened to her?" Asked the bewildered Dark Knight as she walked right through him in order to attack the (L) Batman and her latest captive. "How could Harley be the Joker?"

Just as the revealed Joker Harley swung down her large hammer, the vigilante quickly caught the weapon with his feet. He then kicked it back towards the crazed killer with it's pommel slamming into her face. She flew and fell a foot away -due to the blow- as groaned a little.

Briefly looking at the downed woman, Langstrom looked at Veronica and spoke to her. "Run. I'll hold her off."

The Vreeland heiress nodded and made herself scarce by bolting out of the room in order to get to safety.

With the captive escaping, the (L) Batman ran towards another hallway just when the deranged Harlequin slowly got back up. She briefly saw her recent captive escaping, causing an insurmountable rage boiling inside of her. Harley was about to go after Veronica when she heard the sounds of glass breaking. Snapping her head off to the side, she realized where the vigilante went off to.

Picking up her steel malete, Harley gave chase as the Phantom Stranger spoke. "Harleen Quinzel was a loving and cheerful woman with a bright future ahead of her. She was on her way to graduate school alongside her boyfriend, Guy Kopski. One day, he invited her family to come to the special occasion so he could ask for Harleen's hand in marriage. She accepted and her family was very happy for her."

"...With how your telling it -and seeing her as she currently is- I get the feeling things went south."

"Indeed." Came the Grey Walker's grave tone. "On the night of the proposal, a mob war occured and their car came across the crossfire. Harleen and her fiance made it out alright, but her family did not. And after weeks of her not taking her medication -due to the traumatic event- Guy was forced to admit Harleen into Arkham for her own safety.

Most of the staff was supposed to make her better, yet they merely made it worse with what… things they've done to her in her admittance in their facility. Soon enough, the trama became too much for her before Harleen snapped, killed off the corrupted staff and fled before she tracked down Guy. She demanded why he hasn't helped her at all before killing him in her fit of rage. And all this eventually led her to become who she is today."

Upon entering a mirror filled corridor, they saw Harley looking around with an enraged look upon her features.

"You let my plaything get away, Batman!" Growled the Harlequin. "That wasn't nice!" Stalking further into hallway, she kept a lookout for the vigilante. "Just because you're such a gloomy gus, doesn't mean we all have to be that way. And now that poor bitch will go back to her drab little life where I could've made it better FOREVER!"

Suddenly, Langstrom dropped from the ceiling in order to pounce on her. Yet she swung her sledgehammer and swats him through the air. The Batman of this reality crashed into several mirrors before quickly recovering as the Jokerized Harley came after him. An intense series of swings were delivered, which Langstrom dodged before slamming his foot down on top of it to hold it in place. He then punched the Harlequin into a mirror, which revealed a darkened room. Stepping through, the (L) Bat rose a brow as to how his opponent suddenly disappeared on him.

Wanting to find the Joker of this reality, the vigilante walked further into the darkened space before finding light coming from underneath a door. Coming towards it, he opened it before his sight was momentarily blinded with the light's entensity.

And that was when the two Batmen smelled an extremely foul stench. Looking at the source, they saw a set of rotting, human taxidermies arranged in some family room setting. From two boys placed in grade school with one being in college while there was a set of parents.

Upon looking at the scene, the disguised Wayne felt disgusted -while also saddened- on what he was seeing before him.

'She really didn't let go of her family's death all that well.' He thought before the sounds of a chainsaw filled the air. Langstrom heard it as well and whirled around to see Harley charging right at him.

"NO SUPER CREEPS IN MY ROOM!" Came her bellowed roar. The (L) Batman quickly evaded the blow as the mother taxidermy took it with her head sliced off. With the severed head rolling across the ground, the Harlequin looked even more enraged. "SHE WAS GONNA MAKE ME COOKIES!"

A small fight ensued inside of the 'living room' which involved destroyed furniture and destroying some of the other taxidermied 'family members'. When Langstrom dodged one final attack from her, Harley's chainsaw impacted a stone wall before it quickly broke apart. Though this didn't come without some consequence as the whirling chain sliced across her abdomen, causing her to quickly hold onto her bleeding wound.

The Batman of this reality quickly shoved Harley against the wall, making her hold up her hands in surrender. "Oh alright, already! I give! I know when I'm licked!" She heavily glared at her opponent. "Take me away and throw me in jail-" Harley then heard the bat-themed vigilante chuckle. "What's so funny, AssBat?!"

"Who said anything about jail." Was Langstrom's comment.

Before the disguised Wayne or deranged clown knew it, they saw the (L) Batman open up his mouth to reveal retractable fangs before he quickly bit down onto Harley's neck. She screamed from the immeasurable pain as she felt her blood draining out of her. Harley tried to push him away, but he held on as she started to slowly die.

From the other end of the room, the costumed billionaire looked on in horror of what was happening. He then heard the Grey Walker speak. "The side-effects I mentioned earlier of his cure is what you're seeing before you. For Langstrom's strength, speed, agility and senses dramatically heightened; yet he soon realized he became something else... as he hungered blood like a vampire."

The fedora, victorian cloaked man could feel his companion break away his gaze from Langstrom finishing off his meal. "Now it's to be noted that Dr. Langstrom's not like a mythological vampire as he doesn't turn others and he can survive in daylight unlike the supernatural variety. And that he has to either devour plasma -of his own making- has to take lives or raid the bloodbank to sustain his hunger. Kirk hopes he doesn't harm an innocent life as he could never truly live with himself if he did so. For he fights his problem every second of every hour of every day ever since his change."

"Get me out of here." Said the (W) Batman as he glared at the Stranger. "I don't want to see anymore of this."

"Very well."

The scenery shifted as they now appeared at a random part of Gotham. The costumed Wayne could only grit his teeth as several emotions ran through him while using a nearby wall for support.

He saw a good person -a good friend he tolerated- get murdered in front of him and he couldn't do a thing about it! Sure it wasn't the same Harley he knew, but it still made him uneasy. The disguised Wayne didn't know if he'd look at Naruto's blonde girlfriend the same way once back home with what he'd just seen.

And as much as he'd like to end this now… there are a few more people left he needed to see before his journey is finished… along with some additional information.

Once calming himself down and collecting his thoughts, his old adversary his crossed his mind.

"What about… the Joker that I know of?" Asked the Bat as he practically felt the Stranger raise a brow from within the shadow covering most of his face. "Just an honest question."

"Of course." The Phantom motioned the Caped Crusader to follow him down the street. Coming across a television display, the pair saw a stand-up comedy routine was being broadcasted. Peering at the footage, the Batman took notice of the man's facial details as they were quite similar to his old adversary. "Your longtime foe never became who he is in this timeline."

The two kept seeing the little comedy routine as the Grey Walker continued to speak. "As you may know, the result of your parents' death or survival would've caused ripples and affect other events along the way. Small and simple, yet big and complicated later on. From your ward dying, Harvey having trouble in his position, to Harleen becoming a criminal in this timeline. And the Joker you know is one such individual affected in some sort of way."

"How so?" Questioned the Batman as he was indeed curious.

"You must know that your old adversary has quite… an interesting set of backgrounds." The Stranger commented. "In one timeline, he's a security guard. In others he's a mobster or a thief in some shape or form. Yet each and every one typically end up becoming who they eventually are from taking a dip at Ace Chemicals… and one very bad day that would've warped their minds and bodies forever.

In this timeline -however- the specific Joker you've fought against time and time again never went through such a thing. He was merely a struggling stand up comedian that was down on his luck. Yet his loving wife helped support him despite their current situations. And coming closer and closer to the time of the birth of their first born, your adversary would've been offered a simple thieving job that could've set him for life… in a completely different direction."

The Dark Knight blinked and oddly saw the monitor image change into a scene with the sane Joker meeting up with some mobsters at what he believed was the Stacked Deck.

As mobsters ate their food, the normal looking Joker rubbed the back of his head. "You see… I-I have a reason, a good one." He muttered out before sipping from his cup full of alcohol. "I have to prove myself… As a husband and a father." The man then rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I mean, well, this isn't the sort of thing I'd agree to do normally, without an important reason."

One of the mobsters -a pleasantly plump one- stopped eating his food to look at the struggling comedian. "Of course. It's quite understandable."

The sane Joker scratched his cheek as he nervously spoke. "D-Did I ever tell you I started out as a lab assistant?" He gave a faint laugh. "Of course, I did, right? A good job, a real good job, but my heart wasn't in it. So, I quit to be a comedian, to make people laugh because when they laugh, they feel good." The strugged comedian then looked down with a sad look across his features. "The thing is heh~ they didn't. Now I'm not feeling good." He then looked up with a hopeful look on his face. "That's why I'm here, for one big score!"

The other mobster -a skinny one- held up his hand and motioned to quiet down. "Hey, can you try and be cool?"

The sane Joker flinched before slowly grasping his glass. "Sorry… I usually don't drink at lunchtime." Swirling it's contents, he briefly looked up to meet the two men in the eye. "You're not lying when you say we'll get away with it? Nobody will know I was involved?"

"Not to worry, friend. We'll take care of you." Said the skinny mobster with a reassuring tone.

Taking a break from eating, the plump one spoke next. "We need your help getting into that
chemical plant you used to work in and into the playing card company next door. It's your expertise we appreciate."

His companion picked up from there as he pulled out a duffle bag from underneath his chair. "And to absolutely guarantee ain't nobody connects you to the robbery," the skinny mobster opened the bag to reveal it's contents, "you'll be wearing this."

Both the sane Joker and the Dark Knight looked onward and saw what was inside: an elongated glass domed helmet with a red cape wrapped around it.

"Wait a minute," spoke the struggling comedian with recognition, "I've seen that before in the papers." He leaned forward and whispered closely to the men before him. "That's the Red Hood's mask. He raided that ice company last month."

The skinny mobster quickly closed up the bag and put it back underneath. "Smarten up, wise guy. There ain't no Red Hood. Just a bunch of guys -like yourself- and a mask."

The plump man nodded. "Right, the most valued member of the crew, he gets to wear it, no questions asked. 'Cause he needs the…" the mobster then struggled on the words "he can't afford to be connected to the job… so he deserves additional anonymity. Merits it."

His companion nodded. "Sure. That makes sense, right? That's you."

The sane Joker leaned back and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know, I don't know." He sighed. "That chemical plant… I quit 'cause it creeped me out." The man soon shuddered. "So grim and ugly, it was getting under my skin."

"But you know it like the back of your hand." Said the skinny man.

"But this ain't about you, though." Spoke the plumply one. "It's your wife you're doing this for."

The comedian let out a frustrated sigh. "No. No, of course not." He then looked into his glass to barely see his own reflection. "Just this once, then I can lead a proper life." The footage then fizzled out as the image went back to the sane Joker's comedy routine.

As he looked at his normal looking foe -via television screen- Batman thought over the small details he recently saw.

The Caped Crusader remembered investigating and later fighting against the Red Hood gang when he first started out as a vigilante. They met their eventual end back at Ace Chemicals with the gang members being shot down and Red Hood -who he found out later became the Joker- fell into the vat of chemicals.

But the Bat felt there could've been some differences between his Joker and the comedian he saw on the TV set. For one, the sane man seemed rather nervous and shy, which he would've ran away at the first opportunity in a confrontation. But the Red Hood he fought those years ago actually stood his ground and fought back before accidentally taking a chemical bath as the Batman tried to save him. That particular detail showed the difference between the two Jokers with actually apart of the gang or not.

He was broken out of his thoughts once the Stranger spoke. "In most timelines related to this -when you were the Batman- the Joker accepted the given offer in one way or another. A shootout commences on the night of the heist and he would've taken his destined dip at Ace Chemicals. In this timeline, however, the Red Hood gang never got caught and you were never involved. The heist ran smoothly and your old foe came back to his loving wife, just in time in able to save his wife and unborn child from getting killed from the accident that originally did so." Revealed the Bat's current companion. "And it was sometime later, your nemesis was able to land a lucky break around the time when his child was born to make him successful."

The Bat nodded on this bit of information. "And where's he now?" He curiously asked.

"The Joker you know currently lives in Fawcett City with his family as they wanted to live somewhere safe."

"Then mind telling me what was my Joker like before he became who he is today?" Asked the vigilante. If he could get a clear backstory as to what his Joker was like before becoming the psychopathic clown, then much information could be solidified and corrected.

"...I'm afraid I'm not allowed to reveal such details."

The Bat narrowed his eyes. "Why not?"

"I can't say."

"Can't or won't?"

"Take your pick." Was the Grey Walker's response as he earned the infamous Batglare aimed right at him. Yet the act failed to make him change his mind. "Certain information must be found out and revealed on their own." And just when the vigilante was about to open his mouth to speak something else, his companion beat him to the punch. "And if you demand on asking me who killed your parents, I also can't reveal you his identity."

Hearing this gave the Dark Knight a sudden pause. Eyes slowly widening upon realization on what just came out of the Grey Walker's mouth. And before long, the vigilante gritted his teeth as a feeling bubbled towards the surface.

"...Excuse me?" Growled the disguised Wayne. "You won't tell me who he is?" He suddenly grasped the Stranger's arms and brought him close in order to stare into his glowing white eyes. "I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO KNOW! HE TOOK MY PARENTS AWAY FROM ME! HE NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE FOR WHAT HE DID!"

"What happened to your parents was no secret to anyone, Bruce Wayne. Yet what hardly anyone knows -only a select number- is that you've felt that it was your fault. You blindly lead your parents into that alleyway, which soon brought their tragic end."

"I WAS ONLY A CHILD!" Yelled the Bat. "There was nothing I could've done." He then tightened his hold in grown anger. "But I could've done something."

"Yet you did as your drive motivated you to become who you are today. Dedicating your very life for justice amongst all others." Spoke the Phantom. "The need filled you, control you even. But revenge should not take hold of everything about you as it'll drive everyone else away when your most vulnerable and there will be nothing to halter that."

The costumed Wayne didn't say anything as the Stranger spoke a question. "So tell me, Bruce Wayne: would you act out of vengeance for what occurred? If the day ever came for you to confront the man who took away your parents… would you uphold justice or would you dispense punishment without mercy as an act of vengeance?" The Bat soon felt the Phantom's eyes truly look into him as if he was boring into his very soul. "Would you still be the same hero many idolize and respect or would you grow dark just as the foes you've fought in your past and in your foreseeable future? Hunting down and destroying each person that crosses your way, without a clear conscious and mercy?"

Batman didn't answer the spectral-like entity's question as the intellectual and rational portions of his mind tried to work through what the Grey Walker spoke of. Yet the rest of him was too focused on his current demand as he quickly spoke. "JUST TELL ME WHO HE IS, STRANGER!"

"I cannot." Came the calm response before the fedora wearing man easily pried himself free from the hero's grasp. "You must learn about who took away your parents' lives on your own and the reasons behind the act. And when the time comes of you encountering the man who started out your path, your very existence would be tested with what would occur."

Batman merely narrowed his eyes. 'What did he mean by that?' He thought. 'He was just a thug trying to take my parent's belongings… Or was there much more than what I originally thought?'

Shaking his head, the vigilante soon breathed out a sigh. Turning around, he punched the nearby wall several times in order to let out his frustration. On the last strike, the brick wall corner broke into pieces leaving the Bat's hand rather sore. He then leaned against it to finish calming himself down.

The hero of Gotham was very close into learning who took his parents away from him, yet it's so far away. He merely glared back at the man who refused to reveal such information. Right now, the Bat needed to move his thoughts elsewhere in order to distract him from his current frustrations.

Luckily for Batman, his eyes caught onto a police car -which the Gordon father/daughter pair drove- went past them. The costumed Wayne soon remembered the details from earlier when the Commissioner walked out of Harvey Dent's office. From Naruto giving Jim information about Harvey meeting Black Mask to Loeb's death by this timeline's Joker Harley.

Though a small detail quickly popped up in the hero's mind, which he voiced. "Wait, Barbara's married?" Asked Batman. "To who?"

"Not married, Bruce Wayne. Engaged." Corrected the Stranger. "And as to whom, it would be to your friend, Naruto Uzumaki."

Batman blinked in surprise confusion. "Really? Since when and for how long have they been together?"

"For a few years now." Came the answer as the scenery shifted to the Gotham streets in a hot Summer's day. There the pair saw Naruto walking around as he appeared frustrated. "As you may remember, Naruto moved to Gotham after moving out of Metropolis. Living in a hotel before he could finally find a place to stay before he started up his publishing company. And in your timeline, he ran into Nora Fries before he started renting a room from her and her husband, Victor, for several years."

Batman looked on and saw his whiskered friend bump into Nora before they eventually talked and Naruto helped her take her groceries home. Suddenly, the sight seemed to fritz -like a TV screen- before everything returned to normal. Except there was no sight of Nora Fries anywhere in sight.

"Unlike in your timeline, Nora and Victor Fries didn't live in Gotham after getting married since neither wanted to get harmed with how dangerous the city became. Not only that, but Nora never suffered from MacGregor's syndrome later in her life. Regardless of the second fact, Naruto never met the Fries and lived with them in Gotham."

"Then… who did he stay with?"

All the Bat got in response was a pointed action from the Stranger, making him look onwards. There the vigilante saw his friend rush ahead and push someone out of the way from getting hit by a car. Naruto rolled across the car's hood before falling onto the ground. The Uzumaki appeared fine as the person he pushed away came towards his side to check up on him.

Upon taking a closer look, Batman saw it was Barbara Gordon.

"In this timeline, however, Naruto met Barbara much earlier as he saved her life from being run over by a distracted driver instead of meeting her at a coffee shop months ago." Said the Grey Walker as the commissioner's daughter fussed all over the Uzumaki. "She then introduced him to her father and Naruto Uzumaki later rented a room at their home."

Batman soon saw a quick sequence of scenes play out in front of him. Naruto living and interacting with the Gordons in their household while getting his publishing company up from the ground. Even using his skills acquired from the Daily Planet to be a part time investigator for James Gordon in order to help him out with his job. The hero then noticed Naruto and Barbara getting closer and closer as the scenes progressed.

"As time went on, both Naruto and Barbara Gordon started to learn more about each other as they eventually fell in love." Spoke the Grey Walker as the scenes stopped at a restaurant familiar to the Dark Knight.

"I remember this place." Batman said as he looked at Naruto and Barbara having a pleasant date. "This was where Hiraishin showed up and attempted to assassinate Naruto."

Soon enough, Hiraishin broke through the restaurant's windows before he started his attack. The Uzumaki fended off his attacker as everyone else started to flee from the scene. In the end Naruto ended up defeating the meta-assassin once awakening his powers instead of Batman finishing the job.

"Naruto and Barbara kept their relationship a secret from her father as they didn't know how to properly do so. Yet after this particular date, two things occured: one was James Gordon learning of their relationship and second was Barbara witnessing Naruto using his powers."

Scenery switched once more as Jim Gordon verbally lashing at Barbara and Naruto for keeping this secret from him. And the costumed Wayne had to admit the moment was quite funny. Things quickly changed to a garbage dump where Barbara witnesses and records Naruto's progress in controlling his newfound powers.

"Where there any changes with Naruto, Stranger?" Questioned the Batman.

The Phantom Stranger took pause as if he was comprising all the necessary details he could muster. After what felt like eternity to the Dark Knight, the odd entity spoke. "Naruto Uzumaki… is quite the interesting fellow. As if the universe had to properly fit him here, necessary fixes and adjustments had to be made."

Batman rose a curious brow with how the Phantom said his question. "What do you mean by that?"

"Certain… occurrences took place sooner than what originally happened in what you originally have known; even altered and changed." Came the answer. "He started his travels in Eurasia a lot earlier and interacted with Talia al Ghul longer and differently than from just his two years before coming into the states. His time in Metropolis was generally the same but was longer by roughly a year before moving into Gotham where you generally know how the rest goes."

From there, the Dark Knight saw many events occur once Naruto became Vanitas in order to take care of crime. Each were brief by a few seconds, but each one quickly told a story. At one point, Naruto took in Rachel Roth as his ward -along with one other girl who appeared to be a mute- as both he and Barbara found and saved her from the Sewer King. After that, the couple learned of the ashen child having magical powers later meeting one Jason Blood.

Later in these sequences, Batman saw Vanitas team up with the Langstrom Batman in order to keep the city safe. Much of these problems were against many familiar foes such as Scarecrow, Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad, Magpie, Mad Hatter and the Riddler amongst others. There were even others the bat-vigilante never seen before like someone using a ventriloquist dummy to order his lackies, two insect-themed men with one using a flamethrower with another being more high tech, some ragdoll themed thief and one man that seemed to be everywhere with his clones.

Things soon changed as Talia came into the picture and interacted with Barbara, Naruto and his two wards. A relationship was rekindled between former teacher and student - in what seemed to be a romantic sense- while Talia befriended and getting close with the spectacled redhead.

Before long, the costumed Wayne saw Naruto meeting with Ra's as they went on a quest to save Barbara and Talia instead of Naruto's current three girlfriends. The ending results were practically the same from what his whiskered friend told him.

Yet there were some changes after Ra's demise. For one -to the Batman's surprise- Naruto gave the title of Ra's al Ghul to Talia so she would rule the League of Shadows/Assassins instead of him. This occured as more League members were present for the fight and witnessed the mantle and title being passed onto Naruto before it was transferred to his former teacher… and lover.

And once Barbara and Naruto returned to Gotham, the Uzumaki ended up asking the spectacled redhead for her hand in marriage.

"So, all the lives of my friends… and others I've known took different paths or changed course, all because I wasn't there." Said the Batman as the pair ended back on the streets.

"Because your particular Batman wasn't there." Corrected the Phantom Stranger as they walked along the sidewalk before stopping near a dinner which the Gordon father/daughter pair were eating at. "And yes, the paths they took diverged, just as Bruce Wayne's did, but many remaining ones are about to collide soon enough."

Before the Caped Crusader could question this, his ears picked up on a distinctive sound coming from the nearby police car.

"Calling all cars and officers!" Spoke a women's voice over the nearby police vehicle radio. Batman looked over inside of the diner and saw the Gordon pair react to the call. "City Hall is under attack! I repeat, City Hall is under attack! Calling all cars and officers!" Upon hearing this, Jim and Barbara rushed out of the diner, got into their car and drove as to where the incident was taking place.

…..

At the far edge of Gotham where Wayne Manor resides, Bruce Wayne exited his home with Alfred standing not far away.

"And where will you be going and for how long, sir?"

"I'll be just away for a few hours, Alfred." Bruce answered. "So don't bother holding dinner for me. I just wanna take a look at the site of the new Wayne Towers building."

"Of course, sir. Though do be careful. Your father always said the city was a dangerous place."

…..

Upon arriving outside of City Hall, the Caped Crusader and Grey Walker saw much commotion going on. Yells, gunshots and explosions could be heard from inside of the building.

The costumed Wayne wanted to rush inside and help -from whatever threat there is- in any way he can. But with his current situation, all the Bat could do was stand by and watch… which peeved him greatly.

The disguised billionaire then noticed a pair of individuals arriving onto the scene as they glided towards the ground. Vanitas was the first to land with his windlance. Following after him was Langstrom as his wings retracted into his suit while staring at the building before them.

"Any idea who's involved this time?" Asked the (L) Batman.

"It could be anyone, Bats." Responded the helmeted Uzumaki. "But I do know most of our guys' MO's tend to have more flare."

The vampiric hero merely nodded before the two pairs heard a loud quake and a series of crashes emanating from City Hall. Taking more focus, they saw enlarged roots breaking through the walls before the damage grew and stretched around the grounds. Before long, a monstrous-looking flower sprouted out from what remained of City Hall.

The costumed Wayne looked on with widened eyes and realized in bitterment who was behind this. He didn't know if this was possible as he was so used to knowing his acquaintance being a good individual with Naruto's influence in her life. Yet his fears were confirmed with the large flower blossoming.

And it was there the costumed Wayne saw differences between the Pamela Lillian Isley he knew to the one standing in that opened up flower.

Instead of the vibrant red hair he normally sees was replaced with a darkened variety, as if coated and dyed by blood. Her pale green skin was even more sickly green with her vine-like tattoos being more prominent and harsher. The redhead's eyes had a sickly yellow color with black sclera replacing what white was ever there. And as for Ivy's attire, it was primarily green to show off the plant-like armor with an undercoating of brown to indicate hardened tree bark for extra protection. Yet there were many sharp thorns growing out of the edges for some additional offensive capabilities.

"Well ain't that an entrance." Vanitas muttered out as he and (L) Batman stared down at the giant flower pod with two equally sized plants guarding her. "Great~ Ivy with her freaky, beefed up Audrey 2 knockoffs... No need to panic whatsoever."

Off to the side, the costumed Wayne turned over to the Grey Walker. "What the hell happened to Pamela?" He asked in a demanding tone.

The Stranger merely looked on before answering. "Much of Pamela's life was met with strife. The death of her mother at a young age by her father started off her path. It was a rough struggle with hardly any good moments for Pamela to experience. And it became much more apparent without Naruto being there for her."

"Who dares intrude my Realm?" Demanded the Green champion before her eyes landed at the two Gothamite heroes. "Oh, it's you two."

"First off, Isley, we aren't intruding." Spoke the vampiric hero. "You are."

"I beg to differ as you humans are festering this lovely world."

"Right~" Vanitas drawled out. "What are you trying to do this time?"

"Don't you remember?" She asked with a snarl. "I'm still trying to make a better planet!"

"By getting rid of people."

"They are the cause of much misfortune upon this globe and I must cleanse it of it's filth! And the worst place of them all is this city." She growled out. "So I'll start off here!"

As tree sized vines launched towards the heroic pair -who quickly evaded the attack- the Phantom continued his tale. "Dr. Isley was alone for most of her life and didn't have that many companions to rely on. She did have the Hollands, but they were too far away to be with. So when Naruto met her at the Commissioner's Gala, her life became much better with light flickering -then growing- in her darkness. And because of him, Pamela was kept grounded and stable."

Seeing the Green champion in her current state, the (W) Batman quickly knew that wasn't the case in this timeline. Without him being in Naruto's life, the Uzumaki was never dragged via blackmail into the gala where he first met Pamela. And with that, the two never gotten close, later fell in love… and Pamela became a villain as a result.

Slicing through many thick roots with his lance, Vanitas called out to the changed botanist. "It's time to give up, Ivy."

"Sorry. Not interested." She said from her placement up high.

"Then you might be interested in this!"

Rearing back his arm, the black/white colored hero quickly charged his weapon and threw it straight at her. The screeching wind covered the lance as it pierced and sliced through many of Ivy's defenses. As the weapon came closer and closer to her, her two Audrey 2 plants intercepted the attack head on in order to save their creator. The first one was quickly skewered while the second bought time for Ivy to leap out of the way from getting harmed.

Landing onto the ground, the changed botanist looked back where she last stood and saw a small explosion take place. Ivy then glared at the helmeted hero. "You'll pay for that, Vanitas."

"Please~ You can make dozens of those. Scores even." He jested as another Kazekage lance was formed in his grasp. "Now, you're wanted back in Arkham."

"I'll go back over your dead body!"

The ground shook underneath them with vines shooting out before aiming right at Vanitas. With him slicing through the assault, more carnivorous plants were formed on Ivy's command. Once they were sent out to attack the masked Uzumaki, the vampiric hero dropped down from the sky and struck her.

Tumbling across the ground, Ivy quickly got up while dodging her opponent's quick punches and kicks. She backflipped, which her feet upward smacked the Bat's chin to send him flying back. Landing near a bus stop, Langstrom used his strength to tear out it's sign from the ground before smacking Ivy around a few times.

Quickly getting tired from getting hit, the Green champion caught the impromptu weapon before tugging it out of the Bat's grasp. She then batted him away to send him crashing into a nearby building.

As the pseudo-vampire pried himself out of the brick wall, his ears picked up on the sounds of police sirens.

"The cavalry arrived." The (L) Batman dryly spoke. "Too bad them showing up will only hamper things."

"Yeah, no shit." Vanitas stated once landing right beside him. "You alright there, Bats?"

"Dealt with worse."

The two vigilante's were suddenly snagged and hoisted up in the air with them hanging upside down.

"Like a spider, it seems I've caught several flies." Taunted Ivy as she had her vines smack them around. "My babies are rather hungry, so you'll both be food to be first liquidized and then consumed." The Green champion then chuckled darkly. "Prepare to be consumed and transformed into bio-organic fuel for the glory of the Green!"

"We'd rather not." Voiced the two heroes.

Vanitas quickly phased himself and his vampiric companion out of their bindings before throwing a volley of electrified daggers at the changed botanist.

"Do you really think you can beat mother nature?" She said once her vines blocked the thrown weapons.

"At the moment, we could outrun her." Vanitas said as the two bolted from the incoming assault as her plants tried to crush them.

"She's consistent, I'd give her that." Langstrom stated.

"Right?"

Before Ivy could personally pursue them, a police car suddenly rammed into her. She yelped and flew into a nearby street lamp with a loud *clang*. The villain then appeared unmoving from what anyone else could see. But if one looked closer, she was actually groaning.

"I really thought the airbags were gonna to go off." Barbara muttered out while holding onto the driver's wheel.

Her father merely groaned from shotgun. "Really gonna need to remember to have these cars up to code after this is over."

Barbara never kept her eyes off of Ivy's form after hitting her. For a brief moment, she thought she ended up killing her or greatly injuring her. But that wasn't the case as the Green champion got back up and harshly glared at the offending driver.

"Crap!" Barbara yelped as she quickly got her car to switch to reverse. Flooring the gas pedal, their car sped backwards in order to get away from the meta-villain.

But their transport was not fast enough as their ride was snagged by Ivy's enlarged roots to briefly hold it in place. The father/daughter pair then lurched forward with the police car lifted up into the air before Pamela started shaking it like a ragdoll.

This came to an end with Vanitas flying right towards the car, phased right through and snagged Gordon and Barbara from their restraints. Making it through the other side, the helmeted hero landed some distance away in order to safely place them down. He then acted quickly and threw up a barrier due to Ivy tossing the car right towards them.

"That wasn't very nice, Ivy."

"It wasn't supposed to."

More police cars arrived onto the scene with many officers quickly exiting their vehicles before aiming their respective weapons at the meta-villain.

Stepping past Vanitas, Commissioner Gordon aimed his glock at the changed botanist alongside his daughter. "Freeze, Pamela!" He said. "It doesn't have to be this way."

All the woman did was smile in a sinister manner. "Actually, Commissioner, it does." Plants soon ensnared him, causing many officers to harden themselves. Even Barbara gritted her teeth on what just happened. "The only law I follow is the Law of the Jungle."

"Isley... please…" Gordon struggled out. "You need help."

Vines came up to her as she caressed their tops. "I have all the help I ever need." Was all Ivy said before she shot them all around her.

The many officers in the GCPD started unloading their ammunition at the offending plants, but they were practically useless against their thick hides. More and more sprung out from the ground as they kept up their assault. Even with the help of Vanitas and the (L) Batman, it was truly hard to keep things under control.

At one point, Ivy quickly commanded many of her plants to reform into flowers before they spewed a green vapor amongst the lot of them. Vanitas quickly formed a barrier around himself, Barbara, her father and the vampiric hero. The many police personnel coughed and wheezed for several moments before things took more notice.

From what the costumed Wayne could see from the sidelines, many of the GCPD appeared to have glowing green eyes with their skin a shade paler than normal. Not to mention green veins being more prominent along the surface. And everytime each person exhaled, visible vapors could be seen coming out from their mouths and nostrils.

'Judging by their movements and mannerisms, they're in some sort of hypnotized state with Pamela as their puppeteer.' Bitterly thought the Caped Crusader.

"I've got quite a bit of security." She said with a devilish smirk. "They'd just die if anything were to happen to me." Ivy then gave a silent command for her drones to attack the two heroes and the Gordons.

Blocking and dodging a series of punches and gunfire from the hypnotized people, the masked Uzumaki spoke. "Hey, Ivy, here's an idea! If you want a good relationship with someone, how about trying the dating route?" Vanitas jested with a hidden smirk. "Beats this creepy voodoo crap."

The Langstrom Batman side kicked one and then kicked another in the chest follow by a spinning back kick and low sweep one off his feet. The vampiric hero quickly got up before dodging gunfire and landed a hard-right punch to the hypnotized officer's face, knocking him down and had kicked one coming from behind and continuing to kick every one of them in the head or chest and spun to deliver a roundhouse.

Vanitas backflipped several times and grasped the shoulders of one of the officers before tossing him into another. Landing on the ground, the helmeted Uzumaki quickly spun around to deliver a series of punches to several joints in order to mobilize one of the officer drones. Once that man was down for the count, the black/white hero then charged and jumped in midair kicking two enemies from left and right and kicked one in front.

The Gordons -however- had to do what they could to immobilize their fellow officers. Neither wanted to shoot them down, but each had to use what fighting skills they had up their sleeves to help out in this endeavour.

"A billion microorganisms will enter your bloodstream." Ivy stated as her hypnotized minions continued their assault. "Spores will grow, replacing the blood in your veins. And when I'm done, your flesh will be replaced with bark."

"Are you done?" The vampiric Batman blandly asked while rounding an officer and elbowing the man underneath his arm before flipping him on the ground. Once subduing him, Langstrom went onto the next opponent. "As much as I'd like to hear more scientific details, I'd rather not become a plant."

"Too bad. I've spent weeks perfecting the toxins that will destroy your pathetic meat sacks you call bodies."

"We'd like to see you try." Barbara called out as she slid underneath one of the SWAT members before knocking the man out via neck chop.

Jim Gordon had to smack one of his cops around while trying to pay attention to his surroundings so he wouldn't get hit by stray bullets. He quickly spun and kneed a man's side before delivering an elbow strike to give him some advantage. Gordon then took hold of an officer's neck before punching him a few times before grasping his arm and tossed him over his shoulder into another of Ivy's mind controlled officers in order to fend off against another.

"My realm shall grow and rise and-" Ivy was cut off by one of Vanitas' daggers flying past her with it leaving a bloody cut across her cheek. She then felt a massive pain struck on her back, sending her flying across the field.

"OH SHUT UP!" Vanitas roared out as his Rasengan dissipated from his grasp.

With the vampiric Batman, he was having a hard time fending off against the mind controlled police officers and Ivy's sentient plants. Needing to quickly take care of one of the problems, Langstrom pulled out some incendiary grenades from his utility belt. Priming one of them, he jumped onto an incoming vine and ran across it's length before slapping it on it's thick hide. The vampiric hero did the same thing as he hopped onto each of the vines in order to repeat the process. Once out of his explosives, he quickly pressed the trigger before-

*KABOOM*

As a result, many of the sentient plants screeched in painful agony with them burning alive. The fire's started to spread across each of Ivy's 'children'. And soon enough, Ivy watched in horror of what just occurred.

"NO!" She cried out. "My children! My babies! What have you done?!" Spiked vines shot out of the ground and went rampant as the two vigilantes and the father/daughter pair went off to avoid Ivy's attacks. "This is my realm!" Ivy roared out as her eyes hotly glowed an emerald light. "AND THE GREEN WILL NOT BE HARMED BY THE LIKES OF YOU HUMANS NO LONGER!"

The ground beneath them harshly quaked as it split opened to reveal a monstrous flower. It quickly swallowed Ivy whole before it climbed up higher and higher into the air. Once it towered over them, the petals opened up to reveal Ivy in it's center with some sort of barrier protecting her.

Without warning, two lesser sized copies of the monstrous flower came out of the ground and started shooting acid all over the place.

Vanitas formed a score of clones and had them nab both the unconscious and mind controlled police officers to get them away from Ivy's acidic attack. Even Langstrom had to help out in this situation by taking a few people with him.

Acid kept getting sprayed all over with it melting all sorts of surfaces. From brick walls, the cement sidewalks and roads, lamp posts and even police cars. With most of the later, explosions soon occurred, which added more damage in Ivy's wake.

Wanting to stop the meta-villain, Vanitas and Langstrom started throwing what throwing explosives they had at Ivy's position. They were rather effective, but caused retaliation with Ivy's plants wanting to kill anyone more and more. Digging into the earth before sprouting out in random parts of the battlefield caused much chaos. There were some narrow evasive maneuvers while some were not so lucky with either the heroes or the Gordons getting hit in the process.

As things grew more and more crazy, it was truly hard to keep focus on one's surroundings for those currently against Ivy.

"We need to get out of here, Barbara." Ordered her father as he used up the last of his ammunition. "Let Batman and Vanitas handle this."

"Right." Barbara responded as she knew when to quit, especially in the present moment.

Yet before they could try to escape, one of Ivy's plants sprayed a heavy dose of acid on the nearby car, which caused it to explode, sent them back and had most of the destroyed vehicle roll towards their way.

Not knowing on what just occurred -as both were too focused to take Poison Ivy down- the vampiric Batman and helmeted Uzumaki got closer and closer to their opponent's position. Langstrom gilded while dodging her thickened vines while Vanitas helped slice them up as they were in their way. Once getting to the main flower, the changed scientist latched onto the flower bud and used all of his strength to pry open the monstrous petals. Having enough of an opening, he slipped in what explosives he had left in his belt before taking off.

A powerful explosion happened soon after as Ivy's attacker/guardian was forced to open up. Yet this left it wide open for Vanitas to leap towards its cracked central bud and slam a condensed Rasengan onto its surface. The attack grinded and slashed through it before breaking through and hitting Pamela dead center to quickly knock her out.

With Ivy defeated, she and her monstrous plant fell into the cracked earth. The Green champion had to fight again on another day after this failed attempt to end Gotham.

Back on the battlegrounds, Barbara groaned awake while processing on what just occurred moments ago. Everything was rather hazy for her before things became rather clear. Before she could act up on them, the redhead felt someone help her up. Looking up, she saw it was her fiance.

"Na-Vanitas?"

"Barb, I'm here." He said before hugging her close. "You're safe."

Her head started to blurry swerve all over with a growing, worried expression. "Wh-Where's dad? Is… Is he safe?"

Vanitas hesitated and spoke with a broken voice. "B-Barb… I'm… I'm sorry."

Her amethyst eyes quickly widened before they started to water just as her eyes saw her father's prone body laid nearby them with his chest caved in because of the destroyed police car. "N-No… NO!" She started to fight from her fiance's grasp. "Please! Let me go! DAD!" Barbara cried out before she broke free and rushed towards her father's corpse. "No… Not him…"

Vanitas came up to her and hugged her from behind. "Barbara, I'm so sorry." He said in utter sadness as his fiance bawled her eyes out.

Off to the side, the costumed Wayne looked on in horror on what he just saw. "Good lord…" Muttered the Bat. "This is what would have happened? If not for me?"

"Yes." Answered the Grey Walker. "But there is one more part."

The Dark Knight looked on in confusion before he saw his counterpart pull up close to the scene. Coming out of the car, Bruce Wayne looked on in worry. "Good heavens, what a mess. Maybe dad… was right. This city really is dangerous." Bruce tightened his fists. "But someone should do something about it."

Seeing this occur, the costumed Wayne held his head low. "So… everyone's life is different… if not for that night that created me?"

"Not everyone." Said the fedora wearing being. "Your life is considerably better. But the good that your Batman has accomplished is not here."

The Dark Knight looked onward before he tiredly sighed. "I… think I understand why you brought me here now." The hero then looked over to his companion. "Take me home, Stranger."

"Of course, Bruce Wayne." Said the Phantom before opening his cloak to reveal the snow covered cemetery, where they started off in this little journey of theirs.

As the Bat stepped on through, he spoke. "You really need to learn to stop calling me that."

"...No promises."

-End Chapter-

AN:

Hoped to get this out sooner, but I had a family trip recently and that took up a good chunk of my time along with the normal time at work… as it sucks up everything like a bloody vampire! I lose my motivation to write once I get home with me being fucking exhausted. I wanted to stay up and write, but can't as I need to be well rested for the long ass days while on the clock.

...So funny story on said mentioned trip. Went to California for my sister's birthday and we went to Disneyland for one day. We had to use a friend of my mom's to get a friends pass discount for 40% off each ticket. Things went well but towards the end of the day, we were wondering why the tickets were still so pricey. Price was supposed to be like $80-90 for each ticket with the discount but we later figured the discount was up to 40% to have us have $119 each.

...We later found out that the friends pass upgraded our tickets to park hoppers.

We could've gone to California Adventure on just the one day after hitting the rides we wanted to do at Disneyland instead of re-riding a few and wasting time in the several rides! And sure we were able to go into the park but only rode the roller coaster ride a few times. We didn't have time to fully explore the park and enjoy it to the fullest.

Now with the current chapter… I admit it was quite the struggle while hoping this turned out alright.

As you've realized I wanted to do a rendition of 'It's a Wonderful Life' for Bruce so he could possibly see what it could've been like had his parents not died in Crime Alley when he was eight. Not really the same as my Perchance to Dream chapter, but this one would really show the butterfly effect on a larger scale of things with different moments affecting others in good or bad ways. Delaying, haltering or bringing things closer than what intentionally occured.

With Rochelle Wayne, she is indeed an actual DC character. Shown in the Elseworld comic Batman: Reign of Terror; she's Bruce Wayne's younger sister during the days of Revolutionary France where the pair are the Dynamic Duo. And sorry if I didn't really do any interactions with her at all.

With the Hypnotist I mentioned when talking about Zatanna, he's a character from the DCAU Batman tie-in comics. I thought the details used on what few issues he was in was nice to use in some manner.

Now with other stuff I used in this chapter, they won't exactly be really connected to the main story in general. I merely wanted to put down some good details with certain issues. As you know in my story, Pam and Harley are good guys/anti-heroes; but thought without certain details coming into place the pair would become villains in the other timeline. And with Selina, felt gipt on the Batman/Catwoman wedding in the comics that it didn't really happen at all. So using the wedding portion in this chapter could've made up for that.

With Langstrom being Batman in the altered timeline, you guys already have guessed I'm using stuff from the Justice League: Gods and Monsters run. It's brought up that every reality in the DC Universe needs a Batman in some way, shape and form even if they are the normal variety we're all used to with Bruce at the helm… Or someone else taking up the reigns to be the Bat as either heroes, anti-heroes or outright villains like the Dark Multiverse shown in the infamous Dark Nights Metal run.

Another thing I should bring up is that a pair of fanfic writers asked me to put up a notice for y'all. Their names are Autobot0001 and white petal and their hoping someone could take up the reigns of their one Yugioh/Totally Spies story called 'New Recruit'. I helped them out on writing up a lot of details for their story and it turned out great. Though despite the fact they have enjoyed the idea of 'New Recruit', neither could continue the story because of certain circumstances.

So if anyone wants to take up that story, PM them in order to adopt the story and to acquire the story notes.

Anyways, be sure to review this story guys! Would like the criticisms. Please and thanks you!

R&R