A/N: Here's the next chapter.

Sorry for the wait, I had a little trouble developing this chapter, as I really didn't have anything to go off of or base this chapter on, unlike the last three.

I really appreciate all the support and help you all are giving me with my stories. I'll try not to disappoint.

Before I begin, I'd like to point something out, I plan to only explore the confidants through one chapter. Now that doesn't mean they will only appear once, but I'll really only explore their relationship with Ren and how he gains their trust in one chapter.

I do not own Batman Beyond or Persona 5. They belong to Warner Brothers Animation and Atlus.

So, let's begin.

"This has to be the schwayist part of this job!" Ren declared as he flew through the city in the famous batmobile, a flying one at that.

"Ease up. Let the suit do the work." Bruce advised. Ren ignored him as red circuit lines went from the forearms of the suit down the arms and onto the controls as Ren pressed the accelerator to go faster.

"WHOO-HOO-HOO!" Ren shouted in excitement as he heard the roar of the engine. He always dreamed of this when he was younger.

"If you scratch it, no allowance." Bruce warned.

"Sorry." Ren immediately said as he eased up on the gas and slowed down.

As he flew over the city of Nippon-Gotham, he couldn't help but feel the urge to pinch himself, to check and see if this was all a dream. It had almost been three weeks since he donned the cowl of Batman and set himself to become the city's new savior. He could hardly believe this was the path he would find himself on when he came back home.

But it wasn't all glamorous. He was still on probation, forever scared with a criminal record, while the one who falsely gave him that sentence is still out there, doing the same to hundreds of other kids, if not worse. Not only that, but Ren had to make sure he kept this a secret from everyone, even his guardian Sojiro and his new friends Ryuji and Ann. And while Ren was usually always a loner, it didn't mean that he didn't get lonely, or have things he would like to share with others. The problem was that he couldn't share this with anyone. There was Bruce… but he wasn't exactly someone you could talk about your feelings with and expect for them to really be listening. He'd probably just tell Ren to get over it and go to work.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw out the Batmobile's window that a gang of Jokerz were surrounding a young boy in tattered clothes with a yellow scarf around his neck. He growled at the sight. These punks were the most rotten of the city's criminals in his opinion.

The boy didn't tremble, he didn't shake in fear or beg to be left alone. Rather, he felt calm, strangely calm.

"Looks like the little brat won't sing for us." The lead clown said as he held a led pipe in his hands, a sadistic smile on his face. "Let's make him!" He then charged the boy.

Before he could even blink, the sole of the boy's foot, he didn't have any shoes, connected with his face. The boy leapt over his shoulders and did a somersault mid-air as he brought his foot down on the guy behind the leader.

Another threw a punch, but the kid had faster reflexes and used the bigger man's momentum to throw him at a couple of garbage bags. He followed by using a clown's face as a boost and grabbing onto the end of a fire escape ladder, and swung his feet to hit the same Jokerz in the face before leaping off the ladder and landing on the shoulders of another, wrapping his legs and arms around his upper body.

He then punched the face of the clown he was on until he collapsed and fell to the ground. The kid stood up and observed the fallen clowns around him, a cocky smile on his face. "I think you lowlifes have had enough. That oughta teach you four clowns not to mess with-" He stopped when he noticed something off about the situation.

Four clowns? 'Hey, weren't there supposed to be five-'

CLANG!

'There he is…' The boy thought as his vision went black after something hard and metal collided with the back of his head.

"Little brat!" The last remaining thug, the largest of the gang, spit out as he raised the metal crowbar he used to knock the kid out above his head to finish the job for good.

A gust of wind and the sound of a powerful engine drew his attention. At first he thought it was the police, but when he looked up at the source of the noise and wind, he froze when he saw it was worse, so much worse.

Like a bullet from a railgun, the Batman was shot out of the flying Batmobile, his wings extended as he delivered a kick to the clown's face. The impact from the strike sent the clown flying back as he tumbled on the ground. He quickly got up and growled his teeth at the bat-figure. So what if he peed his pants at the sight of Batman, nobody knocked him down and got away with it.

The thug came charging with the crowbar raised to strike. In a flash of motion, Batman quickly intercepted the attacking hand and began to punch the thug across the arm and face. He then broke the clown's arm, causing him to drop the crowbar and continued to beat his face to a pulp, even after he knocked him to the ground. It was over in less than 10 seconds.

The other Jokerz, who were starting to regain their bearings, looked toward Batman in shock and fear. He turned back to them, and his white eyes narrowed as he glared at each and everyone one of them. "Run."

Needing no further convincing, the Jokerz scrambled to pick themselves up and ran out of the alley as fast as they could. When they were out of sight, Batman sighed as he moved to inspect the boy that was fighting them. He was impressed. The kid was able to hold his own against people almost twice his size and still managed to come out mostly unscathed. If he just didn't get so cocky when he thought it was over, then he wouldn't have been hit.

But the lecture could wait, what mattered was making sure, the kid was okay. He felt along his body, looking for any noticeable injuries. He had multiple blisters on his feet, and his clothes were ragged and he seemed to be hungry. Was this a homeless kid or a runaway?

As he cradled the boy in his arms, Batman felt a warm liquid on his hand that was holding the boy's head. He inspected his hand, and his eyes widened when he saw the blood on it. He needed to get the kid help, fast!

And there was only one person he could trust in all of Nippon-Gotham to help this kid.

"I hope you understand that even if the patient isn't you, you're still gonna have to do your round of clinical trials." Takemi said as he wrapped a bandage around the boy's head as they sat in her clinic that she had recently returned to after Ren gave it a security boost thanks to Wayne Tech.

Ren groaned. "I understand." He said as he switched back to serious mode. "So how is he?" He asked.

Takemi did a few more checks before she gave her conclusion. "Well, aside from the blistering on his feet, the malnutrition, dehydration, and the bleeding bruise in the back of his head, he'll live." Ren sighed in relief.

"That's a relief." Ren said as he stood from his seat in the waiting room, grabbing his bag. "Well I better get going before I'm late for school." Ren said as he moved to exit.

"You sure you don't need anything to spike you awake?" Takemi asked as she noticed his bangs. "I'm pretty sure this… nightly excursions of your's aren't good for your health if you're not getting proper sleep."

"You don't have to worry about anything." Ren said with a smile as he opened the door to exit. "I got this double life thing down to a T!" He then closed the door.

"Amamiya?" Kawakami called.

*Snore*

"Amamiya…?"

"Snore… take that you dregs… Snore…"

"AMAMIYA?!"

The sound of his name being shouted shot Ren awake and made him stand up straight as he had been slumped over his desk. He quickly adjusted his glasses as he remembered he was still in school.

He heard murmurs among the other students. Mostly about how the criminal was slacking off in class. He ignored them for a moment and focused. "Yes Ms. Kawakami?" He asked, trying to play it cool.

"What was the answer to the question I asked?"

"Uhh… that's… umm… the answer would be…" Ren tried, drawing a blank. He eventually sighed. "I'm sorry, what was the question again?"

That caused Kawakami to sigh as she then called on another student as Ren sank back down in his seat, embarrassed. The rest of the class period passed without much issue before the bell rang to dismiss the students to lunch.

As Ren began to pack up his stuff, he was suddenly met with Mishima coming up to his desk, an excited smile on his face. Ren raised an eyebrow. Ever since Kamoshida was taken into custody, Mishima had been trying to get into Ren's good graces by any way he could, even offering to do his homework.

"Can I help you?" He asked the blue haired boy.

Mishima blinked, being brought back to reality as he pulled out his phone. "Check this out!" He said excitedly as he pulled up a website on his phone and showed it to Ren.

Ren blinked when he saw that the website showed the bat-symbol, along with a bunch of what seemed like either comments or requests.

"This is a website I made!" Mishima said, barely containing his giddiness. "With it, people can post anonymous requests about crimes they either witness, or people that may seem suspicious. They can give locations, descriptions, and the such without exposing themselves. I call it the Bat-site!"

"That's… great?" Ren said, unsure. "But why show it to me?"

"Oh, no reason." Mishima said with a sly smile and a wink. "Just thought it would be interesting to you. Oh! And before I forget." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out, to Ren's amazement, the tracker he placed on Mishima before he took down Kamoshida and handed it back to Ren. "Thought you should have this back." He then left without another word.

Ren groaned internally. He hasn't even been Batman for a month, and already two civilians know his secret, four if you count the kidnapped boy Ren rescued and the girl that helped Takemi pull him out of the dumpster. How was Bruce able to do it for decades and have no one know it was him?

As Ren was about to leave, someone stopped him. "Amamiya, can I speak with you for a moment." Kawakami said. The way she worded it sounded like a question, but Ren knew from her tone it was otherwise.

Fearing that a fifth person would reveal they know who he is, he turned back to her and walked up. "Yes Ms. Kawakami?"

She eyed him for a long moment as Ren began to sweat. She wouldn't turn him in, right? He was a good student after all, when he wasn't sleeping in class. Hopefully she would just let this slide and everyone can go home-

"I'll just cut straight to the point." She spoke, interrupting his thought process. "Are you engaged in a job that involves you giving questionable services to customers?"

"..."

Kawakami continued to eye him, searching for some sort of tell or sigh, but Ren's face betrayed no emotion.

'What?!' Ren screamed in his mind before he quickly came up with an excuse. "Uhh no. I'm not."

Kawakami sighs in relief. "Sorry about that." She had an apologetic smile on her face. "I was just worried because you've been sleeping in class more and more frequently."

"Oh! That's because of my job." Seeing the look on Kawakami's face, Ren quickly explained. "I work as a part-time assistant for Bruce Wayne."

Kawakami then let out a snort as she began laughing. "Hahahaha! Yeah right!" She continued laughing, only to stop when she saw the annoyed and offended look on Ren's face. She then looked embarrassed and avoided her gaze. "Sorry."

Ren sighed and continued. "I mainly run errands for him that take me all over the city. Most of these errands take place at night so I'm usually late getting back to where I'm staying." 'Or don't even make it back at all before coming here.'

"Well if this job is putting too much stress on you and causing you trouble in school, it would probably be better to quit." Kawakami suggested.

"I don't really mind. I really like working for Mr. Wayne." 'Even though he can be a hard old man from time to time.' Ren thought to himself. "And the pay's really good too. Another perk is that I also get to drive his cars."

Kawakami seemed to sigh. "Well, see if you can get him to let you off a little earlier so you can get a proper good night's sleep. I'm sure Mr. Wayne wouldn't want your grades to suffer for his sake."

"Sure thing Ms. Kawakami." 'Though he may make them suffer for the sake of all Nippon-Gotham.' Was what he thought before he exited the classroom and walked through the halls of Shujin academy.

School had been better since Kamoshida left, but the rumors about him still persisted, and some even got more outlandish than before. Thankfully, however, a new topic came up that dominated the rumor mill that had nothing to do with him. Well, nothing to do with Ren Amamiya, the delinquent transfer student.

"So do you think it's really him?"

"Gotta be some cosplayer!"

"I don't think so, no cosplayer could have this cool of a suit!"

"Batman's been gone for decades! Why would his first reappearance be at a high school?"

"Well he does fight against people who do injustice."

"This wouldn't be the first fake we've had who claimed to do that. Remember the last Batman copycat we had over two years ago?"

"Well maybe this guy's different."

"How?"

The student shrugged.

Though the rumors were still talking about him, Ren was grateful that they were not so much as focused on his probation as they were beforehand.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when an arm slung around his shoulder.

"Yo man!" Ryuji said with an excited grin. Ever since Kamoshida left, Ryuji was the happiest Ren had ever seen him. He didn't let any of the rumors or comments from other students ruin his high mood. Same could be said for Ann, who was right behind him. After seeing Kamoshida getting sent to jail, and Shiho waking up, she also seemed more cheerful than before. Seeing his friends in high spirits brought a smile to Ren's face.

"Hey." He greeted as they walked down the halls. "What's going on?"

"Was thinking maybe after school we could go hit the arcade!" Ryuji said excitedly. "What do you think?"

"I'm sorry guys. But I can't." Though the two of them expected the answer, that didn't leave them anyless down.

"Right, your job." Ryuji groaned. He had told them about his job working for Mr. Wayne, though he obviously left the part out of him being Batman. Ever since then, he's been so busy with being the new dark knight he's barely had time for his friends. He wondered for a moment if this was how Bruce felt when he had to ditch friends. Though Ren doubted Bruce even had friends.

"Actually, no." Ren's response surprised them. "I'm actually leaving to check on this kid I brought to this clinic before I got to school. He was badly injured and this clinic close to where I live was closer than the hospital, so I took him. I'm gonna head over to check up on him."

"Oh, then we'll come with you." Ann suggested. Ren thought about for a moment, and then internally sighed when he realized it would be more suspicious if they didn't come with him.

"I told you I don't need any bandages!" A high-pitch voice came from inside the treatment room of the clinic, shocking the trio as Ren moved to open the door.

"And I told you I need to apply a new one or else the wound will get infected.!" A voice Ren recognized as Takemi said, her voice clearly sounding exhausted.

"I don't need any help! I can take care of myself!" The high-pitch voice came again as the door opened from the inside. What came out was the young boy Ren had brought in, still dressed in his torn up clothes. He looked in shock at the three in front of him before he began to glare at each one of them, Ryuji getting the most fearsome for some reason.

When his eyes landed on Ren, they held a sort of intrigue in them and familiarity. When his eyes sent on Ann, they widened and his jaw dropped.

"Get back in here right now kid!" Takemi ordered.

The boy turned around and stuck his tongue out in defiance. "No! I won't get any more bandages.

When Ann saw all the bruises covering his body, she gasped as she held her hands to cover her mouth. "Oh my! You need to get those covered right away!" She said frantically.

And in a complete 180, the kid cleared his throat and said. "Well if the lady here thinks so, then so be it." The kid said.

After reapplying the bandages to his body after cleaning the wounds with some disinfectant, the boy addressed the three students, "What's your name fair maiden?" The kid asked Ann in particular.

Before Ann could answer, Ryuji spoke up. "I'm Ryuji Sakamato."

"Nobody asked you blondie."

"What was that pipsqueak!" Ryuji flared as he stomped over to the boy before Ren stopped him. He didn't need to get any more of an infamous reputation by being associated with a child assaulter.

"I'm Ann Takamaki." Ann answered next as Ren struggled to keep Ryuji back.

"Lady Ann…" The boy said in awe, which made the students uncomfortable.

"And this here is Ren Amamiya." Ann introduced as he was still busy trying to keep Ryuji from murdering the kid he just saved. "He's the one who brought you here."

The boy's eyes widened as he looked over at Ren. "You did that?" He asked, astonished.

Ren finally was able to get Ryuji to calm down as he then turned to the boy, a sheepish look on his face. "Guilty as charged." Ren admitted.

The kid then bowed his head toward Ren in gratitude. "I am grateful to you, Ren Amamiya. I now owe you my life and pledge to serve you in your righteous crusade." He said with the most sincere tone either of them had heard him speak in.

This only baffled the students. Some kid, who they didn't even know the name of, had just pledged his loyalty to Ren in assisting in some righteous crusade. And all he did, at least to Ryuji's and Ann's knowledge, had brought him to a clinic.

"Well, aren't you popular, my little guinea pig." Takemi spoke up, leaving Ann and Ryuji confused at the nickname she gave him. My little guinea pig? How did Ren know this woman?

Ren chuckled awkwardly as he turned back to the kid. "Well that's great… uh…" Ren trailed off when he realized an important problem. "Hey, what'd you say your name was again?"

That one question had completely broken the kid in an instant. His face went from joyace admiration, to an anxious and scared look that everyone caught on to. "I… I… I don't know…" The kid said, shocking the others.

"You don't know your own name?" Ann said, shocked.

The kid shook his head.

"What about your parents? Your home?" Ryuji asked.

He shook his head again.

"Do you remember anything?" Ren asked, scared to hear the answer.

"I remember everything up to about a couple weeks ago." The kid began explaining. "I suddenly woke up in some alley, wearing torn up clothes and had a huge pain in my head. I didn't know how I got there, or what my own name even was. So I wandered around the city for a little bit, getting into a few fights with some people. I guess one fight led me here."

"That's horrible!" Ann said as she quickly wrapped her arms around the boy when she noticed the tears beginning to form in his eyes. The tears and sadness were quickly replaced with a dopey grin as a trail of saliva went down his cheek.

"Dang. That's rough." Ryuji said in sympathy.

Ann hugged him for a few more seconds before she let go. "So what would you like us to call you?" The kid thought about it for a moment before he uttered his answer.

"Morgana."

"Morgana?" Ryuji chuckled. "What kind of name is that for a boy?" He was then elbowed in the stomach by Ann who threw a disapproving frown at him. He then sighed as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I guess the name is kinda cool."

"Well then, nice to meet you, Morgana." Ren said as he bowed.

"Nice to meet you too, my frizzy haired friend!" Morgana said in a cheerful smile, his earlier sadness now forgotten.

Ren frowned at the nickname. 'Frizzy hair.' He thought as he ran a head through his hair. His phone then began ringing as he looked down and his eyes widened as he saw the caller ID. "Excuse me for a moment." He said to the others as he stepped out of the examination room and answered the call. "What's up?"

"An armed robber down on 5th. They've taken hostages. Suit up and be there in 3 minutes." Bruce told him.

"On my way." He said as he hung up and sighed. There was never a day off in this job, was there? However an idea came to mind. He would have to talk to Bruce about it. He then went back to the examination room. "Sorry guys, I have to run. Mr. Wayne needs me to run an errand now." He explained.

Ann and Ryuji sighed, but had looks of understanding. "It's alright. We can look after everything here." Ryuji said. Ren had a grateful smile on his face as he then left the clinic. However he failed to notice the intrigued look that Morgana gave him.

"We have to pay this much?!" Ryuji shouted in disbelief as he saw the bill for Morgana's treatment. Currently, the kid was resting back in the examination room.

"Well normally it would be higher, but since I give my little guinea pig a discount when he comes here, I decided to cut the price by about 20 percent for any patients he wants me to look at." Takemi explained.

Ryuji and Ann raised their eyebrows at that name again. What in the world was Ren doing with this woman?

"If you don't mind us asking," Ann began, somewhat awkwardly, "How did you and Ren meet exactly?"

Takemi eyed them for a moment. It was clear that these two weren't in the know regarding the boy's… nightly excursions. And she guessed he wanted to keep it that way, so she covered for him.

"He said he needed some medication to help with his entrance exams." Takemi lied. "I offered to sell it to him if he did me a small favor and help test out some new medicine for me."

Ryuji and Ann didn't seem to buy it. Why would Ren need medication for his entrance exams if they weren't happening for another year? But before they could speak, a crashing sound could be heard from the examination room.

Fearing the worst, the trio moved to enter the room and gasped when they saw a window that lead outside had been smashed and Morgana was gone.

"Why would the kid leave like that?" Ryuji groaned. "Stupid pipsqueak!"

"How about we scold him after we find him." Ann said in amore concerned tone as she pulled out her phone and began to call someone.

Batcave

"You want me to do what?" Bruce asked, confused at Ren's request.

"I want you to take in this kid I saved earlier today with amnesia named Morgana." Ren repeated from the other end.

"You want me, a late 70 year old man, to adopt a boy that you saved who is barely 12 years old, with amnesia, and who calls himself Morgana?" Bruce asked for clarification.

"... Okay when you put it like that it does sound kind of strange." Ren admitted.

"It's beyond strange." Bruce explained. "You don't know anything about this kid. For all you know, he could be faking this whole amnesia act to get people to pity him and give him things?"

"You didn't see the look on his face, Bruce." Ren said, his voice sympathetic as he thought back to Morgana and his expression when he told him those things. No one, no matter how good a liar they were, could fake that. "The fact that he didn't even know his real name scared him. It terrified him more than I ever could possibly do with criminals."

"What do you expect me to do?" Bruce asked. "You think having the kid live with me is gonna make that fear go away?"

"You've taken in kids before, and it worked out. Right?" Ren asked, recalling the stories he read which involved Bruce adopting multiple kids over the years when he was doing research on the former Batman.

"They were kids who lost their families, who had nowhere to go." Bruce argued.

"And Morgana does?"

He was met with silence. "Focus on the task at hand." Bruce said, getting back to business. "We'll talk about this later." He then ended the call from his end.

Ren sighed. He had thought the old man wouldn't be that easy to convince, but he hoped he would have a soft spot somewhere in his heart for the likes of Morgana. Guess he was wrong.

Regardless, Bruce was right. He needed to stay focused on the task at hand. People were in trouble. The overrun bank held at least 7 armed gunmen, along with 5 hostages. This was gonna be a little rough. But nothing he couldn't handle.

He started off with the one by the stairwell. He was alone, distracted. Which made him easy pickings. Batman approached slowly, his footsteps so soft, a dog couldn't hear him. He then pounced on the crook, his arm wrapped around his throat and a hand over his mouth. He struggled aimlessly for a moment before he passed out. Batman set him gently on the ground, to not alert others, before ascending upward onto an old gargoyle.

1 down, 6 to go.

He then followed by maneuvering himself above a gunman on one of the gargoyles before snatching him up from the ground and then having him dangle from a rope attached to the stone guardian. This would certainly alert the others to his presence, but that would make them reckless, more prone to mess up.

2 down, 5 to go.

Batman then began to trail after one walking in the halls. His gun was up and he was alert, now that he knew there was someone here with them. Batman inched closer, ready to pounce on him like he did the other. Just a little more-

*RING* *RING*

The sound of his comm ringing alerted the gunman to his presence as he turned around and gasped at the Batman. He was about to call for backup and pull the trigger, but Batman quickly knocked the gun away and covered his mouth with a hand and shoved him into a wall. The thug looked with wide eye terror at Batman's narrowed white eyes before he punched the thug, knocking him out cold.

He then answered the call. "This better be important." He whispered irritatedly. "You almost got me shot!"

"Shot?" A voice that clearly wasn't Bruce Wayne said in confusion. "What do you mean Ren? You're not in any dangerous part of the city are you?"

'Slagit!' Ren cursed as he changed his voice to his more meek and timid tone. "No, I'm not Ann. I was just making a joke." He then chuckled nervously. "Listen I can't talk right now so if it's not important-"

"Morgana's missing!" Ren's eyes widened under the mask.

"Missing? What do you mean? How?"

"We just went outside the room to pay for the bill, by the way you're gonna have to pay for it, it's expensive as slag! But then we heard a crash and the next thing we knew he was gone." Ryuji explained as his voice came through the call.

Ren sighed. Maybe that kid was more trouble than he thought. Perhaps Bruce was right. "I'll help find him as soon as I'm done here. I'll call you guys back. I have to go!" He then quickly ended the call and got back to work.

Two gunmen were standing side-by-side looking into the bank vault, busy conversing among themselves.

"Look at all this credit man! We're gonna be rich!"

"Yeah, that's if the boss doesn't just take all the money for himself."

"Greedy little fatty! Who does Cob-"

"Shush dude! We don't say his name!"

"Oh right, excuse me. Who does the Penguin think he is?"

Batman frowned at that name. If he recalled, the Penguin was a criminal kingpin that was highly active during Bruce's time as Batman. But he read reports that the Penguin had died a few years ago, cancer. So was this some copycat?

He could figure it out later. He then dropped down behind the two and tiptoed close behind them. He then grabbed both by the head and slammed them together, knocking them both out and they slumped to the floor.

Just two more!

The last two were guarding the hostages, one was standing in the midst of them, the other at the base of the stairs leading up to the platform they were on. He would need to take down the one at the bottom then deal with the one with the hostages.

He then maneuvered around the desks and counters, anything he could use for cover and approached the one at the base of the stairs. When the thug turned and spotted him, Batman acted fast as he covered his mouth with both his hands and then brought him down to the ground. He then knocked him out with a well placed punch to the face.

As he stood back up he turned to the group of hostages and saw that one, a woman, was in the clutches of the last thug, a handgun pointed at her head.

"That's far enough freak!" The thug said as he tightened his grip and pressed the barrel harder into the woman's skull. "Take one more step and I'll kill her!"

Batman had trained for situations like this in the augmented reality in the Batcave. In this situation, you would usually want to sneak behind the hostage taker and take him out unannounced. If that was a no go, then you would throw a reverse Batarang to hit him at the back of his head to cause him to stumble forward, then knock him out with a punch.

Both of them were not an option as he was already in the view of the hostage taker, so he couldn't disappear, lest he try to shoot the hostage if he did anything sudden. And with how much the thug's trigger finger was twitching, that meant he could possibly shoot the hostage the moment Batman pulled out a Batarang.

That would mean that-

"Hey dreg!" A child-like voice that Batman recognized shouted, getting the attention of the two. "Heads up!"

The thug looked in the direction of the voice, only to be met with a foot to the face that caused him to release his hostage. Before he could get any sort of bearings, he then felt a pair of legs wrap around him and begin to cut off his air supply. He struggled to tear off his attacker, but the more he fought, the more oxygen he lost. And soon he rolled his eyes over and crumpled to the floor.

"That's what you get for taking innocent people hostage you scum!" Morgana, dressed in a makeshift disguise, mocked as he kicked the guy's stomach. He then looked over to Batman, who was looking uncharacteristically shocked at what he saw, causing Morgana to smirk. "You alright frizzy hair?" He asked playfully.

Batman then shook his head to clear his mind and then got serious. "What the slag do you think you're doing kid! That was incredibly dangerous! You could have been-" He stopped himself when he recalled what Morgana called him. 'Frizzy hair'? That was what he called him when he met him as-

'You have got to be kidding me?!' Ren groaned and he rubbed a hand down his face. He then looked to see the police were entering the bank. Acting fast, he grabbed Morgana and then aimed his grapple at the roof before firing and pulling him and the kid up.

'Bruce is gonna kill me.'

"Sooo, where are we going?"

"Quiet!" Ren demanded as he flew the Batmobile across the sea towards the Batcave, his mask currently off. There was an awkward silence between the two before Ren decided to break it by asking an important question. "How did you know it was me?"

Morgana was silent for a long moment before he began explaining. "Before I blacked out when that clown hit me, I caught a glimpse of you, as Batman, beating him up, so I knew it had to be Batman who saved me. So when Lady Ann mentioned that you were the one who brought me to that clinic, I was suspicious. But it was also the way you carried yourself when you were in that room. You seemed more alert and nervous than a normal high school boy should be."

Ren looked at the kid in surprise. He was able to deduce all that just from meeting him only two times?! He then glared at the kid with suspicion. "If you know all those fancy tricks to find out who I am, then how come you don't even know your own name?" Maybe Bruce was right. Maybe this kid was hiding something.

Morgana looked away, the look of shame obvious on his face. "I haven't forgotten everything."
Morgana admitted. "I remember how to fight, play cards, pick locks, etc. But most of that stuff is muscle memory, it's just instinctive."

Ren had to give the kid that. He had read cases that involved patients that suffered from Amnesia being able to instinctive;y remember movements they practiced over and over again before they lost their memory. But that begged the question as to where Morgana had learned those skills before losing his memories.

Before he could ponder any further, the computer in the Batmobile beeped him awake. They were here. The Batmobile streaked across the water at high speeds, the cave entrance opening as it entered and weaved its way around the cavern before landing.

The hatch on the car opened and Batman hopped out, removing his mask, followed by Morgana, who was immediately tackled by Ace!

"Ace! Stop it!" Ren shouted as he gripped the hound by the collar to pull him off the boy while Morgana kept his head away from the dog's jaws. From the way Ace was attacking the kid, it was almost like he was going after a cat.

"Ace! Down!" Bruce commanded as he walked up to them. Ace growled at the boy before he obeyed and moved to stand beside his master as Bruce stroked his head. The older man glared at the two younger ones before he spoke. "Amamiya, explain now." He demanded.

Ren gulped. "Well, Bruce, this is the kid I told you about, the one with amnesia, Morgana." Ren then gestured to the kid. "And Morgana, this is my mentor, and the original Batman before me, Bruce Wayne." The kid's eyes lit up with amazement as he stared at the older man with wonder.

Bruce's frown only deepened. "Now that introductions are out of the way, explain to me why you let a kid you say has amnesia into the Batcave and reveal your and my secret to him despite only meeting him today!?"

Ren then explained to Bruce what had happened. How Morgana had shown up at the bank and saved a hostage's life, then called him by the nickname he gave Ren. He then explained how Morgana used his knowledge of body language and to figure out who Ren was.

When he finished explaining, Bruce was silent, and that terrified both Ren and Morgana. Having the original Batman silently glaring at you made your whole body shiver. It was even scarier than the look Ren got from Makoto the day after he helped her, just without the excitement that also accompanied the glare.

"And what do you plan to do now?" Bruce finally asked.

Ren then scratched the back of his head in uncertainty. "To be honest, I don't really have a concrete idea." Ren admitted. "But I was thinking, after seeing the kid's skill, maybe he could be the new Ro-"

"No!" Bruce said immediately, shocking both of the boys.

"Why not!?" Ren cried. "From what I've read, you used to take in tons of kids, some even younger and probably less skilled than Morgana! So what's so different about him that he can't be the new Robin?"

"We don't know anything about him? Not even his real name." Bruce explained with emphasis. "How do we know he isn't some spy, or if he'll steal from us, or if he's truly committed to the mission!?"

"I'm standing right here you know." Morgana spoke up.

"Shut up!" Both Bruce and Ren yelled.

Before they could continue their argument however, the Batcomputer began beeping in emergency. Bruce then moved to sit at the computer and pull up the screen. "Looks like a pair of Jokerz are setting fire to a factory down in the Industrial District. There seem to be workers still trapped inside."

"I'm on it!" Ren said as he quickly pulled the mask over his face and moved to get into the Batmobile. Morgana was right behind him but Ace cut him off, growling at him to stay back, which Morgana complied with.

"Come on! Move out of the way you dumb mut!" Morgana said as he tried to move around the dog, but saw no opening to do so.

"Sorry Morgana, but you're staying here." Batman said as he got in the driver's seat and started up the Batmobile.

"What?!" Morgana shouted in disbelief. "But you said I could be Robin with you?!"

"I didn't mean right this second." Batman explained. "You don't even have a proper suit yet. So until then, if that ever happens, you're not going out into the field." And then the hatch to the Batmobile closed and the powerful machine flew out of the cave at high speeds, leaving Morgana sulking with his shoulders hunched over.

He then looked at the display cases of costumes and eyed the Robin one with interest before moving to closely inspect it. His hands were about to touch it when he heard a voice.

"Don't. Touch. Anything!" Bruce said in a stern and threatening voice, and Morgana sighed as he backed away from the display case and decided to go upstairs, maybe he would find something to keep him occupied.

Later

"I got the fire under control Bruce." Ren's voice came through the Batcomputer's comm. "The workers are all safe and are being taken to the hospital. I'm gonna start tracking down the Jokerz who caused this."

"Understood, but be on guard." Bruce warned. "The Jokerz may be just a gang of delinquents, but they can be dangerous if you underestimate them."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Ren said, his tone filled with rage as he signed off.

Bruce leaned back in his chair with an exhausted sigh. This was turning out to be a long night, not the first he had, but maybe one of the most confusing. His mind then went to the one who started all the confusion in the first place.

'Where was the kid now anyway?' Bruce thought as he looked back at the stairs. The boy, or Morgana as he wanted to be called, had gone upstairs almost an hour ago and hadn't come down yet. Normally Bruce would have used the Manor's security system to find the kid, but it was over twenty years old. He would most likely need to update the security if he was going to start Batman up all over again.

He got up from his chair and began to make his way up the stairs. The Manor, as usual, was covered in dust, which was to be expected since the faithful butler who would always clean it, had now long since passed away.

His ears, still as sharp as ever despite his old age, had then picked up the faint sound of something coming from the second story. He then moved up the stairs and maneuvered himself toward the direction of the sound.

It was coming from the movie theater. The door was slightly opened, and he could see the faint light of the projector rolling. Bruce carefully opened the door, and his eyes widened slightly at what he was watching.

It was 'The Mask of Zorro'! His favorite movie! The one he saw the night his parents-

He then quickly pushed those thoughts away before he heard the sound of popcorn being crunched between someone's teeth. He looked and saw Morgana sitting in the middle front row seat, an excited look on his face as he watched the movie and shoved popcorn in his mouth, causing thousands of crumples to fall to the floor.

Bruce stared at the boy in awe for a moment. The look he had, the excitement that shined off his face. He hadn't seen a look like that in a long time. It was almost identical to the look he himself held when he watched this movie as a child.

After a long moment, Morgana finally noticed Bruce and jumped in shock, throwing up some popcorn as he did. "I'm sorry!" Morgana apologized as he tried to explain himself, this wouldn't do good in convincing Bruce to let him be Robin. "I wasn't trying to make a mess or anything I was just-"

Bruce then held up a hand that stopped Morgana from talking before he asked. "Where did you find this movie?"

Morgana looked slightly embarrassed as he began explaining. "I was bored out of my mind walking through this house, but eventually I stumbled across a bunch of old movies, including this one!" He exclaimed excitedly as he pointed to the screen. "So after figuring out how this projector worked and finding some popcorn, I decided to sit down and wait for you and Ren to come to a decision by watching a movie." His eyes then wander back to the screen, a child-like gleam and joy in his expression. "I love this movie!"

Bruce raised an eyebrow at that. "You do?" He asked suspiciously.

"I mean, I think I do." Morgana explained as he saw. "I can't really explain it, but when I saw the title, I felt really excited by it! Like I felt I knew this movie was so good and that I would love it! Does that make any sense?"

Bruce didn't answer, he merely asked another question. "So what do you love about it?"

Morgana then went into what could be described as fanboy mode and began to explain with stars in his eyes. "Zorro himself of course!" Morgana exclaimed. "He's a man who fights against injustice and protects the innocent, no matter the cost to himself, or if he's rewarded for it!" He then had a whimsical smile on his face. "I may not know who I am, but I know who I want to be. I want to be like Zorro!"

As Morgana said that, Bruce's mind flashed back to when he was a child, but unlike when it would be when his parents died, or the time after that, it was the time after he had first seen the movie in theaters, with his parents.

Flashback

"That movie was great!" A young Bruce shouted as he played sword fighting with his hands and jumped around the sidewalk outside the theater. He then turned excitedly to his parents, who smiled warmly at him. "Mom! Dad! When I grow up, I want to be just like Zorro!"

Flashback end

A small tear rolled down Bruce's face as he quickly wiped it away before it could be noticed by Morgana. Before his parents had died, that was his biggest dream, to be a defender of justice, like Zorro was. And in a way he did become just that. And if he was able to become what he wanted, who was he to deny another young boy who shared that dream?

Morgana was then surprised when Bruce sat down in the seat next to him, an excited smile on his face. Morgana was surprised, from the aura and encounters he had with Bruce Wayne so far, he had concluded that the man almost never smiled. But now it seems that thought was proven wrong.

"Pass the popcorn." Bruce told the boy, shocking him. "The best part is coming up."

As the Batmobile entered into the Batcave, Batman gave a yawn as he pulled to a stop. Finding the Jokerz who started the fire took longer than he thought. It also didn't help that Bruce hadn't answered any of his calls when he tried contacting him for help tracking them down.

'I am so gonna get an earful from Ms. Kawakami at school.' Ren groaned as he then finally noticed that neither Bruce nor Morgana were anywhere to be found in the Batcave. Blinking in surprise, he then trudged upstairs, thinking that's where he found them.

When he reached the top, he looked out of the window and saw something, or someone, flying outside the manor. Squinting his eyes to get a closer look, they then widened when he recognized who was out there.

"Morgana!" He yelled in shock as he rushed outside.

On the cliff overlooking the sea, Bruce stood, watching the boy as he flew through the sky as he began stroking his chin and making notes. "Hmm. The armor will need a few adjustments, and the steering will have to be tweaked to give him better control."

"Wayne!" Bruce turned to see Ren running up to them, a look of shock on his face as he saw Morgana flying through the air on wings similar to his own, except yellow, with Bruce watching over him.

"Ah, Amamiya, you're just in time to see the prototype of Morgana's new suit." Bruce said pleased as he looked back at Morgana.

Ren understood literally nothing of that sentence as he looked down to see Morgana flying up from the cliff and zooming up above them. "Check this frizzy hair! I'm flying!" The kid shouted in joy as he zoomed around the air.

Ren's jaw dropped as he looked back to Bruce with a shocked expression, while the old man merely smirked. "W-Why?" Ren stuttered to get out. "What made you change your mind?"

Bruce's face became serious as he looked back at the boy. "I figured the best way to determine if Morgana is either a threat or an alley is to keep him close." Bruce began explaining. "And besides, you made valid points when you mentioned the previous Robins, so I suppose it's only fair that Morgana gets a fair chance to prove if he's worthy of the title."

Ren didn't buy it. While there may have been some truth in what Bruce had said, there was more to it than that. The way Bruce was looking at Morgana gave it away. What happened to convince Bruce to take the kid on as the new Robin.

"Of course he won't go out right away." Bruce quickly said, his stern persona taking command. "He still needs more training and a proper suit before he can even be considered ready to go out there. And frankly, so do you." He said as he turned to Ren. "You need to get more experience before you can even be ready to lead him, or anyone else you happen to drag into this mission, out there."

"I understand." Ren said as he nodded.

"And one more thing." Bruce said as he reached behind him and pulled out a book and held it before Ren. Ren eyed the book and then looked up at Bruce with a raised eyebrow. "It's time for you to take a vow."

(A/N: Now would probably be a good time to start playing Gotham (OST) "Bruce vows not to kill" from the Gotham TV Show)

"A vow?" Ren asked.

"Yes. A vow to protect this city." Bruce explained, his voice a level of seriousness that Ren had never heard from him before. "I had meant to do this earlier, but I wasn't sure if you were ready for such a commitment. But you've now reached the point of no return. Once you cross this line, there's no going back."

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"You've steadily been making a name for yourself, though so far, most people have assumed you're nothing but another copy cat, one in the thousands of others that have appeared over the decades." Bruce continued. "However, others are starting to become convinced you're the real deal, or close enough to be seen as a threat. Soon everyone who wants to keep on living the way they want will see you as someone who could destroy the life they've built for themselves. And it's not just criminals. Cops, businessmen, even normal citizens will see you as someone who is changing the city, for better or worse, and they'll all be coming after you."

"However, you still have a chance to turn back." Bruce said. "If you hang up the cowl now, the Batman that's been seen so far will only be seen as another copycat in the eyes of Nippon-Gotham. You could go and live your life as a regular student, live out your one-year probation and not get into any trouble."

"But keep in mind," Bruce gave his final warning, "If you continue down this path, then you're in this life for good. No more escapes, no more chances to turn back. You embark on a path of violence and pain. You may die, people close to you may die, you may suffer a fate even worse than death, but you keep continuing to fight to protect this city. Even if you get rid of Shido, there are still thousands of others like him who threaten this city, so you can't simply stop with him."

Ren took in his words. Was he really willing to commit to such a task? To invest everything he had to protect a city he hadn't lived in for five years? A rotten city filled with corruption, greed, and madness that destroys even the noblest of people.

"So what will it be Ren Amamiya?" Bruce asked, pulling Ren out of his thoughts. "Will you hang up the cowl and return to your life as a normal school boy, content with the state the city you call home is in? Or will you rise up and commit your blood, your body, your very soul to defending this city from the monsters that threaten to consume it, and dare to see this city changed into something better?"

Ren looked down at the book and then downed at his right hand in deep thought. With these hands, he had taken down Kamoshida. With these hands, he had saved the kidnapped boy. With these hands, he had saved Morgana and given the boy a new purpose. And with these hands, he would see that Nippon-Gotham, his home, would become a great city.

He then placed his right hand on the book. "I will fight for my city, my home." Ren added extra emphasis.

Bruce seemed pleased before becoming serious again. "Do you swear to commit your mind, body, and spirit towards protecting this city and her people?"

"I swear!"

"Do you swear to protect all those who follow you? To train them, lead them and guide them to do the same?"

"I swear!"

"And finally, do you swear that while you will do everything you can to protect this city, that you will not become like the criminals you fight? Do you swear that you will make sure to preserve the sanctity of life, regardless of whether the person is innocent or guilty? Do you swear that you will honor the first and only rule of Batman: that you, under no circumstances or whatever you may have reason, will not kill?"

Ren took a deep breath.

(1:10-End of song)

"I will not kill." He said in a low voice.

Bruce sucked some air into his nose before he spoke again. "Say it again."

Ren then raised his head and looked Bruce dead in the eyes. "I will not kill!" He said, his voice filled with determination and a righteous fire raging in his eyes. Bruce smiled at the look in his eyes. It seems he found just who he had been looking for.

"Then go to work." Bruce ordered, and Ren nodded as he took his hand off the book and pulled the mask over his face. He then ran and jumped off the cliff and spread his wings as he joined Morgana in the sky.

(End of Song)

"Hey! Do you know what this means?" Morgana asked Ren as the two flew side-by-side. It was then that Ren finally noticed that Morgana was wearing a mask of his own, along with an 'R' proudly displayed over his heart.

When Batman shook his head, Morgan exclaimed. "It means for the first time in decades… BATMAN AND ROBIN ARE BACK!"

"Hmm. It seems the new Bat has his own Robin now." A figure muttered in disgust as he observed the two flying from a great distance away, using a pair of binoculars to zoom in on them. He then put down the binoculars and squeezed them so hard they were crushed in his hand.

He then held a sick smile on his face. "Well this just makes things a bit more interesting then."

A/N: And that's the chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it!

I hope this was a nice way to introduce Morgana as Robin, I think I struggle with introducing him the most considering I didn't have the metaverse or anything like that. FYI, his appearance is similar to that of Damian Wayne from the DC Animated Movie Universe, just with blue eyes instead of green. Also his Robin costume, when it's full complete, will be based off the one from the recent Batman Beyond comics.

I also hope you guys enjoyed the scene I did at the end with the vow. I figured now would be a good time to do it, considering that Ren has done small things in his time as Batman so far, that maybe most people would just consider him a copycat instead of a real new Batman. But I figured that with him taking on a Robin, then this would be the last chance Ren would ever have to turn back from the path of Batman. I hope it was satisfying for readers to watch. Also the contents of the vow, totally me! I hope, if someone else came up with that, I apologize and know I was not trying to steal your work. But if no one else did make that, then yeah all me. Except for that scene where Ren says he won't kill, I pulled that segment from Gotham Season 3 episode 14, which I also don't own, that belongs to Warner Brothers Television.

Also I hope you noticed something I hinted at in the story. Most people aren't really surprised or in awe of a new Batman, because as far as they know, there's been a new one every couple of years. Now that doesn't mean Bruce has been choosing possible replacements for the past two decades, but rather, ordinary citizens have tried and failed to become Batman, either giving up or dying. So most people aren't in shock over a new Batman, at least, not yet.

What did you all think with the scene including the Zorro movie. I thought that would be a good way for Bruce and Morgana to bond, giving them a shared love for the masked hero Zorro, also as a nod to the Persona community, cause Morgana's Persona is Zorro. In a way, Morgana reminds Bruce a bit of himself before he became Batman, a kid who's eager to help others and wanting to fight against injustice like a masked hero in a black and white movie. I figured this would be a good way for Bruce to be convinced to let Morgana become Robin.

So anyway, the next chapter will be another adaptation of a Batman Beyond Episode. Here's a preview.

Cold Comparison:

When an old villain of Batman is supposedly cured of his ailments, Ren and Bruce are at odds at the villain's change of heart. Bruce believes them to be faking it while Ren believes they are genuine in their attempt to change. But there is more going on under the surface than either realize.