The Mask of Batman

by IS6A6E

Ren Amamiya is sent to the city of Nippon-Gotham after being falsely charged for assault. The city he lives in is filthy with corruption, and he's powerless to change any of it. But fate takes an interesting turn when he has a chance encounter with an elderly Bruce Wayne. Will Ren live up to the legacy of Batman, or will the demons of the past consume him and those he loves?

17. CopyBat (Part Two)

A/N: I'm back, guess I didn't manage to get it out as early as I thought. Sorry about that. Been stuck with work, writer's block, etc.

Thank you for reaching 100 reviews! I appreciate it. Now we just need a 100 favorites and follows, no, make that 10000! Haha!

Also, I have got an official date on when I'll be entering Hiatus. April 22. But, a new development may not require me to go on hiatus at all. I'll have more details at the end of the chapter.

As for how I'll refer to the Batmen, maybe I'll stick with the fake being "Batman", while still calling Ren Batman, just without quotation marks.

I do not own Batman Beyond or Persona 5. They are works of Warner Brothers Animation and Atlus.

Let's begin

"The real question is, who are you, pretender?"

That was the question red-eyed "Batman" proposed to his white-eye counterpart.

Batman, Ren that is, had no answer to give. He was too shocked at the appearance of this new "Batman". The suit he used, his body structure, even his presence, it all screamed that he was Batman, more than Ren ever thought he was.

Suddenly, Robin burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! You have the balls to call yourself Batman, then ask who he is?" Robin said as he pointed to Ren. "Guess we have a JPV, Jealous Petty Villain. Hahaha-"

Robin's laughter was cut short as the next thing he knew a foot connected with his face, sending him flying.

"You little bird brat!" "Batman" snarled as he was suddenly in the middle of the group. The Gotham Knights were shocked at how fast this copycat managed to move in the short time they were distracted.

Red Hood recovered first as he shot Batarangs from his guns. "Only I'm allowed to call him that you dreg!" He shouted. "Batman" however, managed to dodged all the shots and closed the distance between them all too fast.

"You have a previous leg injury on your dominant leg." "Batman" said, shocking Red Hood. How did he know that? Red Hood was so shocked that it allowed the fake to slam him on his back by pulling his legs out from under him. He then grabbed on to his dominant leg. "The way you're moving and fighting, favoring your least dominant leg, suggests you recently had gotten the other healed. Let me correct that."

He then dislocated the leg, causing Red Hood to scream in pain. He then brought up his arms to block the whip strike from Catwoman. The whip wrapped around his arm blades and she pulled, but "Batman" wouldn't budge.

"Strange that you seem to be fighting crime under the alias of Nippon-Gotham's most notorious cat burglar." He said as he pressed a button on his belt. His suit then sent an electrical discharge that traveled down the whip and shocked Catwoman. With her now stunned, he grabbed the whip with his other hand and pulled hard. His suit's enhanced strength caused Catwoman to be sent flying towards him. He then kicked her in the stomach, which sent her flying to a set of crates, breaking them.

Nightwing then came up to him, swinging his escrima sticks at his foe. However, "Batman" easily dodged and blocked his attacks. "Your attacks aren't bad. However," He then stepped to the side as Nightwing thrusted one of escrima sticks at him. He then grabbed his outstretched arm, disarmed him, then shocked his face with his own weapon. "You need to work on your execution." He then snapped the weapon in half. [1]

Nightwing growled as he tried to attack again, only for "Batman" to leap over him and deliver a powerful kick to his lower back to send him crashing into a metal support beam.

He then dodged a pair of claws sent his way, grabbed the of his attacker and pulled him in close into an arm lock. "And then there's you, pretender." He said as the two Batmans faced each other.

Batman escaped from the arm lock and moved to attack again. His counterpart was able to counter and evade all of his attacks. "Your weakness is even more noticeable than the others." "Batman" mocked as he continued to dodge and counter. He then grabbed him by the arm, and threw him against a metal beam, denting it. "You rely too much on the suit and the gadgets. I admit I also have taken a liking to the suit and all the gadgets. But unlike you, I also work to train my own body, so when the time comes, I won't be weak and helpless when technology fails me."

Batman reached behind his belt, pulled out a shock pad, and threw it at his red-eye counterpart. The foe merely dodged, but he wasn't aiming for him. Instead, the shock pad made contact with the building's circuit breaker, causing the whole room to go dark.

"Batman" actually laughed as he looked around, already knowing his detective vision would be useless, considering the suit's special function to mask the wearer's body to the temperature of the room in stealth mode [2].

"You think darkness is your ally? You think you inherited it? You couldn't be more wrong." His voice filled with disdain as he said the last sentence. "You never inherited anything. Just like the suit and the name, you stole it…" He then reached out and gripped something in his outstretched hand before slamming it against the wall.

The lights came back on, and with it, the cloaking in Batman's suit deactivated as the silver symbol counterpart held him by the neck. "From me." "Batman" said in a low whisper as he then struck his body several times before throwing Batman on the ground.

"Batman" moved to finish him off, but an incoming attack forced him to duck and step back. He scowled when he saw that Robin had received, standing between the two Batmans.

"You're not going near him!" Robin declared as he charged, swinging his staff around expertly, at this copycat. "Batman" countered his attacks, though he had to admit, this little brat was certainly more skilled than he appeared.

"You actually seemed to be the most skilled out of this trash." "Batman" complimented, his comment throwing Robin off. "How about you quit this group of pretenders and join up with the real deal?"

"Sorry, I don't like to work with petty people, especially the villainous types." Robin mocked with a smirk on his face. His comment got "Batman's" blood boiling with rage as he then decided to stop going easy.

As Robin swung his staff, "Batman" caught the weapon and then used his enhanced strength to throw the boy wonder over his head and slammed him down on wooden boxes, shattering them. He then broke the staff with his bare hands, throwing the pieces to the ground.

"You have good technique, but it's all instinctive, you don't truly think about your attacks." "Batman" commented as he loomed over Robin. "I'm guessing you must've had some training before your memory loss."

Robin's eyes, which were beginning to close due to the pain, shot wide open. How does he know?!

His attention shifted when he heard a groan from behind. "Batman" looked to see his white-eye counterpart struggle to stand to his feet. He then had a playful, almost mocking, smirk on his face. "Well, you certainly have the stubbornness to be Batman, you faker!"

Batman roared in rage as he threw a punch at his foe, but his target merely ducked and delivered a punch to Batman's stomach, causing him to bend over. He then brought his knee up to his face and knocked Batman on his back.

"However, that's the only thing you possess." "Batman" commented. He looked around the building and saw much of the Knights struggle to stand up. He scowled as he looked at everyone.

'Pathetic! This is the group that the old man had planned to replace me with? What trash!' "Batman" thought with a disgusted frown. He would have continued to beat them, but he then heard the sound of sirens and saw the lights of police cars approaching. He wanted to continue pumping these weaklings, but the plan required that he couldn't be seen. He gritted his teeth in frustration.

"I suppose we'll call it a night then." He said as he moved to disappear into the shadows.

"No! Wait!" Batman called after him as he tried to stand up.

The red-eye and silver symbol counterpart stopped as he turned to look back at Batman. It sent his blood boiling at seeing some naive rookie dressed in the suit that should have been his.

"If you continue to rely on such useless trash like this instead of dealing with problems yourself, you'll never be Batman." He said as he narrowed his red eyes.

Batman would have spoken up, but the door burst open as multiple police officers entered the scene with their guns raised.

"N.G.P.D.! Hands up!"

Batman gritted his teeth as he looked toward the officers. He then turned back to the copycat, but he had already vanished.

'Guess he's better at that trick too.' Batman thought as he began to stand up. The rest of the Knights also stood as they moved to stand next to Batman, Nightwing and Catwoman supporting Red Hood as he had a broken leg.

"Hold it right there!" An inspector Batman recognized as Zenkichi Hasagawa, from when Kawakami was in the hospital. "You all under arrest for man slaughter, murder, and assault! We're bringing you in!"

Seeing the blue and red lights flashing from the police cars, the guns pointed at him, and hearing the charges being listed against him, brought to mind the night of his arrest. Already, his mind and body began panicking as found himself in that scene again, being accused of something he didn't do, being forced into a police car, all because he tried to do the right thing.

He was almost about to begin pleading that he was innocent of such accusations, but he then shook his head and got back to the present. Now was not the time!

"Hey! We didn't do anything wrong! It was-"

Batman cut Robin off by covering his mouth with his hand. He then sent a glare in Robin's way that told him to shut up. Robin immediately did so, seeing the anger and rage behind his white eyes.

Batman then turned back to the police and pressed a button on his utility belt. "Not tonight." He told them.

The police were about to open fire, but stopped when they heard a loud noise approaching from behind. They turned and looked in shock to see a fast approaching vehicle.

"Duck!" Zenkichi yelled as they all dove to the ground as the Batmobile passed over them, smashing the police cars as it punched through the police blockade. The black vehicle came to a stop in front of the Knights and opened its hood to allow them in.

Red Hood was first, seeing that he was injured, followed by Catwoman, Nightwing, and Robin. Batman was about to enter, but before he did, he sent a glare Zenkichi's way, which Zenkichi returned. However, Zenkichi saw something in Batman's eyes that caused him to pause. Before Zenkich could ponder it further, Batman entered the Batmobile and the hatch closed.

"Hold on!" Batman told his companion as he gripped the controls to the car and punched it. The engine roared to life as the Batmoblie shot out of the warehouse, breaking through the walls, taking off into the night.

---

The Batcave

SMACK!

The sound of a palm meeting flesh echoed around the cave as Ren fell to the ground, crashing into a workbench. He was still wearing the batsuit, minus the mask allowing his face to be revealed, along with a recently formed bruise.

"Bruce!" The other Knights yelled in shock at the old man's action as the original Batman dropped his outstretched arm, the hand already clenched in a fist, trembling with anger.

"You stupid kid!" Bruce yelled as he walked over to Ren with a fierce glare in his eyes. "How could you not see it was a trap the moment you stepped into that warehouse!?"

"And like you could do any better!?" Ren fired back as he stood back up, meeting Bruce's glare with his own. "You didn't know it was a trap when we stepped foot in there either! Guess the great Batman isn't omniscient as he appears to be!?"

Bruce then grabbed his suit and pulled him up close to his face. "At least I wouldn't have been so idiotic as to stay in a trap! I would have gotten out of there the second I realized it! Or at least wouldn't have been so stupid to stay in the trap for as long as you kids did!"

Ren gritted his teeth, his hand was clenched in a fist, wanting nothing more than to repay Bruce for his earlier strike. The only thing that stopped him was that with the suit's enhanced strength, and Bruce's old age, he was worried he was going to seriously injure Bruce, or worse.

Before the two could get into any further arguments, Morgana and Nightwing came between the two and broke up the fight, Yusuke holding Ren back while Morgana took care of Bruce.

"Look now isn't the time for you two to play a game of whose fault it is!" Morgana ordered, despite being the youngest here. "We have more pressing problems, such as the copycat!"

"Copybat." Yusuke said.

"Give it a rest dude!" Ryuji moaned as he sat on a medical bench with Ann bandaging up his broken leg. Whatever that copycat did to his leg, it brought back the pain that Ryuji felt when Kamoshida first broke it, perhaps an even more intense version of it. Thankfully, due to the tech and drugs they had in the cave, it wouldn't take nearly as long for it to heal. But it still hurts a great deal.

Morgana's statement seemed to pacify both Bruce and Ren, as the two Batmen let out a sigh. Bruce then walked back to sit at the computer. "Now that you've met him, what's your take on this copycat?"

Yusuke was almost tempted to say copybat, but thought better of it, realizing the mood wasn't right. Maybe it wasn't meant to be. Ren took another few deep breaths to calm down his anger before giving his opinion.

"He's definitely no amatur." Ren stated, he and the others had the bruises to prove it. "He's obviously well trained, more than we are. His tech is pretty schway too. It's much like how my suit operates, if not exactly. He also knew how we fight, and about Ryuji's leg injury, so it's safe to assume he's been watching us for a while."

Bruce gave an impressive smile. "Not bad. You were able to deduce much after only one encounter. Now you're starting to act like a detective." Bruce then turned back to the monitor. "We can use what we know and formulate a profile to help us determine his identity."

"Well, the guy being a know it all will certainly help narrow it down." Ryuji said, grunting in pain as Ann finished bandaging his leg.

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked, turning to the blonde.

"When we were fighting him, he was acting as if he was giving tips to us during our fight." Ann said. "It was like he was instructing us on how to properly fight him. Which was strange."

"Yes." Yusuke agreed. "Despite how viciously he attacked us, most of his comments and notes to us seemed to be legitimate and constructive, except for when he did battle with Ren."

"What do you mean with Ren?" Bruce said, looking at the boy dressed as the Dark Knight.

"He kept insulting him!" Morgana shouted in anger. "All he did was mock Ren, even had the guts to call him a thief!"

"A thief?" Bruce said with intrigue. "What could he think you possibly stole from him?" He asked the teenager.

Ren hesitated for a second, wondering if he should share it, before deciding to do so. "He said I stole Batman from him." When Bruce raised an eyebrow, Ren explained. "He claimed that he was the legitimate successor to Batman, and I was someone who stole the role from him."

Bruce looked down with a hand on his chin in deep thought. Claimed he was the successor to Batman? Could it be?

"Bruce?" The old man blinked as he looked up at Ren. "Everything okay?"

"It's fine." Bruce deflected, not wanting to share his hypothesis with the others. "All that indicates is that this copycat is more delusional and dangerous than we originally thought."

"If he claims to be the true successor to Batman, could it be one of your former prot-"

"No!" Bruce yelled, cutting Yusuke's question off and causing the Knights to flinch back. Bruce took a few seconds to calm down before he explained in a more rational tone, that still held strong emotion. "Any of my former sidekicks have either retired, died, or have gone on their own paths. I keep tabs on them on a regular basis, and none of them have been in a cape or cowl for years, at least nowhere in Nippon-Gotham. And besides, none of them, no matter how violent they may be, could be capable of this. So drop that theory." [3]

Most of the Knights looked at Bruce in surprise. He always appeared as someone who, when on a case, was devoid of emotion and only used logic to come to their conclusions. So to hear him speak with such passion, surprised them.

"My apologies." Yusuke said with a bow. "I did not mean to offend you."

"It's fine." Bruce waved off as he got back to work. "Still despite all that and more, we still have too little to go on to try and verify his identity. So we need to do more research."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Morgana asked the question on everyone's minds.

"Well that's easy." Ryuji said as he tried to stand up. "We find that dreg and beat the answers out of that-ARGH!" He collapsed the moment he put weight on his bad leg.

"You idiot!" Ann yelled in anger. "Why would you try to stand up right after I bandaged the leg?!"

Bruce walked over to Ryuji and looked down at his injured leg. "You'll need at least a week to heal." Bruce said with a glance[4]. "Until then, no going out."

"Aww come on Gramps!" Ryuji cried. Before he could make any more protest, Bruce cut him a glare that caused him to gulp.

"I have to agree with Bruce." Ren said as he looked at Ryuji. "Until you get that leg healed up, you're not going out."

Ryuji was about to argue, but seeing the look of Ren and his friends caused him to give up and let out a defeated sigh. "Fine. But promise me something." Ryuji then held out his fist. "Give that copycat dreg one for me! Alright!"

Ren smiled as he returned the gesture. "You got it!"

"Ahem!" The Knights looked over to Bruce. "Before you have any thoughts about getting payback, first you have to find him."

"Right!" Ren nodded as he pulled the mask over his head. "Let's get moving Knights! We got a copycat to snuff out!" He declared, cracking his knuckles.

"Copybat!"

"Give it a rest man!" Ryuji told Yusuke with a groan.

"No." The Knights then looked to Bruce in surprise by what he said. "You've all been through a lot tonight. And now with the police targeting you, it's best to rest tonight and pick up the search tomorrow."

The Knights looked at Bruce in confusion. It wasn't like him to give them the rest of the night off, especially this early in the night. Maybe he thought they earned it after the harrowing fight they just went through, but somehow, they felt there was more to it than that.

Regardless of the reason, they relented. "Alright." Ren said as he turned to the Knights. "Let's call it a night and get ready for school tomorrow."

Ann was especially relieved to hear such news. She was really starting to miss going to sleep at an early time.

As the Knights moved upstairs into the manor to head home, Bruce sat at the computer and looked down with a forlorn expression.

He had a strong idea of who was behind these attacks, after hearing the details from Ren and the others, but he wanted to be wrong. Never before had he so badly wanted to be wrong.

But with all the evidence that was staring him in the face, it would be foolish of him to deny it. And he could tell from all that evidence, that they wanted Bruce to know who it was under the mask.

Still though, he prayed to all the Gods, and he knew a lot, that it wasn't him.

---

Days Later - Shujin Academy - After Classes

Ren was sitting in the library, looking over a recent newspaper with several random books about political science with him. He also had a map of the city laid out on the desk before him, the map having the places where the copycat hit circled in red.

To any onlooker, it would seem like the delinquent transfer student was studying government infrastructure, so that he could find the best way around it to create anarchy.

But in reality, Ren was in deep thought over the copycat they were chasing. It's been almost a week since they encountered him, and they hadn't found any trace of him. Since then, he's been able to cause two more massacres, and all the blame was placed on them for it.

With the increased pressure from the police, it made the Knights usual patrol more difficult now that the police were hunting them with much more focus. Sooner or later, they would run out of places to hide.

They needed to catch this copycat, and fast.

But they had no leads. Everytime they seemed like they were closing in, this copycat proved to be two steps ahead of them, maybe even ten steps. He made it seem like they were closing in on him, but just when it felt like they would catch him, he showed them just how far ahead he was.

It was like a game of cat and mouse, however, they didn't quite know who was who in this sick game.

Ren was so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice that someone was watching him. However, thanks to his training, and the fact his stalker was terrible at spying, he was able to pick up on where they were.

Since the moment they started watching him

He turned his head back and saw a distinct form of brown hair quickly retreat behind the bookcase with a yelp. Ren had a whimsical smile on his face. He'd know that hair and cute sounding yelp anywhere.

"Madam President, if you can spare some time from your very interesting manga, could you maybe help me with something?" He asked. It took several seconds before Makoto stepped out of her hiding place, holding a manga upside down over her blushing face.

Ren chuckled. He swore, every time he saw this girl, she became more and more cute. Makoto then quickly moved to sit at the table he was sitting at. Still covering her embarrassed face with the manga.

Ren laughed again. "If you want to spy with a book," He began, taking the manga from her hands and flipping it rightside up. "You might want to make sure the book is held rightside up."

"I wasn't spying!" Makoto said in a loud whisper. Ren just gave her a look that said, 'really?'. "I was… observing you." She stuttered. Ren just gave her the same look. How was that any different?

"Okay, then may I ask why you were observing me, Madam President?" Ren asked, curious as to why she was spying on him.

Makoto contemplated for a moment, before looking down with a sigh. "It's just, recently, you've been looking really depressed. I figured it was probably all the school rumors getting to you." Makoto said, hoping a half-truth would suffice.

Ren blinked. He wasn't expecting her to care about him so much, at least not over some stupid rumors. Though if he was honest, the rumors were beginning to get to him. While anything that was said about Ren Amamiya caused him annoyance, he could at least feel a little better when he heard his classmates praising Batman.

But now with all the killing the copycat was doing, the praise had quickly changed to persecution. It soon felt like the student body was attacking both sides of him now. But that wasn't what was making him so depressed.

What bothered him was the fact that this copycat was more like the real Batman than he was. His skill, his tactics, his whole staying in the shadows act were far above his own level of training, that Ren couldn't help but develop an inferiority complex whenever he compared the two of them.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch up to this copycat, or figure out what his next move was gonna be, or what he was planning.

And another thing that was bothering him was Bruce. He didn't seem so invested in figuring out who was behind all these killings as he thought he would. He seemed to want to distance himself from the case, almost as if he wanted to drop it even, to not see who was behind the mask.

Makoto saw his expression drop and, feeling she was responsible for bringing up the topic of the rumors, decided to change the subject. She looked around for anything she could think of and saw the books and map of the city he had in front of him. Seeing the markings, she then had an idea.

"Are you trying to find all the different mayor candidate headquarters to visit?" She asked.

Ren was pulled out of his thoughts and looked toward her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Makoto raised an eyebrow. "The map," She began, pointing to the piece of paper, "You circled the areas where the headquarters of most of the mayoral candidates are located in the city."

Ren's eyes widened as he looked back to the map. Taking out his phone real quick, he then did some research. Indeed, he did find that the places he circled, the places where the copycat attacked, were close to most of the mayoral candidates headquarters.

Could this be a coincidence or something else?

"It's a shame though." Makoto suddenly said.

"How so?" Asked Ren, looking back at her.

"The candidates you planned on meeting have recently been caught in several scandals." Makoto told him.

"Scandals? What kind of scandals?"

"I don't know much about it, but from what I've heard from my sister, who's a public prosecutor, the police were investigating crime scenes near the campaign headquarters and found some incriminating evidence on the candidates." Makoto began explaining. "Normally that stuff would be kept under wraps, but someone leaked the information to the press, since then one by one, several candidates have been called into question."

Ren's eyes widened in surprise as he continued to read more news articles about the recent scandals and hearing from Makoto. He was surprised he missed all of this, though he was more focused on copycat than who to vote for as mayor, besides, he wasn't old enough to vote yet. [5]

However, as he looked at all the headlines of the recent scandals, and after seeing the ones caught up had the highest chance of winning, he noticed one particular such representative wasn't listed among those scandals. That led him to develop a theory.

"Hey, when did these scandals start to come to light?" He asked Makoto.

Makoto seemed to ponder for a moment, holding a hand to her chin as her eyes narrowed in concentration. He was almost distracted by how attractive she looked when she was thinking, but the theory he had was more prevalent in his mind.

"I think it happened a little over two weeks ago." Makoto said as she turned to him. She was surprised when she was greeted with a wide smile, as if he finally figured out a long thought impossible riddle.

It had to be! There was no way it was a coincidence! The time frame. The locations. The people involved. All that and more convinced him that it was no mere coincidence.

He figured it out! And it was all thanks to this amazing, awesome, attractive girl before him.

"Thank you Makoto! Thank you!" He yelled as he suddenly hugged her in the middle of the library. Makoto blushed in embarrassment as everyone began looking at the criminal transfer student hugging the strict rule abiding student council president.

Eventually, Ren realized what he was doing and quickly let go of her. "Sorry! Sorry!" Ren apologized, his own face blushing with embarrassment.

"I-It's fine…" Makoto stuttered, moving a piece of hair out of her eyes. "I-I'm glad I could help you with…" She then trailed off. 'Wait, what exactly did I even help him with?'

"I appreciate Makoto! Really." He said as he began to gather his stuff quickly and put things away. "I have to go now! It's work! I'll see you around!"

He then left the library before she could even get a word in. When he was gone, she looked down in contemplation.

The rumors weren't the only reason she was watching him. Hearing about Batman killing people motivated her to keep a closer eye on Ren. She did have her suspicions about him, but she didn't want to believe the one doing the killing was him, not after all the talks they had, and after Batman saved her.

She could only hope he didn't have anything to do with this.

---

"Got it!" Ren yelled as he walked through the streets of the city looking over his phone. There were several candidates that seemed to be free from the recent scandals, and after excluding one of them and following the pattern of who had the most success of becoming Mayor, he had his target.

'I should contact the others, this way we can get the drop on this copycat and take him down!' He opened his phone and opened up the group chat and began typing out the message. However, before he sent it, he hesitated.

His mind went back to when he saw his friends get beaten by that imposter. And his words from when they fought also echoed in his mind.

"If you continue to rely on such useless trash like this instead of dealing with problems yourself, you'll never be Batman."

That was what he said. While Ren didn't believe his friends were useless trash, the copycat had a point. If he continued to rely on others more than himself, then he'll never be Batman, a man who could take on Gods single-handedly.

Besides, this copycat was his problem. This was a battle he needed to fight alone, his way.

He then quickly deleted the message and put his phone in his pocket.

"Bruce and the others are gonna kill me for this." He muttered as he ducked into a dark alley to change into his suit.

---

Nighttime - Abandoned Metro and Train Station [6]

"No! Please no! I'm begging you man! Don't kill me!" A crook cried as he backed away from the red-eyed shadow walking towards him. He tripped over some loose floorboard, before quickly pulling himself up and ran up a flight of stairs with the shadow in pursuit.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Him and his gang had gotten a tip of an abandoned drug stash here at this old metro station where both monorails and trains still run through. When they came to collect it, they found no drugs, only him, waiting for them.

At worst, he thought he and his gang would spend a few years in prison with broken bones and some shattered teeth. He was shocked when he saw "Batman" actually kill one of his guys. It was then he knew that he and the rest of his gang weren't gonna live to see tomorrow.

He was about homefree at an emergency exit connected to the old train's boarding platform when the "Batman" suddenly appeared right in front of him, a devious smirk on his face. The thug backed away before tripping again.

"Hey man please! You don't kill people like me! Isn't that right?!" The crook tried to reason with a hopeful smile on his face.

"If you're referring to that fool who dresses like me, then yes, he doesn't kill." "Batman" said, a tinge of disgust forming on his masked face. "Unfortunately for you," He then raised his hands high and extended his claws, a bloodthirsty grin forming on his face, "I'm not that faker."

CRASH

The skyline from above them shattered as a dark figure crashed through the glass ceiling right above them. "Batman" was momentarily distracted from his prey as he looked up in shock to see who dared to interrupt him.

He managed to barely back away as the dark figure landed in between the two people. Not even a beat later, he unleashed a quick series of attacks on "Batman" that forced him back. Once he regained his bearings, he growled as he saw who it was that dared to stand in his way.

"What's that old saying? 'Speak of the devil and he shall appear'?" Batman said as he faced his red-eye silver symbol counterpart.

"WHAT THE SLAG?! THERE'S TWO OF YOU NOW?!" The crook shouted in horror. One was bad enough!

"SHUT UP/And get out of here!" The Batmen shouted, silencing him. Following the advice of the one closest to him, the thug got to his feet and got as far away from the two bat-freaks as he could.

Seeing the thug flee the scene, Batman took a quick moment to survey his surroundings. Most of the old train station was covered in blood and had bodies lying all around the ground. The sight disgusted him as he turned to face his impersonator. "I see you've been busy."

"Well you would know better than anyone, with this job, there are no days off." "Batman" said, his face filled with both disgust, and yet clearly impressed. "I have to admit, I'm surprised you managed to get here so quickly. I guess the car must've been upgraded."

"Actually, I knew you were coming here before the sun even set." Batman said with a smug smirk on his face which grew as soon as he saw the surprised expression on his counterpart's face. "I admit it took a while to narrow down which building you would target, but I knew the general area you would target before you arrived."

The surprise on "Batman's" face quickly turned to show an impressed smile. "I must say, maybe you're more of a detective than I gave you credit for." He praised.

"It wasn't me." Batman admitted. "A friend of mine pointed out the pattern and I was able to use it to find where you would strike next."

The red-eye Dark Knight looked surprised at how casually he revealed such a thing before erupting in laughter. "Of course that's how you figured it out!" He said, laughing between sentences as he placed a hand on his head. "Only a fake and thief like you would need help to find me." He stopped laughing as he looked around, trying to find signs of anyone else hiding in the shadows. "So, where are the rest of your pathetic group of Knights?"

"They're not coming." Batman revealed, shocking his opposite. "It's just you and me."

"Batman" stared at him in silence for several seconds before erupting into another bout of laughter, this one louder than the previous one. "You-you actually had the guts to come here to face me, someone who is superior to you in every way, alone, without even letting anyone know where you were?! That's hilarious!" He continued laughing. "You're either really confident, or completely stupid. But knowing you, it's probably the latter."

Batman wasn't even fazed by his comment. "Well, at least I'm not some politician's lapdog." He said with a smirk.

The silver symbol Batman immediately stopped laughing and glared at him. "What's that supposed to be?" He asked, growling.

"I figured out what you're really doing." Batman said, walking toward him. "Sure, it may seem like you're trying to be Batman, taking down criminals, maneuvering everything so that we take the heat for the deaths, but those are just secondary compared to your real mission. What you're really doing is trying to remove Masayoshi Shido's political competition."

"What nonsense is that?!" "Batman" shouted in anger.

"By going after these criminals, especially in such a horrific manner, you motivate the police to do a more thorough search around a larger area, inspecting the nearby buildings close to the crime scene." Batman began explaining. "And every place you hit happens to coincidently be close to a mayoral candidate's campaign headquarters. And it just so happens that when the police would be investigating the headquarters, they found "evidence" of illegal activity ranging from drugs to gun trafficking. And I use the word evidence loosely.

"This was the plan you and Shido came up with. You would lure a gang of criminals into a remote area close to the headquarters. Send the police a tip to your location to get them moving. Kill the criminals in such a violent and horrific way that it would require more than your standard police investigation. And if it so happened that me and my team showed up just as you finished up, we would take the blame for the massacre. The police would then search the nearby buildings, including the candidates headquarters. There they would find the "evidence" that you planted before you made the call to the cops. While the candidates may be able to escape legal charges, their reputation would be called into question and people would question whether placing their trust in them. Then Shido would come on making a speech about the dangers of masked vigilantes, gaining more support. All in all, it's a pretty elaborate and well thought out plan. Who in the world would think that the candidate for mayor whose spoken out against masks the most would be supporting a vigilante who's been killing people? No one would suspect it. Except you and that dreg Shido overlooked one thing."

"Oh yeah. And what's that?" "Batman" asked, his eyes narrowed.

"I know who Shido really is." Batman said, recalling the night of his arrest.

"Dang brat! I'll sue!" The memory of a drunken Shido said. With those two words, one man had completely shattered Ren's future.

"He's nothing more than a lying, hypocritical dreg that preaches about youth and the future, but really wants nothing more than to make himself look good for the cameras." Batman said, clenching his fists in anger at how he ruined his life. "So of course whenever I see his popularity spike because of recent killings, I grow suspicious."

Seeing the frustrated and angry expressions on his counterpart's face confirmed his theories. "You may be right that you surpass me in almost every aspect as to what makes Batman who he is. But at least I don't work for someone as corrupt and evil as Shido. You call me a fake and a thief, claiming that you're cleaning up the corruption in the city, but you're the one who's working for the most corrupt one of all! What do you have to say for yourself, Batman?"

A long moment of silence occurred between the two Dark Knights. Neither one makes a move, waiting for the other to strike or to make a move.

Finally, "Batman" made a sound that Batman wasn't expecting. He threw his head back as he laughed, almost maniacally, more louder and harder than his previous two bursts of laughter. The sight unnerved Batman.

"You… hahaha… you really impress me!" He laughed even more, holding his stomach. "You made all these impressive and convincing conclusions from the little pieces of evidence you had, and yet you still were completely wrong!"

"What?!"

"Granted what you said about Shido is correct, he is nothing more than a hypocritical phrase who tries to please the masses." Batman was surprised when he heard the contempt and the hatred this person had for Shido, it probably even surpassed his own hate for the man. "And you were spot on about Shido's plan to improve his chances to win the election. But you were completely wrong when it came to me."

"How so?"

"You claimed what I'm doing now to be secondary to Shido's goals, but rather, it's quite the opposite." "Batman" revealed. "His goals and ambitions mean almost nothing to me. I have a different goal, one that surpasses his."

"And what's that?" Batman asked, causing his red-eye counterpart to smirk.

"I want to prove to this whole city that I am the true Batman! Even better than the original ever could be!" Batman's eyes widened at his declaration. "I will show people that I can clean this city up better than he ever could, than you ever could! There will be no doubt in anyone's mind that I am the World's Greatest Detective, and always will be!" He finished with an insane laughter.

Batman just stared at his counterpart in shock. He was right, he had gotten this person all wrong. He wasn't some lackey or pawn, he was a delusional maniac who cared about being viewed as the best of the best, and he was willing to do anything to achieve that goal.

"Oh and one more thing." "Batman" suddenly said, calming down. "You forgot one more important thing in that whole deduction of yours."

"What?" Batman said.

"What good is any of those deductions, if you aren't even alive to share them." At that moment, "Batman" struck!

Batman barely was able to bring his arms up to defend himself from his counterparts' attacks. He was so fast that Batman was barely able to block his attacks, much less strike back.

He managed to catch a kick that was aimed for his chest, but that was what "Batman" intended as activated the boots thruster at full power. The blast from the foot sent Batman flying up onto the top of a catwalk above the Sky Trains.

"Definitely gonna feel that in the morning." Batman groaned as he tried to pick himself up. The blast had damaged his suit, leaving a trail of circuitree from his left collar bone all the way down to the red bat symbol visible. "Batman" quickly followed after him, using his own rocket boots to get to the top of the catwalk.

"You have to face the truth sometime, pretender." "Batman" began. "When compared to me, you are nothing but a piece of trash."

Batman looked back at him with a glare before rising to his feet and turning to face him completely. "You do a lot of talking. Not sure you can back it up." Batman challenged.

"Try me." "Batman" said, accepting the challenge. He then got into a fighting stance and held out right hand. "Come on. Show me the strength of your resolve." He invited, giving a 'come at me' sign with his hand[7].

Batman gritted his teeth as he then charged his opponent.

---

"Looks like we got another report of a Batman killing. Slag it, can't they find anyone else to work this case?" Zenkichi's partner complained as he flew the squad car to the old abandoned metro station where the tip came from.

As he saw the city's lights pass by as they drove, Zenkichi was in deep thought. He agreed with his partner's statement, why couldn't they find anyone else to work this case. He had his own cases to get to, both professional and personal. And all these late night shifts kept him from being with his daughter Akane.

It was already hard enough without her mother, now she was essentially growing up without a father. Zenkichi hoped this whole Batman situation would resolve itself soon and the city would go back to normal. Well, as normal as you could get in Nippon-Gotham.

Speaking of Batman, Zenkichi felt there was something off about this whole thing. When this new Batman made his debut at Shujin Academy a couple months back when he took down that pervy teacher, he didn't kill him. Nor had he killed any other criminal since he began taking action, except that ink creature made by that Madarame fellow.

So why the sudden change? Did he snap at some point prior to the first killing? He honestly wouldn't be so surprised if that was the case. With all the craziness in this city, it was a wonder how the original Batman never crossed that line, especially when it came to the Joker. Zenkichi praised to whatever God was out there that the demented psychopath that terrorized Gotham for years was long dead. No way would he want to raise his daughter in a city with that kind of maniac.

But back to Batman. If that was the case and he did snap, what could have caused such an extreme change? The last public activity before the killings was when he and his band of so-called 'Knights' took down that third-rate author who moonlighted as a drug dealer. And they left him alive.

In the time between that and the first killings, what could have caused him to snap like that? Did he happen to have a bad day? At that thought, Zenkichi frowned. There was a superstition the people of Nippon-Gotham had. That all it took was one bad day to drive a person insane. Some people believed that was how the Joker and Batman were born, that one bad day was what drove them down the path they set themselves on.

But Zenkichi didn't believe in that superstition. People had bad days all the time, and none of them ever decided they needed to dress up as an animal or a clown because of it. Zenkichi himself even had what one could consider a bad day. The worst day of his life even, and even then, he didn't go insane. Maybe he became a little obsessive, but not insane.

He was pulled out of these thoughts when his partner slammed on the car brakes, causing Zenkichi's head to smash against the dashboard of the car. He groaned as he tried to massage the pain away.

He was about to ask his partner what was wrong with him before he saw his partner point in front of them outside the car. "Does that guy look familiar to you?"

Zenkichi looked and saw with wide eyes that the person currently running for dear life away was none other than Ronnie Davis, a small-time gang boss that had managed to slip through the N.G.P.D.'s fingers more times than Zekichiu could count.

"What was he doing in this part of town?" Zenkichi asked. From his file, Davis operated on the west side of the city, and they were far too much into the eastside for it to be considered expanding one's territory. "More importantly, why is he trying to get as far away as he can from the abandoned metro station where the tip told us to go?"

"Let's find out!" His partner said as he got out of the car and sprinted after Davis, with Zenkichi right behind him.

Soon enough, Zenkichi's partner had tackled Davis to the ground and began to cuff him and read off his rights. The process was proving to be extremely difficult, because Davis was doing everything he could to try and get out of the officer's hold.

Zenkichi took note of the look on Davis' face. He looked terrified. But not of them, but of someone, or something, else.

"Letmegoletmegoletmego!" Davis cried and thrashed as he tried to get out of the hold. "He's gonna kill me! They're gonna kill me!"

"Who?! Who's gonna kill you?!" Zenkichi asked, kneeling down to get closer to his level.

"The Bat! Both of them!"

The pair of officers looked at each other in shock. So Batman was here. And it looked like he put the fear of God in Ronnie Davis. But what did Davis mean when he said 'both of them'?

There was only one way to find out.

Zenkichi got back to his feet and pulled out his gun, making sure it was fully loaded before turning the safety off and sprinting into the old station.

"Hasagawa what are you doing?!" His partner called after him.

"You get Davis restrained then call for backup! I'll investigate the scene!" He called, not waiting to hear his partner's protest before entering the station.

As Zenkichi made his way through the station's darkened lobby with only his flashlight to help him see, the sight of the rundown station left him unsettled, despite hearing the trains pass through the old station. From things he managed to read about this place before they arrived, this station had been out of order for about thirty years, despite that though, it used to be such an important juncture, so most of the city's old trains still ran through this station from time to time. Another thing was after it was shut down, it became a popular place where gangs would stash drugs and plan terrorist attacks.

His thoughts were put on hold when he heard the faint sound of grunting coming from ahead. Sounds of a fight. Batman could still be in the process of murdering the rest of Davis' gang.

When he was about to enter where trains would usually stop to meet, he hid behind the corner before turning into the station. He could hear the grunting becoming louder. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, double checking that his gun was fully loaded, he then stepped out from the shadows and pointed his gun at Batman.

"N.G.P.D.! Freeze! You're under…" He trailed off when he was met with the sight of Batman and… Batman? Batmans? Batmen?

Zenkichi took a moment to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming. When he confirmed that he was indeed wide awake, his investigator mind began to process what was happening.

There were two of them! Two Batmans! One had white eyes and a blood red bat symbol, the one he was most familiar with. The other was reversed with red eyes and a silver symbol of a bat, one he'd never seen before, or heard reports of.

And they were fighting each other?

Zenkichi could hardly believe it. While there were definitely cases where Gotham's vigilantes would fight each other, rarely, almost never, had he heard reports of two Batmen clashing with each other.

A million questions began flowing through the inspector's mind. Why are there two? Is one of them the killer? Is it both? Neither? Who are they? Why are they fighting? Why hadn't he heard reports of the red eyed one? Etc.

Despite all those questions and more, Zenkichi knew one thing: despite it looking like the two were evenly matched, currently, the white-eyed and red symboled Batman was losing.

---

He was losing, and he knew it.

Before he came here, Ren had thought that with the extra training he did, and with the psychological advantage he believed he would have by declaring he knew about this "Batman" being a pawn of Shido and figuring out his plans, he would be able to defeat his opponent.

However, it seemed he was wrong. Very wrong.

Despite all the martial arts training he did over the 5 years since he lost his parents, that training held no real purpose other than to be a way to focus his pent up anger and grief over the death of his parents[8]. He never took the time or put in the effort to master each fighting style, just taking several moves that naturally came easy to him. After becoming Batman, he decided to revisit his training and work to master those martial arts and more, hoping that doing so would make him a more effective Batman.

However, this "Batman" in front of him, had already mastered the art of hand-to-hand combat. His form and stance seemed to hold no flaws that Batman could pick up on. He knew the techniques like the back of his hand and could execute them in the blink of an eye. He was so fast that Batman could barely block his attacks, much less counterattack.

And it wasn't just the fact he was skilled, he was also smart with his fighting. When they started, "Batman" seemed to leave himself open for several of Ren's attacks, only for him to barely block the attack. At first Batman thought he was lucky, allowing him to grow in confidence, but as the fight dragged on, that confidence began to dwindle as "Batman" was getting faster and faster, making it harder for Batman to launch any attacks.

It was at this point that Batman realized what his opponent was doing. At first he was giving Ren the assurance that the two were on the same level, that he could defeat him if he continued fighting. But as the fight dragged on, "Batman" began to show Ren just how much of a gap was between them in terms of skill. By the time he realized that he was no match for his opponent, it was too late to retreat.

So the only option Batman had left was to hope for some miracle to happen to get him out of this situation he found himself in. But so far, no miracle came, and Batman was nearing his limit. Evident by how he was too slow to block a strike aimed for his chest that sent him to the ground.

He regained his bearings, only to see "Batman" shot up into the air, arms outstretched, silver wings fully extended, and a flash of lightning illuminating the sky above them. Needless to say, the pose his counterpart managed to pull off was very intimidating. So intimating that Batman just barely managed to regain his senses to roll out of the way from the airborne attack.

He managed to dodge it just before he landed, the landing leaving a dent into the monorail's suspension line. Taking advantage of his opponents back facing him. Batman struck out his left leg, but once again, "Batman"'s superior speed bested him as stood up, moved to the side slightly and locked his leg around his left arm in an iron grip.

He turned to glance back at Batman from the corner of his eye, who was trying to free his leg to no avail. "Is that all?" He asked, mockingly. He then pulled on leg, bringing Batman forward as he spun around and struck Batman in the face with his right elbow. He stumbled back, disoriented, before "Batman" delivered a roundhouse that struck him in the chest, the strength sent him flying into the support beam on the far end of their fighting ground.

Batman held his stomach, breathing heavily as blood trailed from his mouth down his chin. He was sure that one or two of his ribs were broken, maybe even three.

His vision became blurred as he looked toward "Batman" walk over to him. This was the most brutal and humiliating beating he'd ever received in his entire life. It was now when he realized another reason for "Batman" going easy on him. It was to give him the smallest sliver of hope… so that he could then crush it in the most devastating way.

His goal was a complete and crushing defeat so that somehow, if Ren managed to survive, his confidence would be forever shattered. And as much as Ren hated to admit it, it was working.

"Who are you?" He managed to ask, struggling to get a clean breath.

"I already told you, I'm Batman." He said as he loomed over him.

"That's not possible." Batman struggled to say. "You can't be."

"And why is that?" "Batman" asked. "Is it because I don't have the old man nagging in my ear telling me what to do?"

Batman's white eyes widened in shock. How did he…?

Seeing his opponent's shocked face, "Batman" couldn't help but erupt in laughter. "What?! Y-You mean don't know?!" He then laughed even harder. "I can't believe the old man never thought to share me with you! Then again, he always did want to come across as flawless and perfect."

"What are you talking about?!" Batman asked, genuinely confused. From the way this copybat was talking, it sounded like he knew about Bruce.

"Did you really believe you were the first?" "Batman" asked, a level of sick amusement in his tone. "That you were the only one he chose to replace him? And I'm not talking about all those other bird boys and girls he took in, I'm talking about someone he groomed for taking the role directly from him. Did you really think you were the first?"

"What… what are you saying?" Batman asked, though he had a pretty good idea what it was.

"It was supposed to be me!" "Batman" revealed, his tone and expression wild. "I was supposed to succeed him as this city's savior! But just because I made one arguable mistake, he took that away from me and gave it to a brat like you!"

Batman looked at his counterpart with wide eyes. He could be lying. He could just be saying all this to try and make Ren doubt Bruce and himself. But his voice, the look in his red eyes, what if it was true? And if it was, if this person before him was meant to be the next Batman, what did that make Ren? A thief? A faker? Just like this person had called him.

"Well, it's no matter." "Batman" said, his tone becoming more calm. He then loomed over Batman, his shadow enveloping him as he extended his claws. "Once I kill you, I'll finally prove that old man made a mistake when he chased me away, and I'll prove to this city that I am the true Batman!" He then raised his hand high. "I would've liked to keep you alive, at least so you could suffer in suspense, but maybe having you die in ignorance would be an even better punishment."

Ren knew he had to move. He had to move if he wanted to survive this. If he wanted to continue working to keep this city safe, he had to move. But no matter how much he willed it, his body refused to move, too beaten and tired to carry on the mind's will.

He was gonna die here. Deciding to accept his fate rather than cower, Ren closed his eyes, and waited for the end.

BANG

"ARGH!"

Only from to shoot wide open at the sound of a gunshot and a cry of pain that wasn't his own. He saw that "Batman" was clutching his hand that he previously raised to strike him down, blood was flooding out from the palm. A look of pure fury and anger appeared on his face as he turned to the one responsible, Batman following his gaze.

Batman's eyes widened as he saw Zenkichi standing below them near the entrance to the station, his handgun smoking as he looked directly at them, or more accurately, at his red-eye, silver symbol counterpart.

"I am Inspector Zenkichi Hasagawa of the Nippon Gotham Police Department, and you are under arrest!" He yelled as he began to read them their rights.

But those next words fell on deaf ears as Batman looked at Zenkichi with wide eyes. He had met the inspector twice, both in and out of the mask. The first time was when he was interviewing Ms. Kawakami after Operation: Maid Watch. The second was after he and the Knights fought against this copybat the first time around.

What floored him the most was that this man, this cop, seemed to just save his life. After his arrest, Ren had absolutely no faith in the police. He didn't trust them to get the job done unless he gave them no choice. That faith even decreased more as they actively began hunting them after this copybat started killing.

But here and now, one of the people a part of the organization Ren despised almost as much as criminals, had just saved his life. Ren couldn't help but be in awe.

However, "Batman"'s words brought him back to reality. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to interrupt others?" He said as he pulled out a Batarang and threw it toward the Inspector, disarming him and leaving a nasty cut. He gritted his teeth as held his hand, the sharper, more lethal Batarang nearly cutting it off.

"Batman" prepared to throw another one, with the intent to kill, but Batman, having enough time to regain his strength, if only just a minute, stood up and tackled his counterpart off the catwalk. The two wrestled as they fell down to the ground, their suits absorbing most of the impact as they landed. But that did little to dull the pain they felt.

"Batman" was the first of them to get up, a look of irritation and anger on his face as he turned toward Batman, who, with his previous injuries, struggled to get to his knees. He growled as he walked over and pulled him viciously up by the neck. "You imputant brat!" He insulted as he dragged him up to his feet and threw him against a metal pillar and began to perform a vicious beat down across his upper body.

Batman tried his best to defend, but his body was in no shape to try and defend as he struck over and over again across his body. "Batman" then pulled him to the side and delivered a kick that sent him back several feet.

Zenkichi, who managed to recover tried to hit "Batman" from behind with a metal pole, but "Batman" saw it coming as he grabbed the pole, wretched it from Zenkichi's grip, struck him in the stomach with one end and hit him across the head with the other, knocking his glasses off.

Zenkichi tried to fight back, but without his glasses, he was practically blind. He tried to kick where he thought "Batman" was, but the red-eye vigilante blocked the kick before grabbing him by the head and kneeing him straight in the face, knocking him down.

"Batman" would've continued to beat them when he heard the distant sound of an oncoming train. A sick idea soon formed in his twisted mind. With this, he would get rid of two annoyances in one go.

He then picked up Inspector, who was struggling to stand and move around without his glasses and threw him down onto the train tracks. He then walked over to where Batman continued to lay. He grabbed and dragged him by the leg over to the edge of the platform, before reaching down, grabbing by the chest then throwing him down onto the tracks.

Batman struggled to stand as blood poured from his mouth and his body was bruised all over. "Batman" then looked down the tunnel to see the incoming train. He then jumped down into the tracks and held Batman around the neck in a choke hold to keep him from escaping.

"You hear that pretender?" He asked rhetorically as the sounds of the approaching train became louder. "That is the sound of inevitability." He then tightened his choke hold as the train then came into view. "That is the sound of your death." He then looked down at his helpless captive. "Goodbye… pretender."

As Ren saw the incoming train, and saw that Zenkichi would die with him, he once again felt the powerlessness and helplessness he felt as a child when his parents died and again when he saw Shiho jump from Shujin's rooftop. Back then, he was too weak and too slow to save them, and now it seemed he was too weak and slow to save the one good cop in this whole city.

'Never again!' A voice inside of Ren shouted out in righteous fury. That's right, never again! Never again would he allow himself to become powerless like that! Never again would he feel too weak to save someone either close to him or right in front of him.

That's why he decided to put on the mask and take the name Batman in the first place. To make sure he had the strength to make sure things like that never happened again.

He then looked around for any way he could possibly get out of this situation and save Zenkichi and himself. He then looked up and found his answer.

"I'm not a pretender!" Ren said, gritting his teeth as strength and resolved filled his being

"I am vengeance…" He began, gripping the arm of his captor tight.

"I am the night…" He then brought his feet up and ready for action.

"I… am… BATMAN!"

His rocket boots then fired off at full power, sending both Batmen flying upward at high speed. They only flew for about two seconds before they collided with a metal line that ran above them. The impact caused "Batman" to lose his grip on his captor as the two fell back to the ground.

Seeing that the train was upon them, Batman acted fast as he grabbed Zenkichi and pulled him to the side, just barely making it out of the train's path.

He then looked back to where the copybat was to see that he made it out of the train's path as well. The two Batmen glared at each other as the train blocked them, Ren ready for whatever was about to be happy as soon as the train passed.

However, when it did, his counterpart was gone. Batman took a moment to look around to see any trace, even using detective vision to try and find anything, but found none. He then breathed a sigh of relief. Despite his foe getting away, he was still glad he was gone. He knew if they continued to fight any more, he would've lost.

He heard a groan and turned to the inspector which had saved his life. He kneeled down and helped the man to his feet. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Zenkichi took a moment to try and get a good look at the owner of the voice, but without his glasses, it was impossible to make out which Batman was who saved him. But he did make out some red along the black blur before him.

"I can't see which one of the two you are, but I can tell from you saving me and asking how I'm doing, you're the good one, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, you could say that." Batman said. Taking a look around, he found Zenkichi's glasses and handed them to the inspector. As Zenkichi put them on, the lenses cracked slightly, but he was still able to see.

"Thank you." He said. He then took a look around the whole train station and grimaced as he saw the number of bodies, too absorbed with the two Batmen fighting to pay it much mind. He then turned to the Batman who saved him, the one with white eyes and red symbol.

"Did you do this?" He asked, gesturing to the bodies.

Batman looked down for a long moment, before answering. "No, I didn't."

Before Zenkichi could say anything else, the two heard footsteps approaching from the entrance, a lot of them.

"Sounds like backup has finally arrived. Late as usual." Zenkichi said as he looked back at Batman who seemed to stiffen up. Seeing as he didn't have much time, Zenkichi made a split second decision. "You should get out of here. It won't look good with you here and all these bodies."

Batman was beyond shocked. "What are you talking about? Isn't it your job to bring me in?"

"Why would I? You didn't do this." It was only two sentences, made up of seven words, but those seven words had a major impact on Ren.

"You… You believe me?" He said, mystified.

"Of course I do." Zenkichi said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You saved my life after all. And there's no way a killer would ever save a cop, so I can tell you're telling the truth."

While it made sense when Zenkichi said it out loud, Ren was still in awe as he stared at the Inspector. Someone believed him. Someone actually believed him. He believed this wasn't Ren's doing. The action caused Ren to feel lighter, a bit happier even.

Zenkichi looked back when the footsteps became even louder. "Look, we can debate on what you should and shouldn't be charged for next time we meet." He said as he turned back to Batman. "But right now you need to-"

He stopped when he saw that Batman had vanished. He looked around to see any sign, but found none. He then broke into a smile as he scratched the back of his head. "Oh yeah, you're known to do that."

"Hasagawa!" His partner called as he came up to him and looked over his bruised face. "What happened?! Did that bat freak do this to you?"

"Yes and no." At his partner's confused face, he sighed. "Let's get back to the station, there's something the city needs to know."

---

The Batcave

SMACK

The slap echoed through the cave as Ren fell down on his rear, holding his newly formed bruise, much fresher than the others he had on his face.

"You stupid, ignorant, arrogant, brat!" Bruce yelled as he loomed over Ren. "I didn't think you could be more idotic after falling into that copycat's trap. But you are just so determined to prove me wrong aren't you?!"

"Yeah!" Ann said, stepping up and hitting Ren repeatedly over the head with a newspaper roll. "How could you be so dumb as to try and take on the guys who defeated all of us by yourself?! Especially without telling any of us?!"

"Yeah! That sounds like something Ryuji would pull!" Morgana said.

"Yeah, what Morgana said!" Ryuji agreed, too angry and upset to notice he's been made fun of.

"Indeed! How could you be so reckless as to try and take this foe on by yourself?" Yusuke added. "What possessed you to take such action?!"

Even Ace was voicing his disapproval at Ren's actions with several barks.

After a few more admonitions from his team, Ren finally answered them in a low voice. "I just… I just wanted to prove… to prove I was good enough."

His statement caught most of the Knights off guard. Though Bruce just scoffed. "Pft! Teenagers. Always feel like they have something to prove. No matter how ridiculous it is." He said as he walked away.

Ren gritted his teeth at Bruce's response as he got back to his feet. "I wanted to prove it to you!" He yelled, causing Bruce to stop. "You've been busting my butt since day one and constantly ridiculing me everytime I do something remotely off. So I thought catching this guy would prove to you, and you guys," He said looking toward the Knights, "That I was good enough! That I was worthy to be Batman!"

He breathed heavily for a long moment before looking down at the mask in his hand, a look of shame and failure written on his face. "But now, after facing him and knowing just how better he is at everything that makes Batman who he is… maybe I don't deserve to be Batman after all?"

His friend's expression quickly changed from anger to pity. Apparently they now finally realized what Ren was going through during this whole copycat case. He kept seeing himself as inferior to this "Batman", thinking he had to do something to prove he was better. But now it seemed that he realized that no matter how hard he tried, he wasn't gonna be at this copycat's level.

But Bruce didn't have any ounce of pity in him. "So you think he's better at everything that makes Batman who he is?" His question caused the Knights to look at him as he turned back to Ren. "Then tell me, what do you think makes me, and anyone else who dares put on the mask Batman?"

Ren was taken aback by the question, not sure how to respond, allowing Bruce to continue. "Is it being a good detective? A great fighter? Being scary? Dead parents? Well let me tell you someone, there are millions of people who have at least one of those qualities, some more than one, and some have all of them! So does that make them Batman?! No!"

He then grabbed Ren by the suit and pulled him in close. "You want to know what made me into the Batman? It was a vow. A vow I made the night my parents died. A vow to never let what happened to me happen to anyone ever again! That's what made me push myself! What made me go through all that training and work to become what I am! All the skills and intellect would have been worthless if I didn't have that drive!"

He then let go of Ren. "So you see, it doesn't matter what's in here," He said pointing to Ren's head, "or here," he pointed at his arm muscles, "what matters, is what's in here!" He said, jabbing a finger in Ren's chest, over his heart. "The drive. The determination and desire to keep this city safe! That's what makes Batman who he is!" He then removed his finger from Ren's chest and stepped back.

"So tell me, Ren Amamiya, do you have that drive?"

It wasn't even a question that needed to be answered. Everything he did since he came back home, every person he saved and put away behind bars, even going after the copybat. It was all done out of the desire to keep this city safe. The city he grew up in. The city his parents loved and died in. The city that was his home.

"You even need to ask?" Ren said, the fire in his eyes reigniting. That copycat tried to extinguish the fire by proving just how superior he was to Ren, and almost succeeded. But Bruce's words, despite how harsh they were, allowed that fire to burn brighter than ever before.

Yes, he wasn't as skilled as the copybat was, yet. But this encounter, along with Bruce's words, just lit a spark that was quickly catching fire in Ren's soul. He would get better, good enough to beat that copybat the next time they met, and after that, he would continue to get better, and better, and better, and even more better! He wouldn't stop improving himself, not ever, because this city, his home, deserved something better!

"Good." Bruce said with a smile, satisfied with Ren's renewed resolve. He then turned back to the computer and sat down. "You can take the rest of the night off. Go get yourself check out by Dr. Takami." Before the others could protest the importance of continuing the case, Bruce spoke up. "I think this copycat will lay low for a while. He knows we're on to him, and you said the police saw him, so I think it would do both him and Shido some good if they don't do anything to draw attention to themselves."

Though Ren wanted to argue, he did have to admit that his body was barely able to stand after the beating he'd taken. Maybe a check in with Tae Takami would be for the best. "Okay." He then looked down to his hand and clenched it into a fist. "But the next time that guy shows himself, I'll show him who's the real copybat!"

Most of his friends looked at him in surprise at his statement, or more accurately the last word he spoke, while Yusuke looked elevated.

"Uhh, Ren… did you just…" Morgana began, trailing off.

Ren then sighed. "Yeah, I have to admit, it's growing on me." Ren confessed with a small smile.

"Yeah, same here." Ann said.

"Well if you and Lady Ann are on board, then so am I." Morgana said.

Ryuji just looked in shock as his teammates suddenly began betraying him like that. A throat cleared and he looked toward Yusuke, who had a smug expression on his face.

Ryuji then groaned. "Ugh! Fine! You win the bet!" He grumbled under his breath.

"I'm grateful to know you have good sportsmanship, despite looking like a delinquite." Yusuke said with a happy expression.

"What was that beanstalk!?"

Everyone but Ryuji erupted in a burst of laughter as they went up the stairs into the manor. Before leaving, Ren paid one last glance toward Bruce.

He may seem rough around the edges and a harsh teacher, but deep down he was a person who cared about this city, and those who followed after him. If it wasn't for what Bruce said, Ren was sure he would have the courage to put on the mask.

However, Ren frowned as he recalled moments from that fight, and hearing what that copybat said.

"Did you really think you were the first?"

He could've been lying. Saying those things to try and trip Ren up and have him make mistakes. But the raw emotion in his tone, the look in his eyes. It all seemed genuine. But if it was, did that mean Bruce knew who this killer was?

Ren then shook his head. Bruce might be a man with a lot of secrets, but there's no way he would hide a killer who was insulting his legacy just because it was a former student, and bsides, if he did have someone before Ren, he would have told him, right?

As Ren finally went upstairs to the manor, Bruce let out a tired sigh. There was another reason why he didn't want Ren to go after the copybat. If he did, with his level of skills, he was going to die.

Ace came up to Bruce and began to nustle his head against Bruce's side in a way to comfort him. "I know, boy." Bruce said as he petted the dog. "I'm gonna have to tell him eventually." He then looked back up the stairs where Ren and the others had left.

"But not now."

---

"Okay. Yes, I appreciate you doing that Mr. Honjo. And I promise to give you and your publishing company exclusive rights to my campaign. Right. Thank you. Good night." Shido said as he hung up the phone.

When he did, he let out a tired sigh and pinched the bridges of his nose. He then turned and looked furiously at his guest with him. "Do you have any idea of the storm you just sent my way!?" He asked rhetorically. "Because of your reckless killing spree, I had to call in various favors to people who I didn't want to use yet just to cover up your mess. I even had to promise exclusive coverage just so they wouldn't publish the story about there being two Batmen."

"Why so angry?" His guest asked, his upper body exposed, the red-eyed mask of Batman laying over the coach, his face obscured in the darkness of the office room. Currently he was wrapping a bandage around the hand which had been shot by the Inspector. "I only carried out the plan you wanted me to. Why are you so upset?"

Shido's eyebrows frowned significantly at the boy's tone. "We were supposed to wait until closer to the election, that way the other candidates wouldn't have time to fix or make excuses before the polls."

"Don't you think that would only draw more suspicion to yourself?" The figure pointed out. "Many of the other candidates are suddenly revealed to be dirty while you remain to be the only one who is squeaky clean. That only causes more raised eyebrows. Doing it early and to a few of them would only draw less suspicion from you."

"We both know you didn't do this for the sake of the plan." Shido pointed out the obvious as the figure paused in wrapping the bandage around his hand. "You wanted to have a go at Batman, didn't you?"

Shido didn't even blink as the Batarang was thrown in his direction, grazing his cheek before stabbing the computer. The figure was trembling with such rage and anger, his eyes, which could be visible despite the darkness around him, shook with fury. "He's not Batman!"

"Right, you are." Shido said. "I honestly couldn't care less over this battle for the cowl you have going on in your head. But the first priority is the plan to get me elected as Mayor of the city. You remember our agreement right, when you came to me?"

"Yeah, I remember." The figure said, calming down slightly. "I help make you mayor by spreading terror throughout Gotham, proving your statements that masked vigilantes are a caner to this city. In return, you help me get what I want, which is to become the Batman that this city will recognize."

"Good thing you have a strong memory." Shido said as he turned his back to pour a glass of alcohol for himself. He then took a sip and swallowed, the taste being bitter in his mouth[9]. He then turned back to the figure. "Just keep that in mind the next time you decide to do something-"

He stopped when he saw his 'guest' had vanished, taking the rest of his uniform with him, even somehow managing to snab the Batarang he threw earlier, leaving no trace of his presence whatsoever.

Shido had to admit, the boy was impressive, and that was precisely why he had to be eliminated before he became mayor. Someone that skilled and dangerous could and would pose a threat to Shido if he left them alive for too long. As soon as he was guaranteed to win the election, that boy was going to die. He would have preferred to have him killed right now, but with the polls still uncertain and that new Batman in the city, Shido still had uses for him.

Speaking of the new Batman, he would also have to die before election day. From what the boy had told him of this new Batman, he seemed to know who Shido really was. That itself made him even more dangerous than the boy, despite how much more skilled the latter was. Having someone outside his control who knew who he was could bring his entire empire crumbling to the ground.

Hopefully, these two brats who thought themselves as Batman would kill each other, allowing Shido to keep himself from getting his hands dirty.

He then stepped over to the window and overlooked the large city that was below. He then took a big swig of his drink before speaking

"Soon. Very soon. This city… and all of its people… will be mine."

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed my last chapter for a while. I think.

Now to explain some things. I originally thought that I was going to be going somewhere for two years, unable to access a computer to update. But as it turns out, I will be staying home for the duration of those two years, and be allowed to be on the computer. But I'm not 100% sure I will be able to still write/read any fanfiction. I'm trying to stay pure and fill my days with wholesome things. This whole thing I'm doing is for my religion. And while I don't really include anything inappropriate in my stories, I'm still not sure if it's something the Lord would want me to do while I'm serving him.

Now onto stuff concerning the story:

[1] Think of the disarming and destroying of the stun batons from the Arkham Games.

[2] I have no idea if that's an actual ability of the suit, able to mask body temperature and stuff, I just wanted to show how more skilled "Batman" is to be able to find him despite that ability to hide himself.

[3] We all know Red Hood has gotten pretty violent at times, and so has Damian, but these are literal massacres, more violent than most people had seen over the years. And Bruce doesn't want to believe those he raised are capable of this.

[4] I did a week because it was in the future, and in the future, everything is faster, especially if you're rich.

[5] The age to vote in the U.S. and Japan is 18. Ren is currently 16.

[6] Think of the skytrain station from episode 3 of Batman the Telltale Series where Batman fought against the leader of the Children of Arkham.

[7] Yes, I took that scene from the Matrix movies. I have recently seen all the movies, and I honestly have completely fallen in love with the fighting in them. In fact, the fights between these two Batmen going forward are gonna be like the fights in the matrix movies (high speed, choreographed, and awesome looking) Just picture those kind of fights when you read those two fighting.

[8] The reason why Ren isn't as skilled is because he went and trained in all those dojos mainly as a way to deal with the grief of losing his parents, he never planned to take any of that training to the world. But don't worry, he'll definitely be getting better as the story progresses.

[9] I don't drink so I don't know what alcohol tastes like.

I also hope you all like how I had Ren deal with his inferiority complex with this other Batman. That's part of the reason why I had Ren go after this CopyBat alone and without back up. Because he feels he has to prove himself to both Bruce and his team that he's worthy to be Batman. Another reason is that because he is a teenager. And we as teenagers all do stupid things. Don't deny it!

And here's the next chapter preview.

What is Justice?:

As Makoto reveals she knows the identities of the Gotham Knights, she then challenges them on their view of Justice, giving them a mission to go after a crime boss operating under the name of one of the most notorious criminals in Nippon-Gotham's history: The Penguin.