Barbara came out of her coma some days later, coughing and sputtering. Bruce was there right beside her, cowled, and kept her to the bed with his strong grip. It was good to see her moving again, Bruce needed some good news and seeing her move again maybe he could find his own distraction from all this. He offered a small smile.

"Easy, Barbara, it's me-"

She moaned softly and her eyes adjusted to the sigth before her. He thought he saw a smile before it was replaced with a catlike growl. "Batman!"

A claw swung up, slashing him across the face. He stumbled to the side and blocked a kick, and then another. What had gotten into her? Her claws swung out and he caught them both by the wrist.

"Barbara, stop it, you know who I am."

She reared up and sprung off his chest before planting against the wall and bounding forward. Her claw tore at his cape and he curled an arm around her neck while the other gripped both of her wrists, keeping them behind her back as she kicked and tried to bite at his armor. It would only hurt her fangs, but he still felt the pressure of his forearm.

"You were trying to put me away," she cried, "you and the League were all trying to put us away!"

It was as he feared. The explosion did more then simply shaking the genetic suppression process, it rattled her memories to just after he and the League locked Luthor and his motley crew of villains up. He narrowed his eyes on back of her head. "Who's Bruce Wayne?" he asked in a low, even tone.

"Some millionaire playboy," she scoffed, "why the hell would I care?"

His heart sank then and he turned his form and slammed his elbow against her temple before he slammed a palm into her back, sending her face first against the wall and sending her prone to the ground. She was knocked out and only saw the medical room and him. Nothing else was compromised. It was a small victory in a long line of defeats when it came to women. Anger settled in his heart. He blamed Jack once again for this, if he hadn't shown up with that explosion following him Barbara and he could still have had something. If he hadn't entered his home, his Gotham, none of this would have happened.

That anger was replaced however by a familiar sadness. The situation seemed to be one of many. Woman never seemed to fit into Bruce Wayne's or Batman's lifestyle, save Selina, but even then such occasions they left the masks on when they did reconvene. Even then it did not have the same flair as before. Bruce felt age gnawing at his bones only slightly, but it was there. He wanted to leave the cowl behind. It wasn't the same, no one truly knew him inside and out. He reached up and traced his bloody cheek.

"I heard something, is everythin—Oh my Lord, Batman you're bleeding."

It was Green Lantern with once again a worried look. Batman gave him a passive glare. "I'm fine. Get her back to Earth, drop her at MPD headquarters. They can deal with her."

"Weren't you and her-?"

"We were, not anymore."

He turned to him and narrowed his eyes. "Drop me off at Gotham on the way."

"Right, are you sure you-?"

"I'm fine," he snapped to him.

"If you say so."

He landed in the familiar streets, not even saying thank you to Lantern as he shot his grapple out. The stench of betrayal constantly tickled his nose and the aura of corruption ever present laid there naked in front of his eyes. He heard gunshots, a perfect way to let off some steam. They were coming from Park Row, fitting he was coming back to where the Batman truly was born. He saw several figures run down it, trading potshots with the police. He came down hard on the first, letting his head smack off a near by dumpster. He leapt off the body and turned, throwing several batarangs and disarming the other thugs before he came into striking distance with them.

His elbow swung up, connecting with one's jaw as he blocked a kick and twisted it away. His leg swung back as his fist swung around, knocking them both down. Gunshots scattered above him as another group of thugs came around the corner. Smoke pellets were dropped in response. Thermal imaging came on out of reflex. He took the first and down with a running clothesline which led him to another pair. A double spin kick took them both down. He continued with the momentum, a forth dropped with a well aimed drop kick before he rolled backward and spring boarded into a fifth thug, slamming him against the wall.

"Someone shoot the damn Bat!"

That familiar growl with a hint of command brought a wince to his already injured cheek. He rolled to the side and locked his gaze with Harvey Dent, Two-Face, his former friend an alley. He saw the glitter of the coin in one hand and a pair of bags in the other. A grin took the criminal's lips.

"Just warming up, aren't you, Bats? I brought more then a few men to keep you busy."

He was right. More of the dual suited thugs came into the alleyway, exchanging their guns for pipes, crowbars and fists. At least they were smart enough to not fire at him in such close quarters in the risk of hitting their own. A few hung back though, it seemed Two-Face in all of his strange '2' themed crimes managed to train his forces for melee and ranged a simple, but effective tactic.

The first group came in and Batman swept a leg along the ground before rising up and swinging his fist over hand followed by a quick underhanded jab. He slid to the side, shooting an elbow back and bashing a forearm forward. He knew there were too many, yet kept swinging his arms forward and blocking behind. Every swing he struck someone, and that's what mattered right now.

A pair of shouts were turned some attention away and a familiar, flowing grey cape landed on top of a pair of thugs. It seemed that Jack wanted to make an impression. That suited Batman fine for the extra set of hands was welcome. They met back to back in the middle of the mob.

"Took you long enough to get out of the tower."

"Shut up and fight," Batman growled.

The pair moved in sync without communication. Legs were blocks and thugs swings were parried and countered. Jack twisted his form back and kicked in front of Bruce as he blocked and punched behind the leg of another thug.

"Over."

Batman stayed low to the ground and Jack rolled over his shoulders to double kick another pair of thugs. A kick went high but Jack knocked it aside with his outstretched arm and Bruce followed through with a double palm strike across the midsection. Their arms locked and they spun, kicking another pair down and they held their arms up ready for more. The thugs were backing away now.

A shout pierced the sky and Hawkgirl came crashing down. Her electrified mace sent more of the thugs away. She as parting the tide and blocked blows with the Nth metal weapon as she went. The Thanagarian warrior showed her worth, and Bruce noticed her dark hair beneath her signature helm, it suited her he thought as he turned and spun in the air, sending another thug to the ground with a bruise already forming across his cheek and jaw. It didn't take the three long to clean up the rest of the thugs, and Bruce noticed only he was short of breath.

"We made a pretty good team." Jack noted and Bruce could see the smile under his mask.

Batman nodded in agreement.

"Look I'm," Jack sighed, obviously having difficulty saying sorry. Bruce could sympathize with that. "…sorry, alright? What happened to Barbara-"

"She's gone." Bruce noted coldly. "The explosion made her lose her memory of who I was."

Jack seemed shocked by the news, and Hawkgirl watched the alleyways where the bulk of the thugs came from as the two talked. Jack shook his head. "Batman, I didn't mean-"

The sound of two gunshots rang through and Jack bucked forward. Batman froze up, the two gunshots brought him back to where he saw his parent's fall to where he was made. The vision soon faded and he turned to the other side of the alley. He saw Two-Face's twisted grin as he held up the scratched side of the coin to him.

"One Batman too many."

Jack stood upright and traced at the two holes, one near the center of his right breast and the other that shot clean through his neck. He sputtered, blood shot through the grey material. He fell to his knees and stared at Batman. The same look his parents gave him before they passed before his eyes. Not again, not here. He eased him to the ground and put pressure on the wound on the chest. He saw the blood pump through his fingers and cursed beneath his breath.

"No, no, no, no… You're going to be okay…"

Jack tried to speak, but more blood pumped from his lips beneath the mask. He tried to say something and Hawkgirl leaned down to hear. She was crying and gripping his hand, Batman saw the grip being returned weakly. Hawkgirl and Jack shared a moment, a night of needed passion he guessed but he knew there was more by the way Hawkgirl looked at him. He wanted to say he was sorry, but Batman stayed quiet. He stood upright, letting his cape flow over his shoulders and cover his shaking arms as he listened. The wind that quietly blew through the alley was the only other sound.

"Hawk…girl…I lo-"

He was silent now, and Hawkgirl was turned away from the corpse, crying. Batman knelt down and checked his pulse. He didn't need to, but felt it was necessary. Jack Napier was dead. He died a hero, and Bruce bitterly admitted that he was his perfect replacement. There was nothing the Batman, or even J'onn with all his medical knowledge, could do to save him even if they could get to the Watchtower immediately. He brought a hand up to his ear and hesitated to use it.

"Batman to Justice League…The Grey Knight, Jack Napier, is dead."

He turned off the comm then and simply stared at the corpse. He hated Jack yes, but it was his alias, the thing that reminded him too much of the Joker. He proved himself that he wasn't anything like his twisted counterpart here. He never wanted him dead, or hurt, he just felt threatened. He saw himself in Jack, all the skill, all the potential, now it was all gone, replaced by a still corpse. It was another one he burned into his memory. He also burned Harvey's expression into memory. That mocking grin, one of many that tormented him, but one he could now focus on and break. He would be bringing his former ally in. It was just a matter if near death was an acceptable condition for court.

"We're going to find him aren't we? We're going to bring this freak to the ground?"

He nodded to Hawkgirl who slammed her mace into the wall, shattering it. He let her take out her rage for a moment and he hesitantly placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Hawkgirl…"

"It's not fair. He just wanted to impress you, wanted to prove-"

She went into another fit of sobs and Batman pulled her against him. Her lithe form shook against him.

"We'll find Two-Face," he promised, "even if we have to bring all of Gotham down to do it."