I'm listening to my Maroon 5 playlist as I write this, if you were wondering… ;) And this isn't really based on any specific version of the Joker; it's kind of a mix of all of them, I guess.

And I know that this doesn't really feel like stuff Bruce Wayne would think and all that but it's for the story's purpose and after this chapter I'll try and make him more realistic. And if you don't know, Joe Chill is the guy who killed his parents. xoxoxo bitches :)

The next three days, in Bruce Wayne's P.O.V.

Day 1

"Hello?" I said into the receiver. "Is this Bruce Wayne?" A man asked. "Yes. May I know who is asking?" "Yeah, this is Officer Johnson, down at the police station. We have a girl here, age 17, name's Julie Wayne. She's your niece, but she says she's never heard of ya. But you're directly related. Her parents were just killed yesterday. We kept her here overnight, to make sure she was still sane. She seems alright, though. It kinda creeps me out a little. I mean, she just saw her parents get murdered and she hasn't even cried. At least, not that anyone's seen. And she never really looks sad, just like she's not really there or something… She's either a real tough kid, or she's gone crazy. We had her talk to a therapist. He said she was fine. Anyways you're her only living relative, and she needs a home. If you, uh, can't though, there's always the Arkham Orphanage."

I hesitated a moment before answering. This was going against my better judgment. "Of course I can take her. She is family after all." Even though I hadn't talked to my brother or his wife in fifteen years, and I didn't know about their daughter until today, what had happened to her was eerily the close to what had happened to me. I couldn't just leave her on the streets. "Alright, that's great! We'll need you to come up to the station and sign some papers first, but that can wait until tomorrow. Is 5 p.m. tomorrow good for you, Mr. Wayne?" "Yes, that's perfect." I confirmed. "We'll see you tomorrow, sir. Have a nice evening." He sounded pleased. "You too." I put the phone in its cradle and walked to my study. I sat at my desk until Alfred walked in.

"Sir, is there anything wrong?" He questioned. "Well... I have a niece…..and she's coming to live with us." "Sir?" "Lance and Julienna were murdered yesterday. I wish I'd fixed our relationships before this happened… I don't know the entire story, but you can understand why I couldn't say no." I looked at him. He had a thoughtful look on his face. "You say they were murdered? Did she discover them or..?" "Actually, the officer that called me said she saw the whole scene, from beginning to end." "Sir...you said the other day…you needed someone to…be there to replace you..if anything were to happen. Who better than your own family.. In fact, she's going through exactly what you went through all those years ago. I'm sure she would be more than willing to-" "Alfred…you can't possibly be suggesting that I put someone else-especially someone so young-through what I've gone through as Batman?" "Sir..I believe it is…. what is supposed to be done. Just… think about it." Alfred said solemnly before leaving the room.

Day 2

I got out of bed from a sleepless night. I rubbed my eyes before walking to the bathroom. I splashed my face with cold water. After getting dressed, I walked into my study and over to my desk. I pushed the button underneath, which then moved the bookshelves behind me aside, to reveal the entrance to the Batcave. I looked at the two poles. One was for me, and the other was for an unknown. While mine was losing its shine, the other still looked brand new.

Maybe I should consider training her to help me. Alfred is one of the wisest people I know. He might be entirely right, that she would be more than willing. But what if she wasn't? It's not like I can ask if she'd be Batgirl and then erase her memory if she said no… If she knew that I was Batman, and she didn't want to be Batgirl, then she would have information that could get a lot of people I knew killed, if put in the wrong hands. And I work alone anyways. She would just get in my way….. Right? I just don't know. I suppose if, as Alfred said, it is what is supposed to be done, then I suppose I will know when I meet her whether or not to tell her.

Later that day, at the police station...

I sat in the waiting room for nearly half an hour before Commissioner Gordon had time to see me. I was just contemplating leaving and coming back later when Jim walked out. "Ah, Bruce. You're here about Julie, right? Well, uh, right this way. We can talk in my office." I stood up and followed him to a room overloaded with stacks of books and papers. "I think you might need to clean in here a bit, Jim." I said as I looked around. "Yes, I do, but I never seem to have enough time, what with the Joker being as active as he has been…there hasn't really been much time for anything." "Yes… I've heard of the incidents..including the hospital two weeks ago. "It doesn't seem possible for one man to cause all this trouble." "But he does." Jim gave a sigh before sitting down, shuffling through some papers on his desk, and pulling out a stack.

"Alright, now, on to business." I took the seat opposite him. He handed me three thin manila envelopes with the names Lance Wayne, Julienna Wayne, and Julie Wayne written on the tabs. "You might want to see what happened before we actually talk about this." I opened Lance's envelope first and pulled out all the papers. The first two were copies of his birth and death certificates. Then there was the report. Gunshot to the head, from the left side. That was the only thing the killer had done. No cuts and no other bullet wounds were found. I read down the page and saw that it had been at the Arkham Mall. My eyes wandered to where the suspects should have been. But there were no suspects. There was a definite killer. My head shot up. "Joker did this?" I practically yelled. Gordon grimly nodded his head. I mentally cursed myself. That had been the day that Batman had arrived at the scene of the Joker's crimes too late to stop him from killing anyone. He had set up enough of his little tricks to stall me and give him all the time he needed. I had had no idea. I had practically done to her what Joe Chill had done to me. I put the photo back in the envelope and handed it to Jim. Next was Julienna's. The file contained the same, except the report said she had been shot three times. Twice in the stomach, and once in the heart. The photo showed her lying in a puddle of her own blood. I handed the envelope back.

Julie's envelope was the thinnest. I took out the papers, gingerly. There were even less then her parents'. I opened the envelope. The first paper was her birth certificate. The second was her witness report, written in quick, shaky handwriting. I silently read it, taking in every word, and feeling guiltier and guiltier for every sentence. I couldn't read it anymore, or I might puke. I felt so guilty for not saving them. For not….saving her…. I shoved the envelope in his direction. "Yeah… it was a pretty gruesome description for a 17 year old….. Bruce, are you gonna be okay?" "Yeah." I forced myself to say. "Well…I have the papers here…somewhere…" He said as he started searching for more papers.

The next few hours went by uneventful. I signed all the needed paperwork. Yes, I would pay if she needed to go to the hospital for any reason. Yes, I would do my best to help her recover. Yes, I would pay for therapy if needed. Yes, I would keep her well fed and safe. Yes, I could transport her to school for at least the next 6 months, in case she was being followed by the killer. Yes, yes, yes. I would do everything. Gordon thought it was because she was my brother's daughter. It had only started as that. It became more. I would do everything I could to repay her for the pain I had caused her by not showing up in time.

Day 3

When I woke up, I saw turned on the news and saw that the Arkham Mall murders were on the news. The reporter went through a list of eight of people that the Joker had killed and said that the Batman had shown up around this time, and he was the most likely reason there were still 300 not dead. I turned off the T.V. and walked into the kitchen to talk to Alfred. "Alfred…I think…I think I'll ask Julie…. It's the least I can do for not saving her parents." "Sir, you cant blame yourself for their deaths. You got there as fast as you could." "I could have just gone another way, instead of fighting them." "It would have taken just as long, and those loons would still be on the streets, instead of at Arkham Asylum." "I just…I cant help but blame myself. I should have been there to stop him." "You cant beat yourself up! You couldn't have been in two places at once, and we didn't even know he was personally there. He usually sends his lackeys in to do the dirty work, and they don't ever do very good at it." "Which is probably why he was in there." "Master Wayne, you need to lie down, and get a good rest. Tomorrow Julie is getting here. Just remember, if you want someone else to forgive you, you must first forgive yourself." "Alright….just….alright.." I sighed, defeated. It took nearly two hours before I was able to go to sleep, and it wasn't a pleasant night.