The trio entered the large mansion a few minutes later. Terry and Coba helped Bruce sit down in an armchair before Terry looked for the old man's medicine. He returned just a minute later. "Here you go," Terry said to Bruce, handing him some pills. "They were where you said they would be."

"Thanks," Bruce said to the boy. He took the medicine and washed it down with a drink of water, immediately feeling better.

Terry took the glass of water politely from Wayne. "So, you're going to sleep now, huh?" he said as he went to place the water on the nearby table. "You go right ahead, our dad's probably waiting up for us anyway. We'll just let ourselves out."

"Shh, he's asleep," Coba whispered.

Sure enough, Bruce had fallen into a much needed sleep. Terry motioned for Coba to follow him as he walked towards the door. As Terry opened the door, Ace barked angrily at him. "Can you tell him that we mean no harm to him or Mr. Wayne?" Terry asked his sister.

"Sorry, but I don't know how to say 'Mr. Wayne' in dog," Coba confessed. "Besides, there's no way I can get him to be fine with your presence without the help of Mr. Wayne. Why don't we just give Dad a call?"

"You'll have to do it," Terry pointed out. "I'm grounded for life from using the phone, remember?"

Coba walked over to the table and picked up the phone, disturbed to find that it was unhooked. "There goes that idea," she muttered.

Some troubled screeching was coming from behind the two children. They turned to see a bat stuck inside the clock face of the grandfather clock. Terry placed his hand on the glass, trying to find a good crevice. "I'll get you out of there," he reassured the flying rodent. "Just don't bite me."

The grandfather clock suddenly moved to the right, causing the bat to fly free in terror down the revealed staircase. Terry and Coba looked at each other in surprise for a brief moment. The oldest walked down the stone staircase, his sister limping cautiously behind. Once at the bottom, Terry turned on all of the light switches located on the left wall. The lights came on one by one, revealing a strange looking car and a large computer.

"Whoa," Terry and Coba gasped in unison.

"We just found the legendary Batcave!" Coba whispered.

"I know," Terry whispered back. He led Coba down another staircase, causing more lights to turn on. They turned around with their fists raised defensively, but they then realized that the lights were illuminating some different costumes: the original Batsuit, Batgirl's suit, Nightwing, Robin, and a newer version of the Batsuit. Terry stopped in front of the original Batman costume. "Jeez," he said in awe, "no wonder he could fight."

Coba looked curiously at the other suits. "Batgirl, Nightwing, and Robin... I wonder who were wearing those suits back then," she said quietly.

"Not for you two to know," growled a voice from behind.

Terry and Coba turned around in surprise to see Bruce Wayne standing in front of the staircase, glaring at them angrily. "Get out!" he ordered, waving his cane menacingly.

~!~

"He's Batman!" Terry exclaimed after a few minutes of walking away from Wayne Manor.

"I know," Coba said a little irritably. "I saw it too, remember?"

"Why would he kick us out?" he wondered aloud. "We fought against Jokerz alongside him just a little bit ago! We can be trusted with his secret anyway, right?"

"He doesn't know us very well, that's all," Coba stated, a little calmer. "Well, and he does seem like he's afraid to be open to anyone else, as if something happened a long time ago. Can we slow down a little bit? My leg's acting up again."

Terry slowed to a steady walk, allowing Coba to walk more comfortably. "I still think he's a freak," he said gruffly. "What did we do wrong, anyway?"

"For one thing- -" Coba started.

"I didn't mean for you to answer it," Terry said sharply. "I was talking to myself."

"Oh, sorry." We went down that staircase without his permission, Terry, Coba finished her original sentence in her mind. And what was down there was intended to be left unknown to the outside world, including us. It's no wonder that he's ticked off at us.

"I'm sorry, Coba," Terry apologized. "I shouldn't have talked to you or Dad like I did earlier and just now. Dad's trying to teach me right from wrong, and you just saved my life- -with the help of a whacked-out old man. How you got acquainted with him that quickly, I may never know."

Coba slightly grinned. "I may never know, either," she said with a small chuckle. "I was there, yet I don't know. Don't you hate it when that happens?"

Terry also chuckled, until he saw something that alarmed him greatly. His sister looked in the direction he was staring and was equally terrified- -if not more- -at the scene: police cars were gathered in front of their father's house.

"Oh no, not again!" Coba breathed in horror. She sprinted to the house as fast as she could and bolted inside. Please don't let it be true!

Knowing something was indeed very wrong, Terry took off after his sibling. He looked up the staircase suspiciously. "Dad?" he called concernedly. It was only then that he noticed that the walls of the staircase were vandalized with bright-colored spray paint. "Oh my god!" he murmured as he ran up the stairs. Two police officers were walking in his direction, but he was too scared for Warren's safety to stop for them. Terry suddenly noticed someone he had known all of his life.

"Mom!"

Mary saw her oldest son and ran to him. "Terry!" she cried. She did not give Terry any time to react before she tightly hugged him. "You're okay," she sighed with relief.

"Mom, what happened?"

"A robbery," Mary explained anxiously. "The police say it was the Jokerz: they surprised your father."

"Where is he?" Terry asked concernedly, pulling out of his mother's embrace. "Where's Dad?"

The woman looked at her son with sad eyes. "Honey, I..." her voice trailed off. She looked down at the floor sadly.

Terry knew now what had really happened to his father, but he refused to believe it. "Dad?" he called, running away from his grief-stricken mother. Two police officers tried to stop Terry, but he shoved them out of his path and ran into the home he had known for two years. "Daaaaad!"

"Terry!" Coba's voice called. "Over here!"

The young man came to a stop at where his sister was sitting, crouching over their father's still form with non-stop rivers of tears falling from her eyes. "The same man who killed my mother killed Dad," she choked. "The knife right next to us has the same symbol of an eye as the one that killed Mom." She stood up angrily the next moment, catching Terry by surprise. "Do you hear me, Fixx?" she screamed. "I'll make you pay for this!" She began to sob again as she fell over in exhaustion the next moment, unable to hold herself up.

Her brother caught her as she fell. He looked at Warren's body as he tried to comfort Coba. I'm sorry, Dad, he thought while his own tears fell. I wish I had listened to you instead of yelling at you. I wish I had stayed here to help you fight those Jokerz off instead of putting myself and Coba in danger. He glanced down at his troubled sister. Mom hates her. What's gonna happen to her now?

~!~

Coba found herself in Commissioner Barbara Gordon's office again the next morning. As she and Terry had predicted, Ms. McGinnis refused to take her in. Even worse was that Mary made sure Coba was not allowed to attend Warren's funeral. I guess it's the orphanage now. "How's my father's murder investigation going?" she asked Gordon in a depressed tone, even though she knew very well what had happened.

Barbara looked at Coba sadly. "I'm sorry, but we've hit a dead end," she said regretfully. "However, there is some good news for you."

"What do you mean?" Brooklyn asked in sorrowful disbelief. "How could there be good news anymore?"

The commissioner was even more apologetic. "I know how it feels, kid, but you must remember that every day is a new one. Otherwise you'll end up like Bruce Wayne: alone and disgruntled." She smiled a little. "We've contacted the other person you have a biological match to. He said he'd be more than happy to take you in."

The girl's eyes grew big. Well, this is better than I thought! "That's great!" she said as happily as she could, given the circumstances she was going through. "When do I meet him?"

"According to him, you two already met," Barbara chuckled.

A knot formed in Coba's stomach. "Who is he, then?"

An all-too familiar silhouette stepped in. "Hello, Coba," a deep voice said.

Coba turned around and was awestruck by who stepped in, but the knot in her stomach disappeared with relief. Thank goodness it wasn't Fixx, because that would be way too weird! "Bruce Wayne?" she gasped in shock. "What- -how- -when- -huh?"

~!~

It had been a quiet car ride to Wayne Manor. Bruce knew better than to try to talk to Coba at that time, and Coba knew better than to talk to Bruce without him talking to her first. Although Ace had been acting rough and tough the previous night, he was extremely gentle in behavior towards the down-hearted girl once they got to the mansion.

"Not to be nosy," said Bruce at last, "but why did Ms. McGinnis not want you? You seem to be the only one who can keep Terrence on the right track."

"Dad told me that it was because I was the result of an affair he had with another woman," Coba explained. "I guess Mary doesn't want to look at me, knowing that I'm not her child and that I have a crippled leg. She didn't even allow me attend my own father's funeral, although I overheard Terry trying to reason with her."

"Didn't you try to get in?"

"Of course I did, but the guards wouldn't let me in. That's one reason why I wound up in Commissioner Gordon's office: I attempted multiple times to get in."

Bruce became concerned by Coba's behavior. "Why did you choose to exceed the limit?" he asked sternly.

"I would have done that any time of day for my father," Coba explained. "He would have wanted me to be there. He would have done it for me too if it were the other way around."

"I'm certain he would have." Wayne was silent for a minute, deep in thought. "What do you say to a trip to your father's grave site later?" he asked.

Coba looked at him in confusion. "Not to be rude, Mr. Wayne, but why are you so concerned about my predicament?" she interrogated.

"I'm sure it will help you feel better, and there is also something I want to show you," he explained.

"Well, okay," Coba said, still a bit unsure. Why am I so uncomfortable about this?

~!~

Bruce and Coba arrived at the graveyard three hours after their discussion with Ace in tow. "Do you know where he is?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know for sure, but I have an idea of where," Coba answered. "By the oldest maple tree."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Wayne led Coba and Ace certainly through the immense layout of land. After several minutes of nonstop walking, they came to a stop by the tree the girl had mentioned. Sure enough, the grave closest to the tree read "WARREN MCGINNIS: DEVOTED FAMILY MAN." "How did you guess this spot, Coba?"

Coba became glum as she placed some red roses on her father's grave. "Dad told Terry and me that when he died, he wanted to be buried on this spot. He said that this tree has witnessed more change than the other trees here, and that he wanted to learn what it has seen during its lifetime. He was more of a scientist than a historian, but he was still curious about what all had gone on in the past." Tears filled her vision, making it impossible for her to see the grave stone anymore. "I- -I miss him."

Bruce placed a reassuring hand on his young ward's shoulder. "I know it's hard to take in," he said gently. "Come on, now. It's time that I showed you something. I believe it'll help us get to know each other a little more."

"A-alright," Coba stammered.

The two companions walked silently through the graveyard, unaware that Ace had slunk off on his own, smelling the night air as an unpleasant scent was getting closer and closer to where Bruce and Coba were heading.

~!~

Bruce cleared the old leaves off of a large grave stone before placing some red roses next to it. Coba looked at the stone and read the engraved words on it, then looked back at her legal guardian as he spoke. "They were my parents," he explained solemnly. "We had gone to the old movie theater that night to watch The Mark of Zorro." (That explains why he wore a mask and cast a creepy shadow as Batman, Coba mentally noted.) "After the film," Wayne continued, unaware of Coba's thoughts, "we decided to take the back alley on the way home because it was a quicker route.

"That was when the incident unfolded. A man stepped out with a gun, demanding money from my father and threatening to kill me and my mother if he didn't. Dad tried to fight him off, but he and Mom were both shot. He pointed the gun at me and pulled back on the trigger, but he was out of bullets. He ran off before I could get a good look at him." Bruce looked down sadly. "I became Batman when I reached adulthood. I felt that if I could help bring more criminals to justice, they would rest in peace easier. But I'm not doing that anymore, and now I feel... empty."

Coba placed her right hand on Bruce's left shoulder comfortingly. Her reddish-brown and blue eyes met his of blue and yellow for a moment. It was only then that they both noticed Ace was gone. "What's he up to, now?" Coba wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Wayne replied. "But whatever it is, it's something that Ace senses to not be a good thing. We'd better go look for him before it's too late."

"Right. You go to the right, I'll go back the way we came. Just don't shout for him: if there really is trouble, we'd be better off quiet unless we run into it."

"Good point, but how do we find Ace if we're quiet?"

"Whisper. Dogs have extremely good hearing, right?"

"True. Alright, I'm done feeling stupid, so get going."

The girl grinned to herself satisfactorily as she walked back in the direction of her father's grave. I just outsmarted the old Batman! she thought. I wonder what Dad and Terry would think of that! She became saddened at the thought of her deceased parent, but managed to get herself focused back on her mission. Oh man, where is that dog? I hope he's not too far away.

~!~

Bruce heard some furious running behind him. He turned around with his wooden cane raised above his head, ready to fight off any who chose to mess with him. Instead of seeing a threat sneaking up on him, however, his canine friend was looking at him through disturbed eyes. "What is it?" Bruce asked Ace in a hoarse whisper. "What's the matter, boy?"

Ace looked back in the direction of Warren McGinnis's grave with his body as straight as an arrow. He growled deeply and glared in that direction. Oh no, Bruce thought. Coba!

A terrified young voice's screams confirmed Wayne's suspicions. "Let's go, Ace!" he whispered urgently, limping as fast as he could to where he knew his friend would need help from him and his dog.

~!~

A rustling of dead leaves sounded directly behind Coba. "It's a little late to be out here all alone, don't you think?" a sinister voice growled.

Coba turned around as a large figure lunged at her. She dodged to the side instinctively, only to be grabbed by yet another large man. "Let go of me!" she yelled in terror as the second man bound her hands behind her back with thick rope. "Help!"

The second man held onto the struggling girl firmly as the first man tied a gag around her mouth. "What are we going to do with her, Fixx?" the second man asked.

Coba's blood froze at the sound of the murderous man's name. Noticing her discomfort, Fixx grinned malignantly. "We'll do as Powers ordered for us to do to her parents: kill her."

Powers! their prisoner thought with rage. So he ordered for my parents to be killed! I've gotta get out of this somehow and tell Wayne and Gordon!

Fixx stared ruthlessly into Coba's eyes. "There's no way for you to escape death now, runt," he mocked, pulling out a large knife. He slashed it horizontally across her upper right arm, causing her to grunt in pain and leaving a long red line in its path. "No one's around to save you this time. Time to say good-bye."

That symbol on the knife, Coba thought. It's the same symbol as the one on the knives that killed my parents!

Brooklyn was suddenly overcome by a rage she could not control. She flung herself out of the second man's grasp, kicking Fixx away from her as she did so. Before the second man could grab her again, Coba jumped up and swiftly moved her bound hands underneath her feet. She swung her hands, like a club, into the second man's face. Fixx tripped her from where he lay and held her down with his powerful right hand around her throat. Rendered powerless, the young girl could do nothing but wait for suffocation to take its toll.

As all of this was happening, neither of the three heard a voice quietly yet seriously growl, "Sick 'em."

A large blur of black tackled Fixx off of Coba, causing him to release his deadly grip. Coba gasped for air instantly and quickly undid her gag to aid her breathing. The second man turned and tried to flee from the scene. Unfortunately for him, he was instantly knocked senseless. The restrained girl looked up in surprise from where she was laying on the ground to see Bruce Wayne standing over the man's unconscious body, holding his cane as if it were a sword. Fixx tossed Ace off of himself and ran for his life, not once looking back to see his target and her rescuers. The great dane mix had no need to chase Fixx down: he had already scared the villain out of coming back and attempting to kill Coba once more.

Young Brooklyn could hardly hold still as Bruce undid her bonds. "Put pressure on that arm," he said urgently once he was done. "That knife cut in deep." He gently pulled her up to her feet. "Come on, let's get out of here before more trouble arrives."

"Th-that man," Coba stammered nervously, "the man th-that got away k-killed my parents by P-Powers's command!"

Wayne was now very concerned, but he remained as calm as he could. "We'll visit Commissioner Gordon's office first thing tomorrow morning. But right now, we'd better head back to the house."

Bruce placed a reassuring hand on Coba's opposite shoulder as they walked back to the car, Ace bringing up the rear.