The next day at twilight, Batman and Robin stood before Arkham, preparing to blow up the asylum and the prison. They had rigged both buildings to explode, and the bombs were set to explode in less than two minutes.

"This stops now," said a voice from behind them.

Batman turned and saw that it was Nightwing. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to stop you. Do you have any idea how many people you're about to kill?"

"It's better this way. The only people that will be killed will be prisoners and mental patients, people beyond hope. I'm putting them out of their misery, and making a difference in this city."

"And what about all the doctors, and guards? The innocent people that will be blown up with them?"

"Every war has its casualties," said Batman indifferently.

"What's happened to you?" asked Nightwing in disbelief. "You used to value life, but now it's like you don't care anymore."

"I do care, I'm just looking at the big picture. Everyone has a role to play in the fate of the world, and the innocent who die today will not die in vain."

"I won't let you do this."

"Go back to Blüdhaven, ya wannabe superhero," spat Robin. "My dad knows what he's doing, and he's not about to let you get in the way. My dad's about to do more good in one day than you will in your entire life."

"Quiet Robin," ordered Batman. "But he is right you know. You could do so much good Nightwing, you could help us cleanse this city."

"That's what I'm trying to do, but what you're about to do is mass-murder. This isn't right! You need to stop this now before more people get hurt."

"Um, Dad, shouldn't the asylum have exploded by now?" asked Robin, confused.

Batman realized that he was right, that the bomb hadn't gone off. He looked to Nightwing angrily, knowing he was behind this.

"After I figured out what you were doing, I had the police disarm the bombs. It wasn't easy to convince them, because they still think you're their hero, but not anymore," said Nigthwing triumphantly.

Without a word, Batman pressed a button on his utility belt, signaling the assassins to strike. They had split into two groups and had been waiting for him to give the signal just in case, so it didn't take them long to begin the purge.

Nightwing didn't know about the assassins, so it took him until the screaming began to realize what was going on. "What have you done!" he shouted as he tried to run for the asylum, but Batman grabbed him by the arm and held him back.

"It's too late for them, if you go in there you'll only be killed along with everyone else. There's nothing you can do," said Batman.

"The police were still in there! All those people are being slaughtered like animals while you just stand by and watch!" screamed Nightwing. "You're a monster! You're no better than the criminals you've killed!"

Batman connected his fist with Nightwing's jaw as he said, "Never say that again. I'm the only one in this world who's willing to do what's necessary to save these people, I am not a monster. Leave Gotham now, this is my city, and as long as you oppose me you are not welcome here."

Batman released his hold on him. Nightwing wiped the blood off his mouth as he glared at his old mentor and said bitterly, "I used to look up to you, you know. I always wanted to be just like you."

Nightwing then turned and disappeared as the piercing screams continued. Batman watched him go, knowing this was far from over.

xxxx

One week later Oracle agreed to meet Nightwing in an old warehouse. The warehouse had once been used by the Scarecrow as a hideout, so she wondered why on earth he would want her to meet him there.

Never in her life had she felt as helpless as she did then. Even the time when the Joker had shot and paralyzed her hadn't been as bad as this, because as least then she had had hope. But now, things were worse than ever before, and she knew it was only going to get worse.

When Batman had ordered the purge of the asylum and the prison, there had been a lot of people who had stood behind him and believed he had done the right thing. But most of the people had been horrified and outraged that he would do such a thing, to say the least. Given the state of things, they probably would have justified it somehow just because both institutions were filled with undesirables. But with the murder of so many cops, guards, and doctors, the people began to finally see that the Batman was no longer their knight in shining armor, but a wolf in sheep's clothing. At least, that's how she'd heard it put on the news, and frankly, she couldn't argue with that. She regretted encouraging him to continue crime fighting after he had killed the Joker, perhaps if she and Nightwing had tried to stop him from crime-fighting, none of this would have happened. But that was nonsense, she knew. How could they have known that the man they looked up to would become a completely different person, how could they have known that he would become the enemy? She felt guilty, because even though she knew it wasn't their fault and that there was nothing they could've done, he had been their friend, and they had let him down.

Nightwing met her outside and helped her get inside. Once they were inside, she was surprised to see that the place was packed with people.

"What's going on here?" she asked curiously.

"We're creating an army," he said, as though that cleared everything up. He turned to the crowd and shouted, "All right everyone, listen up! Quiet down!"

It took several minutes to get everyone to listen. When he had their attention, Nightwing began to speak. "We're all here today for one reason, to stop the Batman. As you are all aware, he has always worked outside the law, but now he's taken things too far. Not only is he using murder to try to clean up our streets, but he's got the entire League of Assassins on his side. If we don't do something, things will only get worse. Countless lives were taken only a few days ago, many of them cops and people just trying to help others. He had no right to take any of those lives, even the prisoners and the mental patients. It's up to me, and it's up to you, normal everyday citizens, to take a stand. It won't be easy, and we could all be killed, so the choice is yours whether or not you are willing to stand up and fight."

"And just how are we supposed to stop him when it's never even been done before? No one can stop the Bat, no one," said a man from the crowd.

"I admit it will be difficult, no one ever said it wouldn't be, but what choice do we have? Like I said before, Batman ordered the slaughter of so many people a few days ago, and many of them were innocent. How long before he begins murdering citizens like you? He wants to protect you, but if he believes murder is necessary, he'll find a way to justify it."

"Theoretically, say we were able to stop the Bat," piped up a young woman. "What would we do with him? Lock him in a cage and hope he doesn't escape? Or do we kill him once and for all?"

"We will not resort to murder to stop any of these people," said Oracle, to which the people protested. "If we kill them to show them killing is wrong, what have we accomplished? It is up to the justice system to sentence death, it is not our place to end lives. If we do this we'll be the vigilantes, and as you all know it is not a vigilante's right to kill, only to protect. Otherwise we would be no better than them. If you do not agree with that, then leave now. But if you want to help and do it our way, then stay and fight with us."

A few of the people left immediately, but most just stood there, unsure of what to do. It was understandable, given the fact that they would be fighting against impossible odds. After a minute or two though, a young girl who couldn't have been older than twelve stepped forward.

"I want to help. I know I'm just a kid, but I want to do all that I can. I have personal reasons for wanting Batman put in his place, and I'll do whatever I can to see that he's taken down."

After that, it was like the floodgates had been opened. Nearly everyone in the crowd agreed to fight the Batman despite the danger.

A couple hours passed with Nightwing detailing his first plan of action. Afterwards, the everyone in the crowd left, except for the little girl who had spoken before.

"I want to help," she told Nightwing and Oracle. "Batman has Robin, and I want to be your sidekick."

Oracle opened her mouth to protest, but Nightwing said, "It wouldn't be easy, are you sure you're up to the task?"

"I know I am," she said confidently.

"What's your name, kid?" asked Nightwing.

"Olivia Reed. But call me Huntress."

"Huntress was the name of another vigilante, who died a few years ago," said Oracle, wondering why the girl had chosen that name.

"I know, but I admired her, and still do," said Olivia. "So can I be your sidekick?"

"Are your parents okay with this?" asked Oracle.

"They're dead. I've been living with my grandfather for some time now, and he won't mind. Please, please let me do this, I want it more than anything else in the world."

"I'll think about it," said Nightwing. Olivia seemed disappointed, and she left, leaving Oracle and Nightwing alone.

"You're not actually considering letting her be your sidekick, right?" Oracle asked.

"Why not? The kid wants to help, I say we let her help."

"But she could get hurt, or killed."

"That didn't stop Batman from taking me in. I think she needs this, just like I needed it when I was her age. Times are tough, maybe this will give her hope."

"Maybe," said Oracle. "How did you get all these people to come here? And without Batman finding out."

"I have a lot of connections, and people are finally waking up. These people were just waiting for someone to lead them into battle. And Batman used to be my mentor, and so I know how his mind works. It's not easy, but I know how to get around without him noticing."

"Do you really think we can do this? I feel like we're fighting a battle that's already been lost."

"Maybe, but I can't just sit around while Batman self-righteously murders people that don't meet his standards. It's only going to get worse before it gets better, but it will get better."

"I can't believe it's come to this. He was our friend, and now he's a total stranger," said Oracle sadly. "You know, when the Joker took my legs, all I could think about was revenge. I wanted him dead. Same with Jason, and everyone else he's killed. I wanted him to die, I wanted to be the one to kill him, but Batman helped me look past my pain and move on. He never let me give up, but now that he's become this, I don't know what to believe in anymore."

"I know what you mean. When I was a kid I never could understand why he let those people live. I hate to admit it, but I thought it was because he was weak. But as I grew older, I began to understand why he did it, or thought I did anyway, I didn't really learn until just recently. He's lived amongst the shadows for so long, and when he gave in he became completely consumed by it. He taught me so much… it's hard to stick by what you believe in when the very person who taught it to you quits believing in it."

"It just shows how close we all are to crossing that line, it's scary, you know? I mean, if Batman can become corrupted, anyone can. He wasn't perfect, but he was a symbol of hope and justice, but now he's just a symbol of death and corruption. All it took was one bad day to make him like this, it's like one bad day is the only thing keeping us from becoming monsters. It makes me wonder if there is any good in the world."

"Don't say that, everything will turn out fine, I promise. We'll help him to see the error of his ways, we'll bring him back to us, hopefully before too much blood is spilt."