Your reviews make me so very happy! I hope I don't lose any of you on this sort of bumpy emotional rollercoaster.

Bruce smiled and waved to the citizens of Gotham. With the grand opening of Wayne Tech, the city would be changed for the better. Bruce always carried the belt with him, hidden in his suit. Unconsciously he gripped it. It was a comfort to think of the brave boy who'd saved his life. Whatever came of Wayne Tech, Bruce would utilize it; harness it to become good and even potentially develop it to become a hero himself. That was the end goal.

A hint of red and black caught his attention. There, back behind the crowd of citizens was a boy dressed in a black and red suit covered by a black and yellow cape. Bruce's hand dropped as quickly as his smile and he stared wide eyed at the boy. The boy stared back, emotions partially concealed by the black mask adorning his face.

In a flash the boy was running, disappearing around the corner of an alleyway nearby. Bruce took off after him, struggling to get through the crowd of confused people and the paparazzi. Once free, he followed the boy's trail into the alleyway.

"Robin?" He called hesitantly.

There was no answer; the boy was gone. Cursing, Bruce ran around the corner of the alley, figuring he must have rounded the corner. He had lost time in pausing, and the boy was most likely going to lose him. It was an hour before he gave up after no trace of the boy was found. He was picked up by Alfred shortly after and only when in the car did he take out his most prized possession—the golden belt.

"What happened, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked, keeping his eyes on the road, but not failing to notice exactly what Bruce was doing.

"I saw him today Alfred."

"Saw who?"

"Robin." Bruce answered. "He looked exactly the same… He ran away from me."

"Impossible." Alfred gripped the steering wheel harder. "It could not have been him."

"I know; but I swear it was him!"

"Master Bruce…"

"It was him Alfred, I'm sure of it."

Alfred sighed. "You are sure?"

"Yes." Bruce frowned. "We're going to have to check it, Alfred."

Alfred abruptly pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the car. Turning to his employer, Alfred stared him right in the eye.

"Master Bruce, you would be willing to desecrate that boy's grave in order to solidify his death? He is dead, you are a witness. Pray tell, what do you expect to find?"

Bruce had rarely seen Alfred so upset. Holding up the belt, he faced his caretaker.

"Nothing."

Dick pulled his knees up closer to his chest. Loneliness clawed at him; the three days he'd been on the streets were awful. He was cold and tired, but refused himself more than two hours of sleep at a time. There was nowhere to shelter him from any criminal, not to mention a lurking Joker or Two Face. It was dangerous to be on the streets of Gotham.

He couldn't stay still any longer and wandered around town in the shadows. A commotion caught his attention. Coming out into the light, but staying far enough away from people to worry about being hassled about his costume, (Gotham had never known a superhero, after all) he observed.

A familiar voice was speaking, but not familiar enough to put a name to the face. Beside the man speaking was another man. This man was tall, well built, but still lean. His hair was perfectly in order and a pearly white smile was directed at the crowd. Then suddenly the man wasn't smiling anymore.

Dick found himself staring into the eyes of Bruce Wayne. The man looked shocked to see him, and for a minute he wondered if it had all been a dream. The minute was over and logic took full control. Bruce would never look shocked to see him.

He turned and ran.

It hurt to look at him. It hurt to see him knowing he couldn't touch him or talk to him. He still wasn't sure what exactly had happened, but Batman's words still rang true in his head. Constantly Robin felt sick with himself. Memories of that night filled his head and he felt lonelier than before.

He scampered up onto a rooftop and pressed his back against the raised edge. He calmed his breathing and focused on pushing negative emotions away from him.

"Robin?" He heard Bruce call.

He froze, allowing himself to look over the edge of the roof. Bruce was almost desperate looking, wandering around the alley down below. It was so tempting. He was so lonely, so tired. He longed to see Alfred again. Alfred would know what to do. Alfred always knew what to do.

Mentally, he beat himself up. He wasn't weak; he was strong and could do this by himself. He was the one who made the choice. He saved Bruce and killed Batman. This was better for both of them. Or rather, better for Bruce. He didn't like feeling lonely.

Robin's eyes widened and a small smile broke out on his face. Bruce had saved him long ago, and even though Robin had saved him back, Dick didn't feel as if his job was complete. He was lonely, but would he feel lonely if he watched over Bruce all of the time? He could see Alfred and pretend to be there with them. He could imagine and remember, and that would make him less lonely.

Right?

Robin went on the hunt for the former Batman and stalked him to his car. From there it was easy to see they were headed back to Wayne Manor. Robin wasn't expecting for Alfred to pull over. Was he caught? He quickly dove into an alley, or rather tried to. He ran into someone and the two of them tumbled down onto the hard asphalt.

"Sorry!" Robin jumped up and went to help up the woman he'd just knocked down.

"I'm fine. Just be careful next time."

She looked up at him and Robin quickly retracted his outstretched hand.

"Babs…"

Instead of the sixteen year old girl he was used to seeing, here was a woman, a strikingly beautiful one, her long red hair slightly duller than he was used to. This was the Barbara Gordon of the future. She was still taller than him, but didn't dwarf him.

She looked confused, but took his hand anyways. "How do you know my name? Have we met somewhere? What's with the getup?"

Robin backed off. No Batman, no Batgirl. He and Babs weren't friends this time. She was normal, hanging with friends and keeping out of trouble. Her life didn't consist of worrying about when the Joker would strike or impressing Batman. Her life wasn't in any danger. It was better this way, right?

"Kid? You okay?"

Robin took a step back. "Sorry!"

He ran. She called out after him, but he never looked back. He felt so lonely, so out of place.