A/N: This my first story, so it would be great if you left comments about what you think and by the way in this story Terry is not Bruce's biologically clone son.
P.S.: I don't own the batman beyond characters.
Episode 1
Prologue
"Alfred, I been thinking is it really worth it?" a strong broad man says as he solemnly takes in his surrounding of heavy rain pouring down on the river of people in the death color black baring the color with mourning the dead. Tears ran high as the minister spoke condolences for the young lives being anchored into the Earth to rest their forever.
"Why whatever do you mean Master Bruce?" Alfred questions while he takes his sight of the gloom of people crying out their last wishes to the children as two men start to cover the coffins with the dirt that had been used to dig the burial place in the first place.
"Death. Was it really worth it allowing them to carry the burden of playing superhero just to be watching yet another death?"
"It's only your decision to make. Whether this secret life that these children that you have taken in lived were really wroth staying here just to watch another product of the Jokers work," Alfred says breathing the damp air just to flinch with the smell of the lifeless bodies that surrounded them under tombstones. Without waiting for an answer Alfred turns away from Bruce to take part in the Hail Mary as a final blissing on the children before the two men bury the last of the children's remains.
Glancing around at the family members of Stephanie Brown, his sort of part time crime fighter teammate Batgirl all he sees are innocent families with tears of pain falling down their faces while their loved one was lying dead all because of his mistakes and they didn't even know it. All the people gathered in the Gotham Catholic cemetery know is that Stephanie Brown died trying to get out of the club that the Joker blew up, which wasn't a lie the Joker actually had blown up the club; however, Stephanie had been captured by the Joker thanks to another one of his failures to save the innocent. Feeling grief over came him in a moment instant with all his past failures creeping up from the part of his mind he buried them. It is his entire fault that the Joker is even roaming through Gotham City. If that day never happened, had been erased from existence then maybe these children...no even then...he decides at the minute that with the chorus of amen reigning through the air that never again will he ever put another child through the burden that wearing the bat suit brought.
"Master Bruce, have you made up your mind?" Alfred says while him and his master walks to their car in rush to avoid anyone acknowledging their present at the funeral today.
"Yeah, from now on I work alone."
Alfred sighs with worry with a glance at his young master that he had been watching over since birth and never in his life as he ever seen such a harden man as he. The butler knows it can't be helped since Bruce places all the misfortunate events that happen in Gotham upon his shoulders alone for he was Gotham's protector their dark night yet he believes he has done more harm than good. What Alfred worried about the most is who was going to take over his master's legacy when he was too old to fight any more if he doesn't take in anymore apprentices.