A.N.: It seems that this fic is gaining the interest of a few readers. That makes me happy and I thank you for your continued reading. Also, to clarify, this isn't the comics Batman but my version of him which is similar to the comics in most ways yet different in a couple. It follows my main series of him so if you're interested in how I depict him or the description of his suit or any other minor background info, check out my Batman Chronicles series. The stories can be accessed by going to my profile and they're pretty good, if I do say so myself. But to offer some basic information: He's in his mid-20s, which is actually younger than Yuko, he's in his 2nd year of crime fighting (meaning he has yet to meet Superman or Joker and that he has not yet gone through the things that you would normally associate with him and is still relatively young and inexperienced) and has not yet made Dick Grayson his partner in crime. The rules of Bat-mite can be seen here: s/11428940/3/Batman-Adventure-Chronicles-World-of-Shinobi for anyone who is interested. So please keep those facts in mind and remember to R&R! Enjoy!

Bruce's eyes fluttered open from the sunlight that hit them. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying in grass and that Yuu's head was resting on his lap. She was peacefully and cutely snoring, with rosy cheeks and incomprehensible mumbles. Bruce returned his attention to the sky, his mind wandering back to the lengthy discussion he and Konomi had about Yuu's recruitment.

Leaving the hospital room, Bruce dragged Konomi out into the hall where, luckily, no one was.

"What were you thinking?!"

"Look, I know you're angry-"

"I told you I didn't want anyone in this war."

"Listen, just hear me out. She is a student at the Mochizuki High School, where Kiba and Mikami attend. She can keep track of their movements for us, go on undercover missions and learn more about them for future use. She can help you and she wants to!"

"Does she even know who she's getting involved with?"

"No. I thought you should tell her yourself."

"I'm going to tell her that she can't join me. I don't want to risk her life."

"Just think about it. By putting more lives on the line, we can save more people. There's no way to save the city without taking serious risks. It's how every organization, like the police, does it."

"I'm not a cop. And I'm not going to put her life on the line for my own goals." He said with finality in his tone. He walked past Konomi and opened the door. Yuu's brothers had gone, walked back home on her request. Upon Bruce's entry, she smiled wide with rosy cheeks.

He smiled back politely before pulling up a chair near her bedside. "Listen, Yuu-san... I don't know what Konomi told you but... you can't associate yourself with me."

This statement made her gasp in surprise and confusion. "But why?!" She exclaimed. "Is is because I'm young? Because I'm more mature than I seem! I can still take care of my brothers and help you! School or work won't be a problem either! I can help you in your cause, I swear!"

Bruce's eyes narrowed slightly. "What did she tell you about my cause?" Konomi, who now stood by him, looked rather nonchalant when he glanced behind him.

"She just told me that you were doing all you can to rid Tobioka City of crime, to make it a better place. A place where my brothers can play and run without worry or anxiety. I want to contribute to that in anyway I can! So please... don't turn me away..."

Bruce stared at her a long time, peering into her eyes to test her resolve. She neither flinched nor wavered. Bruce's head drooped down in defeat and he drew out a long, protracted sigh. "...Fine." He finally said. Yuu's eyes brightened up and Konomi looked down in interest. "I'll let you help. I'll let you be my eyes and ears to defeat crime. But you have to prove yourself with two facts..."

"Facts?"

"The first fact... Your senior, Mikoto Kiba, and your classmate, Arashi Mikami, are part of the so-called terrorist group that has been said to mercilessly eliminate criminals."

"What?!" Every interaction she ever had with Mikoto and Arashi flashed through her mind. "But the-they never seemed like..."

"If you were to help me in my mission, you would have to spy on them, to interact with them and take any useful information from your conversations. Could you do this?"

Yuu glanced down at her hands, contemplating the decision. "I would have to be spying on my classmates... they could be criminals and they could even go to jail... but if that's what it takes..."

She glanced back up at Bruce and nodded firmly. "Yes. I can do that."

"The other fact you would need to accept is... I'm... working with the Batman."

From there, her reaction and responses were mainstream and predictable. She had all sorts of questions, followed by a slight reservation before a steeled decision.

"I want to devote myself to a cause!" She said.

From there, Konomi suggested that after she is cleared from Torosaki Medical Center, he and Yuu go for a stroll so that he may learn more about her. An "unofficial" first date, if you will. Bruce sighed and closed his eyes.

"There's nothing outlandish about Yuu. She's quite a regular schoolgirl. She saw a guy and got too many ideas in her head about it. The fact that I 'work' with Batman has peaked her interest of me. Still, she has an amazing charisma about her and a mind steeled for justice. She could make a good cop, if she tried. Konomi's willingness to involve her in the mission is surprising, to say the least. She's more devoted to saving this city than first expected. Still, is it right of me to ask this girl to do something like this?"

Bruce glanced down at her, watching Yuu snuggle herself on his leg. A small smile crept onto his face, despite himself. "She is cute, though." He admitted, sitting up and moving a strand of loose hair out of her face. "But I can't involve her too deep. Still, what Konomi said was right... I do need soldiers but I won't put her life on the line. She'll offer me information through careful meeting spots and calls. That's the extent and no further..."

Bruce's thoughts were interrupted by the slow waking of Yuu, who rose up to a sitting position while rubbing her eyes. "Good morning..." She said sleepily.

Bruce gave a charming smile. "Good morning... Yuu-chan."

In the uppermost part of Tobioka City, a helicopter landed on a tall, newly constructed building. This newly constructed building was the facility of illegal experiments that would create hallucinogenic drugs. From the helicopter, a man walked out. He had a hard, stoic way about him. He was bald but had a small goatee on his face. He had a large frame and wore a simple, black business suit. On his fingers were fancy gold rings adorning various jewels from sapphires to emeralds to rubies. His subordinate walked up to him and took a polite bow.

"Welcome back, Yamamoto-sama. I trust your flight was well."

"Hmph. The plane was riddled with jet lag. I spilled a drink on myself. Tell me, are you the one who booked that flight route?"

The subordinate looked up in a slightly nervous manner. "Yes, sir. But I'll be sure not to make that mistake again."

"No... I'm sure you won't. Jump off the building."

"W-what?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Sir, I'm sorry for the unpleasantness. Please spare me! I-"

"Either jump or I'll gather your family up here and throw them off myself."

This made the man choke. Yamamoto's stoic face never fazed once and the man could clearly see and hear the seriousness of his words.

With moisture building up in the side of his eyes, the man nodded meekly before slowly walking to the edge of the roof.

"A dog should never do anything to defy his kind master. If the dog should do such a thing, it will get instantly put down with no mercy. Remember that on your fall to Hell."

"Yes sir..." The man walked off the roof and speedily fell down the building, screaming his head off until his body made a resounding 'splat!' on the ground. His bones were sticking out, his blood was everywhere and the people around the sight ran away in fear.

In the makeshift Batcave, Bruce sat in front of the cave staring at the computer screen. A news report was broadcasting.

'Here at downtown Tobioka, a Bombing Burger restaurant was attacked by unknown assailants, the police being unable to identify the suspects. Several people have been injured, some quite severely, by luckily, no casualties have been sustained. We are not yet able to confirm the identity of the ones responsible but eyewitnesses testify that they saw two red coat women destroy the entrance. The nationwide company has already begun plans for reconstruction.'

When he heard the door slide open and Konomi walk in, he shut the news report off.

"Hey." She greeted. "How did it go with Momokino? Did you find out what you needed to know?"

"I did." He replied curtly.

She sighed, crossing her arms under chest. "...Are you still mad at me?"

She was startled by the sudden slam of Bruce's fist onto his chair, the sound echoing in the walls of their facility. "You went behind my back." He got up from the chair and faced her with an angry glare. "I specifically told you not recruit and you ignored me!"

She looked down sadly. "I'm sorry..."

Bruce calmed down upon seeing her like this, exhaling a breath. "Look... you can't do that. You can't betray my trust like that. I need us to be on the same page. If we go against each other..."

"...Everything will fall apart, I understand. But do you?"

"What?"

"If this really is a partnership between you and I, then this can't be you simply barking orders without challenge. I'm not some middle-aged, British butler who will cater to your every whim. You're the leader and I'll follow your judgment but when you make a wrong call, that needs to be questioned. If I can't question that and keep you alive, then there's no point in me being here."

Bruce closed his eyes in reluctant acceptance. "...True enough. You're right."

Konomi walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, the action beckoning him to open his eyes again and stare into her emerald green. "Now then... about that workout you mentioned before..."

Arashi sat near the window, gazing at the clouds that swam through the sky. The teacher was talking but despite himself, the boy couldn't find it in him to properly pay attention. This lack of attention prevented him from noticing the pair of green eyes that watched him from a few chairs away. His pocket vibrated and that's when Arashi instantly took notice. He raised his hand and excused himself from class, running out the door before his teacher could say anything. Quickly, Momokino raised her hand and excused herself as well, running out the classroom before the teacher could object and unknowingly making her best friend somewhat suspicious.

On the roof of the school, Momokino watched as Arashi ran out of the school grounds with Mikoto. She quickly dialed a phone number before putting the phone up to her ear.

'Yuu-chan?'

"They're on the move, Ryu-kun. I saw Mikoto and Arashi leave the school grounds. I think they've been called on a mission."

'Alright. I'll be sure to let my... friend know. Good work. This will help.'

Bruce hung up the phone before stepping out of bed. He glanced down at Konomi, who had a cover draped over herself and a laptop already on.

"Alright, if what you thought is correct," She typed on her keyboard. "Our intruders should be entering your place right about... now."

On the camera feed, he saw Miki and Yuko enter his apartment, closing the door behind him. Miki had her gun out and was on full alert. She and Yuko split up, searching the rooms for any information they could determine is useful.

Yuko entered his bedroom, spying his closet. She opened it to discover a variety of business suits and tuxedos.

"What did you find?" Miki asked, entering the room.

"Nothing important." She replied. "You?"

She shook her head. "There's nothing here to indicate anything about him that we can use. No family pictures, birth dates, nothing."

"No, there isn't. In fact, it's lack of such things is suspiciously and conveniently not here."

"You're saying he was expecting us."

Yuko nodded, glancing up at a vent where a small, unseeable camera was spying on them. "I think we're being monitored as well. He knew we'd come here eventually."

"Great. So what do we do?"

"For now, we can be assured he won't return here anytime soon. He'll know we're monitoring him. Let's go."

"Alright."

Konomi shut off the camera from her laptop. "Well, that's great. Now they know we were watching them."

Bruce had just finished putting on his black suit and fixing his red tie. "I counted on them finding out. They'll be leaving now to rendezvous with Arashi and Mikoto, who just left school."

"How do you know that?"

"The timing of them leaving and the two Black Label members entering my apartment are too close. They're more than likely to meet and discuss a target."

"I thought those two were ordered not to go after you?"

"They were. Still, they have other targets to kill. I need you to make files on them using their profiles you downloaded from their computers."

"I can do that but even in their own profiles, there is not a lot of information to go on. They were at least smart enough not to add complete files on themselves in case they got hacked."

"That idea was probably given by that blond woman, Ran. She seems to be strategist of the group and it's not impossible to believe that she would have a contingency plan such as this. Still, my observations of their behavior reveal all that's needed. From here on out, I'll be staying here or at your place, if that's alright with you."

"Sure. Oh, and when you come back from work, can you stop by the Bomb Burger place near uptown and get me a triple stack?"

Bruce exasperatedly shook his head, before sighing in defeat. "Fine..."

In the coffee room of Tobishiro's company, Bruce sauntered in to grab a bottle of water before the meeting. He figured he would need it because he could already foresee a stressful discussion. On his left, he saw Tobishiro's assistant, Goryu, waiting for some to coffee to finish brewing. She seemed to be staring at the cup of coffee in an intense fashion, as if the possibility of getting even a little off the mark would be doom for her world.

"Good morning, Goryu-san."

Turning off the machine, Goryu turned behind her in a somewhat startled manner. Upon seeing it was Ryu, she offered a small smile to which he politely returned.

"Good morning, Komori-san."

"Ah, no need to be so formal. Call me Ryu." He dismissively requested.

"Oh, I don't know if that would be appropriate... Kyoji-sama might get the wrong idea."

"Don't worry about him. It'll be fine. Besides," He leaned in close to her, whispering, "Rumor has it, he is so fat, his feet get stuck in concrete. If he's mad and ever chases you, I think you can outrun him."

So caught off from that joke of her Master was Goryu that she began slowly giggling right of the bat, unable to stop her giggling from turning into laughter. Upon finally realizing her unprofessional laughter, she covered her mouth and looked away but still couldn't stop giggling for a few moments.

"May I ask," Bruce began once her laughter died down. "Why do you work for such a hard wired boss as him?"

Goryu cast her eyes downward, her look somewhat solemn. "I have no other choice."

"You mean, that he's the only boss who would hire you is him?"

"Something like that."

"Well, if I start my own company, would you be interested in working as my personal assistant?"

Upon this question, she hesitated for a second. She smiled at him sadly but shook her head. "I can't. I have to stand by Kyoji-sama's side..."

"But why?"

Their conversation was interrupted by the entry of Kyoji himself, who peered into the room with a polite but eerie smile. "Komori-san, the meeting is about to begin."

"Alright."

"Is the coffee ready, Goryu-san?"

"Yes, Kyoji-sama." She handed him the coffee and Kyoji took a sip of it. The slight twitch of his lips indicated his dissatisfaction and Goryu flinched upon seeing it, knowing what it meant.

"Shall we go?" Kyoji handed her back the coffee before Bruce and him left for the meeting room. Outside of the room, he saw a man standing and peering into the meeting room. He was about as tall and young as Bruce, with his same build. This man had silver hair and blood red eyes. His hair fell over his face in a messy but attractive fashion. His skin was an olive brown and he wore a white suit with a black undershirt and a dark blue tie.

The man took notice of Bruce and Kyoji, smiling at them in greeting. "Komori-san, Kyoji-san, the meeting is about to start."

"Right, then, let's get to it." Kyoji entered the room first, leaving the man and Bruce outside for a brief moment.

The man held his hand out, a smile on his face. "I don't believe we've met. My name is Rouga. Rouga Shiro."

"Ryu Komori. Nice to meet you, Shiro-san."

"Likewise. Shall we?"

The two men walked inside of the room and took the seats with Bruce's and Rouga's being across from each other. While Bruce sat with his legs crossed, Rouga opted not to do so.

"Now, then, gentlemen, shall we get to business?" Tobishiro turned around and switched on a TV, displaying a chemical bond with the label 'Tone' over it.

"I assume you've all had the time to assess this anesthetic, read the lab reports and seen the projected charts that depict our potential profitability should we market this to medical facilities."

The board nodded with Rouga speaking up. "We have, Tobishiro-san. A remarkable drug it is, with no adverse effects whatsoever and cheaper than the brand already sold."

"Quite." Kyoji chuckled. "We'll sell it to the major hospitals in our city – Kurosawa Main Hospital, Torosaki Medical Center and Mochizuki General to see how it fares up with the doctors there. If it's proved popular enough then it should be smooth sailing from there. So, are we all aboard?"

Everyone around the table echoed a 'yes' but Bruce, who simply sat there calmly with his eyes closed. This lack of response annoyed Kyoji considerably.

"Are we still uncertain, Komori-san?"

"I've had my people run your drug through several tests, the same tests I'm sure everyone had their people run in a standard procedure. However, I requested other tests be taken as well and these are the results." Bruce passed papers to everyone in the room. "Young lab rats tested with this anesthetic have reported hemorrhaging, high fevers, hallucinations and death. Some have even committed suicide."

Kyoji grit his teeth as Bruce listed off the symptoms. "But-but these are just rats! They're not the same as hum-"

"Considering the similarities between mammals such as rats and humans, it isn't far-fetched to label this anesthetic dangerous. While it is true we may produce profit, it would only be short-lived. We would be at risk for being thrown in prison and never seeing another dime again." Bruce gave a cold, calculative sideways glare to Kyoji. "I'm going to offer Tobishiro-san the benefit of the doubt and not suspect that he may have known about this from the start and planned to somehow risk lives in order to make a quick buck. I'll also assume that now that these indisputable facts have come to light, he will refine this anesthetic so as to not risk anyone here or out there."

Rouga smiled in amusement as Kyoji looked down at his paper, his face hidden from everyone else. He was grinding his teeth in barely restrained rage, his eyes nearly busting out of his skull. His whole body was tense and he could feel his nostrils flaring. Then, as if it was a mask, he sat up straight with a disgustingly pleasant visage and smiled at everyone confidently.

"Of course, everyone! I'll do it, I'll get it down, no matter what! Forgive me for nearly putting us all at risk! I was so careless but thanks to Komori-san, I promise, no, I swear, such a thing will not repeat itself!"

While Kyoji made his vows, Bruce glanced outside the meeting room window to see someone walking past the room. His eyes widened ever so slightly as he recognized her as Sayo Hitsugi, dressed in a white shirt, that was buttoned down a bit and a short black skirt. She turned her face into the meeting room and winked at Bruce with a feral, deadly smile. Bruce narrowed his eyes dangerously as she turned her back to him and walked away, her hips swaying as she left.

In his office, Kyoji kicked Goryu to the ground before stomping around like a child, ranting to himself. "Damn that Komori! Everyone was on board! Everyone! How the hell did he get those results? Did he fake them?! Argh! I wish I could rip his eyes out and stuff them in his ears!" He walked over to Goryu and began kicking her side out of frustration. "Damn him, damn him, damn him, DAMN HIM!" With each curse, his kicks got harder. Goryu simply remained silent and allowed her 'master' to vent his anger.

After he finished kicking, he turned away from her and stood silent for a long time. He simply stood there, frozen and motionless, like a tree. Then, after several minutes, he began to speak again. "Goryu."

"Yes, Kyoji-sama?"

"We need to get rid of Ryu Komori. His contribution made him useful but ultimately, he's a pain in my side and I want him dead. Make it happen."

Without thinking, she blurted out, "But Kyoji-sama, must we really kill him? Isn't there any other way?"

"Huh?" He looked over his shoulder at her, livid and dark. "Are you talking back to me? Are you questioning me?!"

"No, I just-" She wasn't able to properly respond as he kicked her chin again.

"You have no right to question me! You're a tool, given to me by my father so don't say anything unless I ask of it. And why do you care if I have Komori killed, huh?" Kyoji put his foot on her face. "What the hell have you guys been talking about in that lunch room? Have you talking about me?! Well, have you?!" He stomped on her stomach several times. "Answer me, you useless bitch!"

"N-no..."

"Then shut up about it! Also..." He grabbed the coffee she gave him earlier off his desk. It was cold now. "This tasted like crap!" He flung the coffee at her, the liquid landing on her face. "Put more sugar in it next time!" He kicked her in the side several more times before storming out of the office, leaving Goryu lying on the floor, abused.

Batman stood on a rooftop, his cape fluttering the air. It was nighttime and he was overlooking a small facility on the outskirts of the city.

"This is the facility he set up before he came down here. Yamamoto's running illegal tests in there, keeping anyone away who had questions. Hack the cameras and feed system."

'Already done. According to the job schedule I procured, the guards who watched yesterday's feed aren't on duty today so no one should notice I'm playing yesterday's footage. It's so convenient that everything seems to be connected to a network nowadays.'

"Beginning infiltration." Batman grappled down from the rooftop and landed in the yard-grounds. He moved behind a crate, waiting for a guard to pass him before moving forward, avoiding all the guards who conveniently had their backs turned. Quietly entering the side door through the facility, Batman found himself in a hallway. He glanced up to see his favorite passageway/infiltration method – vents. Immediately, he began moving through the vents, passing guards overhead who had no clue of his presence. The more guards with guns he saw, the more intense his glare became.

"This man is definitely holding something here. However, even if I expose his experiments, I can't take them to the police. He'll simply use his influence to keep their mouths shut. I need to clean up the police force up first."

Batman dropped down from his vent, behind two guards who entered an elevator. He walked in with them and as they turned forward, he stepped behind them, keeping out of their sight. One of the guards pulled off a key from his neck and inserted it into a keyhole in the elevator. He punched in a code and the elevator began going down. The two guards stood there and waited for it to go down. Neither of them talked, apparently comfortable with the silence. One of the guards even reached back and picked a wedgie from between his cheeks.

When the elevator stopped, the two stepped out and went in separate directions, allowing Batman to simply walk out undetected. He was now in a large room. This room seemed to be a giant laboratory, with scientists working on the bottom floor and guards patrolling above. There were several rows of liquid chambers and floating in them were young children ranging from 5-15. They had tubes all over their bodies and were notably unconscious. Batman moved to the shadows, observing their tests from behind the scenes.

From another room, they brought in a child, kicking and screaming. He was about ten years old and seemed malnourished.

"Have they been keeping them here all this time?"

Batman watched as they injected him with something. The boy writhed and screamed in pain, his muscles began to develop and gain in mass. He became bigger and bigger until he was eventually strong enough to break free of his bonds and grabbed a scientist's neck, snapping it and killing him. Seconds after this event, the boy dropped to the floor with a thud, now lifeless and pale.

The other scientist had no reaction to this phenomenon, but rather, the looks on their faces indicated this was the predicted result.

The lead scientist sighed, squeezing the bridge of his nose before rubbing his eyes. "Yet, another failure. Shame. I suppose it was to be expected, however. We'll cease testing for today and-"

The scientist was interrupted by the elevator dinging.

"Hm? We weren't scheduled to have any more personnel here today..." The guards aimed their guns at the door. When the door slid open, a guard was thrown into the room in front of two guards who were aiming at the elevator. Strangely, they saw no one inside. Moments later, the body combusted and sent flames onto the guards, burning them alive. Jump down from the elevator, the purple-haired arsonist jump rolled behind cover as the guards shot at her from above. She pulled out her XM-25 before shooting at the machines, lighting them up and causing them to explode.

"Shit!" The scientists cursed. "She's going to cause a chain reaction and kill us all! We have to evacuate!"

One of the guards threw a grenade at her but she was suddenly pulled out of the radius of the blast by Batman, before he dove into cover with her in his arms.

Batman grabbed her by the collar and glared into her face. "No more killing!" He ordered crossly. The scientists ran to a machine and began inputting some commands.

"What are you doing? We have to go!"

"This will slow them down! If this lab is going to blow then it might as well blow with these lab rats doing something useful. I'll have the machines administer the N-40 injections. It won't make them as strong as the previous subjects but at least they'll fight for 4-5 minutes before they drop dead or die in the explosion."

The scientists all fled as the chambers began to open, the children inside growing twice their size. They opened their eyes to reveal soulless white underneath. The guards ran off after the scientists via some underground pathway that was blocked by a steel door.

"We need to move!" Batman shouted as explosions began going off all around the place. Batman grabbed the woman's hand and began running for the elevator. Just as he got to the door did a huge figure throw a machine into the elevator, blocking the entrance.

"Rawwwrr!" The enhanced child pounding his chest senselessly and behind him, dozens of his fellow test subjects began to surround Batman and the purple-haired woman. The two stood back to back, with Batman pulling out batarangs and the woman loading her gun.

The subjects roared loudly and began to charge the two, with explosions going off as the fire gained in power.