For a month, I hadn't left the house.

Why would I? Everyone knew I was Batman, Mom didn't trust me, the old man stopped talking to me, I couldn't talk to Max, Ian Peek was winning a Nobel Prize, and none of my friends were coming over or phoning,

Then again, I shouldn't expect them to. I'd kept Batman a secret from them too. They wouldn't trust me either.

"Matt's going to summer camp, and I'll be with him overnight," Mom said as she put on her coat. Matt was waiting impatiently outside. "I don't want him to be alone. If anyone comes, don't open the door."

She didn't even say goodbye. She never did after finding out I was Batman.

Four weeks of not going outside was driving me nuts. It was the same old house, same old features, no fresh air.

I needed to get out and enjoy the outdoors for once. Sure it was suicidal since 'everyone' included criminals, but if you were in a house for a few weeks without leaving, you'd want to go out too.

I looked at the clock. It was eleven. The criminals would be out around this time. I might get caught by them.

But I badly wanted to just catch a breath of fresh air again, even though I could just open a window. There would still be some fresh air, but it wasn't the same experience as being outside itself.

Even if I could fight off the Jokerz, there would still be gangs with weapons on them, and even if I took a single knife, it wouldn't fight off a gun. It would be useless.

If I was going to go outside, it was best not to go too far away from home. Probably just a walk in the street for two minutes. Then I'd go back and sleep.

But things could go wrong. And if they did, I'd have keep a back up plan.

It was good to just take a breath in the outdoors.

I looked at the sky. It was black. Up ahead, there was a jet flying. Above one of the buildings, you could see the constellation of Orion. As always, the air of Gotham City was musty, and you could smell garbage everywhere. There were some cars that were still out at this time of night, and you could hear their engines roaring, even from a mile.

This was Gotham before Batman returned, Gotham after Batman returned, and Gotham when they all learned what Batman's identity was.

It was the same, but completely different. It was like being a stranger.

No matter how long I wanted to stay out here, I couldn't. When everyone knows who you are, you can't stay out for too long.

And if you ever get to go outside, it might end up being your final moment out there.