The town doctor had patched up my wounds and the assassins'. He told me they were going to leave the women at a shrine not too far from there with a sizable tribute, and hope they wouldn't come back for revenge. In case they did, Ali was going to take his family and the woman with the baby girl and leave the village. Try and go to India or Nepal, both of which apparently weren't too far from this part of Nanda Parbat. At least, close enough that they weren't worried about walking there on foot. They left after I did, but I still said goodbye and apologized to them. I gave Ali the phone number to my office at Wayne Incorporated, hoping that one day I could repay his kindness. I knew that I would probably never hear from him again, but I felt bad that he needed to leave his home on my account.

As for Khonshu, he still hadn't said a word to me since the battle with the League Assassins. I wasn't sure if he was mad, or if he was just thinking. I tried to talk to him several times, but got no response. It almost felt like before my 'death', when Khonshu never spoke to me. It felt lonely again. I'd never realized that Khonshu was actually good company. He was interesting to talk to, and always had something to say about whatever topic. Apart from that, he was someone who knew me completely.

Vashu had been right, talking about Kam, they were, at least at one point, the same person. It was like that with Khonshu and I too. I would talk about a memory of my mother, and he understood because, at one point, he had shared the same memory, the same emotion. It was interesting because we at one point were the same person, but now we weren't. It didn't feel like I'd lost a part of myself, but rather that I had gained a new part; like a new brother. Our relationship felt like my relationship with Kam most of the time.

It wasn't long after the fight with the assassins that the Batwing arrived to the village. It was a small aircraft that cost billions of dollars. Despite the huge investment, it had been 100% worth it in the long run. Especially the upgrades we had done. It could now fly further and faster than ever before, being able to circumvent the globe in a matter of hours. It was nearly invisible to even the most advanced forms of RADAR, and could be piloted remotely, and even be given commands for ORACLE to pilot it to a location, which is how I was able to get it back to Batgirl postmortem. It was the most advanced aircraft in the world.

As it landed in the village square, Batgirl and Robin ran out to greet me.

"Hey Babs-" I started to say, before being squeezed in a tight hug by Barbara. My face went red as the villagers gawked. Most of them had never even seen a plane up close, let alone a vehicle of this caliber.

"Danny…" Babs whispered, still hugging me tightly, "I thought we'd lost you."

"You almost did." I told her, surprised by the hug. I knew I had to ask a question that was going to hurt me a whole lot.

"Babs, Alfred… did he…?"

She stopped hugging me and looked up with tears in her eyes. I even saw Jason kicking the gravel on the ground.

"We recovered his body from the top of the mountain. Buried him by Bruce."

Pain and grief rushed through my heart. I wanted to cry, but I knew that I couldn't. I had too much to focus on. Besides that, I had known for months that he was dead. I just wanted confirmation.

"Let's go…" I said quietly, adjusting my pack. Batgirl, Robin, and I all embarked on the Batwing in silence. I didn't say anything to the villagers even. I just hoped they would be ok.

The first part of the trip was silent. I showered, shaved, and timmed my hair. It was still long and shaggy, but I didn't dare to attempt to cut and style it myself. I usually paid someone to do that. If I tried to do it myself, I would probably mess up.

After all that, and putting on my first pair of clean clothes in months, I went to the cockpit with Babs and Jason.

"What happened to you, Danny?" Jason asked finally.

"We thought you were dead too." Babs added, "Just that The League of Shadows had taken your body."

"It's hard to explain." I said after a minute of thinking, "in a way, I did die…"

I tried to explain everything I could, from my death to Vandal Savage, to the fight with the League ninjas. The only parts I left out were certain details in my meetings with the Arbiters and Dr. Nelson. Though Khonshu seemed MIA, I knew he was probably still listening. He couldn't know all the facts. Besides, it was easier to explain.

"So you want to go to San Francisco? Not Gotham?"

"It depends." I told them, "Did you bring my suit?"

They both looked at each other.

"The Bat-Armor was too destroyed to salvage." Barbara said, "We… um… we buried it."

"Why?" I asked, taken aback that they would do something like that.

"Danny… we had a funeral for you."

I couldn't believe it. It made sense, if they had one for Alfred, but it felt surreal.

"So Megan thinks I'm dead?" I finally asked.

Jason and Barbara just nodded.

Shit.

"There is one of Bruce's old suits in here." Jason said, "You can use that one."

I felt like throwing up. This whole time Meg thought I was dead, that I'd perished by the hand of Ra's al-ghul. Everyone did. What was the world like without a Batman? Had Dick replaced me? Or no one, and the world was just lived without the Batman for the last 6 months?

"Danny, breathe." Babs said to me, noticing my obvious shock. "One thing at a time. Do you want to call Megan? We haven't told her yet that you're alive."

I nodded. Barbara handed me her cell phone. I hesitated, trying to remember the number.

"Do you have her number?" I asked hesitantly. "I… can't remember any numbers."

Jason gave me a weird look. I was Batman, I wasn't supposed to just forget things.

My brain is deteriorating. I thought, remembering I was technically a walking corpse. Where was Khonshu when I needed him? He remembered everything still.

"It's in my contacts," Babs finally broke my train of thought, "under 'Megan Morse,' ok?"

I nodded and looked. I saw her name and her contact photo. I felt my heart beat faster for the first time since my resurrection.

I left the cockpit and went back to the main cabin. I dialed the number and waited. The phone rang five times before it was answered. There was a moment of silence before a voice spoke up.

"Barbara?" Meg asked.

"Megan." I said quietly, holding back tears, "it's me."

There was no answer for a second.

"Danny?"

"Yeah baby," I told her, smiling, "it's me. I'm alive."

Another long pause on the phone. I checked to make sure the call hadn't dropped, but then I heard Kori in the background yelling and celebrating.

"Danny, you're alive." Meg finally said, her voice filled with emotion, "I'm not dreaming? This… you're…"

"Yes Megan, I'm alive. I don't have great service here, so I will have to explain later, but I survived. We are on our way to San Francisco right now. I want to see you."

"I'd really like that." She responded. I could picture her smile in my mind, despite the fact I couldn't see her, "I just can't believe it. I need to see you."

I wasn't sure what to say. My heart ached for her. I had thought so much about her in the past six months. Hearing her voice made me feel again. It filled a hole in my soul.

I was determined now more than ever to stop Ra's. I knew that I would still die after I beat him, but I had to protect her with all my power.

The rest of the phone call didn't last long. I suppose there's not much to say over the phone with someone that you thought was dead moments before. I asked if she could gather all of the Justice League possible. If we were going to war with Ra's Al-Ghul, I needed to bring as many soldiers as possible.

I took a moment to compose myself and clean my face up after crying. I opened the cockpit doors and gave Babs her phone back.

"Everything ok?" She asked, not taking her eyes off the sky.

"Yes." I responded. I wasn't sure what else I could say to her about my call. I turned to Jason.

"You said that one of Bruce's old suits is still on the Batwing?"

"Follow me."

I followed Jason back to the main cabin. Even though I knew where Bruce would've kept his spare suit on the Batwing, I still let Jason lead me. I saw in his eyes that he really wanted to.

This, being Batman and Robin, gave Jason purpose. It was exactly the same thing that I had felt 10 years ago. And Jason was good at being Robin. He would grow to be better than Dick and better than me, I just knew it. Like all of his soldiers, Bruce had given him purpose. I later spoke to Barbara about it. In the months that I'd been 'dead,' Jason had lost himself, especially with no Alfred to take care of him. He hardly ate, he did poorly in school, and he stopped Robin all together. She told me that when she'd gotten my call, Jason was overjoyed and insisted on coming with her. Even though Bruce's death was hard on him, he was ok because he still had me. It felt good, to make the same impact on him that Bruce had made on me. I needed to make sure to make an impact on him before defeating Ra's. Otherwise, he'd just go back to dealing with his own depression.

So much responsibility in such short time…

Jason pressed a button in the wall, opening a compartment. Inside, there was a mannequin dressed as none other than the Caped Crusader. I took a deep breath. Putting on the Bat-Armor for the first time was different than this. Bruce had never worn it. I didn't have to necessarily fill his shoes, at least mentally. This, however, was one of Bruce's actual costumes. Putting this on was the real deal.

Jason squeezed my arm.

"Big shoes to fill, huh?" He said, seeing my hesitation to put the costume on. I just nodded, "You can do it, Danny. You're a good Batman."

He left me alone to put the costume on myself. It felt like a long time standing there until I heard a voice in my head.

"Why are you hesitating, Danny?" Khonshu said, after so long of not hearing his voice.

"It's just difficult." I explained, relieved to finally hear from him, "Putting on the cowl, his actual costume, is like acknowledging that Batman was actually killed, you know?"

"Can I give you my perspective?" He asked, quietly. His voice was full of reverence. I didn't respond with words, but I did want to hear what he had to say.

"For hundreds of thousands of years, I have caused death and destruction throughout the world. In the Old Days, the people who worshiped me did not fear me. They understood that death was a part of life. But they didn't see it as a necessary evil, they saw death as sacred. It is the fact that people die that gives their life meaning, after all. If people didn't die, their good deeds and sacrifices wouldn't be worth anything. The greatest thing you can do for someone is die for them.

"You, of all people, have seen that more than everyone. Your mother, Helena, Bruce, and now Alfred all gave their lives so that you could continue living. They sacrificed themselves for you and now are a part of you. It isn't wrong to acknowledge their deaths, but it is wrong to let their deaths cripple you, paralyze you. If they sacrificed their lives so that you could live, then you should do just that.

"Dwelling in the past, not living your life to the fullest, means their deaths aren't sacred to you, because they loved you and saw enough potential in you to make your death tragic to die instead of you.

"It is death that makes life sacred; if everyone lives forever, no one would be happy to live, for their lives wouldn't have any value anymore. They held your life sacred, so now, to repay them, the blood shed of those you love must be made sacred as well.

"Do you understand, Danny? Four people have died willingly, so that you can live. Your life doesn't hold the value of one life anymore. It is worth five now. If you can't live life to your true value, then you don't deserve to live still and their sacrifices were for nothing."