"How do you feel, Lord?" Dresden, who held the Bat by his arm as he inched his way into the driver seat asked.

"Uuuh . . . I've been better," Batman groaned.

"Can you drive, Lord?" Truman, the other man, asked piously. Dresden shot him a look and put a finger to his lips to tell him to shut up. Of course he didn't need any help. He was the Bat.

"I think I can manage," Batman said as he began to woozily set the auto pilot route to take him back to the Cave. He had called Alfred while in the Brotherhood's clinic to find that the old man had done a bang up job with the Brotherhood assassins. Batman promised them their friends would be returned safely but the Brotherhood nurses didn't seem that worried about it. They were trying to forget this whole mad ordeal.

"Lord?" Dresden asked, nearly murmuring to himself.

"Mm?"

"Thank you . . . For saving us . . . I . . . We're all sorry about not believing in you."

Batman wasn't sure what to say to this. He didn't like being worshipped but these people had devoted their entire lives to him. To tell them to stop would surely bring about more chaos in their lives that McCallough ever could have. He rubbed his drowsy head as he tried to think of a response that would please them, wishing he was at home in bed. The Reaper had taken a lot out of him.

"You made a mistake," he said. "You're human. I understand."

Dresden smiled. Batman thought to himself that he didn't really understand fanaticism, cleansing, or anything else the Brotherhood did. They were all indebted to him for saving their lives but that was his job, not a holy mission. It was all disconcerting. Especially the lengths they had gone to in order to draw his attention. It was time to go home. Forget all about all of this.

"Goodbye," Batman said, at a loss for words in his mixed state of fury and exhaustion, as the Batmobile's coup shut over his head and the car started.

"Home . . . " Batman said. A display of green lights flashed and the Batmobile, knocked out of alignment by the previous night's chase, dizzily backed up then turned around and started for the road that would lead back to the Cave. The Brotherhood had done what they could but he was going to need Alfred's expertise if he hoped to get back on his feet. It wouldn't be long before Gotham called again. Maybe it was time to think about a back up . . .

They all ate and gazed around the Cave, having forgotten all about their injuries as they prayed for forgiveness from Him. "D'you think you could have been a little more gentle?"

Alfred looked seriously at the boy. "No, Master Shilo. I don't."

"But they seem so . . . placid."

"They didn't when they came looking for blood and destruction. They're repentant now because they have been ordered to stop their insane crusade. It seems Master Bruce usurped their ruler."

"Usurped . . . ?"

"Unseated him."

"Ah."

Alfred chuckled as the two of them went back to unpacking the new computer from Waynetech to replace the ones the Brotherhood vandals had shattered when they entered the Cave.

"What's so funny?"

"You know the word "placid" but "usurped" blew your mind."

"No it didn't," Shilo said defensively. "It's just not something you hear that often. Besides, I only said "placid" because Miss Bertenelli said it the other day in class."

"Bertenelli?" Alfred said, growing tense at the name.

"Yeah. She's pretty hot."

"No . . . I know that name . . . "

"Yeah, I just told it to you."

"I mean besides that . . . It rings a bell," Alfred said. It did more than that. The Bertenellis were a Mafia family long before Shilo Norman became Robin. He didn't expect the boy to know about them, having lain quiet for years now, but the fact that this "Ms. Bertenelli" had surfaced in Shilo's school said something. If, of course, she was a part of the family. He made a note to mention it to Bruce.

"I don't usually like Italian girls," Shilo explained, apparently having been talking for several minutes while Alfred was thinking.

"If she's your teacher, Master Shilo, I doubt she's a girl."

"Well, yeah but--"

Shilo was cut short as the sound of a roaring engine echoed down the length of the Cave from the hollow space where the Batmobile exited to the road. They both turned expectantly as the sleek black car shot into the Cave, flames licking out of the back. It began to slow then came to a skidding stop in its usual parking place.

"Nice park job," Shilo commented as the Batmobile stopped exactly in the middle of the round platform then began to turn counter clockwise as it went down into the belly of the driveway where it was stored.

"Mm. Perhaps too nice. Master Bruce has never been that good of a driver."

Shilo looked at him then laid his computer monitor aside while Alfred dropped his duster and untied his apron. The two of them ran across the spire that led to the car. Looking inside of the hole Shilo could see the top of the car was still sealed tight.

"He's still inside."

Alfred pressed a button on a console standing beside the car's platform, smoke billowed up as it began to rise. Shilo, meanwhile, had taken a spare remote from one of the console drawers.

"Open."

The top of the car slid open, the sound of air escaping echoed in the otherwise silent Cave.

"Hey!" Shilo said as he leaned over the side of the car. "You alive?"

"Robin . . . " Batman groaned. "Get Alfred."

"I'm here, sir."

"Need help . . . "

"Never thought I'd hear him say that," Shilo said.

"Better . . . " Bruce said as he leaned up on his arm, his stomach and leg were aching freely now.

"Master Shilo is about to have a fit waiting to hear what happened."

"He doesn't need to know," Bruce said as he took the coffee mug off of the platter and inhaled the thick smoke rising off of the burning hot liquid.

"Master Bruce, if I may be so bold . . . If he's going to be your partner he needs to know everything."

"Chuck never did."

"And he's gone."

Bruce cut his eyes at Alfred then went back to sipping his coffee.

"I'll tell him later."

"Of course sir," Alfred said, more than a little angered by the comment. There was always "later" with Bruce. Never now. He didn't know how to live in the moment. His life was devoted to the past and he never stopped looking to the future.

"Right now I have more pressing concerns," Bruce said, as if having read Alfred's mind.

"Oh," Alfred said, pouring more coffee into Bruce's cup.

"I'm hurt. Hurt and exhausted. Reaper and McCallough took a lot out of me. I need a little time to . . . "

"Heal. Rest. Be human."

"Thank you, Alfred, that's quite enough."

Alfred said nothing as he waited for Bruce to explain himself.

"Gordon's going to call sooner or later and with my leg the way it is I'm not going to be able to answer. I can't push myself like that and expect to accomplish anything."

"You're finally starting to learn, Master Bruce."

"Mm."

"So you want a replacement?"

"No! No, this is my war. Mine alone. Not a replacement just someone to take up the slack. Someone to be the Batman for a little while. How long do you think it's going to take my leg to heal?"

"It shall never heal, sir."

"Seriously, Alfred. After the last few days I'm in no mood for jokes."

"At best a week, sir. Your body is quite resilient."

"Comes from years of punishment."

"Yes, sir. I'm well aware of that."

"Who do you think I should get?"

"Someone you trust . . . " Alfred said then realized that was a very small number of people.

"Steve and Tony are busy. They don't work well in Gotham, anyway. I'm not going to butt into Chuck's life. He seems to want to be left alone. What about Paul?"

"Paul?"

"Jean Paul Valley. Azrael."

"Oh. Do you think he's ready for such a responsibility, sir?"

"No but, then, neither was I when I started out."

"I shall contact him, sir."

Zul was terribly afraid of heights. He had ruined his flight outfit several times as he fell through the sky from the plane where he had run into the lunatic Azrael. Now he was rushing towards the ground, it seemed to grow exponentially closer with every passing second. He screamed and it was lost on the wind. Panicking he ripped open his parachute and veered in the wind, his descent slowed. He was going to be okay. The parachute had worked.

Suddenly something latched onto his back and he remembered why he was doing all of this. He turned his head over his shoulder and began to stutter out a plea as he saw the black masked face of Azrael.

"Sorry," the Angel said. "Looks like we're going to have to share."

"Aaah!! Aaah!!! Take it, take it!!!" Zul screamed as they headed towards an outcropping mountain face. He reached into his suit and pulled out the prized Eye of Zamora and handed it back to Azrael. "Please don't let me die!!"

"You're not going to die," Azrael said. "Though maybe you should."

He reached into the pouch on his arm and produced a razor then snapped the parachute cords attached to Zul's parachute. Zul began to scream again.

"What are you doing?! You're mad! You're going to kill us booooth!!"

"Get ready to roll," Azrael said then they hit the rock face. Zul smashed his face on the hard earth while Azrael rolled for five feet and narrowly avoided plunging off the other side as his hand grabbed the mountain at the last second. His cell phone began to beep in his belt.

"Hello?" Azrael heaved as he fought for a grip on the mountain.

"Mr. Valley?"

"Yes, how did you get this number?"

"I work for the Batman. I'm calling to offer you a job."

Beneath his mask Azrael smiled. He could use a little excitement.