"Batman!" Tremble cried excitedly. "We've been waiting for you!"

Robin looked up from where he and Jean Paul Valley were manacled to the wall. He came. He found him and he came. The Batman was back. It had taken him long enough . . .

He found Paul on the roof of the Axis Chemical Company rolled into a tight fetal position and breaking out in terror as he came near. Someone had gotten him, or something, that much was clear. What didn't make sense was that no one was around. Paul showed no signs of even being touched. Then Robin had met the men - Tremble and Fear. Fear had taught him the meaning of speed and brutality and then he woke up chained to a wall.

"You're awake," Tremble, the fat Englishman, said as he munched on a rotten apple. "Excellent. While you were asleep, my lad, Richard took it upon himself to inject his serum into your veins."

"What are you talking about?" Robin said, trying not to give away the fact that every inch of his body was throbbing because of this mystery serum.

"It's called Night Terrors," Fear, an angular man with a Bronx accent said. "Fun."

"It's derived," Tremble said with beaming pride. "From the fear toxins used by one Dr. Jonathan Crane. He called himself Stormcrow I believe."

"Scarecrow, Tremble," Fear said. "Crane called himself the Scarecrow."

"Ah, yes. The Scarecrow. My apologies."

"Uuuhh . . . Get to the point, fat man," Robin said, trying to be as insolent as he could with a pounding head. "I'm getting tired of waiting."

"AAAH!!" Jean Paul Valley, chained beside him on the wall, screamed.

"Oh, my," Tremble said. "He's coming along quite nicely. Fear, show me what he's seeing. I would just love to see!"

"Mm," Fear grumbled as he turned on a small TV. Wires attached to Robin and the stand in Batman's heads were attached to the back. "What channel is he on?"

"Forty six."

Fear flipped through the channels, all but two of which were filled with static. Robin watched them as they flipped by. Finally, Fear stopped and reclined back at the small table in the laboratory, putting his feet up. "There we go."

On the television Jean Paul was running from something none of them could see. As he screamed the man on the television screamed. As the man on the television ran and clawed his way through the woods Paul thrashed his body against the wall. The television Paul stopped and turned to find whatever was chasing him gone. Suddenly a gnome in what looked to be a burlap sack appeared out of the bushes.

"Azrael! Azrael! Azrael!" the red haired gnome screeched.

"No! No leave me alone!" both Pauls screamed out. He turned to run when suddenly the leaves beneath him fell away and he was falling through space. Paul screamed and banged his head against the metal wall.

"Stop! You're going to kill him!"

"Mm," Fear said. "It's not very likely. However, his heart might explode. That would be interesting."

"When did he get so talkative?" Robin asked, his eyelids becoming so heavy he could barely keep them open.

"He's bi-polar," Tremble explained. "Part of the reason for the cheeky fellow's interest in this project. The Batman is notorious for his psychosis. Judging from his dreams it's not hard to guess why."

A huge ghost figure caught the television Paul as he fell through the space that had turned into a wall of flames and brought him up to his rotted, worm eaten face.

"Saint Dumas . . . " Paul murmured in his sleep. Robin watched him, trying to keep his head up as it lolled into his shoulder. Paul's beard had grown, he noticed. That was odd. He didn't know dreams could do that, no matter how scary or draining they were.

"So . . . " Tremble said. "Day two and the Bat begins to show progress. I wonder who this chap is . . . "

"Batman," the mask said in greeting.

"I need you to run a trace for me."

"I figured this wasn't a social call."

"Hr. Robin and Azrael have been missing since last night. I need to know where they are."

"Why's Azrael with Robin?"

"I was hurt . . . I'm surprised you didn't know."

"I knew. I just thought you'd be better by now."

"Just get me the information, please."

"Working on it right now."

Bruce leaned back in his chair. He was going to have to think up one hell of an excuse for Shilo's mother. He was supposed to be grounded. That could wait though. The more important thing was finding them.

With the name Batman had uncovered several of Marcus' "test subjects". Some of them were actually still sane. The others had taken up permanent residence in Arkham Asylum. The most talkative had been the former model Anna Drayton.

"AAH!!" she screamed.

"Anna," he said soothingly. "Anna, I'm not going to hurt you. I want to talk to you."

"AAAH!! AHHAAAHHAA!! Get away! Please get away!"

"You have quite an impression on people, Batman," Jeremiah Arkham said into Batman's ear from behind the black observation window. Batman didn't respond.

He knelt down beside the girl, looking over his shoulder and around the room to be sure Arkham couldn't see him, then slipped off his mask.

"It's okay, Anna," Bruce said. "It's okay. I'm just a man, see?"

Anna whimpered, her lips drawn close together. "Go away . . . "

"Anna, I need your help."

"Me . . . ? Help . . . I don't know how," she said sadly, holding out her hands to show that she didn't know.

"Yes you do," he said. "You can help me if you want to. I want you to Anna. I know you can do it. Will you help me?"

"I try."

"She's been reduced to the mentality of a three year old, Batman," Arkham said in his ear. "I told you this wasn't going to work."

"Can you see her, Jeremiah?"

"Not from the corner, no."

"Then shut up."

Arkham was silent. Batman thought he might have even shut off the microphone. That was fine.

"Anna . . . Can I ask you about a man you might know?"

"Are you . . . Batman?"

"Yes," he said, smiling.

"Batman! Batman!" she cheered.

"That's right. You're going to help the Batman but you have to be quick. Okay?"

Anna nodded happily. Bruce thought she was beautiful, or had been at any rate, before Marcus got to her. She looked like a woman from his lost past. Julie Madison. Had he seen Anna on the street he expected he would have done a double take. She had been wrecked though. Behind her eyes there was little intelligence, her hair was dirty and tangled and turning gray at an incredible rate, he suspected a large part of it was from stress, and her face was covered in self inflicted scars and several deep wrinkles. Quite a fall, he thought.

"He's asleep again," Tremble said.

"Yes," Fear, who had shifted back to his less than social mode said. "I see."

"The Night Terrors will kick in now, I suppose."

"Terror."

"Talkative chap, aren't you?"

Jean Paul Valley's shot open behind the mask of the Batman. He screamed as he bashed his head against the wall.

"Dumas!!" he screamed.

"Quite excitable isn't--" Tremble said then was silenced as Valley, sneered and growling like an animal, kicked him and knocked him over the table where Fear sat. Fear watched the fat Englishman who had clung to him like a parasite roll across the table then picked up a hammer.

"Quiet!" Fear said then, taking the hammer, whacked Batman in the face.

"Yes," Batman said simply. "But not enough. You'll excuse me."

He stood on top of the Axis Chemical building now. Jim Gordon, asleep with his wife and less than happy to see him, had told him that was where Valley had headed two nights ago. Batman had thanked him and headed off to search the area. So far he had come up with nothing.

Then, in the gravel beneath the red neon sign reading "AXIS" he spotted a foot print. Had he any suspects, if this wasn't an unusual case, he might've been able to follow it somewhere. He considered taking the camera down from its perch where it stared at him then thought better of it. Oracle had already told him everything he could. He needed an address, he thought. Someplace Fear might have taken them.

Angry, he leapt off the building. Time to follow Drayton's lead, even though he hated doing it.

"Oh, it's you."

Batman watched her.

"Daddy said you were at his place earlier. Making sure none of us Gordons gets to bed tonight, huh?"

"I need a little help."

"Really?" Barbara yawned. "When don't you need a little help?"

He came inside and stood in the corner of her bedroom. Barbara didn't seem to mind walking around in her nighty with him in the room.

"What do you need?" she asked as she put on a robe.

"Information."

"Did you call Oracle?"

"How do you know about Oracle?"

"I've called him once."

"You didn't tell me."

"I don't work for you."

"Hr."

"What do you need Batman?" Barbara asked. "Ooh!" she yelped as she set foot on the cold tile of her kitchen. She was going to need coffee, she figured.

"There was a man, Richard Marcus. He calls himself Fear now. A few years back he dropped out of sight, may have even faked his own death. He's kidnapped Azrael and Robin. I need a location."

"Why do you think I would have one?"

"Because you were one of his victims."

"Whuzzat? Huh?" Kyle Falcone said as she jumped into consciousness. She looked around her, frantically trying to remember where she was. Oh, yes. The bus. An old woman sat beside her, gently nudging her.

"Miss, this is the last stop. Do you need a place to stay?"

"Oh, no. No, ma'am. Thank you," Kyle smiled prettily.

"You're welcome dear," the old woman said as she began to walk towards the bus door with some difficulty. Kyle looked out the windows of the bus. Hardly a good neighborhood for a lonely old woman. She grabbed her bag from beneath the seat and tapped the old woman on the shoulder.

"Let me walk you home," Kyle said.

"What? Oh, you don't have to do that, young lady."

"I want to," Kyle said. The old woman smiled as the two of them walked off the bus together and crossed the street. Sirens sounded in the distance and several not quite reputable looking teenagers leaned up against the fence. Kyle cut her eyes to them, sizing them up just in case, as she helped the old woman up the steps to her apartment.

The boys began to move. Kyle didn't see them as she held the door open for the old woman who smiled and patted her hand. The jingle of Kyle's bracelets echoed in the close corridor, the air became cold.

"Hey," one of the kids from the fence said. "You girls are out late. Looking for something?"

"Oh, my, no," the old woman said pleasantly. Kyle slit her eyes at them.

"Just taking my mother home, guys. Nothing to worry about."

"We ain't worried, sweetie," a big guy with blue hair said as he shut the door. The old woman staggered for a second before Kyle grabbed her.

"What's your name, baby?" A young black kid with tiny shades said as he reached out a finger to stroke Kyle. She didn't want to find out where he was intending to touch her and grabbed his finger, twisting it back until he screamed and dropped to his knees.

"My name is Kyle," she said. "Your name is Walking Crap. Are you going to leave us alone?"

"I don't think so," the blue haired boy said, unsheathing a gun. "Let him go, slut."

"Slut". Yeah, Kyle thought, that was appropriate.

"You really want to put that gun away," Kyle said.

"No I don't."

"Yes," she took off her belt which revealed itself to be a whip. "You do."

If a cat has nine lives, Kyle Falcone began her last one on the steps of Sophia Day's apartment building. They never even saw it coming.

"No."

"So explain yourself, Batman."

"You don't remember do you?" he said.

"Why does your voice sound strange?"

"You don't remember. His name was Fear. Richard Fear. He fell out of sight five years ago. One night he took you away from your father, before we had met. You escaped but just barely. You were one of his experiments. Do you remember?"

"Nooo . . . " Barbara moaned, her voice draining off. He had slipped a sedative into her system when he came into her home and now he was hypnotizing her. It was dirty, he knew that, and she wouldn't like it but he had to find Robin and Azrael before they were just as bad off as Anna Drayton.

"Barbara?"

"Please stop . . . "

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"Yes you are!" Barbara screamed, tears rolling down her face as she dropped her coffee onto the floor. Batman jumped back out of the falling cup's way and it shattered on her feet, scalding and cutting her.

"AAAHH!" Barbara cried, the tears coming freely.

"Barbara," he said, taking back his normal sound. "My name is Batman. I'm here to help you."

"No!! No, no, no!!" she screamed. She tried to attack him but only pounded on his chest as she slid to the floor crying.

"Batman," he said again, kneeling down and supporting her.

"Bat . . . Man?"

"Yes. I'm here to help. I need to know where we are. Do you know where we are?"

"Gotham," she whispered.

"I know . . . Do you know where in Gotham?"

"The docks. I saw it, Batman! I saw it! He hit me, see?" she asked holding out her lip. He noticed the scar there where she had had stitches. "He thought I was knocked out but I wasn't!" she laughed nervously. "I knew you or Daddy would come and I wanted to tell you where he was."

"But you forgot."

"No, I didn't forget."

She blocked it out, he thought. Now she was in the moment, she was in the building.

"Can you tell me what this place looks like? Is it a lab?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me anything else about it?"

She began to rattle off numbers and streets and he listened intently.

"Batman!" Tremble cried excitedly. "We've been waiting for you!"

"And Batwoman," she said, coming up behind him.

"I know you," Fear said, grabbing a new cane. "I know that body."

Batwoman roared and charged him. Tremble pulled a gun as she launched towards his partner then it was knocked out of his hand by Batman's batarang.

"You want me?" Batman asked. "You can have me. But you're going to regret it."

"Mm."

"I didn't know Batwoman could fight like that."

"She's very capable."

"Yeah. More than I'll ever be."

"You give yourself too little credit, Paul."

"I don't think so. I nearly got Robin and myself both killed."

"Yes, I know. I'm more than a little angry about that but you're young. You're going to make mistakes."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Batman."

"Mm. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

"How's Robin handling the problem at home?"

"Not as creatively as I would've expected. He told his mother he got drunk with some friends . . . I don't exactly approve of Robin saying that but whatever works."

"What did she say?"

"I wasn't there, Paul."

Jean Paul frowned. "I meant . . . Is he grounded or what?"

"Oh, of course. For a month I believe he said."

"Ooh. Tell him I said I'm sorry."

"Why can't you tell him yourself?"

"Well you're obviously better now. I guess I should be on my way."

"If you want," Batman said. "But I need a back up, Paul. You're my top choice."

Jean Paul smiled.

"You're your own man, I understand that. You have your own life and your own problems. I certainly don't want you skirting your studies but I'd like you to be a part of my enterprise."

"Be glad to," Jean Paul said, extending his hand to shake. "Thanks for finally accepting me, Batman."

Batman looked between his face and his hand.

"Shake?"

"Mm. I never was very good with expressing myself with my friends. They tend to be put off by my . . . lack of social skills."

"You and me both."

Batman smiled and took his hand.

"It's good to have friends," Jean Paul said.

"Mm. Particularly useful ones."