The road was dark and empty as the van moved down the dark street. Its sides were covered by tarps that had been hastily duct taped to the sides to cover the logo that made the company’s vans entering Gotham a target these days. A nervous sweat dotted the driver’s forehead.



“Y-you see anything, Carl?” a voice asked from the back of the van.



“It all seems clear so far,” Carl said warily.



Suddenly, a car flew through the air, crashing in front of him. Carl gave a horrified cry as he slammed on the brakes. A large figure darted into the space between the car and the van. He was a truly horrifying visage.: freakishly large and muscular and ghastly pale. He was bare chested and wore black tattered jeans, visor-like sunglasses, and had a blue Mohawk. When he opened his mouth in a wide feral grin, he revealed a row of long fanged teeth.



He brought his fists up and slammed them into the hood of the car. The front wheels bent sideways, steam sprayed up from the radiator, and the engine dislodged and crashed to the ground.



The driver screamed, threw open the door, and ran screaming. The enormous youth ripped off one of the wheels and threw it at him, sending him flying head over heels.



Several whoops filled the air as similarly pale, sunglass wearing youths ran towards the van. Their large, hulking leader ripped the back doors off the van, revealing the two cowering men in the back.



“Do either of you know how to make ambrosia?” the large figure hissed. Both men shook their heads ‘no’.



“Then you’re useless!” he roared, grabbing both men by their shirt fronts to fling them out of the van. The rest of the gang began to kick at the fallen men in anger and frustration.



“Mutants! Grab everything you can!” the mutant leader commanded. “There’s got to be something here we can use!”



The Mutant gang members swarmed into the van, filling their arms with containers of chemicals as their leader commanded. As they ran off into the night, one of them snatched off the van the tarp that had poorly disguised it, revealing the STAR labs logo.





The Mutant Gang’s headquarters was an abandoned mansion in what once had been a prestigious part of Gotham that had since gone to seed. Inside, it looked more like a vampire’s den than a street gang’s hang out.



As they lay sprawled across the tattered recliners, couches, and chaise lounges, a network of IVs connected them, sending blood from one mutant to another. The blood was the thing that bound them. It was a stronger bond than brother or sister.



And if the transfer of blood had made them siblings, then the role of father/mother had fallen upon the Mutant leader, Jasper Collins. The transfusions had been his idea. Like them, he had been one of the countless kids Doctor Randolph Porter and his partner, Bane, had hooked on the drug, Ambrosia. {New Titans: ” Transitory Dependence”}. Unlike them, he was something of a chemistry prodigy.



Once small and bookish before indulging in the transformative drug, Ambrosia, he had figured out that once the supply dried up, ambrosia users could help each other ward off the withdrawals and monstrous transformations with transfusions due to a chemical ambrosia users formed in their own bloodstream. It also warded off the five-hit death sentence of which most users had been unaware.



There was still pain, as evidenced by the hissing that filled the room, but they would no longer expire after five uses. And their bodies would no longer be twisted into the worst images of their dreams and nightmares. Yes, there were still distortions, but now it was a common one they shared. Their skin had become an oily white. There were slight distortions in their posture and musculature, giving them a slightly inhuman look. Their eyes had also become extremely light sensitive, so they only came out at night. And when they did, they wore the same visor-like sunglasses as their leader. Still, it was a far cry from the horrors that Ambrosia users used to turn into.



No one experienced the distortions more than Jaspar Collins. In exchange for their slavish devotion, he routinely made the ultimate sacrifice to help them fight back the pain. While he had managed to retro-engineer the chemicals that went into making ambrosia, he had not managed to discover the formula for the right combination. He had found that his own unique body chemistry allowed him to be used as a human incubator. So, after the raids, once his gang members had set up their network of IVs, he would take his place at the head of the network and allow the chemicals to be injected into himself then shared with his mutants by way of transfusion. They were his children receiving his life-giving milk. In return, he was given the reverence and devotion he had once craved as an insecure youth living in Denton, Texas.



It had also transformed the once slight form that had left him prey to bullies. Now, he stood at 6 foot 6 inches with a frame so packed with muscle that his shoulders seemed to sag from the sheer weight of it. His face had become angular and unrecognizable with high pronounced cheek-bones, an almost non-existent nose, a long pointed chin, dagger-like teeth, and ears that tapered into a point. To complete his new fearsome look, he had shaved his hair into a blue Mohawk.



His dream was that one day, he would find a STAR researcher in the back of one of the vans they raided… one that would help them to unlock the secrets to the ultimate strain of Ambrosia. One without side effects or a death sentence… one that offered power without pain.





Alfred approached the still form of his employer as he sat hunched over the massive Batcave computer system. If he was sleeping, he certainly didn’t want to wake him. God knows, the man needed his rest these days.



“Are you planning to hover over me all night, Alfred?” Bruce Wayne said, still facing forward. “That tea isn’t going to stay warm forever.”



“I never could surprise you, Master Bruce,” Alfred said, setting the silver tray he was carrying on the desk. He poured a cup of tea and then offered it to him.



“You still find a way now and then,” Bruce said, sipping his tea. He still wore his Batman uniform, but his cowl was pulled back to reveal dark circles beneath his eyes and an unshaven face. It was apparent that, once again, he had been up all night.



“You know, you must sleep at some point,” Alfred said, placing a plate of scones next to the tea.



“That’s not really an option for me right now,” Bruce said with a touch of impatience.



“Alfred’s gaze drifted to the picture of Silver St. Cloud. “You know, you did manage to sleep alone before marriage.”



“It’s not that!” Bruce said, exasperated. “It’s because that idiot, Conway at STAR labs, decided Ambrosia could be weaponized to create a new breed of super soldier and that research would take place in my city. Then same said idiot let it become the worst kept secret in the scientific community. So now I’ve got every A-head in a ten-state area making a pilgrimage to Gotham. So yeah, it’s lead to a few sleepless nights.”



Alfred continued to look at the picture. “It’s Haiti, this week, isn’t it?”



“Yes. For the opening of an orphanage,” Bruce sighed. “Last week, it was to oversee food shipments in Ethiopia.”



“And next week?” Alfred asked, raising an eyebrow.



“Opening a girls’ school in Kurswanda,” Bruce sighed.



“Perhaps someone who understands better than anyone should explain to her that you cannot outrun grief,” Alfred said.



“You don’t think we’ve already had this conversation? Hell, I miss him, too! But he wasn’t real! She’s in mourning for the concept of this ready-made family of her, me, and Jason. Well, it’s not going to happen now and there’s nothing we can do to change that. He’s gone… he was never really here.”



“You know, you and Ms. Silver are both young enough that you could still have a child of your own,” Alfred said.



“I don’t think so,” Bruce said with a nervous laugh.



“And why not?” Alfred said. “Your doppelganger on Earth-2 managed it despite his night job.”



“We might have shared the same name, but we are not the same person,” Bruce insisted.



“You have already been a father figure twice over,” Alfred said.



“I know how twisted the world can be,” Bruce said. “I’m not ready to bring an innocent new life into it. It was different with Dick and Jason. I was taking innocent lives that were already there and giving them the skills they needed to survive.”



“That is the job of every parent,” Alfred said, picking up the silver tray as he turned back towards the entrance to Wayne manor. ‘You and your wife have much to discuss when she returns. Because whether you’re ready to be a father, she is clearly ready to be a mother.”





The large shadowy figure was barely visible in the darkened room on the video screen. An off-screen light source barely outlined his head and shoulders and glinted off his visor-like sunglasses.



“People of Gotham, you are being played for fools,” the deep electronically enhanced voice said. “You think you are safe. You are not safe. The Bat cannot protect you. Old man Gordon cannot protect you. The streets of Gotham belong to the mutants. We will slay your women and children. We will strangle your babies in their cribs. The streets of Gotham will run red with the blood of all you hold dear if we do not get what we want. Your mayor, the city council and the commissioner all have our demands. If they are not met, your suffering will lay at their feet.”



Batman and Commissioner Gordon stared at the dark screen. “Copies of this tape were sent to all the major media outlets,” Gordon sighed. “So there’s no hope of keeping a lid on this thing.”



“Can I get a copy of this tape for further study?” Batman asked.



“Of course,” Commissioner Gordon said. “Have you spoken with that new director at STAR labs? Gordon Conway?”



Batman’s mind flashed bac to the moment when he stood in Gordon Conway’s office. The first thing that hit him was the man’s fast talking demeanor would be more at home on a car lot than in a scientific facility.



“Let me get this straight,” Conway scoffed. “You want me to put the safety of our research… maybe even one of our researchers… in jeopardy so you can catch some street punks.”

“Neither would be in any real jeopardy,” Batman said. “We would simply use them as a lure to draw the mutants out. You’re vastly underestimating the threat this group poses to Gotham. And given the fact that STAR labs has chosen to research a substance like Ambrosia here…”



“So now you’re saying this is STAR lab’s responsibility?” Conway exclaimed. “We’re a scientific research facility. It’s our duty to …”



“If you don’t mind,” Batman said, leaning on Conway’s desk, “what exactly are your scientific credentials?”



“What? How dare you! I don’t need some Sherlock Holmes wanabee dressed like Dracula to come in here and…”



“So it’s not Doctor Conway, then,” Batman said. “It’s Mister.”



“It’s Director Conway!” Conway said, his ire rising. “I don’t need scientific credentials. I have people for that.”



“Well, ‘Director Conway’, your reckless endeavor into Ambrosia… or Venom as anyone who knows anything about the drug calls it… has put my city at the center of a storm. So, it’s time for you to step up and do something about it.”



Conway chuckled and sat down behind his desk. “Now, you see, this sounds more like a ‘you’ problem.”



“What?” Batman said tersely.



“It’s not my job to care about the safety and security of Gotham. “He made finger gun gestures, pointing at Batman. “That’s your job, hero-guy. Me? I could care less. My job is to make money. I’m good at it and that’s why the board hired me. Frankly, a lot of the board members are tired of you capes treating STAR like it’s a charity. It’s not. It’s a business. And businesses like to make money.” He opened the Styrofoam container on his desk that held his lunch and started to eat. “And from where I’m sitting, there’s big money in Ambrosia as far as the army is concerned… or armies depending on who bites.”



“You scumbag money-hu…”



“Well, look at you,” Conway grinned. “You really want to hit me right now, don’t you?” He gestured to the security camera with his fork. “Well, go ahead. But be sure to smile for Candid Camera. “He looked back down at his lunch and said, “Now run along and tell the rest of the spandex brigade that STAR labs is no longer their own personal R & D department.”



“This isn’t over,” Batman growled.



“It better be,” Conway said without bothering to look up at him. “I have a team of lawyers every bit as scary as anything you’ve seen come out of Gotham.”



Doubtful,” Batman snorted.



Conway looked up, ready to give a sarcastic retort, but Batman was no longer there. “Huh,” Conway said, impressed.





“Yeah, that sounds like a disaster, alright,” Commissioner Gordon said as Batman finished his story.



“No question,” Batman grumbled.



“Still, it didn’t keep him from whining like a punk about how we weren’t doing our jobs once his vans started being hit,” Commissioner Gordon said.



“No, it did not,” Batman agreed.





Two girls walked through the dark alley. Both wore karate gis. The tall one with long black hair wore a green belt and looked very nervous. The shorter one wore glasses and had short full red hair parted to the side in a fashion made popular by actresses like Molly Ringwald. She had a red belt with several black stripes. She walked with far more confidence.



“We shouldn’t be here,” the tall girl said. “Brad says he’s seen the mutant gang around here.”



“You believe everything Brad tells you because you think he’s cute, Michelle,” the red-head said.



That’s not funny, Carrie,” Michelle said. “It’s really not safe.”



“Why do you even take karate if you’re still going to act scared all the time,” Carrie said.



“Because it looks good on a college application to have extra-curriculars,” Michelle said.



“Only you could make karate about getting into college,” Carrie laughed.



“And besides, we were supposed to do this together and you keep getting double promoted. You’re practically a blackbelt and I’m still a green!” Michelle whined.



“That’s not my fault,” Carrie said. “Besides, I’m probably not going to get into college.”



”That’s crazy!” Michelle said. “With all those computer classes? Everyone says you’re amazing! I’ve never seen anyone do what you can do!”



“Not gonna do her much good now,” a hissing voice said. A wiry pale figure stepped out of the shadows. “You done messed up. You’re in mutant territory now. He flicked a switchblade for emphasis. Two more approached them from behind.



“Omigod! Omigod! Omigod!” Michelle exclaimed.



“Shut up and fight, Michelle!” exclaimed Carrie.



“Yeah, shut up and fight, Michelle!” one of the mutants laughed.



One of the mutants reached for Carrie and she pulled on his arm and flipped him over her shoulder. When he landed on his back, she drove her elbow into his abdomen, knocking all the wind out of him and doubling him over in pain.



Two more mutants came out of nowhere and grabbed Michelle. She screamed in terror.



“Let her go!” Carrie said, spinning around to drive her heel into the knee of one of the mutants.



“Then you better be still, Strawberry Shortcake. Or we slice and dices her. If’n you aint got no money in them pajamas, then you gonna have to find some other way to pay your way outta here.”



Suddenly, a blue and gray figure seemed to drop out of nowhere with the noise of a fluttering cape that resembled batwings. He grabbed the two mutants holding Michelle and they screamed as they were sent flying. Batman then backhanded the mutant that had been speaking and he spun around, colliding with a stack of garbage cans. The two Carrie had dropped tried to get up again and with two quick punches were rendered unconscious.



Michelle and Carrie stood awestruck. “What were you two doing walking down this alley at night,” Batman scolded.



“It... it was a short cut,” Carrie said.



“You handled yourself pretty well,” Batman said, eliciting a gushing grin from Carrie. “And lord knows Gotham needs all the help it can get these days. But getting yourself killed needlessly isn’t going to do anyone any good. Now hurry on home.”



The two girls ran out of the alley. “I told you it wasn’t safe!” Michelle exclaimed.



“Carrie couldn’t hear her friend scolding her. All she could do was grin from ear to ear. She finally knew what she wanted to do with her life.





Batman studied the tape commissioner Gordon had given him. The first thing he did was use the Batcave’s computer to restore the voice of the speaker to normal. As he had expected, despite being very deep, the voice was that of a teenager. There was a slight Texas drawl. It was not the heavy drawl of someone from a rural area. This was the dialect of someone educated, possibly affluent.



Of the names from the Titans’ case files he had read that dealt with Ambrosia, this best described a user named Jasper Collins. And while other addicts might simply have lamented its disappearance, Jasper Collins was the one user who might be able to do something about it.



Now that he knew who he was dealing with, he needed to track him down. He dissected the tape further, separating the background noises and amplifying them. Was that… was that a roller coaster?





Carrie Kelley stood admiring herself in the full-length mirror in her bedroom. She had been forced to hock her Atari 2600 and her boom box, but she now had an original Robin outfit. She had hoped to get a more modern one, but all they had at the costume shop was the original one with the trunks and pixie boots. Oh, well. At least she had the legs to carry it off.



Unfortunately, the utility belt wasn’t real, but she had her sling-shot, nunchakus, and her rock climbing grappling hook from Girl Scouts.



She hoped she wasn’t being presumptuous, but the other Robin hadn’t been seen in weeks. It was a good bet that he had quit, retired, or worse. And Batman said that Gotham could use all the help it could get right now. She picked up her skateboard, opened her window, and headed for the fire escape.





Carrie wasn’t five minutes from her apartment when she saw a purse snatcher shove an old woman down and steal her purse. “Hold it right there!” Carrie yelled, taking off after him on her skateboard. The thief looked over his shoulder as he ran but did not stop.



Carrie weaved in and out of the crowd on her skateboard in pursuit. She reached to her belt and pulled out her slingshot and fired off two shots. The ball bearings connected with the backs of both his knees, causing him to fall to the ground. When Carrie caught up with him, he jumped up and tried to take a swing at her. She deftly dodged out of the way, pulled out her nunchakus and hit him in the side of the head, knocking him out.



Carrie picked up the purse, walked back to the old woman, and handed it to her. “Here’s your purse, ma’am,” she said politely. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”



“No, I’m fine,” the old woman said., smiling. “Thank you, young ma…. Well, you’re not a boy at all, are you?”



“No, ma’am,” Carrie said.



“Well, good for you,” the old woman said, taking a quarter out of her coin purse and placing it in Carrie’s gloved hand. “Good for you.”



Carrie stared at the quarter in shock. “She tipped me?!!!”





The next several hours were a rush for Gotham’s newest Robin. She foiled a few more robberies and tackled a foolish teenaged girl who decided to continue a conversation while standing in the path of traffic and wrestled her to safety. The most frightening act of the night had been getting between a pimp and the hooker he had planned to teach a lesson. It had been touch and go, but she managed to return the beating he had planned for her.



Her night’s activities brought her to the edge of one of Gotham’s suburbs called Cypress Heights. Once a well to do neighborhood, it had fallen on hard times. The well-heeled moved on to new areas to be replaced by less than savory characters. The boutique shops were replaced by liquor stores, pawn shops, and payday loan shops. The smaller houses, while still occupied, fell into disrepair. The larger ones were simply boarded up and abandoned.



Cypress Height’s only remaining draw was Gotham Fun and Games. Like the rest of Cypress Heights, the amusement park had seen better days. It still managed to pull in a crowd from those brave enough to make the trek to that part of town.





Carrie made a point of sticking to the shadows. The place was swarming with mutants.



She spotted a short mutant close by who was harassing a pair of teenage girls. She crept up behind him, swung her nunchaku, and knocked him out. She held her finger up to her lips for the girls to keep quiet as she dragged him into the bushes.



Seconds later, she emerged from the bushes wearing his black hoodie and jeans. She had the hood pulled up to cover her hair and she wore his large wrap-around sunglasses to cover her mask.



As she blended in with the crowd of mutants, she saw that most of them were heading across the parking lot and then crossing the street towards a large, boarded up mansion at the top of a hill.



As she reached the top of the hill, she saw an enormous, bare chested muscle bound figure with pale skin and a blue mohawk. He was standing on an abandoned car as he addressed the crowd.



“We’ve give the city our demands and they’ve ignored us!” he shouted to the crowd in a deep, gravelly voice. An outraged roar went up from the assembled throng.



“They think we’re a bunch of noisy, rowdy kids and if they ignore us long enough…” he gave a shrug, “Well, then maybe we’ll just go away.” The crowd roared in outrage.



Jasper Collings pumped his fist. “Tomorrow night, we let them know we will not go away! We will not be denied. Tomorrow night, the streets belong to the mutants! STAR Labs and everything they have will belong to us. And God have mercy on anyone who dares stand in our way because the Mutants won’t!”



The roar of the crowd was so deafening that it threatened to drown out the noise of the nearby roller coaster. Carrie backed her way out of the crowd, going unnoticed. Once she reached the street, she stepped on her skateboard, pulled her grappling hook out from under the hoodie, and latched onto the bumper of a passing pick-up truck that was heading back into town. She hoped she could warn someone before it was too late.





The Bat signal shone in the early night sky. On the roof of the Gotham City Police station, by the bat signal, stood Commissioner Gordon and Batman.



“Have you reviewed the tape?” Gordon asked him.



“I’ve identified the speaker as Jaspar Collins,” Batman said. He was one of the teenagers Bane and Dr. Randolph Porter hooked on Ambrosia. He’s obviously the one leading the Mutants now. Among the background noise is a roller coaster.”



“The only one in town is at Gotham City Fun and Games in Cypress Heights,” Commissioner Gordon said.



“Right,” Batman said. “That means his headquarters must be nearby,” Batman said.



“It is,” a voice said as a slight figure stepped out of the shadows. Both Batman and Commissioner Gordon stared in shock at the red-haired girl wearing the costume of Robin.



“Did you teach her that trick?” Commissioner Gordon asked Batman.



“No,” Batman said coolly. “I did not.”



Carrie saw the way Batman was looking at her and did not like it. “You said right now, Gotham could use all the help it could get!”



“I also said getting yourself needlessly killed wouldn’t do anyone any good!” Batman exclaimed.



“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” Commissioner Gordon said. “Reports about her have been coming in all day. She’s been doing a bang-up job. You trained her well!” Batman stared at him in disbelief.



“You were about to tell us something, dear?” Commissioner Gordon said.



“I tracked down the Mutants’ headquarters! She said, wide eyed. “It’s right across the street from Gotham Fun and Games.! They’ve taken over a big abandoned house!”



“Wonderful! I can put together a swat team and round them up,” Gordon said.



“You’ll need more than that,” Batman said. “They’re practically an army.”



“Their leader was some kind of monster,” Carrie shuddered. “He made Killer Croc look like the Penguin. You won’t need to go there. They’re coming here.”



“What?” Batman and Commissioner Gordon exclaimed in unison.



“He said they were sick of waiting for the city to meet their demands. Tonight, they’re attacking STAR labs and taking what they want.”



“That doesn’t leave us much time,” Commissioner Gordon said. “I’ll gather my men and be ready to meet you outside STAR labs. We’ll be ready for them. I assume you’ll be bringing the usual suspects?”



“I’m a little shorthanded right now, but I still have a few people I can call,” Batman said.



He turned to Carrie and said,” I suppose if I told you to stay out of this, you would show up anyway.”



“Duh!” Carrie laughed.



“Fine. You’re riding with me,” Batman said.



Carrie looked over her shoulder at Commissioner Gordon as he entered the doorway leading back inside. “He seems nice.”



“He has a soft spot for little red-headed firecrackers,” Batman said. “You probably remind him of his daughter.” With that, he grabbed Carrie around the waist, fired his grappling hook gun, and they sailed off the roof. Carrie gave a cry of excitement as they sailed to the ground below towards the Batmobile.





Batman could barely stifle a smile as Carrie took in the surroundings of the Batmobile with wide-eyed wonder. “Try to fight the urge to press any buttons.”



“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to accidently hit the ejector seat,” she laughed nervously.



“Don’t worry,” Batman said. “The button for that is over on my side.”



“Okay, I’ll make sure to behave myself,” Carrie laughed.



“Don’t your parents worry about where you are?” Batman asked.



Her demeanor instantly changed. “They don’t care,” she said, shifting in her seat as she folded her arms. He had unintentionally struck a nerve. “They hardly even know I’m alive. As long as I don’t bug them for anything, they’re happy.”



“I’m sure that’s not true,” Batman said.



“Believe me, they hardly even remember they have a kid unless my school calls about something… which just annoys them.,” she said with hurt in her voice.



Batman shook his head in dismay. Some people didn’t deserve to be parents. Most kids who felt the level of neglect she appeared to would be acting out in the worst way: drugs, stealing… gang violence... you name it. She was doing just the opposite. She was trying to make something of herself, using her talents and gifts to the betterment of society. Her parents had a great kid and they didn’t even bother to recognize it.



They rode in silence for several minutes until they reached a wooded area and Batman reached over to a switch on the console. The windows suddenly tinted black. “We will be on auto-pilot for a few minutes while it takes us into the cave. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but the less you know…”



“I understand,” Carrie replied.



When the Batmobile’s engines stopped, the blackness faded from the windows and the interior of the Batcave appeared. A whispered “wow” escaped Carrie as she stepped out of the Batmobile.



“It’s not much, but I call it home,” Batman said as he stepped out of the driver’s seat.



“Is that a dinosaur?” Carrie exclaimed as her eyes scanned over the many trophies of past cases.



“Yes,” Batman said. “But that’s a story for another time. I’ll be happy to give you the tour when this is all over. Right now, we’ve got work to do.”



He took her over to the Batcave’s computer and they sat down. “I’m sure this part will be boring for a girl your age.”



“Are you kidding?” Carrie said, eyeing the elaborate computer system. “Most girls are impressed by sports cars. I’d rather see something like this?”



“Even when it’s the Batmobile?” Batman quipped.



“Even then. Sorry,” Carrie laughed.



“I took the liberty of making you a snack for while you work, “a distinguished voice said from behind them. Both Carrie and Batman turned around, surprised to see Alfred standing there.



“You have a butler?” Carrie said, surprised.



“Alfred, didn’t we have a certain policy regarding new visitors in the Batcave?” Batman said.



“Well... uh... yes, sir,” Alfred said. “But then I saw the familiar costume…” He sat down his tray and reached for the silver tea pitcher in an attempt to divert the conversation.



“Thank you, Alfred,” Carrie said, smiling politely as he poured a cup of tea and handed it to her.



Alfred found himself instantly charmed by her. She was cute, with cheekbones that would make any model jealous. It was obvious she would be a great beauty someday, but for now she was all tomboy.



“I’ve entered the coordinates for the Mutants’ headquarters and STAR labs,” Batman said. The computer is calculating the most logical route for them to take.” several dots lit up the map on the main monitor, “... and at which point we should intercept them. “Points of the map lit up. “Here’s where Gordon should have his men positioned. “ Another point on the map before STAR labs lit up. “And here’s where we’ll be waiting for them.”



“Alfred placed a scone on a plate for Carrie. “Surely you won’t be facing them alone.”



“No, I’m calling in some help,” Batman said. “I just wish Nightwing and Batwoman were here.”



“Hopefully, they will be home soon,” Alfred said.



“That reminds me,” Batman said. He rose from his chair.



“Follow me,” he said to Carrie. He walked over to a workbench in the armory section. “We can’t have you get yourself killed because you were under-armed. That costume utility belt won’t do.” He reached into a drawer under the bench and when he turned around, he was holding out the real version to her.



“F-for me?” she stammered, holding out both hands to take it.



“I’ll show you how everything works before we go,” Batman said.



Carrie stared down at the belt in reverence. Batman grew alarmed when he saw her eyes start to well up with tears. “Carrie? Is something wrong?”



“This… this is the first thing anyone has ever given me that I didn’t have to work like crazy for… or give something up…” she said, emotion choking her voice.



“Well, if you don’t feel you’ve earned …” Batman started.



Carrie suddenly leapt forward, grabbing him in a tight hug. Batman put his arm around her shoulders, comfortingly. He stared at Alfred, stunned. Alfred mused to himself that this was the first time that he had ever seen Bruce Wayne look unsure of himself.





“Do you see anything yet?” the officer asked one of his fellow officers over his walkie talkie as he scanned the street below with a pair of night vision goggles. “over.”



“Negative,” the voice on the other end said.



“This is way too calm. Boring even,” the first officer said. “We’re supposed to be getting a full-scale invasion here.”



“Don’t be in such a hurry, cowboy,” the second cop said. “Things will get bad soon enough. Over.”



The first officer peered through his night vision goggles. A group of Mutants walked down the center of the street “Oh man. You must be psychic. There’s a group of them now. Kind of a small group, though.”



As soon as he said that, more mutants began to move in to join them from the side streets. “Mayday! Mayday!” he called out on his walkie talkie. “The mutants are here and their number is growing!”



As the mutants moved down the street, more moved in from the side streets and their numbers began to swell. Soon, the crowd was the size of a small army and it was continuing to grow. Moving towards the front of the group was their enormous leader, Jasper Collins.



“People of Gotham, your city is ours!” he shouted. “Where are your precious heroes now! Face me, cowards! Face me!”



As if in answer, several steel pellets shot out, striking mutants and delivering electric shocks that slammed them to the ground. The cloaked figure of Prototype stepped forward. He held up his other wrist gauntlet and several more pellets shot out, hitting the ground around many of the mutants, sending them flying as explosions rang out.



“Who are you?” Jasper Collins growled. “You’re not Batman.”



“No, the name’s Prototype,” the cloaked and partially armored figure said. “Don’t worry. You’ll be seeing him soon enough. Unless I deal with you first.”



“Fat chance of that,” the Mutant leader said. He lifted a car and flung it at Prototype who fired as he dove out of the way, narrowly missing being crushed. The car exploded in midair, landing in a flaming heap.



Several canisters landed among the mutants, spewing gas. The mutants close enough to inhale the gas dropped to the ground, screaming. Their heads were filled with images of their worst fear: ambrosia transforming them into nightmarish images in the ways they had seen it do to their friends.



A thin man stepped forward from the shadows. He wore a black suit, a fedora, and a black mask. He once was the villain known as the Scarecrow. He was now the hero known as Fear Factor. In his arms, he carried a larger, rifle style version of his fear serum gun that he had specially designed to incapacitate large crowds. This was bigger than the ones he had in mind, but he had a bandolero of additional canisters slung over his shoulder ready to go.



He continued to pump shots into the crowd. The unaffected mutants surged forward as if spurred on by the sight of their fallen comrades. On the other side of the street, Prototype continued to fire shock pellets at the enraged horde.



A screech filled the air as Man Bat suddenly soared down towards the crowd. He lifted one of the mutants up and flung him into a group of his fellow gang members toppling.



Gotham City PD’s finest, clad in riot gear, joined the fight. “These… these punks don’t seem to want to go down,” one of the policemen grunted as he hammered away at the mutants with his baton.



“Fall back!” a voice boomed from a PA system.



The air was suddenly filled with the sound of pavement crunching beneath the weight of heavy caterpillar treads. The latest in Batman’s arsenal, the Bat-Tank filled nearly both lanes of the street.



Both super heroes and police fell back, leaving the line of sight of the tank. Two large gun turrets rose up from inside the tank and a hail of rubber bullets rained down upon the army of Mutants.



One by one, the mutants fell to the guns of the Bat-tank. Soon, all the mutants lay on the ground, motionless.



Suddenly, Jasper Collins rose out of the pile of bodies. He let out a feral growl that built into scream of rage as he charged towards the tank. He leapt into the air and landed on the tank with a metallic thud.



“Get out of there!” he screamed as he grabbed one of the turrets and ripped it from the body of the tank. “Get out here and face me, you gutless costumed freak!”



“He’s going to get in!” Carrie yelped as the tank boomed with the sound of Jasper Collins beating the tank with its own gun.



“No, Batman said, placing a bat-eared helmet on his head. “I’m going out.”





A door opened on the top of the tank and a platform rose, carrying Batman to the roof. He now wore a suit of mechanical battle armor. “I’ve been called many things, but gutless isn’t one of them.”





“Yeah?” the Mutant Leader said. “Well, those don’t look like your usual work clothes.”



“I’ve also never been called a fool,” Batman replied.



“Well, you’re up here with me, now, aren’t you?” Jasper Collins said. “You couldn’t be that smart.” He suddenly swung the large gun turret, slamming Batman off the roof of the tank.



Batman landed on his back beside the tank. Jasper Collins leapt off the roof of the tank after him. Batman brought his leg up, kicking the youth in the gut. Jasper Collins doubled over, coughing, as Batman rose to his feet.



“Stay down!” Batman ordered.



With unnatural speed, Jasper Collins leapt up and slammed into Batman. The dark knight slammed both fist down on Jasper’s back, knocking him to his knees. With another slam of his fists, the Mutant leader was on all fours.



“I said stay down!” Batman boomed.



Suddenly, the Mutant Leader grabbed batman by the leg and jumped to his feet. He spun around and sent Batman flying into the tank with enough force that Carrie felt it shudder from inside.



“Maybe you should stay down, old man!” Jasper Collins taunted.



Batman rose unsteadily to his feet. A pain from his side made him think he might have a few broken ribs.



Jasper took a swing at him and Batman blocked it. He delivered a right cross and Jasper spit blood and then grinned at him with bloody, pointed teeth.



He suddenly slammed his forehead into Batman’s armored head. A deep gash now ran across the Mutant leader’s head that he was oblivious to as blood ran down his face. “Didn’t expect that, did you?” Jasper Collins laughed.



Batman’s vision was obstructed from the shift in the helmet’s position. Thus, he didn’t see it when Jaspar Collins backhanded him and his helmet went flying. Stunned. Batman fell to the ground. Before the youth could react, Batman managed to kick out and sweep his legs out from under him.



Both combatants slowly started to rise. Jaspar Collins shoved his fingers into a crack in the pavement, ripping up a large chunk. He raised the chunk over his head and bellowed, “I’m going to crush your head like an eggshell!”



Watching from the view screen inside, Carrie let out a startled scream. She reached for a lever on the console and two cables shot out of the tank, piercing Jasper Collins’ shoulders. The lights in the tank flickered as his body was flooded with electricity. He fell forward, landing in the space beside Batman.



Carrie jumped out of the exit hatch, climbed down the ladder, and ran to Batman. “I’m okay. I’m okay. Check on Collins,” Batman said, freeing himself from the armor that had begun to feel like dead weight.



She placed her hand on his neck hesitantly. “He’s alive, but his pulse is weak.”



“You’re kidding,” Batman said. “I designed that system to take out another armored vehicle”



Commissioner Gordon walked over to them. “I think you actually managed to give him a tan,” he said, looking down at the Mutant leader. He turned and looked back at the rest of the mutants. “I don’t know what we’ll do with them all, but at least it’s over.”



“It’s not over” Batman said. “Not yet.”





Gordon Conway leaned back in his office chair with his feet propped up on his desk as he watched the news. “…. Fortunately, Gotham City PD, as well as Batman and other local heroes, managed to stop the rampage of the gang known as the Mutants. But due to the transformation of these juveniles from around the country and their sheer number, the question remai…”



The picture suddenly cut to static and then changed to the image of Gordon Conway. “It’s not my job to care about the safety and security of Gotham, “ the image of Gordon Conway on the screen said. “Me? I could care less. My job is to make money. I’m good at it and that’s why the board hired me. Frankly, a lot of the board members are tired of you capes treating STAR like it’s a charity. It’s not. It’s a business. And businesses like to make money. And from where I’m sitting, there’s big money in Ambrosia as far as the army is concerned… or armies depending on who bites.”



The image cut back to the anchorman and anchorwoman who stared at the camera with their mouths hanging open in shock. The broadcast quickly cut to commercial.



“Omigod! Omigod!” Conway exclaimed. “What do I do? The board is going to have my ass on a platter!”



A determined look crossed his face. “There’s no way I’m leaving here empty handed.” He typed in the password to bring up the files on the Ambrosia research.”



Suddenly, the screen filled with cartoon hamsters dancing to a high pitched, bouncy song. “What the hell?!!” Gordon Conway cried. “Where the hell is it? Where the hell’s my research?”



Meanwhile, in the Batcave, Batman looked over Carrie’s shoulder as she worked at the Batcave’s computer and they watched Gordon Conway through STAR lab’s security system. “Wow. You really are good with computers.”





Bruce Wayne and Carrie Kelley sat in the sun room of Wayne manor having brunch. “So you’ve been paying for things like your karate lessons on your own?” he asked, refilling her orange juice.



“Yeah, anything like that,” she said. “I work a few different jobs for extra money.”



“Doesn’t that get in the way of school?” he asked. She gave an “I don’t know” shrug as she bit into a croissant.



“I might be able to help you out with that,” Bruce said. “You don’t need to be working so much…. Especially if you’re going to be helping me. School is important. In fact, I can think of a martial arts instructor who might be willing to teach you for free.”



“I dunno,” Carrie grinned. “Is he any good?”



“I’ve heard he’s no slouch,” Bruce said, taking a sip of coffee.



Alfred came into the room, carrying a newspaper which he handed to Bruce. “Have you had a chance to look at the morning paper, Master Bruce?”



Bruce looked at the paper. “Well, what do you know? It looks as though STAR will be getting a new director. The board is disavowing knowledge of Gordon Conway’s work and has volunteered to aid in the rehabilitation of the Mutants’ recovery and rehabilitation from the effects of Ambrosia.”



“Well, what do you know?” Carrie said, smiling.



Both turned at the sound of someone entering the doorway. It was Silver St. Cloud carrying the first of several suitcases.



“Silver…” Bruce said with startled delight.



“I would have let you know I was returning but I wanted to surprise you,” she said, smiling at him lovingly.



She turned to carry and grinned. “You must be the new Robin I’ve seen so much about in the news. Welcome to the family.”