I started writing this on a whim back when I was new(er) on the site and had no idea how much me (and some of my readers) would fall in love with the story. I really do enjoy writing for Bruce and the others. However, I learned that (at least in my case) writing in a skill, not a talent. It's something I had to work on and it seems to come in leaps and bounds. In the time of about a year and half, my writing has greatly improved. It's still in need of a lot of work, but I'm getting there. Because of that, I'm improving all of the chapters. Only the first four will probably have signification changes other than spelling checks and rewordings.

I'm terrible with Character origins, so I'm going to fill you in on anything that isn't the same basic Bruce-Wayne-is-afraid-of-bats-and-his-parents-where-gunned-down-and-he-became-Batman story line. First off, during the seventies, Alfred was Birdman, Gotham's first crime fighter. His apprentice, Jasen Todd, aka Robin, was killed by his arch foe Killer Moth. Birdman gave up his fight against injustice and eventually became Thomas and Martha Waynes' butler. When they were killed, he took care of Bruce Wayne. Bruce found out who his Guardian really was and eventually became a more modern version of Birdman, Batman. And that's all that's been changed... So far.

A rowdy group of men burst into a small, abandoned hotel room and threw their bags of money on the floor. They shut all the blinds and locked the door. Some stashed the money in a hidden compartment in the wall, while some others hid guns beneath the floor boards.

"That has to be the tenth time we've made a clean getaway. We must be pretty lucky, I guess." Said one thief.

A slightly more intelligent looking thug, most likely the leader, plopped down in the rotting coach and turned on the T.V.

"Hey, good call out their boss!" one of the lesser thugs complimented. "They had no idea we were even there."

Boss ignored him and flipped through channels. He stopped at the news.

"And now we go over to Sidney in Eastside. Sidney?"

"Well Drake, if you look behind me you'll notice a small alley way with a side door leading to a restaurant. Earlier this evening, a busboy had came out of there to throw away some trash, but was mugged. He said he was rescued by, I quote, 'A tall humanoid bat.' Sounds like anyone we know? This 'Batman' seems to be everywhere lately. Gotham might finally have a chance of lowering its steadily increasing crime rate. We'll have more at ten."

The boss switched off the T.V. Seeing that the mention of the Batman made some of his goons uneasy.

"Come on guys, don't tell me you're afraid of him? Besides, what kind of person goes around Gotham dressed up as a giant bat?"

"Someone like me." came a deep voice from above.

The ceiling above them suddenly gave way in a burst of splintered wood and dust. A dark figure with a long cape came crashing down to the floor. Several thugs aimed to shoot at him, but he tossed two metallic, bat-shaped boomerangs at them, knocking away their guns. He rushed them, slamming their heads together. He lashed out a kick behind him, knocking away a thug who had approached him with a crowbar. He grabbed up the metal tool and spun around, catching it around another thug's neck. He threw the man into another, knocking them both to the floor. He tossed the crowbar aside, walking with an authoritative stance towards the gang's leader. The bald man attempted to make a break for the door, but the cowled figure was too fast. He seemingly slid across the floor, around the man and in front of the door. Got by surprise, the man was hoisted into the air by his collar.

"Wh-who are you?"

"I'm Batman." was the simple, but terrifying reply.

Batman clenched his free hand and swung it at the boss's nose, sending him to the ground.

Just then, a fist began angrily pounding on the door.

"This is the police! Open up!"

Batman opened a window and perched himself on the windowsill. Before jumping out, he threw a baterang at the doorknob, busting it open and allowing the police entrance. He dove off the ledge before anyone could catch a glimpse of him.

Batman perched on a gargoyle statue on a Gothic style cathedral, looking out across the city.

"Wayne, police reports are coming in now." Came Alfred's voice over his intercom.

"What are their suspicions?"

"They're sure that it was you who busted the gang, but Commissioner Bullock suspects that you were at league with the gang."

"Wishful thinking on his part, or does he have proof?"

"No, it's just a suspicion."

"Lovely." Batman sighed.

"Now, you had better get back and soon. Remember, you're beginning work at Wayne Industries tomorrow and you can't be late. Even a twenty-one year old billionaire needs some rest."

"And what about Batman?"

"I think he could probably use some rest too."

"How can we not find him?" Bullock brought his fist down hard on the table. "What is it about this so called 'Batman' that we can't track him down? No finger prints, no DNA residue, no nothing!"

"Commissioner, please, try and relax." A young detective with glasses and red hair spoke up. "Over reacting like this will get us nowhere."

"You're-" Bullock sighed. "You're absolutely right, Gordon. I need to just take it easy. Does anyone know where detective Kyle is?"

"I'm right here!" The brunet haired young woman came into the office and sat down. "Sorry chief, I was running a bit late. There was a sighting of Batman a few miles from my position, so I went over to check it out."

"See, Gordon. You think I'm over obsessive with finding Batman? Look at her!" Bullock gestured towards the woman. "She has got every hobo in town looking out for Batman for her."

"I'm guessing it was a false sighting?" Gordon asked her.

"Unfortunately."

Gordon got up and went over to the window.

"So what do you two think about the rumors that Batman is the former Birdman?"

"Not a chance." Bullock waved his hand dismissively before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Birdman? Please. He would be way to old..." Selina brushed some of her dark hair back from in front of her eyes. "But Robin? Maybe."

"He died, remember?" Bullock poured himself some more coffee.

"Hm. You've got a point. I still think he must have some kind of connection. Their patterns and fighting styles are too similar. Even their patrol areas seems to be the same."

"Detective Kyle, are you seriously suggesting that Batman is patrolling? We cops go out on patrol. Batman doesn't. He just gets lucky." Bullock set his mug down on his desk.

"You've got to admit, Bullock. That's a lot of lucky breaks for one guy."

"Not you too, Gordon. Am I the only one who thinks this guy's nuts?"

"Dunno Commissioner." Gordon said, finishing the last of his coffee. "He's helping take down a lot of gangs. I kinda like him."

The security guard paced back and forth in front of a weapon's manufacturing plant.

What idiot decided to put this right outside of Gotham anyways? He thought to himself. He walked to the end of the sidewalk that lined the front entrance and turned swiftly on his heel, as he had done thousands of times before. When he turned around there was someone standing only about three feet away. He had a dark black trench coat on and a round, wide rimmed hat concealing his face. From what little the guard could see, he appeared to be smiling.

"Uh... Hello?" The guard moved a little bit closer to the figure. With lightning-fast reflexes, the stranger reached out and grabbed the man and put a knife in his mouth, pressing the razor edge against his cheek, pulling it upwards. The stranger's lips were a striking red and the guard could now see that he had dirty-blond colored hair with a slightly green tinge. His face was covered in cracked, white paint. The figure seemed to be savoring the moment before finally speaking.

"You look upset, sir. Don't worry, I can fix that. Say 'SMILE!'"

A/N: So that was the first chapter. Nothing much was changed from the original besides some spelling. The fight scene was improved a bit and it was made easier to tell who was talking the conversation between Bullock, Gordon and Selina.

And yes, Selena is a police officer. This is all apart of my bizarre plan... What little of a plan there is. To be full honest, I don't really know where I'm going with this. Just bare with me here, okay?