Commissioner James Gordon sat behind his desk at police headquarters while looking through the latest reports of the day. A file folder dropped on top of his paperwork, startling him.

"One of these days, you're going to have to come through the door," Gordon chided while looking disapprovingly at Batman. When the caped hero didn't respond, he glanced toward the file. "What's this?"

"There was a murder tonight," Batman explained. "It could have severe consequences for Gotham."

Gordon opened the file and looked at the picture on top of the stack of documents.

"Her name is...was Talia," Batman said quietly, his voice unusually strained. "Her father's picture is next."

Gordon shifted Talia's picture to the bottom of the stack in order to look at the next one. The man in the second photograph had graying hair on the sides of his head near the ears, along with a slight trace on either side of his neatly trimmed beard, but the rest of his hair was as black as ink. The man's piercing blue eyes and hard expression made him look like someone not to be trifled with.

"His name is Ra's al Ghul," Batman explained. "He commands an organization called the League of Assassins. With the death of his daughter, there is no telling how violent his response may be. Our best bet to contain the situation is to find out who killed her before Ra's comes looking."

"Any idea on where to start?" Gordon questioned.

"You'll find information in the folder about the warehouse where the incident took place as well as all relevant history of Talia, Ra's, and the League. If I find out anything else, I'll let you know."

Batman pushed aside the curtain and vanished out the window.

Robin was waiting on the roof of the building across from the police department when Batman joined him.

"Why are you bringing the cops in on this?" Damien asked.

"Ra's would tear the city apart to find her killer, or he'd simply burn the place down," Batman answered. "We can't let him get involved."

"He'd at least get the job done," Damien muttered before anger filled his voice. "Mother's dead, and the person who did it should be too!"

"We don't kill," Batman declared firmly. "It's not our way."

"Your way," Damien corrected. "How many times have you brought down murderous thugs only for them to get released or break out of Arkham Asylum and Blackgate prison? How many more have suffered and died because of repeat offenders? Look at this city; it's drowning in blood, and you still won't do what's necessary to stop them! Grandfather understands what has to be done and that's what the League of Assassins is for."

"My city, my rules," Batman growled, taking a menacing step toward Damien. "If you prefer the methods of Ra's, you can go back to him!"

Batman pulled out his grappling gun and fired a hook toward a gargoyle to pull himself off the roof and into the air.

***

When Batman returned to the Batcave, he found Alfred waiting for him. Batman landed on the metal deck plating installed over the natural stone of the cave and let his cape drape around him.

"Something I can do for you, Alfred?" Bruce asked in passing, but his tone indicated he didn't want to hear it. He pushed his cowl off his face and let it hang down behind him with his cape.

"Master Damien came back hours ago," Alfred said. "Did you two have an argument or something? He seemed even more out of sorts than usual."

"Talia's dead," Bruce answered bluntly. "She went into a warehouse and it blew up. Damien wants to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and kill everyone responsible."

"Can you blame him for feeling in such a manner?" Alfred asked.

"No," Bruce denied. "But, it's no excuse."

"I'm not making excuses, Master Bruce," Alfred denied. "You developed your code of ethics from what your parents taught you, but Damien grew up with two different sets of beliefs, yours and Talia's. He's still trying to find his way to the correct path, be it yours, hers, or his own."

"What do you want me to do, Alfred?" Bruce questioned.

"I want you to try and see through his eyes for a moment, Master Bruce," Alfred answered gently. "You lost your wife, and he's lost his mother. Don't take away his father too."

Alfred clasped his hands behind his back and leisurely began climbing the steps leading out of the cave.

"Thanks, Alfred," Bruce called after him.

Alfred paused and looked back toward Bruce before giving him a nod of acknowledgment. The old and wise butler continued his way up the steps toward Wayne Manor.

Bruce looked toward the house for a moment before deciding to head to the Batcomputer instead. Six different computer monitors were mounted above the keyboard and controls switches. He sat down in the high backed chair and switched on the computer.

***

Damien came down the steps from Wayne Manor and found Bruce in front of the computer.

"Father?" Damien called to him. "Alfred has breakfast ready. Have you been down here all night?"

"Yeah," Bruce confirmed, turning to face Damien while rubbing his bleary eyes. "I had some work to do. Take a look."

Bruce swiveled his chair back toward the computer again. Damien came and stood behind him, looking at the names displayed on the six screens.

"Who are all these people?" Damien asked.

"The dead I could've saved but didn't," Bruce informed him. "These are the names of everyone in Gotham who died by the hands of someone I'd previously caught for murder. I would not have been able to stop their first offense, but I could've prevented these."

"You were trying to live by a code," Damien countered.

"A code responsible for letting these maniacs kill again and again," Bruce argued. "You were right. This city is drowning in blood. Since I became Batman twenty years ago, more than ten thousand people have died needlessly. My efforts have been wasted."

"You've saved countless lives," Damien reminded.

"How many of them should I have let die?" Bruce fired back. "If I hadn't been trying so hard to hold onto some self-imposed code of conduct, the Joker wouldn't have been able to beat to death the last Robin with a crowbar or paralyze Batgirl and leave her stuck in a wheelchair the rest of her life. That code has done more harm than good, and as of now, I'm done with it."

"Father, while I appreciate you coming around to my way of thinking," Damien cautioned. "I think the current situation is clouding your judgment, and when you come to your senses later, you'll regret what you're considering."

"I don't think so," Bruce denied. He switched on one of the computer screens and it showed lines of text and various graphs and charts.

"I looked at the statistics of cop related shootings in Gotham before and after I became Batman," Bruce explained. "They've gone down. If I hadn't saved some of those killers, their actions would've led to their deaths at the hands of the police trying to arrest them. By saving them, I kept those monsters alive to kill again. In this context, I wasn't the hero; I was their accomplice. That ends now; no more!"

Bruce pressed a key and one name appeared on the central screen while the rest of the monitors went dark.

"Who's he?" Damien asked.

"A man I caught four different times," Bruce answered through gritted teeth. "He has an arrest record longer than my arm going all the way back to his teenage years. He's murdered at least six people."

"What's so special about him?" Damien pressed. "You've fought worse."

"I caught him after his first murder," Bruce answered, his voice strained as he fought for emotional control. "If I'd ended him then, his sixth kill wouldn't have been Talia."

"He killed Mother?" Damien asked for confirmation.

"During his second arrest, a bomb killed the only eye witness," Bruce explained. He typed a few keys on the control board and brought up an image of an explosive. He activated a different screen and displayed another demolition device on it. "Gordon made the warehouse bombing a priority, and the bomb squad put this together as what they suspect was the device responsible."

"They look the same," Damien observed.

"Check the wiring on the detonator," Bruce encouraged. He adjusted both images so they zoomed in on the indicated wires. "Most bombers have a signature, and this one is his. There's no question he made the device that brought down the warehouse. We have to know if he was working alone or for someone else we'll need to find."

"Where is he?" Damien asked, smoldering anger evident in his tone.

"The computer is working on it," Bruce told him. "It's checking old associates, former safe houses, and locations where he could've purchased the bomb parts. When we have his location, we'll go after him. One way or another, he's killed his last victim."