"They told me there was nothing out there, nothing to fear. But the night my parents were murdered I caught a glimpse of something. I've looked for it ever since. I went to the other side of the world, searched in all the shadows. And there is something out there in the darkness, something terrifying… something that will not stop until it gets revenge… Me."

In this farewell

There's no blood

There's no alibi

Ron vaguely heard his parents' car start up and drive off as he dropped to his knees between his parents. "Mom … Dad?"

"You… did your best son …" Mr. Stoppable breathed, gripping his son's hand. "We're… so… proud of you… don't be afraid, son… Tell… Kimberly… to watch out… for you… for us…" he wheezed, squeezing Ron's hand tightly. "I love you, son…" he said as his head fell back and his eyes slowly closed.

Cause I've drawn regret

From the truth

Of a thousand lies

"Is this really what you want, Ron-kun?" a soft voice whispered beside him, making him jump and almost shoot himself in the foot.

"Yori?" Ron hissed, turning to see the Japanese girl sitting beside him in a traditional Japanese kimono. "What are you doing here?"

"We have heard of what has happened to you and your family, Ron-kun," Yori stated, giving a small smile towards Ron's gun. "We feared you might attempt something like this."

"He deserves justice…" Ron growled, glancing to the oblivious murderer.

"Indeed, but if you go about it this way, it is not bringing him to justice, but making him a martyr and you the monster." Yori explained, softly placing her hand over Ron's gun.

So let mercy come

"There's no other way; he's already got out of it easily in court," Ron sighed, "He deserves to rot for what he did to my parents."

"Listen to me, Ron-kun. I know the rage that drives you. That impossible anger strangling the grief, until the memory of your parents is just poison in your veins. And one day, you find yourself wishing the people you loved had never existed, so you would be spared your pain." Ron looked in awe at Yori. He had never suspected such emotion, such hatred had existed inside her.

"Would you become like him by doing to him what he did to you?" Yori asked, taking a sip of his drink. "Or would you rise above him and bring forth the justice he and others like him deserve? Ron said nothing. "Ron-kun, if you go about it this way, you will prove that they got to you, which is nothing to be ashamed of. You are human, fallible, corruptible, mortal." Yori said, drifting off, "But, there is another way." Ron glanced at her. "As a man, you can be defeated. You can be killed or locked up, as is inevitable if you go through with this course of action. But, if you make yourself more than just a man... if you devote yourself to an ideal …" She smiled softly. "You'll become something else entirely."

"And that is?" Ron asked, with a slow nod.

"Legend, Ron-kun."

And wash away

"What the hell?" Kim gasped when she found one of the most dangerous gangs in Triton all tied up in the center of the room. She found the leader with a horrified expression on his gagged face and a note on his chest.

"I'm here?" She read the two words on the letter signed only with a symbol that resembled a bat. She gasped when her wallet dropped from above her, and raised her gun up to the empty rafters. "What ..." She breathed when she looked in her wallet to see it was in perfect order except her grocery list had been modified with her beer marked off.

What I've done

I'll face myself

To cross out what I've become

"I wouldn't be mean to me if I was you…" the four year old said, staring back at the green-skinned woman.

"And why's that?" Shego snorted as Kim stood between her daughter and her.

"The sad man," Barbara said with a smug look. "He said he'd watch out for me and wouldn't let nobody hurt me no more. You better apologize or my new friend will scare you like he did your friends."

"Like I'm going to apologize to a little bitch who talks too much just like her mom," Shego was about to rant some more, but before she could, she and Kim both yelped in surprise as a cable attached to a bat-shaped object shot from the shadows and wrapped around Shego's waist. "The hell is…" Shego's sentence was cut off as she was jerked off her feet and dragged into the shadows.

"Told you!"

Erase myself

And let go of

What I've done

"Who are you?" Kim asked, seeing nothing but a pair of intimidating, white eyes in the shadows.

"You'll find Drakken, Monkey Fist, and Duff Killagan at the far corner warehouse of the Riverside District." The man growled again. "Have animal control alerted as well for Fist's Monkey Ninjas."

"How… who…" Kim blanched for questions, the intimidation in the eyes' gaze getting the better of her.

"Don't ask questions, Mrs. Gordon," the voice growled softly, "The less you know, the better for everyone involved."

"I haven't gone by that in two years. It's Officer Possible, if you want to call me anything," she said, taking a step toward the shadows, but as she got close enough to make out a figure, it vanished in the shadows. "You saved my daughter's life, and you know who I am… at least give me your name…"

"It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me." Batman spoke from the open window above. Kim turned just to see the pointy eared cowl disappear from the opened skylight.

Put to rest

What you thought of me

"Who is Ra's?" Batman asked again, gripping Thorne's collar.

"Ra's Al Ghul!" Thorne whimpered, "His name's Ra's Al Ghul. I don't know much about him, but he gives me enough green stuff to do what he wants me to do!"

"Where is he; what's his angle?" Batman growled.

"I dunno…" Thorne screamed before being dropped again and jerked back up to the Bat's grasp before hitting the pavement.

"Answer." The Bat hissed.

"I really don't know; he contacts me when he wants something done; I've never met him! I swear to God, I don't know!" Thorne was now in tears.

"Swear to me," Batman yelled in Thorne's face before dropping the man again, stopping him a foot off the ground before letting go. Thorne hit the ground with a thud, and looked back up at his high rise office/penthouse. Seeing no sign of his tormentor, Thorne finally settled for curling into a ball on the concrete and quietly sobbing.

While I clean this slate

With the hands

Of uncertainty

"A monster like you deserves to die," Batman growled, lifting the horrified Bobby off the ground by the collar. "But I want you to live; I want you to spread the word. I'm here, and I'm shutting you all down."

"You can't stop Thorne," Bobby whimpered, "He controls everything, banks, companies, police, hospitals; he IS this town."

"Not anymore." Batman growled, and Bobby's world went into the darkness.

So let mercy come

And wash away

"Yes, tell the police when they get here that the ring leader is hanging out two alleys down," Batman stated, "They can't miss him."

Katz saw the Dark Knight turn to leave. "Wait, I never got to thank you."

"And you'll never have to." Batman stated in a softer tone before vanishing into the night.

What I've done

I'll face myself

To cross out what I've become

"Yeah… right… moving right along." Ron said, staring at Thorne for a second, "My first announcement as owner of this company: everyone of you on this board, including you Mr. Thorne, I have something for you all." Ron turned to James. "Mr. Possible, would you do the honors?" he said, handing James a handful of envelopes.

"Be my pleasure, Mr. Stoppable," James smirked, handing the envelopes around.

"What's this?" Thorne asked, opening his envelope, and like the rest of the board of directors, pulled out a pink slip. "You're not serious."

"Note: Serious-face, Mr. Thorne," Ron said, pointing to his face, "You and your little yes men are all terminated."

"Who's going to run my company? This board of directors has been in control of ThorneCorps for six years, Stoppable; you can't do this!"

"Read the slip there, Thorny; this isn't YOUR company anymore. It's MY company, and I can pick and chose my board of directors and CEO any way I see fit." Ron said confidently. "As for who's running it, I have selected a group of people who would be better suited for controlling the company that controls most of Triton: the owners of the major businesses that were shut down when you took over. Ironic, no?"

"You… you can't do this…" Thorne flapped his jaws, flabbergasted.

Erase myself

And let go of

What I've done

"Very nice car, Bats; I gotta get me a car that can…" Catwoman drifted off when she saw who she was before her: The Batman… without the mask… and with Ronald Dean Stoppable, loser of Middleton High… Kim Possible's lap dog's face. "Oh, my freakin' God… YOU'RE the Batman?"

For what I've done

"Are you ok?" Ron asked, placing a hand on the boy's stiff shoulders.

"No," Dick replied in a soft voice. "But everyone tells me I'm going to be…"

"The hurt never really goes away," Ron said, catching the boy by surprise. "But you can learn to deal with it."

"How?" Dick's voice trembled.

"Don't face the darkness alone. There's people all around you who care for you or want to care for you," Ron said simply. "If you face it alone, the darkness will consume and rip you apart."

I'll start again

And whatever pain may come

"Oh! You are just no fun, Batsy!" Joker planted his hands on his hips. "Lighten up a little; have a little fun. You need to hang out with some friends and have a party, like the Commish!" Joker said, waving toward the Commissioner hanging by a flag pole over the edge of the building. Joker smiled at Barbara's grandfather before pulling a gun with a large punching bag on the barrel. "Thanks for dropping in, Commish; see you next fall! Wait, I can't remember… have I done that joke already? Oh, well, repeat performances are nice! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Today this ends

I'm forgiving what I've done

"But is Ra's Al Ghul immortal?" A familiar, feminine voice spoke up, seemingly from out of nowhere. Ron froze in shock and recognition. "Are his methods supernatural?"

"Or cheap parlor tricks to conceal your true identity, Yori?" Ron turned to face his classmate and fellow Yamanouchi ninja.

"Please, Ron-san, do not look so surprised. Surely, a man who spends his nights scrambling over Triton's rooftops wouldn't begrudge me dual identities."

She said in a crisp Egyptian accent, losing any trace of a Japanese dialect at all.

I'll face myself

To cross out what I've become

"Now to finish you, Stoppable. It is sad, really. It seems your peers were correct. You are nothing."

"No… I am far more than nothing," Ron growled, rising to his full height in one fluid motion. Yori's eyes widened as she felt a sliver of terror enter her warlord's heart, a sliver that quickly became a giant creature of pure fear. "I am Justice." He said, taking a step towards her, causing the mastermind to back up into the wall. "I am your Nightmares." he growled in the most menacing voice to ever cross Yori's ears. "I am… BATMAN!"

Erase myself

"You can't just leave me, Ronald," Yori snapped, "Even if you stop the balloons, I will still be here. Do you still lack the strength to do what is necessary, Ronald?"

"I won't kill you, Yori, but I don't have to save you. Master Sensei always taught that to do what is necessary, often times, you must trust others," Batman responded, glancing over his shoulder at the dark haired ninja.

"Like me." Yori spun around and her eyes widened as she saw the glowing outline of Kim Possible's battle suit in the shadows.

And let go of what I've done

What I've done

Ron Stoppable gazed down at the city, his city, his long cloak blowing in the wind as the Bat-Signal glowed forth, the only light in the sky. They once told him there was nothing to fear. But there was something out there… in the darkness… something that will not stop until it gets its revenge.

There is Vengeance.

Ron glanced up at his symbol adorning the dark clouds.

There is the Night.

He slowly pulled the cowl over his face, narrowing his now white eyes.

There is …

With a great leap, he flew into the sky. His cape hardening into a glider, soaring through the darkness like a Bat seeking out its prey.

The Batman

Forgive me what I've done

CLASSIC COWBOY PRESENTS …

THE DARK KNIGHT