First- I'd like to thank you all for just being so amazingly patient with me. Summer is so incredibly crazy, I'm still getting used to the schedule, and I've somehow become nocturnal.

For those of you who are just coming across this fic- I accidentally deleted a few chapters, only the first ten or so of the begining. Which is a blessing in disguise, since they needed a re-vamp, anyways. So the first twelve chapters or so will come out slow, and then, BAM! I'll have uploaded all the chapters that were never deleted (all 80 or so) and it will be back again! And I can continue from that point on. Please review, and hugs!

He saw the two figures dart out of the trailer, watched them run. The eldest- the boy- clutched the younger's hand as they were running through the blackness that was the Gotham night.

He'd come back as soon as the circus grounds settled down- he'd seen their parents fall. He didn't know why he was here, other than the fact that his intuition had told him that he should be- and it was rarely wrong.

He'd been gathering facts when fate had led him to the trailers wheret he children, the victims left behind by their dead parents, lived.

He felt his heart start beating a little faster now as they both stumbled across the ground, heading towards Gotham….

He made his choice. He stepped in front of them.

They both ran headlong into his Kevlar armor and ended up on the ground. The younger of the two- the girl- had a bloody nose, and he felt a pang. He should've tried to stop them some other way….

The moon came out from behind a cloud, and he could see her wide blue eyes stare at him with the fascination of a child….

"Scarlet." The eldest boy rasped. He'd clearly had the breath knocked out of him. "Run."

The girl made no move to obey him, instead continuing to stare at him. The girl couldn't have been more than four, and she no doubt found the man dressed as a bat enthralling….

"I'm not going to hurt you." He said quietly.

"Of course you aren't." the boy- Dick- his name was Dick, he'd looked them up- snarled, voice dripping sarcasm. "Scarlet- I said to run!"

When her brother raised his voice at her she started to cry, suddenly afraid. They were both pale, both had eyes red from crying. They'd just watched their parents murder a few hours earlier, seen them fall- it was clear their nerves were shot. There spirits broken.

She was clinging to his leg, then, and for once, he didn't know what to do. He awkwardly patted her head for a moment, and she looked up at him with those soulful blue eyes, full of sadness and mourning. It nearly broke him.

She stopped crying, finally, sniveling pitifully.

"Who are you?" Dick asked, getting to his feet and brushing himself off. Suddenly he wasn't hostile, and it was clear that he was a nervous kid who'd snapped at his sister from fear.

"Batman."

"One of his gang?" Dick asked, suddenly nervous again.

"Who's gang?" Bruce Wayne had heard Dick telling Gordon about the man trying to extort money from Mr. Haly. But he wanted to hear it himself.

"Zucco." The boy said, watching him for a reaction. At his name, the girl- Dick had called her Scarlet- started to cry again, and Dick pulled her away from him.

"He tried to extort money from Mr. Haly, right?"

Dick nodded, looking surprised.

"Good. I'm going to track him down. I suspected it was murder when all four wires snapped. What's your plan?"

Dick looked at him, still uncertain. But he'd said he was going to take down Zucco, which meant he had to be a good guy….

"Run away to Gotham city. We can't stay here. A lady came, she's going to split us up in the morning." He looked down at Scarlet. "I'd rather die than get separated from her."

"Why not live for her?" Batman growled. "Listen- I have a friend. Bruce Wayne. If you stay here and go with social services, he'll adopt you both, and I promise you'll stay together. You've never been on the Gotham streets, kid- they'll kill you like it was nothing and then do worse to your sister."

Dick's eyes widened at the mention of Scarlet, looking down nervously at him. She was still staring at Batman, slightly tearful. Like she was too sad to speak.

"How can I trust you?" Dick asked, still looking hesitant. "What if you know that lady…."

"It's either you trust me and stay together and alive, or go out on those streets to get killed and leave your sister at the mercy of the gangs. Your choice. I'm a hero, kid- I don't lie. What's your choice?" he was trying to stay gruff with the boy, hold him at arms length- but really he felt his heart would burst. Emotions were running high, he could see so much of that scared boy that he'd been all these years ago….

The girl looked at her brother imploringly. "He's wearing a costume, Dickie- he's like us." She said, voice barely above a whisper.

Dick nodded. "Alright. I trust you. Thank you." And with that he turned, and they darted back into the trailer, leaving him to stare after them for a moment and pray the boy was telling the truth, hoping they didn't fall on the streets of Gotham like so many others.

He'd done all he could do, though, and there was still evidence to gather. He turned away and let the night swallow him up.

BOOM! Yes, I'm sorry it's short, the begining will no doubt be a bit choppy, but i hope you liked it. Love you guys, and please review!