He doubled over from the impact of the fist.

The boy was always aware that he'd cross paths with his old comrades. He'd just hoped it would be on better terms. He'd hoped the small group of thugs would forgive him, not try to beat him to death out in the rain.

Ryan was a reformed criminal. A former member of Joker's gang, to be specific. Anyone would probably think Ryan was suicidal to be joining up with Joker, of all people. Ryan, however, barely had any other options.

He wasn't always the confused man he was today. Ryan, his father, and his little sister, Alicia, had moved to Gotham from Wyoming, following his parents' divorce. At first Gotham seemed vibrant and full of life, a dream come true to most. But all that remained now was an empty shadow, full of hatred, greed, and apathy. But Ryan's family had managed.

For a while.

Ryan's father had suddenly passed away from heart disease. This sudden change in life had left Ryan desperately trying to make ends meet through his job as a clerk at a small grocery store. The boy had barely been able to hold on. But after the grocery store was closed down due to budget costs, Ryan was left without a job, and without a way of caring for Alicia.

The boy was rudely brought back to reality by a kick to his face. He cringed in pain, trying to breathe through his nose, which was now slightly dripping with blood.

"You must think you're pretty smart, walking out on us like that?" one thug jeered. "What did you think would happen? Did you think we were just going to forget you're little mistake?"

"The only mistake I made was not packing a gun. Would've been nice if I could blow your head off," Ryan shot back.

His sly remark earned him a swift kick in the gut. The blow was hard enough that Ryan felt one of his ribs crack.

"You best watch yourself, kid," a second thug spat. "You're just lucky Xavier didn't come after you himself."

Ryan felt his breath hitch at the name. Xavier was a Joker thug, the one who had helped Ryan get involved with Joker's gang in the first place. It was rewarding, but it carried its own risks. While Ryan had been making sufficient money to support himself and his sister, there was always the risk of him getting killed or captured, either by police, or Batman. Ryan had seen the Bat in action several times, and had fought him on a couple occasions. Every time, he ended up in a prison cell with more than a few bruises. The boy was skilled in fighting, but unfortunately, it was never enough.

The Joker and his gang had taught Ryan how to defend himself, and how to survive. But nonetheless, Joker's own actions were more than questionable. He would often shoot his own men dead over simple things, such as expressing opinion, without a second thought. Once he repeatedly stabbed a guy to death just because he flirted with Harley.

The most questionable thing Ryan witnessed was also the one that made him reconsider his choices. It was a Valentine's Day, and Joker had captured the police commissioner, along with several other hostages. Two of Batman's allies had been sent to rescue the officers. Ryan was mainly there just for some extra help. The boy had been wandering around the island, curious because of the audio tapes he had found scattered throughout the amusement park that night. The tapes revealed a man, Burke, Ryan remembered, building the carnival they were defending as a gift for his dying daughter. When she died suddenly, Burke gave the park to "Jack White", which Ryan now knew to be an act Joker used to throw off suspicion.

Burke committed suicide using pills that Joker had given him. The horrifying laugh that filled the last audio tape had confirmed Ryan's fears.

Burke had been played like a guitar by the Joker. And deep down, Ryan felt that he, Xavier, and everyone who helped Joker had been played as well. The boy couldn't go on in Joker's posse knowing that something like that might happen to him.

So he didn't.

"And what if Xavier does come after me?" Ryan questioned. "It's not like he doesn't believe the same. You and I both know that we were both deceived into fighting and killing for that monster. The only difference is that I refused to fight any longer."

The thug grabbed Ryan, holding him by the scruff of his shirt.

"You hurt me, and I'll make sure you rot in Arkham," Ryan threatened.

"What'd you think I had to escape from to get to you, punk?" the man deadpanned. "Those riots at Arkham were chaotic enough that I could just walk right out. I figured it would be easy, considering you fled from a fight with the Bat without as much as a look back."

The remark brought up another memory for Ryan. He and a few other felons had managed to survive the carnage that exploded in Arkham that night. They had been tasked with giving Batman a proper welcome. While some of the felons had been trying (and failing) to attack Batman, Ryan and another felon he had befriended, Nick, had tried to lock the door. Soon enough, however, there were only a few thugs left in the room, Ryan and Nick included. Nick held nothing back against the Bat, but the vigilante was quicker. The sound of Nick's right leg breaking was forever engraved in Ryan's memory. He remembered the tapes, he remembered the people he had witnessed Joker murder, and he had remembered the pain he'd endured as a cost of fighting against Batman.

And, in that moment, he had decided he wanted no part of it.

Barely managing to sneak by, Ryan had helped Nick up off the floor. The boy had been barely able to register Batman's vigilant stare before helping his friend limp to a boat that had lead them away from the island.

For the first time since he joined, Ryan had felt that he made the right choice that night.

"Sorry, I'd rather not suffer a few broken ribs, thanks." Ryan responded.

"You're about to suffer way more than broken ribs, kid," the second thug threatened. "Sure, you can try to forget about us and move on, but the boss sure doesn't forget Batman or anyone else who crosses him—and, in case we're not clear, you definitely count as 'anyone else.'" The felon pulled out a gun, and aimed it at Ryan's head.

Moments later, the gun was sent flying from the thug's hand.

Ryan instinctively turned, shocked to find himself staring at the face of terror itself. The one face that stares down any rouge and leaves Gotham's toughest criminals cowering in their beds every night.

The Batman.

"Hey, we were talking, bat freak," one goon yelled, aiming a punch directly for the vigilante's face. The Bat was faster, however, effortlessly blocking the punch before kicking the criminal in the face, knocking him out cold.

"So, the old dog still bites," another felon jeered.

Ryan, seeing the opportunity to escape, grabbed the thug that had been holding him, and slammed his head into the brick wall.

The gang leader turned and noticed Ryan's assault. "Kill them both!"

The remaining two thugs, however, paid no notice. They had completely forgotten Ryan, and were now solely focused on attacking Batman. The vigilante was more than prepared, assaulting the two felons, and blocking every strike from them.

Ryan simply stood back and watched the scene unfold.

When the chaos had died down, the Bat turned, staring at Ryan. Instinctively, the boy scurried to pick up the gun the gang leader had dropped. Deep down, Ryan was afraid of what Batman could do to him. The police never really gave him any pardon for his crimes. He could still be a wanted man.

Ryan held the gun with shaking hands. He felt conflicted. He didn't want to go back to the monster he once was, but he still couldn't bear going home with a broken nose or worse.

In the distance, the terrified boy noticed the gang leader climbing to his feet, a look of fury in his eyes, and a knife in his hand. Batman seemed like he didn't even notice.

At that moment, the fear that Ryan had been feeling turned to anger.

He tilted the gun, and fired.

Immediately, the silence of the damp alleyway was pierced by a splitting scream. Batman turned and noticed the thug clutching his bleeding leg.

"Burn in hell!" the thug screamed, the full force of the hatred evident in his voice. "You could've become something more! And to think that Xavier actually trusted you? You were never one of us, you hear me—"

Ryan stomped over, grabbed the felon by his jacket, and looked him dead in the eye. "I had no choice!" Ryan yelled, letting his anger and pain do the talking for him. "You see me as the enemy here, is that it? When it was really you monsters who betrayed me?!"

The horrendous images flooded the former criminal's mind once more. Images of Joker and his men capturing Nick. Images of Ryan attempting to rescue him, only to be ambushed by moonlit crazies. Nick had escaped, but Ryan had not. The thugs had beaten him, tortured him, and Xavier, the man Ryan trusted with his future, had shot the poor boy. His own allies, the people he once called friends, had tried to kill him. They would have succeeded if someone hadn't found him and called an ambulance.

"I was tricked, fooled like a dog. I will never let that green-haired animal control me again! You can do whatever the hell you like to me, you can break me, hurt me, try to murder me, but it doesn't matter. All that matters now is that I know I made the right choice," Ryan continued, shaking the thug loosely, "because, for the first time in years, I feel no regret."

And with that, Ryan shoved his foot against the man's back. "Tell Joker and Xavier not to bother waiting for me. I'm not apologizing to them any time soon." The thug, petrified with fear, scurried to leave.

Ryan felt pleased with himself, and turned to leave, only to find Batman there, the look of shock he wore earlier replaced his same old predatory stare.

"What?" the boy groaned.

"I think you know 'what', kid," the Bat replied. "You didn't need to shoot him."

"Well, forgive me for saving the life of someone who wants to attack me. You should really try it sometime. It might give you a different perspective on things."

"The thought of attacking you never crossed my mind," Batman said, his vigilant look turning to one of concern.

"Don't lie to me!" Ryan shot back. "I can see it in your eyes. You think I'm just as guilty as they are. You still think I'm one of them."

"I think you're confused. You've been doing the wrong thing for the right reasons."

"It was either that or watch everything I care about die. I became involved in crime because my life depended on the money. I had no other options."

"I don't believe that," the vigilante replied, taking a step closer. "It sounds to me like you've been through a lot of pain."

"The hell would you know about pain? You have no idea what it's like to watch the person who stood by you for years waste away, when there was nothing you could do. You have no idea what pain is," the boy seethed.

Ryan felt he'd struck a nerve, watching Batman standing there, contemplating God knows what. Finally he turned, looking Ryan straight in the eye.

"A while back, when I was about your age, I lost someone I cared about to crime. I was afraid, I was helpless, and I wanted revenge. I was given two options: let that anger and depression destroy me, or use it to better myself and learn from it."

Ryan felt shocked at what he had just heard. He'd thought Batman worked alone, but he never imagined the Bat had a family of his own. "What did you choose?" he asked curiously.

"I chose the second option. I took all the pain and anger I suffered, and I forged it into a weapon that I could use to benefit this city."

"And that satisfied you?"

"Yes."

The answer was a bit more than Ryan was expecting. Batman had been faced with a situation similar to the boy's own dilemma. And if the Bat could face reality and take a risk as daring as Ryan did, the boy knew he could do the same.

The former Joker thug was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the vigilante attempting to leave. "Where are you going?"

"You were right when you said the police were still looking for you," the Bat answered. "But it's not often that criminals get second chances around here…"

"So…that's it? You're just letting me go?"

"I'm giving you a chance to own up to your mistakes. But next time, be careful who you talk to."

The boy just stood there, dumbfounded. He'd done more than enough to make Batman angry, and he was actually getting away with it? He was certain this had to be some trick.

"Thank you."

Batman said nothing, simply swooping away into the shadows, possibly to catch more bad guys.

As Ryan stood and began the long walk back to his house, he couldn't shake a thought from his head.

For once, he could look on the bright side. Just like his father always did.