Super super super sorry I have taken so long to update this story. I hope that I'll be able to update more frequently once in the summer, maybe coming close to finishing this thing that I've been working on for more than 2 years. I'm starting university in the fall, however, so I can't even promise more frequent updating next year soooo yeeaaah. I still love this story and want to finish it, you all just may have to be patient with me.

When Jak came down to breakfast a few days later, she noticed that Bruce for once wasn't already there, reading his paper. She sat in her usual seat, noticing the plate of eggs, sausage, and toast in front of her. A pot of coffee sat in the middle of the table. Jak grabbed it and poured herself a cup of it. She picked up her fork, and as she was about to dig in, Alfred entered the room.

"I apologize on behalf of Master Bruce, Miss Forrester, for he will not be able to join us today. He has gone away on business." Jak raised an eyebrow.

"Like… Justice League sort of business?" Alfred cleared his throat.

"Yes. He told me to specifically tell you that just because he is not going to be here, the rules remain the same. You are not to leave the premises without a member of the Justice League or myself." Jak frowned as she thought of an issue.

"What happens when Bruce isn't around as Batman to patrol Gotham? What happens if one of the most dangerous criminals escapes Arkham and he isn't there to-" Alfred put up a hand, signalling her stop.

"No need to worry, Miss Forrester. Wayne Manor is the safest place in Gotham."

"But, what about the city?"

"There are more heroes than Batman that protect the city, though he is the original. Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl have all been able to protect the city in the event of Master Wayne's absence." Jak frowned as she stared down at her plate. Maybe Portal should patrol Gotham as well as Metropolis tonight.

It had been an extremely slow night in Metropolis. Portal had patrolled the back alleys for about 2 hours, without finding a single problem. Not that she took any issue with this, but she was eager to get back to Gotham to see if there was anything going on. If there was anything that she could remember clearly about her hometown, then she could remember the crime. The crime rate alone in the city was as high as ever the last time she had been living there with her parents… There was always an escaped criminal running through the streets, causing complete mayhem. She would have to be extra careful.

She teleported herself back to the bathroom in Wayne Manor, which was where she had made a habit of departing from within the manor, and proceeded to quickly change into clothes that were not her Portal costume. Quickly, she made her way through the house to the kitchen, where she prepared for the long night ahead of her by drinking a tall glass of water and eating a quick snack. Before no time, she was back into the bathroom, praying that Alfred wasn't wondering where she had gone. She slipped back into her costume and teleported onto the first street she could remember. The one she used to live on.

During the whole 14 years that she had been away from here, the place had really changed. Since her house had burned to the ground, a new one had been built in its place. It was too modern looking for her tastes. Her old house had been build during the 1940s, she remembered her father telling her. She felt her eyes burn a bit upon the remembrance of the memory, so she quickly moved on, swiftly walking to downtown Gotham, which was not located extremely far away.

Once she arrived at the downtown, she resumed her usual method of patrolling that she used for Metropolis. Since she was taking on a lot of petty thieves and muggers, she usually stuck to wandering around the back alleys.

Jak had thought that the alleyways in Metropolis were bad, but they were nothing when compared to Gotham. It was strange, she had almost forgotten exactly how uneasy this city made her feel. After all this time, she could hardly conjure up any sort of happy memory in her mind. Feeling distressed, she wracked her head as she walked through the dark streets and began to panic a bit. How could she not remember anything happy? She wasn't terribly young when her parents had died-

All she could think of was fire, smoke, and fear. Immediately after came Cadmus. Shivering at the bitter memories, she decided it would just be best not to reminisce and to concentrate on the task at hand. Trying to protect Gotham. It was true that there would be some other heroes here, but it still seemed like a good idea for her to patrol the streets as well. Who knew how bad the crime rate may have gotten in the years that she had been gone?

As she wandered the cold, dark streets she began to notice that it was eerily still and quiet there in the shadows. It made her think that maybe there was something more going on. She'd heard the stories of how crime-ridden Gotham was, and how corrupt the police force was. Surely there was something that she could do, and she wasn't just wandering around aimlessly in the dark for nothing.

A scream. She stopped in her tracks. Someone screamed again, and this time, she knew where it was coming from approximately. Jak began to run through the alleys, dodging trash cans, climbing fences,, and trying not to fall as she turned sharp corners. She was extremely glad that she had been running nearly everyday, because she had to run for a while before she got to the sight of the trouble. A man had been corned by another man between a dumpster and the side of a building.

"P-Please don't hurt me!"

"Now, now. I am only here to set you free. I only want to… Liberate you." The yelling continued as Jak saw the glint of a knife appear in the attacker's hand. Who was this man? He was sick. "Please stop struggling. I only want to give you your freedom." He began to raise the knife, and Jak still pondered the question. She shook her head. Regardless of who he was, the other man was going to die if she didn't save him!

As quickly as she could make herself, she teleported to the scene and took the villain by surprise, jumping on his back. He cried out in surprise as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The other man stumbled to the ground as he ran away.

Clearly she was not fighting some amateur, she noticed. In no time it seemed, she hit the ground. Trying not to make a sound because of the pain, she pursed her lips together. She tried to get up, but soon the villain straddled her waist, pinning her arms down under his knees. All that Jak wanted to do was cry out from the pain, but she forced herself not to. She had to be strong, she had to be brave. He put a hand on her face gently, and she flinched at his touch. She spat in his face.

"Let me go-ah!" He had shifted his knees, deepening the pain on her arms.

"There, there. No need to cry out." His voice was calm, and sounded almost… Sickeningly soothing. He used his other hand to cover her mouth. Jak's heart was pounding in her head. She felt her face drain of blood, a cold sweat covering her entire body. He was going to kill her if she didn't calm down. She had to concentrate. If only she could just gain her concentration, she could teleport out of this. Deciding to just close her eyes and try to ignore the ramblings of the madman, she tried to teleport. A blade came into contact with her skin.

Instinctively, Jak screamed as the knife touched her throat. The man's hand was still covering her mouth. Her heart just wouldn't stop, and it felt like she couldn't get enough air. How on earth was she going to get out of this?

"Zsasz! Stop!" A boy's voice. It was unfamiliar and young sounding. Who could it be? The blade of the knife was being traced down her neck, skimming past her collarbone and the dip between her breasts. It continued down until it was at her stomach. The knife was pulled away abruptly as somebody pulled the villain off of her. She took in a big breath to try to calm herself. Looking down the alley, she saw that the villain, whose name she assumed was Zsasz, was fighting… Robin? She had to admit that she was surprised that she had not run into Batman's famous partner yet, as she was living in Wayne Manor. She was not at all arguing with the situation, though. From what she could see, he was doing a very good job fighting the much larger man. He appeared to be quite light on his feet, and was able to easily and swiftly dodge any attacks that Zsasz attempted. Looking away for a couple seconds, she scrambled onto her shaking legs.

With a strong force, suddenly, she felt herself be pressed up against the wall. As she looked into Zsasz's face, she saw that his eyes were wide with delight as he lifted his knife. Before she could even get the chance to react, he began to swiftly slice her skin. The cuts were not very deep, but it was painful nonetheless. It dawned on her that she might be able to get out of this. She quickly used her knee to hit him in the groin, as hard as she could. He howled out in pain and dropped to the ground. Adrenaline pumping through her veins, Jak realized something. What had happened to Robin?

Glancing away from Zsasz, she saw Robin crumpled on the ground. She ran to him, hoping that he was alright. She dropped to her knees and tried to find a pulse. She let out a sigh of relief. He was alive, just perhaps only knocked out. She got up and ran back to Zsasz, hoping that she would be able to remember exactly where she needed to send him.

Remembering only vague memories of the GCPD, she grabbed his arm and hoped they would end up there in one piece. A few seconds later, Jak found herself and Zsasz right in front of the police station. She let out a sigh of relief. Things could have gone terribly. However, she felt an arm pull her to the ground.

"You have been a very bad girl…" She struggled to get away from the psychopath. Once she was on her feet, it was as if her knees gave out on her. As she began to fall to the ground, she heard some police officers run out of the building.

"Zsasz! Put your hands up!" Jak closed her eyes as she hit the ground. All she wanted was to be back at the manor. However, she needed to check on Robin to see if he was alright. She went back to the alley, and found him in the same place she'd found him. Looping his arm around her shoulder, she teleported away, back to Wayne Manor.