CHAPTER 4

The Riddler sat at the head of the conference table. The conference room was on one of the top floors of the Wayne tower, its vast glass window looked out over the burning city. The Joker sat in a chair on the right side of Riddler, Harley Quinn sat on the table just beside Joker, she was singing her legs and humming cheerfully to herself. Across from Joker was Two-Face, who was spinning his coin on the table. There were several dead bodies littered around the table, only killed recently.

"Oh Mr. J, the night sky looks so beautiful" Harley chided.

"It does, doesn't it?" Joker replied, turning in his chair to view out the window. "Just look at that ember color, I could paint a picture right now. If only we had a Bat, broken, bleeding, hung up by his neck right in front of us, I could paint a picture that could put the Mona Lisa out of business".

"Patience, my friend" the Riddler joined in. "We want to see how far he will go before we bleed him to death. We may have caused chaos, but imagine what the Dark Knight can do when he has no other option?"

"It is something I have been wanting to see for years. Where is the popcorn when you need it?" Joker laughed. He looked at Harley.

"Oh, I almost forgot something, my dear".

"Hm?"

Joker showed Harley a decapitated hand, there was an expensive looking ring on one of its fingers, a shining diamond was in it.

"Oh Mr. J, you always know just what to get me" Harley said with a smile. She took the ring off the bodiless hand and put it on her own. She stared at it with delight before hugging Joker around the neck.

"Oh, I'm glad you like it" Joker said.

"Hmph, what a loving couple" Two-Face said sternly.

"Don't worry Harvey, I'm sure you'll find the girl of your dreams some day" Joker encouraged Two-Face.

"Heh. Edward, have you heard from Mr. Freeze yet?"

"Indeed I have" Riddler said, "apparently he…"

"Excuse me gentlemen, Harley and I are gonna have a bit of private time to ourselves" Joker interrupted, walking out of the room with Harley cuddling up to him. "Don't wait up" he said, as he closed the door behind him.

"Apparently" Riddler continued. "Freeze isn't joining us. He's holed up in Blackgate Penitentiary, which has been abandoned by all authority figures. He has his wife, Nora in there, continuing his research. He seems to have found a ton of equipment there that will be able to help him…so he's not coming".

"What do you need me to do?" Two-face asked.

"Convince him to join us".

Mr. Freeze scanned the information on the computer, which was partly covered in ice. There was information on here that he was amazed to see; perhaps a cure for his wife's sickness could finally be made. Many patients in Blackgate and Arkham had gone insane due to the same or similar sickness, and had been treated a formula that partially cured it.

If Freeze could get his hands on this formula, he would be able to modify it to cure the sickness entirely.

Freeze turned and aimed his gun when he heard someone chuckle behind him. He saw Two-Face pointing his gun at the containment holding Nora, who was still in cryostasis.

"What do you want Harvey?" Freeze asked. He was cautious not to provoke Two-Face to kill his wife.

"I, along with the other guys" Two-Face answered "want you to join our gang".

"I told the Riddler no. I have no business with the Batman tonight".

"Well, I have business with dear Nora here" Two-Face threatened, tapping his gun against the containment.

"You touch her, and I'll…"

"What? You pull your trigger, I pull mine. I might be frozen, but you'll have the death of your wife on your hands".

Mr. Freeze considered this, and lowered his gun in defeat.

"What will you have me do?" Freeze asked.

"Well, keep this a secret from the other villains. I want to face Batman myself; I don't care about everyone else's goal to face him. I want to pull off that mask and look at Bruce Wayne right between the eyes before I end him…find him, and bring him to me. I'll be waiting here, keeping Nora company".

"I will do as you wish".