Time really does fly when you're having fun, Edward mused as he stared at the large clock which sat on the marble mantelpiece. It had been exactly five days since their meetings with Black Mask and Penguin had taken place and everything had become increasingly hectic since. Both Jervis and Dent had now officially allied themselves with the rogues and Edward had already met with Jervis to discuss his plans involving the fate of the assassin. He was going to execute it later after himself and Jonathan had dealt with the small issue of the package which Jonathan had been sent to collect. Dent had arrived at the door two days ago, claiming that he had received word from Ozzie that Edward had information about the mysterious entity who had stolen his money. After a quick explanation of the threats made by the League, Dent had agreed to help since it was probably the only chance he would have at any semblance of revenge.

His thoughts were cut short as Jonathan entered the front door suddenly. "Do you have the package?" Edward asked excitedly as he bounded up to him. Jon had been gone longer than expected and Edward was beginning to worry that he had run into some difficulty.

Jon grinned wolfishly. "Of course I do. You really should have more faith in me."

"I do have faith in you. But in Gotham we are usually affected by forces outside of our control."

"Admittedly true. Do you want to come down and assist me in bringing it upstairs?"

"Of course! What kind of partner would I be if I refused to help." Edward laughed as he exited the apartment and followed Jonathan down the stairs. "Do you have everything set up in the basement for this?"

"Yes. I finished the preparations before I left." Jonathan held the large door to he apartment building open as Edward passed through. Their small car was parked directly outside and Jonathan moved to the boot and entered the key.

"Aaand what's behind door number one?" Edward called out quietly in a showmans' voice. Jonathan smirked as he pulled the boot door upwards and revealed its contents. The majority of the available space was taken up by a tightly hunched figure whose hand and feet were hog-tied together. Using his hands to flip the person around, Edward was confronted by the bruised face of Dr Rafferty.

"Wow Jon! It appears that we have won a rude and moronic hack!" He paused. "I would have been happier with a new kitchen table."

"Why don't we show out new house guest to his accommodation in the basement?" Jon asked while the doctors eyes widened in fear. "Don't worry Dr Rafferty, or should I say Fred? I think I will stick with Fred since we're housemates now." Jon mused. "Anyway, you won't be alone in the basement so lets go meet your new friend."

x-x-x-x-x

The assassin turned her head as her two captors entered the room with another man in tow. She had been moved from the large chair in the centre of the room to another smaller chair and her eyes narrowed as she watched the duo strap the struggling third man into the chair she had previously occupied. The taller of the two men, the one who called himself Scarecrow, looked over at her before speaking. "You will have some company for a small amount of time. We thought it was cruel to leave you here alone."

"I look forward to your death." The assassin responded without missing a beat.

"That's not a very nice way to speak to the men who have been nothing but hospitable since your arrival."

"Leave her Jon. We have more fun things to attend to." Edward interrupted as he pulled the small blindfold from Raffertys' face. "Hello Fred. So what do you think of your new home?" Raffertys' wide eyes, filled with terror, darted across the room as he came to terms with the predicament he was now in. Edward watched as Jonathan slid over to his workbench and started to fill a syringe with toxin. Following his path, Edward watched the filled syringe with a strange look.

Noticing his expression Jonathan spoke. "What is it Edward? I have no intentions of dosing you with anything at the current moment if that is what's concerning you."

"It's not that Jon." Edward shook his head. "I was actually going to ask if I could, umm, inject the toxin?" Jonathans' head shot to the side as he gave Edward his full attention. He had not seen that question coming. Usually when they worked together like this Edward preferred to stay far away from the toxin itself and Jonathan figured he was just keeping himself out of the path of temptation. "I just thought I should give it a go since I haven't ever actually done it before. Well?"

"I have no problem with that." Jon replied, handing Edward the needle. He was very possessive of his precious formula and he could count the number of times others had used his toxin in front of him on one hand, but this was the first time he had given consent to such an action. "Inject directly into the vein for an almost instant response time."

Edward nodded and Jonathan felt a burst of some unknown emotion as Edward slid the needle slowly into Freds' neck, his tongue poking out slightly from between his lips as he concentrated on his actions and Jon saw him exhale deeply as he pressed the plunger down and released the toxin. Watching Edward standing there with the empty syringe in one hand and eyes that shone with curiosity while a cruel smile played on his lips was too much for him. Ignoring the panicking doctor he yanked Edward towards him for an aggressive kiss. Stiffening in surprise, Edward took a few moments to respond and he yelped a little as he felt Jon bite down on his lower lip harshly. He pulled away looking a little shocked. "What brought that on? Not that I am complaining."

"I will admit that I find you increasingly more attractive when you're in this frame of mind. That beautiful mind of yours has so much destructive potential."

"Why am I not surprised that you like me more when i'm in this mood?"

"I can understand and appreciate the inner darkness that you possess. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing." Edward replied fondly. "Shall we?" He gestured to Fred who was now fully under the toxins effects and was staring at the darkness of the basement with unrestrained fear.

"According to his records Fred here suffers from arachnophobia, a common if irrational fear." Jonathan informed Edward. "Watch." Standing quietly to the side of the doctor, Jonathan used one of his hands to gently tap up his restrained arms, mimicking the movements of a spider. At the motion, Fred started to shriek as he stared at his arm while his hallucinating mind did the rest of the work. "See?"

"Impressive." Standing on the opposite side, Edward copied Jonathans' movements on Freds' other arm. The mans' shrieks increased as he tried desperately to escape from the chair. "Can he hear us?"

"I gave him a rather strong dose so the hallucinations are particularly vivid but I suppose if he stopped screaming for long enough he could hear us easily. Lets try." Jon walked around so that he could stand directly in front of him and snapped his fingers to gain his attention. "Fred. Fred! Let's not overreact now. We have so many other things we need to discuss." Fred stopped screaming long enough to give Jonathan eye-contact. "Like, for example, the fact that you have a niece yes?" His head flew from side to side as he denied the claim.

"He does." Edward chimed in. "He claimed guardianship of her after the death of his sister ten years ago which left the child orphaned." He paused before pulling a small book from behind his back. "Or at least that's what she claims in her diary." Fred took one look at the book in Edwards' hand and something in his expression collapsed as he began to shudder. "I know you're probably wondering how I got this diary." He waved it about. "Occam's razor: the simplest answer is usually correct. I picked it up from her room when Jon and I paid a small visit to your home."

"Ten years is a long time to be the guardian to a child. Does she call you her father?" Rafferty shook his head as the tears fell down his face. "That's a shame. But you do consider her your daughter yes? The child that you and your wife have yet to have." Jon clasped his hands in front of his body as he considered his words. "Such as shame that her father figure chose to make enemies of some of the most dangerous men in Gotham City."

"You wronged my partner with your words Fred." Edward said loudly as he came to stand beside Jonathan in front of the trapped doctor. "You hurt someone I care about so it seems prudent that we afford you that same luxury." Freds' eyes widened as he violently struggled against his bonds.

"She was such a pretty young thing." Jonathan commented. "Intelligent too if her grades were anything to go by, such wasted potential." Fred attempted to speak under his gag and Jonathan leaned towards him to remove it. "Something to say Fred?"

"Wh-what have you done with h-her?" He sobbed, his horror overcoming his fear for a few moments.

"We did nothing." Edward smirked. "We are not monsters. We merely handed her over to a friend of ours who was more than happy to take her."

"Who?" Fred asked, looking thoroughly broken.

"Jervis Tetch." Jon grinned viciously. "He had been desperate for a new Alice for weeks and since he is a such a dear friend to the both of us we felt obliged to help him. As soon as he caught sight of her blonde hair and pretty features he was sold. So we have done nothing to her, but I can't say the same for Jervis. Even I find the way he treats his," Jon paused, "'female companions' quite distasteful."

At Jons' words the doctor let out a sharp keening noise which pierced the quiet of the basement. The noise lasted for less than a few seconds before his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he passed out. "Well that went about as well as could be expected. I was hoping that he would last a little longer than that. I feel...unfulfilled." Edward frowned. "Are we going to kill him?" He asked passively as he watched the unconscious doctors' eyes dart about underneath the closed lids.

Jon pursed his lips as he considered the question. "No. I think I would rather have him alive and afraid. We can drop him in streets after he has enjoyed our hospitality for another day or two."

"Not possible. We leave for Central City first thing tomorrow morning. Selina is meeting us in the morning since you drunkenly invited her along, so we will need to drop him before that."

"If Selina wanted to come she would have found a reason to attend. I merely cut out the unnecessary drivel. We can drop the doctor off later tonight after he reawakens."

"Agreed." Edward smirked. He walked over the small table and picked up the old book which lay there. "I know I do not say it very often but your toxin is impressive. To force a man to hallucinate this tatty book as a childs' diary is a hard feat. Fifty dollars says he passes out again when he discovers his niece alive and well in their home."

"That is a fools bet which I will not be taking. And yes, my toxin is revolutionary and it is such a pity that I am ostracised from society for creating it. Your hacking of the Arkham system to get the information about his life that we needed was an enjoyable extra. It adds a certain theatrical quality to these sessions." He vaguely nodded in Edwards' direction to show his appreciation before he asked the question he was desperate to know. "Did you enjoy it? There are few things as satisfying as watching the last vestiges of hope leave an individuals eyes."

"I did enjoy this more hands-on approach. Maybe we could make this a recurring event in the near future?" Jon grinned at the thought. "That is, if we assume that Ras will be unsuccessful in murdering us brutally. But while we're on the subject of mind destruction I think we should deal with our assassin problem while we have the opportunity. The necessary tools are all present down here." Edward pulled one of the steel containers out of its slot and placed it on the large table beside Jonathan. Within the container it was possible to see a collection of surgical tools and a large bottle of iodine.

"I suppose I should go wash my hands then." Jon laughed. "Shall we put her fully under or leave her awake?" He asked maliciously.

"While I am tempted to leave her awake as vengeance for my ten-thousand dollar table which she destroyed we should probably put her fully under. We're not monsters." Edward turned to wink at the assassin who was beginning to show signs of nervousness under her stoic features. "Dr Crane to the surgery please. Dr Crane." Edward called out loudly as Jon returned with the hospital-grade anesthetic which he immediately injected into the wary assassin as she attempted to flinch away.

x-x-x-x-x

Jonathan applied the final stitch with a self-satisfied smirk. "Those surgical classes I took in university really did pay off in the long run."

"You have done an excellent job." Edward agreed as he pulled his surgical gloves off with his teeth. "A tiny scar on her hairline should go unnoticed for a long time which is exactly what we need." The assassin herself was still fully unconscious and she was not expected to awaken for quite some time. When she did awake, the next step would be to ensure that Jon had not accidentally damaged any of her functions while he was operating. That would be an unfortunate setback.

"What did you actually promise Jervis in exchange for one of his mind-control chips?" Jon asked curiously.

"Nothing. He agreed to give me it after I informed him of what we were all facing. Jervis may be deluded at times but he has a great sense of self-preservation."

"Excellent but what is the code-word we need to activate our little assassin? I am assuming Jervis informed you about how these mind-control chips work?"

"It was not difficult to understand. Why don't we make it 'Would you kindly?'" Edward smirked. "It has a certain ring to it.

Jonathan noticed the smirk. "That seems extraordinarily random." Jon frowned. "Is that a reference to something?"

"Honestly Jon we need to get you more involved in the world. You're getting old and out of touch."

"Careful Edward. Unless you want me to perform a little surgery on you?" Jonathan waved the bone-saw threateningly.

"Not today thank you."

"So we activate our assassin and send her on her merry way back to the League with the instruction that she is to act naturally and, if asked, to claim that she was kidnapped by some unknown entity before she was able to escape?"

"Exactly. And then we will have our own spy within the League until we speak the second phrase which will activate the second part of her mental compulsion."

"You realise that if this does not work then we will be in serious trouble. And I really will miss you after Ras Al Ghul decides to use your skull as a drinking cup."

"It will work." Edward said confidently while giving Jonathan a slight frown at the second comment. "I hope."