"Marco is one of my best informants. He's been with me for about five years at this point. He's worked for Dent and Penguin in the past and now he's in with Sionis." Edward said as he watched the man in question walking down the alleyway towards him. True to his word the previous evening, himself and Jon had dressed in full costume for a night out on the town to gather any possible information about the weird happenings which had been brought to their attention. But first, Edward had arranged a meeting with one of his informants. "As far as henchmen go he's probably one of the least incompetent."

"That almost sounded like a compliment." Jon pointed out.

Edwards smirked. "Almost. Now i'm going to ask you once, try not to gas or intimidate Marco too badly. He's loyal to me and i'd like that to remain so."

"I promise." Jon replied in a bored tone before nodding behind Edward. "He's here."

"Marco!" Edward exclaimed as the small man approached. "How's tricks?"

"Hey boss." Marco nodded respectfully at Edward before doing the same to Jon. "I'm expected back at the Sionis Mill in an hour so I got about fifteen minutes to give you the info ya need before I have to head back."

"How is Sionis doing? Has he had that massive coronary he's due yet?"

"Nah. He's fine. Still crazy as fuck though."

"Good for him. So do you have any juicy tidbits or gossip for me this week Marco?"

"Uhh well I know Sionis is pissed that Copplepot has been able to take a few chunks of his territory here and there but nothing really big. He also has a few new heavy gun shipments due over the next few weeks and they'll be delivered to dock three. Oh yeah! I also heard Sionis talking to Ms Li about a guy they found murdered in the street. I think he was one of you costume guys. Ah what was the name?" Marco paused as he tried to remember. "Tut? King Tut that was it! He was found dead somewhere near the Ace chemicals building but i'm not too sure exactly where though."

Edward squinted at the information as he tried to remember the mans actual name. "King Tut. King Tut. What was hi-Victor Goodman! He's dead? Oh well, no great loss to the world there. I actually forgot about him in the grand scheme of things. Second-rate hack that he was." Beside Edward, Jon shrugged since he hadn't even heard of the man.

"How did he die?" Jon asked.

Marco looked a little nervous as he responded to Jons' question which pleased the master of fear greatly. "He..uhh...was stabbed I think. I only overheard a little of the conversation. I know Sionis didn't do it."

"How curious." Jon directed at Edward. "Edward when was the last time you remember a costumed villain being murdered in this town without anyone claiming the kill?"

"Hmm...it's been a long, long time. Anyway, thank you Marco. You'll find your wages in the usual spot."

"Thanks boss." Marco nodded again at the pair before slinking off into the darkness towards his other employer. Jon and Edward watched him leave patiently before they continued their journey throughout the dark streets of Gothams' slums.

x-x-x-x-x

The next few hours went by with relative peace, a few gassings here and there but no information of value was discovered and Edward was getting frustrated. At the moment they were standing on the rooftop of a pawn shop watching the dark city stretching out over the horizon. "I hate this city." Edward spoke affectionately.

"I agree." Jon nodded as he lazily pointed out a would-be mugger who he could clearly see attempting to hide in some shadows a few blocks to the north. A sudden presence behind the pair caused them to spin around in unison as they sensed they were no longer alone. There, behind them, stood Nightwing and Robin.

"Oh look. It's my favourite and least favourite winged sidekicks." Edward remarked loudly as he gazed at the duo who were standing a few meters away. Edward wasn't lying, Nightwing was always his favourite of all the children to hold the title of Robin and it had been odd to watch him grow and age as the years passed, it also had the added disadvantage of making him feel disturbingly old. The latest Robin however, he had no love for. This one was brash, abrasive and somewhat more violent than the others had been when he wasn't being kept in line. Brat.

"I'm the favourite?" Nightwing preened. "I knew I had to be someones' favourite. You hear that Robin?"

"Shut up Nightwing." Robin countered instantly. "Can we get to the part where we viciously assault them and take them to the asylum now?"

"Shhh child, the adults are talking." Jon said condescendingly to the aggressive little runt. Growling in anger, Robin launched himself at the tall man but was held back at the last second by Nightwing who spotted the gleam of a needle hidden within Jons' clenched palm.

"Robin stand down." Nightwing commanded. "Crane is armed and I cannot deal with you being dosed with toxin AND capture them both."

"Noted." Robin responded sullenly as he clicked his tongue at his mentor.

"So what brings you two men out tonight?" Making his tone as jovial as possible to avoid conflict until necessary, Nightwing was curious as to what could bring both the Riddler and the Scarecrow out together in full costume. Dick had heard rumours that the two were occasional lovers but he tried not to listen to gossip and the topic had definitely never come up in discussion with Bruce. He knew that if he had heard such rumours then Bruce would probably already be well aware. And anyway, Dick was confident that it was a good idea not to get involved with the personal affairs of the rogues, it never ended well.

"Riddle me this! When you have me, you feel like sharing me, but, if you do share me then you don't have me. What am I?" Edward answered lazily as he leaned slightly on his cane and tried to mentally plot an escape route.

Nightwing sighed while Robin replied after a moment. "A secret."

Edward swung up his cane to point the end at the small boy. "Bravo runt. That riddle was incredibly easy but i'm still suitably impressed that you answered it. There's hope for you yet!" Deciding to try and use Edwards' speech to his advantage, Jon quickly snatched a gas grenade from his costume and launched it at the pair. The canister landed at Robins' feet but he was able to nimbly backflip away from it to a safe distance before he could inhale any of its' contents. At the exact same moment, Nightwing slid over and used his considerable strength to kick the canister away from the foursome and prevent the gas from being able to dose any of them.

"Nice try Crane." Nightwing called out. "But did you really think that would work?"

"I will smash your skull for that strawman!" Damian hissed as he came back into the fray.

"Maybe this will do better?" Edward suggested as he threw a collection of small button-sized spheres which exploded into puffs of smoke which separated the two warring pairs. "If we're going to leave now would be the time darling." Edward grabbed at Jons' hand and flew to the ladder which hung at the side of the small building they were currently standing on. Wearing gloves really does have its' advantages, Edward thought amused as he held onto either side of the ladder and slid down to the alleyway before waiting patiently for Jon to follow suit.

As soon as they were both safely on the ground they began to sprint as quickly as they could to put as much space as possible between themselves and the vigilantes until they could find some kind of suitable cover. The ground was wet beneath their feet and as the ran they could feel the soft spatters of water slowing soaking through to their skin as they escaped. Eventually they reached an almost completely dark and deserted alleyway and Edward ducked into it, pulling Jonathan along as they both panted heavily. Silence filled the alley as both parties kept their noise levels to an absolute minimum with the exception of the heavy breathing. Their warm breath mingled with the cold air and created small plumes of condensation which they watched passively as they floated up towards the dark skyline.

A minute passed and Edward felt him begin to relax a little. It seemed they had managed to escape the pair of bird brats for the time being. His musings were interrupted by a small banging noise which came from the rooftop just above them. Edward turned to ask Jon if he had heard the noise when the side of his face exploded with pain as he was struck with the end of a bo staff. "OUCH! Bast-" He squealed but his words were stopped by a black and blue gloved hand which prevented him from finishing the insult.

"No bad language in front of the kid." Nightwing quipped as he quickly slapped a pair of handcuffs on Edwards' wrists while he was still disorientated. Realising that he was screwed, he watched as Jon attempted to keep Robin at a safe distance

"You son of a bitch!" Damian hissed as he tried to get in closer to pound the master of fears face into the hard concrete. "When I get my hands on you i'll-"

"Good job with that." Edward smirked while Nightwing sighed as the little one continued on his foul-mouthed tirade. He finished securing Edward and bounded over to help his partner. Jon didn't last long against the combined efforts of the two and he soon found himself cuffed next to Edward with a throbbing shin, courtesy of the brat who had kicked him full force before Nightwing was able to pull him away.

After being forced into the restraining chairs inside the back of the Batmobile, Jon and Edward sat quietly as they contemplated the unfortunate turn of events. "I hope your rent in payed up for the foreseeable future." Jonathan murmured, his face periodically lighting up with red as the small alarm lights above them flashed on and off.

"My rent is always paid up six months in advance." Edward shot back. "I'm always prepared for situations like this. Plus the landlord knows who I am and that i'll be furious if she allows anyone else to move into my space. I doubt our capture will be on the news since we were not in the middle of a spree when we were apprehended but she's usually good at knowing when i'm 'away'. Shelia really likes me. She's even edited her books so any prying eyes will not see me that our apartment is registered as taken." He beamed.

"Where do you find these people? Society seems to be more accepting of your criminal deeds than mine." Scarecrow asked incredulously. No one ever offered to help him or keep his base of operations hidden. Edwards' social graces were something which he was incredibly self-aware that he lacked.

Edward laughed softly. "That's because these people recognise a mutually beneficial relationship when it's presented to them. People know that if they play by my rules then I have no reason to screw them over. You are a bit less...trusted. Plus i'm rich and money is one of the most powerful incentives in the world." He laughed.

x-x-x-x-x

Nightwing watched with mild amusement as Robin hauled Nygma through the large doors of the asylum. Dick knew that Nygma would be irritated at being manhandled by the child while Damian would be absolutely loving it. At least something made him happy. Damians' introduction into their lives only a few months after Talias' death was a complete shock to the entire family. He showed up at the door one day after having been brought by Talias' most trusted guards. It seemed that after Damians' birth she had her personal guard swear binding oaths that they would deliver him to his father if anything happened to her and they had complied after her death in Arkham City. The boy had taken a good few years to adapt to life in Gotham and to learn and abide by both Bruces' and Batmans' rules but he had settled in relatively well. His background as a trained assassin made him a natural Robin and Dick knew his baby brother could handle himself.

That said, Damian was still his responsibility. Moving back towards the rear of the Batmobile, he opened the second containment chair and pulled Crane forward from his restrained position. "You try to gas the kid again Crane and I swear I will break all ten of your fingers one by one." He hissed in his most threatening voice.

"Is that supposed to scare me? Leave the real threats to your daddy, little boy." Jon raised an eyebrow at the young mans efforts.

"It's not a threat It's a promise. You ever hit that kid with a dose of your toxin and there will not be a place in this city you will be able to hide from me." Nightwing tightened his grip on Jons' shoulder and he could feel it aching slightly at the gesture.

"We'll see about that." Jon replied, baring his teeth viciously as he refused to back down.

Growling in frustration, Nightwing pulled him from the seat harshly and shoved him towards the front doors of Arkham Asylum. "Hope you enjoy your stay Crane."