A/N: Too long. I'm taking way too long to finish chapters. Especially those I've written, to some extent before. But with the new-years eve deadline far gone, I've decided to try and focus a bit more time and text on character development, which I think is just as important as fighting and action.
So I hope you can forgive my terribly slow pace and that you can enjoy this chapter. Let me know. I'll do my best to hurry. On the good new, I finally got a new laptop, so that makes writing easier; the bad news, the reformation at my job has me spending much overtime in trying to get a wrap on what to do plus by the beginning of March I'll be in a play with my theatergroup, which means now is the busy endstage. So, please bare with me. You guys are saints for your patience and I wish not to lose any of you.
A big thank you to all those who favorited or followed this story since the last update.
Also thank you CleoArrow for your comment. I'm glad you liked Robin's fight-scene. I would like to state that, regarding the Joker's gas, BB isn't out of the woods yet.
Thank you JasonVUK for your reply. And yeah, you're right, that is the main difference between the two. And I like the Hatter for it as a villain in his own way. Glad I could scare you with him, I take it as a compliment.
And thank you Based Bobcat, for your review. There will be quite some known face popping up, but I'm not going to say who just yet.
Disclaimer: Once again, no rights.
Chapter 19: Kryptonite
Alternate title: 3 doors down
"So what do you think?" Robin asked as he called the elevator.
"What do I think?" Cyborg asked in response. "I think you look like hell."
"About the card, Cyborg. I meant about the card. Must be clue in there somewhere we can use to find the Joker."
"I know that's what you meant, Robin. But I still think you look like hell. Let me get you a towel and a change of clothes. Look at you, there's more mud than titan here. And your entire outfit is drenched."
"No time." The elevator arrived and it's doors swung open. The two titans stepped inside and headed for the lab. "Did you run project X-5/456 without any problems?"
"Yeah, but man, …"
"Good. What did you find on my leads on the broker and the joker?"
"Man!" Cyborg snapped, trying to break Robin from his disregard for his own wellbeing. "First thing's first. We gotta get you cleaned up and I need to take a look at your vitals. You electrocuted yourself out there. Your body could have internal burns or you could have organ failures if we're not careful. I mean just look at you. You're barerly standing up, leaning against the wall to stop yourself from falling over. Your hair is standing up even more than usual!"
"We don't have time to be careful." Robin spoke, distancing himself from the wall. "Starfire doesn't have time." He uttered softly but harshly.
"And who's going to save Starfire when your heart goes into shock out there?"
"Just tell me what you've found out."
"You just answer me who's going to save her? Because it won't be me."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that my search result came up squat. For now at least."
The elevator came to a stop with a ping. The doors opened behind Cyborg. Robin cursed as he pushed his way past him and out into the hall leading to the laboratory.
"Focus on the Broker." He called out without looking back.
"I have been doing that." Cyborg pleaded, turning around. "I understand your plan: if we can find the Broker or a trace of him we can figure out where he's sold property, which knows we know where to look for Freeze's wife. But the guy's a ghost. I've tried all my available databases and all filters. My programs have been running non-stop, but they still come up with nothing useful."
Across the hallway Robin pushed open the doors to the laboratory. Cyborg ran towards him.
"What are you going to do? Robin, I know you wanted this to work, but it's not going to!" When he caught up to him, as he typed on one of the laptops in the lab, he turned him around and continued. "Robin." He spoke. "We need a plan B."
"Don't you understand, Cyborg?" Robin frowned and hissed as he spoke. "This is plan B. We've got just a few minutes over two hours before I need to have found Nora, taken down those holding her and have sent the pictures to Freeze. You think that's my A-plan?" He slumped into a swivel chair. " I should have taken him out, then and there."
"Freeze?"
Robin spoke, staring dead ahead. "I know I should have… It's what He would have done."
The way he pronounced the word was hard to miss.
"The Batman?" Cyborg ventured.
"He wouldn't have hesitated. He'd have found a way to take out Victor and save Starfire. But I… I couldn't. Cyborg I froze. He was there and his finger was on the button and I couldn't do anything. Because I just couldn't let anything happen to her. I couldn't risk it, and that's why I failed to save her."
Victor's hand flew across his face, it struck his leader hard on the cheek. The shock crept over the young boy's face. He uttered a slow cry of surprised pain and reached for the sore spot.
"You haven't failed to save her yet, have you now?" Cyborg asked sternly. "So I won't want to hear you talking like that. If you'd done it otherwise who knows what may have happened. And so what if it's different from how The Bat would have done it? You're not his cardboard copy, now are you? You're Robin; leader of the Titans. Now act like it."
"What is it with my titans slapping me in the face as of late?" Despite himself, Robin smiled faintly.
"Just snap out of it." Cyborg added amiably as he helped up his comrade. "Your Titans need you to be you right now."
"When you're right you're right Cyborg." Robin said as he stopped rubbing his now red cheek. "Guess tonight's just getting on my nerves. I'm going crazy with all these blasts from the past. I just… I can't get over what happened at Freeze's lair. I was there and I was like: I feel there is nothing I can do. I've never had that before. I can't place it. She needed me, more than ever, and I let her down. And I don't know why."
"She's your kryptonite, superman."
Robin shot his friend a look.
"It's like what happened to Beastie." Cyborg explained himself. "With Terra, you know? He couldn't help it either. She's may be your strength, Robin. But by making her that, she'll also always be your weakness. It means caring beyond such a point that you have to act in such way that you have no choice. You have to act as you act , it's that simple."
Cyborg let his words hang before he continued.
"Look, man, I don't know the batman. I don't know what it was like working with him. I don't know what it is that caused this…" He paused, weighing the words. "Obvious strife?" He took his friend's small sideways glance as the sign that he'd hit home. "And I never needed to. To me, you were never some sidekick. You're my friend and leader. You're my captain. And I'll follow you into any melee, any fray, any mission at all. Because you're someone we can trust. You don't have to be Batman, Robin. I know you'll do everything in your might to safe Star. And I know you will, too. In your own way, by your own methods."
A few seconds later Robin finally retorted. "Right." He said. "You can't make anything of the data?"
Cyborg shook his head.
"Okay." Robin resigned.
He walked over to the set of clothes Cyborg had been examining earlier on. From it he picked up Slade's mask. He shook it in his friend's direction.
"Time for plan C." He said.
"Where are we headed?" Beast boy asked. Talking hurt his malformed cheeks, but he felt like he had to speak. Not only did he have to know where to go from here, quite literally, but also metaphorically. But he also was afraid that if he didn't pain his face, it' would just harden more and more into the horrible shape it was now.
He directed his question not at the blonde by his side. Terra once again looked like a bird broken by its cage. Instead he asked the hooded silhouette in the light of the distant center of Jump City. She held the bound small man, lying on the ground, by his shoulder. For no good reason that he could think of, Beast Boy had the man's hat, his and Raven's masks and Terra's former bow under his arm. She turned back to face him, her cape blowing in the freezing wind and snow falling all around her. He could see her turn off the communicator with her hand unoccupied with the Hatter.
"We head for the madhouse." She said.
"Why there?" He asked. "Why not the tower?"
"We don't know where Robin is. He's the one that can help you with that ugly smile. So it doesn't make sense to go to the tower. But the asylum has all manner of drugs and medicine. So once we establish contact, he can tell us which ones to administrate to you. It's closer by than any regular hospital in Jump city, and it will give us a chance to drop off this screwball." In her last few words she let go of the small man. He thudded to the floor.
"You think you can mix something up to help me?"
"I promise you, Beast Boy, I'll do anything in my power to wipe that grin of your face. I won't stop trying to stop you from laughing."
They shared a knowing look and Garfield felt like he'd have laughed even if the toxin had made him. But this laugh that did come out was off. This much was clear.
"It's getting worse, isn't it?" Terra asked.
The changeling cleared his throat.
"Yeah… I'd say it's not. But I have it on good authority that I don't lie that well."
Terra placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I know that I'm the last person you should trust, Beast Boy." She spoke softly. "But please do: I'll get you there in time. Don't worry, this is solid ground. You and Raven just rest for now."
Underneath their feet, cracks appeared in the frozen dirt. Around its edges snow fell from the plateau as it was lifted into the air. It was big enough to carry all four of the travelers. It hovered for a few seconds as Terra got herself into position. With outstretched arms she commanded the slab of land to go forth.
Dr. Richard Hamsfeld lay on his back in the hallway barely outside his office. He'd made it so far in all the mayhem. He'd nearly reached the comfort and protection of his own quarters before one of the loonies had caught up with him. Luckily it hadn't been one of the super-villains. In that case he was afraid he wouldn't have stood a chance. Instead it was a patient he'd only seen before, never talked to or treated himself. The bald, fifty something year old, scarred and sharp teethed patient carried the name 'George Mayfield". Not an extraordinary name. Nor was it one he was likely to be aware of. George was a clearly disturbed and troubled man. As he was currently on top of the doc, trying to bite off his face and screaming incoherently while doing this, this was not much of a surprise. Unlike the straitjacketed patient, Richard had both his arms free to defend himself from the sharp little teeth. The drool from the troubled man's mouth did drip on his face and chest, but that was the extent of it. However, seeing as the man weighed roughly twice as much he did, it took him quite some time to shake him off.
"There is no restriction on creativity." The voice Richard had come to know as 'Anarky' spoke calmly through the Asylum's intercom. "Ideas and truths are made true by the vision and determination of those brave enough to come up with them. Your world, your vision, stands or falls with you, my brothers and sisters. And we need no one, no government, to restrict our minds. You need not suffer being told that what you know to be true is a falsehood, a lie. All concepts, sprung from any individual, should be free and shared openly. You have as much right to fight for your world, as I have to fight for mine. We are all equal, my brothers, my sisters. Remind those who would oppress you, those who would see you silent."
At long last doctor Hamsfeld managed to shake off the madman. The heavy assailant role to his side and onto his own back. The doc scrambled off before the degenerate could roll back and snap at his feet. Blindly and madly he pushed in the door of his office. He locked himself inside and toppled the bookcase by the door; blocking it. When he finally felt safe he sat down, his back against the toppled shelves. Outside he could hear George shout madly and angrily. Richard didn't know whether to cry or to laugh.
At least, he didn't until he opened his eyes and saw him. At his desk, sipping his prized whiskey, sat General Immortus.
"Glad you could join me." The fiend spoke. He produced a second glass and poured in the liquid from the expensive bottle. "Please do sit, Richard. We have a few things to discuss."
"Robin." Slade spoke, sitting on his cot. He didn't turn his face to meet the teenager. Instead he sat staring at the wall opposite to himself, his hands clasped and his elbows resting on his upper legs. "I have to thank you saving my life once again. I suppose."
To his surprise, Slade heard the door of his cell open. Robin threw the old man's outfit, mask and all, by his feet. The young man's hand was firmly on the edge of the glass door by the time Slade looked up from the bundle of cloth to his former apprentice. The boy was ready to slam the door shut at any moment, but the signal he sent was not lost on the veteran. A peace offer, a chance for freedom, if he played his cards right.
"Watch out that you don't muddy my cell's floor, would you?"
"If it's worth anything..." Robin spoke as the grey warrior bent over to pick up the clothes. "I was against removing your mask."
"Oh. Is that so? Why is that? To what would I have owed such a curtosy?"
"It simply didn't feel right."
"So I guess he made you do it?" Slade hinted at the cyborg standing just behind Robin's left shoulder.
"In a way." Dick Grayson admitted. "He found a foreign object, interfering with your brainwaves." He held up a little microchip. "Care to tell us where you got this from?"
"A souvenir." Slade explained. "From Jervis Tetch."
"The Mad Hatter…he's the one who took Terra?"
"Yes. She's her Alice now." Slade paused for a few seconds to let his words sink in. "Quite the popular boy you are, no? To have all these old friends show up, just for you. On New Years' eve even. He planted it in my mask after Terra caught me by surprise. I was trying to save her, you see."
"What'd you want with her this time?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Robin. Nor do you particularly care. Not tonight at least, not when so much is at stake. Poor Starfire frozen in a block of ice, I heard. Dreadful, simply dreadful."
Robin glanced at Cyborg who shrugged in an embarrassed manner.
"He heard us talking on the phone." The half-man half machine explained.
"You found Jervis." Robin cut to the chase. "How?"
"The same way you tried, Robin. Only I succeeded. When I found out someone had kidnapped Terra, I went over to investigate. I found his DNA on the scene. I knew he had to have lodgings in Jump City, or somewhere around the area. I also knew something strange was up, as I'd bought my own place here only weeks ago from an old acquaintance. You know of whom I speak, don't you Robin?"
"The Broker."
"Yes. I found it strange at the time that he'd expanded his business. All the way across the country no less. Never thought I'd see him outside good old Gotham City. But his deal was a good one, so I didn't make a problem out of it immediately. Though, when we met in person to close it, I used one of my own home-made devices to crack and download his files on his laptop. Oh, don't look at me like that, Robin, you would have done the same given the chance. Don't deny it. The meeting was short and his electronics had admirable defenses. My programs didn't manage to download the list of his clientele, nor his plans… But they did give list of codes that, when deciphered, managed to place him behind the curtains of certain purchases and sales in real-estate in Jump City over the last month. Cross referencing these with the City's far more accessible data, I was able to map out the locations.
On my way to the one I figured most likely to be the Hatters', I had to pass Victor Fries's hideout. Quite the chilling lair, is it not? He seemed to place great faith in you. At his core, Freeze is not a cruel and violent man. When the opportunity arose to draw your attention without setting off a bom that would destroy a lot of public property and perhaps kill a few innocent bystanders, he took it. He tried his best to convince me that you were his best hope, as well as the best chance I had of having Terra returned from that maniac's hands unscathed."
"Needles to say you didn't believe him."
"In a way, Robin, no. But I understood. After all, I know you are capable of amazing feats. It was why I wanted you to be my pupil in the first place. You have great potential, Robin, you just need some guidance to bring it out fully."
"Cut to it, Slade."
"But yes, I didn't think Jervis would be a threat to me. Especially not when Victor offered me an object he knew you would, beyond a shadow of a doubt, know to be his; a freeze gun. I wasn't completely wrong by the way, Jervis wasn't a threat."
"But Terra was, wasn't she?"
"She is quite powerful, you know?" Slade grinned. "I knew she'd be out of it, but had hoped she wouldn't be able to fight using her powers. She'd lost her memory of those a while back. I definitely didn't expect her to be as powerful as she'd been in the suit I'd made for her. And I couldn't seriously harm her, so eventually she got a good shot in at me."
Slade stood up slowly and turned to the two Titans. His left hand moved for the scar of the wound he'd been treated for earlier that night. Robin's fingers tightend on the door, ready to swing it shut at any moment.
"I think she may have attacked you none the less, even if she hadn't been under his control." Cyborg interrupted.
"Just so." Slade agreed. "When I was down, Jervis struck and planted that chip, a mind control device. My thoughts were slow and unorganized. I lost my edge and found myself wandering between fiction and reality."
"But because you use 90% of your brain, you managed to keep your wits about you, didn't you?" Robin asked.
"Barely. It was quite the disorienting experience. And there were some things I couldn't do. I managed to disobey his orders, with great effort. But was unable to remove the chip. I hoped distance would break the control, but it didn't.. He kept telling me I was to be his soldier. That I had to obey orders. That's when I realized that I had no choice. With my chip interfering, I found myself compelled to follow the one order I'd been given earlier that night. The only order that wasn't the Hatter's. I took Freeze's advice, focused on it with whatever remained of my willpower, and came to warn you, Robin."
"And now we're here." Dick Grayson spoke coldly. "I want that map."
"I know you do, Robin. Question is what can you offer me for it? What is Starfire worth to Boy Wonder? You see, I think, that because you're here bargaining with me, that you'd have to be willing to do quite a lot. After all, you do loathe me so. Do you know why that is?"
"Let me guess; It's because you remind me of me?"
Slade smiled. "I want to be let free, of course. That goes without saying. But giving you that map will put me at a serious disadvantage. I'd be giving away my own hideout. I can take you on your word to let me go, but not to forget where my base of operations is."
"How are you sure you can take me on my word?"
"Let's just say that, unlike the Joker, I already know what kind of a man you are, Robin. I know you better than anyone else. You'll do what needs to be done, but you are also a man of your word."
"So what else do you want? I'm not becoming your disciple again."
"Really? I think you might for Starfires sake. Wouldn't you? Your eyes speak the words your mouth will not, Robin. But don't fear. I don't want to be your mentor anymore. We are too different, you and I."
This notion clearly surprised Robin. It was a statement he'd never have expected to hear from the terminator himself.
"What I need…" The assassin continued. "Is for you to save Terra. Get her out of the Hatter's story. Once she's free, you'll get your map."
Robin needed a few seconds to process the request. When he did, he responded with a series of questions.
"Why is she so important to you? Why couldn't you harm her? Why try to save her? Why did you even keep an eye on her?"
"You have to ask why? It's that hard for you to imagine that I care?"
"You only care for yourself."
The two stared at eachother. It was Slade who broke the silence.
"I can admit we are not that alike, Robin. Can you admit we have some things in common?"
"I can promise to do anything in my power to save her, but we have to get Nora Fries first. The deadline is approaching. I've got less than two hours now."
"Then I suggest you hurry."
"Cyborg." Robin snapped, glancing sideways. "Contact Raven. See how the situation stands."
"We haven't heard anything from them in a while." Cyborg said in a grave voice as he fiddled with his machinery. "Oh wait… Four missed calls, how did…" He looked at the freeze-gun on his hand and continued with an elongated. "Oooooh."
He dialed immediately.
Harley Quinn didn't knock. She hardly ever did. Mr. J could be a tad unpredictable at times, and he got cross with her when he had good reason too. Like when she spoke when she wasn't supposed to. Or when one of his plans failed and it was somehow her fault, though sometimes she had no idea why that was so because she hadn't even had a part in it. But never for not knocking. So she entered the cold cement office that the Joker had made his own. He was currently talking on the phone, leaning back in a swivel chair, with his long slender legs resting on the simple wooden desk.
It had been a rather barren room when they'd first moved in. But the Joker had made it his own, as he always did. Trinkets of all sorts lay scattered across the room. Toys and balloons were everywhere. Cloth in a blue, bright green and yellow pattern lay bundled on the floor. A giant jack-in-the-box stood in one of the corners. On the desk were a few clacking teeth, a hat that seemed to belong to a magician and a six-shot revolver with a barrel two sizes too long. Upon closer expectation, many more macabre items were to be found. A giant bottle of acid stood against a fake broche with a compartment to spray it from. Three switchblades pinned a picture of robin to a dartboard. A car battery was currently charging up a buzzer to be hidden in the palm of one's hand. And some of the picture-perfect wrapped gift boxes in another corner of the room were still open and displayed several sticks of dynamite.
If the clown-prince of crime had indeed noticed her coming in, he didn't acknowledge her presence. But that was okay. After all, he was a busy man. Such was the price of his brilliance, she knew. And once he'd finally gotten what he wanted… Once he'd finally succeeded, his mind, that beautiful creative mind, would be free to devote itself to them and their future together.
"Is that so?" The Joker asked cheerily of the person at the person at the other side of the line, laughing as he did.
The horn was in his left hand, the rotary phone itself rested in his right. His right index finger tapped it rhythmically. The Joker laughed.
"Yes, that'll do it all right. Bet the old bugger never saw it coming. No, no. Just let the icicle stay where he is. He's had his chance and is out of the game now."
At last the Joker looked at her. He raised his eyebrows comically and dramatically and rolled his eyes. She took it to mean that whoever was on the line wasn't a particularly smart henchman.
"Well, I say… Is that so? Deadshot told you guys to take a hike? Uhu. Uhu. Yeah, no, I agree, totally, this whole lone wolf thing, its so cliché isn't it? Uhu? Really? Well, that's clearly not your fault now is it, Steve. Can I call you Steve? Oh, it's Karl? Listen Steve, it's not your fault that the Titans cracked the line between Deadshot and you guys."
She almost felt pity for the henchman on the line. She knew this kind of acting nice. When her Puddin' pretended to be this interested in someone, it tended to not go well for that person. Of course the man had it coming, if it was deemed so by Mr. J. But still, she couldn't help but feel the shadows of the bruises he'd left when he'd been that way to her. She was good at recognizing him being this way to others. Then it was obvious. But when it was to her, she was blind as a bat. She realized that is was something inside her that made her hope so ferociously that he was being sincere in his glee and interest in those moments, that she could, in those instances, forget the blows that he'd dealt at earlier times.
"Oh my?" The clown continued. "Refusing to pay, is he now? What? You'll be shot if you stay in town? Hmm. Yes. Yes. I see. That is a real problem now, isn't it?" A dark twinkle shone in the Joker's eyes, it did not go unnoticed by Harley. "Because…" He spoke more menacingly now. "If you leave town and don't keep me updated, I'll have you killed. And when I do it, it'll be more slowly and more painfully than by a quick little bullet. If you run out on me now, Steve, I'll have your eyes gauged out, for starters. If you won't be a spotter, you won't have need for them anyway, am I right?" He laughed as he posed the question. "And if you're not going to talk to me, we might as well cut out that tongue of yours. So what do you say, old chap? You'll keep me informed? There's a good boy. Don't let me down now! I wouldn't want to have to break your legs. Oh who am I kidding? Of course I would!" As he commanded his spy, his voice was once again energetic. But it slumped menacingly at his last sentence. "So keep yourself useful."
He hung up the phone and, in one swift movement, jumped from his chair. He moved for the wall behind him, on which twelve pictures hung, with twelve cards beneath them. The Joker produced a black marker as he spoke, and crossed an X across the photo that showed Clayface and the one that showed the mad hatter.
"The Jack of diamonds and spades." He said. "And the Queen of hearts and clubs. Our boy's doing well so far, don't you think?"
"You don't mind he defeated them, Mr. J?"
"Harley my dear, it would hardly be fun if he didn't. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy knowing a caped-good-doer was drowned in sludge as much as the next guy, but we've got an entire night ahead of us! I must say though, I really wish Zsasz hadn't gotten himself locked up. Damn fool just couldn't stay in hiding long enough for this little operation to begin. Shame, really."
"Whatta you mean, Puddin'?" She enquired in her usual slightly shrill voice.
"That was one of those useless scrubs Deadshot hired to be his eyes in the city on the phone just now." He said, putting away the marker in his jacket's inner pocket.
"It was brilliant to hire them to be our eyes as well!"
"Yes. Yes." He agreed wearily. "But I could have convinced Zsasz to hunt them down one by one, to lure out the kid. Well. I guess I can still get him to mop up the rest that haven't been shot by our sniper friend tonight once he breaks out again." The Joker laughed madly and gleefully at the idea.
"But…" She started, only realizing she shouldn't have after she'd spoken too much to remain silent. "But, wouldn't that put you at a disadvantage, Puddin'? Wouldn't it… hurt your plan if you had someone take our your own spies?"
"Harley… Harley… Harley." He spoke turning to her and placing his hands on her cheeks gently. "How I wonder what it must be like to have a mind as simple as yours for just one day… How simple the world would look…" His eyes burned with an intensity she knew, loved and feared. "No." He said in a polite manner, his gaze piercing hers and his smile making up most of the world. "Who needs plans? This world is one that needs only laughs and smiles, and in order to achieve those, pooh, one has to stay open to what the world may give and look it in the eye. Plans, they just muddle things. They make us expect something and miss what is right before us. Embracing chaos, Harley-girl, is what sets you free and puts you beyond mere winning and losing." His tone of voice was friendly. Too friendly.
"Alright, see you there Cyborg. I'll send you the shot now." Raven said.
She stopped her phonecall and turned on the flying slab of land. Quickly she switched the mode of the communicator; turning it into a photocamera. She lined up Beast Boy, Terra and threw the downed mad Hatter by their feet. "Slade's got information on how to find save Starfire. He wanted to be sure you're safe before he gave it to Robin."
"Slade?" Terra asked.
Hearing the name obviously brought back even more memories. It was clear to Raven that the girl now remembered attacking Slade.
"Yes. He's alive." Raven replied, not unkindly. "He's in our cellblock, for now, he's going free in exchange for the info."
"Starfire needs saving?" A perhaps equally shocked Beast Boy asked.
"He's got Starfire hostage. Robin has to find his wife by midnight or else he'll kill her."
"Mr. Freeze, this dude…" Garfield said, pointing to the man at his feet. "The Joker's poison…" He continued, touching the far outstretched corners of his mouth.
"Robin's already had Cyborg run an anti-toxin from the moment he realized the Joker was involved. Cyborg's going to meet us at the madhouse, with some minor adjustments to the serum, he should be able to revert you back to normal." Her news didn't seem to lift his spirits. So she tried to add a little jest. "As far as we can say 'normal' in your case, of course."
"All these supervillains are here tonight?" Beast Boy asked, seemingly lost in thought.
"And apparently others too." She acknowledged. "Robin got a list… Clayface's been handled. But Deadshot is out there. Apparently so is Anarky, the rat catcher, the great white shark, and some others. He thinks they are all here to kill him, on orders of the Joker."
"This is serious, isn't it?" Beast Boy asked, as he sat down. Despite himself, the venom made him chuckle, at least until he could suppress it with a hearty cough. "I put everyone in danger by running off, didn't I? Starfire being captured, that's my fault, isn't it?"
Raven was at a loss for words. Pity and concern rushed her heart as she saw her knight of eternal optimism cave under the weight of self-doubt, all the time wearing that perverse mockery of a smile. She wished she had words of comfort for him, or sage advice. But none came. Never before had she felt so inept to deal with human emotions. If even the pranksters of the world couldn't be free of cares, how was she supposed to help? She knew that as his partner, she was supposed to have some words ready. She had to be able to say something that would make him feel better. Instead the wind kept rushing past them.
"You saved me." Terra spoke kindly. "Beast Boy, you did what you thought was right. What needed to be done."
"I shouldn't have ignored Robin's leadership."
" Maybe you shouldn't have. But the night's not over yet. You can make it right, Beast Boy. I know you can."
With a growing sense of uneasy, Raven cleared her throat. Her companions eyed her as she held up the communicator.
"Right. The picture." Terra said.
"Smile!" Beast Boy uttered, pointing at his deformed cheeks.
Raven found both Terra and herself to look at the green boy with same questioning eyes.
"What?" He asked. "Come on, that was a good one."
George Mayfield banged his shoulders madly at the door. He knew the snack was in the room. He'd seen the little vermin crawl in there. But he needed to bite, he needed to feed. There was no way the little man in white would escape. If only he had his arms free.
George was strong. He knew this. But his shoulder did nothing to the door. So instead he smashed his own face into the fortified glass square near the top. He did it again. And again. He felt woozy and the blood trickled down his forehead. Yet he tried again. And again. The snack was in there. He could hear the voices. He could hear the commotion. The snack could not get out; it was his to take.
His impotent fury was soon replaced by genuine surprise. Through the blurry and fortified glass he could see shadows move. And he heard furniture being removed from in front of the door.
The snack was coming out? It was coming to him? It was feasting time! He kicked and thumped the wood happy with madness, until it swung open; taking him by surprise. From the room a fist shot out and landed straight on his nose. It landed with a sickening crunch. George fell on his back and crawled backwards quickly. The tears flooded immeadiately and wails of pain and confusion followed with.
He eyed the figure that stepped out of the room and did not recognize him. This was not the snack. It wore it's long white coat. The man padded it down, even. He was not a tall man, bald and old with a sharp nose and monocle. The stranger turned his head to call into the room.
"Thanks for everything doctor." He said. "I think I'm all better now."
The man then turned his attention to the frightened and cowering George. At the sight of his piercing gaze George tried to hide himself behind his own knees, whimpering as he did so.
"General. Immortus." A voice called out from the end of the hallway. As George turned to face the sound, he could see from the corner of his eyes that the stranger wearing the snack's coat did so too.
"Glad. To. See. You. Made. It. Out. Too."
The sight of the giant gorilla holding a brain in a jar, next to a slim lady in red wasn't enough to make him stop sniveling. But George was unaware how to respond to this, even to him, strange sight.
"Always. A. Man. With. A. Plan. I. See." The voice seemed to be coming from the brain in a jar. "Smart. Thinking. Taking. One. Of. The. Doctors. Outfits."
"Well, in- and exfiltration of ten require camouflage." The bald man replied, digging in the pockets of the snack's coat.
"Though I do not think id vill vork as vell for Monsieur Mallah." The lady in red spoke.
Before the bald man spoke again, the lady in red was already squirming on the floor. Clearly she hadn't seen the old man's attack coming. From the sound of it, she'd never expected him to turn on her. But there she lay, squirming as the guards' tazers stuck to her body. The long wires made it all the way back to the two devices in the old man's hand.
"That's not my problem." The old geezer spoke.
George blinked ferociously to keep the blood, flowing from the self-inflicted wound on his forehead, from streaming into his eyes. Within a few blinks the ape was on the violent man. With one hand the animal still held the brain. With the other it pinned the bald man to the wall.
"What do you think you are doing?" It asked in a heavy foreign accent.
It was clear from the sound of his voice that the old bald man was not intimidated by the brute's strength. And indeed, as soon as he spoke, the eyes of the ape widened in surprise.
"Something I should have done a long time ago."
The hairy brute dropped the old geezer and took a hesitant step back. Slowly he turned over his arm and stared at it in disbelief. Five needles stuck in the thick muscly flesh. George knew them well. They'd used them on him often, in this place. One was enough to knock him out cold for a day. And he was a big guy. The ape toppled over, backwards. He could see him struggle to keep his eyes open for a few second, but it was in vain. When he closed his eyes, the ape also let go of the brain in the jar.
"General. Explain. Yourself." The robotic voice demanded hotly.
With a calm like that which you may find in eye of the worlds most devastating storm, the bald man walked over to the jar and picked it up. George saw him raise it to eye-level before he spoke in a solemn voice.
"For years…" He said. "I've followed you. And for what? I've wasted all this time… I've allowed the world to fall into it's slumber evermore. It was so simple when it began, no? The promise of removing those who barred our paths; a union through which we could realize our common goal of world domination. First we needed only to eliminate a select group of costumed freaks, and then we would be free to rule. But we didn't do that because it was our goal, did we now? Yes, our goals aligned, we all wanted something, power, money, influence, command… But all three of us, and all others that have forsaken our brotherhood or those that our brotherhood has forsaken, have always been working towards your vision. I have a different one now, brain. The caped vigilantes have increased. I myself have started using machines where men were needed. The world is no longer fit to be ruled over; it's no longer a place that deserves to live and be lead. It must be allowed to die; it must kill itself. Rip itself to shreads until there is nothing left."
"General. You. Will. Listen. And. You. Will. Listen. Carefully."
"No I won't." The General said, cutting right through in a collected manner.
As soon as he'd finished talking, the general moved his hands apart. The jar fell to the floor. If the glass hadn't been so strong, it would've shattered. But, George realized, this was a man beyond caring about such trivialities. A cruel man would've kicked the jar across the hallway. Instead it only rolled sideways as the man's foot nudged it aside in its stride. It only suffered because it was in his way, for no other reason. And because this was a man with a quest; a duty to fulfill.
George waited until the old, bald general had turned the corner. As soon as he had, George ran the other way, as fast as his legs could carry him, tears still rolling off his round cheeks. With his bloodied face and straightjacket, it made for a peculiar sight. But he cared not. Nor did he any longer care about biting the snack and getting what was his by right. All that mattered was getting as much distance between himself and the old man's piercing eyes. After all, George recognized dangerous insanity when he saw it.
Cyborg laid the last hand on the third personal submarine in Titan Tower. It'd been a project he'd been working on for some time. Their five-crew sub was good and all, but he'd long opted for a more maneuverable and lean ship. Some Atlantian tech from aqualad, provided but a little over a month earlier, had been just the thing he'd been looking for. He'd adapted it, as his usual custom and turned it into the one-man underwater vehicles now ready to go. Or so he hoped, testing had had to take a backseat with Beast Boy's transformation to the Beast and later Robin's request to find the origin of the freak-snowstorm still raging outside. But as he looked at the small yet long red and blue cigarlike vehicles, he was sure they would do the job. One had to lie flat in them. A one-way window showed the outer world and functioned as a HUD as well. The controls consisted of two joysticks and had a very intuitive feel to it. They'd work alright, the data Cyborg checked as he finished up showed this. Besides; they'd have too. They were the only way one could leave the T-tower without running the risk of being gunned down by Deadshot. When he was ready he left the three subs lying in the pool over the lower hatch to pick up a gift his friend held.
"You sure it will help Beastie?" Cyborg asked as he took the black briefcase his leader offered.
"I'm not certain about anything, tonight." Robing sighed. Seeing the worried expression of his friend, he continued with: "But X-5/456 should help. You told Raven which meds to collect in the meantime and which to apply to him, right?"
"Sure did."
"Good. Good luck out there my friend."
"The same to you man." Cyborg said, reaching out his arm.
Robin replied in kind. They held eachother's forearm.
"I really wish we didn't have to split up." The metal man told his friend.
"Me too." Robin concurred. "You know how to release Slade?"
"For the record, I'm against that, man."
"He can't harm the tower if you keep an electronic eye on him through the camera's and use the electronic doors to guide him out. You have surveillance-control over the tower, Cyborg, even remotely. And if he should try to do anything, you have the permission to gas him. But I don't think he will."
"It's not just our home I'm worried about. He'll be out there aain."
"Yes. But he's not our enemy tonight, if only for tonight. Besides, with no one here to guard him and keep an eye on him, I'd rather not have him in our tower right no in any case." Robin paused for a few seconds. "Cyborg, the Joker is dangerous." He continued at last
"You don't have to tell me that."
"But I do. Listen carefully; He's trying to prove something. He's an ambitious maniac so far beyond reason and sense that he can't even see them anymore. He's a manipulator of the highest order and a criminal mastermind unlike any other you've seen before."
"What are you getting at, Robin?"
"He must be stopped at all costs. And it will take everything we've got to do so." He let go Cyborg's arm. The bigger titan replied in kind, bound only now by their stern shared look.
"Just go save Starfire." Cyborg nodded, allowing his friend to get into his sub.
"You save everyone else, okay?" Robin asked stepping inside te open half of the cigar-like submarine.
As soon as he lay down, the machine formed a solid wall all around him. When Cyborg clambered in his own sub, after placing the briefcase in a storage-unit between his feet, he could see Robin's vessel disappear through the now opened hatch. He wished his friend luck. From what he'd read in the files on his computer, there was a difference between knowing where the Broker was and actually making him talk.
Anarky sat in the ridiculously grand swivel chair beyond the heavy ebony desk. His face was hidden completely by the yellow mask and the hooded bordeaux cape he wore over it. His signature tag 'A' was drawn on the dark suit he wore, in an equal shade of red. The same logo was to be found across his yellow utility belt as a buckle. A wide-rimmed flat and round hat matching his cape, currently lay next to one of his arms. Currently, one of his gloved hands was pressing the button on the intercom before him. His voice rolled into the device without hesitation and was carried throughout the complex.
"Brothers and sisters." He continued his propaganda. "Your chance is nigh to throw down the weight of those that would assume power over you. You must be aware that their control is but an illusion, a facade they want you to think. If they can convince you that you are the loner, the outcast and the weak, they win. Join in your resolve, my friends, and break the shackles that hold you back. Justify their fears and break their wills. Take back this place, make it your true home, not that of your suppressors. And then free Jump City. They too are locked in their jails with the mass media telling them how to live and what is 'normal' to enjoy and appreciate. These scoundrels dictate and order their lives as much as your former masters did here. The people of Jump City too are caught in a never-ending spiral of consuming drugs, forced for so long that it became a habit. They have no will left anymore. They consume anti-depressants and sleeping pills or drown their sorrow in alcohol. Or they remove themselves from this world completely by rougher psychedelics. In this regime in which you are robbed of your freedom of choice regarding 'medicine', they have the audacity to call you the insane. The moment is nigh, brothers and sisters. Soon the one named Robin will know of this revolution, and he will come to stop it. Do not let him and my men will let you free."
His finger lifted from the button and he sank back in the chair. He rested the fingertips of his hands against one another. From behind the mask his piercing brown eyes turned right. He let his gaze fall on the bound and gagged overweight warden of the insane asylum. He was a balding man with a crooked nose and bags under his eyes. He had two chins and wore a grey suit with a grey tie.
"Quite the night, is it not? I must confess, I wonder what they will do to you once the Robin's wings are broken and I have no need for you anymore as a hostage. Will their fury, in their reach for freedom, rip you to shreads? It will be interesting to see, whatever the outcome, what people do when given back control over their lives."
The warden had, once again, started crying
"Sir. Sir." Anarky heard the voice before his henchman opened the door and burst into the room. Like all his henchmen he wore the uniform. The same mask, the same dark suit and the same gloves. But not cape and hat. Anarky took the rims of his headgear and put it on. It wasn't that he wanted to appear more than his comrades. All were equal in his movement. But, as the man with the plan, he needed t robe recognized somehow. A cape and a hat where what he'd settled on. At least it wasn't a crown.
"Yes?" He asked.
"They're here." His comrade replied.
"Already?"
The bordeaux villain lifted himself from his chair and made his way to the large window behind him. From it he could see the large stone steps below, leading to the madhouse. At their base a small group of people landed on a huge chunk of land. He looked, but could see no Robin.
"I didn't think we raised any alarms yet." Anarky spoke to his comrade.
"We didn't sir, it doesn't make sense."
"It doesn't have to." The mastermind said, spinning around. "It is what it is, and no force on earth can change what has been set into motion now. Bring the fascist with you." He said pointing at the bound warden. "We'll deal with this now."
Robin stood up from the small submarine and clambered on the docks. This was as far as the small vehicle would take him. From now on, he had to go further on foot. He was greeted, once again by the ice-cold night's air. He hoped that soon they'd find a way to return the weather back to normal. This all was reminding him too much of the winters in Gotham. Those were memories he'd rather forget this night. Especially tonight. He cursed himself for not having taken Cyborg's advice, his damp and dirty clothes clinging to him and sending painful sensations throughout his body as the wind rushed against them.
A loud bang snapped him back to reality. His head shot up, searching for the origin of the sound and the accompanying flash. To his surprise it had been a piece of firework that now disappeared into the night's sky, the embers fading fast. Something was off. Trial runs for fireworks were a normal thing. Even, slightly less than, two hours in advance of the real deal. But he'd heard from both the fire-brigade and the police that this year, due to the freakish storm, fireworks had been canceled. It could have been a single person firing of an illegal piece, but why waste that now?
Before he could think of a possible answer, twelve more arrows flew up into the air simultaneously. Their explosions were grand, but the pattern they left was unlike any Robin had ever seen. They formed a code visible for a few seconds in the air. "258.64 338.14". He recognized it immediately as a radio-frequency. A brick manifested in his stomach as the clock ticked on uncomfortably in his mind, Robin reached for his Titan's communicator. A few seconds of calibrating later and Robin found what he'd been looking for. It was a recorded message by a familiar voice.
"… Repeat itself until you choose to fight, or a final bang ends this last year's night."
"Julian Day." Robin whispered to himself.
The calendar man was a dangerous psychopath. His fascination with holidays and special occasions meant that his presence, here on New Years' Eve was not much of a real surprise. As Boy Wonder clasped the communicator and listened to his adversary's slow, thick voice role on, he came to realize he'd half expected him to be there as soon as he understood his old enemies were back in town to end his life. He could imagine the bald, heavyset man speaking as he heard the message. His vacant tired look, his apathic expression and his double chin bobbing up and down…
"Each year we are given 365 days and how the time flies, before we reach the last one on which the year dies." The obviously recorded message started over again. "And every year in December, which starts the same day always as September, we do our best not to remember that the month is a dying ember. In the last hours that the old must go; land, man and fire are covered in snow. But on the last we show our will to fight by lighting up the ever growing night. A blaze from within flying up to the sky, like a robin in winter refusing to die. Fireworks herald that which is new, but their flashes blind us to that which is true. Before the phoenix can rise and fire be born, the robin dies and no one mourns.
Will you be my my phoenix on New Year's Eve, or will it be my hostage old charming Steve? He's tied to a rocket for the remainder of our game, fail to save him and he goes up in flame. Be it you or him I have no fear, knowing somehow I'll have my fireworks this year. So before this thirty-first is finally gone, my phoenix you know what must be done. Join our party before the old year is through, or Steve goes and the blood will be on you. This carol wil repeat itself until you choose to fight, or a final bang ends this last year's night."
Quickly and efficiently Robin calibrated the device to locate the source of the signal. It didn't surprise him to find that it came from the harbor. Hangar 85 was where the police and firemen had decided to stock all the fireworks. It had been one of the locations on the map Slade had provided them with. How the Broker had managed purchase and sell that place was a mistery to Boy Wonder. But then again, the man was a master of coin, mistery and law. He sighed internally, another deadline to meet by midnight. But first things were first. He was close now. Close to the man that knew where to find Nora Fries. The man that would allow him to save Starfire. He just had to make sure he wouldn't stop at anything. He couldn't lose. Not now.
When Terra landed the slab of land, she'd been careful to do so rather gently. But it didn't matter for Beast Boy. His muscles were tensing throughout his body. Even the soft landing sent a shock through his body that made him grit the teeth in his inhuman smile. He breathed in deeply, sitting on his knees and allowing his head to hang. When he breathed out, he did so in short bursts of rather quiet chuckles. He hoped his companions wouldn't notice. He was doing his best to keep up a cheerful facade, despite the way he actually felt.
"Something's wrong." His girlfriend spoke. "I can sense it."
He feared the gig was up. There was some relief in not having to pretend to be strong anymore, as he felt the poison in his body take hold. But more than that was a sense of self-pity that had been growing ever since he'd come to his senses and realized how he'd failed his team that night.
"There's so much confusion inside that building." She continued.
"Well, it is a madhouse." Terra offered.
Garfield allowed himself to laugh a little bit louder. Part of it was sincere. His gaze rose to meet the giant building. He'd seen it before recently, it was the same place where doctor Ham something worked. It was only three stories tall, but it was wide. The multitude of columns, domes and arches made it clear the building had been designed in the fashion of an old Roman built. It shone out against the dark night and the falling snow. Insanity or not, and as unwelcoming as it looked, he hoped they'd soon enter and could find the medication Robin had prescribed.
"It's more than that." Raven continued. "There is fear, chaos, but also a lot of excitement inside. We should be careful."
He could see Terra nod from the corner of his eyes.
Without any warning, one of the windows on the top floor shattered outward. A big shape was obviously flung through it. Before any of them could react, it landed in the bushes below. They could see a masked silhouette standing in the darkness of the room from which the shape had been flung. In a moment he turned, his cape flashing bordeaux. He was gone in a second's time.
The heroes rushed for the bushes, that had somewhat broken the fall of what appeared to be an overweight man. Garfield recognized him from his earlier trips as the warden of the mental hospital. He said as much. The man was breathing, but had passed out and was badly bruised. Raven figured he'd even broken some bones, perhaps even cracked his skull, though she couldn't tell.
Without the words being said, it was clear they argued internally if they should bring this man to safety at another hospital. But it was clear there were people inside who needed help as well. Besides, the two girls weren't blind. Beast Boy could read their touching concern when they examined him. He needed medication to further slow the poison running through his veins asap. So they gathered, with care, the warden and, with significantly less care, the Hatter and, as Raven fased them through bricks, moved into the lion's den.