Half an hour later Riddler and I are back at his house, dressed normally, waiting for Batman.

"Did he say where Zsasz was?" I ask, bouncing with nervous energy.

"For the fourth time, no." Riddler replies. He's nervous too, I can tell, but instead of bouncing around the house like a hyperactive child like me, he gets snarky. I shake my head at him and walk to the other side of the living room. Then back to him. Back to the other side. But before I can get a good rhythm going, there's a knock on the door and I'm over there before Riddler even stands up.

"So where is he?" I ask as soon as I open the door. Batman waits until he's inside before answering me.

"He's been under Joker's protection."

"Joker's protection?" I echo. The Joker protecting someone is not something I can imagine.

"In this case, protection probably means locked in a room until he could be useful." Riddler clarifies.

"Ah." That sounds more like the Joker I know. "So why isn't Zsasz under his 'protection' anymore?"

"He escaped." Batman answers. "He's been stalking the parks again. A woman was murdered last night."

"So I heard." Riddler says. I frown slightly. If Riddler knew a woman was killed and posed in the park, why weren't we looking for Zsasz today?

"Then why was I the only one looking for him?" Batman asks.

"I was busy today." Riddler shrugs. "Though if I had been looking for him, he'd already be dead." Batman wisely ignores that remark.

"So are we just going to hang out in the park all night?" I ask. I hope not. Hunting bad guys all night is starting to take a toll on me. I need a good night's sleep.

"No need." Batman says. I sigh in relief. "I know where he's living."

"Oh? Where?" Riddler asks.

"He's squatting in an apartment building twenty minutes from here." Batman says.

Uh oh. I know that part of town. That is a bad part of town. Its crime rates resemble Gotham's even when we aren't being invaded by video game characters.

"Are we going now or tonight?" I ask. "Because you do not want to go there at night. Well maybe you two would, but normal, sane people wouldn't."

"If we wait until tonight Zsasz will be out in a park somewhere. We have to go now." Batman says.

"I'll get my gun." Riddler grins. He goes upstairs and I turn to Batman.

"Dude, don't you get sick of wearing that?" I ask. "It's not exactly inconspicuous."
Batman shrugs.
"It's not that bad." He says, almost smiling. "Kids get pictures with me; adults tell me I'm too old for comic books." I grin at him and Riddler comes back down.

"Are we going or are you two going to stand around talking all afternoon?" He snaps as he walks out the door. I roll my eyes and Batman and I follow him.

Riddler drives and Batman gives directions from the backseat. I look out the window and watch as the town deteriorates. Houses get smaller, cars get junkier, and the streets get dirtier. Finally we come to a stop in front of a building that looks like it should be condemned.

"He's in there?" I ask. Batman nods.

"Let's go." He says, and we all climb out of the car and go inside.

"Which apartment?" I ask quietly. Batman doesn't say anything.

"You don't know?" Riddler hisses. "Well done, Dark Knight."

"We could knock on doors?" I suggest, trying to stop the fight before it starts. "If someone comes out and it's not Zsasz, we keep going. If no one answers, they're either not home or have something to hide. So we go in and have a look. Sound good?"

"And tell them what?" Riddler asks.

"I don't know... that we're looking for our cat. Come on." I lead the way to the first door and knock before either of them can tell me not to. An elderly man comes to the door.

"Whaddaya want?" He grunts at me. I take a step back. This guy hasn't showered in at least a week.

"Hi, I was just wondering if you'd seen a cat?" I ask meekly.

"Sure have." He weezes. "They're furry, have four legs and a tail. See 'em all the time 'round here!" He says, and laughs like he's the funniest guy in the world.

"Okay... what about a guy, a bit taller than me, bald and covered in scars?" I'm going out on a limb, but maybe this guy knows which apartment Zsasz is in. His laughter suddenly stops.

"You don't want to go near him. He's crazy."

"So you have seen him?" I say hopefully.

"Yeah. He's just above me. Can hear him muttering to himself all day, about marks and cuts, and then he goes out all night. You don't want to go near him missy."

"Thank you." I smile at him, and he goes back into his apartment, shaking his head. I walk back to Riddler and Batman, grinning widely. "And that, gentlemen, is how it's done." I bow. Batman nods slightly to acknowledge my victory but walks straight upstairs. I turn to Riddler and he grins back.

"Perfect interrogation technique." He says, reaching for my hand and squeezing it. I immediately feel giddy and have to remind myself where we are. I gently tug his hand and lead the way up to Zsasz's apartment. Batman is already there waiting for us.

"Listen." He says lowly. I stop breathing and strain to hear whatever it is Batman can hear. Sure enough, I can hear someone shuffling and muttering inside, just like the old man described. "We go in on one." Batman says. Riddler and I nod our agreement.
Batman counts down from three and he kicks in the door with a huge crash. Batman runs in first, then Riddler, and I come in last to see Zsasz standing in the middle of the sparsely furnished living room, eyes wide with shock. Before he can react, Batman lunges at his throat and takes him down. Riddler pulls his gun from the waistband of his jeans and aims it, but Zsasz is flailing around and manages to kick the gun away before squirming away from Batman and throwing himself at Riddler.

"Belle!" Riddler shouts, struggling with Zsasz. "The gun!" I look around wildly and see the gun in the corner. I grab it and swing around just in time to see Zsasz charging at me.

Time slows down. He's only a few metres from me, but each moment stretches out. I bring the gun up and point it at him, cocking it and aiming it. But even as Zsasz comes closer and closer, I can't pull the trigger. Riddler is shouting at me to shoot, but I can't.

I'm frozen.

A/N: Guys! Just one more chapter and the epilogue to go! It's almost over!
Let me know what you thought :)