Chapter 7: Robin
Harley had by now climbed out of the manhole, the suit on her back. As soon as she was above ground, she folded it up as best as she could, then ran towards the Joker's hideout.
~~~
Robin had taken the Batwing and parked it just outside the park. He stood on the wall and using his special binoculars, scanned the scene for the Riddler. There were only a few people. A woman was sitting on a bench, reading, while a young couple was walking in the park. Two men in brown trench coats were standing beside a tree and talking to one another.
"Nothing suspicious so far..."
Suddenly, a net fell from above. Robin was much taken by surprise. One of the men quickly came over and sprayed him with something. Robin's head began to spin, and he screamed as something slimy seemed to wrap around him. His world soon went black as something knocked him over the head.
"Well done," said Catwoman.
The Scarecrow picked him up. The Riddler, being an expert at computers, quickly tapped into the Batwing.
"It shouldn't take long to learn how to fly this..."
Catwoman and Scarecrow loaded Robin inside, just as the Riddler figured out the system.
~~~
Harley had now arrived, and was currently helping the Joker slip Batman's suit on over his normal purple tuxedo.
"You don't look like yourself, Mistah J," she said softly. "Not at all."
"Ah, but that is the point, Harley-girl!"
"But you ain't Batman! You're Mistah J!"
"I know that, cupcake. It's just for tonight. Batman will never know what hit him."
"Puddin', I know you think something's missing, but..."
"You're right!" the Joker exclaimed. "Something is missing..."
He pulled on a mask that looked exactly like Batman. Harley forced herself not to scream, seeing how real it looked.
"Ah, perfect!" The Joker touched something at the belt, making his voice sound just Batman's.
"Now I am Batman."
He laughed. Harley screamed.
"Now, Harley, my little pumpkin pie, it's only me...but seeing I was able to fool you, even though you know it's me, that proves tonight no one's the wiser."
Harley was still gasping for a breath. At that moment, Scarecrow, Catwoman, and the Riddler burst in, holding a squirming sack.
"We got him!" the Scarecrow said.
The Joker turned around. All three of them froze. The Joker grinned.
"Don't worry," said Harley, "It's only Mistah J."
"Joker, you scared even me!" said the Scarecrow.
"Open the sack," the Joker said, his voice sounding like Batman's.
The Scarecrow, Catwoman, and the Riddler did as they were told. Robin fell out, before Catwoman and the Riddler grabbed his arms and forced him to his knees.
"...Batman?" asked Robin.
"In a manner of speaking," said the Joker, turning off the voice changer and lifting up his mask.
Robin's eyes went wide, then turned to anger.
"Where's Batman?"
"Out, Birdboy. As I recall, it was a jewelry shop emergency..."
"It was all a trick!"
"Clever, Robin, very clever. We need him distracted...for tonight..."
Robin growled. The Joker turned to his hired trio, and handed them each two thousand-dollar bills.
"Oh, and we got the Batwing too," said the Riddler. "It's very easy to fly."
"Excellent," said the Joker. "That will better help our little charade. Now take him away!"
Smiling, the Scarecrow, Catwoman, and the Riddler left, dragging Robin behind them. Harley watched, then tried one last time to talk to the Joker.
"Mistah J?"
"What now, Harl?"
"Please...I know something bad will happen! Don't go! Please!"
"And why not?"
"You're going to die! Please!"
Harley was close to tears, but all she did was make him angry.
"I am not gonna die, Harley! Now go!"
"But Puddin'---"
He grabbed her arm and squeezed. Harley gasped in pain as he pulled on her and pulled her to the door.
"I said to go!"
He kicked her back, booting her out, then slammed the door. Harley slowly got up, rubbing her back where he had kicked her. She knew she had to stop him, but how? With tears streaming down her cheeks, she walked down the steps, thinking of what to do.
~~~
"Where are we taking him again?" asked the Riddler.
"To Two Face," said Catwoman. "That is what the Joker said..."
"All right," said the Scarecrow. "Let's go."
"Let me go!" Robin shouted, trying to get out of the sack.
The Scarecrow gave him another blast of fear serum, forcing him to cooperate.
~~~
Harley knew she had to stop the Joker. She saw the Batwing parked just outside the hideout. She smiled, knowing just what to do. She ran back to Ivy's place, where she knew Ivy had an old fog machine.
~~~
The Scarecrow, Catwoman, and the Riddler had just arrived at Two Face's place. Hey went up to the hideout and knocked. A small piece slid to the side.
"Who goes there?" on of Two Face's henchmen asked.
"We're here to deliver the bird," said Catwoman. "Joker's orders."
"Hey, take it easy, kitty," said the henchman, opening the door. "Right this way..."
The threesome dragged Robin inside.
~~~
"They're here, boss," said the henchman.
The Scarecrow, Catwoman, and the Riddler saw that there was an armchair with the back to them. They heard a clink as a little glimmer of silver flew up into the air and made a soft thud as it landed in its owner's hand.
"Good."
Two Face got out of his armchair and turned to the threesome.
"Your work here is done. Now beat it!"
"You could at least be polite," said the Scarecrow as he turned with his cohorts and left.
Once they were gone, Two Face turned to Robin.
"So the Joker has put you in my care, huh? We'll have some fun...so long as fate is nice to you..."
He flipped his coin. It landed smooth side up in his palm.
"Tie him up and lock him in that room."
His henchmen did as they were told. They dragged Robin into a nearby room and tied him to a chair, careful to remove his belt. Robin struggled, but there wasn't much he could do.
"Now then," said Two Face, "what to do with you?"
"What do you want?" asked Robin.
"We all want revenge," said Two Face. "And it is indeed easier with you out of the way."
Robin growled.
"You'll never get away with this!"
Two Face smiled.
"Oh, I will. We all will."
He flipped his coin again. It landed smooth side up.
"It seems fate wants to be nice to you today."
Robin continued to struggle. Two Face smiled.
~~~
The Joker came out with his mask in his hand. Outside, his fellow Arkhamites were there, waiting for him. The Joker put on his mask and grinned. The crowd stepped back a little bit. The Penguin came up.
"Before you go out, Joker, I speak on behalf of us all by saying good luck tonight! We will all be here, hoping it goes well, and that our revenge on Batman will be complete..."
~~~
Unknown to the crowd, a fog was slowly coming up. Harley had loaded an entire bottle of juice into the fog machine and was blowing it nearby. The fog was creeping up everyone's ankles, then their knees, waists, and then their elbows, before anyone noticed. As a further precaution, she had also painted the lights on the Batwing black, as she couldn't get inside to mess it up. She watched, a wicked grin on her face.
~~~
"Oh, no!" the Joker exclaimed as the fog swooped over his head, and up to the sky. "I'll never take off in this!"
"What about the headlights?" asked the Penguin.
The Joker tried. Nothing happened.
"Hey! There's black paint on them!" the Scarecrow exclaimed.
The Joker sat back in the seat.
"Great. Just great!"
He brought his fists down on a random button. Suddenly, a second pair of lights came on. They had been hidden before then.
"Well, thank Bats!" the Joker exclaimed. "Emergency lights! The take off isn't cancelled after all! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The crowd cheered. Harley forced her way through, trying to get to him.
"Mistah J! No! Please, wait! Mistah J!"
But he could not hear her. He played with some of the controls and got the Batwing to lift off the ground, before he took off into the night. The crowd slowly departed. Harley sighed, watching the black figure of the Batwing go.
"Goodbye, Mistah J," she whispered. She looked at the ground, then turned away. "Oh, how I hope my nightmare was wrong..."
~~~
Harley walked down the street, talking to herself.
"What is wrong with him?" she asked herself. "Why wouldn't he listen to me? Why?" She buried her head in her hands. She just didn't know.
~~~
The Joker had by now flown over the plaza, the busiest part of Gotham, and the section with the mall and several shops.
"Hmm, what to do first?"
He looked at all his equipment.
"I think...fear would work well here. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Still laughing, he zoomed down towards the Gotham City Mall. Pressing a button, he was able to release one of the Scarecrow's deadliest fear gases. It wasn't long before people came out, shrieking and running. The Joker flew by a few more shops, still praying the serum into a thick cloud. The chaos increased.
"I would prefer laughter than screams, but now I can see why Johnny likes doing this! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
~~~
At the Gotham City Police Department, a phone rang.
"Hello, police," said an officer. He listened. "What? What's going on over there? Why are there screams?" He listened again while the frantic lady on the other line screamed out what was happening. "That is strange. This is the second chaotic report we've had!"
~~~
Batman was chasing the jewelry shop thieves when he heard the screams from the malls. He quickly turned to run and help, when Clayface stood in his way.
"Hello, Batboy," he said.
Batman was left with no choice but to fight the shape-shifter. Clayface's arms formed into spinning blades. Batman used his Bat-A-Rangs to try to jam them, before they became two huge axes. Batman dodged and fought at every given chance, but Clayface kept morphing out more weapons.
'This is going to be a long night,' Batman thought.
The Ventriloquist and Scarface were nearby.
"It was supposed ta be da Croc next..."
"But this works, Mr. Scarface."
"Yeah...I guess so long as Gatman is distracted..."
~~~
The Joker was flying over Gotham, dropping whatever weapon he felt would work. Poison Ivy's seeds took over the park and crushed the buildings nearby. Mr. Freeze's ray covered Town Hall in ice. The entire cat's eye display at the Gotham Museum was stolen. He had even used his laughing gas to bump off a theatre full of people.
Down below, people were running and screaming as more and more of the Arkhamites' weapons were thrown down. No one was safe. Two-faced balls bounced in the street. Somewhere below, a few pairs of question mark underwear exploded. People wearing Jervis's hats were going mad.
"Ah, listen to those melodic sounds!" the Joker exclaimed. "This is by far the best heist I have ever pulled...even though I had to borrow a few weapons...HAHAHAHAHA!"
~~~
Down below, people watched as the Batwing flew by, then dropped a mix of acid and seed spores.
"Oh my gosh!" someone shouted. "It's Batman!"
All around, people were still shrieking and running for their lives. Traffic jams built up pretty quickly.
"Why is he doing this to us?"
~~~
Batman had just finished with Clayface, before Croc stepped in. The two wrestled, before Batman managed to knock Croc unconscious. He then rushed to try to help the rest of Gotham City, but was blocked by the jewelry shop thieves. Growling, Batman fought, knowing he was going to be here for a while...
~~~
Most of the time, the Joker was able to stay in the Batwing, but for some heists, he got out, just so the citizens could see "Batman" turning his back on the whole city. On one of those times, he was in Gotham square, in plain sight. With a malicious grin, he threw down the black and white two- faced ball and one of his special "joke"-in-the-boxes.
The box exploded on contact with the ground, while the bouncing balls made it hard for escape, as they kept reproducing as they hit the solid ground and walls. Using the voice changer, he laughed his wicked laugh, though it sounded like Batman.
While screaming citizens were still trying to escape, he vaulted a few rooftops and threw out some more seed spores, crushing several office buildings in the quickly growing vines. He then used the Freeze Ray to freeze an entire street. Destruction and disorder was completely in his grasp.
~~~
The police department was chock full of ringing telephones.
"Hello? Yes, we know! Try to keep calm! Stay in your homes! Make sure the doors and windows are locked, and stay as below ground as you possibly can!"
~~~
In the Underworld, several Arkhamites had gathered in the main room of an old apartment to watch the news.
"Reports are pouring in from all over Gotham that an imposter is shamelessly impersonating Batman, mocking and mangling his good nature."
At that phrase, cheers rang through.
"It is hard to tell who is doing it. We have seen MO's by the Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, the Joker, Mr. Freeze, and several others who have recently escaped Arkham Asylum."
More cheers and laughter as the Underworld applauded the Joker. The cheers drowned out the next bit of news. Only Harley, who was listening intently because of her fears, heard the next little bit.
"And now, at this moment, military units are mobilizing to stop the perpetrator of this heinous crime!"
"Mistah J!" Harley gasped. "Someone has to help...where'd they take Robin?"
She slipped off, thinking that if she freed Robin, he could help Batman--- who in turn could stop the Joker. She never thought she would have to send Batman after her own sweetheart, but now the dream was more vivid in her mind than ever before.
~~~
Down below, alarms were sounding as the military started to aim the huge AAA guns to shoot the Batwing down. Upon hearing the gunshots, the Joker grinned.
"Oh, come to help me celebrate?" He laughed, then made a quick tilt to avoid a shot. "I'll take that as a 'no'..."
He flew straight into the clouds, to avoid being seen.
Harley had by now climbed out of the manhole, the suit on her back. As soon as she was above ground, she folded it up as best as she could, then ran towards the Joker's hideout.
~~~
Robin had taken the Batwing and parked it just outside the park. He stood on the wall and using his special binoculars, scanned the scene for the Riddler. There were only a few people. A woman was sitting on a bench, reading, while a young couple was walking in the park. Two men in brown trench coats were standing beside a tree and talking to one another.
"Nothing suspicious so far..."
Suddenly, a net fell from above. Robin was much taken by surprise. One of the men quickly came over and sprayed him with something. Robin's head began to spin, and he screamed as something slimy seemed to wrap around him. His world soon went black as something knocked him over the head.
"Well done," said Catwoman.
The Scarecrow picked him up. The Riddler, being an expert at computers, quickly tapped into the Batwing.
"It shouldn't take long to learn how to fly this..."
Catwoman and Scarecrow loaded Robin inside, just as the Riddler figured out the system.
~~~
Harley had now arrived, and was currently helping the Joker slip Batman's suit on over his normal purple tuxedo.
"You don't look like yourself, Mistah J," she said softly. "Not at all."
"Ah, but that is the point, Harley-girl!"
"But you ain't Batman! You're Mistah J!"
"I know that, cupcake. It's just for tonight. Batman will never know what hit him."
"Puddin', I know you think something's missing, but..."
"You're right!" the Joker exclaimed. "Something is missing..."
He pulled on a mask that looked exactly like Batman. Harley forced herself not to scream, seeing how real it looked.
"Ah, perfect!" The Joker touched something at the belt, making his voice sound just Batman's.
"Now I am Batman."
He laughed. Harley screamed.
"Now, Harley, my little pumpkin pie, it's only me...but seeing I was able to fool you, even though you know it's me, that proves tonight no one's the wiser."
Harley was still gasping for a breath. At that moment, Scarecrow, Catwoman, and the Riddler burst in, holding a squirming sack.
"We got him!" the Scarecrow said.
The Joker turned around. All three of them froze. The Joker grinned.
"Don't worry," said Harley, "It's only Mistah J."
"Joker, you scared even me!" said the Scarecrow.
"Open the sack," the Joker said, his voice sounding like Batman's.
The Scarecrow, Catwoman, and the Riddler did as they were told. Robin fell out, before Catwoman and the Riddler grabbed his arms and forced him to his knees.
"...Batman?" asked Robin.
"In a manner of speaking," said the Joker, turning off the voice changer and lifting up his mask.
Robin's eyes went wide, then turned to anger.
"Where's Batman?"
"Out, Birdboy. As I recall, it was a jewelry shop emergency..."
"It was all a trick!"
"Clever, Robin, very clever. We need him distracted...for tonight..."
Robin growled. The Joker turned to his hired trio, and handed them each two thousand-dollar bills.
"Oh, and we got the Batwing too," said the Riddler. "It's very easy to fly."
"Excellent," said the Joker. "That will better help our little charade. Now take him away!"
Smiling, the Scarecrow, Catwoman, and the Riddler left, dragging Robin behind them. Harley watched, then tried one last time to talk to the Joker.
"Mistah J?"
"What now, Harl?"
"Please...I know something bad will happen! Don't go! Please!"
"And why not?"
"You're going to die! Please!"
Harley was close to tears, but all she did was make him angry.
"I am not gonna die, Harley! Now go!"
"But Puddin'---"
He grabbed her arm and squeezed. Harley gasped in pain as he pulled on her and pulled her to the door.
"I said to go!"
He kicked her back, booting her out, then slammed the door. Harley slowly got up, rubbing her back where he had kicked her. She knew she had to stop him, but how? With tears streaming down her cheeks, she walked down the steps, thinking of what to do.
~~~
"Where are we taking him again?" asked the Riddler.
"To Two Face," said Catwoman. "That is what the Joker said..."
"All right," said the Scarecrow. "Let's go."
"Let me go!" Robin shouted, trying to get out of the sack.
The Scarecrow gave him another blast of fear serum, forcing him to cooperate.
~~~
Harley knew she had to stop the Joker. She saw the Batwing parked just outside the hideout. She smiled, knowing just what to do. She ran back to Ivy's place, where she knew Ivy had an old fog machine.
~~~
The Scarecrow, Catwoman, and the Riddler had just arrived at Two Face's place. Hey went up to the hideout and knocked. A small piece slid to the side.
"Who goes there?" on of Two Face's henchmen asked.
"We're here to deliver the bird," said Catwoman. "Joker's orders."
"Hey, take it easy, kitty," said the henchman, opening the door. "Right this way..."
The threesome dragged Robin inside.
~~~
"They're here, boss," said the henchman.
The Scarecrow, Catwoman, and the Riddler saw that there was an armchair with the back to them. They heard a clink as a little glimmer of silver flew up into the air and made a soft thud as it landed in its owner's hand.
"Good."
Two Face got out of his armchair and turned to the threesome.
"Your work here is done. Now beat it!"
"You could at least be polite," said the Scarecrow as he turned with his cohorts and left.
Once they were gone, Two Face turned to Robin.
"So the Joker has put you in my care, huh? We'll have some fun...so long as fate is nice to you..."
He flipped his coin. It landed smooth side up in his palm.
"Tie him up and lock him in that room."
His henchmen did as they were told. They dragged Robin into a nearby room and tied him to a chair, careful to remove his belt. Robin struggled, but there wasn't much he could do.
"Now then," said Two Face, "what to do with you?"
"What do you want?" asked Robin.
"We all want revenge," said Two Face. "And it is indeed easier with you out of the way."
Robin growled.
"You'll never get away with this!"
Two Face smiled.
"Oh, I will. We all will."
He flipped his coin again. It landed smooth side up.
"It seems fate wants to be nice to you today."
Robin continued to struggle. Two Face smiled.
~~~
The Joker came out with his mask in his hand. Outside, his fellow Arkhamites were there, waiting for him. The Joker put on his mask and grinned. The crowd stepped back a little bit. The Penguin came up.
"Before you go out, Joker, I speak on behalf of us all by saying good luck tonight! We will all be here, hoping it goes well, and that our revenge on Batman will be complete..."
~~~
Unknown to the crowd, a fog was slowly coming up. Harley had loaded an entire bottle of juice into the fog machine and was blowing it nearby. The fog was creeping up everyone's ankles, then their knees, waists, and then their elbows, before anyone noticed. As a further precaution, she had also painted the lights on the Batwing black, as she couldn't get inside to mess it up. She watched, a wicked grin on her face.
~~~
"Oh, no!" the Joker exclaimed as the fog swooped over his head, and up to the sky. "I'll never take off in this!"
"What about the headlights?" asked the Penguin.
The Joker tried. Nothing happened.
"Hey! There's black paint on them!" the Scarecrow exclaimed.
The Joker sat back in the seat.
"Great. Just great!"
He brought his fists down on a random button. Suddenly, a second pair of lights came on. They had been hidden before then.
"Well, thank Bats!" the Joker exclaimed. "Emergency lights! The take off isn't cancelled after all! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The crowd cheered. Harley forced her way through, trying to get to him.
"Mistah J! No! Please, wait! Mistah J!"
But he could not hear her. He played with some of the controls and got the Batwing to lift off the ground, before he took off into the night. The crowd slowly departed. Harley sighed, watching the black figure of the Batwing go.
"Goodbye, Mistah J," she whispered. She looked at the ground, then turned away. "Oh, how I hope my nightmare was wrong..."
~~~
Harley walked down the street, talking to herself.
"What is wrong with him?" she asked herself. "Why wouldn't he listen to me? Why?" She buried her head in her hands. She just didn't know.
~~~
The Joker had by now flown over the plaza, the busiest part of Gotham, and the section with the mall and several shops.
"Hmm, what to do first?"
He looked at all his equipment.
"I think...fear would work well here. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Still laughing, he zoomed down towards the Gotham City Mall. Pressing a button, he was able to release one of the Scarecrow's deadliest fear gases. It wasn't long before people came out, shrieking and running. The Joker flew by a few more shops, still praying the serum into a thick cloud. The chaos increased.
"I would prefer laughter than screams, but now I can see why Johnny likes doing this! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
~~~
At the Gotham City Police Department, a phone rang.
"Hello, police," said an officer. He listened. "What? What's going on over there? Why are there screams?" He listened again while the frantic lady on the other line screamed out what was happening. "That is strange. This is the second chaotic report we've had!"
~~~
Batman was chasing the jewelry shop thieves when he heard the screams from the malls. He quickly turned to run and help, when Clayface stood in his way.
"Hello, Batboy," he said.
Batman was left with no choice but to fight the shape-shifter. Clayface's arms formed into spinning blades. Batman used his Bat-A-Rangs to try to jam them, before they became two huge axes. Batman dodged and fought at every given chance, but Clayface kept morphing out more weapons.
'This is going to be a long night,' Batman thought.
The Ventriloquist and Scarface were nearby.
"It was supposed ta be da Croc next..."
"But this works, Mr. Scarface."
"Yeah...I guess so long as Gatman is distracted..."
~~~
The Joker was flying over Gotham, dropping whatever weapon he felt would work. Poison Ivy's seeds took over the park and crushed the buildings nearby. Mr. Freeze's ray covered Town Hall in ice. The entire cat's eye display at the Gotham Museum was stolen. He had even used his laughing gas to bump off a theatre full of people.
Down below, people were running and screaming as more and more of the Arkhamites' weapons were thrown down. No one was safe. Two-faced balls bounced in the street. Somewhere below, a few pairs of question mark underwear exploded. People wearing Jervis's hats were going mad.
"Ah, listen to those melodic sounds!" the Joker exclaimed. "This is by far the best heist I have ever pulled...even though I had to borrow a few weapons...HAHAHAHAHA!"
~~~
Down below, people watched as the Batwing flew by, then dropped a mix of acid and seed spores.
"Oh my gosh!" someone shouted. "It's Batman!"
All around, people were still shrieking and running for their lives. Traffic jams built up pretty quickly.
"Why is he doing this to us?"
~~~
Batman had just finished with Clayface, before Croc stepped in. The two wrestled, before Batman managed to knock Croc unconscious. He then rushed to try to help the rest of Gotham City, but was blocked by the jewelry shop thieves. Growling, Batman fought, knowing he was going to be here for a while...
~~~
Most of the time, the Joker was able to stay in the Batwing, but for some heists, he got out, just so the citizens could see "Batman" turning his back on the whole city. On one of those times, he was in Gotham square, in plain sight. With a malicious grin, he threw down the black and white two- faced ball and one of his special "joke"-in-the-boxes.
The box exploded on contact with the ground, while the bouncing balls made it hard for escape, as they kept reproducing as they hit the solid ground and walls. Using the voice changer, he laughed his wicked laugh, though it sounded like Batman.
While screaming citizens were still trying to escape, he vaulted a few rooftops and threw out some more seed spores, crushing several office buildings in the quickly growing vines. He then used the Freeze Ray to freeze an entire street. Destruction and disorder was completely in his grasp.
~~~
The police department was chock full of ringing telephones.
"Hello? Yes, we know! Try to keep calm! Stay in your homes! Make sure the doors and windows are locked, and stay as below ground as you possibly can!"
~~~
In the Underworld, several Arkhamites had gathered in the main room of an old apartment to watch the news.
"Reports are pouring in from all over Gotham that an imposter is shamelessly impersonating Batman, mocking and mangling his good nature."
At that phrase, cheers rang through.
"It is hard to tell who is doing it. We have seen MO's by the Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, the Joker, Mr. Freeze, and several others who have recently escaped Arkham Asylum."
More cheers and laughter as the Underworld applauded the Joker. The cheers drowned out the next bit of news. Only Harley, who was listening intently because of her fears, heard the next little bit.
"And now, at this moment, military units are mobilizing to stop the perpetrator of this heinous crime!"
"Mistah J!" Harley gasped. "Someone has to help...where'd they take Robin?"
She slipped off, thinking that if she freed Robin, he could help Batman--- who in turn could stop the Joker. She never thought she would have to send Batman after her own sweetheart, but now the dream was more vivid in her mind than ever before.
~~~
Down below, alarms were sounding as the military started to aim the huge AAA guns to shoot the Batwing down. Upon hearing the gunshots, the Joker grinned.
"Oh, come to help me celebrate?" He laughed, then made a quick tilt to avoid a shot. "I'll take that as a 'no'..."
He flew straight into the clouds, to avoid being seen.
