Bruce Wayne wasn't the only one watching the news, however. In their temporary HQ inside an old warehouse, several members of the Bean Brigade were also tuning in.
"Hey dudes, this chick on TV is talking about us, seriously" Ed said.
"Yeah, we're famous!" Herring added.
Most of the group chose to ignore the news, most notably Control Freak, who approached the two newcomers.
"Everything working okay for you gentlemen?" he asked.
"Look, thanks for breaking me out, but what's the catch?" Temblor asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure you didn't do it out of the goodness of your hearts" Gearhead added.
"All right, we'll get down to business" Control Freak said, "we have a proposition for you. One that I think you'll find to be quite acceptable to you both."
So Control Freak explained to them about Hannibal Bean, and what he could offer them if they agreed to join with him.
"Sounds okay" Temblor said, "if this bean guy can do what you say, I'm in."
"Yeah, why not" Gearhead said, "I'm in too."
"Great, then let's blow this place" Jack said, "Sands of…"
Before he could finish using the Wu, Control Freak grabbed it from his hand.
"Hey! What the heck are you doing man?" Jack asked.
"Hold on a second" Control Freak responded "why should we leave so soon? We're here now, we may as well take advantage of the situation presented to us."
"What situation?" Slipstream asked.
"The opportunity to destroy Batman!" Control Freak exclaimed maniacally.
"Are you still on that?" Ember asked "look, bean boy told us not to mess with him."
"Oh come on, I'm sure he'll understand" Control Freak said, "I mean, we'll be eliminating another source of good in the world."
"He does have a point," the Ottoman added.
"I dunno about you, but I'm game for a rematch with bat boy" Temblor said.
"See, one of the new guys wants in" Control Freak said, "and think about this. If we destroy Batman, we'll go down in history. We'll become notorious as the villains who defeated the Dark Knight!"
"Hmm…that would probably help me to be taken more seriously as a villain" Jack pondered "Okay, I'm in."
"Sounds like a plan, man, seriously" Ed replied.
"Okay, so you got a plan to take down Batman?" Ember asked.
"What plan?" Control Freak asked "our powers alone are enough to defeat the Caped Crusader. We use our little hostage" he gestured to the bound and gagged Yin in the corner "to lure him to us, and Wham! No more Batman."
"Sounds good man" Slipstream said.
"But wait, there's more" Control Freak said, "in order to make his defeat as humiliating as possible, we need to broadcast it all over Gotham, to show them that their hero is no more."
"I'm liking this plan more and more" Temblor said, rubbing his gauntled hands "when do we start?"
"First, we need access to Gotham's extensive new network" Control Freak said. He turned his gaze to the small TV in the hideout, "and I think I know exactly how to get it" he said, a diabolical grin spreading across his face.
"Okay guys, that's a wrap."
Vicki Vale and her crew started to pack up their gear. The reporter was eager to get home ASAP. With two dangerous criminals on the loose, not to mention the mystery villains that broke them out, it wasn't safe on the streets of Gotham. As the cameraman went to put his camera in the truck, it began to shake. The man shouted and instinctively dropped it.
"What the…?" was all he could manage.
Suddenly, Control Freak appeared from out of nowhere. "Citizens of Gotham, behold the Control Freak!" he shouted, before grabbing Vicky by the arm "where do you think you're going beautiful?"
"Let go of me!" Vicky shouted, trying to pound on him to get him to loosen his grip.
"Come now Miss Vale, you should be flattered" Control Freak said, "you'll get a chance to witness the greatest story in the history of Gotham City. The death of the Batman!"
And with a maniacal chuckle, he clicked on his remote. Vicky's scream lingered for only a moment, before both disappeared into thin air.
Elsewhere, down in the Batcave, Bruce had changed into his Batman threads and was doing some investigating.
"Any news on our mysterious villains?" Alfred asked.
"None" Batman replied "I don't get it. I've checked all the files I could access of the worlds most wanted criminals and I can't find any record of them anywhere. It's almost as if they don't exist."
"Perhaps you should try telling that to the Gotham PD" Alfred replied.
Batman said nothing, instead remembering the news of the chaos at the police station.
"Have you tried contacting detective Yin, or the commissioner?" Alfred asked.
Batman shook his head "Gordon wasn't there when the attack went down. And as for Yin, I haven't been able to get through. Since she wasn't listed as being among those found at the station, it's possible she was taken hostage by our guests."
"As insurance?" Alfred asked.
"Most likely" Batman said, "but I intend to find out for sure. And perhaps discover the purpose of our mysterious 'guests' visit."
Suddenly, the screen on the computer began to fade in and out, and was replaced with static.
"Did you forget to pay your electric bill sir?" Alfred asked.
"Someone's hacking the signal" Batman said, "and I think I know who."
Just then, the screen returned to normal; on it was the face of a fat, acne-ridden teenager.
"Greeting Batman" Control Freak said, "and yes, I know you're watching this, because I'm broadcasting on every station in Gotham. I am challenging you to fight me and my associates. And I would advise that you do, because if not, these two damsels won't make it to see the dawn."
He pulled away and clicked his remote, instantly bringing up live footage from the warehouse. Yin and Vicky were bound and gagged, and struggling for all they were worth.
"Come to the old radio factory if you want to save them. This is the Control Freak, signing off!"
And he cackled evilly as his image was replaced by a test pattern with his head on it.
"What are you going to do sir?" Alfred asked.
"I have no choice Alfred" Batman said, "I have to fight them."
"But how do you expect to withstand their incredible powers?" Alfred asked.
"Powerful or not, I'm betting there's a few things about the Batman they don't know" Batman replied.
Next time, its' a showdown as Batman & Batgirl square off against the Bean Brigade. Will they survive the battle? Find out in the awesome conclusion to the story.