The Man-Bat was closing in. Batman couldn't get his arm frees of the metal restraints. While his legs were free, giving him the option to at least dodge, it wasn't a long term solution. One wrong move and he'd have his throat ripped out, or his body mauled, most likely both.

He needed to get his damn arms free.

So naturally that was when backup arrived.

Flying in from one side, Batgirl had her body as straight as an arrow, her arms above her head as her cape trailed behind her. Both of her feet slammed right into the side of Man-Bat's head with enough force to knock it out of its flightpath. Immediately it shrieked from the blow, flapping its wings to right itself before flying away, and then rising up into the air to regain its composure.

Batgirl landed a short distance away on her feet. She didn't even turn to face him, keeping her eyes on the flying monster as it turned to reattempt its attack. "Why is that here?" she asked.

"Later," Batman told her. "Right now we need to finish it off. Don't engage if you can't read it, got it?"

Batgirl didn't respond, mostly because the Man-Bat shrieked as it began falling down towards them, leading with its enlarged fangs bared. It was clear it had its sights on the latest threat, that being his daughter. Immediately, Batman pulled away, giving her some room to work even as he began trying to find his way out of the restraints. He rolled his shoulders trying to see how much slack he had with the upper restraints before moving his arms up and down to check the lower cables.

In the meantime, Batgirl had pulled out a couple of bat-shaped shurikens. When the Man-Bat was practically on top of her, she darted backwards, allowing the monster to crash face first into the roof with a loud SMACK! Swinging her arms out, she threw her projectiles, watching as they whirled their way to their target.

As the Man-Bat pushed itself up with its arms, the shuriken struck it, one on its head, the other on its shoulder. Each one ricocheted off of its body, the creature scrunching its face from the blow to the face. That was all the effect the attack seemed to have before it let out a low growl and lunged. Raising a clawed hand up, it then swiped it at the young girl.

Batgirl dove to one side, going into a roll beneath the slashing claws. The moment she was on her feet, she twisted her body so that she could throw her own punch, one that landed on the Man-Bat's ribs.

Now, Batman knew first hand just how hard Batgirl could hit. He knew when she wasn't holding back and she didn't hold back now. However, her blow didn't even cause the monster to even flinch as it immediately swung its extended arm back out, delivering a backhand blow that nailed the girl sending her flying backwards through the air.

As she flew, Batgirl leaned her upper body backwards, swinging her legs up. Stretching her hands above her head, her timing was on point as her hands touched down on the roof, allowing her to spring off of it and go into a flip. She landed on the ground a moment later, skidding across the roof a short distance even as she shot her hands down to her belt. She had two fistfuls of shuriken in her hands in an instant and she sent them flying at the Man-Bat.

The Man-Bat had turned around by then and was charging once more, winged arms held out as it ran towards her. The bat-shaped shuriken hit it all over his body, bouncing off harmlessly, and not causing it to slow down in the slightest.

It then leapt up into the air, a clawed hand held over its head. It swung it down, attempting to rip the girl into shreds yet again. Batgirl was on the move though, this time going low as she dove into another roll, passing under the monster's feet.

The Man-Bat's claws struck the roof where she had been standing a moment later, just as Batgirl rolled back onto her feet. This time it was her turn to jump as she leapt at the Man-Bat. She went high, her hands grabbing onto the sides of the Man-Bat's head, allowing her to jerk it backwards. Raising up a leg, she bent it at the knee so that she could ram it against the back of the monster's neck.

"SSSSKKKKKREEEEEEEE!" the Man-Bat shouted before it began thrashing it's body around. Unable to keep her grip on the bucking giant bat, Batgirl pressed a foot on its back and used it to jump off of, sending her sailing through the air and into safety. She landed a short distance away from Batman.

"Nothing's working," she said coolly. "I don't think I have anything stronger to use."

"Go after it's senses. They're stronger," Batman advised. "I have a flashbang in the fourth pocket, right side. Use that."

By then, the Man-Bat had stopped its thrashing and was glaring at the two. Its upper lips curled up as it began to bare its fangs again. Then it began its infamous scream.

"SSSSKKKKKKRRRRR-AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

In mid-roar, the Man-Bat's shriek changed from rage and into pain. It's body spasmed and then stiffened, a blue light suddenly flashing out from behind it. Bolts of electricity could be seen dancing all over its furry body.

And then the light stopped, leaving smoke to waft up from the monster's body. It stood there for a couple moments, its face frozen with pain before it leaned forward and collapsed to the ground. It landed with a heavy thud.

This allowed the two Bats to catch sight of Bluebird standing a short distance behind the giant bat, the barrel of her taser rifle pointed right at it. It readily became apparent that she had struck the Man-Bat with her electrical weapon. Standing a step or two away from her was Spoiler, her eyes wide from beneath her mask.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Bluebird asked rhetorically. She hauled her rifle up so that she could rest the barrel against her shoulder. Though Batman had used his electrified brass knuckles earlier, the charge they were capable of producing hadn't been enough to incapacitate the Man-Bat. Bluebird's taser rifle, on the other hand, clearly made more, enough that not even an electricity-resistant Man-Bat could shrug off as its twitching body was proof of. "Chalk one down for the good guys."

"You kept up," Batgirl said as she stood up to her full height.

"We're well-trained. A little rusty admittedly, but we got it where it counts," the blue-haired girl retorted.

"Do I even want to know?" Batman asked his young charge.

Batgirl shook her head. "No, not really."


Everything had been going according to plan. The Man-Bat and Batman were lured here, Edward's restraining apparatus had captured the vigilante, and his beastly pawn was about to declare checkmate.

At that point, the plan had been to utilize the little addition to the serum, one that would have kept the mutated Abraham enthrall, and allowed the true puppet master to announce himself. Batman needed to know who the superior mind was, needed to know who had orchestrated his incoming downfall.

Then the interlopers arrived.

Strange glared at the sight. Abraham was on the roof, twitching from the electrical surge that had brought him low. Batman's allies were at his side, there to render aid. This wasn't how it was suppose to go.

Beside him, Jervis made a sound. "I am no longer detecting any of my nanites. That surge must have acted as a pulse," the diminutive genius hypothesized.

Which meant that Abraham would be out of his control. Laced into the serum was a new product of Jervis', a nanite solution that would act internally to grant Strange control of the primal Man-Bat. Now they were merely collateral damage.

"So what now?" Edward asked calmly.

What now indeed. Batman was still restrained. The interlopers were still assessing the situation. None of them had any clue as to how to free their benefactor. The game was still afoot and tonight could still be salvaged. Strange had to calm himself because giving into anger would only unnecessarily complicate matters.

Fortunately, expecting Batman's resourcefulness had been part of the planning stage from the beginning.

"We go ahead with Plan B," the former psychiatrist stated.


The restraints were proving to be more difficult to get out of. The locking mechanism was on the back, rather than the front, obscuring any view of it. The metal cables were attached tightly, removing any sort of slack that could be exploited.

Of course, the purple question mark on the front side declared who was behind it.

"I'm not sure how to undo this," Spoiler said from behind the Dark Knight as she eyed the locking mechanism. "I can see where they connect, but there isn't anything there that can unlock it. I'm not even seeing a keyhole anywhere."

"I doubt shocking it would work," Bluebird added. "It doesn't look computerized, so a shock wouldn't override it and cause it to detach."

"Then don't shock it," Batgirl told her. "It attached itself, so it can detach. We just have to find how."

Having three teenage girls fumbling around behind him was not instilling great confidence from Batman. Rolling his shoulders, he tested the cables again, seeing that they were plated, which allowed for some flexibility. That way they could wrap around any body type, giving it a one size fits all ability rather than one body size to fit it.

There was a riddle in all of this, which meant the answer to it was the way out. The man that created it would have it no other way. He would also be watching as well, no doubt wanting to see if the dark-clad vigilante could free himself. Nygma, for all of his intelligence, was rather predictable in that way.

However, it made him wonder just what he was doing with a Man-Bat. He had never used anything, or anyone so unpredictable before. Why the change now? It was obvious why he would want to make a trap for the Dark Knight and his sudden re-emergence since the Arkham breakout indicated he had this trap ready for some time, even likely when he was holding the city hostage. What was the plan now? Revenge?

"Uhh, guys?" Spoiler suddenly said. "I think we've got company."

"Where?" Bluebird immediately responded before adding, "oh shit."

Batman began looking around and quickly spotted what had the girls' attention. Up in the air was a rather unwelcomed sight: a Riddler Drone. A propeller was spinning from on top of its head, wide blades a whirling blur. Its four arms of missile launchers, machine gun, and laser were pointed right at the four of them.

"Take cover!" Batman barked before he took off running for an A/C unit. An instant later and the machine gun erupted, bullets raining down on the roof. The four vigilantes ran right for one of the larger A/C units, getting behind it before the bullets made Swiss cheese out of them. As Batman reached it, he rolled his shoulders again, forcing the metal cable to flex to adjust to the movement. He then used the corner of the A/C to hit the cable, forcing it to move down his shoulder, coming to a stop right at an uncomfortable point. It was right where it could go either way, returning down his shoulder, or sliding down his upper arm. The metal cable on his other shoulder was pressed into his neck to accommodate for this position.

"Grab it!" Batman barked, even as bullets hit the A/C unit, the top of it beginning to chip off, sparks shooting up into the air. Immediately, Batgirl grabbed the cable on his shoulder and began pulling it down his arm as hard as she could. She strained, having not much success, but at least ensured it didn't go the other direction.

"I don't think that'll work!" Bluebird shouted, in order to be heard over the machine gun fire.

Gritting his teeth, he replied, "Push the other one against my head! As far as it'll go!"

"But won't that—?"

"Just do it! No choice!"

Spoiler then grabbed the cable and began pushing it against his neck, beginning to roll it up the side of his head. It forced Batman to lean to his side, straining his neck uncomfortably. Bluebird moved to help Batgirl to pull the other one over his shoulder. Seconds passed before—

Success! The cable moved down his upper arm, stopping about midway. Of course, his head was being pushed painfully because of the opposite cable. Glancing down, he eyed the cables that were pinning his arms to his sides, seeing they were right on top of his gauntlets. That was a lucky break. "Disengage," he ordered.

The girls immediately pulled away, thinking he was talking to them. Meanwhile, his gauntlets loosened around his forearms and he slipped one arm out, freeing it from the restraints. His gauntlet dropped to the ground in response. He then wormed his free arm out of the top cable and soon the entire restraining apparatus was lying at his feet, his other gauntlet joining the growing pile as well. Kneeling down, Batman collected his gauntlets, shoving them back on into place, flexing his fingers to ensure the correct placement.

"Alright, what now?!" Bluebird shouted.

Batman edged his way to the corner of the A/C unit, peering around it. The flying Riddler drone stopped its bullet onslaught and was on the move, moving to get a better shot at them. "I'll get it's attention," he said. "Take a shot at it with your taser rifle. That should knock out it's—"

He never got to finish his plan. Out of nowhere, a missile shot into view and flew right into the drone, causing it to explode into a large fireball. The girls shouted in surprise behind him as the remains of the burning drone dropped to the roof, landing in a giant pile of debris.

Immediately, Batman began searching for the source of the missile. It couldn't have just come out of nowhere. He soon found it as a helicopter came into view, the beating of its whirling blades filling the air.

It was green in color, brightly so that it stood out. Batman could only see the front as it approached, but then it turned, revealing the smiling face of—

You have got to be shitting me, was his first thought. The face of the Joker was painted on the side of the helicopter, plainly announcing to anyone just who the owner was.

"Well, that was just nasty, wasn't it, Batsy?"

Batman dropped his eyes from the copter and found the Joker standing out in the middle of the roof, his purple suit sticking out like a sore thumb. He waved a hand over his head to ensure he had the vigilante's attention. More alarming was that he hadn't been there a second ago, seemingly appearing out of thin air. "It's a good thing Harley has good aim, or this entire roof would be on fire!" he shouted to him.

"Oh...oh shit," he heard Bluebird murmur behind him, which caused the Dark Knight's back to stiffen. Oh shit was right. There were two teenage girls standing in front of a maniac that had no qualms with putting a bullet in their heads. They were not ready to face that kind of evil, no matter how much experience they had. No one really did. If it wasn't for her help at the Sionis Steel Mill so long ago, Batman would have included Batgirl in that too. She at least knew when to follow his orders when it involved this homicidal maniac.

However, things went from bad to worse as it was revealed the Joker wasn't alone. Appearing from either side of the burning drone wreckage were people that Batman had every intention of hunting down, but not like this and not here. On one side came Harvey Two-Face, the glow of the fire revealing his unscarred half while casting shadows on the scarred side. On the opposite, the Scarecrow emerged in full regalia, long needles extending from each finger of his right hand.

Then came a growl. Jerking his head to one side, there appeared Killer Croc, looming tall and menacing as his eyes bore into the Dark Knight. What the hell was he doing here? Waylon Jones should have been in Blackgate; he wasn't part of the Arkham escapees.

Worst though was that each of these inmates—Arkham, Blackgate, or otherwise—were a force all of their own. With all of them here, with air support on top of that, made for a very bad situation.

"Two times!" the Joker shouted then. "That's two times I've pulled your bat out of the belfry, your ass from the fire. If this keeps up, you're going to be owing me a lot of favors, Batsy."

"Let's use one now," Killer Croc growled. "Let me take an arm, or a leg. I'm feeling hungry."

"I wouldn't be opposed to that," Two-Face agreed.

"And I say that Batsy is off limits," the Joker denied them. "If anyone has a problem with that, need I remind you that Harley still has a couple missiles left."

Croc growled, but held his ground, not moving forward or backwards an inch. Two-Face just rolled his eyes, but said no more.

That caused Batman to frown. They were taking orders from the Joker? Why? Both had their own agendas, be it obsessive or monstrous. So why were they throwing in with this madman? Something wasn't making sense here.


This was inserting insult to injured ego. Strange's jaw clenched tightly at the sight of the garish helicopter adorned with that face. The Joker was keen on interfering with his machinations, and would not be restricted to a single night.

"Unexpected and changing the rules of the game. Just like a joker," Edward mused beside the disgraced professor. "How challenging would it be to pit my wits against his?"

A reference to any number of card games where the joker card could upend the balance of the game and put any certainty of victory into doubt. The Joker was indeed behaving like that wild card.

But this wasn't over. Multiple plans had been devised. They had been meant for Batman, but perhaps they could be adjusted.

"Let us not contemplate, and instead apply," Strange stated. "Move ahead with Plan C."


"It looks like the Batman has found some friends," the Scarecrow remarked then. "If Batman is off limits, surely you have no problem with us having some fun with them."

The Joker eyed the girls behind the vigilante. "Hmm, I don't suppose I do. Hey, Croc! If you want to feast on the rift-raft, have at it! I have no use for them!"

A large, wet tongue emerged from the crocodile man's lips, licking them. "Well then, I think meat's back on the menu."

"Like hell it is!" Bluebird shouted as she took aim with her taser rifle. "Take one step and I'll unload ten thousand volts into you!"

"Oho! We've got a feisty one!" the Joker exclaimed. "I think I like this new partner of yours, Batsy! She's got spunk!"

"All of you need to get out of here—now," Batman growled lowly to the girls. "I'll hold them off."

"I won't go," Batgirl shot back. "Even you can't handle all of them."

"No choice. You're the only one that can fight them off if one gets by me, so I rather you make certain Bluebird and Spoiler get to safety," Batman responded, pulling out bat-shaped shuriken with each hand, making sure Croc could see them before he took another step towards them. "Can you do that for me?"

He could feel his daughter's eyes boring into him, but he knew she knew he was right. She just didn't have to like it. "Alright, I'll do it. But I'm coming right back."

"Umm, guys?" Spoiler said.

"What now?" Bluebird asked. A rather fitting question, Batman had to admit.

"I don't think us getting away is going to happen any time—"

Before she could finish, the building began to shake. Everyone, from Batman and the girls to Joker and his inmates, began to stumble as they tried to regain their balance.

Suddenly, a large vine erupted out of the roof. In fact, several of them did, curling and coiling around as some reached high into the air while others snaked across the roof. More grew over the sides of the building, thorns growing out of the green flesh to deter escape.

"Holy moly, Mr. J!" Harley Quinn's voice exclaimed from a radio on the Joker's body. "The roof's growing weeds!"

"I can see that," the Joker responded nonchalantly, though he didn't make a move to actually say that over the radio. He just watched amused at the growing vegetation.

As for Batman, he immediately knew who was behind this. There was only one person it could be and this was definitely not the place for her of all people to show herself. Why she would want to was another question, one he was determined to get the answer to rather shortly.

That's when one of the vines arched up into the air before returning to the roof, moving to wrap around the large glass dome at the roof's center. Bulbs began to grow from the vine, growing larger and larger until they bloomed into flowers. In one of the blooms emerged Poison Ivy, her red hair flowing off of one shoulder as the wind pulled at it. She gazed coolly down at the Joker and his inmates, her eyes flickering to Batman and the young vigilantes, and then back.

"Who the hell is this broad?" Croc growled, his eyes darting around him as he eyed the growing vegetation and then the beautiful redhead. "And what's with the Magic Kingdom?"

"Just another pretender to the crown," the Joker told him. "Nothing a little weed killer can't fix. But then, maybe she wants to liven up this little scene, giving us some much needed sex appeal."

The clown then raised his voice, ensuring that Ivy could hear him. "So what brings a wildflower like you to an urban setting like this, Pammy? Is it my magnetic personality? Or do you want to give Harley a run for her money as our mascot?"

Poison Ivy sneered. "I wouldn't be drawn to you if you were the last man on Earth. If I had it my way, I'd use your worthless bodies as fertilizer in my garden, marinating as compost to ensure you grow proper plants. Though on second thought, you'd be more like poison."

"Oh, Pammy, you wound me," the Joker replied, looking hurt. "That still doesn't answer why you decided to butt into my fun."

"Because you were already butting into ours."

Ours. Batman did not like the sound of that.

"And who the hell is ours?" Two-Face shot back.

A smirk appeared on Ivy's face. She didn't answer him, not verbally anyways. Instead, large leaves began to rise up from behind the coiling vines, drawing all of their attention. On each leaf stood a person, ones that Batman recognized instantly.

On one was Jervis Tetch, the Mad Hatter. On another was Edward Nygma, the Riddler. That made for two active Arkham escapees the vigilante knew as on the loose. However, on the highest leaf stood Hugo Strange, his hands behind his back as he lorded over them all. "Why, Mr. Dent, Ms. Ivy would be referring to us."