The tree didn't stand a chance as Croc plowed into it, teeth biting into the bark and claws ripping through it. Pieces of wood exploded out in every which direction, the top part of the tree tilting to a side before tipping over, falling to the ground.

This didn't stop Killer Croc as he whipped away from the jagged remains of the tree trunk, spotting Katana nearby. He spat out chunks of bark and then snarled, charging at the Asian woman before lunging as he swiped at her with his claws. In response, Katana backpedaled, dodging the first swing and then the second. She kept drawing away, avoiding the strikes until she suddenly darted forward. She passed by Croc's right side, her sword raised up and held at shoulder height. The blade bit into the crocodile man's side and left a long cut from the right side of his abdomen to the flank.

Croc just hissed from the cut. All over his body were similar such marks, but none had slowed him down. Thanks to his scaly skin, it reduced a deep cut to a shallow one, which explained why he was still standing rather than bleeding out. Death by a thousand cuts was looking to be a truer statement here.

That's when Batman flew in. Leaning back with both feet extended in front of him, he landed a double-kick blow to the side of Croc's head, snapping it to one side as the monster man grunted, spit flying out of his mouth.

Bending his knees, he then sprung off of the side of Croc's head, going into a flip. In mid-flip, the vigilante reached to his belt and pulled out a couple bat-shaped shuriken, holding one in each hand. As his world turned from upside-down to right-side up, he threw his arms out, sending the projectiles flying towards the crocodile man.

By then, Croc had recovered from the blow to the head and was turning to face him. Seeing the shuriken flying towards him, he crossed an arm over his chest and then swung it back out, knocking both shuriken away as he snarled. Letting out a roar, he charged at the Dark Knight, throwing a fist at his head.

Batman landed on the ground at that moment, knees buckling to absorb the impact from landing. He kept low though, in fact ducking lower. This caused Croc's punch to sail over his shoulder. It was a small margin, one would even say a paper's width separated him from Croc's fist, but it still counted as a successful dodge.

Immediately, his hands shot up, one grabbing Croc by the wrist and the other slamming up into his armpit. Pushing up against the arm while pulling down on the wrist, Batman pivoted to one side and hauled Croc off the ground, throwing him headfirst through the air. The man cried out in surprise as he flew right into a tree, the loud BANG! echoing throughout the woods. He then dropped to the ground, landing on his knees as he tried to steady himself with his hands against the tree.

Batman could feel himself panting. This fight had started at the pond and ventured deep into the forest, he and Katana dodging Croc more often than not. One couldn't go head-to-head with the crocodile man and think they would win.

Case in point, if this had been anyone else, Batman would have charged forward and rammed his knee into the back of Croc's head, ensuring the knockout. However, he knew better. Croc had a fast recovery time despite his brutish tendencies and he was liable to make a counterattack and do some serious damage. The best case scenario would just be taking the brunt of Croc's strength while the worst was having his body torn into by his claws.

So as much as he didn't want to, he waited to see what Croc's next action would be. His endurance was unreal as he showed no hint of slowing down in spite of the injuries he had marking up his body. A cool breeze blew by, an unusual chill for this time of year.

That's when Croc raised a hand and pressed it into the tree, his claws digging into the bark as he began to pull himself up onto his feet. Standing up, he turned around and growled at the sight of the Dark Knight. "You two are startin' to piss me off, Bats."

Yeah, he had a feeling they were. The man's short temper was well known. "You can end this any time you want," he told the larger man. "Give yourself up and this all stops."

Croc snorted. "You think I'll willingly let myself rot in Blackgate? Fat chance. Now hold still so I can rip out your insides."

That's when Katana re-entered the fray. Appearing out from behind the tree next to Croc, she went low, holding her sword in a reverse grip. With her teeth bared, she drove the tip of her blade as hard as she could into Croc's leg, hitting him just above the knee.

Croc's reaction was instantaneous. Letting out a wild scream, he flung an arm out, landing a backhanded blow across Katana's face. The force of the hit sent the Asian woman flying backwards, her hand somehow keeping its grip on her sword. This pulled the blade out of Croc's leg, the man dropping to one knee as he hissed from the pain he felt. Katana soared through the air until she landed in a heap on the ground.

Immediately, Batman went charging at Croc. He had to draw the man's attention off of Katana; no doubt she'd be dazed from the blow she received, if not unconscious. Closing in, he leapt forward, ramming his knee into Croc's face, causing his head to snap back and bash the back of his skull against the tree behind him.

In an instant, Croc's arms shot out and wrapped around the vigilante's waist, one hand clasping around the wrist of the other. Batman grunted as he felt pressure squeeze down around him, his bones creaking from the stress put on them. Miraculously, his arms weren't pinned down, but Croc's massive arms prevented him from reaching his belt.

Then came a rumbling chuckle. "I was wonderin' when you'd get close enough to me so I could do this!" Croc squeezed his arms tighter, causing the dark-clad man to gasp. "Here I'd been giving you every opening to get me and you finally took the bait."

Damn it! Why had he charged in like that? After holding himself back this entire time? He knew the answer to that, a quick glance showing Katana unsteadily getting herself up, but still lying on the ground.

"Now I'mma squeeze that life out of ya," Croc told him. "This is gonna hurt you—a lot."

In response, Batman slammed a fist into the man's face.

He didn't stop there either. Back and forth, he sent punch after punch into Croc's head. Changing things up, he then rammed an elbow strike on top of his head once, twice, then resumed punching. If he had to cause the man brain damage, then so be it. It was better than being crushed to death.

That's when Croc snarled from the blows being rained down on his head and alerted Batman to another problem. Shooting out his left hand, he grabbed the back of Croc's head and forced it into his stomach. With his other hand, he began punching the side of the man's head, aiming for his ear more times than not.

It seemed counterintuitive that he would want Croc's incredibly sharp teeth that close to his body, but this was a hell of a lot better than allowing the crocodile man to turn his head and get a good shot at biting down on him. In this position, the man could snap his jaws, but the most he would do was scrap his teeth against his armor, which he was doing from what he felt.

Apparently, Croc had enough of this as he suddenly growled. Shooting up onto his feet, he leaned the vigilante to one side before twisting in the opposite direction. The next thing Batman knew, he was being hurled through the air, a short flight as his back collided with a rather thick tree branch. Crying out, he was soon flipping uncontrollably, making him lose all bearings of the world around him. He recovered it promptly when he hit the ground hard on his stomach.

Ugh, that hurt, both the tree branch collision and his landing. Gritting his teeth, he slowly pushed himself up, stiffening at the sight of Croc storming towards him.

Damn it, he wasn't in any shape to take on whatever Croc had in mind. He needed to escape and fast. Reaching to his belt, he pulled out his grapple gun and pointed it high into the tree canopy somewhere to his right. Firing it, the grapple claw flew high into the air. He connected with...something...and Batman hit the retraction button. Immediately, his body was yanked to his right, sliding across the ground for a foot or two before he went flying up into the air, just in time to avoid Croc as he jumped. The man landed right where the vigilante had been lying, obviously trying to stomp on him. He was left to snarl as he watched the dark-clad man retreat into the trees.

"Get back here, Bats!" Croc roared as he gave chase. "I'm not done with you!"

Flying into the air, Batman soon reached the anchor point his grapple had attached to. As it turned out, it was a thick tree branch, one the vigilante hauled himself onto once he reached it, lying down on top of it. Taking a deep breath and then another, he tried to recover from the hits he had taken. Another cool breeze blowing by felt nice.

He frowned. That wasn't just cool, it was almost chilling. Turning his head, he sought to find the direction it was coming from.

Only to discover its source.

Oh no.

"I found ya, Bats."

Jerking his head down, he spotted Croc on the ground below his tree branch, grinning menacingly at him. "Croc, wait," he told him as he began to push himself up into a kneeling position on the branch.

"And why would I do that? I got ya right where I want ya."

"Because of that," he retorted as he jabbed his finger to his left.

Croc actually looked and what he saw was a giant sheet of ice rising up from the forest floor. Its tops were jagged like spikes, steam rising up into the air from it. This had been the source of the cool, chilling breeze he had been feeling.

"Ice? Is that it?" Croc grunted as he returned his attention to the dark-clad man. "You gotta do better than that."

"Think, Croc," he urged him. "This isn't the season for ice and snow; the trees and plants are still green and alive. Not to mention this sort of formation is impossible outside of maybe the South Pole. It was artificially made and there's only one man I know that can make ice like this."

That actually gave the crocodile man pause. "You mean...someone made this?" he questioned, slowly processing the thought.

Don't let it be said that Waylon Jones was a genius. Kneeling on the tree branch by then, Batman nodded. "Victor Fries is in Robinson Park."

"The Iceman? What's he doing here?"

"Remember when you had that fight with Strange's forces? On that rooftop? That was the former headquarters of the Nora Fries Foundation. Fries heard about it and broke out of Blackgate. He's already attacked a crime family since he got out and now he's here."

"You saying the freakin' Iceman is here because we had a fight on some building?"

"How else do you explain the ice?"

Croc looked back at the wall of ice. "So what now? You want to stop our fight for him?"

"It's better than him stopping it for us. He doesn't have a quarrel with me, but he does with you. He won't hesitate to freeze you in ice. He clearly was doing it to someone else if this ice wall is anything to go by."

A few moments passed. "You might have a point, though I don't know why he'd have beef with us over some building getting wrecked." Clearly Croc wasn't familiar with why Fries tried to freeze Gotham all those years ago. It was enough that he understood that Fries was after them though, so it would do for now.

"We can settle up later—after I take down Fries. Trust me, things will get worse the longer he is out."

"Oh, believe me, Bats, we got a lot to settle," Croc growled. "Once the Iceman is put on ice, we pick up right where we left off: with me biting your little head off."

It seemed an uneasy truce had been formed; Batman would take it. It would give him time to recover from the fight, not to mention get his gear ready to take Croc down hard and fast.

For now, they would just follow the ice.


Selina flipped over one of the folding tables, smoothly jerking her wrists, and snapping her whip at the Man-Bat that chased her. Its large hand tore through the table, sending the crap resting on it everywhere. The bat beast flinched at the snapping of the whip, the sharp noise hurting its ears.

Good.

She gave a few more snaps, trying to keep the monster at bay. She knew when she was outmatched and this was such a time. How did you fight one of these things? Did they have any weak spots?

Thoughts came to an abrupt end as the cat burglar ducked, the Man-Bat's leap carrying it over her. With a dash, she sought cover behind a tree, her breathing loud and rapid.

"You're only making this harder on yourself," the Mad Hatter called out. "We can resolve this matter peacefully, if you would only stop resisting. My control is the only thing preventing my primal friend here from tearing you to shreds and it would be such a shame to stain this lovely forest with your blood."

Selina scowled. Internally, she snarked, You can take your patience and shove it—!

A large, clawed hand clamped down on the tree trunk, and Selina was dashing out once more. Twisting around, she struck out with her whip, getting a snarl in return. Her senses were the only thing that alerted her to take her eyes off the monster chasing her and confront the Igor trying to sneak up behind her.

The small man in blue had what looked like a playing card, one with the a 10/6 printed on it. It was held between two fingers and an arm was stretched out as if try to plant it on her.

She had no idea what that was and Selina didn't care to find out. She let her torso fall closer to the ground, catching herself with her hands. With a leg, she lashed backwards with it, and struck the small, top hat-wearing man in his chest. The Hatter gave out a cry as he fell back, the card slipping through his fingers.

Pushing herself back onto her other foot, she quickly snatched the card and tucked it away. Again, she did not know what it did, but she might as well find out later. Who knows, it might come in handy, or she was adding some unnecessary weight.

The Man-Bat shrieked once more, but Selina knew better than to start off into a run. She darted to her right instead, getting out of the beast's path first. Never stay in a monster's path; that never ended well.

Neither does staying where the monster currently is. Not wanting to stick around and see what else this little freak had up his sleeves, Selina continued running into the woods. Seriously, she shouldn't even be calling a park the woods, because it was a damn park and shouldn't have this much plant crap. She could swear there were trees here than hadn't been here before.

One of those trees had to serve as a shield because the Man-Bat wasn't about to let her go so easily. The monster crashed one of its broad shoulders into it and gave a loud, frustrated snarl as it did.

Keep running, Selina, she chanted in her head. With the trees here, that meant hiding places, if she only used them for a second, then it'd be worth it. Keep close to the ground and hopefully it wouldn't try to fly. Who knew how things might go wrong if it started flying.

She went into a sprint, weaving between the trees, and making sharp turns whenever she could. Behind her, she could hear the snarls and hisses, the stomping and the crashing, and—hold up.

Bending low, she kept at her run while covering her head, plowing through a bush, which sent her stumbling for a few seconds before regaining her footing and continuing with the sprint. The plant stood no chance as the Man-Bat tore through it.

Okay, time to do something different. Running away wasn't going to help her get out of this one. Hiding when it could still see her was a no go, so she needed to get it somewhere where she could ditch it. But where?

That was when she came across the ice.

Skidding to a stop, Selina only afforded herself a second to stare at it. Something dark and distorted reflected against the frozen surface, and she waited, waited, waited, and now!

Going to her right, she ran once more as the Man-Bat crashed into the wall of ice. Unlike the bush from before, the ice was studier, and seemingly stronger than a Man-Bat. That was some pain there, for it and that gave precious time to try and put some distance between them. Around some trees and bushes, and she came across the sight of the pavilion. The ice led all the way to it, and while she normally would have said "nope" and gone another way, beggars couldn't be choosers.

Whether it was more dangerous, or safer remained to be seen.


It was a strange feature to the park, but it was something none of the Birds were second guessing at the moment. There was a large rock planted right in the middle of the woods, one that nearly towered over the surrounding trees. Half of it was a soft sloped area that was great for sitting on and many hikers and joggers had taken advantage of that, using it for a rest spot. The other half jutted upwards, a sharp, near vertical wall.

Huntress had perched herself on top of the peak, sitting on it as one foot dangled and the other was resting in one of the footholds she had used to climb up it. Manhunter had her back leaned up against the sharp incline, sitting on the flat part with one leg stretched out in front of her, the other bent at the knee as she rested an arm on it. Black Canary was seated on the edge of the flat area, legs hanging off of the rock.

So far nothing had attacked them since they arrived here; apparently even Poison Ivy could adhere to social norms when she wanted to. So they stayed here, admittingly longer than they probably should have.

Two-Face had gotten away, much to everyone's chagrin. He had been right there in the palm of their hands and if it hadn't been for Ivy's plant creatures, they would have had him in cuffs, one less crazy on the streets. It was deja vu with how he had slipped away, a stark reminder to how he had given Batman fits with his escapes.

It had occurred to them to use their comm links to try and triangulate where Batman and Katana were, but that idea died a swift death the moment sharp static assaulted their ears. There was a signal jammer in place, effectively cutting off all communications inside the park, which made it impossible to get to Oracle as well. In a city of a few million, they were cut off.

Worst still, they had gotten so turned around that they had no idea where they could possibly look for the others, be it their friends, or the Arkham inmates. The area was too big for them to just wander around aimlessly and there was still Ivy and her plant creations lurking around. It was better to stay in one place and carefully plan their next move.

Unfortunately, none of them had anything remotely looking like a plan.

"We could always backtrack," Manhunter suddenly said, yet another idea in their long list of brainstorming. "Maybe Batman and Katana have reached the place we started at."

"Or maybe they haven't and we're walking into a throng of more of those monsters," Huntress retorted, her cape flapping in the wind.

"Or maybe they have and they're fighting those monsters," Manhunter shot back, clearly annoyed.

"We don't know what's going on in either case," Black Canary butted in before the two went after each other. This was not the place for it and they both should have known that. "For now we rest up and then we move out. What we need is to get a view of this place and see if we can't spot any hot spots."

By hot spots, she meant areas where there was fighting. While it could have been with anyone, be it friend or foe, at least they could make a move. It was better than them sitting on their asses and trying to figure out their next move.

Huntress moved then, maneuvering herself to stand on top of the rock's peak. "I can see pretty good from up here," she informed them. "Let's see if I can see anything."

"Finally we're doing something," Manhunter groused.

"Let it lie," Canary told her warily.

Thankfully, Huntress either didn't hear them, or ignored them. Her head turned this way and that as she searched for something, anything that would give them some sort of idea of what was going on in the park.

Because she was watching the purple-clad woman, she noticed when she stiffened. "Guys," she called down warningly. "I can see ice."

"Ice? This time of year?" Manhunter responded as she pushed herself up onto her feet.

There was a sinking feeling in Canary's stomach as well. There were only so many reasons for ice and a big one had recently escaped from Blackgate.

Huntress continued to stare at this alleged ice. "I can't tell where it started, but I can say it's cutting a path across Robinson. So we got two options: we find the beginning, or we find the end."

"Then let's head to it. Under no circumstance are we to engage with whoever made this ice. We'll just keep an eye on them until we get backup."

"What backup?" Manhunter muttered.

Unfortunately, Black Canary couldn't help but agree. What backup indeed.


If anything, Fries was consistent. He had iced his way all the way through Robinson Park, a trail of breadcrumbs that was easy to follow. Any threats had been neutralized by the man, Ivy's plant creations frozen solid in mid-attack.

Seeing this had gotten Killer Croc's attention and he was no longer grumbling about the impending battle, keeping up with the two vigilantes as they hurried down the forest path. He may not have had any experience with Fries, but even he could figure out just how long he could last as an ice sculpture.

They were led all the way to a clearing with a pavilion. Flashes of light through the windows indicated there was something going on within the building and Batman took off running towards it. Katana and Croc followed him right up until they reached the open door.

Batman didn't stop to see just what had gone down here; he knew what to expect. Reaching the doorway he saw Fries' back, his distorted voice saying, "And now the icy hand of vengeance falls upon you."

BBBBRRRAAAAAAANG!

There was the blast of his Freeze Gun and Batman went on the attack. He knew not to try to tackle the man as his suit was stronger than it appeared, which was saying something. Planting a foot down, he pivoted on one foot as he brought the other up and kicked it out, hitting the back of Fries' knee. Instantly it buckled and Fries cried out as he dropped to one knee, his arm jerking up and caused his beam to leave a trail of ice that went up a wall and across the ceiling.

Clasping both hands together, Batman brought them to his left side before he swung them across his body, landing a jackhammer blow to the side of the glass dome of the Freeze suit. His hands throbbed from the blow, but it thankfully served its purpose by knocking the cold-bodied man to one side.

With incredible agility, Fries went into a roll and ended up on his feet, legs crouched. That was not what he expected out of the man. Unfortunately, this caused him to immediately take aim with his Freeze Gun. "You!" he gasped out.

That was all the hesitation he needed as he lunged forward, swinging a kick that connected with the gun and knocked it out of Fries' hand, sending it clattering across the floor. "You don't know what you're doing!" he protested.

Batman didn't have a chance to reply. That's when Killer Croc entered the fray, barreling into the Fries and yanking him off of the floor. Arms wrapped around the sub-zero man, pinning his arms to his sides, Croc squeezed down on him, snarling at him as he showed his teeth, spit splattering over the glass.

"Batsy! Watch out!"

The Joker's warning, unexpected as it was, came too late. Out of the floorboards, vines erupted out, wrapping around the dark-clad man. A cry of surprise from Katana indicated that she had fallen for the trap as well.

"Well, well, this is a most unexpected turn of events." Turning his head, Batman spotted Hugo Strange, his arms behind his back and a gloating smile on his face. "The opposition to my grand design in one location. I could not have planned this any better."

"Like you could have planned this," came the Joker's retort.

The former psychiatrist gave the clown a cool look, Batman realizing that he and Harley Quinn were both dangling upside down from vines hanging from the ceiling. "Is that so?" He then gestured with one hand, indicating Scarecrow. Like Batman and Katana, he too was restrained by vines. There was no telling when he had been captured. "I have all of you, save for one, and Pamela can easily capture him whenever she pleases."

"Oh yeah? Well you forgot one!" Harley Quinn shouted at him. "We still got Croc!"

Strange merely chuckled at that. "Mr. Jones finds himself in a rather precarious position, my dear. He has the fabled Iceman in his arms and he dare not release him. The Iceman would retaliate instantly. Now, Mr. Jones could seek to end the Iceman's threat, but then Ms. Isley could put an end to whatever threat he poses. I have you all in checkmate, my dear Ms. Quinn; you have only yet to realize it."

That was perhaps a good explanation of the situation, Batman was loathe to admit. He couldn't move, nor Katana. Joker's crew were also in restrained, physically or by circumstances, which left Strange and his crew the only people that could make a move.

At least that was the first impression.

Apparently Fries was not one to simply accept his fate. Leaning his upper body as far as he could, he then flung himself forward, the glass of his helmet slamming onto Croc's face. It wasn't the cleanest of hits, but it was enough to cause the man to yelp as he immediately let go of the blue-skinned man. His clawed hands shot up to his face to soothe the ache he felt.

That's when Fries assumed a rather awkward fighting stance. It was basically him drawing a fist back, holding his other fist out in front of him as he had his legs spread out a touch too wide. Clearly he had no hand-to-hand combat experience. However, this didn't stop Fries from throwing a punch, one that hit Croc in the gut and knocked the air out of his lungs. The crocodile man gasped out as he bent over from the blow, eyes bulging out of his head. Pulling his other fist back, Fries finished him off with a blow to the face, one that sent Croc tumbling to the ground. Batman wasn't sure if he was concerned with the fact Fries' suit had taken Killer Croc down so easily, or grateful he was going on the offensive.

"Well, I for one did not see that coming," the Joker admitted.

"Ivy!" Strange cried out.

Instantly, more vines shot around Fries, wrapping around him and forcing his arms to his sides. Fries merely stared down at them before looking to the redhead. "Do you think these will hold me?"

"Not forever, I suppose, but I do have other means at my disposal," Ivy cooed. "Try me."

"Very well."

Though his arms were pinned, Fries' hands were not. Moving one as much as he could, he pressed one finger to a button on his belt. Batman knew instantly that he was activating the magnets in his gloved hands and in the grip of his Freeze Gun. To the Arkham inmates' surprise, they witnessed the Freeze Gun suddenly fly off of the floor and end up right in Fries' open hand. Immediately he took aim with the gun at his hip and fired a short blast.

A blast that connected with Poison Ivy's left hand, encasing it with ice.

A blood-curdling scream rang out within the pavilion as Ivy stumbled backwards, gripping her arm at the wrist. Around his body, Batman felt the vines loosen as Ivy's control of them was lost. In fact, the Joker and Harley dropped to the floor, landing with thuds.

Jerking his arms out to either side of him, Fries tore apart the vines, letting them fall into pieces at his feet. "You are the one that is responsible for the destruction of my wife's building," he intoned, raising his gun to shoulder height, aiming it right for Ivy. "You will be the first to feel my vengeance."

The look of fear on Ivy's face was palpable. Strange and Riddler backed away, leaving the redhead alone to face Fries' wrath. Struggling against the vines restraining him, Batman could feel how loose they were and managed to create enough slack by extending his arms out as far as they could go. The moment he dropped his arms, the vines fell to the floor, wide coils surrounding his feet.

Reaching to his belt, the vigilante pulled out a round, blue grenade. Chucking it at Fries, he aimed right for the man's hand and his aim struck true. The grenade struck his hand and detonated, a white mist erupting all over the hand and gun. Fries just stood there; if he was startled he didn't show it.

Once the mist vanished, ice had enveloped the Freeze Gun and Fries' hand. No way would he be able to freeze anyone here tonight. The former scientist stared at the ice before looking to the dark-clad man. "You developed your own Freeze Grenades," he said stoically.

Batman nodded. "You won't be killing anyone here tonight," he declared.

"Damn right he won't."

The voice had come from behind the Dark Knight, causing him to whip his head around. There stood Manhunter, pointing the glowing end of her bo staff at Fries. She then fired, the beam flying through the air and colliding with Fries, blasting him away and into—make that through the pavilion wall. Fries cried out from the attack, but that was the last he was seen.

Black Canary and Huntress darted in then, the blonde facing Strange and Ivy while the dark-haired woman used one of her H-shaped shuriken to slice apart the vines restraining Katana. The moment she was done, she turned to face the Joker, Harley, and Croc. "Looks like we got here just in time," the purple-clad woman remarked.

"Ha ha!" the Joker crowed. "The tables just keep on a-turnin'! Bet you hadn't planned for this, Hugo!" A flask suddenly appeared in his hand, where it had come from was unknown. "A toast to your spoiled, rotting, festering plan!" He then turned the flask upside down and dumped its contents on the floor in front of him, a puddle forming as he spread outwards from the clown.

"This isn't over," the psychiatrist hissed.

"Oh, but I think it is." At this the Joker stood up and all eyes were on him. He just naturally sucked up all of the attention.

"You're damn right it is," Huntress agreed. "Just not the way you think. All of you, get on your knees and surrender."

The Joker raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh, come now. You're not new to this, so you know we aren't anywhere near the climax. Heck, if you look out the window, you'll see a giant bat chasing...something."

That was usually a distraction. However, just because it was usually a subterfuge with the madman didn't mean that it wasn't there. Sparing a glance, through a window the vigilante spotted the Man-Bat soaring through the air, swooping up and down after...something. No, not something, someone. And they were running right for the pavilion as fast as they could.

"If you ask me, things are getting a little hot around here," the green-haired man continued. As it turned out, the Man-Bat had been a distraction, all so the clown could retrieve a match. With his fingers wrapped around the piece of wood and this thumb on top of the head, he pulled the thumb back quickly and sparked up a flame. "And things are about to get hotter."

He then dropped the match, where it landed on the puddle of booze the Joker had poured out earlier. Flames instantly erupted, spreading across the puddle rapidly, but then didn't lose the pace at all as it touched the floor. In fact, it was consuming it with an unnatural fervor.

"Oh, Pammy!" the Joker called out then, "I hope you enjoy my homemade lighter fluid! I've been spreading it all over your nature preserve!"

There were cries of surprise, Croc yelping as he scrambled to stay clear of the growing fire. Ivy shrieked at the sight of the hungry flames. And all the while the clown laughed.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"