Four villains stood around the table, each positioned on his or her own side, as if preparing for a card game. Weapons were laid out in front of them, the only ones they had; probably the only ones in Arkham City, and the Joker reached for one.

"We'll have to be fast," he nodded, pursing his scarlet lips before his eyes flicked up to look across the table. There was still a bandage wrapped around his head where Crane had hit him. Scarecrow's face was covered by burlap and a gas mask; his wide brimmed straw hat cast a shadow over his features and darkened his eyes like a demon's as he watched the Joker.

"And we'll have to time it correctly," he commented, his voice muffled by the gas mask over his mouth. "Once Deadshot has eliminated the uptown bridge defenses, we only have so much time before they realize we've crossed over into the rest of Gotham." The Joker nodded and chuckled to himself.

"Crane and I will be the Z for 'zombie' squad," Joker grinned. "He and I will take Nygma and Dent and a selection of other zombies to Downtown, where we'll create a distraction. We'll attack the Batman."

Crane tried not to jump as another zombie slammed into the divider between the front of the van and the back cargo. He looked over at Joker in the driver's seat.

"As the distraction," he said, "the likelihood of fatalities on this trip is skewed heavily toward us."

Joker grinned at him and pushed his hair back with one hand before sharply turning a corner. Crane's head nearly slammed against the window, and the zombies toppled like dominoes in the back. Joker laughed.

"Then buckle up, buttercup, and don't get yourself killed," he cackled. Crane braced himself against the door. He checked his watch.

"Just get us to Downtown without killing us before we even start."

"I make no promises," Joker grinned as they turned another corner and barreled towards the bridge into Downtown. It was unguarded. "I just wish Nygma could have ridden up front..." He turned, looking back at Riddler smashed against the divider.

"I'm sure it would have been... ripe," Crane said simply. "Although the burned half of Dent is decaying remarkably fast," he added conversationally as he adjusted his mask. "He may lose that eye soon."

"Good, that's less of him to pick on my Riddler," Joker muttered. "Traitor." They'd almost reached the neighborhoods, and Joker grinned as he spotted a police car with an officer standing off to the side. "Hold on!" He swerved.

"Joker what are you doing?! Stick to the plan!"

Joker cackled as the policeman bounced over the hood, and then he continued on his way, laughing gleefully. He glanced at Scarecrow.

"Oh lighten up, you old beanpole," he muttered, laughing again. "We're almost there."

"We don't need any unnecessary risks," Crane reminded him. Joker spun to a stop near the edge of a rundown neighborhood and turned the van off. He climbed up to the roof of the truck and then leaned over the back, popping the latch to let the zombies out. He grinned over his shoulder at Crane.

"We're trying to get Batman's attention. There are no unnecessary risks." Zombies began pouring out of the back of the van, drawn by the smell of fresh humans, and Joker laid above the door as he waited to catch Riddler coming out. "Now grab Dent." Crane quickly grabbed the dog catcher pole he'd crammed into the front seat with them and went around back to try and catch the zombie. Joker quickly grabbed the chain around Nygma's neck and laughed, the zombie choking as he pulled against it. The rest of the monsters flooded down the street, beelining for the crowded populous, smelling the scent of human flesh on the breeze. "Let the madness begin," Joker grinned as they cleared away, and he jumped down from the truck. Nygma didn't attack him, instead he snuffed at the streets where screams had begun to rise, pulling against his chain. Dent, too, was straining. "Let's go join the action, shall we, Scarecrow?" Joker grinned.

"As we're making our move on Bats Downtown, the F for 'food' squad will be a secondary distraction, attacking Wayne Tower to steal food and supplies," Joker grinned picking up a pistol in his hand.

"It's imperative that they're timed together," Scarecrow explained. "Firstly, if we attack at the same time, the bats won't have time to redistribute their power. We'll trap them. Batman won't be able to provide aid in Midtown, and no one will be able to help him in Downtown. Secondly: if the attacks are timed just right, it will fool Batman into thinking that Joker and I are providing a distraction for the theft of the food and weaponry." They were attacking in one day's time, and Harley knew why. Batman and Robin would be on city patrol and in prime position. If their schedule guess was correct, Red Hood and Blackbat would be on Arkham patrol and scrambling to catch up. And Nightwing would be out on supply run. It would leave the tower virtually unprotected, and all of that information had come from Harley.

"Misdirection," Deadshot muttered in approval, shifting a bit with his heavy rifle in his arms. He looked across the table at Harley. "Love a bit of sleight-of-hand," Deadshot smirked, biting his lip as he raised his eyebrows. Joker glanced at him, his teeth grinding together.

"Don't make me shoot you," he hissed.

"What the hell is happening?" Jason demanded. He and Cass were on Arkham patrol, and she'd commed him to tell him something about the bridge guard when Bruce's feed had cut across hers.

"The Joker's staged some sort of an attack," Batman barked. "He's releasing Infected onto the civilian population, I need some backup here."

"That's a negative, Batman," Kate answered, yanking her costume on as she stumbled out the door of her bedroom. "We just got the red alert here, and I need all the help I can get. A separate group is attacking the food stores here at the tower."

Damian sprinted around a corner and Batman saw him leap into the fray, Titus lunging at the nearest Infected. "We'll help father," Damian alerted the rest of the team.

"Meet me in the supply area, Batgirl," Kate instructed.

"What do I do?!" Tim glanced at Barbara nervously. The alert had sounded and the labs were evacuating. Barbara twirled her hair around her finger.

"You stay here," she finally decided. "Help evacuation and make sure this area's secure. I'll go help Batwoman."

"Father," Damian called over the zombies heads. "Orders?!"

"Protect civilians at all costs."

"They're headed to the armory!" Kate cried into her comm, and Barbara sprinted to the door.

"On my way."

"What the hell is going on?" Dick cried into the comm.

"Not much, just you slacking off, Dick," Jason commented as he sprinted to the bridge. Cass was already speeding through Midtown.

"The Joker has coordinated another attack," Damian explained, bashing a zombie's head in before it could bite the man it had cornered. "Spoiler and I are in Downtown protecting civilians against the Infected he released. Father is fighting off the Joker and Scarecrow." He ran towards another Infected, but Titus beat him to it, tearing into the zombie as it tried to crawl away. "Batgirl, Blackbat, Batwoman and Red Hood are trying to stop a raid on Wayne Tower. It looks like Downtown was the distraction so they can steal food and weaponry."

Harley?! Dick thought in a panic, fighting the urge to ask if anyone had seen her yet.

"We're on our way back," Selina decided, shouting at everyone to get back into the trucks.

"They're splitting into two groups!" Kate updated.

"Damn it, what the hell are they doing?!" Barbara cried.

"The alarms and confusion as the F Squad raids their store rooms and armory will draw the cavalry to them. Which is exactly what we want," Scarecrow glanced at Harley. "As soon as you get the signal, you and Deadshot will go into the labs, retrieving everything on this list," Crane handed her a crumpled piece of paper. Harley looked it over.

"Kay," she looked up at the Joker, "how are we going in? And do we get a cool squad name too?"

"You'll go stealth. Don't let anyone see you, we don't want them to know that you two are even in the building. And you can be Squad M, for medical," he nodded decisively. "We'll reach you with these-" he tossed four radios onto the table- "that we dug off of the corpses of Arkham staff. Savvy?" Harley picked hers up and clicked it on.

"Roger that." She released the button and grinned. Joker laughed.

"I'm going to be giving the F squad a special formula of my fear toxin to help create a smoke cover for you… for Squad M to sneak through," Crane added. "They'll be the diversion at the tower for you guys. Their actions should be enough of a diversion. If you get through undetected, it's your job to get into the labs."

"We'll use the loading bays if we have one of the vans," Deadshot said. "It'll be easier to load the needed equipment and an easy access point."

Deadshot looked over his shoulder around the corner in the hall as the last of the scientists drained from the labs.

"You did good, Love," he commented, readying his gun and shooting a single shot down the hallway. The magnetic pellet he fired met its mark, wedging in the door just before it latched. "Come on," he led the way and wrenched the door open, glancing back at Harley. "Get the shopping list out, we've probably got five or six minutes. I'm being pessimistic of course." She coughed a little at the fear toxin fumes. A wayward zombie stumbled toward them before its eyes went wide and it took off in the other direction.

"Ya don't have ta be so bossy," Harley muttered, skipping through the lab as she gathered supplies. The two of them had remained behind in the van when the F squad started its assault, and everyone's attention was too focused elsewhere to notice them.

"Aw, don't pretend you don't love it," Deadshot smirked, watching her over over the desks and laboratory tables. Harley paused with her arms full of beakers.

"Ya know, you've been a real jerk since your daughter died," she commented.

"And you've been a real sour puss since you lost your bat-squeeze," he snapped back. "Something about him made you a little less insufferable."

Deadshot suddenly cried out as Red Robin tackled him, his gun skittering off across the linoleum. He pulled another and fired it at the hero, but he dodged it, diving to the side and rolling to his feet.

"What do you think you're doing here?" He demanded, but he wasn't looking at Deadshot.

"Umm," Harley glanced around then down at her full arms, "redecorating?"

"You've got some nerve, the two of you," Red Robin muttered. Deadshot watched him, his gun raised.

"I'd prefer to call it spunk. We've gotta lotta spunk coming here." Harley grinned. Red Robin's hand flew to his ear to press his comm, but he screamed when Deadshot fired at him and the bullet tore through his hand. Red Robin fell backwards, groaning as Deadshot stood above him.

"Don't get back up, kid. Harley, finish up here," Deadshot instructed, throwing her the bag. She bit the inside of her cheek and glanced at Red Robin before nodding and doing as she was told.

"Why the hell did you even get in with him, anyway? Was it to get him killed all along? You get your kicks by sleeping with other guys so the Joker will murder them, is that it?" Tim stuttered through his teeth, trying to stop the bleeding in his trembling hand. His ears were ringing. Deadshot glanced at Harley, curious about her answer. She glanced between the two of them with her mouth open.

"And Harley, Doll," Joker glanced at her, smiling. "Go fetch the comm that Nightwing gave you," he chuckled. She froze as everyone stared at her.

"What?"

"Go get it, sweetie, I'm not angry. Why would I be angry that you got such a useful tool? You did exactly what you said you were doing, playing him, correct?" He watched her calmly, that devious gleam in his eye that always sent a thrill through her. Now it seemed foreboding. Harley nodded and obediently went to go get it. She didn't have any clever quip or come back and handed him the comm wordlessly. Joker tossed it to Crane.

"The little button in the side," he instructed. "Turn it on when we attack, and we can hear every little whisper between the Bats." Joker glanced at Harley with a grin. "Good work," he praised.

"It was nothin' Puddin." She gave him a half smile, playing with the walkie-talkie.

"No really, well done, love," Deadshot smirked at her across the table. Joker hissed through his teeth.

"How ya feelin'?" she taunted. "Still a little drowsy?" She smirked. "Do ya need ta lay down?"

"If you and your boyfriend hadn't drugged me, I'd be in better shape. But thanks for your concern," he winked. Harley rolled her eyes.

"Oh boo hoo. You're supposed to be the best shot in the world; didn't think you'd be that easy to take down."

"You're supposed to be his," Deadshot jerked his head towards the Joker, "but that didn't stop you from fooling around with me or the batboy," he sneered.

"And knowing you were never gonna be the one didn't stop you," she countered.

"Hey, baby, you weren't the only one just in it for the sex," he raised an eyebrow. "And if you believe that there is a 'one' for you, you should keep your legs closed next time a bat brat comes on patrol," he sneered, but his chuckling was cut off when the Joker lunged across the table at him. Scarecrow cried out and tried to pry the Joker's hands away from Deadshot's throat. The gunman fell back, gasping, finally freed.

"Enough," Joker barked, his teeth bared in a fury as he watched Deadshot. "We have work to do."

"We've got part of the group cornered by the armory," Batwoman's comm feed crackled over the radio at Harley's hip and she jumped.

"You bitch!" Red Robin snapped, and Deadshot hit him in the face again. He had him pinned against the wall after he'd jumped him again. Red Robin panted. "He trusted you-"

"-Harley! Finish this shit up!" Deadshot snapped, glancing at the zombie pacing in its glass cage. She flinched before hurriedly stuffing whatever she could into the bag.

"Robin and I have contained the bulk of the Downtown zombies," Spoiler updated over comms. "How long until supply run gets back? We won't be able to find all of them ourselves before they cause serious damage."

"We're almost to the bridge," Dick's voice came over the comms. He grit his teeth as Selina went over a pothole at full speed, and she glanced at him.

"Sorry- don't strain yourself, Dick, you're still not at one hundred percent," she muttered.

"We're at the bridge," he talked over her. Harley reflexively glanced to the east before looking back at Deadshot, her hand frozen halfway in the bag.

"Wrap it up," Deadshot barked, and Tim suddenly lifted his legs up and kicked him away. He landed on the floor and scrambled towards his desk, slamming his hand down on an alert button; the doors bolted as alarms started blaring, and Deadshot started shooting at him. Red Robin dove behind his desk. "Now, Harley, we have to get out!" Deadshot shouted. He paused and took aim, blowing the keypad on the glass cage where the zombie paced. "Now." Deadshot snapped, grabbing Harley's arm. She protected the bag to make sure nothing broke as he dragged her along.

"And how do you propose we get outta here tough guy?" she taunted. There was a scream from behind them as Deadshot let her go, firing two shots into the bulletproof glass door. It spiderwebbed but didn't shatter, and he dove through it, protecting his head. He landed on his feet on the other side, holding his hand out to her.

"Come on!" he shouted. Harley leapt carefully over the broken glass before turning back to look at Red Robin one last time. He'd been overtaken by the zombie, fighting to throw it away from him, blood dripping over the emblem on his chest.

"All of this sounds well and good," Harley chimed in, "but how are we supposed to get outta Gotham once the Bats are on our tails? I'm all for goin' in guns blazin', but I don't wanna think about what happens if we stick around."

"We'll get out alright," Joker assured her. "All we have to do is get back to the vans, and leave the heroes to me."

Joker glanced at Deadshot, and he nodded.

"Me and the sharpshooter over here."

"Just make sure you get back to the van in time," Crane advised. "We wait for no one."

"Got it." Harley nodded seriously before grinning. "This is gonna be fun."

"This isn't fun," Harley complained as her and Deadshot ran through the Wayne Tower halls.

"We're almost to the loading bay-" he grabbed his walkie talkie off of his belt. "F Squad, are you all loaded?!"

"Just about," a gruff voice answered. "Some of us are still fighting off the lady bats, but we'll be ready when you reach the truck."

"Are we there yet?" Harley whined.

They burst out into the open loading bay through a pair of double doors, and Deadshot covered Harley as they ran to the truck, shooting at the police officers engaged in battle with the F Squad.

"Get in the van!" Deadshot barked, shoving Harley gruffly towards the back, filled with food and weaponry. The bay doors started to close, and Deadshot whirled around to shoot at the panel. An officer shot at him and he ducked behind the truck doors. "Damn it! Missed," he muttered, glancing through the window. "Doors are closing! Go go go!" He commanded as the last of their team leapt onto the truck. Harley laughed.

"You've been missin a lot lately-" she was cut off as the van was jerked into motion and she fell backwards.

"Bye love," Deadshot smiled a little at her, slamming the truck doors behind her as it tore away towards the closing space to freedom. She watched through the windows as Deadshot walked towards the panel, firing until the doors finally stopped. He turned around and waved cheerily to Harley.

"What are you doing?!" she cried, but didn't think he could hear her, her voice echoing through the vehicle.

"His job," one of the other gunman behind her said. "That was always the plan. Didn't you know?"

As they rocketed through the gap in the doors, Harley saw Deadshot raise his gun to his head.

"No!" she screamed. He was out of sight in an instant, and they were tearing down the road again towards the Uptown Bridge.

"Calm down, Quinn," the gunman sighed. "He was to stay behind to ensure our escape. But it's not like he can be taken alive."

"And everyone knew but me?" she snapped at him.

"Apparently," he snapped right back, his dirty blonde hair falling in his eyes. He pursed his lips and then sighed. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault," she muttered. "Where's Mistah J? Did he make it out alive cuz if he did I'm gonna kill him." She laid down on the floor. "And did you guys get cake? I'm starving."

He paused to rummage around in the piles of food, and then smiled and tossed her a little hostess chocolate cupcake. "You only get one. I want the other one," he chuckled. She sat back up.

"Sweet Betty Crocker that looks good." Harley bit off as much as she could fit in her mouth and let out a contented noise. "Chocolate," she mumbled through her mouthful. The gunman laughed.

"And yes, the Joker and Scarecrow are headed back as well-" he had to catch himself when they hit a bump at top speed- "we'll be back soon." Harley chewed slowly. She realized she wasn't excited to make it back to Arkham. There was no one there anymore. Deadshot may have been a jerk, but she kind of enjoyed that about him. And with Ivy gone too... The gunman watched her as they crossed the bridge into Uptown. He tossed her his cupcake. "Here. You look like you need it more than I do." She held the cupcake up and looked at it as she finished the first one.

"Do you think I could overdose on chocolate? Ya know, since I haven't had it in so long."

"Nah. It'd be banned if it was half as fun as drugs," he smirked. They rolled to a stop outside of the tower as the Joker's vehicle careened into the street behind them. Harley rolled to her feet and grabbed the bag full of lab equipment.

"Crane!' she cried as she flung the door open. "I got your goodies!"

"All of them?" he cried as he got out of the truck, pulling his mask off. Harley peeked in the bag.

"Well we might 'a missed one or two," she admitted.

"That's ok," he grinned. "This is good."

"I could always just go straight back if ya need something," she joked and laughed.

"Nah, I can work with this," he grinned. Joker jumped out and hauled Nygma and Dent out of the back of the truck. Harley glanced at him before back at Crane.

"I mighta heard glass breaking at one point so hopefully too much ain't damaged."

"I can make do," he laughed. The Joker sauntered up to her and wrapped an arm over her shoulder.

"You did perfectly," he grinned.

"I'm gonna go see if they need help unloading the weapons," she told Crane before walking away. Crane took the bag from her and walked to the food truck, slinging it over his shoulder as he opened the back doors and began taking inventory. Harley helped the gunman who'd given the cupcakes unload ammo before she suddenly paused. "Do I have chocolate on my face?" She panicked and wiped at her mouth.

"What?" He laughed. "No," the gunman shook his head, chuckling. "There is no chocolate on your face."

"Good cuz no one has the decency to tell ya those things." She wiped her mouth one more time and smiled at him before grabbing another load.

"You're pretty sour," he laughed, checking things off as Harley pulled them out of the truck. She could hear the hint of a Brooklyn accent under his words, barely detectable.

"You haven't seen my bad side," she grinned, "trust me. Just stay on my good side unless ya want a real interestin' time." She winked and laughed.

"Harley," Joker barked. "Come."

He'd put Nygma and Dent back on their chains in the boiler room, and Crane was almost finished taking inventory. A crowd was gathering now, waiting on new food rations. The gunman glanced at her.

"You'd better go," he muttered, sandy hair falling over his eyes again. He was tall. Handsome in an unconventional way, and big. A soldier. Harley glanced over at Joker, her eyes darkening.

"He can wait," she said and kept unloading. "As far as I'm aware, me helping unload was the plan all along. Unless you were told more than me?" she challenged.

"Calm down!" he laughed. "Er- don't, cuz I don't think you're supposed to tell girls that- Look, don't take it out on me," he glanced at her before examining a few smoke grenades and scribbling them on his notes. His shorthand was medical in background, barely readable scrawl.

"I know, I know," she sighed, looking at the last of the pile. "I'll go if you tell me what an army medic is doin' in Arkham."

"Former. Former military doctor, and specialist, and sniper- Is it really any wonder I fell short of society's standards?" he chuckled. "What about you? People talk, you know. They say you were always here, if not as a patient. You were a psychologist?"

"Former. Former Arkham psychologist." She grinned. "But ya never told me what ya did ta get in here."

"I got around back in the day," he smiled. "Did a lot. Killed a lot of people, built bombs, robbed places. I was in for a lot of stuff."

"Well I don't think it's any big secret why I got put in here," she laughed.

"No, I don't think so," He checked off the last of the weaponry and sighed, pushing his blonde hair back from his forehead as he looked up at the sky. "It's getting hot," he muttered, and then smiled. "Well that's the last of it. It was nice talking to you, Harley Quinn," he smirked.

"You too, mysterious no named person." She waved and started to walk away.

"Names only make you more attached. Names can tear the heart out of you faster than a bullet," he called after her. "See you around."

"Bye cryptic soldier dude!" she called back and laughed as she walked to the tower. She pushed the door open with her hip and headed to the elevator. She hit the button to her floor, closed the cage doors, and twirled her radio in her hands as it went up. When the doors opened, the Joker stood with his back to the elevator by the windows, looking down at the crowd below.

"Dick," he muttered.

"What?" Harley asked, tossing her radio onto the table.

"Dick," he repeated, glancing over his shoulder at her. She stared at him for a second.

"I still don't understand."

"Just something one of them said over the communicators. You did brilliantly, by the way," he turned to her, smiling. He seemed like he was waiting on something.

"You think it's funny that I'm upset by his death, don't you?" she accused, crossing her arms.

"I think it's cathartic," he corrected, grinning wider.

"Why wouldn't you tell me?" she demanded. "Everyone else knew. But me."

"Because I knew you were the only one who could talk him out of it, Doctor, and believe it or not, he wanted this," Joker strolled towards her, stopping within an inch of her face. "And I think you need to learn."

"Learn what?" she snapped, her jaw set.

"That you can't have friends in this world. In this life," he whispered in her ear, grinning.

"And why not?" she pouted. "Why can't I talk to people? And be happy?"

"Because people die."

"Not if you don't kill them," Harley countered.

"I didn't kill Floyd," he stated calmly, walking around her slowly.

"Well he wouldn't 'a killed himself if you hadn't told him to. Or if one 'a you woulda just told me about it!" She watched him. "Yes I woulda stopped it. Why did he hafta die?"

"I simply told him that he would have to ensure your escape by any means necessary. I didn't tell him to die. I told him any means necessary. If he considered that the means, who am I to judge the actions of a dead man?" he laughed by her ear, walking in front of her again.

"You wanted him dead." She glared at him. "Just like you wanted Dent and Ivy."

"They were traitors. Deadshot died a hero," Joker commented, walking away. He picked up his radio on the table and flicked it on.

"How do I know another thing you're keeping from me is that you want me dead too?" she challenged.

"Quite right, my dear," he laughed, tossing the radio in the air and catching it as a signal came in. Joker stopped and grinned.

"Catwoman- Selina- anyone- Father's been hurt, I need immediate backup- help-" Robin's voice came over the static, and Joker grinned.

"I'm surprised, old friend, no doubt you hid it from them until you passed out from blood loss," he muttered quietly, still chuckling to himself.

"Who? Red Robin?" Harley stepped toward the radio curiously. She wanted to know what had happened to him.

"Batman," he glanced at her, and then looked up again. "Red Robin? What did you do, you naughty girl?" he laughed, walking towards her.

"Deadshot wounded him then let a zombie loose on him." She glanced at the radio again. "What happened to B-man?"

"I told you. People die," he laughed cruelly. "So fragile."

"You killed Batman?" she gasped in disbelief.

"I'd go with 'maimed'," he grinned, tossing the radio down again. "I don't know if he'll die or not. With my luck, he won't."

"You really did it." She giggled and hugged him. "Does that mean if he dies, your plans over?"

"I suppose so, Doll," he picked her up and spun her around. "Happily ever after."

"Where is he?!" Selina demanded as she burst through the medical bay doors. Dick was only a few feet behind her. She spotted Damian. "What happened? Where is he? Is he okay?"

"Selina stop." Damian stood in front of her. He was taller than her now, and almost as broad as Bruce. "You can't see him."

"Why not? What's wrong?" She tried to move past him. "I need to see him."

"He told me not to let you." Damian's jaw was set.

"What?" She froze. "Why? Why won't you tell me anything?"

"It's bad, Selina," he said quietly.

"How bad?" she breathed, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"We don't know yet," he sighed.

"He's... He's gonna be okay... right?"

Damian didn't say a word as he turned and walked back the way he'd come. Dick wrapped his arms around Selina gently and pulled her close.

"He'll be fine," he assured her. Selina clung to his chest, breathing shakily. If he didn't make it...

I won't be able to control myself, she thought in terror. "I need Jason," she whispered, looking at Dick. He blinked in surprise.

"Alright, just... Breathe. It'll be ok,"he assured her again as he stepped away from her, pacing down the hall. "Red Hood; what's your location?" He asked. "Selina wants you, and I'm pretty sure it's urgent."

"I'm on my way. But look, Dick, Downtown is a mess right now you have to go help the Commissioner," he responded. Dick but his lip and then nodded. "Alright, I'll head there. You come join Selina."

"Ok," was all his response was, and then Dick returned to Selina.

"Jason will be here soon. Wait outside. It's going to be all right," Dick put a hand on her shoulder and smiled briefly before walking away again. He assessed his team. Based on everyone's distribution, he only had Cassandra, Kate, and Stephanie to work with. "Blackbat, Batwoman, Spoiler," he sent out the call, mentally cataloging everyone's locations as he got into the elevator.

Bruce injured, Jason, Tim and Damian assisting, Selina on break, Barbara assisting...

"Yes commander?" Stephanie quipped, hiding her worry. Dick thought for a moment and then nodded.

"Batman's been severely injured. We need to work redistribution and fast- get this Infected problem under control. That said... Batwoman with me, we need to get the rest of the infected away from civilians ASAP, and help the GCPD placate the population."

"Heading out," she agreed. "Meet you at the station."

"Blackbat take Arkham. you can handle it on your own?"

"Yes," came her quiet reply.

"And Spoiler, hit the showers."

"I'm going to go see if Red Robin needs any help in the tower," she corrected, ignoring his order. She hadn't heard from Tim since everything had started.

"Alright do what you want, just get some rest," he nodded, walking past Jason on his way out of the tower. "She's on the medical floor," he told him, walking out. Jason nodded as he stepped into the elevator. He hesitated for a second and decided to make a quick stop before seeing Selina. When he finally made it to the medical floor, he gestured for Ivy to step out before him. Selina saw her and burst into tears, running over and throwing her arms around Ivy's neck.

"Whoa Selina." Ivy wrapped her arms around her. "It's going to be okay."

"He started-" she was cut off when Bruce screamed somewhere in the maze of cubicles, and Selina burst into a fresh round of tears. "They won't let me see him..."

"Of course not," Ivy said firmly. "Because he's going to be fine. You don't need to see him like this." She gestured at Jason to go check on Bruce, and he walked away behind Selina's back.

Jason ran into Damian coming out of Bruce's cubicle.

"Jason," he said in surprise, and then steered him back a few feet before stopping. Robin took his mask off. "He's… they're stabilizing him. After two rounds of sedatives that didn't work, they finally upped the dose and put him under- it's better than it was before," he commented.

"He's flatlining again!" someone shouted out to Damian from the cubicle. He swiftly put his mask back on and rushed back in with Jason on his heels; Bruce lay on his back on a cot, several of the medical staff working around him to try to revive him. His armor had been torn off and his chest was bare, multiple stab wounds in his side; really, anywhere there was a weak spot in his armor. Anywhere the Joker could get at. His face was banged up and his upper arm was braced, his shoulder bandaged.

"The Joker attacked him and then shoved him off of a building," Damian said quietly. He and Jason stood back, out of the medics ways. He stared at his father. "Come on, damn you," he muttered.

"Damn." Jason took a deep breath. "We need to get Selina off of this floor. If she sees this, she's going to lose it." He wanted to lose it.

"I know. Tell Ivy to get her out of here," he muttered quietly. When Jason looked at him, he looked shockingly like his father. His mask hid cold, calculating, devoid of emotion eyes.

"Keep us updated." Jason gave him what he hoped was a reassuring pat on the shoulder before heading back out to Ivy and Selina. He gave Ivy a meaningful look before tapping Selina gently. "Hey, how you holding up?"

"I have to control it," she whimpered.

"No you don't," he assured her. "In this instance you are completely justified in losing it."

"You told me I couldn't," she looked up at him, letting go of Ivy and moving to wrap her arms around Jason's neck like a child moving from parent to parent. Selina buried her face in his shoulder and stifled a sob.

"Everyone breaks down sometimes." He patted her somewhat awkwardly and looked at Ivy for help.

"Don't look at me." She shrugged. "Plants hate saltwater."

"Sorry," Selina backed away from him.

"You're fine. We're just… built up sexual tension?" he offered and shrugged while Ivy snorted and smiled. "But come on," he led Selina to the elevator, "let's get you somewhere that doesn't feel like a hospital."

"That doesn't narrow it down any," Selina commented, wrapping her arms around herself. "He's going to be ok, right?"

"Would he dare die on you?" Jason challenged. "Let's get you back to your room, and Damian will keep us updated, okay?"

"Sure," Selina sighed dejectedly.

"Hey, don't you sure me," he warned her.

"Red Hood," Damian snapped into the comms. "He's stabilizing but where the hell is Drake, I've called him four times now."

"Spoiler went looking for him. I'm sure they're just-"

"-Oh my God," Steph's comm crackled to life over theirs. "No. You can't," she sobbed. "Someone please. Anyone."

"Location," Jason demanded. What now?!

"He's in the labs." Jason immediately pounded the button on the elevator. "I can't get to him. Please."

"Spoiler what the hell happened?! He's not... Is he...?" Robin's voice trailed off.

Red Robin had gotten away from the Infected, trapping himself in the glass observation cage at the far end of the labs. The zombie had still been roaming around the labs, but Steph had taken care of it when she'd come in; she'd fallen to her knees outside of the observation cage where Red Robin was leaning against the glass, trapped on the other side. His ring finger and pinky were missing, and clawed gashes were raked down his arm.

"Tim." She sniffled as she cried, knocking on the glass. "Tim please. Please no." His face was angled where he sat with his back against the glass door, his head bent back at an awkward angle as if he was still trying to look for help that wouldn't come in time. The elevator opened, and Jason, Selina, and Ivy spilled out. They surveyed the scene, and Jason stepped forward.

"Steph," he said hesitantly. "You need to back away."

"No," she snapped, swatting him away. "I'm not leaving him." Jason looked back at Selina and Ivy for help.

"Stephanie, come on," Selina said gently, swallowing her own tears as she held her hands out to her. "It's… it's too late, sweetie," she choked.

"No!" she sobbed. "It can't be too late." She fell against Selina and cried into her shoulder. Jason took his gun out and quickly exchanged the tranq darts for real bullets. He glanced at Ivy before he shot the lock on the observation room. He went in and shut the door behind him again. He took a deep breath as he squatted down in front of Tim. There was severe blood loss, but it was already clotting, and he was already unconscious. When Tim woke up, he wouldn't be Tim anymore. Jason looked down at his gun as he sighed. He froze.

"Batgirl," he commed, as he nudged Tim's leg aside. "What the hell is Sample 377?" He picked up the empty vial and glanced at Tim. "And please tell me it's a good thing."

"It was our latest attempt for a cure, we were supposed to start actual testing tomorrow," Barbara responded, sniffing back her tears. Her voice was thick. "We weren't getting anywhere, but the round before it wasn't very great, it only seemed to accelerate the turn."

There was a cracking noise as Tim's head snapped forward, white eyes fixed on Jason. He jumped backwards with a yelp.

"So not good," he muttered.

"Well we don't know if this new sample does yet. Why?" Barbara asked. Tim rocked forward a bit, sitting up. Selina glanced through the glass and did a double take, screaming as she held on to Steph. Tim's body tensed, his head cocking as the vacant eyes remained fixed on Jason.

"Well," Jason backed up, "I'm facing your first test subject. Congratulations. It's a zombie."

"What are you talking about? You don't mean…?"

Tim was on his feet in a second, taking a hesitant step towards him.

"Oh I do mean," Jason assured her. "So any advice? His girlfriend is watching, and I may joke that I hate the guy, but that doesn't mean I want to put a bullet between his eyes."

"Tranq him," Barbara instructed, thinking fast. "If there's any hope of saving him, we'll need to clean him up, dress his wounds, and try to hold him together. I'll be right down."

Tim growled a bit, taking another step towards Jason. Any moment now he could burst towards him in a flash of speed. Jason leveled his gun at him before he remembered live rounds were loaded.

"Shit," he swore, quickly changing the ammo. Tim lunged at him, teeth bared, knocking him down as he tried to bite him.

"Jason!" Barbara shouted as she ran across the labs. "Don't hurt him!"

"I don't think anyone told him that rule!" Jason called back, trying to fend off Tim's teeth. Barbara ran past Selina and Ivy trying to comfort Steph, and she grabbed Tim's cape, yanking him back off of Jason. Tim whirled on her with a snarl and Barbara's eyes widened in terror.

"Jason," she gasped, pinning herself against the door.

"Yeah, yeah." Jason scrambled back to his feet. "Hey swan queen!" The tranq dart hit Tim in the forehead, and Jason dropped his hands to his knees as he panted. Tim dropped to the floor, his white eyes closing. Barbara gasped, kneeling beside him.

"How could this happen?" she breathed.

"I couldn't get my ammo switched fast enough." He expected Barbara's glare. "Don't look at me. I have no idea."

"Surveillance footage? Anything? How did it get out?!" she cried, pulling Tim's mask away from his face.

"The zombie cage lock was destroyed. Most likely a bullet. And there's no way one Infected took out the glass in the lab like that. A team probably ransacked down here too..." He trailed off when Steph passed him. Barbara glanced up at her.

"Stephanie, I... Maybe you shouldn't see this," she said quietly.

"He… he can't be." She sniffled. "Please tell me he's going to be okay. He has to be okay."

Barbara watched her before standing slowly and hugging her tight. "I'll do everything I can," she assured her. "We'll get Tim back."