Ch: 58: Confess Your Sins

2 Years ago, Wayne Estate

Darkness, absolute darkness. Dripping water echoes throughout the pitch-black zone, mixed with soft pattering and screeches. Cutting through the realm of blackness, a flare is lit, its hiss drowning out all other sounds at its appearance. The holder of the flare, Bruce Wayne was cast in a devilish red glow from the new source of light, basking him in its crimson gleam - almost a warning that he was digging his way straight to the underworld itself.

Bruce throws the flare across the ground from him as he then lights another, repeating the process until his cone of vision covered the whole floor. He force-focuses further into the depths of the cave, watching a cloud of bats swarm from their once-place of slumber away from the now-disturbed site, their screeching once again took dominance, becoming the only thing that could be heard. Recently returned from his travels, Bruce was unkept: Long hair that reached his shoulder that was messy along with a scraggly beard.

Bruce strides through the semi-lit darkness while keeping a single flare in his grip, "I think I found it, Al! Perfect size, toasty and no exits for miles - Someone accidentally stumbling upon these labyrinths is next to impossible."

From behind, Alfred tip-toes his way towards Bruce with his flare in hand, carefully trying to avoid the puddles and leakage from the ceilings of the cave. The older man was less daring than Bruce, sporting a hardhat and protective gear which greatly countered the other man's complete lack of safety gear, "May I remind you, Master Bruce, that Wayne Manner has seventeen bedrooms, a library, a pool, a gym, a large garden, a personal home cinema and over seven bathrooms? - Yet you rather be down here in the dark, damp cave..."

Bruce stops and lights another flare before throwing it out his line of sight, "I like it down here. Add some lights, move in my tech and equipment - it'll feel like our new home. We just need to spice it up," replied Bruce as he kneels near the edge of their level, turning his focus to the realm below them, a seemingly endless abyss.

Alfred faces Bruce as he hurls his flare into the darkness, watching the red illumination of it light up the world that is below them, "But why a cave, Master Bruce? Surely there are more *comfy* places that could meet your needs just as much as these caves?"

Bruce turns to the older man with a faint smile, one that only he could recognize as such, "The last time Jeremiah caused us trouble, he had his men dig a tunnel from Gotham to the old Manner. I was thinking we could take a move out of his playbook."

The older man nods to show Bruce that he understood, "I see. Do you intend to make a tunnel to the city? But there's one problem with that, Master Bruce - That took Jeremiah months to do, and think of all the manpower he had to do it? It would take us years to even replicate a fraction of that work, even with top-end equipment."

"That's what I originally thought, too. - Luckily Lucius had some good news for me when he went over the construction plans for the new Wayne Manner. When Jeremiah blew up the old manner the resulting explosion hit the caving system beneath it too, this caving system to be precise. - It did quite a number on it, destroying several walls that would have usually blocked off the nearby areas. If Lucius is correct on this and I doubt he isn't, it should be a nearly ideal stretch of the system that leads straight to the city already," explained Bruce.

"That's convenient now, isn't it?" replied Alfred with his signature dry-wit tone.

"Not exactly, remember how I said it was *nearly ideal*? There is one problem that could be troublesome. Some parts of this cave are so unstable that just our weight could bring the whole thing crashing down ah...hold on...," Bruce peaks over the edge and down to the flare "About over fifty feet and Lucius doesn't know which parts."

Alfred's eyes spasm as he tuts, "You mean this whole time at any moment...we could've both..."

"Fallen to our untimely and probably gory deaths? Yeah, it was possible," standing up to be level with the older man, Bruce flashes another faint smile, "I hope you traced your steps, old friend. Lucius should be arriving here any minute, he's planning to send a drone down here to map out the layout."

Alfred carefully follows the path he took before, treading more carefully this time as he glares at the back of Bruce's head, "Then you coming down here was pointless? Why would you do something so needlessly risky, Master Bruce?" Alfred then stops when he hears the bats around them liven up and begin to scurry about in a wild manner, eventually seeing them fly around Bruce, "Bloody hell..."

Bruce was unphased by the bats as he continues his path with a look of iron will, "To let them know who's now calling the shots down here!" Bruce yelled back to the other man as he continues to barge past the swarm of bats that were almost surrounding him.

- Present Day -

Bruce and Selina both stand at the sloping path that leads down into the abyss of the Batcave, readying themselves for what awaits them below. Distant screeches and flutters of bats echo throughout the cave, along with the sound of dripping water.

"So that maniac had Harley pretend to be on your side so that he could gain access to your network, and transform your house into a death trap," observed Selina as she glares towards the darkness below, "We're trapped in this place until we stop the dynamic-crazo, wonderful..."

"What matters is finishing this quickly, we can't risk taking too long due to Bullock's injuries, though I tended to his leg wound, he can still bleed out...or at least he's lost enough blood to enter shock as is. Dent doesn't have the training to help Bullock if that happens, our best chance is to get to the Batcomputer and disengage the lockdown protocol," replied Bruce as he was first to take a step in the descent, "I always knew that Jeremiah was a genius, but altering my network? He breached all of the firewalls without me even knowing...I should've picked up on it, but...Oh no... - He's behind it... He caused the Arkham breakout so that I would be too busy to realize what he was doing..."

Selina's eyes narrow, "Harleen worked at Arkham and was his doctor, she could have easily been his messenger to his crew. She's been a crazy bitch this whole time..."

"That's certainly a possibility, but something about this doesn't sit right with me. Arkham is one thing, but why Blackgate? Why free Bane and Penguin, why would he create a Jailbreak just for those two when they've never worked together before. Ivy, Bridgit and Crane meet Jeremiah's criteria of crazy, but Oswald is perfectly sane, as hard as it is to believe. And Bane may have his venom addiction, but he's still proved to be legally sane. Neither of them matches Jeremiah's M.O."

Selina dismisses Bruce's concern with a shrug, "Who cares, Bat. Trying to figure out that nutjob won't get you anywhere. You're better off not even trying."

Bruce continues his thoughts against Selina's dismissal, "Wait a minute, Bane's venom addiction, Oswald's greed... They may want different things, but they're desperate for one thing, addicted to it. Wait a minute: Crane's research, Ivy's revenge against Gothcorp, Freeze's wife..." widening his eyes, Bruce comes to a new realization, "They all wanted something, something that could be used to make them fall in line. Something that could make them willingly work for them to distract me while they worked from the shadows..."

"Uh, Bruce...?" Selina tries to get the attention of a Bruce that was deep in thought, untouchable by the outside world.

"The Arkham breakout would be the perfect excuse for them to take control of this city, watch it like a hawk and know everything that goes on. - But why would Jeremiah agree to work for them? That's not a possible reason that I can see him working for her, unless... - No, that's not..."

Watching the sudden shift of Bruce's stoic front to one of surprise and doubtful silence filled Selina with a new-found feeling, an uneasiness that she had never felt before that was all brought about from the now unsure man, the person who she believed had all the answers, "Bat?"

"Selina...," Bruce moved his gaze at her, watching her perfect features, "If we go down there, we'll be heading into whatever trap Jeremiah has for us. Maybe you should stay behind, in case I won't be able to deal with whatever he has planned."

A look of disgust washes over Selina's face upon hearing his words, her bottom lip quivers and her eyes narrow, "I couldn't care less about the bastard, I'm only after Harleen, no...Harley. She killed my mom...Like hell am I gonna stay here and do nothing! I can handle those two..."

Bruce faces away from his dark-haired companion, looking back at the blackened depths that lead into the Batcave, "What are you planning on doing when you catch up with her?" asked Bruce who already was aware of the answer. He watches her scavenge the depths of her jacket's pockets, seeing her pull out a set of claws.

"Make her wish she took these away from me while she had the chance, you said it yourself: Bullock needs medical attention and the only way to do that is to get this place out of lockdown...I won't let her take another life, never...again," she takes the lead and continues her descent into the darkness, "She's my problem and I'm gonna deal with her."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Bruce and Selina near the point of no return, the web that would bind them to the whim's of the Joker, soon passing it to enter the place that Bruce once considered home, now nothing more than a stage for whatever was going to go down. The pair stand shoulder-to-shoulder as they traverse the platform, looking out for any detail, "Jeremiah! I'm here, now show yourself!" yelled Bruce who's voice echoes far into the void. Selina's eyes glisten with anger as she looks for her target.

"Harley! Don't you dare hide from me!"

They reach the end, standing in the depths of the Batcave, untouched for nearly a year. Cobwebs cover the displays of equipment and even the case that houses the first porotype Batsuit. Bruce's eyes hone in above him as they catch glimpse of the newly disturbed bats that fly away from the place of rest, "Come out, Jeremiah! This ends now...NOW!" Scouting the place out, Bruce and Selina await a response and one eventually comes, just as unnerving as they expected.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...NO!," Joker manically gasps from the speakers positioned around the cave, "What do you think that you're doing my dear Bats... It's too early for our evening to end here! You j-just had to be a spoiled sport, didn't ya?"

"You're not here?" mumbled Bruce as he faces the direction of the speakers, "Show yourself, Jeremiah!"

"Mistah J isn't here, but the doctor is in the house...," turning in the chair to the Batcomputer, Harley locks gazes with Selina with a lick of her lips and a wink, "Very roomy, I kinda like it here! I almost feel bad 'bout this, B-Man." Pushing herself to her feet, she shows a small device in her hand to the duo.

Bruce's instinct overwhelm him to take his attention off of the blonde and onto the device that she's holding, "Th-that? That's... - Harley...don't do it," pleaded Bruce but before he could take action, Selina pounces at the woman with eyes of venom, "Selina, don't! She has-"

"I'm going to kill you! KILL YOU," fast as lightning, Selina grabs Harley and slams her against the Batcomputer, "You killed my mom!"

"Oh...are ya still goin' on 'bout that, sugar? Geez...ya do like to hold grudges, don't ya," grins Harley with crimson lips as she triggers the device and slams it against the dark-haired woman's chest. Selina is thrown to the ground with a scream as her body pulses in agony as her breathing staggers.

"SELINA!," Bruce charges toward Harley who welcomes him with a head tilt and wink. Harley reaches her hand out, activating her bracelet that recalls the sledgehammer that returns to her, flying just over Bruce's head and into her free hand. She then pulls out her handgun and begins to open fire on Bruce, smiling the entire time. Without the protection of his suit, Bruce was left with no choice but to dodge the incoming bullets, rolling out of the path of fire from Harley.

Selina's eyes tremble as she barely could move her muscles and is overwhelmed by her senses going into overdrive, "W-what d-d-d-did you d-do?" quivered Selina. Harley continues to unload her clip at Bruce, joying at Bruce avoiding her shots as she knew that would prolong their game, "Feelin' fuzzy, hun? That doohicky I just zapped ya with is the defibrillator that B-man had in his Batsuit. Relax would ya, Mistah J dialled it back a bit to make sure ya wouldn't die so easily... that wouldn't be much fun now, would it? Ya won't be movin' anytime soon though..."

Harley's clip runs dry, now emptied, "Looks like we're doin' it this bloody way then...good," smirks Harleen as she throws her handgun away, securing her grip on her sledgehammer, "I do love gettin' dirty."

"Harley!," Bruce shouts at the top of his lunges as he holds his hands up, "Stop this, please... you've done enough, hurt enough people...please...I don't want to fight you," he pleads with the blonde as he slowly approaches her, "Jeremiah has gotten in your head, twisted your thoughts. He's been manipulating you, lying to you...please...I want to help you..."

"Lying? Manipulating?," questioned Harley as she grinds her teeth, "Ya got a lot of nerve comin' at me with that...especially after what ya did...how ya manipulated and lied to Harvey... Ain't that right, B-Man? Head games are only okay when ya the one doin' them, right?," she looks between Bruce and Selina, "Mistah J isn't a saint, but at least he doesn't lie about what he is...what he does and doesn't do, but ya...act like your the moral authority, that you have lines that you don't cross, but that ain't true...is it? You've lied, deceived and hurt people...only to act like they're the ones in the wrong..."

"Oh, she has you there, Bats...doesn't she? ," Joker's voice chimes in through the speakers, "I gotta say Bats, in all of my time bringing hell to Gotham and its people...I always felt like I was missing something, besides from you that is... see I've always been a big fan of the idea: the cruellest thing that you do to a man is to tell them the truth, you and I both know that truth Bats...oh yes we do... I know all of your dirty little secrets, but does Harvey know what you did? Heck, does that pest on the ground know what you did...? Hmmm...I'm guessing not, so...it looks like it's time for your secret to be revealed, Batsy!"

"Do it, honey," chirped Harley as her eyes look past Bruce and to the entrance to the cave. Following the direction of the blonde's gaze, Bruce turns to see *him*. A man's whose skin is white as snow with sprawled up green-haired and eyes and blood-red lips. Suited in a purple overcoat over a white unbuttoned shirt, green waistcoat and black gloves. Bruce's eyes widen as he watches Joker come closer, ready to strike.

"Honey, I'm home!," laughed Joker as he holds his sides, "Did you miss me, Bats? I sure missed you...it's so good to finally see you in person again. This long-distance thing we had going was such a drag, but now...here we are! You and I, just like we have been waiting for." Notching Bruce's aggression, Joker points over his shoulder, "I wouldn't think about that, Bats...that hammer looks very, very heavy. Poor Harley might just drop it, I sure do hope that there's no one under her when she does..."

Harley grins as she holds the sledgehammer over Selina's head, "Yeah, Mistah J! I sure am butterfingers lately, but luckily it's just Selina...so nothing valuable will be lost if I do crush her noggin."

Bruce scowls at Joker, eyes glaring and teeth-gritting, "I'm going to-to take you down..."

Joker's lips slowly stretch into a grin as he glances over Bruce, a light flickering in his eyes as he does, "Oh honey, you always know how to get me excited - but...I've been unfair in our relationship. See tonight is all about you, think of it as my gift to you, Bats...," rubbing his gloved hands together with a cackle and the glimmer in his eyes returning. The pale man gave on a more strained chuckle before continuing, "This moment between us sure does take me back, Bats... what about you? Do you too feel our old flame rekindling? I can feel it in my chest burning bright..."

"How did you get Clayface to work for you?," inquired Bruce as he ignores the Joker's words, remaining stoic as he stares him down, "He hasn't been heard from for nearly a decade. Why would he risk his freedom now? Especially by working for you?"

"Ah, good question," laughed Joker as he reaches into the front pocket of his coat, "Why indeed, hmmm? Mr no-face wanted something that I could give him. Simple as that, Bats. And it's all thanks to you," Joker teased as he takes a USB stick out of his jacket and shows it to Bruce, "After all...you were the only person who had a detailed file on him. You gave me exactly everything I needed to get him to help me with this whole night...ha!"

"The Batcomputer...you had Harleen help you hack into its network...you knew my every move..."

"Why so serious, Bats? You already knew that I did, otherwise...how would I have been able to play that recording earlier? Hmmm? Having trouble remembering? Oh, you're just playing the fool, aren't you?" Joker interlocked his fingers and chuckles, "Oh my dear, dear Bats! You can't even admit what you did, can you? Are you secretly hoping that it'll just go away? Oh...no chance! I know what you did, Bats... I know..." holding his sides as he laughs, Joker keeps his eyes on Bruce, "We share e-everything! I know all of your secrets, every single one!"

"B-Bruce what i-is he t-talking a-about?" quivered Selina who was still unable to move while a crazed Harley smirks at her.

Harley shrugs as her smirk shifts to a gesture of pure bliss, "B-man has been a naughty boy, Kitty. It's so funny that I know more about him than even you. Oh, once you know what he did... You'll never be able to look at him the same again..."

Meanwhile

"She's coming to, Jim - give her some room," Lee's voice comes in distant to a waking Talia, slowly becoming louder. The woman's vision was still blurred, only seeing what was in front of her as simple smudges that gradually took shape as she regained consciousness. Soon, it all became clear as crystal as she recognizes both Lee and Jim. "Are you with us, Talia?," asked a concerned Lee who brings her hands over the other woman's shoulders, "Are you hurt?"

"Talia? You two on first name bases?" huffed Gordon as he stands away from Lee, "Would you mind explaining how you know her? She was last seen assaulting Bruce and later Harvey, or Clayface...whatever it was, she is wanted for assault, a criminal. So could you give me a good reason why you appear to be so chummy with her?"

"Christ,...James, let her get on her feet first before you start the interrogate her," Leslie grabs Talia's hands and helps her to her feet, "It looked like that thing hit you pretty hard back there, maybe we should wait until we're sure about your injur-"

Grimacing at the concern that was shown for her by Lee and mischaracterizing it as nothing more than pity, Talia shifts her posture to show her that she was fine, "I still breathe and that creature shall regret not ending my life when it had the chance; it'll not get another."

"That *creature* can seemingly change into anything and weigh like anything. Basil Karlo was never this powerful, it's like since he forgot his human self, he has become more monstrous. At this point, I can only see the guy from Metropolis being able to take him down. Even if Batman was here, I doubt he could stop Karlo."

Lee took a moment to ponder, soon sharing her thoughts with the others, "Maybe we don't need to fight him. You heard him, James... He's only working for that clown because he has the files that he wants. Maybe if we talk to him, we might be able to get him to listen to reason - maybe we can promise him the files if he helps us get out of here."

"Last I checked, *Just following orders" isn't an excuse,* replied Jim with a stern gaze, " He's not going to help us...I doubt he wants to end up in a cell, and that maniac has us trapped, it's clear that we don't have any power to bargain with him. The only way that we're getting out of here is past him."

Talia shifts her eyes upon Jim, staring at his facial features, "Words that I agree with. This not very expected from one such as yourself," she remarks. Turning her head, she faces the way that the attacker had gone, "Blüd was with me when I was taken by that beast, as such...I cannot allow myself to leave this place until I know he is safe."

"Blüd? That guy from the library? The one who does those reading sessions with those schools? What connection do you have with him?" inquired Jim as he was now more curious than angered at the woman's presence, "And why would he get caught up in this?"

"I'll answer your queries, but only after you explain to me why I should waste my breath to answer you. If you want the truth then pay attention as I do not owe you a thing, 'ahmaq." Talia makes her move to head towards their next destination. Gordon follows reluctantly as to not let her out of his sight and sprints to catch her.

"Why did you lie back there?" asked Talia, glaring at the commissioner, "Why did you say that you last saw me on that night with Bruce? You saw me with your city's Dark Knight when Nyssa Al Ghul caught you," she raised an eyebrow, "Did you leave that detail out in an attempt to have Miss Thompkins take your side? How devious of you. I'm almost impressed."

"Wasn't my intention," replied Gordon as he parts ways from Talia.

Talia bit her lip, "To lie?"

Gordon looks back with a stern glance, "No, - trying to impress you."

Meanwhile

The Batcave

"Ah memory. There's nothing quite like reflecting upon your past is there? All the suffering that you have endured and the pain that you've inflicted upon others, there's nothing else like it. The stinging sensation that keeps you up at night...that eventually makes you into...something darker. Eventually, you do things... things that you would have once condemned. But you lie to yourself, try to convince your conscience that what you're doing is the right choice...and that everything will somehow work out." Joker holds a small remote in his palm as he locks gazes with Bruce, "Do you wanna hear the funniest part of what's about to transpire, Bats? This...? All of this wouldn't be possible...without you."

"Jeremiah - don't!" snarled Bruce as he still couldn't make a move without risking Selina's health.

The green-haired man wet his lips and stretched his grin, "Hmmm...how about...no. See Crane-boy was going all about it wrong. If he wanted you to face your biggest fear...he really should've just shown you your reflection, something that you can't deny." Joker presses the remote which caused the makeshift speakers around the Batcave to broadcast a previous recording to the dread of Bruce.

"Dent, what are you doing!? Put the gun down! Have you lost it!"

"Oh no, no no, Aubrey...this has been a long time coming...you...have this coming, we'll make sure to punish you."

"You son of a bitch, Dent! Do you think that you can waltz in here and shoot me?"

"He-he...let's have the coin decide, shall we...? Heads: I shoot you."

"What are you babbling about? My men will be here bef-"

"Heads...you lose..."

"Dent, NO!"

[!BANG! BANG! BANG!]

Selina's eyes widen upon hearing the audio and her features become distraught as even the threat of Harley above her become invisible, "D-Dent...? B-Bruce...w-what wa-was t-th-th-that?" quivered Selina. She sees Bruce had become retreated, almost ashamed as he refuses to look at her, "...-B-B-Bruce...? S-s-say something...please..."

Harley smirks as she gawks at Selina's near broken expression, focusing on the woman's quivering lips, "Look at good ol' B-Man. He can't even admit what he did even when he was caught!" The dual pigtail blonde presses her boot against Selina's cheek, "Well Kitten looks like it's up to us to tell you the truth about him. To give you my expert opinion I diagnosed him with being batshit crazy and a real nasty case of pseudologia fantastica or put simply...he's a stinky liar!"

Joker looks over Bruce as he notices the man's sudden change in tone and attitude, a complete paradigm shift, "C'mon Bats, don't go soft on me now...we were just getting riled up." Joker lifts his chin with his knuckle as he inches closer to the dark-haired man, "Oh...I see. Tell me Bats...did I strike a nerve by letting your little secret out? But the truth is out now, isn't it? You knew that Dent killed our dear beloved mayor and hid it. You let a murderer walk the streets...why? Because he's your dear friend...hmmm?"

Joker's eye twitches as Bruce remains silent against his prying, "Well? What makes him so special to you, Bats?! He killed a single person and you betray your morals to protect him but when I murdered countless fools, you act like I don't matter! After all that I have done for you, everything we have done...you treat him like he matters to you more than me? That's...not funny," Joker grits his teeth as he grabs Bruce by the shirt, "How could you have that *nobody* be more important to you?"

Across the room, Harley stares at Joker as she witnesses the look in his eyes, recognizing his admiration for Bruce that eclipsed his feelings for her, if any. She stands in absolute silence as she couldn't look away from the passionate rage that Joker was in with none of his feelings being aimed towards her.

Elsewhere

Jim Gordon and Talia make their way through the halls while Lee follows closely behind as they were all still unaware of the house's true nature. The silence between them is brought to an end when the daughter of the demon speaks, "From the look in your eye I believe that you have noticed it too? The feeling of familiarity?" She looks at the glimmer in Gordon's eyes, recognizing the look as one of confusion. One that expressed an answer without the knowledge of the right wording.

Gordon thought of Talia as the furthest thing from an ally, but within this circumstance, he needed as many reliable people as he could have. He fought his urge to ignore her and decided to play nice with her or be as friendly as he could bring himself to be. He gives a quick look to Talia which confirmed her suspicions, "I can't explain this feeling...but I think I've been here before, but why do you feel the same?" asked Gordon as even now he couldn't bring himself to quell his inner detective that wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery that was Talia.

But the answer never came, instead, Talia shrugs and returns to face her front, "Why indeed, Mr Gordon, why indeed." Although she was raised in the League of Shadows, that was only a portion of the reason why she refused to answer Jim's inquiry. The true reason behind her secrecy came from somewhere new, a part of her that manifested only recently. She couldn't explain why but she felt some kind of enjoyment from toying with Gordon, a far cry from how she once portrayed herself.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Before long the trio found themselves at the top of a staircase that leads down to the lower floors that too were defiled in the luminescent pain and ghost-like decorations. It was then that the mirage shattered and they begin to piece it all together. Lee looks down below to the ground floor, "I haven't been to too many haunted houses, but I don't think they're meant to look like this. I knew that there was something off."

"There's always something off when it comes to Jeremiah," Gordon begins his descent down the stairs, "We're in Wayne Manor. I would recognize this layout anywhere and Alfred mentioned that Wayne Manner was being rebuilt to perfectly replicate the old one. There's no mistaking it."

Lee was second as she keeps close to Gordon, "I don't think Bruce would appreciate the new decorations," she looks at where the windows were meant to be but instead found them obstructed by metal plates that cut them off from the outside world. Jim repeated Leslie's actions and looked to the barred windows.

"Security protocol maybe? Bruce would have stepped up his game against invaders considering what happened to this place the last time that happened. Jeremiah must've found a way to take control of the system," reasoned James as he moves past the halfway point. His focus is momentarily shifted as Talia comes at his side, ridding down the bannister beat him to the ground level.

"Then we know what we must do to get out of her. We must hunt that clown down," Talia's eyes narrow as she looks to the still descending Gordon and Lee, "You must stay here. You two shall only prove to be a liability for-." Feeling her foot tug against something, she looks down and spots that it had been caught on a cable. Gordon looks above to the ceiling upon hearing noise coming from high above, his eyes land up a man who had his arms tied around the chandelier.

"Blüd?" Lee confirms the man's identity as Gordon creaks his neck to catch a better look at the the man.

Gordon makes a break back up the stairs," We need to get him down from there." The man stops his journey when a voice speaks to him, one of power that could only belong to one single individual. Both Lee and Talia halt their movements as they too are taken by the presence of the voice.

"Stop where you are! He's set to blow," a voice bellows from the shadows high above where two piercing white eyes illuminate, looking down at the trio, "Joker could set off the explosives at any moment!"

The Batcave

"You're a liar that let a murderer walk free and you have nothing to say? Not even to me...your greatest friend? News flash, Bats...THIS IS A BIG DEAL and you being quiet won't make this go away," Joker laughs as his mood suddenly changed to being pleased with Bruce's actions, "Oh come Bats...you should've known this secret of yours was going to come out sooner or later. Are you expecting me to believe that you didn't once think about that happening?," laughed Joker as he holds his sides, "Did you honestly think that you could just hide that and expect everything to turn out okay? That's not how this works."

Bruce was still silent.

Joker rolls his eyes and reaches into his coat, "Your silence is telling me more than your words ever could, Bats. Let me think, ah...you were holding out some kind of hope, weren't you? Hoping that the audio would turn out to be fake, yes? That is was just one big conspiracy to take down Mr Dent...Oh, you had so much hope for that to be the case, but it's a shame that you were wrong. Harvey Dent is just a cold-blooded murderer and one that you knew about."

Harley chirps in from the sidelines, "Mistah J is right B-man. I did a lot of work with Harvey when you weren't watchin' and he is one messed up guy...no wonder you two got along so well. Mistah J wanted me to mess up his noggin but he already had his demons. I almost felt bad for the guy...almost."

"Silence, Harley! This is between Bats and me. Keep your nose out of it," ordered Joker as he pulls out something from his coat, hidden in his tightened fist. "You knew about Harvey and what he did, but you left him to walk free to be a free man. The Bats I know would have taken him down, but there's something wrong with you. Like you are ashamed of your inner monster? Why are you fighting it, Bats? That beast inside you is absolutely beautiful and deserves to be freed..."

As expected, Bruce did not say a single word. He kept his stoic glare, the best that he could do in his situation.

Joker cackles with a wide grin, "Tell me something, Bats...do you not see the irony here? Ha! In trying to tame that monster inside of you, you've only hurt more of your precious friends!" The man who laughs faces Bruce with a playful look, "All of this...is your fault, Bats! It was your lies that have destroyed your poor ol' friends. All of their suffering tonight is because of you! Because you and they are all liars, hypocrites and just bad company..."

Joker presses his palm over Bruce's shoulder and smiles, "Deny it all you want, but deep down...you always knew that I am your only friend, Bats. I don't pretend to be something I'm not. I own my atrocities and that's why you always come back to me and why I can't stop thinking about you...we complete each other. I, the villain am unable to lie while you, the hero is shrouded in nothing but lies. - The world would be boring for us if we did not both exist..."

Bruce's eyes pulsate as his entire body is sent into shock as Joker's haunting laugh fills the room. Falling to his knees with a staggered breath and was unable to control his body. Bruce looks at the clown's hand and sees that there was a joy buzzer. He tried to speak but his words were slewed, undecipherable as his nervous system spasms.

"And the fun is just getting started my dear Bats...just you wait. Now the real party can begin..." Joker watches Bruce fall onto his sides and slip out of consciousness, "This night will never leave you with a peaceful moment ever again...just like what you wanted..."

Meanwhile

"Batman?" Gordon follows the Dark Knight's orders and moves back, "How are you here?"

The figure remains in the shadows, perched high above as his eyes focus on the commissioner, "Multiple kidnappings were reported all around the same time, Bruce Wayne was among them, along with Selina Kyle. It's no coincidence that both she and the others all share a connection to Mr Wayne. Once I figured out that Joker was behind it, I knew where he would be. Getting in here was the easy part."

Batman descends, using his cape to ease his drop, "That's when I found Blüd in this situation, I've been examining the bombs since then but they're set to manual and not a timer. Which means that Joker is watching us. There's no way to disable the device without getting in close."

"Try cutting off the signal," Gordon advised.

Batman crosses his arms and looks to Jim, "The explosives are set on a Deadman switch, it will blow up the second its signal is cut."

Lee Thompkins rushes over to Batman with a stunned look, "Then what should we do? We just can't leave him up there, especially with a maniac like Jeremiah with the trigger."

Batman nods to show that he agrees with Lee's sentiment, "I would never leave an innocent to suffer. Bruce Wayne wired this place to block all communications from the outside world when the Lockdown protocol is activated, which means the detonator is somewhere inside...which would mean that The Joker is also here and close by." Behind the Dark Knight stood Talia who watches him with absolute concentration, focusing on every movement that he made.

"Before we can do that I'm afraid I got some more bad news," Lee tells Batman with an earnest look, "It's Clayface. He's working with Joker and helped him kidnap us. We need to take him down before he finds us."

"Basil Karlo, I am aware of his cooperation. The mess at Gotham Library made it clear since the only other person that can create that mess is Waylon Jones, who's currently under lock and key." Batman moves his eyes from Gordon and Lee, "Somehow Joker's got his hands on files of Basil Karlo, the only one with the information that he could use since the G.C.P.D file went missing."

"Wait..." pondered Talia as her eyes fixate on Batman, "How could you confirm that was Basil Karlo at the Library? The security cameras do not have sound...and he told me that form of his was new. Not even you should have made that leap in logic so quickly."

Upon hearing the woman's question, Batman turns his torso to face her, "Ah, glad that you asked ma'am. See in the library, Basil left traces of himself that held DNA, allowing me to link it to him. It was a simple process."

"Ma'am?" Talia grimaces.

Gordon was shaken due to the Dark Knight's response, "Basil Karlo doesn't have DNA, not since his mutation...but you would know that...if you were Batman."

Batman's eyes widen, "But every report said that he did-"

"They were fakes made for the sole purpose of catching you out if you ever tried impersonating again. Batman figured that out on his own, the real Batman that is," Gordon grabs Lee's shoulder and moves her back and away from the imposter Dark Knight.

Lee tries to appeal to the small amount of humanity left in Clayface with earnestly "We can find a way to help you. We can get you the information that you want, you don't have to rely on that maniac. You can trust us."

The imposter Batman's eyes shift to be sharp as he snarls, "*Trust* you? How can I trust you when the one thing I learned from you...was a lie. If-If I don't have DNA...then am I even a person? How can I ever become Basil Karlo when I don't even have his biology anymore!" Unbeknownst to Clayface, Talia moved her sights to the cable on the floor that had previously stumped her. She then silently makes her way towards it.

Clayface begins to morph, shifting from the Dark Knight into his monstrous form, "It doesn't matter what I know about him, it's all pointless! I can never live as Basil Karlo ever again! If he's gone...then what am I? What am I? I said...WHAT AM I?," screamed Clayface as he towered over Lee and Gordon, looking even more of a beast with spikes piercing through his body, "Am I even a *who* anymore? Am I even alive?" he goes to slam his fist down on the duo.

Gordon grabs Lee and shoves her out of the way while leaving his evasion to the last second as he barely escapes the brutal attack, "Am I beyond life? Between being alive and dead? WHAT AM I? WHAT AM I? I don't understand...w-what I am...," Clayface retracts his fists and transforms it into a blade, "Am I a killer if I am so beyond life? Can I even die?," he lifts his arm and readies himself to slash down on Gordon, "Am I...a god? Am I a god? Can I be a god? I don't understand. I don't understand anything except this rage...Yes, I am angry! That's what I feel so that's what I must be! It's the only thing that I know I am! I must act out this ra-"

Clayface screams as Talia jumps onto his shoulders and stabs him with the end of the cut cable, sending his body sizzling frenzy with electricity as the woman is thrown off of him. Clayface rushes desperately to remove the cable, feeling himself being cooked alive. However, his arms would not reach his back in his current form. With a prolonged scream that held a hundred voices, he reverts to the form of the Dark Knight. He then found himself with a new problem, even with his smaller frame he still could not reach the cable as he feels the electricity frying his body, stiffening his form and making the simple of moving an agonizing chore.

Clayface drops to his knees and begins to crawl, changing his form once more to the mannequin as he continues his struggle to reach the cable but his body was getting stiffer and harder as he gasps, screaming in an unrecognizable voice, an amalgamation of all of his voices together as his desperation manifests through his body, taking the attributes of his previous forms. His arm changed back to the blade of his monstrous form, his head took the shape of the pointy ears of Batman's cowl and his body took the features of other people that he had changed to.

Gordon rushes to his feet and moves to the mannequin's side and reaches for the cable but is knocked away as he was shocked by it and hits the ground unconscious. In his last moments, Clayface uses his strength to sit upon his knees in one last desperate attempt to save his life as he mindlessly slashes his blade with the hope of cutting the cable, however, it was too late. His movements became slower and stiff and his screaming finally stopped as he was made fully solid, unable to move while the electricity still flowed through his body.

Pain. Absolute pain ran through Clayface and his mind, feeling himself being cooked from the inside until he was nothing. His body froze, unable to move as if the prospect of his death finally caught him and the rigor mortis had finally settled after all these years. But he was still burning, burning alive as his mind was next. The electricity still roamed inside his body, scorching his very thoughts themselves until he was nothing and his mind was left in an infinite black voice that had finally consumed him. He was at last claimed by the reaper.

Lee Thompkins runs over to Jim to check on him while she did Talia yanked the cable from the figure that was once alive, "May your soul find peace in death that you were robbed of in life," Talia then looks at the blade that was formed from Clayface's arm, snapping it off from the rest of the body.

"You killed him," Lee murmurs towards the daughter of the demon, "There must have been another way-."

Talia shakes her head as she holds the makeshift sword, "I wouldn't call that living, and neither should you. I did him a favour and released him from his torment. To allow him to persist would be to to force him into a fate worse than death. Eternal life has never created a kind soul..."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Standing on top of the bannister, Talia aims her blade to be in line with the ropes around Jason Blüd's arms, "...Except maybe for one..." she thinks to herself. She throws the blade with precision as it slices through the binds and releases Jason, which brought about his descent towards the ground. Talia was quick as always as she bends over the bannister and grabs the man's hands to bring his fall to an end. Lee joins her efforts and helps carry Blüd over the ledge and to the safety of the solid ground.

"He's out cold," Lee examines Jason as her eyes land on a troubling sight, "Oh god..." It took Talia a moment to see what Lee was referring to but she found it. Blüd hands were mangled horribly, covered in fresh cuts and had holes through them, "No wonder he's out of it. Pain like that could knock anyone out," Lee takes a closer look at the back of the man's hands, "It was a poor job but someone made sure that he won't go into shock from blood loss, whoever did this to him wanted him alive...then why risk causing him to bleed like this?"

Talia's green eyes constrict as she thinks of a reason, "It would be to stop him from causing any trouble that they couldn't plan form, most likely whoever did this knew about his magical abilities and didn't want him to use them. I would have said it would have been Clayface but the cuts are needlessly cruel which is something that I didn't get from him." The daughter of the demon stands up as she looks towards the lower floor, "But with Blüd's current situation and James pulling that foolish heroic we are down in our numbers and it's too dangerous to risk waiting until they wake."

"Foolish?" Leslie glared as she let her frustration be known, "He tried to save Basil's life. How is that foolish?"

"Because that wasn't Basil, it wasn't even a man. James is no use to me dead but he is of some use alive. Risking his life like that without a second thought is needlessly foolish. And now he is lying unconscious and is only a hindrance to us," Talia reasoned as she looks to James who was on the floor below, "And now I know where Bruce got it from. Risking his life...even for his greatest of enemies even when they would never return the gesture. That's where Bruce learned to be so foolish..."

"You mean where he leaned to be so compassionate? James and Bruce know that this city has enough monsters and though they are far from perfect, anyone who would risk their wellbeing for their enemy isn't a fool...they are what Gotham needs."

"No, they're why Gotham can't be saved," Talia replied with a coldness that brought herself back to how she was before she arrived in the city.

Lee's moves her eyes from Blüd and glances up at the other woman's frame until they connect their gaze. "For the first time since I met you...I think I can finally see your Father in you." Her words didn't come across as cruel or were meant to be hurtful, instead, they rang like a warning, from one friend to another. The two then just stand in silence with neither knowing what to say at first. For the first time since she could remember, Talia reflected upon herself, realizing how cold she acted. That is when she felt another new feeling, one almost alien to her. She felt ashamed of herself and how she acted towards Gordon.

The youngest daughter of Ra's drops her head, losing herself in the unknown feeling that had taken her over, "For once...I don't want the last word for I have already said too much," confessed Talia as she tries to face Lee but is suddenly thrown off balance as she feels something cut into her neck.

Lee moves back as she watches Talia attempt to remove a tranq from her neck but she succumbs to it, dropping to the ground. She too was struck by a tranq as she falls even quicker than Talia. Using her spars moments of consciousness that was left, she sees a pair of red and black boots walking towards her while familiar laughter filled her ears, "Sorry gals, but the true party is just 'bout to get poppin' and we wouldn't want ya to miss it!"

Later.

"Bruce"

"Bruce"

"Bruce"

"Please wake up"

"BRUCE!"

"..."

The dark-haired man was ripped out of his slumber and back into the horror which even his darkest nightmare paled in comparison to. First, he found his wrists were tied down by a rope too strong for him to break free of with his feet sharing the same fate. His mouth was gagged, with not even a whimper being able to make it out. Then the rest of the horror settled into his mind as he saw all his friends share the same terror as him. Selina, Talia, Lee, Gordon and Blüd and himself were all seated around a dinner table and were unable to break free. He could see the fear in all of their eyes, even those who tried to hide it. To him, all of their terrors could be seen in their eyes.

"Finally awake, Brucie...?" a voice spoke from the shadows, one that filled Bruce with absolute dread, "Good...good, now with you awake...we can finally begin. Joker lights the candles that were on the table, which brings light on the further horrors. Joker stands behind Bruce as he rubs his gloved hands and grins. Bruce sees that Harley was also with them as she sat on the counter next to the table with a bloodied smirk while she plays with a butterfly knife.

She catches Bruce looking at her and sends a wink his way and points the knife at him.

Bruce shivers as he feels the hands of the clown prince of crime touch his shoulders, "Ladies and gentlemen tonight has been quite the adventure, hasn't it? But it is nothing compared to what's about to come your way. This very night the halls will be painted in red and will be filled by your screams that will haunt this house for years to come."