Arkham Asylum

6:10 pm

As soon as GCNN had begun to broadcast the dedication ceremony, Strange had been in communication with the teams. He had personally accounted for the whereabouts of nearly all the 'volunteers' and confirmed that they were in position, ready to strike. He just needed to check in with the last, most important team. "City Hall team," he spoke into his wireless transmitter. "What is your position?"

There was a crackle of static before a placid voice responded. "We're at City Hall now."

Strange laughed. "Excellent. Sharp is still on stage. When he leaves, get into your positions and wait for my word."

"Yes, Master."

Strange watched as Sharp wrapped up his remarks and gestured for Wayne to take the podium. Strange had to smirk as Wayne, Young, and the rest of the group gathered around the podium, Wayne in the center. Little did any of them know the true danger they were in. When Wayne began to speak, Strange picked up his transmitter. "City Hall team, begin your attack. Spare Wayne and Young, but kill Leland, Bryant, Thompkins and everyone else you can! All other teams, open fire! Go! Help your Master bring about a new world!" There was no response from the teams, but Strange watched the television and smiled when he heard the distinctive sound of gunfire cut off his vapid remarks. He heard the screams from the assembled crowd and watched as the cameraman moved back, and the crowd began to run. Strange let out a triumphant laugh. "Checkmate, Mr. Wayne."

City Hall

Bruce had been on edge the moment he'd stepped onto the platform. While Sharp had been delivering his remarks, he'd kept his eyes on the crowd, scanning for any sign of a possible threat. When Sharp handed the podium over to him, he kept his eyes fixed on the crowd before him, even as his words were welcoming. He'd gotten through the first two sentences of his speech when a movement in the far right of the crowd caught his eyes. A man was moving determinedly through the crowd, dressed in a long dark coat. He moved just enough for Bruce to get a glimpse of his hands, and a chill went down his spine. The man was carrying a submachine gun. As soon as the man lifted his hand, Bruce reacted. "Get down!" he shouted to his group. No sooner did the words leave his mouth than the man opened fire, sending bullets flying through the crowd. Bruce grabbed Dr. Young on his left and Leslie on his right and dove down, sheltering the pair as best he could. He heard the sound of gunfire and the sound of screams around them. When he looked up, he saw in horror that another gunman was approaching from the left, blocking off any attempts by the crowd to escape, and opening fire upon anyone in sight. Bruce took a quick loom around the stage. Sharp and his entourage were gone and Bryant and Leland were down on the stage, looking as horrified as he felt. "Get into City Hall!" Bruce shouted, scrambling to his feet. He grabbed an overturned chair and leaped down from the stage, ignoring the cries and shouts of the people behind him as he charged towards the gunman on the right, who so far, hadn't seen him. The gunman's back was towards him and Bruce raised the chair above his head. One blow was all he needed to take him down and save as many people as he could. As soon as he was within range, he brought the chair down on the back of the man's head.

The man didn't even so much as flinch at the impact. Instead, he turned around slowly, his dull green eyes showing a spark of recognition. "Bruce Wayne," the man said robotically. "Not supposed to kill you." The man took the butt of his gun and hit Bruce in the side of the head, hard. Bruce fell to the ground, and the man casually stepped over him continuing to fire on the crowd. Brice lay dazed on the pavement for a moment. He felt something warm and sticky on his forehead and realized that it was blood. The screaming from the people was almost deafening, and he forced himself to get back up. He had to stop this, but he needed his suit and gear. As soon as he was on his feet, he reached in his pocket for his communicator.

"Alfred," he said. "Send the Batwing out to City Hall, now!"

"What's going on, Master Bruce? Are you alright?"

"No," Bruce said. He reluctantly turned away from the chaos unfolding behind him and made his way to an alleyway adjacent to City Hall. He saw a fire escape on an office building next to City Hall. That should give him access to the roof. "There's been an attack. Gunmen are shooting at the crowd."

"My God," Alfred breathed out. "The Batwing is on its way to your location as I speak. Shall I send Master Dick and Master Damian to City Hall?"

Bruce was about to answer in the affirmative when he heard Barbara's voice cut in. "Bruce, it's even worse than we thought. There have been multiple reports of gunfire in Downtown, the Bowery, and the West Side!"

Bruce paused, almost stunned. This wasn't just a simple attack. It was coordinated. How could he have missed this-then a chilling realization came over him. Joker's release hadn't been a warning shot. It had been a distraction. Strange was behind this. With this one, violent, evil act, he was clearing his opponents off the board. Bruce made a sharp turn back towards City Hall. Leslie, Dr. Young, Dr. Leland, Joe...He turned around, crouched down, the jumped up, pulling himself onto the ladder and up to the fire escape. "Call the others," he directed. "Tell Dick and Damian to go Downtown, Cass to the Bowery, Tim to the East End, and Stephanie to the West End. Call in Helena, Selina, and anyone else you can find." He hesitated for a moment. "Call Jason. Let him know what's going on and tell him to keep an eye out in the Narrows. Stay on Communications and help coordinate the others. I'll handle things at City Hall."

"Master Bruce, are you sure?"

"There's no other choice, Alfred," Bruce said, reaching the roof at last. "I have to be enough. Batman out." A low humming noise overcame the sounds of gunfire and screams and Bruce looked up to see the Batwing approach. It hovered about fifty feet over the rooftop before dropping a large, silver cylinder in the far right corner of the rooftop and flying northward. Bruce hurried to it, then pressed his palm against a scanner on the cylinder. When his palm print was recognized, the cylinder opened up, revealing his bat suit and utility belt. Bruce pulled off his jacket and began to suit up.

For a long moment, after Bruce had pulled her down, Penelope lay on the cramped plastic stage, her hands over her head, trying in vain to drown out the sounds of chaos and death around her. She looked out the corner of her eye and saw Bruce moving to get a chair. "Get into City Hall!" he shouted before he ran off the stage and into the crowd. This shocked Penelope out of her terror, and she made to go after him when she felt a strong grip pulling her back. She turned to see Joe Bryant.

"Come on!" he shouted, pulling her to her feet. Joan was already up, and Joe let go of Penelope to help Dr. Thompkins up. The four quickly made their way down the stage, Penelope flinching at every burst of gunfire. Just like Arkham...focus, focus, live. She was the first of their group to get to the front entrance of City Hall, only to see a small mob of desperate people banging on the solid glass door.

"It won't open!" A woman screamed next to Penelope's ear. "They locked the doors! They left us out here to die! For the love of God, help us!" Joe pushed his way through the crowd and tried to pull on the handle himself. He swore, then he and another man ran back to the stage to grab chairs. They tried in vain to break the glass, but it stayed firm, much as Penelope knew it would. The Mayor had made it quite clear to her and all who would listen that City Hall could withstand any sort of attack, even gunfire-Sharp. Where was he? He hadn't been on stage went the gunfire broke out, he'd left with his entourage-he'd left the stage before the gunfire.

Sharp's words came back to her, clear as day. "One day, you'll understand why I have done the things I've done." He knew. Sharp knew all along what was going to happen, from the moment he'd called her to invite the group. It was a trap, and she'd led her friends right into it. "Oh my God," she murmured. She looked behind them to see if she could spot the gunman, and at the very edges of the crowd, she saw Bruce, running into the alleyway on the left side of City Hall. "Bruce!" she shouted. Acting entirely on instinct, Penelope dashed after him, faintly hearing the sound of Joan screaming her name over the din. Somehow, she managed to avoid being trampled by panicking people or shot at and did her best to not stare at the bodies already bleeding out on the ground. Finally, she managed to round the corner of the building and dashed into the alley. There was no sign of any gunmen or Bruce. There was no one at all in the alley, the crowd choosing to run from the building or towards the front entrance. "Bruce!" Penelope shouted again. "Bruce!" This was insane, where could he have gone? Had he found a side entrance into City Hall? She swallowed the lump in her throat. Had she run past his body on her way here?

A creaking sound caught her attention. She looked to her left, less than five feet away from her, and saw the service door to City Hall opening. Bruce? Any hope that she had died when a different man stepped out into the dark alley and caught sight of her. Detective Schrader. He smiled for a moment before he remembered what was happening. "Dr. Young," he said, in a tone that might almost seem concerned. His eyes, however, were cold as he took her in. He reached out his hand towards hers. "Come with me. I'll take you to safety."

As soon as Schrader stepped forward, Penelope took a step back. "I know you're Strange's man in GCPD, Schrader," she snarled. "I know it was you and Ward who sent Bane after me. And I know that Strange is behind what's happening tonight." She thought about grabbing her taser, only to realize that her purse was still lying on the stage, next to the chair she'd been sitting in. She balled up her fists and kept her eyes locked on Schrader, ready to run.

The detective merely chuckled. "Clever girl," he said, taking another step towards her. "But you know what your problem is? You just can't keep your mouth shut, just like poor Miguel Sanchez couldn't."

Penelope's eyes widened in realization. All this time, she had thought Ward had arranged Miguel's murder when it had been- "You bastard!" She took another step back, only for Schrader to lurch forward, grabbing onto her wrist and pulling her towards him. "Let me go!" she shouted. She backhanded Schrader hard enough for him to loosen his grip. She yanked herself free and turned to run, only for Schrader to grab her from behind. "Help-" her cry was cut off by Schader's gloved hand covering her mouth. Her eyes darted around, but there was no one in sight.

"Little bitch," he hissed in her ear. "I was going to just shoot you, but just for that…I think you've earned something special." Penelope struggled to get out of his grip, but he held on tight. "You might have been able to get away from Bane," she heard Schrader continue. "But looks like your boyfriend isn't here to save you this time." He began to drag her towards the service door.

The noise of the gunfire and the screams and shouts of the crowd was a dull roar in Edward's ears as he ran. He barely gave the bodies on the pavement a glance, the dead, the dying, or the wounded. He barely felt the chill of the night or registered the fleeing people he was bumping into in his haste to get to the stage. There was only the goal in his mind: get to Penny. He kept his focus on the empty stage he was closing in on, telling himself that she'd disappeared only because she'd dove for cover. She was, even at this moment, hiding on or behind the stage. He had to believe that. The alternative was unthinkable. He finally pushed his way past the last few people lucky enough to escape unharmed and took in the scene before him. Bodies were lying all around the stage, most of them dead, a few letting out their last breaths, all riddled with gunshot wounds. It was the worst he'd seen since he'd reformed. By the left steps leading up to the stage, Edward caught a glimpse of a young woman with blood pooling around her and dark hair. His heart stopped for a moment but then he saw that she was wearing a black coat. Penny had been wearing a dark blue coat. Edward disregarded the dead woman and climbed the steps. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Jack Ryder cowering behind the platform with his cameraman, but he paid him no mind. "Penny!" he cried out as he ascended.

The stage itself was in shambles, many of the chairs knocked over or missing, purses, coats and what looked like notes strewn about. Most notably, however, there were no people on it, alive or dead. Sitting next to a chair on the far right, Edward saw a familiar brown purse and rushed to it. It was Penny's. He took a quick look inside and could see her taser, clear as day. She'd never just leave it, she'd left in a hurry. He pulled it out of the purse and stuck it into his right coat pocket. He looked back up and towards the most logical place for her and the group to have fled to, the front entrance of City Hall.

Then his breath caught in his throat. In front of the glass doors, there was a crush of people banging on the glass, screaming, pleading to be let in. Edward narrowed his eyes. No doubt Sharp had locked the doors behind him, the useless coward. What truly caught his attention though, was the gunman, who had made his way to the crowd. He had his gun pointed towards three people in particular, all of whom were familiar to Edward: Dr. Leslie Thompkins, Joe Bryant, and Dr. Leland. Wait. Where were Penny and Wayne? They must be in the crowd by the door. They had to be. She had to be. Bryant stood in front of the two women, holding a chair in front of him, not that it would do much good against an automatic weapon. Edward's grip tightened around his cane. It was his standard cane without any special weapons, but the handle was heavy. Swung hard and fast enough, it was more than sufficient to break a bone, and the gunman hadn't noticed him. He had the element of surprise on his side. He'd never been a hero, but for Penny, he'd be anything. He took a deep breath and began to run off the stage, directly towards the gunman. When he was halfway down the steps, he raised his cane and calculated the best place to strike. If this was a plot of Strange's he had to assume that the man was wearing body armor, which ruled out the torso. A headshot would take him out, but could also damage the cane's handle, leaving him without a weapon. He was less than five feet away now, time to make a decision. Aim for the gun first, then trip the man's legs out from under him. He cocked the cane back, preparing for the strike.

The gunman still hadn't noticed him, but Dr. Leland had. "Edward!?" she screamed, her brown eyes blown wide with surprise and fear. The gunman turned, and Edward could make out a dull look of surprise on his face as well.

"You?" he said. "You weren't supposed to be here." The dullard didn't raise his gun. He seemed confused, unsure of how to respond, which suited Edward just fine. Edward swung his cane forward, aiming directly at the automatic weapon in the man's hands. His aim was true, and the gun went flying out of the man's hands with a loud crack. Edward was certain he'd hit the man's hand, but the gunman didn't seem to register any pain. Using the momentum of his first swing, Edward swung his cane back and low, hooking the handle around the man's left knee. He pulled back with all his might, and the man came toppling to the ground. Bryant was there a second later, wrapping his thick arm around the man's throat and pinning him down.

"Get the gun!" Bryant shouted. Edward did as he said, dashing to where the gun had gone flying. He found it about three feet away and crouched down to get a better look at it. It was an MP10 submachine gun, one of the guns of choice of GCPD's SWAT teams. Edward took the gun in his hands, grateful for his choice in wearing gloves, and carefully removed the ammunition, tossing the now useless gun aside before he jogged back to where Dr. Leland and Dr. Thompkins stood. She had to be there. She had to be. When he got closer to the crowd, many of whom were now looking at him with awe, he realized that he couldn't see either Wayne or Penny.

Edward turned to Dr. Leland and addressed her almost frantically. "Where's Penny?"

Dr. Leland shook her head and Edward thought he was going to be sick. "I don't know," she admitted. "Bruce ran off right after the shooting started. Penelope went after him. I think they both went around the building."

Edward wanted to grab his head and scream. Oh, that stupid, stupid woman! That useless playboy! Where could they have gone!? A yelling from behind him caught his attention. "Must serve Master!" Edward whipped his head around to see that the gunman had gotten to his feet and thrown Bryant to the side. The gunman reached into his long trench coat and pulled out a service revolver. Edward stepped forward, shielding Dr. Leland and staring the gunman right in the face. The gunman took a step forward, then Edward heard a peculiar swishing noise. The gunman became constricted in what looked like...a bola. Edward looked up in the air and saw Batman swooping down, taking out the gunman with a flying kick. A loud cheer went up from the crowd behind Edward at the sight of the Dark Knight.

When Batman landed, he pulled out another cable from his belt to bind the gunman's legs before he looked up at the crowd. When he made eye contact with Edward, his body went taut. "What are you doing here, Edward!?"

He didn't have time for this. He really didn't. "Never mind that!" he shouted back. "Dr. Young's missing! I have to find her!"

Batman's eyes widened under the cowl. "Dr. Young-what happened?"

"She went after Bruce Wayne," Dr. Thompkins said, a look of disapproval on her face.

Batman stood still for a long moment, as if processing the information, then his eyes narrowed. "Schrader," he whispered. It was just loud enough for Edward to catch it.

"Schrader's here?" he repeated. Nausea threatened to overwhelm him before it was replaced by a wave of boiling anger. "I'll kill him," he seethed. "If he's put one hand on her, I'll kill him!" He made to run to the alley adjacent to City Hall when he felt a powerful hand gripping his arm. He glared up at Batman. "Let go of me."

"I can't let you run off," Batman said in a tone that brooked no argument. "We don't know what else is out there-" A burst of gunfire from somewhere further down the block cut the vigilante off.

"Like another gunman?" Edward asked sarcastically. "I'm going after her! I have to save her!"

"It's too dangerous, Edward. You need to stay here-"

"Don't you tell me what I need to do!" Edward screamed, not caring about the crowd behind them. "I'm not going anywhere without her! You can't ask that of me! Not after what happened to Jonathan!" Batman's grip loosened, not enough for Edward to break free, but enough to know that what he'd said had struck home. "Please," Edward pleaded. He was actually pleading. His fear of losing Penny had defeated his pride. "Let me find her. If Schrader has her, I'm the best chance she has. You can't go after her and save these people at the same time." There was another loud burst of gunfire, and Batman's head sharply turned towards the sound before he looked back at Edward. "Batman," Edward said, his tone wavering in pure desperation. "Please."

Perhaps it was his tone, perhaps it was the look in his eyes as he spoke, but Batman's grip loosened until finally, he let go. "Alright," he said. "Figure out a way to unlock the door and get these people inside. Then find Dr. Young and bring her back here. I'll stop the gunman."

Edward had absolutely no time to bother with the crowd, but then again, he could hardly let good Dr. Leland die, could he? He nodded. "I will." Batman gave him a sharp nod, then turned to chase after the second gunman. Before he was out of earshot, Edward muttered the two words he never thought he would say to his old rival. "Thank you."

For a moment, Edward thought Batman hadn't heard him. Then he could make out a reply. "Good luck, Edward." Then in a flash, he was running past the stage, towards the sounds of gunfire.

Edward then made this way to the front door of City Hall, not noticing that the crowd was making way for him. He took a quick look at the doors, then at the black security panel on the right side of the building's front. It was rectangular, about the size of a cellphone, and it had a blinking red light to signify that it was armed. It was the lastest Wayne Tech electronic lock. If he had a disruptor, he could force the door to unlock, but all he had on him was his cane, which was useless and Penny's taser.

"Can you hack the lock?" he heard Bryant ask.

Edward shook his head. "No..." then he snapped his fingers. "I can overload it though. Stand back." Edward turned to shout over his shoulder. "Everyone, stand back!" Once he had sufficient room, Edward pulled the taser out of his pocket, then took a few steps back from the panel. He aimed the taser so it was perfectly level with the panel, and hoped that this would work. He didn't have any other ideas. He fired, and the nodes from the taser impacted the panel dead on. There was a loud crackle of electricity and the light on the panel blinked red, then green, before the light went out altogether. Edward pushed the door handles and the doors swung inward. "They're unlocked!" he shouted. He then almost had to dive out of the way of the crowd stampeding to get inside. Bryant stayed out, directing the frightened people as best he could. So too did Joan Leland. She came up to Edward and gently put her hand on his shoulder.

"Go," she said. "Find Penelope and bring her back. Be careful."

"I will," Edward said. "I promise." Once the crowd around the doors had thinned out, Edward took off in a run towards the alleyway. I'm coming, he thought. I'm coming, Penny. Just hang on.

From his vantage point behind the stage, Jack Ryder had been able to see everything that had occurred. He watched as Nigma had attacked the gunman with his jaw dropped. He hadn't been able to make out what exactly he and Batman had been arguing about over the gunfire and noises from the crowd, but he'd been able to see the two of them coming to some kind of agreement, he'd watched as Nigma had opened the doors to City Hall before he'd run off. Jesus Christ...He'd never believed Nigma was serious about reform, he thought that that interview with Vale a few months back was a self-aggrandizing puff piece, but now? He was a believer. He turned to look at his equally stunned cameraman. "Tell me you got that on camera."

The cameraman nodded. "Yeah. I got it."

Ryder nodded, then smirked. Wait until Vale saw this. "Come on, let's get inside."

Arkham Asylum

"Breaking news in Gotham City tonight, an attack by unknown gunmen at the renovated City Hall dedication ceremony has killed an unknown amount of people. The Mayor has been reported to have been safely removed from City Hall, but we've lost contact with Vicki Vale, who was reporting-this just in. Commissioner James Gordon has just confirmed that there are at least five other active shooter situations through Gotham City. The Commissioner has urged all citizens to remain in their homes..."

Strange had a bottle of brandy he kept in his desk for special occasions. Tonight was one of those occasions. He had poured himself a glass just after the shooting at City Hall had started, and was now sipping from his glass while the news coverage unfolded. He set out a self-satisfied chuckle. Tonight was going even better than he had hoped. Given the early hour, it would take some time before Wayne's minions could get to the volunteers' locations, leaving GCPD scrambling to contain the damage. In less than an hour, the bombs would detonate. In two hours, perhaps less, Strange would stand at the entrance to Intensive Treatment and welcome Edward Nigma back to Arkham. Once that distraction was finally dealt with, he could turn his attention back to his true target: Wayne himself. Strange's eyes drifted towards the panel where the cape and cowl were located. After tonight, the sheep of Gotham would be begging for a new shepherd, a new savior. Strange would fill that role.

"We've just received incredible footage from the City Hall attack. Gotham Action News reporter Jack Ryder has just sent us footage of a group of citizens being saved from one of the gunmen by none other than the former Riddler himself, Edward Nigma."

Strange almost spat out his drink. His eyes bulged out as he watched the television. The image was somewhat obscured by the stage, but Strange could unmistakably see Nigma attacking one of the gunmen with that ridiculous cane of his. Strange's grip tightened around his glass as he watched the scene unfold, the newscasters' prattling droning on in the background. It wasn't possible. What was he doing there? What had happened to the policemen who were keeping an eye on him? Strange watched as Batman entered the frame and incapacitated the gunman. He saw Nigma try to run off, and Wayne attempting to stop him, and he had a wild hope that Wayne would blame Nigma for the attack, that the pair would fight. What they were saying couldn't be made out, but they seemed to be arguing. His hope was dashed when the two seemed to come to an accord, Wayne releasing Nigma and running off, Nigma, getting the doors to City Hall open. Strange noticed that the glass in his hand was shaking. No, no, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen! Nigma wasn't supposed to be there, and he certainly wasn't supposed to be acting in concert with Batman! Strange threw his glass towards the television with an angry shout, then pulled out his communicator. "Downtown and Bowery teams, come in," he shouted. "Downtown and Bowery teams!"

There was no response from the Bowery Team. Strange swore when he remembered. The Bowery was frequented by Black Bat when she wasn't with Batgirl or Red Robin. No doubt she'd made quick work of them. There was a crackle of static and then a voice could be heard. "Master? This is the Downtown team."

Strange felt some relief. "Are you at liberty?"

"Yes, Master we-no. Master, Nightwing and Robin are here-" A burst of gunfire cut off the man's voice, as well as the sound of electricity. Strange pounded a fist on the table. Wayne had managed to mobilize quicker than he'd anticipated. He tried to raise another team.

"East End team, can you hear me?"

Their response was much quicker. "Yes, Master?"

"Are you at liberty?"

"Yes, Master. We've killed the police sent to stop us. There's no sign of a Bat."

Not yet at least. "Abandon your attack. Get to City Hall, immediately. Batman and Nigma are there. If you see Nigma, kill him on sight."

"Yes, Master."

Strange pushed the communicator aside and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed Schrader's number. With any luck, the detective would still be at City Hall...there was no response. The call went straight to voicemail. Strange's eyes narrowed. Schrader picked up without fail. Had he been called back to GCPD to deal with the attacks?

Or was he otherwise occupied?

Penelope would not show him any fear.

Her hands were handcuffed to a pipe behind her, so tight that the slightest movement cut into her skin. Schrader had dragged her down into the basement of City Hall, restained her, then gotten to work on something just a few feet away from her, in the center of the cramped room. There was only a lone light bulb above them, which made seeing exactly what he was doing difficult. Schrader finally got up from his crouched position and turned to face her, that cold grin stretched across his face. "How exactly did you almost die in Arkham again?" he asked her, conversationally. "It was a bomb, wasn't it?" He stepped to the side, allowing her to see what he had been working on. It was, as she'd guessed, a large bomb, almost perfectly square as if it was meant to look like a package. Penelope felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest, but she said nothing, instead, she continued to glare at the bastard who stood before her. He wanted her to be afraid. She would show him no fear. Schrader chuckled. "Feisty girl, aren't you? Must be why Nigma likes you so much." Schrader took a few steps towards her, stopping when he was less than a foot away from her. "Isn't this the part where you try to plead to my better nature?"

"It would be a waste of time," Penelope sneered at him. "It's no use trying to appeal to a sociopath's 'better nature'. And I won't give you the satisfaction of begging for my life."

Schrader sighed. "Feisty and mouthy. I hate that in a woman." He pointed back towards the bomb. "The timer was originally set for seven, but since you've been such a difficult little bitch, I decided to up the time table a bit. 6:45. You have about...twenty minutes or so to make your peace before City Hall falls on top of you."

Penelope's breath caught in her throat, but she kept her outward appearance calm. She would not show him fear. "Is killing Sharp part of your plan?"

Schrader chuckled. "The Mayor was taken out of City Hall through the back door. He's probably home by now." Schrader reached a hand out to cup her face, and it took all of her willpower not to flinch. "You and your little group put up one Hell of a fight, I have to admit, but this was always how it was going to end. And to tell you the truth, since you got away from Bane...I've been looking forward to this."

"Did foiling that plan hurt your ego?" Penelope taunted. "It must have, for you to go this far." She let out a small smile when Schrader's face darkened in anger. "This won't end the way you think it will," she continued. "Strange has a God complex. He won't let anyone or anything stand in his way of reshaping Gotham in his image. The second you're any threat to his plans, he will dispose of you, just like he disposed of Lyle Bolton. You might want to keep that in mind. And that's if you're lucky." Her breath came in a ragged gasp, but she soon brought herself under control. "I might die tonight, but Joan Leland, Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon, Batman? They'll stop you." Her heart clenched. "Edward will stop you."

Schrader then let out a smirk. "I don't think your boyfriend's going to be in a position to stop anyone after tonight."

Penelope's blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"

Schrader gestured to the bomb. "You don't recognize that design, do you? Probably not, it was from before your time at GCPD. It's a puzzle box design Nigma used on some scheme he had against Batman years ago."

Penelope felt all the color drain from her face and if she wasn't so tightly cuffed, her legs would have given out beneath her. "No," she murmured. Now she understood. It was a setup. Edward was being framed. "No one will believe-"

"You think anyone at GCPD believes the do-gooder schtick he's been pulling? After tonight, they'll be lining up to lynch him from that damn tree." While he'd been speaking, he'd removed his tie and tied a knot in the middle of it. "You know what I'm looking forward to the most? The look on Nigma's face when I tell him you've been blown up."

Something in Penelope seemed to awaken at that and she turned wildly towards Schrader, spitting him in the face. "You bastard! You evil monster! You-" She was cut off by Schrader backhanding her across the face. While she was dazed, she felt one of his hands on the back of her head holding her still, then another one shoving the knotted tie into her mouth. She tried to struggle, but Schrader soon had the tie wrapped around her head, silencing her cries.

"Little bitch," he muttered as he finished tying the gag around her mouth. "I don't think anyone will find you down here, but better safe than sorry." Schrader took a step back and stared at her, almost admiring his handy work. Penelope glared at him, wishing more than anything she could get free and claw his eyes out. "I'll leave the light on for you." He turned and walked towards the basement's exit. When he reached the door, he turned back at her and gave her a mock salute. "Goodbye, Dr. Young." Then he was gone, his heavy footsteps walking away from the basement, towards the service entrance.

Only when he was gone, did Penelope react. She pulled against her handcuffs, but they held tight, cutting into her wrists. She let out a muffled scream of anger, of pain, of fear. Fear for herself, fear for her group, fear for Edward, Edward, Eddie, I'm sorry, Eddie, help me, Eddie, I love you, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie...She shut her eyes and the tears came. She was going to die down here without accomplishing her goals, her friends were in danger, Eddie, her Eddie was going to have his life destroyed and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to save him, any of them. Alone in the basement, she wept.

The Narrows

For the second time in less than five minutes, Ellen checked her cell phone as she sat leaning against the building's rooftop AC unit. It was 6:20. She'd been on this rooftop overlooking the intersection of Marshall and Adams with Red Hood for over fifteen minutes, and she was bored out of her mind. "I hate lookout duty," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's so boring! When are we gonna do something interesting?"

"Wah, wah, wah," Red Hood mocked, monitoring the streets beside her through a pair of binoculars. "It's a good thing if the streets are boring. You don't like it, take the bus home."

"Freakin' jerk," Ellen sassed. She took another look down on the streets below her. Hood said this was one of the more active parts of the Narrows but so far, all she'd seen were a few homeless people pushing their shopping carts and a few toughs talking shit at the bodega across the street. The chilly night must be keeping people in, or the real freaks hadn't come out to party yet. Ellen let out a breath and saw it come out in front of her. She was starting to get cold in her sweatshirt and she looked over to where Red Hood was standing. Did he ever get cold in that leather jacket, or did all the body armor he wore keep him warm? She heard her phone give off a text alert and she looked down to see a text from Gramma. "Shit," she muttered. Gramma hadn't come home early, had she? Ellen read the text and her mouth dropped open. "Holy shit," she said. "Hey Hood," she called out. "My Gramma just texted me. She said there's been a shooting at City Hall!"

Red Hood turned back to look at her. "No shit?" he said. Ellen got up and walked over to the roof's edge to show him the text message. As he was reading it another popped up and he swore. Ellen looked back at her phone and saw that her Gramma had texted her another message about shootings in Downtown, the East End, and the West End. "Fuck," she heard Hood say. "Stay here. I need to make a call." Red Hood crossed over to the far side of the rooftop and Ellen heard his phone ring. "Yeah Babs, I'm here...What!?" she could just hear him say. Babs? Who was that? His girlfriend or something? While Hood was on his phone, Ellen looked down at hers. Gramma had told her to stay inside with the doors locked, not to worry, that she'd be home as soon as she could. A flicker of fear ran through Ellen. Wait, wasn't Doc and her group at City Hall tonight? Should she call Dad? She was halfway through dialing his number when she noticed a white van pull up in front of the Bodega. This alone wasn't anything too unusual, so Ellen ignored it. What was unusual, was her Dad not picking up.

"This is Edward Nigma, Private Investigator. I'm either with a client or otherwise preoccupied. Please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you." Ellen frowned. It was after six at night on a Friday, where the Hell was the Old Man and why wasn't he picking up? Ellen froze. Wait...he wasn't at City Hall, was he? Ellen jammed her phone back into her pocket and was about to dash over to Hood when she saw two men exiting the van. They were both dressed in long coats, with helmets. What caught Ellen's eye, however, were the long guns each man was holding.

"Hood!" she shouted. "Get over here! These guys have guns!" As soon as she finished speaking, the men opened fire on the bodega, hitting a group of people sitting outside. Ellen let out a small shriek and jumped back. Red Hood was at her side in an instant. "Jesus!" she shouted. "They're killing everyone down there!"

"Stay here," Red Hood said. Ellen watched him pull his small pistols out of his coat. "Get to the middle of the roof and stay down! I'm taking care of this!" Ellen watched Hood as he ran over to the fire escape they'd climbed onto the roof from and rush down the stairs, jumping to the ground from the last level. Ellen remained at the edge of the roof, but she crouched down low, trying to stay out of sight as much as she could. She saw the people, five young men and women not much older than her, slumped on the ground. Some of them were barely recognizable as people. Ellen felt like she was about to puke. She heard Red Hood's pistols firing and she peeked her head up to see that he was shooting at the men dead center, but his bullets had no effect. Body armor, she realized, just like Hood. One of the men pulled something from his coat and threw it towards Hood. She watched Hood roll out of the way and then she heard a large explosion, so loud it hurt her ears. A grenade. These guys were serious. The second man fired a volley at Hood, which the vigilante managed to avoid by ducking behind a parked car. Ellen heard screaming coming from inside the bodega and watched helplessly as the first gunman aimed towards the large glass windows, then walked inside the bodega. Ellen realized that she was trembling. Jesus. What could she do?

Hood came up from behind the parked car and fired again, this time aiming at the second gunman's legs. He was too far away though and his aim was off. The gunman responded by throwing another grenade. Hood ran to get out of the way, but he was knocked to the ground by the force of the blast. Ellen gasped. Hood was hurt. What should she do? What could she do? Then she realized, she was on her feet and running to the fire escape on the opposite side of the building. She should get away, she thought, get help, but from who? If there were attacks all over Gotham, Batgirl and the others would be busy with them, the cops didn't come to the Narrows, her Dad was probably at City Hall now trying to save Doc...Ellen reached the alley and ran to the street. Hood was lying on the ground flat on his back, still dazed from the blast, and the gunman was coming towards him, his back turned to Ellen. Ellen ran as fast as she could towards the gunman, her heart pounding, the adrenaline roaring in her veins. No, you don't, you son of a bitch. Just remember the training, the man was the fence...Ellen was at top speed now, closing in. When she was two feet away, she ducked down, then jumped up, using the momentum to grab hold of the gunman. She was holding onto the man's shoulders and he was flailing about, trying to get her off.

"Jesus Christ, Kiddo!" she heard Red Hood shout. "What the Hell are you doing!?"

"Saving your dumbass!" she shouted back. "Get him!" The man spun around, trying to grab onto her, but Ellen hung on tight. She kind of felt like she was on the mechanical bull at the BBQ place she'd been to a few times. Red Hood was up on his feet now and grabbed the gun away from the man. As soon as she heard the gun fall to the ground, Ellen let herself drop down to the ground and kicked the back of the man's knees. He fell forward, allowing Red Hood to pull the man's helmet off and punch him in the throat. The man toppled backward, falling flat onto his back. Hood leaned down to pick up one of his pistols and shot the man in the kneecap. Throughout the whole ordeal, the man hadn't uttered a sound, not a word, not even a yelp of pain. He lay on the street motionless, his brown eyes vacant like he was high on something.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Red Hood shouted at Ellen, his voice amplified by the helmet. "You stupid ass kid! I told you to stay on the roof!"

"Aren't you glad I didn't!?" Ellen shouted. "You're welcome by the way!"

Red Hood took a deep breath, and Ellen wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to strangle her. "Jesus Christ," he muttered again. Then he turned his attention back to the limp gunman. "Alright scum," he growled. "Who put you up to this? Who ordered these attacks in Gotham?"

The gunman spoke in a clear, practiced voice. "Edward Nigma," he said. "He gave us our weapons. He told us to kill people."

Ellen saw red and she surged forward. "You lying son of a bitch!" She stomped the man in the face, hard. She looked up at Hood then, desperately. "He's lying," she insisted. "My Dad wouldn't-"

"I know, Kiddo," Red Hood said. He then reloaded his pistol. "Look in the van and see if you can find anything that'll tell us who's really behind this. I'll go take care of the other gunman." Hood stalked off towards the bodega, stopping only to pick up his second pistol where he'd dropped him. Ellen followed him as far as the van, then she clambered into the still open driver's door. She realized as she hit the button to unlock the back doors, that she was trembling. She took a deep breath to calm down. She needed to stay focused if she wanted to find the fucker that was setting up Dad. She heard a burst of gunfire from inside the bodega and flinched. She heard Red Hood's pistols in response and took that as her cue to get to the van's back doors. She opened them and her stomach dropped. There, sitting in the back of the van, was a large green box, with a timer on it. She'd seen enough movies to know what that meant. It was a bomb. And it was set to go off in less than half an hour.

Ellen's arms fell listlessly at her sides as the full magnitude of the situation dawned on her. "Oh. Shit."

City Hall

Schrader whistled a jaunty tune as he strode up the steps towards the service entrance. In less than half an hour, Young would be giblets buried in the rubble of City Hall, and the rest of her group would be buried with her. He was telling the bitch the truth when he said that he was looking forward to Nigma's reaction when he told him that she was dead. Maybe it would finally wipe the smug grin off that jackass's face.

Schrader opened the door and stepped back into the chilly night. His car was parked across the street from City Hall. He felt like another cigarette, but he needed to get out of here as soon as possible. A celebratory cigarette could wait until he was home. As he walked briskly down the alley, he couldn't help but take a look back at the service entrance. He smirked. Good riddance, bitch. Strange might be angry with him for jumping the gun on her, but they were going to kill her anyway, once the dust around the attacks tonight had settled. Really, what was the harm? And if Sharp threw a tantrum, he'd just say that she got caught in the crossfire. The Mayor would get over her soon enough.

When he was about halfway down the alley between the service entrance and the front of City Hall, he decided to pull his cell phone out. Gordon or Montoya would have tried to reach him by now. Sure enough, he had two missed calls and voicemails from Gordon, but he also had a missed call from Strange. Schrader raised an eyebrow. What was the good professor calling about? Had something happened? He was about to hit redial when a loud, brassy, familiar voice reached his ears. "Detective Schrader!"

Schrader hastily shoved his phone back into his coat pocket and looked up. His jaw dropped when he saw the figure before him. "You," he breathed. "You weren't supposed to be here!"

Less than five feet away from him, Edward Nigma chuckled. "You're the second person to say that to me tonight." The former Rogue took a step forward. His body language was taut, like a tiger about to pounce. His grip around that damn cane of his looked tight, and even through those ridiculous glasses he wore, Schrader could see the angry, almost manic look in his eyes. This wasn't the private investigator that had been on Vale's show. This was the Riddler. Nigma's breath came out in short puffs, visible in the chilly night air. A dangerous smile stretched across the man's face as he took another step forward. "I've been looking forward to meeting you for a very long time."