AN: Fellow Gothamites! September 21st. SEPTEMBER. 21ST. Do you know what this means? RIDDLER MANICURE!

Christineoftheopera-I want her back. That enough of an answer for you?

The Puppeteer Patient 120402-Good. Embrace the misery.

Just-Me-and-My-Brain-God, if you only knew what happened that night...

The Bat-signal, as it has come to be called, survived the fire. It's horrifically melted, barely even recognizable, but it-against all odds-works.

He turns it on, pleased to see that the bat now resembles a Jack-o-Lantern. It's only fitting.

He flicks it off. It's not time yet. He has one more thing to do, something that is most certainly going to goad Batman into acting at last.

He turns his attention to the child handcuffed to the light. He found her a few days ago, digging through the trash bin a few blocks from his current lair. It took little more than the promise of food to get her to come with him. He was smarter at twelve years old, and his old self would have noted this to be proof of devolution.

"Please…"

She's drugged, but that's swiftly wearing off. Good. Let it wear off, let her be afraid.

"I want my mom."

"Runaways don't come home in Gotham, child."

She looks at him, face puffy from crying.

He remains unmoved.

"Please, mister…"

"Shh." He takes hold of her head. "Crying never did anyone any good."

A neck snapping isn't as loud as one might think, and it's not as fatal. But it'll keep her still while he fastens her to a pole, a chain tied around her neck just tightly enough to slowly strangle her. If she could move she could sit up and stop it, but she can't.

And Batman will know it.

He gags her so she won't scream and spoil the fun, then flicks the light back on.

He'll come. He'll know and he'll come, and then he'll see. It's a shame he can't stay, but he has places to be.

"He'll kill you."

"Perhaps."

"You don't mind."

"No." He coughs and adjusts his scarf around his neck. The one great thing about this city is that one can walk along, talking to nothing, and nobody will say anything.

"Do you miss me?"

"Yes."

"Then come with me." She's suddenly in front of him and he stops walking. "Come with me, it's the least you can do."

"Batman hasn't…"

"Batman's not the only one that let me fall."

"I know."

He starts coughing again and slumps against a wall, shivering. She watches him impassively. He'll get no words of comfort from her, not anymore.

"Follow me."

"I'm trying."

"Not hard enough." She shakes her head. "Perhaps you should use one of those bullets on yourself."

And then she's gone and he's left alone in the alley, shivering and wondering if Batman's found the child yet.

THE END