Chapter 18

Sheldon Park, Gotham City. January 12th, 2018. 2:31 AM.

Bruce crouched down on a ledge overlooking the park, looking through his binoculars at the gathering of thugs below. Normally he would leave these lot to the likes of Jim and his men– he didn't tolerate their crimes, but they cropped up so often that even he couldn't handle all of them. But something was off about this group; people were going missing all across the Bowery, and each time it happened, this group gained another member. It seemed obvious that these people were likely running off to join this gang, but none of the missing persons had any sort of police record, nor did they demonstrate any sort of violent behaviors or personality traits common in people involved with gang activity. These people were all, for lack of a better word, passive people. Gentle folks, just trying to get by in Gotham. At first Bruce considered the possibility of mind-control, but the only one capable of control this extensive was Ivy. And he knew for a fact that she wasn't causing any trouble; thanks to a generous donation from Wayne Enterprises, Ivy's specialized holding cell in Arkham Asylum had been considerably improved. Ivy wouldn't be going anywhere. And besides that, Ivy's control was limited to men. Three of the missing people were women.

"So whaddya think, boss?" Carrie whispered from behind the Dark Knight. "Y'think these are your runaways?"

"Maybe…" Bruce growled quietly under his cowl. He was confident that Carrie was ready to join him on patrol; she was a gifted fighter, and she was just as bright as Dick was at her age. But still, he wanted to start small with her, just in case she turned out to need more time. Disappearances or not, street toughs were street toughs. Easy pickings. Kelley would be able to handle them. (Especially now that she'd finally taken his advice and wore a full costume.) "Either way, we're going to have to get our hands dirty tonight. Remember, you're going for knockouts, not injuries. We don't want any of these people in the hospital tonight, understand?"

"You got it, big guy," Robin grinned as she took hold of her cape, ready to launch into her glide.

With that, the duo leapt off their ledge, gliding toward the thugs below at considerable speeds. Just as one of them turned to shout out a warning, Bruce came down upon him, grabbing the man's shoulders and flipping them into the air before slamming them to the ground. A brief moment of hesitation gave Bruce time to turn on his heel and rocket towards the nearest thug.

"Batman!" Another punk shouted as she reached for a pistol. This one was silenced by a pair of legs scissoring around her neck, as Robin brought her crashing to the grass. The Girl Wonder shoved off into the rest of the crooks, delivering a fierce kick to the back of one's head. He crumpled, and Batman and Robin pressed forward, dropping each thug as quickly and gently as they could. Four seconds later, there was only one thug left. Batman was on him almost instantly, tearing his face mask away to reveal the frenzied face of one of the missing persons.

"Why are you all here?" Batman growled, hoisting the thug up off his feet. "Who are you working for?"

"B-b… b… Batman…" the man stammered, looking into the burning gaze of the masked man before him. "A… ah, a-ah… D-d-d… d…"

Bruce's grip tightened. "Give me a name… now."

"D… duhuhh…" slowly, quietly, the man began to giggle. "Duheh… heheh heh heh… d, d…"

Batman' eyes widened.

"Darrrrling."

Bruce tossed the man forward as fast as he could, just he began to emit a cloud of gas. The crook's giggle grew, becoming a cackle, then further into a loud, piercing laugh that sounded throughout the park. Bruce and Carrie quickly equipped their gas-masks as all the missing people around them began to fill the air around them with the same green gas. The two masked figures quickly grappled out of the cloud, perching on the same ledge from which they had jumped off before.

"Of course…" Bruce groaned. "He always comes back around at some point…"

Carrie paused for a moment, the realization slowly dawning on here. "… Joker is back, isn't he?"

Batman nodded. "You did good tonight, Robin. Head back to the Cave, I'll be there soon. I need to let the Commissioner know who's behind these disappearances."

"You…" The young Robin furrowed her brow as she looked up at her teacher. "… you seem a little freaked."

Bruce sighed. "Every time he comes around, Joker always tries something bigger than his last stunt. The last time we fought, I had to nearly destroy the Cave to stop him. I hate doing this, but… We're gonna need backup."

Titans Tower, Jump City. January 13th, 2018. 11:34 AM.

Damian looked across the counter at Raven, whose eyes intently scanned the pages of the book she had propped up against the countertop. He smiled as he watched her eyes sparkle as they danced back and forth across the page. He glanced at the cover to see what exactly it was she was reading, and smiled when he read the words A Tolkien Miscellany on the cover. Raven was quite fond of Tolkien's works, her favorite being Return of the King. He'd been looking for something he could give her for their… "anniversary" in the coming months, and believed he'd finally found the perfect gift: the brooch worn by Cate Blanchett in the 2001 film adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring. It had taken some serious doing, but he had it. He had never been fond of exchanging gifts, but for her… well, Damian found himself doing a lot of things for Raven that he'd never imagined himself doing.

Raven looked up from her book to see Damian smiling at her. Her pale grey cheeks turned the faintest shade of red as she smiled back at him, closing her book and gently sliding it to the side before bringing her hands together on the countertop. "How are you feeling, Damian?"

Damian gazed into her eyes, a familiar flutter in his heart. "In love. How are you feeling?"

Raven's smile spread wider, and she walked around the counter to wrap her arms around her Damian. He did the same, his arms sliding into place around her neck. Just about that time, Kori walked into the kitchen.

"Raven, Damian, team meeting. C'mon." The Tamaranean spoke quickly. The two followed their teacher into the livingroom, where Tara and Jaime were already waiting. Soon enough, Jon and Garfield emerged from their training and joined their friends gathered to hear what what Kori had to say.

"This morning, I received a message from Damian's father," Kori began. "There's a threat coming to Gotham and he needs our help."

"Why didn't he just call the Justice League?" Jaime asked. "They'd prob'ly be better help than we are."

"Most of the Justice League are off-world right now helping resolve an issue on Thanagar," Kori explained. "Batman has informed me that, including himself, there are only two Leaguers on the planet, and they'll both be waiting for us in Gotham."

"Any word on what we're up against?" Jon wiped his face with his sweat-rag and leaning against the couch.

"No…" Kori crossed her arms, furrowing her brow as she looked around. "But we have to help. And if Batman is calling on us for aid, that means he has confidence that we're strong enough to overcome whatever it that's waiting for us."

Damian nodded. "Alright, then. Everyone pack your bags, we're wheels-up in thirty."

As everyone rushed off to gather what they needed for the trip, Kori took Damian aside. "Damian, I need to know what we're up against," she whispered. "Do you have any idea?"

"That depends…" Damian crossed his arms as he thought, bringing a hand up to his chin. "Is it just one person causing the threat?"

"That's what he made it sound like," Kori said. Damian sighed.

"There have only been three villains in Gotham that could work up enough trouble on their own for Father to need outside reinforcements," the young Titan spoke grimly, "one of them is locked away in Santa Prisca, and one of them was my grandfather."

A single bead of sweat ran down Starfire's face as she looked down worriedly at the boy. "And the third…?"

Damian looked up at his teacher. "The clown is back."