The dim light from the Batcomputer's screen flickered in the darkness as a window popped up; it was Oracle connecting with the cave's network.
"Hood, Arsenal, I-" she began. She paused when she didn't immediately see anything, but then she began to notice damage to the cave, the bullet holes and scorch marks on various places in the cave. "Hood, Arsenal! Come in! What's going on?!" Barbara asked. She couldn't see anyone, couldn't hear anyone, and coupled with the damage she saw in the cave, that wasn't good.
Oracle's fingers danced across the keyboard as she hacked into the Batcave's security system. Shockingly, it didn't take much; someone had accessed and shut down the majority of the cave's security systems. Now was the time to be worried. She opened a channel to Batman and Robin.
"Batman, we've got a serious problem! Someone's breached the cave!"
"I don't care what it takes, you get it done! This is what you were paid for! Either you produce some results, or there will be consequences!" Lex shouted into his phone before turning it off. He growled to himself and stared out the window of his office, down into the city below as the sun began to set on the horizon.
"Batman," he spat out, slowly turning around to find Batman and Robin standing behind him in the middle of his office. He flashed a smirk and folded his arms behind his back, padding over to his desk, remaining cool, calm, and collected. He knew the Batman after many run-ins with him and so if Batman were here to fight, they'd already be fighting. "So what do I owe this...visit?" he asked, sitting in his chair
"I've come to warn you, Lex," Batman began, taking a step forward, cape still wrapped around him. Damian gave a 'tt', and followed Batman's lead with his arms crossed, shooting the man a glare.
"Warn me? Is this for what you think I may do in the future, or-"
"Your life could be in danger," Batman cut in, eyes narrowing. It wasn't entirely true; he didn't know the Broker's motivations but the fact that Luthor was still alive, led him to believe that he was an 'important piece on the board'. Lex frowned and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Is that so? Well that's hardly news; my life is in danger all the time. I have a laundry list of enemies who'd love to see me dead. Who is it this time?" Lex asked nonchalantly, waving his hand dismissively.
"I have reason to believe that there are spies within Lex Corp, working for a man gathering intel on your company and all of its assets and innovations," Batman replied. He took a few more steps forward and placed his hands on the desk, leaning toward Lex over it. "The same people who were responsible for the bombing of GothCorp over in Gotham."
"Impossible. Every person who works in this building is vetted. You're talking to me, after all; nobody in this building-"
"The people who attacked GothCorp were vetted too," Batman interrupted. Lex seemed mildly perturbed by that news.
"So then…you're implying that someone has placed operatives with fake identities, fake lives, in my company?"
"Correct."
"And you're warning me, why? I thought you hated me? I am, as the tabloids say, a supervillain, after all," Lex answered, flashing a smug smirk. Batman's eyes narrowed, shooting a scathing glare in Lex's direction.
"You're a slug, Luthor. A slug that hides behind his fortune and his intellect in order to avoid the consequences of his actions. I don't care about you. Don't mistake this warning as some kind of concern for your well being. It's concern for the innocent people who work for you," Batman spat. Lex's smirk faded as he stared down Batman. He closed his eyes for a moment and gave a derisive snort, rising from his chair. He made his way over to the window and looked down over the city below with his hands folded behind his back.
"Touching. Very touching. I appreciate the warning, but your intervention will not be necessary. Consider the matter-" he began, turning to find Batman and Robin gone. His eyes narrowed as he finished "-handled."
"So, you think setting Lex loose on his own employees will flush out the Broker's operatives?" Robin asked and he jumped into the batmobile beside Batman. Batman gunned the engine and took off.
"Yes. It will also force the Broker to respond appropriately. He will have to withdraw his agents and place news ones, and in the interim, there is room for him to make mistakes. Room for us to move on his agents. On him."
"Batman, we've got a problem! You need to get back to the cave, ASAP! Someone's hacked into the cave's security and there's visible damage throughout the cave! I can't get a hold of anyone!" Oracle called over the comm link.
"We're on our way," Batman replied evenly, gunning the engine and making his way back to his Metropolis cave.
"We've got another problem," came Nightwing's voice over the comm link next.
"What is it?" Batman asked.
"That woman, Deborah T. Timbers? She's dead," Red Robin called. Batman;s eyes narrowed as he gripped the wheel harder.
"Meet us back at the cave."
Batman, Robin, Red Robin, and Nightwing arrived back at the cave via emergency Zeta Tube. There, they found the cave intact, but with scorch marks, bullet holes, and damage everywhere. It looked as it a war had broken out in here.
"How did they get into the cave?" Dick asked in shock, taking off his domino mask.
"That's a good question. We're obviously not dealing with some D-Rate criminal. Whoever they are, they're smart, well equipped, and well informed," Damian said sourly.
"Look! Jason and Roy!" Tim called as he pulled off his mask. He and Dick raced over to them to see if they were alright. Bruce and Damian followed. Bruce knelt down beside Jason and lifted him up a little.
"Jason. Jason wake up!" Bruce urged. Jason groaned and slowly opened his eyes before bolting up.
"Son of a bitch!" he shouted, pointing his guns at- "Dick!" he called out. He glanced over at Roy to see the man getting to his feet and in a similar condition. Jason groaned again and got up with Dick's help.
"God dammit, they got us again!" Jason scowled, slamming his fist onto the worktable beside him. Roy groaned and rubbed the back of his neck, stretching his limbs a little.
"Yeah, we weren't exactly ready for them. But then, we never expected them to get into the cave," Roy explained.
"I'm just glad you guys are alright. Where's Alfred?" Dick asked curiously. Jason's head shot up as he looked around for the old man. There, he gestured toward a few corpses across the cave.
"He came down to help us drive 'em out. The guy's scary when he wants to be," Jason replied with a smirk. Bruce, Dick, Tim approached the corpses to find their armor blown open; obvious shotgun damage.
"Definitely Alfred's shotgun," Dick said smoothly, standing back up.
"I…I don't remember what happened," Jason admitted.
"I do. Well, kind of. We were shocked by some kind of electrical grenade. I think we passed out after that," Roy answered.
"Deathstroke! He was here too, I remember that! Right before that fucker dropped that freaky electric grenade," Jason growled. It donned on him then, what happened to Alfred. He'd been down here with them, and now, he wasn't here at all. "They took him! They fuckin' took Alfred!" Jason shouted angrily. Bruce was already making his way over to the computer to power the cave's defenses back up, when a message displayed on the computer; it was that same silhouette, with that same synthesized voice.
"Batman. I warned you that there would be consequences for continuing this investigation. And so now you have been punished; your butler and long time friend, Alfred Pennyworth has been taken into our custody. He will be returned when I am certain you have abandoned this investigation of yours. If not, he will suffer a fate much worse than death; he will never see you again, nor will you see him. And you will live the rest of your life in agony, not knowing whether or not he is alive, or dead, or what sort of hells he is being put through. The choice is yours. I have all the time in the world."
"SON OF A BITCH!" Jason roared angrily, slamming the work table and breaking it in half. "This is my damn fault! I wasn't prepared, I let them take him! God dammit!" Jason shouted angrily, kicking a box of parts across the cave and sending the parts skittering across the floor.
"Jason, stop, that's not helping!" Dick called. Jason spun around and shot him a glare. He opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it at the last moment and paced across the cave, digging his hands into his hair.
"They're fucking dead. I'm going to kill them all," Jason ground out.
"We're not killing anyone," Bruce said in a low tone, still at the computer with his fists clenched. Jason snorted derisively and spun around on the spot.
"Really?! You're still concerned for your god damn no kill rule after they took Alfred?! That fucking rule is the whole reason he's gone now! If I'd've killed those fuckers-"
"We don't kill, Jason! We're better-"
"Fuck you old man, you-"
"ENOUGH!" Dick roared loudly, storming in between the two of them. "This isn't fucking helping!" He turned to Jason and shot him a glare. "I know you're pissed, Jason, because so am I!" He turned to Bruce and said "and now's not the time to fucking argue! They took Alfred; we have to come up with a plan!" Dick heaved an exasperated sigh and paced through the cave a bit, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"We all need to calm the hell down, stop arguing, and think," Dick said softly. He kept pacing a bit, taking deep breaths every now and then. "They took Alfred, they took the heart of our family, and we're all extremely emotional right now. You have no idea how hard it is for me to hold it together right now," Dick went on "but we have to. If we let our emotions run wild, we'll only walk into a trap."
"Dick is right. I'll see what I can dig up," came Oracle's voice.
"Barbara? How long have you been there?" Dick asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Long enough to know Alfred's been kidnapped. And long enough to restore the cave's security systems, and scan for and destroy any bugs he might have left behind."
"Maybe I can help," came the Question's voice from behind them. Everyone turned to see The Question coming down the stairs from the manor. His coat was pierced with bullet holes and covered in splotches of blood. He looked pretty roughed up, but otherwise, intact and in good health. "Apologies for leaving you earlier. I went in pursuit some of the mercenaries that attacked us, and I believe it paid off." The Question stopped a short distance away from the group and crossed his arms.
"And don't worry, your cave will remain a secret with me. It was a curious thing that brought me here; seeing Deathstroke with a band of the same mercenaries we clashed with before, leaving Wayne manor. So I-"
"Snooped around a bit and found the secret entrance to the cave," Tim filled in. The Question nodded.
"Indeed."
"What was this about 'having something'?" Bruce asked, turning to face him. The Question waved his hand through the air as he began to explain where he'd been.
"I managed to capture one of the mercenaries that attacked us. However, when I attempted to interrogate him, something electrocuted his brain. He went into a stroke and turned into a vegetable."
"So how does that help us?" Jason growled.
"It tells us that this Broker will go to great lengths to hide his own secrets. I tracked down another mercenary, which was no easy feat. I then used a taser to incapacitate him, figuring that the shock from the taser would disable the device responsible for frying his brain in case of an interrogation attempt. I was correct."
"So what did you find out?" Roy asked. The Question was silent for a time, glancing around the cave at each of them, including Barbara who was still on the screen, waiting to hear his answer.
"I dosed him with some truth serum and learned that The Broker has several bases of operation throughout the world, including Gotham. Especially Gotham. Gotham is a hive of scum and villainy, no offense," he said. Jason shrugged his shoulders.
"None taken."
"So this city's Underworld is particularly lucrative for the Broker. This particular mercenary knew very little about the Broker or his operations, save his Gotham Operation. I believe your butler, Alfred, is being held on Arkham Island. As it turns out, The Broker, for all intents and purposes, owns Arkham Asylum. And not that it matters, but he also 'owns' several of Gotham's judges, through proxies, as well."
"So you think Alfred could be somewhere on Arkham Island?" Tim asked.
"Yes. That would be the most logical conclusion. It's close by, a place most would not think to look, and its proximity allows the Broker's operatives to keep a close eye on all of you," The Question answered.
"Good. Now that we know where he is, I say we storm the island and bust some heads," Jason growled out, punching his hand.
"Tt, don't be stupid, Todd. We need to approach this with caution," Damian snapped.
"Stop. Fighting," Dick snapped at the two of them, cutting Jason off before he could retaliate.
"Damian is right. And so is Dick. We can't let emotions cloud our judgement," Bruce said. Everyone turned their attention onto him.
"So what should we do? If the Broker's watching out every move, waiting for us on Arkham Island, how do we even begin to search for him?" Tim asked him. Bruce was silent for a time as he considered many different plans and ideas. He looked up at everyone and his scowl only darkened.
"I think I know someone who can help. Someone the Broker would least suspect." Batman turned and typed some commands onto the Batcomputer, and up popped an image of none other than-
"Harley Quinn."