Hello everyone,

I deeply apologize that it has taken me so long to post this. Almost two years of waiting is much too long between updates and a discourtesy to you guys. To be honest, I had trouble writing this chapter for a couple of reasons. For one, perfectionist tendencies (I have lost track of which draft this is... perhaps 12?) and feeling like I couldn't capture what needed to be captured - I know some of you can relate, right? (As of now, I'm letting it go. This chapter isn't perfect, and it's time to move on). I knew what needed to happen, I just didn't know how to get there in a way that flowed. Especially since this chapter is important from a plot standpoint. Second - Danielle's story is once again hitting a bit too close to home at the moment. I don't know if I've talked about this... I am an abuse survivor. When I started writing Danielle a few years ago, it was in part to combat some painful memories and feelings of self-criticism, as well as to try to think my way through some of the different kinds of abuse and inspire myself on how to respond if it ever happened again. I based Danielle off a friend I look up to. Now, we've been having a situation at home for the past eight months. I'm still coming to terms with it. And yes, I had to stand up to abuse repeatedly, and it was terrifying. So this story hits close to home once again. I'm still figuring it out, though I'm safe now. I'm sorry to have kept you guys waiting - I shouldn't have taken so long to update. Thank you for your patience.

Most sincerely,

~SectumSemprae

-0-

Redemption, Restitution, & Resurrection

Chapter Twenty-Six: ROGUES

-/-/-/-/-

"Hey, did you hear the Sobalvarro brothers escaped from Blackgate?"

There were three of them huddling near the streetlamp. Penguin's henchmen, from the looks of them. As they spoke, their breaths plumed into the chilly night air.

"No kidding," one henchman replied. "Guess that means they're working for Falcone again."

"Hey, that reminds me of a joke!" the third one chimed in. The other two henchmen groaned.

"Oh no, he's got jokes."

"…So the Sobalvarro brothers have longs ones, Catwoman don't have one, and Bruce Wayne uses his everywhere. What it is?"

"Bruce Wayne don't use his everywhere anymore, dummy," the second mook apparently took his gossip seriously, because he whacked the third one over the head. "He's married now—"

"I meant last names!" The third one wasn't fazed. "Get your mind outta the gutter, man! Hahahaha!"

"Hey, but then Catwoman has one!" The first goon was a little slower on the uptake. "Her name's Selina Kyle—"

"Haven't you heard? It's Selina Wayne now."

"What?! You mean she married Bruce Wayne? They're together?!"

"Yeah. She's been married to him for two years now. And you know how rich that guy is."

"Oh, I get it. So she marries the guy, divorces him, and then gets a cut of his funds!"

"Catwoman's one smart kitty!" the third one said admiringly.

"Bruce Wayne's an idiot. Hahaha!"

From his gargoyle perch high above the thugs, Batman rolled his eyes. "I hate this city," he mumbled.

Unfortunately, Oracle heard. "Don't we all?"

Batman ignored her comment. "According to Nigma, Cobblepot's meeting with Dent should be well underway. The Lounge must be deserted."

She sighed. "I still don't like it... Working with Nigma, I mean. What if he's leading you into a trap?"

"He could be. But why would he want to? He's obsessed with proving he's a better detective than me. Plus, I threatened to out him to his parole board that he's been doing business with Cobblepot if he didn't work with me on this."

"How'd he respond to that?"

"With the usual bluster. I'm almost there now. I'll be in touch."

There was no moon tonight. Just the sort of night criminals fear, cowardly and superstitious as they are. It's on nights like these that they prefer to huddle extra close to the streetlamps. Not that it helps them. No one ever sees Batman coming.

The Caped Crusader crept across the shadowy rooftop, cape billowing in the cold breeze. Across the street lay his target: the Iceberg Lounge, twinkling in aqua blue lights. A beacon to Gotham's criminals. The business club of one Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot.

Penguin's club was usually well-guarded. But not tonight. No, tonight there was a lone pair of goons on lookout, standing on the corner between the Lounge and the Cyrus Pinkney Natural History Museum. It would be easy to get past them, no question-

"Goooood evening, Dark Knighttt!"

"Riddler." Batman paused to adjust his cowl, though the transmission still had a metallic after-ring to it. "You have appropriate timing."

"I always do! So how goes your little investigation? Run into any trouble yet?"

"The place is underpopulated, as you said. Security is light. Infiltration shouldn't be an issue."

"See, Batman? If only we'd worked together years ago! With me on your side, you'll never lose another case!"

"Any idea what went down at the Lounge last weekend?"

"No. Oswald's been keeping pretty hush-hush about it. I'm sure I could have found out, but I had more important things to do."

"Uh-huh. I'll go find out right now."

"Try not to crack too many skulls, Dark Knight. We don't want to alert them to your presence. Or invite a lawsuit."

Batman didn't answer. Instead he glided to the roof above the goons' heads. The two thugs didn't seem to be on high alert. Instead, they were slouching into their downy jackets, talking in puffs of vapor:

"So when's the boss getting back?"

"Who knows? All's I know is Mugsy said he's got a meeting at Two-Face's spot."

"You think Dent knows anything?"

"About what went down? He could... But I doubt it. He and Zsasz ain't on speaking terms-"

"Zsasz?" Riddler's peppy voice interrupted Batman's eavesdropping. "Now that's interesting..."

"Boss and Dent's always fighting anyway! Knowing them, the boss probably went there to ask why his men was hanging around the shipment of guns last week, considering that about a quarter of the shipment's missing now... Or it could be because Two-Face saw his face and thought they was brothers!"

"Have you seen his face since...?"

"Nah, only Tommy saw it. He must've said something stupid, cuz the boss decided to fire him."

"He fired Tommy?"

"No," the sound of a smack, "it's a figure of expression! He fed Tommy to Tiny, dummy!"

"Man, I thought Tiny looked full."

"Anyway, don't say nuthin', cuz the boss is very sensitive about his face. He's got it all bandaged up. Rumor has it he's gonna put out a hit on Zsasz, get him in his torture chambers-"

"Zsasz is one crazy bastard to attack Penguin!"

"Shhh! Keep it down, you want the whole neighborhood to know?!"

"-Not to worry! Penguin'll track him down and kill him. Don't he know that he's all alone out there; Penguin's got a whole army! He's got no chance!"

"Didn't we used to say that about Batman?"

"So it was Zsasz who attacked Penguin on Saturday night," Batman mused aloud. He backed away from the thugs, satisfied, and crept towards the entrance to the Lounge. "No wonder Penguin's been holed up ever since."

"He'd die of embarrassment if it got out that Zsasz was the one who invaded his Lounge." Riddler snickered. "That might be some good information to keep in reserve, in case he tries to cheapskate me later..."

But why? Batman mused as he glided to a gargoyle closer to the Lounge's door. He could only really think of one reason for Zsasz to go after Penguin: revenge. Penguin was why Zsasz was destitute in the first place. But Zsasz had never been this organized before, not enough to pull off something of this magnitude. How on Earth had he made it past all of Penguin's men? Skills he had learned from Rā's, no doubt. Could there be some bigger picture? Did the Penguin have some sort of connection with Rā's al Ghūl?

Batman shook his head. He was overthinking things. There was no evidence to point to that. Penguin didn't even know about Rā's He had imprisoned one of Rā's kunoichi in his museum once, but he hadn't put it together then, he didn't think... Rā's didn't concern himself with the rest of Batman's Rogues Gallery. Which was why it made no sense...

A thought tapped persistently in the back of his head. Why would Rā's use Zsasz and the Joker? Poison Ivy made sense - she had supernatural powers and a deep connection to the Earth, and Batman imagined that, deep down, Rā's would be envious of her powers. But why the others? Rā's had only ever made it his mission to destroy criminals, despite his own hypocritical League of Shadows, murderers and criminals every one of them. But he never showed an interest in the likes of Zsasz.

But the Joker... that was right... Talia had appealed to Joker back in Arkham City. She had offered him the chance to join with her and Rā's in exchange for the use of the Lazarus Pit. It had bothered Batman back then, as he had reasoned Talia was just trying to barter for time for Batman to follow them. Not that it would have helped either of them, if Catwoman hadn't saved him in time...

And yet even then, he wasn't fast enough.

Again, he could smell the gunpowder, smoking from such a close range. The acrid smell had lingered with the stench of burnt flesh, and blood, and finally death, and he'd been brought back to that night in Crime Alley as he watched his parents die. Sure, the Monarch Theatre didn't have the same odor of urine and spilled beer as Crime Alley, but it was the smell of life leaving that he hadn't been able to forget.

Talia had died in his arms that night.

And now she was alive again.

The gargoyle beneath his hand cracked a little.

And maybe Joker was too.

Would Talia really agree with resurrecting her own murderer? How could she agree with resurrecting the Joker after what he'd done to her, to them? ...Was she even alive? Would Rā's willingly desecrate her memory? He had never been the best father…

If Talia had gotten away from Rā's, maybe she would never have died to begin with. Maybe Batman could have saved her.

A pang of guilt hit him. He should be focused on Selina and Helena, not on some old flame of his…

The gargoyle cracked further.

"Are you ignoring me, Daaark Kniiiight?"

Batman started a little. Nigma's smug voice had caught him off-guard in a rare moment. Good thing he wasn't there in person to see it. "I couldn't if I wanted to, Ed." He pretended not to hear the cough of exasperation Riddler had let slip. "So, about that meeting Penguin went to," he continued as he glided down to the ground in front of the Iceberg Lounge. "What was it about?"

"Not sure. Some business deal with Two-Face. According to Mugsy, he was pretty tight-lipped on what it was going to be, just that it would be at Two-Face's hideout. And as you know, those two don't trust each other… Hence why security's so light tonight! In all probability, he took the whole cavalry with him."

"Well, that works fine for us."

"Remember, Dark Knight, there is no need to leave a trail of broken bodies. In fact, it might be better if no one knows you're there at all. Think you can handle that challenge?"

Batman ignored the Riddler's jab and began picking the lock to the Lounge.

"I am sorry to have disappointed you and not gotten you that sample you requested. The day that I attempted to acquire it, there was double the usual number of Oswald's goons. I've never seen so many guns in the Lounge! They would have simply been too much for anyone. Even for you."

"Well, I appreciate you tried, Ed. I can take it from here."

"Will that be all, Mr. Dark Knight?"

"Yes. Thank you, Edward."

There was another cough of some sort on the other end, and then Riddler hung up.

The lock popped, and Batman swiftly slid inside the doors.

He hadn't been able to find Ivy or Zsasz. Either of them could tell him the location of Rā's most recent lair, yet they were either in hiding, or Rā's had recaptured them. There was another way to find where Rā's was. It would take longer, but it was worth a shot. And that was why the Batman was infiltrating the Iceberg Lounge on this fine Friday night.

It really was deserted inside the Lounge. Batman could hear voices - maybe three or four thugs, but they were far off. There was no one on the main floor. In fact, there was a very noticeable change in the Lounge's demeanor: the iceberg was smaller. Batman estimated it was a good three meters shorter than usual. Without thinking about it, he activated his scanners.

Very faintly, on the floor at the base of the iceberg, there were traces of blood.

Batman narrowed his eyes. So... Someone's blood had been spilled on the Lounge's main attraction. Oswald had needed to wash the blood off the icicle (otherwise it made for an unsanitary dining environment), and because of the length of time it would take to regenerate the icicle, business was closed. It made sense, except for a hunch Batman had...

He collected a sample.

"Alfred, run this sample through the GCPD blood records."

"Yes, sir." As Batman waited for the results, he peered at the floor's grates. There was one with an especially long drop, through an air conditioning vent if he recalled correctly... but it was on the other side of the Lounge.

"The sample you sent matches one Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, sir." Just as he had thought. So that was what the goons outside had been talking about. "Am I to guess that someone has clipped the Penguin's wings?"

"Whatever Zsasz did, it must have been bloody," he murmured.

"So Mr. Zsasz decided to take his revenge, then?"

"I'm guessing so."

Silent as a shadow, he slipped behind two mooks wandering the halls. Out of habit, he listened to their conversation.

"...The boss said no more game nights, not til Zsasz's bones are on display," one was saying. "Boss has got a nasty temper. Says he wants to feed Zsasz to Tiny first, piece by piece, then take whatever's left of him and put it in a case with a bunch of penguins. Carnivorous penguins or something like that."

"How's he gonna accomplish that?" the second man asked incredulously. "He took out sixteen men without even alerting the boss! Sixteen! If Zsasz could pull that off, we're not safe in here!"

"Will you calm down, man? We got guns. Zsasz only ever carries a knife, you know that."

"I had to clean up the bodies, man! I saw what the guys looked like. Reggie was missing an eye! It looked like Zsasz had stabbed him there! There was blood all over the floors-"

"You're paranoid, man. The other guys just got sloppy. We'll get Zsasz if he shows up. And if anything happens – we've got workman's comp now! Boss said so!"

"Workman's comp don't do nothin' if you're dead, idiot!"

Though no stranger to gore, hearing these details unnerved Batman more than he would admit. Attacking the entire Iceberg Lounge singlehandedly was bold, even for Zsasz. True, he had a history with Penguin, but was this a sign that Zsasz was becoming more dangerous? What had Rā's instilled in him? Batman's mind was working even as he found the correct grate leading under the floor of the Iceberg Lounge.

It was a massive area underneath, almost cavernous. Once upon a time, Oswald had blown up the Iceberg Lounge's floor and sent Batman careening into here, into an impromptu pit fight with the undead Solomon Grundy. In fact, it still smelled like fire and brimstone down here. Like Lazarus.

Funny thing about Solomon Grundy... He'd originally died in Slaughter Swamp, but years later, he had risen unexpectedly. It had turned out that Slaughter Swamp had alchemical properties, and Grundy's rampage had caught the attention of Rā's al Ghūl He'd experimented on Grundy. The repeated experimentations, combined with Grundy's original creation, had left the monster with a permanent imprint of Lazarus in his body. Lazarus, that was two parts rejuvenation and one part radioactive toxin.

All Batman needed was a single sample of Lazarus, and he might stand a Grey Ghost of a chance of tracking down Rā's Pits. And wherever Rā's was, he was sure to be nearby to one of his Pits.

The smell of brimstone got stronger as he followed the floor's downward slope.

Just beyond a massive mound of stone, there was a large tunnel leading from the basement, one that hadn't been there the last time he was here. There was a draft coming in through it. Batman had a pretty good guess that it led to the Lazarus Pit beneath Gotham City. Solomon Grundy wouldn't soon forget that place, dying and resurrecting on Rā's operating table dozens of times as he had. Briefly, Batman wondered just how much of the Lazarus there had been left for Grundy to find, polluted as it was by Clayface's remains from all those years ago.

He didn't have long to wonder.

A sudden snore cut his thoughts short. Only then did he notice that the giant mound of stone to his right was warm, and that it wasn't really stone at all. As he neared it, he could smell the stench and see the feathers of dead penguins all around.

Solomon Grundy was in front of him, sound asleep.

Batman took a moment to listen to the zombie's breathing. His body tensed, ready for any slight movement. But Grundy barely stirred.

He inched closer to the zombie. The slight breeze from the makeshift doorway was blowing his scent away from Grundy. One wrong move...

Batman took out his portable syringe and held his breath as he collected Grundy's blood. The monster whimpered slightly in his sleep.

Lastly, Batman cut off a small patch of skin from Grundy's massive feet. They were peeling badly, the result of the rough sewer environment. Batman hoped he'd find a trace of Lazarus somewhere in Grundy's samples. After this, he was putting Lazarus's signature on file and never losing it again.

Once Batman was done, he stepped back from the monster. Grundy hugged his massive arms closer to his body and whimpered again.

Batman felt a pang of pity. He knew, from other encounters they'd had, that Grundy was a simple beast, and that he was quite capable of making friends as long as he was in a good mood. Shayera would certainly agree with that. Grundy wasn't a monster. He had just been tortured and then left alone for so long that he had forgotten what it was like to be human. Many Thanksgivings ago, Batman had shared a turkey meal with Solomon Grundy down in these sewers...

Much like that night, Batman rummaged into his suit and pulled out a chocolate bar. It was small, but then, even smaller kindnesses were welcome in this world. He placed the candy near Solomon's massive head.

Then he left the sleeping giant where he lay.

A short moment later, he was back in the Iceberg Lounge, back to listening. His luck had held; there was no one around. This was looking to be one of the easiest investigations he'd ever conducted, surprisingly. All he had to do was go home and analyze the samples. He hurried over to the doorway and finally slipped out of the Iceberg Lounge, closing it softly until he heard a click. Now outside, he was home free-

"Well, look who we have 'ere!"

"Don't move, ya rodent!"

A floodlight snapped on, illuminating the Dark Knight. He quickly adjusted his cowl to the glare.

There, waiting for him, stood a welcoming committee of criminals with weapons drawn. The Penguin, the one who had spoken first, had his umbrella raised at shoulder height. Beside him stood Two-Face with twin handguns. Then Black Mask, Tommy gun raised. Then Hush, slasher smile visible through his bandages, pistols in hand. And then a sight that made Batman stare: Mr. Hammer and Mr. Sickle, the Abramovici twins... except unlike before, they were reattached. Two hulking men, shoulder pressed intimately to shoulder, wearing twin expressions of menace. Hush's work, no doubt... They were both raising their tools in a way that made Batman very concerned.

Standing slightly to the side of the super criminals were a smaller band of mooks. Batman could tell by their nice suits that they belonged to a crime family. No... On second thought, they weren't standing close enough together... Representatives from more than one family, perhaps? Maybe Falcone and Thorne, or could it be that some of Maroni's family had finally made it back into Gotham after their long exile?

He noted two of the men: Benny and Carlito Sobalvarro. So. They had managed to escape prison. Clearly they were up to no good once again.

Despite the odd mix of characters, every single one of them seemed to be in perfect agreement on precisely one thing:

All weapons were trained on Batman.

He spoke as casually as he could. "What's all this about, fellas? The only time I see you guys hanging out this much is in Arkham." As he spoke, he subtly fingered a couple of smoke grenades in one hand. His other concealed a batarang. Did Nigma put them up to this? he wondered.

"Quit with the smart remarks! We've got you cornered, fair and square!"

"Hah! What'd I tell you, gentlemen?" the Penguin gloated openly. "What'd I tell you?"

"How'd you know he was gonna be here in the first place, Ozzie?" Black Mask drawled.

"My man Mugsy Binks told me he'd seen the Bat skulking around 'ere!" So, it was Mugsy... "Good lad, I gave him a raise!"

Batman was vaguely impressed. "So, Oswald... You managed to gather the super-criminals and the mob together... All just for me? To what do I owe the pleasure?" If he kept them talking for a moment, they might grow less focused. Meanwhile, he could take out that overhead light, disappear into the smoke and then circle back around...

"Just business, really!" the Penguin replied jovially, lighting a cigar. Batman noticed that he had a rather large bandage on the right side of his face. His monocle gleamed menacingly over his left eye. "See, we don't like you." He motioned to the other criminals, who nodded. "We don't much care for each other either... But there's one other person who we hate almost as much as we hate you."

"Who?"

"The Joker!"

When he said it, every hardened criminal present flinched slightly, as if from habit.

Batman narrowed his eyes. Had word gotten out somehow?

"See, a little birdie told me that our dear old clown might be coming back to life and back to town sometime very soon. Now we don't want that, do we, gentlemen?" There was a chorus of noes all around. "Not one bit! Crime is somewhat profitable these days. Sure, we have you to deal with, but since when have you ever stopped us? You've never really put any of us out of business, and we'd like to keep it that way. Unfortunately, the Joker is more than capable of upsetting our delicate balance we have 'ere now. We're not-"

"What the midget is trying to say," growled Two-Face, ignoring the Penguin's squawk, "is that we don't want Joker back! We need him to stay dead. And we figure, with you around, he's got a better chance of coming back to life."

"See, we don't know how you do it, but you always seem to bring out the worst this city has to offer," Black Mask picked up the narrative. "More than even us, Batman, the worst of Gotham is him. You and he have some sort of mystical connection that always keeps the two of you in the rest of our hair!"

"But you don't have any hair, Sionis-"

"Shut up!"

"...And we figured, this town ain't big enough for EITHER of ya! So we're taking ya both out! First you, then the clown! Two birds, two bullets."

"Wow. Sounds like quite a plan." Batman could see them getting more and more riled up. This was going to be easy. "And you think it'll work? How?"

"We'll show you how, ya rodent!"

"You are about to become a Bat-stain—"

"Enough yammering!" the Penguin interrupted. "Right! 'Ere's the plan. FIRE!"

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The small square exploded, bullets everywhere! Before the first bullet had finished flying, Batman had already dropped the smoke pellets. Instinctively, he rolled to the ground, throwing a batarang as he went.

"Aim for his face, you blooming morons!" the Penguin was screaming.

Glass exploded over the criminals' heads. The floodlight was out.

The criminals all turned as one, searching for the Dark Knight's body. The Abramovici Twins were the first to approach where he'd been standing; the smoke was so thick that it billowed up to their chests. Sickle prodded the concealed ground with his massive weapon. "Nyet."

"Where'd he go?" Two-Face asked.

From out of the smoke came two batarangs. One for each side of Two-Face's face.

"ARGH!"

The twins whipped around, slamming their weapons together, hammer against sickle. BOONG! A shockwave went out. But Batman had already slipped away and wasn't caught.

"There!" someone shouted. Batman was slipping behind the unicorn statue. Grapple in hand, he was preparing to ascend to relative safety-

WHACK!

A flash of orange and black stopped the Bat in his tracks, kicking him across the face. Batman flew backwards but immediately landed on his feet.

"So... you too, Slade?"

The mercenary stared cockily at him, sword casually twirling in one hand.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Batman shifted his posture, settling into a ready stance, and raised a hand, beckoning. At length, Deathstroke sheathed his sword behind his back and held out his hands, an amused glint in his eye.

"At ease, Bat, that's not my directive today. I'm just here to watch." He approached Batman, who did not relax.

"Never figured you for a spectator. What's your angle?"

BANG!

The bullet hadn't just come from one place; rather it seemed to be all over the courtyard. It knocked Oswald's top hat off his head, bounced off Sickle's sickle, went between Benny Sobalvarro's legs, hit Black Mask in the elbow, cut Oswald's cigar in half (further pissing him off), and pinged off Deathstroke's blade. Both Batman and Deathstroke tensed. The other criminals cowered.

"Wilson, get your ass out of the way! No interference, you know this, or you forfeit your bet!"

Batman spun around.

"You too, Floyd?"

The familiar white ballistic mask with the single infrared eye seemed bright against the darkness of the rooftop, and Batman wondered how he'd missed him before. He glared up at Deadshot before he further processed his words.

"Wait, you bet on me?"

"No, Wilson over there bet on you. He bets you're going to wipe the floor with these gentlemen. Now I personally think you're about to die, or else you're going to turn tail and run, but any outcome but you winning means I win."

"And you don't want to kill me yourself?"

"Money is more valuable than revenge, you know this. If I wanted to fight you, Batman, I'd rather it be for the appropriate price."

BLAM BLAM!

"ARGH!"

Hush had taken advantage of their momentary distraction to fire on the Dark Knight, hitting him squarely in the shoulder.

"Whoa! Nice shot!" Deathstroke commented, still standing next to Batman. His mask was splattered with blood.

"That's my line, Wilson!" Deadshot bellowed down. With a sigh, Deathstroke jumped up to join the fellow assassin and sat back to watch the fight go on.

Batman stumbled for a moment, clutching his shoulder. Red showered down. The criminals watched eagerly.

Then, Batman hardened his resolve, clenching his teeth, and his eyes were like fire. The criminals barely had time to share a collective gulp. Batman launched himself into the air and landed in the center of all of them. Then the real fight began.

SMACK! Hush went flying back from a punch. He hit his head on the edge of a stone fountain, knocking himself out cold.

The Sobalvarro brothers came at Batman, guns raised, and Bats threw bolas around their ankles. They stumbled forward, and Batman kicked both of them in the face, propelling them backward. He did a spin-kick and three more mafia thugs went flying.

Two-Face aimed his guns carefully at Batman's head. BAM! The first bullet grazed Batman's cowl. BAM! The other one missed by an inch.

GLOOP! Batman threw a ball in the man's split face. It took Two-Face a moment to realize it was glue. By then it was already running over the exposed flesh, and the crime lord clawed frantically to get it off.

RAT-A-TAT-TAT! The Penguin fired a volley of bullets at Batman. He missed Bats but nearly hit the still-recovering Two-Face.

"Hey! You almost killed me, ya lousy-!"

"And what about you, Slade?" Batman called up to the assassins watching. "What's in it for you?"

"A test, of a sort," Deathstroke called down with a visible gleam in his eye. "The master is curious about you."

"So you've been in communication with Rā's. Are you working for him now?" He dodged as Penguin swiped at him with his umbrella. His fist came up, but Penguin dodged the uppercut in turn.

Black Mask was up, holding the Tommy gun in his non-injured arm. Batman leaped at him, flipping them both over, and wrenched the gun out of the boss's hands. Then he knocked him down with the butt of his own weapon.

"He wants to know how far you'll go in your investigation. He knows you're tracking him."

"Are you sure he didn't send you to shut me down?"

WHOOOOSH! The Abramovicis had joined the circle. Batman ducked just in time to avoid the sickle. A second later, he jumped back as the hammer split the pavement where he'd been a moment before.

Sickle came at him again, and again Batman dodged. He heard an indignant squawk.

"Hey, watch were you're aiming that blasted thing, cupcake!"

"I don't work for you no more, Cobblepot!" Sickle said in his gravelly voice. "Only Mister Dent appreciates my brother and me, our duality!"

"Well, his loss then!"

"He wouldn't send you just to give a message to me," Batman taunted Deathstroke. "You're not his errand boy." Swiftly, he kicked the hammer out of one twin's hand and hit the hand holding the sickle with a batarang. Both weapons went flying. Hush had just been sitting up when the hammer slammed into him, knocking him back out.

Batman hurled a fist of tear gas pellets in the twins' faces, turning away before they broke. The brutish men dropped to their knees, weeping and choking.

The assassin's single eye narrowed slightly. It was the only sign that Batman's words had gotten to him. "...The master has many interests right now."

"He's not taking us seriously!" the Penguin shrieked. "WHY is he NOT taking us SERIOUSLY?!"

"So there's someone else who's being a thorn in his side. Who is it? Nyssa?"

"She has been dealt with."

"I don't believe you. Bane, then? Shiva?"

Batman was getting the upper hand. Benny and Carlito were on the ground, trying to untangle themselves. Two-Face was trying to free himself from the glue. The Abramovici Twins were minus their weapons. Hush was completely down for the count. Then suddenly...

"Hope you didn't start the party without me… Cuz things are about to get REAL FIRED UP!"

"What in bloody 'ell is Lynns doing 'ere?!"

Erupting blue flames and hovering like a hell-locust, the Firefly had arrived. The criminals were already on edge from Batman beating them up and the unexpected appearance of the two assassins. But THIS-

"BAHAHAHAHAHAAA!" Firefly aimed a jet of fire Batman's way. The Dark Knight dodged, but barely.

The super-criminals took one look at the flamethrower and immediately threw themselves out of the way. Maroni's and Thorne's men promptly fled the scene, never to return. Clearly, Firefly's appearance was not on their agenda that evening. Flames roared as Firefly sped after the Bat.

Two-Face glared around. "Alright, which one of you punks squealed?"

"Ummm…"

All the Rogues present turned menacingly to Black Mask, who let out an undignified squeak when he tried to clear his throat.

"Sionis! I thought we agreed this would be confidential!"

"I, er, might have let it slip over drinks," Black Mask said sheepishly.

"And just how do your lot drink?" Penguin snarked. "Through a straw?"

"At least we don't try to drink beer bottles through our eyes, Oswald."

They all ducked again as Firefly zoomed by, still chasing Batman, who was grappling around the courtyard for all he was worth.

"What was that?! You want to say that to my face, Harvey?" Shink! The umbrella blade extended. "Or shall I even yours out?"

"His face looks fine to me!" Firefly protested, slowing down for a moment.

"Me too," Black Mask agreed, "though he might look neat wearing a half-mask."

"Shut your corn-holes, you sorry freaks!"

"Aw, don't be mad, Ozzie. You fit right in."

Batman fired a net at Firefly. For a moment, the weight dragged the pyromaniac down, before he burst free with a wild cackle. The flamethrower swung in a wide arc, catching the dormant trees in its reach and setting the courtyard ablaze.

"ALRIGHT, LET'S LIGHT THIS JOINT UP!"

"Garfield... Must you always chew the scenery?" Black Mask asked with a heavenward sigh.

"The scenery will BUUUUURRRNNNN!"

"Oh, that's original." Penguin rolled his eyes.

CLANG! The batarang severed clean through the fuel line on Firefly's tank. He had a split moment to mutter a curse before collapsing in a heap of armor.

"My my, how graceful," the Penguin sneered.

"Shut up, everyone! Look, Batman's coming this way!"

"Ugh…"

They all grimaced. Indeed, he was coming their way like a bat out of hell. Penguin, Two-Face, and Black Mask scrambled for their weapons, while Firefly frantically began fixing his fuel line.

"Ohh, this is gonna be good," Deathstroke muttered in anticipation. "Hey, Lawton, how's your daughter been? Zoe, right?"

"She's not bad," Deadshot gritted. "How's Rose?"

Batman was just fifteen paces from the Rogues now, striding out from the shadows of the unicorn statue. The villains well and truly thought their gooses were cooked.

And then the unicorn statue began to move.

The first thing Batman noticed were the eyes. As far as he knew, that statue had never blinked before. Then the eyes were bulging, popping out of their stonework, and with a sickening shloop!, the neck stretched itself free of the stone. The entire body was following suit, and Batman knew, even before the transformation was over, that he was in trouble, that the only tool that had helped him before — freeze grenades — was used up and out of his reach. How did he survive? he vaguely wondered as a fully-formed Clayface loomed over him, opening his maw to reveal a terrifying grin. One of the long arms formed a blade and descended on the Bat.

"Well, well, Batman! Ready for an encore?"

Batman dodged, but there was another hand, a hammer this time, and he reacted too slowly.

WHAM! Clayface slammed him into the side of the building.

"I haven't forgotten our last romp on the stage. What's it been, four years? You haven't really thought I was gone the whole time, have you?"

"How did you do it, Clayface? Did you fake me out while a smaller body made an escape? Did you actually put yourself back together after you fell apart in the Pit?"

"A good performer never reveals their secrets, Batman, and a great performance never dies! With an audience like ours, I hope to make this a memorable showing!"

As Clayface bore down on him, Batman saw the criminals had regained their weapons and were standing. The Abramovici twins had recovered from the tear gas. Even if he got past Clayface, they were blocking several escapes, and if he took to the rooftops, Deathstroke or Deadshot might attack him after all, and Firefly was already back up in the skies. Clayface raised a mace-arm, and Batman steeled himself-

SSSHHHH!

An arc of white light shot over Batman's head, hitting Clayface. The monster stopped in his tracks, and had just enough time to utter a startled, "WHAT?!"

"Freeze, mud-ball," came the metallic voice Batman knew so well.

Victor Freeze's spiked boots came into view as he stood before the Caped Crusader, aiming another blast at Clayface.

The monster tried to strike down the ice man, but his movements were slowing. With one more blast from Mr. Freeze's gun, he was frozen, statue-solid.

"It seems that instead of theatre, Mr. Karlo has decided to take up ice-sculpting," Mr. Freeze deadpanned, turning to the other villains. "Leave now, or face my wrath!"

"I don't think so, snowman!" Firefly approached, flamethrower raised and ready. With a mad cackle, he fired, hoping to incinerate the ice man. "Let me melt your cold heart, baby!"

Freeze took a step back and fired in response. Batman rolled out of the way.

"Wha?" he heard Penguin's started yelp, and the crime boss suddenly splatted forward on the ground. A black shape came hurtling out of the night.

"Miss me, handsome?"

Batman had never been happier to see his feline love. He smiled at her, and she grinned brilliantly, sending him a wink that clearly said, 'I've got your back.'

"Where's Robin?" he asked.

"Right here!" Tim's voice answered from across the courtyard. He heard a smack! and then a grunt from Black Mask.

"The other one's around here too, somewhere," Catwoman said casually.

"It's that cat-bitch! Shoot her!" Two-Face, of course.

"You know, Harv, it's not polite to call a lady out of her name. Maybe I should teach you some manners." Catwoman extended her claws.

"Now, now, Catwoman, he's mine, remember?" Nightwing spoke from the back of the real unicorn statue. Right then he had to dodge, as one of Firefly's blasts came dangerously close. Catwoman rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you take the guy who's closest and most dangerous to you? Men and their egos, honestly..."

"Right..." With that, Nightwing performed an aerial flip that would have made his parents proud, landing squarely on Firefly's back.

"WHAT-?" A split second later, Firefly took off, leaving Nightwing clinging on for dear life. Freeze nonchalantly switched targets, blasting Penguin's feet and icing them to the ground. As Oswald blustered, Freeze walked straight up to him and took him down with a single punch.

"That... felt satisfying," the ice man murmured.

Meanwhile, Catwoman had cornered Two-Face against the unicorn statue. She was slashing at him with her claws, while he had taken one of his pistols and was attempting to whip her with it.

"You should leave the whipping to me, Harv. You don't have the flair for it."

"I'll show ya flair! You-"

Catwoman's whip caught around his neck, and with a snap of her wrist, she sent Harvey flying into the frozen Clayface's side. With a nasty crack, Two-Face fell to the ground, unconscious. Catwoman stood above him, eyeing the forming bruise. "You really should put some ice on that."

Nightwing jammed Firefly's jetpack with an escrima stick. The pyromaniac went down again, and when they landed, Batman was waiting, bat-cuffs in hand.

"Hey, Nightwing! A little help here?" Robin was currently dodging Hammer's and Sickle's swings. Batman saw a flash of movement at the other end of the courtyard. The Sobalvarro brothers were fleeing. Though before they left, one threw something up at Deadshot, who was still sitting on the roof. It looked like a business card.

Nightwing quickly went to help Robin, and the Bat-brothers successfully subdued the Abramovici twins.

By the time the Bat-Family had managed to round up the criminals, morale was through the roof. Dick and Tim exchanged high-fives. Catwoman went directly up to Batman and stroked him softly right under the cowl. He stared at her, loving the feral joy in her green eyes, and she gave him a long kiss. Of course, they made sure they were behind the unicorn statue and out of view of the others when they did this.

"Victor... You came just in time." Batman sent the ice man a grateful look. While he was sure he would have found a way to defeat Clayface — he would have had to — he was immensely thankful that Mr. Freeze had shown up when he had. Even more than that, it showed that the man still had a heart underneath his frosty exterior. He remembered his promise to help Nora then.

"How is your wife?"

"She still slumbers, but she is in a safe location, with me."

"I might have a lead on something. You remember the chemical compound I had you help me with during Arkham City?"

"The restorative one? What about it?"

"I might be able to examine its properties. If it's safe, maybe..."

Even through the helmet, Batman could see Mr. Freeze's astonished look. A hopeful one.

"If you come up with anything that could help my wife, I..." he couldn't continue. He didn't need to.

With one last handshake, Batman let Mr. Freeze go. As the ice man walked away, the Bat-Family began to load the criminals into the Batmobile (which Catwoman had thoughtfully driven over) and onto Robin's and Nightwing's motorbikes.

"We should do this again!" Nightwing said enthusiastically.

"I know!" Robin grinned. "I like it when we get together like this..."

Everyone turned expectantly to Batman. Tim looked a little apprehensive, as if waiting for his mentor to spoil the mood.

Instead, Batman favored them with a rare smile. "Good job, everyone."

Selina practically purred. Dick gave him a smirk, and Tim was beaming. Coming from Batman, that was high praise indeed. He might as well have said "I love you" to them.

"Are you guys having a group hug?" Oracle suddenly asked over their frequency, and everyone shared a laugh.

As the Bat-Family split up, with Selina offering to babysit Clayface (covertly of course) until the police showed up, Batman sped away with a renewed feeling of hope. True, there would be some very rough times ahead. He didn't know what would happen with Joker, or with Rā's, but for the moment, he felt like they would be able to handle it. They, not just him alone. He felt strangely optimistic.

As he processed the evening, he made one last call on his frequency.

"Ed... Mugsy Binks wouldn't, by chance, be one of your informants, would he?"

The Riddler yawned; clearly he hadn't been waiting up. "What of him?"

"He ratted on you."

There was a split second of silence. "WHAT?! That ungrateful cretin—"

"The Iceberg Lounge isn't safe for you anymore. Don't go back."

The Riddler huffed for a moment. "So, how did everything go with Bizarro's less articulate cousin?"

"It went fine. Got the sample."

"You say it like it was easy! Just how did you deal with our undead friend?!"

"He was asleep. He wasn't any trouble at all."

"Well that's...anticlimactic." Batman swore he could hear the Riddler pouting.

"I left him a candy bar for when he wakes up," he added.

"...I didn't know he liked sweets," Nigma grumbled. "He's a zombie, they're not supposed to have taste buds!"

"Then how do you explain the rumor that zombies only eat brains?"

"The taste of intelligence, perhaps they miss it?"

"In that case, you would have been perfectly safe around Grundy."

"Hey! That's uncalled for!"

Batman allowed himself another smile.

-/-/-/-/-