It had been six hours since Mercer had somehow managed to singlehandedly defeat Bane, and Bruce Wayne was pacing all around his mansion thinking about what Mercer would do next. Or who he was going after next. Aside from his incessant footsteps echoing through the halls, the huge manor was almost completely quiet. Tim and Dick were sparring down in the Cave, Alfred almost never made any noise anyway, and Damian was lying down watching several news channels that were rerunning Zeus and Bane's brawl; he liked seeing Zeus throw the man who had once crippled his father around like a feathery ragdoll.

"There doesn't seem to be any pattern at all," he said to himself as he continued walking. "He just takes out whoever he runs into or can find. And anybody who's unfortunate enough to be around when he's in battle is at risk of getting killed in the process."

"Still loudly thinking about today's headline Sir?" Alfred asked appearing out of nowhere. He had a silver tray with a hot cup of tea and a newspaper.

"Headline?" Bruce grabbed the newspaper and sure enough, the first thing to be read was written in huge bold letters.

'ZEUS BESTS BANE'

The main picture was a captured image of the live broadcast that had filmed a portion of the death match. It showed Bane soaring across the street right after Zeus had kicked him away. After staring at the title and the picture for a few long seconds Bruce began reading the actual article.

"... Unfortunately, no other witnesses were around when their fight came to its conclusion, and Zeus left the scene before anyone could even spot him. Authorities are still searching for Bane, unsure if he is alive or dead since no body has yet to be found."

"Well perhaps you should tell them that they shall never find a single trace of the strongman, Sir." Alfred suggested.

Bruce took the cup of tea off the tray before answering. "I am. The only way Mercer could have taken the appearance of Bane would be if he absorbed him."

"Sir, I cannot help but wonder if Mr. Mercer gains more than just the ability to perfectly imitate his victims?"

Just as Bruce was about to answer, a chime rang through the mansion indicating that someone was waiting at the front door.

"I suppose my question can wait for its answer master Bruce." Alfred set down the tray on one of the many small tables around the house as he made his way across the huge house and to the door and whoever was on the other side. He approached the door.

"Welcome to Wayne Manor," he said as he opened the enormous door and then saw who was standing there. "I don't have any idea why you would want to be here Mr. Zeus."

"Don't play games. I know you know who I am," he replied. "And let me promise up front that I give my word that I am not here to start a fight."

"And just why would I believe you... Mr. Mercer?"

"Because none of you are on my list and I'm trying to make this place better than it is right now."

Alfred looked at Mercer up and down. "Very well."

XXXXXX

Bruce was now sitting down with his son as they kept rewatching the fight over and over again.

"A visitor, Master Bruce," Alfred's voice called out. The two Waynes looked over to the door as Alfred entered with...

"Zeus?" Bruce asked in confusion. He couldn't figure out why Mercer was at his home. He stood up and walked in front of the killer.

"I prefer my real name from those who know it. Call me Mercer."

"Alright... Mercer. Why are you here?"

"We all have our reasons and our secrets... don't we..." He then had a mischievous and smug grin. "Batman?"

Bruce stared at him for a few precious seconds. He considered playing dumb, or even lying to the lethal vigilante, but he knew it was pointless; Mercer was almost impossible to deceive. "Did you beat that information out of Bane?"

"Not exactly. He simply gave it to me after I consumed him."

"Consumed?" Damian asked in confusion.

"You know, when there isn't a body left."

"So you call it consuming," Bruce said. "But that doesn't explain how you know so much."

"So even the World's Greatest Detective doesn't know everything about me. Whenever something is consumed by me, not only do I take their appearance, but I also take their memories, their abilities, and I grow stronger."

"Well that explains several things, but not why you are here."

"Let me say that blackmail isn't my thing and I have zero intentions of killing you. I merely want you to know that I know."

Before any response could be given, their attention was grabbed by the television going static and then clearing up to reveal a very well known and disliked face.

"Hello Gotham City, this is President Lex Luthor speaking. I'm very sorry to say that I have rather grim news. Evidence has been brought before me that says that a virus is loose in Gotham City, a very contagious virus. To get to the point, I have gone over it with Congress, and it was a unanimous decision to quarantine Gotham to prevent the spread of this unknown virus. Do not be alarmed. The government will provide the city with food and supplies, but none of you are allowed to leave and nobody else is allowed to enter unless they plan to stay for the duration of the quarantine. Also, we are currently looking for a cure for the virus that is loose in your city. The only current known symptom is frequent coughing that results in blood spewing from the mouth. Do not panic or worry, we are doing all we can for you and your city. Try to survive."

The screen went static again for a moment and then returned to the news channel which was now screaming about the quarantine.

"Virus?" Bruce asked himself. Mercer then figured out who really put Gotham into a quarantine.

"Waller," he growled the name as he formed his claws on his arms and tightened his hands into fists. He then felt a hand carefully place itself to avoid the spikes on his right shoulder. He looked over to see Bruce looking right back at him with a completely serious look.

"You've been through this before," he stated. "How did you stop it?"

"That would take forever to explain, so why don't we do it somewhere else..."

XXXXXX

The sun had just set and Batman, Nightwing, Robin and Damian were all arriving where Batman and Mercer had agreed to meet. On their way to it, they had passed a bridge and saw that it was heavily guarded by a military blockade.

"So you all made it," Alex said as he walked out of the heavy shadows and into their sight. "So what exactly do you want to know Batman?"

"Is there a cure?" Batman wasted no time.

"No?" Mercer answered flatly.

"How do you catch it?"

"Basically just don't come in contact at all with anyone who already has it. Don't touch them, don't touch anything they did, don't even breathe the same air as them."

"Is there anyway we can help those who are already sick?" Nightwing asked with dread and concern.

"Yes. Kill them. Otherwise they'll become walking corpses that live only to spread it as much as they can."

"You know fully well that we never kill," Robin said.

"Alright then. Just don't get near any of them unless you feel like eventually becoming a mindless zombie."

"Is this going to get any worse?" Batman demanded.

"If it goes like it did in Manhattan, yes... a lot worse. But don't panic."

A loud explosion prevented him from talking any further. The whole group looked over and saw that bridge not too far away had been blown to smithereens.

"Looks like he meant it when he said nobody can leave or get in," Damian said. He then turned back to Mercer. "So now can we panic?"

"You think this is bad?" He turned around and started walking. "You haven't seen anything yet. The panicking comes later."

Batman pressed two fingers on the side of his cowl and activated the com-link to Oracle.

"Oracle, how many other bridges have been destroyed?"

"All of them Batman. They've also shut down the airports and all the boating companies. They really don't want anything to get in or out. Did you manage to get any information out of Zeus?"

"Yes. Basically to survive, we just don't get near anyone who's sick."

"Batman... do you think this is going to just like last time Gotham was... cut off?"

"Perhaps in some ways, but at least we're not entirely on our own this time."

XXXXXX

Jeremiah Arkham looked out of the window in his office, thinking about last time something like this happened. He then chose to do exactly what he did last time. He was going to shut down the asylum and let all the inmates run wild.

XXXXXX

"Ivy?" Alex called out as he entered their safe haven, the former Iceberg Lounge. Since they had gained the club, Ivy had redecorated the inside of it so that it was like the old warehouse where they first met; plants covered the walls and most of the floor.

"Alex, you're back!" She came out of nowhere and put her arms around him. He felt a bit awkward about the embrace, and he was also a little creeped out by how she blended in with all the vegetation. "I heard the explosions. What happened?"

"They destroyed all the bridges. The city is now a quarantine. We're stuck here... and we're on our own."