Before either of the suspects could be named off, the two of them were then acquainted by a third man.

"Quite a spectacle, eh Bruce?"

Alex and Bruce turned their heads to see a man who was wearing a brown trench-coat and had short red hair. It was obvious that he was strong.

"Indeed it is, Tommy." Wayne replied with a very dark tone.

"So who are you?" The man named Tommy asked Alex.

"This is my... friend Alex Mercer." Bruce answered for him. Mercer did not mind that his real name was used. Blackwatch had destroyed everything relating to the Outbreak, including who was involved. Plus Mercer wasn't that uncommon of a name. The only ones who knew of his involvement in Manhattan were himself, the Bat Family, Ivy, and Waller.

"Well, nice to meet you, Mr. Mercer." Tommy held out his hand.

Alex shook it firmly. "Actually, it's Doctor Mercer." Tommy tightened his grip and smiled wickedly. Mercer kept his faint scowl and also squeezed, almost to the point of shattering Tommy's bones. He let go before that could happen.

"Quite the grip you have... Doctor." Tommy complimented while rubbing his aching hand.

"Thank you... Tommy." Alex gave him a small smirk.

"I didn't know you were in town when the quarantine was put into affect Tommy." Bruce quickly said, wanting to change the subject.

"Yes, I had some business to attend to when they cut the city off from the world. What luck right?"

Alex could clearly see that the two men standing there with him had a very... complex history together. It was the way the spoke to and looked at each other. Their eyes clearly told him that they once shared a bond, and it had been shattered like glass.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but all these pictures of that... clown are creeping me out. I will see you around." Tommy took his leave.

"Just who was that exactly?" Mercer asked after Tommy had left.

"An old friend," Bruce dead panned.

Alex looked at his acquaintance with a blank face, but shook the matter off. After all, who was he to judge? He didn't have any friends for the majority of his first life. He looked back down to the tablet, and saw that a keyboard had appeared on the touch-screen; obviously, it was to put in the answer, which Alex did. "South."

"What?" Bruce asked with confusion.

"Riddles." He continued looking at the tablet as yet another question wrote itself onto the screen.

"If you know me, you'll want to share me. But if you share me, I'm gone. What am I?"

"This is getting both stupid and easier." Alex stated mostly to himself as he typed in the obvious answer. As soon as he did, a somewhat familiar voice emitted from the rectangular device.

"Well done, King of Olympus, you've shown you have the intellect of a modern human child." The screen lit up to show him an overhead view of a map of the city, and somewhere in the southwestern part of it, a small green question mark blinked on and off in an unending pattern, as did a red triangle that was over the exact spot Mercer was.

"Moron," Mercer grumbled under his breath. He also stalked away from the shrines and into the night, leaving Bruce to think alone.

XXXXXX

It took two minutes for someone to attack him. He had since reverted to his hood and tribal leather jacket, and he heard a gunshot ring and echo. He also felt a huge wave of a burning sensation go through his left leg. In a matter of moments the Blacklight repaired him, and he frantically and angrily looked around see who was stupid enough to attack him. Finally he spotted someone. It was dark so only an outline of the man could be seen, and a strange ringing sound periodically filled the air.

"So you are the one they're all afraid of," he said in an extremely raspy voice. "Heh. You ain't so scary to me." He stepped into the light, and Mercer was surprised by his appearance. The left his face was horribly burnt and scarred. And his suit was a resemblance of it on the same side as well. He was holding a double-barrel shotgun.

"Nor are you to me," Alex replied. "But you are rather ugly."

"Funny guy, eh? Let's see what happens next." He held out a coin, and flipped it into the air. At the right moment, the scarred man snatched it out of the air with his right hand and slapped it onto his left wrist. He looked at it, and then looked back to Zeus. "Looks like you lose. Let's get him boys!"

In the next second, at least forty men chuckled and laughed as they appeared from the shadowed street. Some were unarmed, and other hand lethal blunt objects. They began to surround him.

"Please tell me all of you aren't that stupid." Zeus stated. The goons continued to surround him. "Alright. It's your funeral." He slammed his right fist into his open left hand and cracked his neck.

XXXXXX Thirty-seven Seconds Later XXXXXX

"What the Hell are you?" The man Zeus came to know as Two-Face asked. He was suspended in the air as Zeus wrapped his clawed hand around his neck. Two-Face held his hands on the spiked arm, trying to keep himself elevated so his neck wouldn't feel the strain of his entire body pulling it down. All his men were dead, and half had been consumed.

'I'm the one who's gonna..." Zeus trailed off into silence and looked off into space.

"What?" Two-Face didn't understand what was going on.

"SHUT UP!" Zeus screamed. He then lost all his apparent anger and looked away again. He had a very uneasy feeling that he was being watched. And not by one of the members of the Bat Family. He looked around and saw no one. He then felt like something was one him, and it didn't belong there. He looked down at his body and saw a red dot directly over his heart. "What the...?"

A loud bang filled the atmosphere. Zeus let out a sound that was a combination of a gasp and a groan. He dropped Two-Face and staggered back a few steps. It felt like somebody had punched him in the chest. Pain filled his entire body, but it subsided and he remained standing.

"How... how are you still alive?" Two-Face asked in amazement.

Zeus looked over at him, and pointed a jagged talon at him. "I'll deal with you later." He leapt off in search of the idiotic assassin.

He had a full view of the horizon as his eyes glowed with a red aura. His Thermal Vision showed him that no living thing was up there with him. He shrugged it off. If the assassin saw that he had failed to kill Mercer, he would undoubtedly try again. Mercer decided to go to the location indicated on the Riddle Tablet.

XXXXXX

It led him to an old warehouse. Not wanting to dawdle any longer, he simply flicked his wrist and the door flew right off its hinges in splinters. He walked in and saw that the entire place was mostly empty, and that it was filled with a dim green light. Question marks were painted all over the walls.

"Welcome to my humble home Zeus," the Riddler's voice rang out over a PA system. "Now that you've found it, all you have to do is find me."

"Alright then." Mercer made his Thermal Vision replace his regular eyesight. After spotting an orange and red blot on the other end of the vast room, he shot his Whipfist out at it, got a hold, and retracted it. In a matter of a second the Riddler was being held in the air by his neck with an annoyed looking superhuman scowling up at him.

"Well, you can solve problems much quicker than Batman," Riddler said.

"Is there a reason for you harassing me nonstop?"

"Yes," Riddler replied instantly. "And if you would be please put me down, I'd be more than happy to tell it to you."

Mercer gave him an unreadable look, but obliged and allowed the Enigma to stand on his own to feet.

"Thank you." Riddler dusted himself off and looked back at Mercer. "The reason i have led you here tonight is very simple..." He dropped to his knees, looked up at Alex with desperation, and began to beg. "I need your help! Someone's after me, and not even Batman can stop him!"

Mercer stared at him in silence for a few long seconds before giving his answer. "Alright."

Riddler stared at him with wide eyes. "Really?"

"No one kills you... rogues, as he calls you, except me."

Once again the air was filled with an echoing bang, and Mercer felt as if someone had punched him in the back.

"I am really getting sick of being shot at today."

"The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain." Said a muffled voice from behind him.

Mercer turned around to see a man wearing a brown trench coat pointing two guns at him. His head reminded Mercer of mummies.

"Artistotle," Mercer said. "That phrase must not apply to you, since it's plain stupid to attack someone who can kill you with a flick of his wrist."

"I merely want the moron behind you," the man replied without lowering his guns. He turned his vision towards Riddler. "We meet again... partner."

"Don't let him kill me!" Riddler begged to Mercer.

"Like I said before," Mercer looked back to the gunman. "No one kills you freaks but me."

XXXXXX

A/N: A couple of weeks ago, I got a PM that was somewhere between a suggestion and a plea to write an alternate version of Battle For The Cowl in this story. At first I brushed it aside, but now that I think about it more, I'm starting to like it. So I'm asking what all of you think of that potential arc.