Chapter 6 – Mr. Menace
The Batcave was cold and dank as scores of bats hovered along the vast reaches of the underground labyrinth. Bruce Wayne worked tirelessly at the central computer, trying to piece together the events of the past few days. Everything seemed a blur. Robin and Nightwing had returned from Bludhaven, Jeremiah Arkham was being unusually secretive and to top it off, Victor Zsasz, Gotham City's most notorious serial murderer had escaped from Arkham Asylum.
Robin and Nightwing, Dick Grayson and Tim Drake, were very upset that Batman had ignored an opportunity to apprehend Zsasz. The mob was another story, they had connections, but to many Batman was the sole protector of Gotham City, and a dangerous criminal like Zsasz needed to be dealt with.
As Tim stalked the cave, the young man could barely contain his anger. Bruce knew that he and Dick were furious with him, but he had his reasons for leaving the madman behind at the Axis Chemical Plant.
"What the hell were you thinking last night?" Tim wondered, pacing the cave. "We had him. It was three of us against him. I doubt very seriously that Lucci would've been a threat. Why did we leave? Nightwing and I should've taken him ourselves."
"Tim, leave me alone. I'm working," Bruce shot back, half ignoring the young man.
"I just don't get you sometimes. It's times like these when I know why Dick left for that brief period that no one likes to talk about," Tim boldly stated.
Turning in his chair, Bruce couldn't believe that Tim had even mentioned it. Dick's departure was something that hurt Bruce. It was personal, although nowhere near as personal as the death of his parents or the fall of Jason Todd, but it still hurt.
"Tim listen, we had to -, " Bruce said, getting cut off in mid-sentence.
"No! You listen," Tim screamed in anger. "Never before have we left someone out there as dangerous as Victor Zsasz. Never. That poor fool probably thinks you're afraid of him. We had him," Tim finished, not knowing what else to say.
"Tim, we left him because he will lead us to Mr. Menace. I'm sure of it. Zsasz hasn't escaped in more than a year. And now all of a sudden as soon as this new guy shows up, he's out? That's no coincidence. There will be other times for us to face him."
"But what if he kills? You know he will. What if instead of Jason, this time it's me, or Dick, or worse. What then?"
"Stop right there. I suggest you put more time into helping find the Menace and less time creating some teenage drama. You're a grown man, act like one."
"So okay, what's the plan?"
"We play along. Just enough to make Zsasz and the mob think we have the same goals. You and Nightwing can keep special watch on Zsasz and when he leads us to our man, we can apprehend him, and then go after this mysterious menace."
"But you're operating on a hunch. You're not even certain if, -" Tim's words were cut short.
"I'm certain. I can feel it in my bones. Think about it Tim, Zsasz has always been sly an arrogant enough to pull something like this off. And this Menace, whoever he is, has the perfect cover in Zsasz. He's a high profile serial killer that the police and Batman would be distracted by, so that this new guy could carry out whatever sick scheme he's planning."
"Hmm, sounds feasible. How did you figure it out?" Tim wondered.
"The first clue was Zsasz' appearance at the warehouse. It served no purpose, other than to alert the police of his presence. Next was his pairing with the mob. When I realized that he was working for a new mob, that he had never been exposed to before, it seemed too perfect. Any new mob that was vying for control of the city, would be very untrusting of outsiders. And finally, when Lucci had asked us to join him, Zsasz wasn't protesting. He probably thought we would be putty in his hands," Bruce explained.
"Negative. Zsasz knows Batman. He knows that you'll have something up your sleeve. You're too smart for that."
"You might be right. This is a delicate situation. We'll just have to be extra careful. By the way, where's Dick?"
"He's upstairs in the house. He's pretty upset with you. Ha, probably talking to Alfred," Dick laughed.
"Let him brood. Deep down he knows that there is a reason behind everything I do. A fact that took all of you years to learn."
"So how long do you think it'll be before Zsasz leads us to this Mr. Menace person?" Tim asked, heading up the shadowy, stone staircase that lead to Bruce's study.
"I don't know. If he's powerful enough to keep Nigma and the Joker captive, he's powerful enough to kill them. I'm worried Tim for myself, and them. This guy may be one of the most dangerous foes that Batman has ever encountered."
Meanwhile, at a desolate cottage on the outskirts of town, screams could be heard from the basement. An impish, bald man in a lab coat, by now known mysteriously as Mr. Menace, moved slowly down a small, spiraling staircase, entering the immense underground dwelling. As the screams grew more intense, Mr. Menace moved toward a vast control panel along a far wall, pulling various switches. Suddenly extreme light filled the room, revealing what looked to be a bare cellar with an old couch in one corner and at the far side of the room were two elaborate holding cells, that were on adjacent sides of the room.
"Quiet Edward. It's three in the morning," the Menace's frail voice hissed, as he moved to the holding cell at the right of the room, peaking in the dark cell. "You'll wake the clown."
"How long have we been here?" The Riddler asked from inside the cell.
"A little over a week. You must be very disoriented because you ask me that same question every day. Are you losing your grasp Edward? I really hope you keep that brain of yours in top form. I need it for my experiment. Next to me, you are the smartest man in all of Gotham."
"No," the Riddler cried out. "I am the smartest. There is no equal."
"Ah, as afraid as you are of me, you're worst fear is being bested. Up until now, you haven't had to worry about that. But I will be the first man to ever successfully perform what I have dubbed brain-merger surgery."
The Riddler gasped. "A transplant of my brain? No, my precious brain. You will not harm it. You're mad."
"You're one to talk Eddie. Your madness is precisely the reason that you are here. I have studied many insane people in my time and I will now help the world, by taking the best parts of your brain, particularly your intelligence, and crossing it with the emotional side of the Joker's brain, or at least what's left of it. That way, the end result will be a normal, sane citizen of Gotham," the Menace offered, revealing his plan.
"You're crazy. You'll kill us both," the Riddler uttered.
"But you see my dear boy, my research shows that emotion and intelligence are what governs sanity. So if I make the perfect brain, I will in essence have created the sanest man alive. You and the Joker will be one, and your past identities will be a memory. You won't be able to harm anyone any longer. I on the other hand, will be seen as a competent doctor, once and for all."
"What the hell do you mean?" the Riddler solicited.
"Yes, I too have spent some time at your precious Arkham. I was a popular surgeon. One of Gotham's greatest. I even worked briefly with Thomas Wayne. I was developing new theories and was deemed insane, my experiments dubbed inhuman. So they threw me in the loony bin. But I escaped. The first successful escape they ever had. This was many years ago, mind you. And I've been here ever since, conducting my research."
"What's your name?" the Riddler quizzed.
"I've told you. I am known as Mr. Menace. That's what the medical world called me, after they saw my experiments, a menace."
"Not that old man," the Riddler screamed impatiently. "Your real name."
"I was Dr. Hamilton Wheeler."
"Tell me again how you got us in here."
"You were drugged. Is your memory slipping? I'll have to run some tests. No more distractions Edward. Goodnight and I'll see you at breakfast," Mr. Menace said, moving away from his cell.
Suddenly the lights went out. Edward Nigma could hear the fiendish old doctor moving slowly up the stairs, then finally the loud slam of a door sounded. It was pitch-black and the Riddler was once again alone in a cold cell. Being held against his will, like a captive animal, reminded him of Arkham Asylum. He wasn't sure why, but he missed it. Maybe it was the secure atmosphere. Wherever he was now scared him a little. He was after all the Riddler and had seldom met anyone brave or smart enough to keep him in captivity.
Out of the blue, noises from outside the cell reminded Nigma that he wasn't alone. For however brief a time, he had forgotten about the Joker.
"Well Edward, did the good doctor pay us a visit?" the Joker grumbled as if just waking up.
"Oh it's you! Yeah he was here. I must admit clown, I'd forgotten about you. You've been asleep for what I would estimate has been two days."
"Yes, I feel a little groggy, but apparently have no loss of memory. So Eddie, why are we here?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. This fool has us trapped like helpless animals so he can perform a medical experiment. He wants to merge our brains into one. He thinks we are too dangerous, the most dangerous men in Gotham in fact," Nigma informed.
"Interesting. I already hold that title however. And I worked hard for it to," the Joker replied. "I'm curious though, how did he manage to drag us into this hideous underground bunker?"
"He drugged us. Must've been pretty potent stuff though because I don't even remember leaving Arkham."
"And I've been asleep for two days. I never sleep," the Joker laughed to himself. "I wonder what the outside world thinks? I wonder what Batman thinks? He's probably worried to death. And Harley, she is probably crazy without her puddin'."
"I'm sure they think we've escaped. If and when we get out of this, I'm sure it will culminate into a match of wits with our Dark Knight and his bird-brained associate," the Riddler theorized.
"Your probably right Riddler. And when we do get out, Batman will be so happy to see me, he'll probably be too excited to put me back in Arkham. Say, maybe I'll get the old gang back together."
"Well whatever we do, let's get some rest. I'm bushed Joker, absolutely bushed."
"Oh not tonight Eddo, I'm wide awake. The night is young, let's have some laughs, share some stories…"
The Riddler quietly sighed to himself as the Joker kept rambling on. It's going to be a long night, he thought to himself, hunkering in the darkness of his cell, trying to ignore the noisy Clown Prince of Crime.