Living with Batman was a lot less interesting than she had thought. Despite being friends with Robin and knowing very well that he had, at one point, been his sidekick, they had all to some extent assumed that the stories were true. That the Batman was some kind of creature that lurked in the shadows of Gotham, existing only to punish evildoers. Raven had to admit to herself that if that had been true, she probably would have fallen in love on the spot.

The reality was comparatively boring. Batman was, in actuality, billionaire Bruce Wayne. He had no superpowers, only money. Raven supposed she really should have seen this coming, considering she knew perfectly well that Robin had no powers, but she supposed the fantasy of Batman was simply too appealing for her to think about it too much.

Living with him, however, gave her a bit more insight into his lifestyle and character than she ever really cared to know. More than once she saw him leaving the estate as Bruce Wayne, only to see Batman rescuing a hostage or dealing with a criminal on TV two hours later. He juggled his personal and professional lives better than anyone she had ever known: Everyone on the Teen Titans had practically sacrificed their personal lives in order to commit themselves to crimefighting, to the point where they didn't even know each other's real names, but Bruce Wayne seemed to perfectly balance that tightrope between improving Gotham's economy through Wayne Enterprises and taking to the streets personally as Batman.

It was admirable, but she rather thought that his efforts in fighting crime were rather self destructive. Every time she spoke to him she got the distinct impression she was being judged, evaluated, and treated as a potential threat. It made her think that he no longer knew how to associate with others like a normal person. She had often wondered why Robin was so adamant that they try and live their lives as normally as possible outside of hero work, but she was beginning to understand that he too felt that Batman's methods weren't viable.

Beast Boy was lying up against her body in cat form, purring, as she read about her book about the history of Arkham Asylum. He had long ago realized that she would tolerate this, and abused it constantly. Oracle, or as she was supposed to be known outside of the field, Barbara rolled into the room on her wheelchair.

"Oh, Raven." She said. "Still reading?"

She looked up at her.

"Yes." She said, a little bit coolly. Barbara had tried to be friendly to her, but she did not make friends easily. Barbara's eyes flitted downward to read the title.

"You're reading about Arkham?" Barbara asked, a little surprised. "Did Bruce put you up to it?"

"No…. I picked it up on my own." Raven answered. "Why?"

"Well, it's just…" Barbara hesitated. "It's not far. We could go visit, if you want."

In fifteen minutes Raven found herself sitting in the passenger seat of Barbara's car. She cast a look at her, smiling a little.

"You're excited.' She said. "I can tell."

"We're going to see one of the most notorious mental asylums on the planet." Raven said. "One that I've been reading about for over a decade." She paused. "I'm very excited."

Barbara laughed.

They ended up doing a quick, impromptu tour of the city rather than going straight to the Asylum. Raven had already been taken to the mainstream tourist spots that had been appealing to Starfire and the others, but Barbara took them out of the way to visit some of the landmarks that interested her, namely some of the grand, gothic cathedrals that had caught her eye when she first came to the city.

"I've never met anyone who thinks this stuff is beautiful." Barbara told her. "Most people see these places as suicide spots or just… havens for criminals."

"They're not." Raven said. From where they where they were sitting they could see Gotham's infamous park row. Even Raven had heard stories how it had gone from being a prosperous, well to do part of the city to one of the most crime ridden places in the country. "Most of the people living here are just trying to get by."

They never got out of the car until they came to the Asylum. It was on its own little island far out from the city, but one could easily make out its buildings from a distance.

"Security is super tight." Barbara confided in her. "No one's been allowed to set foot on the island without proper authorization."

Raven stood, staring out over the water at the Asylum, thinking deeply. Most of Batman's enemies were sent there upon being incapacitated. The Joker, Killer Croc, Two-Face… She wondered who was there now.

"Has Dick never taken any of you to the city?"

It took Raven a while to remember that she was talking about Robin.

"No, never." Raven answered. "He doesn't talk about it."

"I thought not." Barbara said, a little bit grimly. "After what happened…"

She trailed off, as if she had said too much. Raven had never been much to pry, so did not pursue the conversation.

"He's a good guy." Barbara said, at last. "I… missed him."

She cast a look downwards at her legs, and Raven found herself wondering whether Robin had anything to do with her being in a wheelchair. She threw the thought from her mind.

"He missed you too." Raven said, quietly. "You should talk to him."

Barbara shook her head, smiling gently.

"I'm not sure what to say." She admitted. "He has new friends, now… he doesn't have time for…"

"He cares about you very much." Raven interrupted her. "Don't ever think otherwise."

In a deep, dark place in the city, far from the prying eyes of the law or Batman, The Joker sat on his throne, contemplating his greatest scheme.

"You know, Harley." He began. "What's with this Mark Hamill guy anyway? He gets his start playing the lead in one of the most iconic leads in movie history, drops off the face of the Earth, and then comes back to play the same character again forty years later. Doesn't he have any range? Doesn't he have any vision?"

"Well boss." Harley answered. "Sometimes ya just gotta accept your lot in life. Stick with what you're good at."

"Now that's a good point, Harley." Joker said, leaning forward to pinch her cheek. She blushed, so deeply that it was visible even beneath her makeup. "Sometimes you just have to go back to what made you who you are to begin with. I'm sure that Mark Hamill played a lot of bit parts that no one remembered him for in between Star Wars movies. Just like I've been getting into skirmishes with Superman."

His eye twitched. His encounters with Superman were, generally speaking, a sore spot for him.

"I want to go back to basics." He said. "I wanna rodeo with the Batman, and no one else. I want to take a night on the town, here, in Gotham, with no one from the Justice League swooping in to ruin my fun."

He slumped in his throne and looked around at his dismal surroundings.

"But I can't think of how best to do it." He said. "How do I lure out Batman for a good old fashioned him and me fist fight?"

"Well you know what I always say boss." Harley said. She pulled out a remote and handed it to him. "TV has the answers to all of our problems!"

"Why, yes." Joker said, as he took the remote from her. "The TV never lies, does it…?"

He flicked the TV on and settled back in his chair.

"In other news." The newscaster said. "Billionaire Bruce Wayne has publicly announced that he will be hosting the Eldian royal family at his Gotham Estate, this Saturday…"

Joker sat up, intrigued.

"The Queen, Historia, has graciously accepted his invitation." She said. "She said, and I quote, that Bruce Wayne is a dead friend, and that we will be honored to meet more of the fine people of Gotham…"

"That's it!" Joker declared, as he got to his feet. "It's been too long since we dealt with ol' Bruce Wayne! Haha, I don't think I've seen him since I dangled him off that building a couple years back!"

"Wayne won't be an easy target, boss." Harley said apprehensively. She had forced him on a date to buy her stuff once and never wanted Joker to find out about it. "What with his money and all…"

"Oh, pish posh." Joker said, waving his arm around dismissively. "No, I need a nice, big, juicy, Gotham target in order to lure out Batman. If I go for Bruce Wayne… haha, Batman will be there before you know it!"

It was the final day before the big even at Wayne Manor. Historia found herself running ragged trying to figure out how things should be arranged. In the end it was decided that Armin and Mikasa would attend them, alone. A decision that upset many of her people, but pleased Eren.

"We're soldiers, after all." Historia told him. "We don't need a lot of extra protection."

"Yes." Eren said quietly. "I agree."

Historia smiled at him.

"We're one step closer to peace." She said. "I can't believe it… it's starting to feel real."

"You must not let down your guard." Eren said. "We must never again let the Eldian people be subjugated."

"Yes… yes, you're right." Historia said. "But what could possibly happen?"

"Anything." Eren said. "Be prepared for anything."

He was so vague about these kind of things, she thought bitterly. In the end she had to go to Armin for a realistic assessment of what was likely to happen.

"Gotham City has actually become a lot less dangerous over the past several years." Armin said. "Due to the efforts of the police and local government, the crime rate has plummeted. That being said, Gotham still has a reputation for unusual activity. Major political figures and people of interest are often targeted-"

"What do you mean by unusual activity?" Historia asked.

"Well…" Armin hesitated. "I suppose you could think of it as being… uh, their equivalent of titan attacks. There are individuals with incredible power that the government is not able to fully control, and as a result of that… events such as this held in Gotham typically hold an element of risk."

"Well, at least the population aren't in danger." Historia said. "It's better for the leaders to suffer than the people."

"I agree, but it has me concerned… I don't think it's a good idea to go without an escape plan. I would recommend having members of the survey corps standing by to evacuate us, if necessary."

"Wayne Manor is on top of a cliff." Historia recalled. "There won't be a lot of room to use the ODM gear."

"We should." Armin said. "Be able to use the cliff to escape the Manor, at the very least. "We'll go along it and swing back to safety."

"And if that fails?" Historia asked, a little concerned.

Armin gave her a look.

"We have the Attack Titan."

Historia laughed, and closed her eyes.

"Yes." She said. "But only as an absolute last resort, Eren. Do not even think of doing so otherwise. These people have been good to us. We must not terrorize those who have done nothing wrong."

"There is one last thing…" Armin said.

"Yes?"

"I mentioned earlier how these… supercriminals… cannot be stopped by the regular authorities."

"You did."

"I did not mention who does stop them." He said. "The Batman."

"The… Batman?"

Historia tried the words on her lips, but couldn't manage it. She giggled.

"Who is that?"

"No one knows." Armin said. "They say he's some kind of shadow that overlooks the city… perhaps it's just a term for their secret police. Nevertheless, be cautious. I've learned enough at this point that there's more going on in this city than meets the eye."