Bruce's POV

With James Perkins dead and the Joker no longer making bombs, Gordon and I were at a brick wall when it came to the Joker. Gordon has sent for the surveillance cameras from Arkham, but I as Batman need to look at his cell for any suspicious activity. Entering the hallway full of large metal doors, I found Gordon waiting for me at the end next to an open door that held Perkins. Walking to him, I was keenly aware of the silence coming from the other cells, the inmates aware that I was here. Gordon nodded to me and said, "This was Perkins' cell. He was scheduled for a parole hearing in two weeks."

I nodded, "I'm more interested in how he got the bombs to the Joker."

"We are too."

Going into the small room, I pulled out come airtight containers and proceeded to take samples from the bed. I then scanned the walls, using a projection of the blueprints of the building to look for any inconsistencies. There was one wall that faced a sewage system, and was my immediate concern.

"Have your men inspected this wall," I asked Gordon.

"No, why?" He entered the cell to join me at the far wall. Knocking on it, he seemed shocked, "It's not reinforced? I thought all of these walls were made with reinforced steel."

"This one covers the piping."

"Piping." Gordon frowned, and began pressing on the wall in random spaced, "You're thinking that there is a false panel here?"

"If there was, why did he stay in his cell? Why not escape?"

Gordon continued to press on the wall until his arm pushed through a few bricks. Shocked, we looked at each other, and immediately began checking the surrounding bricks, but they didn't move. "Maybe he didn't leave because he couldn't leave." Gordon looked at me, "This hole is small enough to transfer materials through and that's it. There is no way Perkins could fit through there."

"So we've found out how the materials got to and from Perkins, but we now need to determine who exactly was feeding and receiving."

Gordon nodded, "The Joker wouldn't risk coming around here. He's insane, not but not dumb. And before you ask, no orderlies or nurses or anyone have been reported missing or have been acting suspiciously. He must have found someone outside of Arkham to help him."

I frowned, "That's not good."

"No it is not."

"Did Perkins have any visitors before he was killed?"

"He had a weekly visit from his lawyer, only one from an Arkham psychologist - which is standard for staying in Arkham, but it seems like he refused further sessions. Then there was one from a Martha Kane the day before he died."

I started, "What did you say?"

"Martha Kane. Do you know her?"

I shook my head to clear it before saying, "No. But look for her in the surveillance cameras, that's the lead right now."

"We're already on it."

I nodded, "We'll need to figure out how they got behind this wall."

Gordon nodded, "That we do."

"Leave that to me, I'll meet up with you at your office."

Gordon nodded again, "I'll be expecting you."

Leaving him in the hallway, I made my way out of the building and rounded the corner moving towards the cliff face the asylum sat on. When I was certain that I was out of sight, I pressed my back to the wall and struggled to catch my breath. Closing my eyes I pushed away the wave of emotions that threatened to spill over me. Taking a deep breath, I continued to move to the edge of the building. Looking over a sheer fall, I found what I was looking for, a drainage pipe spilling water down the cliff and into Gotham River. Using a grappling hook, I scaled down the cliff and entered the pipe. There should have been a grate over the from, but it had been removed. Walking in, the flow of the water was weak enough that it provides little to no resistance. A few feet into the tunnel, I found a hole in the wall that shouldn't have been there, and a series of pipeworks. I pressed a button and called Alfred.

"Master Wayne?"

"Alfred, I need you to help me with the infrastructure of Arkham."

"Your location device is showing you in the lower parts of the building."

"I'm standing near some piping, can you see where these pipes go?"

There was a pause, "According to the blueprints, you're in front of some plumbing that goes up the south end of the building. It looks like it's the main pipe for sewage for that wing."

"Does it go up to the prisoner's wing?"

"Yes sir."

"Thank you, Alfred." Hanging up, I used the pipes to climb up several floors and I found a small ledge. Stepping onto it, I siddled my way down, and sure enough, spotted the hole in the wall that Gordon had found. I took samples of the bricks, the dust that surrounded me, and scanned for any other kind of clues using my night vision lenses. I spotted a small stip of cloth and picked it up and bottled it. Making my way back out of the wall and the pipe, I got into the Batmobile and again scaled the police building to Gordon's office.

"What did you find," he asked.

"I found how they got into the walls. I also found this strip of cloth. I would like to take it with me to analyze in my lab. I can give it to you when I'm finished."

Gordon frowned, "Normally I wouldn't be comfortable with that, but because it's you, and because it's the Joker, I'll make an exception."

I nodded, "Thank you."

"We found Martha Kane."

I paused, "Did you?"

"She died over two decades ago."

I nodded.

"Although, when she died, she died Martha Wayne."

"Wayne."

"Yes."

I nodded, "I'll expect you'll talk to her son?"

"I'm considering it. The people in that house have been very connected to the Joker's plans."

I nodded, "Well, I'll leave you to it."

Leaving Gordon, I made my way back to the Batcave with my samples. Getting out of the car, Alfred was ready to help set up the samples while I hacked into the Arkham Asylum security cameras, looking for the videos of James Perkins' mystery visitor.

"Are you alright, Master Wayne?"

I shook my head, "They used my mother's name."

"Who did?"

Turning to him I said, "The Joker. They used her maiden name."

"You don't think the Joker knows who you are?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Gordon is going to come up for a visit about it."

Alfred didn't respond, instead he was looking at the screen in confusion. Turning I saw his confusion. The woman who came to visit James Perkins the day before he died looked just like Bethany. It was an uncanny likeness and for a moment I couldn't discern any differences. But the closer I watched the video, the more I could see that her hair wasn't the right length, that it had been dyed, and that her face was longer and a bit more flat than Bethany's. Turning to Alfred I frowned.

"This is a problem."

"Yes it is," Alfred said, "Who is this woman?"

I shook my head indicating that I hadn't a clue, and I started a facial recognition program hoping that maybe we could find her in the criminal database. It was a futile attempt I was sure of it, but I had to try something. Running my hand over my face, I let out a breath of air and sat back in my chair.

"What is he trying to do here, Alfred? Why is he focusing on Bethany?"

"Who knows what the Joker does, Master Wayne. He could turn left at the last minute everytime and every time we would never see it. Right now, the key lies in this woman. That is until the Joker shows himself again."

I nodded, "Yes… I'm worried it will be tomorrow."

"For Miss Ellwood's date with Crane?"

"Yeah. He's taken an interest in their relationship, in her need to know who Crane really is. I don't think he'll be happy that they're trying to start again."

Alfred nodded, "Batman should be ready for action at any moment tomorrow."

I nodded, "Yes he should… but Bruce Wayne needs to be in a meeting for most of the day."

Alfred nodded, "Lucian couldn't take part of it for you?"

"Maybe."

Alfred looked somber, "You need to protect that girl, Master Wayne. I know you're aware of that, but… you need to keep her safe."

I nodded, "I will Alfred. I will do everything to make sure that Bethany is safe… even if it means my life. I won't let anything happen to her."