After dealing with Scarecrow, rescuing the doctors, and letting Cash escort Dr. Young back to her research, Clark made his way down into the hidden Arkham Island Batcave to retrieve some equipment.
"Seriously, Bruce, you have a backup Batcave in Arkham? What the hell?" Clark said in open disbelief, staring around at the dimly lit cavern filled with spare gadgets and neatly arranged computers.
Shaking his head, he made his way through the narrow tunnels and into the sewer system. When he reached a heavy locked door and attempted to force it open, Killer Croc suddenly slammed into it from the other side, the metal buckling under the impact as he taunted Clark through the small reinforced window.
Unamused, Clark calmly pulled out the explosive gel, sprayed it across the door's surface, stepped back, and detonated it without hesitation. The explosion blasted the door clean off its hinges and sent Croc hurtling into the far wall with a thunderous crash. Before the brute could recover, Clark swooped down on him, fists flying in a controlled barrage until Croc finally went limp and unconscious.
Without another glance, Clark resumed tracking Joker, moving swiftly through the damp tunnels. Midway through, Oracle's voice crackled over the communicator, feeding him all the information she had uncovered about Dr. Young. Clark had been suspicious of how frantic she was about her research, so he had Barbara dig deeper.
The results revealed that she had unknowingly been collaborating with Joker for quite some time but had recently backed out.
"So that's why Joker did all this. He must really want whatever Dr. Young was working on. Keep me updated, Oracle," Clark said seriously, his tone grim as he pressed forward into the darkness.
------
"Wait, do you have a cave in Arkham?" Dick asked, one eyebrow raised high as he slowly turned toward Bruce.
"For emergencies, yes," Bruce confirmed without blinking, his expression completely neutral.
"Okay, we'll talk about that later. Did you guys see how he took out Croc? Brutal," Jason said with a wide grin.
"Yet merciful. If he wanted, Mr. Kent could have finished Mr. Jones off while he was helpless," Alfred observed calmly, folding his hands behind his back as he watched the screen.
"With all of you here watching this, I can't help but feel I'm forgetting something," Tet said thoughtfully, tapping his chin as his eyes drifted toward the ceiling.
"You forgot your version of my nephew, dear," Tia said with a soft, knowing smile.
"No, I know where Ares is," Tet replied with a small chuckle.
"Wrong nephew," Tia said with a playful giggle.
Tet tilted his head in confusion, his expression going blank as he tried to process what she meant.
-------
"Alright, team, welcome to Gotham City, a den of scum and villainy full of thieves and murderers," Hermes said with a sharp grin, sweeping his arm out toward the dark skyline glittering in the distance.
"Oh, my kind of place. What's the job, boss?" Roman asked, taking a slow drag from his cigar, the ember flaring as smoke curled lazily around his head.
"We're going to rip off Gotham's underworld. I have here a list of thieves and criminals. You each pick a target and rip them off, and whatever you steal is yours. No need to split it with the rest of us, though I do recommend working in teams," Hermes advised, casually flipping through the list.
"Oh, mob-run nightclub. Haven't seen one in awhile. Roman, you in?" Crowley asked, glancing up from the paper with interest.
"Oh, definitely. Neo, how about you?" Roman asked, turning toward her.
"Sorry, Roman, Neo's coming with me. I want to rob this Catwoman chick," Nami said with a mischievous grin, tapping the name on the list.
"You're a little too new to rob a professional like this directly, so instead we'll take her target before she does. Come on, we've got plans to make," Neo said excitedly.
"Me, Conner, and Travis will handle Two-Face," Chris said with a confident smile.
"Alright, be careful, boys. Run if it gets too dangerous. Dad doesn't want to have to play smite a mortal. Meanwhile, I've got a special target in mind," Hermes said with a knowing smile, folding the list and slipping it into his coat.
------
"Oh, I've got the Bat Family distracted with this, and the Justice League is busy with Ares' crap. I just created the perfect opportunity for Hermes to pick a city and play, didn't I?" Tet said with a groan.
Tia leaned in and gently kissed him on the cheek before saying softly, "It'll be okay, dear. He won't go too far."
Tet stared at her for a long moment, and Tia tilted her head. "What? Too soon?"
"No, not that. It's just… you definitely just jinxed it. Now I'm really worried. Oh well, I'm already interfering in this world plenty. What's one more god causing trouble?" Tet said with a helpless shrug, though his expression betrayed a flicker of genuine concern.
Tia let out a small sigh and crossed her arms lightly. "Now who's jinxing things, dear?"
-------
Chris stood on top of the roof, eyes sharp and calculating, watching some of Two-Face's men load their loot into an armored truck below, the metal doors slamming shut. "I'm in position. You guys ready?" Chris said quietly into the communicator, his gaze never leaving the vehicle.
"Yep, we're following at a distance. Ready when you are," Travis replied, his voice steady through the earpiece.
Chris started moving as soon as the van pulled out, breaking into a swift, silent sprint before leaping from the rooftop. He landed smoothly on top of it, boots barely making a sound against the metal. Using his cane to secure his legs to the roof, he hung upside down with ease and picked the lock within moments, fingers working quickly and confidently until the door clicked open.
Without hesitation, Chris tied a rope securely around each of the bags of money and jewels. Then, after neatly placing a calling card inside the truck, he rolled off the van in one fluid motion, pulling all the money out with him and landing lightly in the quiet street as the truck continued on, its drivers none the wiser.
Travis and Connor pulled up moments later, tires whispering against the asphalt, and the three drove off with their loot, engines fading into the night as if they had never been there at all.
------
Catwoman silently dropped into one of Gotham's many museums, her steps barely making noise as she made her way toward her current target, a cat statue made of pure jade that gleamed under the display lights. Her eyes narrowed behind her goggles as she very carefully reached her hand out to cut the glass case.
But as soon as she did, the entire surface of the case began to crack like glass, thin fractures spiderwebbing outward beneath her fingertips. Then the illusion shattered completely, splintering away into nothing and revealing that the case had already been cut open. The statue was gone, replaced instead with a calling card in the shape of a smiling tri-colored burglar.
Before Catwoman could say anything, she heard the same shattering sound all around her. One by one, the displays fractured and dissolved, the glamour peeling back like brittle paint. The museum, once full of artifacts and priceless treasures, was revealed to be empty of nearly everything valuable.
Then the alarm suddenly tripped, a deafening wail cutting through the silence and red lights flashing as she stood there slack jawed, realization hitting hard as she understood she had just been set up to take the fall for someone else.
"Well shit," Catwoman said under her breath, irritation flashing across her face as she prepared to escape.