The door with the childish scrawl parted when Batman stepped close enough to them. Joker, standing on top of a metal cage, strides forward to greet his arch-foe.

"What took ya so long?" The mad clown cackled and ducked as Batman threw a Batarang at him. "Ooh!"

"There's no escape, Joker. I will find you." Batman snarled.

"I'm counting on it! Just not yet." Joker kicked open the door to the cage, and out stepped a grotesque figure with one bulgy, heavily muscled arm – the other being normally sized by comparison. Its eyes glowed an ominous green. "Oooh! He's a big one!"

The human experiment leaped out of the cage and unleashed a furious roar. Armed with only Batarangs, Batman set to work knocking him out. When the beastly man charged, Batman threw a well-aimed Batarang at his head and got out of the way as the creature boorishly rushed into the locked doors behind him. While the man was struggling to recover from the collision, Batman battered him with a series of punches and kicks that ultimately proved ineffective. And eventually, the man swung its bigger arm to get at Batman, but the Caped Crusader leaped out of the way.

From there, the creature smashed a fist into the floor and generated a small seismic quake. Noting the active electric gate directly behind him, Batman threw another well-aimed Batarang at the thug's head as it charged once again. This time the prisoner got a nasty shock when it boorishly and blindly ran past Batman. The Caped Crusader didn't let it stay that way, as he hammered the prisoner again and again, repeatedly knocking the man into the electric gate. Eventually, the prisoner couldn't take anymore, and he made another swipe at the Dark Knight. Again, it seismically punched the floor, but it did not get up to attack Batman again this time.

This time, the human experiment clutched its head in agony and unleashed a pained howl before collapsing on its back.

"Well, that was unexpected, wasn't it? Oh well." Joker pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered. "Note to self: need stronger test subjects. Seeing as how I'm feeling generous, I'll give this one to you for free. Knock me off, I dare you! End this, pull the plug, stop me once and for all!"

Joker grandly stood in a 'defeated' gesture and waited for Batman to throw a Batarang at him. He chortled when his arch-foe hesitated once again…

"Oh, you're getting too predictable, Bats! Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got a party to organize. I've got guests flying in from all over Arkham! You'll see." Laughing gleefully, Joker waved as the cage he was standing on was pulled back into Extreme Isolation. Once he was inside, the doors closed in front of him hissed and closed with finality.

Batman released a frustrated growl, and turned his attention to a guard as he moaned and woke back up. The guard turned off the electric gates and called Batman over to him.

"Joker's gone into Extreme Isolation. The only way in is via the transport system; just hang on, and I'll call another cell and get you in there." The guard moved over to a computer and get Batman access, but he soon discovered that it would not be so easy. "Something's wrong here. The main security loop is locked."

Another monitor to the guard's right flickered to life, revealing Joker's pasty visage. The mad clown grinned smugly at his arch-foe.

"Having a little trouble up there?"

"Joker." Batman scowled.

"You were expecting maybe Two-Face?"

"There's no escape, Joker."

"Silly Bat!" Joker scoffed. "I don't want to escape. I'm having way too much fun. I even have you here to keep a smile on my face!"

"Not for long."

"Oh, really? We'll see. Ta-ta!" Joker moved to sever the connection, but he pulled back at the last moment. "Oh, I forgot to say. Just in case you were planning on following me, I've arranged a little insurance. Gordon is on his way to Harley as we speak." Joker maneuvered the monitor so that it was in view of another one, showing a guard clubbing Commissioner Gordon in the back of the head with his stun stick.

Batman growled at the sight.

"Officer Boles."

Joker cackled at his arch-foe's evident anger.

"If I see you trying to follow me, he dies. Harley's looking forward to it! Maybe I'll film it and post it on the internet! Hehehe!" Joker finally severed the connection, and Batman was left to figure out where to go from there.

"Transport system is down," the guard confirmed for Batman and shook his head. "Best I can do is open the door you came in. Sorry."

Batman nodded in silent thanks and took his leave. All wasn't lost yet – well, so long as Robin hadn't tried getting too far into Intensive Treatment. He got in touch with Oracle after passing through the doors again.

"Oracle, it's me. Joker's loose, and I need you to get in touch with Robin… It's about your father…"

It took some time, but Robin's patience did pay off. Based off of Oracle's intel, he didn't fall for the act Officer Boles was putting on as he approached a group of guards.

"Hey, Frank. Where you been?"

"Joker's got more men on the way." Boles said in a frantic voice and motioned to the front door. "They're coming around the front of the Asylum! Gotta stop them from getting in. Quick, cover the main entrance!"

Robin took that moment to drop in behind Boles without making a sound. He firmly chopped the traitor in the back of the neck, instantly rendering him unconscious. And before the other guards could question his motives, Robin took Frank's gun and emptied it of ammo before tossing it to the side.

"Boles is working for the Joker. Detain him, and I'll deal with any other trash that probably followed him up here. I have to find the Commissioner."

One of the guards released an angry growl and glared at the unconscious Boles. What had Frank been thinking, aligning himself with the Joker? That went against everything they stood for! Everything they tried protecting Gotham from. Regardless of whether he was blackmailed or joined willingly, Boles's future at Arkham was very likely over and done with.

"Actually, uh, Robin, sir…" Another guard took a tentative step forward. "I would like to back you up, if that's okay. If the Commissioner's in danger, then I don't want to be sitting on my ass. These bastards need to pay."

On the one hand, Robin's first impulse was to turn the man down and have him keep this room secure. These were people that he and Batman were sworn to protect; no one else was. On the other hand, as Robin surveyed the other guards and saw that they were just as determined, he couldn't help but feel a slight... camaraderie with them. A lot of the time it felt as if Batman was coddling him – keeping him out of the most intense fights, away from the biggest dangers. Batman wouldn't let his sidekick in on any of that action until he had sufficiently 'trained' enough. And these days? It finally seemed like Batman was keeping to his word. He was here on Arkham Island, wasn't he? During one of the worst jail breaks in its lengthy history? Yeah. Batman still coddled him somewhat, but he was finally improving; letting his sidekick gain experience.

These were Arkham guards. Healthy, dedicated to keeping prisoners locked up. Oracle's intel said nothing about Croc, or Two-Face, or even Harley holding the Commissioner hostage; it had just been Boles and a handful of common prisoners. It would be an insult to their profession if Robin insinuated they couldn't handle that. Batman would 'play it safe' and have these guards stay back, but Robin wasn't Batman. For now he had autonomy, and he would use it as he saw fit.

"… Alright. Three of you stay behind to keep Boles detained and to keep this room locked down. The rest of you, with me." Robin took off for the corridors, with six guards trailing behind him.

They reached a set of doors that branched off into two parallel corridors. As they didn't know which corridor Boles had come through, or even if that corridor would have Commissioner Gordon and his captors in it, Robin had three guards take one corridor while he and the other three guards took the other. Perhaps it would have been better to adopt a wait-and-see approach, but Robin felt time was of the essence, and Joker's thugs might have had a contingency to kill Gordon if Boles took too long.

Really, it was for the best to catch them unawares than to wait and let them grow suspicious. Needless to say, it was Robin and his group that got lucky as they went down the corridor on the right.

"Boles? Is that you?" A random Blackgate prisoner asked in a hushed voice before he registered who was before him. The prisoner was at the foot of some stairs going up to a security terminal, where Robin assumed they were temporarily holding Gordon. "Oh, cr-"

Robin acted quickly before the thug could alert any potential comrades; he dashed forward and clamped his hands over the panicked man's mouth before deftly slamming him into an adjacent wall and suffocating him into unconsciousness. He gently lowered the thug so there wouldn't be any other suspicious sounds. Then, Robin gestured for two guards to continue down the hallway, as well as the three guards in the parallel hallway that could be seen through iron bars to conduct a similar search. With one guard left for backup, Robin ascended the stairs to the security terminal.

In the small office, there was a single guard lazing around in an office chair while keeping a single eye on the unconscious Gordon. Upon seeing Robin raise a Batarang, the thug sluggishly moved to take Gordon as a hostage. Well, what was sluggish for Robin, in any case. The Boy Wonder tossed the Batarang, hitting the thug square in the head, which bashed the man into the console he was previously leaning against in the chair. With the man dazed, Robin rushed forward, hoisted him up by his prison uniform, and punched him harshly in the face, knocking out the thug.

The Arkham guard that stuck with Robin hurried to the Commissioner's side and checked his vitals. He looked up at Robin in relief after a few moments.

"Gordon's going to be okay. He's a little banged up, but it's nothing the Commissioner hasn't been through before. That idiot you just knocked out is probably in worse shape."

Robin snorted in light amusement, not even deigning to give the prisoner a second glance.

"Good. Bastard deserved it. Get Gordon out of the Treatment building, if you can." Before he could say another word, there was the sound of gunshots from down the corridor, and the raven-haired teenager smiled wryly at the guard. "And that would be my cue. I'll leave Gordon to you."

The guard nodded solemnly, and Robin took off to help out the other guards. Things were going pretty well… which could only mean that they had derailed Joker's plans to a certain extent. That was just as much of a bad thing as it was good. Good that they'd saved lives, saved Barbara's father, but it also meant that Joker would be improvising now… And damn if the Clown couldn't improvise. The madman could improvise even when he didn't have to; all for the sake of fun.

Only now he had to. This whole thing was a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off in their faces…

Batman made it back to the elevators in decent time; he knew he could trust Robin to save Gordon. Now, getting up to where his young ward was, that would be another kettle of fish entirely. According to an Arkham guard, the elevator wasn't working, and it was easy enough to surmise that Joker was behind it.

It kind of helped that the madman's voice was floating through the speakers again.

"I'll have you know I'm very, very cross with you right now, Bats. You and your interfering little songbird. Because you've been very naughty, I've had to bring in an old friend a little early. You were going to run into him eventually, but now I need him to punish the Sidekick for his meddlesome meddling." Joker snickered briefly at his foe's expense. He knew that to bring out the 'best' in Batman – the emotional, surly side of him – all he needed to do was threaten the Sidekicks. Didn't matter if he carried out the threat or not, though obviously that was the most fun way to go about it; nothing got Batsy more riled up than when his Sidekicks were in danger. "Don't worry, you'll hear every last squeal, and dear ol' Slade will leave enough pieces for you to identify the boy… probably. Eh, I never really specified. Anyways… I gotta run! See ya soon, Bats!"

Batman clenched his fists in anger at that latest announcement. Slade? Jason was good, but not enough to take on Slade Wilson alone. Dick wouldn't have been able to. If that wasn't bad enough, he'd be trying to defend the guards and Gordon; Robin wouldn't be able to devote his sole focus to the master assassin. Knowing that he had to hurry, Batman started scaling the elevator shaft the old-fashioned way. Every moment counted.

"Oracle, I don't know if you caught that, but Joker is sending Slade after Robin. Warn him if you can." When all he heard on Oracle's end was interference, Batman cursed as he crawled through a ventilation shaft. More for his peace of mind, he added under his breath, "Hang on, Jason… I'm coming."

Barbara gnashed her teeth as she heatedly typed on the keyboard of the main console. The Comms were down again. For the first few times that this happened, Oracle could sort it out easily enough; it took her two minutes tops. But now? Well… Whoever Joker got to disrupt communications, he was doing a damn good job of it now.

Letting out a sigh of frustration, Oracle sat back and took a calming breath to clear her mind. Getting worked up was only going to hinder her efforts. Bruce, Jason, and Tim might be able to channel their frustrations constructively – by taking it out on thugs and lunatics – but she obviously didn't have that advantage anymore. She was Oracle now, not Batgirl.

"I see we are experiencing more trouble than usual tonight."

To her credit, Barbara did not give an outward reaction to Alfred's sudden appearance. As mild-mannered and kindly as the Wayne family butler was, he did have a slight mischievous streak in him. Bruce had to pick up his entrance/exit gimmick from somewhere, and Barbara always suspected that it wasn't entirely because of the rigorous training he underwent around the world.

Then again, it could be that Barbara was just distracted.

"Joker's orchestrating something big on Arkham Island, and he has someone running interference on the communications." She smiled wryly at the butler. "I guess he wants to keep how big this thing is as a secret for as long as possible."

Alfred stared at the static-filled screen for a few moments before turning to Oracle with his hands clasped behind his back.

"I'm certain Master Bruce and Master Todd can manage on their own for the time being. But if you wish to deal with this saboteur, why not enlist young Master Drake? Together, I'm sure you can bring this criminal to justice."

Barbara chewed her lip as she considered Alfred's suggestion.

"Cardinal? Right now he's looking into possible bombs that Joker has planted throughout the city… I guess you're right, though. If I can't deal with this guy from here, I'll have Tim hit him at the source. As soon as I find where this guy is broadcasting from…"

Alfred started lending a hand at that point, letting his experience as a former military intelligence officer shine through. This hunt would be slow-going, but Oracle had high hopes that they would catch this guy by the end of the night.

Robin was proud with where they stood at this point in time. A few of Joker's men had tried to ambush the Arkham guards when they neared the doors leading to the elevators. Obviously their surprise attack didn't work out – especially when he joined in. There were no casualties, and now they were back at the first security checkpoint, holding down the fort as it were. Gordon was safe and sound, they had the exits covered, now all that remained was to wait for Batman to come back up.

Unfortunately for Robin, he could not have anticipated someone else infiltrating the building the way he had. Slade was now in the room, and had gotten the jump on a guard before he could alert everyone else. After slitting the guard's throat, Slade grappled up to a gargoyle and readied his sniper rifle.

'Eight guards, one Bat Brat… This is going to be easy.' The assassin used the sniper's scope to scout out the room, particularly keeping an eye on Robin. Once he started taking out the guards, he knew that Robin would be springing into action. Slade needed all of his bases covered.

It would not do to underestimate someone that the 'great' Batman had personally trained. Even if he was a brat.

Author's Note: I think this chapter came out quite well, considering. I suppose I managed to make this different enough from the game to make it interesting, what do you guys think? Obviously I finally settled on a hero name for Tim – Cardinal. I didn't have to stick with a bird name, but after looking up meanings/symbolism for birds, I think Cardinal fits Tim well enough. Like Robin, Cardinal can mean 'renewal' and 'hope'. I think that's suitable for Batman's sidekicks, 'cause one day they will succeed him.

Although frankly, once we get to the third game, Jason will have a different name, but it will be fitting for him, believe me. ^^

Review Replies:

bronwe-iris: Thanks! We'll delve into certain past events when the story allows for it. I have a whole AU to envision as we go along, so this should be fun. ^^

hockeyxanime: Thank you! I like to think he'll be helpful, but as we all know, Joker can adapt when he has to. Anarchist that he is.

reddevil47: In fairness, there isn't a ton of potential family moments when you deal with psychotic killers and other criminals. On the other hand, that doesn't really excuse the near exclusion of that element. Batsy kinda goes Lone Wolf on us a bit too much in the Arkham series. Hopefully with a sidekick present during these events, he'll be less emotionally constipated. ^^;

Shiranai Atsune: Thanks! We'll be delving into past AU events when the story calls for it, but for now, I'll say that Tim - or Cardinal, rather - joined up for similar canonical reasons, just minus the 'temporary' aspect due to Jason being missing. I like to think Tim would still want to make a difference in Gotham, and discovering Batman's identity and approaching the Bat Clan is perhaps the easiest way for him to do that. Now, with Jason still here, Tim's decision to approach them wasn't all warm and fuzzy, but clearly Jason has grudgingly come to accept Tim into the Bat Clan, as it's been a few years since that time. I'm still working out all the nitty gritty specifics, but this is how I've decided to go about reshaping the Arkham series universe.