Broken Appointment

"What I mean is, the Joker kidnapped Mayor Carlo. He's still the mayor of Gotham, even if he's power-hungry and corrupt," Robin clarified, his tone urgent.

"Wouldn't the Joker do something to him."

Adam interrupted him. "Why would the bait spoil before the fish takes the hook?"

Now, if this were the real Batman, he would undoubtedly rush to the rescue immediately. If he broke his word, the Joker might not harm Mayor Carlo, but he might harm someone else.

The outcome was uncertain. It could end well, or it could end in disaster. Therefore, the real Batman would never gamble on his understanding of the Joker with another person's life.

But Adam was different.

The transmigrator chose to go all in.

After all, if the gamble failed, it wouldn't be his life on the line. He wouldn't be a pawn, summoned by the Joker only to be used and discarded, fighting his fellow inmates from Arkham until exhaustion.

The lunatics Bane had unleashed from Arkham needed to be eliminated, but not in this manner. Adam had other plans for his mercenaries. Why else would he have paid for them?

To wear himself out battling a weary Bane? He wasn't foolish. Instead, he intended to use Bane's own scheme against him.

"Did you deliver the items to the Joker?" Adam asked.

Tim nodded enthusiastically.

....

At the abandoned amusement park on the outskirts of Gotham...

The Joker's motley crew of henchmen sat listlessly in modified bumper cars and on a sped-up Ferris wheel, all deadly traps meant for Batman.

But they were useless.

The Joker had promised them Batman would come, but two hours had passed, and the Caped Crusader was a no-show.

"Impossible! I told the Penguin to inform him... Batman would never break a promise!" The Joker was agitated. "This isn't like Bats!"

Scarecrow's voice rasped beside him, "Perhaps the Penguin failed to deliver the message..."

"Impossible!" The Joker insisted. "I saw the message he sent with my own eyes!"

He paced back and forth, his manic grin faltering.

He rushed over and grabbed Mayor Carlo by the collar. "Hey, you're not some alien robot or a dummy, are you?"

"No, no, I'm just an ordinary man! A real human being! Please let me go!" the mayor pleaded, his body trembling. There were no ropes binding him, yet he didn't dare move.

Four loose mines were hidden beneath his chair, and a bomb with both a remote detonator and a timer was strapped around his neck. He was a walking explosive device.

Any movement could be his last.

"Maybe Batman is busy," Scarecrow suggested. "I'm losing patience waiting. Why don't we do something truly terrifying to this city, something that will give us control, instead of hiding in this dreary amusement park?"

He watched as the Joker ignored him, muttering to himself like a madman. Scarecrow couldn't help but feel a surge of irritation.

"Why can't Bats—"

"I know Bats! I know what kinda crap he's gonna spew the second he sticks his pointy ears out!" the Joker interrupted, his demeanor uncharacteristically calm and rational, like a pale detective.

Scarecrow was starting to think the Joker was even crazier than usual.

Just then, a drone buzzed into the trap the Joker had meticulously set.

Scarecrow watched as the Joker chased after it with a gleeful shout, like a child promised a treat.

A recorder hung beneath the Bat-drone. The Joker eagerly snatched it and pressed play.

"This is Batman."

The Joker's face lit up with anticipation, only to morph into anger a second later.

The message continued, "Joker, you're not the biggest threat right now. Stop sending me messages through Penguin. I wouldn't want Bane to think I'm not paying him enough attention."

"The police, the National Guard, or someone else will clean up your mess. Don't bother me again."

"Well," Scarecrow said, raising an eyebrow.

The next moment, he found himself staring into the Joker's furious eyes.

...

Bane arrived at Blackgate Penitentiary under the cover of night.

Most of his men were already ashore. He had gathered his forces scattered throughout Gotham, along with the reinforcements he had brought from Santa Prisca.

They infiltrated Blackgate through the sewers... after Bane punched his way through the electrified grate.

Bane and his men knew Blackgate like the back of their hands. This was all part of the plan, meticulously crafted long ago.

A massive riot had erupted within the prison before Bane's arrival, so by the time he entered, the chaos was at its peak.

After Bane snapped the necks of a few hundred inmates, no one dared challenge his authority.

Beep, beep...

Bane answered his phone.

Penguin's exasperated voice came through the speaker. "I feel like a schoolboy caught between two classmates with clashing personalities, forced to relay messages back and forth."

"I have information on the Joker's whereabouts. I guarantee it's from Batman," he said. "I don't know why he's giving you this, but he must think you can use it."

"Send it," Bane replied curtly, then hung up. "Bring me the warden and his lackeys... I'm taking full control of this prison."

...

"Introducing Mr. Bruce Wayne, Lincoln March, Chief Operating Officer of March Ventures."

"This year's candidate for mayor of Gotham. Yes, I'm aware. And March Ventures funded the Leslie Thompkins medical clinic in the East End, correct?"

Adam recited the information he had gathered before the gala, but then a jolt of recognition hit him.

He knew who this man was!

Lincoln March—wasn't he a member of the Court of Owls?

Adam studied him, as the Talon offered a polite smile. "I'm very interested in investing in Gotham's future. Bruce, perhaps we could discuss the details?"

Adam held his gaze.

"Mr. Wayne?"

"Of course," Adam replied smoothly. "What did you have in mind?"