Young Arkham

Chapter 2

"So, it's a team of villains our age?" Artemis asked after Batman finished briefing them on a massacre that had occurred just hours before.

"How come Gotham gets all the fun villains?" Wally complained, his mouth full of chips.

"Don't call it fun," Batman spoke harshly, "27 people are dead, with another 30 in critical condition."

"But a team of sidekicks? That'll never work. They're all just trying to be im -Owe!" Wally whines holding his arm which stung from a punch he received from the blonde archer next to him.

Artemis scolded him in a hush whisper, "We're a team of sidekicks you idiot."

"Anyways, who has The Light even recruited for their little prep squad?" Conner asked, trying to tune out their bickering.

The screen above them filled with several images. "We're not completely sure if they're with The Light or not, but all four juveniles are sons or daughters of big-time villains who we've suspected of being in the light."

"Riddler's daughter was spotted in whatever this plot is." A girl appeared on the screen, holding a bright golden bedazzled cane in some pictures. In others, she held a green knife, but in all of them, she had a cocky smile across her face. Her hair was bright orange which had been pulled back into two high pigtails. Her outfit was a dead ringer for the riddler, covered in questions marks, purple, and green.

"Wait, the Riddler has a child?" Wally chuckled as if it was a funny thought.

"Yeah, Enigma Riddles, thinks she's the smartest person since Einstein, correct that she probably thinks she's smarter then the man," Robin stated, smirking slightly, "Major Daddy Issues."

Artemis shrugged and pulled up the next one, "Who's this kid? With the crazy green hair?" Robin's face dropped to a scowl. He had a history with him.

"His name is Jack Napier Jr. Son of the Joker and Harley Quinn," Batman frowned. "His alias is Anarchy, kills for the joy of it. Almost as sick as the joker himself."

The pictures of Jack showed him carving faces and brutally beating people. M'gann felt sick just looking at them. How could someone have so little regard for the harm they caused? A photo of one of his victims made her cringe,"Next one, please."

The screen changed once more showing two pale kids, both with dark brown hair and blue eyes. "Lastly, our Scarecrow's kids. Matt and Anna Crane."

"Haven't any of these villains ever heard of birth control?" Wally grumbled, seeing yet another child of a psychopathic villain.

"That's it, only four of them? Sounds simple enough," Conner mumbled.

"We don't know if it's only four. They hacked into some of the news feeds too, so there was most likely more juveniles involved. You'll need to make sure to stay on the lookout for more associates and remember that their possible involvement with The Light makes them dangerous," Batman corrected.

Robin typed in a code to pull up some videos from earlier. Enigma had set up a hack to overtake all the news channels in Gotham, showcasing the chaos they were causing. Today's footage was from the East side of Gotham central, filmed with shaky camera work from a absolutely terrified cameraman. The screen zoomed up closely to Jack as he slayed his victims. Blood ran down across the victim's lips, as Anarchy smiled devilishly. His laugh echoed over again before the footage jumped to the brother and sister of fear. Burlap masks covered their faces now as the two covered the city in a dust like smoke. The sound of screams erupted around the city.

The reporter was trying to run away with the cameraman, when the gas finally reach their location. She shrieked, crumbling to the ground. A second later, the footage shorted out, and that brought feed control back to the studio. One of the anchors sat in shock as she gazed at the now blank screen, struggling to get words out, "E-Everyone, stay away from Gotham Central... We'll be back after this break..."

"Once you catch them, I want you to personally escort them to cells in Belle Reve, and try to find anything you can on The Light in the process," Batman said. The Team shifted into action as soon as he was done, and within minutes, the whole team was suited up and boarding the bioship. As Robin passed by, Batman stopped him. "Help lead this one. You know their abilities best," Batman said quietly and gave him a subtle squeeze on the shoulder.

M'gann seemed focused on flying the ship, however the team was being far too quiet for her liking. She wasn't afraid to speak up,so she curiously turned to the boy wonder. "So Robin, what else do you know about these Villians?"

Robin shrugged and pulled up some more files, "For starters, they're all dangerous. Just because they're not adults, doesn't mean they'll hold back. They do tend to work on the more solitary side though, so I doubt we're going to have to worry about any henchman. As far as attacks go, Anarchy's most likely to use knives. Don't get too close, cuz he's got about as many tricks up his sleeve as the Joker. Enigma focuses on trying to prove she's smarter than you, determined to break your brain with mind games. Don't attempt to answer the riddles. It's a no win situation. Get one right and she'll think you've cheated. Get one wrong and there's usually a dark twist behind it. Her and Jack have an awful temper, impatience and down right stubborn."

Wally groaned, leaning his head back on seat. He was getting bored with Boy Wonder's constant rambling. "Alright Dickpedia, we get it. They'll all dangerous. Can't we ever talk about something fun for once?"

"Stop acting like a 2-year-old," Artemis complains, throwing a green filthy rag which was use to clean an arrow at him.

Robin shot his friend a look and kept talking, "As far as the Cranes go, watch out for syringes or their gas because their toxin is well, it isn't pretty. Matt is usually confused about what's going on. Anyone of us could probably kick his ass, including Wally."

His head shot up, hearing his name. It took a moment but he caught on. "Hey! What is that supposed to mean?" Wally spoke, sounding a bit insulted.

The ship rocked back and forth, making a soft landing on the uneven pavement below. "We're here." M'gann spoke plainly, her outfit turning black and red as she switched into stealth mode. Everybody else did the same with the exception of
Superboy and Robin.

"They're not here." Superboy's voice was low as he looked around the area. He had the best sight of all of them, instantly being able to see through certain things with his X-Ray vision. If he had one of Luthor's patches at least. "So where are they?" He turned, searching the other half of the area. However he found no signs of life. All he could see was a faint image of a question mark, against the side of the building. "Over there."

Everyone walked in that direction, with the exception of Artemis, who Aqualad asked to stand watch. Robin reached out and touched the paint, still wet. Reaching for his belt, he took a sample of it, "I bet I can trace this to wherever they got it from."

"Or you could just look at the paint can they left behind. Such amateurs," Kid Flash laughed and held up a box with green cans of spray paint. It had a label on it, but the paint was almost expired.

"That place is only a few blocks from here.The warehouse closed months ago." Robin noted as he read the address on the box and pulled it up on his wrist computer. The screen showed a ratted old building with all the windows boarded up.

Aqualad frowned, pointing to the outside corner of the screen. "What's that?" A small smudge was right next to the building. "Zoom in on that." As the image amplified, it seemed to be the figure of a boy,Anarchy. "Let's go while we have the jump on them."

Robin nodded, shutting it down, "They better prepare to be whelmed."