A/N: I never thought anyone actually wanted me to continue. Well here it is. The second chapter. Hope you like!

---

“So, what now? What else haven’t we tried! Damn!” Joker slammed his fist on the table. He was in one of his rare bad moods. Harlequin rubbed his arm affectionately. He patted her on the head and sat back down. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked over the plans again. In front of him was a folder of plans he had tried. Batman had narrowly avoided each one.

The meeting of Gotham’s Villains was in a brainstorming mode. People threw out ideas, but each one had either been done or couldn’t work. Besides Joker, the best villains sat in front of him: Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Riddler, Two-face (half alive, Joker thought with a sneer), Man-Bat, Gator, Mad Hatter, the list went on and on. Joker had almost given up when the double doors flew open.

The figure standing in the doorway glared through slitted eyes. She wore torn jeans, a leather jacket and had short, dark hair. She wore leather half-fingered gloves and smirked up at the experts. She had green eyes that matched her bracelet.

Joker rose calmly, knowing that one girl would be harmless. Especially with his hand on the emergency explosion button hidden under the table. “Why, hello. And what do we owe this honor, Miss…” Joker mocked, insinuating she should introduce herself.

She nodded up at him, “Just call me Raven. And I just happen to have the answer to you little bat problem. The answer is not breaking him down mentally or physically, but emotionally.” She sat down at the opposite end of the long conference table and put her feet up.

Joker raised one eyebrow. “And how do you propose we do that?”

“Simple,” she said, smirking deeper, “The answer is within the boy-wonder, not the old man. The bat will die in time, but first we’ll need help.”

“But we already tried that! Hundreds of times! Batman always comes and saves the little brat!” Two-face snarled. “What would be different this time?”

Joker stood, realizing what she was getting at. He grinned and said, “Last time we didn’t have her.”

---

Meanwhile, Dick Grayson sat at the dining room table, wiping his mouth. “Delicious brunch, Al. Thanks.” He stood from the table and left to go find Bruce.

The famous bachelor was in his study, examining a few case files carefully. He kept humming in confusion and was comparing different files.

Dick walked in and began looking over Bruce’s shoulder, scanning the case files. “What’s up, Doc?”

Bruce sighed and looked up to the young man. “I’m afraid something is wrong. Certain villains haven’t even attempted anything in three weeks. I don’t know what could be wrong.”

“Why should we care? So the big dogs are taking a break, who cares? I’d rather punch a few mobsters in the mouth than be trapped in a room full of Joker gas. Or frozen by a freeze ray. Or eaten by sharks.” Dick sat on the desk and looked up at Bruce with a boyish smile. “C’mon! You can’t honestly say your not relieved that they’re leaving us alone for once!”

Bruce’s eyes didn’t leave the files. “But I am. You see, when we fight them, we also keep tabs on them. But when they lie low, we don’t know where they are, what they’re doing, whom they’re with, when they will strike next, whom they will strike next, what the motive is… The list goes on and on of questions. Usually, they attack every week or even every day, but when they are quiet, you can’t assume they are taking a break or have changed. And read this.” Bruce handed the twenty-one year old a newspaper clipping.

Dick read this aloud. “June 26-yesterday- a young girl has been spotted in Gotham. She is a runaway from a California orphanage. She has been seen with a young man who has recently been captured and is suspected as a member of the mafia. She was jumping off the train and headed toward the slums of Gotham. Police say she is looking for help from the Gotham crime ring. Her name is Elizabeth Nigma, niece of notorious criminal Edward Nigma, otherwise known as The Riddler. If you have any knowledge regarding the whereabouts of this woman, please contact the Gotham City Police Station or any local political or law-enforcement agents. What, so you think this girl relates to the crime?” Dick flipped it to the back and flipped it forward again. “They don’t even have a picture of her.”

Bruce sighed and readjusted his glasses, “Unfortunately, yes. This girl wouldn’t come to Gotham for no reason. She is here because her uncle can help her. She wants to get this boy out of jail. Why is she on the run, though? And why do I have a feeling she’s going to cause trouble for us?”

“Because anytime I think a girl would go out with me she turns out to be either a criminal or related to someone I know.” Dick muttered sadly.

---

Raven walked into the prep room where the weapons and equipment were kept. She swept her hair from her face and entered the password into the keypad. The doors slid open and she found Mr. Freeze, Joker, and Riddler hunched over a piece of equipment.

“Uncle.” She said nonchalantly. She admired the sheer amount of explosives and weaponry that surrounded her.

She was about to see how heavy a Joker grenade was when she heard the rough voice of the Joker warn, “Don’t touch that. We wouldn’t want our little actress to go insane, now would we?” He hadn’t even looked up.

“If I spend enough time with you, that will be an eminent outcome.” She muttered. She then said louder, “What are you working on?”

“Done!” Mr. Freeze held up a small chip in his palm to show it to her. “This chip will allow us to hear and see everything that is going on around you.” He took a step toward her.

She cringed and covered her ears, begging, “Don’t put that in my brain!”

He chuckled and reached for her necklace. It was an empty silver chain and he clasped it on like it was nothing new. He turned back to a monitor and she saw Joker and Riddler appear on the screen. Her eyes shot up and nodded approvingly. She got up and looked sideways at the plans on the table.

“So… Who are my fellow actors?” Raven asked, scanning for names on the plans.

“A few thugs we hired. And they weren’t cheap, so they better be good.” Riddler was reading the plans again, looking for anything they might have missed.

Raven glared at them. She growled, “You know I requested working with one of you. I don’t think it’s exactly wise to let grown men who lives consist of robbing, beating-up and violating people near a young girl such as myself.”

Riddler sighed and looked back at her. “Well, it wasn’t my first choice either. Joker here thought it would be better if we kept up this game of hide-and-go-seek. We hide, Batman waits and searches. The bat would be better off giving up. Anyway, I do believe it’s time for your debut.”

Joker frowned at her appearance. She sensed his worry and pulled make-up out of her backpack. He grinned and escorted her from the building. “Good luck, my deceiving child.”

She quickly ran from the building and hopped a city bus. She found her stop and waited until the streets were virtually empty. She backed into an alley where three thugs were waiting.

“You Raven?” one of them asked.

“Yes. Now, how do you expect Batman to come and rescue me? He covers this entire city.” Raven asked, doubtfully. She pulled out her make-up kit from her bag and began giving herself a bruised shoulder.

“He comes here for part of his rounds every night. This is a popular place for robberies, shoot-em-ups,” he licked his lips, “rapes. He’ll find you.”

She scoffed and moved on to a cut lip using blood-red lipstick and a mascara brush. Then she brushed them down her arms as scrapes and cuts. She ended by adding drinking what looked like blood. The thugs grimaced at it and she reassured them, “It’s just cool-ade with some extra food-coloring. It makes your saliva and gums turn red. It’ll add some effect.”

She heard a car rushing down the street. The lookout thug nodded and Raven threw her backpack at him. He caught it and started rummaging through it. The other two began advancing on her, cornering her in the alley. She let out an ear-piercing scream. Suddenly, two figures jumped on them, causing them to crash into the mountain of boxes and cans behind them.

Once the two thugs were taken care of, the last one ran off. Raven knew he was headed to the information rendezvous with Harlequin. Raven did her best to look weak and helpless. Robin immediately went to her side checking to see if she was okay. Once he found the cuts had only caused a bit of blood and the bruise on her arm was really just dirt, he picked her up bridal style to bring her back with them. He laid her in the back of the Bat-mobile and sat next to her with her head in his lap.

---

A/N: Well, there’s the second chapter. Hope you liked it.