16th February
21:27 GMT -5
I watch as Talia feeds another swab into a DNA analyser.
"You know, I could probably do
that faster, too.
"
"If you cannot remain quiet while I work then you are free to leave."
The Morpheus-lookalike I picked up from the laboratory is apparently called 'Doctor Kaligari'. Can't say I've ever heard of him, but then Gotham generates more lunatics than any rational person could possibly remember. Or… Do they go mad and
then come here? No idea what his real name is. Shouldn't be
too hard to track a man with
his physical oddities, but with government computers now virtually all warded I can't just casually mass-hack the whole system any longer. Which I
intellectually appreciate is a good thing…
"Did I do something to annoy you lately?
"
I casually scan the laboratory equipment I recovered, uploading-. Using a construct cable to connect my ring to the cave's computer and uploading everything I discovered. None of the prints are reliable enough to identify anyone with any certainty, DNA samples… Don't prove anything other than that some dead skin or hair blew in through an open window. Blood would be a bit more telling but it wasn't likely that any would remain on laboratory equipment.
Talia looks up as the computer reports the upload. "Your time would be better spent analysing the Smilex-derivative."
"Alright, but you haven't answered my question.
" Hm.
"Looks… Weirdly short-lived. The result would be a
lot more subtle than the usual 'laughed themselves to death' effect of the stuff Napier uses. And… Given the psychoactive component-.
"
"Recreational."
"Perhaps. It
was originally intended to be an anti-depressant.
" In much the same way that Viagra was originally intended to be used to treat high blood pressure and angina. It does
work for that purpose, but that's not what anyone thinks of when they hear it.
"Ah… I think the results would be… Heightened aggression, intense bursts of emotion and an altered perception of reality. But what that would actually mean for people's behaviour… Not sure.
"
"They would become like
the Joker."
"Or they'd become a
slightly more vicious breed of drug-addled lout. The Joker… I've never really understood what's so special about him.
"
"Neither have I."
I
could make a crack about Ra's al Ghul playing second fiddle to a clown, but…
As a villain, Ra's makes a lot more sense to me. His
goal made a sort of sense to me. Even his mistakes make sense to me in terms of who he is. Napier… I don't..
think that plot armour really exists, but I'm struggling to come up with reasons for Napier not to be dead.
I'm not sure what I'd do if he got out of Arkham again.
"Yes, but… I mean I don't understand the chemical processes which turned a failing comedian into a serial killer. He's clearly a
lot more intelligent than he was before…
"
"My father once tried to identify the precise mechanism by which Jack Napier became the Joker. He thought that it was more likely to be alchemical than chemical."
"Did he learn anything?
"
"Only one test subject survived. He and the four Shadows he turned were killed attempting to murder my father a few days later. The behavioral changes he showed were in some ways similar to those experienced by the Joker, but clearly dissimilar in others. He described it more in mystical terms. Dissecting his brain revealed a few changes, but as you say, it is difficult to draw hard conclusions."
"Just as long as you're not going to suggest that
we try the stuff.
"
"No, that would be
foolish. And I am annoyed with you for undermining me before Commissioner Gordon."
"Then you should learn to make better use of your assets. I may not work for you, but I'd be happy to cooperate.
"
"If you disliked my command style then you should bring the matter to me in private."
"Okay, stop you right there. I'm the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. Remember all of those people who turned up when the angels murdered me? Yes, I'm the second in command of that organisation. I'm
not one of Batman's projects. I'm a capable superhero in my own right and the only reason I take orders from
Batman on
team missions is because it's more efficient than bringing in enough assets to create my own organisation from scratch.
"
"You -on the other hand- would be in prison serving multiple life sentences right now if Mister Wayne didn't love you. I neither need nor want your permission to operate in Gotham, or talk to Gotham police, or stop crimes in Gotham. You
do not outrank me. I
do not take orders from you. When I offer to
cooperate,
that is what I am offering to do. And while you are free to respond in a truculent manner, the result will not be me throwing a teenage tantrum and storming off to my room to sulk; the result will be me investigating without you. Up to you.
"
She regards me-.
"Hey Oh El." I look around as Richard enters the cave. "Making friends?"
"Seems unlikely. D-?
"
"Robin." Talia turns to her adopted son. "Do you have any new information about a Smilex-based narcotic?"
"Ah…" His eyes narrow slightly. "No. There's been a little more cocaine on the streets and a little less heroin, but nothing exotic." He walks slowly down the steps into the cave-proper. "Is that what the Bat-signal was for?"
"Orange Lantern decided to retrieve the chemist and his laboratory in a flamboyant fashion. We will investigate, but I suspect that the mastermind will go to ground."
"Ah." He nods, then looks at me. "Oh El? We usually
avoid doing things like that because it makes it a lot harder to find anything out."
"That may well be, but it
did get several gallons of Smilex-derived narcotic off the streets, along with the man making it. And, frankly, I think that's worth delaying the investigation for.
" I turn to Talia.
"Why don't you leave this part of the investigation to me and.. go out and interrogate some drug dealers?
"
"I don't trust that you won't miss some useful detail. You depend on your ring for such things. You do not have the training that my beloved has, that
I have, or even that Robin has."
"Ah, thanks."
"So? Richard's here. He and I have worked together plenty of times. And it'll be
far easier for us to look at the stuff the police are holding than it would be for
you to examine it in detail.
"
Talia considers that for a moment.
"Robin, is your school work complete?"
"I'm good for the next few days."
"Then you will guide the Illustres as he examines the materials taken from the laboratory while I pursue leads in the field. Contact me with updates every ten minutes."
"O-kay?"
Apparently dismissing us, Talia stalks back towards the car.
Richard and I look at each other for a moment.
"Alright then. Ring, list local companies who could have provided the non-stolen components.
"
