Batman was actually starting to feel confident. All of his worst foes, Joker, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, Black Mask, Mad Hatter, Penguin, Killer Croc, Man-Bat, Bane, Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Mister Freeze, Clayface, Ventriloquist, Firefly, Killer
Moth, Hugo Strange, Solomon Grundy, and Zsasz were all locked tightly away in Arkham. Several other supervillains that he considered more annoying than threatening were locked up outside the city. Ra's and Talia were dealing with a rebellion in their clan,
and even Catwoman and Red Hood were behaving themselves. And to make matters even better, he had spread the word that he now had 'free time.' The criminals of the city took the hint and were staying at home.
He allowed himself a smile, a real, happy smile, something he rarely did.
And then, of course, the Bat-Signal went up.
It's because I allowed myself to smile, Batman thought to himself.
I jinxed it. He sighed in moderate amusement, and then buried the amusement under the businesslike demeanor of the Bat. He fired a grapple line and quickly made his way over to the GCPD building, where Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Bullock, and surprisingly,
Renee Montoya, now the superheroine Question, awaited her.
Question opened the dialogue. "Bit of a riddle for you, Bats," she said. "What's the last thing you'd expect to happen to you right now?"
Batman blinked. "You summoned me here for a reason," he said, deciding to ignore the Question's question. "What is it?"
Commissioner Gordon, a baffled look on his face, sighed and said, "...All right, I'll get right to it. Overnight, every male supervillain in Arkham became a beautiful woman, and have declared themselves to be your personal harem. The female villains,
too. They gained a few cup-sizes and joined with the genderswapped villains."
Batman went wide-eyed. "...What?" he said after a long moment.
"Yeah, that my reaction," Gordon said. Bullock just snickered at the look on Batman's face and began fishing for his cellphone, wanting a picture of it.
Batman turned to the Question. "Suddenly your statement makes sense," he said.
"It's not just the Arkham villains," she said. "Batwoman and I encountered Red Hood and Catwoman on our way over here, both having undergone the same effect. They were... very cooperative." Batman could see her blush underneath the faceless mask. She
coughed, and continued. "Plus, Oracle has been getting reports frequently from heroes who are reporting that their villains have been changed into strangely submissive sex goddesses, as well as recently reformed villains and more violent anti-heroes. About
the only ones who haven't been affected by this are Songbird and MACH-V of the Thunderbolts. I guess whatever changed everyone considers the two of them full heroes..."
Batman stroked his chin thoughtfully. Bullock was still fishing for his cellphone. If everyone at Arkham was affected, then that means Ra's and Talia are as well. Plus all the villains, my God... "I need to look into this," he said.
"I can call ahead to Arkham," Gordon said, "Have them let you in."
Batman nodded. That would be a good place to start, he thought, But I might want to check in with Oracle first... Or look in on Red Hood and Catwoman at Batwoman's place. Either way, this felt like something that would need the Avengers
(he had left the League due to personal differences and because of his greater respect for Captain America).
"This is bizarre beyond measure," Batman said, going over to the Bat-Signal. "But if they're becoming submissive to heroes, then it's a controllable situation for now. I'll get to the bottom of this."
He turned out the light, drowning the rooftop in darkness. Bullock, who had only just managed to get out his camera phone, grumped and said, "Lemme guess. He's already gone."
Batman shined a flashlight in his face, making him fall over in fright. "Expect the unexpected, Detective Bullock," Batman said, unable to keep a grin off of his face. "It might save your life one day."
The light turned out. "NOW he's gone," Gordon chuckled, Question snickering in amusement.
Bullock just snarled.
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