Arkham Asylum
The lights hummed softly overhead, flickering just enough to remind its inmates that nothing here was ever stable. Concrete walls sweated with age and madness, and somewhere deep in the building, a man screamed then laughed then went silent.
In the lowest level, behind reinforced glass and humming machinery, Max Dillon floated.
Electricity crawled over his skin in soft, pulsing arcs of blue and white, feeding into the massive containment tank that kept him suspended like an insect trapped in amber. His eyes were open, glowing faintly, unfocused but never empty. The water around him vibrated gently, reacting to every stray thought.
A door slid open with a hydraulic hiss.
Footsteps echoed and Max's eyes shifted.
"Doc," he muttered, his voice distorted through the speakers. "You're late."
Dr. Hugo Strange stepped into view, immaculate as ever in his white coat, hands clasped behind his back as if he were touring a museum instead of the most dangerous asylum in the world. His eyes gleamed with fascination, not fear, as he studied Max like a masterpiece nearing completion.
"On the contrary, Max," Hugo said pleasantly. "I am precisely on time."
He approached the glass, the lights reflecting off his glasses as electricity crackled louder in response to his presence.
Max scoffed. "Yeah? Then why am I still in a fish tank?"
Hugo smiled thinly.
"Because," he said, "Batman hasn't needed you yet."
That got Max's attention.
His fingers twitched. The water sparked.
"Batman," Max snarled. "Always Batman. What about him?" His voice rose, anger bleeding through. "Spider-Man put me here. Left me like this. You said he'd understand me."
Hugo turned his head slightly, studying Max from a new angle, like a chess piece being repositioned in his mind.
"And he will," Hugo said softly. "Eventually. But first, he must fail."
Max's breathing quickened. "What're you talking about?"
Hugo stepped closer to the control panel and tapped a few keys. The hum of the tank shifted, lowering just a fraction just enough to make Max feel it.
"Arkham and Blackgate," Hugo said casually. "Two prisons. Two philosophies. Arkham houses the mind. Blackgate houses the body."
Max frowned. "So?"
"So Batman will never abandon one to save the other," Hugo replied. "That is his flaw."
He finally turned, facing Max fully now, eyes sharp with certainty.
"He will split his forces," Hugo continued. "Batman, Robin, Red Hood, and Red Robin will go to Blackgate. It is louder. Cruder. More violent. He will believe it requires overwhelming force."
Max's lips curled into a grin. "And Arkham?"
Hugo's smile widened just a little too much.
"Arkham," he said, "he will entrust to the new variable."
Max's eyes flickered with something like confusion. "The kid?"
"Spider-Man," Hugo corrected smoothly. "High intelligence. Strong moral compass. Excessive empathy. An almost pathological need to save everyone."
Max's jaw clenched.
Hugo leaned in closer to the glass, his voice lowering, becoming intimate and dangerous.
"He will send Spider-Man where he believes the boy can learn," Hugo said. "Where failure will hurt but not cost Gotham its soul."
Max's electricity surged violently, the tank lights flashing.
"And while Batman is busy playing warden at Blackgate," Max growled, "what happens here?"
Hugo straightened, pressing a button on the panel. Across the monitors lining the room, schematics lit up with power grids, security locks and emergency overrides. Both Arkham and Blackgate pulsed red.
"Chaos," Hugo said simply. "Fear. Confusion."
He glanced back at Max, eyes alight with triumph.
"And then," Hugo continued, "you arrive at Blackgate but not as a patient, not as a victim…"
He paused.
"But as a god."
Max laughed. It started small then grew louder, echoing through the chamber as electricity exploded around him, the tank struggling to contain the surge.
"Batman won't see me coming," Max said.
"Oh, he will," Hugo replied calmly. "But by then, it will be far too late."
Alarms suddenly blared somewhere above them and it was like the first crack of thunder before a storm.
Hugo turned toward the door, already adjusting his cuffs.
"Now," he said, almost cheerfully, "let us begin the experiment."
Behind him, Max's laughter filled the room and the breakout had begun.
Batcave
The cave rang with the sound of pain.
Not screaming but just a very specific, very offended "oof."
Alex skidded across the mat and landed flat on his back, staring up at the cave ceiling.
"Okay," he wheezed, "in my defense… that kick was rude."
Jason rolled his shoulders, guns holstered, helmet clipped to his belt. "You dropped your guard."
"I blinked," Alex shot back. "That's not the same thing."
Cassandra didn't say anything. She never did during sparring. She just tilted her head slightly, watching him with calm, unreadable eyes then stepped forward and swept his legs out from under him again.
Alex hit the ground a second time.
"…I would like to formally file a complaint."
Jason snorted. "Two days in the cave and you're already whining."
Alex pushed himself up, brushing dust off his suit. "I'm not whining. I'm providing feedback. There's a difference."
Jason charged and Alex dodged easily slipping past punches, redirecting strikes, always defensive. Always pulling back. Never hitting as hard as he could.
Jason noticed and he stopped mid-swing, jaw tightening. "You're doing it again."
"Doing what?" Alex asked, genuinely confused.
"Holding back."
"I'm being polite."
"This is training, not a tea party."
Cass stepped in again, faster this time. Alex blocked, twisted, flipped backward, landing cleanly on his feet.
Still not attacking.
Jason's voice sharpened. "Hit her."
Alex blinked. "I….no?"
"HIT. HER."
Alex raised his hands. "Okay, first of all, yelling makes this feel like a trap. Second, I like being alive."
Jason stalked closer. "You think you're better than us?"
"What? No."
"You think you don't need to go all out?"
Alex scratched the back of his neck. "I just… don't like hurting people?"
Jason laughed but it was humorless. "You're a superhero."
"Yeah," Alex said. "That's kinda the point."
Jason leaned in. "You keep fighting like this, you're gonna get someone killed. Or worse you'll freeze when it matters."
Alex's smile faded. He opened his mouth to respond but the cave exploded with sound. Red lights flashed. Monitors flared to life.
Bruce descended from the upper platform, already pulling on the cowl.
"Report," he said.
Alfred's voice echoed through the cave. "Simultaneous breaches, sir. Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison."
Tim swore under his breath. Steph's smile vanished. Bruce's eyes narrowed. "Status?"
"…All inmates," Alfred said quietly, "have escaped."
The cave went silent and Alex's heart dropped.
"…All?" he asked.
Another beat.
"Yes," Alfred confirmed. "Including Max Dillon."
Alex looked down and his hands curled into fists.
Bruce turned, already in command mode. "We split."
He pointed to the screen. " Robin, Red Hood, Red Robin Your with me at Blackgate."
Then he looked at Alex.
"Spider-Man. Orphan. Spoiler. Nightwing you're going to Arkham."
Dick blinked. "You sure about that?"
Bruce didn't hesitate. "Yes."
Alex swallowed. "Bruce… Max....."
"I know," Bruce said calmly. "That's why you're going."
Jason stepped closer to Alex, voice low. "Listen to me."
Alex met his eyes.
"You keep holding back because you're scared of what you might do," Jason said. "I get it. But right now? That fear is a luxury."
Alex nodded slowly.
Jason clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Next time you fight....you must fight like you mean it."
Then Alex sighed. "Cool. No pressure." A quiet, dignified cough echoed behind him.
Alex turned and Alfred stood there holding a sleek, armored case and it was black, trimmed in silver, unmistakably not something you get off Amazon.
"Master Alex," Alfred said politely, "if you'd step this way."
Alex blinked. "Uh. Sure?"
Alfred placed the case on a nearby worktable and opened it.
Inside was a Red and blue sleeo and modern suit. With a white spider emblem stretching across the chest and back, sharp and clean like it meant something. The lenses were expressive but refined, the fabric reinforced at key points without losing flexibility.
Alex's mouth slowly fell open.
"…Oh," he breathed.
Alfred folded his hands behind his back. "Your previous attire was… admirable in its ingenuity. However, Master Bruce and I felt it was lacking in several areas. Durability, insulation, and frankly style."
Alex stepped closer like the suit might vanish if he blinked.
Blackgate
The Batmobile tore through Gotham's streets like a missile, engine snarling as rain streaked across the canopy.
Inside, the air was tense. Batman drove and Robin sat rigid in the passenger seat, arms crossed, scowl firmly in place. Red Hood leaned back against the rear wall, checking his pistols. Red Robin monitored feeds on his wrist display, fingers flying.
Police chatter crackled through the speakers.
"…Blackgate is completely compromised repeat, inmates have breached all levels…"
Damian scoffed. "Predictable."
Jason snorted. "Says the twelve-year-old with a sword."
Damian ignored him, eyes narrowing instead. "Father."
Batman didn't look away from the road. "Speak."
Damian hesitated, then finally asked, "Why do you trust the bug so much?"
The word bug was sharp. Dismissive.
Tim paused his typing. Jason glanced up, curious despite himself.
Batman's grip tightened slightly on the wheel.
"Because," Bruce said calmly, "he doesn't lie to himself."
Damian frowned. "He is inexperienced. Emotional. He holds back."
"Yes," Bruce agreed. "And he still chooses to protect people instead of punishing them."
Jason scoffed. "That gonna get him killed."
Bruce's voice lowered. "It didn't kill me."
Silence filled the car.
Bruce continued, quieter now. "Alex has power and restraint. That combination is rare. And when he stops holding back… he'll be terrifying."
Damian looked away, conflicted.
"…We will see," he muttered.
The Batmobile roared as Blackgate came into view.
Floodlights were shattered. Smoke billowed from the yard. Prison sirens wailed like wounded animals.
Batman slammed the brakes.
"Move," he ordered.
They hit the ground running and chaos exploded around them.
Inmates swarmed the yard some armed with stolen batons, pipes, even firearms. Guards were down, barricaded behind overturned vehicles.
Batman dropped first.
He moved like a shadow given weight disabling two men before they even realized he was there. A nerve strike. A broken wrist. A kick that sent another inmate crashing into a concrete wall.
Robin vaulted over a railing, sword flashing as he disarmed three prisoners in rapid succession. His movements were brutal, efficient.
"Stay down," Damian snarled, planting a boot on a man's chest.
Red Robin zipped overhead on a grappling line, dropping smoke pellets that bloomed into thick clouds. He landed in the middle of them, staff cracking against ribs and knees.
Red Hood went loud.
Two non-lethal rounds shattered weapons out of inmates' hands. Jason followed with bone-crushing punches, slamming criminals into the ground with ruthless precision.
"Seriously," he growled, cracking his knuckles. "Did nobody learn last time?"
Batman regrouped them with a hand signal.
"Contain the yard. Prevent escape routes."
They moved as one.
For a moment it felt under control.
Then the lights flickered.
Every floodlight around the yard exploded at once. Darkness swallowed Blackgate.
Tim's voice snapped through the comms. "EMP no, wait this isn't…."
A hum filled the air.
Blue-white electricity crackled across the far end of the yard, crawling along metal fences, leaping between towers like living veins.
Batman's eyes narrowed. "Electro."
A figure rose from the shadows.
Max hovered several feet off the ground, arcs of electricity dancing over his body. His grin was manic, eyes glowing with unstable energy.
"Well," Max said, voice buzzing with power, "if it isn't Gotham's welcome committee."
Jason raised his guns. "Oh hell no."
Electro snapped his fingers.
The yard erupted.
A lightning bolt slammed into the ground, sending shockwaves that hurled inmates and heroes off their feet.
Batman rolled, cape sparking as electricity ripped through the concrete beneath him.
"Scatter!" Bruce shouted.
Damian leapt, blade digging into the ground to anchor himself as a surge ripped past him. "Tch cowardly tactics!"
Electro laughed. "Kid, I haven't even started."
He thrust both hands forward and a web of electricity exploded outward. Red Robin tried to deploy insulated wings but it was too late.
The current slammed into him mid-air, frying his systems. Tim screamed as he was hurled into a guard tower, collapsing it in a shower of sparks.
"Tim!" Batman barked.
Jason fired, rounds cutting through the air and Electro redirected the energy, bullets vaporizing inches from his face.
"Bad idea, Red," Max sneered. A bolt hit Jason square in the chest.
The shockwave launched him backward like a ragdoll, smashing him into a concrete wall hard enough to crater it. He went still.
"Jason!" Damian shouted.
Batman lunged but Electro was faster.
A concentrated blast struck Bruce head-on. His suit absorbed some of it. Not enough.
The electricity surged through him, locking his muscles, dropping him to one knee. Pain exploded across his nervous system.
Electro descended, looming.
"Man, they really hype you up," Max said, disappointed. "Thought you'd last longer."
Damian charged with a roar and Electro turned casually and flicked a bolt. It hit Damian mid-leap.
The electricity slammed him into the ground, skidding across the yard until he hit the fence and went limp.
"Robin!" Batman shouted.
Bruce forced himself up but Electro slammed both palms into the ground.
A final, massive discharge surged through the yard.
Batman felt the world go white and them nothing.
Smoke curled from scorched concrete.
Electro hovered over the fallen Bat-Family, chest rising and falling with unstable energy.
He looked around at the unconscious forms.
"…Huh," he said. "Guess Arkham's boys are gonna have more fun tonight."
He vanished in a flash of lightning, leaving Blackgate burning behind him.
And somewhere across Gotham Spider-Man was about to step into hell.