Chapter Summaries

A copycat kidnapped a City Councilor and left a riddle, leading Gotham to blame Jerome. Jerome denied the crime and agreed to stage a new incident at Wayne Enterprises to prove he was the real Jerome, where the staff’s reaction left him bewildered.

• Gotham citizens and Commissioner Barnes suspected Jerome was behind the City Councilor’s kidnapping, so Barnes put the police on alert and Amanda Waller sent ARGUS agents to assist.
• Jerome told Galvin he had not committed the crime and complained that the copycat’s methods and riddle lacked artistry.
• Galvin urged Jerome to clear his name, and Jerome agreed to make a public appearance.
• Jerome and his armed subordinates went to Wayne Enterprises, where a traumatized security guard knocked himself unconscious rather than confront them.
• Jerome entered the building and was shocked by what happened on its upper floors.

Jerome took over Wayne Enterprises and broadcast a riddle about the Waynes and coffee, threatening an explosion in Gotham if no one solved it by the next day. Director Barnes struggled to handle the threat alongside the Riddler’s abduction of a city councilor and sent Gordon to capture Jerome.

• Jerome’s men entered Wayne Enterprises, where the employees calmly organized themselves and helped prepare a broadcast room.
• Jerome went live on Gotham TV, and the station’s director switched his feed onto the channel to attract viewers.
• Jerome denied abducting the city councilor, blamed an imitator, and posed the riddle, “What do The Waynes and coffee have in common?”
• Jerome threatened an explosion somewhere in Gotham the next day if no one answered his riddle, causing panic across the city.
• Director Barnes realized he had to deal with both Jerome and the Riddler, then sent Gordon and a team to Wayne Enterprises to arrest Jerome.

Edward Nygma, the Riddler, struggled to solve Jerome’s riddle while holding a city councilor captive, and Gordon’s search at Wayne Enterprises found Jerome already gone. Bruce Wayne also tried to understand Jerome’s latest riddle about his parents, while Li Wei considered Edward a potential Hero Template vessel.

• Edward Nygma questioned Councilor Chaudhary about his riddle, then struck him after Jerome’s unanswered riddle frustrated him.
• Gordon arrived at Wayne Enterprises and learned that Jerome had left after employees cooperated with his live broadcast.
• Gordon returned to the Gotham Police Department with surveillance footage while ARGUS members remained hopeful they could find Jerome before his threatened explosion.
• Bruce Wayne and Alfred reacted with anger to Jerome’s latest dark joke, and Bruce stared at his coffee while trying to catch a flash of insight.
• Li Wei considered capturing Edward Nygma and using him as a Hero Template vessel, while reflecting that Jerome had chosen to target the Wayne family himself.

Jonathan welcomed the fear Jerome’s bomb threat spread across Gotham and set out to find him, while the police scrambled to locate Jerome and search for explosives. At Arkham Asylum, Li Wei focused on Barbara, who had been drugged and bound by a resurfaced serial killer.

• Jonathan absorbed Gotham’s renewed fear, realized his fear-absorbing range had expanded beyond the city, and decided to protect Jerome before leaving to find him.
• Jerome told Galvin that his bomb would destroy a building at a Wayne Enterprises factory, then refused to reveal the riddle’s answer until the next day.
• Director Barnes sent most Gotham police officers to hunt for Jerome and the rest to inspect important buildings for bombs, while ARGUS agents joined the searches in disguise.
• Gordon and Harvey headed to Arkham Asylum because Gordon hoped Li Wei could reveal where the bombs were planted.
• The serial killer told Barbara that he wanted a partner who shared his interests and asked her to name someone she wanted to kill.

Barbara escaped immediate death by agreeing to help the serial killer murder her parents, while Li Wei watched from Arkham Asylum. Gordon then came seeking help with Jerome’s bomb threat, and Li Wei sent him after the Riddler before warning him that Barbara’s parents were in danger.

• When the serial killer threatened to kill Barbara, she claimed she wanted to help murder her parents, so he cut her free but kept her hands tied.
• The serial killer drove Barbara toward her parents’ home while Li Wei watched, but Gordon and Harvey arrived at Arkham Asylum and interrupted him.
• Gordon asked Li Wei to help locate Jerome’s bomb, and Li Wei instead gave him the Riddler’s hiding place in exchange for a favor.
• Before Gordon left to pursue the Riddler, Li Wei warned him that Barbara’s parents were in serious danger because a serial killer was at their home.
• Gordon hesitated over Li Wei’s warning and recalled that the woman inside Arkham Asylum had looked familiar.

Gordon and Harvey found Barbara at her parents’ home after Li Wei diverted them from the Riddler’s address, then took her to the police station before heading to confront the Riddler. At the warehouse, they discovered that the Riddler was their former colleague Edward Nygma, who was surprised to see them.

• Gordon chose to check on Barbara’s parents before arresting the Riddler, and Li Wei watched from Arkham Asylum as his plan unfolded.
• Gordon and Harvey found Barbara holding a gun beside her dead parents while a serial killer held her at knifepoint, and they shot and killed the man.
• Barbara was left in a vacant, distraught state, so Gordon took her to the police station and left her with Leslie before returning to the Riddler’s address.
• Gordon and Harvey found the kidnapped city councilman in a warehouse with Edward Nygma, who had become the Riddler.
• Edward was startled to see Gordon and Harvey, knowing how capable the two officers were.

Gordon and Harvey arrested Edward Nygma, the Riddler, and learned that he needed psychiatric treatment alongside Barbara, while Jerome’s bomb remained undiscovered. Li Wei prepared Hero Templates for Edward and Barbara as they were set to be transferred to Arkham Asylum.

• Edward tried to flee, but Gordon caught and arrested him for kidnapping the City Councilor.
• Gordon and Harvey rescued the City Councilor and took Edward to the Gotham Police Department, where Barnes questioned him without learning Jerome’s location or the bomb’s whereabouts.
• Leslie assessed Barbara and Edward, concluding that both needed inpatient psychiatric treatment at Arkham Asylum.
• Barnes arranged to transfer Barbara and Edward to Arkham Asylum, where he planned to meet Li Wei.
• Gordon and Harvey went back out to search for Jerome’s bomb, while Li Wei knew it was hidden in a Wayne Enterprises chemical plant and chose not to intervene.
• Li Wei opened the Hero Mall System and selected one male and one female Hero Template for Edward and Barbara.

Li Wei bought Twisted Fate’s Hero Template and discovered that Destiny let him see across Gotham and teleport between nearby cities, then prepared Akali’s template for Barbara. As Gotham searched in vain for Jerome’s bomb, an explosion finally struck the industrial district, drawing reporters and police to the scene.

• Li Wei purchased Twisted Fate’s Hero Template and found that Destiny granted him vast-range true sight and near-instant travel between cities.
• Li Wei purchased Akali’s Hero Template for Barbara, whose assassination and ninjutsu skills could make her a formidable killer.
• Li Wei waited for the Gotham Police Department to bring Edward and Barbara while Director Barnes’s citywide search for Jerome’s bomb made no progress.
• Gotham remained tense as residents feared an explosion and reporters prepared to race toward any blast for a story.
• An explosion struck the industrial district, and media reporters and Gotham Police Department officers headed to the scene.

A chemical plant owned by Wayne Enterprises exploded after its management ignored warnings and continued production, killing 748 people and injuring 1,379. As Gotham blamed Jerome and praised Wayne Enterprises’ compensation, Theodore Galavan gained public support by condemning Jerome and announcing a charity gala, then appeared to receive a death threat from him.

• Director Barnes arrived at the chemical plant, organized rescue efforts, and worried that leaked chemicals could spread through Gotham’s water system.
• Li Wei realized Wayne Enterprises had continued full production after a cursory inspection because its executives judged the potential losses from an explosion smaller than the cost of shutting down.
• Wayne Enterprises sent a public relations executive to promise compensation, while rescue workers reported 1,379 injured and 748 dead.
• The victims’ families praised Wayne Enterprises’ $200,000 death compensation, while some relatives of injured workers resented receiving less.
• Li Wei gained more than 700 Soul Essence from the deaths, and Gotham’s media and citizens condemned Jerome while overlooking Wayne Enterprises’ role.
• Theodore Galavan condemned Jerome and announced a charity gala, then news reports revealed an anonymous threat from Jerome, bolstering Galavan’s public image.

After the Gotham bombing, public attention shifted to Galvin’s charity gala while Li Wei welcomed Commissioner Barnes as the police transferred Edward and Barbara to Arkham Asylum. Li Wei planned to turn Barnes into a vessel for Sion and prepare Hero Templates for the new patients, while Galvin’s plan to kill Jerome remained doomed.

• Galvin’s charity gala gained public attention as Wayne Enterprises helped redirect the narrative after the explosion.
• Barnes arrived at Arkham Asylum with Gordon and Harvey to transfer Edward and Barbara into Li Wei’s care.
• Li Wei deflected Barnes’s suspicions about how he had found Edward, and the transfer proceeded without incident.
• Li Wei revealed that Barnes was his chosen vessel for the Undead Warrior Sion Hero Template and planned to prepare Edward and Barbara for Hero Templates.

Li Wei began advanced training for Edward and Barbara at Arkham Asylum, then prepared to load their Hero Templates beneath Indian Hill Hospital. He sent Ezri to oversee Barbara’s ritual and began Edward’s transformation, promising that Edward would soon learn how Li Wei had found his hiding place.

• Director Barnes told Gordon that he had no evidence linking Li Wei to the terrorists and would sign an arrest warrant if Gordon found valid proof.
• Li Wei started Edward and Barbara on Arkham Asylum’s advanced courses, including crime studies and lessons in creating dark jokes.
• Edward and Barbara completed their courses, with Barbara learning to create a qualified dark joke in two days while Edward remained puzzled about how Li Wei had found him.
• Li Wei asked Ezri to oversee the Hero Template ritual for female hosts, then had her take Barbara into an adjoining room at Indian Hill Hospital.
• Li Wei addressed the restrained Edward and promised he would soon learn how Li Wei had discovered his warehouse hideout.

Li Wei gave Edward Twisted Fate’s Hero Template, merging his two personalities and granting him the ability to survey all of Gotham City. He then gave Barbara Akali’s Hero Template and appointed her to lead his plan to rebuild the Kinkou Order in Gotham, leaving her to begin gathering and training followers.

• Li Wei gave Edward Twisted Fate’s Hero Template, and Edward endured the painful loading process before gaining the Card Master’s abilities.
• Edward said he preferred to be called the Riddler, and Li Wei concluded that his two personalities had fused, with the second personality dominant.
• Li Wei gave Barbara Akali’s Hero Template, which changed her and instilled the Kinkou Order’s Way of Balance.
• Li Wei told Barbara he planned to reestablish the Kinkou Order in Gotham City and asked her to take charge; Barbara accepted without objection.
• Li Wei planned for Barbara to select and train followers from among Gotham City’s street vagrants, orphans, and other people whose lives had gone badly.

Li Wei approved Edward’s plan to compete with Jerome at Galvin’s charity gala while enforcing rules to protect Gotham and the Arkham vessels. After harvesting souls and checking Barbara’s progress rebuilding the Kinkou Order, Li Wei tested Twisted Fate’s card skills at an underground casino and won ten rounds in a row.

• Edward told Li Wei he planned to compete with Jerome at Galvin’s charity gala, and Li Wei allowed it under rules against devastating Gotham or killing another Arkham vessel.
• Li Wei harvested more than seven hundred souls from the chemical plant explosion, strengthening the Relic Cannon.
• Barbara bought an abandoned factory in Gotham’s suburbs to serve as the Kinkou Order’s headquarters.
• Li Wei dressed in an expensive suit and went to an underground casino to test Twisted Fate’s card skills.
• Li Wei used his extraordinary luck and card skills to win ten consecutive Texas Hold’em rounds, multiplying his fifty dollars in chips ten thousand times.

Li Wei’s unexplained winning streak at Cobblepot’s underground casino prompted Cobblepot to let him play and then offer him a new Rolls-Royce as a donation to Arkham Asylum. Li Wei hesitated over accepting the gift after learning who owned the casino.

• Li Wei won repeatedly at the casino, and the dealer alerted the control room after suspecting him of cheating.
• The casino manager proposed confronting Li Wei, but Cobblepot arrived, recognized him, and ordered the staff to let him win and delete the surveillance recordings.
• Li Wei spotted Cobblepot in the control room, lost interest in gambling, and went upstairs to speak with him.
• Cobblepot personally escorted Li Wei to the control room and nervously asked why he had come to the casino.
• After Li Wei said he had not bought a car yet, Cobblepot offered him a new Rolls-Royce as a donation to Arkham Asylum, and Li Wei wavered over accepting it.

Li Wei accepted a Rolls-Royce from Cobblepot in exchange for his casino winnings and advised him to avoid Galvin’s charity gala. As the gala began without Cobblepot, Galvin welcomed Gotham’s elite while dangerous plans and threats converged on the event.

• Li Wei paid Cobblepot two million dollars in chips for a Rolls-Royce and advised him not to attend Galvin’s charity gala, and Cobblepot accepted the advice.
• Li Wei returned to Arkham Asylum and gave the car keys to Ezri, while Gotham gradually recovered from Jerome’s bombing and Edward continued teleporting around the city.
• Bruce Wayne prepared to give Gordon evidence about the Court of Owls, while ARGUS agents traced Edward’s dangerous props to Galvin’s gala and planned to capture Jerome there.
• Galvin held his charity gala, welcomed Gotham’s elite, and learned that Cobblepot had declined his invitation.
• Galvin considered whether Cobblepot’s death would free him from repaying the favors Cobblepot had done for him.

Galvin’s charity gala turned into a hostage crisis when Jerome revealed himself and threatened to detonate a bomb, then demanded that Bruce Wayne come onstage. The chapter left Bruce refusing to appear as Jerome began killing hostages and the guests searched the crowd for him.

• Galvin delivered a speech criticizing Wayne Enterprises while Jerome and his accomplices waited backstage, and Edward, Scarecrow, and ARGUS agents watched from elsewhere at the venue.
• Jerome’s circus performers took the stage, and Jerome removed his mask to reveal his identity.
• Jerome showed the crowd his bomb vest and ordered the guests, police, ARGUS agents, and reporters to raise their hands.
• Jerome demanded that Bruce Wayne come onstage, but Alfred advised Bruce not to go.
• Jerome shot an ARGUS agent when Bruce failed to appear, and the guests began searching for Bruce amid the renewed panic.

Jerome forced Bruce Wayne to come forward at the charity gala, killed Galvin when he disrupted the spectacle, and prepared to use Bruce in a dangerous game. The Riddler interrupted, challenging Jerome to a more interesting contest.

• Jerome continued threatening the gala guests and counting down until Galvin emerged, pretending to rescue them.
• Jerome shot Galvin dead, revealing he knew about Galvin's plan to kill him and silence him.
• Jerome resumed the countdown, and Bruce stepped out from behind Alfred and walked onto the stage.
• Jerome brought out a human target wheel and told Bruce to let himself be tied to it.
• Edward the Riddler appeared from the crowd and proposed a more interesting game, bringing himself face-to-face with Jerome.

Edward Nygma confronted Jerome at a live-broadcast charity gala and proposed a deadly throwing-knife game using Bruce Wayne and audience members. The first chosen guest refused to throw, and Jerome’s gunmen killed her onstage as Edward’s game began.

• Jerome met Edward, who introduced himself as the Riddler and complained that Gotham ranked him behind Jerome.
• Edward proposed that selected guests throw knives at Bruce, with missed throws stabbing the thrower, and Jerome approved the game.
• Edward chose a wealthy woman from the crowd and forced her onto the stage at gunpoint.
• The woman refused to throw the knife and collapsed sobbing, while Alfred prepared to protect Bruce.
• Edward signaled Jerome’s gunmen, who riddled the woman with bullets as Jerome watched and sighed.

Gordon and a heavily armed police squad stormed the charity gala and opened fire on Jerome, Edward, Ian, and their followers. As panicked guests rushed for the exits, the officers prepared to shoot anyone who charged their formation, while Jerome watched the chaos from cover.

• Edward chose a middle-aged man to attack Bruce, but Gordon arrived with an armed police squad before the man could act.
• Gordon and the squad opened fire on the stage, killing or wounding many of Jerome’s followers as Jerome, Edward, and Ian took cover.
• Jerome had expected Gordon to arrive and had deliberately allowed the gala’s violence to be broadcast live, though the squad’s forceful attack caught him off guard.
• Guests panicked and surged toward the exits, making it difficult for the police to target the criminals without hitting civilians.
• The police squad decided to fire on anyone who charged its formation, despite Gordon and Harvey objecting.

A charity gala became a bloody battle between the Gotham Police Department and Jerome’s criminal forces, while Alfred rescued Bruce and led him out. Jerome then confronted Gordon in a bomb vest, leaving the police unable to shoot as he threatened to walk away.

• The wealthy guests rushed toward the police squad for safety, but officers shot anyone who charged their formation as the criminals fired into the crowd.
• Alfred rescued Bruce from the knife wheel, took him backstage, and persuaded him to leave the gala rather than return to the fighting.
• Jerome, Ian, Edward the Riddler, and Jonathan the Scarecrow saw Bruce escape but let him go, while the battle killed most of the wealthy guests and criminal forces.
• After the fighting decimated both groups, Jerome emerged wearing a bomb vest and confronted Gordon as Ian, Edward, and Scarecrow prepared to fight.
• Jerome warned the police not to follow him and threatened to detonate the bomb if he became frightened, leaving Gordon and the officers unable to shoot.