Chapter Summaries

Zuo Ci offered Cobblepot a lucrative legitimate goods business in exchange for bringing Gotham’s struggling small shops under his control and abandoning criminal enterprises. Cobblepot accepted, eager to build his Iceberg Empire through the new arrangement.

• Zuo Ci asked Cobblepot and Riddler to estimate the wine’s value, then revealed its production cost was less than one US dollar.
• Zuo Ci offered Cobblepot the wine and other shop goods to sell, with profits split evenly after Cobblepot acquired Gotham’s struggling small shops.
• Zuo Ci promised that shops under Cobblepot’s control would pay no taxes, using his system to conceal the change from city hall.
• Zuo Ci required Cobblepot to stop all businesses forbidden by law, including selling enhancement drugs, running brothels or casinos, and trafficking people.
• Cobblepot accepted Zuo Ci’s conditions and agreed to take charge of the shops.

Zuo Ci suspended Riddler’s contract for an undercover mission but fitted him with an explosive Steel Plug Mushroom as a safeguard. The drones carried Riddler to a public toilet to install it, and rumors afterward claimed the toilet was haunted.

• Penguin signed a clear, lenient supply contract with Zuo Ci, while Riddler noticed how different it was from his own.
• Zuo Ci suspended Riddler’s contract for the undercover mission and warned that he would add another safeguard.
• Zuo Ci demonstrated that the Steel Plug Mushroom could implant a device that made its target explode if they disobeyed.
• Jack objected to installing the device in the shop, so Zuo Ci ordered his drones to take Riddler to a public toilet.
• Riddler shouted in terror as the drones carried him away, and rumors later spread that the toilet was haunted.

Riddler deciphered a blood-soaked card that led him to the base of a criminal mastermind, where he met Scarecrow and discovered that the apparent Batman was Hugo Strange. Hugo revealed that he had faked his death and still intended to fulfill his wish.

• Riddler found an encrypted card at his lair and decoded it into an address.
• Riddler contacted Zuo Ci, who told him to stay undercover and sent him equipment.
• Riddler arrived at the address and argued with Scarecrow until a figure dressed as Batman interrupted them.
• Riddler recognized that the figure was an impostor, and Hugo Strange removed his cowl and identified himself.
• Hugo Strange explained that he had staged his death and had not yet fulfilled his wish.

Zuo Ci made Poison Ivy landscape a repaired Gotham street to pay Catwoman’s unpaid bill, then tried to stop a giant bat from chasing someone. He trapped the bat with a Bat Climbing Frame and wondered whether it would work on Batman too.

• Catwoman fled after Zuo Ci removed her stink agent, leaving Poison Ivy to work off the fee.
• Zuo Ci had hired Kintoki and Unkei to repair most of a damaged street and made Poison Ivy plant greenery there.
• A giant bat chased a person through Gotham, prompting Zuo Ci and Poison Ivy to investigate.
• Zuo Ci used a Bat Climbing Frame to lure the giant bat into it.
• Zuo Ci asked whether the Bat Climbing Frame might work on Batman.

Zuo Ci tried several bizarre exorcism methods on the giant bat until Batman explained that he was Man-Bat, a man transformed by a serum and Batman's past mistake. After Batman paid him, Zuo Ci used Reversal Spray to restore Man-Bat to his human form, while Batman secretly recorded the process.

• Zuo Ci and Poison Ivy watched as Zuo Ci's improvised exorcism failed to change the giant bat.
• Batman identified the bat as Man-Bat, originally Kirk Langstrom, and explained how his serum and Batman's mistake had transformed him.
• Zuo Ci agreed to help Man-Bat after Batman handed him a payment card.
• Zuo Ci used Reversal Spray on the unconscious Man-Bat, who returned to his original human appearance.
• Batman secretly recorded Man-Bat's transformation for later analysis.

Hush’s plan to use Man-Bat to discredit Batman failed when Man-Bat encountered Zuo Ci, and the villains debated how to respond. Riddler proposed targeting the Mystery Merchant, only for Hush to assign him to go undercover and find Zuo Ci’s weaknesses.

• Hush showed the villains Man-Bat’s final footage, which ended with Zuo Ci, and asked what had gone wrong.
• Doctor Hugo questioned whether Mad Hatter Tetch’s device had malfunctioned, and Tetch angrily defended his brainwashing.
• Riddler called the meeting a waste of time and suggested abandoning the failed plan to kill Zuo Ci instead.
• Doctor Hugo and Hush agreed that Riddler’s suggestion made sense, and Hush praised him.
• Hush ordered Riddler to go undercover and find Zuo Ci’s weaknesses, leaving Riddler alarmed.

The Riddler proposed feeding Hush’s group fabricated weaknesses so they would test them and expose an opening, while Batman secretly observed their conversation. Batman judged the Riddler’s loyalty reliable but warned that the intelligence he received might be false, as Zuo Ci turned his attention to food and Poison Ivy’s makeshift role as a welcoming pine.

• The Riddler told Zuo Ci that Hush’s group had ordered him to join Zuo Ci and gather intelligence, so he suggested inventing weaknesses for them to investigate.
• Zuo Ci agreed to stage a show with the Riddler and asked Batman to work out the concrete plan.
• Zuo Ci promised to remove the object lodged in the Riddler by restoring the Contract, then sent him off for surgery by drone.
• Batman emerged from hiding and said the Riddler could be trusted, but his information needed checking because Hush’s group might have given him false intelligence.
• Zuo Ci left the investigation to Batman and told him to water Poison Ivy, whom he had planted in a flowerpot outside the store.

Hush reviewed Riddler’s report that Batman used Compound V and ordered him to steal a formula or sample while the Dark Knights prepared their next attack. Meanwhile, the crippled and financially ruined Falcone Family agreed to consider Hush’s offer as a last chance to survive.

• Doctor Hugo brought Hush Riddler’s decoded report claiming Batman enhanced his strength with Compound V, and Hush ordered Riddler to obtain the drug’s formula or a sample.
• Hugo reported that Scarecrow had made little progress on his fear toxin, while Tetch had gathered enough dolls with help from the Minions.
• Hugo said the organization had collected only a tiny amount of Nth Metal, and Hush ordered him to keep searching regardless of the cost.
• Hugo told Hush that Falcone had accepted the invitation but wanted Hush to visit in person; the Maroni Family had not responded.
• Falcone told Lucas that the family had no choice but to accept Hush’s offer after Zuo Ci’s extortion, crippling their leaders, draining their funds, and damaging their property.

Zuo Ci reassured Jack that his Nth Metal scam was safe while Jack discussed his improved drug, and Poison Ivy struggled to get food. Meanwhile, Hush learned that the supposed Compound V formula was dangerously potent, discovered his funds were gone, and received a message from Riddler: “I've found you.”

• Zuo Ci told Jack that the Nth Metal he sold was fake and that the money from the buyers was his, while Jack worried they might discover the fraud.
• Jack said he had improved Bane's drug using stolen notes and materials, despite suffering constant pain from its side effects.
• Poison Ivy begged Zuo Ci for food and fertilizer, but he mocked her and offered waste from a public toilet.
• Hugo reported that the Compound V formula could kill an elephant, and Hush ordered him to keep researching it.
• Hugo told Hush that their funds were gone after they bought Nth Metal they could barely cut, and Hush worried about failing to defeat Batman.
• Hugo received a message from Riddler that read, “I've found you.”

Doctor Hugo’s operation to capture Zuo Ci succeeded after Nth metal powder weakened him, but Poison Ivy intervened when Firefly tried to burn down the street. The chapter ended with Poison Ivy confronting Firefly while Hugo feared she would disrupt his plan.

• Zuo Ci stayed alone in the quiet store and refused Poison Ivy’s attempt to bargain her way out with a chess game.
• Doctor Hugo’s disguised accomplice attacked Zuo Ci, but Zuo Ci recognized the disguise, threw corrosive potion at him, and kicked him away before being knocked unconscious by powder from the Batarangs.
• Hugo confirmed that the Nth metal powder he had secretly fed into the store had weakened Zuo Ci and fitted a respirator on him.
• Firefly arrived, and Hugo ordered him to burn down the entire street to prevent surprises from Zuo Ci.
• Poison Ivy struck Firefly with a vine and confronted him when he prepared to set the street on fire.

Poison Ivy and the Anti-Aircraft Gunner brought down Firefly after his teammates abandoned him. Meanwhile, Hush and Hugo left Zuo Ci frozen in their base, but Zuo Ci woke up and prepared to raid it.

• Poison Ivy called on the Anti-Aircraft Gunner to help her fight Firefly, offering to forgive its Fertilizer debt.
• The Anti-Aircraft Gunner shot Firefly out of the sky, then demanded the Fertilizer Poison Ivy had promised.
• Hush and Hugo checked on Zuo Ci, whom Mr. Freeze had sealed in ice with nth metal powder, and decided to leave him under observation.
• After Hush and Hugo left, Zuo Ci woke up and announced that he would raid their base.

Jack sparred with Killer Croc and discussed the strange followers their reputations had attracted before Isaac arrived in terror, warning that smoke and monsters had attacked their camp. Scarecrow’s fear toxin incapacitated Killer Croc and Solomon Grundy, but Jack confronted the hallucination by roaring Yujiro’s name and advancing with tears of blood.

• Jack defeated Killer Croc in their sparring match as they discussed the growing gangs and followers in Gotham.
• Solomon Grundy joined Jack and Killer Croc for pizza, and Jack thought wistfully about Pickle.
• Isaac stumbled in and warned Killer Croc that strange smoke and terrifying monsters had appeared at the camp.
• Jack gave Isaac Zuo Ci’s medicine, but Isaac continued to tremble as the strange smoke swept over Jack, Killer Croc, and Solomon Grundy.
• Scarecrow emerged from the smoke and watched Killer Croc and Solomon Grundy succumb to fear.
• Jack roared Yujiro’s name and advanced toward Scarecrow with tears of blood.

Scarecrow’s fear toxin forced Solomon Grundy, Killer Croc, and Jack Hanma to confront their deepest fears, but Jack turned his terror into fury and charged through the sewers. Elsewhere, Zuo Ci escaped the frozen base and began looting it, planning to visit Hush’s headquarters next.

• Solomon Grundy cowered before monsters from his imagination, while Killer Croc fled from the memory of his abusive aunt.
• Jack Hanma saw his father Yujiro Hanma and relived the humiliation of being rejected, then turned his fear into anger.
• Scarecrow injected Jack with more fear toxin, but Jack surged forward and demolished the sewer tunnels as he attacked him.
• Gordon discovered Scarecrow alive despite having half his body smashed and being pinned against a wall.
• Zuo Ci escaped the frozen base by tampering with its surveillance cameras and decided to loot it before visiting Hush’s headquarters.

Zuo Ci used Mysterio’s drones to search a huge cold-storage base and discovered Scarface and Arnold Wesker berating Falcone’s gang in a hidden doll factory. He incapacitated everyone with hair-growth spray and began searching for valuables.

• Zuo Ci wandered through the cold-storage facility while his drones concealed him from the base’s workers.
• Zuo Ci found a hidden door leading to an abandoned doll factory and heard voices on the other side.
• Zuo Ci recognized Scarface, Arnold Wesker, and the gathered Gangsters as Falcone’s men.
• Zuo Ci sprayed the crowd with ultra-strength hair-growth spray, causing their body hair to grow until they passed out from suffocation.
• Zuo Ci dropped his camouflage and started searching the theater for valuables.

Zuo Ci negotiated with Mr. Freeze, offering to restore Victor and cure his wife, then helped him stage a normal scene at the base. After Hugo detonated the facility, Zuo Ci and Mr. Freeze survived, while Hush and his allies evacuated with their files and equipment.

• Zuo Ci dodged Mr. Freeze's ice blast and recognized him as Victor Fries, then offered to restore him and cure his wife's illness.
• Zuo Ci dealt with the remaining thugs and used drones to make the base look undisturbed while Mr. Freeze assured Doctor Hugo that everything was normal.
• Zuo Ci told Mr. Freeze not to worry that the base would explode, and the explosives beneath it detonated the next second.
• Zuo Ci staggered out of the wreckage, dragging a blast-blackened Mr. Freeze behind him.
• Hugo reported the blast to Hush and recommended relocating, so Hush ordered an evacuation without recalling Deathstroke and the others.
• Hush entered a secret passage and wondered whether his plan could still succeed.

Batman defeated the Mad Hatter and rescued the people he had brainwashed, then uncovered Deadshot’s ambush and confronted Deathstroke. Deathstroke saw through Batman’s drone illusion, leaving Batman’s real location unknown.

• Tetch lost his Wonderland hallucination, attacked his theater in a rage, and mistook Batman for Alice before Batman knocked him out in thirty-seven seconds.
• Batman rescued the dancing performers and checked his map, finding only Zuo Ci’s location and the unknown headquarters left to investigate.
• Deadshot shot Batman in the head, but Batman’s drone illusion fooled him, allowing Batman to break his head and knock him unconscious.
• Deathstroke arrived and identified Batman’s illusion as the same drone trick Zuo Ci had used before.
• Deathstroke shot down three drones and challenged the real Batman to reveal himself.

The Riddler trapped Deathstroke with a drone illusion, but Deathstroke destroyed the five real drones by relying on instinct instead of solving the clues. The Riddler then activated Catwoman’s sense-reversal patch, leaving Deathstroke unable to control his movements.

• Deathstroke raged as the drones kept him trapped on the rooftop, while the Riddler revealed he had been controlling the encounter after Batman left.
• The Riddler explained that he had used only five real drones and planted clues for Deathstroke to find.
• Deathstroke shut off his senses and used instinct to destroy all five real drones.
• The Riddler complained that Deathstroke had cheated by brute-forcing his puzzle, then pressed a button to activate Catwoman’s patch.
• Deathstroke’s bodily senses reversed, and he fell from the roof beside Deadshot, unable to move properly.

After their base exploded, Zuo Ci and Mr. Freeze raced toward headquarters on a sleigh and encountered Clayface, who tried to ambush them. Zuo Ci’s bad luck potion left Clayface trapped in a chain of accidents as the two continued on their way.

• Zuo Ci and Mr. Freeze rode a red sleigh down the main road while Mr. Freeze worried about his damaged suit and their conspicuous transport.
• Zuo Ci stopped when he spotted Clayface disguised as a muddy patch and splashed him with a bad luck potion.
• A speeding overloaded truck smashed Clayface apart before Mr. Freeze could attack.
• Clayface reassembled, but a flock of sheep stampeded over him and the truck ran him over again while chasing them.
• Zuo Ci and Mr. Freeze left on the sleigh as Clayface fell through a collapsed road and a sewage suction truck poured its contents over him.

Zuo Ci used a Person Finder Needle and powerful magnets to pull Hush’s hidden underground base out of the ground, where he found Batman confronting Hush and Doctor Hugo. Hush tried to recruit Zuo Ci by offering him Wayne Enterprises, but Zuo Ci rejected him and demanded compensation, prompting Hush to prepare for a fight.

• Zuo Ci followed the Person Finder Needle to a shallow stream and used a giant javelin to confirm that Hush and his group were hidden beneath it.
• Zuo Ci attached a powerful magnet to the javelin and used another magnet to haul the underground metal base out of the ground, while Mr. Freeze watched in amazement.
• Zuo Ci broke into the damaged base and followed the needle to Hush, where he discovered Batman facing Hush, Doctor Hugo, and their allies.
• Hush offered to split Wayne Enterprises with Zuo Ci if he helped eliminate Batman, but Zuo Ci rejected the offer and threw a beanbag at Hush.
• Hush, enraged by the attack, declared that there was no room for negotiation and threatened to get nasty.

Zuo Ci and Mr. Freeze dealt with Doctor Hugo while Batman fought two masked opponents. After Batman unmasked them, he discovered one was Mr. Zsasz and the other was Thomas Elliot wearing Bruce Wayne’s face and voice.

• Zuo Ci tortured Doctor Hugo after Hugo tried to bargain for his life, and Mr. Freeze recoiled from the bizarre punishment.
• Zuo Ci and Mr. Freeze watched Batman struggle against the two Hushes until Batman defeated them.
• Batman removed the left Hush’s bandages and discovered that the fighter was Mr. Zsasz.
• Batman uncovered the right Hush’s face and found Bruce Wayne’s likeness beneath the bandages.
• Mr. Freeze recognized the face as Bruce Wayne, but Zuo Ci knocked him unconscious before he could reveal more.
• Thomas addressed Batman as Bruce Wayne and remarked on his meticulous disguise.