Behind Catwoman, Harley Quinn gripped her bat, itching for a fight. Poison Ivy's vines stood like loyal guards, poised protectively but ready to lash out at any moment, while Killer Croc bared his claws and watched with a mouthful of sharp teeth exposed.
Seeing their reactions, Batman could only swallow the long string of warnings on the tip of his tongue. They looked ready to start a fight the moment he tried to stop them from rescuing her.
"All right, but we need a plan."
"A plan?" Harley Quinn rolled her eyes and curled her lip. "I hate plans, and I hate listening to the stinking Bat's plans even more!"
Poison Ivy and Killer Croc had no desire to work closely with the Bat Family, either.
"I don't think that's necessary."
"I can just tear that lunatic to pieces!"
"But," Spoiler said, "there must be plenty of other people in there who were kidnapped by the Mad Hatter!"
Harley Quinn shrugged it off. "Pfft, who cares? As long as my cupcake's okay~~"
Batman frowned. "The most terrifying thing about the Mad Hatter is his hypnosis. Once he takes control of you, do you really want to find out what it feels like to kill someone you care about with your own hands?"
Nightwing stepped forward first, deftly spinning an escrima stick around his fingers and breaking the tense standoff.
"Arguing won't solve anything. The Mad Hatter builds a maze every time to make sure his Tea Party goes smoothly. It's full of hypnotic traps and rigged doors. If we charge in blindly, we'll all go down."
He swept his gaze over Gotham's unruly outlaws, then looked at Robin and Red Hood on his own side, his tone decisive. "We all have the same goal: rescuing the same person. There's no