Chapter Summaries

Ririko, Dick, and Barbara exposed Tommy Elliot and helped secure Harvey Dent’s release. At Blackgate Penitentiary, Jerome settled into his new cell and demanded a meeting with the warden so he could send a letter.

• Dick knocked Tommy unconscious, and he and Ririko tied him up while Barbara found his diary and a strange mask.
• An anonymous citizen delivered Tommy to the Gotham Police Department, where he confessed to killing his father and trying to murder his mother.
• Harvey Dent was released, and Ririko, Dick, and Barbara met him outside the station and invited him to eat with them.
• Jerome arrived at Blackgate Penitentiary and, convinced Ririko had arranged his comfortable imprisonment, eagerly imagined visiting her there.
• Jerome threatened the prison guard’s family until the warden came to his cell, then said he wanted to send a letter.

Ririko received a letter from Jerome at Blackgate Penitentiary and arranged to visit him with Professor Crane’s help. She reached the prison, where guards confiscated her makeup, and waited as Crane went in to assess Jerome.

• Barbara helped Ririko clean her apartment, and they agreed that Ririko would teach her to dress up.
• Ririko received a letter from Blackgate Penitentiary saying, “I miss you so much,” with a clown drawing instead of a signature.
• Barbara arranged for Ririko to accompany psychology professor Crane to Blackgate, and Ririko decided to visit Jerome.
• Ririko and Crane took a ferry to Blackgate, where Crane questioned her about the friend she was visiting.
• Prison guards confiscated Ririko’s makeup before Crane led her to the third basement level.
• The Prison Guard Captain said only one person could enter at a time, so Crane went to assess Jerome while Ririko waited.

Ririko visited Jerome at Blackgate Penitentiary, where she flirted with him and saw how badly his earlier session had affected Klein. At a beach construction site, she learned about an upcoming music festival and encountered Arthur Curry, a temporary worker for the marine construction crew.

• Klein counseled Jerome, who tried to manipulate him by urging him to make a name for himself and target Harley Quinn.
• Ririko visited Jerome, teased him about escaping Blackgate, and kissed him before the guards took him back to his cell.
• On the ferry back, Ririko noticed Klein looking shaken and invited him to inspect a beach event venue with her.
• Edward told Ririko that Gotham was hosting a beer and music festival, and she took five tickets, giving one to Klein.
• Ririko and Edward toured the venue until Arthur Curry, a temporary marine construction worker carrying a large wooden sea-god statue, came into view.

Ririko put off her psychology papers with Dick until Harvey kept them working, then spotted Scarecrow beside a corpse on her way home. Scarecrow watched her from the shadows but did not approach, and Ririko went home, leaving the body to be found later.

• Arthur Curry flirted with Ririko after lifting the Poseidon statue, but she turned him down.
• Ririko gave Dick and Harvey tickets to the Beach Music Festival while Harvey helped her and Dick outline their papers.
• Harvey warned Ririko and Dick that Professor Klein had fired a gun in class and was still in debt from the fallout.
• Ririko and Dick tried to leave to watch a band rehearsal, but Harvey's coin toss made them return to their work.
• After finishing their assigned sections, Ririko walked home and found a man dead among a flock of crows.
• Ririko recognized the cloth-faced figure as Scarecrow, who watched her before disappearing into the shadows.

Ririko identified Professor Crane as Scarecrow and encouraged him to stop second-guessing himself, while crows gathered around Gotham and tried to block her trip to the beach concert. She set out with Barbara and Dick to investigate what was happening at the festival.

• Ririko learned that a Gotham University student had died of cardiac arrest and suspected Scarecrow was responsible.
• Ririko recognized Professor Crane as the Scarecrow and heard him say that people had left him no choice and that he meant her no harm.
• Ririko told Klein to kill back if his enemies were determined to destroy him, then left the classroom.
• Ririko and Barbara saw crows gathering outside and learned that crows had appeared near several recent cardiac-arrest deaths.
• Dick and Harvey encountered crows and traffic blocking their way to the concert, and Ririko decided to investigate with Barbara and Dick.
• Dick drove the three of them toward the beach in a borrowed graffiti-covered RV as crows attacked the windshield.

Ririko and the others reached the music festival during Scarecrow’s gas attack, and Arthur Curry dispersed the poison and saved the people trapped onstage. After Arthur asked Ririko out and revealed he had little money, he mentioned asking his mother how much money their family’s Atlantis had, leaving Ririko frozen in surprise.

• Ririko, Dick, and Barbara found the festival blocked off after a hooded attacker released unidentified gas, and Harvey warned them that it caused terrifying hallucinations.
• Dick, Barbara, Harvey, and Ririko assessed the danger as the pale yellow gas spread, while Harvey said many people remained trapped and he had not seen Edward.
• A fierce wind swept in from the sea and dispersed the gas, and Arthur Curry emerged from the water in golden armor.
• When the festival backdrop began falling toward the unconscious people onstage, Arthur caught it while Dick and Barbara evacuated the musicians and staff.
• After the rescue, Arthur sat with Ririko on the RV roof, introduced himself as Aquaman, and asked her to spend time with him.
• Ririko asked whether Arthur had money; when he said he had about two hundred and fifty dollars, he wondered how much money his family's Atlantis had, and Ririko froze.

After Scarecrow kidnapped Edward, Ririko identified him as Jonathan Crane and urged Gotham’s police to enlist a dangerous madman to counter him. The search found no hostage at Crane’s home, and Ririko learned Jeremiah had been missing for two months.

• Arthur told Ririko he was Aquaman, and she wrote her number on his arm before Oswald arrived and warned that Scarecrow had kidnapped Edward.
• At the police station, Scarecrow’s recording threatened a wider release of fear toxin, and Oswald demanded that the police find him within a day.
• Ririko identified Scarecrow as Gotham University professor Jonathan Crane, and Dick regretted finishing his paper before learning the name.
• Bullock presented Crane’s history of childhood abuse, while police reported that his residence was empty and Edward was not there.
• Gordon told Ririko that Jeremiah had been missing for two months, and she suggested using a madman who knew how to use Laughing Gas Bombs against Scarecrow.

After Gotham’s fear-toxin attack, Oswald forced Jerome to help find Scarecrow and rescue Edward within three days. Jerome searched Gotham University while Ririko questioned him about Jeremiah, but he claimed he did not know where Jeremiah was.

• Gordon considered the danger if Klein’s fear toxin spread through Gotham, while Ririko privately recognized that Jerome had provoked the attack to get out of Blackgate.
• The Warden took Jerome from his cell to assist in the investigation, and Jerome left his roasted chicken behind to go meet Ririko.
• Oswald and Gordon confronted Jerome at a secret base, where Oswald shocked him and gave him three days to find Scarecrow and bring Edward back unharmed.
• Jerome led police through a search of Klein’s office at Gotham University, ordering them to check places they had already searched.
• Ririko met Jerome outside the cordoned-off university building, and he admitted he was only keeping the police busy.
• Ririko asked whether Jerome knew where Jeremiah was, but Jerome said Jeremiah might be off fooling around somewhere.

As Scarecrow’s threatened attack put Gotham on edge, Jerome arranged to stay at Ririko’s apartment under the pretense of protecting her. He admitted he knew where Klein was hiding and how the attack would happen, then tried to earn his way into Ririko’s bedroom by doing chores, ending by asking why she had not kissed him.

• Ririko suspected Jerome was hiding something as he left with a police officer after telling her to wait for him.
• Gotham’s citizens panicked over Scarecrow’s escalating threat, while Barbara posted that she had not slept in three days.
• An officer came to requisition Ririko’s apartment, but Jerome told him to secure the area and stayed behind with her.
• Ririko confronted Jerome about Klein, and he admitted he knew Klein’s location and plan for the attack.
• Ririko made Jerome wear Barbara’s apron and clean her apartment before he could stay the night.
• After Ririko pushed Jerome away when he swayed beside her, he leaned close and asked if she was sick of him and why she had not kissed him.

Jerome and Ririko shared an intimate moment before Jerome set out to stop Scarecrow, who had hijacked a maglev train dispersing fear toxin. When police forces attacked the train, Jerome took Ririko’s hand and ran in the opposite direction.

• Jerome hesitated while trying to undress Ririko, so he pulled a blanket over them and held her close.
• Ririko urged Jerome to deal with Scarecrow, and Jerome left after learning Scarecrow had hijacked a maglev train.
• Ririko followed Jerome in a police car despite an officer telling her she could not come along.
• Gordon’s forces detonated Laughing Gas Bombs beside the train as hazmat-suited officers boarded it.
• Jerome grabbed Ririko’s hand and ran away from the tracks.

Ririko escaped the Fear Toxin with Jerome, then found herself trapped in Klein’s childhood basement, where she faced the summoned dolls and discovered a frightened young Klein. Dick’s voice reached her, and she crawled toward him while leaving Klein to follow on his own.

• Jerome removed his electronic collar and fled with Ririko as the maglev train spread Fear Toxin and incapacitated the police.
• Ririko succumbed to the gas and woke in the doll-filled basement from Klein’s memories.
• The dolls restrained and taunted Ririko, but she fought back until they retreated into the darkness.
• Ririko found the child Klein, took his hand, and promised they would find a way out.
• Dick called to Ririko, who pulled dolls away from a wall to make a passage and reached for his hand.
• Ririko told Klein he had to crawl out himself, then continued toward Dick.

Bruce returned to Gotham after training with the League of Shadows, and he and his allies stopped the hijacked train and captured Jonathan Crane. He told Ririko he was preparing to face Bane and planned to keep her safe in her apartment, which he had bought in her name.

• Bruce stopped the fear-toxin-filled train while Ririko and Dick recovered nearby, and police rescued the passengers.
• Jonathan Crane admitted his crimes during interrogation and thanked an unknown person for getting him out.
• Barbara showed Bruce, Ririko, and Dick a feather-trimmed mask bearing the Elliott family crest, which Bruce agreed to investigate.
• Bruce apologized to Ririko for leaving her with the League of Shadows and revealed that Talia had helped him escape after he refused Ra's al Ghul's order to kill a rival gang.
• Bruce told Ririko he intended to confront Bane and had bought her apartment in her name so she could stay safe; Ririko joked that this made her his kept woman.

Bruce returned to Gotham University in a deliberately flashy fashion to convince Bane that he was alive, while Ririko and Dick discussed attending his birthday party with Sofia. After class, Ririko headed to the mayor’s Mansion after receiving another distressed message from Oswald.

• Bruce and Ririko kissed in his car, and Bruce darkened the windows to keep passersby from seeing them.
• Bruce made a conspicuous return to Gotham University, and photos of him spread across Weibo as “Bruce Wayne returns” trended.
• Sofia confronted Ririko and Dick about Bruce inviting her to his birthday party, then decided to attend with Ririko.
• Ririko told Dick that Bruce was acting flashy so Bane would know he was alive, and they began discussing the party.
• After class, Ririko received another distressed voice message from Oswald and took a taxi to the mayor’s Mansion.

Ririko visited Oswald, who was pretending to be ill and fretting over Edward’s disappearance, and told him to look for Edward at Bruce’s Birthday Party. At the Basement, Bruce and the others examined an anonymous riddle letter and prepared to secure the party, while Ririko recognized it as Edward’s work but kept her knowledge to herself.

• Ririko saw through Oswald’s fake illness, and he admitted that he still could not find Edward.
• Bruce received a cut-and-paste letter promising a birthday surprise and hinting that it was in the place where he first learned to forget.
• Ririko told Oswald to go to Bruce’s Birthday Party if he wanted to find Edward, then left to prepare her party dress.
• In the Basement, Barbara found no traceable evidence on the letter, and Ririko said its sender was not merely playing a prank.
• Bruce decided to tighten security for the Birthday Party while Ririko wondered what Edward intended to accomplish.

At Bruce’s birthday party at Wayne Manor, Ririko arrived wearing the diamonds he had given her and reunited with Oswald and Sofia before Edward secretly drugged and abducted her. Meanwhile, Bruce left for the Downtown Clock Tower after recalling his father’s words and the mysterious letter.

• Alfred prepared the pavilion for Bruce’s birthday party while Oswald arrived and searched for Ririko.
• In the basement, Bruce put on his batsuit, gave Ririko a diamond necklace, and watched her leave for the party.
• Bruce remembered his father’s speech about the Downtown Clock Tower and drove there.
• Ririko arrived at the party, where Sofia and Oswald traded insults while trying to claim her attention.
• Ririko tasted the cake frosting, and Edward approached her disguised as a waiter.
• Edward sprayed Ririko with a drug, caught her as she collapsed, and hid her beneath the cake table.

Bruce learned that the Riddler planned to take the birthday gift he had given Ririko, while Oswald recognized the masked man as Edward Nygma. Ririko woke in Edward’s hideout, where he challenged her to solve the house’s riddles if she wanted to leave.

• Bruce found a cutout-letter note at the Clock Tower saying the Riddler would take his birthday gift, and realized he meant Ririko’s diamond necklace.
• The Riddler interrupted the party’s birthday messages to announce his identity and taunt Bruce for failing to solve his riddle.
• Alfred and Dick helped the guests leave, while Oswald recognized the Riddler as Edward Nygma.
• Ririko woke in Edward’s hideout and confronted him, and Edward explained that he wanted her as an audience for his demonstrations of intellect.
• Edward told Ririko she could leave if she solved the house’s riddles, then fled when she mentioned Oswald; Ririko calmly ate the cake he had brought her.

Ririko discovered that Edward had kidnapped her to use as bait in a trap for Batman, but her attempt to control him failed because he carried remnants of the Tomie Organization. Edward’s riddle letter sent Batman searching for her, while Oswald learned of the abduction and resented being excluded.

• Ririko searched Edward’s apartment for the key, and Edward told her he had already planned every scenario and intended to lure Batman into a trap using her.
• Edward revealed that he planned to kill Batman, and Ririko learned he had sent Batman a challenge letter demanding that he solve a riddle within three days.
• Ririko tried to use her influence to make Edward reveal the key’s location, but it failed because remnants of the Tomie Organization made him immune to her control.
• Barbara brought the letter to Wayne Manor, where Bruce, Dick, and Barbara began investigating the riddle’s clues to find Ririko.
• Oswald received a copy of Edward’s letter and wondered why Edward had excluded him and whether Edward had designs on Ririko.

Oswald reacted to Edward's betrayal by ordering Butch to investigate him, while Ririko barricaded herself in her bedroom and rejected Edward's attempts to care for her. After Ririko became sick from expired milk, Edward entered her room, confessed how important his identity was to him, and kissed her, unaware that she had deliberately used the milk to lower his guard.

• Oswald ordered Butch to check Edward Nygma's accounts and movements after deciding their friendship was over.
• Ririko blocked her bedroom door and refused Edward's breakfast and attempts to persuade her to come out.
• After drinking expired milk, Ririko developed a stomachache and asked Edward to pass her medicine through the door.
• Edward forced his way into Ririko's room, helped her stand, and explained that discovering who he was mattered deeply to him.
• Edward kissed Ririko, then withdrew to cook when her stomach growled.
• Ririko revealed to herself that she had chosen the expired milk on purpose to make Edward lower his guard.

Bruce and Dick entered the Riddler’s deadly Minotaur Maze to rescue Ririko, while Edward explained his trap to her. Just as the countdown neared zero, Harvey Dent appeared on the platform and aimed his gun at Edward.

• Bruce and Dick entered the maze, and Bruce split them up to search for Ririko before the ten-minute countdown expired.
• Edward took Ririko to a platform beneath an old subway station and told her to sit while he waited for Batman to die in the maze.
• Edward explained that the passages held deadly traps and that explosives surrounded the platform, while Ririko mocked his plans.
• As the countdown neared zero, Harvey Dent emerged from the tunnel, aimed his handgun at Edward, and ordered him to release Ririko.

Harvey rescued Ririko from Edward’s maze, but Batman, Oswald, Butch, and Dick soon converged on the platform as Bane attacked. Edward escaped with Ririko and Oswald, where their argument over his betrayal and feelings for her was interrupted by Ririko urging them to focus on the danger.

• Harvey confronted Edward, then took Ririko away after Edward allowed them to leave.
• Batman and Butch smashed through the maze’s walls to reach the platform, and Oswald confronted Edward before Dick arrived.
• Bane blasted into the platform, and Edward seized Ririko and fled through a hidden passage with Oswald following.
• Edward and Oswald argued over Edward’s disappearance, betrayal, and feelings for Ririko as explosions sounded nearby.
• Ririko slapped Oswald and Edward, then warned them that Bane could kill Batman and turn on them next.