Huge chapter, hope you enjoy!

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The fluorescent lights buzzed in the dim interrogation room, casting a cold, sterile glow over everything. Sullivan sat across the metal table, his hands resting casually on the surface, eyes focused straight ahead. He looked unbothered, almost indifferent, as if this was just another inconvenience in his long line of troubles.

Louis and Liam stood on either side of the table, their eyes locked on him, trying to extract anything that might explain the mess that had unfolded in Gotham. Sullivan's brother, the CEO of Kavanagh Technologies, had gone missing after The Joker's heist, and they needed answers. But Sullivan had clammed up.

"Your brother," Liam began, his voice low and measured. "He's been missing since a robbery at Kavanagh Technologies. What can you tell us about it?"

Sullivan didn't flinch. He simply sat there, his gaze never wavering, like he was weighing whether to even respond.

Louis couldn't stand the silence. His patience had been worn thin after weeks of chasing dead ends. "Your brother's been gone for days, and you're still not talking?"

"I'm not my brother's keeper," Sullivan said finally, his voice cool, unaffected.

Louis clenched his jaw, frustration simmering beneath the surface. "What's that supposed to mean? You're telling us you have no idea where he is? You're really not gonna help us here?"

Sullivan's lips twitched into the faintest of smirks, finding Louis' frustration amusing. "Help? You're in here asking me questions like I know where my brother is. What do you want me to say?"

Liam's voice hardened. "Start with the basics. What's his connection to Joker? Why would he target your company? You must know something."

Sullivan shifted slightly in his seat but remained silent. His expression was one of a man who had nothing to lose. Louis was about to press harder when Sullivan's lips parted just enough to say something.

"It's over," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. The words were strange, cryptic, and sudden. "As soon as he says so it's lights out."

Louis froze, his eyes narrowing. "What does that mean? Who's he?" he demanded.

Sullivan didn't respond. His gaze flicked to the door like he was already thinking about his escape. Liam slammed his hand down on the table, his voice rising. "Who are you talking about? What's over?"

But Sullivan simply got to his feet. "You're wasting your time."

He walked toward the door with slow, deliberate steps, ignoring the questioning glances from both Liam and Louis.

As Sullivan disappeared through the door, the two brothers exchanged a glance.

"That's it?" Louis asked. "Just another dead end?"

Liam shook his head, visibly agitated. "We need to get a lead on the car from the crime scene," he replied. "It's the only thing we have left."

Louis nodded stiffly. Maybe not the only thing.

***

Louis stepped cautiously into the factory, the familiar, musty scene almost a comfort, a constant, despite the dilapidated setting. Louis' gaze flicked around the space, searching for any sign of movement, anything out of place. But it was eerily quiet. No Joker, just the cold emptiness of the factory.

Louis walked to the middle of the room, eyes catching a glimpse of something sitting on top of one of the crates.  It was a folded piece of paper, its edges frayed and worn as if it had been handled frequently. Louis approached it cautiously, glancing around one more time before he picked up the note.

It was scrawled in Harry's familiar handwriting, sharp and slanted.

"Tick-tock, sweetheart.  Check the back of the factory. Time is running out. Your loving Joker x"

A cold knot twisted in Louis' stomach. The words were casual enough, but the implications—

Louis didn't waste another second. He pushed forward, heading toward the back of the factory, the sense of urgency pressing on him. But as he rounded the corner, the sight of Harley Quinn leaning against a pile of crates made him stop dead in his tracks.

Harley smiled at him, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Oh, he was right," he drawled, crossing his arms over his chest. "You really do love chasing after him, don't you?"

Louis narrowed his eyes. "Where is he?" he demanded, his voice low, barely controlled. "I'm not here for you, Harley."

Harley shrugged nonchalantly, unfazed by his threat. "Oh, birdie, the boss is busy. Got more important things to do than play with you right now," he pushed himself off the crates and stepped forward, gaze locking with Louis'. "But you're here. That's all that matters."

Louis clenched his jaw. "What's going on? Why is robbing Kavanagh and all the other companies? How is Sullivan involved?"

Harley's lips curled into a sly grin. "Sullivan?" he repeated, as though the word tasted foreign on his tongue. "Sweetheart, Sullivan isn't the one running the show. But he's spreading the word now, isn't he?"

Louis stared at him, trying to process what he was implying. "Spreading the word? What word?"

"Oh, you know, the word," Harley said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Don't worry, darling. You're not as far behind as you think," he flashed a wicked grin. "You're so close. You might just get to see the fireworks before it all goes dark."

Louis' mind was racing, trying to connect the dots.

Before he could ask more, Harley added one last piece of cryptic information, his voice a low murmur as he stepped back. "Sullivan's not just sitting in a cell because of some petty crime. He's got a purpose. But you'll figure that out soon enough."

"Why did he rob Kavanagh?" Louis rushed out. "The electrical lines, the sewer systems?" he listed. "What does he need that for?"

Harley smiled at him. "Oh, that was my work," he said. "My artwork didn't tip you off?"

"You wouldn't have done it without his say-so," Louis countered. "Why?"

"You said it yourself. Electrical lines, sewer routes, traffic control," Harley explained. "One plus one is..." he sang.

Louis fumbled, mouth agape. "I don't understand."

Harley sighed dramatically. "He said you were smart."

Louis swallowed. "Did he leave me anything?" he asked quickly. "A note, a clue-"

"Nah, just me," Harley replied. "And I think I've given you... enough."

Louis didn't have time to think further. His instincts screamed at him to get out of the factory and back to the Batcave, to get to Liam and the others, but there was one more thing Harley had to say before he turned away.

"Oh, and baby bat?" he called after him. "Don't keep Mister J waiting too long. He hates it when you're late for the party."

Louis shot him one last glare, his heart pounding in his chest. The puzzle pieces were starting to click, but the picture they formed only made things more complicated.

He didn't look back. He turned sharply and left the factory, his footsteps pounding against the cold concrete as he made his way out into the night.

***

The Batcave was alive with the faint hum of monitors and the low mechanical whir of machinery, yet the oppressive tension in the air drowned out even those familiar sounds. Liam was already back by the time Louis got home.

Harlow was a dead end and Niall had gone to chase up more leads with Mallory, leaving Liam and Louis alone to join the dots.

Louis leaned forward at the central console, his eyes darting across the screens as he sifted through schematics and data. Across the room, Liam stood rigid, his dark figure a silhouette against the glow of Gotham's map projected on the wall.

"None of this adds up," Liam muttered, his voice a frustrated growl. He traced a gloved finger along the map's glowing lines. "The shipments, the prison transfers, Kavanagh—it's all noise. No clear target."

"It's almost like he wanted everything," Louis mumbled.

"I'll say," Liam sighed.

Louis didn't respond, his thoughts a frantic whirlwind. His mind replayed every detail from the last few days: Sullivan's smug grin, the stolen schematics from Kavanagh Technologies, his meeting with Harley, Harry's list of power generators.

The fragments clicked and clashed like pieces of a puzzle he couldn't quite assemble. And then, Sullivan's words echoed in his memory: It's lights out.

Louis froze. His fingers hovered over the keyboard as the weight of the words hit him with full force.

"Liam," he said sharply, cutting through the silence.

"What?" Liam asked, his attention snapping to him.

"Sullivan," Louis began, his voice tight with urgency. "What did he say about the city's lights in the recorded interview?"

"Erm," Liam frowned, moving closer and shaking his head.  "Something about them only staying on because Joker says so," he said slowly, his brows knitting together. "Why?"

Louis swallowed. "And then today, he said 'it's lights out'. I think that..."

Louis' stomach turned as the words played over and over in his head. The lights. The city. The control. His gaze darted to the list of locations that Harry had given him yesterday—power grids, electrical nodes, emergency back-ups. He stared at them, his breath catching.

"Oh, my God," Louis whispered.

"What is it?" Liam demanded, his tone sharp.

Louis' fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard, pulling up overlapping maps of Gotham's infrastructure. "The stolen servers from Kavanagh, the shipments, the emergency generators," he listed. "Even Sullivan."

He's spreading the word.

"What?" Liam asked, stepping behind him to peer over his shoulder.

Louis blinked, shaking his head. "Shit," he whispered. "It's all connected."

"To what?" Liam pressed, touching Louis' shoulder.

"The power grid," Louis rushed out. "He's not just moving goods or people—he's been setting this up for months."

Liam's eyes narrowed. "Setting what up?"

Louis turned to him, his expression grim. "A blackout," he said, the word heavy in the air. "He's going to shut Gotham down. The entire city."

"What?" Liam snapped.

"He's got everything he needs!" Louis exclaimed. "The electrics, the backup generators," he hurried. "Even Sullivan, he has him on the inside spreading the word."

Liam's jaw tightened as he took in the gravity of Louis' realization. "A blackout? You're sure?"

"It's all here," Louis said, pointing to the schematics. "Every major grid, every emergency generator—they've already been compromised. He's been planning this for months."

As the words left his mouth, the monitors around them flickered, their glow dimming for a moment before stabilizing.

Liam blinked at him. "If the city has a blackout then everything is compromised," he shook his head. "Louis, the banks, the prisons!"

The monitors flickered again, going dark for a moment before lighting back up.

"Liam," Louis said, his gaze fixed on the screens.

Liam didn't wait. He strode to the comms panel, his voice sharp as he barked orders. "This is Batman. We need units deployed to every power station and main grid in the city. Now."

But Louis shook his head, watching the screen. "It's too late."

Liam turned to him. "What are you talking about?" he snapped, his tone urgent.

Louis pointed at the map and tracing the interconnected lines. "These nodes," he said. "They're already compromised. He's there. He's already done it."

As if to confirm his words, the room's lights flickered again. This time, they didn't recover. The monitors blinked off, plunging the Batcave into pitch-black silence.

For a moment, the only sound was their breathing, sharp and uneven in the suffocating dark. And then, through the comms, came a low, mocking laugh.

"Aw, sweetheart," The Joker's voice sounded, smooth and venomous. "Your time's up."

Louis sat frozen, his breath shallow, as the laugh echoed and faded, leaving them in silence.

Liam's voice broke through, firm and resolute. "We have to go!" he was already grabbing his mask.

But Louis' gaze remained fixed on the darkened screen in front of him, the weight of The Joker's words pressing down like a vice.

"He's already won," Louis whispered.

Sooo...

Hope you enjoyed :) The big 'showdown' is next chapter!

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