The Universe's Mixer

The sun was going down; the families were leaving the park. The lamps were coming to light as the darkness fell. The lovers were entering the park to find quaint places to hide and "love" whatever that may be for them. The moon was rising, the stars shining. It was so very romantic. It was the perfect setting for so many stories; so many things could happen when the setting was just right for them.

The petite woman walked quietly along one of the paths. She wore a sundress that was more suited for the sun that wasn't shining. A soft breeze that seemed to be only around her at times played with her skirt and her hair. She wore the simplest sandals, just a leather sole's thickness away from bare feet on concrete and grass.

She didn't seem to be going in any particular direction; she had stories to work out. There was a Beauty and a Beast. There was a City to capture; turn it into a real boy, perhaps. There was more than one knight in shining armor to upset, many damsels to put in danger. There were feuds to be started and ended. There was justice to be meted out. She had so many stories to nudge; she would be one of the creators rather than being created.

The crone looked out into the Park and waited for the largest bane of her existence, though she would miss the damn thing if it didn't come when she called for it. She settled on a bench and waited, humming a soft tune from her "home" country. It was going to be one of those oddly quiet nights, Baba Yaga was sure of it, and she, for the moment, would be okay with it.

after this

Early in the morning, the phone on the desk in Veronica Mars's apartment starting ringing. And it did not stop. Shortly after, her cell phone started ringing and did not stop. Bleary eyed, Veronica answered her cell phone, checking the number beforehand. She did not recognize it.

"Ms. Mars?"

She yawned and stifled it. "Yes, who's this?"

"Ms. Mars, this is Daisy over at the City's field office. We've got your name in our system as a former member of our summer internship program."

"Oh, hi, yes, that'd... make sense."

"There's an investigation we'd like you to be a part of, assuming you're interested in continuing your Bureau training."

"Definitely."

There was some typing on the other end of the phone line. "Please bring your Bureau I.D. and also your P.I. license when you come in. Also, I know it's a weird question, but if you showed up here with a gun, you're allowed to carry that, too, as long as the Bureau issued it."

"Yeah. Okay."

"Thank you, Ms. Mars. Please get here as soon as you can this morning. Ask for me in reception and I'll get you where you need to go."

Veronica thanked her and hung up. She took the world's fastest shower, texted Logan something gleeful about the good turn of events, and hurried out the door.

When she arrived at the building the receptionist directed her to, she found her and showed her her trainee badge.

"Hi there, Ms. Mars," Daisy the receptionist said. "Have you ever worked on a murder investigation?"

Arkham Asylum loomed into view as Dinah pulled her car to a stop near the entrance to the bridge. The gothic looking manor that housed the asylum awaited them on the island, seemingly quiet from the outside.

Dinah waited for everyone else to catch up, her eyes sweeping the streets for any sign of the Batmobile. She tapped her communicator once to connect with the Clocktower.

"Are we up and running, Fred?"

She still wasn't completely confident in the plan. A part of her worried that she was just sending the people she cared about to their deaths-or worse, knowing the Joker. But she had to try, had to believe that Jake was in there and could be saved.