The afternoon sun cast long shadows across Gotham Central Plaza as commuters hurried home, shoppers busied themselves at the outdoor market, and families gathered at the central fountain. Among them, Tim Drake walked casually through the crowd, keeping an eye on rumors of Joker activity in the area while maintaining his civilian cover.
Tim spotted her across the plaza – Lily Chen, his lab partner from Gotham Academy. At 4'10", she was easy to miss in crowds, but her bright blue eyes were unmistakable even at a distance. Tim had always found those eyes curious – too vivid to be natural, yet clearly not contacts. She was carrying several shopping bags, likely picking up groceries before heading home.
He considered walking over to say hello when his comm unit vibrated in his pocket. Barbara's voice came through the earpiece he wore disguised as a bluetooth headset.
"Red Robin, we've got movement. Joker's people just entered the plaza from the north entrance. Four of them, carrying duffel bags."
Tim tensed, scanning the crowd. "I see them. Alerting Batman now."
The Joker's men moved purposefully through the crowd, setting down their bags at strategic points around the plaza. Tim recognized the pattern – they were creating a perimeter. His training kicked in as he began quietly directing people away from the bags while keeping his phone to his ear, appearing to be on a call while actually communicating with the Batcave.
"Oracle, I think they're setting explosive devices. I need backup and evacuation support."
"Batman and Nightwing are eight minutes out. GCPD notified."
Tim was about to move toward the nearest duffel when he caught sight of the Joker himself, emerging from a parked ice cream truck with his signature purple suit and manic grin. He carried what appeared to be a detonator.
"Hello, Gotham!" The Joker's voice echoed across the plaza through a megaphone. "Who's ready for some afternoon fireworks?"
Panic erupted instantly. Tim slipped into an alley to change, but before he could emerge as Red Robin, the world exploded in blinding light and deafening sound.
The blast wave rippled across the plaza, shattering glass, overturning vehicles, and sending debris flying in all directions. The bombs had been meticulously placed to maximize chaos while creating a contained killing field. The Joker's laughter echoed through the smoke and screams.
Tim, half-changed into his Red Robin gear, was thrown against a wall by the force of the explosion. His training allowed him to roll with the impact, but he still felt the sting of multiple lacerations and the distinct crack of a fractured rib. Disoriented but functional, he pulled on his mask and moved toward the chaos.
It happened so quickly that later, witnesses would debate whether she had been there all along. Through the billowing smoke and falling debris emerged a small figure wearing a medical face mask and a plain black baseball cap pulled low over her face. Lily moved with purpose, seemingly unhindered by the destruction around her.
Security footage would later show her appearing from behind an overturned hot dog cart merely 47 seconds after the initial explosion. While others fled, she moved deeper into the chaos, her hands glowing with a subtle green luminescence that most would miss in the confusion.
Her first stop was a young mother cradling a bleeding child. Lily knelt beside them, placed her hands over the child's lacerated arm, and the wound closed within seconds. The mother's expression shifted from terror to astonishment, but Lily was already moving to the next victim – an elderly man pinned beneath fallen debris.
As Red Robin emerged from the alley, he witnessed Lily lifting a concrete slab that should have been impossible for her small frame to move. She didn't throw it aside with super-strength; rather, the concrete seemed to become lighter in her hands, as though its very molecular structure had been altered. The elderly man was pulled free, his crushed leg rapidly reconstructing under her touch.
By this point, small plantlike creatures had begun emerging from beneath her collar and sleeves – not frightening or aggressive, but clearly not of natural origin. Each creature, no larger than a house cat, scurried toward injured civilians with purpose. They emitted a soft glow similar to Lily's hands, and wherever they touched, wounds closed and breathing steadied.
The Joker had positioned himself at what he believed would be a safe distance from the blast radius, intending to watch his handiwork unfold from atop a nearby bus stop. But he had miscalculated the force of his own explosives. The secondary blast caught him, sending shrapnel into his chest and throwing him onto the pavement with bone-breaking force.
Red Robin spotted the Joker's crumpled form amid the chaos and moved toward him, torn between containing the threat and helping the injured. As he approached, he saw Lily already kneeling beside the Clown Prince of Crime. Her bright blue eyes, now visible as her hat had fallen away, showed neither hatred nor fear – only clinical assessment.
"He's dying," she said simply, not looking up at Red Robin. "Internal hemorrhaging, punctured lung, spinal fracture at L3, and the shrapnel is laced with his own toxin. The irony would be funny if it weren't so sad."
The Joker's eyes fluttered, recognition and fury crossing his face as he realized who was kneeling over him. "You... little... brat..." he wheezed, blood bubbling from his lips. "Let me... go out... with a smile..."
Lily's eyes narrowed slightly. "Today's not your day to die, not like this."
Her hands pressed against his chest, and the green glow intensified. Four of her creatures appeared, positioning themselves at his head and limbs. The Joker's body arched as something profound happened – not just healing, but transformation. Red Robin watched in astonishment as the characteristic bleached skin began to shift toward a more natural tone, and the rictus grin softened.
"What are you doing to him?" Red Robin asked, unsure whether to intervene.
"Fixing what's broken," Lily replied, her voice strained with effort. "The chemicals altered his brain structure. The toxins rewired his neurotransmitters. His body is fighting itself on a cellular level. I'm... resetting him."
The Joker's eyes widened in panic. "No, no, NO! The joke... the punchline... don't take my... don't take..."
Then his eyes rolled back, and he fell unconscious. But his breathing steadied, and the unnatural coloration continued to fade.
Lily stood, swaying slightly. "He'll need psychiatric help – real help, not Arkham's version. The physical damage is repaired, but his mind needs time to adjust to proper neurochemical function." She looked directly at Red Robin, her unnaturally blue eyes piercing. "Make sure Batman understands this isn't a trick. This is a second chance."
Batman and Nightwing arrived to find an organized response already underway. Lily had established a triage system, her creatures identifying those most severely injured and bringing them to central points where she could attend to them personally. The less critically wounded were being tended by the creatures themselves, each emission of green energy leaving victims better than before – not just healed of immediate injuries but improved, as though chronic conditions were being addressed simultaneously.
From the shadows, Batman observed as Lily approached a man with severe burns across his face and torso. Her hands moved with practiced precision, and new skin formed before his eyes. The man's fingerprints, unique identifiers, and even old scars returned exactly as they had been – she wasn't creating generic tissue but reconstructing his original form with perfect fidelity.
Nightwing assisted with evacuation while Batman secured the unconscious form of the Joker, who now bore only a passing resemblance to his former self. The green-tinted hair had reverted to a natural brown, and the bleached skin had returned to a healthy complexion. Only the scars of his Glasgow smile remained, though significantly faded.
Throughout it all, Lily maintained a calm, methodical presence. She spoke quietly to the injured, reassuring children with gentle words and adults with straightforward assessments of their conditions. Her creatures – now numbering over a dozen – moved through the rubble, finding victims buried under debris and administering immediate care until she could reach them.
By the time GCPD and emergency services established a perimeter, Lily had treated forty-three severely injured civilians. Not a single fatality occurred after her arrival, though three had died instantly in the initial blast before she could intervene.
As the situation stabilized, Batman approached her. She was kneeling beside a young boy with a recently healed leg, instructing him to "take it easy for a day" despite the fact that no evidence of injury remained.
"We need to talk," Batman said, his voice low.
Lily stood, adjusting her face mask. "Not now. There are still people who need help."
"The Joker—"
"Will need psychiatric treatment from someone who actually wants to help him, not just contain him," she interrupted. "His brain chemistry is normalized, but forty years of neural pathways don't rewrite themselves instantly. He's dangerous because he remembers being dangerous, not because he's still chemically compelled toward chaos."
Batman's expression remained impassive. "You've been busy in my city."
"Your city needs healing," she replied simply. "I'm providing what I can."
Before Batman could respond, she turned away, moving toward another victim. By the time he decided to follow, she had disappeared into the crowd. Only the continuing work of her diminishing number of creatures indicated she had been there at all. One by one, these helpers dissolved into small puffs of green mist as their tasks were completed.
Red Robin approached, holding the black baseball cap she had dropped during her work.
"You know her," Batman stated rather than asked.
"Lily Chen. She's in my Advanced Biochemistry class at Gotham Academy. Brilliant student, keeps to herself mostly." Tim turned the cap in his hands. "I had no idea she was... whatever she is."
Batman's eyes narrowed. "Find out everything you can. And we need to secure the Joker before he wakes up. If this is some new form of psychological manipulation..."
But even Batman couldn't deny the evidence before him. The Joker, now being loaded into an ambulance under heavy guard, looked more human than he had in decades. And all around them, people who should have died were walking away from the scene of devastation, carrying nothing more severe than memories of what had transpired.
From a nearby rooftop, Lily watched the scene unfold. Her work was far from done – Gotham needed so much more healing than what she had provided today. But it was a start. She pulled a fresh face mask from her pocket, replaced her cap with a spare from her backpack, and disappeared into the maze of Gotham's streets, leaving only healthier plants and cleaner air in her wake.