TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  CHAPTER 1:

  FACE-TO-FACE

  CHAPTER 2:

  FASHION FRENZY

  CHAPTER 3:

  COIN CRIME

  CHAPTER 4:

  DOUBLE TROUBLE

  CHAPTER 5:

  THE FINAL FLIP

  Two-Face

  Biographies

  Glossary

  Discussion Questions

  Writing Prompts

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  CHAPTER 1

  FACE-TO-FACE

  Batman and Robin raced toward the scene of danger. There was an escape happening at the Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane and they had to stop it!

  “Who’s trying to escape? The Joker? The Riddler?” Robin asked as he and Batman drove in the Batmobile.

  “Someone much worse than those two criminals put together,” Batman replied. “It’s Two-Face!”

  The Dynamic Duo zoomed through the streets of Gotham City. It was after midnight and no one was on the roads except a few slow delivery trucks. The Batmobile passed them as fast as a bat in flight.

  Suddenly, red and blue lights flashed behind the duo’s dark vehicle. A siren screamed. Batman glanced at the rearview monitor screen on the instrument panel.

  “It’s the Gotham City police,” Batman said.

  The police cars quickly caught up to the Batmobile — and then passed it at high speed. The vehicles accelerated down the street and ignored the Batmobile.

  “I wonder where they’re going in such a hurry,” Robin said.

  “That’s no mystery,” Batman replied. “Arkham.”

  “Attention, Batman and Robin!” a voice boomed over a loudspeaker. It came from another police vehicle that drove up behind the Batmobile.

  “I recognize that voice. It’s Police Commissioner Gordon,” Batman said.

  The Dark Knight pressed a button on the instrument panel of the Batmobile. It opened a radio communication channel between the two cars.

  “Let’s keep our conversation quiet,” Batman said to the commissioner. “I wouldn’t want to violate any late-night noise regulations.”

  “I see you’re on your way to Arkham Asylum,” Gordon said. “We need to get there fast. Follow our squad cars. We’ll give you a police escort.”

  The police vehicle’s engine roared as it passed the Batmobile and sped down the dark city street. Its warning lights flashed and its siren wailed. The Dark Knight’s foot barely touched the accelerator pedal to catch up to the commissioner’s car. The Batmobile moved silently through the night.

  It didn’t take long for Batman and Robin to arrive at the scene. As they approached, they could see it was chaos. The flashing lights of police vehicles filled the night with red and blue brilliance. A pair of police helicopters hovered above the asylum and pierced the dark with bright searchlights.

  The Batmobile halted in front of a line of police officers and squad cars. The GCPD formed a perimeter like an army prepared to wage battle. Police radios squawked. Protective armor and shields were deployed.

  Commissioner Gordon jumped out of his vehicle and took control like a general. Batman and Robin got out of the Batmobile and quietly headed for the shadows.

  The Dynamic Duo avoided the bright spotlights from the police helicopters and found an area of deep darkness near the tall stone wall of the asylum. They each used hand-held launchers to fire a pair of grapnels over the wall toward the roof of the asylum building. They could not see exactly where the grapnels landed, but the sound of a solid CLINK! let them know that the hooks were secure.

  Batman pressed a lever on his launcher and the Batrope attached to the grapnel pulled him up and over the wall. Robin activated the lever on his launcher and followed his partner into the asylum.

  Robin landed on the roof tiles of Arkham and almost slipped on the moss growing there. His boots scuffed the green growth, which released a stinky stench. Robin forced himself to hold back a coughing fit. It was important to be very quiet. Stealth was a basic part of the Dynamic Duo’s crime-fighting method.

  The building was old and there were many odd quirks to its architecture. Robin hurried to follow Batman over the peaks and valleys of the roof. He could barely see the shadowy outline of the Dark Knight even with all the police lights.

  Suddenly Batman dropped out of Robin’s view. Robin almost let out a gasp of surprise. He rushed over the slippery roof tiles to the spot where Batman disappeared.

  Light from an open skylight beamed up into Robin’s face. There was a hallway below, and Robin caught sight of the end of Batman’s cape whipping down the corridor.

  The bright lights inside Arkham Asylum hurt Robin’s eyes when he dropped down from the dark roof. That didn’t stop him from following his partner into peril. Robin ran down the corridor.

  The sound of fighting reached Robin moments before the sight of it did. POW! WHAM! THUD! Then he saw it — Batman battling Two-Face!

  One half of the criminal’s face was a permanent snarl. His lips were pulled back and one eye bulged from its socket. The other half of his face was handsome. Two-Face was split down the middle, fifty-fifty.

  Two-Face pushed a hospital cart toward Batman. It still had a patient strapped to it. The Dark Knight caught the cart and shoved it aside. The patient laughed like a hyena.

  Robin tried to run faster, but the slime on his boots made it difficult for him to get a grip on the floor. He couldn’t speed up. Then he remembered Batman telling him: always look for a way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Robin realized that the slick moss on his boots could be an advantage after all.

  Robin used the slime on his boots to slide across the floor like a surfer. He stretched out his arms for balance and leaned his body forward for more speed. Robin aimed himself at Two-Face.

  Robin hit his target. POW! Two-Face slammed into the wall and then tumbled to the floor. He did not get up.

  Batman walked over to his junior partner and helped him to his feet.

  “Nice work,” the Dark Knight said.

  “Thanks,” Robin replied. He looked at the limp body of Two-Face. “What did he hope to gain by trying to escape?”

  “The coin … the coin,” Two-Face moaned as he lay curled on the floor.

  “The coin is in the vault, Harvey,” a voice said. It belonged to a woman in a white doctor’s coat. “You don’t need the coin, Harvey. It doesn’t control you.”

  Batman knew that Two-Face was once Harvey Dent, the district attorney for Gotham City. A vengeful attack had scarred Harvey both physically and mentally. Harvey used to represent the law. Now, as Two-Face, he led a life of crime.

  “Dr. Andrea Wye,” Batman said. He read the woman’s name on her ID tag. “You’re new to Harvey’s case.”

  “I’m trying a new therapy,” Dr. Wye said. “I’m hoping to get Harvey to give up his obsession with the double-faced coin. If he can’t do that, he’ll never be free.”

  “I must have my coin!” Two-Face shouted. He jumped to his feet with a tremendous burst of energy. He shoved Dr. Wye into Robin and they fell against the wall. THUMP! CRASH! They stumbled into the patient strapped to the hospital cart. It twisted down the hall like a spinning top.

  “Heehee hahaha!” the patient cackled wildly.

  “I must get my coin,” Two-Face said as he ran down the corridor.

  Batman deduced that Two-Face would head for the vault. He knew that Two-Face would not let anything stand between him and his precious double-faced coin. It had been with Two-Face ever since he had been scarred. It was just like him: one side looked normal, and the other side was etched with deep scratches. Defaced.

  “I have to capture Two-Face before innocent people get hurt,” Batman said and raced after his adversary.

  The Dark Knight headed for the asylum vault in the basement level of the building. The vault contained the possessions of the super-villains in Arkham. It held the Joker’s deadly joy buzzer and poison lapel flower, plus the Mad Hatter’s hypnotic hats. Even more dangerous items like vials of Scarecrow’s fear gas and Bane’s venom were kept there.

  Batman did not want Two-Face to get his hands on any of these things. A tremendous BOOM! from deep below told Batman he was too late!

  Smoke churned out of the open vault door. Two GCPD guards staggered toward the Dark Knight.

  “We tried to stop him,” Officer Jensen said.

  “We think he’s still in there,” Officer Abbey added.

  “Good,” Batman replied as he pulled a breathing mask from his Utility Belt and ran straight into the blinding cloud.

  Night-vision lenses in his cowl let Batman see the shape of Two-Face searching the shelves. Suddenly the villain held up a shiny object in triumph.

  “My coin!” Two-Face declared.

  Batman threw a Batarang attached to a Batrope and lassoed his adversary. Two-Face struggled to break free of the rope and smashed into the giant shelves. They started to tumble. CRASH! BOOM! SMASH! One of the heavy shelves knocked the Dark Knight out of the vault.

  Batman was a trained athlete and acrobat. He used his skills to roll along the floor and then spring back onto his feet. He returned to the vault, but when he got inside, Two-Face was gone. So was the double-faced coin.

  CHAPTER 2

  FASHION FRENZY

  “It’s been days since Two-Face escaped from Arkham Asylum,” Robin said. “He should have done something by now. What’s he waiting for?”

  “Two-Face could make his move in the next two hours, or in two weeks. He always works in twos,” Batman replied.

  “It’s been too long,” Robin grumbled as he tapped a button on the keyboard in front of him.

  The Dynamic Duo monitored the police reports and news feeds from the Batcomputer in the Batcave. Suddenly a large red dot appeared on the monitor screen. A text window popped up to describe the activity being reported.

  ROBBERY IN PROGRESS

  ART INSTITUTE OF GOTHAM CITY

  INCIDENT WARNINGS: UNREPORTED

  “Hmmm,” Batman said. “Bruce Wayne received an invitation for a charity event at the Art Institute. It was for a fashion show.”

  The Dark Knight led two lives. One as Bruce Wayne, billionaire businessman. The other as Batman, defender of Gotham City.

  “Can’t the police take care of a robbery at a fashion show?” Robin asked. “We need to find Two-Face.”

  “We’ve found him. The House of Deux sent the invitation. ‘Deux’ means ‘two’ in French. The designers are twin sisters,” Batman said.

  Robin did an information search on the Batcomputer. Several news articles about the show popped up on the screen. He scanned the stories to glean as much information as he could.

  “Not only that, the designers are using rare twin diamonds called the Gemini Gems as part of the show,” Robin said.

  “Gemini is the Zodiac symbol of the twins,” Batman said.

  “More twos,” Robin realized.

  “That’s too much for Two-Face to resist,” Batman said. “Let’s see how he deals with the Dynamic Duo.”

  Batman and Robin ran to the Batmobile. They jumped into their seats and the automatic safety harnesses wrapped around them. The engine came to life. A string of lights lit up an exit tunnel. Batman stomped on the accelerator.

  The powerful vehicle shot down the underground tunnel like a rocket being launched. The Batmobile zoomed out of a camouflaged exit and headed toward Gotham City.

  Batman tuned into the GCPD’s radio channel and listened to the chatter between the officers who surrounded the Art Institute. He could hear Commissioner Gordon’s voice directing his men.

  “It sounds like Gordon is forming a perimeter on street level,” Batman said. “You and I will go in from above.”

  The Dark Knight stopped the Batmobile a few blocks away from the Art Institute. He got out of the vehicle and launched a Batrope into the night sky. CLINK! The grapnel attached to it caught on the window ledge near the top of a building. ZIP! Up he went. Robin followed. The Dynamic Duo used the rooftops instead of the streets to arrive at the Art Institute.

  They entered the building from the roof. The lock on the maintenance door was designed to keep out thieves. It was not a barrier for the electronic lock-picking device in Batman’s Utility Belt.

  The Dynamic Duo entered the building and ran down the stairs to the gallery level where the fashion show was taking place. There, they paused and observed Two-Face as he robbed the guests.

  The villain had a gang of henchmen doing the dirty work. They went among the partygoers and took their jewelry. Two-Face stood in the center of the room with the Gemini Gems in his hands.

  “We’ll split up and come at Two-Face from two directions,” Batman whispered. Robin nodded and moved away silently.

  A few moments later there were two sounds: BANG! CLINK! They were followed by two more: BANG! CLINK! A pair of grapnels gripped the ceiling of the gallery. Batman and Robin swooped down on Batropes.

  Robin knocked down two of the henchmen with his boot heels. The men stumbled backward and slammed into two other crooks. The bags of stolen jewelry tumbled from their hands.

  Batman snatched the Gemini Gems out of Two-Face’s hands and swung to the far side of the gallery. He dropped the gems down to the two fashion designers. Then he swung back toward Two-Face before the villain knew what was happening. POW! Batman let go of the Batrope and tackled Two-Face.

  The criminal and the crime fighter slid on the polished marble floor. The partygoers couldn’t move out of the way in time. They fell like bowling pins when Batman and Two-Face rolled into them. The impact let the villain wriggle out of Batman’s grip.

  Two-Face stood up and brushed off his black-and-white suit. He acted confident as Batman struggled to get out from under the partygoers on top of him. Out of the corner of his eye, Batman saw Robin get ready to throw a Batarang. Two-Face saw Robin, too.

  “Stop right now or all of these people could get hurt!” Two-Face said. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a fake flower.

  Batman froze. He recognized the flower. The Dark Knight shook his head ever so slightly in a silent message to Robin. Don’t move.

  “I see that you took more than just your coin from the vault at Arkham Asylum,” Batman said.

  “Yes, I did,” Two-Face replied. He pinned the fake flower onto the black lapel of his suit. “It’s a bit gaudy, but it belongs to the Joker, after all.”

  “That’s the Joker’s poison lapel flower!” Robin blurted. He regretted his hasty words instantly.

  The crowd of partygoers gasped in fear. They murmured among themselves. Someone started to cry.

  “I see that these people know the power of this flower,” Two-Face said. He turned around in a circle so that everyone in the room could see it. “Should I use that power … or not?”

  Two-Face reached into another pocket and pulled out his double-faced coin. He held it in front of his face.

  “The flower is loaded with Joker Venom. Do I use it on these people, or do I let them live? They have a fifty-fifty chance, Batman,” Two-Face said. “If the coin lands with the scarred side up, I release the toxin. If it lands with the undamaged side showing, they are safe.”

  Two-Face tossed the coin into the air.

  The people did not give the Dark Knight a chance to answer. They did not wait to see if the coin landed with the scarred side up or down. They all started to run. The people on top of Batman scrambled to their feet and fled. This freed the Dark Knight to take action!

  The coin flipped and tumbled in the air. Two-Face watched it intensely. He did not take his eyes off it as it spun over and over in mid-air. SHHHKIIIING! Suddenly a Batarang struck the coin and knocked it across the gallery. It disappeared beneath the feet of the stampeding partygoers.

  “Noooo!” Two-Face yelled. “My coin! I must have my coin!”

  Batman ran forward and tackled his distracted enemy.

  “Robin! Get the coin while I take down Two-Face,” the Dark Knight instructed his junior partner.

  Batman snatched the Joker’s poison flower off Two-Face’s lapel and threw it out of the criminal’s reach. Two-Face threw a punch at Batman, but the Dark Knight ducked his head to one side. Batman grabbed Two-Face’s outstretched fist.

  CLICK! He snapped a Bat-cuff onto the criminal’s wrist.

  “I’m taking you back to Arkham,” the Dark Knight told Two-Face.

  “I’m not going back there,” Two-Face said. “The food is terrible.”

  “I found the coin, Batman!” Robin shouted from across the gallery. He held it up in the air for Batman to see.

  Two-Face was filled with fear and anger when he saw his precious coin in the hands of his enemy. He thought of the coin as a part of himself. It was a part of his identity. He could not be separated from it.

  A sudden burst of desperation surged through Two-Face. He shoved Batman and the Dark Knight fell backward. Two-Face ran toward Robin. Along the way, he grabbed the Joker’s poison flower from the floor. Two-Face pointed it at Robin.

  “Give me the coin, kid, or I’ll gas you,” the villain said.

  “Okay, okay,” Robin said as he held up his hands in surrender. “Here. Catch.”

  Robin threw the coin toward Two-Face. The criminal watched it soar over his head and toward Batman.

  “Double-crosser,” Two-Face growled.

  “Surrender, Two-Face,” Batman said as he caught the coin.

 

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