This story can basically be seen as kind of a retelling of the game's story, with various changes here and there, but things do go in a different direction. For example, taking several years after Arkham City, with an older Batman as well as the Arkham Knight being a different character entirely. Hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters within this story.

Batman: Rise of the Arkham Knight

Prologue

Gotham City. Same old crap. It's been about seven years since that hell hole known as Arkham City was shut down, and things have been rather…quiet since then, yet it's still the same old crap. Now here I am, on a cold and rainy Sunday night, doing a deal with some "clients" men on orders from the boss. It was simple: We meet with them at the docks inside one of the warehouses, give them the guns, they give us the money, we all leave. A quick in and out. Except…

"Could you hurry this up?" Thompson, one of my partners, says in annoyance.

"Just hold on a minute. I gotta make sure these guns are as good as Penguin says they are." The guy nonchalantly replies as he inspects the gun.

It's been roughly half an hour since we met up with these guys and it looks like we're not going to be leaving anytime soon. I've done these types of deals dozens of times and never have I seen someone take so long. Eventually, one of my partners, Tony, gets up from leaning on the wall and walks up beside me.

"Wyatt, how long is this gonna take?"

"How should I know?" I whisper back at him. In response he simply shrugs and walks back to his previous spot. We were really starting to get impatient and it showed. A couple of my partners were starting to complain and I even heard a couple of the client's own guys give remarks on how long it's been. Starting to have enough, I decide to speak up.

"So are we going to get this over with or what?"

"Yeah yeah alright. Give 'em the money Reggie." He responds, accompanied by the wave of a hand.

This 'Reggie' guy then takes the briefcase and hands it over to me before walking back to his original spot.

Finally. I think to myself. "Ok fellas, let's pack it up and-" Before I could finish my sentence, we suddenly hear someone screaming outside along with what sounds like gunshots being fired.

"What the hell?!"

"It sounds like our guys are fighting out there." My partner Ricky says as he starts to load his gun.

"The hell is going on?! Did you set us up?!" One of the client's guys demands.

"I should be asking you that!" Thompson retorted as he points his pistol in their direction. Knowing him, I wouldn't have been surprised if he was just looking for an excuse to act up.

"That's enough Thompson!" I yell, my voice echoing around the room. "No one is setting anyone up!"

I could really feel the tension rising in the room. Everyone was getting anxious as the screams and gunfire continued and the echoes could be heard through the walls. It seemed like both sides were fighting someone or something else and by the sounds of it, they were losing. It persisted for another few seconds until suddenly…it got quiet. Too quiet.

"They…stopped?" Thompson remarks in a confused tone.

"Something's not right here." Reggie points out, obviously picking up on the suspicious silence.

"You think it's the Bat?" Tony asks.

"The Bat's here of all places?! How'd he find us?!" The client starts shaking in fear.

"Clyde, just calm down. If we keep panicking we're gonna be screwed for sure." Reggie reassures his partner whilst resting his hand on his shoulder.

"He's right." I add. "It's best we keep our heads straight and watch out for any funny business."

I say that but honestly I'm just as scared as Clyde is. I've seen the Bat in action before and let's just say they weren't very pleasant experiences. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one out of all of us in here who's encountered him but at the same time something feels off. Thompson being the level headed one eventually decides to take charge of the situation.

"Ok. Tony, you and Ricky watch the door behind us. Wyatt you stick with me and we watch their backs."

"Got it." Ricky replies as he and Tony turn their attention to the door behind them. Thompson then looks at Clyde and his guys and gestures for them to do the same with the door behind them which after looking to each other for a little bit, finally nod and get into their positions. Everyone seems to be focused, even Clyde, but I just can't shake this bad feeling.

"Wyatt, you good?" Thompson asks me "You looked spooked."

"Huh? Yeah, I'm…I'm good." I murmured as I finally snapped out of my little anxiety attack.

"If you say so. Someone try calling the boss."

Ricky immediately pulls out his phone and tries to get in contact with the Penguin. After a few seconds of silence he lets out a scoff in frustration.

"Damn! I'm not getting anything!" He shouts almost as if he was about to toss his phone in frustration.

"I'm not getting anything either!" One of Clyde's guys yells as well.

"He's jamming our signals." Reggie remarks in a disturbingly calm tone.

That's just great. Those were the words ringing in my head. Batman's pretty much got us cornered and there's nothing we can do but wait. I'm not sure how much longer I can endure this silence. It only makes the feeling of sweat running down my back that much more potent. I don't know if he's doing this to taunt us or as an attempt to drive us mad!

"Come on out Batman! I ain't scared of you!" Thompson finally shouted almost as if to simply break the silence.

His voice echoes throughout the warehouse until it finally returns to silence. Nothing. No response. Eventually the silence is once again broken by a chuckle from Ricky.

"Something funny to you?" Thompson prodded.

"Nah, I was just thinking that you might have scared him off" Ricky replies in a sarcastic tone as he turns to face us. I honestly couldn't tell if he genuinely found that funny or if this was an attempt for him to try and lighten up the mood. Either way I couldn't care less.

"We ain't got time for jokes, Ricky!" I blurt out in frustration.

"He's right," Tony adds in agreement "can't afford to let our guard do-"

Tony was suddenly cut off by an explosion at the door that he and Ricky were guarding, catching all of us by surprise. The force of the blast sent the both of them flying, their bodies covered by the cloud of smoke that followed shortly afterward. With no time to tend to them, Thompson and the rest of us all turned our attention to where the explosion came from.

"Ricky! Tony!" I shout to them, hoping for some kind of response.

"Forget about them! Just focus on-"

Thompson was cut off mid-sentence by another explosion, this time at the door on the opposite end of the warehouse. Fortunately, none of Clyde's guys were close enough to be caught by the blast. Clyde's guys then turned their attention to the door behind them whilst Thompson and I remained focused on the cloud of smoke in front of us.

"He's attacking us from both sides now?!" Clyde cries in a rage, obviously much more shaken than the rest of us.

"Just keep your guard up! Anybody comes in, they're as good as dead!" Reggie replies, once again reassuring his partner.

Silence soon filled the room once again. The echoes of debris colliding with the ground soon disappeared with nothing to be heard besides our heavy breathing. Batman is just toying with us and there's nothing we can do about it. The tension in the room was reaching an all-time high.

"Dammit! Where are you?!" Thomspon screams in a rage.

"This asshole's just toying with us." Clyde says.

Mere moments later, we hear yet another explosion, but this time…

"Above us!" I yell pointing to the ceiling.

"Move!" Thomspon yells out as he quickly runs for cover.

We all immediately jump out of the way before the debris hits us. Eventually all I can see is this gray smoke surrounding us.

A smoke bomb? I immediately say to myself. All I hear are the screams and gunshots coming from my partners as well as Clyde and his guys. I quickly bring myself to my feet to try and assess the situation but the next thing I know I feel a something hit me, sweeping me off my feet and flat on my ass.

"Agh!" I scream out in agony. I feel like I was just hit by a damn car. This pain in my chest is almost paralyzing.

I once again try to pick myself up amongst the various screams and sounds of gunfire. One by one my guys are being taken out. Their screams all ending suddenly. The gunfire dies down. All of this happening so quickly, but are all drowned out by the sounds of bones breaking. The smoke starts to clear and I see him. This figure that I know all too well..

"Batman!" I shout as I reach for my pistol and begin shooting at him. I kept shooting and shooting, but he seems unmoved by them.

He slowly stands and turns to me and then I see now, that I was right. This feeling that I couldn't shake off all made sense now. The smoke clears just enough and I see among the bodies is Thompson, with his neck broken. I feel shivers run through my entire body as the figure final faces me and I see those glowing red eyes shining through what was left of the smoke.

"You're…you're not him!" I utter out. The figure doesn't reply. He just slowly moves towards me and I feel the panic starting to take over. I desperately start crawling, amongst the sharp pain in my chest, trying to get away from this…this thing.

"Get away from me!" I cry in desperation.

All of my screams are suddenly cut off by the feeling of hand grabbing my throat and hoisting me up. My feet barely touching the floor, I try to move but it is as if I'm paralyzed by fear. All I can see are those red eyes, those eyes staring into the very depths of my soul.

"No." The figure finally responds. His voice sounded like something straight out of a horror movie with demonic it sounded.

"I'm not Batman." He affirms in that same demonic tone.

I try to say something, but I can't through the panic going through my mind and his ever tightening grip on my throat. I try to move his hand and gain some room to breathe but he pulls me in closer, closer to those eyes, almost blinding me.

"I'm something much worse." He says. The next thing I know I'm once again thrown to the ground. Gasping for air I try to collect my thoughts. So my things going through my mind.

"I am here to change Gotham…to help it move forward, but to do that, I must rid this city of those who hold it back." He continues on.

I still find myself trying to catch my breath, but the hard I breathe, the more it hurts. My mind once again runs wild with what this guy is even talking about. I look up to him and the only thing I see now is the barrel of a gun face me. Upon seeing this I immediately froze with fear.

"Unfortunately, that includes you."

"P-Please…don't-"

BANG!