Hey there! Piccolo Sky trying again for a Batman fanfic...a "real" one this time.
If you know me, you know I'm working on "Guilty Gear X" right now. However, I'm going to try to put that out more or less in "one go". In the meantime, I'm also working on two other projects I'm going to put out chapter-by-chapter for once and see how it progresses. This will give people more opportunities to point out critiques, and I'll probably need them for this one.
I'll warn you in advance this one is going to get pretty graphic. I may need to rate it M at some point, but this first chapter is harmless.
A NEED TO INJURE
"People should either be caressed or crushed. If you do them minor damage they will get their revenge; but if you cripple them there is nothing they can do. If you need to injure someone, do it in such a way that you do not have to fear their vengeance."
~ Niccolo Machiavelli
Another long night.
In might have been his job, but Jim Gordon hated long nights…especially ones that began with his least favorite four words in existence.
Mass breakout at Arkham.
It was bad enough when the local criminals treated the prisonesque island with only one entrance and exit like it was a revolving door at a shopping mall. Yet the commissioner grew especially infuriated with the staff and management there whenever something like this happened. For all of the tax revenue and technology poured into it, how on Earth could they not just keep some of the worst psychos in the world locked up? It would be one thing if it required some "sophistication" or "planning" on the part of the inmates, but the truth was they'd be lucky if they could keep any one of them behind bars for 18 months nowadays. At any rate, one breakout was fine…but whenever one of these happened, Gordon knew it was only a matter of hours before the whole town was painted red…
Gordon had put it off for years because it would have been a sign of just how bad things had gotten, but after the last breakout he had managed to work with the mayor to implement a "protocol" in the case of another mass breakout of Arkham Asylum. He certainly had a hard time getting him to go with it. After all, setting up such a measure might as well have been a campaign advertisement that he couldn't do a thing to improve the rampant crime in Gotham City. Yet eventually, for once, he "saw the light" and allowed it. Within fifteen minutes of being notified by a special hotline that there had been a mass breakout at the mental facility, four SWAT team wagons were barricading the only way in and out and three helicopters were in the air. Regular officers were making the rounds in the surrounding blocks for everyone to stay indoors and accosting anyone they saw looking for a hitchhike or seeming suspicious. The rest of the city was being advised of the situation and would soon receive notification of who to look out for. At Arkham itself, it was on total lockdown. No one could move in or out of any region of the various parts of the major buildings, and the controls were all remote…one in the control of the psychologists in a small shack on the mainland, and another under control by the police themselves. Both were encrypted using the latest in Lexcorp technology and, similar to how the U.S. Navy did it, "one-way" hashes were used to ensure no one could hack the line.
The commissioner himself had already "suited up for battle", wearing a bullet-proof vest, armed with both a handgun and a shotgun, and pretty much "marshalling the troops" to head inside shortly. To be honest, there wasn't a single report, from security or otherwise, that said he couldn't break right in right now…which was exactly why neither he nor any other officer was charging in. In his experience, every time something seemed "easy" it was because a demented lunatic was trying to lure them in to their doom. So although numerous veteran cops were fully loaded with riot gear and rubber bullets, they found themselves waiting for Gordon to give the signal for the all clear. By now, he realized everything "seemed" alright, at least. If someone was planning something, it was going to be something they hadn't tried before based on past escapes. About the only thing Gordon could think of that hadn't been tested in a while was boats, but he already had phoned the coast guard, and they were on their way to start scanning the shore with searchlights and make sure no one was planning anything.
However, he was truly waiting on only one more "line of defense" in particular… He could have thrown up the signal, but he wanted him to come straight here, and he figured that he'd know based on the blotter and the news reports that this was where the "fire" was located.
All he had to do now was stand here and wait for the inevitable…what he knew was always coming but still caught him off guard to this-
"Your new 'response protocol' is pretty good. I almost learned about it the same time as everyone else."
Gordon managed to at least keep from jumping this time…unlike the other officers about him, who snapped around in a flash and nearly held out their weapons to who had spoken. However, the commissioner had purposely "set up shop" closer to the edge of the police barricade so that he wouldn't have to try wading through everyone else and making himself visible. And sure enough, when he turned to look, he kept more to the shadows…
Even so, it was unmistakable in the flickering lights of the claxions and the few searchlights turned on to miss the signature black, flowing cape and cowl terminating in those two elongated "points" on top. The only sign that this was a man and not some sort of living shadow being the jaw and lips from beneath it, and those eyes that burned so hard they seemed nearly white…
Gordon managed a half smile and a snort. "Perhaps one of these days, I'll force you to watch the news for updates. As it is…I'll let it slide how you knew there was a mass breakout in Arkham before we made it public."
"I keep an ear open." Batman simply responded as he took a few steps forward. As in most of these encounters, he never actually looked to Gordon once. His eyes were on the bridge leading from the mainland to Arkham, and in particular on the asylum beyond. "Who all is missing?"
"Only the 'worst-of-the-worst'." The commission darkly responded. "Eight in all. Waylon Jones, Pamela Isley, Harleen Quinzel, Harvey Dent, Jonathan Crane, Edward Nigma, Victor Zsasz, and…" He let in a deep breath and exhaled after that. "…Our favorite."
"…The Joker." Batman echoed.
"Any one of them alone would be enough to give me a migrane…well, except maybe Quinzel…" Gordon continued. "Now all eight of them are out."
"How'd they get out of their cells?"
"Bribery. At least…that's what we're assuming for the time being. There was no physical trauma on the locks to their cells, and it didn't happen during one of their regular transits either. To be honest…" He paused. "…It was a rather quiet one, this time. Almost shocking considering there was eight of them who left. Usually whenever there's a mass breakout they leave a trail of bodies and destruction…"
The dark knight actually reacted a bit to this, before turning his head slightly in Gordon's direction.
"…And this time?"
"Zero body count. No casualties at all." Gordon responded. "The only reason they even knew about the breakout was during one of the scheduled checks. They found Nigma's cell empty and Zsasz's soon after. They did an inmate head count after that, which is where they found four of the others missing. However, Isley's and Jones' special cells had been breached too."
"…But not by force."
"Exactly. That's the funny thing. Jones isn't exactly 'subtle' whenever he escapes. One could assume Isley drugged someone into letting her out…but the last headcount of the staff confirms it: all present and accounted for. No one's missing. Hence the measures we're taking right now. It's reasonable to assume that they're hiding somewhere among the staff or other inmates. But so far, all signs point negative. Isley or Crane might be able to make people 'see things', but the cameras don't lie and they couldn't hack them."
"Someone had to, however." Batman corrected. "Otherwise you would have seen them leave their cells."
"That's why I feel it's a trap. No mass breakout has ever been this 'quiet'." Gordon responded. "Just the same, we can't stay out here all night. I was about to move in."
"You said that the staff found the cells empty." The vigilante continued, ignoring the statement. "Do they have any estimate on what window of time could have elapsed?"
"Assuming the cameras indeed somehow got altered, then the only 'reliable' check would be whoever stopped by the cells for the routine checks. Those are once an hour. A pretty big time frame…but not considering how long it would take to get off of Arkham through all the rest of the security measures."
"They'd also probably be 'staggered' unless they somehow managed to all escape at the same time…" He mused in response.
"I'll admit, all of this is very peculiar…and the more I think on the 'fine details' the more peculiar it gets." The commissioner continued. "As 'unprofessional' as this might be, I'll actually take your 'recommendation' into consideration on this one. I don't really care to walk into a bad situation."
Batman hesitated a moment, looking back to the asylum across the river. He stared for a few moments of silence.
"…Move in." He finally said.
Gordon's eyebrow actually raised. "I'm actually a bit surprised."
"Trap or not, the only way to learn more at this point is to get in there." The dark knight responded. "But for what it's worth…I have the feeling that the eight of them are already long gone."
About three hours later, it seemed Batman had been spot on.
Getting fully into Arkham Asylum was a bit of a difficulty, but unless there was an emergency being reported, Gordon made sure to take it nice and slow, only unlocking the security checkpoints one at a time as he brought the officers in, secured the area, investigated it for any signs of sabotage or anything out of the ordinary, and then cleared for the next stop. It was arduously slow, but he didn't want to take any chances. Yet as they slowly progressed deeper into the island, nothing was found. Eventually they got to the main administration building, made contact with the staff, and began to spread out from there. The first spot, naturally, was the main detention area. That area was still filled with inmates, after all. Some of them being just as dangerous as the escapees. Yet after a thorough investigation, all other cells, blocks, and "special containment facilities", such as the ones for Fries or Karlo, were all clear. After confirming there was indeed no one hiding among the staff, they moved out to the other buildings. They were still finishing up the sweeps into all the places like crawl spaces and broom closets, but it began to look like the entire island was secure.
By this time, Gordon was looking around in the very cell block area where Nigma had first gone missing. Both he and his men had calmed down considerably at this point, and the guns had been put away. The commissioner hadn't dismissed any squads yet, but he was on the brink of doing so. It was like he said…they were already long gone. Yet even if this had been yet another case where both the staff at Arkham as well as the GCPD was made to look like fools…it seemed "off".
He rubbed the back of his head as he looked at the cell. A moment later, a shadow "fell over him", but he knew enough to know who it was and didn't react. Soon the bat-themed vigilante advanced on the cell and stepped inside. He couldn't see exactly what he was doing based on the back of the cape, but he had an idea he was already doing what Gordon knew he himself would be doing soon: shifting from attempted recapturing of a criminal to a crime scene investigation.
"I honestly don't know whether to be happy or unsettled." He said as he turned his head to look at the other vacant blocks. "I've never seen a breakout this quiet. It's like they were ghosts. This had to be well-orchestrated, but as bad as it is to have all eight of them out at a time, I know for a fact they don't 'work well enough' together to get out so easily."
By this time, a small electronic noise had gone off from Batman and began to hum. Gordon kept an eye on him, and saw him look around the cell. When his head turned close to him, he noted that some sort of white, glowing lenses had moved over his eyes, and he seemed to be scanning the interior.
"As 'unsettling' as this is, this also doesn't match a typical 'time frame'." He answered. "The Joker never 'seizes an opportunity' to escape Arkham. He only ever leaves when he has something in mind and already prepared. By now, considering when he was seen missing from his cell to the time it took police to respond, move in, and then investigate to this point…he normally would have already started making 'his presence known'. The fact that everything's still quiet in Gotham City makes me suspicious…"
"They could always be 'lying low'." Gordon answered. "I'll admit, it sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud. One of them breaking out might be a cause to hide, but multiple breakouts and I know they want to all cause a ruckus at once so that we'll be spread too thin trying to get all eight as opposed to one. It's still conceivable though."
Batman finished looking over with the visor, and the electronic noise stopped. A moment later, he removed a small device and brought it over to a spot on the floor. Gordon saw nothing, and had no idea what that "gadget" was, but by this point he had learned to go with it.
"If the cameras are intact and none of the security measures were tripped, that leaves only one possibility: they had assistance in one form of another in escaping." He said as he ran it over the spot on the floor.
Gordon gave a nod. "We've already checked out the 'usual suspects' as far as 'coercion' is concerned. No evidence of fear or plant toxins unless they're totally new blends that don't set off any tracers. That doesn't rule out hypnotic suggestions, of course, but I'm seriously not considering it as the staff that watch Jones and Isley rarely made contact with those who watch the other six, and the Joker had his own set of veterans reserved just for him. That leaves the more obvious route: bribery. Unfortunately, investigating the staff is going to be a bit harder. Arkham is supposed to do financial background checks on every new staff member as well as criminal, but between their abnormally high turnaround and how easy it is to falsify data before coming to work here, there's only so much we can get from records. It's going to have to be a more direct investigation of each staff member."
Batman didn't answer. He soon rose from the cell, exited it, walking right by Gordon, and went into Dent's cell a block down. He soon went inside and did much the same thing. Finally, he exited and went to Quinzell's cell and did so one more time. Gordon stayed quiet, watching this with progressively more interest as he worked.
"…Find something?" He asked as he stepped out of the third cell.
"Nothing stronger than what you have, at the moment." Batman responded. "I agree with you that some of the staff helped them make this escape. But like you said…this was uncharacteristic for them."
"I guess it's a bit 'comforting' for right now." The commissioner exhaled as he crossed his arms and looked to the ceiling. "I was expecting to stay up all night chasing down madmen trying to blow up school buses. Staying up all night doing basic interrogations and background checks will be a nice change of pace. What exactly do you have planned?"
However, even as he said that, Gordon nearly wanted to slap himself. He realized he made the "big mistake" and took his eyes off of him. Sure enough, on lowering it again, he found himself talking to nothing but an empty hall.
He snorted. "Maybe they just all took lessons from you in leaving without a trace…" He muttered.
By now, Batman had long since found a "great spot" to stash the Batmobile for stops by Arkham Asylum. After all, it made sense to have one on stand-by as often as he came. It also responded well to remote. Between it homing in on his location and his sudden "stepping out", he was back in the seat and driving down the street in as little as one minute, seventeen seconds after leaving Gordon behind. A personal record.
He had just made the first turn to start heading for the outskirts of Gotham when he spoke a word out loud.
"Alfred."
A moment later, his console reacted, activated the wireless subroutine he had long since programmed in, and not long after that began to dial up Wayne Manor. After only one and a half rings a clicking sound was heard.
"Is something the matter, Master Bruce?"
"Just letting you know I'm heading back."
A brief pause. "I must say, I am a bit surprised. The evening news said there was a mass breakout at Arkham Asylum. Eight of your 'favorite friends'."
"And by now, at least one of them would have started something normally." Batman responded. "But this breakout was one of the more unusual ones, and didn't leave any 'calling cards' like normal. I'm afraid this is one of those situations where I may end up having to wait for them to make the first move. I found something in the cells of Nigma, Dent, and Quinzel. The preliminary analysis indicates it's the same substance for each, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being in the other cells as well. I'm not sure if it will turn anything up, but until something else comes along, I suppose I'll be spending the night in the Batcave."
"And I had just finished cleaning up the kitchen for the day…" Alfred responded. "Will you settle for a salad and a sandwich this evening, sir?"
Batman couldn't help it…he nearly cracked a half-smile. "Considering I'm going to be up for a bit, that actually sounds good."
"Very well, sir." A click on the end.
Within less than an hour Batman was back in the Batcave, but, unfortunately, other than Alfred bringing down the promised sandwich and salad (he would have settled for Caesar; this one ended up having dried cranberries and walnuts), the rest of the night was less than eventful. He supposed he should have been grateful. The less trouble they caused the better. However, he had his doubts that things would be so "easy". After all, Zsasz was more than a serial killer…he was a compulsive serial killer. He wouldn't be able to stay out of his cell very long before he would have a need to find someone to kill. Of course, in the more grimmer situation, they simply might not have found his latest victim yet… He would have expected something from him if no one else.
As far as the chemical he had found, there was little to discover from it. It was the same blend that the staff at Arkham used for sedation. Definitely a signature for the asylum, as it could either be injected in small amounts in liquid form or injested directly. Fairly unique in that regard. There weren't too many substances that one could ingest and expect to get the same effect from injection. Still, it wasn't entirely out of place.
Or, rather, it wouldn't be if it wasn't for the fact that there were large "patches" of it in the cells. That was too sloppy for an injection. A syringe would have had to break on the floor, but even then it wouldn't fit because the samples Batman had picked up had been in powder form. Besides, he had been doing some check into Arkham's records since getting back. Some of them were remotely sealed, but patient incident reports were more "public". None of them had an issue in recent history that would have been expected to leave traces of the drugs in the cell. That left only ingestion, but these drugs were given in nice "capsule" form. It was possible that the inmates had broken them open and dumped them out, but three of them in one day? So far, it was plausible that it was nothing, but it was the only thing "suspicious", other than the situation itself, that stood out.
He tried looking into additional "accessible" records of Arkham as well as starting to keep an eye on the "usual haunts"…channels that the somewhat less "insane" criminals might use to get money, sign up new associates, or simply lie low for a couple weeks until they were ready to make a move. So far, nothing. At least nothing he could get from computer access. Pretty soon it would be time to start "shaking people down" to see if he could get more information that way. But before that happened, he was holding out for just a bit longer…enough for the police to do the first part of his job for him…
As he waited for the last few minutes to pass, part of the computer he was seated in front of gave a signal noise. Instantly, the name appeared on screen as well as which line it was. A moment later, the dark knight reached over and pressed the reception button.
"Yes?"
"Figured you could use the 'company' since I guess we're both pulling an all nighter." A young man's voice answered. "I actually thought I might run into you out here…"
"Ten years ago, I might have. Since then I learned to watch for certain 'signals' before I waste a few hours on fruitless searching. With no clues and no signal of anyone running any dirty money transfers to the usual 'trafficking locations', there's no point in making a move yet. I'm learning just as much staying in."
A pause on the other end. "…Well that's just great. I've been getting sweaty running around the Narrows for five hours while you've been back at home. I'm sure you even got Alfred to make you a sandwich."
"Comes with experience." Batman calmly answered. "Now you know why I had to fight not to roll my eyes some nights when you wanted to head out with me."
"Just please tell me it was roast beef. If it was one of his ham and cheese deals I'm going to smack my head against this brick wall…"
"If you're wondering whether I turned up anything," Batman cut off. "There were few to no clues available at Arkham. At least not during my initial investigation. None of the staff are throwing up warning signs this time other than the usual fare…low income, poorly skilled staff who are desperate for money even if it means working in an asylum. I found some drug residue in powder form on the floor of two of the cells, however. Given the patient records, it seemed out of place. It would imply a capsule of their medication had been broken open."
A pause on the other end. "But why would they want to do that? Were they trying to drug the staff?"
"So far there doesn't appear to be any indication of that. One thing's for certain…someone on the staff knows what's going on. And it must go at least high enough to get one of the one-way hashes to the security cameras. I haven't checked on them directly yet, but I intend to in about thirty minutes. Anything on your end?"
"Not a thing. It almost seems like the underworld is as confused about this as the average joe watching TV. I'll tell you this much. The last two guys I 'had a talk with' seemed like they were a bit surprised that they hadn't been called by one of them. I mean…Dent at least normally has enough of his wits to head for a safe house."
"Exactly. While I hesitate to call a 'mass breakout' 'typical', this is not a 'typical' mass breakout."
"Any suggestions? I'd like it if this wasn't a total waste…"
"Check out the Iceberg Lounge. Oswald Cobblepott is pretty much the only man I can think of at the moment who would be able to 'spirit away' multiple Arkham inmates and not let anyone else know about it. If that turns up dry, I'd see about boat rentals."
"…Boats?"
"One thing is clear that I found out so far. Three independent sources confirm none of the inmates got out via the strip of land connecting Arkham to the mainland. Assuming they're not still on that island, they had to have used a boat."
A pause on the other end. "…Alright. But what about you?"
"By now, the police have to be done interrogating everyone who would have been in a position to help those eight escape. To be honest, I'm not seeing much of a 'tie' linking the newer employees at Arkham together in a way that could have allowed anyone bribed to get eight of them out. So I'm going to try passing the information along to a 'higher' authority."
"Ah. Tell Barb I said hi, will you?"
"…You are aware that this line isn't necessarily completely secure, aren't you, Red Robin?"
"Er…right. Talk to you later."
The line clicked, and Batman disconnected his end. Soon after, he brought up the employee roster once again on his computer. As he had seen before, nothing stood out too much about it. Nothing too "overt" at any rate. While he wouldn't put many of them past being "bribed", none of them were in such financial straits that they had no other choice. Neither did any of them have any history of criminal ties or outstanding behavioral problems. This wasn't going to be a 'quick finger'…
The console beeped, and an icon popped up. Batman immediately clicked it open, and soon pulled up a compiled list based off of the police records and Arkham's own less-secure files. In no time at all, it cross-referenced to his earlier listing and he pulled up about sixteen individuals that could have had control over the custody of the eight inmates that evening. Normally it would have been five or six, but considering the vastly different blocks they inhabited and security measures, there were additional ones. About the only ones who "overlapped" were the head orderly for that evening and the attending physician. Possibly the head security guard for that evening. It hadn't been Aaron Cash or any of the other staff members Batman could say he held some "implicit trust" for, and so he wasn't "writing off" anyone just yet.
In no time at all, he made a listing of the various names. After that, he typed a few more keys to make a call. He intended to leave a message on the secure line he was dialing. After all, it was 4 AM by now. But he soon got a bit of a surprise when a voice answered.
"Uh…psst…uh…psst… Hello, Bruce…"
"Oracle… I didn't expect you to be up this early."
"Eight escapees from Arkham in one night? Uh…psst… Please…even if I didn't get up early for PT I'd have been up all night seeing if dad was coming up with something or if you would come calling… Uh…psst… I'm a little surprised you didn't do it earlier… Uh…psst…"
Hearing her heavy, labored breathing, the dark knight interjected. "Am I catching you at a bad time?"
"What? No…no… Uh…psst… Just one more rep… Uh…psst!" A sound of some objects moving. "Seriously…some days I wonder why I even bother…just let them 'shrivel up into sticks' already… 'Hope springs eternal', I guess… Besides, so long as I have a piece of equipment that can work dead legs that cost a hundred grand, I might as well use it. Anyway, what do you need?"
"I'm sending you a listing of the staff that would have been in a position to orchestrate a breakout from Arkham tonight. Their files that are public knowledge are clean…or at least 'clean enough' to not show anything suspicious. I need you to dig a bit deeper and find out what you can."
"Sure thing. Although I'm a little surprised that this is all that this is about. I've been waiting six hours for word, thinking you may have already cracked the case wide open, and it sounds like you barely got started."
"This was a well-done one, Oracle. Uncharacteristically well-done, especially considering who escaped. There's something not right here…something completely atypical. Definitely too careful. I have a feeling it can't be leading to anything good."
"I can agree with that… How many are you sending?"
"Sixteen."
"Give me about two hours."
"Take four. I think I've sat around long enough waiting for the police to clear out of the area. I'm heading back to Arkham to see if I can't find anything in the security files. Errors and inconsistencies, if nothing else."
"Alright. I'll be done by the time you get back. Be careful. Since this is 'atypical', that means that it might not be quite safe for you either."
"I will. By the way, Tim says hi."
The next four hours were a bit more "productive" than earlier, but only made things, as the saying went, "curiouser and curiouser".
The police had turned up little. It seemed the staff for that evening were quite good at coming up with alibis. While there was little doubt in Batman's mind that at least one of them had assisted in the breakout, there was no obvious way to tell from the initial interrogation. The police were even having a hard time picking one of them to be a "person of interest" to do further investigation into. And all the while, Gotham remained quiet. It was daybreak by now and there had not been a single threat, attack, crime, or demand made that could be attributed to the eight escapees.
Batman had returned to Arkham when the police had thinned out a bit and made the rounds. He found the police had already discovered the powdered drug, not just in the cells Batman had investigated but all of the escapees. However, they weren't looking into them with too much interest on finding that they originated in Arkham. They were considering it possibly a case of addiction. It wouldn't be the first time inmates in an asylum had ended up getting hooked on their own treatment meds. Batman wasn't so sure, however. He knew that there had been some success in the past in adapting drugs to work on Isley's physiology…but the Joker had been exposed to so many lethal doses of drugs over the years that no medication would leave an impact on him, even in a poisonous dose. The fact that there were drugs in his cell too concerned him...
The security footage took a bit more work to get to. After all, that was kept under tighter conditions without remote access, but it was nothing the dark knight wasn't used to getting before. Especially since he had long since decoded the 'backdoor frequencies' to Lexcorp's security technology. On looking at the security footage, it didn't take long to realize it was doctored. It was a fairly seamless "transition" when it came to the tape that had been overwritten, but what truly gave it away was showing the same orderly make two identical security checks. The real question wasn't that the footage had been doctored, but to what extent. And spending only thirty minutes showed that this was quite extensive. It wasn't just the corridor with the cells. It had been numerous other pathways through Arkham, leading all the way to the grounds outside.
So they must have used a boat to escape after all. Batman thought to himself. That's the only escape assuming they took that path. And since the rest of the footage isn't doctored, then it means whoever did it wasn't setting 'red herrings' to try and cover up the escape. Still…this is unusual. None of those eight are renown for going to such elaborate lengths to make sure they do a "vanishing act" afterward. Not to mention this isn't nearly as trivial a matter as "offering a couple grand for a key to a cell". These video file accesses are coded by one-way hashes. That means, if nothing else, that bribery would go higher than just the orderlies. It would have to reach the level of security…possibly its head for that evening.
Unfortunately, nothing stood out to Batman even from that. He had looked over the sixteen individuals. One of the "stand-out" features he tried to find was if any of them were new. Perhaps they had been hired ahead of time simply to be in a spot to assist in the breakout. Unfortunately, that wasn't much of a help. Aside from the head physician for that evening, the longest anyone had been there had been one year, including the head of security for that evening. It tended to not make any of them more "obvious" than the others. Furthermore, because the doctoring was so well done, none of them seemed to be culpable.
With the security files a wash, Batman considered the next likely possibility: signaling. He was certain the escape had taken place by boat at this point. But boats weren't just left in dock at Arkham Asylum for someone to come along and commandeer, or even to wait to pick up an inmate. There was obviously an "external" party at work collaborating with whoever was in the asylum. Someone who had actually done the work to get them off the island and back to Gotham City. Boating records might not be too "overt"…but there was an alternate chance at finding out who had gotten them off the island. They had to have some way to signal that everything was "good to go". They could use beacons on the island, but any of the port authorities might have spotted that and realized what was up. On the other hand, Arkham did have "private lines" with which to make phone calls. They were normally reserved for the asylum administrators, but if someone had managed to get ahold of a one-way hash, being able to break in on a private line shouldn't have been a problem. As it was, Batman himself had little trouble getting the records to download.
By the time he had returned home, the sun was already up, so he quickly got to work getting ready for the day as Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be one of those days he could use the opportunity to get some sleep. A wealthy donor who recently passed on left 10% of his net worth to the Wayne Foundation. That sort of unexpected influx of money had to be handled rather properly or it could ruin the organization's reputation as one of the "safer bets" for charity. After that, Fox had called him in to evaluate the new candidate pool for an upcoming vice president of the defense technologies branch. It was a rather big deal, so he wanted to make sure to make that as well. Finally, there was supposed to be a "dinner" with a visiting cyclist from France. As Bruce knew he had to maintain a steady supply of "excuses" for him being gone, such as having left the country to follow a biking tour of a "new up-and-coming cyclist", he had to make that as well. All in all, a busy day that promised to have a busy evening as well, as one of the escapees might have made a move by then.
Even as he was putting away the Batsuit, he had Oracle on the speaker phone. He wanted to get as much of this out of the way as possible so he wouldn't waste tonight like he did the previous evening, for the most part.
"What did you find?" He said as he slipped on a "civilian" undershirt.
"It took a bit of digging on this one. All of the normal 'tell-tale' signs weren't there. They all have debts of one form or another but nothing too 'crushing' and nothing that the staff at Arkham didn't get reported when they were hired. Pretty much just standard things like credit card bills and mortgages. One of them has a kid brother who can't afford diabetes medication…another has an alchoholic mother…and a third has a cousin who is trying to get a settlement for an accident out of court. Other than that, there's nothing that suggests they have family in financial trouble that they'd be desperate to help. Other than misdemeanors and a DUI or two, no criminal charges against them either."
"In short, nothing that would make them an obvious target for a bribe." Bruce answered as he finished pulling on his second sock and then went for his pants.
"No…but maybe something more interesting."
The way Oracle said that actually made Bruce pause in putting on the legs. She actually sounded rather intrigued by what she found.
"Looking through family records to try and find something that would have led them to get bribes, I noticed something else. Three of the people on that list didn't have unpayable medical bills, but they did have family members in the hospital. One has been in a coma for the past twenty-two months…apparently the result of one of Poison Ivy's toxins. Another is undergoing his third reconstructive surgery to try and rebuild his face after most of it was bitten off and eaten by Killer Croc. The third…well…a stray bullet from Two-Face hit him in a carotid artery. While the blood flow was stopped…it wasn't before he had severe brain damage. The reports say it will be lucky if he'll ever regain a five-year-old mentality. Right now…he can't even feed himself…"
Bruce continued to clothe himself, but his attention had never been sharper.
"As for the others… One of them had two children killed by Joker Venom. Another had his father slash his own wrists after being affected by Fear Toxin. Another had a boyfriend confirmed to be Victor Zsasz's 53rd victim. Need I go on?"
"No." The man answered as he finished with his pants and moved onto his shoes. "And here I nearly gave Arkham Asylum credit for improving its background checks…"
"None of them made these disclosures at the time of hiring." Oracle went on. "They reported the family members as deceased and said nothing more about it, assuming they reported them at all. While the staff at Arkham tends to 'triple-check' anything that has to do with past legal trouble or financial issues, they tend to take 'family relationships' at face value. To be honest, there is no section on the employment report specifically asking new hires to report if they had family members who were murdered by inmates. Only if they have a 'conflicting interest' with any staff members or doctors…"
Bruce continued to tie his shoes, but thought about this. Now there was something he hadn't considered, to be honest… Until now he had assumed this was just another bribery situation. Yet what was coming up made it sound as if it was more than that…if it might actually be to do with revenge. It was a bit unexpected, but not implausible by any stretch. One could argue they'd be surprised it hadn't happened years earlier… Still, he didn't jump to that conclusion so quickly. While this was definitely interesting information, it didn't explain why staff members who had vendettas against inmates would aide them in escaping. Attempting to kill them in their cells would be one thing, but there were no bodies lying around anywhere on Arkham…
"Is that all?"
"No."
Again, Bruce paused in getting dressed.
"They all have ties to the same person: a man named Klaudius Labdaris."
He took a moment to take the name in. It didn't instinctively ring any bells from past matters. "Who is he?"
"It's actually hard to tell. Records are sparse even for me, if you can believe it. The reason is apparently the most 'news' he ever made was during the Soviet era. He was located in Latvia then and, as best as I can tell, operated out of it for a period of anywhere of five to ten years. There's hints that he was employed by the government, but I really can't tell. It seems most of the records concerning him either were never made public on any sort of network I can access, which really isn't surprising when you think about the region and time period, or…" A pause. "…have signs that they were destroyed."
"What did you manage to find?" Bruce asked as he resumed once again.
"Apparently Labdaris was some sort of psychologist. But most of the reports I see from him is that he ranged anywhere from a 'folk remedy practitioner' to an authentic 'quack'. Most of what I could track down as fact came from his school days and residency. While earning his degree a few of his papers urged doctors to reopen investigations in the older methods of mental health 'treatment'…pretty much the ones that made medieval torture look preferable. Apparently he was an advocate of them because he was a backer in 'aversion therapy'. He got disciplined on two separate occasions during residency: one for 'practicing without a full license', and the other for…using one of the electric shock devices they used for convulsive therapy on one of the patients. Somehow he got his degree but…the records gets sketchy after that for the next decade. All I can confirm is two years after the fall of the Soviet Union his degree was officially revoked by the new Latvian government. Yet that didn't stop a number of articles coming out accusing him of independently practicing."
"And no official patient records?"
"As I said, either they're not online or they were ordered to be burned. I'm not exactly sure why they would do the latter, though…"
"One theory is that he was government-funded by the Soviets. Obviously they couldn't make a claim against Russia even after the end of the Cold War, but there would have to be Latvian citizens who complied with the USSR and carried out tasks on their behalf. If some sort of crime or misdoing was revealed and made public against the citizenry…it would end up being rather bad for whoever Russia would have 'left behind' on pulling out. At any rate, how are these people connected to him?"
"Most of them have Latvian, Lithuanian, or Russian backgrounds…relatives that might have been treated by him, I suppose. To be honest, I'm not sure how he figures in to all this when there's no record he's even alive. Only that it was the one thing I could find in common other than their recent hiring and their shared tragedies…"
"I have a hard time believing it was a coincidence. Not unless it's a sign of the staff appealing to new hires from a particular immigrant demographic."
"I don't think so. Only one other person had Latvian heritage and that person has been at Arkham for almost two years now. She's actually a Latvian immigrant but she wasn't even on staff last night."
"But last night's head of security for the evening was on the list, right?"
"You got it."
"The only one of those sixteen individuals who could possibly access the hash passcodes without needing to bypass some security checkpoints would be him. My guess is the police will probably be after him as soon as they check out the footage themselves and find it was doctored, but I think I'll try to pay him a visit a bit earlier than that. After I make a stop by the docks tonight."
"Why the docks?"
"I did a check on the phone records. Somewhere around the window where I figure the inmates could have physically gotten off the island, a call was made to a phone in one of the piers. My check on it just confirmed that no one had leased that pier or the associated warehouse for the past 36 months, ever since the economy took a downturn."
"Sounds like a good bet. Let me know if you need anything else."
"I will."
Time seemed to pass slowly at Batman went about through the day. The various events he went to ended up being less important than he anticipated. Most matters were handled prior to his arrival, and the most he did at them was "sit and smile". In spite of that, however, he stuck with them…in case something came up. He could do a bit of work in the daylight as Batman, but he preferred to wait until he had the element of darkness on his side. Yet even so…he wondered something as time passed. He noticed he didn't call things off. He didn't make excuses that "something came up", like he was wanton to do in matters such as this. Other than pausing to look at the news for updates, he stayed pretty much where he was. There was the off chance that he would be needed for a crucial decision or something might change, but not likely. He had "blown off" more important matters in the past…
It almost made him wonder. With the information he had received from Oracle, it was beginning to look like this wasn't a standard breakout at all. It might have been something that was more designed for revenge… That meant something might be happening to those eight escapees at the moment…
And yet, he found he lacked a sense of "urgency" as he considered that.
At any rate, he got on the job the moment the sun went down. At the moment, the Batmobile was pulling along behind the dock in question that he had traced the call to. He didn't plan to be here long. He figured he would get more information out of the security chief. However…there might be something here he could use to ensure he didn't try to lie to him. While there was a great deal of circumstantial evidence at the moment, other than a conflict of interest and the most likely person who could have gotten the hashes, there was little he could definitively pin on the security chief. It wouldn't be the first time Batman had been dead wrong about a suspect…
Once he threw the car into park and activated the defense mechanisms, he opened the cockpit and snapped out in a single fluid movement, his cape fluttering before splaying around his body. He immediately went for his belt and activated the light, then advanced on the building and got to work. There wouldn't be much issue tonight. This entire district was abandoned, not just the one building. There were no doubt derilects or the homeless staying in some of them, and he was sure that a few of them might be utilized for crooked deals of the local street vendor variety. However, he paid them little mind. If anything, seeing the Batmobile or Batman himself in the neighborhood would probably be just as effective as punching them in the face. He proceeded with the investigation.
Only two minutes into it he knew he had found something. Even without the aid of his spectroscopic vision to detect the movement of dust or reasonably fresh footprints, he found a door that had obviously been in use. The grime and dust that had been gathering on it was disturbed recently and the padlock removed. The dark knight decided this entrance was as good as any, and stood before it, grasped the handle, and lifted the sliding metal door.
His flashlight shone within. He took a moment to adjust to the wide-angle beam, and saw that the majority of the room was emptied out. He saw numerous large crates, each one "fridge" sized, however, as well as fresh packing supplies for storing materials for transport. Yet rather than seeing freshly packed crates, he instead saw crates that had been broken open. A bit curious in and of itself… Due to having been sealed, dust wasn't so easy to spot here. Therefore, he turned on the spectroscopic vision and began to scan the interior from a distance. It wasn't long before his digital readout put recent tire tracks and footprints in highlighted colors.
That aroused Batman's interest.
Footprints scattered everywhere…this wasn't just a "courier" mission. They actually ran around here a bit, probably breaking open these crates. And the footprints aren't Arkham-issue footware either…so it must have been others.
…This makes no sense. Even taking into account that the Arkham staff wanted revenge on these inmates, they could have gotten it just killing them. None of them left the island. They were all accounted for. They had to have contracted others. But what for? What exactly took place?
Getting no immediate answers, Batman advanced into the chamber, narrowing the beam a bit and beginning a more detailed investigation.
It didn't take long to see that another door had been forced. This one was toward the rear, looking like one of the dock accesses to the end that was nearest the river and, therefore, filled with water to allow external docking from the harbor. It had needed more "work", seemingly pried open with a crowbar or some other tool. At any rate, based on the water inlet, it would have been easy to unload a small boat here. Large enough to carry, say, twenty people at the most all standing up. Other than that, however, there were only more crates that had been broken open as well as ones that had been packed. Batman ventured deeper into the warehouse and began a more thorough search, but he found little more. This place had storage shelves for large items of freight, metal shelves that weren't bolted here and there for tools, and many more of the broken open crates on the former, but all in all there wasn't much to look at in this building, and it didn't take long to go through.
Seeing nothing "overt", Batman began to shift his visor toward clues. It seemed whoever had been there had been smart enough to wear gloves, for there were no fingerprints in the area. However, he doubted any of the Arkham staff that might have been involved would have been here. Yet it took little time for him to calculate at least ten different sets of footwear. There had been many others involved in this…
Searching a bit more, Batman shifted his visor to try and key in on something new…powders and chemicals. The result turned up oil spots in no time flat. Perhaps a place or two here and there where engine oil and antifreeze had been used. Other than that, nothing. As he made his way around one of the shelves, he paused on seeing something at his feet. A bit of trash. Normally, nothing to really be concerned about, but he soon bent over and plucked it off the ground anyway. On doing so, he saw that it was paper and had the labeling for an alcohol swab.
Like someone uses before giving an injection… He thought.
Putting it into a compartment on his belt, he looked up and ahead again…and soon got the most promising sight yet.
An intact crate toward the back, near a metal wastepaper basket. The visor was already detecting carbon traces in the air around it…the signs of fire.
Batman made his way over to the can, although on arrival his first look was to the crate. He noticed something right off the bat. There had been a label on it, but it had been torn off, and apparently in a hurry. Someone had stapled it multiple times, and the paper was so thick that whoever had been there had difficulty with it. He also looked to the can, switching off his visor as he did so. He saw a small pile of ashes along with melted plastic. Obviously the labels for the other crates. Apparently burned to destroy evidence.
He looked back up to the crate nearby soon after. It seemed he had been in a bit of luck with this one. Whoever had been here, they somehow forgot to unpack whatever was in this last crate. It was in a bit of a "tucked-away", dark part of the room, so it was possible it slipped their mind. When they needed to leave, they realized their mistake but didn't have time to deal with it. Perhaps someone had been coming or they had a deadline to meet… So, one of them ripped off the label as fast as they could, threw it in the fire, and then ran for it with the others.
However, in doing so, they had left just a small amount of the label behind. It was in foreign characters, but definitely one of the languages Batman already knew. It might have befuddled the police but not him. It was only a name of a country, but that was quite enough.
Latvia.
Seems Oracle was right to pick up on that clue. I'm beginning to put together a theory… I'd like a bit more proof, however…
He looked again to the crate. So long as it was here, he figured he should have a look. It was definitely packed in an "older" style. While modern crates in the USA might rely on staples from nailguns, this one appeared to have been hammered in the "old fashioned" way. Not wanting to disturb whatever contents might be in there, the dark knight opted against using one of his "gadgets" to slice through the nails and instead grabbed a discarded crowbar from nearby. After inserting it, it only took a single powerful shove from him to pry the lid completely off. Normally impossible for a standard person, but a simple matter for the Batman.
The lid clattered to the ground, and he let the crowbar clatter to the ground as he stepped back to look inside.
It had the virtue of being something he honestly didn't expect. It was…odd, to say the least. It looked like some sort of full-body suit, although if it was it had to have been made with someone rather "beefy" in mind. Bane would actually fit in it…sans Venom, of course, but that alone was something to say. It stood almost a head over Batman and was quite a bit broader than him as well. The suit itself was rather odd-looking, however. On a glance at it, it was painted white, allowing it to stand out in the room. But the outer surface looked tough, like some sort of padding coating or even some form of bulletproof wear. Durable, in other words. Yet aside from that, it also looked as if it was heavily padded. He could tell the surface appeared to be made of close-fitting cushions of a sort. It was seamless from head to toe in that regard, including the headpiece. There were small dots for eyeholes but nothing for a mouth or ears, with joints in the suit allowing mobility, albeit of a rigid kind. However, that seemed a bit pointless as the arms themselves had no gloves. Just solid "balls" on the end, padding for where fists might be.
Very odd. With the lack of openings and the "completeness" of it all, it was almost enough to make someone think it was a strange fetish suit… However, as Batman advanced a step and gave it a closer look, and reached out to actually feel the surface, he realized that it was more akin to what trainers used for attack dogs. The material was thick and soft, but also tough, so that it would absorb a lot of trauma without tearing or breaking. But somehow he doubted it was for dogs. It had to be for another purpose, but what?
As he thought this, however, the dark knight got a sudden surprise. Something sounded like it was "firing up" from nearby…something electronic. Sort of the sensation one gets when they hear a computer monitor come on or other electronic that doesn't have an "obvious" motor noise. Immediately, he pulled his hand back as he realized what it was coming from…the suit itself. Yet he was beginning to suspect it wasn't a suit at all as he heard that...
And he got confirmation a moment later when the headpiece moved up slightly…before one of the arms reared up and shot out, smashing into his face.
Normally the dark knight could have reacted to such a blow, but he was caught off guard and the suit, although big and bulky, moved fast. A rather powerful smack hit him in the head and sent him toppling back, nearly striking him with enough force to get him off of his feet, between the surprise and the power. Somehow, he managed to quickly right his legs underneath him, and then snapped straight to face the open crate.
The "suit" was moving now. Flexing its joints, and giving just the hint of a mechanical "whirr" as it did so, it stepped out of the box and began to advance on Batman.
The vigilante watched it for a moment, trying to plan a move of his own. After having been blindsided by it once, he wasn't eager to start attacking until he knew more about it. However, he did notice one thing. The blow that he had sustained, hard as it was, was heavily padded. It was like being struck during a training course by a boxing glove rather than a fist…or even a padded baton.
Luckily, he had plenty of time to plan. The suit moved slowly, giving Batman time to study it. He really wasn't positive what he was looking at right now. It could have been a man inside, but he doubted the crate would be sealed if that was the case. It was more likely some sort of automation drone…a robot, although he had to admit he hadn't seen the like in recent history…or knew of any developers in his own company or anywhere else that put out a model like this. Yet it didn't seem aggressive…in spite of the speed…
With that in mind, Batman dashed forward and tried to aim a hit to the knee joint from the side. If it was a machine, there was a good chance this would do nothing, even considering his strength.. But if it wasn't, this should be over immediately. The suit did "react" to him as he approached, bringing up a fist or whatever it had to try and bring down on top of him as he neared. Yet it wasn't in time to keep him from hitting the region. Unfortunately, his first theory seemed correct. Although his kick sank in, it left no impact. He was a bit puzzled, however. He expected his blow to recoil more…but it actually took most of the power…
So much, in fact, that he didn't spring back as fast as he hoped. The fist came down and, in spite of his attempt to fall back, he still took a glancing blow to the side of the fact that snapped his head down and nearly made him topple over. Again, he managed to keep his balance, but he was stunned for a moment and, in that moment, the machine tried to grapple him, reaching its arms out to seize him. Quickly, he countered by kicking out again, this time meaning to either deflect the machine or force himself away from it. To his surprise, neither happened. Not only did the machine seem to shrug off his kick, but it was like kicking a pile of pillows. It absorbed his whole hit…and he nearly got caught as a result as the machine managed to reach him and start putting its arms around him…
He definitely didn't want to risk getting grabbed by this thing, but with his kick deadened, he was hardly in a good position to launch himself away. So, instead, he did the next best thing…let himself fall to the ground. A bit ungraceful…but it was effective as the arms closed over him. Once down in a crouch, he quickly flipped himself backward, rolling back along the floor and getting some distance. Luckily for him, it took the machine a moment to recover on realizing it had failed to seize him.
Batman took the moment to go for his belt. He wasn't going to get very far trying to fight this thing "hand-to-hand". A moment later, his hand snapped back out with a palm sized device, colored black. Normally he used these for group stunning. Against a single opponent, it might actually be lethal. However, he believed he could "risk it" in this situation as he was sure his opponent was artificial. As the suit rose again, he pressed a button on the top and flung it straight at the enemy, quickly sweeping his own cape in front of him for a shield.
A moment later, the blast went off. Normally this worked as a concussive blast, to be thrown in the midst of a large group of opponents and slam them around from the force. Taking it head on would be enough to put even Killer Croc on his back, and if it wasn't for the type of rigid fabric that made up the cloth of his cape it would have blown him over as well, or at least forced him to "take the blast". Yet when this explosive went off on contact with the suit, all it successfully made it do was stop in its tracks and put a foot behind it. When the blast rang out and died down, Batman lowered his cape slightly, and saw that the surface was "rippling", like a stone thrown into water might leave. Yet it was already moving on him again even as the ripples died down, barely stalled.
The dark knight quickly backed away from it, but he realized as he backed away further than before…the suit "picked up speed". In spite of seeming slow and ungainly at first, it quickly moved in a rapid gait when Batman got too far. It was only when he slowed down a moment later, allowing it to catch up a bit, that it slowed down once again. Seeing this, he realized that it definitely had "ranged" behavior. Once it got close enough to nearly make a lunge or keep someone from getting around it, it didn't bother moving again. At any rate, he knew now that the outer coating of this suit was trouble. It didn't even have debris lodged in the tough fabric, meaning it had to be close to the strength of Kevlar. Yet as he stopped to try and think of a new solution, he noted the suit widened its arms and dove for him again, forcing him to backpedal to avoid it once more. This time, however, he noticed something else. He was being forced back "directionally"; the lunge of the machine moving him away from the exit and more toward the interior. It was trying to keep him from escaping. Not only that, but once out of range, it rose and then quickly dashed up to him again. It was maintaining that short distance…not giving him much time to think of a solution… Probably too little for a normal individual.
Luckily, Batman was a bit sharper than that. He may have only had a second, but that was all he needed to go for his belt again, pulling out a smaller device than the previous one. This one was a capsule. Unfortunately, he hadn't really planned on needing this sort of device this evening. He only had the one, so he had to make sure it landed in a vital spot. Not easy considering the fact that he couldn't tell if the suit, seeming more than likely to be a robot now, had "vitals" in the head or chest. Either was a possibility…although most robot designers he had encountered had, for one reason or another, been disposed to place the CPU within the head region like it would be in a "real human".
A moment later, his wrist snapped out, flinging the capsule with perfect accuracy right for the middle of the head. Even if this wasn't the CPU location, it should blind it, after all. His aim was good enough and the suit bulky enough that it smashed right on target, breaking open and splashing the entire facial region and nape with liquid. Almost immediately, a "crinkling" sound went out at the fluid rapidly depressurized and supercooled, soon covering the face of the individual with frost followed by ice. It actually stunned it, and Batman used the moment to quickly grab one more item from his belt…this one a touch of plastique. Just a piece about the size of a piece of gum, normally used for heavy doors, but it would suffice. Quickly, the dark knight darted forward and launched a jab right in the midst of the ice. It made contact…and a moment later shattered, immediately annihilating the fabric, having been turned from soft and pliable to hard and brittle. As he thought, as the fragments spilled off of its face, what was left behind was a metal shell with optical sensors. His other hand snapped forward, pushing the two "halves" of the plastique together to activate it before slapping it on the middle of the machines head, then quickly darted away.
A moment later, a powerful, loud, piercing explosion slammed into the machine's head. Batman could hear the sound of metal grinding, but he got a nasty shock as well. Not only did the machine barely stumble in its step before advancing, it soon cleared the fire and black smoke…revealing that although its optics were destroyed and a large hole was in the middle of its head, it was still functional. Apparently, he had been wrong. Not only was this one with a chest-mounted CPU…but also hidden eyes. Those two lenses had been dummies. It could still see him perfectly. He found that out the hard way a moment later when it managed to get on him and put his arms around him, catching him in a bear hug.
Immediately, the machine tightened into a crushing grip. A bit to the dark knight's surprise, the arms seemed to lengthen a bit and curl around him more than at the joints. He realized it was acting like a constrictor, especially when a moment later his arms were being forced to his sides and it attempted to start squeezing the air out of his lungs. He struggled to hold against it…but even someone as strong as him couldn't last that long against a machine. Besides…he soon found that the outside of it was vibrating. The end result seemed to "deflect" any force he tried to focus against it, at least where he tried to push back… It rapidly began to overtake him, constricting tighter and tighter…
Batman's teeth clenched as he tried to think of something. Without his hands free, he couldn't get to his belt for anything else, but he was getting "dry" as it was. The way he was seized he couldn't get any leverage, but even if he could the machine was too large to try and unbalance. And in spite of all of his struggling, it only grew tighter and tighter around him. He was losing the ability to slow it down. It was beginning to get painful on his arms. It might even get tight enough to break them before making him asphyxiate…
Finally, he could think of only one option. He had a few other gadgets available to him, but not many. Yet there was one he hoped still worked… With that in mind, he looked ahead to the hollowed out "skull" of the machine in front of him, still having the metal remains of most of the headpiece. With that in mind, he grunted, and then drove his head forward in a headbutt. It didn't try to do damage…just make contact.
As soon as he did, he shouted.
"Cowl taser override!"
His own suit let off just the smallest beep to signify it had accepted the voice command, and then immediately discharged a 5,000 volt taser charge designed normally to counter any thug who tried to unmask him in the off event that he was knocked unconscious. Normally, the sensors wouldn't arm it unless the dark knight's engram had gone flat in the consciousness regard, but now with the override activated it unleashed a powerful charge into the metal of the machine, traveling down into the "true" CPU. As a result, the constriction halted immediately. There was a chance it still would have held him during the "hiccup", but apparently whoever built the machine made it release in this mode. Probably to avoid a malfunction.
Quickly, as the arms loosened, Batman broke free and snapped back, getting some distance on the machine. By now, unfortunately, it had managed to move around to place itself close to blocking the way out. He could possibly run by it, but that probably wasn't the best move he could make. Besides…Batman didn't want to just "run" from this machine. Dangerous as it was, it was his only clue a the moment. Still, he couldn't give it long to recover from that. Even the taser charge only seemed to stun it for a moment. However, he had one other move up his sleeve. One of the empty metal shelves was poised nearby, next to the "water area" for access to the harbor directly. Unlike the kind used for the warehouse cargo, this one seemed like it had just been for tools and oil for ship servicing. It had to weigh a good amount…but it was currently void of tools with a high center of gravity.
With that in mind, Batman quickly snatched up his grapple gun from his belt and fired it off at the recovering machine. His shot wasn't one of his best, but he managed to get it to anchor itself onto one of the legs, getting the claw to grasp tight against the soft surface. Luckily, it wasn't relying merely on "piercing" but on pinching. With the tool attached, he quickly twisted his end around to the metal shelf and wedged it into a junction of the metal framing. Following that, before the machine could take two steps forward, his foot raised and gave a kick to it. It was too heavy to fall right away, but gravity went to work on it immediately, and soon it was toppling over right into the harbor. The machine, seeming to not be programmed to notice this, was oblivious as the entire heavy metal structure went over the edge. A moment later, it yanked out the machine's leg right from underneath it. The humanoid suit actually raised its arms in either alarm or a vain attempt to stop itself before it was yanked to the floor and dragged off the edge and into the bay's water. It sank easily like a stone, plunging inside and vanishing from view almost instantly.
Batman took a moment to steady himself with a deep breath or two. His arms were still sore…although the constriction hadn't had a chance to impact his ribs. But he didn't stay "idle" long. He quickly moved to the edge of the water and looked down. He couldn't see much, unfortunately. Gotham Harbor was far too polluted and dirty for that. Even his visor wouldn't be able to see into the muck. However, he waited a moment none the less, being cautious. For all he knew, the machine would attempt to get out again. Although he doubted it could swim, he figured something as well-built as that would try and "come back" if it could. Yet as the seconds ticked by and slowly gave way to minutes…nothing of the sort happened. The water slowly calmed, and then went still save for the motion of the outdoors. Apparently, with that much damage to its exterior, ruining any "sealant" it might have, it could only operate so well being submerged. It had likely shorted out.
With that in mind, the dark knight eased up a bit. He definitely wanted a piece of that machine now, even though it would mean hoisting out the Batmobile's winch to get it. Even without analyzing it directly, he had seen quite a few surprising things from it. Remarkably, he wasn't bruised or too permanently "hurt" from where that machine had struck him. The same material that absorbed all of his own attacks seemed to deaden its own impact against him. And this machine seemed built for direct blows and "grappling". Every move he made against it was designed so that Batman would put his full force against it rather than rebound. And that substance around it… He could have sworn it was similar to what modern straight jackets used…
A machine designed not to kill their opponent so much as "tire them out"… He mused.
And from Latvia as well.
Things were getting more interesting…and Batman was beginning to wonder if this was neither something as "simple" as a mass breakout or a group attempt at revenge…
To be continued...