I don't own Halo or Justice League; they are the property of 343 Industries and DC Comics/Warner Brothers respectively.
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Montoya and Rochelle's vehicles charged through the Arkham perimeter gates, and screeched to a halt just outside the front doors. They quickly exited/leapt off their vehicles, and rushed into the main lobby. They soon came across several staff and security lying dead on the floor. Some of them had deep slashes to their necks, while others had small daggers protruding from their chests and heads.
Doing their best to ignore the carnage, they cautiously made their way through the security checkpoints. Rochelle made sure to grab the dead guards' weapons and ammo; they'd be of no further use to them, after all. As they moved further in, they encountered even more bodies lying on the ground. They could still hear the distant sound of gunfire coming from the direction of the botanical. It wasn't long before the gunfire dwindled off into absolute silence.
In Rochelle's mind, it meant that one of the combating parties had mopped up their opposition and was still roaming the facility. She just hoped it was the Rene's associate who was still operational.
Eventually, they entered the central cell blocks of the facility; this was where most of the heavy hitting supervillains were usually contained. Both couldn't help but notice that a few of the cell blocks were open and vacant. Rochelle felt a pit in her stomach, as she thought of which heavy hitters managed to escape along with the Joker.
They occasionally encountered a few escaped inmates fighting the few surviving security personal. A few inmates were easily taken down, especially with Montoya and Rochelle's assistance. However, some had armed themselves with whatever weapon they could find, including surgical knifes, metal pipes, tools, and even riot shields and shotguns taken from the asylum arms room. Thankfully, a few non-lethal shots to their legs and arms were enough to convince the inmates to surrender.
As they moved down the hallway towards the botanical, they saw an inmate kneeling over a pair of nurses. One of the nurses was trying desperately to fend him off as he pulled at her coat and pants.
"Come on, sweetie! Daddy's not gonna hurt ya! He just wants ta take yer temperature…" He grinned darkly as he reached into her pants.
The two women looked at each other and nodded. They moved into cover and aimed their weapons at the inmate.
"GCPD! Get down on the ground!" Montoya ordered. "Get down on the floor, now!"
The inmate jumped up and turned towards them, pulling the nurse in front of him and pressing a surgical knife to her throat. "Don't try it," he warned, a deranged grin on his face. "We wouldn't want things to get…bloody! Heh-heh!"
"Let her go," Montoya warned him. "You're outgunned and have nowhere to go except back to your cell."
"Oh, and who's gonna take me, sweetheart? Some wannabe hero cop like you?" He pressed the knife deeper, causing a trickle of blood to appear. The nurse whimpered pitifully, her eyes wide in fear and desperation.
"Buddy, you're only making things worse for yourself," Rochelle said. "This is your last chance to let her go and walk away."
"Tch! Yeah right! What are you gonna do, huh? Shoot me? I know all about you hero-type shitholes. Talk a big fucking game, but too afraid of spillin' a little blood. Besides, I'm not about to give up me freedom just yet. I already had to save my own skin when those fucking ninjas came through here. They were all 'slashy-slashy' with those little knives of theirs, and all this pretty thing's friends…well, they all got dead."
He laughed crazily, slowly dragging the knife over the nurse's throat. The nurse, now frantic, tried desperately to escape her captor. She dug her heel into the inmate's foot, causing him to cry out in pain and just slightly loosen the pressure on her neck.
"Gah! Fucking whore!" And he slashed the knife across her neck…and Rochelle instinctively pulled the trigger.
The inmate paused for a moment before collapsing to the ground, a bullet hole dead center in his forehead. Rochelle approached the two bodies, ready to put another bullet in the inmate's head if necessary. She pulled the inmate off the nurse, who was desperately grasping at her neck. Rochelle pried the nurse's hand away, and sighed a relief as she examined the wound. "It isn't fatal. You'll need some stitches and a tetanus shot, but you'll be okay."
The nurse could hardly dare believe it. She rubbed her neck, feeling the fortunately shallow flesh wound. Her desperate attempt to escape had enabled her to adjust her position just enough that, in his rage, the inmate's strike had just barely missed her jugular.
Montoya grabbed a nearby medical kit and rushed over to the second nurse. She wasted no time in tending to the scratches on her face and arms. "You're gonna be okay," She informed the nurse. "Just some scratches and bruises, but nothing serious."
The nurse gave a shaky nod. "T-thank y-you. T-thank you both s-so much." This was repeated by her cohort, who simply settled for embracing Rochelle in a tight hug, too shaken up to say or do anything else.
"Was anyone else with you?" Montoya asked, to which the nurses shook their heads. "Alright, I need you to go to the nearest office. Get on the phone and tell GCPD to send backup right away. Then, I want you both to stay in the office until help arrives. Understand?" The nurses nodded, and with one last "thank you", they staggered down the hall.
Once the nurses were safely gone, the women continued on towards the botanical. They made quick progress the rest of the way, and soon entered the main foyer leading into the botanical gardens.
"So, where is this associate of yours, Rene?" Rochelle asked. "Don't tell me he's gone and done a runner, and left you to clean up the mess."
"Knowing him, he's probably off fighting half of all Arkham's supervillains right now," Montoya snarked.
"So, the reckless type, huh? Sounds right up your alley."
Montoya scoffed. "Don't even think about getting started on that, Roche. Trust me, this guy's anything but my type. It's a wonder I don't have grey hairs by now, both from dealing with his and Batman's shenanigans."
She didn't notice Rochelle's frown at her mentioning the latter; it wasn't a secret that her brother's methods of protecting Gotham had…waned over the past few years. It wouldn't surprise her if this associate was a fellow veteran (be it military or law enforcement) who had had enough, and decided to take the law into their own hands.
Little did she know how right she actually was.
As they approached the botanical, Rochelle could've sworn she heard the sound of…flapping wings. Looking back over her shoulder, she spotted a large, dark object gliding down from the ceiling…
"Rene! Get down!"
She quickly grabbed her friend and pulled her down to the floor…just as the meta-villain Man-Bat soared over them, his talons grasping the empty air where they were walking. The mutant bat flew into the botanical and pulled up towards the ceiling, then turned around and dove down towards them a second time.
Suddenly, it shrieked out in surprise and agony as it felt bullets rip through its thin wing membranes and chest. The mutant bat stumbled a moment, but managed to regain its bearings and flew out of the botanical.
In the corner of her eye, Rochelle noticed the vines slowly part from around the botanical entrance. At first, she assumed it was Poison Ivy deciding to join the fray. Instead, much to her surprise, a large armored figure appeared in the botanical entrance, firing his rifle with extreme accuracy.
Rochelle's eyes widened in recognition. She knew exactly who it was.
She watched as the Spartan fired another burst at the mutant bat's wings, causing it to veer into a nearby support column. The Man-Bat cried out in surprise as it collided head-first into the column. It then comically tipped backwards and plummeted towards the floor, where it landed in a crumpled heap behind the two women. It meekly tried to get back up, only for the Spartan to fire into its head and neck. The Man-Bat let out one last death-cry before collapsing lifeless to the floor.
Suddenly, the Spartan's head turned sharply towards the ceiling. He quickly exchanged his rifle for a two-barreled rocket launcher, and aimed the heavy weapon towards the ceiling.
"Get down," was his only warning.
Then, he fired.
The two women watched as the rocket soared over their heads…and struck the oncoming meta-villain Killer Moth. The man-turned-moth creature barely had time to shriek before the rocket hit him head on. Both Montoya and Rochelle ducked behind the table to avoid the explosion, as well as the flying remnants of the moth-themed meta-villain. The Spartan fired a second rocket towards a small group of mutant moths, all of which had been recently 'birthed' by the now deceased mutant moth-man. Their close proximity left them helpless as the rocket detonated directly in their midst.
The Spartan swept the foyer and ceiling for additional threats. Seeing none, he exchanged the rocket launcher for his rifle, making sure both were fully loaded for the next engagement.
"You certainly know when to show up at the right time," Montoya said, taking a deep breath. "Are you just that good, or are we just damn lucky?"
"We Spartans make our own luck, Sergeant," the Spartan responded. He then turned to the "Hello, 1st Sergeant Wayne. It's been a while."
Rochelle smirked knowingly. "Good to see you too, Spartan. I take it you're the 'associate' Rene's been working with. Definitely explains why the Gotham crime families are all up in arms recently."
The Spartan nodded. "How's the rest of your team? I heard they were pulled out of Ukraine back in September."
"They're doing well, all things considered," she replied, solemnly. "I know they weren't too happy to leave before the job was even half finished. They understand why, of course, given how the Russians were mobilizing their forces along the border. Last thing anyone wanted was to be caught up in an all-out war. I can tell you that everyone, myself included, were happy you put an end to those 'accidents' we'd been having during construction."
The Spartan bowed his head in regret. "I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner."
"Trust me, things would've been worse had you not been there at all," Rochelle said. "We would've been burying a lot more people without your help. Your actions saved a lot of people over there, including myself."
"Wait a damn minute!" Montoya exclaimed, drawing their attention back towards her. "You two already know each other?"
"Surprise, surprise!" Rochelle snarked. "I actually met the Spartan while my unit was deployed to support the JMTG-U operation in Ukraine. A few weeks into our deployment, we were attacked by some asshats posing as 'Nazi' terrorists supported by the Ukrainian government. Pretty damn ironic, considering it was a rouge Russian group carrying out the attacks."
Montoya deadpanned at this. "Russians…You were fighting goddamn Russians? For God's sake, Roche; were you trying to start a world war?"
"They were members of a Russian ultranationalist group, operating from just across the Russo-Ukrainian border," the Spartan explained. "They were carrying out acts of sabotage against the main bridges and roadways along the Ukrainian borders with Poland and Romania. Miss Wayne's unit was helping the Ukrainian military repair and upgrade one of these highways. The saboteurs were firing on everyone they saw, including civilians. I provided assistance, and we were able to force them to withdraw."
"What was left of them, you mean," Rochelle corrected. "You practically wiped out more than half of them before they even knew you were there. Of course, Putin tried to blame the whole thing on Ukrainian soldiers firing on Russian citizens trying to cross the border. Everyone knew it was complete bullshit, especially after you handed over the leader to the Ukrainian police."
Montoya merely shook head in disbelief. "Okay, unless someone else has something they'd like to just fucking spring on me, can we please get back to finding the damn Joker?"
The Spartan nodded, and he held out his hand, allowing Arian to appear in front of them. "Hello, Sergeant. And to you, 1st Sergeant Wayne. It's good to see you again."
"Likewise, Arian," Rochelle greeted back. She hid a smirk at hearing Rene mutter, 'Of course, she also knows about the AI'. "I'm hoping you have some answers about what happened while we were outside."
"Not as many as we'd like, miss Wayne," the AI replied. "We were engaged by multiple hostiles, unknown affiliation. We managed to neutralize them rather easily, though they managed to kill quite a lot of people throughout the asylum in the process. They were likely sent to silence Dr. Isley before she could share what she knows about the Joker."
"Isley? As in, Poison Ivy?" Rochelle glanced around the Spartan, and saw the green-skinned villainess wrapped up in a mass of vines and plants. The Spartan had opted to move her closer to the entrance, where she would less exposed to potential sniper fire from outside the botanical. Even from here, Rochelle could see that the villainess was not in good shape. "What does she have to do with the Joker's escape?"
"That, fortunately, we can answer," was the AI's response. "Over the past few weeks, both the Joker and Dr. Pamela Isley were involved in joint therapeutic sessions with Harley Quinn, who was very recently discharged from Blackgate prison for 'good behavior'."
This caused Montoya to groan in disbelief. "Of course, it has to involve that crazy bitch. Let me guess, the Joker used his connections to have her released from Blackgate, so that she could help him break out of Arkham."
"It certainly seems that way, Sergeant," Arian said. "He also managed to get a hold of one of Mad Hatter's mind control devices, which he then modified and implanted into Dr. Isley's head. Not only did it force her to obey Joker's every command; it was injecting a nanotech chemical directly into Dr. Isley's brain, which overrode her conscious and subconscious. Complete and utter mind control."
"No surprise, given that she absolute hate's the clown's guts," Montoya reasoned. "There's no way she would ever willingly help Joker, even if she does have feelings for Harley."
"Do we know what Joker had planned for Ivy?" Rochelle inquired.
"While the Spartan was removing the device, I quickly analyzed Dr. Isley's connection with the surrounding plants," Arian said. "It looked like that she was coercing them into transferring large amounts of enzymes and nutrients into the primary root in the center of the botanical. And thanks to satellite imagery, I am currently tracing its main roots throughout the surrounding landscape around and leading away from Arkham. By matching the root's expansion with the recent spike of plant growth around Gotham's outer limits, I can highlight the pattern of where these transfers are going…"
She then pulled up an image of the root's travel underneath the asylum, and into the city rural areas. Soon, she pulled up three separate locations, all highlighted in bright red. "There are three locations where the roots are more converged. The first locations are local greenhouses for exotic plants, including one of Dr. Isley's former hideouts. The third location, however," she explained, "is what we might be looking for." With that, she pulled up an image of the third location. Both Rochelle and Montoya recognized it instantly.
"The Gotham International Botanical Garden," Rochelle exclaimed. "Home to some of the most rare and endangered flowers in the world. I can understand why Ivy would be interested, given her affiliation with plants…"
"But not so much the Joker," Montoya finished. "Then again, when has Joker ever gone for the normal or predictable? Hell, he's about as straight shooting as a drunken goose in a blizzard when it comes to his schemes and sick gags. Wouldn't surprise me if he's just using the botanical as a distraction for what he's really doing."
"Unless he was using the botanical as a base of operations, or a means of delivery and transportation," the Spartan suggested.
Both women paused, and their eyes widened in realization. "That's right. The Gotham Botanical does have a delivery service for private gardeners and foreign dignitaries," Rochelle said. "My brother always orders a bouquet of flowers to be sent to the Queen for her birthday each year."
"Which means the Joker could use it to ship…whatever he's got planned across the entire city, or even the state of New Jersey." Montoya then paused for a moment
"You're not…too far off."
All three turned to see Poison Ivy slowly trying, and failing, to get on her feet. Both Rochelle and Montoya instinctively reached for their weapons, but the Spartan's raised hand made them pause.
"Dr. Isley," he said. "You should be resting right now."
"Don't assume I'm some…damsel in distress; I'm tougher than…than some would believe," she retorted, though there was little anger in her tone. She then moaned and closed her eyes, suddenly overcome by a wave of exhaustion. She started sliding to the ground, and fell into the Spartan's arms. After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked up at the Spartan.
"It's you," she muttered, weakly. "You're him…the Spartan. The Joker…he said that you were the new competition in Gotham. He wanted to take you out before…before you…" She paused for breath, then continued talking, "I told him I wanted nothing to do with it, but then, he put that device on my head…I tried to resist- I tried to…"
"Easy," the Spartan lowered her to the ground. "You're safe now. We'll get you a hospital."
Poison Ivy shook her head. "The Joker…he made me inject his Joker Venom into…into all my precious babies…I tried to stop him…all those precious flowers…my children…"
"Flowers?" The Spartan pondered. "What flowers?"
Poison Ivy closed her eyes, both in exhaustion and sorrow. "The flowers…he had me use the botanical to have them shipped over from Europe…"
"Where? For what purpose?"
"…Northern France…Flanders Fields… now he's sending them back to…to…" Opening her eyes, she gazed at the Spartan. "I couldn't stop him…but you can…you have to save them…save my babies…"
"Consider it done."
"…Harley…she's going to…will you…"
"We'll find her. And we'll bring her back."
That seemed to be enough for Poison Ivy, as she finally surrendered to her exhaustion. The surrounding vines once again embraced her, once again providing her with life preserving nutrients and enzymes.
"Arian…"
"She's alive, just unconscious," Arian answered. "But she's still in critical condition. She won't last long without proper care. I'm bringing the Pelican down for evac; the medical gear we have onboard should keep her stable until we get to the mobile hospital."
"What exactly did she mean?" Montoya finally spoke. "What's so damn important about some flowers from Europe?"
"Not just any flowers, Sergeant," Arian answered, pulling up an image of a large field filled with bright-red flowers. "Poppy flowers – the enduring symbol of remembrance for all those who died during the First World War. The Poppies are highly regarded as a symbol of remembrance throughout the British Commonwealth, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It's also well known for its reference to the popular Canadian-written poem, 'In Flanders Fields'."
"Okay, but why those flowers specifically? Why not just choose any other kind of flower? Why go to all the effort of getting some flowers brought over all the way from Europe?" Montoya ranted.
"Oh, God!" Rochelle gasped, a sudden revelation coming to her mind. "Poison Ivy said that the Joker saw you as the 'newest competition' in Gotham. The Poppies symbolize the fallen soldiers of the First World War…and you, Spartan, are a soldier. How many other soldiers have you seen running around Gotham as of late?"
"I'm the target," the Spartan concluded. "He plans to attack me."
"Not directly, Spartan," Arian spoke, urgently. "I just hacked into the GIBG's computer mainframe. It looks like they've been shipping large crates of flowers to multiple locations over the past few days. Let me just check the delivery invoices…Oh, no!"
"What is it?"
The AI turned to look at the Spartan. "The crates were carrying several air-sealed packages filled with Poppy flowers, and they're being delivered all across eastern North America and Western Europe. They're all listed as special packages for the November 11th Remembrance and Veteran's Day memorial presentations…including those in Washington, Gotham, London, Paris, and Vimy Ridge."
All three froze as the implications sunk in. This wasn't just some random breakout. This was wide-spread targeted attack.
The Joker had used Poison Ivy to pump his Joker Venom into thousands of Poppy flowers, and was using the Gotham International Botanical to ship these venom-filled flowers to multiple locations around the world…all for a single, deadly purpose.
The Joker was planning to attack the Spartan…by hitting the one event that all soldiers honored and respected.
The day of remembrance for their fallen brothers and sisters in arms.
"Arian, track those deliveries. Inform the Major we have an imminent threat. Multiple international targets." the Spartan's tone warranted no argument.
"Already on it," Arian said. "I'm also notifying SWAT, the US Coast Guard, and the National Guard. I'm also tracking Harley's flight to Paris. There's a 'special package' onboard that's listed under her alias…and it's also on the GIBG's delivery invoice list. She's delivering one of the packages personally."
"That doesn't make any fucking sense," Montoya said. "I mean, I can see probably Joker doing this, but Harley? Not even she's crazy enough to do something like this."
"Terrorists don't need reasons for what they do, Sergeant Montoya," the Spartan stated. "All they care about is imposing their authority by any means they deem necessary, including fear and bloodshed. And Harley's not so innocent either; those children she murdered with exploding video games would attest to that."
"Jesus Frickin' Christ!" Montoya swore. "This is really happening; that bastard's moved up to full-blown terrorism, hasn't he? There's no way he'll be able to play on his old 'psychologically disturbed' bullshit after this."
"Assuming he even makes it to back to Arkham," Rochelle muttered. "But why go to all this effort? Why doesn't he just do something that would pit the Spartan against Batman and the entire Gotham PD? Why make such a big effort into getting to him?"
"An excellent question, 1st Sergeant Wayne," Arian said. "But I'm afraid that'll have to wait. GCPD just got word about the mass breakout-"
"Too little, too damn late!" Montoya scoffed.
"-and they're sending all available units to lock the asylum down. Commissioner Gordon's on his way too, along with Batman and his team."
Montoya muttered a curse under her breath. "And, of course, they're gonna love seeing all the dead inmates lying around. And if they catch the Spartan hanging around here…Hell, they might just blame him for killing all those people down there. Wouldn't surprise me if that was part of Joker's plan all along. Force him to choose between stopping Joker and fighting off the entire GCPD and the Bat family."
"Definitely a possibility, Sergeant," the Spartan agreed. "But, again, that will have to wait. The GCPD's almost here, Spartan. We need to get Dr. Isley out of here."
"Agreed. We don't have much time." With that, he carefully picked Poison Ivy up in his arms. "Sergeant Montoya, inform the Commissioner about the Joker's actions. He needs to intercept that package before it gets to the Gotham memorial service."
"Yeah, not so sure if he'll be willing to listen," Montoya said. "But I'll do what I can. I can ask some friends of mine if they'll be willing to provide extra security for the service."
"Same here," Rochelle said. "I know some squad mates who'll be representing our unit at the service." Then, she turned back towards the Spartan. "And what do you plan to do, once you find the Joker?"
The Spartan's answer was plain and blunt. "Finish the fight."
Then, he turned and walked back into the botanical. The two women followed him, and saw the Pelican gunship parked in the outside garden area. The back hatch opened, and the Spartan walked towards the rear platform. Once he was onboard, the hatch closed shut, and the Pelican took off into the night sky.
After a few moments, Rochelle couldn't help but let out a morbid chuckle. "Well, I guess I was right; your associate really did do a runner, and left you to clean up the mess."
Montoya's glare and raised middle finger only caused her to laugh even more.
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Stationed twenty-five miles out of Gotham City, surrounded by barbed wire fences and heavily armed security, was the Gotham division of the United States Army Cyber Command. First founded in 2010, the USCYBERCOM had been responsible for detecting and countering any and all forms of cyber threats to the United States and her assets for well over ten years. Even stationed just outside the city of crime and villainy, these brave men and women continued in their due diligence to protect their fellow countrymen from any possible threat to their lives and freedom.
Tonight, however, they would be faced with another, more psychotic threat.
Less than a mile away, a small convoy of armored vehicles was making its way towards the Cyberwarfare facility. In the driver's seat was a very pale-skinned man with green hair and a psychotic smile on his face. As he approached the encampment, he began singing a little tune…
"When Joker comes marching home again, hurrah, hurrah,
The soldiers will laugh until they're dead, hurrah, hurrah…"
This was followed by a maniacal chuckle as the Joker continued driving towards the encampment, at the heart of which stood a single mobile cyber command vehicle…
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…Holy Crap! This chapter took way too bloody long to finish. Talk about severe writer's block. But, at last, I finally have it done and ready to read.
So, the Spartan has some history with the youngest Wayne, and now all three have learned what the Joker's been up to. And for all those who may ask, "would the Joker actually commit acts of terrorism just to get at the Spartan?" Given he attacked the UN building in New York, and tried to gas all of Gotham in Batman: The Long Halloween…
My answer is…yes. He most certainly would.
…
Anyway, I'm really hoping I can finally get it done and over with next chapter, so I can move onto getting the Spartan back into the fight on crime and terrorism.
Until then, please read and review.