Chapter 2
The Night is Young
Life can be really unpredictable especially if you're living in Gotham. One moment you're on the roof watching the scumbags tearing up shops and the next you're being held at gunpoint by your soon to be father in law. It seems that fate has a cruel sense of Irony.
"Ironic, isn't it?"
"What is?"
"You, being held at gunpoint by the future father in law while your beloved fiancée is pleading to him to not pull the trigger. Imagine my surprise when the Arkham Knight told me about your engagement to Barbara. I of course thought that it was absurd. But when I saw her ring as she was brought in and your reaction to her being alive mere minutes ago, I was thrilled by this development. Love is truly blind. I can tell you're worried of what I'll do to her. The sweat building on your forehead; Your heartbeat rising by the minute. You fear for her safety, it is common among spouses."
"Worried? No. I'm not but I'll show ya how worried I am when I rip your head off."
"Hollow threats, Wolverine."
Or you can say that you're staring down at a madman trailing the needles down your trembling loved one's cheek while the commissioner's pointing his revolver at you, ready to blow your head off.
XXX
13 hours earlier
Now donning his Wolverine armor suit, Jericho was on the ledge of the clock tower watching the chaos that was taking place on the streets in The Caludron District. The thugs were looting small time businesses and the rogue gallery were running amok, they were definitely in their element tonight but then again it's always like that in Gotham no matter how much it changed. Old habits die hard as well as there were remnants of corruption and greed in the city. The rain kept pouring down on him making his hair wet and slick as the full moon were at its peak in this halloween night, the moonlight shining upon the emblem on his chest plate.
He chuckled bitterly as he thought of something that was ironic to the situation. Scarecrow threatening to commit a chemical attack on Gotham, on the night of all Hallows Eve. He's got a sense of humor after all in a wicked way.
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Meanwhile outside of the GCPD building on Bleak Island in this rainy night, Lieutenant Anderton was on the phone with her daughter Rebecca. Soon after the reappearance of former Arkham Psychiatrist and former Gotham U professor turned supercriminal and the not so subtle threat or the chemical attack at Pauli's Diner, the entire island was in panic mode. The city council without a issued out a evacuation of the entire city and less than 4 hours, the half the city were on the busses. The british expriate wasted no time in putting her oldest daughter on the earliest bus and getting her to safety.
"I'm glad that you left this city as fast as you could." She turned around to see Wolverine standing before her with a stoic look. "I must go. Stay safe Rebecka." She ended the call putting her phone back in her pocket. "Sorry about that. I had to ensure my daughter was out of this bloody city."
"Understandable." He nodded in understanding. "How are we in evacuating the island?"
"The last bus just got past the city limits just over a hour ago." Anderton informed.
"Do we have a lead on Scarecrow?" Wolverine asked.
"One of the patrol cars were in pursuit of an unharmed military vehicle through Chinatown. It's pretty much the only lead we had all evening but we lost their trail." Anderton let out a sigh of exhaustion. A year in the GCPD and already it feels like she's been exhausted.
"I may not have been here as long as the gov has but I'm deeply frightened of the threat that Scarecrow issued yesterday. is he really serious of detonating a chemical weapon in Gotham?"
"It won't come to fruition, Meg. We'll make sure of it." Wolverine reassured.
Before she could ask the vigilante of how can he be sure, he was gone in a flash leaving the dark haired one bemused.
She chuckled shaking her head in amazement. So that's how the commissioner feels every time Batman pulls off his disappearing act. "How in the bloody hell does the gov put up with it?"
As she was left baffled, Wolverine was on the rooftop of the GCPD building contacting his information broker by ear comms.
"Prophet. I'm sending you the coordinates of that squad car's location." Wolverine told his childhood friends as he pressed in the numbers on his gauntlet.
"I'm already triangulating its position as we speak." Prophet told him while using the Wayne Tech satellites to find the location. "There, sending you last known location. get the bastards."
As if on cue, a GCPD squad car was chasing a red military SUV past the GCPD building. Wolverine took off running to catch them up jumping off a rooftop after rooftop. Once he saw the vehicle in his peripheral vision launching mid air towards the vehicle landing on the hood before smashing his fist through the wind shield. He grabbed the driver and threw out of his seat, bouncing off the SUV as it crashed and burned through a local bodega.
Wolverine went over to where the driver was for some questions.
"Where's Scarecrow?!" Wolverine demanded as he went and picked up t the militia driver holding him up with one hand.
"Fuck you!" The driver choked not giving up the location. Wolverine simply shook his head in annoyance before throwing the driver down on the ground, taking a strong grip on his wrist.
"Wrong answer. Unless you want all your limbs broken, you better tell me the truth." Wolverine snarled.
Not wanting to suffer bones broken, the driver caved in. "Ok, ok! he's workin' out at a penthouse in Chinatown. I swear, that's all I know." he confessed.
"Thank you for your cooperation." Wolverine twisted his wrist applying pressure, breaking it. The driver yelped cradling his now broken wrist.
"AAARH! Son of a bitch! You broke my fuckin' wrist."
Keeping a passive expression on his face, Wolverine spotted some kind of a syringe that fell off the driver's jack pocket. He picked it up using his detective vision installed in his mask to scan it's content. That was interesting. That must be the fear toxin that Scarecrow used in his chemical attack on Pauli's Diner. "Prophet, send the chemical analysis i just uploaded to the Clock Tower." He said.
"Holy crap, Is that..."
"The latest version of the fear toxin." He replied. "I also found out from the driver he's operating in a penthouse nearby."
"Sounds too suspicious to me."
"No kidding. I'm heading there anyway to investigate. I'll keep you updated." He told Prophet.
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Penthouse
Chinatown.
Wolverine crashed through the rooftop window into and started to engage the security in hand to hand. He didn't find Scarecrow which wasn't a surprise. It would've been too easy but what was a surprise was that the former psychiatrist was keeping Poison Ivy inside a gas chamber to keep her there.
"You should review your security." Ivy drawled, looking bored as Wolverine doubled kicked the two militia in mid air sending them flying before hitting the one in front of Wolverine in the chest with a punch, pushing him backwards crashing through the double doors before blocking a knife attack, sweeping his attacker off his feet before delivering a swift punch to the temple, knocking him out. Wolverine thrust kicked the last guard breaking several ribs in the process as he went through the window. They were no match for the former League of Assassin member and his enhanced strength.
Getting off her chair once the security was down for the count, Ivy sauntered over to the chamber door when the cold and eerily voice of Scarecrow spoke through speakers inside the penthouse. "Were you expecting to find me, Wolverine? I'm afraid I must disappoint you."
"Actually I was kinda expecting to, Crane." Wolverine replied as Ivy exited the chamber. "What are you up to?"
"All in due time, Wolverine." Scarecrow said vaguely, not giving details about his plan before ending the transmission. Wolverine didn't like the ominous tone in his voice, that was for sure.
"What are you doing here?" Ivy questioned, obviously not expecting him to be there except the Dark Knight.
"I could ask you the same of you." Wolverine retorted. "Why did Scarecrow lock you up?"
"No hello?" Ivy pouted in a way that most men would find attractive. But the man known as Wolverine wasn't having any of it.
"Ivy..."
"What if i don't want to?"
Three metal claws popped out of his left glove and he held them up in a threatening manner. "Does that answer your question?"
The eco terrorist merely rolled her eyes at the futile threat but she complied to his demands and began telling the reason behind her imprisonment. "It started with the meeting." She began walking away from the Wolverine as he followed her exiting the safe house to the terrace.
"What meeting?" He queried.
"Everyone was there: Penguin, Two-Face, Riddler, even poor Harley. She sends her regards by the way." She added, Wolverine simply restrained himself from an eye roll. Does she ever let go of the grudges she's had in the past? "Scarecrow said he had a plan. That together we could take you all out including your beloved sister, and Gotham would be ours."
"Over our dead bodies." He snarled, clenching his hands at the mere thought of Talia being dead again.
"I believe that was the idea." Ivy drawled. "I told him that I wasn't interested in his pathetic human games. And when I came to, I was locked up in that room."
Ivy chuckled. "It's such a shame that his vile toxin has no effect on me. Nature always wins."
As if to prove her point, the vines crawled up on him, dragging the Wolverine away from Poison ivy who once again rolled her eyes as she took the elevator down to the street level. "Will they ever learn?"
Well, obviously she hadn't met the Wolverine as the elevator ended its descendant to the streets. the doors opened to reveal Wolverine with arms crossed his chest. Ivy sighed in exasperation. "Nice try Pam." He went and grabbed Ivy by the arm a bit roughly before he stopped picking up something coming their way.
"What's wrong?" Ivy asked as a unmanned tank and a SUV arrived on the scene and out stepped militia soldiers with rifles pointed at Ivy and Wolverine.
"Sir, we got eyes on the target." one of the soldiers told on the comms.
"Are you sure it's him?" The commander asked, just to be sure.
"Affirmative command." The soldier that just reported answered in confirmation. But then as if someone divine answered his prayers, the Batmobile came to the rescue upon its arrival. It went into battle mode, the newly equipped 60 mm cannon popped out of the roof panel and fired a peneterator shell to the unmanned the tank, destroying it before it even had chance to fire. The militia soldiers opened fire on the Batmobile but the bullets simply bounced off the armor before the riot suppressor took them out by using non lethal rounds.
"Perfect timing." Wolverine said as the owner of the vehicle, Batman stepped out of the cock pit and headed over to Wolverine and Ivy.
"We need to leave." He told Ivy specifically in his usual gruff voice.
"The master of understatement as always." Ivy said knowingly as she allowed the Dark Knight to escort her to the passenger's seat that emerged of the trunk.
"I'm heading to the Clock Tower. Oracle will have the full chemical analysis by now." Wolverine told Batman.
"Good. Contact me when it's done." Batman replied. "I'm heading to the GCPD lockup to drop off Ivy."
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Clock Tower
Identity confirmed
Wolverine dropped into the Clock Tower as the number of computer cubicles appeared in front of him and he started to look into the chemical analysis that Prophet uploaded not long ago by using the computer keyboard that was in front of him.
"Do I come in to your safe house, start messing with your stuff?" Oracle or Barbara Gordon, his fiancee teased wheeling next to him.
"Oh hush." Wolverine said playfully not taking his eyes off the huge screen. Barbara giggled a little. "This is impressive. you've managed to reduce the compound to it's core elements."
"But there's nothing in there that we can trace." Barbara said frustrated after going through analysis over and over and she couldn't find anything. Wolverine went into thought of how to find something
"Have you tried looking the other way? How about we look at the manufacturing process." He suggested.
"Why didn't I see this? The reaction emits a unique radiation spike." Barbara said.
"I'm betting that if we can run a scan across the city we can find that radiation spike." Wolverine replied.
"It'll take a few hours to bring the satellites into position."
"No time. I'll contact Batman and see if he can repurpose the antenna at the movie studios." Wolverine said, heading to exit the Clock Tower.
"Jericho…I spoke to Dad." Barbara revealed, stopping him in his tracks. She turned her wheel chair around to face him. "I hate lying to him. He'd kill me if he knew I was still in the city." She sighed, a beaten look that showed how much she hated having to make up lie after lie to her father for so many years even in her days as Batgirl. She didn't like it then and she doesn't like it now. "He still blames himself for this." she gestured reluctantly to her being confined to wheelchair thanks to the Joker.
"We'll stop Scarecrow." Wolverine reassured his fiancee with a confident look in his eyes. "Is the tracker I planted on Talia working?"
"It just came online three minutes ago." Barbara replied. "Why did you plant it on her anyway?"
"So I can get a heads up of where she's heading or what's she about to do." Wolverine answered.
Barb frowned a bit in disapproval. "But isn't that a bit distrustful? I mean after all she's your sister and she's not stupid by any means. She'll figure it out somehow."
He'd figured that would be her reaction. "Just a precaution. I don't wanna take any chances, especially after what happened in..."
"Arkham City." Barbara said knowing the reason why already.
"Look, Barb i hated doing this to her, but I can't lose her again." He shook his head in remembrance of that night in the Monarch Theatre. The trauma of watching his sister shot by the late Joker still haunts him in his dreams. "I can still hear that gunshot." His voice cracked slightly as he spoke about the confrontation at the theatre.
Bang! For a moment Jericho visioned himself back to the Monarch Theatre in Arkham City where he made the discovery of the joker impostor just a fraction too late, he remember calling out to her as she was shot in the back by the real joker who was sitting on the balcony, the surprised gasp and the look of shock as she fell into her beloved's arms. He can hear the real Joker's maniacal laughter in the background gleefully satisfied of his latest scheme.
Talia spoke to the Batman apologizing for her mistake of not realizing the deception before succumbing to her wounds. "I'm sorry, beloved. I didn't know."
He left the memory lane as he felt his right hand intertwining with Barbs.
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