Inside Ivy is free from her cell, standing with Batman. Both of them look over Riddler and I with our swollen lips and dishevelled hair, but wisely say nothing.
"I'm Belle." I stick my hand out to Ivy. "It's a real pleasure to meet you. I've visited Gotham Botanical Gardens, compliments to the gardener." I grin at her.
She looks at me with casual suspicion and shakes my hand.
Riddler stage whispers behind me, "You know, heroes don't usually compliment the villains as much as you do." Batman gives a slight nod as if to say he's right you know. I shrug them both off.
"Thank you." Ivy purrs. "Though it's hard to get much done when someone insists on locking you up whenever you try to help the plant life in the city."
"That's probably more to do with all the murder. That's not as good."
She shrugs and turns to Batman. "Speaking of the Gardens, that's where we need to go. It's got some of the oldest plants in Gotham." Batman nods.
"Keep looking for Tetch's hostages. Contact me when you find the next one."
"Yes, sir. Good luck with your plan." I reply and Batman leaves with Ivy. I approach Cash's desk and can see by the look on his face that he knows about Barbara.
"Just Officer Hutch left," I report in. "We'll have him back here soon." Cash just nods, so I head back to the car with Riddler.
We drive off to Panessa Studios without any words. It's slow going, taking back streets and waiting until tanks pass by.
"When you're ready Batman, we're here," I speak into the comms system, and Riddler and I sit in the car, waiting, he tapping away on his phone and me staring out the window.
"I wonder what's happening with Ivy." I muse out loud.
Riddler looks up from his phone. "My people say a giant plant just came up from the Botanical Gardens, so I'd say it's going well."
"Huh." I nod. We wait silently for several minutes until Batman responds.
"I'm on my way." He says finally. We jump into action then, getting out of the car to wait by the police cruiser. Batman arrives quickly.
"I hear the gardening went well," I comment when he lands.
"It did. Hopefully Ivy's plant will be enough to combat Crane's toxin if it gets released." He replies. "I plan to stop him long before it gets to that."
"Well, this should be the end of Jervis Tetch, at least." I point at the cruiser. "Officer Hutch is waiting in that trunk, so let's get him out."
Batman pulls out the frequency jammer, but when the trunk pops open it's not full of bombs and a hostage like we're all expecting, it's full of alarm clocks and a storybook.
Tetch's voice comes from the speakers in the trunk. "The rabbit is gone! He's hopped away! I'm sure he only wants to play. Return the book and then we'll see why Scarecrow thought you should come for tea."
"It's never easy, is it?" I ask no one in particular.
"Do you need help with this?" Batman asks.
"We've handled it so far. What makes you think we would need your help now?" Riddler shoots.
"What he means is: I think we've got this." I translate, trying to keep the peace.
"I'm going to get a breakdown of the Arkham Knight's forces. I want to know who he is." He says, ignoring Riddler.
"Good luck. Let me know what you find out." I turn back to Riddler. "Let's go ask Jervis if this is his dumb idea of a joke." He grabs the book from the trunk and we drive back to GCPD.
¿?
Riddler and I burst through the interview room door.
"Alright Tetch, what the hell?" I exclaim. Riddler stalks up to the desk and throws the book down with a satisfying thud.
"Where is the missing officer, Jervis?" He asks, voice low and dangerous.
"You're still pretending to be a hero Jabberwok? Not long ago it was you here, under key and lock." Jervis sing-songs.
"I'm not a hero, Jervis. I'm just trying to survive what Crane has planned for tonight."
"Oh you won't survive tonight, that much I know. The tale of the Jabberwock and Red Queen will be one of woe."
"Dude, that's about all the rhyming I can take. Where is Officer Hutch?" I interrupt.
His eyes glide over from Riddler to me. "Oh, why yes, there's three! Oh, silly me. The answer's in the book, my queen. Open and see."
I look down at the book on the table and over to Riddler. He shrugs as if to say why not? I open the book, titled New Adventures in Wonderland, to the first page. Black and white illustrations and a few opening sentences litter the page, but nothing alluding to Hutch. I look up at Tetch, frowning.
"I will make you regret messing with me, little man." I threaten. "Where is Hutch?"
He puts his hands up in front of him in mock surrender. "No joke, no joke, control your rage. The answer is there, just turn the page."
I do as he says and flip the page, Riddler looking closely over my shoulder. The next page is like pop-up-book, from childhood. Almost immediately my head starts to feel fuzzy and I can't seem to keep any thoughts in my head. I reach out to the table to steady myself, but the feeling only intensifies. Riddler grasps at his head, so I can only assume he is feeling the same way.
Tetch's voice echoes in my ears. "Down the rabbit hole you fall, where madness reigns from wall to wall..." I feel myself collapse to my knees, unable to hold myself up any longer. I fight to hold onto my consciousness. "Through the rhyming words we tumble, where villains toil and psyches crumble."
I look around me, not quite recognising where I am for a moment. It's Arkham City. Riddler stands next to me, blinking in confusion. Tetch continues, "Welcome to my wonderland, it's time to play a game. I'm here to make you understand what drives a man insane. And if you ever want to leave this crazy world you now inhabit, all you have to do is simply follow the white rabbit!"
I look over to Riddler. What rabbit?
"Here we are in Arkham City, when your adventure was just beginning. But don't be fooled, no don't be tricked, this time you won't be winning." As Tetch's voice trails off, half a dozen thugs wearing Arkham City inmate jumpsuits come running out of the shadows at us.
"Edward, look out!" I shout. He nods, already in a fighting stance. I have time to draw my escrima sticks before the goons attack. Riddler and I fight back to back, helping to defend the other and it doesn't take us too long to dispatch the thugs. Cowering in the corner I spot another person, this one wearing a rabbit mask.
"That has to be Hutch." I point to Riddler. Before we can approach the world around us starts to dissolve. The fuzzy feeling in my head gets worse, and I feel an overwhelming urge to sleep, to give in.
"Don't sleep," Riddler says, as if he can read my mind. "It's Jervis's brand of hypnotism. If you give in he's in complete control. Keep fighting."
The scene before us starts to come into focus.
"And then my mind, oh how it twirled! We found ourselves in a whole new world." Tetch rhymes. I look at our new surroundings. They look familiar, but I can't place it immediately. Riddler notices my confusion.
"You don't recognise it? It's the library, where we shot Jervis." He says, and he's right. The children's section, to be exact. More thugs than before come toward us, and again we're ready, watching each other's backs.
By the end of this fight though, we're both moving slower. We're exhausted, and the constant pressure of Jervis's hypnosis pressing on our minds is taking its toll.
"Hutch! Over there!" Riddler gets my attention and we make a move towards the officer but like last time, the environment starts to dissolve.
"Ah, Hallow's eve and Gotham burns, it's here the story twists and turns. Those things you see, those screams you hear? That's Scarecrow's nightmare drawing near."
A vision of Gotham tonight takes form, but worse. It looks as if Crane's toxin has already been released. More goons than ever before rush us, but they look warped. Wrong. If I had to guess, I'd say this is how people dosed with fear toxin see the world. Riddler and I fall into formation, fighting off thugs, one after the other.
I take a hit. Straight to the chest, sending me flying backwards. The fear creature shrieks and launches itself at me, landing on top, and I'm staring directly into its black, dead eyes. We roll around on the ground, trying to one-up each other.
Riddler is half focused on his fight, half watching me, which proves to be his downfall. In a moment of distraction, he gets hit in the face, hard. He falls to his knees, blood gushing from his nose.
"Edward!" With renewed energy I kick the thug off me, cracking him over the head with a baton. I rush to Riddler, taking the goon in front of him out as quickly as possible. "Come on, you have to get up." I help him to his feet. I remember what he said about giving in to the urge to go to sleep, and I really don't want to see what happens if we're knocked unconscious.
I help him to stand and to his credit, he rallies, raising his fists. We each take several more hits, but finally, finally, we win.
"Kill the rabbit! Kill him dead! He's after you! He wants your head!" Tetch shouts.
What?
I turn just in time to see Hutch, in his rabbit mask, coming at me with a huge knife. I twirl out of the way, but not fast enough to avoid contact. I hiss in pain as a four-inch cut opens on my right forearm.
"Clench those fists, smash rabbit's brain! Do it, do it! End his pain!"
I retreat, nursing my injured arm as Riddler launches forward, grabbing one of my escrima sticks as he flies past me. I watch as he fights Hutch, dodging and charging, with Tetch encouraging him.
"Oh Jabberwock, don't delay! Let those demons out to play! Let those violent urges free, you're a villain, just like me."
"Don't hurt him!" I counter The Hatter's taunting. "Just knock him out!"
Riddler pauses to look back at me, before quickly executing a spinning dodge, coming up behind Hutch and giving him a solid knock on the head, sending him to the ground, unconscious, the mask falling off his face.
"Where are you both, where'd you go? Oh, this isn't right, oh no no no no!" Tetch wails as the world around us fades away again, only to be replaced with the interview room. The pressing, fuzzy feeling in my head lifts, and it's like a migraine suddenly disappearing. I hear a thump to my right and whirl around, still holding my injured arm.
Riddler has Tetch by his throat up against the wall.
"Crane won't like this, he'll be so mad! I'll be punished the way you should have!" He rasps, squirming for air.
"Excuse me if I don't feel bad about that." Riddler says, and uses the escrima stick he's still holding to thoroughly knock Tetch out.
He turns back to me, flipping the baton in his hand. "I can see why the Boy Wonder and the Bludhaven brat like these. They do come in handy." He comments, handing it back to me.
"That's great. Remind me to call Nightwing that the next time I see him, he'll love it." My arm gives a painful twinge. "I'm going to the infirmary to get this arm stitched up."
Riddler walks me through the GCPD corridors and waits while a young EMT stitches and bandages my arm. Once I'm all patched up I contact Batman.
"Hey, Tetch is neutralised. What's the latest on Scarecrow?" I ask.
"Are you okay? You've been out for a while." Batman replies.
"Had a hypnotism situation, but it's handled now. What's happening out there?"
"I've taken care of the long-range missile launchers on Founders Island- we have full access to the island now. That came with another fight with the Arkham Knight." Batman pauses for a beat. "He's one of the best fighters I've seen. I don't know why I wouldn't remember him." He sighs heavily. "I'm at the movie studios with Robin. I have a base here that Harley Quinn tried to take over. We're finishing cleaning up her mess now."
"What do you have there? That's an interesting place to have a Batcave." I ask curiously.
"Not important. Robin and I can handle this." He tells me. "Focus on trying to keep the peace out there."
"Alright. Anything in particular you want us to do?" I comply.
"Go to the clock tower. I've taken it off the main system, so Riddler won't be able to use the Batcomputer to find out anything important. But he can use it to help us find the Knight and the Cloudburst." He pauses for a moment before continuing. "And it should be high enough if I fail. You shouldn't be in danger of the toxin that high up."
"On our way. Be careful." I caution him, but don't receive a reply.
I update Riddler and he takes the news that we're going to be holed up in the clock tower surprisingly well. Possibly because it means he'll get to poke around on the Batcomputer, but whatever.
¿?
"Oh my god." I spin around, looking around Barbara's space in the clocktower. The holographic screens, the high tech equipment, everything. "This is great."
Riddler has already situated himself at the keyboard, tapping away, when the comms unit in my ear comes to life.
"Good evening Miss Mitchell," Alfred says. "Master Bruce thought it would be best if I only spoke with you, on the off chance The Riddler recognises my voice somehow."
"Good plan. What do you want me to tell him?" I ask, and Alfred rattles off login details so we can see the data the Batwing is picking up. I relay them to Riddler and soon enough we're looking at the same thing Alfred can see.
"The information on the right of your screen shows the parameters we are using to try and track the cloudburst. Unfortunately, it's taking some time. More time than we have. I believe Master Bruce is hoping The Riddler may be able to help us shorten that time." Alfred tells me, and I turn to Riddler.
"Alright, this stuff on the side is how the Batsquad is tracking Scarecrow's toxin bomb. But it's taking too long. Can you have a look; see if you can hurry the process along a bit?"
Riddler gives me his trademark smart-ass grin and gets to work. I walk around the clocktower, poking around and just generally being nosey. Batman must have known he would eventually send us here because there are no traces of any of the others here. Is that man ever not three steps ahead?
"Got it." Riddler finally announces. "I found another energy signature the cloudburst puts out, added that to the search parameters and we should see results soon." He leans back against the keyboard, looking very satisfied with himself.
"Good work." I step forward and kiss him. "How soon are we talking here?"
"We have a few moments." He smiles lazily at me, his hands resting firmly on my waist. I lean in again, kissing him slowly. His hands pull me closer, holding me tighter when an alarm starts beeping on the computer. "Damn." He sighs. "I'm too good."
I laugh and step away so he can investigate the alarm. "Very impressive," Alfred says, sounding surprised. "He's done it. I'll let Master Wayne know."
"Perdition Bridge." Riddler says. We watch the scan on the screen as the worst-case scenario happens.
The Cloudburst has detonated.
Scarecrow has done it.
Gotham is doomed.
Crane's voice rings out, sending chills down my spine. "Welcome to Gotham… The City of Fear."
"He did it," I say, my voice barely rising above a whisper. "He actually did it." My eyes go to Riddler's face. I've never seen him look so… scared.
"I've never seen a chemical agent disperse so fast." Alfred says, fear and shock in his voice.
"I know. It's bad." Batman agrees.
"The Cloudburst burnt out the Batmobile's power core."
"What are you going to do?" I ask, interrupting the conversation.
"I'm going after Stagg." Comes the reply. "He built the Cloudburst, he'll have the means to destroy it."
Batman signs off, and the comms go silent.
"Can you open a window?" I ask Riddler. "I want… I need to see." Riddler taps away at the keyboard for a moment before the wall in front of us moves away to reveal the clock face. We slowly approach the window, and the scene shocks me.
The city, the entire city, is covered in fear gas. Thankfully we're too high up to hear the screams from the street. Small mercy.
"What do we do now?" Riddler asks me, staring out the window.
"We wait, I guess. Nowhere else we can really go." I shrug, stepping closer to him. He wraps an arm around my waist as if to comfort me.
Scarecrow's rasping voice comes over every speaker in the city again. "Do you see this, Batman? Your poisoned, desolate city? Its people tearing out each other's throats, their own throats, in terror? The world sees it too. Next, the world will see what happens to the man who tries to stop me. And when it does, the world will know fear." Riddler and I exchange a look. "You aren't fighting for Gotham, tonight. You're fighting for every desperate fool who thinks that when their worst fears come to pass, a hero might come and save them. And you're losing."
Riddler and I stand in silence together; listening to Scarecrow monologue and watching the fear gas cloud drift over the city. Neither of us says anything for several minutes.
"Alfred, Belle. Stagg's given me a way to take on the Cloudburst Tank." Batman says in my ear.
"Given? How kind." Quips Alfred.
"I'm heading back to the Batmobile. I need to find a way to fit this Nimbus cell to the main power drive."
"I don't know what several of those words mean, but sure." I shrug. No clue what a Nimbus cell is or what main power drive he's referring to. "Wait, you're heading to the Batmobile? That wouldn't be outside, on the ground, surrounded by fear gas would it?"
"It is," Alfred confirms. "Crane's toxin can be absorbed through the suit's fibres, not even a gas mask could protect you. If you're in there too long, there's no telling what could happen." I can hear Alfred's concern for Bruce in his voice.
"Then I need to work fast." Is Batman's reply before signing off.
Riddler looks at me questioningly. "I think Batman is planning on going into the gas cloud, for some crazy reason. Let's just hope his plan works."
I don't hear anything for a while. I take to pacing up and down in front of the window. Riddler starts, unseeing, into the gas cloud.
"Miss Mitchell, I spoke with Master Bruce. He's okay. Well, he says he is. He's working with Poison Ivy to try and stop Scarecrow and the Knight. I'll update you as I know more."
"Thank you," I reply. "I'll let you know if I hear anything too."
I take a seat on the ground. Another twenty minutes or so go past before I decide waiting blows.
"I feel useless." I sigh, looking up at Riddler. He's barely moved from his vantage point at the window.
"You can't go out there."
"I know that. But I don't want to just sit here either." An idea comes to mind. "Hey, can you do me a favour?" I ask Alfred over the comms.
"I can try, Miss Mitchell. What do you need?"
"Do you have recordings of all of Batman's communications? Specifically, everything the Arkham Knight has said to him?"
"His comms unit is set to constantly record. I can send everything to you now." Alfred confirms. "If you check the Batcomputer, it should be available."
"Is there any, uh, sensitive info on there? Anything other people shouldn't hear?" I ask, trying to be subtle. Riddler rolls his eyes.
"I don't believe so."
I get up off the floor and head to the computer. Sure enough, the files are there. Riddler pulls a chair to the keyboard for me, and I sit down, going through all the communications.
"Oh, and avoid the bat symbol. That's a uh... a little trick. That's where his armour's the strongest."
"I fully... FULLY intend to kill you. But first, we're gonna make you suffer."
"So, you've still not lost your touch? Good. That is gonna make this SO much more interesting."
"Oh no. You're not going anywhere, old man. Tri-weave titanium coated armour plating. Nice. Unless you know exactly where to shoot..."
There's an idea starting to form, but not enough for me to grab on to.
"Belle," Riddler's alarmed voice gets my attention, and I look over to him pointing out the window. "The fear gas!"
"Hey double oh seven, what's going on out there?" I bark to Alfred, running to the window with Riddler.
"Poison Ivy's plants cleared the city of the toxin." He pauses for a moment. "She didn't survive that process."
"Whoa." I turn to Riddler. "Ivy saved the city. She died to clear the toxin."
He nods solemnly. "She always did have an irritating 'for the greater good' streak in her."
"I'll keep working on who the Knight is." I return to the computer, listening to snippets of the Knight and Batman's conversations. The idea in the back of my head begins to take better shape.
"Miss Mitchell, Gordon is alive." Alfred announces, relief clear in his voice.
"How do you know that?"
"He contacted GCPD through an encrypted SWAT channel; Master Bruce is tracking his location now. Gordon has found Scarecrow and is seeking his revenge." I jump up out of the chair.
"Where are they?"
"Miss Mitchell, I don't think-"
"Please! Just tell me where they are. I can help. I want to help!" I exclaim. I wait for a tense few moments until Alfred sighs.
"An abandoned shopping mall." He finally says. "But you need to know something going in. Master Bruce is not well." He tells me. "He is still infected with the Joker's blood."
"What, from Arkham City? I thought all that was sorted?" I ask. Riddler gives me a strange look, but I hold up one finger, telling him to wait.
"It wasn't. There were five other infected and Master Bruce has been looking for a cure ever since. As of an incident earlier tonight, they are all dead. I fear that the more he is exposed to Crane's toxin, the worse he gets." A pause. "Please, watch out for him. He won't say he needs help, but he does."
"I'll help. Don't worry." No reply. "Do you copy? Are you there?" Still no reply. "Edward, I think something is wrong with the comms. I can't get a connection."
Riddler taps away at the wrist unit. "I don't know what's wrong. The blast from the Cloudburst may have caused something to malfunction. Wait a moment, it may reconnect."
"I like having my own personal I.T support," I grin at him. "I have to go. Batman thinks Gordon has found Scarecrow, so I'm going as backup."I say, straightening my utility belt. "Can you get me an address? I know it's an abandoned shopping mall, but Gordon contacted the other cops through a SWAT channel, can you track that?"
Riddler gives me a don't-be-ridiculous look. "Of course I can." He nudges me out of the way and works on the computer. It only takes him a few moments to get me an address.
"I'll be in contact as soon as my comms are working again, otherwise I'll be back soon."
"I'll come with you. I owe Scarecrow too." He scowls.
"I know. But you need to run support from here. Let us know if Scarecrow has any surprises for us. Or the Knight." That tickle of an idea is still in the back of my mind.
"I don't see why the Detective needs you to watch his back. He seems to have a veritable team of sidekicks."
The idea in my mind finally connects. I gasp.
"Oh my god. You're a freaking genius!" I grab his lapels and kiss him hard. "I have to go, but if the comms come back online, tell Batman I'm coming, and tell him I think I know who the Arkham Knight is!" I grapple up and out of the roof hatch leaving Riddler shouting behind me.
"Who is he? Belle! Who is he?"
A/N: We're getting to the business end of the story now, folks.