-Secure Transit-

After surviving the elevator nearly crushing them, Batman uses his Grapnel Gun to climb up the elevator shaft to be back to tracking down Boles.

"Gordon and Bruce were taken up to the surface in the elevator. If I want to follow them, I'll need to do this the old fashioned way..." Batman says to himself as slowly but surely climbs up. As he does this, Joker chimes in.

"Hey, Bats! I know you can hear me. I've got a little something for you to listen to. Harley and Frank are nearly out of the building with the old man and the geek. How are they going to get past all those guards? Let's have a listen, shall we?"

Suddenly, Batman could hear a guard's voice on the loudspeaker. "Hey, Frank. Where've you been?"

"Joker's got more men on the way. They're coming around the front of the asylum. Gotta stop them from getting in! Quick! Get over there!" Boles says in a panicked tone.

"Damn it! Come on. Everyone, cover the main entrance!" The guard yells out. "How many are there, Boles? Wait. Hang on, how the hell do you know what-?" The guard asks only to be interrupted by Boles shooting one of the guards. "Boles! Frank, what are you doing!? No, put it down!"

Several gunshots were heard before Boles was the only male voice heard. "Quinn! It's clear! Get your ass in here!"

Harley can now be heard, giggling. "You're some piece of work, Frankie. A girl could fall for someone like you..." She flirtatiously says before Joker chimes in.

"Stop flirting with the hired help, Harley!"

"Don't worry, sweetie. You know I only have eyes for you..." Harley says sweetly to Joker.

"Did you hear that, Bats? Sounds like Frankie is working out just fine. Another valuable employee for the organization."

-Cell Block Transfer-

Batman eventually makes it to a high ground, only to hear more guards being executed. "Oracle, Joker's men have taken control of the Cell Block Transfer corridor."

"That's not good. I patched into a guard radio. It sounds like Joker's crew have got their hands on weapons." Oracle says.

"I know. I'll calibrate the cowl's vision mode to isolate armed henchmen." Batman replies before hanging up.

With three armed men guarding the way, Batman tries a different tactic. He grapples up to a gargoyle, gets behind them, and takes them down one by one without getting detected. He then heads to a room with a monitor housing a fourth armed goon, who is chatting with the Joker, though Batman takes the goon down.

"Oh, look who it is! Are your pointy ears burning?" Joker asks as the thug goes limp. "I suppose I'd better warn my boys you're on the way...Hey, maybe I won't. It'll be a nice surprise!"

-Later-

Intensive Treatment

Batman enters Intensive Treatment to discover Boles strapped to a gurney, dead. "Joker must have figured out how I was tracking Gordon and Bruce. Officer Boles' trail stops here." Batman says as he looks at Boles' corpse.

Soon after, a door opens and a bald police officer holding an assault rifle calls out to Batman, who enters a hallway that the officer and an asylum guard are resting in.

"It was a massacre. Boles came walking in, telling everyone to cover the front entrances. Said something about Joker's army coming through the main gate! Two of my guys moved to the exit and Frank shot them dead. They never stood a chance..." The officer said as he lowered his head.

"Was Boles alone?" Batman asks.

"Thought he was, then I saw Harley Quinn. She was surrounded by Blackgate prisoners. They were just killing everyone in the room! I had no choice. I got in here and locked the door. I could see it on the security feed. They had two guys with them. One of them looked like the Commissioner, but I couldn't ID the other one." The officer says.

"The other man is Doctor Banner. Boles is dead. They carried on without him; must've outlived his usefulness..." Batman says.

"Good! He was scum!" The officer says. He was obviously glad to hear that Boles was dead.

-Outside-

Once Batman made it outside through a series of tunnels, the intercom blared as Joker's voice could be heard. "Hmm. Harley tells me that the Batman's car is still parked just outside of the Intensive Treatment building. Now, we can't have him up and leave us, can we? Every thug, villain, murderer and kindergarten teacher that isn't carrying out party orders should head there now and smash it to pieces."

Upon hearing this, Batman radios Oracle. "Oracle, disable the Batmobile's countermeasure system!"

"I saw the alert. What's wrong? Where are you?" Oracle asks through his earpiece.

"I'm outside the Arkham Mansion. Harley Quinn probably triggered the alarm. If she's still got Gordon and Banner with her, they could get hurt."

"Okay, done. The Batmobile is still parked up outside the Intensive Treatment building in Arkham North. I've sent you the schematics for the entire island. I've marked key locations like your car." Oracle says.

"Thanks, Oracle." Batman says nicely before cutting the call.

-Arkham North-

It doesn't take long for Batman to find several thugs attacking the Batmobile with large lead pipes. Batman runs over and makes short work of them without a problem. Batman then opens the trunk of the Batmobile and pulls out his Explosive Gel gadget before strapping it to his utility belt.

"Harley trashed the car." Batman says as he looks over the damage done to his vehicle. "Looks like there was a scuffle. I need to search the area around the Batmobile. There could be a clue as to where she took Gordon and Banner." After searching for a bit, Batman finds a discarded smoking pipe on the floor. "Strange...this is Gordon's pipe. Barbara gave it to him. There's no way he'd leave it..." Batman says as he notices a trail of tobacco leading away from the pipe. "Wild Country! Gordon's favorite tobacco. He's smarter than he looks. He left me a trail to follow..." Batman than calls Oracle. "Oracle, I found a pipe. It has your father's initials carved on it."

"It was a birthday gift I gave him last year. There's no way he'd leave it!" Oracle says, knowing that her dad was leaving clues.

"Exactly! He's left me a trail. He's alive, Barbara. They both are!"

-Medical Building-

Batman enters a medical center, coming across Harley Quinn, who was separated from Batman by a security gate. She turns her head, spotting him.

"Hey! Scram, Bats! This is my me time!" Harley childishly says as she props her legs on a table.

"Where's Gordon and Banner?" Batman asks, getting right to the point.

Harley smiles in response to his question. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Suddenly, Gordon's voice could be heard. "We're over here!"

Harley throws a can at Gordon as soon as he says this. "Shut up!"

Gordon groans. The can obviously hit what it was aiming for. "You crazy bitch!"

As soon as Gordon said that rude comment, a monitor turns on, with Joker's face appearing on it. "Harley!"

"Ahh!" Harley shrieks in response.

"What's he doing here?! It's too early!" Joker complains as Harley waltzes over to the monitor.

"I'm sorry, pudding. Don't be angry with me..." Harley pleads as she puts her face against the monitor's screen and gives it a kiss.

Joker sighs. "Oh, you little minx. I can never stay mad at you...!" The monitor then turns off.

"Sorry, B-man! You'll have to find another way. Buh-bye, now!" Harley says tauntingly as she backflips out of view.

-Later-

Intensive Treatment

Batman enters an elevator. As it starts going down, Joker appears on a hanging monitor.

"Too easy. Think about it. I've got you trapped in a little metal box, hanging precariously over a deadly drop. What say I just blow the emergency brakes and drop you like a sack of puppies?" Joker teases, obviously trying to get Batman on edge. "Say good night, Bats. Boom! Hahahaha! Only kidding. Got a few more surprises in store for you. Prepare to face your fears..." Joker says as the monitor cuts off.

Batman exits the elevator as he hears a man pleading.

"Please, Dr. Crane. Don't do this!" The man begs to an unseen figure.

"There is no Crane...Only Scarecrow!" The figure says menacingly as several men in a closed off room scream in panic. They were scared out of their minds. The men collapsed from fear as Batman notices a figure scurry on by.

Joker's voice blares on an intercom. "Oh...looks like the good Doctor started early. Your appointment isn't for hours, though. I'm sure you'll be buzzed through when he's ready."

After crawling through some air vents, Batman's the yes glow an ominous red/orange as he comes across Commissioner Gordon, laying against a wall. After checking for a pulse, he realizes he's too late.

"I'm sorry, Jim..." He says as he closes Gordon's eyes. He then radios Oracle to give her the bad news as he walks down a hallway towards the morgue. "Barbara? I...I'm sorry. I was too late."

Much to Batman's confusion, Barbara's voicemail came up. "I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed isn't available. Please leave a message after the tone."

"Barbara? Are you there?" Batman asks.

"Please hang up your phone!" The voicemail says in answer as Batman hangs up.

-Morgue-

Batman enters the morgue, discovering three body bags laying on top of tables. He leaves, only to find himself in a loop. He's still in the same morgue, body bags and all. Strangely, the body bags were moving. Batman unzips one of them, revealing his father.

"Father?" Batman asks in shock.

"You should've stood up to him, son. Like a man!" That was all he said as Batman approached the second bag. He unzipped it, revealing his mother.

"Mom?" Batman asks with equal shock.

"Help us, Bruce. Don't let us die!" She pleaded in an ethereal voice.

Batman approaches the third and final body bag, revealing Scarecrow. Now Batman knew what was going on. He's been exposed to Scarecrow's Fear Toxin. As he ventures through a warped reality, Scarecrow's distorted voice calls out.

"Poor little Bat. You're in my world now...!" Scarecrow says.

-Later-

Batman eventually overcomes Scarecrow, getting back to reality just as Oracle calls him.

"Can you hear me? Bruce, what's going on?!" Oracle asks frantically into his comm unit.

"Oracle...I'm okay." Batman says tiredly. Scarecrow's Fear Toxin always took a lot of energy to overcome.

"What happened? I lost contact. Are you sure you're all right? Have you found my dad?" She asks.

"I'm fine. Had a little run-in with Scarecrow, slowed me down. I'll get back to you in a bit." He says as he hangs up. He reaches the area in the hall where he found Gordon, only to see a dead Arkham guard in his place. Gordon was never dead to begin with. "It wasn't Gordon...Crane's gas must've affected me more than I thought..." Batman says, realizing that everything he saw wasn't real.

-Experimental Chamber-

As Batman enters, Joker sees him through a monitor. "Your precious Police Commissioner is just through the glass. Take a look. Harley's under strict instructions to kill the old man if any of my guys even think you're in the room. They're patrolling down there. I've told 'em all you are on the way. So, here's the deal: If you can find a way to get to Harley without anyone realizing, I'll give you your next present. Fail, and the old codger dies. Hell, I may even give you Harley. Hehehehe! It looks like you could use a new sidekick."

After several minutes of sneaking around and taking down the armed henchmen, Batman makes it to Harley, crashing through a glass ceiling and knocking her out cold.

"Ha. You took longer than I thought." Gordon says sarcastically as Batman approaches the tied up Commissioner.

"He's out of control. He's trying to prove something. I'm not sure I can stop him this time." Batman says as he unties Gordon. "Where's Dr. Banner, Jim?"

"Don't know. I must've been unconscious when they moved him. Batman, listen. We're not alone. He's got something else down there, but I don't know what it is..."

Joker appears on a monitor after Gordon says this. "What a blabbermouth. Spoiling the surprise."

Batman scowls at the monitor in annoyance. "Be quiet."

"Oh. Am I getting to you? Am I? Good. You're going to love this next bit..." Joker says as Batman and Gordon head into a small structure in the middle of the room. Gordon approaches a small computer and tries to gain access to it, but it's locked in.

"It wants Dr. Young's log-in."

Batman sees something and tenses up. "Never mind that. Get behind me. Now!"

Some smoke clears in the room, revealing Bane and Bruce Banner, strung up.

"Bane..." Gordon says softly. "I thought he broke out of Blackgate!" He adds.

"Cut me down..." Bane hoarsely demands.

"Who did this to you?" Batman asks, horrified by Bane's condition.

"Dr. Young. The brujã. She drained the Venom from my blood. Must...stop...her..." Bane says weakly as he tries to move. As he does this, Joker appears on a monitor.

"Sorry, 'Has-Bane'. The good Doctor won't be a problem much longer." He then focuses on Batman. "How do you like my puppet? What say we cut him down?" He asks as he presses a button, causing a machine to pump a green substance into Bane, making him big and muscular again.

"Gordon, run!" Batman shouts as Bane breaks free and knocks him through a brick wall, taking the fight to a boiler room.

Gordon runs over to Banner and tries to uncuff him, noticing he has a shock collar around his neck to keep him from transforming. "Come on, Banner. Wake up. We need your big friend to come out right fricking now!" He says as he frantically shakes him until Banner weakly opens his eyes.

"G-Gordon...Break...the collar..." He mutters out as Gordon grabs a pipe and starts hitting the collar until it finally breaks and falls off Banner's neck. "Stand back." Banner says as he weakly stumbles towards the area where Bane is fighting Batman. "Hey! Luchador! Pick on someone your own size! He yells as he charges at Bane with a clenched fist, which transforms along with the rest of him as he turns into Hulk, knocking Bane against a wall. "Ooh! Yeah! It's good to be back!" Hulk says as Bane slowly recovers from the attack. Hulk could hit a hell of a lot harder than Bane.

"Hulk...I've waited so long for another shot at you!" Bane says angrily as he swings his right arm at Hulk, who catches it with his left hand and punches Bane in the gut before following it up with a brutal punch to the face.

"Keep waiting, muscle head..." Hulk says tauntingly as he repeatedly punches Bane and counters his attacks. Hulk felt like a complete badass as Bane failed to get a hit on him. Bane's cumbersome storage tank was slowing him down; it always did. He just needed an opening...and he got one. As Hulk raises his arms for a downward swing, Bane strikes him in the throat. Hulk coughs hard as Bane takes advantage of his vulnerability and lands several punches to his face and body before attempting to strangle him. Batman takes action, leaping onto Bane's back and cutting the tubes to his storage tank, which greatly reduced his strength. Hulk smiles darkly as he easily pries Bane's hands off of his throat.

"Move, Bat!" Hulk yells as he regains his composure, shoving Bane back. As soon as Batman was out of the way, Hulk charges at his opponent and punches Bane very hard, sending him flying across the room and into one of the support columns, causing the room to start collapsing. Hulk roars in triumph as he sees an opening in the ceiling for him, Gordon, and Batman to get out. He grabs Batman and Gordon before leaping out, leaving Bane behind as the room collapses. Once they're outside, Batman activates the Batmobile as Gordon taps him on the shoulder.

"Batman, you okay?" He asks.

"I'm fine, Jim. Where's Quinn?" Batman asks. His mind was always on the job.

"Gone. Must've gotten loose while Bane was throwing you around. Or to be more accurate, while Hulk was throwing Bane around." He says with a chuckle as he looks at Hulk, who sits against the wall. After beating Bane, Hulk was tired. Fighting Bane always tired him out.

"We need to get you off the island, Jim." Batman says, concerned about his friend.

"I'm not a rookie; I can handle myself." Gordon says, defending his 'dignity'.

"Heh. Says the guy who was held hostage by Harley Quinn, of all people." Hulk says with a chuckle, not taking Jim's defense seriously.

Suddenly, Bane burst through the wall behind Hulk and grabbed Batman, now back to proper strength. "I will break you, Batman! Then the monster, and finally the brujã!"

"No, Bane. This time...I break you!" Batman retorts as the Batmobile speeds towards them. Hulk recovers and pulls Batman away as Bane is hit full force by the Batmobile, sending both him and the car into the water.

Batman, Hulk and Jim head towards a boat. Batman wanted Jim off the island for his own safety.

"Jim, get back to the mainland. It's too dangerous here. Batman says.

"I don't like leaving you here." Jim argues.

"You don't have to worry about me, Jim. I'm as safe as I can be, especially with Hulk here." Batman says as he looks up at Hulk, who simply nods as Jim begrudgingly walks onto the boat. "The radio claims he's planted bombs all over Gotham. Gotham will panic. You're needed there."

"We're ready to go now, sir." The Arkham guard on board the boat says, no doubt wanting to get as far away from the island as possible.

Jim looks at the guard and nods as he looks at Batman and Hulk as they walk away. "Bane called Dr. Young 'brujã'. What does it mean?"

"It's Spanish...for witch." Batman says lowly as the boat pulls away from the dock. After the boat disappears from view, he radios Oracle. "Oracle, go through the city's computers. Pull up all you can on Dr. Young. I'll go through anything you find once we get to the cave?"

Oracle is puzzled. "A Batcave? On Arkham Island? Wait. 'We'? Who's with you?"

"I built it years ago. It's best to plan ahead for situations like this. As for who's with me, it's Hulk. He helped me deal with Bane."

"Good. With everything that's going on, you'll need the muscle. Anyway. A cave on Arkham...How'd you manage to keep this a secret?" Oracle asks, still puzzled.

"It's me, remember?" Batman answers jokingly.

"Heh. Very funny. So you think Dr. Young's been experimenting with Venom, the same chemical that turns Bane into that...animal?"

"Yes, and I'm worried. Bane seemed even more powerful than usual. He was actually able to match Hulk's strength, albeit temporarily. Joker wants the Venom, and that can only be trouble. We're heading to Dead Man's Point in Arkham North. I'll contact you once we're in the Batcave." Batman says as he cuts the call.