Chapter 2 Arkham Asylum 2: Riddles
AN: Thanks for the great support so far, it helps a lot. For those are wondering about story posting, my focus will be this story and Hero of the Sky story. Also, if some are wondering why Barbara is Oracle now? That easy as in this story she starts as Oracle first before becoming Batgirl later in the story. Trust me, things will work out and now enjoy.
Red Robin started to leave the room towards where Jim's last location was at and start there to find a clue to where he was taken. Boles might have left something behind, he was not smart from the looks.
As the bird-themed hero made him towards the Transfer Loop, he started to get a call from his com.
"Red Robin! What's happening?" Barbara asked.
"Joker's escaped. He's sealed himself off. He's got your father," Red Robin replied, telling his friend the truth.
"Dad," Barbara cried out in worry.
"Don't worry. I'm getting him back," Red Robin said as keeps walking towards the Holding Cell area.
"Ok, I know…but…," Barbara said, traveling off and wonder about her father's safety.
"Barbara, I'm getting him back. Joker will not win, I won't let him," Red Robin promised to his friend and spoke again, "I'm starting where he was taken. A guard named Frank Boles attacked him. If I find Frank, I'll find your father."
This calm down Barbara, knowing once her friend makes a promise, he does anything he can to fulfill that promise like the good person he was and still is.
"Naruto, hurry! Please," Barbara begged as the com line stops and allowed the hero to do his work.
The bird themed hero kept walking towards his new location, not bothering with the clown's talk or joke at him. He did beat a few prisoners which were easy as it took one punch or kick to the head before walking towards the office of the Holding Cell Blocks, being Jim and Boles were last at.
Soon enough, Red Robin was at the crime scene and started using his DV, searching the area around him for any evidence and soon found something he could use to track down Boles. The guard drops his flask, sloppy and has left travel of forensic for the hero's scanner to pick. He will need to follow traces of alcohol from the bourbon in the atmosphere and his DV has finished the scanning.
"Oracle, I've got a trail," Red Robin said as his scanners start scanning the footprints that were left behind for him to follow.
"That's great. You follow it. I'm grabbing ever reference to Arkham I can find. Maybe useful later," Barbara said as she doses her thing with the computer and sees what she can find that can be a great help to her friend/partner.
Red Robin starts his tracking the alcohol from Boles and soon made his way out of the Holding Cell to where the elevator was located to see a guard having trouble with calling the left down. The bird hero kept walking and notice that travel goes up now, meaning that he needs to go up in order to follow the travel towards where he needed to go, but something happens.
"Be quiet," Red Robin ordered, causing the guard to stop talking and allowed him to hear something, being a familiar female wearing a sexy guard uniform of her costume.
Harley had jumped onto rafters of the elevator and said, "Uh, uh, uh, uh, Bird. Mr. J doesn't want you following us just yet."
She then brings out something and pushes the button, causing bombs to blow up and she flew upwards while laughing.
Then it hit the hero and yelled out, "Get down!"
The bird hero threw the guard away and jumped down, avoiding the explosion from the now destroyed elevator. The guard was safe from harm's way and the elevator was down, causing the hero rethink of a new plan that he knows very well.
"Jim was taken up to the surface in the elevator but now is gone. Hmm, time for the old-fashioned way," Red Robin thought as he used his grappling gun to hook onto something and started to climb up within metal works.
By using his training, the bird-themed hero moved within air vents and kept going upwards towards where he needs to go while listening to Boles killing a few guards for Harley and Joker's men to work into the main room with no trouble over the open speakers. This anger the hero but keep going and promised to give that cop a good beating.
Soon enough, Red Robin found himself in the air vents of the Cell Block Transfer and saw guards getting shoot down by Joker's men and noticed that those men now have guns with orders to shoot to kill.
By using his strength and being quiet, the bird-themed hero broke the vent door down with his left leg and started to plan something out as he didn't want bullets in his stomach.
By turning his DV to Joker's men around the corner and spoked into his com, "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," Barbara informed.
"I know. I'll calibrate the hood's vision mode to isolate armed henchmen," Red Robin said, having his DV taking new information and saw the threat ahead of him.
He saw an old stone rafter and used his grappling gun to climb onto it to later jumped from rafter to another with hook and soon was behind the armed henchmen. The bird themed hero then jumped off the rafter quietly and walked behind the first, doing a silent takedown by grabbing onto his mouth and held him down to the ground. The henchman passed out and allowed the hero to move to the others for another silent takedown, taking them down one by one and soon saw one more in the control room.
Red Robin took down the last of Joker's crew down and caused Joker on TV to speak, "Oh look who it is! Are your hooded ears burning? I suppose I'd better warn my boys you're on the way…Hey, maybe I won't…It'll be a nice surprise!
Red Robin moved by opening a vent and moved towards within the air vent towards the main room to see one of Joker's men grabbing a gun. By being quiet, the bird hero broke the vent down and took henchman down before he ever knows it. He noticed that he was in the Intensive Treatment Lobby and the trail was around here, that's good and more men to take down.
The bird themed hero used his grappling gun and got onto the stone rafter above him, seeing more armed men in the lobby and started to plan something out. All the armed men were one alone, bit mistake and the hero has his plan in motion.
By doing different ways and being quiet, Red Robin silent takes down one armed before moving on to the next, taking the armed henchmen down one by one before one noticed that was gone, clearing the room out.
Before it was over, more armed men started walking into the lobby and it was nothing for the hero to handle.
Red Robin watched the men moved out and started grappling towards other rafters for a better takedown. He saw one alone and moved towards him to where he can take him down by kicking his legs and grabbing his mouth to lose air and be out cold. The bird themed hero keeps moving from one-armed man to another, taking them down and caused panic within a few men of where he was going to show.
The last one had back himself up into an office with a glass window above him and was wide open. The bird themed hero soon jumped onto the building and saw the opening. He broke through the glass window and jumped onto the armed man, knocking him out cold and was done. Now he can get back to his mission, but he found something bad had happened.
Boles was found dead on transport with green face paint on his face that formed into a smile and words dead end on his chest. Well, that's not good.
"Joker must have known how I was tracking Boles. Hmm, I need to find another way to follow Jim," Red Robin thought but soon was cut out of thought when someone starting hack his com lines.
"Hello, can you hear me, Red Robin?" A voice asked, being someone, the bird knows very well.
"Riddle. I see that you have hacked my commutation," Red Robin said, knowing who he was dealing and started to use his skills by pushing a few buttons on his arm to start locating the mastermind's location.
"Yes, it was so easy that even a child could have done it. I have a little game for you to play out, Red Robin. Answer them and well, you'll see. Here is the first one," Riddle said, sending the first of his riddles towards the hero.
The riddle was easy to say the last as the hero was looking at the picture of the warden himself and answered the riddle with no trouble.
"A monkey could have solved that one but be ready for more harder one. Trusts me," Riddle promised as he cuts off the com and starts up with making more riddles.
"As if I had an enough for tonight," Red Robin thought as he soon saw a door opening downstairs and a guard came out, is the one he saw when he was walking in.
"Red Robin over here!" The guard called out, getting the hero to walk over towards him and see what's going on.
After getting a few more riddles done, the bird-themed hero walks to the guard and hear him out.
"It was a massacre. Boles came walking in telling everyone to cover the front entrance. 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 guard informed.
"Was Boles alone?" Red Robin asked, hoping that the guard had seen Jim by any chance.
"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 someone with them, it looked like the Commissioner," The guard answered, remembering what he saw.
This gives the hero some good news and something to work on. He will start looking outside of the building and look for some clues as to where Jim is being taken too.
"Boles is dead, they carried on without him. Must have outlived his usefulness," Red Robin said, hoping to ease up the pain of the guard from being betrayed and relax a bit.
"Good, he was scum," The guard said before kneeling down in front of his friend, saying his goodbyes and promising to look after his family.
Red Robin kept moving and know he must stop Joker before it goes on any longer. He was in the Utility Corridor and that leads to a way out of the building, being what the hero wants and find out where Commissioner Gordon was taken too.
The bird themed hero soon heard a radio broadcast on a small radio from Jack Ryder and about Joker's bombs placed around Gotham. He knows that the clown is lying to keep people away from Arkham Island as a bigger plan was taking form and this hero was going to stop it.
Small Time Skip
Didn't took so long as Red Robin was out of the building and see the hole Arkham Island from the cave opening. This was going to be a long night and a night that the bird-themed hero will stop the clown.
"Hmm, Harley tells me that Red Robin's copy bat car is still parked just outside of the Intensive Treatment building. Now we can't just have him up and leave us, can we? Every thug, villain, and teacher that isn't carrying out party order should head there now and smash it to pieces," Joker ordered over the speakers that were placed all over Arkham and hero started to get warnings.
The Tumbler could hurt two someones that the hero doesn't want to hurt.
"Oracle disable the Tumbler's countermeasure system," Red Robin ordered.
"I saw the alert, what's wrong? Where are you?" Barbara asked.
"I'm outside the Arkham Mansion. Harley Quinn probably trigged the alarm. If she's still got Gordon with her, they could get hurt," Red Robin answered, seeing the problem at hand.
"Okay, done! The Tumbler is still parked up outside the Intensive Treatment building is Arkham North. I've sent you the layout for the entire island and marked key locations like your car," Barbara said, mapping out it for the hero.
"Thanks, Barbara," Red Robin said, ending the com and started moving out towards his car while getting a few riddles done.
He walks towards where the car was parked soon found within an opening area an ambulance truck with two guys taking over and from the other side armed men open fire on them.
"Stay with your colleague. I'm ending this now," Red Robin ordered, knowing how he could stop them.
Using his grappling gun, the bird-themed hero was overhead the thugs and moved down to take of them very quickly with no trouble. One smashed into a wall and another takedown hard into the ground with a few to the head and stomach. Very easy and quick, now the hero could move to the Tumbler that was just ahead of him.
A group of thugs had bats or piles that were smashing anything on the car but failed to see the hero running towards them with right hook towards one of them.
The thug was punched hard in the face and caused his friends to see who was here.
"He's here!" One of the thugs called out, getting the others to surrounded and fight the hero.
Red Robin threw two of his shurikens that got one of the thugs off his feet and allowed to fight one of them on his right. He threw downwards stick towards the head, causing the prisoner to fall and went to the next thug.
The bird themed hero grabbed the kick that was coming at him and right kneed the thug in the face, seeing him flying into the ground. He jumped in the air to jump kick one thug in the face before moving towards thug on the ground and grabbed his right leg, breaking it by bending it and caused him to scream in pain before punching his lights out.
Red Robin grabbed one thug arm, twisting him over and fall onto the ground. He then breaks the arm and kicks the thug in the face, knocking him out. The bird hero jumped onto one of the thugs to punch his lights out before he gets up and back jump kicked on a thug in his gut, knocking out the last one and protected his car from them.
"There's a supply of Explosive Gel in the glove box of the Tumbler. I may need it just in case," Red Robin thought as he walks over to his car, opening it and grabbed something from the side of the drive's side, being his spray can of Explosive Gel that he was given him.
This hero might need and started looking around the area as the Tumbler locks itself down.
"Tumbler took the trashing, good and there was scuffle before that. Hmm, there might be a clue as to where Harley took Jim," Red Robin thought, activating his DV and started looking for some clues.
The bird themed hero scanned the area and soon found something he knows very well. Jim's pipe which was strange as Barbara gave it to him and he never leaves it. Something up as he scans the pip and found something that he tracks. He found Wild Country, the favorite tobacco Jim. This was good as the trail was left behind for him.
"Oracle, I found a pipe, it has your father's initials carved on it," Red Robin informed as he starts to walk and have his DV go into the right tracking for the job.
"It was birthday gift I gave him last year. There's no way he'd leave it," Barbara said.
"Exactly. He's left me a trail to follow. He's alive Barbara," Red Robin said as starts following the trail, not wasting time and kept moving.
The bird-themed hero a had found a few riddles as he follows the trail that leads to Arkham West. The metal doors were lock so that leaves the hero to use a different way, being an old wooden wall that his DV found that the Explosive Gel can easily break down.
Shaking the can up and started to spray on the wall, Red Robin wrote an R symbol on the wall and took a few steps back before activated the gel's magic touch. The wall explodes down and allowed the hero to walk to where he needs to go, getting back on the trail and kept moving with a new open to him.
Red Robin travels around the west side of Arkham, taking down some thugs, getting a few riddles, and found out that someone was going around as the trail made its way towards the Medical Building, being the top floors and went inside.
The bird themed hero saw that was in the Medical Foyer and saw Harley before him with electric bars up, closing the way towards her off.
As hero walks forward, it got Harley's attention and spoked, "Hey! Shoo, Bird! This is my me time."
"Where's Gordon?" Red Robin asked, seeing the trail was hot here and the commissioner was nearby.
"Wouldn't you like to know? Maybe we spend some time than worry about the old man?" Harley offered, wanting to spend time with her favorite bird before her.
Before the hero could say anything, someone called out, "I'm over here!"
That was Jim for sure.
"Shut up!" Harley shouted, throwing her mug at the cop and caused to grunt as almost hit him.
"Ahg! You crazy bitch!" Jim called back.
The TV turns on, being Joker and said, "Harley!"
Harley yipped at this called out and got up on her feet.
"What's he doing here? It's too early," Joker said.
"I'm sorry, Puddin. Don't be angry with me," Harley said as she walks up to the TV.
"Oh, you little minx, I can never stay mad at you," Joker said, turning the TV off.
"Sorry Bird! You'll have to find another way. Buh bye for now!" Harley called out as she starts to cartwheel out of the hero's vision.
Red Robin knows that he needs to find another way as this was blocked and will need to search outside the Medical building for a new way. He soon walks out of the building and soon finds some air vents he can travel into the building with no trouble.
"I want all the doctors rounded up. Search every inch of the Medical building. I mean it. Search every room, every office, and every trash can," Joker ordered through the speakers, getting the hero to wonder as to why he needs to the doctors.
The bird themed hero started to crawl into the air vent and keep hearing Joker giving his orders out to his crew.
"If another doctor tries to run and gets out fo the building, then you won't. I'll just flood the rooms with happy gas and leave you to die. Hell, I may do that anyway, sounds like fun," Joker said, laughing off such enjoyment for him.
Red Robin keeps moving with the air vents to see an open view of doctor offices and Joker's crew rounding up the doctors, causing him to think deeply.
"Why does he need the doctors? I've got to save them," Red Robin thought as he crawls out of the air vents and finally made his way into the main room.
The bird hero grapples onto a stone rafter and starts playing out his plan of attack, seeing three armed henchmen and small openings to strike. He can't risk the doctors and will need to play it safe until an opening shows itself before him.
Within on metal catwalks, one armed thug walks around and alone for the bird to strike. He got behind the thug and hold him down until he was out cold. Then waited for another thug to walk up on the catwalks and fall into a trap, getting his lights to knocking with a few teeth missing.
The last was alone and bird hero gilded down towards, kicking the henchman in the face and fall into the ground. Red Robin then punches the thug in the face, knocking out and has the room clear out.
"It's safe now!" Red Robin called out, giving the doctors freedom and safety.
The bird themed hero started to talk with one of the doctors for some answers and hear her out.
"I don't know what happened. One minute we were doing our evening rounds, and the next armed thugs burst into the room and took us hostage," The doctor said, telling her side of the story.
"Did they have anyone with them?" Red Robin asked, wondering if she saw Jim or anyone else being taken away.
"They took someone into the elevator, I couldn't tell who it was," The doctor replied.
Red Robin looked at the elevator, seeing it was power down and someone covers up their tracks. Hmm, he will need to figure that out later soon enough.
"You're going to be okay here," Red Robin said.
"We'll be fine," The doctor said with a smile on her face, but it changed when her fellow doctor spoke out.
"What about the others? We heard gunfire. They could be dead! We should go and help," The other doctor said, remembering a few others that were still in the building.
"Oh no, I forgot. Doctor Kellerman was in the Patient Observation room and Dr. Chen went to Surgery," The doctor said, knowing where two of her fellow doctors went.
"And Dr. Young went to X-ray," The other doctor added in.
Red Robin now needs to save three more and knows where they at from last time.
"Okay, stay here. I'll find the other doctors," Red Robin ordered/promised to find the other doctors.
The bird-themed hero started to take his leave to rescue the three doctors. He walked upstairs towards the Surgery room first, seeing a few TVs on about Dr. Young's introduction about her project to cure crazy patients, getting the hero to raise an eyebrow at this.
He shook it off as he made and saw the doctor trapped into the chair but also something that was placed and got onto as he walks in.
"Red Robin!" Chen called out.
"Don't speak. You're safe now," Red Robin said, seeing how he could get the doctor out.
"But…but it's a trap," Chen said through his worn-out breath.
Red Robin smiled and said, "I know, just not for me."
The TV, showing Joker and said, "Are you trying to take Bat's role as the world's greatest detective. How did you do that, birdy?"
"Easy. It was all too easy to walk right in," Red Robin simply said.
"Oh, what the hell. Get down there, boys! See if he can detect being punched in the face!" Joker called, allowing his men to jump and fight the bird.
The fight broke out as Red Robin punched a few thugs, countering their hits and knocking a few teeth out of their mouths. One brought his leg to kick the bird in the face, but the bird-themed hero ducked down to grab the leg and swung his left leg to knock the thug into the ground.
Seeing one of the thugs grabbing something off the wall, Red Robin jumps towards that thug and smash him into the wall, knocking him out cold. He jumped overhead one thug coming at him to kick the back of the head, causing him to fall face first into the floor. The bird hero swung his right elbow behind him, crosslinking one thug into the ground out cold.
Taking his bo staff, Red Robin swung his staff towards the left towards thug's face, knocking him hard into the ground and kick the side of his face to knock him out. He then jumped onto one of the thugs that were getting up from the ground and grabbed his leg to break into two, getting screams.
Red Robin ducked, avoiding two thugs coming at him and turn around to grab their faces to use his strength to slam into the ground. The last thugs' rushes at the hero, getting him to sigh and pull out his stun gun, shooting a bolt and knocking the prisoner out with one shot.
"Don't get too full of yourself, birdy. I'm just softening you up. Think of this as a preview to the main event. You'll see," Joker said, ending the TV.
Red Robin walks over to Dr. Chen, freeing and allowed him to stand up.
"I'm sorry. I tried to tell you but I couldn't speak clearly," Chen said.
"That's fine. You're safe now," Red Robin said, waving it off and started to take leave for other doctors to save.
One down, two more to go.
Red Robin leaves the Surgery for X-ray and found a few things such as riddles (again), some thugs that were easy to beat, and finally found a door towards where he needs to go.
The bird themed hero moved quietly as heard armed thugs talking from another side of the walls that hold Dr. Young hostage. He turns on his DV, seeing the walls were weak for a trick he could do and counted five armed men. The walls are weak and they will not harm the doctor by explosions.
As Red Robin hears the leader of a group talking the doctor to listen to his threats, he started to spray the walls with R symbols and waits for the right time to push the button. The hero walked onto of office building and waited for the moment to push the button to take down the thugs, being right now.
By button pushed, the walls exploded and took down the men with little trouble, causing the doctor to scream of this sudden attack, but change when she saw red Robin walking to talk to her.
"What's going on? They were talking like they were in control. Is it true that Joker escaped?" Dr. Young asked.
Red Robin saw something was up with the doctor as she sounds very afraid which shouldn't be surprised but something was indeed up.
"Unfortunately, yes, but not for long," Red Robin answered.
"I'd been studying Joker's case for months when he broke out. The Warden was very specific he wanted Joker cured," Young said, remembering notes she took a while ago.
Red Robin chuckled a little at this and said, "Bad publicity will affect his campaign for Mayor."
"That'll be the last of his…God, I almost forgot. They said they were moving through the facility, hunting down the other doctors," Young said, remembering what the thugs that capture her said.
"I know. I've got one more to search and then all the staff will be safe. You stay here," Red Robin said.
Young wanted to talk back at this but she saw that she was now and here where she was at for the moment. So, no room for talking back to the hero that saved her. Moving on.
Red Robin leaves the X-ray room for the last places he needs to search for the last doctor and those that are with him. He walked into the hallways to the next while listening to the TV or Joker talking.
Before the bird-themed hero could move to the room, around the corner he heard two men talking about how Cash lost his hand. He thought for a second on how to take them down quickly and soon brought a tool for the job. He reached for his belt, grabbing two bolas into his hands and started spinning it for his targets before launching at a good speed and towards the legs.
The two thugs were capture and fall onto the ground by the bolas. They turn around to see who throw that but only kick in the face and out cold.
Red Robin soon opened the doors to see two more thugs in front of a window that showed Cash and the last doctor that needs to be saved. Seeing enough of them taunting the guard, the bird-themed hero rushed at one of the thugs by kicking his sides and caused him to fall.
"Go get them, Red Robin!" Cash called out, seeing the two thugs getting a beat down.
Red Robin knocks out one thug and turns to counter the other one punching him. Used his left arm to block the punch, two elbow jabs into the stomach and back fisted the thug, knocking him out cold.
The bird-themed hero gets up on his feet and said, "Cash, what happened?"
"There was an alarm in Medical, I heard someone shouting and found the Doc lying on the floor. When I went to help him, the room was flooded with gas. These doors locked down, but we can't get out. Don't know how long we can last," Cash answered.
"How brave? Let's give Mr. Cash a great big hand. He could use one," Joker joked with laughers from the speakers.
"You'll be laughing out of your butt when I get out of here," Cash threated.
"Lighten up, homes. I'm just messing with you," Joker said, ending the talk.
"Can't wait to return the favor," Cash said, promising the clown a good beating.
"Leave it Cash. Can you control the ventilation system in there?" Red Robin asked as a grappling hook onto the upper vents for him to get into the next room.
"Joker's filled the room with gas and we're trapped in here. I can sit in here all-night bit the Doc over there is not looking too good," Cash informed.
Red Robin started to claw into the air vents and makes his way towards the next room that was filled with Joker's Gas. He threw one birdarang towards one control panel, starting the air and clear the room a bit for him to move lower for the next one.
The bird themed jumped onto the next level down to threw another of his birdarangs towards the other panel, causing more of the gas to leave the room. Soon enough the last one was done and the rooms were clear of any Joker's Gas, having air to breathe in for the doc and allowed the two to leave the room.
Once Cash and the doctor leaves the room, Red Robin leaves the room while getting two more riddles down and heads back to the main room, knowing that he saved the doctors and could find Jim that was somewhere in the building. He could try the elevator that was power down, worth a shot and anything can happen.
Naruto's Harem (So far): Batgirl. Rest TBA