The Arkham Knight wasn't kidding when he told Kristi he was sending her out on her own. The man promised to meet her right after he was finished at the chemical plant, but that didn't make her feel any less nervous. Not only was she now separated from her commander - she was alone with a crew of men she didn't recognize in Gotham - which inhabitants only consisted of criminals after the evacuation- on her way to the Wayne Clock Tower near Chinatown. The Knight had told her there was someone there who worked closely with the Batman, but refused to elaborate further. To say Kristi was confused was an understatement - if this person worked with the Batman, why would he send her of all people to occupy them until the Knight was able to make it himself.
Within minutes the vehicle pulled up outside the tower. Kristi took a minute to look up at the clock through the tinted window before turning back to the men sitting in the front seat - a sense of deja vu hit her briefly. The Knight had giving her orders to send them to the checkpoint nearest the clock tower after dropping her off. He said it was best for her to go in alone - although Kristi wasn't sure how she felt about that decision. On one hand it made sense - if the militia vehicle was spotted outside the tower it would raise suspicion and either the GCPD or one of Batman's sidekicks would come snooping around but on the other hand she wasn't sure how the Knight thought she was capable of managing a hostage who works for Batman by herself.
"You know what your orders are after I leave, correct?" Kristi asked, voice hoarse from her nerves.
The man behind the steering wheel nodded his head, looking at her through the rearview mirror. Neither man said a word.
"Okay. Well… I'll just be going then…" the woman said awkwardly as she stepped out. She had barely closed the door before the vehicle was squealing down the road. "Okay then…."
A few seconds passed with Kristi, stuck in her head before realising she was standing in the elevator heading to the top of the tower. She wasn't sure what she was expecting. The elevator came to a stop and as quietly as she could, Kristi slid open the door.
In the middle of the rounded room was a woman sitting in a wheelchair, typing away at what looked to be a massive computer. The woman had bright red hair pulled up into a ponytail. With one look Kristi was sure she knew who it was.
"Babs?" she called out in an unsure voice. Kristi figured there wasn't much the other could do to her so she didn't see the harm that could happen.
The other woman startled slightly in her chair. "Robin, I'll contact you later. Something just came up," she muttered quietly before hitting a few buttons to change the room's interior, taking the computer out of sight. Turning her chair around, Barbara glared at her intruder. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"
Kristi slowly stepped further into the room, being sure to pull down the mask covering her face. "You know pressing a few buttons and hiding away the room isn't going to do much seeing as I've been here long enough."
"Kristi?" Barbara exclaimed. There were many things running through the techie's head. "You've been missing for almost two years! Everyone thought you were dead."
"I'm sorry for making everyone worry?" Kristi worded as though she was asking a question.
"The GPD looked everywhere for you. It was like you dropped off the face of the earth. Not even the ba -" Barbara stopped herself. "I'm just not sure how to process this information."
"Not even what? The Batman could find me. It's not like I was important enough for him to come looking for me anyways. I was just some kid from the street. People go missing every day in Gotham. I wasn't any different."
"You didn't even think to contact me or even Dick? We were worried sick. You didn't even tell Wayne Enterprises you were leaving."
"None of that matters now Babs. Sorry to spring this on you, but you have five minutes before the rest of my people show up. Now I don't know what the Knight wants with you, I'm sure it has to do with that fancy looking computer you were just working on. I suggest you explain now or I won't know how to protect you."
Barbara furrowed her brows at the girl standing before her. "The Knight? You're working for him… on your own free will? Why would you do that?"
"This really isn't the time for you to be interrogating me Babs. Now I suggest you explain to me why I am here for you. What do you have to do with the Batman?"
"The Batman? I have no idea what you're talking about right now -
"Bullshit, Barbara" yelled the soldier just as a loud bang came from the elevator shaft, signalling movement. Kristi flinched and pulled up the cloth around her neck to cover her face. "Shit. There's no time. Don't acknowledge me, or show any sign that you know me. You do that, you risk any chance that I have to get you out of this situation."
The elevator came to a stop and before the doors could slide open, Kristi pulled a cloth out of her utility belt and brought it up to the other womans face. "I'm sorry Babs."
"Barbara, Barbara, Barbara, it's been too long," the Knights robotic voice bellowed into the room. Kristi looked up from the woman now slumped in her chair to acknowledge her boss. "Jenner, how long has she been out."
"Only a few seconds."
"Good, let's get out of here." The Knight picked up the redhead and threw her over his shoulder. "We'll be moving this little nerd to a new location, in hopes of sending the bats on chase around Gotham."
"Where will you be taking the prisoner sir?"
"The safe house in Chinatown."
"Chinatown… but Ivy? -
"The Bat already picked the plant up and threw her in prison."
Kristi nodded her head, of course Batman had already been there, even better he won't feel there's a reason for him to return to the safe house again. The Knight walked into the elevator but as the woman when to follow he stopped her. "You're not coming on this one, Princess."
She rolled her eyes at the nickname. "I need you to stay here, and try to delete any information Oracle has on her computer. This is going to be the first place the Bat will come to looking for clues."
"You're going to leave me here? Alone?" Kristi cried out. "What if I'm still here when he comes? What am I supposed to do then?"
"You'll be fine. As long as you don't try to fight back he won't hurt you. Just try to be gone before he does."
"And where am I supposed to go?"
The Knight closed the door to the elevator with a clang and turned his head to the woman. "Just get out of here. Go to one of the checkpoints and I'll contact you with further information when I'm done."
With the that the elevator was gone and Kristi was stuck in the room. She looked around the room and sighed. She was going to have to try to get the computer to appear before she could even start hacking into it never mind trying to delete information. If Barbara truly was the this Oracle that the Knight thought she was then Kristi couldn't imagine what was kind of preventative software there was in store for her. She slumped down in Barbara's chair, removing the mask from her face once again. "What the hell did I get myself into…"