"Well, well, Knight," Scarecrow mused as he watched the Arkham Knight lead his newest prisoner into the room. "Another one of Batman's friends captured? You impress me."
"Is the Cloudburst ready?" the Arkham Knight asked. He looked back at the militia unit that followed him and jerked his head. One of the men hurried forward with what looked like a stubby firearm. He pressed it against the prisoner's robotic arm and pulled the trigger. The device let out a sharp buzz. Suddenly, her arm fell limp, disabled.
"Almost." Scarecrow sauntered over to the prisoner. As he approached, his reflection on her helmet grew. "You 'heroes' always insist on hiding your faces. What is it about the light that frightens you?" He grabbed the top of the helmet and tore it away. The woman was yanked forward by the force, but was quickly pulled back by the shoulder by the Arkham Knight.
Her dark gold hair fell on her shoulders and framed her face as she kept it lowered. Scarecrow reached forward and tilted her head up by the chin. The woman kept her eyes downcast.
"Poor, poor girl," Scarecrow purred. "What is it with Batman and putting the young and the innocent in harm's way?" Unbeknownst to anyone in the room, the Arkham Knight's free hand twitched. "Still, you have chosen a side. And you have chosen poorly." He removed his hand from her chin and scraped the tips of his syringes against her neck. "You will tell me about the Batman. Tell me about his weaknesses, his… tender points."
The woman kept her eyes trained away from her interrogator. Her mouth did not move. Beside her, the Arkham Knight watched the exchange, keeping his vice-like grip on her shoulder.
"Always so resolved, his allies," Scarecrow said with a sigh. "Let me put it this way: you will talk, or you will scream."
"Just tell him what you know," the Arkham Knight insisted. There was a pause, and still no words were spoken. Scarecrow turned his back to the woman and took a step away. He raised his right hand up to his face, using his other hand to trace the tubes that ran along his arm.
"Knight, step away from the prisoner."
"Wait. Let me—."
"You don't want to be caught in it, do you? Step away," Scarecrow demanded gently. The Arkham Knight glanced at the woman. He slowly, almost reluctantly, removed his hand from her shoulder and backed away.
"Thank you." Scarecrow turned so that his profile was towards the woman. In a flash, he pointed his arm at her. A thick, dark cloud of gas shot out into the woman's face. Her head jerked back as though she had been hit. The soldiers in the room immediately backed away.
Scarecrow watched with his hands resting leisurely behind his back as he watched the woman hold her face with her human hand, sputtering.
"Sir," his earpiece suddenly spoke. "The Batman has reached the safehouse."
"This should be interesting," Scarecrow mumbled to himself. He looked at the coughing, gasping woman. "Let me know when you're ready to cooperate." With that, he turned and left the room.
The cloud of fear gas quickly dissipated harmlessly into the air. The woman twitched madly, her breathing heavy. She suddenly looked up, as though something had caught her attention. Then, she raised her arm, trying to shield herself from something above her. The breathing transformed into panicked crying. She fell backwards. Her robotic arm, still disabled, was unable to catch her fall. The woman landed on her side, clutching the part of her shoulder that was still flesh.
"No! No! DON'TPLEASENO!" She began screaming. The Arkham Knight, watching from a short distance away, clenched his hands into fists to stop their trembling. He knew exactly what she was experiencing. He was glad that his helmet hid his face.
"Get out!" he suddenly snapped to the soldiers. "All of you. The Cloudburst is almost operational. Get to your stations." The men gave curt nods and quickly filed out of the room. A few of them glanced back at the shrieking woman.
When he was sure that the room was finally empty, he walked over and knelt by the woman. She looked at him with a terrified, tear-stained face and tried to crawl away. The Knight caught her and pulled her against him. He wrapped an arm around her neck and tightened it. The woman's crying was quickly cut off. She pulled weakly at his arm. Her legs thrashed wildly, and she disappeared as she desperately cloaked.
It only took a handful of seconds, but it felt like an eternity. It was painful to listen to the strangled gasping and the scraping of her feet against the ground.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, trying to drown out the noise. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm… I'm so sorry." Eventually, the struggling stopped. There was a thump as the woman's hand hit the ground. She reappeared, as her consciousness could no longer support the cloak.
The Arkham Knight immediately released his grip. The woman's head fell back against his chest. Her lips were slightly parted, tiny breaths coming to and fro between them. The Knight tucked his arms under her knees and behind her back as he lifted her up. He carried her to the door, and then stopped.
After a moment's consideration, he gently shifted her so that she was draped over his shoulder. Then he held his head up and walked through the door. The Arkham Knight continued forward until he reached a small room that contained a small couch and a collapsed shelf. He lowered the woman onto the couch. Then, for a spell, he stood there.
"Sir." The Arkham Knight quickly glanced up at the soldier who stood by the door. "What are we going to do with her?"
"What you're going to do is guard this door," the Knight replied sternly, marching out of the room and shutting the door behind him. "And let me know the moment, the moment the prisoner is awake. You got that?"
"Yes sir."
His hands were wrapped tightly around the steering wheel. The Batmobile rumbled underneath him, ready to take off at a moment's notice. His objective was clear: get to Ivy at GCPD and find out the secret to her "natural immunity." But for the moment, all he could do was sit there.
How could he have let this happen? He just watched as Barbara… and he couldn't do anything.
"Couldn't, or didn't?" the Joker wondered innocently, leaning against the side of the vehicle. "Such a simple little word swap, yet it changes the whole meaning of things, right Bats?"
Batman scowled. He punched the button that pulled the Batmobile's windshield over the driver's seat. The Joker tapped on the ballistic glass. "Oh, come on, Bruce!" he shouted, his voice muffled. "Now you're just acting like a child! I know you never got to be one, what with the gunned-down parents and all, but really!"
Suddenly Batman's comms crackled to life. It was Scarecrow broadcasting on a public channel, but the message was directed towards Batman.
"You never seem to learn," Scarecrow taunted. "Do you not realize, Batman, that every ally you pull into this futile battle only serves to hurt you more than it helps?" He paused, allowing his words to sink in. "This one seems much less chatty than Barbara Gordon was. But I can assure you that I will extract every last drop of information, every little bit of ammunition to break you, from her. Then she will receive the same fate as Ms. Gordon." The line cut to dead silence as the broadcast ended.
"Oooh!" Joker said, wincing as though he had stubbed his toe. "You hear that, Bats? The stuffed straw man's got another! I say, you're losing friends like you're losing hair." The clown ran his hand over the top of his green head. "And Rogaine's not going to help you with this one."
He had enough. It was time to get into action and stop Scarecrow as soon as he could. Batman's foot struck down on the accelerator. The Batmobile roared to life and shot down the road.
As Batman veered through the streets, he established a channel to Alfred. "Crane has her," he said gravely as soon as the uplink was established.
"I found nothing on the scanners. I'm terribly sorry, sir," Alfred replied somberly.
"Don't be. It's not your fault," Batman said.
"And neither is it yours. Master Bruce, you mustn't blame yourself for anything that has happened tonight." There was a soft beeping noise. "Oh… It appears someone is attempting to contact you. This isn't anyone I seem to recognize, sir."
He knew who it was. "Patch them through, Alfred."
"Very good, sir." There was a lull as the unknown contact connected. Then, a male voice spoke up.
"I must say, Crane certainly looks the part now. It's the nose… definitely the nose. And by that, I mean the lack of one."
"Verlix," Batman greeted as he rounded a corner. GCPD was very close. "You heard the broadcast, didn't you?"
"Of course, Batman. I've got my fingers in everyone's pies. And I suppose you thought you'd intersect us by the city border and convince us to turn back? Not a chance, man."
"Alfred didn't pick up any cloaking agent residue," Batman admitted.
"Leaving behind detectable residue is a thing of the past. We've upgraded," Verlix said. "You're not the only one who can come out with a 2.0 version. Except me; I'm still ancient." Verlix let out a breathy chuckle. "Anyway, Crane better not be hurting her too bad. I hear that gas is nasty stuff."
"As soon as I take care of Scarecrow's toxin, I'll get her back," Batman assured. Ahead of him, the shutter door to the GCPD's underground entrance rose. He guided the car through the tunnel.
"Batman, there's really no need," Verlix said. "I'm sure your agenda is overflowing as it is."
"Scarecrow is planning to kill her," Batman warned. "I cannot allow that to happen."
"Don't worry; she knows what she's doing. This isn't like last time," Verlix insisted. The Batmobile reached the entrance to the police department. The vehicle skidded to a halt on the asphalt. "Really, Batman, we're fine."
"I can't ask you to put your lives in danger for me."
"You don't need to. We're doing this, whether you like it or not. See you on the other side." The connection ended.
When Batman walked through the doors of the GCPD, he stopped short when he saw the pale face and wide grin standing right in front of him. Then, he marched forward, ignoring Joker's mocking stare.
"A 2.0 version, eh? This is what happens when you don't finish the job. The weed grows right back! And they stick all kinds of new machines onto themselves! Ghostie girl's been busy, hasn't she? Looks like she got over him real quick. But then again, so did you." Those last words struck a chord, but Batman pressed forward. He could hardly hear the words of greeting and encouragement coming from the police officers he passed.
On his way to the isolation chamber, he saw Cash up ahead. Suddenly, the prior event that took place in that safehouse came to mind. The thought became another weight in his chest. Another death in the family.
Addendum: Every time Alfred said "Very good, sir" in the game, a big goofy smile would appear on my face. He's just the best thing ever.
Also, Verlix forgot to point out that Scarecrow's balls apparently dropped since Arkham Asylum. Dat voice doh. John Noble did a fantastic job. I half expected Scarecrow, at some point, to tell Batman that he's like a rare breed of butterfly. Or force a hobbit to sing to him while he explodes grape tomatoes all over his face.