"Christ…" Robin mumbled when he turned the corpse over. The dead security guard's face was stretched by the abnormal grin that twisted his mouth. "I'll never get used to this."
Batman looked down at the body, and then stared forward. Ahead were the remnants of a destroyed LED archway that used to say 'GOTHAM AQUARIUM.' Next to it, the ticket booth was shattered, and another body was slumped in the chair behind it. "At least we know who's behind this."
"Of course," Robin said as he stood up. "Aside from Penguin, who'd be interested in attacking a giant fish tank? This is why we can't have nice things." Then, in a mumble, he added, "Not to mention a certain local billionaire donated a lot to this place."
"That doesn't matter now," Batman said. "We need to get as many people out as we can." He sprang forward. The shards of the archway crunched under his feet. Robin kept up pace behind him. "What about Barb? Shouldn't we wai—?"
"She'll catch up," Batman interrupted. "We can't afford to wait." Suddenly, as they rounded a corner, they found themselves facing a group of armed men. One of them managed to be quick enough to raise his gun and fire. Batman and Robin sidestepped out of the way. The shots bit into a large stone statue of a sea turtle. In a flash, Batman threw down a pair of smoke pellets, and the air became opaque. "Robin, go!"
They each ducked away into their own direction and, in only a few moments, incapacitated every gunman.
"Textbook takedown," Robin gloated as he dropped the last unconscious man. "Well… if this was actually in a textbook." He caught sight of the aquarium map on a nearby wall. "This place is huge. How are we going to find the Joker?"
Batman raised a hand to his ear. "Barbara, can you find him?"
"I'm tracking him down as we speak. If I find anything, I'll let you know."
"Barb? You're here? I didn't even hear you come in."
"You're not supposed to." There was a sigh. "And there's a dead sun fish over here. That's a shame. Let's round this up quick, okay? Batgirl out."
Batman continued forward, and Robin followed. They passed a few large tanks that seemed oddly empty. Then, something out of the corner of his eye caught Robin's attention. Something in the one of the tanks was drifting slowly past him in the blue water. When he turned to look, he saw that it was a drowned body. Further in the tank, he saw another one.
"Don't slow down," Batman chided. "There's nothing we can do for them."
"Do you see this?" Robin cried. "This is some really sick shit! I expect to see this in a horror movie or something, not in real life! And the worst part is, I'm starting to get used to it! And it's because of that son of a bitch, Joker. Why do we keep letting him do this?"
"Robin, not now. Barbara, any progress?"
"I'm serious, Bruce! We throw him in Arkham, he gets back out, and more people die. Speaking of which, he sure rebounded a lot sooner than usual."
"Nothing yet. I managed to get a few hostages."
"I mean, there's several thousand gallons of water in here. With a little cracked glass, we could make it look like an accident. And Gotham wouldn't miss him, either."
Batman suddenly stopped. He turned and glared at Robin. "You didn't say what I think you said."
"Bruce—."
"Do you hear yourself, Jason?" he snapped. "Dick would've never said something like that!"
Those words sparked rage within him. "I'm not Dick!" he shouted. "For the world's greatest detective, you sure are having a hard time figuring that out!"
Before Batman could respond, the large TV display flickered to life. The image of the Joker was centered on the screen. "My, my, Bats! You sure are slow today!" he mused. "Gave me enough time to round up all the sharks in the place and plop them all in this one tank right here!" The camera-holder directed the shot at a large, open-top tank that was below them. Dark gray masses snaked about under the water's surface.
"Now I'm not exactly sure when the last feeding day was," Joker continued. "But luckily, I've prepared a little bite-sized snack for these guys!" The camera pointed up. Dangling above the tank was a crying child clinging desperately to a rope. There was a sobbing in the background, a woman pleading, "Please! Give him back! Don't hurt him!"
"Knock it off, lady!" one of the henchmen dismissed.
"Oh, you'll get your turn," Joker said to her. "And you know what? You just might end up in the same stomach together! Won't that be nice?" Then, to the camera, he said, "Better hurry, Bats. I can see the little tot's fingers loosening from here."
Their earpieces crackled to life. "Guys, West Gallery," Batgirl said. "I'm on my way there now."
"Jason, let's go!" Batman said.
"Got it." They raced through the aquarium, taking down anyone who got in the way. The West Gallery was just beyond the glass tunnel. Their reflections stretched across the interior of the arch, gliding past the tropical fish behind the glass.
But they reached the gallery too late. The first thing Robin saw were the little boy's hands slipping from the rope. Then the child plummeted into the water. He heard the woman scream from where she was being held hostage. With a shove, one of the gunmen pushed the woman over the edge of the platform. Firing the grapple hook, Batman pulled himself up to catch her. Up on the platform, the gunmen were quickly being taken out by Batgirl.
Robin leaped up and caught the edge of the tank. Pulling himself over, he dove into the water without a second thought. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised at how clear the water was. It only took him a second to spot the struggling child.
Thankfully, the majority of sharks had swum away from the commotion. A few, however, began to circle the two humans. Robin paddled towards the boy and wrapped an arm around him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shark turn and began swimming towards them, jaws open. Robin pulled out the grapple hook and fired it at the shark. It hit the creature in the nose, causing it to recoil and retreat. Hurriedly, Robin began to swim desperate for the surface, the boy in tow.
With a gasp, he broke through the surface. Then, Robin pushed the boy up and over the edge of the tank. As he was about to climb out himself, he felt something grab his leg. With a cry, he was pulled back into the water. The shark that had snagged his leg was dragging him down towards the bottom of the tank. With his other foot, Robin tried desperately to kick at the shark. The drag of the water, however, softened his blows. The bubbles that escaped his lips were floating back up to the darkening surface.
Suddenly, everything lit up. Just above the water, a bright explosion lit up the entire tank. The sharks near the surface fled from the light. The one dragging Robin down quickly released him and retreated as well. The next thing he knew, Robin felt a pair of hands pulling him up. Then his face touched air. He sputtered as he was hauled onto land, water dribbling down his chin.
"Are you okay?" Batman's words were muffled.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Robin coughed.
"Bruce, he's not here," Batgirl said. "He can't have gone far, though." When Robin tried to sit up, she put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't, Jason. You need to rest. How's your leg?"
"I'm okay!" Robin protested. He looked down at his leg. The shark's teeth hadn't gone completely through his boot. "We have to c-catch the fucker."
It was then that something unexpected happened. "Mr. Todd?" a panicked voice cried. The voice threw Robin into a loop. It was the last thing he expected to hear at a time like this.
"Verlix?"
"Mr. Todd, I… I understand if you are busy," Verlix continued through the earpiece. "It's just… Jocelyn…" At the mention of her name, Robin's heart raced.
"What is it, Verlix?"
"Blüdhaven Police Department has been attacked. It's Signet!"
"What?" Robin bolted upright. "I thought you said they were gone!"
"I could not have… I could not have predicted… This is my fault. I have to…" Suddenly, Verlix disconnected. Robin scrambled to his feet.
"Bruce, you heard that, right?" he cried. "They've got her cornered in Blüdhaven! She doesn't have her suit; she can't fight back!"
"But what about the Joker?" Batgirl asked. "He's gotta be somewhere in this aquarium."
"He can go fuck himself!" Robin snapped. "Bruce, come on!"
"We'll never make it to Blüdhaven in time, Jason. We need to catch the Joker before he gets away," Batman said. Robin stared wide-eyed at him.
"You're abandoning her?"
"We need to do what's important."
"Fine! I'm choosing what's important." Without another word, Robin ran out of the gallery, ignoring their calls. His feet pounded against the floor. He encountered a couple of thugs and struck them out with unrestrained strikes. A TV display lit up.
"Looks like someone spoiled the surprise," Joker said with a hint of disappointment. Robin stopped in his tracks. "Really now, don't look so shocked, kiddo! See, I've got a little deal with someone. They sprung me out of Arkham and asked me to create a little mayhem to distract you and the Big Bad Bat. Of course, I would'a done that anyway. But you know what the best part is?" With a dark chuckle, he continued, "He's going to get your girl! Told me he was going to kill her real slow. I can't wait until he gets back to me with the footage; it's going to be a real blockbuster."
Robin could hardly breathe. He glared at the TV and stepped forward. "You are not going to win," he snarled through gritted teeth. He continued to run, but the Joker's voice followed him.
"It's such a shame I won't be able to see the look on your face when you see hers… ten feet away from her arms, 20 feet away from her legs and the rest of her body."
The motorcycle came to a shuddering stop in front of the Blüdhaven Police Department. The building was in an even worse state than last time. Through the broken down doors, Robin could see traces of blood. But the place was dead. Signet had long gone.
Robin made a call. "Dick, what happened?"
"You're by yourself?" Nightwing replied.
"Where's Jo?"
"I've been trying to follow Signet since the attack. I think I might be close. Follow my signal." Without another moment's hesitation, he spun the bike around and sped off. Nightwing was on the move, but it was easy to catch up to him.
They met up near the city's edge. The place differed drastically from the center of the city—it was a barren stretch of land with only a few old buildings. The one Nightwing was waiting outside of was a lumber mill.
"Jason—," he began.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Jason demanded.
"These guys don't mess around. They were out of BPD even before I got there. But I'm sure the trail ends here." He looked at the building. "They're armed. You know what to do, right?"
"I know exactly what to do." Without warning, Robin ran straight for the entrance.
"Wait!" Nightwing called out as he ran after him.
Robin braced his shoulder and rammed through the mill doors. The crash echoed through the empty building. He stopped and looked around, surprised. The place looked completely deserted. Sawdust and rust pervaded the air. Behind him, Nightwing ran in and stopped as well. "This could be a trap," he warned quietly.
Suddenly, a chill ran through Robin. That smell wasn't rust. "It doesn't matter," he hissed back as he hurried forward. There was a light coming from behind one of the doors at the far end of the mill. When he reached it, Robin kicked it open.
The acrid smell of blood hit him hard.
In the center of the room was a large table. Robin walked slowly towards it. Thick chords of rope were left in coils. A large carbide saw machine sat next to the table. And the blood. It coated the saw blade, pooled on the table, and dripped into thick puddles on the ground. Robin felt cold. He circled the table.
And then he saw it on the ground. He fell onto his knees. It was right there in front of him, lying in the middle of all that blood.
It's such a shame I won't be able to see the look on your face when you see hers… ten feet away from her arms… 20 feet away from her legs and the rest of her body.
Addendum: Fuck you, Joker. Aquariums are bomb. Sun fishes are bomb. This is unforgivable.
This super long "flashback" is probably going to end in another chapter or two. Then we'll be returning back to Arkham Knight events.