Armin and his squad made their way into Arkham Asylum, anxiously awaiting their inevitable confrontation with their first inmate. They raised their weapons and entered.
A number of inmates were wandering the halls of the first door they entered, and immediately noticed that they did not belong. They were attacked, and summarily Armin had to have his men strike them all down. They made their way further into the Asylum. It was not long until they came across an inmate that Armin recognized: A so called super criminal.
"Stop." He commanded, and the group behind him came to a standstill. A man in a green suit and bowler hat was sitting inside the cell to the left. The door that had been left in front of him had been ignored.
"You're the Riddler." Armin said. The man in green looked up at him, and tipped his hat at him.
"Salutations, good fellow." He tipped his hand to the door. "As you can see, I have remained in my cell despite the opportunity to escape. Please, lock the door and leave me be."
Doubtless he thought that Armin was here to apprehend him.
"We can't do that, Mr. Nigma." Armin said, his voice heavy. "We're here to kill you."
The Riddler looked somewhat taken aback for a moment. "Kill me?" He asked. "Why?"
"Torturing the people of Gotham to test your wits against the Batman's." Armin said, as he stepped past the open door and into the cell. "Maiming and killing for your own amusement."
The Riddler said nothing at first. He leaned back lazily and placed the hat over his head.
"If you wanted to kill me." He said. "You would have done so already."
Armin stared at him. He found himself intrigued by the man's behavior. Not for the first time, he found himself wondering if the information they had procured about Gotham's super criminals was even true. Batman had already framed Eren, and had done battle with the Survey Corps with the team he had assembled. Doubtless there were more innocent souls locked away in this accursed place as well.
"You're right." Armin admitted. "I don't want to. I don't want to kill anyone."
"As I thought." The Riddler said, his voice condescending and smug. "What is this? Some new therapeutic experiment?"
Armin thought it best to play along. "Yes." He said. There was a second chair in the room, doubtless for use by the doctors who would perform face to face interviews with the patient. He sat down, sitting completely straight, and surveyed the man's general appearance and living quarters. "You certainly don't seem particularly concerned for your life."
"Pish posh." The Riddler said, shaking his head at his ignorance. "Why would you ever kill me? My acts generate countless benefits for Gotham. The government is able to justify creating a surveillance state in order to try and stop me. My likeness has sold toys and comic books all over the country. My existence is a boon for this city."
"You truly believe that?" Armin asked.
"I believe nothing. I know." The Riddler said. "I have spent my years doing the things I love, utilizing my mind to its fully capabilities to uncover the world's greatest secret… the identity of the Batman. If I can prove my intellectual superiority to the world by being the first to do that, then-"
"You won't be the first."
The Riddler adjusted his hat and gave Armin a sharp look. Armin knew that he had struck a nerve.
"I know Batman's identity." Armin said.
The Riddler gave an audible lurch.
"You lie." He said instantly, his voice cracking. "You…" He shook his head, as if regaining his composure, and then smiled.
"Ah, but this is all part of the test, isn't it?" He asked. "You're just trying to antagonize me. You're utilizing my own interest against me."
"I'm not antagonizing." Armin denied. "I am analyzing. I am trying to decide whether or not I should kill you. Whether that would be right."
"Are you now?" The Riddler asked, his voice now sounding bored, as he leaned back in his chair. "The Asylum and the Gotham City Government have already decided what is 'right.' I am to be held here and treated for my genius. They are to attempt to make me more like the dull witted sheep that walk the streets of Gotham every day. You keep threatening that you will kill me: Yet I've seen no evidence of that. You will do nothing, like all of those before you. And I will one day prove-"
Armin stood up. His face was set. The Riddler barely had time to react as he drew his gun and fired, slamming straight into his face and blowing his head wide open, killing him instantly.
He stepped back out into the hall with a sigh and gestured for his men to follow close behind. They had hardly gone five steps when a face spoke over the intercom.
"Armin Arlert." It said. He stopped in place and stared upward at where the sound is coming from.
"My name is Dr. Hugo Strange." The voice continued. "I wish to speak with you about matters of grave importance. Please follow my instructions to reach me from where you are. I promise that no harm shall come to you."
Amin's men looked just as surprised as he felt.
"Dr. Strange?" Armin repeated. "Who…?"
"I have important information for you that will be of interest to you once you have finished your work in the Asylum. Please. Step forward."
Armin narrowed his eyes. The entire situation seemed a little bit too suspect for his liking, but he doubted that the man would be able to lure them into a trap. He had his unit, and he had the Colossal Titan.
He followed the voice's instructions until they found themselves in front of their destination. Armin abandoned his group and stepped inside.
There was a single man sitting there, in the chair, completely alone.
"Mr. Arlert." The man said, in a strange accent, as he got to his feet. "A pleasure to meet you. I am Dr. Hugo Strange."
"A pleasure." Armin said, a little bit doubtfully, as Hugo Strange grasped his hand.
"You must be very wary of me." Strange said. "Understandable, considering the situation. I am an inmate here myself, after all."
"Yes, your name was in the file." Armin said. He surveyed the man carefully. "You are the doctor obsessed with Batman's identity."
"Indeed." Strange said heavily, as he turned and reached for a number of documents. "I was admitted here putting my career and personal well being at risk to expose the truth behind the Batman… his identity, his motives, his methods. I uncovered it all and presented it to the world, and yet…"
He faltered. He seemed a little bit unsteady for a moment.
"He used his influence to throw you in here."
"Precisely." Strange said. "I have come to understand that the Batman's true identity is an open secret. Many influential and powerful people know his true identity, yet none of come forward. Other out of a sense of obligation to preserve the status quo in our society… or out of fear of what he may do to them."
Armin hesitated. He had his orders to kill every inmate he came across, but unlike with the Riddler he had the distinct impression that Strange was being genuine. If he truly had been thrown in here for attempting to expose Batman to the world, he was innocent. Eren would not want him killed.
"Tell me everything you know."
"That would take weeks." Strange said. "I have prepared a document that will tell you everything you need to know." He pressed a thick, heavy file into Armin's hand and pressed it against his chest. "Everything I have discovered about Batman and his crimes has been documented onto those pages. I pray that you will find some use for them."
Armin glanced downward, and the up again. "But what about you?" He asked, concerned. "What will you do?"
"Batman is aware that I know his secrets." Strange said, his voice heavy. "My place is here, in the Asylum. As long as I am here, he does not consider me a threat. No… his focus, I fear, is on your people. The Eldians. You are a civilization that exists completely outside of the Justice League's control, and have proven yourself to be a threat to them. Batman is a powerless creature, one that relies entirely on fear to control his people. Without that fear, he is nothing. Your civilization has the potential to topple the mountain of lies that the Justice League has propped itself up on since its very inception."
Strange shook his head.
"But I digress… it is all in the file. Now go! Do what you will."
When Armin stepped outside of the room, the door locked behind him.
"Take this document back to Paradise." Armin instructed, as he handed it off to one of his men. "Be sure not to lose it… I feel it may be invaluable information."
The group began marching again, and found themselves outside a large, green tank. A woman with bright red hair was lounging about on an oversized leaf, soaking in the powerful lights that were shining down on her from above as they entered. Armin felt his heart skip a beat when she looked up at them.
"Ah." She said. "Men." The women in the unit let out a simultaneous annoyed sigh. Armin likely would have found it funny if he wasn't so captivated.
"You are… Poison Ivy."
"Indeed." The woman said, as she stroked a nearby flower like an ordinary woman might have petted a cat. "And you are?"
"I'm… I'm Armin Arlert." Armin said. "I'm… here to kiss-kill you."
She cast a bored look away from him, and for a brief moment he feared that she found him repulsive.
"Armin." One of this female soldiers said gently. "Maybe you should leave this one to the girls?"
"Or maybe you should back away from her."
The group turned, swords drawn as two figures stepped out into the room. A giant green dog growled dangerously as a large, powerful looking cyborg stepped out, arm cannon pointed straight at them.
"Armin Arlert." The man said. "We meet again."
It took Armin a moment to place him. "You're with the Batman."
"The name's Cyborg." The man said, as he stepped forward. "Surrender now, and no one has to get hurt."
Armin cast a frantic look behind him at Poison Ivy, who seemed just as disinterested at the new arrivals as she had been the first set.
"We don't need to fight." Armin said. "My orders are clear: I'm not to engage with civilians unless absolutely necessary-"
The blast from the beam cannon shot out. Armin ducked, and the beam soared just past Poison Ivy's cage and into the wall behind them.
"I guess it's necessary." Cyborg said, and attacked.
The first time they had fought, the Survey Corps had struggled to find a weak spot in his armored plating. All of his limbs seemed to be detachable, and the hard amor plating made it even more difficult to sever. This time, however, Cyborg and the green shapeshifter were outnumbered. If ever there would be a time they could uncover a weak spot, it would be now.
Armin didn't want to do it, but he had no other choice.
"I'll unleash it!" He shouted to his men. "Everyone get back while I take him out!"
The group scattered. He positioned himself and ran straight at Cyborg, his head bent and running at full speed. Cyborg, seemingly taken aback by the shout and his intentions, raised the cannon and fired.
Rather than unleashing the Colossal, like he had said he would, Armin hit the ground and Poison Ivy's tank burst open. Leafy green tendrils began to snake their way forward as Poison Ivy lifted herself up out of the case.
The green shapeshifted stopped, transfixed, staring.
"Girls!" Armin shouted. "Attack Cyborg! Men, prepare retreat!"
They fell on him at once, from all angles. Cyborg let out a shriek of pain as the blades, began to tear into his exposed flesh. He got into a defensive position and tried to limit the damage,
"Everyone, retreat!"
They would let Cyborg deal with Poison Ivy: it was essential that they regroup. The unit raced away deeper into the Asylum, hoping desperately to find their next target.
