Author's note: Hope you enjoyed the hanging of that rat Micah. Also, can anybody tell me why some authors like to leave things that look like comments from other people in chapters. It would be a big help. Oh, and I am having trouble figuring out how to do the hostages. So I am going to speed ahead so that i can try to make this story not take so long. Enjoy!
Present day
Arthur, Dutch, and Batman had saved all the cops except for 1 who mysteriously wasn't in the last car. But Officer Cash told them he had just come in. So now,they headed for the interview room. They opened the door and saw Hatter. Upon seeing him, Arthur already hated his ugly clothing.
"The heroes return, all filled with malice. Tell me, boys. Did you find your Alice?" He said. Batman walks over to him and slams the book they found in the last car when it was empty onto the table. "No more games, Jervis. Where's the other hostage?" Batman said.
"Oh yes, there's three! Oh, silly me. The answers in the book, boys. Open and see." Hatter said in his annoying voice. Reluctantly, Batman opened the book. On the first page, there was Alice with his cape and cowl. There was the white rabbit with Arthur's gambler hat.
Batman got more impatient and grabbed Hatter, and lifted him off his seat. "Tell us!" He demanded. "No joke, no joke, control your rage. The answer is there. Just turn the page." Hatter said. Batman slams him back into the chair and turns the page. It shows Arkham Asylum. Dutch suddenly fainted. Batman and Arthur didn't have time to react as they were being sucked into the book. "Down the rabbit hole you fall, where madness reigns from wall to wall... Through the words, we tumble where villains toil and psyches crumble." They heard Hatter say.
They ended up falling in blackness until the ink cleared away, and they landed on the ground. "Batman? What the hell just happened? Where the hell are we?" Arthur asked. "Hatter did something to us. This place is Arkham Asylum. When Joker took over." Batman said. Arthur wasn't gonna ask who Joker was right now. Behind them Jervis was a towering giant.
"Welcome to my wonderland, it's time to play a game. I'm here to make you both understand what drives a man insane." Jervis said as double doors in front of the duo opened and Asylum thugs ran out to attack them. And the fight begins. One guy managed to hit Arthur in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. After regaining composure, he returns with an uppercut to the jaw and the assailant falls, knocked out. "And if you ever want to leave this crazy world you two now inhabit. All you have to do... is follow the White Rabbit!" Jervis boomed. Soon all bad guys were defeated, then a second wave of enemies jumped over the wall. The fight wasn't over just yet.
Batman was making short work of them, while Arthur was beating the hell out of them. He managed to tackle one guy to the ground and punched him in the face repeatedly until he was down for the count. "Come join me on a journey, a trip down memory lane. Where you strapped me to a gurney and declared me quite insane." Jervis said.
After a minute, everybody was beaten. "Look who's here! White Rabbit there wallowing. Freedom waits for the one who's following." Mad Hatter said. Then near the edge of the book, they spot the hostage with a white mask on his face. They run over to free him. "You're late! You're late! The page is turning. Keep up, Alice's. I know you're learning." Hatter said as he started turning the page. Reacting quickly, Arthur grabs onto Batman as he held the cop and grabbed his batclaw. They were in the air while Jervis was staring at them. They land on the next page, Arkham City.
"What fun we had in Arkham City. Dear Alice, she never looked so pretty! Well, until you snapped and crushed my hat. Did you think you'd get away with that? No." Hatter said and Joker thugs erupted from the entrance to the Sionis Steel Mill. And the cop was nowhere to be seen. They fought again. "Come now, Alice, don't be late. Follow the rabbit and seal your fates!" Hatter said.
Within minutes, everybody was down. Arthur was getting sore from this. Then the second wave came, along with the cop who ran to the edge again. This time, the enemies were the TYGER guards. Arthur was kicked in the side. One thug tried to punch him in the face, but the outlaw grabbed it in midair and slammed his fist into his chest. Batman came along and punched him in the face, knocking him out.
After another painful fight, Strange's men were down. They ran to the hostage again and tried to help him until Jervis started moving the page again. "Sorry, Alice, it's not yet time. Another page, and I'll make you both mine." He said as they grappled up and over onto the last page, Gotham City. "Ah. Hallows Eve and Gotham burns. It's here the story twists and turns. It's the final chapter where we'll find how little Alice lost her mind." Hatter said.
The Arkham Knight's militia started pouring out from walls and doors, ready to kill them. "Does he ever shut his mouth?" Arthur asked. "Unfortunately, not really." Batman replied as he headbutted a guard. Arthur kicked another in his family jewels. After another gruesome fight, all militia men were down. Then, more normal thugs with the white rabbit on their side came out for a fight.
Batman uses his batclaw to bring a thug closer to him, and he smashes his fist into his temple. Arthur was getting overwhelmed by 4 thugs and the white rabbit until Bruce came and started beating them down until there was no one left but the rabbit. Arthur immediately grabs him and rips the ugly mask off his face, freeing him from the mind control.
"Where are you, Alice? Where'd you go? This isn't right, oh no no no." Hatter said as everyone was engulfed in blackness until they finally snapped out of their trance. They were finally back in the room, and Dutch was slowly coming to. Hatter was cowering at the wall, knowing he's about to get busted. Batman angrily walks over to him and hits him while also lifting him up. "WHAT?! NO! I had you, don't you see? You're mad. You're both mad. You're just like me!" He almost yelled. "We'll never be like you, Jervis!" Arthur said.
Batman throws him to the floor, and his hat falls off. They haul his ass out of the Interrogation Room and throw him into a cell in the next room. "Oh, Alice, no, this can't be how it ends. There's tea for three, we can still be friends." Hatter pleaded. Batman slammed the bars shut. Mad Hatter was neutralized.
"So what the hell happened?" Dutch asked. "He somehow managed to control me and Arthur, but we fought back." Batman said. "Well, now that that's out of the way, let's stop Scarecrow and save our friends." Arthur said. They ran out of the Holding Cells and to the car.
"So how do we track the Arkham Knight's vehicle?" Arthur asked. "The Batmobile has a special scanner that can track the tread pattern I spoke about earlier. We'll have to go to the clocktower." Batman said.
They drove out of the precinct, and within minutes, they arrived at the clocktower. The car enters battle mode, and Batman hits a button, and the scanner detects the trail of the Arkham Knight's vehicle. "Alfred, I want the Arkham Knight's name." Batman said. "As do i, gentlemen. He has presumably chosen that title for a reason. Where do you suggest we start?" Alfred said. "Arkham City. Go through the files of every inmate who was released following the death of Hugo Strange. And Alfred." Batman said. "Sir?" He replied. "They knew about Barbara. Activate the Batcave security protocols. Don't drop your guard." Batman said.
"I got Oracle now, too, Batman. Now you care who I am. Just gotta find me. But Gotham's a big place. There's a whole army between us. I'm really ready for all of you." Arkham Knight said. Then suddenly, a few feet in front of them, a drone appears and drops a device that drills itself into the ground and started beeping while flashing red. "Alfred, the militia have deployed a device. It's burrowed deep into the road." Batman said as Alfred appeared on the console. "Yes, I see it. Similar devices are being planted across the city." Alfred said.
"I'm going to try to investigate." Batman said, and the cockpit opens, and he runs up to the machine. After a good examination, he contacts the butler on his gauntlet. "It's a bomb, Alfred. A well armored one." He said. "Oh dear, in that case, should you really be standing quite so close?" Alfred said as he saw the red flashing on Bruce's face. "I'm going to set up a remote link to the Batcomputure and hit it with every virus we've got. Once we're hacked in, i can expose the core and diffuse it with a controlled explosion."
Batman said as he put a hacking hacking device on the bomb. "Yes, but I should tell you that the militia are already aware and are sending in drones to stop you." He said
Batman ran back into the car. "They won't." He said. "Sir, I've managed to hack into the bomb, but I should tell you. If you move too far away and lose the connection. That bomb will flatten everything within a 10 block radius." Alfred said. Militia drones were popping up. As you predicted, sir. He's trying to diffuse the device. The drones you've requested have been deployed." The militia commander spoke. "We need those bombs in play, sergeant. They're our deterrent." Arkham Knight said.
Batman started laying waste upon the Rattlers. One managed to hit them in the side. "I've got them, yeah!" Militia commander said. But Bruce turns the cannon to it and hits it in the top. Soon, all the tanks were down for the count. "Cauldron unit offline." The commander said. "The bombs payload is exposed. I can use the Power Winch to trigger a controlled explosion." Batman said as he fired the winch at the bomb and revved the engine until the bomb blew up in a small fire. "You think that's it, Dark Knight? I've got this whole city wired to blow. Try and disarm the explosives, and you boys will face even more of my drones. Y'see, I've waited years, and no one is taking this from me. They'll get a charred crater if they try." The Arkham Knight said. "Sir, that warning was broadcast publicly. I suspect Arkham Knight wishes to discourage outside intervention." Alfred said.
Now that that's out of the way, they started tracking the militia car. They went up the highway and continued until they ran into a raised bridge. "Alfred, the trail leads into Miagani Island. Lower the Mercy Bridge." Bruce said. 'I-i can't, sir. We're locked out." Alfred replies. "The militia must've hot wired into the Transport Control Network. Find me their access point." Batman said. "Right, tracing the network traffic, it seems to have all been rerouted to... Grand Avenue Station." Alfred said. "Then that's where they'll be. We'll proceed on foot and take over their access point. I'll contact you when you are able to lower the bridge." Batman said while grappling up with Dutch and Arthur.
"Be careful, gentlemen. Miagani Island is rife with militia drones and troops." Alfred warned. They started grappling on the buildings. After a while over chaotic grappling, they finally made it to the station. Batman grapples them up onto the railway system that runs through the building. "The stations crawling with the Arkham Knight's militia. We need to clear them out and find the access point they're using to hack into the transport network." Batman said.
They all nod in agreement, and Batman grapples to a vantage point above two militia. One of them was carrying a controller, manning the nearby Boa Sentry drone. "-Do you think they're coming?" He asked his partner. "Of course they are. Arkham Knight just kidnapped their friends." The other said. "We got the drone. They won't be catching us off guard." The controller reassured. They parted ways. Using this to his advantage, Batman lowers himself and grabs the villain from the ground, and pulls him up before dropping him while he is tied to a rope that was tied to the gargoyle Knowing this would bring unnecessary attention, Batman grapples to another vantage point and stays hidden.
A guard was shooting him down until he hit the rope, and he dropped. He was out. Batman throws a smoke pellet at the group, engulfing the area in smoke. He glides down into the smoke. He smashes his fists into heads and continues until no one is standing. Not many people were left. He grappled up again. Arthur and Dutch were admiring Batman's skills. Soon, no one was left.
Dutch spotted a ladder leading down to the rest of the station. He and Arthur take it and meet up with Batman. They walked over to the computer, and Bruce started typing away. "Isn't that Barbara's job? Oh, right, in all the excitement, I almost forgot! You don't really believe ol' Jimbo's gonna forgive you if you save her? He holds a grudge, Bats. I should know!" The Joker hallucination said.
Soon, the bridges were able to be lowered. Batman contacts Alfred. "Alfred. I've re-enabled the bridge controls." He said. "Marvelous. I am rebooting the network now." Alfred said until another annoying voice spoke up from the city billboards. "Forget Scarecrow! It's time to face your 1 true nemesis, Batman. You and your new allies!" It was Riddler. "Oh, dear. Is that who I think it is?" Alfred said. "Nigma. Contact me when you're ready to lower the bridge." Batman said. Then, on 3 billboards, Nigma appeared. "Riddle me this! Why would a Batman and some outlaws visit an abandoned orphanage?" He asked, then the screen switched to a woman in a cat suit, tied to a chair, with blinds covering her eyes. "Eddie, sweetie. You've confused me with Robin. The big guy and I aren't all that close." Catwoman said.
"Ooh ohh. I know! Becaude, it's what will happen to his feline friend if he and his friends don't get here in time! Shocked, Dark Knight? Stunned? You didn't expect this, did you? That is because you are no match for me, Edward Nigma, The Riddler, and, more importantly, your intellectual superior. Did you think I would just forget our last meeting, Dark Knight? You HUMILIATED ME! I know you will not beat me this time. It is utterly impossible. You can not do it. I have won already. I will mock your guys' attempts to solve my conundrums. I will stand triumphant over your bloody corpses. And as the dim light fades for good in your tiny dullard minds. Your final thoughts will be how I have bested you. Come to the orphanage, detective, or she dies!" Nigma said before he vanished off the screen.
"Looks like we have another problem." Arthur muttered. "So we need to deal with him now?" Dutch asked. "Unfortunately, yes." Batman said. "Well, I guess let's go." Arthur said. Batman started grappling them on the rooftops to the orphanage.
Author's note: I am ending the chapter here. Remember to leave reviews about it. Until next time, gentlemen.