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Chapter Text

You knew it had been too silent. Ever since The Joker had died, it had been dead silent. No massive power struggle in the criminal community, it had been silent. Too silent.

"This demonstration used just five ounces of my latest toxin. Tomorrow, this will seem like child's play"

Now you know why, face to face with Scarecrow on a billboard. You can't say you're surprised, if anyone was going to step up, you weren't surprised it was Scarecrow. But this was a large-scale attack, scaring the public with a demonstration, threatening to release more. He planned to do more...much more considering he believes this will be child's play. A Happy Halloween from Scarecrow. 

"Gotham, this is your only warning."

That was all it took for most to leave, the population fell drastically going from 6.3 million people to whatever we had left, mainly criminals are all that's left. Plus the people such as Jack Ryder who are dumb enough to stay. Also, the poor police officers who have volunteered to stay to get control of the situation with all the thugs and goons on the streets, uphold whatever justice we had left in Gotham...not much you assume.

"Hey, Oracle, I hate to ask but did you happen to see my dad get on one of the evacuation buses?" You asked, perched up on a building. Watching Bruce talk to Jim Gordon. Your father was a news reporter...you were just hoping after what happened in Arkham City, he would be smart enough to leave this time. 

"Sorry to say, I couldn't get a good look at everyone's faces. All we can do is hope for now, I'm sure your father won't stay. He knows how worried you get. What did you tell him?" Barbara asked, you could hear her fingers clicking the keys on the computer keyboard, you could practically envision her in the clocktower. You liked hanging out with her there, it was chill there and it wasn't overly fancy like Wayne Manor. Besides, it beats going to where her and her father, Jim Gordon, if you were ever found out to be the vigilante, Black Swan, it would protect Barbara from any suspicion. You don't have to worry about Bruce, he goes above and beyond to protect his identity. 

"Told him I got on one of the evacuation buses and that I hoped that he had done the same. I said I was going to go stay with mum, let her know I was okay. What did you tell Jim?" You asked the same question back. You were both in the same boat, well sort of. Her dad was the police commissioner, he had a reason to stay here. Your dad, if he was foolish enough to stay, stayed purely to rival his buddy, Jack Ryder, and also to beat Vicki Vale to the story of Halloween in Gotham. 

You have to respect it to be completely honest. At least Scarecrow had good timing, nothing like striking the fear into the hearts of Gothamites the day before Halloween. Surely it will be a Halloween to remember, he was clearly going for dramatic effect. He got the attention he wanted anyway.

"I told him basically the same thing. He thinks I'm out of the city, I heard him talking to Bruce about how he was glad. I hate lying to him, it feels wrong in some way. I know it's nothing new for me but... it never gets any easier" Barbara confessed, you understood the feeling all too well. Shame was one you commonly felt, guilt was another especially when he talks about your vigilante counterpart. It's only human to feel these things because deep down you know that even though you are doing this for the greatest of reasons, it's still wrong and you're a liar. 

"Yeah, I know how you feel. How's Tim by the way, I haven't heard from him tonight" You were worried about Tim, Bruce was tough on him. More strict with him than he was with Jason. You understood why and you weren't against it, you still believed that Robin should have died with Jason. Although, it's not like you had a leg to stand on, it was total hypocrisy considering you became a vigilante when you were barely a teenager. 

"He's working on the cure for The Joker blood but he thinks he should be out with you and Bruce. He thinks he could do more good out there with you both" Barbara told you. You could imagine his disappointment, it wasn't anything against him personally but it was safer than him being out here. 

"We've got it covered, we need him to have his focus on the cure. What he's doing is important, one Joker was bad enough, I don't want more running around here. God knows everyone can sleep more peacefully knowing The Joker is dead, I know I do" It was true. Knowing that the man who murdered Jason, knowing the man who murdered your boyfriend, you slept more peacefully at night. You didn't see him anymore, you took that as a good sign. Maybe he's finally resting now that his murderer was dead.

"You shouldn't say things like that" You flinched, turning around you saw Bruce standing there. You were too engrossed with talking to Barbara to even realise that Bruce had finished talking with Commissioner Gordon. You hung up on Barbara considering Bruce would call her in probably a few minutes anyway.

There was always one thing you and Bruce could never agree on after Jason died. The Joker. He deserved to die, everybody knew it but Batman would never allow it to happen. You wanted to kill Joker so bad, every night you'd see him, you'd see Jason. He didn't deserve what happened to him. But The Joker, he deserved far worse than what he got. He should have been killed long ago.

You shrugged as a reply to Bruce. You didn't have time to argue with him. There was too much going on tonight, every part of Gotham was infested with crime but what was new there. But tonight was going to be so much worse. 

"What's on the agenda?" You asked, stretching your arms up, loosening your shoulders. You hadn't been paying attention to the conversation between him and Gordon.

"Missing police officer. Oracle, I need the location of unit 2-47" He demanded, his arm projecting an image of Barbara in the Clocktower. Your suit wasn't that advanced, you tried to keep off of the bulky side of armour. You preferred light weight and more flexible armour, most likely not ideal for tonight but how were you supposed to know this would happen. You were quick, hopefully that would be enough.

"Want me to accompany you? or should I do my own thing?" You asked, on a night like this it felt important to check in with Bruce. Tonight something could go horribly wrong with the amount of chaos that is ensuing due to Scarecrow.

"Stay close" Blunt as always, Batman's speciality. 

You nodded, you reached for your grappling hook, following Bruce as he glided through the air with his cape. Your cloak did the same thing, he had a major part in designing your suit. Sure, he thought there should be far more protection on it but at the end of the day you were old enough to make your own decisions. Your suit was ballerina inspired, your mother had forced you into doing ballet and gymnastics when you were a child. While you didn't enjoy it back then, you grew to love it. You miss it, performing ballet routines in front of a crowd. Your mother may not have come to your recitals in your older years but your father wouldn't miss one for the world. The sheer memory was enough to make you smile. 

This was the part of being a vigilante you enjoyed. Not to say you didn't enjoy saving innocent people and putting criminals behind bars but there was something peaceful about gliding in the air. In  the air, Gotham has never looked so beautiful. It was a sight to see, Gotham despite all the crime, Lady Gotham was truly magnificent. 

"Swan, be careful tonight. Your reaction to fear toxin is extreme" Bruce warned. He said it out of concern for you. Fear toxin was not your friend whatsoever, you saw Jason every time you were subjected to it. Whether it was the recording that the Joker sent of Jason dying, Jason yelling at you while covered in his own blood, back slouched in what looked an uncomfortable position. He blamed you. 

"I'll be fine, B" You would be fine, it wasn't completely unusual. Seeing Jason wasn't rare. You saw him everywhere, no matter where you went he was there. Haunting you for not finding him, for letting the Joker get him, for allowing the Joker to torture him. You should have done more, you should have searched every corner of the world for him but you didn't. You were 16, you didn't know what to do and your dad kept a tight leash and Bruce kept an even tighter one. 

He never responded, his eyes faced forward under his cowl. It was hard for him, it always had been ever since Jason. He felt like he was doing something wrong, allowing you to be a vigilante when that was Jason's demise. It felt so wrong because would Jason be okay with this? 

"B, up ahead" You warned. There was a large gathering of thugs around a statue, even though you couldn't see the police officer who was cowering in fear, surrounded by thugs and no back up. 

You have worked with Bruce for years, fighting alongside him even though you aren't his sidekick, it feels natural just like breathing does. It's like a dance routine. He went headfirst into danger, naturally giving the thugs a fright, who isn't scared of the Bat? You stuck to higher points, dropping down onto a thug, pushing him to the ground by the impact. 

You were flexible and moved quickly, ballet and gymnastics really could be used in multiple ways. Perhaps you really should thank your mother for making you do it all those years ago. Doing a back handspring to land your feet directly onto a thugs chest, knocking the wind out of him as well as knocking his body down to the ground. Doing a twirl before roundhouse kicking a man, his body colliding with the statue, he was out like a light. 

You checked on Bruce and the man was doing just fine. He was 6'0" and very built, ready to take on any situation. He had an impressive build that you could respect, if you were short enough he really could block out any light and be the night. It's almost funny, The Bat used to freak you out as well when you were younger. There was no reason for it, he went after criminals but he almost seemed impossibly large in your childlike brain. 

But now, you weren't afraid of him anymore. He was just B now, who didn't seem larger than life itself anymore now that you are grown, he isn't that Gotham myth to you anymore, he hasn't been in a long time. Although, watching him grab a thugs arm and kick their elbow joint in the opposite direction makes you glad you aren't a criminal, the sick sound of bone cracking. An average sound in Gotham night life. 

While he finished up with the thugs, you helped the police officer up off the ground, "You're safe now, what happened here?" You reassured him and then asked but your question was never answered when a car was driving full speed at you. The bright white light of the car was blinding, did you even have time to dodge? Did you want to? 

Everything was a blur at that moment, the white light had been covered by a dark shadow and the next thing you knew you were hoisted up into the air with the police officer. It was Bruce, he had reacted quick enough to save both you and the police officer. He dropped both of you on the roof unceremoniously. 

"Thanks for the rescue there, Batman" You replied, dusting off your suit after getting up from being dropped on your ass. He was looking at you and you could tell he was thinking something to himself. He knew you could have dodged that, you had enough time to do so but you didn't. 

He nodded, "Get out of here, I can handle it." 

"We're done for, aren't we?" The police officer cried out, clearly terrified out of his mind. Poor guy, he didn't want to be stuck here with all these criminals who belonged in Arkham asylum or Blackgate but this was his job. 

"What are you going to do exactly" You asked in concern as you saw him walk towards the ledge. Sure, you put your life in Bruce's hands daily but this was a little too crazy even for him. You didn't know if he had a plan but 'Man vs Tank' didn't seem like a good idea whatsoever. Maybe the years of concussions had finally caught up to him. 

"I'm going to even the odds" His arms spread out like he was a bird or better yet a bat before he stepped off the ledge. You immediately got up and leaned over the edge to watch him smoothly use his cape to slow himself down as what you could only compare to a tank drove over and abruptly stopped next to him, landing perfectly on his knee before jumping into the massive tank-like batmobile. 

"Fucking show off" You mumbled under your breath, he was always one for dramatics. Something he and Jason had in common, both of them being highly dramatic. Always wanting to put on a show, "Officer, there is a patrol car coming for you. Just stay up here, you'll be safer here than down there" You told him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 

Once he nodded, you decided it was your turn to follow the bat. You weren't going to get involved, you'd rather not get run over by a tank. You were able to track the Batmobile, clearly the work of Lucius Fox who also aided in making suits for everyone. He was a talented man and a very kind one at that. 

You had tracked Batman down, it seemed he was finished investigating whoever was in that vehicle. You dropped down behind Bruce, he was already used to it but if you did it to anyone else, they'd be crept out. You knelt down to the unconscious man and noticed something on his arm. It was an emblem. The Arkham Asylum emblem.

"Uh...B, does this look familiar to you?" It was a rhetorical question considering you both very well know what the symbol means, but you needed to ask. Why Arkham Asylum out of all things? Maybe since Scarecrow spent so many years there, locked up and isolated so he took that symbol. Bruce however was too busy talking to Oracle about the new Fear Toxin, he was asking her to do a chemical breakdown on it in order to create an antidote early. Hopefully we'd have an antidote before it was released. 

"These guys work for Scarecrow?" You asked, you didn't know who else they'd work for but since when were Scarecrow's colours black and red. 

"As far as we are aware but it's up for speculation" Bruce replied, he didn't know either. It seems you were both at a loss since Scarecrow's usual thugs dressed differently. Every major criminal's thugs had a specific dress code, it was how you identified them. The Joker's thugs had clown masks. Something just wasn't right. 

Bruce looked at you, he could sense that you perturbed by something but there wasn't time to talk about it. Scarecrow was the top priority right now. He'll ask what's wrong later, "Scarecrow has a safehouse nearby, this could be the break we have been looking for" He informed you, he pressed a few buttons on his arm and the back of his new batmobile opened up to show two seats.

"Nice new car, B. Lucius did a fantastic job with it but Chinatown is just around the corner, I'll meet you there" You smirked as he huffed and closed the what you would call the boot of the car where the two extra seats were. "Besides, I prefer something a little quieter, no offence but she's pretty loud." He let out another huff which you could distinguish as something like amusement.  

He nodded and followed your idea but you weren't exactly sure about leaving the car out in the open like this, it was completely vulnerable, "Should we really be leaving it here, B? What if someone comes and steals your tires?" You let out a laugh but once that was gone, a sad smile replaced it. You really needed to stop bringing Jason up but you really couldn't help it. Jason haunted your thoughts all the time, day and night, anywhere and everywhere. 

"She'll be just fine, there are several safety protocols put in place by Lucius" He reassured as he took his grappling hook out of his utility belt. You did the same, grabbing yours out of your utility belt which sat directly above the decorative black feather skirt. Both of you used your grappling hooks to shoot up into the air, making your way to Scarecrow's hideout.

Chapter Text

Standing onto the roof of Scarecrow's safehouse, looking down at the glass roof. You could see four soldiers, they were dressed similarly to the one who was in the car. You could hear them talking 

"Why do we have to wait? We could give her a dose now."

"Be my guest. I'll tell Scarecrow it was your idea."

"I was just joking."

"Didn't sound like a joke."

There was clearly someone else in there, a woman by the sounds of it. They were waiting for the all clear from Scarecrow to dose her with fear toxin so she must be somewhat important to the plan if Scarecrow would get mad. 

"You go for the one up top, I'll handle the other three. We do this as quickly as possible" Bruce instructed, looking between all four of the soldiers. He was in a rush to find Scarecrow, you both were. A fear toxin threat wasn't something to be taken lightly. You nodded and got into position. 

Bruce smashed through the glass and took the three soldiers by surprise meanwhile you focused on the forth soldier, dropping down from the roof, wrapping your thighs around the soldier’s neck and applying pressure. You just wanted to knock him out. He slammed your back against the wall, hoping it would relieve the pressure you had on his neck. He would be sorely disappointed. Once he went completely limp you let go, unwrapping yourself from him. Batman had taken care of two of the soldiers. The third soldier was getting ready to attempt to run and pick Bruce up but before he could take off running, you elbowed his temple on the side of his head and he was down. 

"Well, that's made things a little more interesting." You looked into the glass and there sat Poison Ivy in all her glory. There was a guard in there with her, he looked terrified out of his mind. Who wouldn't be in his situation, he had just watched two vigilantes take out his teammates without breaking a sweat. Not to mention he was stuck in a glass cage with Poison Ivy. 

"Sir, it's Batman. He's here" As the soldier spoke, Scarecrow's face appeared on a screen behind him. You couldn't see any expression, could he even make facial expressions with such a mask stuck on his face?

"Were you expecting to find me, Batman? I'm afraid I must disappoint you" Scarecrow spoke and you could very much tell he was amused by the turn of events. As Scarecrow spoke, the soldier began to untie Ivy, pointing the gun at her back as he did so, "Take a look at the chamber. I want you to know the fear that is coming."

The soldier pressed the gun against Ivy's temple while grabbing her arm to pull her up off the chair, "Listen up, Bat-Freak and whoever the fuck you are. We're walking out of here, nice and slow. You try anything stupid, I'll blow her brains out" He was dragging her along as he spoke to mostly Bruce. 

Poison Ivy had only what you could call a small smirk on her face, "Charming...but only one of us is getting out of this cell." Right after she said that, the chambers released fear toxins. The soldier pleaded no as he let go of Ivy but it was too late, the fear toxin was bound to already be in his system. It's a nasty thing like that. He fired his gun, presumably at things that weren't there, monsters from the deepest and darkest corners of your mind. When he turned to look through the glass, he looked like he was in a place far from here. 

Not that you had long to think of his facial expression. Ivy was quick to grab the back of his head and smash it into the glass. His head leaving a spider-web pattern on the glass from it shattering with a deep red highlighting the cracks in the centre where his head had hit. 

"Nothing like a little natural immunity" Poision Ivy spoke as she walked towards the door out of the glass containment cell. It took a few seconds for the door to open but once it did she stepped through it. Stretching her arms all the way up, you could get a good look at what she was wearing or well...lack there of. Some things never change, she didn't see herself as human so why would she dress like one, "What are you two doing here?" Clearly wasn't too happy to see either of you. 

"Well I did want to ask how to take care of the Orchid-"

"Why did Scarecrow lock you up?" You had a pout on your face after Bruce rudely interrupted you, all you wanted to know was how to properly take care of the Orchid you had bought yourself a few days ago, you didn't want it to die. 

She raised an eyebrow at your words but clearly thought it was best to answer Batman's question instead of yours, "No hello?" She asked as she walked towards Batman, to which he remained unfazed and demanded that she tell him why she was locked up. "And what if I don't want to?" She asked, looking up at Bruce's tall height, she was pretty close to him at this point and she was somewhat of a seductive tone.

"Okay, this is kind of making me uncomfortable, I'm right here." You were just being honest. You have had to watch this man basically flirt with Selina since you became a vigilante, you didn't want to have to watch him flirt with Poison Ivy now too. 

"Then I burn every plant in Gotham" Bruce snapped, completely ignoring you. Ivy turned her head away from him and then expanded the space between them which you were ever so grateful for. 

"It started with the meeting" 

"What meeting?" Bruce mirrored her actions and turned his body to face in the direction she was walking, she was currently walking towards the balcony door, "Everyone was there: Penguin, Two-Face, Riddler, even poor Harley. Scarecrow said he had a plan" She began, you note how she almost had something akin to affection when she mentioned Harley, "That we could take you and Gotham would be ours."

"Over my dead body."

"Yeah, I think that was the point, Batman" You rolled your eyes, watching as Ivy had a plant stem growing on the light green skin of her arm. She snickered and nodded, "I believe she's right, that was the idea. I told him that I wasn't interested in his pathetic human games and when I came to...I was locked up in that room." The plant had finished curling around the length of her arm and she began to walk again, Batman quick by herside, "It's such a shame that his vile toxin has no effect on me."

You were walking a little further behind them when you noticed a vine had wrapped itself around your ankle, then the other one got caught, "Um Batman!" Your voice had a tone of urgency in it but it was too late, you looked forward to seeing the vines grabbing at him too, both of you having your limbs tightly trapping in her plants grasp. 

"Nature always wins" She smiled to herself before the doors shut. Bruce must have been expecting this because he was quick to cut himself free and then you. He cut the vines off with one of his batarangs. Once they were cut you untangled the remaining cut pieces of vine that were attached to your limbs. You turned around to thank Bruce but he was already gone, presumably after Ivy but still so rude. 

"You're coming with me" You heard Bruce say in his deep toned Batman voice. You followed the voice and found Bruce pulling Ivy by her upper arm as he called the Batmobile to this exact location. You could hear the screeching of tires against the road before the batmobile even came into focus but the tires sounded different somehow. 

"What's wrong?" Bruce didn't answer, he didn't need to. A car that had been sitting next to the sidewalk exploded, behind it revealing tanks, similar to the one that had been there when you rescued the police officer with Bruce. You could see two of them and one had a missile launcher on the top of the roof.

The other one parked before a bunch of men in the same outfit as the previous soldiers came out of it. One thing you didn't understand was why they all had the Arkham Asylum emblem on their upper-arm. This didn't seem like Scarecrow but maybe he needed the extra man power due to the large scale attack. Something just wasn't right. 

"Go! Go! Go!" 

"We've got the target, sir. He's cornered" One of the soldiers said, you immediately ducked down, it was best if they didn't know you were still here. Bruce might need your help to get out of this situation. Unlikely, but maybe. 

"Are you sure it's him? Is Black Swan with him?" This was a voice you had never heard before. They were calling him 'Sir' so he was their boss, not Scarecrow. If this was the guy they were working under, he must have a connection to Arkham Asylum. Maybe he was an inmate there or something. But if he was the reason that they wore the emblem on their upper arm, looking at past Arkham Asylum patients would be a good place to start.

"Confirmed, it's Batman...Uh, Black Swan isn't on the premises" The militia replied back. You couldn't tell if they were soldiers or just civilians, some of them moved and behaved like soldiers but others didn't. Probably a mix-and-match.

"Sir, that tank they have backing them up is unmanned" Thank god for Alfred, always doing the most. Since it was unmanned, Bruce would have no qualms about destroying it. You watched as the Batmobile came into view, the tank going into battle mode. A missile launcher appearing that the top of the tank.

"I've got to get Lucius to make me one of these" You whispered to yourself. While Bruce was preoccupied with remotely destroying the tank they had, you decided to take care of the 3 soldiers who were standing outside their vehicle. With all the noise the Batmobile was making, you were able to make it down undetected. You grabbed three Batarangs out of your utility belt and threw them at the three men who stood there, guns raised at the Batmobile, shooting at it as if that had an effect. 

Why they were still slightly dazed you made your move. You rolled onto the ground and clamped your ankles around the closest one's lower leg, forcing him to the ground as you rolled yourself back onto your feet. You kicked the back of his head, a firm kick knocking him out as the other two went to grab you. You welcomed that, wrapping one of your arms around one man's neck and your legs securely lock around the other's neck. You allowed your weight to pull all three of you down, flipping them around completely. You didn't like performing that move too often, it could hurt sometimes if you landed wrong. You got up and dusted yourself off. 

"I've spotted six more unmanned tanks moving through Chinatown. They'll be there any second" Barbara warned. You moved over to Bruce and Ivy, not wanting to risk getting caught in the crossfire any more than you already had. The tanks were coming in every which way, it was clear that the plan was to trap us by blocking every single exit with these unmanned tanks, there were two stationed at each exit out. Too bad for them as you watch each and everyone get destroyed, each of them exploding after being hit in the right spot with one of the Batmobile's missiles. The scrap pieces of metal left on the ground in the Batmobile's wake. 

The back seat of the Batmobile opened up as he began to lead Ivy towards it, "We need to leave, you too Swan" he said as he put his hand on your shoulder, pushing you gently along with Ivy. 

"The master of understatement, as ever" Poison Ivy stated as she sat down in the Batmobile, "Don't want to sit down, afraid I'll bite?" She teased, laughing to herself seeing that you were apprehensive to sit down. 

"I mean...why do I have to come?" You asked, crossing your arms in slight defiance. You didn't understand why you had to tag along with them to the G.C.P.D, there was no need for both of you to go there. 

"They know we are here, I'd rather you not be shot down by a tank. The overhead restraints will hold her arms down, you'll be completely safe there. Besides, you can handle yourself just fine if she did try something" Bruce promised, he rubbed your shoulder to comfort you before letting you. You gave up and sat down, if it gave him peace of mind you'd do it. Besides, Ivy isn't dumb enough to try to attack you in the batmobile. The overhead restraints came down before the seats were lifted back up into the tank. 

Batman was speaking on the connected comms so you could luckily still hear what he was saying outside the vehicle, "Oracle, I need to know where those tanks are coming from." Oracle was as quick as ever to respond, "I'm tracking several transport helicopters moving into the city. There are more on the way." By the sounds of it, this operation is massive. Transport helicopters full of tanks like those ones and god knows what else. 

The Batmobile took off, driving at its fast speed. If you got travel sick easily, you would hate the batmobile. But as it was driving you felt it abruptly stop and then go into battle mode, it was clear there was trouble on the road. Most likely more of those tanks. The worst part was not being able to see anything, you could feel every sharp turn the vehicle made, every missile that left the roof, the ground shaking from the attacks that were just barely missing the vehicle. You could hear the explosions of metal outside, the enemy tanks being blasted into nothing but scraps. 

"God, who taught him how to drive" Poison Ivy complained, you understood why with how many sharp turns and twists the Batmobile was making, you were honestly surprised with how flexible it could be. 

"Who knows...so do you know how to properly look after an orchid?"

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

The boot of the Batmobile opened and pushed out the seats that you and Ivy were sitting on, the overhead restraints rising like they do once a roller coaster has finished at an amusement park.

"Who taught you to drive?" Poison Ivy asked, rolling her eyes as Bruce walked over and grabbed her arm, pulling her up and out of the Batmobile. 

"Thank you so much, Ivy, really. I promise to take really good care of my orchid, I swear it" She had given you the best advice on how to take good care of your orchid which was sitting on your desk. God, you hoped your apartment doesn't get robbed. Not like there is anything worth stealing in there besides expensive university textbooks. "Oh and your journal articles are amazing" It was kind of bizarre, she was a criminal, a villain but the university of Gotham still recommended reading her journal articles. 

You got out of the Batmobile and walked alongside Bruce as he escorted Poison Ivy, you could hear the boot close. You walked past the armed police officers as you made your way to the holding cells with Bruce and Ivy. As you were walking, you noted how the holding cells were practically empty before you noticed one of the people apart from the militia was in one of the cells. 

"Scarecrow's gonna break you, Batman!" 

"Honestly, why do you even bother with these meat-sacks?" Ivy asked. To be honest, you didn't even know why you put up with criminals like this. Putting them in cells they are bound to get out of in a month, then they are back out in the public, ready to cause havoc once again. Blackgate wasn't a solution, Arkham Asylum wasn't a solution, it was just a short-term fix but as soon as they got out, the same pain and suffering was opened up. Gotham is a wound that would never truly heal.

You continued walking until you were out of the holding cells, walking though the door to see Commissioner Jim Gordon, he was on the phone and by the sounds of it the phone call was not pleasant, "Civil unrest?! There's a war on the streets! We don't have the manpower OR the equipment..." You assume whoever he was on the phone with hung up because he slammed it down onto the desk below. 

"Well, look who it is!" You heard Cash exclaimed. Gordon turned around at Cash's words and saw you, Bruce and Ivy. He sighed with relief, "Ivy... that's one less thing to worry about." You could practically see some of the stress be lifted from his shoulders, it must be difficult, knowing that you're putting yourself and your men in danger, whatever happens it falls on you. 

"Is the isolation chamber ready?" Bruce asked.

"Glad you're putting it to good use" Cash remarked, the isolation cell was the only thing that would properly hold Ivy anyway, with her ability to control any plant it was too risky to have her in an ordinary cell with others. Not to mention how she can seduce people easily with pheromones. It goes without saying that Poison Ivy  is truly magnificent with all she can do. 

You decided to take this time to walk around the police station, Bruce could handle whatever he needed to with Jim. You decided you'd check out the weapons locker, you'd hardly ever have time to check all the weapons that had been collected over the years from various villains. Walking into the room, the metal detector beeped viciously to alert officers that someone with a potential weapon had entered but it wasn't like anyone was actually going to stop you. 

"One freeze ray, used by Mr. Freeze aka Victor Fries. We, er, had to stop playing with this after the commissioner caught us making ice cream. Freeze has kept quiet since leaving Arkham City. Maybe Batman finally talked some sense into him" You liked that they got Cash to narrate the seized assets showcase. Mr Freeze wasn't the worst criminal you'd seen, far from it in fact. There was far worse out there...

You walked over to Batman's showcase where a single weapon sat, you kind of think it is bizarre to have well known vigilante such as Batman next to a bunch of criminals, "One electric charge gun, used by Batman aka... we don't like to ask. Batman dropped this here with the rest of the Arkham City evidence. Nice to have some of Batman's gear in the evidence room. Hope he doesn't ask for it back." Honestly, you saw it as a waste. Such a useful tool being locked in an evidence showcase. Cash may hope he doesn't ask for it back but you sure do. 

You stopped in front of the Joker's evidence showcase, even beyond the grave his presence haunts you but his presence is unwelcome. "One vial of titan formula, one set of wind-up, explosive false teeth, one pair of actual x-ray specs, one 'toy' gun, loaded with one toy flag and five real bullets. All used by the Joker, no known alias. It's one hell of a toy box. I'm glad no-one's gonna play with it again." You were glad too.

The Joker was gone. 

The Joker was dead.

The Joker can't hurt anyone again. 

But that doesn't bring him back. Jason was gone forever because of that clown. The clown may be dead but your one regret was that it wasn't you who killed him, you didn't get to hurt him the way he hurt Jason. You didn't care about the code. He tortured Jason. That fucking clown should have died a more painful death. It should have been you who delivered him to death's door. 

"He's gone, Jason, he can't hurt anyone else." You whispered, your hand pressed against the glass. There was something about touching the glass and looking into it, it gave a sense of finality. That feeling should have come long ago but staring at the weapons he used in his final days in Arkham City, knowing that they were here. Knowing that the Joker was cremated, you were there, it helped you relax. 

You had seen Jason less since the Joker was burnt to ash, maybe he was finally resting peacefully with the knowledge that his murderer couldn't do it to anyone else, no-one else would succumb to the same fate as Jason had.

Chapter Text

"What are you doing in here?" You quickly snapped your body around to see Bruce looking at you. You could see his blue eyes and they looked concerned, you could feel it and you didn't like it. It's been this way since Jason went missing, he looked at you as if you were glass, waiting to see how long until you eventually cracked. 

"Just wanted to be nosy I suppose" You shrugged. You were partially happy that Bruce walked in, you needed the distraction. Thinking about the Joker wasn't healthy for you because then all you thought about was Jason. You wanted to remember Jason in a different way but it was so hard when everything reminded you of how violently he was taken from you. 

"I don't want to have to ask this but...are you taking your medication?" He said it in a hushed tone, like it was something forbidden to talk about. 

"I don't need to, I'm not seeing him. Besides, it makes me sluggish" You replied honestly, you had stopped taking your pills a few months ago. Technically, you haven't been cleared yet but you felt better. You hated the way the pills made you feel, so tired and fuzzy, "Let's just go, I'm sure we have more important things to be doing" You stated as you walked past him in a hurry, wanting to avoid whatever type of conversation he was trying to have with you. You didn't want to talk about it at all. 

"Finding Scarecrow is our priority" He said plainly, walking quickly behind me. You walked in an awkward silence, it was uncomfortable because you could feel his eyes staring into the back of your head for whatever reason. 

You didn't understand why he would choose to question you here out of all places. Preferably, you wouldn't want him to question you at all. Walking through the doors of the G.C.P.D, you came to an immediate stop when you saw a police officer in one of the cells. He was mumbling like crazy and shaking,  there were two other officers staring at him. You recognised him. 

"Yep. Poor bastard. He ain't gonna be able to live with himself when he finds out what he did in that diner" One of the officers said as he leaned on the bars of the cell, looking at the other man. 

"He's gonna lose his badge for sure" The other said. 

"Owens is a good cop, lives for the job, he don't deserve this" The first police officer stated, looking at the poor officer in the cell who was moving around erratically, scared of things that don't exist.

"You should hear the stuff he's saying . Sounds like he's dying in there" That comment was directed to you and Bruce, that cop was looking at you both when he said it. 

The Diner. The one that had been the demonstration for Scarecrow's fear toxin. The one you almost walked into that night. You were at the door, about to push it open when your dad called you. He was asking when you were going to be home so you just decided to rush home instead of grabbing a drink and maybe grabbing two of the doughnuts your dad adored. 

That phone call potentially saved you from being shot by Officer Owens, you'd have to thank him when you get the chance to. You were so close to going in there because you felt like you needed to. The man in the red hoodie. You looked in the window and saw a man in a red hoodie carving something into the table. There was something about him that made you feel weird which was why you were going to go in. He felt so familiar, you'd seen him before somewhere. You were glad your dad had called you, you would have been doused in fear toxin and probably shot by a cop. 

You were snapped out of your thoughts when you realised the lights in the interview room was on, you quickened your pace as you walked to the door, praying that someone had just left the light on by mistake but no, you were never that lucky. Lo and behold, your father and Jack Ryder, laughing it up as if tonight was the best night of their lives. Bruce was walking close behind you when he saw both of them here.

"What are you two still doing here?" He asked, looking down at where both of them sat. Of course he stayed in the city, safety is nothing compared to a good news story for him. It was the same reason he stayed in Arkham City and that didn't end well for either of them. 

"Hey! If it isn't our favourite masked vigilantes" Your father cheered as if he was genuinely happy to see both of you standing there. You wouldn't necessarily say you drew the short end of the stick when it came to fathers but you sure as hell didn't pull the longest stick either. He was a good dad but he had no care for safety whatsoever, one of the reasons your mother left him.

"Neither of you should be in the city! You are both civilians, you should have gotten on one of the evacuation buses last night" You reprimanded, you were not impressed with these idiotic decisions either of these men made. 

"Bet you're wondering about the tape. I'll let you in on the action if you promise to keep us in the loop. What do you say?" Jack Ryder bargained as if it was something Bruce was actually going to do. Having journalists stay back during high level threats was annoying, there was no other word for it, they would often get in the way especially one like Jack Ryder, always desperate for a new story. 

"It's not safe. You should've left with the evacuation."

"And miss the biggest story of the year, hell, the century! This is it, and I know you're thinking it too, this is our way back on top. Quid pro quo, Batman, what's the latest on Scarecrow, any leads?" Ryder said, his hand squeezing your father's shoulder. They both seemed so excited as if there wasn't mass destruction happening outside the walls of the G.C.P.D, it almost seemed like a game. 

"Stay out of trouble, both of you! You have a daughter at home, does she even know you're still here?" You snapped, it was immature and petty, you were aware but the fact your own father was sat here like there was nothing wrong with it. He hadn't even called to see if you were alright and made it out of the city. 

"You probably have parents, do they know you're still here?" Your father replied, when he didn't receive an answer he chuckled to himself, "Yeah, that's what I thought. I hope my daughter is smarter than me." Yeah, not exactly considering you and him are in the same room with the same threats that were both inside and outside the building. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. 

You had nothing else to say, all you could hope was that he doesn't leave the G.C.P.D. You left the room with Bruce, walking a few steps behind him. You had to walk past the cell the police officer was in again, you couldn't imagine how much worse this new strain of fear toxin is. Scarecrow needed to be stopped. 

"Hey Batman! I guess Scarecrow gave you the slip? He's got plans for you, Batman. You are all your friends. Tonight's the night we finally break the Bat!" You both continued walking past the militia cell, you were glad Robin was somewhere safe and that Barbara was in the clocktower. Nobody knew about those locations so they would be safe there, surely. You weren't paying attention to the man so the next thing you know Bruce's hand slammed the man's forehead into the bars of the cell.

"You know, I'm sort of thankful that all this hatred is targeted towards you" You confessed, shrugging your shoulders. It was the truth, you were never met with the same aggressive language that Bruce was, it was sort of lucky. 

"Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but I'm almost certain my 'little friends' include you" He replied, he tried to sound apathetic towards it but you could hear the slight amusement in his tone, it was just barely there. 

"Did you knock him out because he mentioned us?" You asked, us was referring to you, Tim, Barbara, Alfred and Dick. He's been sensitive to comments against the five of you since Jason was killed and Barbara was shot in the spine. He didn't respond nor did he need to, you knew the answer. 

You walked out to the underground parking to see a few officers standing next to the batmobile, they had their phones out and were taking pictures with it. You laughed at the sight of it, it was very cute. They were excited to see the new and improved Batmobile and you couldn't blame them, it had a serious upgrade but the downside was that there was only room for one in the main bit. 

"He's here, back up!" 

They all quickly rushed back to their designated spots, trying to act as if they weren't all just fanboying over a tank. Bruce had no reaction to them as usual, always acting so nonchalant, never showing interest in anything. That was Batman for ya. He opened the boot of the car and the seats came out, you groaned internally but sat down without any verbal complaint. The car started driving off and you already couldn't wait to get out of it. 

"Good evening, Mister Wayne" You heard Lucius speak, he quickly added your name when he realised you were probably there too, "I hope the car's performing to your high expectations." You didn't know what type of expectations Bruce had but in your opionion the car was cool.

"Actually, Lucius, she's a little sluggish."

"I had a feeling you'd say something like that. Give me a few moments and I'll bring the afterburner function online" Lucius replied with the same relaxed tone in his voice. He then spoke to you directly, "I've been working on a vehicle for you as well, I can't imagine you enjoying being in the backseat. She's not as impressive as this but she'll be very useful for getting into places like the G.C.P.D on your own."

"When can I get it because to be honest, this is a little embarrassing for me" You admitted, there was just something embarrassing about having sit in the boot of the Batmobile, you literally had to sit next to Poison Ivy, sure, she was great to sit next to but the point still stands. 

"I'll add some finishing touches to it and send it to you, I'm sure you'll be happy with it."

"Thanks Lucius, it was good of you to stay behind" Bruce said truthfully, Lucius didn't have to stay behind but he did, risking his own safety by doing so.

"Yeah, thanks Lucius" You added, showing that you were also appreciative.

"You want to thank me, Mister Wayne? Just try not to hurtle off the road. I should have more upgrades ready soon. Oh, and you, don't thank me just yet. You still have all that paperwork on your desk to fill out, being my intern isn't all fun and games" You could practically taste his amusement as it was so prominent in his voice. You were seriously regretting taking up Bruce's offer at an internship and Wayne Industries but it looked so good on your CV. 

"Yes, Mister Fox" You huffed in disappointment, nepotism only gets you so far. It doesn't help you with anything after getting the job in your case. Once the car stopped and let you out of his mechanical clutches, you were quick to get your grappling hook out and shoot up into the sky, we were going to the clocktower to see Barbara. Bruce following in suit.

"Remnants of Gotham, I have a message for you all. To the vandals who stayed behind to pick the still-warm flesh from Gotham's bones: have your fun. You are under my protection" Scarecrow's voice rang through the arm like an annoying alarm, you groaned and rolled your eyes. 'Does this guy ever shut up?' you wondered before continuing your way to the Clocktower.

"Hey, B, I was thinking about going to check out the diner later. You know where Scarecrow did his demonstration" You told Bruce, wanting to get his opinion on it. You had such a strange feeling that night but it wasn't the first time you'd felt it. 

"Why would you do that?" Bruce asked, stopping on the roof, looking at you like you said something crazy, "The fear toxin is most likely still prominent there and there is no reason to go back there, you won't find anything useful."

You sighed at his words, "There was a man in a red hoodie, he was carving something into one of the tables, he gave me this weird feeling that I've been feeling a lot recently. I thought it was paranoia at first but when I walked past him and saw him in the window, I felt it in my gut that something was off" You tried to explain, you know that you sounded crazy. But you had been feeling weird the last few weeks like someone was constantly watching you and then your gut was telling you something was off with that man in the diner. 

"He was probably carving something dumb into the table, everyone there was an innocent victim of Scarecrow's toxin besides the thug who released it in there. You aren't going" He said, you could hear the finality in his voice as if he could tell you what to do.

"I wasn't asking you, I was telling you."

Bruce didn't reply, he instead opened the hatch on the roof so we could get in. You followed quickly after, hearing it close right behind you. You landed in a crouched position before straightening yourself up. You walked around to see if Barbara had changed the decor at all. There was a picture of Barbara and Jim, it was cute the fact he had her dad's picture in here. Close by there was one of her and Tim. On one of the bookshelves she had put up a picture of you and Jason, it was Jason's birthday in that photo, his 17th birthday. His last birthday. 

"I don't think he liked my present for his 17th" Bruce admitted to you when he saw you looking at the picture.

"He loved it, you got him a signed first edition Pride and Prejudice book collection. He just didn't want to act like an overexcited kid. How did you even get that anyway, I didn't even know that existed" You told him, holding the picture in your hands. You just wished he'd gotten a chance to re-read his favourite books. 

"It took some work and a lot of money for a collector to give it to me" He smirked, the books still sat on his desk in Wayne Manor. You hate to say it but his room became something of a shrine. It was your fault. You couldn't stand the idea of his room not being his room, you practically sat in it all day the weeks after watching the tape. You wouldn't let anyone touch anything, you had even snapped at Alfred when he tried to clean up the mess Jason had left before he got kidnapped. Nobody knew what to do. All things considered, your dad started getting invited to the Wayne Christmas party since he and Bruce got to know each other through concern for you. 

"I'm sorry for how I treated all of you after he died" You had become closed off and mean after Jason died, you blamed Bruce for not finding him, you blamed Bruce for letting the Joker live. You couldn't stand being around Dick, all you remembered was the early years of how Dick wasn't around and didn't want to be around Jason. 

But you got better after therapy, became more open again, apologised. They understood why, especially Dick since he admitted he became the same, his anger issues he had during his childhood had resurfaced after Jason's death which is why you two had clashed so much. But then Tim came into the picture and you just couldn't do it anymore. When he became Robin, you distanced yourself and stopped being a vigilante for a while. Didn't last long though but you did rebrand. 

"We were all grieving, I shut myself off from the world, you and Dick both grieved through anger and hurt" He sighed, it was too late to change anything now, "You were 16, you didn't know how to handle losing him." He was acting as if he knew how to handle the loss. None of you were doing okay. You and Dick were on great terms now and you get along with Tim just fine now. You understood that Tim wasn't there to replace Jason. 

After a moment of comfortable silence and you placing the photo back where it belonged, he pulled the statue on the bookshelf. Both of you standing there, watching as this room in the Clocktower revealed what it really was. "Identity confirmed" The Batcomputer notified as the room changed, the furniture disappearing into the ground. The windows in the clocktower get covered by the shutters. Holographic screens appear all around the room, it was truly impressive. 

Bruce walked over to the Batcomputer that was in the middle of all the screens, tapping a few buttons before the chemical compound appeared on screen, it was Scarecrow's toxin, fear gas. 

"Do I come in the Batcave? Start messing with all of your stuff?" You turned around to see Barbara coming over in her wheelchair. 

"You've managed to reduce the compound to its core elements" Bruce sounded amazed that she had done it this quickly. This wasn't an easy job but Barbara still managed to do it in such little time, she truly was a lifesaver. 

"...But there's nothing in there that we can trace" Barbara said, she was worried about that, you could tell from the tone of her voice. We were all desperate to locate Scarecrow before he released whatever hell he had been concocting on whoever was left in Gotham. 

"What if we've been looking at this the wrong way? Instead of searching for the toxin, what if we focus on the manufacturing process?" Bruce took control of the Batcomputer and in a few seconds proof of a radiation spike showed up on the holographic screen.

"Why didn't I see this? The reaction emits a unique radiation spike."

"We've all been out of sorts tonight, Barb. You've done a great job, thank you" You told her, showing her that you appreciate all that she is doing for you in the Clocktower, including risking her life by staying in Gotham but that's nothing new for the former Batgirl. 

"Run a scan of the city for this energy signature. It will show where Scarecrow is creating his fear toxin" Bruce instructed, moving away from the Batcomputer to give Barbara her space. 

"It'll take a few hours to bring the satellites into position" She informed as she started working already. You already knew Bruce was thinking of a way to speed up the time as you didn't have hours to waste waiting around for the satellites to get in proper position. 

"We don't have enough time. I'll repurpose the antenna at the movie studios" Bruce was quick to move away, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

"Bruce, I spoke to dad. I hate lying to him. He'd kill me if he knew I was still in the city. He still blames himself for this" Barbara used her hands to gesture to her wheelchair. Jim blamed himself for the Joker paralysing her. 

She could have died that day if Jim came home later than he did. Joker could have taken someone else special to you. You'd consider Barbara to be a close friend, often hanging out at the clocktower or even at the apartment that she and Jim lived at. You had told him that you had met each other at the library.

"We'll stop Scarecrow" Bruce stated, there was no room for argument in his statement, he said it as if it was definite, like he knew we would stop Scarecrow. You weren't that optimistic. There was a chance that you couldn't stop him, there was always a chance you couldn't. Something could always go wrong. 

Your comms started to beep with a call from Lucius, it brightened up your mood because the only reason he'd call right now was about the vehicle he was making you, "Yes, Lucius?" You answered, trying your best to contain your excitement. You were hoping that it would be finished soon so you wouldn't have to depend on Bruce to take you long distances.

"There's a surprise outside the clocktower for you, next to the Batmobile" Lucius informed you and you swear you wanted to jump up and down, you finally have your own mode of transport. You were jealous of Dick when he got his motorcycle because when he came to Gotham, he didn't have to rely on Bruce like you and Tim did.

"Thank you so much Lucius" You said, you were already making your way out of the Clocktower, excited to see what he had chosen for you. Once your feet touched the ground near the Batmobile you saw it. It was a motorcycle, more sleek than the Batcycle that's for sure, it was more fitted towards you. It was mostly black with small accents that were your favourite colour, you had mentioned it in passing but didn't expect anyone to actually remember it. 

"Lucius, it's perfect...you even remembered my favourite colour" You were in shock, it was just perfect. You hadn't even noticed that Bruce was here but he was like a shadow in the night so sometimes you'd just kind of forget he was there. He was also stood admiring Lucius good work, he nodded slightly.

"I'm glad you like it, I should get back to work" Lucius waited for a second as if he was pondering before continuing to speak, "Just don't total her in your first few hours, she's like the Batmobile, one of a kind." There was no animosity behind his words, he just didn't want his hard work going to waste. He ended the call to get back to his business in Wayne Tower. 

"B, I'm going to check out the diner, I assume you won't need my help with the antenna?" You asked just to make sure he didn't need any help from you. You were going to investigate the diner no matter what but you had plenty of time to do so. 

"I'll be fine by myself but if you need any help alert me, we don't know if there is any residual fear toxin left in the diner or not. You could be walking straight into danger for nothing, all for some carving on a table" Hearing how it sounded in Bruce's opinion did make it seem ridiculous but you just needed to confirm it for yourself and you'd be back soon enough to help Bruce with catching Scarecrow wherever he is.

"I'll be fine but keep me posted, okay?" You smiled at him as you swung your leg over your bike, it was time to see how good this motorcycle really is.

Chapter Text

30th of October

"Did you at least bring an umbrella with you?" Barbara asked, it was raining in Gotham tonight. Not too uncommon for the colder months or any time of the year really, the cloudy grey sky and the rain showed what Gotham was to the people that lived here. Miserable. Sometimes you questioned if this city was really worth saving, it seemed beyond it at this point. 

"No, I did not. My mistake, I know but I woke up late and was in a rush to get ready for class. I blame it on the fact that I'm not only a university student but I also have an internship at Wayne Enterprises along with my other job. I'm just so overworked" You whined to her over the phone. It was true though. Deadlines didn't wait for nobody and nor does crime. It was hard to managed just those two alone but now with you added on internship, you were swamped. 

"Correct me if I'm wrong but you begged for that internship, these are the consequences of your own actions. Maybe you should stop trying to be such an over-achiever" Barbara snickered.

"Oh you hypocrite, I don't need to take such words from you" You laughed, you were not going to be called an over-achiever from Miss Barbara Gordon. Absolutely not. 

You could hear her laughing through the phone before hearing the front door open, "I suppose you're right. My dad just got home but we'll talk later." Later meant during patrol, that was obvious to you. 

"Talk to you later, Barb" You said before hanging up the phone, wiping it dry before slipping it in your pocket to protect it from the rain. You were still quite far from the apartment you and your dad lived in but he was hardly ever there, always at work or if he was home, he was in his makeshift office in the apartment. Your apartment was nothing compared to the Wayne Manor but it felt a lot more warm and homey even if your father wasn't at home a lot, he was doing his best. Besides, you were 21 years old now, you didn't need him to be home all the time to look after you. 

There were surprisingly quite a lot of people out, probably people coming back from work or going out to get food. It reminded you of how many people actually lived in Gotham. You had a reason to stay, Gotham University was cheap and had so many grants to the point it felt like you were making money from it instead of crippling debt. The other reason was your dad, you stayed in Gotham because your dad remained here, due to the high crime rate there was never a lack of news articles for him to write about.  Then the third reason was Jason, this was where you met him. All your memories with Jason were here in this godforsaken city. If you moved somewhere else, there'd be no memories of Jason there. 

You were walking past the dinky diner that your father liked to eat at, Pauli's Diner, your dad had taken you there several times throughout your life. As you were walking past the first window, you noticed a man sitting in the booth. You got this strange feeling in your gut when you noticed him. He was carving something into the table with something in his hand, you couldn't see what it was. You couldn't see his face, the hood covered it well, too well. He suddenly stopped, his hand froze. He knew you were there. Maybe he saw you in the corner of his eye or maybe he just felt you staring. He never looked up, kept his head down at the table and began to carve once again. 

You began walking again, debating whether or not to go in and grab two doughnuts, one for you after dinner and one for your dad when he got home after finishing his article. You were close to the door when you felt your phone vibrating in your pocket. It was your dad. 

"Hey dad, what's up?" You asked once you answered the phone. You were confused at what he could have wanted.

"I was actually about to ask you that. I came home early today, thinking we could have dinner together for once. It's been a while since we've done that. You on your way home?" Your dad actually came home on time for once, it was a rare occasion for him to come home before you were home. By the time he was usually home, all he wanted to do was sleep. You would usually have breakfast together, he'd go to work and you'd go to University. It was the usual routine but nonetheless you were happy that he got home earlier tonight.

"I'm right outside Pauli's Diner, I can pick up a dessert for us?" You offered since it would be no trouble at all, you were like four steps away from the door. Besides you wanted to go see what was up with the guy in the end booth in the Diner so it would be a two birds, one stone situation.

"I'm way ahead of you, I bought a cake on my way home. We haven't celebrated your new internship at Wayne Enterprises yet so I wanted to do something to show how proud I am of you" He wanted to show you how proud he was of you, he was amazed by how intelligent you were. Your dad may not be home much but never failed to tell you how amazing you were and how he was lucky to have been blessed with you as his daughter. You weren't so sure. 

"Alright, I'll get them another time. I'll be home soon." 

"I'll unlock the door for you, love you." 

"Love you too dad" He hung up the phone after you finished speaking, saying 'love you' was a big thing between you and your dad, you lived in Gotham, you never knew when you were going to be a victim of a crime. So you never forget to say 'love you' to each other even if you have had a fight. You put the phone back in your pocket and sighed.

"You coming in?" You looked up and saw a police officer holding the diner door open while looking at you. 

"Oh, no. But thank you Officer" You replied, shaking your head while saying no. 

"Alright, have a good night" He said politely before going into the diner, the door closing gently behind him. Going into the diner would help shield yourself from the rain but it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon so waiting would be useless. Besides, you told your dad you'd be home soon. So you did just that, you rushed home but by the time you made it home everything was a mess. The attack had happened, the evacuation was immediate. 

You didn't know but when you walked past the diner, someone let out a sigh of relief. 

Present 

31st of October 

The diner was taped up with caution tape, not even the thugs dared to risk fear toxin exposure. Smart on their end. It also meant that nothing had been touched since the incident. You bent under the caution tape and picked the lock on the door and let yourself in. Nothing seemed off. Besides the blood stains on the floor from when people had been shot, broken glass among other things, spilled coffee that had left a stain when it dried. 

It was eerie, maybe it was the fact it looked like a low budget Halloween movie scenery with the cheap Halloween decorations but even though it seemed fine there was just something distinctly off. Probably the fact there was no music, the only lights were the cheap red glow of the Halloween decor. You pressed a small button on your mask, it helped you see better in the dark. Not exactly night vision but definitely an improvement. 

You walked over to the back booth, the one next to the window where he was sitting. You walked over and looked down at the carving in the woods and it still didn't explain much.

A

A for Arkham Asylum? A for Anarchy? There was a million possibilities but combined with the fact that these guys were using the Arkham Asylum emblem it was probably a good idea to look into former patients there. Maybe someone who wasn't a criminal beforehand or someone had rebranded. You decided to call Barbara.

"What do you need?" Barbara asked as she answered your call.

"So I don't think Scarecrow is fully running the show here. The militia guys that we have been apprehending had the-"

"Hey."

You froze. You wouldn't have been able to speak if you tried. You were left staring at the 'A' carved into the table, you didn't want to turn around, you didn't even know if you could. You could hear Barbara in your ear but you couldn't make out a single work that she was saying. It sounded so far away like when you are trying to hear what your friend is saying at a concert or something. It was so far away and yet so loud, you could hear her but not the words, it all sounded like a jumbled mess. You reached up to your ear piece and pressed it, cancelling the call before letting your hand drop by your side once again. 

"Are you ignoring me? That's rude you know" You turned around and saw Jason, in his Robin outfit, covered in dark red blood. It wasn't real but it looked so real, you could see it dripping onto the floor as he stood there. Just like in the recording, on his cheek there was a massive 'J' branded into it. The blood was everywhere, it was like the scene from Carrie when she was covered in the pigs blood. 

"I'm busy, Jason" You replied, you weren't supposed to talk to it. Leslie said that would make your perception of what's real and what's fake worse. But you couldn't help it, he was right there. How were you supposed to ignore him when he was looking and talking to you like he was really there.

"Well I'm not, being dead is kind of a drag. I spend most of my time reliving how I died, do you want me to describe it to you?" He was suddenly right behind you, you could feel him directly behind you. Chills ran down your spine, you felt sick to your stomach.

You ignored him. 

"I'm not a fan of being ignored, you have no idea what it's like" He continued on as he stood behind you. "Being dead, I mean. Everything is supposed to stop. But I still feel it." You continued to ignore him but god you just wanted to tell him to stop. You didn't want to hear it, it made you feel so ill. 

"I feel it every day. The torture, it hurt so bad, I just wanted to die. He kept me alive for so long, I just wanted it to stop. I could feel my bones cracking. I didn't have to worry about them healing incorrectly, they didn't have time to heal. I could see my own blood all over the floor, I stared at it all day watching as more got added to it" He just kept talking and talking, "My back hurt so bad, I was stuck in one position for so long, I wasn't able to move so my back was so stiff. Not to mention the J branding on my face, it hurt like a motherfucker, I could feel it melting through my skin practically like a hot knife through butter" You wanted to be sick. You still saw the video sometimes in the dead of night when you couldn't sleep. It was like a reminder of the cruelty of this world. 

"Do you want to know how it felt to get shot in the chest?"

Don't respond. 

Don't respond. 

Don't respond. 

"STOP IGNORING ME!"

You snapped your head back around and he was gone, no trace. You looked around to see if your brain was trying to jumpscare you but no, he was gone. It was gone. That thing wasn't Jason, it was what your mind had twisted him into. You immediately called Barbara back so she knew you were okay. She answered the incoming comms call immediately. 

She said your name in a panicked tone before continuing, "Are you okay? You were in the middle of telling me something and then you just stopped before disconnecting from the call" You felt bad, it was clear you had panicked her due to just abruptly hanging up for an unexplained reason. 

"I'm fine, Oracle, just thought I saw something but it was nothing. I didn't find anything useful here besides an 'A' carved into the table. I think you should look into past Arkham patients because the militia we have been apprehending all had the Arkham Asylum emblem on them. I don't know why but I'll find out. But I think someone else is helping run this operation" You finally told her. You were still weary, looking around to see if a dead Jason was lurking behind a corner ready to run at you. 

"That's good info, I'll look into it, see if anyone got released or escaped recently" She replied, you could hear her typing away on her keyboard. You liked then sound of it, was so familiar and relaxing, mainly since your childhood memories consist of listening to your dad type his articles while you sat in his office while bored. 

You sighed, "I'm sorry for worrying you." You were genuinely sorry, tonight was going to be high stress levels galore, you can't just disappear on them like that. It was a one off situation, first time in months. It's just because of how stressful tonight is, you'll contact Leslie as soon as you can once this whole mess is sorted but you didn't have time to do anything now. 

There was a beeping on your comms, Bruce was trying to call you. "I'll check in with you later, O" You said before disconnecting with her and answering the call from Bruce, "Figured out the location yet?" You asked as you left the diner, there was nothing else for you to see in there besides the 'A'.

"ACE Chemicals is where the frequency locates Scarecrow's fear toxin production. Oracle told me you went MIA for a few minutes at the diner" He stated it as a fact, it wasn't accusatory but it felt like it was since you had basically already told him to drop it but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.

"I explained it to her, thought I saw something but there was nothing there. You were kind of right by the way, you know how much I hate admitting that but didn't find out anything really. There was an 'A' carved into the table but it could be done by a guy named Adam or something" You shrugged even though he couldn't see it. You locked the Diner door and ducked under the caution tape. "I suppose I'll see you there then."

He didn't reply, he just hung up, how rude. You got onto your bike. Thanks to Lucius, it had a built in GPS system so you typed in ACE Chemicals and it showed you a map on the screen for you to follow. As you drove you saw the state that the streets were in, thugs are everywhere, not even just in their corners anymore. You could hear snippets of their conversations as you zoomed past them and honestly sometimes you just want to stop and listen in. Unfortunately you didn't have any time to nor did you want to get in a fight. 

As you were nearing ACE Chemicals, a massive tank appeared next to you, The Batmobile. You didn't know if he had just gotten here himself or had been tailing you. You doubt it, you would hope to god that you'd notice that massive thing behind you because if not then you have no awareness whatsoever because you should be able to hear that thing a mile away. You drove along the long bridge that takes you directly to ACE Chemicals side by side. You waited for him to park first so you could park your motorcycle next to the Batmobile. 

You hopped off your bike and walked over to the group of police officers stood with the commissioner. Bruce was already stood there after shooting out of the Batmobile, he's all for the dramatics. "Any word from inside?" Bruce asked, he was specifically asking Jim. You always felt like a spare part when Bruce was talking to Jim or really anyone for that matter. Some things really never change, you felt like a young vigilante again. 

"Nothing" Jim replied, he sounded so tired but who wouldn't be in this scenario, you are all tired. You were just hoping this would be over soon. But something in your guilt was telling you this was too easy. They had a whole meeting about this massive plan to get rid of Bruce so surely it couldn't be this easy. Something was wrong, "We think there's a skeleton crew left in there but they're not responding and the facility's locked down."

"If they're still alive, I'll find them. They should be able to tell us what Scarecrow's up to" Bruce assured him. 

"I don't mean to be a pessimist but if Scarecrow and his goons have assumed control over the facility, there is a low chance they are still alive considering how long they have been in there and we don't know when he got there" You were being realistic, there's no way they are alive, they'd have to be in hiding to still be alive right now. It's an unrealistic expectation to think any of them are still alive as much as you hate to think it. 

Right after you spoke all three of you noticed a helicopter appeared out of nowhere, hovering around the same level as you all were. "What the hell?" Jim said as he looked at the helicopter and whoever was in it was definitely looking back at the three of you. It flew up higher into the sky before moving towards the end of the bridge where the entrance to ACE Chemicals stood. It sent a missile straight for the bride, cutting off the road so any normal vehicles couldn't get through.

Police officers who were near the destroyed end of the bridge ran, Jim was stood there, "Come on, let's go! Come on, move, move, move! Take cover!" He yelled as he motioned his arm from them to move away from that end of the bridge and take cover further up. You were going to move over to Bruce who was actually walking closer to where the helicopter was as if that was a smart move when Jim grabbed your shoulder, "Don't do something stupid just because he is, take cover like the rest of us" He told you. 

"I'll be fine, Jim" You told him as you gently shrugged him off. You looked at him and there was something in his eyes. He was looking right at you with this confused look in his eyes, you took this opportunity to move closer to Bruce while still maintaining a good distance, you didn't want to go out like that. Something completely painless would be nice not that you deserved a peaceful death. The helicopter lowered itself down almost as if the person in there wanted to stare Bruce down, you couldn't see anyone inside of the helicopter clear enough. 

They pondered before flying away, as if they had decided not to kill him but they most definitely were considering it. Probably weighing up their options in this scenario. You were just glad they didn’t attack. What would Gotham do if the Bat died?

Chapter Text

You watched as the helicopter retreated but you didn't have time to focus on that when the gates opened, two tanks were driving up, stopping just before the gates and firing at all of you. Luckily, you were close to the police cars so you ran towards them quickly. As soon as you were in reach Jim basically grabbed you and pulled you behind the car. You nodded at him before peeking your head out.

You could see Bruce running at the speed of light, dodging every bullet with luck or expertise, you couldn't tell. He managed to hide behind the police car opposite you and Jim. Once you were all out of view from the tanks, the gates closed rather quickly, shutting with a loud clang of metal. 

"Friend of yours?" Jim asked, looking over to where Bruce was, ducking down behind a car, he was quick to get out from behind it.

"Stay here and I'll go find out."

"We'll go find out" You snapped, standing up from behind the car and walking over to Bruce, you weren't letting him cut you out like he had done to Tim tonight. You could tell he wasn't happy but he didn't make a verbal complaint about it so you assumed everything was good. He averted his gaze from you before pulling out his grapnel gun, connecting it to the top of the gate. You did the same. Once you had landed on there, you both watched the military grade helicopter appear which was loading tanks and people into it, presumably to move to a different location.

"Orcale, whoever this guy is, he's assembled an army. I need a name" Bruce was getting worried and you could tell. This wasn't just Scarecrow, this was a man who had created a whole militia with military grade equipment to take on the Bat. You knew something was wrong, you practically sensed it. 

Barbara was quick to answer as always, "Alright, we've got something from a black ops team operating in Venezuela... They discovered a hidden training facility housing soldiers bearing the same insignia. There's nothing but speculation on their commander, though. The only thing sources agree on his name: The Arkham Knight." You were right. You were actually right. Obviously not about the whole 'Knight' part but you were right about the Arkham part. That's what the A stood for in the diner, Arkham. But that means it was him in the diner or someone who works for him. It gives you chills, sometimes you forget how close this stuff is to you outside of the costume. 

"So an escapee from Arkham like I thought. Probably someone who wasn't a criminal before being sent there but then that begs the question of... why do they hate you so much, B?" You asked, it was a genuine question. If this person wasn't a criminal before Arkham or at least not a big criminal like he is now, why would he hate Bruce so much. "Maybe you broke all of his ribs or something?" You shrugged. You shouldn't question it so much, most criminals hate him. 

Bruce blatantly ignored you, "There's a crew of ACE Chemical workers left on site. They'll be able to help us track down Scarecrow and locate his bomb. I need to find them" He continued speaking with Barbara, he was in no mood to joke around. Not with missing workers inside a building was also holding a fear toxin bomb. 

"Each worker will be carrying a unique ID chip" Barbara quickly informed.

"If I can access their personnel records I'll be able to track them."

"There's a security terminals in a booth near your location. Try there" She suggested, you were in a time crunch so it's a logical decision to listen to whatever Babs is telling you to do. As much as you missed her as Batgirl, you loved her as Oracle. She gets to use more of her skillset as Oracle, it shows off how intelligent she is and she is a major game changer. Bruce didn't respond and disconnected the call. He began to survey the area for threats, there were loads, you didn't have to be a genius to figure that out. You were in their territory now so they were everywhere. 

"Swan, there are five soldiers, each one armed and dangerous. Before we access the terminal, we'll have to take them out" Bruce stated after surveying the area. You could have done it just fine but Bruce doing it was enough. You nodded at him. 

"Listen up! Scarecrow tells me the reaction is nearly complete. Final evacuation of this facility will begin in T-minus 30 minutes" You heard the Arkham Knight inform, his voice was distorted, he was using a voice change to disguise what he actually sounded like so voice unfortunately won't be one of the ways to identify him. At least he is evacuating his men from the facility, that's good of him. You turned your head to see Bruce was already gliding down to attack one of the soldiers, he didn't even say anything. You sighed and quickly got a move on. 

You watched as Bruce took that soldier down easily but it alerted the other two nearby. They had started to approach the area, Bruce took down the one in front quickly while you handed the one who lingered slightly behind, ready to fire his gun. You lifted your leg and caught his neck behind your knee, pulling him down to the ground. You were able to sit peacefully while he was trying to fit your leg off of this neck. You'd have to thank Selina for teaching you how to do this one. He went limp so you lifted your left gracefully from this neck. 

Unfortunately, you didn't have any time to see if Bruce recognised that type of takedown since two more soldiers were coming you way and fast, you quickly grappled your way onto the roof whereas Bruce hid in the vent. You took it as your cue when Bruce burst out of the vent, giving them both a scare. You dropped down onto one of the soldier's shoulders, flipping you both around so that you were sat on the ground while your legs were cutting off his air supply, your legs were crossed at the knees, trapping him there until he fell unconscious. 

"When did you have time to learn from Selina?" Bruce asked as he began to walk over to the terminal which was very close by, only like ten steps away.

"She offered besides I get to actually use my flexibility this way. It feels a little more natural to me than just brute force. I fight like with a mix of the two" You explained to him, "Besides, fighting like you was Batgirl's thing" You added on at the end. Barbara fought more like Bruce than you ever did even when you had trained with them all. You preferred doing things your way and that meant more flexible moments and far more leg usage. 

Bruce was at the terminal and typing on it, "Let's see if Oracle was right" He said, she was never wrong and you doubted that today would be the day that she's wrong. You watched as the screen changed from saying 'Terminal locked' to 'Terminal Unlocked' before showing all the systems. "Data connection active... data decrypting... someone needs to update their security protocols."

"Of course you would say that" You muttered, you were looking at the terminal when the faces of the missing staff crew appeared on there as Bruce was collecting their ID Chips, there were five crew members left inside and you were almost certain you were only going to be finding their bodies. 

"Oracle, we've got the ID codes. If I reach a high vantage point, I can use the Batscanner to locate the workers" Bruce told Barbara as he backed up. You followed his gaze upwards and saw he was looking at the top of ACE Chemicals, that was his high vantage point. 

"Ok, I've marked the tallest structure in the area on your map. Try not to fall" Barbara replied. She didn't even need to mark it, Bruce was way ahead of her on that account, he already had his grapnel gun out and pointed.

"He was way ahead of you on that one" You said as you watched him connect his grapnel gun with a power-line and continued attaching his grappling hook to different surfaces until he made it to the top. You followed him, following the path, doing it exactly like he did. 

"I've managed to intercept some radio traffic between Scarecrow and this Arkham Knight. Relaying it to you now" You heard Barbara inform on the comms before she played it. 

"I had him in my sights! I could have ended it right there!" It was the Arkham Knight talking and he sounded so angry. You have no idea what he had against Batman but it wasn't just normal anger, he was revenge for something. You didn't know such a distorted voice could hold so much audible emotion. 

You then heard Scarecrow's voice, "We have not broken him yet. It will come." 

"No, I've waited long enough. Batman dies. Tonight." He said it in a definite tone. He was clearly angry, and angry means dangerous. One thing was for certain, Bruce had to have done something to him whether he was aware or not because this wasn't just the regular anger, he had been waiting for this for however long. Too long for him. 

"Why do you hate him so much?" There goes psychiatrist Jonathan Crane over here, trying to get to the real root of the problem, you rolled your eyes at the sound of his voice and the question. Yeah, the guy who has gone to several measures to hide who he is will tell you why he hates the big bad bat. 

"You could never understand" He sounded so...emotional, you didn't like it. It reminded you that they have emotions. There is no clean-cut of what is good and what is evil, those terms didn't necessarily exist. There has only been some you could fully describe as evil: The Joker.

"Your revenge is at hand. This is his last night."

"I'll make sure of it" He sounded so sure of himself that this was going to happen. You had to admit, his plan was pretty good. He had hired and trained soldiers instead of getting some random street thugs to do the job, given the military equipment. Someone had to be sponsoring this because this had to be a multi-million dollar operation. 

"What of Black Swan?" Scarecrow had asked, this you wanted to know for sure. You wanted to know if you had to be weary of this Arkham Knight character or just look out for Bruce. 

It was so silent for a moment, so silent you could drop a pin and hear it, "I'll handle her" He snapped, you didn't know what the fuck that meant and you aren't sure you wanted to know. His voice gave away nothing. That's where the conversation ended unfortunately, you didn't get to find out what 'I'll handle her' means. 

"Any idea who The Arkham Knight is? Sounds like the two of you might have some history" Barbara's voice permeated your ears, she was talking to Bruce. You also wanted to know if he knew this guy because there was a lot of anger he felt towards Bruce. 

"I've made a lot of enemies" Bruce said blankly as if this was just a regular criminal in Gotham but he wasn't. This guy was more than serious, he was dangerous. He had chosen to work with Scarecrow and god knows who else, had created an army, all to take out one person, Batman.

"This is more than a regular enemy, it sounded like you hurt him personally" You pointed out, not accusatory but just curious, "Cross a line, old man?" You joked but you knew he didn't find it humorous. 

He didn't say anything and dove off of the roof towards where one of the workers ID Chip, bursting through the roof to take them by surprise. You sighed as you followed him. You landed on the back of one of the soldiers, knocking them out cold, "Oops" You shrugged as you got off of his back. 

One of them tried to grab you to hold you still, but you spun out of the way quickly, lifting your leg and swinging it at the side of the soldier's head. His body fell harshly to the floor but you didn't have time to think when Bruce decided to cut the chandelier. You had a split second to dodge and roll out from where the chandelier hung. You let out a sigh of relief when you had made it out and not have a leg or something crushed under it. 

It seems however the soldiers didn't want you to even take a second, one of them went to kick you while you were on the ground but you were quicker than him. You used your leg to sweep under theirs, tripping them up while you got up and kicked them in the head. You could hear a crunch followed by a cry of pain and you looked over to see a soldier with a broken arm, ouch. Bruce was not going easy on them, you internally shrugged. You'd seen Bruce break bones before, as long as it isn't too severe, it's fine. Plus, the generous Bruce Wayne covers the medical costs. 

Once the fight was over, you rushed to where the worker was lying down. You didn't even need to check their pulse, it was obvious that they were dead and had been for a while. "B, they killed him" You told him, looking up at him. You knew this was going to happen, you knew they would be dead but it still never got easier. Bruce was clicking buttons on his arm, contacting Barbara. 

"Oracle, they've killed one of the workers" Bruce relayed.

"Damn it, we've got to stop them. Listen, I've managed to hack into the militia comms network fully. You'll be able to listen in on any channel-wide broadcasts from now on" Barbara informed, thank god, you'll finally know what they are saying and what they are planning from now on. This was going to be a huge help. You thanked her as you got up from off the ground. 

"Thanks Oracle. I've found a way to get the batmobile into the compound. They'll pay for this. All of them" Bruce promised, there was conviction in his voice. They deserved to go to prison for a long time for what they have done to these people because you knew in your soul that all of the workers were going to be dead. Scarecrow had no use for them, they were only witnesses to a crime. 

"They deserve more than that"

Jason was here.

He was sitting next to the dead worker like he belonged there. You wanted it to be a one time thing, seeing dead Jason. You didn't have time for him tonight, you couldn't afford to have Bruce think you were a liability. He'll send you away faster than you could explain that you were completely fine. You must have looked stunned because Bruce put his hand on your shoulder and you practically jumped away like he had the plague or something. 

"Are you okay?" He asked and rightfully so, you jumped away from him like he was a monster. 

"Yeah, no, I'm good. I just...does it ever get easier? Seeing the people you could have saved" You asked him, quickly coming up with something that wasn't seeing a dead Jason Todd in the same room with you both. You weren't trying to get benched. 

"No but you learn to live with it" He squeezed your shoulder before walking over to the control switch of the main gate, "I'm going to get the Batmobile, you are going to stay here" He commanded, there was no room for argument. It showed that he trusted you to handle your own until he got back. 

"My bike won't do us much good for fighting those tanks, maybe I should investigate myself, it'll save us time. Maybe the other workers aren't dead yet" You tried to reason, it would make the whole operation go a lot faster. Honestly, you wish Tim were here as you would have just went with him and solved this while Bruce took care of the tanks. 

"No, you aren't working alone tonight, I won't allow it. You heard that Arkham Knight say he was going to kill me, I don't think he's beneath using you to get me. Besides, he said he'd 'handle' you. I don't think I want to know what that means" Bruce snapped, it was the first time in a long time, he was stressed, you could see that even with the cowl on his face. It went unsaid but he didn't want you to die the way Jason had, "I can't lose another. He'd never forgive me if I lost you as well" He sounded so sincere. But it must have gotten too emotional for him because he turned around and started messing with the controls on his suit. 

"Okay...I can't promise that I won't leave your side but I can promise I won't die. I have to live for the both of us" You assured him, "Besides, nobody could annoy you as much as I do. Pretty sure I gave you the first grey hair" You smiled, he huffed out a laugh. It was the most you'd get out of him as Batman. 

You could hear a loud revving sound outside the gate and it must have been Bruce's doing. What he was doing had caught Arkham Knight's attention because he started broadcasting to his army. 

"Main gate's open. Get ready. You've got a billion-dollar tank headed straight for you" The Arkham Knight informed his militia. He must have a high vantage point because it sounded like he was watching. He was always watching. You should have gone into that diner. Not to mention he gave you a weird feeling, one that you have been feeling all too much lately. The hairs on the back of your neck stand upward for seemingly no reason as of recent. 

"We've deployed a Diamondback to the main courtyard, sir. We'll crush him" One of the soldiers had said. I really doubt it considering the Batmobile had been absolutely destroying them earlier but who knows, Diamondback sounded cool.

What took you by surprise was Bruce jumping out of where you were when the Batmobile came into view. He jumped into the driver's seat. That could have gone so badly but it went perfectly, you might have to change your favourite Hero from Superman to Batman after that one. You actually had to close your jaw because it was hanging open, you better learn something like that.

"Still think Wonder Woman is better" You heard hallucination Jason behind you speak, giving his favourite Superhero as if you didn't already know that. 

"Sorry, Superman is cool. Plus, he took me flying and that was fun" You said back. Luckily Bruce wouldn't hear you walking to nothing since he was in the middle of battle with 5 tanks that were aiming missiles at him every two seconds. You watched as he moved out of the way seconds before the missile could hit him. Every time he landed a shot, the tanks exploded since he was hitting the weak spot with full impact. It didn't take him long to take them out whatsoever. 

You knew what a Diamondback is now though, they were the ones that were slightly harder to take out, it also packed a harder hit from what you could tell. Bulkier was a word for the design of this one but it still wasn't enough to stop it from being absolutely destroyed by the Batmobile. 

"Sir, he punched through the armour, just like you said" Seems the Arkham Knight predicted this exact situation. So what was the point of having it made if you knew it would be completely wrecked so quickly. Maybe just checking to gauge how strong the Batmobile is. But that begs the question of how does this guy know so much. 

You walked over to the Batmobile with your arms crossed, waiting for him to be done pulling open a gate to open up the backseat because you knew he was going to the next ID chip and he would need you to help him. 

"He's searching for hostages. Keep non-essential radio chatter to a minimum. They'll be listening" He paused for a minute before continuing, "You are listening, aren't you Batman? Black Swan? Then listen to this. To all embedded units in Gotham. Operation Savior has begun. Each one of you has a role. Each of you KNOWS your role. So move out into this damned city and lock it down. I want our hands wrapped tight around Gotham's throat within the hour." 

Fuck.

Fuck.

Fuck.

FUCK! 

He has a plan, a plan you nor Bruce expected. You don't know how big this militia is but it is seeming so impossibly big right now. Bruce had been driving the Batmobile while he was listening and whatever path he was following was not kind to you since every few seconds your body would be jolted by a sharp turn or unexpected stop. 

You assumed that he had found the ID chip or he was able to fight since the batmobile went into battle mode. You felt Bruce attach the power winch to something and then started reversing to pull it apart. He was successful since you felt the tension crumble and then the guns started firing. He unlocked the backseat so you could leap out of it and immediately fight alongside him. 

But he just took the three guards out with the car instead, non-lethal rounds. Bruce got out of the tank and stood beside you. "Something isn't right here" You blurted out, "Why were there only three guards here?" You asked. 

"We have to go check on the worker" Bruce said as he walked forward and in front of you. It was like he knew it was a trap and didn't care. You lifted your leg and stepped out the entrance, walking over to the glass cage that was practically screaming 'trap!' in your face and followed Bruce into it. 

"Thank god you're here-"

You didn't have time to focus on the thankfully alive worker when you heard glass shatter almost as soon as the door closed. You turned your head to see several militia uniforms come down from the ceiling. However, one of them was making a dramatic entrance, being a few seconds behind the rest of them, coming down in the centre of all of them. You could tell this was the Arkham Knight, he had a blue digital mask with similar points on them as if it was mocking Batman's cowl. The armour was impressive and expensive. Similar to the militia uniform but yet so much more. 

You hated to say it but the way he walked in like he owned the place...it was kind of hot. You hadn't found anyone attractive since Jason, it almost feels like your brain and heart are trying to mock you bu making the first person you find attractive after Jason be the fucking Arkham Knight. 

"Fucking knew it" You groaned, you wanted to bang your head against the glass wall or something. You knew it was a trap and you still went along with it like an idiot.

Chapter Text

You could hear the Arkham Knight laughing, clearly amused underneath his mask. God, you felt so guilty when you looked at him, you shouldn't find him attractive. It's an insult to everyone, it's an insult to Jason. Finding a criminal attractive. Even the laugh was vaguely attractive and it was literally a distorted voice changer laugh, you might genuinely need help because that should not be attractive to you. Even more so when you are in this situation and he could kill you. 

"Sure you did. Keep your guns trained on them. If he even looks like he's planning to leave that room, open fire. Oh, and avoid the Bat Symbol. That's a... a little trick. That's where his armour's the strongest. Aim for the weak spots at the shoulders first, then coordinate fire at the points where the plates meet" The Arkham Knight informed his men. How? How did he know all of this? He knew about the Bat Symbol being a trick and pure distraction from the rest of his body. He knew the shoulders are one of the weakest areas on his suit. He had studied, he had planned for this and clearly knew a lot about all of you. You don’t know if you should be thankful or insulted that he was treating you as if you weren’t a threat to him or any of them, his notes were all directed to Bruce and what to do to him if he made a move for it. Either he didn’t research about you or he genuinely thought you weren’t a threat. There was no other reason in your mind. 

The person you had attempted to rescue was terrified, visibly shaking, "Please..." He begged, hoping they would let him go. He was scared out of his mind, did he know that the other worker was dead? Or was he just afraid of the fact that he could die right here and right now if Bruce or I mess up. These guys wouldn't hesitate to kill him in order to punish us. 

"Did you say something?" His head immediately turned in the direction of the worker. You wanted to get shot right now because holy shit, the way he slowly turned his head and the tone of the distorted voice was enough to make you feel flustered. You know for a fact that you are mental ill, not a shock but... you weren't trying to be the next Harley Quinn.

"Leave him out of this, he's just a worker here" You managed to gather your bearings in order to respond and not be distracted by the man beyond the glass wall. It was really easy t0 be distracted by said man. He had a... dramatic flair about him, making you notice him. He wanted to be noticed, he wanted Batman to see him for whatever reason. There was most definitely a need to show himself off, acting like he was stronger and better than Batman was. But you just don’t know why especially since nobody knew who this guy was. Maybe that was the reason, a need to be recognised as a threat, be recognised as something that wasn’t weak or easy to stop. 

"Always defending the weak and the helpless. That's what I like about all of you. Predictable. That's why we are going to win. We know your move before you do. We know how you think" He replied back, slamming his hands on the glass where you and Bruce stood. You sincerely hoped he didn't know how you think because both of you would end up disturbed. He walked closer to the glass as he spoke, he was emphasising his point by getting closer. Using his body language to convey his points by using his arms. He walked way from the glass after he finished talking, even under all that armour, you could tell he was extremely built. 

But there it was again, the need to prove himself. He was trying t0 show that he was smarter, that he knew exactly what Bruce would do. You get the feeling that none of his anger is fully directed towards you, he hasn’t had an angerful outburst at you but the night is young. You had caught him looking at your though, maybe, it’s hard to tell with that mask on. It was like he was reminding himself that you were still here, quick glances before looking directly back at Bruce. You seriously didn’t know what his problem was but it was really starting to bug you since he was already acting like you weren’t a threat. You wanted to cross your arms in a huff but you couldn’t act like a child right now, especially not in costume, that’s bad for business. 

"Do you know what I'm thinking right now?" You and Bruce said at the same time. The fact of the matter is, you both most likely have very different thoughts right now. But there is one thought you probably share. 

"Of course. You're thinking 'who the hell is this guy?'" The Arkham Knight laughed before he spoke, amused clearly once again. His arms outstretched as he spoke, he was presenting himself. He was correct, you both were thinking about who he was and why he hated Bruce so much but god that was such an easy answer, shouldn't have even asked. 

"No, I'm just trying to decide which one of you I'm going to take out first" Bruce replied with, his Batman voice sounding almost cocky. You were definitely thinking about who was under that mask though. They knew all that information, information that nobody else knew besides the inner circle of people Bruce trusted. 

"Just so we are both on the same page here, I fully... fully intend to kill you. But first we're going to make you suffer" The Arkham Knight said, he almost sounded a little aggravated. He was using his arm to point at Bruce, moving it in a frustrated way. He wanted to kill Bruce but couldn't because of Scarecrow. But why listen to Scarecrow? If he really wanted to kill Batman for revenge, why wait for someone else's orders to do so. 

He walked away and pressed down on his, what you assume, ear piece which connects to his comms. "We have the target" He said. Bruce was doing something, you could see him in the corner of your eye but you pretended not to. If you started staring at him, they would know something is up and you don't want to get Bruce or the worker killed. "Just say the word and I'll end this now. Gotham will be ours" He told the person on the other end, you assume Scarecrow. However, behind his head you could see the Batmobile's weapons and come online.

Bruce used the Batmobile to shoot the soldiers with non-lethal rounds. Unfortunately, the Arkham Knight escaped as soon as the second soldier when fell. He grabbed his grapnel gun and left the scene. Leaving his soldiers to deal with it. It made sense though, he was apart of a bigger plan and he couldn't be arrested by Bruce right now or his entire plan would be for nothing. One of the soldiers was shot so that they would crash  through the glass, smashing it so you could get out. It was a good plan on Bruce's part.

However, one of the shards of glass had it out for you, slicing the skin on your cheek bone. You gasped when it cut your skin, it was more due to the sting rather than the pain. It happened so fast and caught you off guard. You had no time to check it when the soldiers were still up and conscious. As always, you and Bruce worked as a good team, taking down the enemies efficiently. Your style of fighting and his worked well together, you two had also spent many years working together so it was only natural you knew the patterns of how he fought. 

Bruce walked over to the zip tied worker, un-restraining him, "You're safe now" He assured, it was part of the script. 

"You don't know the half of it, Batman. Scarecrow... he... was" He was scared and rightfully so. Not everyday a supervillain comes into your work...well, actually it's Gotham so maybe actually a weekly occurrence. Do pizza delivery drivers have to deliver to villains? Like imagine having to deliver a pizza to Two-Face, gonna flip a coin to see if you get a tip or not. 

"Just stay calm, okay? We need you to tell us what you know" You comforted the worker, you always had a more soft approach. Not because you were nicer, definitely not but you worked in retail when you were as teenager, fucking BatBurger. It's embarrassing how many customers it had, Gothamites really wanted to eat a burger with the Batman or Robin logo on it. Or they liked the Jokerized fries. What's more embarrassing is you had to serve people a burger with your symbol on it, great to know you have fans though.

"They have been running the plant for hours. They brought in trucks, weapons, soldiers, shipments of hazardous materials. They knew exactly what they were doing" Mark, the worker told both of you. You knew this just confirmed the suspicions you have all had, that this was Scarecrow's production for a wide scale attack, why else would he use ACE Chemicals? They had the perfect equipment for him to produce a large quantity just sitting there. 

"He's producing his toxin on a massive scale."

"It's bad. Real bad. We're talking about a gas cloud that could cover the entire Eastern seaboard" The worker explained, this was bad. This was worse than you were expecting. This wasn't just a large scale, this was an enormous scale attack. You needed to find scarecrow now and stop production immediately. This wouldn't just affect Gotham. 

"Where do I find Scarecrow?" Bruce asked, he sounded calm but you knew he was worried but he couldn't show that. Batman can't show his fear because if Batman is scared then there is no hope. Civilians need to know that Batman isn't afraid so no hope is lost. 

"I... I got no idea. All I know is he's moving ahead with his plan and he's got a whole freakin' army backing him up. We're screwed, Batman" The worker cried. The worst part is, you might actually be screwed. You have no idea where Scarecrow is and this is a massive facility. They were already near the end of production so you have very limited time to find him before this thing is ready to put everyone in a feral fear induced state and also potentially kill them as a side effect of the fear toxin. 

"We'll stop him, but first I'm getting you out of here. Wait by the Batmobile" Bruce told him.

He proceed to contact Jim, "Have you found Scarecrow?" Jim asked, he was hopeful. Like everyone, he just wanted to this to be a thing of the past, there was already a lot going on in Gotham due to the fact only thugs are left mostly. Think about how many homes and apartments are getting broken into. How many small local shops are being ransacked by small-time thugs since the high end stuff will have been taken by larger and more dangerous criminals. God, you hope your apartment is ok. Two-Face is probably robbing a bank right now. Penguin will be doing something. Riddler is probably having the time of his life, setting up his riddler trophies. Maybe he’ll finally make you some like specifically for you. That would be fun. You had heard rumours of Deathstroke being in Gotham again and you don’t even want to know what that motherfucker is doing, you hoped you could avoid him all together, gives you the creeps a little. At least the Joker is dead though, he’d be doing all kinds of stuff on a night like this, he’d enjoy every minute. 

Now that you think about it… the Riddler has been too quiet for your liking. He’s probably up to something and whatever it is, it won’t be good but that will have to be a problem for later, much later. You kind of have to focus on the massive threat which is Scarecrow and Arkham Knight. 

"Not yet. It's much worse than I thought" Bruce told him truthfully. You don't even know if you can do this, will you even be able to find Scarecrow in time? Everyone is depending on you and Bruce but this is almost impossible. They have been one step ahead this entire time because the Arkham Knight is right, he knows how you both work. 

"How much worse could it be?"

"He's building a bomb big enough to cover the entire East coast in fear toxin. Take your men and get out of here. Head to the GCPD and lock it down. Keep everyone inside" Bruce demanded, he was worried. He didn't think you make it in time either, there was always a chance you couldn't. But you never actually thought it would happen but here you are. 

"I'll get my men off the streets but I'm going nowhere. You bring anyone you find to me" It was clear to you Jim wasn't going to listen to any demand that you or Bruce asked of him even if it was for his own safety. You wished he would put more care into himself, what would Barbara do if her dad died? Wouldn’t that partially be yours and Bruce’s fault since it’s your job to convince him to leave. Thank god that your dad is at the GCPD or you hope he still is. 

"Jim, it's too dangerous."

"You'll stop him. I know you will" Jim placed far too much trust in you and Bruce. Maybe you were just a pessimist after all. Or maybe they were just too optimistic. The call ended there, no time for refusal. You watched as the worker climbed into the Batmobile, ready to leave the premises. However, the boot didn’t close up. Bruce was waiting for you to get in it but you weren’t going to, there was no point when he was coming straight back. 

"You go, I'll stay. I'll look for an entrance, I'll make myself scarce" You told him.

"Absolutely not. They are watching for us" Bruce replied, looking at you as if he expected you to crumble and get in the Batmobile.

"I can take them, I'm not weak. I'll be here when you get back, unscathed" You promised. You watched as he closed the back of the Batmobile, he gave up on trying to convince you. He already knew that you were too stubborn to actually listen most of the time. He got in the Batmobile and drove away, you actually watched the Batmobile manoeuvre its way out. Now you know why there were was so many sharp turns when you were on your way here. 

You followed the Batmobile out using your grapnel gun to get you from place to place, “Master Bruce, there are militia tanks all over the city. Gotham is overrun” Alfred’s voice came onto comms to warn Bruce. Of course, they are using this as a way to distract us from the main city and it worked because there wouldn’t be a city left if you weren’t here. They really weren’t giving you or Bruce a chance to breathe, something was always happening but the tanks will have to be on the back burner for now. 

“If we don’t stop Scarecrow’s bomb there’ll be no city” Bruce replied quickly, exactly as you thought. You could get rid of the tanks and save the city but if you don’t get rid of this bomb, there will be no city to save. You decided to look for a potential way in, still making yourself scarce like you told Bruce you would but if you could pinpoint a way in it would be a timesaver. You found one entrance, you had to move quickly and stealthily to find it since you were sure they were watching for movement. You would need the Batmobile to get there. It was the loading dock so you didn’t even have to look to know there would be all sorts of tanks there so you made a quick retreat. 

“B, I found a way in but we are going to need the Batmobile. I think I can move that yellow ramp that’s hovering in the air if I get to the control panel” You informed, looking at the control panel, there were a handful of militia men on there. “I could handle it before you get back…I’ll get it sorted all right, don’t you even worry.” You decided for him, time was of the essence and there was no room for any time wasting, not when a massive bomb is in production. 

“It is far too dangerous” Bruce snapped, “I’ll be there soon, just wait.” There was no time to wait. You have worked alone before, you worked alone a lot. You don’t appreciate being treated as a sidekick.

“Where’s the trust? I’m doing this and it will save us time. I’ll be ready to move the ramp when you’re back” You told him, leaving no room for him to argue. You had to do this, you had to stop this bomb and find any crew members that are still alive and scared. It was your job to do this

Chapter Text

You aimed your grapnel gun to one of the railings, shooting off in top the air and landing on said railing that it had connected to. They noticed you immediately considering you were right there in the light, "Surprise!" You exclaimed, putting your hands on the shoulders of the soldier in front of you, vaulting over his head into the middle of the group. 

This wasn't an unusual setting for you, probably a normal Tuesday night. However, instead of the usual thug, it was a militia soldier who had actually been trained in hand to hand combat, military style. This was going to be more fun than usual, they were experienced. 

But like everyone, they had their own weaknesses. For example, not having their foot securely on the ground. In high pressure situations it was easy to forget your training but something you should never forget is to remain grounded and balanced or you are easy to knock off your feet and then it's game over. You had managed to swipe your leg under theirs while they were going in for a punch, completely taking them by surprise and getting them on the ground. You then proceeded to put your whole body weight into a punch landing directly in his face, knocking him out of impact. Now Bruce would be proud of that. 

You didn't have time to gloat about your amazing punch to the skull since one of the soldiers decided that it was the perfect like to try and grab you, to be honest it was since there was also another soldier coming at you from the front. You grabbed the arm trying to grab you from the front, holding it as still as you could but he was making it rather difficult. You kicked the soldier in front of you in the stomach in order to stall for time. After he fell on the ground holding his stomach, you were able to focus on the soldier behind you, you were still holding onto his arm. You pulled on his arm and flipped him over your body. His back hit the wet aluminium flooring with a loud thump, you finished the job with a kick to the head, "Ouch, that's gonna hurt later" You commented. 

One left. 

"Where's the Bat?" 

"Not here clearly" You rolled your eyes. It was just you here but yet they still mentioned Batman, seriously, where's the respect on your name. 

"Aren't you just a glorified side-kick?" One snickered as he ran in to make an attack. They must have hoped that being called a side-kick would get to you or something. He was right. Just not in the way he wanted it to. You ran over the railing and used that to get a higher advantage. Bouncing off of the railing, you were able to crash into him. You both landed on the ground, he grunted when he landed. 

"I'm not a side-kick" You snapped. You haven't been a side-kick in a long time. Not since you were 16, you were 21 now, it had been five years. You didn't depend on Batman, you didn't need him. You could manage fine on your own. He was the one that was so worried about your safety, he should worry about himself, Tim and Barbara. Not you. 

Since you were positioned on top of the soldier, the next part was fairly easy. You jammed your elbow into his temple on the left side of his head, out like a light. The temples and the back of the heads are the spots to hit but you have to be careful. Too forceful and they aren't going to wake up. 

"Well that was easy-" 

Your victory was short as suddenly more people in the militia appeared, slinging themselves onto the platform. These soldiers were different though, they had blades attached to them and they moved similar to the way a ninja would move. 

"God-fucking-dammit, what the fuck is this?!" You exclaimed as you waved your hand at them. There were four of them in front of you. In retrospect, maybe you should have waited but how were you supposed to know that these soldiers would appear. Maybe you were just so amazing they sent an elite squad to slow you down. 

You watched as one back flipped on to the other's shoulder, their hands supporting the other one's ankles. You would have been in some sort of awe if the ninja wasn't directly getting thrown in your direction. You quickly ducked out of the way and rolled on the aluminium floor to get away. You managed to quickly get back up before another attack. Bending your back so the blade didn't cut through you. There was a lot of dodging and ducking away from the blades but you didn't know what you were dealing with here. 

You were going to have to stick to lower body attacks since they were good at protecting their upper body. Or you would have to wait for their attack and then attack their side that was uncovered. You did the latter. 

You dodged the blade that was moving in an unforgivable manner, each strike was meant to cause harm. However, it did give you a confidence boost. Maybe Gotham thugs underestimated you since you were a 'little lady' as if someone like Selina or Harley Quinn wouldn't rock their shit. You understood that you were on the younger side but it felt demeaning. But these guys, they were not pulling their punches whatsoever. 

One soldier attacked, making three strikes at you, once they stopped for a moment to recover, you made your move. You manage to kick them in the ribs. You hit the opposite side to where the blade he attempted to strike you with was. He was distracted from the pain in his side so you took it as an opportunity to disarm him. Grabbing his wrist and twisting until he let go, you had to admit he was strong as you almost had to break his wrist to make him let go. It was so close to making that awful cracking noise but he let go so in return you did. 

"Thanks bud, real appreciated" You said before using the handle so smack it against his head. Getting knocked out by your own weapon, embarrassing. However, it was you got off guard when a blade suddenly came into, it was too late to move away fully so it managed to snag your upper arm a little with, ripping the fabric and in turn, the skin of your arm in a thin straight line. You let out a hiss of pain. 

"That wasn't very nice" You complained, you really didn't want to have to repair your suit but you should have known that after tonight you would have to; might just scrap it all together and get a new one. 

"And you aren't very smart" You watched as Bruce landed on one of the soldiers, knocking them down, "I told you to wait" He grunted, blocking the sword he was being attacked with his gauntlet. You hated this. It made it seem like he was your knight in shining armour, like he was saving you but you were managing on your own. You had experienced enough of the disrespect in Gotham when Batman always came to your defence when you were in danger. You already felt like these guys didn't see you as a threat and this certainly didn't help. 

"I'm not your side-kick, I don't have to listen if I don't want to. Besides, there were the normal soldiers before these guys, I saved us time" You replied back, getting annoyed that he was still acting like you had to listen to him, as if he had authority over you. One of the ninja soldiers attempted to slash you, you grabbed his wrist and kneed him in the stomach. You then kicked them down when they went to clutch their stomach. 

"It's not about being my side-kick, it's about your safety. I told you my reasoning" Bruce replied as he moved quickly, going to the guy you had fought and slamming his head on the aluminium, keeping him down. 

"It makes me look weak" You told him, dodging more sword attacks to the point you were getting good at it. Most thugs fight with knives or guns. You never really fight against people who use swords so this was interesting. 

You decided to use your environment to take down this guy, your environment in choice being Bruce himself. You reached up and grabbed one of Bruce's shoulders, giving yourself a boost up so that you could easily kick the incoming soldier in the face. It wouldn't break their nose like it would on the regular soldiers, these ones have proper masks but it would be enough to get them on the ground. 

Bruce being himself, he walked over there once you let go of his shoulder; he drove a punch into the soldier's skull. That was a punch you knew would be leaving a sore bump in the morning but hey, that's if this fear toxin bomb doesn't kill everyone. 

"You get in the batmobile, I'll move the ramp. You'll have to guide me though" You told him as you quickly walked over to the control panel. It was a simple control panel, even a child could understand it. 

"Aerial Unit C: I want the payload primed and ready to drop. Their army won't be getting anywhere near this city" The Arkhma Knight announced before the militia broadcast channel went dead once more.

You didn't have time to be distracted by the very attractive distorted voice. You need to move the ramp so that Bruce could make it to the other side. You were quick to set it up so he could get across to the other side. You could hear the Batmobile rev up, he was probably going to use the afterburner effect to get across. It was a far jump for the car to make. You almost felt a little anxious when you watched it make its way off the ramp. There was no real stakes in this but it was nerves of not finding Scarecrow. But you couldn't help the smile and little jump you did when Bruce made it safely across to the other platform. 

You jumped down, using your grapnel gun to get you to the other side and to break your fall. Bruce had already opened the backseat for you, you got in with no objections. You would rather be in here than be out in the open since you were going into the loading bay, they probably had more than enough tanks in there and you didn't want to meet one face to metal. 

Then the military broadcast went off, "All remaining units. Final evacuation in T-minus 20 minutes." Time was passing faster than both you and Bruce wanted it to. Bruce got out of the Batmobile to press a button on the side of the wall to bring up a floor platform, once he got back in the Batmobile and drove a millimetre forward, you were spotted by the unmanned tanks. Bruce shot a missile towards them immediately and then reversed behind the wall, a small protection from the incoming attacks. 

"Rattler force has engaged in the loading bay! Two Diamondbacks in support" One of the militia member reported on the comms.

"I'm watching" That was the Arkham Knight said. Something about it sent shivers down your spine. Perhaps it was the fact that you have been feeling like someone has been watching you for weeks before this attack. It's paranoia and you know that but something about him that felt familiar. Although where would he even find the time to train all of these men, make this plan and also theorise how Batman would react to it while stalking you on the side, it's a bit much even for this guy.

You could hear the missiles that were incoming from the militia hitting the wall across from you, it was shaking the entire infrastructure. Bruce was only moving into the firing line when the Batmobile's weapons were ready for launch, he hadn't moved much at all. He kept going back behind the wall, it was probably the best plan he could think of right now. It was far better than being out in the open. 

You felt one of the missiles fly straight past the car, you let out a sigh of relief that it missed, "What's happening, B?" You asked considering that you had just felt at missile go past even though you were hiding.

"One of the diamondbacks have come up to the entrance of where we are, I'm dodging the attacks, there is nothing to worry about" Bruce informed, trying to make you feel safer about the incoming missiles and also all his sharp movements in the car that no normal car could ever do, not even a normal tank could do this stuff. 

It went on for a few more minutes and then it stopped. The loud explosions of the missiles ceased and it was just quiet. It was safe to assume that the fight was over and Batman won as always, no surprise there. 

"Sir, the tanks can barely touch alpha target's vehicle. Offensive capability way beyond expectation" One of the militia soldiers reported back and honestly it wasn't even your tank but you felt a little smug. For all this talk of we know how you think and blah blah blah, he couldn't match the strength of the Batmobile with one of his own tanks, not even the diamondbacks could touch it.  

"There are militia solders in a room above us, we need to go check it out" Bruce said plainly. The you heard him firing shots from the Batmobile, non-lethal rounds you assumed, the no kill rule wasn't about to be destroyed today, at least not so early on. It was still early since even if you find Scarecrow and stop the bomb, the militia is a whole separate issue. You would still have to find the Arkham Knight, you would still have to get rid of anything they have which is a threat to Gotham such as their tanks. 

"He's been busy" The Arkham Knight said in response to the report from his soldier. That made you think. 

"B, how much stronger would you say this Batmobile is compared to your last one?" You asked. 

"Quite a bit stronger, why?" 

"I think the tanks were made to take the old Batmobile out by the fact he said you have been busy and also the soldier said that its capability is far beyond expectation. Meaning this guy has been around for a while, enough time to make a plan for the old Batmobile and they had clearly studied its capabilities. Going by the name and symbol, maybe he was a patient during Joker's takeover of Arkham Asylum?" You suggested, you were just trying to come up with a timeframe and a motive.

"It's possible" Bruce replied, he wasn't sure himself. He paid it no more mind right now and instead opened the back seat so you could get out. It closed automatically once you had vacated the car. Bruce then shot up into the sky, must be convenient. You followed him, not having the same momentum unfortunately. He got there a lot faster than you did since he shoots out of the car like a missile. You followed him onto the roof, the roof did not hide either of your footsteps well. It practically made them louder so there was no chance for a sneak attack unless they were hard of hearing or just not listening at all in which case, this is not the career for them. 

"Wake up!"

"Come on, man, get back up" A militia soldier said, they must be talking to someone that Bruce hit with a non-lethal round but those things still hurt like a bitch. They are absolutely sold and can knock the wind right out of you. 

Knowing that they are distracted, Bruce took this opportunity to smash through the glass. He moved at an insane speed, you won't be surprised if these people thought he was a meta like Superman or the Flash...The Flash is more accurate since he moves at the speed of light. No wonder people think Batman isn't human, he certainly doesn't act like he is. You dropped down into the room and saw a soldier holding a mental pipe, he was going to attempt to hit Bruce with it. You moved quick and intercepted his attack, grabbing the pipe while it was in motion. You could see the shock, could practically feel it. You managed to easily rip the pipe out of his hands and whacking him with it on his side, knocking him down. He was taking a moment to recover but you couldn't allow that.

"Sorry" You told him before you crouched down and slammed his head on the concrete. You didn't really know if you meant that apology or not, sure it wasn't the nicest to hit him with a mental pipe but he was going to do it to someone else. He had it coming or at least some would say he did. 

The rest of the fight went quickly, it was mostly a blur. The fight wasn't difficult which was why it went so fast. It was a subconscious thing just like how some people accidentally start singing to a song they really like, dancers who subconsciously start doing a practiced dance once the song plays in rehearsal out of pure impulse. Fighting was like that for you, it was impulse at this point, somethings you didn't even have to pay full attention. You had been doing it for so long, most nights for years. 

"This way, this wall is breakable" Bruce called out, taking his explosive gel out of his utility belt. You were glad someone was prepared with that because you sure weren't. You should probably invest in it but that's for later. After tonight, you were taking a break, Gotham can survive without Black Swan for a week or so. Plus, Bruce never takes time off so Gotham will be fine under the care of Batman and Robin like always.

Bruce placed the gel down in a bat symbol. You couldn't help but roll your eyes when you saw him do it but it didn't matter right now, you'll tease him later. You backed up and did he before he pressed the detonator. The wall came crumbling down after the controlled explosion but unfortunately that was too easy. There was a pipe leaking gas right outside the wall. 

"B, if I'm correct, which I may very well not be, but there was a pipe outside near where you left the Batmobile, if I'm right then that pipe would be directly below us. I think it had something you could attach the power winch to. If you could break the pipe down there, the gas wouldn't be able to make it up to this break" You suggested, trying to be helpful. You remembered seeing that pipe as you had a little while longer down there than he did. 

Bruce nodded and clicked a few buttons on his arm. You looked to where the toxic gas was spreading and your mind decided to fuck you over. You saw Jason behind the toxic gas. Even behind the toxin white cloud, you knew it was him. Your mind was torturing you tonight but you just don't understand why. You see Jason, yes, but never this much. When the gas disbursed, he was gone like he was never even there but you saw him behind foggy gas.

"That was an excellent idea" Bruce complimented but he stopped when he saw that you were looking to where the gas was once, not with an accomplished looked but with something a lot more painful, "Did you see something?" He asked. 

"Like what? Let's get moving, we don't have much time if you remember" You quickly changed the conversation. There was a job to be done, there was no time for a therapy session.

Chapter Text

Immediately after walking through the damaged wall you both saw it. Another dead worker, it wasn't the first dead worker of the night but it was still unfortunate. 

"That's two dead workers now. I should have stopped this" Bruce sighed, he was disappointed in himself but what could have you two realistically done in this scenario. You put your hand on his arm as reassurance but you didn't say anything. How were you supposed to know that there was people still here, there was a major evacuation, most Gothamites left in a hurry. They chose to stay in Gotham like you did, there was always a risk of death when choosing to ignore an evacuation, especially when it's Scarecrow and you work in a place like this. They most likely volunteered to stay back. It was a fatal mistake on their part.

You both continued forward, stepping over a large pipe that was across the floor. There were pipes everywhere in this area, on the walls and across the floor. The comms started beeping, it was Barbara. Bruce fingers danced along the buttons on his arm until Babs face appeared in sight. "Batman. Look, I've been talking with Robin, I really think you should consider letting him help you. You're up against an entire army!" Barbara suggested as if it was a good idea. 

"She's right. We're a team. This city needs both of us" Tim added, suddenly appearing in the conversation. 

"That's why I'm here, Robin" You sighed. You couldn't blame him for wanting to help but he's been told no and he knows exactly why. You found his arguing pointless, it wasn't doing him any favours. He was a great Robin but neither you or Bruce wanted to see another Robin die tonight, "What you are doing is extremely valuable to us" You proceed to add to make him feel better and less argumentative. 

"We can handle it, Robin. I've told you what you have to do. Now do it" Bruce commanded, well shit, he could have been a bit nicer about it. Just shutting him down completely would never end well, he'll rebel sooner or later. 

"This can wait" Tim pushed, wanting to be in the field. 

"No, it can't. You know what's at stake. I need you to stay focused. Or things will get worse. Much worse" Bruce told him off, you know he was trying to convince him and inform him of how important the work he is doing is but it just sounded like someone telling of their child. But you understood it, there was a chance of curing those people from that vile disease and Tim needed to remain focused on that. With that, he hung up on both of them. 

"You did the right thing. I know better than anyone that you don't want another dead kid's blood on your hands. This family has seen enough of that" You told him, reassuring him that what he was saying was right. He couldn't give in to Tim's demands, it was for Tim's safety even if he doesn't realise that. You know that Tim is hardly a child but it still felt that way because you remember him when he was younger, you don't want to find that same kid dead at the bottom of the Gotham Harbour. 

"You shouldn't be so hard on Tim. He only wants to help" Barbara scolded and suddenly you found yourself agitated.

"Someone has to be" You snapped, "Bruce has to be tough on us, how else will we learn not to take unnecessary risks? Having Tim out here wouldn't help" He would be a liability was on the tip of your tongue but you couldn't say it, it was too harsh for you to say. But it was true, he would cause both you and Bruce to be distracted, concentrated on his safety rather than the mission itself and that would lead to failure. Bruce had to be tough on Tim, he was the youngest and the least experienced out of all of you. It wasn’t that he was bad, he was great but it was just too risky.

"Don't let your feelings for him cloud your judgment" Bruce said calmly, you had to press your lips together and close your eyes for a second. Now that was an insult but it was so true, Babs might be your friend but she needs to stop letting her boyfriend and her feelings for him interfere with her work as Oracle. Plus, if it was Jason... You'd do anything to keep him away from this. 

While he was speaking to Barbara, he had placed the explosive gel on the ground. You hadn't noticed until he was actively pushing you back from where the floor would break which you nodded in response and moved back yourself so he didn't have to move you himself like he had been. Bruce then pressed the detonator, the floor crumpling to pieces after the explosion hit it. 

"You think I want him out there in harms way? I'd rather he stay out of it. But he could help you" She snapped at Bruce specifically after his last comment. She made more sense this time, to you at least, who would want their boyfriend doing this. But she also knows how helpful he could be on the field, it was tough for her and you knew it. You and Jason lived it for a few years. Tim was desperate to help but Barbara wanted him safe but at the same time wanted to support his willingness to help others. That willingness gets people killed. 

You dropped down to the floor below and looked around. The creaky wooden floor boards were dirty, this room looked mostly unused. There was more of that toxic gas blocking your way because of course there couldn't just be a simple way to get to where Scarecrow is. It has to be a maze because why fucking not. Just for once you wish a building would have a normal layout. 

"If Robin can't help those people, the fallout will be every bit as dangerous as Scarecrow's bomb" Bruce replied, he was right. If those people got fully infected by the blood, there would be multiple Jokers. That fucking bastard clown, couldn't just die, no, he had to infect people with this weird fucking blood. Always knew he was a biohazard, you could tell by looking at that ugly mug.

Bruce ripped off the yellow panel cover and dropped it onto the floor. He pulled out two of the wires and connected them together, sparks flying off as he did so like a sprinkler. The shutters next to the electrical box opened up, it was still barred even after the shutters opened but you could see that Bruce was going to do something with the Batmobile, you didn't exactly see what he was doing but you assume it was the same thing he did to stop the gas last time from your suggestion. 

You both then immediately took off, you slid under under a semi-open shutter which had a sign that said 'DANGER: DO NOT OPEN' if it isn't your favourite sign to see before you go somewhere. The metal floor clinked with every step you look, couldn't ponder much on that when you found another dead worker through here. 

"That's three dead now. These animals are going to pay" Bruce practically growled, but you couldn't help but wonder if they would actually pay for what they done. Yes, they will go to Arkham or Blackgate but that's not a long term solution, hell it is barely a short term solution. They get out so quickly and then cause all the hurt all over again. Was what you were doing really the best solution to the never ending crime rate in Gotham? Would murdering someone who so badly deserves it make you as bad as them? You didn't know. 

"We've got to move forward, B, or they died for nothing. We have to stop Scarecrow, for them" You replied, not sure of even what to say. Three workers were dead, could you even make him or yourself feel better. Maybe if you didn't go to Pauli's Diner you would have gotten here faster and saved them, maybe they died while you were hallucinating Jason and putting yourself in danger but going to a crime scene by yourself on a night like this. If they had died while you were there, this was your fault. Maybe if you helped B with the satellite it would have been completed faster somehow. 

"We'll stop them. We always do, right?" Barbara assured us, trying to keep our spirts from hitting rock bottom. It was too late for that anyway but it was nice of her to try.

"Yeah..." You replied but it lacked any sort of enthusiasm or even any belief in your own words. They could both tell you were just saying it to make her happy. You watched as Bruce once again teared the yellow panel off of its hinges and threw it to the ground, messing with the wires. You sometimes wish you could do this very thing with your brain, be able to completely rewire it. Perhaps you would make yourself a nicer person, one who could understand the reason for the no-kill rule instead of seeing it as an inconvenience. 

The shutter on the other side of the wall opened up, Bruce then started to remotely control the Batmobile once again. This looked like an elevator shaft, he was going to use the Batmobile to pull up the elevator which you assume is probably deactivated or destroyed by Scarecrow's thugs or the militia. 

"Ground forces: Founders' Island is under our control. Watchtowers and checkpoints rate fully operational. I want attack units on Miagani now. Get me a drone patrolling every damn back alley!" Arkham Knight was barking orders at his men. The worst part was is he was doing this on purpose, he wanted you and Bruce to hear how he used this to take control of the entirety of Gotham. It was a decent plan on his end, distracting us with a bomb that could cover entire cities in fear toxin, they knew that it would be the number one priority and they used that to get you both here where you couldn't protect the streets of Gotham. 

"Bastard, he wants us to hear that, he wants us to know that he planned ahead and that he is super great and whatever. He's doing it to antagonise us, telling us what he is doing while we can't do shit about it. Even if we stop this bomb, there's now the issue that they have assumed control over Gotham" You commented, giving your somewhat analysis of the situation and the Arkham Knight. 

Something was eating you inside though, the fact you found the Arkham Knight intriguing. He was a new face...or well mask, you suppose, it was only natural to find him intriguing. You wanted to know more. Why he was so angry at Batman? Why he decide to work with Scarecrow? How did he pull off an operation this large with nobody in Gotham suspecting a thing? How did he know how what you were going to do before you even did it?

You could hear the batmobile's tires screeching on the concrete as well as the rickety sound of metal as the elevator is pulled up the shaft. It was an unpleasant sound which permeated your eardrums. 

The elevator appeared but it must have been stuck on something since it won't move up any further. "This is as high as the elevator will go?" Bruce stated as if it wasn't obvious. The screeching of tires stopped, he was now only using the batmobile to hold the elevator still and stopping it from dropping and you plummeting to your death as you vaulted over the top of the elevator to get to the doors.

You slide yourself into the semi-open doors, it mostly being blocked due to it not going up the full way. Bruce followed after you. This was one step closer, a big step closer, you would finally be properly in the building. Bruce then used his control over the batmobile to descend the elevator at a quick pace, weary of the time constraint that you had to find Scarecrow. You were trying not to think about it. 

The elevator stopped gently at the bottom where it was supposed to, you were thankful that Bruce was paying attention and stopped the descent when it was getting close to the ground. The elevator doors opened up and you were greeted with a large square window.

"Bring him down here so we can all keep an eye on him" You didn't know who they were talking about. The epoxy tiles on the floor were broken which was a surprise since epoxy was very durable and also easy to maintain and keep in good condition. But it was cracked and large chunks were missing out of the tiles. 

"Hey you! On your feet!" One of them yelled at another. You could see a few of them through the window. You were surprised none of them had spotted you or Bruce since you weren't exactly trying to hide. 

"No! Please!" You heard one beg, it was a man, he was one of the workers. He had to be one of the workers, he sounded so frightened and it was clear that he didn't want to be there. You were glad he was still alive, that was two of them that were still alive. 

"I said move!"

Bruce used his grapnel gun to go up into a ventilation shaft. You did the same, keeping a good distance from him. 

"Get up!"

"Take your hands off me!" He was brave, something you hoped wouldn't get him killed before you or Bruce could save him but otherwise, it was a great quality to have. 

"Or what?" You heard the militia soldier reply, it was condescending, he knew that the worker couldn't do anything. He couldn't fight back against fully trained soldiers with weapons, that would be a death sentence, he was an unarmed civilian. 

"You need me to teach you some manners?" Threatening violence and not being afraid to enact it, one of many ways to scare your poor captive into doing what you want. 

"Please..." And it worked, any tone of defiance that was in his voice before was gone. He wanted to live, he wanted to go home. He would comply but even then, looking at what happened to the others, even that won't get him home. 

You and Bruce were almost there, you were standing atop a large fanning device as Bruce pried off the vent.

"You brought this on yourself. Now, take it like a man." You could hear the pained sounds. Sometimes bravery truly is your downfall. You heard the soldier laugh, his enjoyment stemming from causing someone else pain, not out of revenge but just pure want. 

"So here's what I don't get, this Knight guy shows up out of nowhere and assembles an army this size? I mean, he must be richer than Bruce Wayne. How come I never heard of him?" You heard one of the soldiers questioning and he was exactly right. It made absolutely no sense, he appeared out of thin air with enough influence, power and money to pull of an operation this large with Scarecrow among others according to Ivy and the meeting they all had. 

"It's not his money. Every super-villain around is chipping in for this one. It's all part of Scarecrow's plan" Unfortunately, you didn't hear anymore since Bruce burst out of the roof and attacked them. Taking down three of them almost instantly. You swung yourself down, kicking a soldier right in the face with both feet. 

The soldiers who prefer to fight with a sword are also here, how fun. You almost caught yourself getting distracted as you watched Bruce throw a box at someone, you actually wanted to laugh because it looked so comical. No time to laugh, you sprung into action once you had recovered from seeing such a funny scene. 

One thing you enjoyed about fighting the militia soldiers is the fact that they were trained with the same moves as everyone else, if they had no proper fighting experience before this then it was a simple take out. If they had previous experience whether that was military or other then they were a bit trickier since they had the opportunity to rely on their old style compared to the new one. 

That was one of the reasons you weren't particularly fond of the sword-using militia soldiers. You didn't know exactly how they fought yet meaning they could catch you off guard easier than the regular soldiers could. They were also faster, a lot faster you noted as one appeared behind you, ready to strike. 

"Ah shit" You mumbled as you threw yourself to the ground as quickly as you could so you won't be slashed by the sword. However, your plan sort of backfired when they changed the position of the sword to stab downwards instead. Your skirt got caught in the sword and you made a quick decision just to rip it off, it was purely for decoration to distract from the tight bodysuit you wore. 

You used your leg to kick the back of their knee causing them to lose their balance, once they were on the ground you moved quickly. You sat on their back so they couldn't get up, practically prying their head up off of the ground and slamming it back down so there would be no chance of them getting up any time soon.

You wish you could have breathed a sigh of relief but before you could even get up you felt a hand grab a rough handful of your hair, pulling your head upwards. You let out a yelp when your hair was tugged roughly, perhaps Selina was right and you should've just cut it all off like she did. 

"Look at what I've got" The soldier taunted, pulling your hair more to tilt your chin up higher. You grabbed his arm with both of yours the best you could and folded your body forward to flip him over, it was a 50% chance that it would actually work and luckily it did since it caught him off-guard. You socked him square in the face once he was down at your level.

"That fucking hurt, you know?" You snapped as you punched him again with the intent of knocking him out this time instead of revenge. You got back up and rejoined the fight, finishing off whoever was left which didn't take long with Bruce making powerful moves at your side. You watched as Bruce jumped on a soldier's back with his full weight and you knew for a fact that guy was not gonna get back up. 

You helped the worker up as he was unsteady on his feet, most likely due to him being assaulted by the guards which you had heard while in the ventilation system, "It's okay now, you are safe" You told him as you gently rubbed him arm, providing comfort to him after he was held captive for god knows how long. 

"You're too late. We're already dead. You know about the bomb he's building, right?" Adam stated, he sounded so sure of himself and that made you slightly anxious but you didn't show it. Worst of all, you could see Jason in the corner of your eye, just lurking behind Bruce like a shadow. 

"Yes, do you know where he is?" You asked him, looking into his eyes. He had a black eye, curtsy of one of these militia soldiers, they had roughed him up quite a bit, his face was bruised and cut up. He looked exhausted. 

"I heard em' saying he was in the central mixing chamber. You know what that means..." He trailed off, not even wanting to speak the words into existence. But you all knew what it means if Scarecrow was there, your lips pressed into a line. 

"He's getting ready to release his toxin" Bruce spoke, confirming what you all silently knew but hearing it out loud was worse, it was final. 

Adam started shaking his head, the personal protective equipment he was wearing was squeaking as he did so, "I've seen what that stuff does to people... if that gas gets out there it's gonna be chaos." You patted his upper arm before looking up at the ceiling, you didn't know what to do. Scarecrow was practically ready, Arkham Knight had taken control of both your thoughts and Gotham, criminals were prowling the streets like they owned them. Not to mention even your dead boyfriend got the memo to make you actually go crazy tonight. It was over. 

"I won't let that happen. I'm getting you out of here. Get to the elevator" Bruce told him, commanding him to go to the elevator which he did so in haste. He then called Jim to inform him of the second worker that was found. 

"I'm going to investigate, you can find me with the tracker in my suit when you are back, I won't go far" You told him and he nodded, it felt somewhat good to know he trusted you to hold your own since you had proved yourself.

Once Bruce and the worker left you finally turned around to see Jason. "You should check this out" He stated, it wasn't a suggestion. He was kneeling over an unconscious militia soldier as if he was inspecting something. 

"Whatever" You replied as you walked over, kneeling down when you noticed a piece of paper tucked into one of the soldier's pockets, "What's this? A love note for Batman?" You joked to the hallucination. You opened the note, the paper making a crinkling sound as you opened it. 

'I liked you more as Sparrow' 

- A 

What the fuck.

Chapter Text

It was getting late, the sunset creating that warm orange colour in the sky along with the tones of pink and purple. It was beautiful when reflecting off the window in the library in Wayne Manor. You used to think this place was a little creepy when you were younger. It was probably the gothic stylised building and the sharp steel gate which surrounded the premises. But now it isn't so bad.

"I think you should be called Sparrow" Jason stated, his arms stretched out like he had just come up with the best name possible. It was not the best name possible but he was sticking with the bird theme of the Batman sidekicks. 

"Why?" You asked, genuinely curious why he sounded so proud of himself for coming up with the name Sparrow. 

"Sparrows are smaller than Robins" He said without any shame. He had this goofy smile on his face like he was trying to hold in a laugh which he was failing at terribly. 

"You are such a dick." You whined, using your hand to push his shoulder before crossing your arms with a little pout on your face. 

"No, that's my brother's name" He said, puffing out his small chest like he was the smartest person in the room. More like a smartass in your opinion.

"I'm not even shorter than you, we're the same height!" You complained, annoyed that he was acting like he was bigger than you when he wasn't, you were both the same height and you were younger than him.

"I haven't had my growth spurt yet!"

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

This was bad. This was really bad. 

"I can agree with that. I preferred you as Sparrow too" The hallucination chuckled as if this was funny. This was anything but funny, he knew who you were, he knew who you have been.

"There was no point, I was only Sparrow for you. Sparrow didn't exist without you" You rambled, looking at the note that was signed by 'A'. Motherfucker, 'A' from the diner and on the note, it was written the same way. It was him. 

You quickly connected to the comms with Bruce, "B, he knows, he knows" You stammered out, all the words that were in your brain were gone and you were just left with panic. He knew who you were, he knew to sign off with 'A' instead of 'Arkham Knight' because he knew you went to the diner, he knew you would. 

"Swan, slow down. What do you mean he knows?" Bruce asked, trying his best to calm you down so you could give him a coherent answer to his question. You were sure he could figure it out but then again you were up against multiple villains tonight so maybe not. 

"The Arkham Knight, he left me a note...or I think it was him, I don't fucking know. Someone knows who I am, they were the person at the diner, the one who carved the letter 'A' on the table. B, this is bad" You told him, clearly stressed out and anxious by the tone of your voice.

"I'm going to come get you, I'll lower the elevator and bring it back up. Then we'll go find Scarecrow. We can figure this out later. I don't think he knows, he probably just pieced it together, there is nothing to worry about" Bruce assured you. He could be right, it didn't take a genius to put two and two together, Sparrow disappeared then a couple of months later Black Swan appeared. Bruce was hopefully right, the Arkham Knight has better and more important things to do anyway.

"Alright, I'll wait by the elevator" You confirmed, getting up and sliding the note into one of the compartments on your utility belt, "You've dropped off the worker, right?" You asked considering it shouldn't take that long. 

"There's an issue at the moment..." Bruce trailed off but he didn't need to finish it. You could feel the foundation of the building shaking which was not a good sign considering you were trapped underground with a busted elevator and no way of escaping. Maybe you should have just left with them but then you wouldn't have the note. 

You were going to have to wait with your hallucination who was there, he wasn't talking but he was standing there. You sighed as you sat down, leaning against the wall. You unzipped the collar area on your suit, you had a zipper that went down the middle from the neck to your belly button, it made it easier to put on also it helped with the fact that when you got panicked and stressed, you sweat a little so it helps regulate your temperature while on the job. 

What certainly wasn't helping was the sound of blood dripping, you knew it was all in your head but it wasn't stopping. You could hear it plopping onto the dirty ground, very droplet. You just closed your eyes and pretended that you couldn't hear it, that you couldn't see him standing there with the blood dripping off him. The building shaking didn't help at all, it honestly made you feel like you were about to join Jason in the afterlife. 

That wouldn't be so bad. 

Then the shaking stopped, it was silent from what you could tell.

"You haven't won. Tonight you pay. For everything!" The Arkham Knight yelled, he was angry again, there was no amusement in his tone at all this time. But you still didn't know what everything was, nobody did apparently unless...Bruce knew and just wasn't saying anything. You know it is wrong to doubt him but this is just a petty thing, this is full-fledged revenge for no reason that Bruce could think of? It doesn't make any sense.

You could hear the Batmobile attach the power winch to the elevator and start to lower it for you, the rickety sound was worse this time. You were hoping it didn't break completely before you could get out, "B, take it easy...sounds like it's gonna break more than it already is" You said, there was a nervous tone in your voice.

Bruce huffed and told you it would be fine. Once it was completely lowered down you got into it and told Bruce to pull it up. The shaking of the elevator was enough to honestly make you think you were about to die, that it was going to fall and you'd either be dead or trapped underneath it. But luckily, you made it out alive. 

"Thanks" You told him. You liked and saw the cause for the loud bangs that you heard when you were investigating the soldiers. There were the remains of a destroyed helicopter, you didn't even know that the Batmobile could take down a helicopter which when you think about it, it's insane that it can do that. The materials of the helicopter were scattered everywhere creating a large mess on the ground.

You told him you'd go get the button to help the car get out of the loading bay and then you would get in and he nodded, watching you use your grapnel gun to swing that way to avoid walking over there. You already knew Bruce was probably rolling his eyes seeing you do that. You pressed the button and watched the platform lower itself down. You waited for Bruce to drive onto the platform and when he did, you pressed the button again, hearing the short click before the sounds of the platform returned back up. 

"Oracle, Scarecrow is preparing the bomb in the central mixing chamber. I need a way in and I need it now" Bruce demanded, he was asking and that was clear. He was too stressed to ask politely, it had taken far too long to find all the workers and now it was taking even longer to find a way into the central mixing chamber. 

"I'm working on it but I'm gonna need a couple of minutes" Barbara replied. 

"I'm afraid we don't have a couple of minutes. We are running out of time fast" You played with the necklace which usually remained hidden underneath your suit. Jason got it for you before he died, it was a simple necklace, nothing fancy but it meant everything to you. You rarely take it off which is why even now you wear it. It was a heart with a small ruby in it, it was a sweet gift.

"Patience is a virtue. You've heard that, right? Guess not" Barbara commented, you huffed a laugh at her words. 

"Funny but serious we can joke around later. Tell me as soon as you have something and I'll check it out" You told her. You hated not being able to joke around but this was urgent, if you didn't stop that bomb, the consequences would be fatal. "B, you should get going...I'm gonna hang back and if Barbara finds the way. I'll make a start if I can get in without your help" You added. 

"It's too dangerous to leave you here, what if the Arkham Knight sends an unmanned tank after you?" Bruce snapped.

"Then I guess I'm shit out of luck but we are running out of time" You snapped back at him. He huffed before driving away, finally listening to you. You watched as the car drove away and you looked over to the control panel area where you had fought solo for the most part. You made your way back over there. 

You listened to Bruce talk to Jim but it was already stuff you knew so you just tuned it out. You were hoping maybe the Arkham Knight would broadcast something, speak directly to you or Bruce, just anything but unfortunately, your wishes were not answered. But you knew he was watching, he always was. 

"Oracle, I need that route to Scarecrow. We're running out of time" You started tuning back in the conversation when you heard him talk to Barbara. 

"You're not gonna like this. There's only one entrance and it's been sealed from the inside" Barbara informed us and she was right, neither you or Bruce were happy to hear this but it was to be expected. Scarecrow wasn't a newcomer, he knew what to do and how to get away with things. 

"What about the service tunnel?" Bruce asked immediately, he was always quick to find a solution. It was useful considering he was Batman, he always had a backup plan. 

"It runs behind the main wall of the facility. I've sent you the location. What are you going to do?" Barbara asked. You hoped Bruce knew what to do, you knew you had to stop Scarecrow but getting to him was a whole different obstacle course. 

"Improvise."

You didn't know what that meant but you were excited to find out, he sounded confident so that was always a good sign. You watched as the Batmobile changed into the battle mode, aiming the missile launcher at the main wall of the ACE Chemical building. The missile hit the centre and the bricks crumbled to pieces under the impact of the missile, no match for the explosion that was inflicted on them. 

"You mind moving the ramp?" Bruce asked, he must have noticed that you were lurking on the control panel. You agreed and moved over to the controls. With his directions, you managed to move the ramp to where he needed to move it.

"Is the strike team ready?" You heard Scarecrow ask on the broadcast channel. Even Scarecrow's voice sent your body a shiver, he was lucky your reaction to fear toxin was to cower away in fear instead of anger like some. You have been fear gassed a handful of times, honestly you were hoping to one day get some immunity but he keeps changing it and your reaction keeps getting worse each time, it’s not exactly fair.

"I'm with them now" The Arkham Knight confirmed loudly, that was the voice you wanted to hear. There was something eerily familiar about it, you'd hurt your head if you continued thinking about it but it was starting to annoy you. 

"The asset is a crucial element of my plan. Do not disappoint me" Scarecrow told him. Scarecrow was clearly the demanding type you supposed when listening to him say something like 'do not disappoint me' sounds like something a strict parent would say. 

"I never disappoint" Arkham Knight replied quickly as if he didn't even need to think about it. You couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing for you, maybe a little bit of both. You shook your head at the thought, it was obviously a bad thing for you.

"What do you think they are planning?" Barbara questioned, hoping for yours or Bruce's opinion on the matter. 

"Nothing good, I can assure you of that" You answered, you dropped down from the control panel platform, using your grapnel gun to break your fall by attaching it to the railing before disconnecting it. It helped to create a smoother landing.

"We need to focus on stopping Scarecrow. Then we'll deal with the Knight" Bruce said, he opened the boot of the batmobile. You got in and it closed quickly after.

"Hey, I realised something. You are the Dark Knight and he's the Arkham Knight, do you think his name was inspired by you as a way to get back at you? Using a similar name while causing pain to others. I think he fully hates you, nobody else here. He feels familiar, you feel the familiarity too, right?" You played with your fingers which were covered by the gloves you wear that blend into your suit while noting the things you have noticed about the Arkham Knight. 

"I know what you mean, there is...some sort of familiarity but I don't know what I could have done" Bruce told you, confirming the fact that the Arkham Knight was familiar to the both of you but neither of you knew why. You could feel the Batmobile revving up and then you shot off towards the ramp, he was picking up speed by using the afterburner affect to get you into the main building. 

You wish you could say that it was a comfortable landing however you would be lying if you said so. It was the opposite of comfortable, you were pretty sure Bruce actually hit the wall when he landed in the building which caused your body to slam backwards. Thankfully, the leather seats are insanely padded so you weren't injured. 

The batmobile changed into the battle mode due to the risk of there being militia tanks and also because it got around corners easier. When the car abruptly stopped in its tracks you could already assume he had already found trouble so early on. Then the firing of the missiles started, Bruce took the first hit so they must have not seen the batmobile. 

After a few hits, you heard the militia tank explode, metal clanging everywhere across the floor. You assumed there was more than one since the explosions never stopped, there was still an ongoing attack taking place. But Bruce took care of that quickly. 

"Batman, I think I've found a weakness in those drone tanks. I'll investigate and report back soon" Barbara informed Bruce, mainly directed towards him since you couldn't exactly go toe to toe with a tank by yourself. You'd have to be a meta like superman to be able to do that or maybe Wonder Woman, yeah, she probably could. Bruce drove along as he listened to Barbara, the rest of the ride going seemingly smooth compared to the start. 

"We are getting out here" Bruce told you as he opened the backseat for you to get out before closing it and shooting out of the front seat like he had been doing all night. You attached your grappling hook and landed next to Bruce, the metal making a quiet sound under the impact of your landing there. 

"You hear that? I think he just took out our tanks!" The militia soldier sounded worried, you were almost sure he was hoping that he wouldn't have to fight the Batman. 

"Are you sure? Maybe our tanks took out his tank" Seems unlikely. 

"The soldiers are covered by that sentry gun. I'll have to take them out quickly to avoid detection. You stay here" Bruce told you, looking at the sentry gun that was circling around, it was unfortunately not the one that stayed mounted in one specific direction.  

"Fine" You agreed, best just not make things difficult and you didn't want to get shot, you aren't as bullet proof as Bruce is but still bullet proof due to the Kevlar material used to make your suit as functional as it is. 

"Then why are they saying tank?" The militia soldier continued.

"I don't know, I hear it's a big car."

Then Bruce shot out from under the ground. God, if you were a militia soldier you would be terrified if you saw Batman. From their perspective, Batman was something beyond human, he was a hulking 6'2 and well over 200 pounds, you wouldn't want to fight him in a dark alleyway like Gothamite thugs do. Half the time you wonder where they get the courage to do such a thing. 

Then again you also wonder how Jason had the balls to hit Batman with a tire iron after trying to steal the tires of the batmobile. 

The militia soldiers were taken out almost instantly, it was actually kind of embarrassing to watch considering they barely put up a fight. It was like watching a clip of a total wipeout or something. Bruce disarmed the sentry gun and now everything was safe. At least for Gotham standards anyway. 

Then Bruce was back at it again with ripping the yellow panel cover off and messing with wires like it was his favourite pass time to open the gates for the Batmobile to continue forward. There was an incoming call from Jim, hopefully it was good news that they were all safe. 

"Batman, Black Swan, we made it back to the precinct. God knows how. There are tanks everywhere. The bastards must've been planning this for weeks" Jim said, it was semi-good news, they were safe but the bad side is the fact that it's confirmed that the militia has taken complete control over Gotham City. 

You could hear Arkham Knight yelling, telling all his soldiers to evacuate the building immediately and that this was the final evacuation. He was telling them with an urgent tone, he cared at least a little about them which was even more confusing to you. You wanted to believe that he was heartless but you couldn't. You were walking quickly back to the Batmobile, he had already opened the back seat in advance for you to get in there. 

"Dig in and do what you can, Jim. I'll deal with them as soon as I've stopped the explosion" Bruce promised Jim.

"We're all counting on you. We'll get through this. I know we will" Jim said hopefully before disconnecting the line. Everyone was counting on the both of you stopping Scarecrow which was starting to seem a bit too late since the final evacuation notice just aired. You could literally hear the Arkham Knight telling everyone to move it so they don't die. 

You took off quickly, zooming through the tunnel to get to where you needed to be as fast as possible. It didn't take long with the insane speed of the Batmobile which you were starting to get used to. You got out and immediately took out your grapnel gun. Once you got up there, you sat perched on the railing perfectly balanced, the beam had taught you well on how to stay balanced. 

Beneath you was a large amount of militia soldiers, "Listen up! I just got word that phase one is complete" The leader of the group announced and you could hear a cheer come from the rest of them, it would be kind of cute if they weren't threatening the lives of thousands upon thousands of people. 

He then continued with his speech, "Right now, our client is preparing to engulf this city in a cloud of fear gas. Do not forget your training. Gas masks? Useless. Respirators? Useless. Only two things can keep you safe, men: getting underground or getting as high as you can above it." God, it sounded bad, like really bad. This is just getting worse with every bit of information you find out about it. 

"Exposure to toxin causes severe psychosis and, in extreme cases, self-harm. You've all got your assigned rendezvous point. So be there, or God help you." You didn't get to hear anymore as Bruce had snuck down and tampered with the wires to allow him to use the batmobile to take all of them down with the electric shocks and non-lethal rounds. 

You were lucky he took control because your phone started ringing, you took it out of your utility belt and saw it was your dad calling.

"Hey, what's up?" You answered, pressing your phone to your ear as you walked the batmobile take on several militia soldiers. Honestly, it was kind of brutal to watch and see how they all got destroyed so quickly. 

"Hi sweetie, I was just wondering how the evacuation went. Everything is okay, right?" He asked, you could hear his footsteps, he was quite obviously pacing around the small room in the G.C.P.D. 

"Everything...everything went well. Babs and I are at the hotel, we are just gonna watch some Halloween movies or something" You lied, you lied so easily to your own father. Something that you have a lot of practice in. 

"That's great, I'll let you get on with that. I love you."

"...love you too, dad" You replied back, hanging up after you finished speaking and slipping your phone back into your utility belt compartment. You jumped down onto the ground once more and noticed another note tucked in the militia leader's armoured vest. You plucked it out and opened it. 

Get out

- A  

Who the hell does this guy think he is? Who is he to tell me to leave?

"Oh my god, you will not believe this" You remarked, holding up the note as if it was some insanely important piece of information because it most definitely was for you, "He's telling me to leave" You told him. You assumed that it was for you considering the last note from him was directed to you as well. 

Bruce didn’t say anything in return. Maybe he was just too stressed right now. 

"I've just run a simulation based on the mixing chamber capacity. He's not bluffing, Bruce, I guess now we know why he evacuated the city" Barbara informed us but still something just wasn't adding up. 

"But why would Scarecrow do that? Since when did Scarecrow care about harming innocent people. I think that was the Arkham Knight's call" Maybe you were just delusion or trying to find ways to justify your attraction to a criminal you don't know anything about by making him out to be better than he is but Scarecrow doesn't care about harming innocents on a mass-scale. 

"He needed control of the plant. Only ACE Chemicals has the facilities to build a bomb of this size" Bruce reasoned, giving probably a more logical approach to it than yours considering yours is basically trying to make the Arkham Knight seem like the lesser of two evils but he probably was. 

You were right in front of the mixing chamber, you were so close to stopping Scarecrow finally, it had taken a little while but you are finally there. There were spikes on the door to the mixing chamber so you couldn't even use your grappling hook if you tried. 

"The fallout will be huge" Barbara gasped. Bruce shot out of the Batmobile and then locked it so you couldn't do the same. You were confused to say the least.

"We played right into his hands. He didn't care if everyone ran" Bruce realised,

"He knew that no one would be able to escape that blast radius" Barbara concluded, there goes your attempt at making Knight out to be a better guy. So much for trying. 

"Um...B, how do you suppose I'll get up there?" You pointed out, looking at the sharp spikes protruding along the edge of the ledge, there was no point in trying to do it, you'd injure yourself. 

"You don't. Leave" Bruce said plainly, his monotone voice making the vein on your forehead pop out at the sound of it. Just the sound of it alone is enough to piss you off.

"What the fuck?! What was the point of even bringing me here?!" You exclaim, very clearly pissed off at the turn of events. He brought you all this way just to send you away because he had decided that it was too dangerous for you to handle, it was insulting. 

"Gentlemen, tonight is the night that Gotham changes forever. The night it becomes a wasteland of nightmares, a forsaken symbol of Batman's failure, a monument to fear. But more than that: we're about to turn Gotham into the epicentre of a blast that will transform the entire East Coast of America into MY domain" Scarecrow announced in his calm voice. It creeped you out, how calm Scarecrow sounded all the time especially when things were going his way. But that made the satisfaction greater when he didn't sound calm, when he starts getting frustrated and starts panicking. 

"Bruce, let me help." He ignored you, didn't even look back at you and continued moving. You let out a frustrated groan. You couldn't believe this. 

"I should have just evacuated..." You sulked, talking to yourself.

"You should have" A voice said, you didn't have time to turn around before an arm was wrapped securely around your neck, keeping you in a headlock, cutting off your oxygen supply. You knew that distorted voice, you had spent your night listening to him making announcements for his men, leaving you two notes maybe more and you just didn't see them. 

You tried kicking your legs out and tried shaking him off, neither of these approaches worked at getting him off of you, in fact his hold just got tighter. He was hushing you as if you were being dramatic as he was cutting off your air supply. Every move you pulled to get him away from you, he knew how to counter it. He was better than you, he was stronger than you. It was pathetic. Jason would be so disappointed in you. 

"You'll be fine" The distorted voice assured you and it actually scared you more. You had heard him yelling for most of the night so to hear the voice so calm and have no static sound coming from the fact the distorted voice did not translate the yells well enough, it was terrifying. 

At some point, you don't remember when, you stopped kicking and struggling. This was embarrassing, getting taken out by a single person. Where have the years of training gone? Years of being successful in fighting criminals gone in one night, gone because of a man who called himself the Arkham Knight.

"Who...Who are you?" You choked out already knowing that he wouldn't give you an answer.

"It's too soon for that, we're just getting started."

Chapter Text

Bruce was certain he made the right decision. 

He was keeping you safe, he was making sure you lived. He failed Jason but he wasn't going to fail you. Once the bomb had went off and he couldn't find you in the building, he assumed you had listened to him for once and didn't even think twice. He drove out of the exploding ACE Chemical building, keeping an eye out in case you were somewhere and got hit by the explosions. He didn't see you at all. 

He practically flew over the broken bridge, the concrete breaking underneath the gripped tires. The bridge was completely destroyed. ACE Chemicals was completely destroyed. But Gotham was safe, the bomb didn't hit where it was supposed to, the East Coast is safe. 

"Alfred?" Bruce asked, making sure his communications link was still secure and intact after the blast had hit him. 

Alfred's worried face appeared on the holographic screen, the wrinkles which Bruce caused visible even in the holograph, "Oh thank god. When the explosion...I thought you might be..." Alfred trailed off, not even wanting to think about such a possibility that Bruce would die in such a way. 

"It's okay, Alfred. I managed to reduce the blast radius and prevented the toxin from spreading into the city" Bruce replied, proud that he was able to stop the blast hitting the city, there would be no end of chaos if it did that. 

"But what about Scarecrow? Or this...Arkham Knight character? They've got tanks, missiles... their forces are all over Gotham" Alfred sounded worried, Bruce was unfortunately going to have to get used to that tonight considering the mess that has been brought in by this new alliance. 

"Crane got away. I was exposed to his toxin" Bruce admitted, he wasn't going to hide the fact he had been hit with the vile substance but there was nothing they could do about it, he had to meet up with Swan and get back out there once he knows she's safe and well. 

"Good lord, are you alright? Remember what happened at the Asylum?" Alfred reminded him out of concern. 

"It's okay, I had a bad reaction, but it's over now" Bruce told him, sounding completely honest and like he wasn't hiding anything from the man who took care of him when his parents passed away. 

But then his vision became hazy and when it came back into focus, it wasn't Alfred he could see, it was the Joker, blood all over his face, it was his appearance before he died, " I've really got to hand it to Scarecrow. I've never been a fan of his concoctions up to now, it's... intoxicating. It really brings out the me in you" The Joker said, smiling that usual manic smile. 

But just as soon as he appeared, he was gone and it was back to Alfred's concerned face, he couldn't tell which was worse to be completely honest. "Sir? Did you hear what I said? Commissioner Gordon has been trying to contact you" Alfred informed him but then he said something else and Bruce's brain just went blank.

"Sorry?"

Alfred said your name, "I still can't get a hold of her, I've been trying since the explosion but she's gone completely MIA. The tracker in her suit appears to be damaged" Alfred repeated and Bruce's blood went cold. 

Not again. 

Please not again.

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"Hey"  You grinned, bursting through Jason's bedroom door and practically jumping on his bed like it was your right to be there. Jason was sat in his desk chair, reading a book when you came in. 

"Wondered when you'd show up" He huffed, grabbing his bookmark off of his desk, placing it between the pages he was reading before closing it and putting it down. He sighed and rolled his shoulders back before leaning more comfortably on the soft leather desk chair. 

"I was like 2 minutes late" You whined, "It's not like you are doing anything important, you even said so through texts"  You added. Jason tried to look annoyed but his face betrayed him, it always did when you were with him, he couldn't hide anything from you back then. 

He opened his desk drawer, it rattled as it opened. He pulled a relatively small box out of his drawer, it was a white box with a silky red bow keeping the box together, it looked fancy. 

"What's that? You proposing?" You teased, a massive grin making its way onto your face with complete glee. Sure, the box was far too big to be for a ring but teasing Jason was one of your favourite things to do, you did it when you were best friends and you continued to do so even after you started dating. 

Jason rolled his eyes at your words, "You wish" He smirked, getting up from the chair and sitting down next to you on his bed, the bed dipping slightly as he slumped down on it. 

When he sat down he looked at the cute white and red box in his hand before placing it into your hand, "I thought about you when I saw it" He huffed, ruffling his own hair, trying to look like he was nervous about giving it to you.

You smiled at his cute nervousness, you would love anything he gave you. The fact that he even thought about you when he was out was adorable and it made your stomach flutter, he was the cutest. You carefully undid the bow, pulling on it and watching the delicate ribbon unravel. Once it was off you opened the box and saw a necklace, it had a silver chain with a red ruby as the heart dangling in the centre. 

"It's okay if you don't like it, I can always take it back so it's no big deal or anything" Jason muttered at your reaction considering you were pretty silent but when he looked at your face he saw how happy you were, you looked a little flustered and had a cute smile on your face. 

"Jason...It's gorgeous, I love it-"

Splat!

What? 

Your head looked at the ground and saw a droplet of blood. You slowly looked up towards Jason but he wasn't in his casual red hoodie and grey sweatpants anymore, he was wearing his robin costume. The armoured chest plates were cracked, blood seeping out of the thin cracks. The usual gold 'R' symbol for Robin was gone, it had been ripped out of the armour. 

He was drenched in blood, it was dripping everywhere, staining the bedsheets. It was beginning to seep everywhere, he was bleeding so much, it wasn't humanely possible to have this much blood. 

This wasn't real.

This wasn't how it went.

"You won't even look at me anymore."

You couldn't look, it hurt to look. That video played in your head too much. 

If you looked too closely you would be able to see how deep the Joker branding dug and melted into his skin, how the skin had melted to form the J on his cheek. You might even find the starts of an injection if you looked close enough since the Joker wouldn't have treated the wounds. 

You can't tell if the Joker not patching him up is worse than if he did. If he did patch Jason up and take care of his wounds, it would only be because he wanted to drag out the torture even longer. 

"You said you loved me but you didn't look for me. You moved on with your life. I wanted to go to university but I couldn't do that, we were supposed to go together, we were both supposed to go to Gotham University together." 

"Jason, I'm sorry."

"How could you let him live? He killed me and you let him live. You, Dick and Bruce, you all let him live after what he did to me. You watched the tape, you saw him kill me and you let him live longer, you didn't avenge me. You never cared about me" He said, his voice was eerily calm but also so distorted. He almost sounded like the Arkham Knight with how distorted he sounded. 

"B-Bruce wouldn't let me, I wanted him to die I swear, I wanted to kill him!" You cried out, trying desperately to make him believe you. You needed him to know you wanted to.

"It's too late now" Jason said, looking at you blankly. There was nothing in his bloodshot eyes that looked somewhat milky, they were glazed over slightly. 

However unlike your usual nightmares where the Joker would drag him off, you'd hear him screaming for help but it was always overshadowed by the manic laughter of the Joker. Instead this time, the Arkham Knight appeared, gun in hand. 

"Bet you didn't expect to see me" The distorted voice snickered, pointing the gun at the back of Jason's head. The Arkham Knight tilted his head, looking at you all while pointing the gun at Jason. He didn't say anything else.

BANG!

"NO!" You screamed, bolting upright,  your chest heaving up and down. You were lying on a thin cushion, it wasn't very comfortable, you could feel the stiffness of your back already. You were in some type of vehicle from what you could tell. You had to give yourself a few minutes to gather your bearings in order to understand where you are. 

Once you were able to focus you realised you were in an abandoned police car, it was on the side of the street near a lamp post which had your bike leaning against it. You looked downwards and noticed that your suit had been zipped up as far as it could go which was your neck, you don't remember zipping it up. You also noticed there was a piece of paper on your lap, you picked it up and read it. 

Batman can't protect you

- A 

Then it came back to you, the arm that was keeping you in a headlock, the calming distorted voice that was comforting you as your consciousness slipped away from you slowly. He got you out of the building, he didn't leave you there with the bomb. He even got your bike here. You didn't understand, it made no sense, if he was a terrible person then why did he save you. What was the point of saving you from being in there when the bomb went off. 

He had timed his entrance perfectly, he either knew Bruce wouldn't let you help him or he had a plan to grab you when Bruce had his back turned but why leave you here. He dropped you off in a quieter area, in a police car with your bike nearby. His care didn't make sense. 

Unless he was trying to prove something to you. You looked at the note again and started thinking as you opened the police car door, stepping out and standing on your wobbly feet. You had a raging headache, maybe you should grab some painkillers at the watchtower after you go to the G.C.P.D. It was the most likely the place Bruce would go first after the explosion to check on everyone. 

You walked over to your bike and swung your leg over it. You just hoped you wouldn't crash on your way to the police station. Maybe you could ask your dad for painkillers, he suffered from chronic migraines so he surely must have something on him that could help. Would that be weird? A vigilante asking for painkillers from a reporter...nah. 

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"Sir, she's leaving the area. Should we stop her?" 

"No, let her leave. I've told her what she needs to know for now" The distorted voice of the Arkham Knight told his soldiers. He has left the message he needed to leave. He needed to show you how easy it was you take you, how easy it would be to be stolen right behind the Bat's back.

He needed you to know that Bruce wouldn't keep you safe, that he doesn't keep you safe. He can't risk bringing you here, Scarecrow wouldn't be as lenient with you as he is with Barbara. Nor would his men he assumes considering you had beaten many of them in a fight. They already thought he was bizarre for sparing your life. 

"What's the point of this exactly? She was knocked out completely, we could have kept her at one of the bases, lured Batman out of there or better yet, tortured her for information" One of his lieutenants pointed out and he couldn't say much against it, they were right. 

"I prefer the psychological aspect" He replied bluntly as if he wasn't giving their suggestion a thought because he wasn't. He was doing what was necessary, you couldn't trust the Dark Knight, he was going to get you killed. 

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You were driving down into the underground prisoner detention area in the G.C.P.D. It was desolate, almost completely empty and it was just a bland grey colour, it was somewhat unsettling. You could see that Bruce was already there, he was talking to Jim but the conversation didn't seem very friendly based on their faces alone. 

You pulled up and hit the brakes, parking it quickly before taking your helmet off and walking over. 

"It's Barbara, she's been taken" Bruce said, his voice was almost blank but it was laced with some feeling, like he cared but didn't want to show it but you personally think maybe sounding more regretful and sympathetic would be better in this scenario. But the thing you were more concentrated on was the fact that Barbara was gone. How? She was supposed to be safe in the Clock Tower.

"No no no, I spoke to her. She said she'd got out, she left with her friend. They both left hours ago" Jim breathed, he was trying to catch his breath that had been ripped out of his lungs viciously. His daughter was gone and he didn't know where she was, it was a parent's worst fear no matter how old their child got. 

"Stay calm. We'll get her back" Bruce told him and that was not a good choice of words at all. 

"Stay calm? You really just told him his daughter was missing and then proceeded to tell him to calm down? He can't calm down, he's a father" You interjected, practically scolding Bruce. If it wasn't such a serious situation the image might have been funny. The young Black Swan telling off the Dark Knight over his word choice and delivery. 

Bruce's head snapped over to your direction, his eyes wide like he was looking at a ghost, "You're okay..." He breathed, closing his eyes briefly in relief that you were still alive, still breathing the polluted Gotham air. 

Jim's shoulders shook with anxiety, " Which one? Who's got my little girl?" He panicked, the panic had set in and now he was thinking of the worst case scenario which you understood, you were too. What if the Arkham Knight left you there because he learnt about Oracle and realised it would be a larger disadvantage to Bruce if Barbara was gone than you. 

"The Arkham Knight got me" You suggested, figuring it was probably him as well. Everytime you tried to convince yourself he was a better man, he always proved you wrong by doing something like this. You should really give up at this point. 

"Scarecrow. They took her from the Clock Tower" Bruce gave the correct answer, you assume both you and Barbara were taken at relatively the same time but why are you okay. You got left in a cop car with a note saying Batman couldn't protect you. Barbara was taken and she was still missing. 

"We need to go. There could be a clue... something that will lead us to her!" Jim snapped, he was desperate to find his daughter. There was a weird feeling in your gut, you felt like Barbara wouldn't be as lucky as you to have been left in a relatively safe area, sheltered from the cold autumn showers that had been hitting Gotham violently. 

"I'll follow. Stay in contact" Bruce told him as he walked towards you. He immediately grabbed you by the shoulders, his hands had a firm grip on you as if he was grounding himself, reminding himself that you were real and in front of him. 

"I'm fine, we need to focus on Barbara" Your voice was as sharp as a knife as you forcefully removed his hold on you, you needed to find Barbara. You couldn't let this happen to her, she couldn't die, she wasn't allowed to.  

Bruce was driving closely behind Jim but really he probably should be driving in front of him, "Jim, I need you to stay focused. It's dangerous out there. Drive slow and let me deal with any trouble" Bruce told him and honestly, you think that he should just stop talking because he's just going to make it worse. 

"Why did I let this happen?" His voice sounded so painful, like his heart was being squeezed inside his chest. You got onto your bike once again, starting to engine and revving up before darting off like a bullet out of a gun. You were driving pretty close behind them, enough to stay out of trouble but if trouble occurred, you would guide Jim out and take a detour to the Clock Tower. 

"It wasn't your fault, Jim, I swear it wasn't" You mumbled, you didn't even know if it was audible or not to him but you wanted to tell him that it wasn't his fault that this happened. It was Bruce's fault. It was your fault. If she had been taken while you were knocked out then it was your fault, she might have signalled you for help but you were conked out in the back of a police car.

While driving, you unzipped your suit, just a tiny bit so you could get access to your neck. You wish you could just rip your gloves off and scratch your skin, you needed to feel something, something else other than this. You needed to feel the stinging pain of a scratch, that pain could be controlled and it only lasted at most a minute. You needed to escape the pain you were in, it was raw and angry. 

"Stop it, I can see what you are doing. It's not a healthy coping mechanism."

"I'm not taking advice from a man who dresses like a Bat" You replied, "I have my own coping mechanisms, butt out of it." It was childish but you couldn't help it. Bruce was no better than you, his coping mechanism was dressing up like a Bat and beating the living shit out of people when he was angry. Sure, you basically did the same thing but you never denied being a hypocrite. 

The conversation ended there, Bruce knowing better than to keep talking at you when your heart rate was sky rocketing, you could feel your heart beat in your ears. 

"Up ahead, we've got company! Who are they?" To make matters completely worse, the militia appeared and they were directly going for Jim, trying to keep both you and Bruce away from him by shooting at you. The only problem was that you didn't have the same protection as Bruce, one wrong move and you are most likely dead. 

"It's the militia, Batman will take care of them" You told him, you were going to need to get in front of Jim or in between Jim and the militia, acting as a shield to protect him. It was a dumb plan but it was the only one you had right now. 

"Your priority is to apprehend Commissioner Gordon. I say again, your priority is to apprehend Commissioner Gordon. I want him alive, let nothing stand in your way!" Arkham Knight commanded, your shoulders tensed at the sound of his voice. You remember the eerily gentle tone he used when constricting your airway, how relaxing the voice sounded which caused you to slowly give up. 

You managed to move quickly, the speed of your motorcycle was not to be underestimated, it was truly as fast as a bullet was. You made it in front of commissioner Gordon, "Jim, you're just going to have to trust me, we are going to be taking a bit of a detour right now but we need to make space between you and the militia" You told him.

You led him down streets that had sharp corners, unfortunately you weren't able to stay on a direct path to the Clock Tower but you were staying relatively close by. 

"Swan, I was hoping you'd stay asleep a little while longer but you can't help but get yourself in trouble" The Arkham Knight spoke, almost as if he was scolding you for something. Who did he even think he was? 

"Staying out of trouble isn't exactly my thing" You mumbled to yourself. If you were smart, you would have just made a beeline to the Watch Tower and let Bruce handle this but this was Barbara's dad, you had already lost Barbara, you can't let her dad get kidnapped either. 

You heard an explosion, then the sound of metal roughly hitting the asphalt concrete. You didn't have time to look back but you know that everything was alright, you were pretty sure the Batmobile would make a hellish sound if it had been destroyed.

"You got him! One more left, Batman! Take this bastard out!" Jim almost cheered, this was probably the most dangerous high speed chase Jim had been involved in so the adrenaline was most likely getting to him. 

It didn't take long for Bruce to get the second tank now that the other one was out of commission. Your plan of taking sharp turns was good, it managed to create space between Jim and the militia while Bruce destroyed them.

"He's got me!" The militia soldier exclaimed.

"That's it... that's the last of 'em. We're clear" Jim sighed out of relief.

Your breathing calmed down slightly since you were now in the clear luckily, nothing was stopping you from getting to the Watch Tower now, at least you hoped nothing would stop you. But just as you relaxed...

"Swan, remember the note, I advise you listen to it" The Arkham Knight announced on the broadcast before silencing himself. Nothing else was said, it was like crickets in the Militia Broadcast.

Chapter Text

Bruce never questioned you which was a welcomed change. Instead he told Jim that it was too dangerous to travel in his cop car and that he should get into the Batmobile for extra protection against the militia since they had made it clear that they were going for him. 

You were about to drive off when Alfred came onto the communications link, most likely with something important. You had to push your kickstand back down once again, "Before you head to the Clock Tower, I thought you may like to hear the analysis of the Arkham Knight's forces you requested" The British voice told, it seems Bruce had Alfred busy but what's new. 

"What have you got, Alfred?" Bruce asked. You were hoping that this conversation would pass quickly, you just wanted to know if Barbara was safe, if she was okay. 

"I've set the Batcomputer to analyse militia presence across the three islands and provide you with a real-time representation of the occupation's strength in each zone" Alfred informed before he continued, "As you can see, Miagani Island is heavily occupied, with a substantial drone ground force controlling the roads. Founders' Island is the militia's stronghold, protected by long range radars and a missile launcher. I'd recommend keeping the Batmobile away from there for the time being. The remaining drone forces on Bleake Island, have been redeployed to protect the Clock Tower, so expect significant resistance."

How did he even know about Barbara? Nobody knew about Barbara, Oracle wasn't a very known figure. So how in the hell did he know about her? 

"Thanks, Alfred. We're heading there now" Bruce replied. You took that as your signal to hook your heel over the nib on your kickstand, flicking it up where the spring will hold it. You took off alongside the batmobile, trying to match the pace of Bruce but honestly, your bike was faster. 

"Sergeant" Arkham Knight came onto the Militia broadcast, sounding as demanding and distorted as ever. 

"Y-yes, sir?" Did...did that Militia soldier just stutter? Was he in trouble or something? Maybe he has social anxiety, you didn't know. Although, most who have anxiety wouldn't join a massive criminal operation like this but who knows. The world is fucked up. 

"The extraction squad's down. Take control of the Clock Tower drone. He's coming" The Arkham Knight replied, you huffed a little considering that he didn't even mention you a little. But then again, you didn't exactly pose a threat to him, he was able to take you out without a fight even needed. Needless to say, that was going to hurt your pride for a little while. The fact he was able to so silently sneak up on you. 

However, as soon as you saw the drones, you pushed yourself back on your bike. Moving out of the way so you didn't get blown off your bike. If you at least lasted a week without damaging the poor thing then maybe you would escape scolding about how to take care of things properly and not waste money and hard work.

"Switching to manual control. I'll stop him, sir!"

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"Your hair is so healthy, how do you keep it so healthy?" You were playing with Barbara's hair, lying on her bed. It was bizarre how trauma brought people closer together, you can't say you and Barbara were close before Jason died, sure you got along but it was after. Barbara was there for you, she didn't push you to talk, she was just there. 

Then the Joker got her too. It had been a little while since then, Barbara had been left completely paralysed on her bottom half after he shot her through the spinal cord. You wanted the Joker dead, he deserved to die for all this pain, all this darkness he brought throughout Gotham, throughout your life.

"Hair masks, they never do me wrong" She smiled, she was holding something in her hands but you couldn't see what they were. "Looking at some old photos of us, wanna look?"  She offered, lifting the polaroids that you can now see. 

"Nah, I don't like reminiscing about the past" You lied. 

"Bullshit, you live in the past."

"What do you mean?" You asked, letting go of the strands of hair to actually look at her, squinting a little at her words. 

"You live in the past. You live with your memories of Jason, you don't move on and...I don't blame you. I don't know if I can move on, I've gone from being Batgirl to this" She sighed, 

"Babs,it doesn't matter if you are Batgirl or not. You are the strongest woman I know, you were strong before Batgirl, during Batgirl, and you'll be strong as Oracle because that's who you are. Nothing is going to change what you are in here, you are a hero and you always will be in my book" You told her, poking her chest where her heart is. You thought it was ridiculous, Barbara was always going to be the strongest out of all of you no matter what, you don't believe anything could change that, "I mean...you put up with Bruce's bullshit, I'd snap after two hours."

"How's...everything there?" She asked, placing the photos down on the bed. They slowly shifted apart from one another, like they couldn't stand being compacted so closely together. 

"Um...It's complicated...I just can't, I can't look at him. I just think about the Joker when I look at him now" You confessed. You knew it was unfair, you knew it wasn't truly his fault but god, you wish someone would just put an end to the insane clown. Everyone would be better off that way. 

"It wasn't his fault, the Joker is at fault for all of this" Barbara told you, her voice was soft and gentle. It felt wrong. She was comforting you when she had just gotten out of hospital, finally cleared to go home...back to the place it happened. That was one of the reasons you were here, Jim didn't want Barbara being alone in there so you offered to stay with her until he got home everyday. 

"I know. It feels like everyone close to me gets hurt by the Joker. I was only close with Jason really then he dies, I get close to you...then this happens. Maybe I'm cursed"  You sighed, "Maybe I should go see a priest or something" You joked but it came out pretty empty. 

"You aren't cursed, you seem to forget that your friends happen to be crime fighters alongside you, we never expected it to be easy."

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In the end, Barbara was wrong. You were cursed. 

"You seen his wheels?" Your brain finally began to focus again and that was the first thing you heard. Needless to say, you were pretty confused but you shook her head and rode off to where Bruce would be.

"I'll find you, and when I do you're dead!"

"There are militia troops all over the Clock Tower, Jim. You'll be safe in the Batmobile. I'll let you know when the area is secure" Bruce informed, you paid no attention to it, it wasn't directed towards you so it didn't affect you unless he managed to make a run for it and died. Then that would be bad, that would be really bad but it's very unlikely. 

You pushed the kickstand down, practically jumping off the bike as quickly as you possibly could. Pulling your grappling hook out and shooting off into the sky, using a lamp post to access higher points.

However, you were majorly unlucky and that seems to follow you everywhere. You had stumbled upon where the militia was posted up outside the Clock Tower. You closed your eyes out of pure frustration for a second before opening them again. To make matters worse, you were just listening to the conversation that Bruce and Jim were having, hoping Bruce would maybe join you in taking out these militia soldiers. The faster this is taken care of, the better. 

"I'm not just sitting here while you go after those bastards."

"Yes, you are, Jim. Barbara wouldn't want you to get yourself killed. I'll be in touch the minute I'm done."

"The second." The conversation ended there. 

"So...hey B, mind helping out over here, I managed to end up where the Militia are. They haven't spotted me yet but I'm going in so thought I should ask for some back up since there seems to be a decent amount here" You whispered, hoping that the communications like pick your voice up since you were trying to stay undetected by the militia.  

"This is better than my last posting" You had a love for listening to the milita's conversations, they sounded so normal and casual about doing something so wrong but then again, most of them are getting paid a hefty sum and probably have been unemployed for a few years. 

You watched Bruce practically descend from the sky above, landing very quietly for a man who was over 200 pounds but you don't question it, he had perfected every single movement he made during his training to become Batman from what you had heard. He quickly creeped behind the two militia soldiers and slammed their heads together, skulls colliding. 

Bruce was taking care of half the group on one side so it was only fair you did the same too. There were not as many as you originally assumed there would be, it gave you a bad feeling to be completely honest. They were only trying to slow you down, there was going to be no clue where Barbara was in here, there was going to be nothing. 

Taking the militia down silently was the best option, holding the down while slowly and firmly incapacitating them, it would be so easy just to end them right then and there, no chance of them coming to stop you or slow you down. But it was wrong. It was wrong to want to kill. You shouldn't even think that way, you knew that. 

You snuck up behind one of them militia soldiers, you think they were nervous or frightful because they were practically shaking while mostly staring at their gun, not the greatest defensive position. You wrapped your arm around his neck and pulled him backwards so that he lost his balance, he had no leverage in this position and with how anxious he seemed, it was over for him. 

You and Bruce no longer had your set sections any more with the soldiers dispersing everywhere out of panic and to see how many they had left standing. You used your grappling hook to get to a higher vantage point, you needed to see where they were. You could see one of the militia going towards him, a trained medic made clear by the white suit that they were to differentiate. You moved quick, jumping off of the railing and planting a kick directly in their face. 

"I've got your back" You said, kicking the soldier's head at the side, making it go lights out, "What would you do if I wasn't here?" You teased, a smug smile on your face. Bruce just rolled his eyes and walked past you.

"...Well that's just rude."

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"The way you treat Tim isn't fair" Barbara snapped. You honestly didn't think you were being all that rude. Sure, it was obvious you couldn't be near him but you don't hate him. It's just...seeing someone else as Robin is hard, you couldn't bear it.

"You are acting as if I told him to fuck off. I'm getting better, this is better than the way I reacted when he showed up in the manor" You pointed up, frustrated that she was even bringing this up, you made a point not to associate with the boy, "I'm just...I'm doing better, I am trying" You added. She didn't understand why this was so hard for you but seeing someone else in a costume Jason died in, it was too much. 

"Tim isn't going anywhere, you are just going to have to-"

"Have to what, Barbara? Cope? I'm trying to cope, I am trying so hard but let's not forget my boyfriend went missing, my boyfriend is most likely dead! Do you think I'm being a dick to him for the fun of it? Nobody else should be Robin, not anymore" You snapped. You knew that the way you treated him was harsh, that it wasn't kind. 

"That's not what I meant...it's just, whenever Tim walks into a room, you leave it. Whenever Tim says something to you, you give a weak smile and then leave. You gave up being Sparrow when Tim showed up, you gave your suit to Bruce and said you never wanted to see it again. You actively avoid Tim at all costs" Barbara listed off, crossing her arms like she was a parent disappointed in her child.

"I gave up Sparrow because there is no point anymore. Sparrow was Jason's sidekick, Jason came up with the name, not me. It's not right to use it anymore, using it and working with someone else in a suit that is replacing him" You argued back at her. Sparrow had no meaning anymore, you didn't have any drive to help people anymore. Nobody helped Jason. You didn't help Jason. You weren't a hero so there was no point in playing pretend.

"Tim is not replacing Robin! That isn't what this is!"

"So what is it then?! If you know so much-"

"Did Jason replace Dick?" Barbara asked, her voice no longer loud and filled with anger. She was far from calm however but she was doing her best to appear calm as if she didn't just snap at you five seconds ago. 

"What?"

"Did Jason replace Dick?" She repeated but your brain was going too fast. Did Jason replace Dick? 

"No...no, he didn't. T-that's, it's different" You managed to get out. It was different, Dick and Jason's situation was different. 

"So then how is Tim replacing Jason?" She argued, you could hear the frustration seeping into her words as you refused to agree with her, as you refused to see things the way she did. You refused to see things the more logical way. 

"Dick didn't go missing! Jason was taken, Jason is god knows where, Jason is probably dead but it makes no sense. If someone killed Robin, they would want to gloat about it, they would want to show off how they got the poor little sidekick all alone but they...they haven't. Not yet"  You yelled, you were never going to see it the way Barbara did, she saw the more reasonable way but you only saw the emotional way. Jason was replaced, Jason wasn't even confirmed dead but here was a boy wearing the uniform Jason wore. 

She called your name, looking a little taken aback by your outburst.

"It feels like you have all just forgotten about him...like you've all forgotten about him. He could still be alive but you've all just moved on" You didn't even know what you were saying at this point, you just felt so upset and betrayed on Jason's behalf. He has everything he had, he gave his life for this family and yet the have all replaced him with another.

"We are still looking for him, we won't stop until we know for sure but right now we need Robin and we need you. You, me and Robin" She told you, reaching down and grabbing your hands, holding them in hers, "We could never replace Jason and you know that" She added, pulling you into a hug.

And you chose to believe her.

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When you got into the Clock Tower something was wrong with Bruce. He was standing there frozen but his eyes were moving like he was looking at something, something that clearly wasn't there. 

"Batman...?" You asked, your voice was soft and unsure. You didn't know what to do, Bruce was always the put together one most of the time but tonight... something was wrong with him. 

Once Bruce had snapped out of it, he looked at you, "I'm fine" He insisted, moving away from you to where the bookshelves were. 

"Ah, I looked so good in that photo" You heard Jason say, hallucination Jason was back after a little hiatus. He was looking at the photo of himself which was taken on his 17th, "Real shame I never made it to the 18th birthday" He added. But something just sounded wrong, the usual hallucinations were annoying to say the least but his voice usually remained the same as it was in your memories. But now, the voice was more distorted. 

You ignored him and continued looking at Bruce who's eyes flickered to the brown leather couch as if someone was sitting there talking to him, "B, you can tell me if the Fear Toxin got you, it's not totally unexpected" You told him, you knew the signs of seeing something that clearly wasn't there. 

"It got me but it's gone now, I'm fine" Bruce proclaimed as if there was no way that the fear toxin was still in his system. You gave up on trying to get him to talk, it wasn't going to work no matter how hard you pushed so best stop now before you poke the bear. 

"I hear Barbara's gone" Jason stated, his voice gave away nothing. There was no anger, no sadness, just empty like your mind had given up on making him authentic. "This your fault too? God, you always make things about yourself, don't you? Give me a break. My death was your fault, Barbara getting shot was your fault, and now this is your fault? Not everything is about you, you aren't the centre of everything" Then he was gone, as if his one goal was to insult you. It was. 

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"Barbara, fuck, this is all my fault" 

"Stop saying that, this isn't your fault. How could you have known this was going to happen besides, if you stayed then both of us would be in this hospital" Barbara sighed as if she hadn't been shot. As if she hadn't just received news that she might never walk again since she was shot through the spinal cord. 

"I should have stayed, if we were both there then maybe this wouldn't have happened" You argued. You were over at her place, you were just hanging out like normal. You left because you needed to go and study for an upcoming exam. You should have just skipped studying then maybe you would have been here when it happened. 

"This wasn't anything to do with you or Bruce. This was purely because I'm the police commissioner's daughter, the Joker knows that. He was caught, he's going to be put back in Arkham Asylum" Barbara placed her hand on yours, "I'll be okay...I think."

You don't think that it's fully set in yet, the fact that she'll never walk again because Bruce refuses to do the one thing that can stop the Joker, the right thing. He's completely remediable, Arkham Asylum can't even help those that seek redemption, let alone someone who doesn't feel regret.  

"Babs...it's okay to be honest. This is...this is hard for you and I'm not going to sit here and say I understand because I don't but if you needed to talk or scream, cry or anything else...I'm here" You told her, gently squeezing her hand to comfort her, "You were there when Jason got taken, I know I was unbearable during that time period and you didn't abandon me, you didn't leave me to dwell in it. I won't leave you nor will I let you act like everything is okay. You are allowed to be hurt, to be angry." 

You got up and squeezed your way into the remaining space on the hospital bed. You could already see the shiny watery look in her eyes, the clear indication of tears just brimming the edge of falling. You wrapped your arms around her shoulders and hugged her as gently as you could, trying not to aggravate the healing gunshot wound. You could feel the tears before you heard them, she was trying to stay quiet but you felt the tears.

"I'm not going to say it's okay because I hate that when the situation is clearly not okay. But you are going to get through this, I'm going to help you like you helped me." You promised her, holding her close and cries wracked her body. 

The Joker needed to die. 

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Maybe he was right. You make everything about yourself. 

You're selfish. 

You are selfish.

"Jim is on his way up" Bruce said loudly, snapping you out of the memory. 

"B, do you think I'm selfish? Do you think I make everything about me?"

"I'd say no, you take everything to heart. You blame yourself because you think you could have done something if you were there, I do the same thing. But this wasn't your fault, it was mine, she should have left Gotham and you should have as well" The beginning of the sentence made you feel a little better but then you immediately got confused when he said you should have left. 

"That's not true, I needed to stay, I needed to stay and help" You replied to him, "It was my choice to stay, you never forced me to stay here. You told me to leave, that you could handle it but I stayed because I chose to" You added, if something happened to you, you wouldn't blame Bruce, you were old enough to make your own mistakes and deal with the consequences. 

"I shouldn't have let you stay. Because of me, the Arkham Knight managed to catch you off guard. He could have kidnapped you, he could have killed you, I have no idea why he let you leave" Bruce admitted, clearly bewildered by the fact that you were actually standing in front of him. 

You didn't tell him about the note, there was no point of it. The Arkham Knight was trying to make you paranoid, paranoid enough to turn on Bruce and then you'd lose your importance. The Arkham Knight would probably have some of his men kill you if you tried to run away.

You noticed Barbara's wheelchair on the ground, they must have just snatched her out of it. Left behind what wasn't needed in their opinion. You reached down and lifted it up right, you always thought that the wheelchair she got was cute, it was a two toned white and pink, it was very pretty.

"Oh god, no" You turned your head to see Jim, he was just out of the elevator, your hands were still holding the handles on the wheelchair. When he was walking forward, he accidentally stepped on a photo frame, most likely knocked during the chaos when Barbara was snatched. He knelt down and picked it up, his eyes tearing as he stared at the photo. 

"This isn't your fault, Jim" Bruce told him, his voice unusually soft when talking to an adult as Batman but this was a delicate situation. 

"Of course it is. Crane's done this to get to me. I should have been here" Jim responded. He was blaming himself but out of anyone in this room, he had the least blame to shoulder for this. 

"That's not true, you didn't even know she was here" You pointed out, it wasn't going to make the situation any better, you were really just wasting your words. No words will comfort a father whose child is missing with no leads as to where they are. 

"There's something I need to show you" Bruce stated, making his way to the bookshelf where the identification scanner was.

"Is this really the best idea right now?" You asked, was this the right call? Exposing who she was to her father? Sure, it would significantly reduce his guilt but definitely increase the anger that was brewing beneath the surface. 

"We haven't got time. She isn't like us" Little do you know Jim. You put your hand on his shoulder but you didn't look at him, you couldn't. He was going to know how you had all failed his daughter. 

You could hear the device scanning, you heard the gentle hum of the machine as it did so. 

"Identity confirmed."

The shutters when done, the scenery changed in a few seconds. It was out in the open for him, plain to see for his own eyes. This is what his daughter did, this is what you all did. He shrugged you off to go look at the massive holographic screens that had appeared in the centre of the room.

"She's strong, Jim. Stronger than you realise."

You felt your right eye twitch with frustration and pure annoyance, "Can you shut up? You aren't making this any better" You snapped at him.

Jim turned around, there was anger in his eyes for a second, the sadness was gone. It had been replaced by rage, "She works for you?" He asked slowly, you just looked at Bruce then sighed, you didn't know what to do. This was a bad idea from the beginning, she should have just left, "This is all your fault."

"I will find her" Bruce replied quickly, he didn't argue, he knew it was his fault. Nobody needed to tell him that, he knew. 

But you didn't expect Jim to snap back around, arm ready and socked Bruce across the face. You couldn't help the gasp that left your mouth, it was just the shock of seeing the action. It's not often you see Bruce get punched in the face and not react to it. But it was a valid reaction to finding out Batman didn't protect your daughter, the daughter that was working for him secretly. Although, you were half worried you'd be met with a punch if you spoke so you just kept quiet. 

"She's my family! MY DAUGHTER! She's all I've got" He yelled, he sounded so hurt, so broken. You closed your eyes and looked down at the floor. You should have convinced her to leave, you should've stood in as Oracle, you know how to, you were taught how to run comms. "I never should have trusted you, Never!"

He looked at you when he was leaving, you just looked away. You were being a coward but you didn't know what else to do. He pulled the communication device that Bruce gave him out and proceeded to launch it to the ground, proof of the ties between them severing. 

"I'll do this on my own." Jim snapped, "Stay away from my family."

Then he left. The elevator wasn't exactly fast so there was a bit of awkward silence before the lift started to descend after what felt like a millennia. 

"Well that went shit, was that part of the plan?" You asked, throwing your arms up in the air to show your frustration with this outcome, "Now Jim hates you" You pointed out like Captain Obvious but you just wanted to add salt to the wound.

"He needed to know."

Bruce walked over to the upper corner of the room, unlocking a secure area which rested in the bookshelf sliding down into the floor. The door slid open, the lights flickering before Barbara's Batgirl suit coming into focus. 

"She kept a shrine of the good she did as Batgirl, it's why she never gave you her suit like I did. She didn't want to let it go" You told him, you knew about this corner. It was her way of coping, it wasn't your place to tell her to stop, "I don't see how staring at her old suit is going to help us, she could be getting tortured right now and you are here, staring at the past. Focus on now, not the past."

There had to be something that you could use, there had to be a clue somewhere in here. 

"What about the cameras, the CCTV, there has to be something to show what happened" You practically pleaded, hoping to god that at least something was caught on the cameras. But you noticed something, Bruce wasn't even looking at you or at the display case of Batgirl's suit. 

He was staring at where the computer was.

"Bruce...who are you looking at?"

Chapter Text

"I'm not looking at anyone, there's nothing there. I'm looking at the control panel" Bruce snapped back, but there was a look in his eyes, he looked perturbed. You just looked at him, your head slightly tilted, eyes squinting behind your mask. 

"Don't lie to me, Bruce, you were seeing something. The fear toxin is still in your system" You explained to him, your voice stayed steady and calm as you spoke to him. He was clearly in denial about the fear toxin having an effect on him but it was only a natural response. 

"We have more important things to worry about. We have to find Barbara now" Bruce said, his voice loud and demanding, he wasn't going to continue listening to your concerns which were completely justified since this could hinder every mission tonight. 

"Move" You told him but you didn't wait for him to move out the way, you bashed him with your hip, shifting him away from the control panel so you could take over. "We need to find out what happened, if the security cameras were on even for a minute we'll know something at least" You pointed out, typing away like your life depended on it, every second was a second where Babs was in danger. "Shit, they covered their tracks. The cameras were disabled because this guy doesn't do shit half-assed" You commented. 

"The municipal CCTV, if you can hack into it then you can see points all over the building" Bruce guided you to which you nodded, doing exactly as he told you to. Your fingers moving in a rhythmically along the keyboard, typing quickly in order to speed this up. You've done it a hundred times but right now when it counts, you feel like an amateur. 

You did it though, you were in. Siphoning through the footage to find something useful, something important. Then finally something useful appeared. Militia tanks pulling up to the doors of the building in an inelegant, rushed manner. The soldiers got out, surveying the area, guns in hand. Then the Arkham Knight walked out of the building, Barbara had been slung over his shoulder. He walked as if she weighed nothing to him, he wasn't walking slow or hunched over. Well...not any more hunched than usual. 

"Find out which car he put her in" Bruce demanded, looking over your shoulder at your impressive work. 

"On it" You were watching the footage, he put her in the smaller vehicle, getting into the seat next to her it looked like, "The smaller one" You informed him, pointing at the vehicle which she was in as further confirmation. 

"Scan it" He told you which you did, "Okay, those tires are AmerTek D60s. Move, I can program the Batmobile to track their unique tread pattern, I'll add it to your bike as well so in case we get split up. The tire patterns will lead us straight to them" Bruce told you, you had moved when he told you so he could get to programming. 

"I have a weird feeling again" You mentioned, your stomach felt weird, it was twisting. "It feels like something bad is going to happen." You know you should listen to your mind but you had a gut feeling about the man at the diner and he ended up being the Arkham Knight so maybe your gut is correct about a lot of things. 

He didn't respond, he was too focused. Once he was done, he started walking before stopping and staring at Barbara's wheelchair. You grabbed his upper arm and started pulling him along, "We'll get her back, she's strong and she'll be okay" You didn't know if you were trying to convince him or yourself. You knew Barbara was strong but the Arkham Knight was enigmatic, you couldn't understand anything about him besides his hate for Batman. You don't understand why he keeps giving you these weird notes. 

You both left through the hatch on the window, running along the tilted roof while it made gentle clanking sounds beneath your feet. You used your cloak to help you land on your feet instead of using your grappling hook to break your fall this time, switching it up ever so slightly. 

You swung your leg over your bike, pushing the kickstand back and riding off next to the batmobile, "I know it isn't much comfort but you did the best you could, how were we supposed to know he knew about the Clock Tower, this guy knows far too much to just be a regular villain with a raging boner to kill you. Are you sure you don't know who he is?" You asked again, you know you have asked him previously but this man had to know Bruce, he had to know you. Why else would he leave you notes?

"I'm being completely truthful when I say, I have no idea how he knows all of this and who is he, I don't have a single clue towards his identity, I don't remember facing anyone like this" Bruce told you and you could tell it was the truth, he had zero idea of who this maniac was. It made you anxious, he had gotten to you. 

You could see the tire tracks being projected in front of you. Damn Lucius, you fucking genius. It was a handy little tool especially when the only thing you had to go on was tire tracks, not exactly the easiest clue to follow. 

"Alfred, I want the Arkham Knight's name" Bruce demanded over the comms. You wish it was that simple but it wasn't and he knew that too. This man was a mystery, he appeared out of thin air, working with some of the biggest criminals in Gotham, he made a plan with that which was actually working, he knew who you were outside of the suit. He had done his research, too much research. 

"It's not that easy, if it was then we would have gotten it by now" You replied, making such a demand for Alfred wasn't fair, even the ex soldier would have trouble figuring out the peculiar Knight. You wanted to figure him out, you wanted to take the mask off and look at him but not just his face, you wanted to look into his soul. You wanted to dive into the thing that makes him this way, you want to understand this hatred which was driving him to the extreme. 

"As do I, Master Bruce. He has presumably chosen that title for a reason - where do you suggest we start?" Alfred asked, there was something soothing about the old British man's voice, perhaps it was one too many injuries that had been tended to by him in the cave. Reprimanding you for being stupid and uncaring about risk, the wrinkles on his forehead becoming more pronounced every time you and Jason walked in looking worse for wear. The memories made you smile. 

"Arkham Asylum patients. It would make sense, the emblem they all wear is what was used for Arkham Asylum. Or another good shout would be Arkham City, anything to do with Arkham in general. He chose that name for what I can only assume is to remind B about something" You insisted. You were sure this had to be about Arkham Asylum, sure Arkham City in general was possible but Arkham Asylum was what you were placing your bets on. Something during the Joker take over of the Asylum you were sure; you were inactive at the time so you weren't sure what had gone on. 

"Arkham City is a good idea. Go through the files of every inmate who was released following the death of Hugo Strange...and Alfred?" 

"Sir?"

"They knew about Barbara. Activate the Batcave's security protocols. Don't drop your guard" Bruce told him, his voice once again going soft when talking to those he cares for. 

As you were driving close to Bruce you noticed a building which had an unsightly shade of green spray painted on it. It had been formed into question marks, "Eddie...what are you up to?" You mumbled, you didn't know what the Riddler was up to on a night like this, you were sure he would be louder, more in Bruce's face but so far he had been doing nothing as far as you could see. 

"I've got Oracle, Batman, I could have taken Black Swan too. Now you care who I am. Just gotta find me" The Arkhan Knight taunted, sounding so pleased with himself it was almost cute. You don't appreciate how proud hew sounds when he mentions abducting and then discarding you with a shitty little note. 

You watched as a large drone looking thing flew in front of both of you, dropping something onto the ground which embedded itself into the concrete in record time. "But Gotham's a big place and there's a whole army between us. I'm ready for you." The device was blinking red, bright and angry. 

"What the fuck is that thing?" You asked while looking at the blinking red light which was bound to get on your nerves at some point. 

"Alfred. The militia have deployed a device. It's burrowed deep into the road" Bruce informed Alfred, asking for help in identifying what this device was and what it could potentially do if triggered. 

"Yes, I see it. Similar devices are being planted across the city" Alfred added, just fucking fantastic really. The militia was quick, the Arkham Knight was prepared like he had said he was. 

"I'll investigate" Bruce said. 

"I'll go ahead and track the tire patterns. I'll stay in touch and out of trouble" You told him, leaving no time for an argument as you took off as soon as you could, gaining speed so he couldn't stop you. You stayed on the comms so that you could continue to hear what was happening on Bruce's end. 

"It's a bomb. A well-armoured one" Bruce informed, his voice calm and collected as if there wasn't a bomb in front of him that could potentially kill him. 

"So...get away from it?" You suggested. 

"Oh dear! In any case, Sir, should you really be standing quite so close?" Alfred asked, clearly concerned but unsurprised at Bruce's lack of vigilance to his own well-being.

"I'm going to set up a remote link to the Batcomputer and hit it with every virus we've got. Once we're hacked in, I can expose the core and defuse it with a controlled explosion" Bruce explained, completely ignoring Alfred's concerned words but it was a good plan. It would take out the bomb without the unnecessary risk. 

"Very good, sir. Though I should warn you that the militia has already deployed a platoon of its unmanned tanks to stop you" Alfred warned, Bruce could handle it. They probably will get less than a scratch on the Batmobile before being inevitably destroyed. 

"They won't."

You continued driving, listening to the conversation about the device as it was something brand new. "Sir, the virus upload has destabilised the device. If you move too far away and lose the connection, it will flatten everything within a ten block radius" Alfred enlightened, how delightful, Bruce was no limited on how far he could move from the device but it was Batman, he should find away to work around it. 

You could hear the Arkham Knight talking which was a good sign, he was distracted by Bruce meaning he wasn't watching you like a hawk. The less his eyes were on you, the better since you would be able to get a move on, your mode of transportation was more sleek and less eye-catching which made it far more convenient for you to get into places being unnoticed. Mr Fox must have known you'd prefer something that could remain stealthy.  

You made it to the bridge but since it was up, you couldn't get across. "Alfred, can you lower the Mercy Bridge?" You asked, hoping that he could so you could get ahead and start finding Barbara. 

"Bad news I'm afraid, we've been locked out" Alfred replied which made you close your eyes and sigh, of course you were. He sounded genuinely alarmed, shocked that he couldn't lower the bridge, shocked that they managed to outsmart the Batcomputer's controls. 

"The militia must have hardwired into the transport control system. Find their access point" Bruce requested, you could hear the battle going on through the comms, he was having a rough time you supposed. 

"Right, tracing the network traffic, it seems to have all been rerouted to...Grand Avenue Station" Alfred answered, you nodded to yourself and set up the kickstand on your bike. There was no use in waiting for Bruce to be finished fighting a multitude of tanks to get started. You fly solo often so this was nothing. 

"I'm on it, don't worry. By the time B is done with those tanks, I'll have the controls to the bridge back. Easy peasy" You grabbed your grappling hook, aiming it to hit and latch onto one of the bridge pillars. It dragged you up to the top where you stood, you looked over Gotham and it was beautiful. Regardless of all the sin and despair, Gotham was a beautiful place to admire. 

"I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that. You don't know what is waiting there and besides, you don't know if him letting you go was a warning or not. Next time he gets you alone, it might be your last" Bruce told you, his voice filled to the brim with worry to the point it was uncharacteristic of him to sound in such a way. 

"If he was going to kill me, he would have done it when I was unconscious. It would have been far easier but instead he took me to a place I'd be safe. I don't think he was the worst. In all honesty, I'm more worried about Barbara being near Scarecrow than near the Arkham Knight. We all know who the bigger threat is here" You were being completely truthful, even when the Arkham Knight knocked you out, he was surprisingly gently, like he didn't want to hurt you but he had no choice. You wanted to so desperately tell them that he wasn't as bad as he was making himself to be but every time, he did something to hurt Bruce personally. 

"He took Barbara, he is dangerous" Bruce stated, no room for argument. But you'd find one. 

"Then why am I alive?" You sighed.

"I don't know, I can't tell you why he let you live and let you go" Bruce told you, it was inexplicable why he let you go, it made no sense and was out of character for someone who was working with Scarecrow. You know Scarecrow would have wanted you to be captured so he could fear toxin you, get a front row seat on how it affects you. 

"I'll go find out." You made your move, jumping off of the pillar, using your cloak to float to where your grappling hook to reach the next pillar of the bridge. Luckily, you had upgraded your grappling hook prior to this night so now it can launch you into the air, similar to the way that Bruce's grapnel gun work and also now the Batmobile since it literally launches him out the chair. 

"Be careful, Migani Island is rife with militia drones and troops" Alfred warned, he was keeping watch, warning you when necessary about the militia. 

"Don't worry about me, I think the Arkham Knight has a thing for me" You joked, smiling to yourself. You weren't being serious, you worked with Batman and the Arkham Knight hates Batman, you are just lucky he decided not to use you to get to Bruce. But then again, you'd rather he had just kept you instead of going after Barbara. 

"Please do not say such awful things" Alfred said in return, you could practically picture the disturbed look on his face.

Your laugh was caught on the comms, "Sorry." You apologised for disturbing the older man but honestly you still found what you said to be slightly funny. But on the more serious side, there had to be a reason he let you go. Maybe he's like Harvey Dent and flipped a coin? Unlikely. 

There was something tranquil about gliding through Gotham, it almost felt like a dream other than the fact that if you looked too close you could see how bleak the place truly was. How the rot seeped from the cracks and infected all of Gotham. The rot was everywhere now. 

"I seem to have lost a bird, keep your eyes peeled" Arkham Knight's voice permeated your ears. He noticed you were gone, he noticed so quickly. The good news is that he still didn't seem to know where you were which still gave you an advantage. 

Making it to Grand Avenue Station, a large building which glowed red contrasting with the darkness of the night. It was eye-catching. You could see Wayne Tower from here, the blue glow of the letters on the front of the building. The station was infested with the militia, it was pretty extreme how many soldiers were here but they knew you or Bruce were going to come eventually. 

"Okay but...what am I supposed to do? Hand it to her?" 

"Well no... I don't fuckin' know."

"I can't be the only one who finds this a little weird, our boss is leaving notes for the Swan."

"What do you think he writes in them? Poetry?" 

"Poetry? What do you think this is? Some type of love story?" 

"I don't know, maybe. What do you think it is?"

"Psychological warfare."

"In the form of what? Love letters" You could hear the soldier that said it was laughing. Honestly, the only reason you were letting them talk was because you were curious about their working theories as delusional as they were. They weren't any worse than yours. 

"I don't care what he's saying in them. As long as I get paid, he could be writing the most romantic love letters and I wouldn't give a shit"

"What if he's sexting her but like...through letters?" One of them said like they had just cracked the code. Yeah, that was enough, you didn't want to hear anymore of that. 

You were lucky Bruce gave you some of his equipment for the night, such as his remote hacking device. If you didn't have that then you would be in a bit of trouble with the drone that was flying around the base. You hacked into it, cutting off its view for the next 60 seconds, really B? Can't do any more than that?

Once the drone was rendered useless, you back flipped off the ledge, something you had learned from Dick Grayson himself. You landed on a soldier's chest, winding him completely and knocking him down. While the other soldier was stunned, you took it upon yourself to grab his head and slam it against the railing next to him, hard. You did it a second time for good measure and also because he was the one who made the last comment. That was just vile. 

You went to the original soldier who was still on the ground but in the progress of getting up, "No you don't" You smirked, kicking the side of his head, he lost any progress he had made on hyping himself to get up off of the ground, "Sorry, this is gonna hurt later when you are in a cell at the G.C.P.D" You told him, lifting his head up before smashing it back into the ground. 

You then used your grapnel gun to get back onto the little ledges which were around the room. You swear these had to have been installed for Batman's nightly crusades or something because they fit an average human body perfectly. 

You chose your next target, he was completely alone. Not smart. You used the ledges to get across, moving quietly and gently to get behind him as fast as you could since he was moving towards people. Once you were behind him, you lifted your leg, wrapping it around the front of his neck and pulling him down with you. In any case, he should be thankful since your other leg was practically acting as a pillow. This was a much nicer treatment than his friends got. 

You continued this process for the rest of them, waiting until they split up and taking them down one by one. You honestly think they were starting to become scared of you. It was Batman they were scared of mostly but now they knew you could work alone, you didn't need Bruce to back you up all the time. You were capable on your own. 

"I'm glad you are putting up a fight, Swan, I wouldn't ever expect any less from you" The Arkham Knight appeared on the broadcast, his voice almost proud as if his men weren't just destroyed by you. 

You decided to look for the note, you knew there had to be one considering they were talking about it so they had to have one. You checked the lieutenant and there it was, it seems he was giving them to his men that were higher up. Tucked away safely in his breast pocket. 

We should talk, I think you'll be interested in what I have to say.

- A

You scoffed at it, "Yeah, nice try. I don't care about anything you have to say." He had his chance to speak to you but instead he knocked you out, left you in the back of a police car and then proceeded to kidnap your friend and now was saying that you and him should talk? What were you going to do? Have a heart to heart? Hell no.