Arkham Agendas #4- Philosophy.

====Washington DC====

 

"And his name?"

 

Drury- Ra's. Ra's Al Ghul. Leads an army of ninjas... The genocidal kind, you see. You... You never met him, did you? When you were-

 

Norbert- No. Met another. Years ago. His teacher. The Sensei.

 

*They called him The Killer Wasp. The enforcer for the Injustice League, and later Danto Twag, Norbert Walker was taken from his home when he was a boy by it's leader, The Thinker, and subjected to a series of horrifying experiments by his Think Tank of mad scientists. Their tests triggered his metagene, and he developed a thick, black hide, and a pair of bug-like wings. By the time he'd been freed of his programming, he'd already caused so much pain, and surrendered to ARGUS agents with little fight. He sought redemption for his past, first on the front lines as a member of Task Force X, then behind a desk campaigning for metahuman rights. But he never forgot what he was made to do. His nightmares wouldn't let him.*

 

-Protestors in and around Central Gotham continue to grow. The biggest of these movements, calling themselves The Arkham City Liberators are believed to be led by notorious anarchist Lonnie Machin. Known as Anarky, Machin has spent much of his adolescence protesting against government officials, and the people he claims do the city the most harm. Ex-Mayor Drury Walker has found himself in his crosshairs on a number of occasions, including an incident on Santa Prisca involving the Batman, and a legion of his earliest foes. Detained by the FBI, Machin was tried as an adult, and sentenced to five years under intense care at Blackgate Prison-

 

*A black, leathery hand turns the dial on the radio at this, switching to another channel. Click. He turns back to his guest*

 

Norbert- Popular.

 

Drury- Yeah... Heh, I suppose I am

 

*Drury doesn't look up from his tea*

 

-Last night, a homeless person, forced out of the Narrows, handed in a trained crow to the Gotham Globe. The bird had an envelope tied to it's leg, containing a letter that read-

 

*Click*

 

- "Tomorrow, at 12, you are invited to the trial of Eric Needham, at the Solomon Wayne Courthouse. For a place on the jury, call-"

 

*Click*

 

-But what does the letter mean? Needham, aka Black Spider, was a ruthless vigilante, who targeted the East End drug trade with extreme prejudice. He was sent to Arkham City six months ago, after he was caught in a sting operation orchestrated by the Arkham Strike Force-

 

*Click*

 

- Oswald Cobblepot? Roman Sionis? These are legitimate businessmen, not hardened killers. I want the senate to know that while their president is golfing, we are here, facing a financial crisis unlike-

 

*Click*

 

-Recent reports suggest Machin's movement has reached as far as the capital. Congress has been debating the ethics of Arkham City for some time, but both the President, and Senator Eilling remain firm in their belief in the Supermax facility, and in their recent decision to tighten security, including replacing the mercenaries stationed in Arkham with a new batch of government agents. There's been no update on whether the government intends to release the minor offenders, and ex-criminals, to a safer location.

 

-Our reporter on the front, Angie Molina, interviewed the protesters outside City Hall earlier today. This is what they had to say.

 

*Norbert pauses. The only other noise aside from the radio comes from Drury sipping his tea.

The first protester exclaims angrily "You ain't trying to save us! You put the damn Kite-Man behind bars- the fuck was he gonna do?" A larger group chants in unison behind him, "Shut Arkham City down! Shut it down!" A second protester grabs the microphone from Molina's hand, and spits into it. "Down with the corrupt pigs in power! We don't want your prisons, we want your help!" The reporter's cries of protest as she tries to take the microphone back is masked by the protester's loud rant "Tell your corporate masters this, reporter, we will not stand idle while people are locked away and forgotten. Mental health in Gotham used to be something that we tried to treat- now you're letting the leash go, and letting them all kill each other in some... some battle royale!" Another protester mumbles, confused "Wasn't this about the folks that lost their home?" "What?" Another cries "We were arguing that putting all those criminals together was a recipe for disaster, not that sappy mental health stuff, and not your homeless gunk." "Well, you would think that, wouldn't you Terry-" is the response he gets. "Relax, I'm just saying Zach. The pigs think they're doing us a favour by throwing them in there, but they ain't. They're just forcing the supes to depend on one another, and that ain't exactly comforting, y'know, them all working together."

"It's... about a lot of things. It's a story of corruption. A story of greed. And it all stems from City Hall! At least Walker cared about us. He was *one* of us. He cared about the average joe, because he had seen the City first hand. What has Grange done, except cage up the whackjobs?" The protester, Terry, retorts "Oh yeah, Walker was fine! Until he killed that broad?"

The other, Zach, yells back, as GCN's signature jingle plays "That wasn't him you-" And, at that, Norbert switched the radio off*

 

Norbert- They're right. Wasn't you.

 

*Drury rests his tea on the table, atop a stack of records. Realising his mistake, he instead places it on the floor. "It wasn't you either," he responds, suddenly realising he's only gone and kicked the cup over. Norbert reaches down with a damp cloth, and mops it up*

 

Norbert- Sure.

 

*He rises to his feet, and, cloth in one hand, Norbert picks up a record from the stack, wringing the tea soaked cloth into the sink, he turns the record player on. He keeps his back turned from Drury while it plays, and he listens*

 

Drury- Norbert, all that... All that shit you did, that was something else, it was all programming, and masterminds, and the like. But this, what I'm asking you to do? You've heard what's going out there, on your own doorstep. It's chaos! And beyond the politics, beyond programming, it's me doing right by you. Giving you the chance to be better. The chance *they* never gave you. I don't know.... I'm not the Injustice Society, I'm not Twag, and I'm not Amanda Waller, I'm your brother, and I'm going to give you a choice, because that's what you deserve.

 

*Norbert closes his eyes, as the music plays. He wasn't allowed anything of his own under the Injustice Society. He was robbed of a childhood. All his life, he was made to listen to others, it was something he had grown used to. In many ways, listening was all he had*

 

Drury- I had a choice. I chose to rob. I chose to kill. That's still who I am. I chose to be like my piece of crap, wife-beating dad, but you didn't! They took that option away from you.

 

Norbert- No. I've done bad things. To you. To your family.

 

Drury- *We're* family Norbert. Me and you. It's been thirty years in the making, but how about we give it another go?

 

====The Iceberg Lounge====

 

Penguin- You made it, thank god. When I didn't hear from my people, I was concerned that-

 

*The assassin throws a series of darts at the wall while he speaks, each one making it's mark. "Your concern is touching. But unwanted. Your people got in the way of things, I evaded them- and that is all there is to it. ... It's unlike you to meet me alone. Or, anyone for that matter"

 

Penguin- Well, my bodyguards are indisposed, and you, by now, know what happened to the Zebra?

 

"Yes, I saw the corpse. Two shots to the head."

 

Penguin- Dent, or Two-Face, whoever was behind the wheel- It was them.

 

"How astute of you."

 

Penguin- Why, I mean-! Defending Needham if you can believe it!

 

"Strangely enough I do. I could kill *him* too, if that would help. Though, of course, it would cost you more"

 

Penguin- I would expect nothing less. If Spider testifies-

 

*"He won't." the assassin interjects*

 

Penguin- If he does, Arkham will become another warzone. We'll be back where we started, and this time, I'll be the one in all their crosshairs.

 

"Whether you like it or not, that warzone? It's inevitable. But, fortunately for you, you have me.

Now, I've read your paperwork. Studied Needham's fighting style, and monitored his defence, and I've reached my conclusions."

 

*The assassin rises from his seat, and runs his fingers across the crate of weapons before him. "You should have saved yourself the hassle, and sent for me from the start. You wouldn't have lost the serial killer, the zebra or... the arachnid. For someone so orderly, you've been terribly careless"

 

Penguin- Perhaps. But I had faith in Zebra, misplaced though it was, that he would succeed. And, after all, I wouldn't have wanted you wasting your time.

 

Zeiss- I'm afraid, Mr Cobblepot, it's far too late for that. That damage, has been done

Done