Supremedalekdunn'
The Dark Knight - Heir to the Demon #20
As I begin to shut down the tower’s dispersal system my mind can’t help but desperately try to figure out what Ra’s’ next move will be. Given how he chose a gas attack over a direct assault, it’s clear that his priority is freeing Damian from captivity. The question then is what does he do next?
Immediate full front assault on Gotham?
No, too clumsy and now too foolish. Such a bold move would require the element of the surprise which he sacrificed when the League brought the towers online.
More red herring attacks?
It’s possible, but unlikely. The League’s warriors may be skilled but they’re not numerous. Committing more followers simply to distract and wear us down would be foolish and potentially wasteful. Ra’s is many things but he’s no fool.
So, what could his next move be and more importantly, what does he plan on using to bring Gotham down?
The League has never had the capacity to destroy cities by themselves, often they’ve simply used local fools crazy enough to follow them to do their bidding and Gotham is all but abando….oh no….
Alfred: Batwing ETA: 5 seconds.
Batman: Alfred, have we checked on Arkham recently?
Alfred: …You don’t think he’s going after Arkham do you?
Batman: I don’t know, but it’s a possibility and that worries me.
Alfred: I thought he always considered himself above such rabble.
Batman: He does. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t useful tools.
Alfred: Bloody hell. They’re the last people we need to be dealing with tonight. I’m launching the transport pod to you now and will let you know if I see anything unusual. Well…..unusual for Arkham.
In the distance I hear the faint noise of the Batwing’s engines as it launches the transport pod to my position. All being well, this should render all traces of the toxin still trapped in the tower harmless. That’s the idea anyway. Lucius hasn’t let me down yet. Hopefully this whole gas attack crisis hasn’t distracted him to much from the Lucifer synthesis.
Alfred: Pod away. I’m sending the Batwing to the East Tower to deliver their pod.
Batman: You’ve heard from Dick and Barbra?
Alfred: From Ms. Gordon. Apparently they had complications dealing with their guards which is why we didn’t hear anything from them for a while.
Batman: Are they both okay?
Whilst Alfred and I continue to talk, the transport pod crashes through the window and approaching me slowly before coming to a stop and landing 5 meters short of me.
Alfred: According to Ms. Gordon, Master Grayson sustained a few light injuries to both his legs but nothing substantial.
Batman: Glad to hear it.
I walk over to the pod and place my right hand on top of the scanner. It takes just over five seconds from the device to recognise the authentication code built into my gauntlets and unlock.
Transport Pod: Recognised, BAT-001. Authorisation code accepted.
The pod unlocks and I find a modified version of one of Crane’s fear toxin injectors. Alright….not what I was expecting.
Batman: Is there a reason we’re using old Scarecrow tech?
Alfred: Given how we’re not prone to use chemical agents we understandably don’t have any of own old equipment we could use to transport the agent to you.
Batman: Wayne Enterprises doesn’t have anything?
Alfred: They did. But Lucius requires all of them to try and make his synthetic Lucifer.
Batman: Alright, and this syringe inside the pod?
Alfred: A sample of the neutralising agent to inoculate yourself.
Batman: Perfect. I’ll report in once I’m done. Batman out.
Usually, I’d be more cautious with what I inject myself with. But there’s no time for caution or lack of trust. If Lucius feels confident enough to send this to me in the field then he’s clearly confident that it works.
Without hesitation I remove my right gauntlet before picking up the syringe and injecting myself with it. God I hate needles.
Once I empty the contents of the syringe, I place it back into the transport pod and put my right gauntlet back on before picking up the old fear toxin injector. For some reason, it doesn’t feel right to be holding one of these even though I know it doesn’t contain traces of Crane’s fear toxin. It’s almost certainly thanks to its role in pushing Harvey over the edge and bringing Two-Face to life.
I’ve always hated these things, but after what they did that day…..it’s difficult to not affiliate them and Crane with Harvey’s downfall.
As a precaution, I place my rebreather over my mouth as I learn forwards to open the loading chamber. A wise call but probably an unnecessary one. Opening the hatch causes a small amount of the gas to leak out into the room before I’m able to place the injector in the chamber and pull the trigger. Can’t help but wonder what might have happened had I not taken that precaution.
It takes ten seconds for the injector to empty its contents into the loading chamber, and once I was certain there was no more neutralising agent I slammed the chamber closed.
Batman: Batman to bunker, North Tower neutralised.
Alfred: Glad to hear it, Master Bruce. Once Ms. Gordon takes the East Tower offline we should be done.
Batman: Any word on Arkham?
Alfred: From what I can see it all looks fine
Batman: Who’s on camera duty?
Alfred: Ramirez.
Batman: ….He can’t be.
Alfred: Sir?
Batman: Ramirez moved to Central City with his family last week to start a job at CCPD. Check the footage, make sure it’s live.
Alfred: I did. Both cameras are giving us a live feed of Arkham as we speak. What does this mean?
Batman: We’ve got a sleeper agent in Arkham, and there’s only one person who could change their appearance and disguise themselves as someone else.
Alfred: Karlo.
Batman: This is phase 2 of Ra’s’ plan. They’re planning to cripple Gotham and let the inmates at Arkham tear the city down for them.
Alfred: How can you be so sure?
Batman: It’s what the League did to bring down the US’ installed leader in Kahndaq before Adam came to power. They’ll aim to cripple the city by neutralising the GCPD and destroying Gotham General so there’s no-one strong enough to stand up to the Arkham inmates.
Alfred: Are you sure?
Before I can respond, I notice a security breach alert on my left gauntlet.
I knew it.
This was all simply a distraction to keep us away from their true objective. Freeing Damian.
Batman: Yes Alfred, I’m sure. Patch me through to everyone. We need to plan our next move.
The Dark Knight - Heir to the Demon #20
As I begin to shut down the tower’s dispersal system my mind can’t help but desperately try to figure out what Ra’s’ next move will be. Given how he chose a gas attack over a direct assault, it’s clear that his priority is freeing Damian from captivity. The question then is what does he do next?
Immediate full front assault on Gotham?
No, too clumsy and now too foolish. Such a bold move would require the element of the surprise which he sacrificed when the League brought the towers online.
More red herring attacks?
It’s possible, but unlikely. The League’s warriors may be skilled but they’re not numerous. Committing more followers simply to distract and wear us down would be foolish and potentially wasteful. Ra’s is many things but he’s no fool.
So, what could his next move be and more importantly, what does he plan on using to bring Gotham down?
The League has never had the capacity to destroy cities by themselves, often they’ve simply used local fools crazy enough to follow them to do their bidding and Gotham is all but abando….oh no….
Alfred: Batwing ETA: 5 seconds.
Batman: Alfred, have we checked on Arkham recently?
Alfred: …You don’t think he’s going after Arkham do you?
Batman: I don’t know, but it’s a possibility and that worries me.
Alfred: I thought he always considered himself above such rabble.
Batman: He does. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t useful tools.
Alfred: Bloody hell. They’re the last people we need to be dealing with tonight. I’m launching the transport pod to you now and will let you know if I see anything unusual. Well…..unusual for Arkham.
In the distance I hear the faint noise of the Batwing’s engines as it launches the transport pod to my position. All being well, this should render all traces of the toxin still trapped in the tower harmless. That’s the idea anyway. Lucius hasn’t let me down yet. Hopefully this whole gas attack crisis hasn’t distracted him to much from the Lucifer synthesis.
Alfred: Pod away. I’m sending the Batwing to the East Tower to deliver their pod.
Batman: You’ve heard from Dick and Barbra?
Alfred: From Ms. Gordon. Apparently they had complications dealing with their guards which is why we didn’t hear anything from them for a while.
Batman: Are they both okay?
Whilst Alfred and I continue to talk, the transport pod crashes through the window and approaching me slowly before coming to a stop and landing 5 meters short of me.
Alfred: According to Ms. Gordon, Master Grayson sustained a few light injuries to both his legs but nothing substantial.
Batman: Glad to hear it.
I walk over to the pod and place my right hand on top of the scanner. It takes just over five seconds from the device to recognise the authentication code built into my gauntlets and unlock.
Transport Pod: Recognised, BAT-001. Authorisation code accepted.
The pod unlocks and I find a modified version of one of Crane’s fear toxin injectors. Alright….not what I was expecting.
Batman: Is there a reason we’re using old Scarecrow tech?
Alfred: Given how we’re not prone to use chemical agents we understandably don’t have any of own old equipment we could use to transport the agent to you.
Batman: Wayne Enterprises doesn’t have anything?
Alfred: They did. But Lucius requires all of them to try and make his synthetic Lucifer.
Batman: Alright, and this syringe inside the pod?
Alfred: A sample of the neutralising agent to inoculate yourself.
Batman: Perfect. I’ll report in once I’m done. Batman out.
Usually, I’d be more cautious with what I inject myself with. But there’s no time for caution or lack of trust. If Lucius feels confident enough to send this to me in the field then he’s clearly confident that it works.
Without hesitation I remove my right gauntlet before picking up the syringe and injecting myself with it. God I hate needles.
Once I empty the contents of the syringe, I place it back into the transport pod and put my right gauntlet back on before picking up the old fear toxin injector. For some reason, it doesn’t feel right to be holding one of these even though I know it doesn’t contain traces of Crane’s fear toxin. It’s almost certainly thanks to its role in pushing Harvey over the edge and bringing Two-Face to life.
I’ve always hated these things, but after what they did that day…..it’s difficult to not affiliate them and Crane with Harvey’s downfall.
As a precaution, I place my rebreather over my mouth as I learn forwards to open the loading chamber. A wise call but probably an unnecessary one. Opening the hatch causes a small amount of the gas to leak out into the room before I’m able to place the injector in the chamber and pull the trigger. Can’t help but wonder what might have happened had I not taken that precaution.
It takes ten seconds for the injector to empty its contents into the loading chamber, and once I was certain there was no more neutralising agent I slammed the chamber closed.
Batman: Batman to bunker, North Tower neutralised.
Alfred: Glad to hear it, Master Bruce. Once Ms. Gordon takes the East Tower offline we should be done.
Batman: Any word on Arkham?
Alfred: From what I can see it all looks fine
Batman: Who’s on camera duty?
Alfred: Ramirez.
Batman: ….He can’t be.
Alfred: Sir?
Batman: Ramirez moved to Central City with his family last week to start a job at CCPD. Check the footage, make sure it’s live.
Alfred: I did. Both cameras are giving us a live feed of Arkham as we speak. What does this mean?
Batman: We’ve got a sleeper agent in Arkham, and there’s only one person who could change their appearance and disguise themselves as someone else.
Alfred: Karlo.
Batman: This is phase 2 of Ra’s’ plan. They’re planning to cripple Gotham and let the inmates at Arkham tear the city down for them.
Alfred: How can you be so sure?
Batman: It’s what the League did to bring down the US’ installed leader in Kahndaq before Adam came to power. They’ll aim to cripple the city by neutralising the GCPD and destroying Gotham General so there’s no-one strong enough to stand up to the Arkham inmates.
Alfred: Are you sure?
Before I can respond, I notice a security breach alert on my left gauntlet.
I knew it.
This was all simply a distraction to keep us away from their true objective. Freeing Damian.
Batman: Yes Alfred, I’m sure. Patch me through to everyone. We need to plan our next move.