TWO SOULS,
chapter eight: the arkham what!

          GETTING TO THE CLOCK TOWER WASN'T COMPLICATED. The two vigilantes shot their hooks toward high points in the tower and climbed silently. Upon finding themselves on the roof, Batman touched his gauntlet and a secret door opened in front of them within seconds. Olivia looked puzzled at her mentor, raising an eyebrow (which was covered by the mask) at the silent request made by the Dark Knight "Why don't we walk through a door like civilized people?"

          "Because we are not civilians and this should be a hideout, not a public place," Batman declared before rolling his eyes.

          "Okay, okay." The blonde raised her hands. "You should write a book called "Being a Vigilante for Fools."

          "Focus, Liv, this is not a game," The Knight said before entering the small space.

          Olivia Wayne, being alone, let out a sigh - clearly annoyed and, to say the least, exasperated - before falling into the small hole and landing, in a not so subtle way, on the top floor of the Clock Tower. There she found a fairly familiar environment, several libraries on both sides, forming part of a circle and thus revealing a friendly environment. The Wayne girl approached the big clock, which gave views of Gotham in a fantastic way. Turning around, she found Batman moving the head of a small statuette back, which revealed a small detector that scanned Bruce's face. Next to her, a photo of two people rested: a woman and a man. Olivia smiled as she took the frame between her fingers and seeing them together gave her a lot of joy. They were Barbara Gordon and Tim Drake; they had been together for quite a few months and all of that had started since Tim became Robin.

          How terrible fate was then.

          "Identity confirmed," The batcomputer announced.

          Suddenly the shelves and bookcases slid down, creating even more space than was initially in the room. The large windows where the cranks of the clock moved were closed by small metal gates and the room was dark for a moment until holograms were formed like screens and a panel was unfolded in front of them. A beep sounded from Olivia's gauntlet and she pressed the button, letting Atlas's face appear on one of the three screens in the room.

          "I see you have arrived safely."

          Olivia clicked her tongue. "After seeing those tanks hanging around town, I really think this is going to be chaos."

          Behind them, a gate opened and Olivia realized that Barbara Gordon had entered just in time. Batman, for his part, was snooping through the recent archives of the batcomputer - opening a file on the chemical constituents of the toxin. Barbara rolled her eyes and shook her head, looking amused. "Will I go into the Batcave and rummage through your things?"

          "Oh, that's my thing," Olivia replied before shaking her hand.

          "I love that suit."

          "I said that first, Gordon," Atlas groaned.

          Barbara stuck her tongue out at him and looked at Batman, who was quite surprised "You managed to separate the components completely."

          "But there's nothing to track down there," Oracle announced, approaching the panel as the Dark Knight stepped aside. "Atlas did some tests, but everything came back negative."

          "What if we investigate it with another approach?" Olivia added, raising her hand, and shifted her gaze to the screen. "Let's not focus on the toxin...could the manufacturing process help? That is something traceable."

          Batman nodded and touched a couple of bridges of the chemical matter "It's a good idea."

          "How did I not see it before?" Atlas announced, looking at his screen. "The reaction emits a unique radiation. That could be the key. Babs, we have to scan the city and look for that sign."

          "It will reveal to us where Crane manufactures his toxin," The bat replied.

          "Mobilizing the satellites will take a few hours."

          Hours? They didn't have that much time. Olivia looked at her mentor, silently asking him if there was any other alternative to go through this process more quickly. The Dark Knight looked at the redhead and said, "We don't have time. We'll use the antenna of the movie studios." Without further ado, the big bat headed for the elevator.

          "Bruce..." Barbara added, turning in her wheelchair. "I spoke to my father," She looked at the vigilante looking over his shoulder. "I hate lying to him. He'll kill me if he finds out I'm still here," The redhead denied. "He keep's blaming himself for everything."

          "We'll stop him," Olivia said, touching the girl's shoulder. "Right, Bruce?"

          When the blonde looked up, she found her mentor firing a hook to go back outside and the girl gave a grunt of resignation. Running to the same place to go out with her father. They both ended up on the roof again and Batman was talking to Jim Gordon. She couldn't hear the start of the conversation, but the commissioner's response was quite promising.

          "Goodness. What I can do?"

          "Prepare your men. When we have its location, we will let you know," The bat concluded before cutting off the communication. "Are you ready?"

          "Do I have a choice?" The green-eyed girl asked and was silenced by Batman. "Ugh, I hate you."

          Bruce Wayne gave a low laugh before leaping into the void, sliding between the buildings with his grappling hook, being followed by the girl in the black and red cloak.

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          "Look at your city. Abandoned by those who fled in terror, torn apart by those who had nowhere to go..."

          Hearing Jonathan Crane's voice was a huge headache for Olivia, not to mention that bastard was spreading more fear in the streets, fomenting that violence that Bruce wanted to protect the blonde from for a long time - but it wasn't enough. Bruce and Olivia glided for a few seconds until they reached one of the shores, where the Wayne family's second hideout was located: Panessa Studios. They both landed in the main area and the girl followed her mentor to some electrical panels, watching as he set up a remote access device.

          Batman started the generator, but when he lowered the lever to put the operating systems, several sparks jumped at them - damaging the device. Olivia walked over, glancing at the generator wires, noting that there was smoke coming from there "Yep, you just broke the generator."

          "I'll get the Batmobile."

          Olivia pursed her lips, thinking that that giant vehicle could go up to the fifth floor. "How will you bring it?"

          "Just wait here."

          The blonde-haired girl sighed and nodded before watching her mentor walk away from her in less than 5 seconds. Between the cold rain and the uncertainty of how this night might end, it was a nightmare fit for a movie. A nearby loud noise caught the attention of the Wayne girl, who leapt to a higher point, watching as a black armored military-range vehicle moved smoothly between the small obstacles that led the way to the generator. Olivia's green eyes widened, not only because she was impressed, but the damn Batmobile was moving over the ceilings like it was the most normal thing in the world.

          (She firmly believed that Lucius Fox was behind this.)

          "What the hell...?"

          "It's a gift from Lucius," Her mentor replied.

          "You always get gifts."

          The young woman returned to the generator, finding the large vehicle in front of her, fitting a winch to provide electrical power to the satellite. Several sparks began to fly, while the vehicle's revs were gradually increased and the antenna ignited. Batman was soon out of his car, while his gauntlets clicked, emitting a new message.

          "Is there news with the antennas?" Atlas asked.

          "We already have power and the radio antenna is operational," The masked woman replied.

          "Okay, we're connecting," Added the red-haired girl. "I just got off the phone with Robin, Batman. You should do the same."

          Another voice appeared in the communications "Bruce, you need me. We'll find Crane faster." The third Robin's face appeared in front of them. "Huh...is that Olivia?"

          "Hello, dipshit. Now I'm Batman's partner," She rumbled, smiling sideways.

          "Uh, yeah, we'll see that when I kick your ass," Tim replied with a nod. "I like the suit. I thought she wouldn't use it, Bruce."

          "There was a little change in plans," The bat replied. "That is why you are there. Your job is more important, Tim."

          "It can wait one night," The boy protested. "I will help you both."

          "We have it under control."

          "Ugh...good," Robin mumbled, letting out a sigh. "Hey, call me once in a while. We're partners."

          "He's just trying to help, you know," Barbara interrupted. "What we need now is a microwave tower to triangulate the position of the scarecrow. There's one at Falcone Shipping on the Cauldron. I marked it on your maps."

          "Thanks, Oracle," Olivia added before cutting off.

          Getting to the area where the small tower was located wasn't complicated, but seeing armed soldiers guarding the entrance, that was something quite dangerous. It didn't take long for them to knock down the only two soldiers, trying to get in through the front door. Batman stopped abruptly, causing the girl to crash into his body - he indicated silence by placing his index finger on his lips, before pulling his hook and heading towards a ledge. Olivia followed him, stepping to the side. "Now what?"

          "There are five soldiers, all armed," Bruce snapped in a low voice. "If they discover us, they will kill the hostage. What are you going to do?"

          Olivia looked at the bat. "Me?" She pointed down. "Against them five?"

          "I trained you for something, Olivia," Bruce Wayne stressed. "Now tell me what you are going to do."

          The blond-haired girl looked down, putting her detective mode on. If she were simple, the first step would be to go in and take them all down since they could both do it effectively. However, being armed enemies, the probability of killing the hostage was quite high. Separating the soldiers was the best option at hand. The girl reached for a batarang in her belt and unfolded it to throw it at an audible point, listening for movement from the soldiers. She wasted no time leaping from her high point and slipping through the darkness to take down the two soldiers who went out on patrol. As soon as he got onto a small bridge, Batman threw something in his direction and the girl clutched it awkwardly between her fingers.

          "I think you can take care of the rest."

          Olivia glared at him. "I'm your partner, not your slave."

          "I'll tell Lucius to build a Batmobile for you," Her mentor joked and the girl cursed under her breath, but he listened enough to glare at her protégé.

          (He was at least 95% sure she mumbled "manipulative bastard".)

          She ran for a crack to get inside and silently walk beneath the three remaining armed enemies. She looked up, meeting soldiers from the same militia - as they were wearing the same uniforms that the man was wearing when he tried to inject them with a dose of Scarecrow toxin. She took a deep breath and let out a sigh, jumping out of hiding to hit a militiaman. As if everything was in slow motion, as if time were slowing down, Olivia gracefully hit each of the militiamen who opened fire, dodging bullets, listening for that hiss that would bring inevitable death if she made any sudden movement.

          The girl knocked all three soldiers unconscious in a matter of seconds, landing on her feet and praying she didn't lose her balance - she was a little dizzy. She turned, finding the cop lying on the ground and handcuffed - then walking over to him and removing his handcuffs, helping him to his feet.

          "Hey, are you related to Batman?" The officer asked, accepting Olivia's hand. "Because I never saw anyone hit three guys armed like that. Amazing."

          "I still need a bit of agility, but I will make it," She replied in a friendly way. "You're safe, I'll call someone to come get you."

          The officer nodded. "Thank you. Promise me you'll find Crane. He must be stopped as soon as possible."

          Olivia smiled before opening the door, seeing him leave, she went to the electrical panel to turn on the tower and it happened without problems. As soon as she turned around, she found her mentor, dressing differently - better, you might say. Olivia frowned under the mask and pointed at Bruce's figure.

          "Where did you get that?"

          "Lucius gave it to me."

          "And since when do you and Lucius meet?"

          Batman rolled her eyes and Olivia knew perfectly well that she must stop her annoying curiosity at that precise moment, so she preferred to give her an update on her process before causing annoyance in the features of her current mentor. "The microwave tower is already operational."

          The Knight nodded and was soon in communication with the Oracle. They both went outside and the rain was beginning to be much more intense. Batman, behind her, threw a batarang with force, which flew away to stay in the sky. Olivia moved closer to him, watching through the hologram coming out of the gauntlet at a map of the entire Gotham area.

          "What are we looking for?" The blonde asked.

          "The radioactive frequencies of the toxin," Her mentor emphasized, surveying the different parts of Gotham. "If we locate them in the same place, so we can know where Scarecrow makes his toxin."

          A small beep was heard and a part to the east was illuminated, showing a fairly high percentage of documented radiation. Olivia decided to zoom in on the image and wasn't surprised to see that it was the large Ace Chemicals establishment. It made sense.

          "We found it," Batman stated and touched a button on his gauntlet. "Jim. The toxin comes out of Ace Chemicals. We will find Crane there."

          "Impossible," The commissioner replied. "I had a team there from the beginning of the evacuation, as you asked."

          Olivia looked at Batman "Well, something went wrong in the equation."

          "Crane must have bought them," The bat added, grabbing the batarang. "Or worse."

          "I'm in the area. My people and I are going there."

          "Wait until we get there, Jim," Batman replied, looking at Olivia. "We are on our way."

          As the transmission was cut, the blonde-haired girl looked at her mentor. "You have no idea what we're dealing with, do you?"

          "Keeping the city safe is what matters, Olivia," The Dark Knight declared. "Are you in or not? You can leave the field right now."

          Olivia pursed her lips, thus witnessing the first and maybe last chance to retreat, leaving her mentor - who trained her for this for years - on his own. She had a strong desire not to touch that forbidden fruit that would end up corrupting her completely, but Bruce was offering her a way out - a way out that she might not want at the moment. What would happen if she retired right then and there and left Bruce alone? Maybe was the last time she could see him alive.

          That feeling was a dagger, burying itself so deep in her fragile and destroyed heart.

          "I'm in."

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          The Batmobile moved at high speed through the streets of Gotham City, regardless of whether it collided with another vehicle or smashed a small statue in a square. Bruce would make sure to get to the Ace Chemicals on time. Olivia was trying to keep her nerves to a minimum and wished this was the final mission. Stopping in front of two police cars parked in the driveway, the two vigilantes got out, finding Commissioner Gordon with a group of police officers.

          Olivia nodded at the door. "News from inside?"

          "None," The commissioner replied. "We believe the essential personnel are still inside," He walked with them to the door. "But they don't answer and the venue is closed."

          "If they're still alive, we'll find them," The Dark Night declared. "Maybe they know about Scarecrow's plan."

          Suddenly, an armed helicopter came out from under the bridge, right at the entrance point. The group stopped, while the commissioner asked something inaudible, to witness how that military helicopter launched two missiles at the bridge near the entrance, the ground trembled under Olivia's feet, but the person who was piloting that helicopter produced much more curiosity. She and Batman approached, being illuminated by an external light from it. Olivia hoped that a missile would end her life.

          But it wasn't like that.

          (Why the hell wasn't it like that?)

          The helicopter soared into the sky and retreated into Ace Chemicals, the main doors swung open, and bullets were soon flying towards them. The two vigilantes ran quickly to take cover behind a police vehicle. As soon as the doors were closed again, Olivia leaned out and touched Bruce's shoulder to tell him that there was no longer any danger.

          Gordon looked at the bat. "Friend of yours?"

          The blonde looked at her mentor "That's what I would be wondering at this point."

          "Stay here Jim, we'll go see what happens," Batman declared before releasing his hook, taking Olivia with him.

          The two of them quickly climbed the giant wall with their hooks, upon landing, Olivia saw a giant military helicopter hover over her position - heading away towards a fixed point in her city. As she approached the ledge, she was met by a large crowd of soldiers boarding multiple more helicopters, along with manually manned tanks. All of them armed to the head and Olivia felt a sharp lump in her throat.

          "What the hell is this?" Olivia asked, touching her gauntlet. "Phantom, Oracle, tell me something about what I'm seeing."

          "That's what I'm trying to do right now," Atlas declared on the other end of the communication. "This looks like a rebel army."

          "Whoever this guy is, he's assembled an army," Batman growled, looking with Olivia across the scene. "You two, give me a name, now."

          "Well, here we found something from an operations team infiltrated in Venezuela," Barbara said suddenly. "They discovered a training facility with soldiers wearing the same insignia."

          She looked at the hologram and recognized the insignia, it was a similar insignia of Arkham Asylum "Who is it?"

          "Little information is available on their commander. His name is known: the Arkham Knight."

          "The Arkham what...?"

          Oh, this had gotten more and more interesting. Which really scared Olivia Wayne more and more. The name, in fact, was something completely absurd - but original within the obvious. At least, for her fortune, she was putting one loose end together with the other, making things clearer. But come on, Olivia was expecting something more authentic.

          "The Arkham Knight?" Bruce asked. "Hack their data. We have to know what they are up to."

          "Anything else?" Atlas added.

          "Yes, there is a group of workers in the establishment," Olivia replied, looking at the hologram. "We have track them down and rescue them, they may have information about Scarecrow and his possible plan."

          "Each worker will have a descriptive chip."

          Bruce nodded. "If we were to access your personal data, we could track it."

          Olivia spotted a security station below her "Hey, here's a security terminal."

          The two headed toward the terminal, stealthily, while several soldiers guarded the entrance cautiously. They slipped away to stay at high points, until the voice of said enemy was present in their communicators.

          "Listen! Scarecrow said the reaction is almost finished. The evacuation of the facilities will begin in 30 minutes."

          By hiding inside the metal slits, the two of them parted ways to eliminate the enemies. Which fell one by one, alarming the rest - but ultimately, leaving each soldier in a deep and unconscious sleep. As soon as they entered the terminal, Bruce was in charge of going to the highest point while Olivia searched among the possible places for a lever for the vehicle to enter.

          Atlas's voice echoed through Olivia's commlink. "We managed to intercept radio communications between Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight. I will broadcast them right now."

          "I had him in my sights! I could have finished with him right there!" A robotic voice spoke.

          "We haven't destroyed him yet. Patience."

          "No...I waited too long. Batman will die. Tonight."

          "What about the girl?"

          "If she intrudes, I'll kill her myself."

          Olivia was counting on that.

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