Agony of Defeat [Batman, Dr. Arkham]

[Deleted]

Batman approached Arkham from shadows to the east of the asylum’s complex. The shadows clung to him, embracing him as he moved silently through the night. It was a route that he’d taken often and, so far as he was aware, had been undiscovered by most of Gotham’s denizens. Every security system had a flaw, a weakness that could be exploited. It was a basic truth. In this case, if was knowing the pattern of the cameras, and when they would leave gaps in their roving. To the asylum’s credit, the flaw had been discovered and the pattern was regularly changed, but as Bruce Wayne, if had been easy enough for him to arrange a ghost in the machine. He didn’t have to guess where the cameras would be; they told him.

He checked the subroutines that fed him the information regularly, and they hadn’t been tempered with. They kept an encrypted log of when they were accessed, and while it was theoretically possible for someone to get to them and hide their footprints, it would have meant a shutdown of the security system to do so, and that had not been detected. There was a risk involved in maintaining the hole in security, but it allowed him to personally check on selected inmates.

He froze seconds before the cameras scanned his position, but he was well hidden in deep shadow when it passed by. It was unlikely that a diligent guard would have noticed him, and even more unlikely that there was someone watching the camera at three in the morning, not that there wasn’t a person assigned to it. The cameras were sensitive to movement, but they wouldn’t notice him there unless something larger than a coyote happened to pass by at the same time. Unlikely.

When the camera had moved on, Batman moved closer until he reached the outer wall, scaled it, and dropped down within. From there on in, it only got trickier. He knew the patterns and the routines, but he still had to listen, to be aware, and to plan his moves carefully. There was no way to tell if a guard went to the bathroom at an odd moment or an orderly decided to take a stroll. Regardless, it went like clockwork. He made his way in and began silently checking the cells. It wasn’t until he made his way to cell 223 that he was stopped short and his blood turned cold. The cell was supposed to be inhabited, but it was empty.

“Dammit.”

The Dark Knight made his way into the cell without setting off the alarms, verifying the inmate was indeed missing before worked the door’s latch, triggering security. He began investigating the room. It took less than a minute for the first guard to arrive on scene wearing a gas mask. With gun in hand, he began to enter cell 223. His arm was grabbed and twisted as the weapon cleared the plane of the door causing the weapon to discharge harmlessly into the reinforced wall. Batman took the weapon from the guard and backed him up into the hallway. He removed the magazine from the weapon, ejected the round from the chamber, and removed the slide from atop the weapon before handing them back to the guard.

“The Joker’s gone,” he informed the guard. “Full alert. Check every bed in this place, occupied or not, and sweep through the rest of the place. Groups of four, gas masks and riot gear. And get me Arkham.”

Batman turned and went back into cell 223, pulled the door closed behind him, and continued his search for clues.

[Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask]

3:15 am.

Jeremiah Arkham held his identity badge out of the window of his gray Land Rover for the gate guard to check it and open Arkham’s automated gate. He cringed at the harsh light of the flashlight as it invaded the darkness within the car.

“What are you doing back here so early Dr. Arkham?”

Jeremiah sighed and gave him a tired grin that let him know he was still waking up. “You know how it goes, Linton…No rest for the wicked.”

Linton nodded, his balding head, “I hear ya, I hear ya. You be safe in there, doc.” He moved back and went into the small station to open the gate.

Jeremiah rolled his window back up, stuffed his identification back into his lab coat. The large, black and gothic gates of the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum slid away and Jeremiah rolled through. He heard the gates close behind him, never able to misplace that rickety noise of them moving on their tracks or the distinct sound of them snapping into their locks. He pulled into the first parking spot he found and shut off his vehicle.

He was already aware of several things. Gotham’s Dark Knight had paid a visit to his especial nemesis, the John Doe everyone better knew as the Joker only to find that the Joker wasn’t in his cell. Now the entire island was under lockdown while every single speck of the interior was searched and Batman was still inside, searching the inmate’s room. Jeremiah glanced over his shoulder as he made his way towards the building of the Penitentiary, ears alert for any sign that their escaped clown was still on the island and just waiting to catch someone off guard. That was very possible because the Joker wasn’t always after escape. He judged his crimes by blood, laughs, and just how much he could test Batman. It was also possible because obviously he’d not left the gate, not that there weren’t other ways to get out of Arkham. Of course there were.

Every system had its flaws after all and Arkham inmates were notorious for finding and exploiting them, be they person or technology.

His trip to the prison building was unjostled, though he was greeted by several guards when he entered. They were obviously on higher alert and now stationed at the entrance. He gave them a wave of his identification as well before he was buzzed into prison proper and just like Batman he made his way to Cell 223, though he wasn’t as stealthy as Bruce had been in his coming.

“He still inside,” he posed to the guard as he turned down the hall. The man was stationed just outside the door and he nodded. “Yes, sir,” he turned. “Arkham’s here.”

Jeremiah brushed by the guard and came into the doorway. “What would I do if you didn’t randomly check in. How many escapes have you discovered over my usual staff again? It’s gone into the double digits now hasn’t it?” He moved to lean against the wall. “He’s not escaped out the main gate or Linton’s a really good liar. I really doubt that, though. But I digress.”

He straightened and adjusted his glasses. “You wanted to see me? Hoping I have an idea what he’s got planned? Maybe I overheard something or confiscated an item from him I thought was inconsequential at the time? He once escaped using a spoon and a ball of string. Nothing taken from him ever considered inconsequential.” He folded his arms and took a deep breath. “But I’ll help anyway I can. You’re the one that catches the majority of them and I always regret when they manage to get out.”

[Deleted]

Batman turned to face Dr. Arkham. He admired the man’s desire to help others, and his track record was actually pretty phenomenal if you took the Joker and his ilk out of the equation. Reaching them was a problem for which even the Dark Knight didn’t have a solution. That he seemed to be down on himself for the escape of the “rogues” was a mark of his dedication.

“Fourteen,” Batman answered in his gravelly voice. He wasn’t keeping score; it was just a fact.

“Linton’s not lying. You’d know it if he’s been dealing with the Joker. You’ll need to go over the records of your staff and find out who is missing, new, or suddenly disappears.”

He watched Arkham’s mannerisms closely, gauging his responses. Nothing seemed out of place for the doctor, other than the feeling that he was somehow responsible. And, in a way, he was, but how did you control someone like the Joker? You didn’t. At best, you managed him.

“Anything you have would help. It was an inside job; someone helped him. Coerced in some manner, I would suspect. Or just crazy enough to want to help him.”

Batman looked around the room once more before turning his way back to Arkham. “There’re no alarms going off. Have the guards finish their sweep, but I don’t think we’ll find him. Follow the pattern of cameras that have been compromised, and the times. That will give us his path. He wanted to get away without being spotted. Unlike him. He’s up to something.”

[Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask]

Fourteen. Jeremiah made no effort to actually react negatively to that. He figured if anyone knew the number it would be the dark knight, though he hadn’t actually expected such a specific digit, still impressive and he nodded. He pulled the door of the cell almost shut behind them and walked up behind the other man. His own eyes flitted around the cell.

“Yeah, I didn’t think Linton was. He’s not very good at it and he’s one of my senior guards, I would hope I’d know how to read him by now, and yes, the Joker’s not one to usually keep such an escape secret. That’s why it’s not comforting.” He turned back to the door and opened it to speak to the man awaiting outside. “I need to you to go the front office and I need all roster of all the employees. We’re going to start making calls.”

Jeremiah was completely in professional mode. This was the face he showed when things went wrong at Arkham and he wasn’t blind. He realized that as the place the Joker was held, Jeremiah was responsible when he got free. It meant they’d missed something and even if say, he knew it was going to happen, he had to pretend he didn’t and that he was being what any director should be, just a bit guilty. But in the Joker’s case, he had no hand in his current escape and he realized that with that particular man, you really only managed.

Arkham Asylum merely managed many patients. The majority of them in what had come be termed the Rogue Gallery were those that one could never hope to control

He turned back to Batman. “I can get you security tapes, any footage you may need, staff lists, psychological exams. I realize not being of the law, I don’t have to do any of this, but you’re really Gotham’s only hope to catch the likes of him, especially.”

He met the dark knight’s gaze after that and listened to his instructions, nodding every now and then. “I’ll do that, everything you suggested. I want him caught before he succeeds in whatever he’s up to, because you’re right, Joker wanting to get out undetected, without his flare of dramatic he usually brings? That spells dire consequences if he’s not found.”

[Deleted]

Batman nodded, noting Arkham’s discussion of Linton. The simple matter was that security at the Asylum could not really be seen as a career. It was just not well paying and turnover was high. They’d need to solve that problem, but even making it a better job wouldn’t fix the problems, only slow them down. Still, anything would help.

“Get better funding for your security.”

The Joker had gone out of his way to not leave clues, which in itself was telling. It was more his style to brag about his exploits in a grandiose manner. This was also his way of sending a message. The clown wanted Batman to hunt him down. The question was why. Batman walked toward the door, speaking over his shoulder at Dr. Arkham. When he got into the hallway, he raised his left hand to his cowl.

“Batgirl, keep your eyes open. The Joker’s trying something new. Check all the way around the perimeter any signs of egress.”

He looked up and down the Hallway, trying to imagine what the Joker would have been thinking. The Dark Knight new the habits in the Asylum, but the clown knew them better; he lived them. Not that he could count on the Joker to think rationally. The Joker’s greatest asset was that he was unpredictable.

Batman looked down the hallway past Arkham and waited for the doctor to follow his gaze. As soon as he did, Batman disappeared into the shadows of the Asylum, navigating his way through the search pattern, knowing that he would be able to get through it without being detected. That meant the Joker could, as well, had that been his aim. He hated dealing with the clown; nothing was ever what it seemed.

He followed the path that seemed the best for the Joker to take to get out unseen. It involved switching back on himself and waiting for patrols to pass, but it was fairly simple for someone that knew every corner and cross section of the labyrinthine building. He passed a doorway and stopped, looking back. Barely visible, there was the faintest trace of a white line between the door and jam. Batman checked it for traps, then slowly opened the door. A playing card fell to the floor. He examined it where it lay first, seeing the traditional bicycle trademark on the back. He picked it up with a pair of tweezers and turned it over. On the face was the Queen of Diamonds, but with Batgirl in the place of the queen and a dagger through the left wing of the bat on her chest. Her heart.

“Batgirl, report your current location.”

He placed the card into an evidence bag, along with the tweezers, then tucked it into his belt before activating his come again.

“Batgirl, report!”

Batman continued to make his way out of the Asylum, following the path he believed the Joker had taken, looking for anything out of the ordinary as he went. With no traps barring his path, he found his way to a three foot section of wall that fell between two cameras. Every ninety seconds, a third camera pulled it into view for seven second, but that left eighty-three seconds to get out undetected. It had apparently been enough for the Joker, but not without leaving s scuff on the wall.

The Dark Knight timed his approach to give him the maximum time to inspect the wall without being detected, but there was nothing more than the scuff to find. He backed away, let the camera pass, and then made his way up wall. Sitting atop it, goading him, was the Joker’s hallmark, the Joker playing card with him in place of the normal jester. Batman was over the wall before the camera came around again, and it took him only a short time to find a body laid out on the manicured lawn. It was Batgirl.

He approached cautiously, looking for traps on her body as well as a position to snipe from, but reached her without incident. Her cloak covered her body. His fingertips gently probed her throat. He relaxed only slightly when he found a pulse, and the lack of a rictus grin was definitely a good sign. Gently, he pulled the cape back to reveal a dagger sticking up from her chest, in the same position as had been on the card. Batman’s heart seemed to stop in his chest.

On closer inspection, the knife was a toy, suction-cupped to her costume, but it meant the Joker had been close enough to do the job and had decided not to. He knew better than to ask himself why – the Joker always had his reasons, but they almost never made sense to anyone else until the entire scene had been played out. The message was clear, though. The Joker wanted Batman to find him, and the clock was ticking.

After assuring himself that it was safe to move her, he signaled for the BAT to descend. He buckled her into her seat before taking the driving position and headed back to the cave.

[Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask]

Jeremiah folded his arms. “Better funding? It’s being discussed. Along with setting up an audience with Commissioner Gordon, to talk about how to better screen for officers and what else could be done. His commentary on the failures of Arkham aside, I know he’s the best man for this.”

Because it was true, Arkham security was not a thing to brag about. The pay was little in light of the dangers involved and for that so many quit, were killed or maimed, or needed therapy within years. That Linton was still going strong, it made Jeremiah happy that perhaps there was hope for the system. Dr. Arkham, however, had better things on his mind and so if his reply to Batman was short, it was because at that moment Jeremiah was focused on the Joker. He followed Batman out, politely not commenting or staring in awe as the other used his communications to speak to Batgirl.

Yet he did keep Batman in his sight, watching his every move as he peered down one side of the hall and then the next. Jeremiah knew he was trying to get a feel for the Joker, but shuddered to even think of immersing himself into such a mind. He had before and as interesting as it had been, it wasn’t one he wished to repeat with the psychopathic clown. At least, not at the present moment, but even that thought too was pressed aside when he noted Batman’s stare and indeed he did follow it.

Then Batman bolted off. Jeremiah gave a shout of protest, the sharp sound loud in the silence and he took off after him. He could keep up, but kept a distance between them to be sure he’d not take turns too sharply. He knew Batman must have figured something out.

Every move Batman made, Jeremiah mimicked. And soon even Jeremiah knew what he was doing. Like the Joker, Jeremiah knew all the nooks and crannies in Arkham. He knew when guards would pass, how long it took them to switch back. After having operated and been down its halls it was simply something he’d picked up.

He saw the faint white line only seconds after Batman and with it his gut sank. Well didn’t that just look ominous, but he kept his distance. Batman would handle it and the dark knight did. He peered over his shoulder at the card and then back to Batman.

He tried not to smile in appreciation of the Joker’s clue. He wasn’t supposed to be admiring the criminal’s cunning. He was supposed to be paying attention so it wouldn’t happen again.

But really, where was the fun in that?

Poor Batgirl, though. He hoped it wasn’t as serious as the card hinted, but knowing the Joker that was fifty-fifty at best. He managed to keep his expression, though, and without a word continued to play mirror to Batman. Of course he took note of where he looked to investigate for himself. It could in handy with updating the security after all.

Of course once Batman scaled the wall, Jeremiah had to find his way around on his own. He wasn’t going to scale it, but he rejoined the dark knight in just enough time to see that he’d found the female of his Batfamily. He was far enough away that his light chuckle upon seeing that the knife was a fake was missed. He made sure of it, in fact, before he came to his side as the BAT descended.

He would have offered to have her looked her at Arkham, but choose not to. If Batman believed he could treat whatever had happened to her, Jeremiah believed it. He’d seen him do extraordinary things. The Rogues had quite an opponent in Batman.

How he longed to investigate the man’s mind, find out his secret, but no.

He wanted Batman to tell him all that himself. So he nodded to Batman as the detective got into his vehicle.

“Hope you find him and stop whatever he’s got up his sleeve. I’ll work here to make it harder for him to do it again. Good luck.”

And Jeremiah retreated back a comfortable distance to watch the BAT depart Arkham Island.

[Deleted]

(OOC: Batman and Alfred's dialogue and action were approved before hand by their respective player.)

"I believe Miss Batgirl is coming around, Master Bruce."

Her eyes fluttering, Batgirl slowly opened her eyes enough to see that she was no longer in Kansas or at Arkham. Starting to move, she felt Alfred's hand press down on her shoulders while the gentleman's gentleman smiled softly. she had a splitting headache, the intensity of which reminded her of the time she had ridden her bicycle head on into a two-foot high wooden telephone pole obstruction; the kind meant to prevent a car from driving into the grass. In that case she had been flipped over the handle bars to fly in a sort of swan dive, only to land head first into the hard ground before the bike came crashing down upon her.

This headache was even worse and it took Batgirl some time to remember what had happened. Closing her eyes while she laid there, Alfred's hands not leaving her shoulders, she tried to focus her mind past the pain back to the moment things went dark and then it hit her. Batgirl had heard the shrill of the sirens that normally announced an escape, and she had done the one thing Batgirl thought would have been expected of her. With the front of the asylum well protected, she had gone around the back to see what might be happening around there, and though nothing seemed out of place, there was just enough going on that Batgirl was intrigued.

One look at the rear of the Medieval-like castle structure and Batgirl was amazed at what she saw. Thick woods covered the back area, a section bathed in total darkness and one look up toward the top of the wall told her why. Search lights were there but lifeless as were the regular security lights; as if they had been turned off intentionally so as to mask someone that was not supposed to be outside. Her night-vision system activated, Batgirl had gone back to searching for anything else that might be out of the norm when she thought she had heard a sound behind her. Crouching in seconds, she panned her vision around all sides of her to see if there was anything amiss, but from she could see, there was nothing there but herself, though that silent opinion changed the moment she stood back up and turned away from the noise.

It had come from nowhere and everywhere at once, and though Batgirl had heard the branch being released, that had done nothing to really warn her of the impending danger even though that became clearly evident the second the large branch slammed into the base of her skull sending her to the ground. Stunned by the blow, Batgirl saw a pair of black shoes move up to her face, shoes that were partly covered by what looked like dark trousers with a stripe running up the outside of the leg, but before she could see much of anything else a fist came crashing down into her head, a blow that drove her into unconsciousness, though it did end the pain.

"How did I..."

"I would suggest you stay quiet, Miss Batgirl. You've had a nasty blow to the head."

**I need her awake, Alfred. I need to know what she saw, how she was taken down.**

"Master Bruce, she needs to rest, I feel I must protest..."

**I need answers, Alfred, then she can rest.**

"I was looking around in the back, Batman..., in the woods. There were no lights on, not even the normal security lights. I kept looking, thought I heard a noise and turned to look. When I turned back around something hit me hard from behind. I..., I think it was a thick tree branch because of the way is sounded before it hit."

Batgirl brought her hand up to her cowl and slowly pushed it back off her head. The throbbing was getting to her and she knew she needed pain killers, though if she had a concussion then pills might not be such a good idea. Moaning softly when the crunched cowl put a small bit of pressure on the wound, Batgirl bit her lower lip to fight the renewed pain before she took her hand off the cowl and let it sit where it was.

"There's one more thing. Before I passed out, i saw a pair of black shoes in my face and what looked to a pair of dark slacks with a brighter stripe running up the outside of the leg. Maybe a uniform, but I didn't get a chance to see anything else."