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Arkham is the New Blackgate: Plague

To many people, being cornered by several crazed lunatics with whatever they could find as weapons advancing closer towards you was something straight out of a nightmare. People would wish their greatest enemy to be locked away in Arkham and see if they'd end up like Harley Quinn, Lock-Up, The Jigsaw Man or The Great White Shark, broken at best and dead with any luck.

Terry however was used to this scenario. While he had never been trapped in Arkham like this, he had fought several of these people before with as much energy as he could muster. It wasn't nearly as bad as Joker Night or anything else. Terry could actually see an end in sight as he quickly shot his punches, kicks and batarangs to their targets. Before long, Terry was stepping over a groaning, barely conscious mess of people.

He had to contact the outside but the com links were still scrambled in doors. He needed a way to reach Bruce and tell him about the current problem. Ghoul and Nepenthe had TITAN, a super drug that made Venom look like sniveling twig in comparison. He had seen the layout of Arkham before and knew he was near a spot outside. With any luck, he could reach someone. He made his way to the only door he could find leading outside.

Only one door led to the outside, as Zhora found out after parting ways with Nikhita, Dr. Bennett, and Dr. Wolper. There was no telling what sort of shape Byrd was in at this point and something big and hairy brushed up against her in the hall already. And Clayface. Fucking Clayface! This place was going insane and so was she.

The temperature outside was plummeting and she felt the freezing rain on her face. 'Just like the time I broke out,' the hacker thought to herself. Shivering in the cold, she tried to keep warm. Out here, the moonlight made her feel safe. So did the fact she couldn't hear the sounds and shrieks of the other inmates.

So long as no one came at her, this place was one of the few safe places left. Then the goddamn door opened. "Who the fuck are you!?" the terrified inmate called out, reaching for a loose chunk of concrete she could use as a weapon. "Better slagging identify yourself, man. I'll back your fucking skull in if you try something."

It was still just as cold but the static was already starting to clear. Some of the snow was melting but the soil was hard and mostly frozen over. Each step Terry took was louder than what it would have been if the soil gave some way. At least he wouldn't track mud back to the Batcave like last time.

Here was some semblance of calm. It was quiet and it seemed like no one was trying to hide out here for now. He got why though. It was too easy for anyone to come in here and harm someone. But he saw someone in the distance and he recognized that demand.

"I don't want any trouble" he said as he got closer. the silhouette alone would be recognizable.

"Ground Control to Major Tom," Willie was humming along, being an absolute troll. "Oh shit. You've got a signal! But, uh...the system's still down. Are you back in the Batmobile?" Did he have an off switch? Sure, he was mostly static, but part of his conversation sounded coherent.

Zhora paused as soon as she heard the voice and saw the silhouette. "Batman?" Any last one of these loons would give her a medal for doing him in, but she still owed him for the courtesy he'd extended to her when her mother died. "I don't know if that's really you. Tell me something only Batman would know because Clayface is inside. He imitated a doctor and the warden already."

"What?" It was hard to say who he was saying that to at first, Willie or Zhora. He didn't recognize the song at first but what Zhora said caught his attention. There was a new problem. Randy was in Arkham...

Zhora wanted proof on top of this and he needed to prove it. Turning his com link off for a moment, he sighed. "You found my number one time already to contact me and I let you stay to see your Mom and sisters before taking you back to Arkham. You also kidnapped Max Gibson for your Alloy project and I'm still amazed you didn't get a cold from your swim a few months ago."

Okay. That was good enough for her. Clayface couldn't even bother to remember what the warden called her. All he did was read off her name tag and that was it. "That's good enough, I suppose. Listen. The warden you talked to earlier was Clayface. I don't know if the real Dr. Bennett contacted you at all. By the time the C.O. and intern I was stuck with were able to get to him, he was in bad shape."

Poor old man. She hoped he'd survive the night. "You're also going to think I'm crazy, but there's giant rats in there, too. One of them was the size of a German Shepherd and tried to bite me. Part of why I'm out here is so I can see whoever and whatever comes my way until I find my friends and gather up in a group."

Things were getting from bad to worse in here. First the blackout, then the lock-down, then two of the most dangerous chemists in Gotham getting their hands on Titan and now a crazed kid was in Arkham for some reason.

"Giant rats?" he said. That only meant one thing, but the question was how. Patrick couldn't have his whistle in here. Any sort of wind instrument was forbidden considering what he could do. Plus, how could he get any of the rats larger than a regular one over to him? "We got a lot of problems. Nepenthe and Ghoul have a dangerous drug they stole. It could turn anyone they wanted into brainless monsters. And they did something to Rewire..." And if they wanted any bit of power right now, Davis was the key.

"What are you doing out here?"

Zhora nodded her head. Sure, Patrick had never done anything vicious or creepy toward her, but she'd heard all about the way he reacted about that Dana girl. It made her feel sick to her stomach. "Nepenthe and Ghoul stole a--well, fuck. That doesn't surprise me, but that doesn't mean I'm all that calm about this, either. That's really bad news."

They could reverse engineer almost any chemical. It was a small relief that they were here and didn't have a private lab someplace else where they could cook this stuff unsupervised. Even worse news than the fact they stole a drug was that they'd done something to Rewire. Zhora's already pale face turned even whiter.

"What did they do to Rewire? Do you know? I need to find him."

"I don't know where Rewire is...not right now." He'd find out though. He prayed the worst hadn't happened yet. Maybe Ghoul remembered his friendship with the guy and didn't kill him. He hoped so anyways. "We have a problem. A bigger one. Nepenthe and Ghoul got their hands on Titan, plenty of inmates are gone, Rewire is missing and Clayface is in the building.." He needed to contact Bruce quickly.

And with those words, the dread kicked in and made her feel ill. He could be anywhere in that hellhole. If the C.O.s got to him first, then they'd probably drag him kicking and screaming into the sap tank and make this as degrading and humiliating as they possibly could. Especially if Collins led the charge--pardon the pun.

She was too worried and tired and distraught to pay much heed to what Batman was doing this time around. "I know what Titan is," she mumbled. "Nepenthe's talked about it before and I did my research." Hell, if she knew what the freaking Metal Men were, then she'd know what Titan was. "And FYI, Clayface did more than break in. He can transmute himself into heavy duty ceramic, namely knives."

How much could he tell Zhora? She was the head of a dangerous organization that prided itself on information gathering. Telling too much on Titan could prove fatal. "However not telling Zhora could also prove to be a problem. She could find out the answer considering how infamous Titan got and really she wasn't trying to kill or attack him. Maybe she'd have some clues to help out. "It was used fifty years ago" he finally said. "It's Venom but amplified. Its dangerous and it can effect anything. Humans, plants, animals, even metahumans gain some powers."

"What's Clayface doing here? You need to tell me everything that's going on, Mercer."

"It affects metas differently? Is that what you're telling me?" That had her even more worried. If it could do something different to a meta, did Nepenthe and Ghoul know that? Had they doped up poor Davis with something far worse than his body could handle? He'd had heart surgery, for fuck's sake! Was he...could he possibly be dead?!

"I don't know why Clayface is here, but he already impersonated the warden and stabbed Dr. Wolper. I came out here because of the sleet and freezing rain. I figured he wouldn't...you know...with what water does to him..."

She was right. While this wasn't the best place for everyone else, it was a good hiding spot from Randy. It was way too cold and snowy for him to come out here without getting slower or getting frozen altogether. "Yeah. That's what it does. Back when it was first made, the Joker infected Poison Ivy and her plants with some of it. She didn't have the same reaction." It just made her stronger and have a greater control over plants, now including the Titan ones.

"I don't know how you got out but right now, I need to get Arkham under control. And right now, I'm going to need your help." She was the only tech expert on hand aside from Bruce and Willie. However both of them were off the island and Zhora knew more about what was going on.

Right away, her brain was thinking the worst. If Ivy's powers intensified while on Titan, what if Ghoul or Nepenthe found out, doped her friend, and amped him up to levels he couldn't control? Sure, that would power up the whole facility in no time at all, but at what cost? If she could find the real power source rather than the sap tank, then maybe, just maybe, she could get things up and running again without sacrificing a companion.

"I'm fine with helping you out on this one. The staff already put me in charge of getting the power up and running again. I've worked for a power plant before, so I have a general idea of what I'm doing."

'It was good to see not everyone in Arkham was ready to kill him. Either Zhora didn't know about the bounty, didn't care or perhaps like most people, she was done with it by now.

"Alright, so what are the options we have?" he asked. "Arkhams big and I don't know exactly where the power generators are."

"Neither do I," Zhora confessed. "However, I do know where the backup power chamber is. You threw Davis into it once." They kept him in that thing far more than she liked to think about. "Unless I can find the main source and try to fix whatever caused it to malfunction, we'll need to find Davis and strap him into that awful machine...whatever condition he's in."

She took a few steps closer and sighed. "The only self-defense item I've got on hand would throw me into ISO if I'm caught with it. Should I drop the rock and trust you to watch my back while we look around?"

Terry remembered that backup generator. He had luckily lead Davis into it the first time and it had powered Arkham for a long time. Now Arkham's power was almost gone and he'd have to put Davis back in there, whether he liked it or not.

"I'll watch your back if you don't try anything too." He could hopefully find a map of Arkham and with any luck, find the generator. "Give me a minute." Switching the cowl back on again, he waited. "I'm going to need some help." Though it wasn't to Zhora.

"I'm not trying anything tonight, Bats. Tonight, I'm on your side." And if she did that, then maybe they'd both come out of this night alive. With the cowl on, she heard him mention he needed help. She didn't, however, hear who was on the other side. "Savor the moment because I have no clue if that's ever gonna happen again."

"Help, huh? Yes you slagging do, McGinnis," Willie grumbled into the comm-link. "Is that Rebel One you're talking to?" He wouldn't trust that woman as far as he could throw her--or some less ridiculous analogy. By this point he could throw pretty damn far.

"Get off the comm-link, Watt," Bruce warned. "You're unauthorized and I know where you live."

"I want to know when the power's up and running so I can fix the system remotely, okay? That's it."

Oh great...he knew this was going to happen at some point. Willie could easily get into any system and while Bruce probably had his location hidden for now, Willie wanted to chat. If Terry thought he'd be harsh on Max during their late night calls, he'd probably be amazed to hear what Bruce and Willie talked about.

"I'm going to find the main power generator. Maybe I can repair it. But if not, I need to find Rewire." He was just glad to have a clear signal, even if he looked a little crazy to Zhora unless she put two and two together and figured he wasn't talking to himself.

"You don't know what you're doing with that generator, Terry. Locate Rewire and place him in the auxiliary generator until some professional electricians can look at the island," Bruce ordered.

"I can locate the main power source," Willie countered. There was a trace of panic in his voice. "You don't have to find Rewire, Terry. I can recreate the floorplan in Visio, forward it to the Batcomputer--assuming your boss gives me the access code to--"

"Not in a million years." Bruce wouldn't budge. "I could always get Maxine to hack into A.E. Tech for us. You're auxiliary until the power's up and you can get the system working."

"Who's on your comm-link?" Zhora inquired. "Oracle?"

"I wish..." Terry groaned. Great...this was going to be a headache. Right now, everyone was at an impasse. No one knew where Davis was but he'd probably help keep energy consistent until a better job was done. On the flip side, both Willie and Zhora were willing to find the main power.

Terry knew of Willie's friendship to Davis. It was a bad choice and Terry had pointed out why, even telling him about what he had done to Dick. Now Willie was desperately trying to find plans while Bruce was looking to find Davis. "Is there any way I can track Davis? The powers is off so maybe he's generating some electricity without the collar? Sabine did something so maybe there was a struggle. Its either that or trying to find him in the entire Institute." And that was a big place.

"If the power's out, then he would be the only active source of it inside. You'll be able to pick him up on an infrared scanner--which your cowl has," Bruce pointed out. "We won't be able to talk to you inside, so you'll have to navigate around in your own, but at least you shouldn't have any issues locating Davis."

"He doesn't have to wander aimlessly," Willie argued. "That floor plan is just a ping away from--"

"I don't want you gaining access. It's that simple. Not too long ago, you were a repeat offender we helped put away. I don't trust you."

He had to make a decision. Turning the cowl off, he looked to Zhora. She was willing to help, but could the power be protected with a simple fix job. However, he did have the best way to find Davis. Unfortunately for Willie, he had to make the best decision.

"I have a way to find Davis. At the very least, we can figure out if he's okay."

That wasn't what Zhora wanted to hear. The way she cringed and dragged her teeth across her bottom lip said as much, but she nodded her head anyway. "So be it, then. Lead the way and I'll follow along." He was the one with all the gadgets. "So tell me. What's the--OH MY GOD. THAT'S THE FUCKING THING I WAS TALKING ABOUT!"

Sure enough, that was a rat...and that rat had to weigh at least eighty pounds. Its mouth was stained red and the awful thing snarled at them.

He knew Zhora and Willie probably weren't happy. Chances were that even with the cowl off, Willie could hear him. But right now, for everyone's saftey they had to find Davis somewhere in here. Before he could turn on the feature Bruce mentioned, he was greeted to a yell and one of the largest rats he had seen.

He had thought the rats down in the sewers had been a terrifying sight. This? This was new. "Stay behind me!" he told Zhora as he pulled out a batarang. he hoped the electro-rangs would be useful against this.

"You don't have to tell me twice, B-Man!" The hacker darted to hide right behind the costumed crime-fighter. Fuck. Fuck. Where was Patrick when they really could have used him? He could have soothed this thing and calmed it down in no time. "Got any tranquilizer darts in that tool belt?"

Whatever he did throw, it sparked up and crackled when it hit the squeaking, shrieking animal. It growled and took a huge bite out of a bench. Zhora reached for a rock, ready to throw it at the beast, but it was staggering closer toward Batman.

Whatever this was, it could withstand volts that would make Inque write in pain. This was a lot more durable than Patrick's regular rats. Unfortunately, he could see protruding spiky bones from from its tail and spine. Its claws were malformed and its eyes had a green glint. It had been given the Titan treatment. Hopefully, Bruce was seeing this and doing something.

"Something like that." Grabbing a few pellets of knockout gas, he hurled them at the rat. He just hoped it would be enough, though he realized he'd run low on the stuff soon enough.

The rat continued to snort and growl for a while, clawing at everything in its path. However, it finally tired out. The fact that the ground shook, however, indicated that there were way more of them or something bigger coming up soon. Another shady figure was outside and Zhora cringed when she realized who it was. "Father Deets?"

The Arkham Institute had an on-site priest who came twice a week for the more religious inmates and patients. He also happened to have an M.D. in Psychiatry and held a position as the grief counselor. Someone had to replace Mara Sable someday, right?

"Miss Mercer?" the middle-aged padre asked. He'd ripped one of the boards from the bench and was beating back another giant rat. "That's--oh my Lord. That's Batman."

"Why are you with the other doctors?" Zhora asked.

"I came out here to see if the ferries were docked. If so, then maybe I could escape with some of the staff." But there was no luck. He ran his fingers through his thinning ash brown hair before braining that animal a second time. These things made him feel like he was in one of those zombie movies he liked so much. "No...such...luck."

There were plenty of rats, even if Terry had just stopped one. He'd need to find a way to stop them all. He had a few ways. There was a decently sized tree not far away which he could use. What's more, he had to do it quickly, the rats were approaching another staff member in the priest clothes. Well he was outside which meant he wasn't Randy at least.

He began firing several batarangs at the rats to lead them towards him, slowly backing up against a tree. He had to lure them over, especially after putting some explosives on the tree. He'd ask Bruce to donate something...maybe even take some out of his paycheck. Right now though, the rats and Zhora and 'Deets' were more important.

The tree fell over, crushing the monstrous mammals. "Please don't let there be more," Zhora murmured, shivering. "Please oh please oh PLEASE don't let there be any more of--"

"MY BABIES!" something huge roared from inside the building. "How DARE you hurt them!" It was huge, souped up, and--no way. No fucking way! Zhora's face turned bone white and she found herself clutching onto the priest in bewilderment as a pair of gleaming, wild eyes peered back from the shadows. The rustling noises and the quaking earth were both signs this would be all kinds of bad.

"I thought you were supposed to be a friend to all God's creatures, Deets. I saw what you did!" that loud voice boomed.

"These are abominations, child!" Deets responded. Today was probably the best day possible to bring a stun gun to work. Something hadn't felt right regarding Dr. Bennett that afternoon, so when he called in for his night shift, he came prepared. "And judging from the sound of you, so are y--"

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK TO ME LIKE THAT! I'M ONE OF THE GOOD ONES! I NEVER DESERVED TO BE LOCKED UP WITH THESE LUNATICS!"

Terry panted, taking deep breaths. Oh thank god...it had worked. He could hear the screeching and clawing as the rats desperately tried to get out. The tree was too heavy though and it quickly became a futile effort. Some were lucky and had even gotten a quick death or were knocked out. He was lucky...

At least he was until he heard a giant, angry roar. He turned and saw something begin to emerge from the shadows. He didn't recognize the form at first but he recognized the love of rats almost instantly. It was Patrick Fitz aka the Ratboy. While not in the same tier as his other rogues, Patrick was a dangerous stalker and criminal. He had stolen, kidnapped and even killed several others before his attention turned to Dana. Now the twisted thing that had bits of skin hanging off of trying to hold back the monstrous burned creature underneath it looked ready to kill.

"Back off, Fitz!" Terry yelled. "Go back to your cell. Now."

This was quite possibly the most horrifying thing Zhora had ever seen. When Patrick made his way out of the shadows, she screamed and (like a coward) found herself latching herself onto the priest. Father Deets, however, was reaching for something. "Huh? Are you packing heat, Padre?" the hacker asked, trying her best not to stammer.

"It wasn't for the likes of you," the priest insisted, "but I gathered something was wrong when I came to work today." And he would greatly appreciate it if Zhora kept her mouth shut about the fact he carried a weapon into the building. That could cost him his job on an ordinary day. "It's non-lethal, but it packs enough power to knock down someone like Mr. Bigelow." The redhead whistled at that, only to scream again when the rats and that thing came closer.

"Oh no. No no no. No. You have gotten in my way for the last time, Batman," Patrick insisted. Part of his spine moved like a rodent tail, separated from his body.

The rats and their master were going to have a little too much fun trying to kill Deets and Zhora. Terry winced, seeing his spine being twisted and grow into something. It was obvious what happened and he just hoped that the speculations of Patrick being a possible meta were wrong. He didn't want to imagine him on the Titan formula. It meant something else though, Sabine and Ghoul had either given this to him willingly or he stole it for himself. Either way, if he was able to spread this much Titan between himself and his rats, there was a heft supply of the stuff.

Though Terry had to once again steal the attention from them all. Patrick thankfully had the biggest reason to hate him and he could use that to his advantage. "Come on then" he said. "You aren't going to stop me. You or your overgrown gerbils."

"You called my babies an abomination! You have to die, Deets!" Patrick snarled, sending more of his giant rats out on the rampage. "And you! I don't have any problems with you personally, Zhora. But you pissed off the only real friend I have in here. I'm doing this for her."

"N-Nepenthe?" Oh, he had to be kidding. "That bitch is not your friend, Patrick."

"Don't call her that! She's a wonderful, lovely lady!"

"She's tricking out high schoolers and college kids into selling dangerous drugs. She turned you and your rats into drug mules! Don't you get it? You're not a pal to her. You're a patsy: someone she can boss around and get to take the fall for her as soon as shit hits the fan. She's--"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP, ALREADY!" Patrick came closer to Batman, fingernails and bones sticking so far out of the flesh that they looked like talons. "DIIIIIIIIIIE!"

That confirmed it. Nepenthe had given him the drugs and was probably doing this to stall Terry and put as much space between him and her as possible. It was clever and she was using her resources well. Of course, the one plus was she had less Titan to play around with. He fired several batarangs at the rats charging at Deets, hoping to distract them.

Of course, Patrick was delusional. He saw Sabine as one of the few friends he had and was willing to end Zhora just because the two didn't get along. "Not today!" Terry said. Activating his thrusters, he charged at Patrick and attempted to deliver an uppercut to his face.

Patrick growled until he foamed at the mouth. A pink foamy mess was the end result as some of the tendons split and blood mixed with saliva and pain-filled froth. Like a wild beast, he snapped and tried so hard to chomp down on his prey that he didn't even realize how many of his 'babies' now had batarangs lodged inside them. Some had stopped moving altogether, including--

"Dana!" he roared in anguish. His favorite rat of all, named for the girl he would never truly get over, was dead. It was also the last coherent word he breathed before yowling in agony and launching his ruined body as forcefully and quickly as he could right at Batman.

He had been distracted when he cried out his girlfriend's name. He saw the pained look as Patrick stared in horror at his rat until he saw the pure rage in his eyes. He got his attention alright. Terry was winded by the behemoth. Patrick had bulked up in his new monster form but he'd endure it however he could. He was going to do everything he could to stop the guy.

Terry began to punch him again and again, hoping that he could stop him quickly. If not, he'd use one of his emergency electrical currents the suit had.

The thing was Patrick was way too big to be stopped so easily. Not even a batarang would be enough by this point. He had completely Titanized, but cerestone would have been just as easy a culprit to misdiagnose considering his sheer size. More tendons ripped as the angry stalker reached for Batman. He wanted to chomp down on his midsection and snap him in two!

Terry could feel the strong grip tighten around his body as Patrick was ready to tear him limb from limb. He had killed how many of his 'friends' before? Now he had the physical power to stop him. Too bad Terry wouldn't give up so easily. Managing to free one of his hands, he slapped the button, hoping it would send an electrical current through the monster rat master.

The smell was that of burning flesh and the sounds were rigidly animalistic as Patrick hit the ground. His remaining rats ran right to him like children to their fallen father. His eyes rolled back and he began to go into spasms. Everywhere, he released a bloodied mess. The rancid smell of urine filled the air, too, and Zhora couldn't help but feel herself turn a tad green. Unable to hold that in anymore, she ran to the edge of the courtyard to retch behind a frozen bush. But at least Batman was free.

Terry stepped away, grimacing at the sight. The smell was even worse as the rats didn't seem to care about him. Terry was far from the rat's minds right now as they prayed he would be okay. Patrick had gone ballistic and he needed medical attention. Opening up the channel, he looked up at the sky. "Please tell me you have something that can combat Titan..."

"Not in the Batmobile, I don't," Bruce groaned. "I'll work on the old antidote for the first strain in the Batcave and send that your way--provided you don't mind if I take the car for a while." Terry would be safe enough. That suit would protect him.

Father Deets came back, holding Zhora's hand. "The poor thing lost her dinner over there," he announced. "She's--"

"Fine," Zhora huffed defensively, wiping her lips. "Just fine. Okay? Let's just get a move on before any other nasty surprises look for us."

"Go ahead. I'll probably be here for a while." He was going to pray Bruce was able to whip it up. Getting the power back was going to be key now. He wouldn't know when the cure was done until then unless he kept leaving the building.

Moving over to Zhora and Deets he grimaced. "I need to get yo somewhere safe" he told them. "I need to stop Nepenthe and Ghoul. If they've turned two inmates into this, who knows what they're going to do if they manage to make more." And more importantly, he needed to find Davis.

"Slag that. I'm sticking with you!" Zhora huffed, arms folded. "I propose we find a safe place to stick the Father and then we try to get the power back up." She wasn't going to be another patient or inmate this time. This time, she'd be a hero and show them all what she could do.

He didn't have an easy way around the facility and she hopefully knew where Davis was. Unfortunately, she would be the most helpful. "Sorry Father, but she's right. It's too dangerous to roam around freely. Is there a safe zone for the staff?"

"If there is, they're using a radio and I don't have one," Father Deets insisted. "I don't mind tagging along until we find more staff, though. I trust that won't be a hardship for the two of you?"

Zhora grumbled something under her breath. She'd be following Batman's lead on this. After all, Batman had the equipment to track down Davis's bio-electrical readings. He'd find him, but in what shape?

Zhora either didn't know or wasn't going to say where the staff was. Probably the former consdering her current mood. He couldn't blame her though. She had just endured how much and now Terry was trying to find Davis, something she didn't want.

"Fine, but keep close Dr. Deets. Don't go anywhere or do anything crazy." He said. He looked over at Patrick again and grimaced. "We have to leave him there for now...but we'll try and alert some of the medical staff about him. Maybe they can patch him up after I get the Titan cure. Let's go."

"This is Arkham. Did you literally just tell one of us not to do anything crazy?" Zhora slowly shook her head at that, muttering something under her breath. She followed Batman's lead, silently hoping that maybe Father Deets would become sidetracked and go someplace else. She didn't fully trust that man.

"Sorry." He opened the door and looked around. For now, the halls were empty and the cowl was going to go back to radio static. Switching on infrared scanner, he could see there had been some electrical burns. While some of it was normal, some were in the shape of footsteps on the ground.

"This way..."

This wasn't a good sign. If the charges were bad enough to leave footprint-shaped burns on the floor, then Zhora could feel hope draining away from her. They probably gave him the Titan. Either that or some other drug. Oh, she could kill them for doing this to him. "You aren't going to hurt him, are you?" she asked worriedly.

"I don't plan on hurting you guys for fun or anything" he said. He knew that was the belief though. Batman was there to have fun, punch bad guys and get away. He didn't want to keep coming back and stopping these guys again and again. But it happened. Davis was just the newest one and unfortunately, probably one of the more dangerous targets.

"He normally doesn't give this level of charge though." The burns were larger than usual. Terry could even see some markings reach the walls, with handprints to boot. There's was more..."He was hurt..." Or worse. There was some blood on the floor, though not much. Either he had been hurt or he had hurt someone.

The thing was she now knew that Batman was capable of showing empathy and compassion to some of his adversaries. He'd let her stay long enough to say goodbye to her mother before returning her to Arkham. Deep down, there was somebody capable of caring for others--but she wondered just how far that empathy was going to go for Davis.

Davis had attacked somebody Batman apparently knew. He'd caused other issues in the past, too, and had a whole slew of problems. Somehow, Zhora couldn't shake the fact that while Batman had shown her a little mercy, Davis wouldn't be as lucky. These burn marks on the floor left her terrified.

"Not normally, he doesn't. But you've seen him hopped up on the booster serum Ghoul gives him. I haven't. Is it possible he drugged him?" She saw reports on the news of what he could do, but she'd never seen him at full charge before.

He was hurt.

Oh GOD. What if this was what happened when he was in agonizing pain!?

He remembered Davis on the boost serum. The guy was incredibly strong. He could fly, fire bolts of electricity and sap electricity away from numerous machines no problem. The strongest Terry had seen him, he had flown around Gotham, firing wildly at Batman with no problem whatsoever.

"He's on something..." Terry muttered. "I've read reports that his electrical output isn't this strong normally. He has to be on something." It couldn't be Titan though. If it was, the electricity would have been even more devastating or the markings would have been deeper. Davis was still the same size so he was fine...for now.

He just hoped they were near the power station.

This was breaking her heart. "I had to wean him off of venom once. It was the only thing he could sneak through here." And she'd done her best to keep Ghoul away at an arm's length, but how good of a friend was she if he found his source again? Or worse: what if they forced him to take a stronger, nastier dose?

Not only that, but her brain was reeling. Ghoul would know just what to give Davis to put his body to its limit. He'd killed somebody else in her life who, if he hadn't met his end so soon, probably could have evolved into a friend down the line. That man cared, maybe way too much.

"...and what are the chances he's..."

The timing made some sense. Chances were Davis was still feeling the boost serum from Dick's attack when he entered Arkham again. Maybe not all of it had left his body by the time he got out of the tank. It wouldn't surprise him. He remembered seeing the news with people saying that Davis had powered Arkham for so long that he hadn't even exited the tank until his release. He got a second chance to leave, but who knew if the tank got everything the last time. Or maybe he had snuck something in...maybe Willie knew.

"I--" A wail of pain bounced around the walls. Something loud, and near the gardens. It sounded familiar. Too familiar.

Zhora froze in place for all of two seconds before bolting toward that scream. Her sisters weren't in Arkham with her and neither was Ruth. All that attention had to go somewhere--and it was going to go to her friends! If that was Davis, then she wanted to be there to talk him off the edge and do her best to make this as painless as possible. However, Father Deets grabbed her wrist, yanking her back so forcefully that her ass hit the tile.

"Stay there!" Terry had to see that. If he was right, that was Davis' pained wails coming from the gardens. He rushed in, hoping to find the only person who could restore power to Arkham.

#pixelated-persephone

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