Once Peter finished speaking, he left. Poison Ivy felt uneasy. She walked to the edge of the underground parking garage and watched Peter disappear into the distance.
As she turned to head back underground, she saw several black specks appear above the gray skyline, trailing thick plumes of smoke as they soared toward Gotham.
They were dozens of unmarked missiles.
"I will end you myself, Batman."
The neon lights of Chinatown reflected off the dark metallic armor of the Arkham Knight, making him appear as a glorious shining warrior. In contrast, Batman stood in the heavy mist of rain. Bound by some terrifying effort, he resembled an old hobgoblin.
"Remove your mask," Batman said.
"You first. Or are you scared?"
"Where is the Scarecrow?"
"You're not here for..."
Batman couldn't make out Arkham Knight's reply. In the reflection of the metal armor, he caught sight of the Joker's face.
"Of course, you are afraid, Batman," the Joker laughed, "Have you seen the aftermath of revealing your identity under the influence of the fear gas? Or perhaps…"
Zzzt—
Jolted alert, the blaring noise shocked Batman. Both him and the Arkham Knight simultaneously turned their gaze towards the sky.
Missiles. More missiles. An army of missiles, aiming their destruction towards Gotham, the City of Darkness.
Incoming call on Batman's communicator.
"...Penguin! I've intercepted communication between Penguin and the military! They are trying to destroy the evidence…"
Upon hearing Peter's voice through his earpiece, he could tell he was breathless and weakening.
"They found my tracking signal, kidnapped me, and yet, I managed to escape. I am now in the Batcave, booting up the missile-defense system, grant me access, Batman…"
Batman swiftly pushed the button, only for Peter's voice, filled with pain, to respond.
"No... it's too late, we can't intercept them... I have activated a decoy... the one in the Batcave…"
Startled by Peter's words, Batman shouted into his communicator: "NO! Peter! The decoy's target location is the Batcave! You can't…"
"I know... but this may be the least disastrous outcome…" Peter's voice was fading.
"Peter! No!... Peter!!!"
Buzz— Buzz—
The missile flying overhead suddenly changed course, zeroing in on a specific point.
Boom!!!
Seeing a mushroom cloud rise in the distance, Batman froze, his arms hanging, standing still without any reaction.
From the gloom of the darkened landscape, the Joker appeared in front of him, a wide grin splitting his face.
"I warned you, see? You've sacrificed another child. How many more will you lose?"
The Joker's blood-red mouth got clearer and clearer in the darkness while his figure became solidified. Batman reached out to grab him, not realizing that he was standing at the edge of the building.
Or maybe he did realize it, but no longer cared— this night needed to end.
"Batman, this is our destiny, come, come..." The Joker's whisper was like a lullaby, luring him closer, and closer, until there was no road left ahead.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm from the communicator snapped Batman back to reality.
"Batman... Batman! I'm fine! Poison Ivy saved me! But I'm sorry - your mansion might be in ruins, not to mention the Batcave. Fortunately, it seems like the wealthy people residing nearby had evacuated early, so nobody got hurt."
"Oh, Alfred, you're okay too! That's great, Batman, we all— beep!"
Batman hung up his communicator and promptly slapped the Joker across the face.
Then he spun around, focusing his attention on the approaching Arkham Knight.
The Arkham Knight skidded to a halt, instinctively taking a few steps back and raising his hands.
"No, you can't…"
Thwack! Bang! Crack!
"Arrgghhhhh!!!"