Not Alone || Batman: Arkham Knight

Chapter Two

Batman groggily opened his eyes, letting out a soft groan as he lifted his head. The room was dark and disheveled, large enough that he couldn't see all the way to the wall on either side of him in the gloom, though he could make out the faint outline of the door in front of him. A generator powered a set of construction lights that pointed directly at Batman, making it hard to see past them. Most likely he was in some abandoned building that the Arkham Knight had claimed for his own.

He was hanging from the ceiling by his wrists, both of which were tied to together with a thick rope that led up to the rafters. It was just long enough to allow him to stand. His feet were similarly tied, only they were tied separately, and the rope did allow him to move his feet about six inches in either direction. Not enough to cause any damage to his captors. Not enough to break free. Jason knew him all too well.

As if on cue, the Arkham Knight stepped forward from the shadows near the door. He still had his helmet on so his voice came out more mechanized than it should have sounded. "Took you long enough, Bruce. I've been waiting for over an hour. I think you're losing your touch."

"Jason..."

"Right, I guess there's no need to stand on ceremony here," Jason smirked. The Arkham Knight removed his helmet completely, revealing the branded J under his left eye. "Now we're on equal footing." Jason smiled, but there was no trace of light in his eyes. Only pain and hatred.

It was then that Batman realized his cowl was gone, not that it concerned him. Everyone already knew his identity. He would have liked to scan the building however. It always payed to know exactly how many enemies he was facing. Assuming that he could escape.

"Where are we?" Batman didn't really expect an answer, he just wanted to get Jason talking.

"That doesn't concern you anymore. You're never going to leave this place. And don't think that your little sidekick is going to come save you either. I've disabled the tracking device in your suit."

The biometrics. Jason still had access to the computer. He had forgotten that they were still in there. Pushing down the guilt over Jason's death, pushing down any thought of Jason, had been the only way he could get through the last few years. There had been several occasions when the grief and guilt had threatened to consume him. When he could barely find the strength to crawl out of bed.

"I would have removed the suit entirely, but it seems my replacement must have realized I still had access sometime while you were unconscious," he added with a sneer, stalking closer to Batman. "It doesn't really matter. I still know the weak points in your armor. I think it's time you finally learned firsthand what I went through in the Asylum."

Grabbing an aluminum bat that was leaning against the wall, Jason came at Batman, swinging it into his side. Batman hissed, surprised at the amount of pain that radiated from the impact.

The noise didn't escape Jason's notice. "I guess Crane forgot to tell you about some of the side effects of his toxin. The pain fades, but the toxin leaves the nerves in a heightened state of sensitivity for a couple of hours. It's especially bad for those who have been gassed by his toxins before. Too bad for you."

Walking past Batman to his other side, Jason turned and delivered three quick blows to Batman's ribcage. With the third, Batman could feel several ribs crack and his breath caught through clenched teeth. He had to get Jason talking. If he could do that, there was still a chance he could get through to him. Batman refused to believe that Jason was beyond help. Scarecrow had the Cloudburst and would release his toxin into the city any minute. He just had to convince Jason to let him go. Somehow.

"Jason, I know this isn't you."

"You don't know anything about me anymore." Jason snapped, suddenly angry. "You left me there to die. You betrayed me."

"That's not what happened."

"Oh really? So I just imagined the whole thing, is that it?" Jason asked incredulously.

"A part of me died that day. The day Joker sent me the video. You were dead, Jason. I watched you die!"

"You're lying!" In an outburst of rage, Jason started beating Batman once again, raining blows across his body. "You never cared!"

"Joker got in your head, Jason!" Batman shouted in an attempt to distract the Arkham Knight. He succeeded in forcing Jason to pause his assault. "He got in mine too. He still is. I know what it's like."

"You know nothing. It doesn't matter if Joker got in my head, I would have hated you anyway. You left me there to rot for over a year."

"That's exactly what he wants you to think, Jason."

"Stop calling me that. Jason doesn't exist anymore. I am the Arkham Knight."

So that was it. Jason's pushing point. Batman then knew how to get through to him. He just had to remind him who he was. Jason had tucked away his identity to survive Joker's torture. Had driven it into the ground until nothing of his former life remained. Batman had to bring it back out. He might end up digging up all of the pain, the suffering, but he would unearth the good things too. Love, friendship, loyalty, honor. They would win out. They had to. Or Gotham was doomed.

"Jason."

"I said, stop calling me that!" Wild fury lit Jason's eyes as he spun and struck at Batman's lower leg, cleanly snapping the bone.

Batman cried out as the agony surged up his leg. He could have hidden it, as he usually did, but Jason needed to see it. Needed to see the outcome of his actions. It might just be enough to save him.

Jason backed off a step, but didn't show any outward reaction to Batman's cry. He still just looked angry. Angry at the world, at Batman.

Panting from the pain, Batman beseeched, "It's not too late, Jason. Come with me. Let us help you."

As Jason backed away from him, Batman thought that maybe he had finally broken through. He sagged slightly on the rope. Jason retreated into a corner out of Batman's line of sight, but Batman heard the dull thunk as the bat slid to the ground. But when Jason returned, he was holding a gun. The hair on the back of Batman's neck began to rise.

"It is too late, Bruce. A few years too late to be exact. I've been chasing you long enough. It's time for you to die."

"Don't do this, Jason. Don't let Joker win."

The cool calm that had settled over Jason instantly dissipated only to be replaced by a feral snarl. In two steps, he was right next to Batman, shoving the barrel of the pistol between two plates of the Batsuit, just below the chest. One of the armor's weakest points. "Shut up! You don't get to tell me what to do anymore."

Jason ground the gun still further into Batman's side. It eventually dug in far enough to hit Batman's broken ribs, bringing a wince to his face.

Batman didn't know what to do anymore. Nothing he had said seemed to bring Jason back, only unhinge him further. The next thing he said could very well be his last, but he still had to try. If not for his own sake, then for Gotham's. And Jason's.

He played his last card.

"You're not Joker's pawn. You're not the Arkham Knight. You're Jason Todd. You are Robin."

A moment of silence filled the room at Batman's words. Hesitating for a heartbeat, Jason ground his teeth, his lip quivering, curling into a sneer. When Jason's eyes hardened, Batman knew he had failed.

"That's where you're wrong," Jason stated. Then pulled the trigger.