Young Justice: Outsiders

Death of the Rogues

Arkham Asylum was soaked with rain streaming from dark clouds of pure darkness.

At the fringe of its gate, a spray of rain water warped a red helmeted figure into existence. Jumping over the gate, the Red Hood streaked up a hill choked with dense fog and rocks.

The Red Hood followed the hill's course up to the front doors of the asylum. Upgraded with the finest mechanized defenses that money could buy, the settlement had become the final redoubt of rehabilitation for Batman's arch-criminals. It was absolutely impenetrable.

Unless one had its access codes.

Which was how the Red Hood could carry out his job without causing the asylum's defenses to so much as stir.

Inside the main recreation center...

Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow was adjusting the gas mix inside his costume—

Oswald Cobblepot, the Penguin, was tapping the floor with his trusty bumbershoot—

Harvey Dent, Two Face and Joe Coyne, the Penny Plunderer, were fiddling with Two Face's signature quarter that had two scars on the left side—

Edward Nygma, the Riddler was stretching his body, using his cane to counterbalance his weight—

Jervis Tetch, the Mad Hatter, was having a tea party with Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, Mr. Polka Dot, the Ten Eyed Man, Mr. Camera and Cat Man—

Calendar Man was counting the days with Diamondback—

The Condiment King was having a hot-dog meal with False Face and the Ventriloquist—

Professor Pyg was carving a new mask with the help of his circus pals—

Crazy Quilt was sewing his latest masterpiece—

Basil Karlo, Clayface was shifting his weight nervously from foot to foot—

Roxy Rocket was polishing her rocket—

Film Freak was admiring himself in a mirror—

Blockbuster was flexing his muscles—

Zebra-Man and Tarantula were playing blackjack with Kite Man—

The Cavalier was sharpening his sword—

Bane was getting high on venom—

The Eraser was chewing on his pencil—

Victor Zsasz and the Wrath were plotting with Rag-Doll—

Doctor Death was discussing science with Magpie and Humpty Dumpty—

Killer Moth and Hush were reading novelettes—

Pamela Isley, Poison Ivy stared at her Venus fly trap with confusion consuming her thoughts.

The Green had sensed a balance far greater than any of her fellow criminals, it told of a newcomer who was out to get her and the others, including Joker and Harley, who would be the last.

The door cycled open.

A tall figure, slim but broad-shouldered, face concealed by a red helmet, stood in the doorway.

Scarecrow beat the others to the greeting. "Welcome, newcomer!" His elongated ringer almost tangled with each other in his rush to shake the hand of the welcoming committee. "On behalf of the beneficiary of Gotham's criminals, let me be the first to-"

"Very well. You will be the first."

The red helmeted figure stepped inside and made a punch on the wall with a black-gloved hand. Doors slammed across every exit. The control panel exploded in a shower of sparking wires.

The figure took off its helmet.

Scarecrow recoiled, hands flapping like panicked birds sewn to his wrists.

He had time to gasp, "You're-you're Robin the Boy Wonder!" before a sharp bullet burned into his chest, curving through a loop that charred his heart.

The rogues watched in frozen horror as the corpse of the king of fear collapsed like a discarded classroom skeleton.

"The resemblance," Jason Todd said, "is deceptive."

What followed next were screams, and tears, and pleas for mercy. None of them mattered. The Red Hood had come to spread hardcore justice.

The Penguin scrambled like the animal that he was through a litter of fallen arms and legs and heads, both metal and flesh, whimpering, fluttering his human wings until a string bullet penetrated through his neck.

Roxy Rocket looked up from her knees, hands clasped before her, tears streaming down her smooth cheeks. "We were promised a reward for serving our time,'' she gasped. "A h-h-handsome reward-"

"I am your reward," the Red Hood said. "You don't find me handsome?"

"Please!" she screeched through her sobbing. "Pleee-"

The bullet shot through her mouth, and her corpse swayed. A negligent flip of the wrist slashed through her sleeves. Her mouth-bleeding head tumbled to the floor.

He caught sight of the Riddler, kneeling like a pathetic weakling.

"Riddle me this," the Red Hood taunted. "What is a man with no arms?"

Riddler assumed that he was being spared.

"When he is unarmed," he answered cheerfully.

"Correct."

The bullets that followed afterwards were fired into his arm joints, almost decapitating them.

The only sound, then, was a panicky stutter of footfalls as Two Face, Penny Plunderer and Mr. Polka-Dot scampered along a hallway toward a nearby cell.

The Red Hood was in no hurry to pursue. All the exits from the recreation center were blast-shielded, and they were sealed, and he had destroyed the controls.

The cell was, as the expression goes, a dead end.

Penny Plunderer and Mr. Polka Dot tripped over a loose opening in the floor as they stumbled back. After a single bullet was fired into the latter's ass, Penny fell to the floor, shaking like a grub in a frying pan, trying to scrabble beneath the table.

"Stop!" he cried. "Enough! We surrender, do you understand? You can't just kill us-"

The Red Hood smiled. "Can't I?"

"We're unarmed! We surrender! Please-please, you're a hero!"

"You fought a war to destroy the peace of Gotham City." Jason stood above the shivering joke villain, smiling down upon him, then fed him half a meter of copper bullets. "Congratulations on your success."

The Red Hood stepped over Plunderer's corpse to where Two Face clawed uselessly at the wall with his scarred hand. The ex-district attorney turned at his approach, cringing, arms lifted to shield his good side from the flames in the dragon's eyes. "Please, I'll give you anything. Anything you want!"

The gun fired twice; Two Face's arms fell to the floor, his quarter landing on the scarred side up.

"That was for my father, you bastard." Jason turned to the last living criminal in the room.

Poison Ivy stood trembling in an alcove, aloe blood-tinged tears streaming down her chlorophyl-mottled cheeks. "You think . . . ," she whimpered. "That you can destroy nature? Nature always wins . . ."

"Nature always loses as well." The gun fired. "Your heart was in the right place, Ivy, but your brain was in the wrong one.''

The Red Hood stood over his greatest achievement. With only one or two more criminals left to kill, Gotham would be perfectly safe.