Beatdown

He launched himself at the first soldier, and the impact slammed him into the soldiers behind. Like a human battering ram he kept pushing at them, forcing them to tumble back down the stairs. Without anything to grab, they flailed helplessly as they fell.

“Batman.” Barbara Gordon’s voice came over the comm. “I need another sixty-seven seconds to establish the satellite link. Can you keep them busy?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really.”

“There’s your answer.”

The hindmost men fell to the first landing, stacking atop each other. One of the goons struggled to pull his gun free, and succeeded. He obviously didn’t care who he killed as long as he got Batman, too.

Batman slammed his foot into the top goon’s side, forcing him to roll over as he instinctively reacted. That exposed the merc below him as well as the goon with the gun. He grabbed the second merc’s head and slammed it into the third one’s face. The man’s nose exploded in a fountain of blood and he squealed at the sudden pain.

“Thirty-four seconds, Batman,” he heard Oracle say. “You can do this.”

The lead soldier pushed himself to his feet and grabbed him from behind, his arm wrapped around Batman’s throat, tightening, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. The fourth merc watched the struggle and decided to turn him into a human punching bag—his fists pummeled Batman’s mid-section with rapid-fire delivery.

His arms held behind him, Batman lashed out with his feet, kicking at anything in their way.

“Nine seconds, Bruce.”

He let them hit him. Instead of wasting energy resisting, he took the punishment. In his head he counted down the seconds. Eight… Seven…

A fist smashed into his face, cutting open his lip.

Four… Three…

Another fist slammed into his solar plexus.

Two…

“Batman, I have it.”

This was it. Batman breathed in deeply, the cold air invigorating. He closed his eyes, gathered his strength, then lashed out.

His legs wrapped around the merc trying to strangle him. He twisted and sent the soldier flying down the stairs, into two others. He leaped over the next closest assailant and landed on the three who had fallen.

Three quick jabs made certain they wouldn’t get up for at least an hour. He whirled and confronted the final merc, kneed him in the groin, then drove an elbow into the back of his neck.

Batman: Arkham Knight, Chapter 12